| Summary: | Social Scientific Criticism provides the reader of the New Testament with a set of
tools to access the intended meaning of a text. That is to say, it is not the words which
convey meaning, but rather the context within which the words are embedded. The
anthropological model of honor and shame is one of these tools. This model has been
developed from the modern study of agrarian and rural Mediterranean villages and from
the study of ancient and classical Hellenistic literature and philosophy. The present study
considers the context of honor and shame which lies beneath what is generally regarded
as the earliest extant Pauline letter, I Thessalonians. After preliminary exercises, such as
a survey of the literature on I Thessalonians and an establishing and clarification of the
method which drives this study, the text is analysed from the perspective of honor and
shame, limited good, and agonism. Since honor and shame did not operate in a vacuum
of social values and practices, other details are brought into the exegesis, such as praise
and blame in ancient letter writing, and Paul's place in the environment of patron-client
relations. The result is a reading of the letter which focuses on the variety of challenges
which the converts posed and on Paul's need to defend himself in a way that was
appropriate to his mission. Through such a reading, certain stylistic features of the letter
are highlighted in a way that sets this study apart from its predecessors. === Arts, Faculty of === Classical, Near Eastern and Religious Studies, Department of === Graduate
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