UHI Thesis - pdf download summary Watch out for whom? Reconstructing the historical background of Paul’s rhetoric in the letter to the Colossians Copenhaver, Adam Kyle DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY (AWARDED BY OU/ABERDEEN) Award date: 2012 Link URL to thesis in UHI Research Database General rights and useage policy Copyright,IP and moral rights for the publications made accessible in the UHI Research Database are retained by the author, users must recognise and abide by the legal requirements associated with these rights. This copy has been supplied on the understanding that it is copyright material and that no quotation from the thesis may be published without proper acknowledgement, or without prior permission from the author. 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RECONSTRUCTING THE HISTORICAL BACKGROUND OF PAUL’S RHETORIC IN THE LETTER TO THE COLOSSIANS A Thesis Presented for the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy at the University of Aberdeen By Adam Copenhaver Th.M. Westminster Theological Seminary M.Div. Grace Theological Seminary B.A. Grace College July 2012 I declare that this thesis has been composed by myself, that it has not been accepted in any previous application for a degree, and that all quotations have been distinguished by quotation marks and the sources of information specifically acknowledged. Adam Copenhaver, 23 July 2012 CONTENTS ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS ................................................................................................ii ABSTRACT.......................................................................................................................iii ABBREVIATIONS............................................................................................................iv INTRODUCTION............................................................................................................... 1 CHAPTER 1: History of Scholarship ................................................................................. 5 1. Gnosticism..................................................................................................................... 6 2. Pagan Religions........................................................................................................... 20 3. Hellenistic Philosophies .............................................................................................. 26 4. Judaism........................................................................................................................ 31 5. Summary ..................................................................................................................... 44 6. Alternative Approaches............................................................................................... 45 7. Conclusion................................................................................................................... 52 CHAPTER 2: Epistolary Analysis of Audience in Colossians.......................................... 54 1. Authorship in Colossians ............................................................................................ 55 2. Audience in Ancient Letter-Writing ........................................................................... 57 3. Defining the Audience in Colossians.......................................................................... 82 4. Conclusion................................................................................................................... 98 CHAPTER 3: Rhetorical Analysis of Colossians and the Rhetorical Situation ............. 100 1. Rhetorical Criticism and the New Testament ........................................................... 101 2. Rhetorical Analysis of Colossians............................................................................. 110 3. Conclusion: Exigence and Rhetorical Situation in Colossians ................................. 163 CHAPTER 4: Historical Analysis of the Religious Atmosphere in the Lycus Valley..... 167 1. Literary Evidence ...................................................................................................... 168 2. Non-Literary Evidence.............................................................................................. 193 3. Conclusion................................................................................................................. 220 CHAPTER 5: Reconstruction of Two Threads of Opposition ........................................ 223 1. Introducing the Two Threads (Col 2:8)..................................................................... 226 2. Christ’s Work Regarding the Two Threads (Col 2:14-15) ....................................... 231 3. Separating the Two Threads into Detailed Warnings (Col 2:16-19) ........................ 235 4. Intertwining the Two Threads (2:20-23)................................................................... 258 5. Conclusion................................................................................................................. 264 CONCLUSION ............................................................................................................... 266 BIBLIOGRAPHY ........................................................................................................... 270 i ii ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS Michael Bird and Jason Maston provided prompt replies, keen insight, and helpful comments as supervisors. Highland Theological College has developed a strong program in which they consistently under-promise and over-deliver. Their environment of support has been crucial in the final stages of this project. Martin Cameron acquired several of the obscure sources cited in this thesis and Jamie Grant made a residency in Scotland possible. The Sunnyside branch of the Yakima Valley Community Library were supportive and acquired countless volumes from libraries across the country. The congregation of the Sunnyside Grace Brethren Church have supported and encouraged my studies in every way imaginable, not least by enduring years of endless talk about Colossians. My thinking has been stimulated and clarified by their questions and insights. This project would not have been possible without the support of my family. My parents, David and Kathie Copenhaver, graciously housed and fed us in more than one time of need. I look forward to perhaps one day returning the favor. My children, Simon and Calvin, provided continual joy and a daily reminder of what truly matters. I hope the early mornings of cuddling into my lap as I finished a bit of reading or writing will become as fond a memory for them as they are for me. And finally, the first word would never have hit the page were it not for my wife, Susie. Since yoking herself to me, she has continually sacrificed herself to support my work. She has endured countless moves, worked outside the home to keep food on the table, and fostered a warm home for our family. This work reflects her hard work and tenacity more than my own. Thank you, Susie, for making my studies a rewarding and happy experience for us all. This project is dedicated to my grandparents, Melvin Curfman (1931-2011) and Roberta Copenhaver (1926-2011). By their lives they taught both the joy and the hard work that attend life in Christ, and by their deaths they demonstrated the enduring hope that accompanies faith in Christ. iii ABSTRACT Scholars have long debated the nature of Paul’s opponents in the book of Colossians. This thesis approaches the debate from a methodological standpoint and contends that Paul was not actually confronting active opponents when he wrote the letter. This thesis seeks to demonstrate that the challenge of reconstructing a singular opponent arises not only from the limitations of textual and historical evidence but also from the assumptions and methodologies inherent to historical approaches to the text. By modifying these assumptions and adjusting the methodology, Paul’s letter takes on a new relationship to its historical context. Paul writes the letter to the churches in the Lycus Valley in a desire to develop their identity as a new people in Christ and to appeal to them to live a new kind of life in Christ. His warnings in Col 2 function as oppositional rhetoric contrasting the religious practices of the Lycus Valley with this new life in Christ. Paul’s warnings are therefore broadly representative of the ancient world yet focused especially on two threads of historical referents, Judaism and pagan religions. This thesis engages in epistolary, rhetorical, and historical analysis to demonstrate how Paul uses the historical practices of these two referents to create a broad contrast between the body of Christ and the religious world of the Lycus Valley. iv ABBREVIATIONS AB The Anchor Bible ABD Anchor Bible Dictionary ACT Ancient Christian