Were Paul's "large" letters "great"?

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gryan
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Joined: Fri Jun 01, 2018 4:11 am

Were Paul's "large" letters "great"?

Post by gryan »

Galatians
Ἴδετε πηλίκοις ὑμῖν γράμμασιν ἔγραψα τῇ ἐμῇ χειρί.
“See/discern how great (πηλίκοις) letters I have written to you in my own hand?"

Hebrews
Θεωρεῖτε δὲ πηλίκος οὗτος ᾧ δεκάτην Ἀβραὰμ ἔδωκεν ἐκ τῶν ἀκροθινίων ὁ πατριάρχης.
See/discern how great (πηλίκος) this one [Melchisadec] was, to whom Abraham the patriarch gave a tenth of the spoils?

James
ἰδοὺ (π)ἡλίκην πῦρ (π)ἡλίκην ὕλην ἀνάπτει·
See/discern how small (ἡλίκον) a flame sets a great (ἡλίκην) forest ablaze!


Re: Paul's πηλίκος ("large" / "great") letters in Gal 6:11,

I admit that Paul was probably referring to the size difference between his hand writing and the hand writing of the scribe who had transcribed the bulk of the letter.
See "Paul's Large Letters: Paul's Autographic Subscription in the Light of Ancient Epistolary Conventions"
By Steve Reece · 2016

However, with Hebrews as an echo of Paul's use of the rare word πηλίκος (meaning large or great (used only twice in the NT), I suspect that Paul's words have another layer of meaning: the letters he wrote with his own hand were not only visibly different, but also different in respect to authority.

πηλίκος,
interrogative, how great, how large:
in a material reference denoting geometrical magnitude as distinguished from arithmetical,
figuratively, how distinguished
https://biblehub.com/greek/4080.htm

Zechariah 2:2
καὶ εἶπα πρὸς αὐτόν Ποῦ σὺ πορεύῃ;
And I said to him, Whither goest thou?
καὶ εἶπεν πρὸς μέ Διαμετρῆσαι τὴν ἰερουσαλήμ,
And he said to me, To measure Jerusalem,
https://biblehub.com/greek/ierousale_m_2419.htm
τοῦ ἰδεῖν πηλίκον τὸ πλάτος αὐτῆς ἐστιν καὶ πηλίκον τὸ μῆκος.
to discern how great is its width, and how great is its length.


Galatians 6:11 and 17
Ἴδετε πηλίκοις
Discern greatness
https://biblehub.com/greek/idete_3708.htm

ὑμῖν γράμμασιν ἔγραψα τῇ ἐμῇ χειρί.
to you in letters I am writing in my own hand.
https://biblehub.com/greek/grammasin_1121.htm

...ἐγὼ γὰρ τὰ στίγματα τοῦ Ἰησοῦ ἐν τῷ σώματί μου βαστάζω.
... for I bear the stigmata (slave's brand) of Jesus in my body.



Hebrews 7:4 in reference to ὁ Μελχισέδεκ, βασιλεὺς Σαλήμ, Melchizedek, king of Salem
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Melchizedek#Genesis_14

Θεωρεῖτε δὲ πηλίκος οὗτος
But discern how great this one [was]

ᾧ δεκάτην Ἀβραὰμ ἔδωκεν ἐκ τῶν ἀκροθινίων ὁ πατριάρχης.
to whom the patriarch, Abraham, gave a tenth of the spoils!

------------------


Genesis 14:18–20
καὶ Μελχισέδεκ
And Melchisedec
Μελχ-ισέδεκ from Hebrew: מַלְכִּי־צֶדֶק‎, romanized: malkī-ṣeḏeq, "king of righteousness"

βασιλεὺς Σαλὴμ ἐξήνεγκεν ἄρτους καὶ οἶνον· ἦν δὲ ἱερεὺς τοῦ θεοῦ τοῦ ὑψίστου.
king of Salem brought forth loaves and wine, and he was the priest of the most high God.

καὶ ηὐλόγησεν ὸἀ ἀβρὰ καὶ εἶπεν
And he blessed Abram, and said,

εὐλογημένος ἀβρὰ θ ὑ ὑὑίστῳ,
Blessed be Abram of the most high God,

ὃς ἔκτιν τὸν καὶ τὴ ·
who made the [Art-AMS, heaven?] and the [Art-DFS, earth?],

καὶ εὐλογητὸς ὁ θεὸς ὁ ὕψιστος,
and blessed be the most high God

ὃς παρέδωκεν
who handed over
https://biblehub.com/greek/paredo_ken_3860.htm

τοὺς ἐχθρούς σου ὑποχειρίους σοι.
thine enemies into thy hand
ὑπο-χειρίους lit. under the hand, in hand.
https://lsj.gr/wiki/%E1%BD%91%CF%80%CE% ... E%BF%CF%82

καὶ ἔδωκεν αὐτῷ δεκάτην ἀπὸ πάντων.
And he gave him the tithe [δεκάτην, a tenth part] of all.

Psalm 1:10
ὤμοσεν Κύριος
The Lord swore,
https://biblehub.com/greek/o_mosen_3660.htm

καὶ οὐ μεταμεληθήσεται Σὺ εἶ ἱερεὺς εἰς τὸν αἰῶνα
and will not repent, Thou art a priest into the Age,
biblehub.com/greek/aio_na_165.htm

κατὰ τὴν τάξιν Μελχισέδεκ.
according to the order of Melchisedec.

-----------

I am pondering the "greatness" of Paul's visibly different letters in relation to the idea of "greatness" in the use of the same word in Hebrews and the use of a similar word in James.

I think the "great" authority of Paul's large letters written in his own hands was supposed to be a result of his "great" master:

"I bear the stigmata (brand mark of being a slave) of Jesus in my body" Gal 6:17

The "great" authority of Melchisedec comes from the authority of God was supposed to have who conferred authority to king David:

"Thou art a priest into the Age, according to the order of Melchisedec...
Because of this [oath], Jesus has become [the] guarantee of a better covenant."

I think the author of James was suspicious of the authority of Paul's words when--echoing Paul's imperative-- he wrote "See how small/great..."

"See/discern how small (ἡλίκον) a flame sets a great (ἡλίκην) forest ablaze!"

I think James expresses anxiety about the danger of Paul's small/great words. A similar anxiety was voiced in 2 Peter concerning the dangers of Paul's written words:

2 Peter 3:14f
Therefore, beloved, since you look for these things, be diligent to be found spotless and blameless by Him, at peace, and regard the patience of our Lord as salvation; just as also our beloved brother Paul, according to the wisdom given him, wrote to you, as also in all his epistles (ἐπιστολαῖς), speaking (λαλῶν) in them of these things, in which there are some things that are hard to understand, which the untaught and unstable distort, as they do also the rest of the Scriptures (Writings, γραφὰς), to their own destruction.

Conclusion

Were Paul's "large" letters "great"?

Author of Hebrews implied "Yes"
Author of James implied "not so great"
Author of 2 Peter implied "it could go either way"
All had probably read Galatians imho
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