tha-de'-us (Thaddaios): One of the Twelve Apostles (Mt 10:3; Mk 3:18). In Mt 10:3 the King James Version, the reading is "Lebbaeus, whose surname was Thaddaeus." The name corresponds to Judas, the son (Revised Version), or brother (the King James Version), of James, given in the lists of Lk 6:16; Acts 1:13.
See JUDAS ,NOT ISCARIOT ;LEBBAEUS .
The "Gospel of the Ebionites," or "Gospel of the Twelve Apostles," of the 2nd century and mentioned by Origen, narrates that Thaddaeus was also among those who received their call to follow Jesus at the Sea of Tiberias (compare Mt 4:18-22).
See also SIMON THE CANANAEAN .
According to the "Genealogies of the Twelve Apostles" (compare Budge, Contendings of the Apostles,II , 50), Thaddaeus was of the house of Joseph; according to the "Book of the Bee" he was of the tribe of Judah. There is abundant testimony in apocryphal literature of the missionary activity of a certain Thaddaeus in Syria, but doubt exists as to whether this was the apostle. Thus (1) according to the "Acts of Peter" (compare Budge,II , 466 ff) Peter appointed Thaddaeus over the island of Syria and Edessa. (2) The "Preaching of the blessed Judas, the brother of our Lord, who was surnamed Thaddaeus" (Budge, 357 ff), describes his mission in Syria and in Dacia, and indicates him as one of the Twelve. (3) The "Acta Thaddaei" (compare Tischendorf, Acta Apostolorum Apocrypha, 1851, 261 ff) refers to this Thaddaeus in the text as one of the Twelve, but in the heading as one of the Seventy. (4) The Abgar legend, dealing with a supposed correspondence between Abgar, king of Syria, and Christ, states in its Syriac form, as translated by Eusebius (Historia Ecclesiastica, I, xiii, 6-22) (compare THOMAS ), that "after the ascension of Christ, Judas, who was also called Thomas, sent to Abgar the apostle Thaddaeus, one of the Seventy" (compare Hennecke, Neutestamentliche Apokryphen, 76 ff). Jerome, however, identifies this same Thaddaeus with Lebbaeus and "Judas .... of James" of Luke (Lk 6:16). Hennecks (op. cit., 473, 474) surmises that in the original form of the Abgar legend Thomas was the central figure, but that through the influence of the later "Acts of Thomas", which required room to be made for Thomas' activity in India, a later Syriac recension was made, in which Thomas became merely the sender of Thaddaeus to Edessa, and that this was the form which Eusebius made use of in his translation According to Phillips (compare Phillips, The Doctrine of Addai the Apostle), who quotes Zahn in support, the confusion may be due to the substitution of the Greek name Thaddaeus for the name Addai of the Syriac manuscripts.
See APOCRYPHAL ACTS .
The general consensus seems to indicate, however, that both Thomas and Thaddaeus the apostle had some connection with Edessa. Of the various identifications of Thaddaeus with other Biblical personages which might be inferred from the foregoing, that with "Judas .... of James" is the only one that has received wide acceptance.
The burial place of Thaddaeus is variously placed at Beirut and in Egypt. A "Gospel of Thaddaeus" is mentioned in the Decree of Gelasius.
C. M. Kerr
tha'-hash.
See TAHASH .
tha'-ma.
See TEMAH .
tha'-mar (Thamar): the King James Version; Greek form of "Tamar" (thus Mt 1:3 the Revised Version (British and American)). Mother of Perez and Zerah.
tham'-uz (tammuz).
See TAMMUZ .
tham'-na-tha.
See TIMNATH .
See SACRIFICE .
thank, thanks, thanks-giv'-ing, thanks'-giv-ing: Both the verb and the nouns appear almost uniformly for yadhah, and eucharisteo, and their cognates. Eucharisteo is the usual Greek verb for "to thank," but yadhah takes on this force only through its context and is rather a synonym for "raise" or "bless" (which see) Septuagint renders yadhah usually by exomologeo, "speak forth together" "praise" (compare Tobit 12:20; Sirach 39:6, etc., and the use of "thank" in English Versions of the Bible to correspond), and this verb reappears in Mt 11:25 parellel Lk 10:21, with English "thank" (the Revised Version margin "praise"). Compare the use of anthomologeomai (Lk 2:38) and homologeo (Heb 13:15, the King James Version "giving thanks," the Revised Version (British and American) "make confession"; the King James Version is preferable). For charis in the sense of "thanks" (note the singular "thank" in the King James Version Sirach 20:16; Lk 6:32-34), see GRACE . 1 Pet 2:19 the King James Version has "thankworthy" for charis, the Revised Version (British and American) "acceptable," the Revised Version margin "grace."
Burton Scott Easton
tha'-ra, thar'-a (Thara): the King James Version; Greek form of "Terah" (thus, Lk 3:34 the Revised Version (British and American)).
thar'-a (Tharra): One of the two eunuchs, "keepers of the court," who with his companion Gabatha (Bigthan) formed a conspiracy against King Artaxerxes which was detected by Mordecai (Additions to Esther 12:1 = "Teresh" of Est 2:21; 6:2). Tharra and his companion were hanged. Josephus (BJ, II, vi, 4) calls him "Theodestes."
thar'-shish (tarshish).
See TARSHISH .
thas'-i (Codex Venetus Thassei; Codex Vaticanus Thassis): The surname of Simon, the brother of Judas Maccabeus (1 Macc 2:3; Syriac "Tharsi"). It is uncertain what the name means, perhaps "director" or "guide," since Simon was "a man of counsel," or "the zealous."
See DAY OF THE LORD .
the'-a-ter (Acts 19:29,31).
See GAMES .
thebz.
See NO-AMON .
the'-bez (tebhets, "'brightness"; Codex Vaticanus Thebes; Codex Alexandrinus Thaibais): A city in Mt. Ephraim which refused submission to Abimelech when he set up as king of Israel. After the reduction of Shechem he turned his arms against Thebez. There was a strong tower within the city--the citadel--into which all the inhabitants gathered for safety, climbing onto the roof of the tower. Abimelech incautiously venturing near the tower, a woman cast an upper millstone upon his head and broke his skull. Fearing the shame of perishing by the hand of a woman, he persuaded his armor-bearer to thrust him through (Jdg 9:50 ff). The incident is alluded to in 2 Sam 11:21. Eusebius, Onomasticon places it 13 Roman miles from Neapolis (Nablus) on the road to Scythopolis (Beisan). There is no doubt that it is represented by Tubas. This is a village situated in a district of considerable fertility, about 10 miles from Nablus. There are many olive trees. The rain is captured and led to rockcut cisterns, whence the village draws its water-supply. According to the Samaritans the tomb of Neby Toba marks the grave of the patriarch Asher.
W. Ewing
the-ko'-e (1 Macc 9:33).
See TEKOA .
the'-werd. "To thee-ward" (1 Sam 19:4) = toward thee.
See WARD .
See CRIMES ;PUNISHMENTS .
the-la'-sar (tela'ssar, telassar).
See TELASSAR .
the-lur'-sas (Thelersas (1 Esdras 5:36)).
See TEL-HARSHA .
the-ok'-a-nus: 1 Esdras 9:14 the King James Version = the Revised Version (British and American) "Thocanus."
the-ok'-ra-si (theokratia, from theos, "a god," and kratos, "power"; after the analogy of the words "democracy," "aristocracy," and the like): "Theocracy" is not a Biblical word. The idea, however, is Biblical, and in strictness of speech exclusively Biblical. The realization of the idea is not only confined to Israel, but in the pre-exilic history of Israel the realization of the idea was confined to the Southern Kingdom, and in post-exilic history to the period between the return under Ezra and the days of Malachi.
For the word "theocracy" we are, by common consent, indebted to Josephus. In his writings it seems to occur but once (Apion, II, xvi). The passage reads as follows: "Our lawgiver had an eye to none of these," that is, these different forms of government, such as monarchy, aristocracy, oligarchy, and others of which Josephus had been speaking, "but, as one might say, using a strained expression, he set forth the national polity as a theocracy, referring the rule and might to God" (Stanton's translation). It is generally agreed that the language here used indicates that Josephus knew himself to be coining a new word.
If, now, we turn from the word to the Old Testament idea to which it gives fitting and apt expression, that idea cannot be better stated than it has been by Kautzsch--namely, "The notion of theocracy is that the constitution (of Israel) was so arranged that all the organs of government were without any independent power, and had simply to announce and execute the will of God as declared by priest and prophets, or reduced to writing as a code of laws" (HDB, extra vol, 630, 1, init.). The same writer is entirely correct when he says that in what is known in certain circles as "the PC"--though he might have said in the Old Testament generally--"everything, even civil and criminal law, is looked at from the religious standpoint" (ibid., ut supra).
If the foregoing be a correct account of the idea expressed by the word "theocracy," and particularly if the foregoing be a correct account of the Old Testament representation of God's relation to, and rule in and over Israel, it follows as a matter of course that the realization of such an idea was only possible within the sphere of what is known as special revelation. Indeed, special revelation of the divine will, through divinely-chosen organs, to Divinely appointed executive agents, is, itself, the very essence of the idea of a theocracy.
That the foregoing is the Old Testament idea of God's relation to His people is admitted to be a natural and necessary implication from such passages as Jdg 8:23; 1 Sam 8; compare 12:12; 2 Ch 13:8; 2 Sam 7:1-17; Ps 89:27; Dt 17:14-20.
Upon any other view of the origin of the Old Testament books than that which has heretofore prevailed, it is certainly a remarkable fact that whenever the books of the Old Testament were written, and by whomsoever they may have been written, and whatever the kind or the number of the redactions to which they may have been subjected, the conception--the confessedly unique conception--of a government of God such as that described above by Kautzsch is evidenced by these writings in all their parts. This fact is all the more impressive in view of the further fact that we do not encounter this sharply defined idea of a rule of God among men in any other literature, ancient or modern. For while the term "theocracy" occurs in modern literature, it is evidently used in a much lower sense. It is futher worth remarking that this Old Testament idea of the true nature of God's rule in Israel has only to be fully apprehended for it to become obvious that many of the alleged analogies between the Old Testament prophet and the modern preacher, reformer and statesman are wholly lacking in any really solid foundation.
W. M. McPheeters
the-o-do'-shi-un.
See LANGUAGE OF THE NEW TESTAMENT ;SEPTUAGINT .
the-od'o-tus (Theodotos):
(1) One of the three ambassadors sent by the Syrian general Nicanor to Judas to make peace (2 Macc 14:19).
(2) One who plotted to assassinate Ptolemy Philopator, but was prevented by a Jew, Dositheos (3 Macc 1:2 f).
the-ol'-o-ji.
See BIBLICAL THEOLOGY ;JOHANNINE THEOLOGY ;PAULINE THEOLOGY .
the-of'-i-lus (Theophilos, "loved of God"): The one to whom Luke addressed his Gospel and the Acts of the Apostles (compare Lk 1:3; Acts 1:1). It has been suggested that Theophilus is merely a generic term for all Christians, but the epithet "most excellent" implies it was applied by Luke to a definite person, probably a Roman official, whom he held in high respect. Theophilus may have been the presbyter who took part in sending the letter from the Corinthians to Paul, given in the "Acta Pauli" (compare Hennecke, Neutestamentliche Apokryphen, 378). There is also a magistrate Theophilus mentioned in the "Acts of James" as being converted by James on his way to India (compare Budge, The Contendings of the Apostles,II , 299), but these and other identifications, together with other attempts to trace out the further history of the original Theophilus, are without sufficient evidence for their establishment (compare also Knowling in The Expositor Greek Testament,II , 49-51).
C. M. Kerr
the'-ras (Thera): The river by which the company assembled in preparation for the march to Jerusalem under Ezra (1 Esdras 8:41,61). In Ezr 8:21,31 the name of the river is Ahava. Possibly the place is represented by the modern Hit on the Euphrates; but no certain identification is possible.
thur'-me-leth (Thermeleth (1 Esdras 5:36)).
See TEL-MELAH .
THESSALONIANS, THE FIRST EPISTLE OF PAUL TO THE
thes-a-lo'-ni-anz
II. CIRCUMSTANCES OF THE FOUNDING OF THE CHURCH
2. Confirmation of Luke's Narrative in the Epistle
III. CONDITIONS IN THE THESSALONIAN CHURCH AS INDICATED IN THE LETTER
IV. ANALYSIS WIENER, ORIGIN OF THE PENTATEUCH THE EPISTLE
1. Paul's Past and Present Relations with the Thessalonians and His Love for Them
2. Exhortations against Vice, and Comfort and Warning in View of the Coming of Christ
V. DOCTRINAL IMPLICATIONS OF THE EPISTLE
VI. THE EPISTLE'S REVELATIONS OF PAUL'S CHARACTERISTICS
LITERATURE
I. The Importance of the Epistle.
The letter is especially important as a witness to the content of the earliest Gospel, on account of its date and its well-nigh unchallenged authenticity. According to Harnack it was written in the year 48 AD; according to Zahn, in the year 53. It is likely that these two dates represent the extreme limits. We are thus justified in saying with confidence that we have before us a document that could not have been written more than 24 years, and may very easily have been written but 19 years, after the ascension of our Lord. This is a fact of great interest in view of the contention that the Jesus of the four Gospels is a product of the legend-making propensity of devout souls in the latter part of the 1st century. When we remember that Paul was converted more than 14 years before the writing of the Epistles, and that he tells us that his conversion was of such an overwhelming nature as to impel him in a straight course from which he never varied, and when we note that at the end of 14 years Peter and John, having fully heard the gospel which he preached, had no corrections to offer (Gal 1:11 through 2:10, especially 2:6-10), we see that the view of Christ and His message given in this Epistle traces itself back into the very presence of the most intimate friends of Jesus. It is not meant by this that the words of Paul or the forms of his teaching are reproductions of things Jesus said in the days of His flesh, but rather that the conception which is embodied in the Epistle of the person of Christ and of His relation to the Father, and of His relation also to the church and to human destiny, is rooted in Christ's own self-revelation.
II. Circumstances of the Founding of the Church.
For the founding of the church we have two sources of information, the Book of Acts and the Epistle itself. Luke's narrative is found in Acts 17. Here we are told that Paul, after leaving Philippi, began his next siege against entrenched paganism in the great market center of Thessalonica. He went first into the synagogues of the Jews, and for three Sabbath days reasoned with them out of the Scriptures. Some of them, Luke tells us, "were persuaded, and consorted with Paul and Silas; and of the devout Greeks a great multitude, and of the chief women not a few." This very naturally excited the jealousy of the Jews who found themselves losing the social prestige that came from having a large number of Greeks, including some of the nobility, resorting to them for instruction. Accordingly, they raised a mob of the worst men in town and brought the leading members of the church before the magistrate. These brethren, Jason and certain others, who seem to have been men of some property, were compelled to give bond to preserve the peace, and the intense feeling against Paul made it necessary for him, for the sake of these brethren as well as for his personal safety, to flee from the city.
2. Confirmation of Luke's Narrative in the Epistle:
The historicity of Luke's story of the founding of the church is strongly supported by the text of the Epistle. Paul, for instance, notes that the work in Thessalonica began after they had been shamefully entreated at Philippi (1 Thess 2:2). He bears witness also in the same verse to the conflict in the midst of which the Thessalonian church was founded (see also 1 Thess 2:14). Paul's exhortation to salute all the brethren with a holy kiss, his solemn adjuration that this letter be read unto all the brethren (1 Thess 5:26,27), and his exhortation to despise not prophesying (1 Thess 5:20) are harmonious with Luke's account of the very diverse social elements out of which the church was formed: diversities that would very easily give rise to a disposition on the part of the more aristocratic to neglect the cordial greetings to the poorer members, and to despise their uncouth testimonies to the grace of God that had come to them (Acts 17:4).
Paul tells us that he was forced to labor for his daily bread at Thessalonica (1 Thess 2:9). Luke does not make mention of this, but he tells us of his work at tent-making in the next town where he made a considerable stop (Acts 18:1-3), and thus each statement makes the other probable.
Perhaps, however, the most marked corroboration of the Acts which we have in the letter is the general harmony of its revelation of the character of Paul with that of the Acts. The reminiscences of Paul's work among them (1 Thess 2:1-12) correspond, for instance, in a marked way, in essence though not in style and vocabulary, with Luke's report of Paul's account of the method and spirit of his work at Ephesus (Acts 20:17-35). This, however, is only one of many correspondences which could be pointed out and which will at once be evident to anyone who will read the letter, and then go over Acts 13 through 28.
It may seem irrelevant thus to emphasize the historicity of Acts in an article on Thessalonians, but the witness of the Epistle to the historicity of the Gospels and of Acts is for the present moment one of its most important functions.
III. Conditions in the Thessalonian Church as Indicated in the Letter.
A New Testament epistle bears a close resemblance to a doctor's prescription. It relates itself to the immediate situation of the person to whom it is directed. If we study it we can infer with a great deal of accuracy the tendencies, good or bad, in the church. What revelation of the conditions at Thessalonica is made in the First Epistle? Plainly, affairs on the whole are in a very good state, especially when one takes into account the fact that most of the members had been out of heathenism but a few months. They were so notably devoted to God that they were known all over Macedonia as examples to the church (1 Thess 1:7). In particular the Christian grace of cordial good will toward all believers flourished among them: a grace which they doubtless had good opportunity to exercise in this great market town to which Christians from all parts would resort on business errands and where there would be constant demands on their hospitality (1 Thess 4:9-10).
There were, however, shadows in the picture. Some persons were whispering dark suspicions against Paul. Perhaps, as Zahn suggests, they were the unbelieving husbands of the rich ladies who had become members of the church. It was in answer to these criticisms that he felt called upon to say that he was not a fanatic nor a moral leper, nor a deceiver (1 Thess 2:3). When he is so careful to remind them that he was not found at any time wearing a cloak of covetousness, but rather went to the extreme of laboring night and day that he might not be chargeable to any of them (1 Thess 2:9), we may be sure that the Christians were hearing constant jibes about their money-making teacher who had already worked his scheme with the Philippians so successfully that they had twice sent him a contribution (Phil 4:16). Paul's peculiar sensitiveness on this point at Corinth (1 Cor 9:14,15) was possibly in part the result of his immediately preceding experiences at Thessalonica.
One wonders whether Greece was not peculiarly infested at this time with wandering philosophers and religious teachers who beat their way as best they could, living on the credulity of the unwary.
Paul's anxiety to assure them of his intense desire to see them and his telling of his repeated attempts to come to them (1 Thess 2:17-20) show rather plainly also that his absence had given rise to the suspicion that he was afraid to come back, or indeed quite indifferent about revisiting them. "We would fain have come unto you," he says, "I Paul once and again; and Satan hindered us."
Some also were saying that Paul was a flatterer (1 Thess 2:5), who was seeking by this means to carry out unworthy ends. This sneer indeed, after the reading of the letter, would come quite naturally to the superficial mind. Paul's amazing power to idealize his converts and see them in the light of their good intentions and of the general goal and trend of their minds is quite beyond the appreciation of a shallow and sardonic soul.
More than this, we can see plain evidence that the church was in danger of the chronic heathen vice of unchastity (1 Thess 4:3-8). The humble members also, in particular, were in danger of being intoxicated by the new intellectual and spiritual life into which they had been inducted by the gospel, and were spending their time in religious meetings to the neglect of their daily labor (1 Thess 4:10-12). Moreover, some who had lost friends since their baptism were mourning lest at the second coming of Christ these who had fallen asleep would not share in the common glory (1 Thess 4:13-18). This is a quaint proof of the immaturity of their view of Christ, as though a physical accident could separate from His love and care. There was likewise, as suggested above, the ever-present danger of social cliques among the members (1 Thess 5:13,15,20,26,27). It is to this condition of things that Paul pours forth this amazingly vital and human Epistle.
The letter may be divided in several ways. Perhaps as simple a way as any is that which separates it into two main divisions.
First, Paul's past and present relations with the Thessalonians, and his love for them (1 Thess 1:1 through 3:13):
1. Paul's Past and Present Relations with the Thessalonians and His Love for Them:
(1) Greeting and Thanksgiving (1 Thess 1:1-10).
(2) Paul reminds them of the character of his life and ministry among them (1 Thess 2:1-12).
(3) The sufferings of the Thessalonians the same as those endured by their Jewish brethren (1 Thess 2:13-16).
(4) Paul's efforts to see them (1 Thess 2:17-20).
(5) Paul's surrender of his beloved helper in order to learn the state of the Thessalonian church, and his joy over the good news which Timothy brought (1 Thess 3:1-13).
Second, exhortations against vice, and comfort and warning in view of the coming of Christ (1 Thess 4:1-5,28):
2. Exhortations against Vice, and Comfort and Warning in View of the Coming of Christ:
(1) Against gross vice (1 Thess 4:1-8).
(2) Against idleness (1 Thess 4:9-12).
(3) Concerning those who have fallen asleep (1 Thess 4:13-18).
(4) Concerning the true way to watch for the Coming (1 Thess 5:1-11).
(5) Sundry exhortations (1 Thess 5:12-28).
V. Doctrinal Implications of the Epistle.
The Epistle to the Thessalonians is not a doctrinal letter. Paul's great teaching concerning salvation by faith alone, apart from the works of the Law, is not sharply defined or baldly stated, and the doctrine of the cross of Christ as central in Christianity is here implied rather than enforced. Almost the only doctrinal statement is that which assures them that those of their number who had fallen asleep would not in any wise be shut out from the rewards and glories at Christ's second coming (1 Thess 4:13-18). But while the main doctrinal positions of Paul are not elaborated or even stated in the letter, it may safely be said that the Epistle could scarcely have been written by one who denied those teachings. And the fact that we know that shortly before or shortly after Paul wrote the Epistle to the Galatians, and the fact that he so definitely describes his attitude at this very time toward the preaching of the cross of Christ, in his reminiscences in 1 Corinthians (see especially 1 Cor 2:1-5), show how foolish it is to assume that an author has not yet come to a position because he does not constantly obtrude it in all that he writes.
The Epistle, however, bears abundant evidence to the fact that this contemporary of Jesus had seen in the life and character and resurrection of Jesus that which caused him to exalt Him to divine honors, to mention Him in the same breath with God the Father, and to expect His second coming in glory as the event which would determine the destiny of all men and be the final goal of history. As such the letter, whose authenticity is now practically unquestioned, is a powerful proof that Jesus was a personality as extraordinary as the Jesus of the first three Gospels. And even the Christ of the Fourth Gospel is scarcely more exalted than He who now with God the Father constitutes the spiritual atmosphere in which Christians exist (1 Thess 1:1), and who at the last day will descend from heaven with a shout and with the voice of an archangel and the trump of God, and cause the dead in Christ to rise from their tombs to dwell forever with Himself (1 Thess 4:16,17).
VI. The Epistle's Revelations of Paul's Characteristics.
We notice in the letter the extreme tactfulness of Paul. He has some plain and humiliating warnings to give, but he precedes them in each case with affectionate recognition of the good qualities of the brethren. Before he warns against gross vice he explains that he is simply urging them to continue in the good way they are in. Before he urges them to go to work he cordially recognizes the love that has made them linger so long and so frequently at the common meeting-places. And when in connection with his exhortations about the second coming he alludes to the vice of drunkenness, he first idealizes them as sons of the light and of the day to whom, of course, the drunken orgies of those who are "of the night" would be unthinkable. Thus by a kind of spiritual suggestion he starts them in the right way.
LITERATURE.
Bishop Alexander, the Speaker's Commentary (published in America under the title, The Bible Comm., and bound with most excellent commentaries on all of the Pauline Epistles), New York, Scribners; Milligan, The Epistles to the Thessalonians (the Greek text with Introduction and notes), London, Macmillan; Moffatt, The Expositor's Greek Test. (bound with commentaries by various authors on the Pastoral Epistles, Philemon, Hebrews and James), New York, Dodd, Mead and Co.; Frame, ICC, New York, Scribners; Stevens, An American Commentary on the New Testament, Philadelphia, American Baptist Publication Society; Adeney, The New Century Bible, "1 and 2 Thessalonians" and "Galatians," New York, Henry Frowde; Findlay, "The Epistles to the Thessalonians," Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges, New York, Putnams; James Denney, "The Epistles to the Thessalonians," Expositor's Bible, New York, Doran; the two latter are especially recommended as inexpensive, popular and yet scholarly commentaries. The Cambridge Bible is a verse-by-verse commentary, and Professor Denney on "Thess" in Expositor's Bible is one of the most vital and vigorous pieces of homiletical exposition known to the present writer.
Rollin Hough Walker
THESSALONIANS, THE SECOND EPISTLE OF PAUL TO THE
I. IMPORTANCE OF STUDYING 1 THESSALONIANS AND 2 THESSALONIANS TOGETHER
1. Arguments against the Pauline Authorship
2. Arguments for the Pauline Authorship
2. Permanent Value of the Teaching concerning the Man of Sin
V. PAUL'S EXHORTATION TO QUIET INDUSTRY
LITERATURE
I. Importance of Studying 1 Thessalonians and 2 Thessalonians Together.
Those who hold to the Pauline authorship of the Epistle unite in ascribing it to a time but little subsequent to the writing of the First Letter. It is simply a second prescription for the same case, made after discovering that some certain stubborn symptoms had not yielded to the first treatment. 2 Thess should be studied in connection with 1 Thessalonians because it is only from an understanding of the First Epistle and the situation that it revealed that one can fully grasp the significance of the Second. And more than that, the solution of the problem as to whether Paul wrote the Second Letter is likewise largely dependent on our knowledge of the First. It would, for instance, be much harder to believe that Paul had written 2 Thessalonians if we did not know that before writing it he had used the tender and tactful methods of treatment which we find in the First Letter. It is as though one should enter a sick rook where the physician is resorting to some rather strong measures with a patient. One is better prepared to judge the wisdom of the treatment if he knows the history of the case, and discovers that gentler methods have already been tried by the physician without success.
1. Arguments against the Pauline Authorship:
The different treatment of the subject of the second coming of Christ, the different emotional tone, and the different relationships between Paul and the church presupposed in the First and Second Epistles have been among the causes which have led to repeated questionings of the Pauline authorship of 2 Thessalonians. Scholars argue, in the first place, that the doctrine concerning the coming of Christ which we find in the Second Letter is not only differently phrased but is contradictory to that in the First. We get the impression from the First Letter that the Day of the Lord is at hand. It will come as a thief in the night (1 Thess 5:2), and one of the main parts of Christian duty is to expect (1 Thess 1:9,10). In the Second Letter, however, he writer urges strongly against any influence that will deceive them into believing that the Day of the Lord is at hand, because it will not be "except the falling away come first, and the man of sin be revealed, the son of perdition, he that opposeth and exalteth himself against all that is called God or that is worshiped" (2 Thess 2:1-4).
Again very plainly also, say the critics, a different relation exists between the writer and the church at Thessalonica. In the First Letter he coaxes; in the Second Letter he commands (1 Thess 4:1,2,9-12; 5:1-11; 2 Thess 2:1-4; 3:6,12-14). Moreover, the whole emotional tone of the Second Letter is different from that of the First. The First Epistle is a veritable geyser of joyous, grateful affection and tenderness. The Second Letter, while it also contains expressions of the warmest affection and appreciation, is quite plainly not written under the same pressure of tender emotion. Here, say the critics, is a lower plane of inspiration. Here are Paul's words and phrases and plain imitations of Paul's manner, but here most emphatically is not the flood tide of Paul's inspiration. Moreover, the lurid vision of the battle between the man of sin and the returning Messiah in the Second Letter is different in form and coloring from anything which we find elsewhere in Paul. These, and other considerations have led many to assume that the letter was written by a hand other than that of the Apostle to the Gentiles.
2. Arguments for the Pauline Authorship:
The Hypothesis, however, that Paul was not the author of the Epistle, while it obviates certain difficulties, raises many more. Into a statement of these difficulties we will not go here, but refer the reader to a brief and scholarly putting of them in Peake's Critical Introduction to the New Testament, 12-16 (New York, Scribners, 1910).
There is accordingly today a manifest tendency among all scholars, including those in the more radical camps, to return to the traditional position concerning the authorship. The following are some of the positive arguments for the authenticity:
As for the opposing views of the coming of Christ in the two Epistles, it is to be noted that precisely the same superficial contradiction occurs in our Lord's own teaching on this same subject (Mt 24:6,23,24,25,26; Lk 12:35,40). Jesus exhorts His disciples to watch, for in such an hour as they think not the Son of man cometh, and yet at the same time and in the same connection warns them that when they see certain signs they should not be troubled, for the end is not yet. Paul, brooding over the subject after writing the First Letter, might easily have come strongly to see the obverse side of the shield. The apostle built his theology upon the tradition which had come from Jesus as interpreted by its practical effects upon his converts, and his mind was quick to counteract any danger due to overemphasis or wrong inferences. He was not nearly as eager for a consistently stated doctrine as he was for a doctrine that made for spiritual life and efficiency. During the fierce persecutions at the beginning of the movement in Thessalonica, the comfort of the thought of the swift coming of Christ was in need of emphasis but as soon as the doctrine was used as an excuse for unhealthful religious excitement the minds of the disciples must be focused on more prosaic and less exciting aspects of reality.
That Paul assumes a commanding and peremptory attitude in the Second Letter which we do not find so plainly asserted in the First is readily admitted. Why should not the First Letter have had its intended effect upon the Thessalonian church as a whole? And if Paul received word that his gracious and tactful message had carried with it the conviction of the dominant elements of the church, but that certain groups had continued to be fanatical and disorderly, we can easily see how, with the main current of the church behind him, he would have dared to use more drastic methods with the offending members.
It is also readily admitted that the Second Letter is not so delightful and heart-warming as the First. It was plainly not written in a mood of such high emotional elevation. But the question may be raised as to whether the coaxing, caressing tone of the First Epistle would have been appropriate in handling the lazy and fanatical elements of the church after it had persisted in disregarding his tender and kindly admonitions. Jesus' stern words to the Pharisees in Mt 23 are not so inspiring as Jn 14, but they were the words and the only words that were needed at the time. "Let not your heart be troubled" would not be inspired if delivered to hypocrites. Furthermore, we are not called upon to assume that Paul at all times lived in the same mood of emotional exaltation. Indeed his Epistles abound with assertions that this was not the case (2 Cor 1:8; 1 Thess 3:9), and it is unreasonable to expect him always to write in the same key. It must be added, however, that the suggestion that the Second Epistle is stern may easily be overdone. If 1 Thessalonians were not before us, it would be the tenderness of Paul's treatment of the church which would most impress us.
Harnack has recently added the weight of his authority to the argument for the Pauline authorship of the letter. He thinks that there were two distinct societies in Thessalonica, the one perhaps meeting in the Jewish quarter and composed chiefly of Jewish Christians, and the other composed of Greeks meeting in some other part of the city. In addition to the probability that this would be true, which arises from the very diverse social classes out of which the church was formed (Acts 17:4), and the size of the city, he points to the adjuration in the First Letter (1 Thess 5:27) that this Epistle be read unto all the brethren, as a proof that there was a coterie in the church that met separately and that might easily have been neglected by the rest, just as the Greeks in Jerusalem were neglected in the daily ministration (Acts 6:1). He thinks that the Second Letter was probably directed to the Jewish element of the Church.
It is to be noted also that Professor Moffatt (Introduction to the Literature of the New Testament, 76 ff), who calls in question the authenticity of nearly all of the books of the New Testament that any reputable scholars now attack, finds no sufficient reason to question the Pauline authorship of 2 Thessalonians.
The question as to whom or what Paul refers to in 2 Thess 2:1-12, when he speaks of the man of sin, whose revelation is to precede the final manifestation of Christ, has divided scholars during all the Christian centuries. (For a good discussion of the history of the interpretation of this difficult section, see Findlay, "I andII Thessalonians," Cambridge Bible, 170-80.) The reason why each age has had its fresh interpretation identifying the man of sin with the blasphemous powers of evil then most active is the fact that the prophecy has never yet found its complete accomplishment. The man of sin has never been fully revealed, and Christ has never finally destroyed him.
But Paul says that the mystery of iniquity already works (2 Thess 2:7), and he tells the church that the restraining influence which for the time being held it in check is something that "ye know" (2 Thess 2:6). Plainly, then, the evil power and that which held it in check were things quite familiar both to Paul and to his readers. We must therefore give the prophecy a lst-century reference. The alternative probably lies between making the mystery of iniquity the disposition of the Roman emperor to give himself out as an incarnation of deity and force all men to worship him, a tendency which was then being held in check by Claudius, but which soon broke out under Caligula (see Peake's Introduction above cited); or, on the other hand, making the mystery of iniquity to be some peculiar manifestation of diabolism which was to break out from the persecuting Jewish world, and which was then held in check by the restraining power of the Roman government.
In favor of making a blasphemous Roman emperor the man of sin, may be urged the fact that it was this demand of the emperor for worship which brought matters to a crisis in the Roman world and turned the terrific enginery of the Roman empire against Christianity. And it may be argued that it is hardly likely that the temporary protection which Paul received from the Roman government prevented him from seeing that its spirit was such that it must ultimately be ranged against Christianity. One may note also, in arguing for the Roman reference of the man of sin, the figurative and enigmatic way in which Paul refers to the opposing power, a restraint that would be rendered necessary for reasons of prudence (compare Mk 13:14, and also the cryptograms used by the author of the Book of Revelation in referring to Rome). Paul has none of this reserve in referring to the persecuting Jewish world who "please not God, and are contrary to all men" (1 Thess 2:15). And in view of the fact that the Jews were in disfavor in the Roman empire, as is proved by then recently issued decree of Claudius commanding all Jews to depart from Rome (Acts 18:2), and by the fact that to proclaim a man a Jew helped at that time to lash a mob into fury against him (Acts 16:20; 19:34), it would seem hardly likely that Paul would expect the subtle and attractive deception that was to delude the World to come from Jerusalem; and particularly would this seem unlikely in view of the fact that Paul seems to be familiar with our Lord's prophecy of the swift destruction of Jerusalem, as is shown by his assertion in 1 Thess 2:16, that wrath is come upon them to the uttermost.
On the other hand, however, to make the man of sin a person or an influence coming from Judaism is supported by the fact that he is to sit in the temple of God, setting himself forth to be God (1 Thess 2:4), and by the fact that the natural punishment for the rejection of their Messiah was that the Jews should be led to accept a false Messiah. Having opposed Him who came in the Father's name, they were doomed to accept one who came in his own name. Again, and far more important than this, is the fact that during nearly the whole of Paul's life it was the Roman empire that protected him, and the unbelieving Jews that formed the malicious, cunning and powerful opposition to his work and to the well-being and peace of his churches, and he could very well have felt that the final incarnation of evil was to come from the source which had crucified the Christ and which had thus far been chiefly instrumental in opposing the gospel. Moreover, this expectation that a mysterious power of evil should arise out of the Jewish world seems to be in harmony with the rest of the New Testament (Mt 24:5,23,24; Rev 11:3,1,8). It is the second alternative, therefore, that is, with misgivings, chosen by the present writer.
It may be objected that this cannot be the true Interpretation, as it was not fulfilled, but, on the contrary, it was Rome that became the gospel's most formidable foe. But this type of objection, if accepted as valid, practically puts a stop to all attempts at a historical interpretation of prophecy. It would force us to deny that the prophecies of the Old Testament, which are usually taken as referring to Christ, referred to Him at all, because plainly they were not literally fulfilled in the time and manner that the prophets expected them to be fulfilled. It would almost force us to deny that John the Baptist referred to Christ when he heralded the coming of the one who would burn up the chaff with unquenchable fire, because as the Gospels tell us Jesus did not fulfill this prophecy in the way John expected (Lk 7:19).
See MAN OF SIN .
2. Permanent Value of the Teaching concerning the Man of Sin:
Although Paul's prediction concerning the man of sin was not literally fulfilled, nevertheless his teaching has a permanent significance. It is always true in every battle for good that the Son of man does not come until the falling away comes and the man of sin is revealed. First, there is the fresh tide of enthusiasm and the promise of swift victory for the kingdom of heaven, but soon there is the reaction and the renascence of opposition in new and overwhelming power. The battle is to the death. And then above the smoke of the battle men see the sign of the coming of the Son of man with power and great glory; the conviction floods them that after all what Christ stands for is at the center of the universe and must prevail, and men begin to recognize Christ's principles as though they were natural law. This action and reaction followed by final victory takes place in practically all religious and reforming movements which involve the social reconstruction of society according to the principles of the Kingdom. It is exceedingly important that men should be delivered from shallow optimism. And this Epistle makes its contribution to that good end.
IV. Paul's Exhortation to Quiet Industry.
The exhortation that the brethren should work with quietness and earn their own bread (2 Thess 3:12) is full of interest to those who are studying the psychological development of the early Christians under the influence of the great mental stimulus that came to them from the gospel. Some were so excited by the new dignity that had come to them as members of the Christian society, and by the new hopes that had been inspired in their minds, that they considered themselves above the base necessity of manual labor. This is not an infrequent phenomenon among new converts to Christianity in heathen lands. Paul would have none of it. Fortunately he could point to his own example. He not only labored among them to earn his own livelihood, but he worked until muscles ached and body rebelled (2 These 3:8).
Paul saw that the gospel was to be propagated chiefly by its splendid effects on the lives of all classes of society, and he realized that almost the first duty of the church was to be respected, and so he not only exhorts the individual members to independence, but he lays down the principle that no economic parasite is to be tolerated in the church. "If any man will not work, neither let him eat" (2 Thess 3:10). This forms an important complement to the teaching of Jesus (Mt 5:42): "Give to him that asketh thee, and from him that would borrow of thee turn not thou away."
LITERATURE.
See under 1 Thessalonians.
Rollin Hough Walker
thes-a-lo-ni'-ka (Thessalonike, ethnic Thessalonikeus):
One of the chief towns of Macedonia from Hellenistic times down to the present day. It lies in 40 degrees 40 minutes North latitude, and 22 degrees 50 minutes East longitude, at the northernmost point of the Thermaic Gulf (Gulf of Salonica), a short distance to the East of the mouth of the Axius (Vardar). It is usually maintained that the earlier name of Thessalonica was Therma or Therme, a town mentioned both by Herodotus (vii.121 ff, 179 ff) and by Thucydides (i.61; ii.29), but that its chief importance dates from about 315 BC, when the Macedonian king Cassander, son of Antipater, enlarged and strengthened it by concentrating there the population of a number of neighboring towns and villages, and renamed it after his wife Thessalonica, daughter of Philip II and step-sister of Alexander the Great. This name, usually shortened since medieval times into Salonica or Saloniki, it has retained down to the present. Pliny, however, speaks of Therma as still existing side by side with Thessalonica (NH, iv.36), and it is possible that the latter was an altogether new foundation, which took from Therma a portion of its inhabitants and replaced it as the most important city on the Gulf.
Thessalonica rapidly became populous and wealthy. In the war between Perseus and the Romans it appears as the headquarters of the Macedonian navy (Livy xliv. 10) and when, after the battle of Pydna (168 BC), the Romans divided the conquered territory into four districts, it became the capital of the second of these (Livy xlv.29), while later, after the organization of the single Roman province of Macedonia in 146 BC, it was the seat of the governor and thus practically the capital of the whole province. In 58 BC Cicero spent the greater part of his exile there, at the house of the quaestor Plancius (Pro Plancio 41, 99; Epistle Ad Att, iii.8-21). In the civil war between Caesar and Pompey, Thessalonica took the senatorial side and formed one of Pompey's chief bases (49-48 BC), but in the final struggle of the republic, six years later, it proved loyal to Antony and Octavian, and was rewarded by receiving the status and privileges of a "free city" (Pliny, NH, iv.36). Strabo, writing in the reign of Augustus, speaks of it as the most populous town in Macedonia and the metropolis of the province (vii.323, 330), and about the same time the poet Antipater, himself a native of Thessalonica, refers to the city as "mother of all Macedon" (Jacobs, Anthol. Graec., II, p. 98, number 14); in the 2nd century of our era Lucian mentions it as the greatest city of Macedonia (Asinus, 46). It was important, not only as a harbor with a large import and export trade, but also as the principal station on the great Via Egnatia, the highway from the Adriatic to the Hellespont.
Paul visited the town, together with Silas and Timothy, on his 2nd missionary journey. He had been at Philippi, and traveled thence by the Egnatian Road, passing through Amphipolis and Apollonia on the way (Acts 17:1). He found at Thessalonica a synagogue of the Jews, in which for three successive Sabbaths he preached the gospel, basing his message upon the types and prophecies of the Old Testament Scriptures (Acts 17:2,3). Some of the Jews became converts and a considerable number of proselytes and Greeks, together with many women of high social standing (Acts 17:4). Among these converts were in all probability Aristarchus and Secundus, natives of Thessalonica, whom we afterward find accompanying Paul to Asia at the close of his 3rd missionary journey (Acts 20:4). The former of them was, indeed, one of the apostle's most constant companions; we find him with Paul at Ephesus (Acts 19:29) and on his journey to Rome (Acts 27:2), while in two of his Epistles, written during his captivity, Paul refers to Aristarchus as still with him, his fellow-prisoner (Col 4:10; Philem 1:24). Gaius, too, who is mentioned in conjunction with Aristarchus, may have been a Thessalonian (Acts 19:29). How long Paul remained at Thessalonica on his 1st visit we cannot precisely determine; certainIy we are not to regard his stay there as confined to three weeks, and Ramsay suggests that it probably extended from December, 50 AD, to May, 51 AD (St. Paul the Traveler, 228). In any case, we learn that the Philippines sent him assistance on two occasions during the time which he spent there (Phil 4:16), although he was "working night and day" to maintain himself (1 Thess 2:9; 2 Thess 3:8). Paul, the great missionary strategist, must have seen that from no other center could Macedonia be permeated with the gospel so effectively as from Thessalonica (1 Thess 1:8).
But his success roused the jealousy of the Jews, who raised a commotion among the dregs of the city populace (Acts 17:5). An attack was made on the house of Jason, with whom the evangelists were lodging, and when these were not found Jason himself and some of the other converts were dragged before the magistrates and accused of harboring men who had caused tumult throughout the Roman world, who maintained the existence of another king, Jesus, and acted in defiance of the imperial decrees. The magistrates were duly alive to the seriousness of the accusation, but, since no evidence was forthcoming of illegal practices on the part of Jason or the other Christians, they released them on security (Acts 17:5-9). Foreseeing further trouble if Paul should continue his work in the town, the converts sent Paul and Silas (and possibly Timothy also) by night to Berea, which lay off the main road and is referred to by Cicero as an out-of-the-way town (oppidum devium: in Pisonem 36). The Berean Jews showed a greater readiness to examine the new teaching than those of Thessalonica, and the work of the apostle was more fruitful there, both among Jews and among Greeks (Acts 17:10-13). But the news of this success reached the Thessalonian Jews and inflamed their hostility afresh. Going to Berea, they raised a tumult there also, and made it necessary for Paul to leave the town and go to Athens (Acts 17:14,15).
Several points in this account are noteworthy as illustrating the strict accuracy of the narrative of the Acts. Philippi was a Roman town, military rather than commercial; hence, we find but few Jews there and no synagogue; the magistrates bear the title of praetors (Acts 16:20,22,35,36,38 the Revised Version margin) and are attended by lictors (Acts 16:35,38 the Revised Version margin); Paul and Silas are charged with the introduction of customs which Romans may not observe (Acts 16:21); they are beaten with rods (Acts 16:22) and appeal to their privileges as Roman citizens (16:37,38). At Thessalonica all is changed. We are here in a Greek commercial city and a seaport, a "free city," moreover, enjoying a certain amount of autonomy and its own constitution. Here we find a large number of resident Jews and a synagogue. The charge against Paul is that of trying to replace Caesar by another king; the rioters wish to bring him before "the people," i.e. the popular assembly characteristic of Greek states, and the magistrates of the city bear the Greek name of politarchs (Acts 17:5-9). This title occurs nowhere in Greek literature, but its correctness is proved beyond possibility of question by its occurrence in a number of inscriptions of this period, which have come to light in Thessalonica and the neighborhood, and will be found collected in AJT (1898, 598) and in M. G. Dimitsas, (Makedonia), 422 ff. Among them the most famous is the inscription engraved on the arch which stood at the western end of the main street of Salonica and was called the Vardar Gate. The arch itself, which was perhaps erected to commemorate the victory of Philippi, though some authorities assign it to a later date, has been removed, and the inscription is now in the British Museum (CIG, 1967; Leake, Northern Greece, III, 236; Le Bas, Voyage archeologique, number 1357; Vaux, Trans. Royal Sec. Lit., VIII, 528). This proves that the politarchs were six in number, and it is a curious coincidence that in it occur the names Sosipater, Gaius and Secundus, which are berate by three Macedonian converts, of whom the first two were probably Thessalonians, the last certainly.
The Thessalonian church was a strong and flourishing one, composed of Gentiles rather than of Jews, if we may judge from the tone of the two Epistles addressed to its members, the absence of quotations from and allusions to the Old Testament, and the phrase "Ye turned unto God from idols" (1 Thess 1:9; compare also 2:14). These, by common consent the earliest of Paul's Epistles, show us that the apostle was eager to revisit Thessalonica very soon after his enforced departure: "once and again" the desire to return was strong in him, but "Satan hindered" him (1 Thess 2:18)--a reference probably to the danger and loss in which such a step would involve Jason and the other leading converts. But though himself prevented from continuing his work at Thessalonica, he sent Timothy from Athens to visit the church and confirm the faith of the Christians amid their hardships and persecutions (1 Thess 3:2-10). The favorable report brought back by Timothy was a great comfort to Paul, and at the same time intensified his longing to see his converts again (1 Thess 3:10,11). This desire was to be fulfilled more than once. Almost certainly Paul returned there on his 3rd missionary journey, both on his way to Greece (Acts 20:1) and again while he was going thence to Jerusalem (Acts 20:3); it is on this latter occasion that we hear of Aristarchus and Secundus accompanying him (Acts 20:4). Probably Paul was again in Thessalonica after his first imprisonment. From the Epistle to the Philippians (Acts 1:26; 2:24), written during his captivity, we learn that his intention was to revisit Philippi if possible, and 1 Tim 1:3 records a subsequent journey to Macedonia, in the course of which the apostle may well have made a longer or shorter stay at Thessalonica. The only other mention of the town in the New Testament occurs in 2 Tim 4:10, where Paul writes that Demas has forsaken him and has gone there. Whether Demas was a Thessalonian, as some have supposed, cannot be determined.
For centuries the city remained one of the chief strongholds of Christianity, and it won for itself the title of "the Orthodox City," not only by the tenacity and vigor of its resistance to the successive attacks of various barbarous races, but also by being largely responsible for their conversion to Christianity.
From the middle of the 3rd century AD it was entitled "metropolis and colony," and when Diocletian (284-305) divided Macedonia into two provinces, Thessalonica was chosen as the capital of the first of these. It was also the scene in 390 AD of the famous massacre ordered by Theodosius the Great, for which Ambrose excluded that emperor for some months from the cathedral at Milan. In 253 the Goths had made a vain attempt to capture the city, and again in 479 Theodoric, king of the Ostrogoths, found it so strong and well prepared that he did not venture to attack it. From the 6th to the 9th century it was engaged in repeated struggles against Avars, Slavonians and Bulgarians, whose attacks it repelled with the utmost difficulty. Finally, in 904 AD it was captured by the Saracens, who, after slaughtering a great number of the inhabitants and burning a considerable portion of the city, sailed away carrying with them 22,000 captives, young men, women and children. In 1185, when the famous scholar Eustathius was bishop, the Normans under Tancred stormed the city, and once more a general massacre took place. In 1204 Thessalonica became the center of a Latin kingdom under Boniface, marquis of Monferrat, and for over two centuries it passed from hand to hand, now ruled by Latins now by Greeks, until in 1430 it fell before the sultan Amurath II. After that time it remained in the possession of the Turks, and it was, indeed, the chief European city of their dominions, with the exception of Constantinople, until it was recaptured by the Greeks in the Balkan war of 1912. Its population includes some 32,000 Turks, 47,000 Jews (mostly the descendants of refugees from Spain) and 16,000 Greeks and other Europeans. The city is rich in examples of Byzantine ecclesiastical architecture and art, and possesses, in addition to a large number of mosques, 12 churches and 25 synagogues.
LITERATURE.
The fullest account of the topography of Thessalonica and its history, especially from the 5th to the 15th century, is that of Tafel, De Thessalonica eiusque agro. Dissertatio geographica, Berlin, 1839; compare also the Histories of Gibbon and Finlay. A description of the town and its ancient remains is given by Leake, Travels in Northern Greece, III, 235 ff; Cousinery, Voyage dans la Macedoine, I, 23 ff; Heuzey, Mission archeol. de Macedoine,' 272 ff; and other travelers. The inscriptions, mostly in Greek, are collected in Dimitsas, (Makedonia), 421 ff.
M. N. Tod
thu'-das (Theudas, a contraction of Theodorus, "the gift of God"): Theudas is referred to by Gamaliel in his speech before the Sanhedrin, when he advised them as to the position they should adopt in regard to the apostles (Acts 5:36). The failure of the rebellion of Theudas was quoted by Gamaliel on this occasion as typical of the natural end of such movements as were inspired "not of God, but of men." A rising under one Theudas is also described by Josephus (Ant., XX, v, 1), but this occurred at a later date (according to Josephus about 44 or 45 AD) than the speech of Gamaliel (before 37 AD). Of theories put forward in explanation of the apparent anachronism in Gameliels speech, the two most in favor are (1) that as there were many insurrections during the period in question, the two writers refer to different Theudases; (2) that the reference to Theudas in the narrative of Acts was inserted by a later reviser, whose historical knowledge was inaccurate (Weiss; compare also Knowling, The Expositor's Greek Testament,II , 157-59).
C. M. Kerr
(`ets `abhoth (Lev 23:40; Neh 8:15)): One of the varieties of trees which the Israelites were directed to use at the Feast of Tabernacles; in the latter passage they are expressly directed to make booths with them. According to the Talmudic writings, the "thick trees" are myrtles (Suk. 12a; Jer Suk. iii, 53d), and further tradition has prescribed certain special features as to the varieties of myrtle employed, without which they cannot be used in the ritual of the feast. In Sirach 14:18 "thick tree" represents dendron dasu, "leafy tree."
See MYRTLE .
thik'-et (cebhakh (Gen 22:13; Isa 9:18; 10:34), or cobhekh (Jer 4:7); in 1 Sam 13:6, choach): A thick or dense growth of trees or shrubs (thorns, brambles), in which wild beasts may lurk (Jer 4:7), or animals be caught by their horns (Gen 22:13; Abraham's ram).
See FOREST .
thef: In the Old Testament the uniform translation (17 times) of gannabh, from ganabh, "steal," but gannabh is rather broader than the English "thief," and may even include a kidnapper (Dt 24:7). In Apocrypha and the New Testament, the King James Version uses "thief" indifferently for kleptes, and lestes, but the Revised Version (British and American) always renders the latter word by "robber" (a great improvement), See CRIMES . The figurative use of thief" as one coming without warning" (Mt 24:43, etc.) needs no explanation.
The penitent thief ("robber," the Revised Version (British and American) Mk 15:27; Mt 27:38,44; "malefactor," Lk 23:32,39) was one of the two criminals crucified with Christ. According to Mark and Matthew, both of these joined in the crowd's mockery, but Luke tells that one of them reproached his fellow for the insults, acknowledged his own guilt, and begged Christ to remember him at the coming of the Kingdom. And Christ replied by promising more than was asked--immediate admission into Paradise. It should be noted that unusual moral courage was needed for the thief to make his request at such a time and under such circumstances, and that his case has little in common with certain sentimental "death-bed repentances."
To explain the repentance and the acknowledgment of Christ as Messiah, some previous acquaintance of the thief with Christ must be supposed, but all guesses as to time and place are of course useless. Later tradition abundantly filled the blanks and gave the penitent thief the name Titus or Dysmas.
Burton Scott Easton
thi (yarekh; Aramaic yarekhah (Dan 2:32); meros (Judith 9:2; Sirach 19:12; Rev 19:16); as part of a sacrificial animal (Ex 29:22, etc.) shoq, the King James Version, the Revised Version margin "shoulder"; in addition the King James Version has "thigh" for shoq in Isa 47:2 (the Revised Version (British and American) "leg")): The portion of the leg from the knee to the hip, against which a weapon hangs when suspended from the waist (Ex 32:27; Jdg 3:16,21; Ps 45:3, etc.). So the thigh of a rider on horseback would be covered by a loose girdle, on which his name might be embroidered (Rev 19:16). The "hollow of the thigh" (Gen 32:25 ff) is the hip-socket or the groin.
See also HIP .
The thighs were thought to play a part in procreation (Gen 46:26; Ex 1:5, English Versions of the Bible "loins"; Jdg 8:30, English Versions of the Bible "body"; compare Nu 5:21 ff), so that an oath taken with the hand under the thigh (Gen 24:2,9; 47:29) was taken by the life-power (the rabbis interpreted "by the seal of circumcision"). It is perhaps significant that this oath in both Gen 24 and 47 is said to have been exacted by persons in danger of death. Doubtless this association of the thigh with life (aided perhaps by its excellence as food (1 Sam 9:24; Ezek 24:4)) determined its choice as a sacrificial potion (Ex 29:22, etc.; on the "heave thigh" see SACRIFICE ). Consequently, it is natural to find the thigh classed as forbidden ("sacred") food among certain peoples, and, probably, this sacred character of the part is the real basis of Gen 32:32: "The children of Israel eat not the sinew of the hip which is upon the hollow of the thigh, unto this day." The origin of the prohibition, however, was unknown to the writer of the verse, and he sought an explanation from a story in which special attention was called to the thigh. Nothing else is heard about this precept in the Old Testament, but it receives elaborate attention in the Mishna (Chullin vii), where, for instance, all food cooked with meat containing the sinew (nervus ischiadicus) is rendered unclean if the sinew imparts a flavor to it, but not otherwise. (For further details see the comms., especially Skinner. (ICC) and RS2, 380.) One of the proofs of guilt in the jealousy trial (Nu 5:27) was the falling-away of the "thigh" (a euphemism; see JEALOUSY ). To smite upon the thigh was a token of contrition (Jer 31:19) or of terror (Ezr 21:12).
Burton Scott Easton
thim'-na-tha, thim-na'-tha (timnathah): the King James Version in Josh 19:43. It is correctly "Timnah" with Heb locale meaning "towed Timnah."
See TIMNAH .
think: The Old Testament often translates 'amar, "to say," meaning what one says to himself, and hence, a definite and clearly formulated decision or purpose (Gen 20:11; Nu 24:4; Ruth 4:4, etc.), illustrated by the, change made by the Revised Version (British and American) in the King James Version of Est 6:6, where "thought in his heart" becomes "said in his heart." In other passages, for chashabh, damah, or zamam, indicating the result of mental activity, as in an intention or estimate formed after careful deliberation (compare Ecclesiasticus 18:25); In the New Testament, most, frequently for dokeo, "to be of the opinion, "suppose," literally, "seem" (Mt 3:9; 6:7; Lk 10:36, etc.). Sometimes, for logizomai, "to compute," "reckon" (Rom 2:3, etc.); sometimes, for nomizo, literally referring to what attains the force of law (nomos), and then, "to be of the opinion"; or, for phroneo, implying a thought that is cherished--a mental habit, rather than an act (Rom 12:3; 1 Cor 13:11). The Greek hegeomai, "to consider," implies logical deduction from premises (Acts 26:2; Phil 2:6), while in Mt 1:20; 9:4, and Acts 10:19, enthumoumai, refers to the mental process itself, the thinking-out of a project, the concentration of the faculties upon the formation of a plan.
H. E. Jacobs
thurd (shelishi; tritos): Isa 19:24, "In that day shall Israel be the third with Egypt and with Assyria," etc., brings out very distinctly the universal and missionary character of Isaiah's prophecies and of Israel's destiny (compare Ezek 16:63; and see G. A. Smith, Isaiah, II, 275, 278; Watkinson, Th. Blind Spot 21 ff).
For "third hour," "third month," "third year," see CALENDAR ;DAY ;TIME .
See LORD'S DAY .
thurst (tsama', verb tsame'; dipsao, dipsos, dipsa): One of the most powerful natural appetities, the craving for water or other drink. Besides its natural significance, thirst is figuratively used of strong spiritual desire. The soul thirsts for God (Ps 42:2; 63:1). Jesus meets the soul's thirst with water of life (Jn 4:13 ff; 6:35; 7:37). It is said of the heavenly bliss, "They shall hunger no more; neither thirst any more" (Rev 7:16,17; compare Isa 49:10).
thur'-ten, thur-ten', thur'-ti.
See NUMBER .
thiz'-be (Codex Vaticanus Thisbe, Codex Alexandrinus Thibe): The home of Tobit whence he was carried into captivity to Babylon. It is said te be "on the right hand (i.e. South) of Kedesh-naphtali in Galilee" (Tobit 1:2). Some have thought that this was the native place of Elijah the Tishbite, but this is mere conjecture. The site has not been recovered. We need not expect strict geographical accuracy in the romance of Tobit, any more than in that of Judith.
this'-'-lz.
See THORNS .
tho-ka'-nus (Thokanos, Thokanos; the King James Version Theocanus): The father of Ezekias, who with Jonathan "took the matter upon them" in the proceedings under Ezra against foreign wives (1 Esdras 9:14) = "Tikvah" in Ezr 10:15.
tom'-as (Thomas; ta'om, "a twin" (in plural only):
One of the Twelve Apostles. Thomas, who was also called "Didymus" or "the Twin" (compare Jn 11:16; 20:24; 21:2), is referred to in detail by the Gospel of John alone. His election to the Twelve is recorded in Mt 10:3; Mk 3:18; Lk 6:15; Acts 1:13. In Jn 11:1-54, when Jesus, despite imminent danger at the hands of hostile Jews, declared His intention of going to Bethany to heal Lazarus, Thomas alone opposed the other disciples who sought to dissuade Him, and protested, "Let us also go; that we may died with him" (Jn 11:16). On the eve of the Passion, Thomas put the question, "Lord, we know now whither thou goest; how know we the way?" (Jn 14:5). After the crucifixion, Thomas apparently severed his connection with the rest of the apostiles for a time, as he was not present when the risen Christ first appeared to them (compare Jn 20:24). But his subsequent conversation with them, while not convincing him of the truth of the resurrection--"except I shall see .... I will not believe" (Jn 20:25)--at least induced him to be among their number eight days afterward (Jn 20:26) in the upper room. There, having received the proofs for which he sought, he made the confession, "My Lord and my God" (Jn 20:28), and was reproved by Jesus for his previous unbelief: "Because thou hast seen me thou hast believed: blessed are they that have not seen, and yet have believed" (Jn 20:29). He was one of the disciples to whom Jesus manifested Himself during the fishing expedition at the Sea of Tiberias (Jn 21:1-11).
According to the "Genealogies of the Twelve Apostles" (compare Budge, The Contendings of the Apostles,II , 50), Thomas was of the house of Asher. The oldest accounts are to the effect that he died a natural death of (compare Clement of Alexandria iv.9, 71). Two fields are mentioned by apocryphal literature as the scene of Thomas' missionary labors. (1) According to origen, he preached in Parthia, the according to a Syrian legend he died at Edessa. The Agbar legend also indicates the connection of Thomas with Edessa. But Eusebius indicates it was Thaddaeus and not Thomas who preached there (see THADDAEUS ). (2) Along with these are other sources identifying Thomas with India. Thus, "The Acts of Thomas" (see APOCRYPHAL ACTS , sec. B, V), a Gnostic work dating from the 2nd century, tells how when the world was partitioned out as a mission field among the disciples, India fell to "Judas Thomas, also called Didymus," and narrates his adventures on the way, his trials, missionary success, and death at the hands of Misdai, king of India (compare Budge,II , 404 ff; Hennecke, Neutestamentliche Apokryphen, 473-544; Pick, The Apocryphal Acts, 224 ff). The "Preaching of Thomas" (compare Budge,II , 319) relates still more fantastic adventures of Thomas in India, and the "Martyrdom of Thomas in India" states that on his departure toward Macedonia he was put to death as a sorcerer.
Of the two, the former is the more probable. An attempt at reconciliation has been made by supposing that the relics of Thomas were transported from India to Edessa, but this is based on inaccurate historical information (compare Hennecke, op. cit., 474). The additional names "Judas" and "Didymus" have causd further confusion in apocryphal literature in regard to Thomas, and have led to his identification with Judas of James, and hence, with Thaddaeus (see THADDAEUS ), and also with Judas the brother of Jesus (compare Mt 13:55). Thus in the "Acts of Thomas" he is twice called the "twin brother of the Messiah." Another legend makes Lysia the twin sister of Thomas. A Gnostic "Gospel of Thomas" (see APOCRYPHAL GOSPELS ,III , 2, (a)) was known to Irenaeus (compare Irenaeus, Adv. Haer., 1,20).
Although little is recorded of Thomas in the Gospels, he is yet one of the most fascinating of the apostles. He is typical of that nature--a nature by no means rare--which contains within it certain conflicting elements exceedingly difficult of reconciliation. Possessed of little natural buoyancy of spirit, and inclined to look upon life with the eyes of gloom or despondency, Thomas was yet a man of indomitable courage and entire unselfishness. Thus with a perplexed faith in the teaching of Jesus was mingled a sincere love for Jesus the teacher. In the incident of Christ's departure for Bethany, his devotion to his Master proved stronger than his fear of death. Thus far, in a situation demanding immediate action, the faith of Thomas triumphed; but when it came into conflict with his standards of belief it was put to a harder test. For Thomas desired to test all truth by the evidence of his senses, and in this, coupled with a mind tenacious both of its beliefs and disbeliefs, lay the real source of his religious difficulties. It was his sincerity which made him to stand aloof from the rest of the disciples till he had attained to personal conviction regarding the resurrection; but his sincerity also drew from him the testimony to that conviction, "My Lord and my God," the greatest and fullest in all Christianity.
C. M. Kerr
See APOCRYPHAL GOSPELS ,III , 2, (a).
thom'-e-i (Codex Alexandrinus Thomei; Fritzsche Thomoi; Codex Vaticanus and Swete Thomthei; the King James Version, Thomoi): A family name of temple-servants who returned with Zerubbabel (1 Esdras 5:32) = "Temah" in Ezr 2:53; Neh 7:55.
thorn (skolops te sarki): Paul thus characterizes some bodily ailment which afflicted him and impaired his usefulness (2 Cor 12:7). The data are insufficient to enable us to ascertain its real nature, and all the speculations on the point are therefore inconclusive. All that we are told is that it was a messenger of Satan; that thereby he was beaten as with a fist, which might be figurative or actual; that it rendered his bodily presence unattractive. It appears that the infirmity recurred, for thrice he sought deliverance; but, by the help of God, he was able to glory in it. Sir W. Ramsay sees in it some form of recurring malarial fever. It was something that disabled him (Gal 4:12-15); hence, Farrar supposes that it was ophthalmia, from the reference to his eyes, from his inability to recognize the high priest (Acts 23:5), from his employing amanuenses to write his epistles, and his writing the Galatian letter in large characters with his own hand (Gal 6:11). Krenkel has at great length argued that it was epilepsy, and thereby endeavors to account for his trances and his falling to the earth on his way to Damascus, but his work is essentially a special pleading for a foregone conclusion, and Paul would not have called his visions "a messenger of Satan." It is also beside the question to heap up instances of other distinguished epileptics. On the whole Farrar's theory is the most probable.
It is probably only a coincidence that "pricks in your eyes" Septuagint skolopes) are mentioned in Nu 33:55. Any pedestrian in Palestine must be familiar with the ubiquitous and troublesome thorny shrubs and thistles which abound there.
Alexander Macalister
THORNS, THISTLES, etc.
thornz: There are very many references to various thorny plants in the Bible, and of the Hebrew words employed great uncertainty exists regarding their exact meaning. The alternative translations given in the text of English Versions of the Bible and in the margin show how divided are the views of the translators. In the following list the suggestions given of possinle species indicated, usually by comparison with the Arabic, are those of the late Professor Post, who spent the best years of his life in study of the botany of Palestine. In the great majority of instances, however, it is quite impossible to make any reasonable suggestion as to any particular species being indicated.
(1) 'aTadh (Jdg 9:14, English Versions of the Bible "bramble," the King James Version margin "thistle," the Revised Version margin "thorn"; Ps 58:9, English Versions of the Bible "thorns"): Probably the buckthorn (Rhamnus Palestina Post). Atad occurs as a proper name in Gen 50:10,11.
(2) barqanim (Jdg 8:7,16, English Versions of the Bible "briers"): Some thorny plant. The Egyptian-Arabic bargan is, according to Moore (Commentary on Judges), the same as Centaurea scoparius (Natural Order, Compositae), a common Palestinian thistle.
(3) dardar (Gen 3:18; Hos 10:8, English Versions of the Bible "thistle"; Septuagint tribolos): In Arabic, shauket ed-dardar is a general name for the thistles known as Centaureae or star-thistles (Natural Order, Compositae), of which Palestine produces nearly 50 species. The purple-flowered C. calcitrapa and the yellow C. verutum are among the commonest and most striking.
(4) chedheq (Prov 15:19, English Versions of the Bible "thorns"; Septuagint akantha; Mic 7:4, English Versions of the Bible "brier"): From former passages this should be some thorny plant suitable for making a hedge (compare Arabic chadaq, "to enclose," "wall in"). Lane states that Arabic chadaq is Solanum sanctum. Post suggests the oleaster, Eleagnus hortensis.
(5) choach; Septuagint knide, and akantha (2 Ki 14:9; Job 31:40, English Versions of the Bible, "thistle," margin "thorn"; 2 Ch 25:18, English Versions of the Bible "thistle," the King James Version margin "furze bush," the Revised Version margin "thorn"; Hos 9:6; Song 2:2, English Versions of the Bible "thorns"; Isa 34:13 the King James Version "brambles" the Revised Version (British and American) "thistles"; Prov 26:9, English Versions of the Bible "a thorn"; 1 Sam 13:6, "thickets"; chawachim, is, however, according to Driver and others a corruption for horim, "holes"; Job 41:2, the King James Version "thorn" the Revised Version (British and American) "hook"; 2 Ch 33:11, the King James Version "thorns," the Revised Version (British and American) "in chains," margin "with hooks"): Clearly choach stands for some plant with very strong thorns, but it is quite impossible to say what species is intended; indeed, probably the word was used in a general way.
See HOOK .
(6) mecukhah, occurs only in Mic 7:4, where it means a "thorn hedge."
(7) na`atsuts (Isa 7:19, the King James Version "thorns," the Revised Version (British and American) "thorn hedges"; Isa 55:13, English Versions of the Bible "thorn"): The word is derived from the root na`ats, "to prick," or "pierce," and probably applies to any prickly plant. The Septuagint translation has stoibe (Isa 55:13), suggesting the thorny burnet, Poterium spinosum, so common in Palestine (see BOTANY ). Post says, "It may be one of the thorny acacias" (HDB, IV, 752).
(8) cirim (Eccl 7:6, "the crackling of thorns (cirim) under a pot" (cir); Isa 34:13, "Thorns shall come up in its palaces"; Hos 2:6, "I will hedge up thy way with thorns"; Nah 1:10, "Entangled like thorns (King James Version "folden together as thorns") .... they are consumed utterly as dry stubble"): The thorny burner, Poterium spinosum, is today so extensively used for burning in ovens and lime-kilns in Palestine that it is tempting to suppose this is the plant especially indicated here. In Am 4:2 ciroth, is translated "fish-hooks."
See HOOK .
(9) cillon (Ezek 28:24, English Versions of the Bible, "brier"); callonim (Ezek 2:6, English Versions of the Bible, "thorns"): Arabic, sallu = "thorn."
(10) carabhim (Ezek 2:6, English Versions of the Bible, "briers;" the King James Version margin "rebels"): The translation as a plant name is very doubtful.
(11) cirpadh (Isa 55:13, "Instead of the brier shall come up the myrtle-tree"): The Septuagint has konuza, which is (Post) the elecampane, Inula viscosa (Natural Order Compositae), a plant 2 or 3 ft. high, growing on the bare hillsides of Palestine, not infrequently in close association with the myrtle.
(12) tsinnim (Job 5:5; Prov 22:5, English Versions of the Bible, "thorns"); tseninim (Nu 33:55; Josh 23:13, English Versions of the Bible, "thorns"): The words apparently have a very general meaning.
(13) qots; the Septuagint akantha: A general name for thorny and prickly plants, the commonest in the Old Testament (Gen 3:18; Ex 22:6; Jdg 8:7,16; 2 Sam 23:6; Ps 118:12; Isa 32:13; 33:12; Jer 4:3; 12:13; Ezek 28:24; Hos 10:8).
(14) qimmosh (Prov 24:31, "thorns"; Isa 34:13; Hos 9:6, "nettles").
See NETTLES .
(15) sikkim, plural of sekh, same as Arabic shauk, "a thorn" (Nu 33:55, "pricks").
(16) shayith: A word peculiar to Isa (5:6; 7:23 ff; 9:18; 10:17; 27:4) and always associated with shamir (See (17)), always translated "thorns."
(17) shamir: References as above (16), and in Isa 32:13, where it is with qots (see (13)) always translated briers." The Arabic samur is the thorny acacia A. seyyal and A. tortilis (Post).
(18) akanthos: The equivalent of qots (see (13)) (Mt 7:16; 13:7,22; 27:29, etc.). Always translated "thorns."
(19) rhamnos (Baruch 6:71, "white thorn"): The Rhamnus Palaestina.
(20) skolops (2 Cor 12:7, English Versions of the Bible "thorn," margin "stake").
See THORN IN THE FLESH .
(21) tribolos (Mt 7:16, "thistle"; Heb 6:8, the King James Version "briers" the Revised Version (British and American) "thistles").
The extraordinary plentifulness of various prickly plants in Palestine--in its present condition--is evident to any traveler during the summer months. Many of the trees and shrubs are thorny and the ground is everywhere covered thick with thistles, many of which are very handsome and some of which attain a height of 6 or 8 ft. Before the peasant can plow, he must dear these away by burning (compare Isa 10:17). The early autumn winds often drive before them in revolving mass some of the star-thistles--a sight so characteristic that it may be the "thistle down" (the King James Version margin, the Revised Version (British and American) "whirling dust") of Isa 17:13. Thorns and thistles are described (Gen 3:18) as God's curse on the ground for sin. The Talmud suggests that these must be edible and are therefore artichokes. The removal of them and the replacement by more useful plants is a sign of God's blessing (Isa 55:13; Ezek 28:24).
Gen 3:18 uses the words qots and dardar for "thorns" and "thistles." Midrash Rabba' to Genesis (Midr. Gen. Rabba' 20 10) says that qots ("thorn") is the same as (`akkabhith), which means an edible thistle (compare Levy, Dictionary, 645), and that (dardar, "thistle") is the same as (qinrac; Greek kunara, "artichoke") (compare Levy, Dictionary, 298). "But," adds the Midrash, "some reverse it, and say that (dardar) is ('akkabhith) and that (qots) is (qinrats)."
The neglected vineyard of the sluggard "was all grown over with thorns the face thereof was covered with nettles" (Prov 24:31), and in God's symbolic vineyard "there shall come up briers and thorns" (Isa 5:6); "They have sown wheat and have reaped thorns; they have put themselves to pain, and profit nothing" (Jer 12:13).
Jotham compares the usurper Abimelech to a bramble (Rhamnus Palaestina) (Jdg 9:14 f), and Jehoash king of Israel, taunted Amaziah, king of Judah, by comparing him slightingly to a thistle (margin "thorn"), readily trodden down by a wild beast (2 Ki 14:9).
Nevertheless, thorns and thistles have their uses. On them the goats and camels browse; scarcely any thorns seem to be too sharp for their hardened palates. The thorny burner (Poterium spinosum), Arabic ballan, which covers countless acres of bare hillside, is used all over Palestine for ovens (Eccl 7:6) and lime-kilns. Before kindling one of these latter the fellahin gather enormous piles of this plant--carried on their heads in masses much larger than the bearers--around the kiln mouth.
Thorny hedges around dwellings and fields are very common. The most characteristic plant for the purpose today is the "prickly pear" (Opunctia ficus Indica), but this is a comparatively late introduction. Hedges of brambles oleasters, etc., are common, especially where there is some water In the Jordan valley masses of broken branches of the Zizyphus and other thorny trees are piled in a circle round tents or cultivated fields or flocks as a protection against man and beast (Prov 15:19; Mic 7:4, etc.).
The Saviour's "crown of thorns" (Mt 27:29) was according to Palestinian tradition constructed from the twisted branches of a species of Rhamnaceae either the Zizyphus lotus or the Z. spina.
E. W. G. Masterman
thot: The most frequent word in the Old Testament (machashebheth, from the verb chashabh, "to think") refers to a "device," or a purpose firmly fixed, as in the passage in Isa (55:7-9) where the "thought" of God and of man are contrasted (compare Ps 40:5; 92:5; Jer 29:11). In the New Testament dialogismos (Mt 15:19; 1 Cor 3:20), refers to the inner reasoning or deliberation of one with himself.
See THINK .
thou'-zand ('eleph; chilioi).
See NUMBER .
thra'-shi-a, thra'-shan (Thrakia): The name given to the country lying between the rivers Strymon and Danube. Mention is made of a Thracian horseman in 2 Macc 12:35. The cavalry of this fierce people were in demand as mercenaries in all countries. In 46 AD Thrace became the name of a Roman province. Some have sought a connection between Thracia and the TIRAS (which see) of Gen 10:2, but the identification is conjectural.
thra-se'-us (Codex Alexandrinus Swete and Fritzsche Thrasaios; Codex Venetus Tharsiou; Codex Venetus(a) Tharseou; Conjecture of Dr. Hort Tharsea; the King James Version, Thraseas): The father of APOLLONIUS (which see) (2 Macc 3:5). the Revised Version margin gives "Or `Thrasca.'" The Greek text is probably corrupt. Perhaps the true reading is "Apollonius of Tarsus".
(shalosh; treis).
See NUMBER .
See SONG OF THE THREE CHILDREN .
thre'-skor.
See NUMBER .
thresh'-ing (dush; aloao): Dush means literally, "to trample out." In Jer 51:33, darakh, is used of threshing. Fitches and cummin were beaten off with a rod. The distinction between beating and threshing is made in Isa 28:27. Gideon, in order to avoid being seen by the Midianites, beat out his wheat in a wine press instead of threshing it on the threshing-floor (Jdg 6:11). For a general description of the threshing operations see AGRICULTURE .
Figurative: "Thou shalt thresh the mountains," i.e. thou wilt overcome great difficulties (Isa 41:15). Babylon's destruction was foretold poetically in the language of the threshing-floor (Isa 21:10; Jer 51:33; Dan 2:35); Zion's foes would be gathered as sheaves on the threshing-floor (Mic 4:12,13; compare 2 Ki 13:7; Am 1:3; Hab 3:12); threshing unto the vintage, i.e. throughout the summer, indicated an extra abundant yield (Lev 26:5).
James A. Patch
thresh'-ing-flor (goren; halon; 'iddar, occurs in Dan 2:35): The location and method of making threshing-floors have already been described under AGRICULTURE. These floors have come into prominence because of the Biblical events which occurred on or near them. Joseph with his kinsmen and Egyptian followers halted for seven days at the threshing-floor of Atad to lament the death of Jacob (Gen 50:10). Probably there was a group of floors furnishing a convenient spot for a caravan to stop. Travelers today welcome the sight of a threshing-floor at their halting-place. The hard, level spot is a much preferable to the surrounding stony fields for their tents.
David built an altar on Ornan's (Araunah's) threshing-floor (2 Sam 24:18-24; 1 Ch 21:18-27), which later became the site of the Temple (2 Ch 3:1). David probably chose this place for his altar because it was on an elevation, and the ground was already level and prepared by rolling. Uzzah died near the threshing-floor of Nacon for touching the ark (2 Sam 6:6). Ruth reveals herself to Boaz on his threshing-floor (Ruth 3:6-9).
Threshing-floors are in danger of being robbed (1 Sam 23:1). For this reason, someone always sleeps on the floor until the grain is removed (Ruth 3:7). In Syria, at the threshing season, it is customary for the family to move out to the vicinity of the threshing-floor. A booth is constructed for shade; the mother prepares the meals and takes her turn with the father and children at riding on the sledge.
The instruments of the threshing-floor referred to in 2 Sam 24:22 were probably: (1) the wooden drag or sledge, charuts or moragh, Arabic lauch eddiras; (2) the fan (fork), mizreh, Arabic midra, for separating straw from wheat; (3) shovel, meghraphah, Arabic mirfashat, for tossing the wheat into the air in winnowing; (4) broom, maT'aTe', for sweeping the floor between threshing and for collecting the wheat after winnowing; (5) goad, malmedh, Arabic messas; (6) the yoke, `ol, Arabic tauk; (7) sieve, kebharah, Arabic gharbal; (8) dung catcher, Arabic milkat.
thresh'-old.
See HOUSE ,II , 1, (7).
thron. (kicce', a "seat" in 2 Ki 4:10; a "royal seat" in Jon 3:6; thronos): Usually the symbol of kingly power and dignity. Solomon's throne was noted for its splendor and magnificence (1 Ki 10:18-20; compare 2 Ch 9:17-19). It symbolizes:
(1) The exalted position of earthly kings, rulers, judges, etc., their majesty and power (of kings: Gen 41:40; 1 Ki 2:19; Job 36:7, etc.; denoting governing or judicial power: 2 Sam 14:9; Neh 3:7; Ps 122:5, etc.; often equivalent to kingdom or reign: 1 Sam 2:8; 1 Ki 1:37,47, etc.; in this connection we note the expressions: "a man on the throne of Israel," 1 Ki 2:4, etc.; "to sit upon a throne" 1 Ki 1:13,17, etc.; Jer 13:13, etc.; "to set a person on a throne," 2 Ki 10:3; "the throne of Israel," 1 Ki 8:20, etc.; "the throne of David" 2 Sam 3:10, etc.; of Solomon, 2 Sam 7:13, etc.; of Joash, 2 Ch 23:20, etc.). In Jer 17:12 it is equivalent to "temple" ("A glorious throne .... is the place of our sanctuary"); it symbolizes the power of the Gentiles being hostile to the people of Yahweh (Ps 94:20), and is used metaphorically in Isa 22:23 ("He (i.e. Eliakim) shall be for a throne of glory to his father's house").
(2) The majesty and power of Yahweh as the true king of Israel; He "is enthroned above the cherubim" (1 Sam 4:4 the Revised Version margin; compare 2 Sam 6:2; 2 Ki 19:15; Solomon's throne is really Yahweh's throne (1 Ch 29:23), and there shall come a time when Jerusalem shall be called "the throne of Yahweh" (Jer 3:17) and the enemies of Yahweh shall be judged by him ("I will set my throne in Elam," Jer 49:38). According to Ezek 43:7, the Lord said of the future temple: "This is the place of my throne."
(3) The rule of the promised theocratic king (the Messiah), its everlasting glory and righteousness. He, too, is Yahweh's representative, inasmuch as He "shall rule upon his throne" (Zec 6:13). Thus, the permanence of the throne of David is warranted (Isa 9:7); eternal peace (1 Ki 2:33), loving-kindness and justice (Isa 16:5) characterize his reign. The New Testament points to Jesus as this promised king (Lk 1:32; compare Acts 2:30; Heb 12:2); Christ Himself refers to His future state of glory (Mt 25:31) and guarantees His faithful disciples a similar distinction (Mt 19:28; compare Lk 22:30; Rev 20:4).
(4) The matchless glory, the transcendent power and absolute sovereignty of God (and Christ); Micaiah "saw Yahweh sitting on his throne," etc. (1 Ki 22:19; compare 2 Ch 18:18); Isaiah and Ezekiel had similar visions (Isa 6:1; Ezek 1:26); compare also Dan 7:9 and Rev 4:2 (and often); in trying to depict the incomparable greatness of the King of kings, the Bible tells us that His throne is in heaven (Ps 11:4, etc.) and, moreover, that heaven itself is His throne (Isa 66:1; Mt 5:34, etc.); His reign is founded on righteousness and justice (Ps 89:14; compare 97:2) and of eternal duration (Ps 45:6; compare Heb 1:8; Lam 5:19); He acts justly and kindly (Ps 9:4 and 89:14); He defends His glory (Jer 14:21); He manifests His holiness (Ps 47:8) and His grace (Heb 4:16), and yet His dealings with us are not always fully understood by us (Job 26:9).
(5) Heavenly kingdoms or rulers (angels: Col 1:16).
William Baur
thrum: In Isa 38:12 the Revised Version (British and American) reads "He will cut me off from the loom," margin "thrum." "Thrum" is a technical term of weavers, denoting the threads of the warp hanging down in a loom, suiting dallah, "that which hangs down" (Song 7:5, "hair"). A misinterpretation of "hanging down" is responsible for the King James' "pining sickness."
thum'-im.
See URIM AND THUMMIM .
thun'-der (ra`am (1 Sam 2:10; Job 26:14; 39:19; 40:9; Ps 77:18; 81:7; 104:7; Isa 29:6), qol, "a voice" (Ex 9:23; 1 Sam 7:10; 12:17; Job 28:26; 38:25)): Thunder is the noise resulting from the lightning discharge. It is very common in the winter storms of Syria and Palestine and occurs in the extra-season storms. Thunder accompanied the storm of hail in Egypt at the time of the plagues: "The Lord sent thunder and hail" (Ex 9:23).
Lightning and thunder are indications of the power of Yahweh and His might. "The thunder of his power who can understand?" (Job 26:14); "The God of glory thundereth" (Ps 29:3). Yahweh also confused the Philistines with thunder (1 Sam 7:10), and His foes were "visited of Yahweh of hosts with thunder" (Isa 29:6). Thunder was regarded as the voice of Yahweh: "God thundereth with the voice of his excellency" (Job 37:4), and God spoke to Jesus in the thunder (bronte, Jn 12:29).
See also LIGHTNING .
Alfred H. Joy
thi-a-ti'-ra (Thuateira): Thyatira was a wealthy town in the northern part of Lydia of the Roman province of Asia, on the river Lycus. It stood so near to the borders of Mysia, that some of the early writers have regarded it as belonging to that country. Its early history is not well known, for until it was refounded by Seleucus Nicator (301-281 BC) it was a small, insignificant town. It stood on none of the Greek trade routes, but upon the lesser road between Pergamos and Sardis, and derived its wealth from the Lycus valley in which it rapidly became a commercial center, but never a metropolis. The name "Thyatira" means "the castle of Thya." Other names which it has borne are Pelopia and Semiramis. Before the time of Nicator the place was regarded as a holy city, for there stood the temple of the ancient Lydian sun-god, Tyrimnos; about it games were held in his honor. Upon the early coins of Thyatira this Asiatic god is represented as a horseman, bearing a double-headed battle-ax, similar to those represented on the sculptures of the Hittites. A goddess associated with him was Boreatene, a deity of less importance. Another temple at Thyatira was dedicated to Sambethe, and at this shrine was a prophetess, by some supposed to represent the Jezebel of Rev 2:20, who uttered the sayings which this deity would impart to the worshippers.
Thyatira was specially noted for the trade guilds which were probably more completely organized there than in any other ancient city. Every artisan belonged to a guild, and every guild, which was an incorporated organization, possessed property in its own name, made contracts for great constructions, and wielded a wide influence. Powerful among them was the guild of coppersmiths; another was the guild of the dyers, who, it is believed, made use of the madder-root instead of shell-fish for making the purple dyestuffs. A member of this guild seems to have been Lydia of Thyatira, who, according to Acts 16:14, sold her dyes in Philippi. The color obtained by the use of this dye is now called Turkish red. The guilds were closely connected with the Asiatic religion of the place. Pagan feasts, with which immoral practices were associated, were held, and therefore the nature of the guilds was such that they were opposed to Christianity. According to Acts 19:10, Paul may have preached there while he was living at Ephesus, but this is uncertain; yet Christianity reached there at an early time. It was taught by many of the early church that no Christian might belong to one of the guilds, and thus the greatest opposition to Christianity was presented.
Thyatira is now represented by the modern town of Ak-Hissar on a branch line of the Manisa-Soma Railroad, and on the old Rom road 9 hours from Sardis. Ak-Hissar is Turkish for "white castle," and near the modern town may be seen the ruins of the castle from which the name was derived. The village is of considerable size; most of the houses are of mud, but several of the buildings erected by Caracalla are still standing, yet none of them are perfect. In the higher part of the town are the ruins of one of the pagan temples, and in the walls of the houses are broken columns and sarcophagi and inscribed stones. The population of 20,000 is largely Greek and Armenian, yet a few Jews live among them. Before the town is a large marsh, fever-laden, and especially unhealthful in the summer time, formed by the Lycus, which the Turks now call Geurdeuk Chai. The chief modern industry is rug-making.
E. J. Banks
thi'-in (xulon thuinon): An aromatic wood described as sold in "Babylon" (Rev 18:12, the King James Version margin "sweet wood"). It is the wood of the thya (thuia) tree, probably identical with Thuia articulata an evergreen tree growing in North Africa, resembling the cypress, which in Roman times was employed for making valuable furniture.