Pauline Parallels: A Comprehensive Guide

Written by Walter T. Wilson Reviewed By Ben C. Dunson

Pauline Parallels is a reference tool that will be useful for Pauline researchers, seminary students, and pastors who desire to be able to quickly find thematic parallels among Paul’s own letters, as well as parallels between Paul and the rest of the NT, the OT, and non-canonical literature Jewish and otherwise. This version is a new edition of an earlier work edited by Fred Francis (first edition 1975) and Paul Sampley (second edition 1984). Wilson has changed the content and format of the work fairly substantially, while keeping the basic idea the same. Wilson uses the NASB instead of the RSV (which was used in the previous editions). This edition includes all thirteen letters that have been traditionally attributed to Paul, which expands the book in size and usefulness since the earlier editions were limited to the ten Pauline books thought by many scholars to be more safely attributable to Paul. Additionally, whereas Francis and Sampley focused primarily on parallels exhibiting similarities in literary structure and form, Wilson’s primary criteria for inclusion include “the similarity of specific terms, concepts, and/or images between passages” (p. ix). The key terms in parallel passages are italicized to make them easy to pick out. In order to save space, no parallels in the immediate context (i.e., immediately preceding or following paragraphs) of a single Pauline letter have been included. Although it is inevitably a subjective enterprise, one particularly helpful feature of the book is the attempt to locate OT allusions and echoes to Pauline passages, rather than being limited to obvious citations. The majority of parallels come from other places in the Pauline corpus and the rest of the NT and OT rather than from Jewish or Hellenistic sources.

Wilson urges readers to use this book in conjunction with other study tools, specifically concordances, since there are many significant terminological and thematic correspondences to any given passage in Paul that require careful comparative work beyond the scope of the material included in Pauline Parallels. An overall grasp of the language and main themes of Paul’s letters will also make a book such as this one significantly more useful. In essence, Wilson wants to ensure that a book such as his is not used as a shortcut for the laborious—but indispensible—exegetical work that goes into any good sermon or exegetical paper. A particular danger in using a work such as this (a danger the author recognizes) is that one could be led to think that parallels in the English translation of the NASB reflect terminological parallels on the level of the Greek text of the NT. For example, 2 Cor 1:10 nasb translates a specific Greek verb as “deliver.” The parallel passages list Phil 1:19–20 because it uses the English noun “deliverance” (p. 189). However, the Greek root underlying this noun is not related to the Greek verb translated as “deliver” in 2 Cor 1:10. This is inevitable in a work that is completely limited to English parallels, but the exegete must be aware of such potential dangers and not assume that the mere presence of identical English words entails the presence of identical Greek words. The problem is obviously compounded when one moves into English words that are the same in a Pauline and non-Greek work (as in the Hebrew Old Testament or the non-canonical references included in this book). Even when the Greek root underlying a specific parallel English word is the same in both passages, one must be careful to attend to the specific way in which each author is using the word, since there is always a range of contextual meanings possible for any given word. Pauline Parallels, as the author recognizes, cannot replace careful lexical study. That being said, the primary benefit of the book is the thematic similarities that it highlights. In this regard, the presence of identical words in Greek or Hebrew is of much more limited importance than the way in which Pauline Parallels brings out thematic and conceptual connections such as that between the word “propitiation” in Rom 3:25 and other places in Paul that speak of Christ’s death using sacrificial terminology (e.g., Rom 8:3; 1 Cor 5:7; Eph 5:2; cf. p. xiii).

If used carefully, and with other foundational exegetical tools, Pauline Parallels will be a helpful book for the pastor or student of Paul. Nothing in the book is particularly groundbreaking, since almost all of the parallels could be easily found by consulting commentaries and Bible dictionaries. Nonetheless, it does helpfully bring together much material that would otherwise be scattered across a wide range of resources.


Ben C. Dunson

Ben Dunson is associate professor of New Testament at Reformed Theological Seminary in Dallas, Texas.

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