332 ilaria l. e. ramelli
of Paul’s authentic letters, among those which were later included in the
new Testament.
in particular, in Letter Vii of the seneca-Paul correspondence, seneca
is writing to Paul and Theophilus. The latter bears the same name as the
κράτιστος Theophilus, dedicatee of the gospel of Luke and of the acts of
the apostles, which present themselves as composed by the same author
as the gospel (Luke 1:3; acts 1:1).41 according to tradition, the gospel of
Luke was composed on the basis of the preaching of st. Paul.42 seneca, in
Letter Vii, relates that he has read, and has partially read to nero as well,
Paul’s letters “to the galatians, to the corinthians, and to the christians
of achaia” (Profiteor bene me acceptum lectione litterarum tuarum quas
Galatis Corinthiis Achaeis misisti). These three letters are galatians, 1 cor-
inthians, and 2 corinthians.43 second corinthians, indeed, addresses not
only the corinthians, but also “all the saints—that is, the christians—of
the whole achaia” (2 cor 1:1). incidentally, achaia was the province gov-
erned by annaeus gallio, seneca’s brother, who defended Paul when he
was accused by the Jews according to acts 18:12–17.44
now, this group of letters, galatians, 1 corinthians, and 2 corinthi-
ans, seems to be part and parcel of the first collection of Paul’s letters,
the first nucleus of the later corpus Paulinum. There is no evidence in
ancient christianity of individual letters, such as galatians, circulating
beyond their recipient communities in published form outside of some
collection of the corpus Paulinum.45 The most ancient collection within
this corpus surely included galatians and 1 corinthians, both composed
41 it is improbable that Theophilus was seneca; cf. g. m. Lee, “was seneca the Theo-
philus of st. Luke?” in J. bibaw (ed.), Hommages à M. Renard (brussels: Latomus, 1969),
515–32.
42 see ilaria ramelli, “Fonti note e meno note sulle origini dei Vangeli: osservazioni per
una valutazione dei dati della tradizione,” Aevum 81 (2007): 171–85.
43 documentation in ramelli, “The apocryphal correspondence.”
44 see Lucio Troiani, “L. giunio gallione e le comunità giudaiche,” in i. gualandri and
g. mazzoli (eds.), Gli Annei: Una famiglia nella storia e nella cultura di Roma imperiale
(atti del convegno internazionale di milano-Pavia, 2–6 maggio 2000; como: new Press,
2003), 115–24.
45 cf. margaret m. mitchell, “The Letter of James as a document of Paulinism?” in
robert L. webb and John s. Kloppenborg (eds.), Reading James with New Eyes: Method-
ological Reassessments of the Letter of James (LnTs 342; London: T&T clark, 2007), 79. Fur-
ther documentation can be found in ramelli, “The apocryphal correspondence.” For a
survey of the different theories on the composition of the corpus Paulinum see stanley e.
Porter, “Paul and the Process of canonization,” in craig a. evans and emanuel Tov (eds.),
Exploring the Origins of the Bible: Canon Formation in Historical, Literary, and Theological
Perspective (acadia studies in bible and Theology; grand rapids: baker academic, 1996),
173–202.