King James Version · Under Rome
1 Thessalonians 1
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, and Silvanus, and , unto of the Thessalonians which is in and in : be unto you, and peace, from , and . We give thanks to always for you all, making mention of you in our prayers; Remembering without ceasing your work of , and labour of love, and of in our , in the sight of and ; Knowing, brethren beloved, your election of . For our came not unto you in word only, but also in , and in the Ghost, and in much assurance; as ye know what manner of men we were among you for your sake. And ye became followers of us, and of , having received the word in much affliction, with joy of the Ghost: So that ye were ensamples to all that in and . For from you sounded out the word of not only in and , but also in every place your to -ward is spread abroad; so that we need not to speak any thing. For they themselves shew of us what manner of entering in we had unto you, and how ye turned to from idols to the living and true ; And to wait for his Son from , whom he , even , which us from the to come.
The 1611 translation, public domain. Its original printing included the Apocrypha, which is why the deuterocanonical books can be read here. Notes and cards are EKLI’s own.
The world at this moment · Under Rome, 63 BC to AD 100 ›
Judea as a client kingdom and then a province. Roads, garrisons, taxes, crucifixion, and a common Greek language that let a message travel the empire faster than any before it.
- Rome
- The republic tears itself apart in civil war and comes out as an empire under Augustus. What follows is two centuries of relative peace across the whole Mediterranean, enforced by legions and paid for by taxes, with safe roads and safe sea lanes. Every one of Paul's journeys depends on that.
- Judea
- Governed first through Herod the Great, a client king of enormous ability and enormous brutality who rebuilds the temple into one of the wonders of the ancient world, then directly by Roman prefects. Crucifixion is the standard penalty for sedition and is used often and publicly.
- The wider world
- Greek is spoken from Spain to Syria, which means a letter written in Corinth can be read in Rome without translation. Jewish communities already exist in most major cities, which is where the first Christian preaching lands. Mystery religions, imperial cult, and philosophy all compete in the same marketplace.
- Further afield
- The Han dynasty rules China and trades silk westward along routes that touch the Roman world at second hand. In Britain the Roman conquest begins within a decade of the crucifixion.