Colossians 4:1-18 - 4. The Date Of The Epistle.

Accordingly the place of writing was Corinth. In our New Testament, at the end of the Epistle, there is appended the note: "The First Epistle to the Thessalonians was written from Athens." Though such a note is found in the most ancient manuscripts, it is evidently a mistake. The Epistle could not have been written from Athens, for Silas and Timothy were not both there with the apostle; and it was not written until the return of Timothy from Thessalonica, which occurred at Corinth; nor is there any ground for the supposition that Paul and his companions, during his residence at Corinth, made a short excursion to Athens. The mistake appears to have arisen from a careless inference drawn from the words, "We thought it good to be left at Athens alone" ( 1 Thessalonians 3:1 ); whereas the reference there is evidently to a past event, and indirectly implies that the apostle was not at Athens when he wrote these words. These subscriptions at the end of the Epistles have no authority; and although in general correct, yet occasionally, as in the present instance, they are erroneous.