Neglected Endings: The Significance of the Pauline Letter Closings

Neglected Endings: The Significance of the Pauline Letter Closings. By Jeffrey A. D. Weima. JSNTSup101. Sheffield: Sheffield Academic, 1994, 270 pp., n.p.

In this dissertation, written under the supervision of Richard Longenecker, Weima argues the straightforward thesis that the closings of Paul's letters serve to signal his central theological concerns in writing. The work begins with an excellent tracing of the history of research, close description of the closing conventions of Hellenistic letters, and equally precise formal analysis of Semitic letters. His background work is thorough and competent, modeling all that a dissertation ought to be. The same may be said for his treatment of the "conventions" of the Pauline closings: grace benedictions, peace benedictions, greetings, doxologies and hortatory sections. Along the way he makes various sound judgments and useful observations.

Yet in the end I think his thesis is only partially persuasive. He clearly shows that the usual view of the letter closings must be qualified. They do not simply serve to maintain personal contact between Paul and his congregations, but they transmit his theological concerns. As Weima points out, that is particularly evident in the closing to Galatians (6:11-18), where Paul contrasts himself and his gospel with the message of his adversaries. Elsewhere, however, it is harder to sustain his thesis, as Weima himself recognizes. Indeed, examination of the letter closings in my judgment leads away from his conclusion. Galatians, with its focus upon the "other gospel" of Paul's adversaries, is unique among Paul's letters in excluding secondary concerns from the closing, just as it lacks the normal prayer of thanksgiving. Elsewhere the Pauline letter closings partially reflect the primary theological themes of the body but also broaden to include other pastoral concerns. Weima strains the evidence when he argues (on the basis of the "holy kiss" greeting in 5:26) that a major concern of 1 Thessalonians is the problem of dissension within the church. Paul's exhortation in 4:11-12 is general and presupposes no immediate difficulty, and other material that suggests such a concern appears only late in the letter. One of Paul's concerns in 1 Corinthians is opposition to him within the congregation (e.g. 1 Cor 4:1-12; 9:1-7), which Weima suggests is reflected in the closing expression of joy, greetings and greeting directive (16:13-24). Yet the bulk of 1 Corinthians is given to other matters. Paul does not extensively confront the Corinthian defection in the letter, perhaps in part because it did not yet involve the whole of the congregation. The brewing conflict may well inform all that Paul says, but unlike 2 Corinthians it does not serve as the explicit topic of the body of the letter. Likewise, I find it hard to think that tensions within the Corinthian congregation serve as a primary concern in 2 Corinthians. There the substance of the letter is given to the relationship between the apostle and the church.

Weima's study incidentally highlights one of the most interesting and potentially fruitful areas for future work. Precisely where does the body of a letter of Paul end and the closing begin? Given the variation in the order of the closing units in Paul's letters, one has to allow for a certain fluidity and even repetition on Paul's part, perhaps even some overlapping or dovetailing of the body and closing. The relation between Funk's "apostolic parousia" (Paul's self-reference marking the end of the body) and the closing exhortations deserves further investigation. Weima gives little attention to this matter, and some of his closing markers may be called into question. Why should Rom 15:33 and not the exhortation at 15:30 (or perhaps 15:14, or even 12:1) mark the closing of the letter? In Philippians, why should we regard 4:8 and not 3:1 as introducing the closing? Or in 1 Thessalonians why 5:23 and not 5:12? It is here that a combination of epistolary and rhetorical analysis, toward which Weima gently pushes, might yield new insights.

Mark A. Seifrid

Southern Baptist Theological Seminary, Louisville, KY

Copyright Evangelical Theological Society Sep 1998
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