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Prof. G. H. Gilbert,

Bibliotheca Sacra (1898), p. 244 f.; Life of Paul, pp. 242259.

Weingar- Wendt Weiss, INT, i.

ten,

Zeit- (-Meyer,)8 p. 154 f. Work-
man1 (Exp.
Ti. xi. pp. 316-
319) argues
from the Jewish
calendar (Ac
279) that Paul's
voyage could
not have OC-
curred in the
years 55, 58, 61,
but only in 56,
or more pro-
bably in 59.
Even 60 he re-
gards as beset
with difficulties.

tafeln und Acts, pp.
Überblicke 53-60). He
zur Kir- rejects the
chenges- sec. visit to
chichte Jerusalem
(1891), p.
as an un-
4 f.
historical
mistake.

Vernon Bartlet, AA, pp. xiii, xiv, and passim. He places the visit of Gal. 21-10 prior to 46, as a private visit previous even to the famine visit of that year, and passed over by Acts on account of its nonrepresentative character.

Galatians

Wandel: "zurChron- Drummond, ologie des Epistle to Lebens Pauls (Z KWL, 39. 1887-1888).

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(1892), p.

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Dr. J.

Belser,

"zurChron

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(TQ, 1898,

379).

The

(59).

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upon conjecture and the vague inferences drawn from an inferior tradition.

As an expert does well to remind us, one of the greatest difficulties in ancient chronology is to be met in the question of Pauline chronology, namely, "the fact that in almost every case the reasoning which assigns an event to a special year would be almost, if not quite, equally well satisfied by the year next to it" (Ramsay, Exp. ii. pp. 88, 89). In consequence, the whole arrangement of this period is uncertain in details, and has been variously sketched. Fortunately, however, the divergence of these chronological results does not preclude an attempt to exhibit a general and relative chronology of the epistles. These, to some degree, are independent of absolutely accurate conclusions upon several of the points above noted; hence it is possible to draw up a further table which will represent some recent and varying lines of criticism on the literature, and prove that the records can be approximately fixed in relation to each other, if not to definite points in the history.

1 There is a monograph by Rovers ("De chronolog. volgorde der brieven van het NT") in the Bibliotheek van Moderne Theol. en Letterkunde, xi. p. 487 f., which I have not been able to see.

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[In a series of monographs, especially die Abfassung des Galaterbriefs vor dem Apostelkonzil (1900), Prof. v. Weber dates Gal 49 A.D. (or 48 A.D. end) in the period of Ac 1428, written from Antioch after Paul's second visit to Jerusalem (Gal 21-10 Ac 1130, 1225). Like Ramsay, he holds that the dispute at Antioch took place before Paul's third visit (Ac 15) in 49-50 A.D., and that the Galatians belonged to the Roman province of that name. But independently he interprets droics (Gal 26a) of the false brethren, not of the twelve. Cp. Schürer: ThLz, 1901, 76; and Ramsay: Exp. Ti. Jan. 1901, pp. 157-160.]

[51 A.D.±]

I. THESSALONIANS

There is nothing tame about these brief pages, nothing vague or indefinite; on the contrary, they breath a spirit of strong faith and overflowing life, and above all, an ardour of hope destined before long to be extinguished. They give a first sketch of Paul's doctrine, corresponding with that primitive period when it possessed all its vigour without having as yet attained its fulness. This early type of Paulinism is still closely allied in its general conceptions to the preaching of the other apostles, but bearing within it already the new and bold ideas to which it subsequently gave birth. It is admirably calculated to serve as a transition and means of organic connection between the apostolic preaching with which Paul set out and the independent conception of the gospel to which he afterwards attained.—Sabatier.

11 Greeting.

12-313 Personal: thanksgiving for their Christian life: its

12-10

21-12

213-16

217-310

310-13

origin,

connection with himself and his ministry, endurance.

his anxiety for them: the mission and report of Timotheus. his prayer for them.

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I. THESSALONIANS

1 1 PAUL and Silvanus and Timotheus

2

to the Community of the Thessalonians in God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ:

grace to you and peace.

We always give thanks to God for you all when we make mention of 3 you in our prayers, as we remember without ceasing your active faith and labouring love and patient hope in our Lord Jesus Christ, before 4 our God and Father. For, brothers beloved by God, we know that you 5 were chosen ; because our gospel came to you not in word only, but in power as well, in the holy Spirit with much assurance (as you know the 6 kind of men we showed ourselves among you for your sake), and you became imitators of us and of the Lord, and accepted the word amid 7 great distress with the joy of the holy Spirit, so that you became a 8 pattern to all the believers in Macedonia and in Achaia. For the word of the Lord has sounded out from you-not only in Macedonia and Achaia but in every place, your faith to God has gone abroad. We do 9 not need to speak of it at all. The people themselves acknowledge with regard to us what kind of entrance we had to you, and how you turned 10 to God from idols, to serve a living and a real God, and to wait for his Son from heaven, whom he raised from the dead, Jesus our rescuer from the wrath to come.

21

Brothers, you know yourselves that our entrance to you has not proved 2 in vain. Although we had already suffered and been ill-treated (as you know) at Philippi, yet confident in our God we spoke the gospel of God 3 to you amid great conflict. For our appeal does not proceed from fraud, 4 or from impurity, nor does it work by guile; nay, as God has held us fit to be intrusted with the gospel, so we speak, to please not men but 5 God, who tests our hearts. For never were we found using either words of flattery (you know that) or-God is witness-a pretext for covetous6 ness, or seeking human credit, either from you or from others; we could 7 have claimed authority as apostles of Christ, but we behaved among you 8 gently, as a nursing mother cherishes her children. Yearning thus over you, we were ready and willing to impart to you not merely the gospel 9 of God but also our very souls, since you had won our love. You remember our labour and toil, brothers; night and day we worked so as not to be a burden to any of you, while we preached to you the gospel of 10 God. You are witnesses, and God is witness, how holy and upright and 11 blameless was our behaviour to you believers, how (as you know) we treated each one of you as a father treats his children, comforting and 12 encouraging you, and charging you to walk in a manner worthy of the God who calls you to his own reign and majesty.

13

And for this we also give thanks to God without ceasing, namely, that in receiving from us the word of the divine message, you accepted it not as men's word but as what it really is, God's word-which also is active

14 in you believers. For, brothers, you became imitators of the Communities of God which are in Judaea in Christ Jesus, since you suffered also at the hands of your fellow-countrymen in the very same way as they did at 15 the hands of the Jews-who killed both the Lord Jesus and the prophets, and harassed ourselves, who please not God, and are against all men, 16 who forbid us to speak to the Gentiles for their salvation; and all, that they may fill up their sins evermore. [The Wrath has come upon them at last.] 17

5 you,

But when we were bereft of you, brothers, for a short while--distant in person, not in affection-we endeavoured more and more eagerly to see 18 you with great longing. (We did desire to come to you, I Paul once 19 and again, yet Satan hindered us.) For who is our hope or joy or wreath 20 to exult in-who if not you-before our Lord Jesus at his arrival? Yes, 3 1 indeed, you are our credit and joy. Therefore, unable to bear it 2 any longer, we preferred to be left behind at Athens by ourselves; sending Timotheus, our brother and God's minister in the gospel of Christ, to 3 establish and encourage you for the furtherance of your faith, that no one should be shaken by these distresses. For you know yourselves that we 4 are destined to this; indeed we told you beforehand, when we were with "We are to suffer distress." And so it befel, as you know. For my part then, unable to bear it any longer, I sent in order to learn your faith, in case after all the tempter had tempted you, and our labour proved in vain. 6 But when Timotheus reached us a moment ago from you, bringing us the good news of your faith and love, and of how you always have a kindly 7 remembrance of us, longing to see us as we long to see you, then amid all our trouble and distress we were cheered about you, brothers, by 8 your faith. This is life to us now, if you stand firm in the Lord. 9 Yes! how can we render thanks to God for you, for all the joy we have 10 on your account before our God? Night and day we pray especially 11 to see you and to supply the deficiencies of your faith. May our God and Father himself, and our Lord Jesus, direct our way to you! 12 And may the Lord make you increase and excel in love to one another 13 and to all men (as we also do to you), to establish your hearts blameless in holiness before our God and Father at the arrival of our Lord Jesus with all his saints!

4 1

5

you

Well, then, brothers, our prayer and appeal to you in the Lord Jesus is to excel more and more in walking, as you received word from us how you ought to walk, so as to please God-and as, indeed, you are walking. 2, 3 You know the charges we gave you by the Lord Jesus. For it is God's 4 will that you be holy, that you abstain from fornication, that each of learn to possess his own wife in chastity and honour, not in the 6 appetite of lust like the Gentiles who know not God, to prevent any man overreaching and taking advantage of his brother in this affair; since, as we told you before and testified to you, God is the avenger in all these 7 matters. For God did not call us to be impure; his is a holy calling. 8 Therefore he who contemns this, contemns not man so much as God who 9 gives you his holy Spirit. But in regard to brotherly love you have no need of anyone to write to you. You are yourselves taught by God to 10 love one another; indeed, you act thus to all the brothers in all Macedonia. Still we exhort you, brothers, to excel more and more in 11 that; also to make it your ambition to live quietly, to mind your own 12 affairs, and as we charged you to work with your hands, so as to behave yourselves with propriety to those outside and be dependent on

no one.

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