1 Thessalonians 4:16 -- Jesus as Archangel

[davidbrainerd]

Did Paul invent and construct the Greek compound term ἀρχαγγέλου --- archangel?
.

NO.

used only twice, there and in Jude, Some interpreters understand this reference to be an allusion to the events described in Zechariah 3:1-2

So we have evidence of even later Christian traditions plagiarizing OT text in the context of known archangels

Do you understand the question? Its about the term ἀρχαγγέλου --- archangel. Its about possible word-smithing by Paul. Zechariah 3:1-2 contains the common term for angel, in both the Greek and the Hebrew --- not archangel. There are many references to angels in the OT ---- but the term ἀρχαγγέλου does not occur in the LXX.

I don't know who coined the term nor do I think we can find that out at this late date, BUT maybe it comes from combining archon (not arche) with aggelos. Michael is in Daniel 12:1 the "great ruler/prince who stands for your people." Septuagint "ΚΑΙ ἐν τῷ καιρῷ ἐκείνῳ ἀναστήσεται Μιχαὴλ ὁ ἄρχων ὁ μέγας, ὁ ἑστηκὼς ἐπὶ τοὺς υἱοὺς τοῦ λαοῦ σου"

[DCHindley]

Because the Lord Himself will descend from heaven with a loud command, with the voice of an archangel (ἀρχαγγέλου), and with the trumpet of God. And the dead in Christ will rise first. Then we, the living remaining, will be caught away together with them in the clouds for the meeting of the Lord in the air; and so we will be always with the Lord. (1 Thessalonians 4:16-17)

The two questions I will address here about 1 Thessalonians 4:16 are –--

Did Paul invent and construct the Greek compound term ἀρχαγγέλου --- archangel?

Apparently not.

PHE De confusione linguarum [On the Confusion of Tongues] 1:146 And even if there be not as yet any one who is worthy to be called a son of God, nevertheless let him labor earnestly to be adorned according to his first-born word, the eldest of his angels, as the great archangel of many names; for he is called, the authority, and the name of God, and the Word, and man according to God's image, and he who sees Israel.

PHI [Περι Συγχυσεως Διαλεκτων] 1:146 κἂν μηδέπω μέντοι τυγχάνῃ τις ἀξιόχρεως ὢν υἱὸς θεοῦ προσαγορεύεσθαι σπουδαζέτω κοσμεῖσθαι κατὰ τὸν πρωτόγονον αὐτοῦ λόγον, τὸν ἀγγέλων πρεσβύτατον, ὡς ἂν ἀρχάγγελον, πολυώνυμον ὑπάρχοντα· καὶ γὰρ ἀρχὴ καὶ ὄνομα θεοῦ καὶ λόγος καὶ ὁ κατ᾽ εἰκόνα ἄνθρωπος καὶ ὁ ὁρῶν, Ἰσραήλ, προσαγορεύεται

PHE De somniis [On Dreams, that they are God-sent] 1:157 XXV. But the dream also represented the archangel, namely the Lord himself, firmly planted on the ladder.

PHI [Περι Toυ Θεοπεμπτοτς Ειναι Τους Ονειρους] 1:157 ἐμήνυε δὲ τὸ ὄναρ ἐστηριγμένον ἐπὶ τῆς κλίμακος τὸν ἀρχάγγελον, κύριον·

PHE Quis rerum divinarum heres sit [Who is the Heir of Divine Things] 1:205 And the Father who created the universe has given to his archangelic and most ancient Word a pre-eminent gift, to stand on the confines of both, and separated that which had been created from the Creator.

PHI [Περι Tot Τισ Ο Των Θειων Εστιν Κληρονομος] 1:205 τῷ δὲ ἀρχαγγέλῳ καὶ πρεσβυτάτῳ λόγῳ δωρεὰν ἔδωκεν ἐξαίρετον ὁ τὰ ὅλα γεννήσας πατήρ, ἵνα μεθόριος στὰς τὸ γενόμενον διακρίνῃ τοῦ πεποιηκότος.

As far as I know, Philo probably predates or might be roughly contemporaneous with Paul, if the traditional early-mid 1st century [35-55] CE date for him is correct. So, I guess "Paul" did not invent this term.

Did Paul intend the archangel as symbolizing his Lord Jesus Christ?

The Pauline epistles show no sign of thinking of the Lord Jesus Christ as an archangel. Oh, the letters exhibit a very high opinion of the figure, but that's not the same as considering him to be an archangel (like Michael).

Even though Philo is the only other author we know of that uses the term "archangel" and predates the Pauline letters, Philo may not be the source of "Paul's" knowledge of the term. While the Prologue of the Gospel of John definitely seems to have heard Philo-esque style Platonic philosophical terms before, I don't get that from the Paulines at all.

DCH

[robert j]

Someone please correct me if I’m wrong here, but as far as I know, the term ἀρχαγγέλου (archangel) is not found in the Greek in any literature generally dated to be earlier than 1 Thessalonians.

Did Paul invent and construct the Greek compound term ἀρχαγγέλου --- archangel?

Apparently not.

PHE De confusione linguarum [On the Confusion of Tongues] 1:146 And even if there be not as yet any one who is worthy to be called a son of God, nevertheless let him labor earnestly to be adorned according to his first-born word, the eldest of his angels, as the great archangel of many names; for he is called, the authority, and the name of God, and the Word, and man according to God's image, and he who sees Israel.

PHI [Περι Συγχυσεως Διαλεκτων] 1:146 κἂν μηδέπω μέντοι τυγχάνῃ τις ἀξιόχρεως ὢν υἱὸς θεοῦ προσαγορεύεσθαι σπουδαζέτω κοσμεῖσθαι κατὰ τὸν πρωτόγονον αὐτοῦ λόγον, τὸν ἀγγέλων πρεσβύτατον, ὡς ἂν ἀρχάγγελον, πολυώνυμον ὑπάρχοντα· καὶ γὰρ ἀρχὴ καὶ ὄνομα θεοῦ καὶ λόγος καὶ ὁ κατ᾽ εἰκόνα ἄνθρωπος καὶ ὁ ὁρῶν, Ἰσραήλ, προσαγορεύεται

PHE De somniis [On Dreams, that they are God-sent] 1:157 XXV. But the dream also represented the archangel, namely the Lord himself, firmly planted on the ladder; for we must imagine that the living God stands above all things, like the charioteer of a chariot, or the pilot of a ship; that is, above bodies, and above souls, and above all creatures, and above the earth, and above the air, and above the heaven, and above all the powers of the outward senses, and above the invisible natures, in short, above all things whether visible or invisible; for having made the whole to depend upon himself, he governs it and all the vastness of nature.

PHI [Περι Toυ Θεοπεμπτοτς Ειναι Τους Ονειρους] 1:157 ἐμήνυε δὲ τὸ ὄναρ ἐστηριγμένον ἐπὶ τῆς κλίμακος τὸν ἀρχάγγελον, κύριον· ὑπεράνω γὰρ ὡς ἅρματος ἡνίοχον ἢ ὡς νεὼς κυβερνήτην ὑποληπτέον ἵστασθαι τὸ ὂν ἐπὶ σωμάτων, ἐπὶ ψυχῶν, ἐπὶ πραγμάτων, ἐπὶ λόγων, ἐπὶ ἀγγέλων, ἐπὶ γῆς, ἐπ᾽ ἀέρος, ἐπ᾽ οὐρανοῦ, ἐπ᾽ αἰσθητῶν δυνάμεων, ἐπ᾽ ἀοράτων φύσεων, ὅσαπερ θεατὰ καὶ ἀθέατα· τὸν γὰρ κόσμον ἅπαντα ἐξάψας ἑαυτοῦ καὶ ἀναρτήσας τὴν τοσαύτην ἡνιοχεῖ φύσιν.

PHE Quis rerum divinarum heres sit [Who is the Heir of Divine Things] 1:205 And the Father who created the universe has given to his archangelic and most ancient Word a pre-eminent gift, to stand on the confines of both, and separated that which had been created from the Creator. And this same Word is continually a suppliant to the immortal God on behalf of the mortal race, which is exposed to affliction and misery and is also the ambassador, sent by the Ruler of all, to the subject race.

PHI [Περι Tot Τισ Ο Των Θειων Εστιν Κληρονομος] 1:205 τῷ δὲ ἀρχαγγέλῳ καὶ πρεσβυτάτῳ λόγῳ δωρεὰν ἔδωκεν ἐξαίρετον ὁ τὰ ὅλα γεννήσας πατήρ, ἵνα μεθόριος στὰς τὸ γενόμενον διακρίνῃ τοῦ πεποιηκότος. ὁ δ᾽ αὐτὸς ἱκέτης μέν ἐστι τοῦ θνητοῦ κηραίνοντος αἰεὶ πρὸς τὸ ἄφθαρτον, πρεσβευτὴς δὲ τοῦ ἡγεμόνος πρὸς τὸ ὑπήκοον.

As far as I know, Philo probably predates or might be roughly contemporaneous with Paul, if the traditional early-mid 1st century [35-55] CE date for him is correct. So, I guess "Paul" did not invent this term.

Thanks, DCH. In my haste I failed to check Philo, who definitely should have warranted a look.

I withdraw the entire OP.

Its interesting the various ways that Philo associates his archangels as "his first-born word ... the authority, and the name of God, and the Word, and man according to God's image" in one passage, and as "the Lord himself ... the living God" in another.

[FransJVermeiren]

Now that I really think about it, rather than viewing 1st Thes as a forgery in Paul's name as I have been viewing it, I need only recognize that the latter part of verse 16 is all that's necessary for 1st Thes 4:13-18 to work. The unPauline bit that contradicts Romans 5 and 1st Cor 15 by bringing in Daniel is fully contained to the beginning of verse 16, and could therefore be interpolation.

"13 But I would not have you to be ignorant, brethren, concerning them which are asleep, that ye sorrow not, even as others which have no hope. 14 For if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so them also which sleep in Jesus will God bring with him. 15 For this we say unto you by the word of the Lord, that we which are alive and remain unto the coming of the Lord shall not prevent them which are asleep. 16 For the Lord himself shall descend from heaven [with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God:] and the dead in Christ shall rise first: 17 Then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air: and so shall we ever be with the Lord. 18 Wherefore comfort one another with these words."

Remove the bolded words in brackets, and the thought is fully Pauline, no notion of the resurrection established by the book of Daniel but still as something unaccomplished in the OT which Christ established.

This also explains why the resurrection here is still in the Pauline form of a resurrection for believers only and nothing about a resurrection of the unsaved followed by a tossing into hell is introduced. An interpolator must be much more concise than a forger!

In my opinion 'God and his future anti-Roman Christ' is the main theme of Paul’s letters, and this passage is a good example of it. Paul’s mention of the future day of the Lord in 5:2 completes this whole passage as oriented to the future, to a future coming (not a second coming) of an anonymous Christ. So I believe the interpolations are slightly different from what is suggested above (Nestle-Aland translation).

4:13 But we would not have you ignorant, brethren, concerning those who are asleep, that you may not grieve as others do who have no hope. 14 For [since] we believe that [Jesus died and rose again, even so, through Jesus] God will bring with him those who have fallen asleep. 15 For this we declare to you by the word of the Lord, that we who are alive, who are left until the coming of the Lord, shall not precede those who have fallen asleep. 16 For the Lord himself will descend from heaven with a cry of command, [with the archangel’s call, and with the sound of the trumpet of God] and the dead in Christ will rise first; 17 then we who are alive, who are left, shall be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air; and so we shall always be with the Lord. 18 Therefore comfort one another with these words.
5:1 But as to the times and the seasons, brethren, you have no need to have anything written to you. 2 For you yourselves know well that the day of the Lord will come like a thief in the night. 3 When people* say, “There is peace and security,” then sudden destruction will come upon them as travail comes upon a woman with child, and there will be no escape.

*The text has λεγωσιν, so ‘they say’ and not ‘people say’. From the rest of the sentence it is clear that the Romans are meant.

Paul discusses the future coming of the Christ, on a future day of the Lord, and on this unknown future moment God and his Christ will ruthlessly destroy the Romans who boast with their abhorred pax Romana.