1.3–10
: A thanksgiving prayer with apocalyptic expectations.
One long sentence in Greek, this thanksgiving prayer (cf. 2.13
) relates the community's progress and concludes with an apocalyptic commentaryon the vindication of the believers.
Vivid descriptionsfirst applied to God in the Hebrew Bible now communicate something about the end‐time appearance ofJesus
(cf. the angels in Zech 14.5
; the flaming fire in Isa 66.15–16
; glorified in Ps 89.7
).
1.1–2 : Salutation.
The epistolary opening is similar to the one in 1 Thess with the exception of a longer greeting.
1 :
On Silvanus and Timothy, see 1 Thess 1.1 .
1.3–10 : A thanksgiving prayer with apocalyptic expectations.
One long sentence in Greek, this thanksgiving prayer (cf. 2.13 ) relates the community's progress and concludes with an apocalyptic commentaryon the vindication of the believers.
3–4 :
2 Thess, like 1 Thess (cf. 1 Thess 1.3n. ), has a triad, but 2 Thessspeaks of faith, love, and steadfastness (not hope).
4 :
Both persecutions and afflictions refer to suffering,but the first, with a focus on external suffering, is more specific than the latter.
7–10 :
Vivid descriptionsfirst applied to God in the Hebrew Bible now communicate something about the end‐time appearance ofJesus (cf. the angels in Zech 14.5 ; the flaming fire in Isa 66.15–16 ; glorified in Ps 89.7 ).
10 :
The writer's allusion to that day anticipates 2.1–12 , a refutation of the claim that the day of the Lord had already occurred.
1.11–12 : God's election.
In prayer form, the writer describes God's role in bringing to fruition a callin the believers' lives.
12 :
Again, the writer draws on Isaiah ( 66.5 ), but avers that Jesus (not God, as inIsaiah) will be glorified.