Paul's letters and contemporary Greco-Roman literature
Subtitle: theorizing a new taxonomy
By: by Paul M. Robertson
Series: Novum Testamentum, Supplements -- volume 167; Supplements to Novum Testamentum -- v. 167.
Publisher: Brill
Published: 2016
Place of publication: Leiden; Boston
Language: eng
Number of pages: 307
ISBN-13: 9789004320277
Copyright date: 2016
Subjects: Classical letters; History and criticism; Relation to the New Testament; Bible; Ethik; Criticism, interpretation; Textvergleich; Literatur; Bibel; Antike; Latin literature; Greek literature
Description: "In this volume, Paul Robertson re-describes the form of the apostle Paul's letters in a manner that facilitates transparent, empirical comparison with texts not typically treated by biblical scholars. Paul's letters are best described by a set of literary characteristics shared by certain Greco-Roman texts, particularly those of Epictetus and Philodemus. Paul Robertson theorizes a new taxonomy of Greco-Roman literature that groups Paul's letters together with certain Greco-Roman, ethical-philosophical texts written at a roughly contemporary time in the ancient Mediterranean. This particular grouping, termed a socio-literary sphere, is defined by the shared form, content, and social purpose of its constituent texts, as well as certain general similarities between their texts' authors."--
Notes: Includes bibliographical references (pages 247-292) and index.
Table of contents: title: Paul, Paul's letters, and contemporary Greco-Roman literature of the ancient Mediterranean; title: Rethinking Paul and Paul's letters : Paul, Epictetus, and Philodemus in context; title: How do we compare literature? : re-classifying Paul's letters in a socio-literary sphere; title: An overview of the data : Annotated literary criteria in Paul, Epictetus, Philodemus, and other Pauline comparanda; title: Socio-historical implications of textual comparison : The education and lives of Paul, Epictetus, and Philodemus; title: Conclusion: Socio-literary spheres and literary classification in biblical and classical studies.