As the first letter of the Apostle Paul and the earliest writing of the New Testament, the First Letter to the Thessalonians provides insight into early Christian theological reflections, particularly those originating from the community in Antioch (theology of election, missionary perspective towards the Gentiles while preserving Jewish heritage, eschatology, and community theology). The First Letter to the Thessalonians is not interpreted through the lens of the later authentic letters of Paul but is understood as a literarily cohesive and independent writing that marks the beginning of Paul's correspondence with his communities. Special attention in this commentary is given to the differentiation between Paul's founding proclamation in the Macedonian capital and his written response to questions that arose in the meantime, which were presented to him by his co-worker Timothy.