1 Thessalonians 3:1

III.

(1) We could no longer forbear. — The Greek word contains the metaphor of a vessel over-full and bursting with its contents. “We” must be understood here by the limitation of 1 Thessalonians 2:18, and by the direct singular of 1 Thessalonians 3:5, to mean St. Paul alone, not him and Silas.

To be left at Athens alone. — The difficulty of interpreting this passage so as to agree with Acts 17:15; Acts 18:5, is not a light one. From those passages it would appear that immediately upon reaching Athens, St. Paul sent word back to Macedonia, by the friends who had escorted him, that St. Silas and St. Timothy should join him at once; but that some delay took place, and that St. Paul had arrived at Corinth before his companions reached him; that they consequently never were with him at Athens. In that case, “to be left alone” must mean, “We resolved not to keep with us the brethren who escorted us;” and the “sent” of 1 Thessalonians 3:2 will mean that he gave them a message to Timothy that he should go back to Thessalonica (presumably from Berœa), before joining St. Paul at Athens; for the tense of the Greek verb “to be left” absolutely necessitates an act of parting with some one: it cannot mean, “We were willing to endure loneliness a little longer.” But such an interpretation suits ill with Acts 17:15; it is hard to identify an urgent message to “come with all speed” with a command to make such a détour. It seems, therefore, most reasonable to suppose that Silas and Timothy joined St. Paul forthwith at Athens, and were almost as soon sent back into Macedonia, — Silas to Berœa or Philippi, and Timothy to Thessalonica. This would explain St. Paul’s being left alone, an expression which would hardly have been used had Silas remained with him at Athens, as some (misled by the word “we”) have supposed; and also it explains how in Acts 18:5 both Timothy and Silas come from Macedonia to Corinth. The despatching of Silas from Athens is not mentioned here, simply because it had no particular interest for the Thessalonians. If the two men did not reach St. Paul at all during the time he was at Athens, after receiving so imperative a message, they must have been very slow, for a week would have allowed ample time for their journey from Berœa, and Acts 17:17; Acts 18:1 certainly imply a much longer period of residence there. “To be left alone” was a great trial to St. Paul’s affectionate nature: such a sacrifice may well impress the Thessalonians with the strength of his love for them.