The dates at which Paul wrote his various letters are usually uncertain, and they are not very important for the translators. There is, however, good reason to believe that 1 and 2 Thessalonians, in that order, are the first two of Paul’s letters to survive. It is also fairly certain that 1 Thessalonians was written about fifteen years after Paul’s conversion, that is, early in the year 51 or late in the previous year. Paul was writing to young Christians, but he himself was already an experienced evangelist.
All of Paul’s letters follow the normal Greek pattern of stating at the beginning the name of the sender(s), the name of the person(s), to whom the letter is addressed, and a greeting. Paul, however, fills this conventional form with a new and Christian content. The introduction to this letter is the shortest we have in any of Paul’s letters to a church. Some early copyists, followed by the older translations, apparently found the ending of verse 1 too abrupt and so added “… from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ” or a similar phrase (cf. 2 Thess. 1.1), but these words are probably not original here.
Three people are mentioned as senders of the letter: Paul, Silas, and Timothy. They had visited Thessalonica together, and they were together in Corinth while the letter was being written (see Acts 17.1–18.5). The repeated use of “we” in this letter, more frequently than in any other of Paul’s letters, shows that the message comes essentially from all three senders. Especially in the first three chapters, they refer continually to experiences they have lived through together. But there is no reason to think that either Silas or Timothy had much share in the actual writing of the letter. The sentence structure, vocabulary, and style are similar to those of Paul’s other letters, and in a few places (2.18; 3.5; 5.27) he speaks in his own name, using the first person singular.
In translating this opening salutation, it is necessary in many languages to introduce a verb indicating that the three are writing or sending the letter. Thus it may be necessary to translate “We who are Paul, Silas, and Timothy write to you people in the church at Thessalonica.” Since Paul is essentially the author of the letter, one may find it preferable in some languages to translate “I, Paul, together with Silas and Timothy, write to you people….” If a language requires the identification of Paul as “I” and of Paul together with his companions as “we,” it is almost inevitable that the people of the church at Thessalonica be addressed as “you.” This will fit quite readily with what is said in verse 2.
Here and in other places (for example, 2 Corinthians 1.19), Paul calls one of his companions “Silvanus,” but there is no doubt that this is the same person who is called “Silas” in Acts. Good News Translation and Bible en français courant rightly recognize this by using the form Silas everywhere; most older translations (also some modern ones, including New English Bible Die Bibel im heutigen Deutsch New American Bible Translator’s New Testament) do not.
The repeated conjunction “and” (“Paul and Silas and Timothy”) of the Greek text is reproduced in older translations (for example King James Version Luther 1984 La Sainte Bible: Nouvelle version Segond révisée), but not in Revised Standard Version New English Bible Le Nouveau Testament. Version Synodale Bible en français courant Die Bibel im heutigen Deutsch Bijbel in Gewone Taal. The repetition should not be made in translation unless it is natural to the receptor language.
At the time this letter was written, Thessalonica (now Salonika) was the most important city in Macedonia; but Paul writes, not to the population in general, but to the Christians in the city. The Greek word translated “church” does not refer to a special building (Christians met for worship in one another’s homes) but to the coming together of people, in this case of Christians. Best accordingly translates “the Christian community of the Thessalonians”; Knox “the church assembled at Thessalonika”; Good News Translation the people of the church in Thessalonica; Bible en français courant “the members of the Church of Thessalonica.” In some languages the only satisfactory equivalent of “church” in this context is “believers in Jesus Christ” or “followers of Christ” or “those who trust in Jesus Christ.” Such a rendering may be particularly important in situations where the common word for “church” identifies a building. Furthermore, the Greek word translated “church” indicates a group which recognizes itself as a group, and not just a collection of individuals. If possible, this fact should be reflected in translation.
The context shows clearly that Paul is not writing to the church universal but to the local gathering of Christians. In some languages, though not in Greek, this distinction is reflected in a difference of spelling, between “Church” (capital C) and “church” (small c) respectively. Since this distinction disappears when the passage is read aloud, it is better not to rely on it to make the meaning clear.
The Thessalonians are here mentioned for the first time. The Greek text marks this as new information by omitting the article (literally “the church of Thessalonians”). In Thessalonica may need to be translated in some languages with a classifier, for example, “in the city of Thessalonica.”
Grammatically it would be possible, but it would almost certainly be wrong, to link who belong to God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ with what follows, giving the translation: “May grace and peace be yours in God Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.” Paul often does speak of Christian individuals or groups as being “in Christ” or (less often) “in God,” and sometimes he uses both expressions. What does he mean? Clearly his use of “in” is figurative. For Paul Christ is a person, not a kind of gas physically diffused through the atmosphere. In some passages, it is possible to think that Paul is speaking of the mystical identification of two individuals; but that is not possible here, since he is referring to the whole Christian community. Who belong to God (Good News Translation cf. Bible en français courant Die Bibel im heutigen Deutsch) is the essential meaning of this phrase. This may be rendered in some languages as “who are God’s possession,” “whom God possesses,” or even “who are God’s.”
In some languages the phrase God the Father poses a difficulty, especially if the term for “Father” must indicate whose father. In such cases it may be necessary to say “who belong to God our Father” or “to God who is our Father.” In languages which make a distinction between exclusive and inclusive first person plural, the inclusive form should be used, since Paul clearly includes the Thessalonian Christians with himself and his companions among those to whom God is Father.
Christ was originally not a proper name but a title, corresponding to “Messiah” and meaning “the Anointed (One).” For Paul, however, as for us, it is usually a proper name. In this and most other Pauline passages, Christ should therefore be transliterated and not translated.
For some languages the term Lord is not a title which can readily be added to the name of Jesus Christ, because it expresses a relation between men and Christ. Therefore, it may be rendered as “Jesus Christ who controls us” or “… who commands us,” equivalent in some languages to “Jesus Christ our chief.”
Paul wishes his readers grace and peace, as he does in all his letters. The context does not narrow the meaning of these words, which should therefore be taken in their widest sense. There is a considerable overlap of meaning between them. Grace here means, not physical gracefulness and not a specific favor, but God’s willingness to look upon Christians as his people, and to give them good gifts, such as forgiveness. In secular Greek peace meant the cessation or absence of war, just as it usually does in modern English. Paul, however, uses the term to mean a right and harmonious relationship among men or between men and God, a total well-being which God himself gives. Good News Translation Bible en français courant Die Bibel im heutigen Deutsch New English Bible, like older translations, retain the traditional nouns, grace and peace.
Some scholars view the phrase grace and peace in this type of salutation as being a combination of a Greek and a Semitic greeting. At any rate, it is certainly a distinctive expression, and no doubt it has wide usage among the members of the early church. In view of the distinctive value of the expression, it is not easy to do justice to all the meaning which may be involved. In some languages an appropriate equivalent may be “May God be good to you and show you his peace” or “May God show goodness to you and cause you to have peace.” Since “peace” in this context suggests general well-being, it is expressed in some languages in a figurative way, for example, “May you be able to sit down in your heart” or “May you rest in happiness.”
In some languages it is difficult to express a wish or prayer such as may grace and peace be yours without indicating clearly the relation between the one who desires such a blessing for others and the agent, who is God. Therefore one may need to translate this clause as “I pray to God that he will be good to you and make you to have peace.”
Quoted with permission from Ellingworth, Paul and Nida, Eugene A. A Handbook on Paul’s First Letter to the Thessalonians. (UBS Handbook Series). New York: UBS, 1976. For this and other handbooks for translators see here .