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17But we, brethren, bereaved of you. This excuse has been appropriately added, lest the Thessalonians should think that Paul had deserted them while so great an emergency demanded his presence. He has spoken of the persecutions which they endured from their own people: he, in the mean time, whose duty it was above all others to assist them, was absent. He has formerly called himself a father; now, it is not the part of a father to desert his children in the midst of such distresses. He, accordingly, obviates all suspicion of contempt and negligence, by saying, that it was from no want of inclination, but because he had not opportunity. Nor does he say simply, “ was desirous to come to you, but my way was obstructed;” but by the peculiar terms that he employs he expresses the intensity of his affection: “” says he, “ was bereaved of you.” (550) By the word bereaved, he declares how sad and distressing a thing it was to him to be absent from them. (551) This is followed by a fuller expression of his feeling of desire — that it was with difficulty that he could endure their absence for a short time. It is not to be wondered, if length of time should occasion weariness or sadness; but we must have a strong feeling of attachment when we find it difficult to wait even a single hour. Now, by the space of an hour, he means — a small space of time.
This is followed by a correction — that he had been separated from them in appearance, not in heart, that they may know that distance of place does not by any means lessen his attachment. At the same time, this might not less appropriately be applied to the Thessalonians, as meaning that they, on their part, had felt united in mind while absent in body; for it was of no small importance for the point in hand that he should state how fully assured he was of their affection towards him in return. He shews, however, more fully his affection, when he says that he endeavored the more abundantly; for he means that his affection was so far from being diminished by his leaving them, that it had been the more inflamed. When he says, we would once and again, he declares that it was not a sudden heat, that quickly cooled, (as we see sometimes happen,) but that he had been steadfast in this purpose, (552) inasmuch as he sought various opportunities.
(550) “ original word is here very emphatical. It is an allusion to that grief, anxiety, and reluctance of heart, with which dying, affectionate parents take leave of their own children, when they are just going to leave them helpless orphans, exposed to the injuries of a merciless and wicked world, or that sorrow of heart with which poor destitute orphans close the eyes of their dying parents.” —Benson. —Ed.
(551) “Le mot Grec signifie l’ d’ pere qui a perdu ses enfans, ou des enfans qui ont perdu leur pere;” — “ Greek word denotes the condition of a father that has lost his children, or of children that have lost their father.”
(552) Hujus propositi tenacem. See Hor. Od. 3, 3. 1. — Ed.