Paul's Letters
Paul likely did not write many of the letters attributed to him.
Summary
An approximation of authentic and disputed letters:
Undisputed
- Romans
- 1 Corinthians
- 2 Corinthians
- Galatians
- Philippians
- 1 Thessalonians
- Philemon
Disputed
- 2 Thessalonians
- Colossians
- Ephesians
- 1 Timothy
- 2 Timothy
- Titus
Linguistic Evidence
Statistical analysis of word usage patterns between undisputed and disputed letters:
Feature | Undisputed Usage | Undisputed Examples | Disputed Usage | Disputed Examples |
---|---|---|---|---|
οὖν (therefore) | Used 79 times | Rom. 2:26, 3:1, 3:9, 3:27, 3:31, and more... | Used 18 times | Eph. 2:19, 4:1, 4:17, 5:1; Col. 2:6, 2 Thess. 2:15, 1 Tim. 2:8 |
σωτήρ (savior) | Never used for Christ | N/A | Used 7 times for Christ | 1 Tim. 1:1, 2:3, 4:10; 2 Tim. 1:10; Tit. 1:4, 2:13, 3:6 |
πιστὸς ὁ λόγος | Never used | N/A | Used 5 times | 1 Tim. 1:10; 2 Tim. 4:3; Tit. 1:9, 2:1 |
ἡ ὑγιαίνουσα διδασκαλία (sound doctrine) | Never used | N/A | Used 4 times | 1 Tim. 1:10; 2 Tim. 4:3; Tit. 1:9, 2:1 |
εὐσέβεια (godliness) | Never used | N/A | Used 10 times | 1 Tim. 2:2, 3:16, 4:7, 4:8, 6:3, 6:5, 6:6, 6:11; 2 Tim. 3:5; Tit. 1:1 |
Stylometry & Paul
Stylometry is the statistical analysis of variations in literary style between one writer or genre and another. This analysis is based on statistical probability of vocabulary, words, and phrases. Stylometry does not measure the intention or purpose behind the text, but its results can be useful for classification of authors and genres.
Check out this YouTube video that explains stylometry.
Here is some interesting stylometric data on the authorship of Paul, confirming a disputed authorship for the books mentioned above: