Paul the Ancient Letter Writer

There are some obvious statements which yet can prove profound in their implications. Sinners sin, for instance. And also: Paul wrote letters.

Well, sure; everything we have of Paul in the New Testament is in the form of a letter. Yet in our exegesis and application we can easily de-contextualize Paul and imagine he was just sitting around writing abstract theological treatises.

Jeffrey Weima has done a great service in Paul the Ancient Letter Writer: An Introduction to Epistolary Analysis. He systematically laid out what epistolary analysis is, an understanding of letter writing in the Greco-Roman world, and then detailed analysis of each aspect of epistolary form: the opening, thanksgiving, body, and the closing, and concludes the work with a full epistolary analysis of Paul’s letter to Philemon.

The author well argued and demonstrated how Paul generally maintains the form of Hellenistic letters but will modify the form and the substance for his specific purposes. He charted out every greeting from Paul, for instance, and then highlighted how Paul’s greeting to the Galatians was far more expanded than the rest, and suggested it had to do with the specific challenges he was confronting with the Galatian Christians. The reader is thus able to see patterns and those places in which Paul would deviate from those patterns, and given feasible reasons as to why. Each aspect is discussed in terms of the specific forms and types which Paul uses, expanding on specific examples and setting forth the form, function, and theological significance of each.

The final exposition on Philemon well demonstrated the importance of epistolary analysis, and how effective use of epistolary analysis can help in exegesis and therefore faithful application.

All Christians in their study, and those who labor in preaching and teaching, do well to thus learn about epistolary analysis and always keep the form and functions of Hellenistic letter writing in mind when interpreting Paul’s letters. They may feature a lot of theology and practical exhortation, but they never stop being letters, and we do well to never forget that.