Charles Ellicott Commentary 1 Thessalonians 3:1

"Wherefore when we could no longer forbear, we thought it good to be left behind at Athens alone;" — 1 Thessalonians 3:1 (ASV)

We could no longer refrain.—The Greek word contains the metaphor of a vessel overfull and bursting with its contents. “We” must be understood here, by the limitation of 1 Thessalonians 2:18 and by the direct singular of 1 Thessalonians 3:5, to mean St. Paul alone, not him and Silas.

To be left at Athens alone.—The difficulty of interpreting this passage to agree with Acts 17:15-16 and Acts 18:5 is not a light one. From those passages, it would appear that immediately upon reaching Athens, St. Paul sent word back to Macedonia by the friends who had escorted him, for St. Silas and St. Timothy to join him at once. However, it seems some delay took place, and St. Paul had arrived at Corinth before his companions reached him. Consequently, they were never with him at Athens.

In that case, “to be left alone” must mean, “We resolved not to keep with us the brothers who escorted us.” The “sent” of 1 Thessalonians 3:2 would then mean that he gave them a message for Timothy to go back to Thessalonica (presumably from Berea) before joining St. Paul at Athens. This is because the tense of the Greek verb “to be left” absolutely necessitates an act of parting with someone: it cannot mean, “We were willing to endure loneliness a little longer.”

But such an interpretation does not fit well with Acts 17:15; it is hard to reconcile an urgent message to “come with all speed” with a command to make such a détour. It seems, therefore, most reasonable to suppose that Silas and Timothy joined St. Paul immediately at Athens and were sent back into Macedonia almost as quickly—Silas to Berea or Philippi, and Timothy to Thessalonica. This would explain St. Paul’s being left alone, an expression that would hardly have been used if Silas had remained with him at Athens, as some (misled by the word “we”) have supposed. It also explains how in Acts 18:5 both Timothy and Silas come from Macedonia to Corinth.

The sending of Silas from Athens is not mentioned here, simply because it held no particular interest for the Thessalonians. If the two men did not reach St. Paul at all while he was at Athens, after receiving such an imperative message, they must have been very slow. A week would have allowed ample time for their journey from Berea, and Acts 17:17 and Acts 18:1 certainly imply a much longer period of his residence there. “To be left alone” was a great trial to St. Paul’s affectionate nature: such a sacrifice might well impress the Thessalonians with the strength of his love for them.