The Pauline Corpus in Early Christianity: Its Formation, Publication, and Circulation offers a comprehensive and wide-ranging examination of the canonical development of the collection of writings associated with the Apostle Paul. The volume considers a number of clues from the New Testament writings, ancient literary conventions related to the composition and collection of letters, and a variety of early witnesses to the early state of the corpus such as biblical manuscripts, canonical lists, and the testimony of writers. As a conclusion to these inquiries, Laird argues that at least three major archetypal editions of the Pauline corpus--those containing 10, 13, and 14 letters--appear to have been collected and edited as early as the first century. These major archetypal editions, Laird concludes, circulated simultaneously for many years until editions containing 14 letters became nearly universally recognized by the fourth century. The volume serves as a valuable resource of information for those engaged in the study of the early state of the New Testament canon and offers a fresh perspective on the process that led to the formation of the Pauline corpus.

The Pauline Corpus in Early Christianity: Its Formation, Publication, and Circulation offers a comprehensive and wide-ranging examination of the canonical development of the collection of writings associated with the Apostle Paul. The volume considers a number of clues from the New Testament writings, ancient literary conventions related to the composition and collection of letters, and a variety of early witnesses to the early state of the corpus such as biblical manuscripts, canonical lists, and the testimony of writers. As a conclusion to these inquiries, Laird argues that at least three major archetypal editions of the Pauline corpus—those containing 10, 13, and 14 letters—appear to have been collected and edited as early as the first century. These major archetypal editions, Laird concludes, circulated simultaneously for many years until editions containing 14 letters became nearly universally recognized by the fourth century. The volume serves as a valuable resource of information for those engaged in the study of the early state of the New Testament canon and offers a fresh perspective on the process that led to the formation of the Pauline corpus.

The author claims that development can be traced since we have not only letters from Paul himself, but also the Pastoral epistles from the beginning of the second century, as well as Ephesians and Colossians, writings which are characteristic of the ambiguous period following the disappearance of the earliest authorities.

The Pauline letters bear witness to the prominent role that suffering played both in the life of Paul and in the lives of the communities to whom he writes. Startlingly, Paul does not express alarm or frustration at suffering's presence, but instead identifies it as an essential and defining feature for faithful Christ-followers. Paul grounds his account of suffering in the concept of "participation with Christ." This book explores the connection forged between suffering and participation by engaging in close readings of texts, resourcing letters usually dismissed because of doubts about authenticity, and pulling together an overall characterization of "Paul's thought" on the basis of common patterns of reference that emerge. Utilizing a tripartite reading strategy of "exegesis," "canon," and "theology" offers nuance for and yields fresh insight into a central Pauline motif.

"An emerging field of study that explores the Hispanic minority in the United States, Latino Studies is enriched by an interdisciplinary perspective. Historians, sociologists, anthropologists, political scientists, demographers, linguists, as well as religion, ethnicity, and culture scholars, among others, bring a varied, multifaceted approach to the understanding of a people whose roots are all over the Americas and whose permanent home is north of the Rio Grande. Oxford Bibliographies in Latino Studies offers an authoritative, trustworthy, and up-to-date intellectual map to this ever-changing discipline."--Editorial page.

Letter collections in late antiquity give witness to the flourishing of letter-writing, with the development of the mostly formulaic exchanges between elites of the Graeco-Roman world to a more wide-ranging correspondence by bishops and monks, as well as emperors and Gothic kings. The contributors to this volume study individual collections from the first to sixth centuries CE, ranging from the Pauline and Deutero-Pauline letters through monastic letters from Egypt, bishops' letter collections and early papal collections compiled for various purposes. This is the first multi-authored study of New Testament and late antique letter collections, crossing the traditional divide between these disciplines by focusing on Latin, Greek, Coptic and Syriac epistolary sources. It draws together leading scholars in the field of late antique epistolography from Australasia, Sweden, the United Kingdom and the United States.

This paradigm-shifting study is the first book-length investigation into the compositional dates of the New Testament to be published in over forty years. It argues that, with the notable exception of the undisputed Pauline Epistles, most New Testament texts were composed twenty to thirty years earlier than is typically supposed by contemporary biblical scholars. What emerges is a revised view of how quickly early Christians produced what became the seminal texts for their new movement.

This fascinating and lively book provides the first comprehensive discussion of the production, circulation, and use of books in early Christianity. It explores the extent of literacy in early Christian communities; the relation in the early church between oral tradition and written materials; the physical form of early Christian books; how books were produced, transcribed, published, duplicated, and disseminated; how Christian libraries were formed; who read the books, in what circumstances, and to what purposes. Harry Y. Gamble interweaves practical and technological dimensions of the production and use of early Christian books with the social and institutional history of the period. Drawing on evidence from papyrology, codicology, textual criticism, and early church history, as well as on knowledge about the bibliographical practices that characterized Jewish and Greco-Roman culture, he offers a new perspective on the role of books in the first five centuries of the early church.

This Greek-English synopsis of parallel passages in the Pauline corpus and the Acts of the Apostles is an essential tool for studying the New Testament. "It has become fashionable in recent years to lay out parallels to Paul's writings. The value of being able to examine such parallels so conveniently--without having to use fingers, thumbs, spare pens, and bookmarks to maintain access to multiple passages at the same time--hardly needs to be stressed. This volume, however, provides also the Greek, with some indication of variant readings, which is much better for those who can handle the Greek and who don't want to be confused by varied translations or misled by any hidden agendas of translators." --James D. G. Dunn, University of Durham "We have long needed a thorough and up-to-date synopsis of the Pauline letters. The synopsis edited by James Ware does not limit itself to parallels in content but also explores parallel texts in terms of literary form and epistolary structure. This immensely practical tool is a vital resource for the study of the Pauline letters." --Thomas R. Schreiner, The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary "Ware has produced an invaluable tool for beginning and more advanced students of Paul. Synopsis of the Pauline Letters in Greek and English provides a user-friendly way to view how Paul addresses similar concerns in different contexts, allowing ready access to how Paul formulates the ramifications of the good news as he addresses the needs of diverse congregations. When turning to the study of Paul, you will want to keep this volume within easy reach." --Joel B. Green, Fuller Theological Seminary "Synopsis of the Pauline Letters in Greek and English provides students, pastors, and scholars with a powerful tool for comparing the Pauline letters. While there are other Pauline synopses, this is the only one that employs the Greek text with a critical apparatus as well as an English translation. By bringing together groups of related passages, Ware's synopsis enables readers to see how the Pauline letters treat similar themes. This synopsis, which fills a long-standing need, is destined to become a standard tool for Pauline exegesis." --Frank J. Matera, The Catholic University of America (emeritus) "A wonderful resource that will delight and inform students and scholars alike. Simply reading it is an education in Paul's letters and theology! Using it carefully will provide endless opportunities to make connections and see new things. Every serious student of Paul should own it." --Michael J. Gorman, St. Mary's Seminary & University

The author provides the most extensive analysis available of ancient Jewish letter writing from the Persian period until the early rabbinic literature. In addition, he demonstrates the significance of Jewish letters for the development of early Christian letter writing.