The Intimacy of Paul to the Thessalonians in 1Thess. 2: 7b-12

In one of the earliest documents of Christianity, in a highly patriarchal society, when addressing Gentile Christians, Paul did not hesitate to liken himself not only to a father, but also to a woman who cares for her own children. In contrast to itinerant philosophers, he did not only preach, but by the example of his life showed love for them, even to the point of sacrificing his being. The metaphor of the mother relates among other things with the admonition to avoid prostitution and the koinonia of all during and after the Last Judgment. In the oldest document of Christianity, Paul speaks to Christians of all nations and does not stop, in a upmost Patriarchal society, trying to assimilate himself with the image of a woman in the way she nurtures and cares for her own children. He does not simply preach, but unlike the wandering philosophers, he has such calmness, compassion and love for them in which he gives his soul, his being. Simultaneously, he is a father, since with his example and sayings, he teaches everyone, individually, to stay away from iniquity and prays unceasingly. The presentation of the sender as a mother and father of the recipients, brothers of the newborn Church of Thessaloniki, relates to the call to stay away from harlotry and that everybody will coexist during and after the Second Coming of our Lord. Translation by: Nikolaos Georgantonis Streszczenie: W jednym z najstarszych dokumentów chrześcijaństwa, w bardzo patriarchalnym społeczeństwie, apostoł Paweł zwracając się do Chrześcijan z pogan, nie waha się upodobnić nie tylko do ojca, ale także kobiety, która jako niania dba o własne dzieci. W przeciwieństwie do wędrownych filozofów, apostoł Paweł nie tylko nauczał słowem, lecz i przykładem swojego życia ukazywał łagodność, dobroczynność i miłość, ofiarowując swoją duszę i życie. Metafora matki związana jest między innymi z upomnieniem, aby unikać prostytucji i tworzyć wspólnotę wszystkich w trakcie życia doczesnego i po Sądzie Ostatecznym. W najstarszym dokumencie chrześcijaństwa, Paweł mówi do chrześcijan wszystkich narodów, nie zatrzymuje się na społeczeństwie patriarchalnym, lecz stara się zasymilować z obrazem kobiety piastunki, i tak jak ona karmić i troszczyć się o własne dzieci. On nie tylko głosił, ale w przeciwieństwie do wędrujących filozofów, miał taki spokój, współczucie i miłość do tych ludzi, dla których oddawał swoją duszę i całe swoje istnienie. Jednocześnie, ukazuje się w postaci ojca, ponieważ jego przykład i słowa, uczyły wszystkich, indywidualnie, pozostawania z dala od nieprawości i nieustannej modlitwy. Prezentacja autora listu jako matki i ojca odbiorców, braci rodzącego się Kościoła w Salonikach, związane jest w związane było z wezwaniem do pozostawiania z dala od nierządu, i skłonienia adresatów do zgodnego współistnienia we wspólnocie zarówno przed, jaki i po drugim przyjściu naszego Pana.

In this exposition I will examine (1) the structure of the Section 2:7b-13 and the rhetoric strategy of Paul, (2) the meaning and the purpose of the comparison of the apostle with nurse and father, (3) the behavior of the itinerant philosophers in the graeco-roman world, (4) his intimacy with Thessalonians in the Makrotext of the epistle and (5) the reasons for this behavior.
The first conclusion is that the image of the nurse who cares for her own children constitutes the heart of the third subunit which is as well located in the core of the first section of the entire epistle. This part, distinguished for its well-done chiastic structure, exposes the status and personal ethos of the apostles towards the Thessalonians from the beginning until that time. The question is why Paul projects by this way his ethos and the one of the Gospel. The answer is essential to decode the meaning and the intention of the metaphors. From the epilogue of the first section and principally of the one of the entire epistle, we 9 With A' he recalls simultaneously the initial praise of his work (1:2) in which he mentions the work of faith through love (τοῦ ἔργου τῆς πίστεως καὶ τοῦ κόπου τῆς ἀγάπης vgl. Gal. 5:6) followed by its dispersal. Now in this second mention he speaks of the work of God's word within the audience, as they received God's word from us (Paul and associates)-παρ᾽ ἡμῶν του Θεού. The word of God works within those who continue to believe (not just those who believed) to which the writer refers in plural (in you).
conclude that one of the main targets of the 1 Thes. is the following: all 10 the brothers and sisters Thessalonians to be wholly sanctified and their spirit (higher mental functions), soul (lower mental functions) 11 and body preserved blameless at the coming of the Lord Jesus Christ with all his saints. This goal however presupposes trust in the word of Paul and fides/fidelity to his person and his motives. The confidence by the Thessalonians in him and his word is according to 3:6 high. For some ὀλιγοψύχους (feebleminded 5:14) however the trust must had been shaken through the afflictions, his bodily absence, the delay of the Parousia, the death of some brothers etc. For this reason it is important for him to strengthen first the bond between him and his entire audience and then to start the exhortating part with Λοιπὸν οὖν, ἀδελφοί, ἐρωτῶμεν ὑμᾶς καὶ παρακαλοῦμεν ἐν κυρίῳ Ἰησοῦ, ἵνα καθὼς παρελάβετε παρ᾽ ἡμῶν τὸ πῶς δεῖ ὑμᾶς περιπατεῖν καὶ ἀρέσκειν Θεῷ, καθὼς καὶ περιπατεῖτε, ἵνα περισσεύητε μᾶλλον (4:1) 12 . This is why Paul follows the strategy of deliberative rhetoric 13 with elements of the epideictic one. He (1) uses captatio benevolentiae, (2) remindes the Gospel and its energy and (3) emphasizes the ethos of him (the sender) and his Gospel using as core the Verses v. 7b-8 where he proclaims his maternal feelings!
ly (1:6)/of the Lord (2:8) and (iii) Παράκλησις (2:3) as comfort (apparently because it rescues from the wrath) and exhortation 14 . If the meaning of the Gospel is so important, the question 15 is why then Paul in v. 7b-8 desires to transmit not only this but also his psyche to the recipients. Is the Gospel not sufficient to strengthen the brothers and sisters at Thessaloniki in the present? The core of Pauls' argumentation about his ethos, however, refers not only to the past but to the present and the future as well 16 . The same verb μεταδοῦναι is used by him in Rom. 1:11 where he expresses the same wish for communication face to face. The object, however, is the χάρισμα because the receivers aren't familiar with him. Therefore by the verses 1 Thes. 2:7b-8 he doesn't relativiert the value of his Gospel but (a) he expresses his extreme love which isn' t limited in the orally teaching (which suits to an apostle of a Kyrios who has died for us 5:10) and (b) he prepares his audience for the following section of his epistle which expresses his desire for personal communication. In any case the inhalt both of the pauline Gospel and the psyche was the same: Jesus Christ and his Spirit. 2. Frequent is also the use of the lexems οἴδατε-know 17 and γίνεσθαι (1:5-7 [3Χ]; 2:1.5.7.8.10.14) in the past tense. The first verb has as subject the ὑμεῖς/you and the second apart from four times (1:6-7; 2:8.14) 18 the apostles and the characteristics of their preaching as they appeared during their first entry (είσοδος 2Χ) in the city. Therefore as witnesses to testify the allegations of Paul are mentioned not only God (v. 2:5b.10) but also the epistle receivers themselves, who are named already in 1:4 as ἀδελφοὶ ἠγαπημένοι ὑπὸ [τοῦ] Θεοῦ! (see also 2:1.9.14) 19 . This means that the author probably defends himself and his word against derogatory comments and/or accusations which are emanated not from insiders but rather from outsiders: either from the compatriots of Thessalonians  18 The subject in these verses is the Thessalonians and the main motif is the mimesis. 19 Paul doesn't hesitate to boost the Thessalonians' self-confidence in 4:9 also with: But concerning brotherly love you have no need that I should write to you, for you yourselves are taught by God to love one another and 2 αὐτοὶ γὰρ ἀκριβῶς οἴδατε-For you yourselves know perfectly (5:2). By this way the apostle shows that he faces the recipients not as immature children but reliable witnesses who remember and know. Maybe Paul feels that their self-confidence is a way of resistance to the disgrace of their environment. from the Greek environment where Paul declares the gospel of God 20 . At any case through the reminding of these πίστεις (proofs/convictions) of the past, he does strengthen the confidence of these insiders who need encouragement and identity markers. For this reason he reminds also in the next section that καὶ γὰρ ὅτε πρὸς ὑμᾶς ἦμεν, προελέγομεν ὑμῖν ὅτι μέλλομεν θλίβεσθαι, καθὼς καὶ ἐγένετο καὶ οἴδατε (3:4). The fulfillment of a prophecy was a pistis with high importance in ancient rhetoric 21 . 3. The πίστεις are strengthened by using negative cause + (ἀλλὰ/but)+ thesis + καθώς/as: a. didn't come in word only (1:5), the entry of them wasn't vain (2:1: κενή 24 ; comp. 3:5) while the Paraclese of theirs didn't come from i) error ii) uncleanness iii) in deceit. In 2:10 Paul expresses the same things positively: ὡς ὁσίως καὶ δικαίως καὶ ἀμέμπτως ὑμῖν τοῖς πιστεύουσιν ἐγενήθημεν. With πλάνη/error and ἀκαθαρσία/uncleanness Paul probably means failure in dogma (doctrine about God) for the first and the interactive failure in ethical conduct for the second 25 . With ἐν δόλῳ /In deceit 26 he refers to the motive of preaching, that is why it is presented with ἐν/in. Δόλος 27 / Deceit is linked with the use of i) flattering words ii) greediness and iii) seeking glory from men (2:5-6). While λόγος κολακείας 28 /flattering words is linked to the previous v.4b through γὰρ/But, the absence of πλεονεξία (something that God is called upon to testify!) 29 and of the the desire of glory are connected with the following phrase: δυνάμενοι ἐν βάρει 30 εἶναι ὡς Χριστοῦ ἀπόστολοι 31 . Βάρος can mean the financial charge (comp. ἐπιβαρῆσαι of v. 2:9; 2Thes. 3:8) and/or having honor (2 Cor. 4:17). Both of them were acclaimed not only by the supposedly philosophers but also by the legati of Caesar who used also the theme of Angaria (compulsory service). The agents of the Arisen from Hades, who comes as the True Kyrios from Heaven introducing his own Kingdom-Imperium and glory, could not only be supported by other Christians (as stated in 1 Cor. 9; 2 Cor. 11-12 and Luk. 10:7) but they could also acclaim honor/δόξα.

Paul as a beneficent nurse and father
Paul culminates his argumentation with ἀλλὰ ἐγενήθημεν (ν)ήπιοι ἐν μέσῳ ὑμῶν to support that he selected the completely opposite style of ἐν βάρει εἶναι (which presupposes something/someone that is above us)! 32 The problems with this phrase are the following: a) did the original text have ήπιος or νήπιος-child according to Nestle Aland's text and b) ὡς ἐὰν τροφὸς θάλπῃ τὰ ἑαυτῆς τέκνα 24 About the meaning of κενός see Gerber, Paulus und seine 'Kinder' 271 Αnm. 81 25 As it is showed in Rom. 1-2 (also see Sap. 13-15) for him these two are interacted.

26
Αt this point in the Greek text the writer might be engaging in a wordplay between λόγος and δόλος κολακείας.

31
The term βάρος/burden connected to demands as apostles of Christ can refer to glory but also to the financial burden of their support. V.9 states clearly that the term βάρος-demands in δυνάμενοι ἐν βάρει εἶναι ὡς Χριστοῦ ἀπόστολοι-we might have made demands as apostles of Christ mean the burden of their financial support. 32 We have already seen that v. 2:7b-8 constitute the heart of the argumentation in the entire 2:1-13. should be connected with v. 7b 33 or v. 8 34 as Nestle Aland's text suggests contrary to its own previous edition?

36
As we see in Luke. 10:21 child-νήπιος is used opposite to wise/ intelligent, while in Rom. 2:10 the word is used for proselytes. In Gal. 4: 1-3 and Eph. 4: 14 the author calls the receivers juveniles and the Corinthians (1 Cor. 3:1 see also Heb. 5:12-14) as well during their early days as Christians especially since they were quarreling: And I, brethren, could not speak to you as to spiritual people but as to carnal, as to babes in Christ. 2 I fed you with milk and not with solid food; for until now you were not able to receive it, and even now you are still not able; 3 or you are still carnal. For where there are envy, strife, and divisions among you, are you not carnal and behaving like mere men? Even to this day the young Christian is a juvenile in mind by standards of faith: When I was a child, I spoke as a child, I understood as a child, I thought as a child; but when I became a man, I put away childish things (1 Cor. 13:11). Brethren, do not be children in understanding; however, in malice be babes, but in understanding be mature (1 Cor. 14: 20). In any occasion the word child is connected to the lack of knowledge.

38
There is a strongly attested variant νήπιοι ("infants") read by P 65 * B C * D * F G I Ψ * pc lat vet vg.ww cop sa.cod bo Clem.Al. The reading ἤπιοι ("gentle") is attested by c A C 2 D 2 Ψ c Βyz lat vg.st cop sa.codd The variation is due either to haplography or dittography of ν. It is the sense that is decisive for ἤπιοι, although νήπιοι is preferred by Nestle-Aland 26 . Crawford retains νήπιοι but construes it as vocative, addressed to the Thessalonian Christians. C. is the oldest one yet not the most difficult as we will explain further. Maybe the reason for its establishment is not just Dittography but also the following influence of the synoptic tradition which is visible also in 5:2-3 39 : 1. The child version in conjunction with the demand for glory, recalls to the copyists the answer of Jesus in Mark 9:33-37 (= Mt. 18:1-5; Lk. 9:46-48; John 3:3.5; 13:20) on the way to Passion: 33 Then He came to Capernaum. And when He was in the house He asked them, "What was it you disputed among yourselves on the road?" 34 But they kept silent, for on the road they had disputed among themselves who would be the greatest. 35 And He sat down, called the twelve, and said to them, "If anyone desires to be first, he shall be last of all and servant of all. " 36 Then He took a little child and set him in the midst of them. And when He had taken him in His arms, He said to them, 37 "Whoever receives one of these little children in My name receives Me; and whoever receives Me, receives not Me but Him who sent Me. » A child is presented as the model for the apostles, one being that by society standards and Jewish Law, is meaningless, immature and imbecile. Paul did the same with his own disciples 40 .
2. The seventy apostles in Luke 10:21(Q=Mt. 11:25-27) cause rejoice to Jesus who thanks the Father because contrary to the wise and intelligent they are like infants who receive divine revelations: In that hour Jesus rejoiced in the Spirit and said, "I thank You, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, that You have hidden these things from the wise and prudent and revealed them to babies. Even so, Father, for so it seemed good in Your sight. Here we have rejoice, thankfulness and revelation, elements that we also meet in 1 Thess.
For the reasons above, we prefer the word ἤπιος which also appears in 2 Tim. 2:24-25 as opposite to quarrelsome, referring to Christian leaders: And a servant of the Lord must not quarrel but be gentle to all, able to teach, patient, in humility correcting those who are in opposition, if God perhaps will grant them repentance, so that they may know the truth 44 . But the term ἤπιος does not have the aforementioned meaning in our passage since it is used against ambition and greediness 45 . For this reason I don't agree as well with A.J. Malherbe 46 who suggests that the ἠπιότης to which the writer appeals here, forms a designed contrast to the harshness (σκληρότης) characteristic of one type of itinerant Cynic, who could not distinguish scurrilous reproach (ὀνειδισμός) from admonition (νουθεσία) and had recourse to the former when the latter was required (Dio, Oratio 32).
To understand the complete meaning of term ήπιος we must investigate its use in Homer where it refers to the ideal Leader and the effecthistory (Wirkungsgeschichte) of this phrase on the following literature.  .6 -17.a.7).
From the aforementioned quotes we conclude that ἤπιος stands not only for having or showing a mild, kind, or tender temperament or character but (as betrays its etymology too) has the connotation of εὐεργετικός-beneficent (as antonym to πλεονέκτης/εν βάρει είναι) 49 too. Possibly this phrase of Odyssey, which along with Iliad was the most popular reading in Greco-roman society, had become some kind of motto for the fundamental virtue of the leader: acting like a benevolent and beneficient father. Clement of Rome remarks: Ὁ οἰκτίρμων κατὰ πάντα καὶ εὐεργετικὸς Πατὴρ ἔχει σπλάγχνα ἐπὶ τοὺς φοβουμένους αὐτόν ἠπίως τε καὶ προσηνῶς τὰς χάριτας αὐτοῦ ἀποδιδοῖ τοῖς προσερχομένοις αὐτῷ ἁπλῇ διανοίᾳ (I Cl. 23.1 . see Diogn. 7.4).
Paul, the founder and the 'leader' of the Thessalonian church, in his most ancient document does not refer directly to the scriptures (Old Testament) at all but uses familiar to the audience's ears terms drawing upon the greek literature such as θάλπω or στέγω (3:1.5) or σαίνεσθαι (3:3). Having knowledge of the aforementioned motto, he uses it because it also corresponds to the distinctive Old Testament virtue of the Sheppard, πραότητα 50 . This virtue (meekness-Πραΰτης ‫ע‬ ֲ ‫נ‬ ָ ‫ו‬ ָ ‫ה‬ `anvah) which both Moses (Num. 12:3) and David (Ps. 131:1 Lxx) possessed, doesn't only signify courteousness in manners but also humility and charity. Jesus himself fulfilled Zechariah's prophecy (9:9; Mt.21:5; John 12:15) about the entrance of the meek king to Jerusalem and blessed the meek as well 51 . In the Lxx the term meek stands for the Jewish term Anawim which defines the poor people of God that many Jewish sects had as model 52 .
Obviously, Paul associates himself to the Lord as a father figure and feels that he embodies the virtue of πραΰτης which however 'translates' for his greek audience with the word ἤπιος.Yet in this context he portraits himself as a nurse, not as a father because he wants to present by a unique way in the ancient literature his extreme love and care in contrast to those who use flattering speech or had greedy motives or seek glory from people. Instead of using the above motto πατὴρ ὣς ἤπιος ἦεν-a gentle father he was, he creates a new metaphor: ἤπιος ὡς ἐὰν τροφὸς θάλπῃ τὰ ἑαυτῆς τέκνα-just as a nursing mother cherishes her own children. He Gal. 1:15) presents himself as a nursing woman who doesn't forget her child and saves Israel with her compassion.
What is strange is the fact that Paul feels nursing love not for the chosen people of Israel (who accuses with hard words in the next paragraph) but for the Gentiles who now populate the Church and are carried by the Apostle to the Imperium of God the Father. He acts as a τροφός-nurse who θάλπει-cares especially for her own children 55 . I believe that he uses the word τροφός 56 and not μητέρα 57 because the emphasis in this context is not on the birth 58 but on the Gospel which didn't come ἐν λόγῳ μόνον, ἀλλὰ καὶ ἐν δυνάμει καὶ 53 In 2 Κgs 10:1 τιθηνός is the foster-father. 54  From the metapher καὶ ὡς Δημοκράτης εἴκασεν τοὺς ῥήτορας ταῖς τίτθαις αἳ τὸ ψώμισμα καταπίνουσαι τῷ σιάλῳ τὰ παιδία παραλείφουσιν (Arist., Rhet. 1407a.8-10) but also from the urging of the Pseudo-Plutarch to the mothers to feed themselves their own babies (see next footnote), we conclude that the main characteristic of the behavior of the nurse to the 'other' children was that they showed ὑποβολιμαίαν καὶ παρέγγραπτον εὔνοιαν. They problem also wasn't only that they became salary for their services, but didn't show real love, which in contrast is the characteristic of Paul, who continues with the phrase οὕτως ὁμειρόμενοι… 56 From the Patristic Lexicon of Lambe results that not only the rabbis but also the church Fathers avoid to characterize themselves as τροφός.
ἐν Πνεύματι Ἁγίῳ καὶ ἐν πληροφορίᾳ πολλῇ 59 (1:5). Also it functioned as η τροφή 60 -the milk to the newborn. With θάλπω (which originally means to heat) 61 possibly is implied the transmission especially of the Holy Spirit which in 5:19 is pictured as fire 62 . At the same time just like a mother he longs his own children and can't bear being apart from them: So being affectionately desirous of you, we will to impart unto you, not the gospel of God only, but also our own souls, because you were dear unto us (2:8). In the direct future he wants (εὐδοκεῖ) not only to feed them with the Gospel but also to offer his psyche/existence 63 which is a characteristic particularly of the mother as Plutarch proves in his Περὶ τῆς εἰς τὰ ἔγγονα φιλοστοργίας (De amore prolis) 64 . In this sense he differentiates himself absolutely from the itinerant philosophers and functions κατ' εικόνα of his Lord who died for us (5:10) 65 .
Based on what has been said, we interpret 2:7b-8 as follows: Ἀλλὰ ἐγενήθημεν ἤπιοι ἐν μέσῳ ὑμῶν ὡς ἐὰν τροφὸς θάλπῃ τὰ ἑαυτῆς τέκνα. 8 65 It comes as a surprise that even at this point he does not refer to the Cross at all, the climax of sacrificing love. Is it possible because it was an abomination for the enemies of the Thessalonians' Church? Did he hesitate to link faith to scandal in his first epistle? It is well known that in the future he will emphasize the significance of the Cross, mocking human wisdom and logic with it.
Finally in v. 10-12, where the ethos of the apostles is positively portrayed (that is without the negative pronouns of 2:3), Paul presents himself not as a mother who is responsible particularly for the first years of the human existence but as a father 71 who undertakes according to Plutarch's De

68
In some manuscripts the tense is '' corrected'' , that is turned back to past tense.

69
Ἐν πολλῇ ἐπιθυμίᾳ is synonym with ὁμειρόμενοι ὑμῶν.The phrase τίς γὰρ ἡμῶν ἐλπὶς ἢ χαρὰ ἢ στέφανος καυχήσεως-[…] ὑμεῖς γάρ ἐστε ἡ δόξα ἡμῶν καὶ ἡ χαρά corresponds to διότι ἀγαπητοὶ ἡμῖν ἐγενήθητε. According to Plutarch 480.C.2-5 οὔτε γὰρ φιλόλογος πατὴρ οὕτως οὔτε φιλότιμος οὔτε φιλοχρήματος γέγονεν ὡς φιλότεκνος. 70 About the modern exegetes who consider that the Parents-Children metaphor continues in 2:17-20 see Gerber, Paulus und seine 'Kinder' 314 Anm. 287. 71 He has already done so by stating himself as an example to them in 1:6. amore prolis the ἀνατροφή (= upbriging) 72 : You are witnesses, and God also, how devoutly (referring to faith in God) and justly (referring to the relationship with other people) and blamelessly (refers to the way they conducted) we behaved ourselves among you who believe; 11 as you know how we (i) exhorted, and (ii) comforted, and (iii) charged every one of you (παρακαλοῦντες ὑμᾶς καὶ παραμυθούμενοι καὶ μαρτυρόμενοι), as a father does his own children, 12 that you would walk worthy of God who calls you into His own kingdom and glory 73 . According to Gerber the ethical exhortation of the children was a Jewish custom par excellence 74 . I believe that the instruction was as well a custom for the Greek low classes (to which belong the recipients of the epistle) who didn't have the financial opportunity (the tyche according to Pseudo-Plutarch, Περί Παίδων Ἀγωγῆς 8e) to employ a paidagogos. According to Burke in this verse Paul is employing a metaphor of unambiguous superiority 75 . The meaning however of a metaphor is also given from the context: Paul focuses here on his personal relationship with each one of his receivers while he emphasizes that his exhortation and encouragement didn't aim to his own glory but that is worthy of God's call to His Kingdom-Imperium and His Kabod/ Glory 76 . The verb παρακαλοῦντες ὑμᾶς in combination with καὶ παραμυθούμενοι (which in 5:14 refers to ὀλιγοψύχους) 77 , which are used also in the paraenetic section of 1Thes. 78 (and by this verse the audience is prepared for this), don't declare the superiority (as it happens with παραγγέλομεν 2 Thes. 3:6) but according to Chrysostom the ἄτυφον of the apostle 79 and his love and his care for people who need con- (A.D. 5/6) (894.) π α ρ η γ ο ρ ε ῖ · παρακαλεῖ, παραμυθεῖ(ται). Lexicon Vindobonense, (A.D. 14) παρακαλῶ ἀντὶ τοῦ καθικετεύω. Λ ι β ά ν ι ο ς · καὶ Μενέλεως παρακαλῶν ἀπῆλθεν ἄπρακτος. καὶ ἀλλαχοῦ ὁ α ὐ τ ό ς · τὸ μὲν πρῶτον παρεκάλουν αὐτὴν τίκτειν ἡσυχῆ. καὶ παρακαλῶ ἀντὶ τοῦ καθέλκω. Λ ο υ κ ι α ν ό ς · παρακαλοῦμαί σε τραύματος εἰς Ἄρειον πάγον. καὶ Ε ὐ ρ ι π ί δ η ς · παρακαλεῖ δ' ἐκεῖθεν αὖ λύπη τις ἄλλη. καὶ παρακαλῶ τὸ παραμυθοῦμαι. 77 Together with μαρτυρόμενοι they build a climactic trias. Μαρτυρόμενοι is used to underline the fact that the Kerygma which rescues us from the coming wrath is not a simple consolation but it has the characteristics of μαρτυρία-certification.
It is clear that in the passage of 1 Thes. dominant is the authority of God while in the second the one of the sender. Paul's word in 1Thes.2 was not accepted because the receivers have recognized in the word of Paul the logos of God who in the passage 2:1-13 is mentioned 12 times!: Καὶ διὰ τοῦτο καὶ ἡμεῖς εὐχαριστοῦμεν τῷ Θεῷ ἀδιαλείπτως, ὅτι παραλαβόντες λόγον ἀκοῆς παρ᾽ ἡμῶν τοῦ Θεοῦ ἐδέξασθε οὐ λόγον ἀνθρώπων ἀλλὰ καθώς ἐστιν ἀληθῶς λόγον Θεοῦ, ὃς καὶ ἐνεργεῖται ἐν ὑμῖν τοῖς πιστεύουσιν (2:13). Note that at the beginning of the exhortation the apostle will remark: οἴδατε γὰρ τίνας παραγγελίας ἐδώκαμεν ὑμῖν διὰ τοῦ κυρίου Ἰησοῦ (4:2) […] τοιγαροῦν ὁ ἀθετῶν οὐκ ἄνθρωπον ἀθετεῖ ἀλλὰ τὸν Θεὸν τὸν [καὶ] διδόντα τὸ Πνεῦμα αὐτοῦ τὸ Ἅγιον εἰς ὑμᾶς (4:8). 80 We conclude that the image of the mother/nurse and her beneficency-love (which stand in the core of the chiasmus in 2:1-12 but also in the prologue of the section 2:13-3:13) is called upon to show that Paul and his own assistants constantly yearn to impart the Thessalonians their own lives (and not only verbal admonitions), while the image of the father is used especially for the personal teaching in the past and comforting facing the Parousia of Jesus. Both express the opposite of seeking glory and profit and simultaneously the unique ethos of Paul and his Paraclese which aims at being sanctified entirely; and may your spirit and soul and body be preserved complete, without blame at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ (5:23).

Paul's intimacy with the audience in Context
Here we will show how Paul presents himself as father in 1 Thess. context: Α. The author does not accompany his name neither with ἀπόστολος-apostle nor with δοῦλος-servant. Apparently he wants them to feel comfortable with him (through avoiding the agitation that accompanies heavy duty titles) and his close attendants that accompanied him in his first travel to the West. He experiences the same afflictions with them and in the epilogue he requests for their prayers (5:25). At this point paradoxically are lacking the personal greetings of Paul and his associates.
Β. He and his companions address τῇ ἐκκλησίᾳ Θεσσαλονικέων ἐν Θεῷ Πατρὶ καὶ κυρίῳ Ἰησοῦ Χριστῷ χάρις ὑμῖν καὶ εἰρήνη 81 . God is called Father 82 and Jesus τότε πατέρων μέμνηται͵ δεικνὺς ὅτι Εἰ καὶ διεμαρτυρόμεθα͵ ἀλλὰ τοῦτο οὐ σφοδρῶς͵ ἀλλ΄ ὡς πατέρες. 80 He is not referred to as Father while the following imitation does not refer to Paul but the churches in Judea. Christ, the Lord perhaps in opposition to Zeus and the emperor (τὸν πατέρα πατρίδος καὶ κύριο . Res Gestae Divi Augusti 37). The living and true God (1:9) is Father par excellence because he has Son who has died for us (5:10) but God has raised him from the dead (1:10). As it is underlined in the Praise which introduces and concludes the first part of the epistle (1:3; 3:13), God is Father of all the Christians (ἡμῶν) so as Jesus is the Lord of us, because of the election 83 . Furthermore he has a special relationship with Paul and the other apostles of Jesus Christ (3:11) who are called συνεργoὶ τοῦ Θεοῦ ἐν τῷ εὐαγγελίῳ τοῦ Χριστοῦ (3:2) since they have been approved and are tested (2:8) 84 . This God will rescue us who await patiently His Second Coming from the coming wrath (1:10). All the believers, the beloved of this Father, who have been orphans away from their compatriots and their families (2:14-17), although they are likely coming from the lower classes of the society, constitute the Ecclesia of the Thessalonians (1:1) with a different πολίτευμα from the equivalent politico-religious institution in the same city 85 . They are Ecclesia in God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ which (phrase) Paul does not typicalepithet pater is closely paralleled by Roman Iu-piter and Indian Dyaus pitar: his role as father must be already IE, not in a theogonical or anthropogonical sense (regardless of the fre quent epic formula "Zeus, falher of men and gods"), but as the Homeric variant Zeus anax, "Lord Zeus", proves, as having (he power of a father in a patriarchal system. This role, which implies unrestricted power as well as its control by father-like benignity, continues as the fundamental role of Zeus in all antiquity and finds expression also in the standard iconography of a bearded but powerful man (934). In the biblical tradition in spite of the popularity of the epithet 'Father' in personal names, the epithet is not common in the texts. God  They aren't a voluntary association (a thiasos of one God or a collegiums) with cultic, professional or funeral purposes. ly use for the opening of an epistle 86 . This (in…) could be linked to the church (1:1b) but also to Grace to you 87 and peace-shalom 88 . The Christians of Thessaloniki (who are not called in this epistle saints) constitute a Church, like the Hebrew Qahal and the Greek Ecclesia, because of the two Divine Personae's initiative (εκλογή v.4 . Κλήση v. 12b) to offer Grace (forgiveness of sins-amnestie) and Peace, one of different quality from that of Pax Romana whose peace is fragile and susceptible to an end as he proclaims in 5:1. Ἐν-in could not only mean the medium, but also the place where the Church is existing and functioning as an entity-a family (comp. 2:14), especially since Paul already experiences being in the presence of God through prayer (1:3; 3:9). Through the final coming of Jesus and the raising of the dead, all Christian will be always σὺν Kυρίῳ (4:17; 5:9-10: ὅτι οὐκ ἔθετο ἡμᾶς ὁ Θεὸς εἰς ὀργὴν ἀλλὰ εἰς περιποίησιν σωτηρίας διὰ τοῦ Kυρίου ἡμῶν Ἰησοῦ Χριστοῦ τοῦ ἀποθανόντος ὑπὲρ ἡμῶν, ἵνα εἴτε γρηγορῶμεν εἴτε καθεύδωμεν ἅμα σὺν αὐτῷ ζήσωμεν). For this reason we must care for our sanctification (4:3) διότι ἔκδικος Kύριος (4:6).
C. At the introductory Praise, the part that responds to Grace and covers three chapters 89 , the words always and without ceasing about the Eucharist (thanksgiving) refer to all the holy brethren in the church 90 and this is emphasized in the epilogue too: Greet all the brethren with a holy kiss. I charge you by the Lord that this epistle be read to all the holy brethren 91 (5:27). What is also obvious is Paul's aim to maintain the feeling of connection between ἡμεῖς-we and all the ὑμεῖς-you by and large. For now this connection is accomplished through the mention in prayer, the Thessalonians and their work of faith, labor of love, and patience of hope (1:2.3) 92 .
D. In this frame, Paul, who in v. Given what is said apart from the faith in God it is also the faith-trust (fides) in Paul that is being verified because, among others, his prophecies are fulfilled. E. In the second part of the Epistle (ch. 4-5) it is clear that Paul wants to differentiate the Church (whose members are the sons of light and sons of the day-5:4.5) through its ethos-ethic from the others who have no hope (4:13) and those who sleep and get drunk at night (5: 6.7). They are the Έθνη who do not know God and live with lustful passion (4:5), destined for wrath and not to obtain salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ (5:9). All church members are brothers who make up a family-community that is different from the Gentile Ecclesia which worships Caesar as Lord and Father of the empire and the world. The Church of Jesus Christ is brought together through i) recognition (for) those who labor among you, and are over you in the Lord and admonish you, ii) be(ing) at peace among yourselves, warn(ing) those who are unruly, comfort(ing) the fainthearted, uphold(ing) the weak and iii) be(ing) patient with all (5:12-14). This Koinonia will be perfected in the future, for we will always be with the Lord.
It is clear of the aforementioned that particularly in the first section of his oldest epistle, Paul underlines the vertical communion of the audience, their relationship with the Living/True God who is Father to his Son who died for us (5: 10) and was resurrected from the dead. He comes back and save us from the coming wrath. Yet the Father is a father to us all. In fact he calls them beloved by God and brothers. That is very important for an audience which had been ostracized from their family and social circle because of their faith in Jesus. Apart from having a new Fa-93 Satan seems to act as a dividing agent in general, not only in Paul's case. 94 στέγω= 1. < (s)teg-cover, pass over in silence (1 Cor 13:7), 2. bear, stand, endure (1 Cor 9:12; perh. 13:7). 95 3:2-3. ther they have a new Lord, not Caesar but Jesus Christ who was also persecuted and died for us. It is His Coming that will change-save the world and that is the Christian hope. Meanwhile he tries to strengthen the horizontal bond between him and his audience because, as the epilogical vers 3:12-13 indicates, this love functions as model in the relations of the members of the Church and as the main factor εἰς τὸ στηρίξαι ὑμῶν τὰς καρδίας ἀμέμπτους ἐν ἁγιωσύνῃ ἔμπροσθεν τοῦ Θεοῦ καὶ Πατρὸς ἡμῶν ἐν τῇ Παρουσίᾳ τοῦ Kυρίου ἡμῶν Ἰησοῦ μετὰ πάντων τῶν ἁγίων αὐτοῦ.

The reasons for the Paul's intimacy
In his next letters to the Churches, where he faces enemies inside the Ecclesia, Paul will demonstrate himself particularly as pater familiae. The example of 1 Cor. where Paul tells that he fed the Corinthians with milk and not with solid food as to carnal, as to babes in Christ (3:14) is quite distinctive. At the end of the epistle's first part (ch. 1-4), Paul separates himself from the instructors in Christ and instead projects the image of the father (also as an invitation for imitation) threatening them with the rod. In this context Timothy is also mentioned and is presented as beloved (the Corinthians too) and faithful: 14 I do not write these things to shame you, but as my beloved children I warn you. 15  While in every other epistle Paul presents himself as pater familias, it is in 1 Thess. that a loving mother ready to share her life and yearning for contact in person is being projected. We have seen that the fact that motherly love surpasses fatherly harshness can be verified through viewing 1 Thess. and 2 Thess. in parallel since in the later Paul acts rather fatherly dealing with problems inside of the Church.
Motherly elements are being shown in his private letter to Philemon. Self-presented as aged (since he was probably near his life's end) Paul writes a warmhearted letter to Philemon for he believes that Onesimus has become a child of his during his imprisonment: yet for love's sake I rather appeal to you-being such a one as Paul, the aged, and now also a prisoner of Jesus Christ-10 I appeal to you for my son Onesimus, whom I have begotten while in my chains, 11 who once was unprofitable to you, but now is profitable to you and to me 12 I am sending him back. You therefore receive him, that is, my own heart, 13 whom I wished to keep with me, that on your behalf he might minister to me in my chains for the gospel.
Why Paul shows such intimacy in the 1 Thes.? From what has been said and from the Data of the Acts (despite the fact that the book was written about 30 years later), we draw the following conclusions: 1. The book of Acts shows that during his stay in the city of Athens (17:18-33) Paul felt strongly the hands of loneliness upon him and the disappointment of the rejection of the Stoics and the Epicourians although he had adjusted his word and his strategy to the city's mental climate. When he arrived in Corinth he confessed that he came in weakness, in fear, and in much trembling (1 Cor.2:3). Luke marks that Paul was filled by the Spirit by the return of his associates from Thessaloniki: After Silas and Timothy had come from Macedonia, Paul was compelled by the Spirit (Acts 18:5). In I Thes. 3:7-8 he points out: διὰ τοῦτο παρεκλήθημεν, ἀδελφοί, ἐφ᾽ ὑμῖν ἐπὶ πάσῃ τῇ ἀνάγκῃ καὶ θλίψει ἡμῶν διὰ τῆς ὑμῶν πίστεως ὅτι νῦν ζῶμεν ἐὰν ὑμεῖς στήκετε ἐν Kυρίῳ. The faith (fides) of the Thessalonians towards Paul, his message and the way it was expressed, confirmed that Paul's preaching was not in vein but had πληροφορία πολλή. This had consequences for his self-estimation since it must have rejuvenated Paul who bursts out in thanksgiving which is common in Psalter after a trial. Moreover it must have given him the feeling of spiritual fatherhood and motherhood forging special bonds of friendship. With this psychology he lashes out on (i) the supposedly Greek philosophers (who appeared themselves as doctors of souls) and (ii) intensely on his compatriots, adopting the usual anti-Semitic views of the Greco-roman world, since in Corinth according to Acts he experienced a sundering with the Synagogue (18:4-6). The joy of the apostle was even more because the Thessalonians church with its position was of great importance for the distribution of his preaching since the city not only stood in the midst of via Egnatia, the road that united the West with the nied by the whole house (oikos) or school 104 . In this frame Paul asks: τίς γὰρ ἡμῶν ἐλπὶς ἢ χαρὰ ἢ στέφανος καυχήσεως-ἢ οὐχὶ καὶ ὑμεῖς-ἔμπροσθεν τοῦ κυρίου ἡμῶν Ἰησοῦ ἐν τῇ αὐτοῦ Παρουσίᾳ; (2:19). Maybe Paul also wanted to shout with Isaiah (8:18): Here am I and the children whom the Lord has given me! 105 5. Because of the sentiment that the coming of the Lord is at hand, the epistle itself pictures an apocalyptic and also dualistic way of thought which also requires a powerful family bond so that the battle of the sons of light against the Temper-Satan and his organs can be fought 106 . Characteristic of this apocalyptic way of thought is the coexistence in chap. 2 of passages where it is expressed the extreme love of Paul for his own children with other where he expresses his extreme wrath for his compatriots who persecute him 107 . In this apocalyptic frame Paul aches to make the ostracized Thessalonians understand that they are really his beloved ones. He is also deeply concerned about the sanctification especially of the bodies, an issue which he directly links with the brothers and sisters since πορνεία (fornication and adultery) means taking advantage and defrauding one another. Based on archaeological evidence 108 the cults of Dionysus and Cabei-104 H.S. Versnel, Triumphus: An Inquiry into the Origin, Development and meaning of the Roman Triumph, Leiden: Brill 1970. 105 In the next epistles it feels that the Coming delays, his Churches must be organized and he must defend himself against the false brothers/ tutors. So he appears himself as an authoritative pater familiae. 106 The main prayer of the Christian community, the one that sets it apart from the Synagogue, begins with the word Father and ends with lead us not into temptation but deliver us from evil (Matt 6:13; Luk 11:4). 107 The second subunit of the first part of I rus (both worshiped with orgy ceremonies) were quite famous in Thessaloniki at the time. The Thessalonians had returned from the false gods to the one true God and this action probably cost them dearly on their immediate and professional environments 109 . The risk of returning again to their old habits of sin must have been present daily since their isolation of their environment could be "unbearable". To outweigh the traditional abuse of the sexual instinct and the passions of the flesh, Paul feels that he has not only to preach i) the sanctification through abstaining from πορνεία and ii) loving one another (something most crucial in order to escape the coming wrath), but also to be bodily near to them, feeling in any case his love/koinonia in practice. Note that (1) at the epilogue 3:12-13 τὸ στηρίξαι ὑμῶν τὰς καρδίας ἀμέμπτους ἐν ἁγιωσύνῃ ἔμπροσθεν τοῦ Θεοῦ (who is named as Πατὴρ ἡμῶν) depends on ὑμᾶς δὲ ὁ Κύριος πλεονάσαι καὶ περισσεύσαι τῇ ἀγάπῃ εἰς ἀλλήλους καὶ εἰς πάντας καθάπερ καὶ ἡμεῖς εἰς ὑμᾶς (2) the exhortation against πορνεία is escorted by the parainesis about the φιλαδελφία. Paul knoes that sexual abuses and the Hagiasmos especially of the body (which in second section attracts his concern) cannot be faced with prohibitions but when his brothers and sisters feel really beloved by a maternal way in the frame of their new family. This is why the apostle desires and prays without ceasing to have face to face communication with them and he presents himself not only as father who teaches with his word and example, but also as the mother who actually when ἀπορφανίζεται, ὁμείρεται to see her children to transmit them her life. This intimacy and this familiarity will be perfect by the Parousia. This fact for the others means wrath, for the Christians however that they will be altogether (dead and live), ὁλοτελεῖς (with body also) eternally σὺν Κυρίῳ as Paul four times stresses in ch. 4-5 (4:14.17; 5:10). This fact differentiates the Pauline eschatology from the other and this must be foreshowed in the Ecclesia which lives Ἐν Θεῷ Πατρὶ καὶ Κυρίῳ Ἰησοῦ Χριστῷ.