Letters to the Thessalonians: A New Translation with Introduction and Commentary, The

Journal of the Evangelical Theological Society, Sep 2002 by Weatherly, Jon A

The Letters to the Thessalonians: A New Translation with Introduction and Commentary. By Abraham J. Malherbe. AB 32B. New York: Doubleday, 2000, xx 508 pp., $50.00.

For more than thirty years, Abraham Malherbe has produced meticulous research on the social and rhetorical setting of Paul's letters, especially the Thessalonian correspondence. This commentary can be fairly said to represent the summation of his life's work. Careful, thorough, and insightful, it will not disappoint those who have anticipated its appearance.

Malherbe's introduction to each letter treats the critical issues completely but without pedantic rehearsal of every conjectural variation. In drawing conclusions, he resists the Sirens of novel hypotheses. Affirming Paul's authorship of both letters (no longer an easy move with 2 Thessalonians) and insisting on the integrity of both letters, Malherbe also affirms the general consonance of the letters with the narrative of Paul's Thessalonian mission in Acts. On the specific problem of the composition of the Thessalonian church, he argues that the letters themselves appear to be addressed to Gentile readers only, acknowledging a tension with the picture in Acts 17 of Paul's activity among Jews in Thessalonica but averring that the tendentiousness of Acts does not disqualify it as a reliable source about Paul.

Malherbe's insistence that the audience of 1-2 Thessalonians is Gentile is consistent with his evaluation of the letters' genre and social setting. He finds plentiful parallels between the letters and Greco-Roman philosophical and epistolary literature. These lead him to conclusions that will not surprise those familiar with his earlier articles and monographs. As to genre, 1-2 Thessalonians share affinities with Hellenistic friendship and parenetic letters and are best classed as the first examples of the Christian pastoral letter, evincing as they do Paul's pastoral concern for the readers. In their composition, Paul adapts many philosophical commonplaces, aiming them at his readers' moral exhortation even when he uses them to describe himself. Alert to the differences as well as the similarities between Paul and his environment, Malherbe draws attention to Paul's deviation from Hellenistic convention, mostly in terms found in Judaism or grounded in his gospel.

Like other contributions to the Anchor Bible, this one treats each unit of text under three headings: an original translation, notes on the translation that concern mostly matters of language, and comments that draw implications from the notes and offer wider observations. Malherbe's translation is lucid and idiomatic. The notes, which are best read with a Greek NT nearby, are replete with Hellenistic parallels as well as careful observations about the letters' syntax and diction. Throughout, Malherbe expresses reservations about assigning too much significance to expressions that were commonplaces in Hellenistic literature, understanding their function in their social environment. Conversely, he readily offers suggestions as to the emphasis of Paul's expressions that deviate from Hellenistic norms. The notes are sensitive at all points not only to the referential aspects of Paul's language but also to the affective aspects, as Paul creates pathos and offers exhortations. As is common in commentaries with divisions like the Anchor Bible's, the comments tend to summarize, sometimes repetitiously, the contents of the notes. In the comments, Malherbe sometimes offers observations about fundamental points of Paul's theology that arise in the text, but commentary is not much concerned with the larger synthesis of Paul's theology. Notably absent are any significant observations about Paul's Christology, which, though certainly not a major focus of these letters, might be worthy of greater consideration in the letters that the commentator regards as the earliest extant Christian literature. In part, Malherbe's reluctance to speculate about pre-Pauline elements leads to this lacuna.

The commentary interacts extensively, yet with admirable terseness, with secondary literature on 1-2 Thessalonians and Greco-Roman social history. Most of the conversation partners are from Continental and American university circles, but patristic commentaries often sit at the table as well. Works on Pauline theology are mostly bypassed, as the comments stick rather closely to the immediate issues of the text. While many would hope for a wider bibliography, Malherbe's still-generous selection does not lead to the neglect of significant exegetical issues.

A commentary of this length and quality is filled with conclusions that will interest specialists in these letters. A few can be mentioned here as a sample, all indicative of Malherbe's judiciousness and moderation. The parallels between 1 Thessalonians 1-3 and Greco-Roman philosophical literature suggest that Paul was offering his life as a parenetic example rather than defending himself against opponents as in the Corinthian letters. The tribulation experienced by the Thessalonian Christians was likely more a matter of social dislocation than overt persecution. Similarly Paul's suffering was more a matter of his distress over his converts and his general deprivation. Skeuos in 1 Thess 4:4 should be taken as a metaphor for "wife," particularly because of the force of the reflexive pronoun heautou in the attributive position. The problem of idleness in the two letters is unrelated to imminent expectation of Christ's return; rather, it arose as some Christians willfully relied on the loving generosity of others. The problem addressed by Paul's discussion of the parousia in 1 Thess 4:13-5:11 was likely prompted by the oracles of false prophets proclaiming that the event lay in the distant future, and Paul's correction of their teaching led to the eschatological enthusiasm that he sought to temper in 2 Thess 2:1-12.