EXTRA NAMES IN THE HEADINGS OF

EXTRA NAMES IN THE HEADINGS OF

THE PAULINE EPISTLES

Virgil Warren, PhD

Introduction: Possible significances of added names in Paul’s salutations

                  1. Bearer of the letter

                  2. Amanuensis (*)

                  3. Prominent people with Paul at the time of writing

                  4. Assistants present with Paul at the founding of the church he is writing to

                  5. Co-authors

 I. Basic Data

               Book                                        Names in Heading              Relevant Notations

               Romans                                                                               Phoebe = bearer ? (16:1-2)

                                                                                                           *Tertius = scribe (16:22)

              1 Corinthians                            Sosthenes                            *a scribe used (16:21);

                                                                                                           Timothy = bearer (4:17)

              2 Corinthians                            Timothy                              Titus = bearer (8:16)

              Galatians                                                                              by his own hand ? (6:11)

              Ephesians                                                                             Tychicus = bearer ? (6:21)

              Philippians                               Timothy                             

              Colossians                                Timothy                              Tychicus = bearer ? (4:7)

                                                                                                           *used a scribe (4:18)

              1 Thessalonians                        Silvanus & Timothy          

              2 Thessalonians                        Silvanus & Timothy           *used a scribe (3:17-18)

              1 Timothy                                

              2 Timothy

              Titus

              Philemon                                  Timothy                              by his own hand (19)

              1 Peter                                                                                  *Silvanus = scribe (5:12)

              2 Peter

 II. Application of the Data

              A.    Bearer seems to be eliminated because Tychicus bore Colossians, yet Timothy appears in the heading; and Timothy was the bearer of 1 Corinthians, but Sosthenes is in the heading.

              B.    Amanuensis appears to be eliminated.

                     1. In Romans, written by Tertius, no additional name appears in the heading (cp. 1 Peter 5:12, although the non-Pauline epistles have no extra names mentioned in their headings).

                     2. 1 and 2 Thessalonians have two people in the headings.

                                3. Philemon may be written by Paul’s own hand (19), yet Timothy is in the

                                    heading.

              C.    Prominent people with Paul at the time of writing seems inadequate. The salutations at the end include such people and the number of them would have been too great to include in a salutation.

              D.    Present fellow workers originally with Paul during the founding of the church he is addressing. Timothy is in all but one letter that has extra people in the salutation. All the churches that received letters with Timothy in the heading Paul founded after Timothy began to serve as an extension of the apostolic office—from the second journey onward. Paul counted Timothy as an especially reliable aide (Philippians 2:20). Even as these workers both addressed the people during the founding of the church, so also they now address them by letter without necessarily implying that the second name is co-author. The letters’ contents were the sentiments of both men named in the heading.

              E.    Co-authors is too strong. In letters like 1 Corinthians, a second name appears in the heading, but the contents are given under the name of “I [Paul]” (1 Corinthians 1:4, 10, 11, 12, 14, etc.).

                        The same reason need not apply to every case of an added name in the salutation, and the added name could have more than one reason for being there. Salutations also occur at the end of letters, so sending greeting may not explain the second (and third) name in the heading.

              Romans has no one else in the heading; Paul did not found the Roman church personally; but then again he did not directly found the Colossians church in all probability; yet he and Timothy both address the church in the heading of the Colossian letter. There may be a difference between the Roman and Colossian situations since the Colossian church came into existence indirectly through Paul’s fellow workers evidently while Paul labored in and around Ephesus (Colossians 2:1). Yet again, a number of those he addresses in Romans 16 were also converts—or at least close acquaintances—of Paul from other places before. That still leaves a difference between converts and members of the Paulline circle whose ministries he directed.

              A final datum occurs in 1 Thessalonians, where Paul says, “We wanted to come to you—even I, Paul, time and again—but Satan hindered us.” The “I” and “us” together might be a case of editorial “we” or inclusive of his earlier fellow workers plus him as a group.

Addendum on the Bearer

Values of remembering the letter bearer in New Testament studies

              A.    Postal systems were not so dependable as modern postal delivery.

              B.    A bearer could confirm the contents of the letter and vouch for its authenticity (cp. Acts 15:24-27), a feature Paul also provided for with his own handwritten salutation (2 Thessalonians 3:17; cp. 1 Corinthians 16:21; Galatians 3:11; Colossians 4:8; Philemon 19; note also Romans 16:22).

              C.    The bearer could personalize the communication, make known the historical circumstances surrounding the writer, and the like (Colossians 4:7-9; Ephesians 6:21-23; 1 Corinthians 16:17 + 7:1?).

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