1 Thessalonians 1:1 Paul, and Silvanus, and Timotheus, to the church of the Thessalonians which is in God the Father and in the Lord Jesus Christ… or Silas was an eminent member of the early Christian Church. The first, which in his full name, is given him in the Epistles, the latter contraction by the Acts. He appears as one of the leaders of the Church at Jerusalem (Acts 15:22), holding the office of inspired teacher. His name, derived from the Latin silva "wood," betokens him a Hellenistic Jew, and he appears to have been a Roman citizen (Acts 16:37). He appointed a delegate to accompany Paul and Barnabas on their return from Antioch with the decree of the council of Jerusalem (Acts 15:22, 32). Having accomplished this mission, he returned to Jerusalem (Acts 15:33). He must however have immediately revisited Antioch, for we find him selected by St. Paul as the companion of his second missionary journey (Acts 15:40; 17:40). At Beroea he was left behind with Timothy while Paul proceeded to Athens (Acts 17:14), and we hear nothing more of his movements until he rejoined the apostle at Corinth (Acts 18:5). Whether he had followed Paul to Athens in obedience to the injunction to do so (Acts 17:15), and had been sent thence with Timothy to Thessalonica (1 Thessalonians 3:2), or whether his movements were wholly independent of Timothy's, is uncertain. His presence at Corinth is several times noticed (2 Corinthians 1:19; 1 Thessalonians 1:1; 2 Thessalonians 2:1). He probably returned to Jerusalem with Paul, and from that time the connection between them seems to have terminated. Whether he was the Silvanus who conveyed 1 Peter to Asia Minor (1 Peter 5:2) is doubtful. The probabilities are in favour of the identity. A tradition of slight authority represents Silas as Bishop of Corinth. (W. L. Bevan, M. A.) Parallel Verses KJV: Paul, and Silvanus, and Timotheus, unto the church of the Thessalonians which is in God the Father and in the Lord Jesus Christ: Grace be unto you, and peace, from God our Father, and the Lord Jesus Christ. |
    |