Abstract:
The relation between 1 Thessalonians and 2· Thessalonians is a disputed
question. Many scholars argue that 2 Thessalonians is pseudepigraphic,
written one or more decades after 1 Thessalonians. Others defend
the authenticity of 2 Thessalonians. Wanamaker argues in his recent
commentary that 2 Thessalonians was written before 1 Thessalonians. In
this way the problems raised by the complicated relation between the two
letters would be solved. Wanamaker argues that TImothy on his visit to
Thessalonica (1 Thes 3:1-5) brought the letter we call 2 Thessalonians.
Lecompte argues that Silas wrote 1 Thessalonians and that Paul himself
is the author of 2 Thessalonians, so he could correct the misunderstandings
caused by Silas's writing. Or perhaps Silas did not exactly write
what Paul had agreed with his co-workers. I will argue in this article
that the arguments used by Wanamaker and Lecompte are invalid for
grammatical reasons. The great resemblance between 1 Thessalonians
and 2 Thessalonians in spite of these different opinions, is best explained
if we see 2 Thessalonians as a pseudepigraphic epistle.
