1 Thessalonians 2:17

2:17-20 This world is not a place where we are to be always, or long together. In heaven holy souls shall meet, and never part more. And though the apostle could not come to them yet, and thought he might never be able to come, yet our Lord Jesus Christ will come; nothing shall hinder that. May God give faithful ministers to all who serve him with their spirit in the gospel of his Son, and send them to all who are in darkness

1 Thessalonians 2:17-20 . But we, brethren, &c. — In this verse we have a remarkable instance, not so much of the transient affections of holy grief, desire, or joy, as of that abiding tenderness, that loving temper, which is so apparent in all St. Paul’s writings toward those he styles his children in the faith. This is the more carefully to be observed, because the passions occasionally exercising themselves, and flowing like a torrent, in the apostle, are observable to every reader; whereas it requires a nicer attention to discern those calm, standing tempers, that fixed posture of his soul, from whence the others only flow out, and which more peculiarly distinguish his character. Being taken from you — Greek, απορφανισθεντες , separated from you. The expression is commonly applied to children who are deprived of their parents: here, as the apostle, under God, was the spiritual father of the believers in Thessalonica, it is used in allusion to parents who are deprived of their children: for a short time — Προς καιρον ωρας , for an hour’s time; that is, for a very little season. Perhaps the apostle meant, that when he fled from Thessalonica to Berea, he proposed to be absent only a few days, till the rage of the Jews was abated; after which he intended to return. Accordingly he tells them, he the more earnestly, on that account, endeavoured to return, and actually made two attempts for that purpose.

But the coming of the Jews from Thessalonica, to stir up the people in Berea against him, frustrated his design, and obliged him to leave Macedonia. We would have come ( even I, Paul, ) once and again, &c. — This parenthesis, Macknight thinks, shows, that what follows is to be understood of Paul alone, though he continues to use the plural form of expression; and that therefore in other passages, where he uses the plural number, he may be speaking of himself only. But Satan hindered us — By the persecuting Jews. Because the devil employs himself continually in obstructing the good purposes, endeavours, and actions of mankind, and is the chief enemy of God and man, he hath the name of Satan, or adversary, given him by way of eminence. And they who assist him in his malicious attempts are called ministers of Satan, 2 Corinthians 11:15 . The persecution raised against the apostle and his fellow-labourers, in Berea, is here ascribed to Satan, to teach us that persecution for conscience’ sake is the genuine work of the devil. For what is our hope — The source of my hope; or joy — That wherein I take comfort; or crown of rejoicing? — The honour of my ministry, and the chief cause of my rejoicing.

1 Thessalonians 2:17 . Ἀδελφοὶ , brethren ) He begins a new division of the epistle.— ἀπορφανισθέντες , having been bereft of you ) as parents, in the absence of their children.— πρὸς καιρὸν ὥρας , [lit. for the space of an hour ] for a brief space ) καιρὸς means time indefinitely; ὥρα , a definite period, Exodus 13:10 , למועדה ; LXX., κατὰ καιροὺς ὡρῶν .— ἰδεῖν , to see) 2 Timothy 1:4 .

{15} But we, brethren, {m} being taken from you for a short time in presence, not in heart, endeavoured the more abundantly to see your face with great desire. (15) He meets with an objection, why he did not come to them immediately, being in such great misery: I often desired to, he says, and I was not able, but Satan hindered my endeavours, and therefore I sent Timothy my faithful companion to you, because you are most dear to me. (m) Were kept apart from you, and as it were orphans.

1 Thessalonians 2:17 . πρὸς κ . ὥ ., as we both expected, but, as it turned out, for much longer. προσ . οὐ κ ., “not where I breathe; but where I love, I live” (Southwell, the Elizabethan Jesuit poet, echoing Augustine’s remark that the soul lives where it loves, not where it exists); cf. Eurip., Ion , 251. The next paragraph, 1 Thessalonians 2:17 to 1 Thessalonians 3:13 , starts from a fresh imputation against the apostles’ honour. Paul, it was more than hinted by calumniators at Thessalonica, had left his converts in the lurch ( cf. 18); with him, out of sight was out of mind; fresh scenes and new interests in the South had supplanted them in his affections, and his failure to return was interpreted as a fickle indifference to their concerns. The reply is three-fold. ( a ) Paul’s continued absence had been unavoidable (17 f.); he had often tried to get back. In proof of this anxiety ( b ) he had spared Timothy from his side for a visit to them ( 1 Thessalonians 3:1-5 ), and ( c ) Timothy’s report, he adds ( 1 Thessalonians 3:6 f.) had relieved a hearty concern on his part for their welfare; he thus lets them see how much they were to him, and still prays for a chance of re-visiting them (11). He was not to blame for the separation; and, so far from blunting his affection, it had only whetted ( περισσοτέρως ) his eagerness to get back. 1 Thessalonians 2:17 to 1 Thessalonians 3:13 . Paul’s apologia pro absentia suâ .

Being taken from you (ἀπορφανισθέντες) N.T.o. olxx. Rev. better, being bereaved of you. From ὀρφανός bereft. See Mark 12:40, John 14:18; James 1:27. The word suggests the intimate personal fellowship of the writer with his readers. The separation was like that between parents and children. Comp. 1 Thessalonians 2:7, 1 Thessalonians 2:8. For a short time (πρὸς καιρὸν ὥρας) N.T.o. Lit. for the season of an hour. Comp. Lat. horae momentum. Stronger than the usual phrase πρὸς ὥραν for an hour: see 2 Corinthians 7:8; Galatians 2:5; Plm 1:15. Comp. πρὸς καιρὸν for a season, Luke 8:13; 1 Corinthians 7:5. The more abundantly (περισσοτέρως) Rev. the more exceedingly. Paul uses this adverb very freely, and outside of his letters it appears only Hebrews 2:1; Hebrews 13:19. He is much given to the use of comparatives, and sometimes heaps them together: see Romans 8:37; 2 Corinthians 7:13; 2 Corinthians 4:17; Ephesians 3:20; Philippians 1:23.

Verse 17. - Here a new chapter ought to have commenced, passing on to another subject, the apostle's desire to visit the Thessalonians. But we, brethren, being taken from you ; literally, being bereaved of you (R.V.). For a short time ; literally, for the space of an hour . And yet it was several years before the apostle revisited Thessalonica; but he here speaks of the short period - a space of six months - which had already separated them; not, as some suppose, that his mind was so full of the ideas of eternity that he overlooked all divisions of time. In presence, not in heart. Similar expressions are common in Paul's Epistles, denoting his love for his converts; thus: "Though I be absent in the flesh, yet I am with you in the spirit" ( Colossians 2:5 ). Endeavored the more abundantly to see your face with great desire ; because our separation has been so short. As has been well observed, "Universal experience testifies that the pain of separation from friends and the desire to return to them are more vivid, the more freshly the remembrance of the departure is on the mind" (Lunemann). 1 Thessalonians 2:17

17. But we—resumed from 1Th 2:13; in contrast to the Jews, 1Th 2:15, 16. taken—rather as Greek, "severed (violently, Ac 17:7-10) from you," as parents bereft of their children. So "I will not leave you comfortless," Greek, "orphanized" (Joh 14:18). for a short time—literally, "for the space of an hour." "When we had been severed from you but a very short time (perhaps alluding to the suddenness of his unexpected departure), we the more abundantly (the shorter was our separation; for the desire of meeting again is the more vivid, the more recent has been the parting) endeavored," &c. (Compare 2Ti 1:4). He does not hereby, as many explain, anticipate a short separation from them, which would be a false anticipation; for he did not soon revisit them. The Greek past participle also forbids their view.

(17) But we, brethren. —Now comes a change of subject: no longer the memories of the time when St. Paul was among them, but his hopes and fears about them since he left. “But while you were being persecuted by these reprobate Jews, we, who were driven away from you, were longing to come back to see whether your faith was such an effectual working faith as to support you through it all.” Taken from you.—Literally, bereaved from you—i.e., bereaved by being torn from you; a return to the simile of the mother (1Thessalonians 2:7), or father (1Thessalonians 2:11). The more abundantly.—“So far were we from the proverb, ‘out of sight, out of mind,’ that our very absence gave us a greater yearning after your presence” (1Corinthians 5:3).