PAUL’S LETTERS
So now we’re through the stories of the NT (Gospels, Acts) and into the letters (or as the King James bible reads, “epistles”). Just like the way the biblical writers used existing genres (i.e., gospels and histories) to write their stories of Jesus and the early church, so too, letters were common in the ancient Graeco-Roman world. There were 3 basic types of letters: private (which were, hmm, “private”), official (which were more “business” oriented, and literary (these were kind of like essays). The structures of private and official letters were similar: opening formula (consisting of a prescript [i.e., sender-recipient salutation]), a health wish, and a prayer of thanksgiving), the body, and a closing formula (i.e., a farewell). As we will see, Paul’s letters follow this structure to a “t”. Graeco-Roman letters also often contain a lot of rhetoric; 1 example is the “diatribe,” in which the author uses imaginary opponents to raise questions and objections to be answered by the author (again Paul uses this literary device).
Examples of Jewish letters in the bible are: Ezra 4:11-16, 17-22; 5:7-17; 7:12-26; and Jer 29:1-23. Examples of Hellenistic Jewish Letters include Letter of Aristeas and 2 Maccabees 1:1-9, 10-17 (these 2 texts predate the NT). That’s all I’ll say about the genre of letters.
Since we’re going to follow the order of the NT letters as they appear in the canon, and Paul’s letters appear first, I think it would be useful to sketch a brief outline of Paul—although, given where we’ve come from (Acts), some of this should sound very familiar! Let me sketch Paul this way: Paul “pre-conversion”, Paul’s “conversion”, and Paul “post-conversion”; first, Paul before he met Jesus.
We know him as “Paul,” but his original name was “Saul” (in his native Hebrew it would have been “Shaul”). He was Jewish by birth, born in Tarsus, probably between AD 5–10; so around 10-20 years after the birth of Jesus. But unlike Jesus, who was a “country boy,” Paul was a “big city boy”: Tarsus was a prominent urban centre during Paul’s lifetime. In terms of languages Paul knew Greek, Hebrew, and probably Aramaic (cf. Acts 21:40). He had both Roman and Tarsus citizenship. In terms of his education he was well-educated (which would suggest that he came from some money). The 1st part of his education was in Tarsus. Since he was a Jew and his parents were Pharisees (cf. Acts 23:6), he would have went to Jewish school, where he would have studied the Jewish bible (i.e., the OT). But since Tarsus was a major urban centre, he also would have studied Graeco-Roman philosophy. The 2nd part of Paul’s education was in Jerusalem, where he traveled to study under the leading Pharisee, Rabbi Gamaliel (who appears in Acts 5:33-39). Paul’s comprehensive knowledge of the bible and religious zeal made him a “rising star” in the Pharisee movement (see Gal 1:13-14). His zeal led him to persecute Christians, whom he saw as a threat to Judaism, and possibly as a threat to the Roman Empire. That’s basically Paul BC (before Christ).
The story of his conversion to Christ is found in Acts 9:1-19; 22:4-16; 26:9-19; and Gal 1:11-17. You’ve gone through Acts/the Acts blog, so I’ll just skim the details here. While on his way to Damascus to continue his persecution of Christians, the risen Jesus appears to him (probably in the early 30s AD). Paul is blinded by the brilliance of the light of Jesus’ presence. Jesus appoints him to suffer for his sake and to bring the gospel to the Gentiles (Acts 9:15-16). Blind Paul meets up with a disciple named Ananias, who heals Paul and baptizes him. Afterward, Paul begins to preach in Damascus, but the Jews there plot to kill him; so, he leaves for Jerusalem. Initially, the Jerusalem disciples are suspicious of his conversion, but with Barnabas’s help they’re won over, and they welcome Paul to the family (Acts 9:26-27).
In terms of his story post-conversion, Paul becomes the premier apostle involved in the Gentile mission. He undertook 3 missionary journeys: the 1st one focused on urban centres in Asia Minor (c. AD 46-47), the 2nd one focused on Europe (c. AD 49-51), and for the 3rd he revisited previous churches, before ending up in Rome (c. AD 52-57). Paul’s position on Gentiles & the Law—viz., that they didn’t have to obey any part of it—remained controversial to the end of his life (and beyond!). He wrote most of the letters comprising the NT, before, according to early church tradition, he was beheaded, c. AD 64.
That’s Paul in a nutshell. Next up: the most influential letter in the history of the Christian church.