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The Pauline epistles, Epistles of Paul, or Letters of Paul, are the fourteen New Testament books which have the name Paul (Παῦλος) as the first word, hence claiming authorship by Paul the Apostle. Among these letters are some of the earliest extant Christian documents. They provide an insight into the beliefs and controversies of early Christianity and as part of the canon of the New Testament they are foundational texts for both Christian theology and ethics. The Epistle to the Hebrews, although it does not bear his name, was traditionally considered Pauline for a thousand years, but from the 16th century onwards opinion steadily moved against Pauline authorship and few scholars now ascribe it to Paul, mostly because it doesn't read like any of his other epistles in style and content.[1] Most scholars agree that Paul really wrote seven of the Pauline epistles, but that four of the epistles in Paul's name are pseudepigraphic; scholars are divided on the authenticity of two of the epistles.
The Pauline epistles are usually placed between the Acts of the Apostles and the General epistles in modern editions. Most Greek manuscripts, however, place the General epistles first,[2] and a few minuscules (175, 325, 336, and 1424) place the Pauline epistles at the end of the New Testament.
In the order they appear in the New Testament, the Pauline epistles are:
This ordering is remarkably consistent in the manuscript tradition, with very few deviations. The evident principle of organization is descending length of the Greek text, but keeping the four Pastoral epistles addressed to individuals in a separate final section. The only anomaly is that Galatians precedes the slightly longer Ephesians.[3]
In modern editions, the formally anonymous Epistle to the Hebrews is placed at the end of Paul's letters and before the General epistles. This practice was popularized through the 4th-century Vulgate by Jerome, who was aware of ancient doubts about its authorship, and is also followed in most medieval Byzantine manuscripts. With hardly any exceptions, though, the manuscripts do include Hebrews somewhere among Paul's letters.[3]
The placement of Hebrews among the Pauline epistles is less consistent in the manuscripts:
In all of these epistles, Paul does claim to be the author and writer. However, the contested letters may have been forgeries, as that seems to have been a problem among the early church as a whole[4]
Seven letters (with consensus dates)[5] considered genuine by most scholars:
The letters thought to be pseudepigraphic by about 80% of scholars:[6]
The letters on which scholars are about evenly divided:[6]
Several non-canonical epistles claim or have been claimed to have been written by Paul. Most bible scholars reject their authenticity.
Texts also exist which, while not strictly epistles, nevertheless claim to have been written by (or about) Paul.
Judaism, Christianity, Hebrew Bible, Biblical canon, Torah
Martin Luther, Bible, Acts of the Apostles, First Epistle to the Corinthians, Epistle to the Galatians
Bible, Acts of the Apostles, Second Epistle to the Corinthians, Epistle to the Ephesians, New Testament
Second Epistle to Timothy, First Epistle to Timothy, Pastoral epistles, Bible, Acts of the Apostles
Greece, Mount Athos, Gospel, Egypt, Jerusalem
Gospel of Matthew, Acts of the Apostles, Gospel of Mark, Gospel of John, British Library
United Kingdom, Gospel, St. Gallen, Pauline epistles, Book of Revelation
United States, Germany, Münster, Gospel, Acts of the Apostles
Acts of the Apostles, Jesus, Catholicism, Saint Peter, Martin Luther