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corpus-paul - Re: The symbolism of '14 years'

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  • From: Loren Rosson <rossoiii AT yahoo.com>
  • To: Corpus-paul <corpus-paul AT franklin.oit.unc.edu>
  • Subject: Re: The symbolism of '14 years'
  • Date: Mon, 2 Apr 2001 16:29:06 -0700 (PDT)


>> Just speculation at the top of
>> my head. But I think Richard is on
>> to something with the Jacob parallel.
>> It helps condense that “14 year”
>> period during which not
>> much seems to have happened.

> Not much happened? Paul went from being
> a Pharisee and persecutor of
> Christians to preaching a Gospel so radical
> that was untraceable in the Hebrew scriptures.

Most of Paul’s contemporaries would have readily
agreed that Yahweh would not forever favor Israel at
the expense of the pagans. The purpose of the Jewish
covenant hinged on Israel as the precise means for
redeeming Jews and Gentiles alike. To be sure, the
chosen people would retain privileged status at the
eschaton (Rom. 9:4-5; 11:1; 11:28-32, etc.), but not
to the same extent as before. Paul traced his beliefs
quite well by the Hebrew Scriptures, appealing to
texts left and right in support of the Gentile mission
(Gal. 3:6-9; Rom. 4:1-17; Rom 9-11, etc.). While the
details of his gospel -- based on the resurrection of
a crucified prophet -- were obviously controversial,
they weren’t so extreme that they made no sense within
the diverse spectrum of first-century Jewish thought.

> When we consider all the issues
> Paul had to work through in order to
> comprehend the revelation of Jesus
> Christ and make sense of the Gospel,
> even as he dealt with doubts within
> and fightings without, that the
> fourteen years he spent (largely in
> seclusion) must have been a very busy
> time of thought, prayer, and contemplation.

I remain highly skeptical that “thought, prayer, and
contemplation” occupied 14 years of Paul’s time. But
it’s possible, of course.

Loren Rosson III
Nashua NH
rossoiii AT yahoo.com


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