The Deutero-Pauline Letters in Contemporary Research

AbstractThe chapter begins with a discussion of the preoccupation with authorship in the study of the disputed Pauline epistles. The concept of pseudepigraphy is defined and the recent scholarship on the relationship between the undisputed and disputed letters is examined, pointing to a move away from a distinction between an 'authentic' Paul and a 'false' deutero-Paul. The chapter explains how the reinforcement of the authority of Paul's fellow workers in the disputed Pauline epistles has been central to theoretical constructs of a Pauline school and pays particular attention to the comparison between the Pauline school and philosophical schools in the ancient world. With respect to eschatology, the realized eschatology of Colossians and Ephesians is compared to 2 Thessalonians with its exclusive interest in the parousia as a future event. The relationship between eschatology and the interest in Paul's martyrdom which has emerged in recent scholarship on 2 Timothy is examined. Discussions of community organization and household codes are informed by recent scholarship on Gender, Early Christian Families, and Paul and Empire.