This book addresses an important issue in Thessalonian research that has hitherto received inadequate scholarly attention: the conflict relations between Christians and non-Christians in Thessalonica. By engaging in careful exegesis of pertinent texts and by drawing upon ancient literary parallels and the social-scientific study of deviance and conflict, Still is able to spell out in some detail the specifics and the dynamics of Paul's and his Thessalonian converts' clash with outsiders. In this study, he shows that the conflict (thlipsis) in Thessalonica was rather complex-having varied origins, multiple causes, and mixed effects. As a result, this work not only provides a nuanced analysis of the conflict in Thessalonica, but also demonstrates that the Thessalonian correspondence can be best read when insider and outsider interaction is kept clearly in view.

Paul's two letters to the Thessalonians stand as some of the very earliest Christian documents, yet they appear well into Paul's missionary career, giving them a unique context well worth exploring. In this first full-scale socio-rhetorical commentary on 1 and 2 Thessalonians, Ben Witherington gleans fresh insight from reading Paul's text in the light of rhetorical concerns and patterns, early Jewish theology, and the first-century historical situation in Macedonia. Witherington's distinctive socio-rhetorical approach helps unearth insights that would otherwise remain hidden using only form criticism, epistolary categories, and traditional criticism. Witherington details Thessalonica's place as the "metropolis" of Macedonia, and he carefully unpacks the social situation of Paul and his recipients. Scholars will appreciate the careful analysis and rhetorical insights contained here, while Witherington's clear prose and sensitivity to Paul's ideas make this work ideal for all who desire a useful, readable commentary on 1 and 2 Thessalonians.

Paul is a polarizing figure in biblical history. He was stubborn. He was opinionated. He was an obstinate man. Many women distrust him because some of the language in today's world appears to be misogynistic and advocating for the suppression of women. Others accuse him of being in favor of slavery. However, it is to his own Jewish people that Paul creates the most antipathy and the most divisiveness. Was Paul an anti-Semite? Was Paul a self-hating Jew? Was Paul misunderstood and wrongly accused? This is the debate that has been raging for almost two millennia. Paul's Conundrum seeks to answer these questions through an analysis of his two most controversial passages--1 Thessalonians 2:13-16 and Romans 9:1-5. Amy Downey has sought to reconcile these passages through a conservative, evangelical approach that not only considers the Jewish man Paul, but also Paul the Apostle of Messiah Jesus. Downey considers the historical setting of the two passages, analyzes the exegesis of the passages in question, and seeks to respond to three separate but unique theological controversies that arise out of these letters. Hopefully by the end of this book, the reader will be left with only one question: "Just how far was Paul willing to go to realize the salvation of the Jewish people?"