Firstly, we should start with the major theories that have gained traction in society, scholarship, and this community specifically, of which there appears to be three:
TRADITIONAL VIEW | TRADITIONAL VIEW | TRADITIONAL VIEW |
Book | Author | Date |
Romans | Paul, with contributions from Tertius. | 56~ C.E. |
1 Corinthians | Paul, with contributions from Sosthenes. | 55~ C.E. |
2 Corinthians | Paul, with contributions from Timothy. | 56~ C.E. |
Galatians | Paul alone. | 48~ C.E. |
Ephesians | Paul alone. | 60~ C.E. |
Philippians | Paul, with contributions from Timothy. | 60~ C.E. |
Colossians | Paul, with contributions from Timothy. | 60~ C.E. |
1 Thessalonians | Paul, with contributions from Silas and Timothy. | 51~ C.E. |
2 Thessalonians | Paul, with contributions from Silas and Timothy. | 52~ C.E. |
1 Timothy | Paul alone. | 62-64~ C.E. |
2 Timothy | Paul alone. | 64-67~ C.E. |
Titus | Paul alone. | 63 C.E. |
Philemon | Paul, with contributions from Timothy. | 60~ C.E. |
Hebrews | Paul alone. | 61 C.E. |
VARIANTS:
Anti-Hebrews Traditionalism Theory - Essentially identical to the traditional view with the exception of Hebrews, which is likely to have come from another author at a later point in time and was deliberately written in imitation of Paul.
Shared Authorship Theory - Some scholars believe that discrepancies in the Pauline epistles can be explained by contributions from either the co-authors mentioned in the scriptures or the use of amanuenses.
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SCHOLARLY VIEW | SCHOLARLY VIEW | SCHOLARLY VIEW |
Book | Author | Date |
Romans | Paul, with contributions from Tertius. | 56~ C.E. |
1 Corinthians | Paul, with contributions from Sosthenes. | 55~ C.E. |
2 Corinthians | Paul, with contributions from Timothy. | 56~ C.E. |
Galatians | Paul alone. | 48~ C.E. |
Ephesians | Unknown. | 80-100~ C.E. |
Philippians | Paul, with contributions from Timothy. | 60~ C.E. |
Colossians | Unknown. | 80~ C.E. |
1 Thessalonians | Paul, with contributions from Silas and Timothy. | 51~ C.E. |
2 Thessalonians | Unknown. | 80-100~ C.E. |
1 Timothy | Unknown - perhaps Polycarp of Smyrna? | 80-100~ C.E. |
2 Timothy | Unknown. | 80-100~ C.E. |
Titus | Unknown - perhaps Polycarp of Smyrna? | 80-100~ C.E. |
Philemon | Paul, with contributions from Timothy. | 60~ C.E. |
Hebrews | Unknown - proposed authors include Priscilla, Silas, Barnabas, Clement, Luke, & Apollos. | 61 C.E. |
VARIANTS:
As far as I can tell, there are no major variations in this theory. Almost every scholar varies in mostly minor ways, but there are far too many variations to keep track of.
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MARCIONITE VIEW | MARCIONITE VIEW | MARCIONITE VIEW |
Book | Author | Date |
Romans | Unknown - perhaps the historic Paul, perhaps still Marcion. | 56~ or 140~ C.E. |
1 Corinthians | Marcion alone. | 140~ C.E. |
2 Corinthians | Marcion alone. | 140~ C.E. |
Galatians | Marcion alone. | 140~ C.E. |
Ephesians | Marcion alone. | 140~ C.E. |
Philippians | Marcion alone. | 140~ C.E. |
Colossians | Marcion alone. | 140~ C.E. |
1 Thessalonians | Marcion alone. | 140~ C.E. |
2 Thessalonians | Marcion alone. | 140~ C.E. |
1 Timothy | Unknown - perhaps Polycarp of Smyrna? | 62-64~ C.E. |
2 Timothy | Unknown. | 64-67~ C.E. |
Titus | Unknown - perhaps Polycarp of Smyrna? | 63 C.E. |
Philemon | Marcion alone. | 140~ C.E. |
Hebrews | Unknown - proposed authors include Priscilla, Silas, Barnabas, Clement, Luke, & Apollos. | 61 C.E. |
VARIANTS:
Marcionite Corruption Theory - Some scholars believe that Romans - along with many or all of the other Pauline epistles - originated as works of a historic Paul, but were collected and corrupted by Marcion of Sinope.
Early Marcion Theory - With the early Church Fathers being so vehemently against Marcion and his teachings, some believe that there is a chance Marcion lived earlier than stated in their works, and that he was anachronistically placed into the mid-second century to lower his credibility as one who collected authentic writings. If this is the case, then the writings listed above were likely written much earlier - closer to the dates included in the traditional view.
Aside from the proposed theories on Pauline authorship - and often linking back to them - there are many major questions that are often raised in Pauline studies, some of which (incomplete list: feel free to contribute any questions I'm missing) I've listed in the spoiler below:
I'll be expanding on the three major authorship theories, along with the questions listed above, in future posts with as much useful information as I can find. I'm going to try to present multiple different views on each, as I'd prefer people formulating their own beliefs rather than just yoinking something I believe and might be wrong about. Please let me know if there's any major authorship theories or questions regarding the Pauline epistles you'd like to see explored in more depth. I'll be using this initial post as a sort of index with basic info and links to more in-depth discussions to come later. Cheers!