Mobile Ed: NT392 Paul the Letter Writer (2 hour course)
Digital Logos Edition
In Paul the Letter Writer, Jeffrey A. D. Weima uses epistolary analysis—also called the letter structure approach or form criticism of letters—to exegete Paul’s letter to Philemon. He shows how the four sections of the letter—opening, thanksgiving, body, and closing—each contain elements to persuade the recipient of the letter to grant a request that was the primary purpose of the letter. Dr. Weima introduces and defines a number of first century epistolary conventions and demonstrates how Paul’s use of and deviations from epistolary conventions help the reader better interpret his letters. You’ll come away from the course with a better understanding of the structure and form of first-century letters and of how to use these conventions to interpret Paul’s letters.
Upon successful completion you should be able to:
- Identify the four main parts of a Pauline letter
- Identify and define three different ways to analyze and interpret Paul’s letters
- Discuss why Paul may have included the church that meets at Philemon’s house in what was nominally a personal letter
- Define “epistolary conventions” and explain why they are important for exegesis of Paul’s letters
- List and discuss three non-epistolary persuasive techniques Paul used in his letter to Philemon
- Describe the form of a “confidence formula”
- Describe how an “apostolic Parousia” re-enforces the sense of obligation on the part of the letter recipient
Introduction
- Introducing the Speaker and Course
Unit 1: Paul the Letter Writer
- Introduction to Letters
- Form of Paul’s Letters: The Letter Opening
- The Recipient: Formal Elements and Significance in Philemon
- Form of Paul’s Letters: The Thanksgiving
- The Thanksgiving Section in Philemon
- The Letter Body
- Other (Non-Epistolary) Persuasive Techniques in The Letter Body
- The Letter Closing, Part 1
- The Letter Closing, Part 2
Conclusion
- Title: NT392 Paul the Letter Writer
- Instructor: Jeffrey A.D. Weima
- Publisher: Lexham Press
- Publication Date: 2021
- Product Type: Logos Mobile Education
- Resource Type: Courseware, including transcripts, audio, and video resources
- Courses: 1
- Video Hours: 2
Jeffrey A.D. Weima is professor of New Testament at Calvin Theological Seminary in Grand Rapids, Michigan, where he has taught for more than 20 years. He is the author of Neglected Endings: The Significance of the Pauline Letter Closings and the coauthor (with Stanley Porter) of An Annotated Bibliography of 1 and 2 Thessalonians. He has taught courses all over the world, has authored numerous scholarly articles, and leads biblical study tours to Greece, Turkey, and Italy.
