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Tyndale Open Bible Dictionary

THESSALONICA

Chief city of Macedonia and the seat of Roman administration in the century before Christ. In addition to having a magnificent harbor, Thessalonica had the good fortune of being located on the overland route from Italy to the East. This famous highway, called the Egnatian Way, ran directly through the city. Two Roman arches, the Vardar Gate and the Arch of Galerius, marked the western and eastern boundaries.

According to Strabo, a famous Greek geographer, Thessalonica was founded in 315 BC by the Macedonian general Cassander, who named it after his wife, the daughter of Philip and stepsister of Alexander the Great. It was settled by refugees from a large number of towns in the same region, which had been destroyed in war. When Macedonia was divided into four districts (167 BC), Thessalonica was made the capital of the second division. Its influence continued to expand when the area became a Roman province. In the second civil war between Caesar and Pompey (42 BC), Thessalonica remained loyal to Antony and Octavian and was rewarded by receiving the status of a free city. This gift of autonomy allowed the city to appoint its own magistrates, who were given the unusual title of politarchs. The historical accuracy of Luke is seen in the fact that while the term “politarch” does not appear in earlier Greek literature, it is used in Acts 17:6-8 and has been found on an inscription on the Vardar Gate and in other inscriptions from the area. At the beginning of the first century, Thessalonica had a council of five politarchs. Cicero, a Roman statesman who lived shortly before the time of Christ, spent seven months in exile at Thessalonica.

The church at Thessalonica was founded by Paul on his second missionary journey (Acts 17:1-4). At Troas the apostle had been directed in a vision to cross over the Aegean Sea to Macedonia. After ministering at Philippi, where he was beaten and jailed, Paul’s Roman citizenship secured his release and he traveled on to Thessalonica. On the Sabbath, Paul went into the synagogue and reasoned with the Jews that Jesus was the Christ. Some were persuaded, along with a number of God-fearing Greeks and quite a few prominent women (v 4).

Paul’s success stirred the jealousy of the Jews, who gathered some rabble from the marketplace and started a riot. They rushed the house of Jason, where Paul was staying, but when they were unable to find the apostle, they dragged his host and some other believers before the city officials. They claimed that Paul was guilty of defying Caesar’s decrees because he taught another king called Jesus. That very night Paul slipped out of town and made his way to Berea (Acts 17:5-10). The hostility of the Thessalonian Jews toward Paul is seen in the fact that when they learned that he was preaching at Berea they followed him there and stirred up the crowds against him (v 13).

Our basic knowledge of the church at Thessalonica comes from two letters by Paul from Corinth at a slightly later date. These early letters of the apostle supply an important insight into the life of a first-century Macedonian congregation that was primarily Gentile. In the centuries that followed, the city remained as one of the major strongholds of Christianity.