Reception of 1 Thess. 5:23 in Irenaeus’ Philosophical Anthropology: a Diachronic Approach

Abstract

The anthropological implications of 1 Thess. 5:23 have long bemused both Paul’s interpreters and the interpreters of Paul’s earliest readers, such as Irenaeus. Though consensus has emerged on Irenaeus’ interpretation and use of 1 Thess. 5:23, certain of his passages defy the standard narrative. Taking these as a starting point, the present article employs a fresh approach by offering a diachronic reading of Irenaeus’ reception of 1 Thess. 5:23. First, it shows that Irenaeus did not express his “mature” understanding of the verse – the one which most scholars take as his normative view – until after he completed Book 2 and its various discussions of philosophical anthropology. Then, it uses insights from this diachronic analysis to offer new solutions to some of the most notoriously difficult passages amongst Irenaeus’ anthropological discussions. In so doing, it provides a more cogent reading of Against Heresies , the processes by which early Christians developed their thought, and a fresh lens for viewing one of the most widely analyzed anthropological remarks in the scriptures.