Tertius in the margins: A critical appraisal of the secretary hypothesis

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    Abstract

    Much has been made in recent years about the role of the secretary in the construction of Paul's letters, most notably by Randolph Richards and Ian Elmer. This article focuses on the most famous secretary - Tertius. Through an analysis of what can be learned of Tertius' identity and his relationship to Paul and to ancient authorial practices in households, it argues that Tertius was probably a slave in the household of one of the Corinthian Christ-followers, whose role was simply to inscribe the letter. His inability to use Paul's signature phrase áin a Pauline fashion highlights his lack of authorial input. Tertius' self-initiated greeting in Rom 16.22 probably began life as a marginal comment that was moved early into the letter body.

    Original languageEnglish
    Pages (from-to)378-396
    Number of pages19
    JournalNew Testament Studies
    Volume64
    Issue number3
    DOIs
    Publication statusPublished - 01 Jul 2018

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