PAUL IN THE GRECO-ROMANS WORLD: A HANDBOOK

Written by J. P. Sampley Reviewed By Bryan D. Lee

Following a trend in Biblical Studies, J. Paul Sampley has produced a splendid collection of essays which examine a specific scholarly aspect of interest in Pauline studies. Sampley’s focus is the Greco-Roman context of Paul, and by corralling the best scholars in the field the result is a splendid assortment of themes including; honour/shame, patron/client, pater familias, self-mastery, hardships, athletics/battle, adaptability, commendation, adoption, virtues/vices, exemplification, rhetorics of comparison, frank speech, maxims, boasting, marriage/divorce, indifferent things, household/family, slavery, friendship, enmity, and education which should leave the reader with an indispensable resource for further investigations.

Sampley’s aim in this collection of essays is to explore how Paul, a Roman Jew, who believed himself to be set apart to evangelise non-Judeans, profoundly understood the social and cultural settings in which he interacted (2). Since ‘communication begins with taking one’s hearers precisely in their own context’. It is indispensable for the interpreter of Paul to understand such a context. A derivative of this aim is to expose the fallacy that Paul was either a Jewish thinker or a Hellenistic one. For too long scholars have been prejudiced in favouring the Jewish aspects of Paul’s theology as ‘safe and pure’ while neglecting the Hellenistic or Roman categories as somehow ‘tainted and dangerous’. These essays are seen as the necessary resources for a much needed reappraisal; to replace the ‘either/or’ with a ‘both/and’ (4).

That being said the true genius of the project is in the structure. Unlike the banal encyclopaedic format of most handbooks this book is structured to order to further its aim, which brings with it cohesiveness. Each study is structured in four parts. Part I, deals with how the convention or pattern worked in the Greco-Roman world of Paul’s time. Part II, uses Part I as the springboard in an effort to see how the convention or pattern worked in Pauline discourse. Part III lists other passages in which the convention or pattern may be in effect especially useful for those interested is further study. Part IV is an up-to-date bibliography of works on the assigned topic, works canvassing both classicists and those in the NT guild (2–3). It is this structure that allows the reader to peer into an ‘exciting window’ of Paul’s Greco-Roman world, that enables one to observe when Paul takes the structures of the society and either changes them, tweaks them, or uses them for his advantage (6, 8, 10).

However, as one might expect, the collection is naturally one sided towards placing Paul in his Hellenistic and Greco-Roman context, sometimes at the expense of his Jewishness. Yet, this should in no way discourage the reader, for the background information (found in Part I of the each essay) is far too valuable for understanding Paul. It may be helpful for the reader to be mindful that Part II does not simply follow from Part I, but rather it is an application from a particular scholar. This handbook is a much needed and recommended resource for anyone serious about Pauline studies.


Bryan D. Lee

University of Sheffield