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corpus-paul - corpus-paul digest: March 30, 1999

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Chronological Thread  
  • From: "David C. Hindley" <DHindley AT compuserve.com>
  • To: "Corpus-paul" <corpus-paul AT franklin.oit.unc.edu>, Wes Williams <Wes.Williams AT echostar.com>
  • Subject: corpus-paul digest: March 30, 1999
  • Date: Thu, 1 Apr 1999 03:48:43 -0500


In response to a post by "Williams, Wes" <Wes.Williams AT echostar.com>

Wes,

Many years ago I undertook a similar sketch. Like you, I made some
assumptions
based almost exclusively on the chronology of the book of Acts. As others
here
have noted, there are methodological problems associated with doing that,
but I
was younger then (by 20 years).

I made a chart of every place and name mentioned in Acts, in their relative
order
as they appear in the text, and then attempted to relate them to persons
and
events mentioned in the epistles themselves.

Since there are personalities and events mentioned in Acts that lend
themselves
to historical dating, it was possible to create a workable chronological
outline of
when the epistles were written.

The sketch came out as follows:

1 Thess Corinth c. 50-51 2nd missionary tour
2 Thess Corinth c. 50-51 2nd missionary tour
Gal Galatia c. 51-52 3rd missionary tour
1 Cor Ephesus c. 52-53 3rd missionary tour
Rom Corinth c. 56 3rd missionary tour
1 Tim Corinth (?) c. 56 3rd missionary tour
2 Cor Troas c. 56 3rd missionary tour
Phlm Rome c. 61-63 Imprisonment
Col Rome c. 61-63 Imprisonment
2 Tim Rome c. 61-63 Imprisonment
Eph Rome c. 61-63 Imprisonment
Phil Rome c. 61-63 Imprisonment
Titus Nicopolis c. ?? Which Nicopolis?

In those early innocent days this approach made perfect sense. Now I would
not do
it this way. However misguided my attempt, one of the first things this
exercise taught
me was that not all the letters could be easily placed in the framework of
Acts (for
instance Titus and 1 Timothy).

I was forced to conclude that either Acts was not a complete (or reliable)
historical
source, or that some of the epistles themselves were not authentic. The
former seemed
more likely to me than the latter, but I suppose I was hoping to preserve
the epistles as
windows into the early Christian movement.

Let me ask, then, why did you put the letters in the order you did?

Dave Hindley
Dhindley AT compuserve.com

>Is this a fairly accurate sketch?

Book Place Completed

1 Thessalon Corinth c. 50
2 Thessalon Corinth c. 51
Galatians Corinth or c. 50-52
Syrian Antioch
1 Corinthians Ephesus c. 55
2 Corinthians Macedonia c. 55
Romans Corinth c. 56
Ephesians Rome c. 60-61
Philippians Rome c. 60-61
Colossians Rome c. 60-61
Philemon Rome c. 60-61
(for those who hold to a Pauline authorship)
Hebrews Rome c. 61
Titus Macedonia (?) c. 61-64
1 Timothy Macedonia c. 61-64
2 Timothy Rome c. 65
<



  • corpus-paul digest: March 30, 1999, David C. Hindley, 04/01/1999

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