on pauline pseudepigraphy 7
linda Belleville argues for the authorial authenticity of the Pastoral
letters on the basis of their embedded christology and comparison with
greco-roman expressions of religious piety (εὐσεβεία). it is argued that
these christological statements are internally cohesive, derive from the
logic of authenticated Pauline letters, and fit well within the implied episto-
lary occasion. the language of religious piety, expressed especially towards
Jesus, is consistent with the imperial epiphany language and redemptive
sacral language common to first-century greek and roman writers.
two essays engage the status of hebrews as a Pauline pseudepigraphon.
clare rothschild develops her theory of hebrews as a reading guide to
the letter to the romans,18 focusing primarily on the literary and concep-
tual relationship signalled in part by the lexeme ἐφάπαξ—the once-for-all
description of Jesus’ death. rothschild identifies a paucity of usage of this
word prior to the composition of romans; the widespread and detailed
use of ἐφάπαξ and the efficacy of Jesus’ sacrificial death in hebrews eluci-
dates Paul’s brief and underdeveloped comments in romans 6. Bryan dyer
takes an alternative approach to hebrews’ relation to Paul and his writ-
ings. Whereas several hebrews scholars suggest that the epistolary closing
of the “letter” (heb 13:20–25) reflects a purposeful attempt to imitate the
Pauline letter formula—thus, recommending the designation of hebrews
as Pauline pseudepigraphon—dyer rejects this proposal. he suggests that
while there are indeed elements of overlap and similarity, these can be
better attributed to a developing early christian letter-writing style. note-
worthy points of comparison are equally discernible in other new testa-
ment epistles such as 1 Peter.
three essays round out the volume in the third part, which explores the
phenomenon of Pauline pseudepigraphy outside of the new testament.
authenticity of these documents is no longer a concern, but the character
of these documents and their function within early christianity remain
important. Philip tite engages in an epistolary analysis of the latin Letter to
the Laodiceans, which relates to his other work on Laodiceans and ancient
epistolography.19 contrary to much current scholarship that dismisses the
18 see rothschild, “hebrews as a reading guide,” 537–74; Hebrews as Pseudepigraphon:
The History and Significance of the Pauline Attribution of Hebrews (Wunt 235; tübingen:
Mohr siebeck, 2009).
19 see The Apocryphal Epistle to the Laodiceans: An Epistolary and Rhetorical Analysis
(tent 7; leiden: Brill, 2012); “the compositional Function of the Petrine Prescript: a look
at 1 Pet 1:1–3,” JETS 39 (1996): 47–56; “how to Begin, and Why? diverse Functions of the
Pauline Prescript within a greco-roman context,” in stanley e. Porter and sean a. adams
(eds.), Paul and the Ancient Letter Form (Past 6; leiden: Brill, 2010), 57–99.