KNOW YOUR HOLY SCRIPTURE 1 Thessalonians 1:1 (DPB) Greeting (1) To the Church of Thessalonica: Grace to you and peace, in the name God the Father and our Lord Jesus Christ, from Paul, Silvanus, and Timothy. Literal Translation 1 Paul and Silvanus and Timothy to the church of the Thessalonians in god father and lord Jesus Christ; grace to you and peace. Notes on the Scripture First, a note about the versions of Scripture we will be using in Pauls Epistles. We will have two versions of the same verses. The first, “DPB” (Daily Prayer Bible), is a “paraphrase” translation intended to be easily read and understood. Easily read, that is, by the standards of reading Paul; he can be a bit hard to follow sometimes. Like any paraphrase translation, it will take liberties with the actual language of the Greek text in the interest of conveying the meaning. The second version is the exact opposite: it is as close to an actual literal translation as possible. This extremely accurate version will allow the reader to know the actual Word of God. It will allow you to gauge for yourself whether you agree or disagree with other translations (including the DPB version). It is “what the Bible actually says.” So even if it is terribly difficult and not intended for quick reading, you can always refer to it, as a safeguard against the editorial or theological bias that colors every translation. We will be experimenting with the format. Your comments and criticisms are encouraged. For now, we are trying out a three-column parallel version (with an idiomatic English translation, similiar to the NASB, in the middle) for your reference. Salutations in Pauls Epistles The salutation of 1 Thess. is typical of the Pauline Epistles. The format is almost standardized: The names of the sender(s), then the name or names of the intended recipient(s), then a blessing. Usually both the sender and receiver are modified by a flattering parenthetical clause, identifying their status as faithful Christians. As Paul grows older these become increasingly elaborate; by the time we get to Romans, the word “Paul” is followed by a seventy-word parenthetical description of himself! (Romans 1:1-6) Here, however, he is restrained; there is only the expression “in god father and lord Jesus Christ”. Whether this describes the Thessalonians, or Paul and his two disciples, or characterizes the spirit of the letter itself, is utterly ambiguous. The inclusion of Silvanus and Timothy in the “from” clause might look innocent enough, but it is Exhibit #1 in one of the great debates about the Bible: Who wrote Pauls epistles, and which of them are authentic to Paul? It is natural for Paul to include Timothy and Silvanus, whether or not they had any part in writing the letter, since they were co-founders of the church in Thessalonica, and Timothy (as we will see) had returned there after they had been driven out. We do know that Pauls eyesight became poor at some point, requiring a scribe to actually write down the words of his letters, but we dont know when this began, nor the degree of editorial freedom that the scribe might have had. On the other hand, Paul may be the only apostle whom we are certain could read and write Greek. But we do not know anything about the educational level of Timothy and Silvanus. Timothy was, actually, a Greek himself, so his command of the spoken language was perforce excellent. The problem is compounded by Pauls frequent use of “we”, raising the question: does this mean more than one person is participating in writing and/or sending the letter, or is it a sort of “editorial we”? The phrase “grace to you and peace” is practically boilerplate for Paul. Grace is actually a Hellenistic concept and was widely used in Classical Greece over a wide range of meanings, including the favor of a god; Paul might have actually picked the term up as a greeting from pagan Greeks. But certainly, he includes it for its specific appeal to Greek converts. Peace, on the other hand, is typically Hebrew; even today, Israelis greet one another with “Shalom”. Paul Epistles Reference SOURCE>dailyprayer.us
Posted on: Thu, 23 Oct 2014 08:08:02 +0000
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