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29-540: Scholars have increasingly questioned Paul's authorship and attributed the letter to an early follower instead, but others still defend it as authentic. If Paul was the author, he probably used an amanuensis , or secretary, in writing the letter (Col 4:18), possibly Timothy. The original text was written in Koine Greek . During the first generation after Jesus, Paul's epistles to various churches helped establish early Christian theology. According to Bruce Metzger , it

58-458: Is an administrative employee of a university, research institution or museum. In Finnish universities, amanuenses can be involved with student guidance counseling, organising course activities, etc. A similar term, Handlanger , exists in German and Dutch. In current times, in both Dutch and German its negative connotation of an unscrupulous, low person acting as criminal assistant prevails whereas

87-412: Is developed in chapter 2, with a warning against being drawn away from him in whom dwelt all the fullness of the deity, and who was the head of all spiritual powers. Colossians 2:8–15 offers firstly a "general warning" against accepting a purely human philosophy, and then Colossians 2:16–23 a "more specific warning against false teachers". In these doctrinal sections, the letter proclaims that Christ

116-463: Is enough to know that someone, at any rate, wrote Ephesians (why not Paul?), 30 to 60 years after Christ’s death (hardly any later than that, since it is attested by Ignatius, Polycarp, and Justin), someone who understood Paul well and developed the apostle’s ideas with conspicuous loyalty as well as originality.” If the text was written by Paul, it could have been written at Rome during his first imprisonment. Paul would likely have composed it at roughly

145-473: Is supreme over all that has been created. All things were created through him and for him, and the universe is sustained by him. God had chosen for his complete being to dwell in Christ. The "cosmic powers" revered by the false teachers had been "discarded" and "led captive" at Christ's death. Christ is the master of all angelic forces and the head of the church. Christ is the only mediator between God and humanity,

174-592: Is that the epistle's language doesn't seem to match Paul's, with 48 words appearing in Colossians that are found nowhere else in his writings and 33 of which occur nowhere else in the New Testament . A second ground is that the epistle features a strong use of liturgical-hymnic style which appears nowhere else in Paul's work to the same extent. A third is that the epistle's themes related to Christ, eschatology and

203-518: Is thought to have drawn on the underworld book of the Aeneid to shape the "rather rambling and confused" visions of his brother Edmund. An amanuensis might act as a translator as well as transcriber. For example, Petrus of Alvastra (aka Peter Olafsson) wrote down the visions of Bridget of Sweden as she recounted them in Swedish , and then translated them into Latin. In Finland , an amanuenssi

232-518: Is usually pointed out by the same authors who note the differences in language and style, the number of words foreign to the New Testament and Paul is no greater in Colossians than in the undisputed Pauline letters (Galatians, of similar length, has 35 hapax legomena ). In regard to the style, as Norman Perrin, who argues for pseudonymity, notes, "The letter does employ a great deal of traditional material and it can be argued that this accounts for

261-560: The Christian mystic Margery Kempe , not known to have received a formal education, is the extent to which her amanuenses shaped her self-titled book, completed in 1438. The work of the amanuensis when the author was minimally or not literate likely involved taking dictation, reading back, getting feedback from the author for revision, and possibly shaping the text further during transcription. An amanuensis might bring literary polish to visionary experience, as Adam of Eynsham , for instance,

290-408: The Colossians are the subject of the study called textual criticism of the New Testament . Textual variants in manuscripts arise when a copyist makes deliberate or inadvertent alterations to a text that is being reproduced. An abbreviated list of textual variants in this particular book is given in this article below. Most of the variations are not significant and some common alterations include

319-631: The Epistle to the Colossians: Amanuensis An amanuensis ( / ə ˌ m æ nj u ˈ ɛ n s ɪ s / ) or scribe is a person employed to write or type what another dictates or to copy what has been written by another. It may also be a person who signs a document on behalf of another under the latter's authority. In some academic contexts, an amanuensis can assist an injured or disabled person in taking written examinations . Eric Fenby acted as such in assisting

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348-539: The Epistle, enforces various duties naturally flowing from the doctrines expounded. They are exhorted to mind things that are above Colossians 3:1–4, to mortify every evil principle of their nature, and to put on the new man. Many special duties of the Christian life are also insisted upon as the fitting evidence of the Christian character. The letter ends with customary prayer, instruction, and greetings. Colossians 3:22-24 instructs slaves to obey their masters and serve them sincerely, in return for an "inheritance" from God in

377-550: The afterlife. Colossians 4:1 instructs masters to "provide your slaves with what is right and fair" because God is in turn their master. Colossians is often categorized as one of the "prison epistles", along with Ephesians , Philippians , and Philemon . Colossians has some close parallels with the letter to Philemon: names of some of the same people (e.g., Timothy , Aristarchus , Archippus , Mark , Epaphras , Luke , Onesimus , and Demas ) appear in both epistles, and both are claimed to be written by Paul. Online translations of

406-441: The authorship of Ephesians and Colossians." He provides as an example the reflection of theologian Karl Barth on the question. While acknowledging the validity of many questions regarding Pauline authorship, Barth was inclined to defend it. Nevertheless, he concluded that it didn't much matter one way or the other to him. It was more important to focus on "Quid scriptum est" (What is written) than "Quis scripseris" (Who wrote it). "It

435-421: The blind and paralysed composer Frederick Delius in writing down the notes he dictated. In ancient Rome , an amanuensis (Latin āmanuēnsis , “secretary”, from ab- , “from” + manus , “hand” ) was a slave or freedperson who provided literary and secretarial services such as taking dictation and perhaps assisting in composition. Amanuenses were typically Greek, might be either male or female, and were among

464-481: The church seem to have no parallel in Paul's undisputed works. Advocates of Pauline authorship defend the differences that there are between elements in this letter and those commonly considered the genuine work of Paul (e.g. 1 Thessalonians ). It is argued that these differences can come by human variability, such as by growth in theological knowledge over time, different occasion for writing, as well as use of different secretaries (or amanuenses ) in composition. As it

493-487: The context. In other instances, the copyist may add text from memory from a similar or parallel text in another location. Otherwise, they may also replace some text of the original with an alternative reading. Spellings occasionally change. Synonyms may be substituted. A pronoun may be changed into a proper noun (such as "he said" becoming "Jesus said"). John Mill 's 1707 Greek New Testament was estimated to contain some 30,000 variants in its accompanying textual apparatus which

522-432: The deletion, rearrangement, repetition, or replacement of one or more words when the copyist's eye returns to a similar word in the wrong location of the original text. If their eye skips to an earlier word, they may create a repetition (error of dittography ). If their eye skips to a later word, they may create an omission. They may resort to performing a rearranging of words to retain the overall meaning without compromising

551-471: The higher-status slaves in ancient Rome who were considered to add value to their masters' lives rather than serving as mere instruments of production. Literary slaves had certain privileges under the law and could be manumitted at a younger age. Amanuenses played an extensive role in medieval writing and the dissemination of texts. Visionaries in particular relied on amanuenses to translate their experiences into written form. One question in studies of

580-513: The late 1st century, possibly as late as AD 90. The original manuscript is lost, as are many early copies. The text of surviving copies varies . The oldest manuscripts transcribing some or all of this letter include: Colossae is in the same region as the seven churches of the Book of Revelation . In Colossians there is mention of local brethren in Colossae, Laodicea , and Hierapolis . Colossae

609-470: The letter as primarily encouragement and edification for a developing church. I. Introduction (1:1–14) II. The Supremacy of Christ (1:15–23) III. Paul's Labor for the Church (1:24–2:7) IV. Freedom from Human Regulations through Life with Christ (2:8–23) V. Rules for Holy Living (3:1–4:6) VI. Final Greetings (4:7–18) The doctrinal part of the letter is found in the first two chapters. The main theme

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638-533: The non-Pauline language and style. If this is the case, the non-Pauline language and style are not indications of pseudonymity." Not only that, but it has been noted that Colossians has indisputably Pauline stylistic characteristics, found nowhere else in the New Testament. Advocates of Pauline authorship also argue that the differences between Colossians and the rest of the New Testament are not as great as they are purported to be. As theologian Stephen D. Morrison points out in context, "Biblical scholars are divided over

667-590: The original use of this term for an unskilled and possibly also illiterate person assisting, in the literal sense of lending a hand at construction works has become rather rare. In French, the term "Écrivain Public" (Public Writer) help people to write personal or professional things according to the client. Textual variants in the Epistle to the Colossians Textual variants in the Epistle to

696-483: The same time that he wrote Philemon and Ephesians , as all three letters were sent with Tychicus and Onesimus . A date of 62 AD assumes that the imprisonment Paul speaks of is his Roman imprisonment that followed his voyage to Rome. Other scholars have suggested that it was written from Caesarea or Ephesus. If the letter is not considered to be an authentic part of the Pauline corpus, then it might be dated during

725-406: The supreme power over the entire universe, and urged Christians to lead godly lives. The letter consists of two parts: first a doctrinal section, then a second regarding conduct. Those who believe that the motivation of the letter was a growing heresy in the church see both sections of the letter as opposing false teachers who have been spreading error in the congregation. Others see both sections of

754-460: The unique agent of cosmic reconciliation. It is the Father in Colossians who is said to have delivered us from the domain of darkness and transferred us to the kingdom of His beloved Son. The Son is the agent of reconciliation and salvation not merely of the church, but in some sense redeems the rest of creation as well ("all things, whether things on earth or things in heaven"). The practical part of

783-516: The work's similarities to the letter to Philemon , which is broadly accepted as authentic. The letter's authors claim to be Paul and Timothy, but authorship began to be authoritatively questioned during the 19th century. Pauline authorship was held to by many of the early church's prominent theologians, such as Irenaeus , Clement of Alexandria , Tertullian , Origen of Alexandria and Eusebius . However, as with several epistles attributed to Paul, critical scholarship disputes this claim. One ground

812-413: Was approximately 12 miles (19 km) from Laodicea and 14 miles (23 km) from Hierapolis. References to "the elements" and the only mention of the word "philosophy" in the New Testament have led scholar Norman DeWitt to conclude that early Christians at Colossae must have been under the influence of Epicurean philosophy, which taught atomism . The Epistle to the Colossians proclaimed Christ to be

841-416: Was written in the 60s while Paul was in prison. Colossians is similar to Ephesians, also written at this time. Some critical scholars have ascribed the epistle to an early follower of Paul, writing as Paul. The epistle's description of Christ as pre-eminent over creation marks it, for some scholars, as representing an advanced christology not present during Paul's lifetime. Defenders of Pauline authorship cite

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