2 Thessalonians 1:1
King James Version (KJV)
Paul, and Silvanus, and Timotheus, unto the church of the Thessalonians in God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ:
Translations
2 Thessalonians 1:1 - Amplified Bible
PAUL, SILVANUS (Silas), and Timothy, to the church (assembly) of the Thessalonians in God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ (the Messiah, the Anointed One):
2 Thessalonians 1:1 - American Standard Version
Paul, and Silvanus, and Timothy, unto the church of the Thessalonians in God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ;
2 Thessalonians 1:1 - Bible in Basic English
Paul and Silvanus and Timothy, to the church of the Thessalonians in God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ:
2 Thessalonians 1:1 - Darby Bible
Paul and Silvanus and Timotheus to the assembly of Thessalonians in God our Father and [the] Lord Jesus Christ.
2 Thessalonians 1:1 - English Standard Version
Paul, Silvanus, and Timothy, To the church of the Thessalonians in God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ:
2 Thessalonians 1:1 - King James Version
Paul, and Silvanus, and Timotheus, unto the church of the Thessalonians in God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ:
2 Thessalonians 1:1 - La Biblia de las Americas
Pablo, Silvano y Timoteo:
A la iglesia de los tesalonicenses en Dios nuestro Padre y en el Señor Jesucristo:
2 Thessalonians 1:1 - The Message
I, Paul, together with Silas and Timothy, greet the church of the Thessalonian Christians in the name of God our Father and our Master, Jesus Christ. Our God gives you everything you need, makes you everything you’re to be.
2 Thessalonians 1:1 - New American Standard Bible
Paul and Silvanus and Timothy,
To the church of the Thessalonians in God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ:
2 Thessalonians 1:1 - Nueva Biblia Latinoamericana de Hoy
Pablo, Silvano y Timoteo:
A la iglesia de los Tesalonicenses en Dios nuestro Padre y en el Señor Jesucristo:
2 Thessalonians 1:1 - World English Bible
Paul, Silvanus, and Timothy, To the assembly of the Thessalonians in God, our Father, and the Lord Jesus Christ:
2 Thessalonians 1:1 - Young's Living Translation
Paul, and Silvanus, and Timotheus, to the assembly of Thessalonians in God our Father, and the Lord Jesus Christ:
2 Thessalonians 1:1 - Additional Comments
The Pauline Letters (from Felix Just)
Of the thirteen NT letters attributed to Paul, most scholars today distinguish between two groups:
* The seven "Undisputed Letters" (a.k.a. the "Authentic Pauline Letters").
o These can be put into three subgroups chronologically:
+ The Earliest Letter (ca. 50-51 AD): 1 Thessalonians
+ The Middle Letters (mid 50's): 1 Corinthians, 2 Corinthians, Philippians, Philemon, Galatians
+ The Latest Letter (ca. 57-58 AD): Romans
o About 95-99% of scholars today agree that all of these letters were actually written by Paul himself.
* The six "Disputed Letters" (a.k.a. the "Deutero-Pauline Epistles") "Deutero" = "secondary"
o For two of these, the scholarly divide is about 50/50 (that is, about 50% of scholars think they were written by Paul himself, while the other 50% think they were written later by some follower of Paul):
+ If 2 Thessalonians is authentic, Paul probably wrote it soon after 1 Thess (in order to correct some misunderstandings caused by 1 Thess itself), since it is so similar in form and content to 1 Thess.
+ But if Colossians is authentic, Paul probably wrote it near the end of his life (after spending several years in prison), since the theology expressed in it is rather different from Paul's earlier letters.
o For the other four, about 80% of scholars think they were written not by Paul, but by one of his followers after his death:
+ Ephesians is almost definitely a later expansion of Colossians, since they are so similar in structure and theology, but quite different from Paul's earlier letters; Ephesians was probably written to serve as a "cover letter" for an early collection of Pauline letters.
+ 1 Timothy, 2 Timothy, Titus (a.k.a. The Pastoral Epistles) were most likely written late in the first century by some member(s) of the "Pauline School" who wanted to adapt his teachings to changing circumstances.
* The so-called Epistle to the Hebrews is definitely not written by Paul, and is not even explicitly attributed to him.
o For centuries, many Christians counted it as the fourteenth "letter" of the Pauline corpus, mainly because the epistolary ending mentions Timothy, Paul's closest associate (see Heb 13:23).
o Contrary to all other letters and epistles, however, the opening of Hebrews does not name its author at all.
o In literary genre, therefore, Hebrews is not really a "letter"; rather, it is a "homily" (a scripture-based sermon).
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Ernest Best explains the problem,
If we only possessed 2 Th. [= 2 Thessalonians] few scholars would doubt that Paul wrote it; but when 2 Th. is put alongside 1 Th. then doubts appear. There is a great similarity between the two; this is not only one of words, small phrases and concepts but extends to the total structure of the two letters which is in addition different from what is taken to be the standard Pauline form. At the sametime the second letter is alleged to be less intimate and personal in tone than the first, and in some of its teaching, particularly in relation to eschatology, to conflict with the first.
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The traditional view is that the second epistle to the Thessalonians was probably written from Corinth not many months after the first. Apparently the first letter was misunderstood, especially regarding the second advent of Christ. The Thessalonians had embraced the idea that Paul had taught that "the day of Christ was at hand", that Christ's coming was about to occur. This error is corrected (2:1-12), and the apostle announces what first must take place before the end times. The "Great Apostasy" is first mentioned here.
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