Professional Documents
Culture Documents
1 Thessalonians 4:4 is found in the context of the apostolic admonition to the young
church in Thessalonica to continue in the commandments they had received and to avoid
“porneias” referring to all forms of sexual immorality. Uncertainty arises with regards to
the meaning of the Greek word “skeuos”, which may be a reference to the “body”,
“vessel” or “wife”.
A survey of the concordance shows that in most instances, the word was employed
to mean “vessel” or “container” used literally for household utensils (Rev 2:27, John
19:29), nautical gear (Acts 27:17) and temple cultic vessels (Mark 11:16).
Metaphorically, people could also be “instruments” of God (Acts 9:15). A sample of data
collected could be viewed at the appendix below1. However, we should not base our
conclusions solely on such statistics since the context in which the word is used
determines the meaning. In secular Greek, the word could also have “a transferred sense”
referring to the body as the vessel of the soul or the reproductive organ.2 (1 Sam 21:6 in
the Septuagint, italics mine) Historically, Tertullian and Chrysotom favored this meaning
1
James Strong, Strong’s Exhaustive Concordance of the Bible, (Peabody, Massachusetts: Hendrickson Publishers) ,
section on ‘skeous’.
2
Gerhard Kittel and Gerhard Friedrich editors, translated by Geoffrey W. Bromiley, Theological Dictionary of the
New Testament, Abridged in One volume, (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans Publishing Company, 1985), page 1039.
1
but others like Augustine and Theodore of Mopsuestia understood the word to mean “the
Since the preceding warning in 1 Thessalonians 4:1-3 is against fornication and the
succeeding one in verse 6 is against adultery, we could narrow down the semantic range
There are several strands of evidence that seem to favor the latter meaning. According to
E. Best, ktasthai in the present tense normally means “to gain or acquire”, rather than “to
control or possess.” The argument offered is that the body cannot be acquired or gained.4
Moreover, others have pointed out that Paul’s teaching does not exhibit Platonic concept
of “the body as a container of the soul” or “an ethics centered on the body”5.
If the wife is meant here, 1 Thessalonians 4:4 urges men to marry or acquire a wife
provision for sexual needs for both men and women, especially in view of prevalent
sexual sins. This meaning of skeous is also consistent with 1 Peters 3:7 where the wife is
3
Colin Brown, editor, article by H. Vorlander on “Woman”, The New International Dictionary of NT Theology Vol.3,
4
R.C. H. Lenski, The Interpretation of Saint Paul’s Epistles to the Colossians, to the Thessalonians, to Timothy, to
Titus and to Philemon, (Minneapolis: Augsburg Publishing House, 1964), page 310.
5
Gerhard Kittel and Gerhard Friedrich editors, Theological Dictionary of the New Testament, Abridged in One volume,
page 1040.
2
also referred to as “the weaker vessel” to be honored.6 Maurer also notes that the rabbinic
metaphor of “vessel” to refer to women occurs in sexual contexts and suggests that
Some common objections against this interpretation could be that only the needs of
men are addressed in Paul’s admonition and its seemingly low view of marriage.
However, Paul certainly has the needs of women in mind too when he wrote on a similar
vein, “Let each woman have her own husband.” (1 Corinthians 7:2-5) In the epistle to the
Thessalonians, the men were addressed simply because it was their susceptibility to
sexual sins, which occasioned Paul’s admonition. Understanding the occasional nature of
his epistles, we should also be careful not to consider the passage as an exhaustive
exposition of Paul’s views on marriage. There was indeed practical wisdom in the advice:
“It is better to marry than to burn with passion”. (1 Corinthians 7:9) However, it is only
one aspect of Paul’s lofty vision of marriage as foreshadowing the mystery of Christ’s
6
Frank E. Gaebelen, general editor, Thessalonians, The Expositors’ Bible Commentary, (Michigan: Zondervan, 1978),
page 271.
7
Colin Brown, editor, article by H. Vorlander on “Woman”, The New International Dictionary of NT Theology Vol.3,
page 1065.
3
Appendix