The Cambridge Companion to St Paul by James D. G. Dunn

Author:James D. G. Dunn
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Cambridge University Press

10 The Pastoral Epistles

ARLAND J. HULTGREN

The term ‘Pastoral Epistles’ applies to a group of three letters within the New Testament, namely, 1 Timothy, 2 Timothy, and Titus. Already in the thirteenth century Thomas Aquinas (1225–74) referred to 1 Timothy as ‘a pastoral rule, which the apostle [Paul] committed to Timothy’.1 The designation of all three letters as the ‘Pastoral Epistles’, however, came much later. That is usually attributed to the German scholar Paul Anton (1661–1730), who used the term collectively in lectures and writings in the eighteenth century. The term is descriptive of the aim and contents of the three letters. Among other things, they provide instructions for pastoral oversight of congregations, and they speak of the qualities and duties of church leaders.

THE PASTORALS IN THE EARLY CHURCH

Each of the Pastorals begins by identifying Paul the apostle as its author. Each one goes on to represent itself as a communication from Paul to either Timothy or Titus, persons entrusted with obligations to teach and provide leadership within churches committed to their care. The letters provide further instructions in carrying out those obligations in the present and on into the future.

In spite of the fact that the letters themselves designate Paul as their author, the Pastorals are not actually attributed to him by known external sources until the second half of the second century. The well-known heretical teacher Marcion, who taught in Rome and founded churches ca AD 130–60, seems to have known nothing about the Pastorals; when he made a collection of the writings of Paul, he did not include the Pastorals among them.2 Furthermore, the earliest known manuscript of Paul’s letters in codex (= book) form – Papyrus 46, which is usually dated from as early as AD 200 – does not contain the Pastorals. To be sure, the document has some leaves (pages) missing at the front and back. But the missing leaves are not likely to have provided space to contain the Pastorals.3 On the other hand, the early Roman document known as the Muratorian Canon, from ca AD 175–200, includes the Pastorals among the letters of Paul.4 Moreover, the Pastorals are mentioned as letters of Paul by late second-century writers, such as Irenaeus (ca AD 130–200), Clement of Alexandria (ca AD 150–215), and Tertullian (ca AD 160–225).5 From that time on, the Pastorals are regularly included in lists of Paul’s writings.

The lack of evidence for the existence of the Pastorals (and thereby their lack of attribution to Paul) prior to the second half of the second century is puzzling. It prompts a number of questions, including questions about their authorship and origins.

AUTHORSHIP AND ORIGINS OF THE PASTORALS

Questions about the authorship and origins of the Pastorals have occupied scholars for a long time. Their authorship by Paul has been questioned mainly on the basis of five factors.

(1) The lack of universal knowledge of the Pastorals among the letters of Paul in antiquity is significant for questioning their having been written by Paul. It is not by itself decisive, but it is one factor within a larger complex of more compelling ones.

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