Paul: Apostle to the Nations: an Introduction

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Who was Paul; what did he do, what did he write? Walter F. Taylor Jr. sets out to bring together a wealth of contemporary perspectives in a clear and accessible synthesis, bringing to bear on his subject the best of recent social-scientific and cultural-anthropological thinking on Paul. An appendix presents a clear summary of issues related to Paul's thought on gender and sexuality. "Professor Taylor has provided a clearly written and highly informative account of Paul's life, his world, and his letters. The presentation is well organized, comprehensive, and insightful, making the apostle and his work accessible to the reader. The book can be recommended highly for students and others who want a reliable guide to one of the most important figures and collections of New Testament writings at the dawn of Christian origins." --Arland J. Hultgren; Luther Seminary, Saint Paul, Minnesota "This extremely well-written study combines an effective exposition of Paul's identity with an effective exposition of Paul's seven undisputed letters. Professor Taylor is remarkably sensitive to the Roman imperial context of Paul's ministry and the impact of Paul's Roman chains upon his letters to the Philippians and to Philemon." --Richard J. Cassidy, Sacred Heart Major Seminary, Detroit, Michigan From the Inside Flap Who was Paul? What did he do? What did he write? Walter F. Taylor sets out to bring together a wealth of contemporary perspectives in a clear and accessible synthesis, bringing to bear on his subject the best of recent social-scientific and cultural-anthropological thinking on Paul. An appendix presents a clear summary of issues related to Paul's thought on gender and sexuality. About the Author Walter F. Taylor Jr. is the Ernest W. and Edith S. Ogram Professor of New Testament Studies at Trinity Lutheran Seminary and a member of the Context Group applying social-science models to the study of the New Testament. He is the author of numerous journal articles on the New Testament and of Ephesians (Augsburg Commentary on the New Testament, 1985), and study resources on Galatians and Romans. List of Textboxes xi Acknowledgments xiii Part One: Who Was Paul and What Did He Do? Introduction: Why Study Paul? 3 Positive and Negative Evaluations of Paul 3 Why Study Paul? 6 How to Use This Book 8 1. How Can We Study Paul? 11 Historical Study 11 Political Study 13 Social-Scientific Study 13 Rhetorical Study 15 Literary Study 15 Feminist Study 17 Theological Study 17 2. What Sources Can We Use to Study Paul? 21 Letters of Paul 21 The Book of Acts 27 vi | Contents Noncanonical Sources 31 Sources: A Proposal 31 3. Where and When Did Paul Live and Work? 35 The Problems of Outlining a “Life” of Paul 35 Where Did Paul Live and Work? 39 How Did Paul Travel? 46 4. What Kind of Person Was Paul? 51 A Judean 51 A Greco-Roman 58 A Christ-Believer 81 5. What Did Paul Do? 91 What Was the Heart of Paul’s Social Network? 91 How Did Paul Begin Congregations? 98 How Did Paul Nurture Congregations? 102 Part Two: What Did Paul Write? 6. 1 Thessalonians: The End Is Near—but Not Yet 127 Paraenesis 127 Conclusion to the Letter 129 Historical Situation 130 4:13-18 132 5:1-11 135 Chapters 1–3 138 Summary 140 7. Galatians: Free To Be Children of God 143 Why Is Paul So Upset? (1:1—2:21) 143 How Does Paul Prove His Thesis? (3:1—4:31) 147 Historical Situation 153 The Rhetorical Genre of Galatians 155 Paraenesis and the Letter’s Conclusion (5:1—6:18) 155 Summary 157 8. 1 Corinthians: Life in the Body 161 How Are New Believers to Live? 161 Founding of the Congregation 162 Why Corinth? 162 Composition of the Congregation 164 Why Write Now? 166 What Issues Does Paul Need to Address? 167 How Does Paul Approach Them? 169 From Where and When Did Paul Write? 170 Contents | vii Final Introductory Questions 170 Chapters 1–4 171 Chapters 5–7 173 8:1—11:1 176 11:2-34 178 Chapters 12–14 180 Chapter 15 183 Chapter 16 185 Summary 186 9. 2 Corinthians: Treasure in Clay Jars 189 Where Do We See God’s Power? 189 Seams 190 Proposed Solutions 194 Time and Place 200 Genre 201 Crises and Opponents 201 Reading through 2 Corinthians, Fragment by Fragment 204 1:1—2:13 205 2:14—6:13 208 Interpolationin 6:14—7:1 212 7:2-16 212 8:1-24 213 9:1-15 214 10:1—13:13 215 13:1-13 219 Effect and Summary 220 10. Romans: God Justifies the Ungodly 223 Not Ashamed of the Gospel 223 Introducing Paul and His Gospel 224 Why Did Paul Write to the Romans? 229 What Genre(s) Did Paul Use? 234 Where and When Did Paul Write? 235 1:18—3:20 236 3:21—5:21 238 6:1—8:39 241 9:1—11:36 244 12:1—15:13 246 15:13—16:23 [25-27] 248 Summary 250 11. Philippians: Citizenship in Heaven 255 A New Home 255 The City of Philippi 255 Founding of the Congregation 256 viii | Contents Reasons for Writing 256 How Many Letters Do We Have? 257 What Does Paul Want from the Philippians? The Question of Genre 260 Where and When Did Paul Write? 260 Opponents 263 1:1-26 264 1:27-30 266 2:1-30 266 3:1—4:1 271 4:2-23 272 Summary 275 12. Philemon: Life in the Christ Believing Family 277 How Did People Live in the Family? 277 The Story behind the Letter 277 Genre 279 Location and Date 280 Verses 1-7 281 Verses 8-16 283 Verses 17-25 284 Summary 288 13. How Did People Develop What Paul Wrote? 289 The Eschatological Paul (2 Thessalonians) 290 The Universal Paul (Colossians, Ephesians) 292 The Ecclesiastical Paul (Acts, 1–2 Timothy, Titus, Ignatius of Antioch) 295 The Radical Paul (Marcion) 299 The Spiritualized Paul (Gnosticism) 301 The Ascetic Paul (The Acts of Paul and Thecla) 303 The Apostate Paul (The Pseudo-Clementines) 305 Conclusion 306 Glossary 311 Abbreviations 319 Notes 323 Index 373