This article focuses on works that have been produced within the last 25 years which attempt to provide a holistic approach to the understanding and interpretation of 1 Thessalonians, such as: epistolary, rhetorical, theological, linguistic, and various combinations of the above. Proponents of each view and their perspectives will be outlined along with their structural division of the text. This article attempts to provide a general map of particular approaches to 1 Thessalonians, but also provides a brief outline of some of the critiques and weaknesses of the different methodologies. This article concludes with a brief statement regarding the trajectory of current studies.
Adams, S.A. forthcoming A Linguistic Commentary on 1 and 2 Thessalonians ( Leiden : Brill, 2011).
2.
Alexander, L.C.A.1989‘Hellenistic Letter-Form and the Structure of Philippians’ , JSNT37: 87-101.
3.
Aune, D.E. (ed.) 1988Greco-Roman Literature and the New Testament (SBLSBS, 21;Atlanta: Scholars Press).
4.
Balch, D.L., E. Ferguson and W.A. Meeks (eds.) 1990Greeks, Romans, and Christians: Essays in Honor of Abraham J. Malherbe (Minneapolis: Fortress Press).
Best, E.1972The First and Second Epistles to the Thessalonians (BNTC;London: A&C Black).
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Betz, H.D.1975‘The Literary Composition and Function of Paul’s Letter to the Galatians’, NTS21: 353-79.
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1979Galatians: A Commentary on Paul’s Letter to the Churches in Galatia (Hermeneia; Philadelphia: Fortress Press).
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19852 Corinthians 8 and 9: A Commentary on Two Administrative Letters of the Apostle Paul (Hermeneia; Philadelphia: Fortress Press).
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Boers, H.1976‘The Form-Critical Study of Paul’s Letters: 1 Thessalonians as a Case Study’, NTS22: 140-58.
12.
Bruce, F.F.19821 and 2 Thessalonians (WBC, 45;Waco, TX: Word Books).
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Callow, J.1982A Semantic Structural Analysis of Second Thessalonians (Dallas: Summer Institute of Linguistics ).
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Chapa, J.1994‘Is First Thessalonians a Letter of Consolation?’ , NTS40: 150-60.
15.
Church, F.F., and T. George (eds.) 1979Continuity and Discontinuity in Church History: Essays Presented to George Huntston Williams on the Occasion of his 65th Birthday (Leiden: Brill ).
16.
Classen, C.J.1991‘Paulus und die antike Rhetorik’, ZNW82: 1-33.
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1993 ‘St Paul’s Epistles and Ancient Greek and Roman Rhetoric’, in Porter and Olbricht (eds.) 1993: 265-91.
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Collins, R.F.1977‘The Theology of Paul’s First Letter to the Thessalonians’, Louvian Studies6: 315-37.
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1984Studies on the First Letter to the Thessalonians ( BETL, 66; Leuven: Leuven University Press).
Cousar, C.B.2001Reading Galatians, Philippians, and 1 Thessalonians: A Literary and Theological Commentary (Macon, GA: Smyth & Helwys).
22.
De Vos, C.S.1999Church and Community Conflict: The Relationships of the Thessalonian, Corinthian, and Philippian Churches with their Wider Civic Communities (SBLDS, 168; Atlanta: Scholars Press).
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Donfried, K.P.1993‘The Theology of 1 Thessalonians’, in Donfried and Marshall (eds.) 1993: 1-79.
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Donfried, K.P., and J. Beutler (eds.) 2000The Thessalonian Debate: Methodological Discord or Methodological Synthesis? (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans).
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Donfried, K.P., and I.H. Marshall (eds.) 1993The Theology of the Shorter Pauline Letters (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press).
26.
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1973 Letters in Primitive Christianity ( Philadelphia: Fortress Press).
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Funk, R.W.1966Language, Hermeneutic, and the Word of God: The Problem of Language in the New Testament and Contemporary Theology ( New York: Harper & Row).
29.
Gaventa, B.R.1998First and Second Thessalonians (Interpretation;Philadelphia: Westminster).
30.
Green, G.L.2002The Letters to the Thessalonians (PNTC;Grand Rapids: Eerdmans).
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Harris, M.J.2005The Second Epistle to the Corinthians (NICNT;Grand Rapids: Eerdmans).
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Hawthorne, G.F., and R.P. Martin (eds.) 1993Dictionary of Paul and His Letters (Downers Grove: InterVarsity Press).
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Holmstrand, J.1997Markers and Meaning in Paul: An Analysis of 1 Thessalonians, Philippians and Galatians (ConBNT, 28;Stockholm: Almqvist & Wiksell).
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Hughes, F.W. 1989 Early Christian Rhetoric and 2 Thessalonians (JSNTSup, 30; Sheffield: JSOT Press).
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1990 ‘The Rhetoric of 1 Thessalonians’, in Collins (ed.)
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1990: 94-116. 2000 ‘The Rhetoric of Letters’, in Donfried and Beutler (eds.) 2000: 194-240.
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Hurd, J.C.1971‘Concerning the Structure of 1 Thessalonians’ , unpublished paper, presented at 1971 SBL annual meeting.
2007Romans: A Commentary (Hermeneia; Philadelphia: Fortress Press).
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Johanson, B.C.1987To all the Brethren: A Text-Linguistic and Rhetorical Approach to 1 Thessalonians (ConBNT, 16;Stockholm: Almqvist & Wiksell).
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Kaye, B.N.1975‘Eschatology and Ethics in 1 and 2 Thessalonians’ , NovT17: 47-57.
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Kennedy, G.A.1984New Testament Interpretation through Rhetorical Criticism ( Chapel Hill, NC: UNC Press).
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Klauck, H.J. 1998 Die antike Briefliteratur und das Neue Testament (UTB, 2022; Paderborn: Schöningh). 2006 Ancient Letters and the New Testament: A Guide to Context and Exegesis (Waco, TX: Baylor University Press).
44.
Koester, H.1979‘1 Thessalonians-Experiment in Christian Writing’ , in Church and George (eds.) 1979: 33-44.
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Krentz, E.2000‘1 Thessalonians: Rhetorical Flourishes and Formal Constraints’, in Donfried and Beutler (eds.) 2000: 287-318.
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Lambrecht, J.2000a ‘A Structural Analysis of 1 Thessalonians 4-5’ , in Donfried and Beutler (eds.) 2000: 163-78
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48.
Longenecker, R.N.1990Galatians (WBC, 41; Waco, TX: Word Books, 1990).
49.
Malbon, E.S.1983‘"No Need to Have Any One Write"? A Structural Exegesis of 1 Thessalonians’, Semeia26: 56-83.
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Malherbe, A.J. 1988 Ancient Epistolary Theorists (SBLSBS, 19; Atlanta: Scholars Press). 2000 The Letters to the Thessalonians: A New Translation with Introduction and Commentary (AB, 32B; New York: Doubleday).
51.
Marshall, I.H.2004New Testament Theology: Many Witnesses, One Gospel ( Downers Grove: InterVarsity Press).
52.
Mearns, C.L.1981‘Early Eschatology Developments in Paul: The Evidence of I and II Thessalonians’, NTS27: 137-57.
1991The First and Second Epistles to the Thessalonians ( NICNT; Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, rev. edn).
55.
Murphy-O’Connor, J.1995Paul the Letter-Writer: His World, His Opinions, His Skills (GNS, 41; Collegeville: Liturgical Press).
56.
Neyrey, J.H.1980‘Eschatology in 1 Thessalonians: The Theological Factor in 1, 9-10; 2, 4-5; 3, 11-13; 4, 6 and 4, 13-18’, in SBLSP1980: 219-31.
57.
Nicholl, C.R.2004From Hope to Despair in Thessalonica: Situating 1 and 2 Thessalonians (SNTSMS, 126;Cambridge: Cambridge University Press).
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1993 ‘Letter, Letter Forms’, in Hawthorne and Martin (eds.) 1993: 550-53.
60.
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Patte, D.1983‘Method for a Structural Exegesis of Didactic Discourses: Analysis of 1 Thessalonians’, Semeia26: 85-129.
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Pitts, A.W.2008‘Unity and Diversity in Pauline Eschatology’ , in Porter (ed.) 2008 : 65-91.
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Porter, S.E. (ed.) 1997Handbook of Classical Rhetoric in the Hellenistic Period (330 B.C. to A.D. 400) (Leiden: Brill).
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Porter, S.E., and T.H. Olbricht (eds.) 1993Rhetoric and the New Testament: Essays from the 1992 Heidelberg Conference (JSNTSup, 90; Sheffield: Sheffield Academic Press).
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1997The Rhetorical Analysis of Scripture: Essays from the 1995 London Conference (JSNTSup, 146; Sheffield: Sheffield Academic Press).
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Puskas, Jr., C.B.1995The Letters of Paul: An Introduction ( GNS, 25; Collegeville, PA: Liturgical Press).
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