The authorship of the epistles of Paul the Apostle are discussions about the epistles attributed to the holy Apostle Paul . In the New Testament there are 14 epistles , the authorship of which is traditionally attributed to the apostle Paul. Among experts, it is considered indisputable authorship of Paul regarding the seven letters : to the Romans , 1st and 2nd to the Corinthians, to the Galatians , to the Philippians , 1st to the Thessalonians and the letter to Philemon [1] [2] [3] , called protopoulinist (proto (primary) - paul) [4] .
The authorship of six more epistles is a subject of discussion: to the Colossians , to the Ephesians , 2nd to the Thessalonians , 1st and 2nd to Timothy, and the epistle to Titus [1] . These messages are called deteropaulinist messages (deutero (second) - paul). Regarding the authorship of the Epistles to the Colossians and the 2nd to the Thessalonians, academic opinion is sharply divided, some consider them not to belong to the apostle Paul, others recognize them as exactly Pavlov. The other four epistles to Ephesians , the 1st and 2nd to Timothy, and the epistle to Titus are considered by most supporters of the critical school to be pseudo-epigraphs , i.e. written by unknown authors under the name of Paul. [1] [5] [6]
The modern Western biblical criticism rejects the apostle Paul’s belonging to the Hebrews [7] .
Currently, an increasing number of modern scholars with different theological positions, on the basis of a full stylemetric analysis of the epistles (a proportional ratio of the length of sentences, variations in the length of sentences, the location of keywords in the epistles, etc.), argue that apostle Paul - and the devter-pavlov epistles [8] .
Some epistles that are not in the New Testament are also attributed to Paul. This is the Epistle to the Laodiceans and the 3rd Epistle to the Corinthians .
Content
Authorship Criteria
To determine the authorship of a biblical text, researchers use a number of methods of historiography and biblical criticism . The main methods used in evaluating the authorship of the Epistles of Apostle Paul are described below.
Internal signs
This kind of authenticity is based on statements, direct or indirect, contained in the text of the messages themselves, such as autobiographical details communicated by the author. The absence of such details testifies to the doubtfulness of authorship. For example, in the Epistle to the Hebrews, the author does not report anything about himself, which gave rise to researchers, beginning with Origen of Alexandria , who lived in the 3rd century AD. e., doubt the authorship of the message.
External signs
Consist of the presence of references to the text, explicit or implicit, the authors of other texts, now lost. Explicit references are references to the name of the message being studied or its recognizable part. Examples are generally accepted biblical texts, such as the Muratorium canon or early manuscripts, such as “Papyrus 46”. Unfortunately, such sources are often badly damaged or written too late to provide reliable evidence.
Implicit links are quotations from Paul, especially indirect or non-attributed, or containing ideas and phrases that appear in his works. This use implies the material taken was available at the time the external features were created. For example, the second Epistle to the Thessalonians is mentioned by Irenius, who lived in the middle of the second century, and also by Justine the Martyr and Ignatius the God-bearer ; that allows you to date this message, as written before the specified time. On the other hand, the absence of references in historical sources may indicate a later authorship of the text. This argument, however, should be used with caution, since the corpus of sources that has come down to us may be incomplete and, moreover, later corrections could be made to them.
Historical circumstances
The history of the life and ministry of St. Paul is reflected in the acts of the Apostles . This information is used to determine the possible authorship of the messages by searching for biographical correspondences. For example, in the letter to Philemon (1: 7), Paul mentions that he is in prison; Proceeding from this, historian J.T. Robinson (JAT Robinson) concludes that it is about the imprisonment of Paul in Caesarea [9] , while W.M. Ramsey (WMRamsay) believes that it is about imprisonment in Rome [ 10] ; other scholars believe this is at Ephesus. The difficulty of this method lies in the limited reliable data on the biography of Paul. In addition, the plausibility of the assumption that this information was compiled by a certain companion of St. Paul should be taken into account.
Language and Style
Compliance of the studied text with other works of this author can be checked by the elements of style, such as: vocabulary, the construction of sentences, the use of idioms and phrases, and so on. The similarity of style may indicate common authorship of texts and vice versa. For example, E. D. Goodspid argued that the vocabulary of the Epistle to the Ephesians points to a similarity with the , written around the end of the 1st century AD. er [11] . Percy argued that the speech and style of the Epistle to the Colossians is highly similar to the style of the other Pauline epistles [12] . It should be taken into account, however, that the style and language of one and the same author may vary depending on both the circumstances and the reason for the development of the author himself.
To explain some differences in the style of the epistles, the assumption is used that the style of the devter-Paul letters was influenced by the clerk-secretaries of the Apostle Paul [4] [8] . So one of the scribes named Tertius is listed in the letter to the Romans ( Rom. 16:22 ) [13] .
Theological criteria
Consistency and connectedness in a theological aspect with other well-known works of the author are considered. Important theological concepts such as Eschatology or the Laws of Moses should be interpreted in a similar manner. Sequential interpretation may indicate a common author and vice versa. For example, V. Michaelis sees a theological similarity between the “Pastoral Epistles” and some of the indisputable works of the Apostle Paul, which the scholar considers as an argument in favor of authorship [14] .
The problem of this method of analysis lies in the coordination of various studies in their development, which leads to disagreements between scientists. So, B. S. Easton believes that the theological ideas presented in the “Pastoral Epistles” are not consistent with those of other famous works of Paul and, accordingly, rejects the authorship of the “Epistles” [15] . G. Lofing (G. Lohfink) believes that the theological aspects of the "Messages" are consistent with other works of Paul, but believes that this consistency is only a technique of later authors [16] .
See also
- Textology
- Historicity of Jesus Christ
- Christian history
- Early Christian literature
Notes
- ↑ 1 2 3 The Blackwell Companion to The New Testament / David E. Aune. - Wiley-Blackwell, 2010 .-- ISBN 978-1-4051-0825-6 . Page 9 “While they are almost universally accepted as authentic (Romans, 1 and 2 Corinthians, Galatians, Philippians, 1 Thessalonians, Philemon), under Paul's name: Ephesians and the Pastorals (1 and 2 Timothy and Titus) ”.
- Er er er er James James James James James James James James James James James James James James .
- ↑ Though Hebrews was almost certainly not written by Paul, it has been a part of the Pauline corpus "from the beginning of extant MS production" ( Wallace, Daniel B. "Hebrews: Introduction, Argument, and Outline." ).
- ↑ 1 2 Kovshov M.V. What did the apostle Paul actually write?
- ↑ Stanley E. Porter, “Pauline Authorship and the Pastoral Epistles: Implications for Canon,” Bulletin for Biblical Research 5 (1995): 105–123.
- ↑ Erman, Bart . Great deception: Scientific view of the authorship of sacred texts = Forged. Writing In The Name Of God - Why The Bible's Authors Are Not Who We Think They Are. - M .: Eksmo, 2013. - 448 p. - ISBN 978-5-699-65500-7 . (Chapter 3 “Forgeries under the name of the Apostle Paul” )
- ↑ Kovshov M.V. An adequate interpretation of the Bible is given from within Tradition (inaccessible link) . The date of circulation is June 7, 2017. Archived on August 5, 2017.
- ↑ 1 2 Metzger, Bruce . New Testament. Context, Formation, Content Archived July 7, 2017 on Wayback Machine
- ↑ Robinson p. 61.
- ↑ Ramsay p. 357.
- ↑ Goodspeed, p. vii.
- ↑ E. Percy Die Probleme der Kolosser und Epheserbriefe (1964) p. 66
- ↑ Brown Raymond . Introduction to the New Testament Volume II. Paul's Epistles
- ↑ W. Michaelis Pastoralbriefe und Gefangenschaftsbriefe (1930) pp. 99-100.
- ↑ BS Easton, The Pastoral Epistles (1948) p. 25
- ↑ G. Lonhfink, Paulinische Theologie in der Rezeption der Pastoralbrief, in Paulus in den neutestamentlichen Spatschriften ed.
Literature
In English
- Bernard, JH The Pastoral Epistles. - 1899.
- Brown, Raymond E. Introduction to the New Testament. - New York: Anchor Bible, 1997 .-- ISBN 0-385-24767-2 .
- Easton, BS The Pastoral Epistles. - 1948.
- Ehrman, Bart D. Lost Christianities: The Battles for Scripture and the Faiths We Never Knew. - New York: Oxford, 2003 .-- ISBN 0-19-514183-0 .
- Ehrman, Bart D. The New Testament: A Historical Introduction to the Early Christian Writings. - New York: Oxford, 2004 .-- ISBN 0-19-515462-2 .
- Ehrman, Bart D. The New Testament. - New York: Oxford, 1996 .-- ISBN 0-19-510279-7 .
- Falconer, Sir R. The Pastoral Epistles. - 1937.
- Goodspeed, EJ Key to Ephesians. - 1956.
- Guthrie, Donald. New Testament Introduction. - Hazell Books, 1990. - ISBN 0-85111-761-9 .
- Heard, Richard. An Introduction to the New Testament. - Black, 1950. - ISBN ASIN B0000CHRAW.
- Harrison, PN The Problem of the Pastoral Epistles. - 1921.
- Johnson, Luke Timothy. The Writings of the New Testament: An Interpretation. - Augsburg Fortress Publishers, 2002. - ISBN 0-8006-3439-X .
- von Harnack, Adolf. Die Briefsammlung des Apostels Paulus. - 1926.
- James, JD The Genuineness and Authorship of the Pastoral Epistles. - 1906.
- Jeremias, J. Die Briefe an Timotheus und Titus. - 1952.
- Kümmel, Werner G. Introduction to the New Testament. - Abingdon Pr, 1996. - ISBN 0-687-05576-8 .
- Pagels, Elaine. The Gnostic Paul: Gnostic Exegesis of the Pauline Letters. - Trinity Press International, 1992. - ISBN 1-56338-039-0 .
- Perrin, Norman. The New Testament, an Introduction: Proclamation and Parenesis, Myth and History. - Harcourt College Pub, 1974. - ISBN 0-15-565725-9 .
- Ramsay, Sir WM St. Paul the Traveler. - 1920.
- Robinson, JAT Redating the New Testament. - 1976.
- Schnelle, Udo. The History and Theology of the New Testament Writings. - Augsburg Fortress Publishers, 1998. - ISBN 0-8006-2952-3 .
- Streeter, BH The Primitive Church. - 1929.
In Russian
- Armstrong, Karen . St. Paul The apostle we love to hate = St. Paul: The Apostle We Love to Hate (Icons). - M .: Alpina Non-fiction, 2016. - 250 p. - 2000 copies - ISBN 978-5-91671-601-6 .
- Erman, Bart . Great deception. Scientific view on the authorship of sacred texts = Forged. We are thinking of the Bible. from English S.G. Puchkov. - M .: Eksmo , 2013. - 448 p. - ISBN 978-5-699-65500-7 .