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Galatians

  1. Lesson One
    Epistles (First Few Verses Of Each Pauline Epistle)
    25 Activities
  2. Lesson Two
    Overview of Galatians
    19 Activities
  3. Lesson Three
    Works-Righteousness as Slavery
    19 Activities
    |
    2 Assessments
  4. Lesson Four
    Faith, Life, and the Spirit
    13 Activities
    |
    1 Assessment
  5. Lesson Five
    Author and Audience
    17 Activities
    |
    2 Assessments
  6. Course Wrap-Up
    Course Completion
    1 Activity
    |
    1 Assessment

Participants 24

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Galatians Epistles (First Few Verses Of Each Pauline Epistle) Behind | Workbook: The Length of Paul’s Letters Compared to Other Ancient Letters
Lesson 1, Activity 16

Behind | Workbook: The Length of Paul’s Letters Compared to Other Ancient Letters

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Grab your Workbook Journal!

[Record your answers in the workbook provided at the beginning of this course.]

While the form of Paul’s letters is often typical of ancient letters, the length of his letters is not. On average they are more than 25 times longer than typical personal letters in antiquity. The average length of a private letter in Greco-Roman antiquity was 87 words. Pauline epistles average 2,495 words apiece. 

Dr. Richards notes that while literary figures like Seneca and Cicero wrote longer letters than the average citizen, their letters also fall far short of the Pauline average, as shown in the table below.

Table quoted from: E. Randolph Richards, Paul and First-Century Letter Writing: Secretaries, Composition and Collection, 2004, p. 163.

  1. Why do you think Paul’s surviving letters are so much longer than the average?