First and Second Thessalonians

Beverly Roberts Gaventa’s contribution to the Interpretation series offers a distinctively theological and pastoral reading of the Thessalonian correspondence, though it takes several positions that challenge both traditional and technical consensus. Most notably, Gaventa rejects the Pauline authorship of 2 Thessalonians, categorizing it as a later "Deuteropauline" work—a stance that puts her at odds with the robust defenses of authenticity provided by scholars like Fee and Weima. In doing so, she employs a sharp "nuclear holocaust" analogy to describe the negative reaction of those who equate pseudonymity with "a lie," a rhetorical framing that is highly unusual for an academic commentary and serves to distance her from traditionalist readings. Her interpretation is further marked by a socio-rhetorical emphasis on Paul’s familial metaphors (infant, nurse, orphan) as a deliberate subversion of Greco-Roman patriarchal authority, and a nuanced reading of Ioudaioi as "Judeans" in 1 Thessalonians 2:14–16 to mitigate anti-Jewish interpretations. However, her methodology reveals a significant logical tension: she rejects the theory that the "wrath" passage in 1 Thessalonians is a later interpolation specifically due to a lack of manuscript evidence, yet she simultaneously accepts the pseudonymity of 2 Thessalonians despite its own unblemished manuscript tradition. While insightful for its apocalyptic focus and sensitivity to gendered imagery, Gaventa’s work occasionally prioritizes thematic and sociological frameworks over the strict textual and historical rigor found in more technical volumes like those of Wanamaker or Bruce.

This is a succinct theological commentary. Gaventa hits the goals of the series extremely well, and highlights the pastoral and eschatological notes of Paul to the Thessalonians, and how those two dimensions relate to each other.

Gaventa masterfully provides a theological exposition of these letters. She gives special attention to the maternal imagery in these texts (and in Paul in general) and she also addresses Paul’s eschatology more broadly. [Full Review]

 

Louisville: John Knox Press, 1998. Pp. xiv + 138, Cloth, $22.00, ISBN 0804231427. Michael Holmes Bethel College St. Paul, MN 55112 The volumes in the Interpretation commentary series stand apart from most other commentaries in that they seek to explicate not only the meaning of an ancient text but also its significance for modern communities of faith. Gaventa accomplishes both of these tasks with style and excellence, offering an informed and sophisticated reading of the text and a thoughtful, theologically grounded analysis of its contemporary Christian significance. With respect to traditional introductory questions, Gaventa takes a what may be described as a mainstream critical approach. Acts is utilized only to supplement and only when it does not contradict Paul's own account. Paul wrote 1 Thessalonians (including 2:14-16) around 51 C.E. to a congregation composed primarily (if not entirely) of Gentile believers. After briefly noting the welter of suggestions regarding the epistolary, rhetorical, and structural aspects of the letter, Gaventa suggests that it is not a letter of self-defense but (adopting the suggestion of T. H. Olbricht) seeks to consolidate or confirm the Thessalonian disciples in their new faith. 2 Thessalonians is a piece of deliberative rhetoric written near the end of the first century C.E., perhaps by one of Paul's coworkers or students, to encourage its readers to remain steadfast in the face of external persecution and internal problems. [Full Review]