2 Thessalonians 3:8-Paul, Silvanus and Timothy Supported Themselves In Order to Not Impose a Financial Burden on the Thessalonians

2 Thessalonians 3:6 Now, we command each and every one of you brothers and sisters by the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, to disassociate yourselves from any brother or sister who is living an undisciplined lifestyle. Consequently, they are not living according to the traditions, which they received from each one of us. 7 For you yourselves are well aware of the manner in which each and every one of you for your own benefit are under obligation to make it your habit of imitating each one of us. For each one of us absolutely never conducted ourselves in an undisciplined manner among each one of you. 8 Absolutely never did anyone of us eat bread from anyone without paying. In fact, on the contrary, because each one of us worked to support ourselves night and day by means of difficult, yes exhausting hard work in order to not impose a financial burden on anyone of you. (Lecturer’s translation)

2 Thessalonians 3:8 is composed of two declarative statements.

The first is part of a correlative clause which begins at the end of 2 Thessalonians 3:7 while the second presents an emphatic contrast with the first as well as the reason for the first.

The first emphatically advances upon the causal clause which ends 2 Thessalonians 3:7, which asserts that Paul, Silvanus and Timothy absolutely never conducted themselves in an undisciplined manner when living among the individual members of the Thessalonian Christian community.

It presents the reason why each member of the Thessalonian Christian community was for their own benefit under obligation to make it their habit of imitating Paul, Silvanus and Timothy who worked for a living to support themselves financially while living with the Thessalonians.

Therefore, this indicates that each member of the Thessalonian Christian community was well aware of the manner in which each of them were obligated to make it their habit of imitating Paul, Silvanus and Timothy “because” each of these three men absolutely never conducted themselves in an undisciplined manner while living among each of them.

The first declarative statement in 2 Thessalonians 3:8 emphatically asserts that Paul, Silvanus and Timothy never ate the food of any member of the Thessalonian Christian community while they were living with them.

As we noted, the causal clause at the end of 2 Thessalonians 3:7 and the first declarative statement at the beginning of 2 Thessalonians 3:8 form a correlative clause, which means that these two statements in verses 7 and 8 are directly related to each other and complement each other.

Therefore, they emphatically present the correlation between Paul, Silvanus and Timothy never conducting themselves in an undisciplined manner while living with the Thessalonians and these three men never eating their food without paying for it.

The second declarative statement in 2 Thessalonians 3:8 presents an emphatic contrast between Paul, Silvanus and Timothy eating food from anyone in the Thessalonian Christian community and these three men working to support themselves night and day by means of difficult, yes exhausting hard work in order to not impose a financial burden on anyone in the Thessalonian Christian community.

This second declarative statement is describing or identifying what Paul, Silvanus and Timothy did instead of eating the food from the homes of the Thessalonian Christian community.

It is expressing the idea that these three men were engaged in activities in order to provide food for themselves, which involved a considerable expenditure of effort, energy and diligence on their part.

It is expressing the idea that they worked hard to provide a living for themselves while living with the Thessalonian Christian community.

It also indicates the reason why Paul, Silvanus and Timothy never ate food from anyone in the Thessalonian Christian community because the participle conjugation of the verb ergazomai in this second statement is a participle of cause.

This indicates the cause or reason or ground of the action of the finite verb, which is the verb esthiō.

Thus, this second declarative statement is expressing the idea that Paul, Silvanus and Timothy never ate food from anyone in the Thessalonian Christian community “because” each of them worked hard night and day to support themselves by means of difficult, yes exhausting hard work in order that they would not impose a financial burden on them.

When Paul asserts that he, Silvanus and Timothy worked nyktos kai hēmeras (νυκτὸς καὶ ἡμέρας), “night and day,” he does not mean that they never got any rest.

Rather, it simply emphasizes with the Thessalonians that they worked very hard to support themselves in order to not impose a financial burden on them.

In other words, they worked long exhausting hours because not only were they communicating the gospel to the Thessalonians but they were also carrying jobs on the side so as to support themselves financially so as to not impose a financial burden on them.

Therefore, like the assertions in 1 Thessalonians 2:9, this second declarative statement in 2 Thessalonians 3:8, which stands in an emphatic contrast with the first in this verse and presents the reason for the first, makes clear that Paul, Silvanus and Timothy were bi-vocational.

This means that not only did they perform the task of communicating the gospel to the non-believers and believers in Thessalonica, but they also carried another job.

Acts 18:3 indicates that Paul was a tent-maker.

Therefore, when he was teaching the gospel to the Thessalonians, he was working as a tent-maker.

2 Thessalonians 3:8 echoes much of 1 Thessalonians 2:9.

In fact, the statement ergazomenoi pros to mē epibarēsai tina hymōn (ἐργαζόμενοι πρὸς τὸ μὴ ἐπιβαρῆσαί τινα ὑμῶν) appears in both verses.

The NET Bible translates this statement “so as not to impose a burden on any of you” in the latter and “in order not to burden any of you” in the former.

Furthermore, the nouns kopos (κόπος), mochthos (μόχθος), nux (νύξ), hemera (ἡμέρα), and the nominative masculine plural present middle participle form of the verb ergazomai (ἐργάζομαι), all appear in both verses but in different order.

1 Thessalonians 2:9 For in fact each one of you brothers and sisters does remember our difficult, yes exhausting hard work: While each one of us made it our habit of working hard during the day as well as during the night to support ourselves in order to not enter into imposing a financial burden on anyone of you, each of us publicly proclaimed to each of you with authority as heralds the one and only gospel originating from the one and only God. (Lecturer’s translation)

Therefore, like the emphatic adversative clause in 2 Thessalonians 3:8, the assertions recorded here in 1 Thessalonians 2:9 make clear that Paul, Silvanus and Timothy were bi-vocational.

These assertions recorded in 1 Thessalonians 2:9 and the emphatic adversative clause in 2 Thessalonians 3:8 reveal that Paul, Silvanus and Timothy not only worked hard serving the Thessalonian Christian community by teaching the Word of God, but they also worked hard at second jobs in order to not impose a burden on them.

Now, as we noted in our study of 1 Thessalonians 2 and 2 Thessalonians 3:7, Paul, Silvanus and Timothy worked for a living in order to support themselves financially despite the fact that they had the right to receive remuneration from the Thessalonians to support themselves.

In 1 Corinthians 9:1-18, Paul says much the same thing to the Corinthian Christian community and in fact, in 1 Thessalonians chapter two, Paul says the same thing to the Thessalonian Christian community.

He asserts that he, Silvanus and Timothy were never greedy while proclaiming the gospel to them and worked hard to support themselves with jobs on the side.

They did this to silence their critics who accused them of being like the philosophers of the day who exploited people for money and to not impose a financial burden on the Thessalonian Christian community.

This would provide them a great example of selfless, sacrificial Christian service.

1 Thessalonians 2:1 For you yourselves in contrast to those who oppose us, possess the conviction brothers and sisters that our reception which was among all of you is absolutely not characterized as being without results. 2 But in fact, although we previously suffered, yes, we were verbally and physically abused in Philippi as each one of you are well aware of, for our benefit we courageously communicated the one and only gospel originating from the one and only God (the Father) in the presence of each of you by means of our God’s (the Spirit) power in the face of great opposition. 3 For our appeal was absolutely never from error, nor motivated by impurity nor by means of deception. 4 In fact, on the contrary, just as each one of us are approved by this God to be entrusted with communicating this gospel, so each of us are speaking as absolutely never pleasing people but rather God, who does test our hearts. 5 So therefore, each one of us never at any time conducted ourselves with flattering speech as each one of you are well aware of, in fact, nor motivated by greed-God is a witness. 6 Indeed, nor by seeking at any time honor from people, whether from any one of you or from others, 7 although each one of us for our own benefit possess the power to impose our authority as Christ’s apostles. However, on the contrary, each of us conducted ourselves as little children in the midst of each of you. Like a nursing mother tenderly cares for her own children, 8 so in the same way, because each one of us possesses great affection for each and every one of you, each one of us was more than happy to not only share with each one of you the one and only gospel originating from the one and only God, but also our very own lives. For each and every one of you had become very dear to each one of us. 9 For in fact each one of you brothers and sisters does remember our difficult, yes exhausting hard work: While each one of us made it our habit of working hard during the day as well as during the night to support ourselves in order to not enter into imposing a financial burden on anyone of you, each of us publicly proclaimed to each of you with authority as heralds the one and only gospel originating from the one and only God. (Lecturer’s translation)