Building Paul's Timeline #2

In Part 1, I explained how I first discovered the works of Douglas Campbell by accident while at a Society of Biblical Literature conference mainly to attend the Isaiah sessions. And I introduced the concept of building a timeline for Paul's life and writings using only evidence found in the epistles (not the Book of Acts). In Part 2, I will explain a lucky break, some data from a few of Paul's letters that makes the whole project possible.

It turns out, it is possible to sequence 1 Corinthians, 2 Corinthians, and Romans because of an issue Paul discusses in all three letters: a collection of charity funds for Jesus-followers who had been suffering in Jerusalem. Paul talks about this collection in 1 Corinthians 16, 2 Corinthians 8-9, and Romans 15. And not only can we sequence the letters (1 Corinthians was written first, then 2 Corinthians, and then Romans) but we can also determine the length of some intervals between the writing of the letters. And in Part 3, we will see what Galatians adds to our raw timeline data.

Evidence for the Sequence . . .

Paul writes 1 Corinthians from Ephesus in Asia Minor (modern day Turkey), as we discover in 1 Corinthians 16:8: "But I will remain in Ephesus until Pentecost" (NASB). In the same chapter, Paul discusses the benevolence collection for Jerusalem. He calls it "the collection for the saints" (16:1). It seems this issue has already been discussed with the Corinthians and they have asked Paul how they should carry out the task of collecting. Paul says he is giving them the same instructions he had previously given to the Galatians. Galatia's relationship to this collection will become important in Part 3.

Then in 2 Corinthians 8-9 Paul gives instructions and encouragement at length about the collection. This time he is writing from Macedonia, as we discover in 2 Corinthians 2:13 and 7:5. Paul mentions the Macedonians and their exemplary participation in the collection. It seems the collection is stalled, perhaps because of tension between Paul and the Corinthians. So Paul is sending Titus.

The third part of the sequence is in Romans 15:25-32. Paul is about to bring funds from Achaia and Macedonia to Jerusalem. He intends to come to Rome and meet them in person for the first time as he returns from Jerusalem and goes to evangelize in Spain. Where is Paul writing Romans from? Corinth, as we learn in Romans 16:23 (the "house of Gaius" is known to us from 1 Corinthians 1:14). Paul is concerned about arrest and persecution in Jerusalem, and rightly so—all the more since we know his fears proved true.

So, we see that the collection for the Jerusalem saints has progressed as Paul has written these three letters. The sequence is 1 Corinthians – 2 Corinthians – Romans.

Evidence for Time Intervals . . .

In addition to the sequence, we have data that allows us to determine time intervals between the letters. 1 Corinthians 16:8 says "Pentecost" is coming—the Jewish festival known as Shavuot or the Feast of Weeks. In our time, the word "Pentecost" is used to describe a Christian holiday (the day a very public manifestation of the Holy Spirit came upon the Jesus-followers at the Jerusalem temple). But the festival of Pentecost was still an active celebration in the Jerusalem of Paul's time.

Pentecost occurs in spring. It is preceded by Passover, to which 1 Corinthians alludes repeatedly (5:6-8; 16:8).

In 2 Corinthians, we read that Paul wrote about the collection "last year" (mentioned in 8:10 and 9:2). But to better understand this reference, it is important to know that a "lost" letter to Corinth was written prior to 1 Corinthians and in this earlier letter, apparently, Paul first told the Corinthians about the collection. So "last year" probably means the "lost" letter. And that means 1 and 2 Corinthians are probably in the same year.

We get further evidence of the intervals in time from Paul's announced itinerary which seems to have been carried out as he described. In 1 Corinthians 16:5-9, we learn that Paul plans to come to Corinth through Macedonia. Then he wrote Romans from Corinth on this same trip. He most likely spent the winter in Corinth.

The travel itinerary—from Ephesus in Asia to Macedonia and then to Corinth—seems to be confirmed by Paul's statements regarding the collection in 2 Corinthians 8-9.

Paul likely would travel from Corinth to Jerusalem in the spring, a full year after writing 1 Corinthians. Travel by ship was difficult in winter.

Campbell shows the sequence like this:

• [ The collection begins ]

• [Year change]

• 1 Corinthians, 2 Corinthians, Paul visits Corinth

• [Year change]

• Romans, Paul goes to Jerusalem.

Where will we go from here? Fortunately, Galatians can be collated into this sequence and will provide useful data to build more of Paul's timeline.