style and pseudonymity in pauline scholarship 131
stage is more sound interpretive methodology by which to render the data
meaningfully that we already have. many studies on Pauline authorship
provide a great deal of variation data, but these often lack rigorous inter-
pretive frameworks that make sense of the data they present. the lin-
guistic data collected by various studies of the Pauline corpus, especially
connected with research on authorship, have a surprising degree of unity.
most studies, for example, recognize a considerable level of linguistic vari-
ation between, at the very least, the Pastorals and the other ten letters
and usually a strong grouping of ephesians and colossians. So rather than
offering an entirely new set of data, i hope to contribute more at the level
of applying sound linguistic methodology constructed to help interpret
the data we currently have—and then to compare two potential inter-
pretations of the data, pseudonymity and register design. there will also
necessarily be some debate on how to configure each of the register pro-
files laid out below due to debate on issues of social setting, purpose for
writing and so on. at this level, of course, the profiles will have to remain
somewhat tentative due to continuing discussion on these topics.
Contextual and Co-Textual Stability in the Pauline Corpus
Pauline letter-writing will only function as one dimension of a wider reg-
ister profile created as Paul writes to specific audiences. Paul functions as
the addressor in Biber’s register model. We possess a fairly rich body of
information about Paul’s context of culture: his background, occupation
and even his upbringing (especially if we consider acts reliable). he grew
up in the Jewish diaspora in tarsus (acts 22:3), where he likely learned
a trade under his father (prop-making, perhaps?)51 and completed up
through the grammatical phases of the greek education system, before
journeying to Jerusalem, where he received instruction in Jewish wisdom
from gamaliel, by whom he was trained as a Pharisee.52 as a Pharisee, he
was charged with stifling—if not destroying—a small but rapidly growing
messianic sect of Judaism, the Jesus movement, which at that time was
largely confined to Palestine. due to a post-easter encounter with Jesus
(1 cor 15:8: the last appearance Jesus made, apparently), Paul embraced
51 cf. Bdag, 928.
52 See Stanley e. Porter and andrew W. Pitts, “Paul’s Bible, his education, and his
access to the Scriptures of israel,” JGRChJ 5 (2008): 11–21. note that here he did not likely
receive rhetorical training. See andrew W. Pitts, “hellenistic Schools in Jerusalem and
Paul’s rhetorical education,” in Stanley e. Porter (ed.), Paul’s World (Past 4; leiden: Brill,
2007), 19–50.