Letter Carriers and Paul's Use of Scripture

Matthew S. Harmon
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引用次数: 1

Abstract

Within the discussion of Paul's use of Scripture, scholars have frequently wondered how his predominantly Gentile congregations would have recognized his often subtle allusions to and echoes of the Old Testament, let alone their broader context. One solution has been to suggest that the carrier of the letter played a role in further explaining its contents. In order to assess the validity of this possibility, this article begins by exploring the role of letter carriers in the ancient world. A survey of the Pauline epistles indicates that his letter carriers performed a similar range of tasks; they were more than merely couriers. They were similar to Greco-Roman envoys, sent as a manifestation of Paul's παρονσία and authorized to act on his behalf. As a result of this survey, two implications emerge for the study of Paul's use of Scripture and the audience's competency to recognize it: (1) Paul's use of envoys suggests they were authorized to explain the contents of the letter further, including his use of Scripture. (2) Given the letter's role to mediate the very presence of Paul himself, it is reasonable to conclude that his envoys engaged in teaching, a central component of his own ministry. Thus, there are solid grounds for suggesting that Paul's letter carriers played a role in helping the audience to recognize Old Testament allusions and echoes, as well as their original context.
信差和保罗对圣经的使用
在讨论保罗对《圣经》的使用时,学者们经常想知道,他主要的外邦会众是如何认识到他对《旧约》的微妙暗示和呼应的,更不用说他们更广泛的背景了。一种解决办法是,这封信的寄信人在进一步解释其内容方面发挥了作用。为了评估这种可能性的有效性,本文首先探讨了古代世界信差的作用。对保罗书信的调查表明,他的信差执行了类似的任务;他们不仅仅是信使。他们类似于希腊罗马的使者,作为保罗παρονσ末路α的表现而被派遣,并被授权代表他行事。这一调查的结果是,对于研究保罗对圣经的使用和听众认识它的能力,有两个含义:(1)保罗使用使节表明他们被授权进一步解释这封信的内容,包括他对圣经的使用。(2)鉴于这封信的作用是调解保罗本人的存在,我们有理由得出结论,他的使者从事教学,这是他自己的事工的核心组成部分。因此,有坚实的理由表明,保罗的信差在帮助读者认识旧约的典故和回声,以及它们的原始背景方面发挥了作用。
本文章由计算机程序翻译,如有差异,请以英文原文为准。
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