Paul: The Apostle’s Life, Letters, and Thought

900 Pages·2015·8.355 MB·English

by  E. P. Sanders

A MAsTerFuL exPosiTion oF The APosTLe E. P. SandErS
E. P. Sanders offers an expansive introduction to the apostle, navigating some of the thorniest issues
in scholarship using language accessible to the novice and seasoned scholar alike. Always careful
to distinguish what we can know historically from what we may only conjecture, and these from
dogmatically driven misrepresentations, Sanders sketches a fresh picture of the apostle as an ardent
defender of his own convictions, ever ready to craft the sorts of arguments that now fill his letters.
Praise for Paul: The Apostle’s Life, Letters, and Thought
“The revolution in New Testament studies that E. P. Sanders inaugurated with Paul and Palestinian
Judaism reaches its culmination in Paul: The Apostle’s Life, Letters, and Thought. This is a masterful
portrait by a master historian.”
PAuLA Fredriksen, The Hebrew University of Jerusalem
“With customary clarity and precision, E. P. Sanders treats the reader to a lucid and compelling
introduction to Paul the man, Paul the Jew, and Paul the apostle, as well as to the major Pauline
epistles that have been so formative for Christianity. The emphasis on realia—topics such as travel
and money—is refreshing. The appendix on homosexual practices in Greece and Rome provides a
measured and matter-of-fact treatment that can contribute positively to contemporary discussion
of this issue. An important book for scholars, students, clergy, and anyone who is fascinated and
puzzled by the Apostle to the Gentiles.”
AdeLe reinhArTz, University of Ottawa
P
“Erudite and engaging, E. P. Sanders provides an unparalleled primer on Paul, translating the
insights of technical scholarship into everyday language accessible not only to academics and
PAUL
theologians but also to students and general readers. Displaying the same extraordinary command
of biblical material, Jewish texts, and the broader ancient world that have always characterized his A
work, Sanders offers a vivid portrait of the passionate missionary whose letters proved foundational
for subsequent Christianity. Particular strengths of this volume include its careful differentiation
between Paul’s arguments themselves and the theological presuppositions undergirding them and its
heightened attention to the importance of chronological development in Paul’s thought.”
U
MArk A. ChAnCey, Southern Methodist University
e. P. sAnders is the Arts and Sciences Professor of Religion Emeritus at Duke University. L The Apostle’s Life, Letters,
He previously taught New Testament studies at McMaster University and at Oxford University as
Dean Ireland’s Professor of the Exegesis of Holy Scripture and as fellow of The Queen’s College. He is
and Thought
the author of numerous landmark books including, from Fortress Press, Judaism: Practice and Belief,
63 BCE–66 CE (1992); Jewish Law from Jesus to the Mishnah (1990); Studying the Synoptic Gospels
(1989); Jesus and Judaism (1985); Paul, the Law, and the Jewish People (1983); and Paul and Palestin-
ian Judaism: A Comparison of Patterns of Religion (1977).
E. P. SandErS
Religion / New Testament
Paul

Paul
The Apostle's Life, Letters, and Thought
E. P. Sanders
Fortress Press
Minneapolis
PAUL
The Apostle’s Life, Letters, and Thought
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Cover image: Credit: alexsol; ThinkstockPhotos-134556477
Cover design: Joe Reinke
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Print ISBN: 978-0-8006-2956-4
eBook ISBN: 978-1-5064-0497-4
The paper used in this publication meets the minimum requirements of American
National Standard for Information Sciences — Permanence of Paper for Printed
Library Materials, ANSI Z329.48-1984.
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For Becky, with love and thanks

Contents
Preface xiii
Introduction xix
Part I.Paul's Life
1. Overview 3
2. Paul Before His Call to Be an Apostle 13
3. Paul the Apostle of Christ to the Gentiles 83
4. Travel, Letters, People, Money 125
Part II.The Letters
5. The Collection, Publication, and Dates of the 147
Letters
6. On Reading Paul’s Letters: Introductory Remarks 163
7. 1 Thessalonians, Part 1: A Tutorial on Analyzing 173
Paul’s Letters
8. 1 Thessalonians, Part 2: Main Topics 189
9. The Corinthian Correspondence, Part 1: 225
Introduction and Sequence of Events and Letters
10. The Corinthian Correspondence, Part 2: Spiritual 273
Gifts, Behavior at Church Meetings, Marriage,
and Some Sexual Topics
11. The Corinthian Correspondence, Part 3: The 307
Lord’s Supper and Food Offered to Idols
12. The Corinthian Correspondence, Part 4: Vice 335
Lists and Homosexual Activity
13. The Corinthian Correspondence, Part 5: 375
Resurrection and the Future in 1 Corinthians 15
and Related Passages
14. The Corinthian Correspondence, Part 6: 403
Resurrection and the Future in 2 Corinthians
3—5 and Later Letters
15. The Corinthian Correspondence, Part 7: The 433
Collection for Jerusalem
16. Galatians, Part 1: Introduction 443
17. Galatians, Part 2: The Crisis in Galatia and the 475
Beginning of Paul’s Response
18. Galatians, Part 3: Paul’s Main Argument 501
19. Galatians, Part 4: Further Arguments and 539
Concluding Remarks
20. Philippians 575
21. Romans, Part 1: Introduction; The Universal 615
Human Plight and Its Solution
22. Romans, Part 2: The Two Dispensations, God’s 671
Righteousness, and the Fate of Israel
23. Romans, Part 3: Food and Days 699
24. Conclusion 707
Appendix I: Homosexual Practices in Greece and Rome 727
Appendix II: Where was Galatia? Who were the 749
Galatians?
Glossary 779
Index of Ancient and Biblical Literature 789
Index of Authors 829
Index of Subjects 835