In this volume, Pheme Perkins mines the writings from Nag Hammadi and Qumran for illuminating parallels to Ephesians, showing how a first-century audience would have heard and responded to the various parts of the letter. Under her sure guidance, contemporary readers are led to see the rhetorical power and the theological depth of this pseudonymous letter. In this volume, Pheme Perkins mines the writings from Nag Hammadi and Qumran for illuminating parallels to Ephesians, showing how a first-century audience would have heard and responded to the various parts of the letter. Under her sure guidance, contemporary readers are led to see the rhetorical power and the theological depth of this pseudonymous letter. Pheme Perkins is a professor in the Theology Department at Boston College, specializing Johannine materials, Paulline Epistles and Gnosticism. She is a member of and leader in several professional organizations, including the Society of Biblical Literature, the Catholic Bible Association, the Society of New Testament Studies, and the Association of Theological Schools. Recent publications include: Gnosticism and the New Testament (Fortress Press), Peter: Apostle for the Whole Church (Fortress Press), Ephesians: Abingdon New Testament Commentary (Abingdon Press), Abraham's Divided Children: Galatians and the Politics of Faith (Trinity Press International). Abingdon New Testament Commentaries: Ephesians By Pheme Perkins Abingdon Press Copyright © 1997 Abingdon Press All rights reserved. ISBN: 978-0-687-05699-6 Contents Foreword, List of Abbreviations, Introduction, Commentary, Select Bibliography, Index, CHAPTER 1 Commentary Greeting (1:1-2) Ancient letters begin with a greeting that identifies the sender and recipients. Pauline letters expand the traditional formula with expressions of Christian faith or references to the divine origin of Paul's apostolic authority (1 Cor 1:1-3; Col 1:1-2). Some ancient manuscripts lack the words "in Ephesus." Without a concrete place reference, the greeting is grammatically awkward, since the designation "to the saints" is followed by the words "who are and faithful." The translation in the NRSV note, "to the saints who are also faithful," treats the "and" (Gk. kai ) as "also" rather than as a conjunction. (On the grammatical problems of this translation see Lincoln 1990, 2.) Though there are no ancient examples, some commentators suggest that Ephesians was originally a circular letter into which the name of a particular church could be inserted. Since Ephesians reformulates sections from Colossians, one would expect the addressees to be designated "to the saints in Ephesus" (cf. Col 1:2). The "grace and peace" formula (v. 2) adds "and the Lord Jesus Christ" (see Rom 1:7) to Col 1:2. Conflation of Col 1:1-2 with Rom 1:7 may explain the dangling "who are" since Rom 1:7 has "to all those who are in Rome" (the NRSV changes the sentence structure). * * * 1–2: Assuming that the author was a disciple of Paul who used Colossians and other Pauline letters to compose a letter of instruction explains the lack of precision about the addressees. Ephesians indicates that Paul was unknown to its audience (so 1:15; 3:2), but such personal distance would not be true of Ephesus, where the apostle spent considerable time (Acts 19:1-22) and from which he wrote to the Corinthians. Ephesus was probably the locus of the "mortal threat" mentioned in 2 Cor 1:8-11 (also 1 Cor 15:32), possibly the imprisonment of Phil 1 and 2. The ties between Paul and Ephesus explain how an ancient scribe attached "in Ephesus" to this text. The mention of Tychicus as the letter carrier in Eph 6:21 combined with the assertion that he was sent to Ephesus in 2 Tim 4:12 could also generate the address. Expressions found in the greeting are central to the letter's depiction of the author and his audience. Surprisingly, the author never again speaks of himself as "apostle." Instead, the word "apostle" appears in lists of those whose past activities provide the foundation for the church (2:20; 3:5; 4:11). The letter's "Paul" speaks of himself as the imprisoned ambassador for a gospel that revealed God's saving plan for the Gentiles (3:1-13; 4:1; 6:19-20). The reference to the "will of God" introduces a theme that is echoed in the rest of the letter. The "will of God" lies behind the plan that the Gentiles would be included in salvation (1:5, 9, 11). The phrase appears in the hortatory material to highlight the orientation of Christian life (5:17; 6:6). Of the two terms used to describe the addressees, "faithful" and "saints" ("holy ones"), the former never returns except in reference to Tychicus (6:21, from Col 4:7) but "saints" echoes throughout the letter. It is a standard designation for members of the Christian community (1:15, 18; 2:19; 3:8, 18; 4:12; 5:3; 6:18), but it also designates the moral purity to which Christians are called (1:4; 5:3, 27). A common self-designatio