These steps will form the basis of the forum discussions and of the homework assignments.
Go directly to step number:

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1. Determine the genre of the passage.

The basic genre of all the passages in 1/2 Thessalonians is that of an ancient letter. What implications does this have for the interpretation of an individual passage inside an ancient letter? Using Bible dictionaries, NT Introductions etc., look up the word "letter" to determine some of the important background aspects.

The smaller genre unit within an ancient letter is one of the following, taken from NT Genre page:

Praescriptio
Superscriptio (Sender)
Adscriptio (Recipient)
Salutatio (Greeting)
Proem
Thanksgiving
Intercession
Body
Opening Formulae
Request/Appeal
Disclosure
Expressions of Astonishment
Formulae of Compliance
Formulae of Hearing/Learning
Traditions Material
From worship liturgy
Hymns
Confessions of Faith
Lord Supper Narratives
From early preaching
Kerygma
Verba Christi
Old Testament
Parenesis
Lists of Vice/Virtues
Haustafeln (Domestic Code)
Duty Codes (Gemeindetafeln)
Judgment Form
Closing
Eschatological Affirmations
Travelogue/Apostolic Parousia
Conclusio (Eschatokoll)
Greetings
Doxology
Sender Verification
Doxologies
Benediction

The Praescriptio, Proem, and Conclusio have special roles to play in the exegetical process. Especially the Praescriptio and Proem had standard items and patterns in most all ancient letters. See the NT-Genre page for details. Paul followed that model, but typically added expansion elements beyond the usual items. Virtually always these expansion elements signaled to the listeners of the reading of the letter in the early churches important themes and emphases that would be developed in the body of the letter. Quite often they serve to indicate the main divisions of the body of the letter. Thus, for the interpreter of a Pauline letter identification of these expansion elements enhances understanding of the main section of the letter and helps point the way to major emphases in the writing of the letter.

In the above list for the Body of the letter, the items listed represent materials that surface in the letters of Paul with enough common features to list them as a genre. Not every pericope in the body of the Pauline letters will have an identifiable genre. Identification of these genre is quite helpful to the exegetical process. Often these genre have antecedents in the non-Christian ancient world and comparison of the two perspectives on the same or similar topics is critical to correct historical understanding of the NT text. Studying these materials is possible through Bible dictionaries and encyclopedias especially as well as increasingly through the internet.

Thus, determine the precise genre of the passage under consideration and assess how this may help the exegesis of the passage.

Beyond determining whether the passage occurs in the Praescriptio, Proem, Body or Conclusio of the letter, assess what section in the Body of the letter the pericope occurs and how this impacts the exegesis. Such a determination is important. The Body of Paul's letters usually have only two or three main emphases and the individual pericope contributes to the larger division theme. This needs to be explored. How does the passage contribute to the larger theme?

Read through the passage to locate references to places and to time. This identification is important to correct historical interpretation. All of the identified references should be clearly understood. If not, -- especially for place references -- look them up in Bible dictionaries, e.g., "Thessalonica", "Achaia", "Corinth" etc. When movements are listed, like from one city to another, trace out that movement on a Bible map to make sure it is understood. Also, determine distances when possible. This can prevent some incorrect understandings.

Time references can be tricky. For example, the word translated as "hour" in no way refers to 60 minutes -- such a concept of minutes and hours did not come into existence until the modern era in the western world. It simply referred to a reasonably short period of time. Make sure you have a clear understanding of these items.

This can be done in one of two ways outlined here.
(1) Complete a block and semantic diagram of the text. See the Guidelines to Diagramming a Text . This is particularly helpful when working with the Greek text of the New Testament.
(2) Complete an analysis of the primary and secondary ideas in the translated text. This involves saving the text file to the passage (link in the Assignment Sheet page) to your hard drive, then cut & paste the text table into your homework document for that passage. Once the text table is transferred to your computer file, then identify the main clauses (independent clauses) of each sentence with a bold red color. Next identify the modifying elements (expansion elements) with an italicized blue for verb modifiers and an italicized green for noun modifiers. Leave connecting elements such as conjunctions unmodified. Also, you will want to put each sentence on a separate line with the return key after each period.  Now, let's see how this works; remember, you can do either the Greek or the English text analysis:
 

2 Thessalonians 1:3-12 
To display the Greek text contained in this page download and install the free BSTGreek True Type fonts from Bible Study Tools.

1:3 Eujcaristei'n ojfeivlomen tw'/ qew'/ pavntote peri; uJmw'n, ajdelfoiv, kaqw;" a[xiovn ejstin, o{ti uJperauxavnei hJ pivsti" uJmw'n kai; pleonavzei hJ ajgavph eJno;" eJkavstou pavntwn uJmw'n eij" ajllhvlou", 1:4 w[ste aujtou;" hJma'" ejn uJmi'n ejgkauca'sqai ejn tai'" ejkklhsivai" tou' qeou' uJpe;r th'" uJpomonh'" uJmw'n kai; pivstew" ejn pa'sin toi'" diwgmoi'" uJmw'n kai; tai'" qlivyesin ai|" ajnevcesqe, 1:5 e[ndeigma th'" dikaiva" krivsew" tou' qeou' eij" to; kataxiwqh'nai uJma'" th'" basileiva" tou' qeou', uJpe;r h|" kai; pavscete, 1:6 i[per divkaion para; qew'/ ajntapodou'nai toi'" qlivbousin uJma'" qli'yin 1:7 ai; uJmi'n toi'" qlibomevnoi" a[nesin meq j hJmw'n, ejn th'/ ajpokaluvyei tou' kurivou  jIhsou' ajp j oujranou' met j ajggevlwn dunavmew" aujtou' 1:8 ejn puri; flogov", didovnto" ejkdivkhsin toi'" mh; eijdovsin qeo;n kai; toi'" mh; uJpakouvousin tw'/ eujaggelivw/ tou' kurivou hJmw'n  jIhsou', 1:9 oi[tine" divkhn tivsousin o[leqron aijwvnion ajpo; proswvpou tou' kurivou kai; ajpo; th'" dovxh" th'" ijscuvo" aujtou', 1:10 o[tan e[lqh/ ejndoxasqh'nai ejn toi'" aJgivoi" aujtou' kai; qaumasqh'nai ejn pa'sin toi'" pisteuvsasin, o{ti ejpisteuvqh to; martuvrion hJmw'n ejf j uJma'", ejn th'/ hJmevra/ ejkeivnh/.  1:11 eij" o] kai; proseucovmeqa pavntote peri; uJmw'n, i[na uJma'" ajxiwvsh/ th'" klhvsew" oJ qeo;" hJmw'n kai; plhrwvsh/ pa'san eujdokivan ajgaqwsuvnh" kai; e[rgon pivstew" ejn dunavmei, 1:12 o[pw" ejndoxasqh'/ to; o[noma tou' kurivou hJmw'n  JIhsou' ejn uJmi'n, kai; uJmei'" ejn aujtw'/, kata; th;n cavrin tou' qeou' hJmw'n kai; kurivou  jIhsou' Cristou'.

1:3 We are bound to give thanks to God always for you, brethren, as is fitting, because your faith is growing abundantly, and the love of every one of you for one another is increasing.  1:4 Therefore we ourselves boast of youin the churches of God for your steadfastness and faith in all your persecutions and in the afflictions which you are enduring. 1:5 This is evidence of the righteous judgment of God, that you may be made worthy of the kingdom of God, for which you are suffering -- 1:6 since indeed God deems it just to repay with affliction those who afflict you, 1:7 and to grant rest with us to you who are afflicted, when the Lord Jesus is revealed from heaven with his mighty angels in flaming fire, 1:8 inflicting vengeance upon those who do not know Godand upon those who do not obey the gospel of our Lord Jesus.  1:9 They shall suffer the punishment of eternal destruction and exclusion from the presence of the Lord and from the glory of his might,  1:10 when he comes on that day to be glorified in his saints, and to be marveled at in all who have believed, because our testimony to you was believed.  1:11 To this end we always pray for you, that our God may make you worthy of his call, and may fulfill every good resolve and work of faith by his power,  1:12 so that the name of our Lord Jesus may be glorified in you, and you in him, according to the grace of our God and the Lord Jesus Christ.

One thing that becomes very clear when both the Greek text and the English translation text are color coded: Paul used very long sentences that have to be broken down into smaller sentences in the English translation. It took five English sentences to translate the two Greek sentences, and some of these English sentences are extremely long!

Now some exegetical observations:
Since two paragraphs exist in both the Greek and English text, we can conclude that the passage most naturally breaks down into two sub-divisions: (1) vv. 3-10, and (2) vv. 11-12.  Since this passage is a Proem genre-wise, and we have learned that Paul's Proems begin with a set phrase ("we give thanks to God for you...), the first section has the standard expression of thanksgiving in v. 3a and is followed by expansion elements (vv. 3b-10). The development of thought emphasizes the growing spiritual depth (v. 3b) that Paul complements (v. 4) as lived out under trial that is seen positively (vv. 5-7) for the believers but becomes a nightmare for the unbelievers (vv. 9-10).

The second paragraph (vv. 11-12) follows a frequent Proem pattern in Paul: the initial prayer of thanksgiving turns into a prayer of intercession for the readers. Paul prayed for the Thessalonians to receive heavenly resources to enable them to live worthily in anticipation of the return of Christ. The "that clause" defines the content of Paul's prayer and the "so that clause" defines the purpose or goal of the prayer -- what Paul hoped the prayer would accomplish.

We have determined now how to outline the passage into a two-fold division outline -- which comes in step 7. One more observation from previous studies of this passage: the Proem of 2 Thessalonians defines the two major divisions of the Body of the letter. The theme of the return of Christ (vv. 3-10) is the emphasis of the first major division in chapter 2 of the letter, and the theme of Christian living in light of the second coming (vv. 11-12) is the emphasis of the second major division in chapter 3 of the letter. This provides an important clue to interpreting the body of the letter.

At this phase of the interpretation process, identify issues that may need to be studied in a context broader than just the passage. In the above passage a couple of issues jump out: (1) What does the term "church of God" mean? How did Paul refer typically to congregations in his writing? Is this expression common, or unusual? Here a Bible concordance, especially an electronic one internet based, can quickly show the patterns of references to churches in Paul and in the New Testament. (2) What does the expression "persecutions and sufferings" refer to? How were the Thessalonian believers suffering when Paul wrote these words? The nature and extent of their suffering may provide clues as to the relevancy of this passage to Christians today. (3) A 'biggie' in this text is the meaning of the term "judgment of God" which occupies most of the discussion (vv. 5-10). Careful scrutiny of this concept is necessary before conclusions are drawn. Since these verses anticipate the first division of the letter body in chapter 2, this passage becomes the first place to look for expanded meaning of the term.

At this point some impressions about the primary emphasis of the passage should have surfaced. Look for frequently occurring words or synonyms. What occupies most of the discussion in the passage? What headings do different translations, commentaries, and the Greek NTs give to the passage? After looking at everything draw a conclusion and write it out as a short phrase or simple sentence expression. This will serve as the heading for your outline to be developed next.

Detailed instructions on writing an exegetical outline -- past tense, 'what it meant' perspective -- can be found in Guidelines to Diagramming a Text .  Let me provide a quick sample of the passage above.

Praying for God's People

I.   The believers in Thessalonia were a source of thanksgiving to God (vv. 3-10)
II. Paul prayed for the Thessalonian believers to stand worthy before God (vv. 11-12)

Follow the guidelines in the Sermon Report Form and develop a sermon brief of the passage. The above exegetical outline could serve as a basis for the sermon outline by simply using present tense frames of expression in the outline, as below:
I.   God's people: a source of thanksgiving (vv. 3-10)
II. My prayer: that you stand worthy before God (vv. 11-12)

The goal of all this is to end up with a good set of notes explaining the text of 1/2 Thessalonians, as well as 14 sermon outlines that can be the basis of preaching through these two letters.
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

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