An Obligation of Thanks (2Thess 1,3): Gift and Return in Divine-Human Relationships

The wording of the thanksgiving formula in 2Thess 1,3 (“we ought to give thanks to God”) departs from the pattern found in the undisputed Pauline letters (“I/we give thanks to God”). This article argues that previous explanations for the change fail to identify the cultural significance of the language of “obligation” (“ought”). This language indicates neither that the Thessalonians had denied Paul’s previous praise, nor that the Thessalonians’ merit induced stronger language than usual, nor that the author lacked a personal relationship with the audience and was not Paul. Rather, the language of “obligation,” in connection with reference to the gift(s) of the gods / God and thanksgiving as a proper return, relates to ancient conceptions of benefaction as seen in in Greco-Roman and Hellenistic Jewish sources.