the imitation hypothesis 211
in rom 12:1 or on how to deal with somebody who has caused pain in
2 cor 2:5 (εἰ δέ τις λελύπηκεν) and in 2 cor 2:8. a small catalogue of
requests is provided at 1 Thess 5:14: παρακαλοῦμεν δὲ ὑμᾶς, ἀδελφοί,
νουθετεῖτε τοὺς ἀτάκτους, παραμυθεῖσθε τοὺς ὀλιγοψύχους, ἀντέχεσθε τῶν
ἀσθενῶν, μακροθυμεῖτε πρὸς πάντας (“and we urge you, beloved, to admon-
ish the idlers, encourage the faint-hearted, help the weak, be patient
with all of them”). first Thessalonians 4:10b–11 shows another such cata-
logue: παρακαλοῦμεν δὲ ὑμᾶς, ἀδελφοί, περισσεύειν μᾶλλον καὶ φιλοτιμεῖσθαι
ἡσυχάζειν καὶ πράσσειν τὰ ἴδια καὶ ἐργάζεσθαι ταῖς [ἰδίαις] χερσὶν ὑμῶν, καθὼς
ὑμῖν παρηγγείλαμεν (“but we urge you, beloved, to do so more and more,
to aspire to live quietly, to mind your own affairs, and to work with your
hands, as we directed you”).
Twice paul asks the community to take himself as an example (1 cor
4:16; 1 Thess 4:1). The latter, 1 Thess 4:1, is of particular interest, for it gives
an intensified33 request in exactly the way in which documentary papyri
do: a combination of ἐρωτῶ and παρακαλῶ. The intensification cannot
only be seen in the formula ἐρωτῶμεν ὑμᾶς καὶ παρακαλοῦμεν but is par-
ticularly stated in the connection paul creates between a righteous way
of life and his own example for this—λοιπὸν οὖν, ἀδελφοί, ἐρωτῶμεν ὑμᾶς
καὶ παρακαλοῦμεν ἐν κυρίῳ Ἰησοῦ, ἵνα καθὼς παρελάβετε παρ ̓ ἡμῶν τὸ πῶς
δεῖ ὑμᾶς περιπατεῖν καὶ ἀρέσκειν θεῷ, καθὼς καὶ περιπατεῖτε, ἵνα περισσεύητε
μᾶλλον (“finally, brothers and sisters, we ask and urge you in the lord Jesus
that, as you learned from us how you ought to live and to please god [as,
in fact, you are doing], you should do so more and more”).
pauline requests are sometimes directly connected to god, as in rom
12:1; 15:30; 1 cor 1:10 and 1 Thess 4:1. In 2 cor 10:1 paul emphasizes that
he himself has a request—though through christ: αὐτὸς δὲ ἐγὼ Παῦλος
παρακαλῶ ὑμᾶς διὰ τῆς πραΰτητος καὶ ἐπιεικείας τοῦ Χριστοῦ (“I myself,
paul, appeal to you by the meekness and gentleness of christ”). It is note-
worthy that the content of this request follows in 2 cor 10:2 after another
request-formula, δέομαι,34 which makes παρακαλῶ look like a mere intro-
duction to the matter.
33 In contrast to this, Johannes Thomas, “παρακαλέω parakaleo bitten, mahnen, trösten:
παράκλησις, εως, ἡ paraklesis (er-)mahnung, Zuspruch, Trost, Bitte, paraklese,” in horst
Balz and gerhard schneider (eds.), EWNT (2nd ed.; stuttgart: w. kohlhammer, 1992), 3:58,
understands this request as “kollegialer, mehr auf freiwillige erfüllung angelegt.”
34 In the undisputed pauline epistles there are five more attestations of δέομαι in
requests (rom 1:10; 2 cor 5:20; 8:4; gal 4:12; 1 Thess 3:10). among those 2 cor 5:20 is par-
ticularly noteworthy, because it mentions the idea that god himself has a request (τοῦ θεοῦ
παρακαλοῦντος). This is then followed by paul’s direct request (δεόμεθα): ὑπὲρ Χριστοῦ οὖν
πρεσβεύομεν ὡς τοῦ θεοῦ παρακαλοῦντος δι ̓ ἡμῶν· δεόμεθα ὑπὲρ Χριστοῦ, καταλλάγητε τῷ θεῷ