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  • From: "Eric Zuesse" <cettel AT shoreham.net>
  • To: "Corpus-paul" <corpus-paul AT franklin.metalab.unc.edu>
  • Subject: Re: The Destination Of Ephesians
  • Date: Thu, 9 May 2002 16:58:33 -0400


Ephesians is generally considered bogus, not by Paul. Your assumption to the
contrary negates your consequent speculations.

Eric Zuesse

----- Original Message -----
From: "David Inglis" <david AT colonialcommerce.com>
To: "Corpus-paul" <corpus-paul AT franklin.oit.unc.edu>
Sent: Thursday, May 09, 2002 4:07 PM
Subject: [corpus-paul] The Destination Of Ephesians


> To all:
>
> I am in the process of writing a (non-scholarly) book that discusses
> several of the 'unsolved' issues regarding the creation of the NT. I am
> including in this book a couple of pages regarding the intended
> destination of Ephesians, and would appreciate any comments anyone may
> have regarding my thoughts.
>
> Please excuse the format, but (as I stated) it is intended to be read by
> non-scholars.
>
> Thank you in advance
>
>
> Introduction
>
> Paul wrote Ephesians to the church in Ephesus, didn't he? That's why it's
> called Ephesians! This is a perfectly reasonable view, especially as
> verse 1:1 specifically states that it is to people in Ephesus. The
> problems are that some MSS do not include the words "in Ephesus" in 1:1,
> there are none of Paul's traditional greetings, and the whole tone of the
> letter is much more formal than would be expected. After all, he had
> previously spent three years in Ephesus (Acts 19), and must have known
> many people there very well.
>
> When was Ephesians written?
>
> Paul was in prison when he wrote this letter (Eph 6:20). Philemon and
> Colossians were also written at approximately the same time, and the
> generally accepted view is that all three of these letters were written
> during Paul's first imprisonment in Rome (Acts 28:30-31), around 60-62 AD.
>
> Was the letter actually sent to Ephesus?
>
> Not only does this letter omit the usual salutations from Paul, but the
> language in some places leaves little doubt that Paul does not know the
> intended readers: "For this reason, since I have heard of your faith in
> the Lord Jesus ." (1:15); "If indeed you have heard of the stewardship of
> God's grace that was given to me for you" (3:2). It also seems very
> unlikely that Paul would actually have written such an impersonal letter
> to people with whom he had spent three years. In fact, the style of
> Ephesians is so different to Paul's other letters that many people believe
> that it was not written by Paul (Although if so, who actually wrote it is
> not known).
>
> In several important MSS containing Ephesians (P46, Vaticanus, 1739) the
> words "in Ephesus" are not present in verse 1:1, and in Sinaiticus these
> words were added by a later corrector. It is therefore possible that
> these words were not in Ephesians as originally written, and this supports
> the idea that Paul intended it as a more formal letter, to be read by
> churches in other parts of Asia, not just by the people in Ephesus. In
> this case several different copies would have been created, and a
> different destination may have been added to each copy. It is possible
> that P92 (parts of Ephesians and 2 Thessalonians) includes one of these
> copies, since the MS is defective here and Eph 1:1 is not present. If
> Ephesians was a 'circular', then the style issue can be simply understood
> as a result of the different purpose of this letter, and it is not
> necessary to invent a different author.
>
> The letter from Laodicea
>
> Colossians, Ephesians and Philemon were all taken to their respective
> destinations by Onesimus and Tychicus (Col 4:7-9, Eph 6:21 and Phm 12) as
> part of the same trip. Assuming that the letter bearers sailed from Rome
> to Ephesus, it would then make sense to pass through Laodicea on the way
> to Colosse (or Colossae) . In this case copies of 'Ephesians' would have
> most likely been delivered first to the church in Ephesus, then to
> Laodicea, and then to Colosse, with appropriate appellations (e.g. "in
> Ephesus") being added as required.
>
> If the letter came to Colosse "from Laodicea", then this makes it possible
> that a copy of Ephesians is actually "the letter from Laodicea" referred
> to in Col 4:16. Marcion may have thought that this was the case, since he
> referred to Ephesians as Laodiceans. In 63 AD Colosse, Laodicea and
> Hieropolis were all destroyed by an earthquake, and both because of this
> and the relative importance of Ephesus it is much more likely that copies
> of this letter would have been preserved in Ephesus than in Laodicea or
> Colosse.
>
> As a result, if Marcion did see a Laodicean copy, or knew someone who knew
> that a copy had been sent to Laodicea, then this copy was not preserved.
> In this regard it is perhaps significant that in his document The
> Prescription against Heretics (c. 200 AD) Tertullian refers to apostolic
> writings kept at Corinth, Philippi, Thessalonica and Ephesus, but not
> Laodicea or Colosse (or for that matter, any other churches in Galatia).
>
> Conclusion
>
> It seems most likely that:
> · Paul intended this letter to be read in several churches. This included
> those in Ephesus and Laodicea, probably Thessalonica and Colosse (although
> Colosse also had it's own personal letter), and quite possibly other
> churches he had previously visited in Asia Minor;
> · Paul's original copy did not include the words "in Ephesus." Instead,
> Onesimus and Tychicus may have been given instructions that each church
> should create their own official copy, with the correct destination (e.g.
> "in Ephesus") being added at the time;
> · Marcion either saw (or knew about) a copy of this letter at Laodicea,
> but did not know about copies anywhere else;
> · The church would not need to preserve multiple copies of the same
> letter, and so the only one we now know about for sure is the copy used in
> Ephesus.
>
>
> Dave Inglis
> david AT colonialcommerce.com
> 3538 O'Connor Drive
> Lafayette, CA, USA
>
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