Contemporary Research On 1 (& 2) Thessalonians

Study of Paul's Thessalonian correspondence, once a relatively neglected area of research, has, along with other Pauline subjects, begun increasingly to attract the attention of scholars worldwide. This article surveys the more prominent commentaries and extended studies of the Thessalonian correspondence and reviews some of the principal concerns of current Thessalonian research: persecution or alienation, Pauline missionary work and community formation, Acts 17 and the Thessalonian correspondence, the community and its eschatological interests, Paul's early concerns, and, finally, the composite character of 1 Thessalonians and the pseudonymity of 2 Thessalonians. An extended bibliography concludes the survey.