Worksheet for Exegeting a Text
 Week 3: Proem
1 Thessalonians 1:2-10
Last revised: 1/15/01
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Text:
 

     1.2 Eujcaristou'men tw'/ qew'/ pavntote peri; pavntwn uJmw'n mneivan poiouvmenoi ejpi; tw'n proseucw'n hJmw'n, ajdialeivptw"Ô 1.3 mnhmoneuvonte" uJmw'n tou' e[rgou th'" pivstew" kai; tou' kovpou th'" ajgavph" kai; th'" uJpomonh'" th'" ejlpivdo" tou' kurivou hJmw'n  jIhsou' Cristou' e[mprosqen tou' qeou' kai; patro;" hJmw'n, 1.4 eijdovte", ajdelfoi; hjgaphmevnoi uJpo; tou' qeou', th;n ejklogh;n uJmw'n, 1.5 o[ti to; eujaggevlion hJmw'n oujk ejgenhvqh eij" uJma'" ejn lovgw/ movnon ajlla; kai; ejn dunavmei kai; ejn pneuvmati aJgivw/ kai; ejn plhroforiva/ pollh'/, kaqw;" oi[date oi|oi ejgenhvqhmen ejn uJmi'n di j uJma'". 
      1.6 kai; uJmei'" mimhtai; hJmw'n ejgenhvqhte kai; tou' kurivou, dexavmenoi to;n lovgon ejn qlivyei pollh/' meta; cara'" pneuvmato" aJgivou, 1.7 w[ste genevsqai uJma'" tuvpon pa'sin toi'" pisteuvousin ejn th'/ Makedoniva/ kai; ejn th'/j  jAcai?a/.  1.8 ajf j uJmw'n ga;r ejxhvchtai oJ lovgo" tou' kurivou ouj movnon ejn th'/ Makedoniva/ kai; ejn th'/  jAcai?a/, ajll j ejn panti; tovpw/ th/'pivsti" uJmw'n hJ pro;" to;n qeo;n ejxelhvluqen, w[ste mh; creivan e[cein hJma'" lalei'n ti.  1.9 aujtoi; ga;r peri; hJmw'n ajpaggevllousin oJpoivan ei[sodon e[scomen pro;" uJma'", kai; pw'" ejpestrevyate pro;" to;n qeo;n ajpo; tw'n eijdwvlwn douleuvein qew/' zw'nti kai; ajlhqinw'/:  1.10 kai; ajnamevnein to;n uiJo;n aujtou' ejk tw'n oujranw'n, ou\n h[geiren ejk tw'n nekrw'n,  jIhsou'n to;n rJuovmenon hJma'" ejk th'" ojrgh'" th'" ejrcomevnh".		      1:2 We always give thanks to God for all of you and mention you in our prayers, constantly 1:3 remembering before our God and Father your work of faith and labor of love and steadfastness of hope in our Lord Jesus Christ. 1:4 For we know, brothers and sisters [Gk brothers] beloved by God, that he has chosen you, 1:5 because our message of the gospel came to you not in word only, but also in power and in the Holy Spirit and with full conviction; just as you know what kind of persons we proved to be among you for your sake.
     1:6 And you became imitators of us and of the Lord, for in spite of persecution you received the word with joy inspired by the Holy Spirit, 1:7 so that you became an example to all the believers in Macedonia and in Achaia. 1:8 For the word in Macedonia and Achaia, but also in every place your faith toward God has gone forth, so that we have no need to say anything. 1:9 For they themselves report about us what kind of a reception we had with you, and how you turned to God from idols to serve a living and true God, 1:10 and to wait for His Son from heaven, whom He raised from the dead, that is Jesus, who delivers us from the wrath to come.

1. Determine the genre of the passage.

  1. Define the literary form "proem" from ancient letters.
  2. Describe the connection between the proema in Paul's letters and the synagogue prayers of blessing (the berakah) that opened the sabbath service.
2. Determine the literary context of the passage.
  1. Explore how the two themes in the expansion elements relate to the major divisions of the Body of the letter: 1:3-9 to chapters 1&2; 1:10 to chapters 3 & 4.
3. Determine the time/place references in the passage.
  1. What implications do these have about the dating of the letter?
4. Analyze the internal literary structure of the passage.
  1. The expansion elements in the proem in 1:3-10 develop what emphases?
  2. Upon what basis does Paul express thanks to God for the Thessalonians?
5. Determine the interpretative issues -- both theologically and exegetically -- present in the passage.
  1. Why does Paul use the first person plural verb form in 1:2?
  2. How does Paul's preaching of the gospel to the Thessalonians (1:5) become evidence of God's choosing of the Thessalonians (1:4)?
  3. What insights into the doctrine of 'election' do verses 4 and 5 provide?
  4. From Luke's description in Acts 17:1-9, how can Paul assert the powerful nature of his presentation of the gospel to the Thessalonians?
  5. What is Paul talking about with the statement in 1:5 "just as you know what kind of persons we proved to be among you for your sake"?
  6. Explain the concept of a preacher referring to believers becoming imitators of the preacher in 1:6-7. Is this a dangerous emphasis in today's world? You may need to do a concordance search of this word in the Greek.
  7. What is Paul alluding to in 1:8-9a?
  8. In 1:9b Paul describes the conversion of the Thessalonians to Christianity. How is a Christian conversion described elsewhere in Paul's writings?
  9. What insight does 1:10 provide regarding a healthy eschatological "waiting"? How is this connected to the "watchfulness" motif in the Little Apocalypse sections of Matthew, Mark, and Luke?
6. Determine a central theme of the passage
 
7. Develop an exegetical outline of the passage.
 
8.  Develop a short, one page sermon brief from the passage.