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: