The Hellenization of Dominical Tradition and the Christianization of Jewish Tradition in the Eschatology of 1–2 Thessalonians

Abstract

The eschatological teachings in 1–2 Thessalonians have a common purpose: correction. In 1 Thessalonians Paul wants to correct a disbelief that caused sorrow over the fate of deceased Christians. The author of 2 Thessalonians wants to correct a belief in the immediacy of Christ's return, a belief that may have had its origin in (or at least have been abetted by) exhortations to readiness in 1 Thessalonians. In both letters, earlier traditions come into play for the purposes of correcting the disbelief that caused sorrow, of exhorting the readers to readiness, and of correcting the belief in immediacy. Both dominical and Jewish materials make up these traditions. Though we may take a side-glance at the question of authorship in 2 Thessalonians, an examination of the ways in which the traditions are molded to make the correction in that epistle depends very little on the answer to the question. We shall discover that Paul (whose name will cover the authorship of both letters without prejudice) hellenizes dominical tradition and Christianizes Jewish tradition in order to make his corrections and rein-force his exhortation.

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