What do you think?
Rate this book
Paul the Ancient Letter Writer: An Introduction to Epistolary Analysis
This clear and user-friendly introduction to the interpretive method called "epistolary analysis" shows how focusing on the form and function of Paul's letters yields valuable insights into the apostle's purpose and meaning. The author helps readers interpret Paul's letters properly by paying close attention to the apostle's use of ancient letter-writing conventions. Paul is an extremely skilled letter writer who deliberately adapts or expands traditional epistolary forms so that his persuasive purposes are enhanced. This is an ideal supplemental textbook for courses on Paul or the New Testament. It contains numerous analyses of key Pauline texts, including a final chapter analyzing the apostle's Letter to Philemon as a "test case" to demonstrate the benefits of this interpretive approach.
- GenresNew Testament
288 pages, Paperback
Published November 15, 2016
14 people are currently reading
28 people want to read
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 12 of 12 reviews
May 25, 2017
You can read my full review on my blog, Spoiled Milks (5/2/17)
Jeffery A. D. Weima makes the case that we should not only be looking at the content of the Bible but also its form. This isn’t a new idea, but Weima, who has studied Paul’s letters for over 30 years, compares all of Paul’s letters to understand the purposes and contents of his writings and the function they play in his persuasive purposes.
Paul the Ancient Letter Writer is an excellent resource for anyone who is studying Paul’s letters. Weima can be quite detailed, but the effort is not without its payment. In each chapter, after Weima introduces the form of a passage and it’s function, he gives its interpretive significance.
Weima shows just how important a close reading of the text is. While he doesn’t create a whole theology out of every nuance, he doesn’t brush them aside either. Would all of his readers noticed if a particular section was missing from his letter? It’s difficult for us to know for certain. However, while Paul’s original audiences would not have been able to compare all of his letters, we can, and by doing so we can get a bigger glimpse into the mind of Paul by seeing what he did and didn’t write. This semester, my Old Testament professor has been drilling into us the importance of the literary structures of the biblical books. Weima only confirms that importance by showing how to read Paul’s letters rightly. This is a must have for all who study Paul’s letters.
Disclosure: I received this book free from Baker Academic through the Baker Academic Bloggers program. The opinions I have expressed are my own, and I was not required to write a positive review.
Jeffery A. D. Weima makes the case that we should not only be looking at the content of the Bible but also its form. This isn’t a new idea, but Weima, who has studied Paul’s letters for over 30 years, compares all of Paul’s letters to understand the purposes and contents of his writings and the function they play in his persuasive purposes.
Paul the Ancient Letter Writer is an excellent resource for anyone who is studying Paul’s letters. Weima can be quite detailed, but the effort is not without its payment. In each chapter, after Weima introduces the form of a passage and it’s function, he gives its interpretive significance.
Weima shows just how important a close reading of the text is. While he doesn’t create a whole theology out of every nuance, he doesn’t brush them aside either. Would all of his readers noticed if a particular section was missing from his letter? It’s difficult for us to know for certain. However, while Paul’s original audiences would not have been able to compare all of his letters, we can, and by doing so we can get a bigger glimpse into the mind of Paul by seeing what he did and didn’t write. This semester, my Old Testament professor has been drilling into us the importance of the literary structures of the biblical books. Weima only confirms that importance by showing how to read Paul’s letters rightly. This is a must have for all who study Paul’s letters.
Disclosure: I received this book free from Baker Academic through the Baker Academic Bloggers program. The opinions I have expressed are my own, and I was not required to write a positive review.
June 15, 2023
Weima does an excellent job of explaining the exegetical significance of the structural nuances in Paul's epistles. His key thesis is that in the ancient world, there were established ways to write letters, and if Paul modifies his letters from either his culture's expectation or from the precedents he has set in his own letters, the changes are intentional. Weima judiciously works through the Pauline corpus, as well as supports his arguments from Greco-Roman epistles as well. His attention to detail pays off; not only does he identify the key components in Paul's letters, but also shows how these components are used rhetorically. Some might be content with simply identifying the structures, but Weima goes far beyond by showing how Paul uses the presence or absence of these structures to communicate. Weima also includes where the identifiable structures occur within the Pauline corpus in charts throughout the book, with further explanations with key test cases. Informative and useful read.
May 3, 2023
great overview and application
Weima proposes taking the formal characteristics of the letter and using it as a framework for interpretation. While explaining the form and function of the various parts of a letter he also provides abundant illustration with various biblical texts. This is welcome and a great help for students.
My only wish is that the author would have provided more examples from secular letters as well. However, such examples are readily available elsewhere.
Weima proposes taking the formal characteristics of the letter and using it as a framework for interpretation. While explaining the form and function of the various parts of a letter he also provides abundant illustration with various biblical texts. This is welcome and a great help for students.
My only wish is that the author would have provided more examples from secular letters as well. However, such examples are readily available elsewhere.
August 2, 2017
Jeffrey A. D. Weima is a household name in the arena of Pauline Studies. Weima is Professor of New Testament at Calvin Theological Seminary and author of several academic publications, including a massive commentary on 1-2 Thessalonians in the Baker Exegetical Commentary on the New Testament series and the groundbreaking work Neglected Endings: The Significance of the Pauline Letter Closings (Sheffield Academic Press, 1994). Most recently, building off of his expertise as a Pauline scholar, Weima has produced a masterful book on Pauline letter writing, Paul the Ancient Letter Writer: An Introduction to Epistolary Analysis.
Paul the Ancient Letter Writer is a magnificent book that (almost) instantly allows readers to see the value and importance of reading a biblical letter as a letter, more specifically an ancient letter of the Greco-Roman period. This is a basic hermeneutical rule that often gets overlooked by the average reader and vitally import for every pastor and teacher seeking to communicate the Bible accurately and effectively. Paul the Ancient Letter Writer contains a brief introduction, a helpful test case on Philemon, and four major chapters covering the four major parts of an epistle: (1) the opening, (2) the thanksgiving, (3) the body, and (4) the closing. Each of the four major chapters offers a detailed analysis of various (and diverse) epistolary conventions found within each major part of an epistle.
Where most attention is usually going to be directed towards the body of a letter, Weima does an excellent job showing the importance of each of the major parts of a letter. For example, Weima demonstrates the great interpretive significance discovered in the opening of a letter. He explains an example of such insight, writing, “the sender formula brings the letter opening to a definitive close in a comparable way that the corresponding peace benediction and grace benediction mark out the letter closing and so bring Paul’s correspondence to a definitive close” (p. 44). For Paul, the opening formula actually shapes the boundaries of the correspondence. This is seen in another example found in the closing section, where Weima articulates the peculiar importance of the various conventions observed in the closing of Paul’s letters—namely the peace benediction, the hortatory section, the greetings, the autograph, and the grace benediction.
For those who find joy in the discovery of interpretive treasures of Scripture, Paul the Ancient Letter Writer: An Introduction to Epistolary Analysis by Jeffrey A. D. Weima is both a clear and captivating example that there is a ‘right’ and ‘wrong’ way to go about reading Paul’s letters and the insights from this volume pay dividends immediately. This would be an excellent companion textbook in a New Testament course, especially where the genre of epistle encompasses a majority of the coursework. It would also do well in an intermediate or advanced hermeneutics course. While the book is rather detail oriented at times, I still found it to be easily accessible and refreshingly saturated with helpful charts and images of Weima’s analysis of Paul’s letters.
This is a book that I am afraid many will overlook. That said, if you’re reading this review, don’t let yourself be one of those sad individuals. Get a copy today. Trust me! It comes highly recommended.
Paul the Ancient Letter Writer is a magnificent book that (almost) instantly allows readers to see the value and importance of reading a biblical letter as a letter, more specifically an ancient letter of the Greco-Roman period. This is a basic hermeneutical rule that often gets overlooked by the average reader and vitally import for every pastor and teacher seeking to communicate the Bible accurately and effectively. Paul the Ancient Letter Writer contains a brief introduction, a helpful test case on Philemon, and four major chapters covering the four major parts of an epistle: (1) the opening, (2) the thanksgiving, (3) the body, and (4) the closing. Each of the four major chapters offers a detailed analysis of various (and diverse) epistolary conventions found within each major part of an epistle.
Where most attention is usually going to be directed towards the body of a letter, Weima does an excellent job showing the importance of each of the major parts of a letter. For example, Weima demonstrates the great interpretive significance discovered in the opening of a letter. He explains an example of such insight, writing, “the sender formula brings the letter opening to a definitive close in a comparable way that the corresponding peace benediction and grace benediction mark out the letter closing and so bring Paul’s correspondence to a definitive close” (p. 44). For Paul, the opening formula actually shapes the boundaries of the correspondence. This is seen in another example found in the closing section, where Weima articulates the peculiar importance of the various conventions observed in the closing of Paul’s letters—namely the peace benediction, the hortatory section, the greetings, the autograph, and the grace benediction.
For those who find joy in the discovery of interpretive treasures of Scripture, Paul the Ancient Letter Writer: An Introduction to Epistolary Analysis by Jeffrey A. D. Weima is both a clear and captivating example that there is a ‘right’ and ‘wrong’ way to go about reading Paul’s letters and the insights from this volume pay dividends immediately. This would be an excellent companion textbook in a New Testament course, especially where the genre of epistle encompasses a majority of the coursework. It would also do well in an intermediate or advanced hermeneutics course. While the book is rather detail oriented at times, I still found it to be easily accessible and refreshingly saturated with helpful charts and images of Weima’s analysis of Paul’s letters.
This is a book that I am afraid many will overlook. That said, if you’re reading this review, don’t let yourself be one of those sad individuals. Get a copy today. Trust me! It comes highly recommended.
April 14, 2024
There are some obvious statements which yet can prove profound in their implications. Sinners sin, for instance. And also: Paul wrote letters.
Well, sure; everything we have of Paul in the New Testament is in the form of a letter. Yet in our exegesis and application we can easily de-contextualize Paul and imagine he was just sitting around writing abstract theological treatises.
Jeffrey Weima has done a great service in Paul the Ancient Letter Writer: An Introduction to Epistolary Analysis (galley received as part of early review program). He systematically laid out what epistolary analysis is, an understanding of letter writing in the Greco-Roman world, and then detailed analysis of each aspect of epistolary form: the opening, thanksgiving, body, and the closing, and concludes the work with a full epistolary analysis of Paul’s letter to Philemon.
The author well argued and demonstrated how Paul generally maintains the form of Hellenistic letters but will modify the form and the substance for his specific purposes. He charted out every greeting from Paul, for instance, and then highlighted how Paul’s greeting to the Galatians was far more expanded than the rest, and suggested it had to do with the specific challenges he was confronting with the Galatian Christians. The reader is thus able to see patterns and those places in which Paul would deviate from those patterns, and given feasible reasons as to why. Each aspect is discussed in terms of the specific forms and types which Paul uses, expanding on specific examples and setting forth the form, function, and theological significance of each.
The final exposition on Philemon well demonstrated the importance of epistolary analysis, and how effective use of epistolary analysis can help in exegesis and therefore faithful application.
All Christians in their study, and those who labor in preaching and teaching, do well to thus learn about epistolary analysis and always keep the form and functions of Hellenistic letter writing in mind when interpreting Paul’s letters. They may feature a lot of theology and practical exhortation, but they never stop being letters, and we do well to never forget that.
Well, sure; everything we have of Paul in the New Testament is in the form of a letter. Yet in our exegesis and application we can easily de-contextualize Paul and imagine he was just sitting around writing abstract theological treatises.
Jeffrey Weima has done a great service in Paul the Ancient Letter Writer: An Introduction to Epistolary Analysis (galley received as part of early review program). He systematically laid out what epistolary analysis is, an understanding of letter writing in the Greco-Roman world, and then detailed analysis of each aspect of epistolary form: the opening, thanksgiving, body, and the closing, and concludes the work with a full epistolary analysis of Paul’s letter to Philemon.
The author well argued and demonstrated how Paul generally maintains the form of Hellenistic letters but will modify the form and the substance for his specific purposes. He charted out every greeting from Paul, for instance, and then highlighted how Paul’s greeting to the Galatians was far more expanded than the rest, and suggested it had to do with the specific challenges he was confronting with the Galatian Christians. The reader is thus able to see patterns and those places in which Paul would deviate from those patterns, and given feasible reasons as to why. Each aspect is discussed in terms of the specific forms and types which Paul uses, expanding on specific examples and setting forth the form, function, and theological significance of each.
The final exposition on Philemon well demonstrated the importance of epistolary analysis, and how effective use of epistolary analysis can help in exegesis and therefore faithful application.
All Christians in their study, and those who labor in preaching and teaching, do well to thus learn about epistolary analysis and always keep the form and functions of Hellenistic letter writing in mind when interpreting Paul’s letters. They may feature a lot of theology and practical exhortation, but they never stop being letters, and we do well to never forget that.
March 5, 2023
Although more and more scholars and pastors are taking genre more seriously as an important aspect of interpretation, Weima demonstrates in this book that it's not enough to simply acknowledge that Paul wrote "letters," and that letters should not be read like other forms of writing. One must go beyond this acknowledgment to understand more specifically how the ancient conventions of letter writing might have signaled certain things about the function of various portions of the letters. Weima offers here an important analysis of these epistolary conventions to unfold deeper nuance into reading Paul's letters well.
It's important to point out what this book does not do. Although Weima addresses ancient letter writing conventions, he does not analyse Paul's letters side by side with other ancient letters in order to compare Paul's letters to others, or in order to use those other ancient letters to "prove" that these conventions really existed. Such information must be found elsewhere. Also, Weima does not deal much with the psychological and sociological implications of letter writing and receiving on Paul and his audience. There is some of this in the discussions on paraenesis, but the function of letters as an act of community building or social identity is not addressed.
Instead, this is an analysis of the form of Paul's letters themselves, in order to demonstrate how an understanding of ancient letter writing conventions helps us to read them more fruitfully. In this respect, it is the most thorough treatment of the subject in recent years, and is very much worth the time for pastors and scholars teaching Paul's letters. Weima's writing is clear and his decisions are sober minded and reasonable. A helpful tool.
It's important to point out what this book does not do. Although Weima addresses ancient letter writing conventions, he does not analyse Paul's letters side by side with other ancient letters in order to compare Paul's letters to others, or in order to use those other ancient letters to "prove" that these conventions really existed. Such information must be found elsewhere. Also, Weima does not deal much with the psychological and sociological implications of letter writing and receiving on Paul and his audience. There is some of this in the discussions on paraenesis, but the function of letters as an act of community building or social identity is not addressed.
Instead, this is an analysis of the form of Paul's letters themselves, in order to demonstrate how an understanding of ancient letter writing conventions helps us to read them more fruitfully. In this respect, it is the most thorough treatment of the subject in recent years, and is very much worth the time for pastors and scholars teaching Paul's letters. Weima's writing is clear and his decisions are sober minded and reasonable. A helpful tool.
November 9, 2025
Много добра и полезна книга.
Общата идея е дибра и ясно развита, наблюденията и аргументите са убедителни, екзегетиката е неспекулативна. Някои пасажи са развити ненужно подробно, според мен.
Последната глава представя много добър анализ на посланието към Филемеон.
Общата идея е дибра и ясно развита, наблюденията и аргументите са убедителни, екзегетиката е неспекулативна. Някои пасажи са развити ненужно подробно, според мен.
Последната глава представя много добър анализ на посланието към Филемеон.
October 17, 2017
Superb review of epistolary analysis! Could be strengthened by including a contact point between the academic study and spiritual application since his thesis includes Paul’s leading by the Spirit.
December 23, 2016
I cannot say enough about this book. I have had a framework for ancient letters since my earliest days of preaching, but this book really opened my eyes to some small observations that make great impact in places. The information presented allows the reader/preacher to put a very fine point on some of the things Paul was saying as he wrote his letters. I have preached through many of the Pauline letters and this resource will help me convey a richer, deeper, and more accurate representation of the text as penned by Paul, The Ancient Letter Writer.
January 5, 2020
Videos about the book here:
Paul the Ancient Letter Writer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3Xlr8...
Using Paul the Ancient Letter Writer in the classroom: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pf4aN...
What is epistolary analysis?: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p3YHG...
The forgotten role of the Bible’s occasional letters: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ov6UB...
Lectures on "Paul the Letter Writer" here:
Part 1: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=basyS...
Part 2: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aLQso...
Part 3: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FZLGt...
Part 4: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=brmJv...
Part 5: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AZbuk...
Part 6: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JZSJ2...
Part 7: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1Q8cd...
Part 8: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J0Pep...
Paul the Ancient Letter Writer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3Xlr8...
Using Paul the Ancient Letter Writer in the classroom: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pf4aN...
What is epistolary analysis?: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p3YHG...
The forgotten role of the Bible’s occasional letters: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ov6UB...
Lectures on "Paul the Letter Writer" here:
Part 1: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=basyS...
Part 2: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aLQso...
Part 3: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FZLGt...
Part 4: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=brmJv...
Part 5: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AZbuk...
Part 6: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JZSJ2...
Part 7: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1Q8cd...
Part 8: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J0Pep...
March 2, 2022
This book is a great book to understand particularly "the form" of Paul's letters, the key features, those significant markers of his letters, which are highly important in helping to interpret Paul's theological stances and positions. A must read for anyone who studies Paul's letters seriously.
August 4, 2024
I often think about Paul writing letters like I write letters: decide who I'm writing to, think briefly about what I want to say, and then just brain dump until I'm done.
But Weima argues (and demonstrates!) that Paul put much more thought into his letters and there are many literary features that enhance his message if we pay attention to them. Paul writes with a fairly standard formula (that is similar to but also deviates from letter writing practices in the ancient world), and it's helpful to know the formula, especially to know when Paul deviates from the formula, that he is probably doing so to accentuate his message.
An easy read with lots of examples and easy applicability.
But Weima argues (and demonstrates!) that Paul put much more thought into his letters and there are many literary features that enhance his message if we pay attention to them. Paul writes with a fairly standard formula (that is similar to but also deviates from letter writing practices in the ancient world), and it's helpful to know the formula, especially to know when Paul deviates from the formula, that he is probably doing so to accentuate his message.
An easy read with lots of examples and easy applicability.
Displaying 1 - 12 of 12 reviews