RT Article
T1 The Codex and the Early Collection of Paul's Letters
JF Bulletin for biblical research
VO 8
SP 151
OP 166
A1 Richards, E. Randolph 1958-
LA English
YR 1998
UL https://ixtheo.de/Record/1787685004
AB The early Christian predilection for the codex may be a major key to understanding how Paul's letters were collected. Ancient letter-writers routinely kept personal copies of their letters. These personal copies were often kept in codex notebooks. Paul probably followed this custom. The "collection" of Paul's letters was not the result of any deliberate second-century effort to collect the letters of Paul. There was probably no early veneration of Paul or any early appreciation of Paul's letters. Rather, Paul had a personal set of copies with him in Rome. After his death, these copies with his other personal effects were passed down to his disciples. The later (second-century) publication of Paul's letters arose from these copies rather than the dispatched copies.
DO 10.2307/26422161