Paul and antisemitism in 1 Thessalonians 2:14-16

1 Thessalonians 2:14-16 has been something of a flashpoint in New Testament studies because of its alleged antisemitism. The New Testament scholar Pieter van der Horst has even said that we should not preach on this text, only against it.

Paul says,

(14) For you, brothers, became imitators of the churches of God in Christ Jesus that are in Judea. For you suffered the same things from your own countrymen as they did from the Jews, (15) who killed both the Lord Jesus and the prophets, and drove us out, and displease God and oppose all mankind (16) by hindering us from speaking to the Gentiles that they might be saved—so as always to fill up the measure of their sins. But wrath has come upon them at last! (ESV)

Is this antisemitic? It might depend, of course, on how the term is defined. For our purposes we will define antisemitism as “hatred, disdain, or blanket denunciation of the Jewish people as a whole”. In this article, we will defend Paul against charges of antisemitism from enemies of Scripture, but also from friends, who, while not necessarily embracing the term, justify antisemitism on the basis of this passage. For example, in a recent podcast episode of The King’s Hall, Pastor Brian Sauvé suggested that the Jews are indeed “uniquely malevolent” and appealed to 1 Thessalonians 2:14-16 to support his view. We will demonstrate, however, that such an appeal is misguided. We will address three questions concerning the passage and on the basis of the answers give three reasons why it leaves no room for antisemitism.

Who are the “Jews” in verse 14?

Paul is talking about the churches in Judea and how they suffered at the hands of “the Jews”. The ESV has a translators’ footnote here that the word Ioudaioi “can refer to Jewish religious leaders, and others under their influence, who opposed the Christian faith in that time”. While the wordusually refers to religious leaders in John’s gospel, it may not have that meaning here. The next phrase clarifies the meaning, however: as Gordon Fee points out, the word translated “who” is not a relative pronoun but a definite article with a participle. Literally, it is “the also killing Jesus ones”. Fee argues that this grammatical construction is restrictive: Paul is not talking about all Jews, but these particular Jews. (Though of course Paul is talking about different groups of Jews: those who killed the Old Testament prophets as well as those who are hindering him.)

Who are the Thessalonians’ “countrymen”?

Paul talks about the Thessalonians’ suffering in verse 14. This is most likely subsequent to Paul’s initial experience in Thessalonica, related in Acts 17. There the Jews took “some wicked men of the rabble” (verse 5) and formed a mob. It would appear that this mob consisted of both Jews and Gentiles. The word “countrymen” (sumphuletēs) in 1 Thessalonians 2:14 is not used anywhere else in the New Testament but comes from the word phulē (“tribe”). Since the Thessalonian Christians were at least mostly Gentiles (Paul reminds them in 1:9 that they turned “from idols to serve the living and true God”), the word “countrymen” cannot mean just Jews. In fact, it probably has more of a geographic than ethnic connotation: “the men of your own place”. The point Paul is making is that what the Thessalonian Christians suffered at the hand of unbelieving Gentile Thessalonians was the same as what Judean Christians suffered at the hands of unbelieving Jews.

When did the judgment occur?

Paul says, “wrath has come upon them at last” (verse 16). He uses the aorist verb, which is usually translated into English with a past tense. The aorist can, however, be used to express the certainty of a future event – this is called the proleptic (or futuristic) aorist. (The most famous occurrence is in Romans 8:30: “those whom he justified, these he also glorified”.) Most commentators interpret verse 16 in this way: for example, Leon Morris says, “It refers rather to its certainty, for Paul is thinking of wrath in an eschatological setting. It is at the last great day that his nation will receive the due reward of all its misdeeds.”

There is, however, another possibility. Paul could be talking about the destruction of Jerusalem in 70 AD. (Some liberal scholars, such as Birger Pearson, even suggest that on this basis these verses constitute an interpolation, and were added after the fact.) In this way, the Jews responsible for Jesus’ death and Paul’s persecution have already been punished for those sins.

Why this passage leaves no room for antisemitism

We are now in a position to evaluate the charge that this passage supports antisemitism. Firstly, it is not talking about all Jews – or even the Jews as a whole – but particular Jews in the first century (though Paul goes further back to include the persecution of Old Testament prophets). Secondly, Paul makes the point that the Thessalonian Christians were suffering things from Gentiles just as Judean Christians had suffered from Jews: these Jews were not “uniquely malevolent”, since the Gentile unbelievers of Thessalonica were just as bad. It is not just Jews who “displease God and oppose all mankind”. Thirdly, the Jews who killed Jesus, persecuted Paul, and rejected the gospel have already been judged: both in the gospel going to the Gentiles (as related in Acts 28:28) and in the destruction of Jerusalem (and especially the temple) in 70 AD. Hence, the suffering of Jewish people throughout history cannot be seen as God’s judgment for first-century sins. 1 Thessalonians 2:14-16 leaves no room for antisemitism.

John Dekker is married with six children and serves as pastor of Christ The King Church in Eugene, Oregon. He also teaches at Reformed Evangelical Seminary and has a PhD in Biblical Studies from Christ College in Sydney, Australia.