Who Wrote 1 Thessalonians? (Authentic or Forgery?)

Disclaimer: The views and opinions expressed in this article belong to the author and do not necessarily match my own. - Dr. Bart D. Ehrman

Among the writings of the New Testament, 1 Thessalonians has a remarkable historical and scholarly position. Its value, therefore, extends far beyond its modest length: 1 Thessalonians provides an unparalleled window into the beliefs, practices, social composition, and eschatological expectations of the earliest Christ-following communities. Knowing the significance of this book, I want to address the most basic of questions: Who wrote 1 Thessalonians?

In this article, I’ll situate 1 Thessalonians within its historical, social, and literary context, explaining the circumstances surrounding the founding of the Thessalonian community, the issues that prompted the writing of the letter, and the theological concerns it addresses. In doing so, I’ll highlight how a single short letter can illuminate both the lived experience of the earliest Christian communities and some of the methodological foundations of modern New Testament scholarship.

Background: Why Was 1 Thessalonians Written?

Despite its brevity, 1 Thessalonians is a veritable goldmine for historians. Why? Because it was written in 49 or 50 CE, making it the oldest book in the New Testament and the oldest surviving Christian writing of any kind. It therefore gives us a wealth of clues about early Christian beliefs regarding Christ, the Second Coming (Greek: Parousia), and the general resurrection. It also gives us information about how the Christian community in Thessaloniki began, which, in turn, helps us understand how Paul probably formed similar communities in other cities.

Working our way through all the historical evidence, we’ll discover whether or not Paul wrote 1 Thessalonians, as the letter’s author claims. Let’s begin our discussion with what we can figure out from the letter’s content.

Thessaloniki was a port city. It was on the shore of the Aegean Sea in the Roman province of Macedonia in northern Greece. In fact, it was the capital of the province and was therefore dedicated to the Roman imperial cult. However, in the HarperCollins Study Bible, Edgar Krentz notes that despite its ties to Roman power, it remained a Greek city culturally and was governed by Greek law.

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In the first chapter, Paul greets the Thessalonians in a way that is typical of Pauline letters (including those that are likely forgeries) and likewise goes on to tell them how he constantly thanks God for them and prays for them. So far, so good. In 1:8–10, we get our first historical clue about the members of the Thessalonian church:

This reference about idols confirms that this church was made up almost entirely of Gentiles. Why? Because Jews would have worshipped at the Thessalonian synagogue, and idol worship was strictly prohibited for them. This is one of the places where the letters of Paul often come into conflict with the writings about Paul in the book of Acts. According to Acts 17:1–4, Paul and his fellow missionary, Silas, started their visit to Thessaloniki by trying to convert Jews in the local synagogue to Christ:

However, there are reasons to doubt this version of the story. The very fact that Paul in 1 Thessalonians claims that the members of this community formerly worshipped idols means that Jews were not a part of it (or were, at most, a tiny part of it). So if the Thessalonian church was mainly made up of Gentiles, how did Paul initially meet those he converted? That information can be inferred from 2:9:

What does this tell us? Rather than simply remaining idle when he was not preaching, Paul worked to support himself while he was living there. Acts 18:2–3 says he was a tent maker. Paul himself never says this in any of his letters, but since he confirms that he did some kind of work, there is no reason to doubt it. In A Brief Introduction to the New Testament, Bart Ehrman argues that while working, Paul probably met and “talked to his customers, convincing them about the Christian message.” In addition, he probably met other people doing the same kind of manual work and persuaded them to come to the meetings as well.

Paul had evidently started the Thessalonian church, along with fellow missionaries Silvanus (called Silas in Acts) and Timothy, after a bad experience in the city of Philippi (1 Thess 2:2, Acts 16:11-40). They then moved on to other cities, eventually ending up in Athens. In the meantime, however, Paul had begun to worry about how the Thessalonian church was doing in his absence. He therefore sent Timothy to check on them. Timothy returned with a good report (3:6–7), but told Paul that the Thessalonians were worried that Paul had not returned to them (2:17–18). This is why Paul felt the need to write them a letter.

Apparently, when Timothy returned to Paul, he also brought news that the Thessalonians had some questions about Christ’s Second Coming and the general resurrection that was to follow. Specifically, since Paul had left them, a few members of their community had died. Paul believed that Christ’s return was imminent, writing in 1 Corinthians 15:20, for example, that “in fact Christ has been raised from the dead, the first fruits of those who have died.” In other words, he believed that Jesus’ resurrection was the signal that the general resurrection was about to begin. So, the Thessalonians nervously wondered, would those who had already died still be saved?

Why did Paul write 1 Thessalonians? One of the reasons, as Bart Ehrman writes, is that the letter “assures the Thessalonians that they can retain their hope in the apocalyptic end of the world to be brought by Jesus” and that those who have died will be included in the resurrection. In Paul’s own words,

Scholars have long debated what the details of this passage signify, but as David Fox Sandmel writes in the Jewish Annotated New Testament, Paul is “less concerned to provide details of the events of the messiah’s return; he is rather trying to reassure those Thessalonians who are concerned about the ultimate fate of their fellow believers.”

Having understood the occasion and background of 1 Thessalonians, let’s move on to the main question of its authorship.

Who Wrote 1 Thessalonians?

In terms of content, 1 Thessalonians principally addresses themes addressed by Paul in his authentic letters. First and foremost, he talks about the end of the world and the Second Coming of Christ, a topic he will also revisit in 1 Corinthians 15:23–28 and Philippians 3:20–21.

Another topic commonly addressed in authentic Pauline writings is the need to live ethically to prepare for the coming end of the world. In 1 Thessalonians, the focus is on sexual immorality. In 4:3–5, Paul writes

The Greek word translated as “body” in this passage is skeuos, which means “vessel” or “implement.” Bart Ehrman writes that there are good reasons for translating this word as “body,” but that there are equally good reasons for believing that Paul is talking specifically about the male sexual organ. Additionally, some scholars believe it should be translated as “wife,” in the sense of staying faithful to one’s wife (or possibly keeping her under control). Either way, the general meaning of the passage is clear, and it’s a topic Paul addresses in other letters as well, such as 1 Corinthians 5:1–13, 1 Corinthians 6:9–20, Galatians 5:19–21, and Romans 1:24–27.

In short, 1 Thessalonians addresses content that Paul consistently tackles elsewhere as well. The major difference between this letter and many of the other undisputed Pauline letters is that Paul does not rail against false teachers. Remember, though, that this is fairly early in his missionary career, and the Thessalonian community is still relatively new. Because of that, it doesn’t appear that any false teachers had come to the Thessalonian community yet.

In addition to the content of the letter, the writing style of 1 Thessalonians is consistent with the other undisputed Pauline letters. In An Introduction to the New Testament, Raymond Brown writes that the style of the letter is consistent with Paul’s writing style, consisting mainly of short, declarative sentences (“Do not quench the Spirit. Do not despise prophecies”).

All in all, I am comfortable saying that 1 Thessalonians is an undisputed Pauline letter. So far, I’ve been unable to find a single scholar who disagrees with that opinion.

By the way, if you’re interested in learning more about Paul, check out Bart Ehrman’s online course “Paul and Jesus.”

What About 2 Thessalonians?

The letter that purports to be a second letter from Paul to the Thessalonians, on the other hand, is generally believed not to have been written by him. Later on, I’ll write a more detailed article explaining why, but here is a brief summary of the reasons.

In his book Forged: Writing in the Name of God--Why the Bible’s Authors Are Not Who We Think They Are, Bart Ehrman writes that one of the main things differentiating 2 Thessalonians from the 1 Thessalonians is the author’s view of the Second Coming. Specifically, while 1 Thessalonians thinks the end could happen at any moment and will happen unexpectedly, 2 Thessalonians tells the community that they’ll have to wait until certain signs give a clear indication that Christ is coming. These are two very different views.

In addition, the syntactic style of the two letters, that is, the author’s choices in terms of sentence length and arrangement, are very different, according to Darryl Schmidt in The Thessalonian Correspondence: Pauline Rhetoric and Millenarian Piety. Schmidt thus concludes that it is extremely unlikely that the two letters were written by the same person.

Conclusion

The letter known as 1 Thessalonians is a fascinating text. Christians have taken spiritual inspiration and instruction from this letter for 2,000 years. Historians, meanwhile, have learned a lot about early Pauline churches and early Christianity in general from this relatively short document.

It turns out that 1 Thessalonians is not only the first letter of Paul’s that we have, but also the oldest surviving Christian writing of any kind. Written around 49 or 50 CE, it addresses questions from a Christian community that had been recently founded by Paul. Members of the community, expecting the impending arrival of Christ and the end of the world, were now concerned since some of them had died before Christ’s arrival. Would those who have died still be saved?

Paul is able to reassure them: those who have died will in fact be raised with Christ first, followed by those like Paul himself, who are still alive. In addition, Paul encourages them to remain faithful to Christ, especially by remaining pure in the realm of sexuality, in order to be prepared for Christ’s arrival.

In terms of discussions about who wrote 1 Thessalonians,, no scholar of note believes that someone other than Paul did. Its style and content match that of many other undisputed Pauline letters, including Galatians, Romans, and 1 and 2 Corinthians. For scholars, therefore, this letter is a fascinating look into the theological and practical issues confronted by one of the earliest Christian communities formed by Paul.