Contents

Acknowledgements

Introduction

Chapter 1 Paul, Paul’s Letters, and Contemporary Greco-Roman Literature of the Ancient Mediterranean

Introduction

My Approach: Textual Characteristics, Comparanda, and Socio-Literary Spheres

Grounding the Present Study: Literary Criteria, and Specific versus Abstract Content

Scholarship Characterizing Paul and Paul’s Letters

Scholarship Characterizing the Broader Greco-Roman Literary Landscape

Ancient Mediterranean Comparanda: Authors and Texts

Chapter 2 Rethinking Paul and Paul’s Letters: Paul, Epictetus, and Philodemus in Context

A Brief Introduction to Epictetus and Philodemus

Textual Analysis and Comparison

Social Location: Paul, Philodemus, and Epictetus

Chapter 3 How Do We Compare Literature? Re-Classifying Paul’s Letters in a Socio-Literary Sphere

Introduction

An Introduction to Genre and Taxonomy

Genre, Taxonomy, and Modern Literary Theory

The Theoretical Turn I: Social Purpose

The Theoretical Turn II: Linguistic Anthropology, Metadiscursivity, and Metapragmatics

Conclusions

Chapter 4 An Overview of the Data: Annotated Literary Criteria in Paul, Epictetus, Philodemus, and Other Pauline Comparanda

The Approach

The Criteria

Table of Contents for Literary Criteria

General Comments

An Introduction to the Data Sets

The Data: A Brief Discussion

Control Documents: Aelius Aristides’ Panathenaic Oration, the Damascus Document, and Other Pauline Comparanda

Conclusions

Chapter 5 Socio-Historical Implications of Textual Comparison: The Education and Lives of Paul, Epictetus, and Philodemus

Introduction

Paul’s Letters, Literacy, and Education

Broader Implications: Education and Social Location

A Few Final Structural, Textual, and Abstract Considerations

Conclusion: Socio-Literary Spheres and Literary Classification in Biblical and Classical Studies

Review of Conclusions

Further Thoughts and Future Study

Appendix

Graphical Analysis: Paul’s Letters and Comparanda

Distilled Data: Literary Sphere and Other Comparanda

Specific Textual Data: Paul, Epictetus, and Philodemus

Bibliography

Index of Terms

Index of Ancient Authors and Texts