Abraham J. Malherbe – författare

In A.D. 49, Paul traveled to Thessalonica, a major city in northern Greece, to preach the gospel. A small group of manual laborers responded positively to his message, resulting in the formation of a church. After spending less than three months with his converts, Paul left the city for southern Greece, ending up in Corinth, from where he wrote two letters to the Thessalonians four months or so after he had left them. These epistles are particularly valuable because they reveal the concerns of Christians new to the faith and Paul’s pastoral care as he guides them.Abraham J. Malherbe vividly describes the social, cultural, religious, and philosophical contexts in which the Thessalonians lived, enabling us to better understand Paul’s missives. Detailed introductions to the letters, a new translation, and a lively, enlightening commentary make this an indispensable volume for scholar and layperson alike.

This volume in the Library of Early Christianity series presents primary documents that reveal insights about the ethics and morality of Greco-Roman culture. In so doing, this book provides a foundation for understanding the ethical contexts in which the New Testament was crafted.The Library of Early Christianity is a series of eight outstanding books exploring the Jewish and Greco-Roman contexts in which the New Testament developed.

Comments on the First Edition... Those concerned with Christian beginnings will find Malherbe stimulating and incisive on the New Testament. Robert M. Gratn, Journal of ReligionThe author is a scholar of great learning. I found the footnotes to be extremely useful, and the challenge of the book that a new consesus has emerged is a genuine contribution to continuing debate. Robin Scroggs, Journal of the American Academy of ReligionAn interesting and informed introduction to an important new development in the study of earliest Christianity. - Victor P. Furnish, Perkins JournalThe book constitutes a major challenge to the depictions of early Christianity - especially of the Pauline Wing in earlier scholarly work. - Howard Clark Kee, Reflection

"e;This book deals with Paul's practice rather than his theology. It especially traces the way in which Paul established a church in the important city of Thessalonica, the capital city of the Roman province of Macedonia, maintained contact with it in order to ensure its continuing nurture, and instructed its members on how to care for one another. Rather than simply organize a church, Paul founded, shaped, and nurtured a community. In so doing, he was sensitive to the needs of individuals within the community who had committed themselves to new beliefs and a new way of life. Paul was, in fact, engaged in pastoral care, although he does not describe the enterprise in that manner."e;--from the Introduction

This volume honors Professor Everett Ferguson of Abilene Christian University on the occasion of his sixty-fifth birthday. Reflecting the interests of the honoree, the twenty-one contributions focus on various aspects of the early church and its environment. Together the articles form a broad tapestry of interrelated topics informed from the disciplines of philosophy, patristic theology, archaeology, rhetoric, art, Greco-Roman religion, and biblical studies.