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ThePauline epistles, also known asEpistles of Paul orLetters of Paul, are the thirteen books of theNew Testament attributed toPaul the Apostle, although the authorship of some is in dispute. Among theseepistles are some of the earliest extant Christian documents. They provide an insight into the beliefs and controversies ofearly Christianity. As part of thecanon of the New Testament, they are foundational texts for bothChristian theology andethics.
Most scholars believe that Paul actually wrote seven of the thirteen Pauline epistles (Galatians,Romans,1 Corinthians,2 Corinthians,Philemon,Philippians,1 Thessalonians), while three of the epistles in Paul's name are widely seen aspseudepigraphic (1 Timothy,2 Timothy, andTitus).[1] Whether Paul wrote the three other epistles in his name (2 Thessalonians,Ephesians andColossians) is widely debated.[1] TheEpistle to the Hebrews, although it does not bear his name, wastraditionally considered Pauline (althoughRome questioned its authorship), but from the 16th century onwards opinion steadily moved against Pauline authorship and few scholars now ascribe it to Paul, mostly because it does not read like any of his other epistles in style and content and because the epistle does not indicate that Paul is the author, unlike the others.[2]
A number of scholars have argued that from biographic details from Paul, he likely suffered from some physical impediment such as vision loss or damaged hands and Paul does explicitly state, or even names, in multiple epistles that he used secretaries, which was a common practice in the Greco-Roman world; likely explaining the epistles that are seemingly non-Pauline.[3][4][5][6]
The Pauline epistles are usually placed between theActs of the Apostles and thecatholic epistles (also called the general epistles) in modern editions. Most Greek manuscripts place the general epistles first,[7] and a fewminuscules (175,325,336, and1424) place the Pauline epistles at the end of the New Testament.
| 36 | (31–36 AD: conversion of Paul) |
|---|---|
| 37 | |
| 38 | |
| 39 | |
| 40 | |
| 41 | |
| 42 | |
| 43 | |
| 44 | |
| 45 | |
| 46 | |
| 47 | |
| 48 | Epistle to the Galatians |
| 49 | |
| 50 | First Epistle to the Thessalonians |
| 51 | Second Epistle to the Thessalonians |
| 52 | |
| 53 | |
| 54 | First Epistle to the Corinthians |
| 55 | Second Epistle to the Corinthians |
| 56 | |
| 57 | Epistle to the Romans |
| 58 | |
| 59 | |
| 60 | |
| 61 | |
| 62 | Epistle to the Philippians |
| Epistle to Philemon | |
| Epistle to the Colossians | |
| Epistle to the Ephesians | |
| 63 | |
| 64 | First Epistle to Timothy |
| 65 | Second Epistle to Timothy |
| 66 | Epistle to Titus |
| 67 | (64–67 AD: death of Paul) |
In all of these epistles, except theEpistle to the Hebrews, the author and writer does claim to be Paul. The contested letters may have been written using Paul's name, as it was common to attribute at that point in history.[8]
Seven letters (with consensus dates)[9] considered genuine by most scholars:
The three letters on which scholars are about evenly divided:[1] If these letters are inauthentic, then the consensus dates are probably incorrect.
The letters thought to bepseudepigraphic by many scholars (traditional dating given):[1] The content of these letters strongly suggests they were written a decade or more later than the traditional dates.
Finally,Epistle to the Hebrews, although anonymous and not really in the form of a letter, has long been included among Paul's collected letters. Although some churches ascribe Hebrews to Paul,[10] neither most of Christianity nor modern scholarship does so.[1][11]
In the order they appear in the New Testament, the Pauline epistles are:
| Name | Addressees | Greek | Latin | Abbreviations | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Full | Min. | ||||
| Romans | Church atRome | Πρὸς Ῥωμαίους | Epistola ad Romanos | Rom | Ro |
| 1 Corinthians | Church atCorinth | Πρὸς Κορινθίους Αʹ | Epistola I ad Corinthios | 1 Cor | 1C |
| 2 Corinthians | Church atCorinth | Πρὸς Κορινθίους Βʹ | Epistola II ad Corinthios | 2 Cor | 2C |
| Galatians | Churches inGalatia | Πρὸς Γαλάτας | Epistola ad Galatas | Gal | G |
| Ephesians | Church atEphesus | Πρὸς Ἐφεσίους | Epistola ad Ephesios | Eph | E |
| Philippians | Church atPhilippi | Πρὸς Φιλιππησίους | Epistola ad Philippenses | Phil | Phi |
| Colossians | Church atColossae | Πρὸς Κολοσσαεῖς | Epistola ad Colossenses | Col | C |
| 1 Thessalonians | Church atThessalonica | Πρὸς Θεσσαλονικεῖς Αʹ | Epistola I ad Thessalonicenses | 1 Thess | 1Th |
| 2 Thessalonians | Church atThessalonica | Πρὸς Θεσσαλονικεῖς Βʹ | Epistola II ad Thessalonicenses | 2 Thess | 2Th |
| 1 Timothy | Saint Timothy | Πρὸς Τιμόθεον Αʹ | Epistola I ad Timotheum | 1 Tim | 1T |
| 2 Timothy | Saint Timothy | Πρὸς Τιμόθεον Βʹ | Epistola II ad Timotheum | 2 Tim | 2T |
| Titus | Saint Titus | Πρὸς Τίτον | Epistola ad Titum | Tit | T |
| Philemon | Saint Philemon | Πρὸς Φιλήμονα | Epistola ad Philemonem | Philem | P |
| Hebrews* | Hebrew Christians | Πρὸς Ἑβραίους | Epistola ad Hebraeos | Heb | H |
This ordering is remarkably consistent in the manuscript tradition, with very few deviations. The evident principle of organization is descending length of the Greek text, but keeping the threepastoral epistles addressed to individuals in a separate final section. The only anomaly is that Galatians precedes the slightly longer Ephesians.[12]
| Date | Name | Location of authorship |
|---|---|---|
| c. 48 | Galatians | Antioch (uncertain) |
| c. 49–51 | 1 Thessalonians | Corinth |
| c. 49–51 | 2 Thessalonians | Corinth |
| c. 53–55 | 1 Corinthians | Ephesus |
| c. 55–56 | 2 Corinthians | Macedonia |
| c. 57 | Romans | Corinth |
| c. 62 | Ephesians | Rome |
| c. 62 | Philippians | Rome |
| c. 62 | Colossians | Rome |
| c. 62 | Philemon | Rome |
| c. 62–64 | 1 Timothy | Macedonia |
| c. 62–64 | Titus | Nicopolis |
| c. 64–67 | 2 Timothy | Rome |
In modern editions, the anonymousEpistle to the Hebrews is placed at the end of Paul's letters and before thegeneral epistles. This practice was popularized through the 4th centuryVulgate byJerome, who was aware of ancient doubts about itsauthorship, and is also followed in most medievalByzantine manuscripts with hardly any exceptions.[12]
The placement of Hebrews among the Pauline epistles is less consistent in the manuscripts:
Paul's own writings are sometimes thought to indicate several of his letters that have not been preserved:
Several other epistles were attributed to Paul during the course of history but are now consideredpseudepigraphic:
David Trobisch finds it likely that Paul first collected his letters for publication himself.[26] It was normal practice in Paul's time for letter writers to keep one copy for themselves and send a second copy to the recipient(s); surviving collections of ancient letters sometimes originated from the senders' copies, at other times from the recipients' copies.[27] A collection of Paul's letters circulated separately from other early Christian writings and later became part of the New Testament. When thecanon was established, thegospels and Paul's letters were the core of what would become the New Testament.[26][page needed]
