Paul's letters and contemporary Greco-Roman literature : : theorizing a new taxonomy / / by Paul Robertson.

• Superior document: Novum Testamentum, Supplements, Volume 167
• VerfasserIn: Robertson, Paul,
• Place / Publishing House: Leiden, [Netherlands] ;, Boston, [Massachusetts] : : Brill,, 2016.; ©2016
• Year of Publication: 2016
• Language: English
• Series: Supplements to Novum Testamentum ; Volume 167.
• Physical Description: 1 online resource (315 p.)
• Notes: Description based upon print version of record.
• Other title: Preliminary Material /; Introduction /; 1 Paul, Paul’s Letters, and Contemporary Greco-Roman Literature of the Ancient Mediterranean /; 2 Rethinking Paul and Paul’s Letters: Paul, Epictetus, and Philodemus in Context /; 3 How Do We Compare Literature? Re-Classifying Paul’s Letters in a Socio-Literary Sphere /; 4 An Overview of the Data: Annotated Literary Criteria in Paul, Epictetus, Philodemus, and Other Pauline Comparanda /; 5 Socio-Historical Implications of Textual Comparison: The Education and Lives of Paul, Epictetus, and Philodemus /; Conclusion: Socio-Literary Spheres and Literary Classification in Biblical and Classical Studies /; Appendix /; Bibliography /; Index of Terms /; Index of Ancient Authors and Texts /
• Bibliography: Includes bibliographical references and indexes.
• ISBN: 9004320261
• ISSN: 0167-9732
• Hierarchical level: Monograph
• Statement of Responsibility: by Paul Robertson.

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.