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  • From: Michael Pahl <michael.pahl AT prairie.edu>
  • To: Corpus-Paul <corpus-paul AT lists.ibiblio.org>
  • Subject: Re: [Corpus-Paul] Was Romans written from Ephesus?
  • Date: Sat, 24 Jan 2004 09:20:40 -0700

Stephen, for me there are many lines of evidence drawn together to point to a
Corinthian provenance for Romans, not just 15:26-28. Of course, you have the
relationship with Acts 20:1-4, which presents a similar sequence at a similar
point in Paul's life, having evangelized much of the northeastern Roman
Empire,
spending a winter in Achaia preparing to return to Jerusalem and already
thinking about Rome. One's perspective on this will naturally depend on how
historically reliable one sees Acts, but the parallels in sequence and place
in
Paul's life are striking, and if one sees the "we passages" as from the
author's
own "autopsy" then this could be based on reliable information he had received
(note the "we" starting up right after this, in 20:5). You also have other
indications in Romans 16 that point to Corinth, some more convincing than
others. In 16:23 you have a wealthy, host "Gaius" mentioned, certainly an
extremely common name but possibly the same as in 1 Cor 1:14. You also have a
"city treasurer" name "Erastus" mentioned, possibly the same "Erastus" (an
"aedile," I believe) inscribed on the pavement outside the Corinthian theater.
Now these could be coincidences (especially Gaius), but the clincher for me is
16:1-2, where Paul commends Phoebe from Cenchreae apparently as the letter
carrier to Rome. It's easier to see someone from Cenchreae carrying a letter
to
Rome from Corinth than from Ephesus. One's perspective on the Rom 16
information
will of course depend on whether one sees this chaper as originally part of
Paul's letter, but you seem to think it was.

Some thoughts for what they're worth...

Blessings,
Michael
====================================================
Michael W. Pahl, M.Div., Ph.D. student (University of Birmingham, U.K.)


----- Original Message -----
From: "Stephen C. Carlson" <scarlson AT mindspring.com>
To: "Corpus-Paul" <corpus-paul AT lists.ibiblio.org>
Sent: Friday, January 23, 2004 8:46 PM
Subject: [Corpus-Paul] Was Romans written from Ephesus?


>
> I would like to float a proposal that Romans was not
> written from Corinth as usually suggested, but from
> Ephesus.
>
> Specifically, I'm considering an idea that Romans was not
> writtenafter a successful visit by Paul to Corinth for the
> collection but rather in anticipation of it, before he left.
> Rom. 15:26-28 is the main passage that in support of the
> Corinthian origin, but in v. 26 Paul doesn't actually say
> that they made a contribution for the Poor but that they
> were pleased or decided to do so: EUDOKHSAN ... KOINWNIAN
> TINA POIHSASQAI (the aorist infinitive does not encode
> tense, but aspect, i.e. a gift for one occasion). In other
> words, they promised Paul they would make a contribution
> and Paul's going to collect it. That's why he says in v.28
> "So when I have completed this, and have delivered to them
> what has been collected." By "completed this," this is not
> the delivery of the contribution but its collection--it's
> not done yet.
>
> This solves the problem why Paul begain with prominent
> Ephesians in Rom. 16 (Prisca and Aquila who were living there
> and Epaenetus, the first fruit of Asia). It's not that Rom.
> 16 was actually sent to Ephesus, but *from* Ephesus. Under
> this scenario, Paul had a groups of his colleagues in Ephesus
> go to Rome in preparation of his future visit, and Romans
> is a follow up letter to further prepare for his visit.
>
> Has this been proposed before, and are there any obvious
> flaws in the proposal?
>
> Stephen Carlson
> --
> Stephen C. Carlson mailto:scarlson AT mindspring.com
> Weblog: http://www.mindspring.com/~scarlson/hypotyposeis/blogger.html
> "Poetry speaks of aspirations, and songs chant the words." Shujing 2.35
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