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The following practice examination is not a complete text but consists of sample questions for practice (the point totals in the headings, however, are the same as the real exam). As indicated in the syllabus, the test will cover the entire quarter's class lectures and discussions. It is recommended that the student print out the exam (which should look similar in printed format to the paper exam used in class) and attempt to answer the questions. Then go online and click on the answer slots to receive suggested answers (in red) and an explanation of the answers (in blue). The actual exam will have fifteen questions and be worth fifteen points.

Thessalonian Letters	Fall, 2007
NTST 646	Teacher: Jon Paulien

FINAL EXAM (sample) Thessalonian Letters

Name _____________________________

Short Answers: 20 Points
Essays: 15 Points (5+10)
Greek Translation: 10 Points

Total: 45 points

I. Short Answers (20 points)
Place in the blanks the word or words most appropriate in answer to the question (one point per question). The length of the line gives a rough guide to the length of the expected answer. Greek and English Bibles may be used as long as they were not marked with this class in mind.

1. If the Restrainer of 2 Thess 2 is the Roman State, the "Lawless One" is probably:

_____________________________ Answer

2. The leading citizens of Thessalonica were called: Answer

________________________

3. What two groups of people may Paul have in mind as the objects of God's vengeance in 2 Thess 1:8? Answer

________________________

4. "Purpose" can be expressed in a number of ways in Greek. Describe two of them: Answer

________________________

II. Short Essay (5 points)

In the space given, answer one of the two questions below. Do not write your answer outside of the lines drawn on this page. Feel free to use the back of this page or the space at the bottom for a rough draft or an outline of your thoughts. Circle the letter of the question you have chosen to answer.

A. What are the two Greek cases signaled by the genitive form? What is the basic significance of each and what are some ways in which they function within sentences?

B. (on test, above is only an example for practice)

______________________________________________________________________________ Answer

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III. Major Essay (10 points)

On the basis of your reading and the class discussions write an answer to one of the two questions below. Feel free to use the class material creatively to interact with the intent of the question. Circle the letter of the question you choose to answer.

A. On the basis of the relevant texts construct a chronology of the apostles' activities from the founding of the Thessalonian community to the writing of 2 Thess.

B. (on test, above is only an example for practice)

______________________________________________________________________________ Answer

______________________________________________________________________________

IV. Greek Translation (10 points)

For five points, please translate the following Greek sentence in the space provided.

u`ma/j de. o` ku,rioj pleona,sai kai. perisseu,sai th/| avga,ph| eivj avllh,louj kai. eivj pa,ntaj kaqa,per kai. h`mei/j eivj u`ma/j(

_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ Answer

________________________________________________________________________________________

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For five points also, discuss the significance of pleona,sai and perisseu,sai in the above sentence, and also the significance of the dative form th/| avga,ph| just following the verbs.

pleona,sai and perisseu,sai:

______________________________________________________________________________

th/| avga,ph| :
____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

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1. The Papacy
Paul would be referring to a coming apostasy in the church after the demise of the Empire, a theme often commented upon by Church Fathers in the second and third centuries..

2. Politarchs. (spellings like "polutarchs" or "politarks" would likely be accepted, "provosts" or "pallmarts" would not)
The Book of Acts uses the unique Greek terminology for the leaders of Thessalonica in the First Christian Century.

3. Jews and Gentiles
The phrases "those who don't know God" and "those who don't obey the gospel" in 2 Thess 1:8 may be a hendiadys, expressing in two different ways the single object of God's eschatological wrath. Scholars who see the phrases representing two separate groups tend to see "those who don't know God" in the light of 1 Thess 4:5 as Gentile outsiders to the Jewish and Christian communities in Macedonia. "Those who don't obey the gospel" could imply worshippers of the synagogue who knew God before Paul came to Thessalonica, but chose to reject his presentation of the gospel. If 1 Thess 2:13-16 was included in Paul's original letter, Paul associates Thessalonian persecution with Jewish hostility to the gospel in Judea.

4.The most common expressions of purpose in the Thessalonian letters are the articular infinitive with a preposition and hina (i[na) with the subjunctive.
Other potential expressions of purpose include the articular infinitive, the anarthrous infinitive, adverbial participles, and conjunctions such as hopoos (o[pwj) and meepoos (mh,pwj).

Short Essay: Many Greek grammarians argue for two distinct case usages within the form of the Greek genitive. The "genitive" use indicates a relationship between the two nouns in the construction, often translated by "of" in English. The "ablative" use indicates separation, often translated with "from." The noun in genitive can function like an adjective, limiting the first noun in some way. For example: "You are all sons of light" (1 Thess 5:5) expressed the idea of "enlightened sons." Genitives can also express possession, relationship, apposition and adverbial expressions like "time" and "reference." Ablatives commonly expressed source, separation and parts of a whole. With verbal nouns, the genitive can function as the subject or the object of the noun ("testimony of Jesus").

Major Essay: A chronology of Paul's activities from the founding of the Thessalonian church to the writing of 2 Thessalonians (assuming the latter is authentic and was written after 1 Thessalonians) is based on the evidence in Acts, chapters 17 and 18, along with references in 1 Thessalonians itself (such as 1:7-8 and 2:17 - 3:10). Acts suggests that after the rioting in Thessalonica (following which some of the believers were forced to post bonds to ensure future Christian behavior) Paul, Silas, and presumably Timothy traveled to Berea. After disturbances arose in Berea, Paul went on to Athens while Timothy and Silas remained for a while in Berea, intending to join him in Athens "as soon as possible." According to Acts, Paul moves on from Athens to Corinth with no mention of further contact from his companions. Silas and Timothy join him in Corinth.
    In 1 Thessalonians (1:7-8) Paul indicates that he knew what people were thinking in Achaia (the province where Corinth was located), suggesting that 1 Thessalonians was written from there after Silas and Timothy arrived from Macedonia. The letter also indicates (3:1-2) that Timothy, at least, had joined Paul while in Athens and was sent back to Thessalonica by Paul to find out how the church was doing. Passages like 1 Thess 3:6 and 2 Thess 2:2 do not suggest a long period of time between Paul's visit to Thessalonica and the writing of the two letters that bear the name of the city.
    One way to explain the seeming contradictions between Acts and Thessalonians is that the author Acts tends to focus on Paul and minimize the movements of Paul's missionary partners. He focuses mainly on the founding of each church and the circumstances that caused Paul to move on. The kinds of activities and emotinal connections hinted at in the Thessalonian letters are typically left out of the reckoning in Acts.
    A likely sequence of events is as follows: 1) Paul goes from Berea to Athens, 2) Silas and Timothy join him there, 3) Timothy is sent back to Thessalonica, 4) Paul moves on to Corinth (Silas whereabouts during this period are uncertain), 5) Timothy and Silas join Paul in Corinth, 6) 1 Thessalonians is written (perhaps four months after the founding of the church), 7) Paul receives messages about the situation in Corinth from unknown sources, and 8) Paul writes 2 Thessalonians (perhaps a few months after 1 Thessalonians).

Greek Translation: "May the Lord cause your love to increase and abound toward one another and to all, just as ours does toward you (or 'we to you')."

pleona,sai and perisseu,sai: These verbs are in the optative mood, expressing a "wish prayer," things that Paul prays to God will happen in the lives of the Thessalonians. Since "the Lord" is there in the nominative case, causative language is appropriate in the translation. ("may the Lord abound you in love" would be accurate but awkward in English)

th/| avga,ph| : The dative form can be used to express three main syntactical ideas, indirect object, location and instrumentality. "In love" could be a dative of reference, indicating what it is the increase and abounding have reference to, another possibility is an instrumental of manner, answering the questions of "how" they are to increase or abound. Least likely option seems to be locative of sphere, dative of reference the most likely.