DID YOU KNOW?

A reader says: "Every New Testament letter that carries Paul's name ends with a greeting he says he wrote in his own hand." Agree or disagree?

The answer

Disagree. A note in Paul's own hand appears in five of the letters: 1 Corinthians 16:21, Galatians 6:11, Colossians 4:18, Philemon 1:19 and 2 Thessalonians 3:17. Only three of those notes call it a greeting. The other letters under his name have no such line. 2 Thessalonians is the one that calls it "the mark in every letter of mine."

Why it’s interesting

Letters were often dictated to a secretary, and the sender might add a line in their own hand to show the letter was genuine. 2 Thessalonians' claim of a constant habit is one reason some scholars doubt Paul wrote that letter.

Scholarly consensus

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