Mikeal Parsons explores the complex textual history of Paul's Epistle to the Romans, focusing on scholarly debates over its original form. Key to this discussion is the varying placement of the doxology across manuscripts, found at the end of chapters 14, 15, or 16, suggesting that Romans may have originally circulated in different versions. Scholars have particularly contested the authenticity of chapter 16, noting Paul's greetings to many Christians in Rome, a city he hadn't visited at the time of writing. This led to theories that chapter 16 might have been part of a different letter, possibly to the Ephesians, and was later added to Romans. Additionally, the production of a fourteen-chapter Romans by the Marcionites, driven by anti-Jewish sentiments, was speculated to exclude the Jewish-positive chapter 15.
Contemporary scholarship, however, leans towards recognizing Romans 1–16 as a cohesive work by Paul. This shift is based on the understanding that the epistle's various forms are a result of its adaptation for liturgical use in early Christian communities. The extensive greetings in chapter 16 are now seen as a rhetorical strategy by Paul to assert his authority and establish a connection with the Roman Christian community before his visit. This suggests Paul had a broader awareness of or connections within this community than previously thought. Parsons' analysis highlights the evolving scholarly perspectives on the textual integrity of Romans and its significance in early Christian literature, emphasizing the depth of early Christian textual traditions and the unity of Romans as a key text in Pauline theology for the church in Rome.
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Reformed Theologian GPT: https://chat.openai.com/g/g-XXwzX1gnv-reformed-theologian
