Paul's Letters and Contemporary Greco-Roman Literature

Theorizing a New Taxonomy
Erscheinungsjahr 2016
ISBN: 978-90-04-32027-7
Verlag: Brill

Buch, Englisch, Band 167, 308 Seiten, Format (B × H): 155 mm x 235 mm, Gewicht: 607 g

Reihe: Novum Testamentum, Supplements

In this volume, Paul Robertson re-describes the form of the apostle Paul’s letters in a manner that facilitates transparent, empirical comparison with texts not typically treated by biblical scholars. Paul’s letters are best described by a set of literary characteristics shared by certain Greco-Roman texts, particularly those of Epictetus and Philodemus.

Paul Robertson theorizes a new taxonomy of Greco-Roman literature that groups Paul’s letters together with certain Greco-Roman, ethical-philosophical texts written at a roughly contemporary time in the ancient Mediterranean. This particular grouping, termed a socio-literary sphere, is defined by the shared form, content, and social purpose of its constituent texts, as well as certain general similarities between their texts’ authors.

Autoren/Hrsg.

Robertson, Paul

Fachgebiete

• Geisteswissenschaften Literaturwissenschaft Klassische Literaturwissenschaft
• Geisteswissenschaften Christentum, Christliche Theologie Kirchengeschichte Frühes Christentum, Patristik, Christliche Archäologie
• Geisteswissenschaften Christentum, Christliche Theologie Bibelwissenschaften Neues Testament: Exegese, Geschichte

Inhaltsverzeichnis

Contents

Introduction

1 Paul, Paul’s Letters, and Contemporary Greco-Roman Literature of the Ancient Mediterranean

My Approach: Textual Characteristics, Comparanda, and Socio-Literary Spheres
Grounding the Present Study: Literary Criteria, and Specific versus Abstract Content
Scholarship Characterizing Paul and Paul’s Letters
Scholarship Characterizing the Broader Greco-Roman Literary Landscape
Ancient Mediterranean Comparanda: Authors and Texts

2 Rethinking Paul and Paul’s Letters: Paul, Epictetus, and Philodemus in Context
A Brief Introduction to Epictetus and Philodemus
Textual Analysis and Comparison
Social Location: Paul, Philodemus, and Epictetus

3 How Do We Compare Literature? Re-Classifying Paul’s Letters in a Socio-Literary Sphere
An Introduction to Genre and Taxonomy
Genre, Taxonomy, and Modern Literary Theory
The Theoretical Turn I: Social Purpose
The Theoretical Turn II: Linguistic Anthropology, Metadiscursivity, and Metapragmatics

4 An Overview of the Data: Annotated Literary Criteria in Paul, Epictetus, Philodemus, and Other Pauline Comparanda
The Approach
The Criteria
Table of Contents for Literary Criteria
General Comments
An Introduction to the Data Sets
The Data: A Brief Discussion
Control Documents: Aelius Aristides’ Panathenaic Oration, the Damascus Document, and Other Pauline Comparanda

5 Socio-Historical Implications of Textual Comparison: The Education and Lives of Paul, Epictetus, and Philodemu
Paul’s Letters, Literacy, and Education
Broader Implications: Education and Social Location
A Few Final Structural, Textual, and Abstract Considerations
Conclusion: Socio-Literary Spheres and Literary Classification in Biblical and Classical Studies
Review of Conclusions
Further Thoughts and Future Study

Appendix
Graphical Analysis: Paul’s Letters and Comparanda
Distilled Data: Literary Sphere and Other Comparanda
Specific Textual Data: Paul, Epictetus, and Philodemus

Bibliography
Index of Terms
Index of Ancient Authors and Texts

Über Autor(innen)

Paul Robertson, Ph.D. (2013), Brown University, is Assistant Professor of Humanities at Colby-Sawyer College. He received his BA from Reed College, and has published in classical studies, New Testament, and the theory of religion.