1:1 · Epistolary Greeting: In the ancient world, people believed that letters brought one into the presence of an absent person. Seneca (Moral Epistles 75.1) said, “I never receive a letter from you without being forthwith in your presence.” First Thessalonians and other apostolic letters fill the gap left by the separation of the founders from the church (2:17–18; 3:6, 10–11). Greek letters began with the name of the author, followed by a greeting and a prayer or thanksgiving. Although the form of 1 Thessalonians is similar to that of ancient letters, it is substantially longer, as were Cicero’s letter-essays. Letters were commonly read aloud when received (1 Thess. 5:27).

The authors are “Paul, Silas and Timothy,” the founders of the church, whom Paul later identifies as “apostles”(2:6…