216 christina m. kreinecker
Suggestion for a Solution: The Imitation Hypothesis
In our search for guidance on the question of whether or not it was paul
who wrote 2 Thessalonians, documentary papyri provide two different
sets of data. first, they show that 2 Thessalonians breaks with the con-
ventions of how to write a letter in the first century ce on more than one
occasion. By “breaking” I do not mean the creation of an individual style
that shows typical elements special to one specific author: documentary
papyri give evidence of such individual styles,40 which may also be seen in
paul’s own writings. The characteristics of such individual styles are that,
although the particular use of words and phrases may be typical for one
specific author, they always stay within the possibilities of letter conven-
tions, as arzt-grabner has effectively demonstrated.41 what I mean when
I say “breaking” is the “one step too far” that goes beyond individual style
and creates phrases or formulas that are unrelated within the broader pic-
ture of private letters. This is seen in the use of a combination of words,
παραγγέλλω and παρακαλῶ, creating a “formula” for which no other evi-
dence is given in documentary papyri (nor in the undisputed pauline
epistles) even though there exists a phrase which would perfectly express
the authorial emphasis (ἐρωτῶ combined with παρακαλῶ).
The second set of data is the background at which the author’s choice
of words and phrases hint. although this article has mainly focussed
on the first set, the second has to be considered as well for the broader
picture. The undisputed pauline epistles present an author who comes
from a weaver’s background, considers his work “by hands” as an essen-
tial value and who reveals his personal background by all kinds of words
from the domain of weaving. as an author, paul then introduces these
words into his more religious concerns. however, the author of 2 Thessa-
lonians makes a different choice of words. This does not mean, of course,
that 2 Thessalonians does not have particular “pauline” words, phrases
and ideas. nonetheless, documentary papyri indicate that there is more to
this particular letter, in what is revealed of the background of the author.
This is what I call a “legal background,” a context that brought the author
closer to the language of officialdom (such as παραγγέλλω).42
40 cf. the contribution on “stileigenheiten als Identitätsmerkmale in papyrusbriefen”
by g. schwab in kreinecker, 2. Thessaloniker, 39–60.
41 arzt-grabner, Philemon, 109–23.
42 kreinecker, 2. Thessaloniker, 66–74.