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What was Paul's attitude toward his own death? How did he act and what did he say and write in view of it? What hopes did he hold for himself beyond death? These questions are explored by Alexander N. Kirk through a close reading of four Pauline letters that look ahead to Paul's death and other relevant texts in the first two generations after Paul's death (AD 70-160). Thus, this book is a study of Paul's death in prospect and retrospect. Starting with the latter, Alexander N. Kirk examines portraits of the departed Paul in Acts, 1 Clement, the letters of Ignatius, Polycarp's letter To the Philippians, and the Martyrdom of Paul. Viewed as a part of Paul's early effective history, these early portraits of Paul offer substantial resources for the interpretation of his letters. The second half of the thesis examines portraits of the departing Paul in 1 and 2 Corinthians, Philippians, and 2 Timothy, arguing that Paul's death did not primarily present an existential challenge, but a pastoral one. Although touching upon several areas of recent scholarly interest, Alexander N. Kirk sets forth a new research question and fresh interpretations of early Christian and Pauline texts. Cover Preface Table of Contents Translations and Abbreviations Part I: Introduction Chapter 1: Points of Departure 1.1 The Subject of This Study 1.1.1 Paul in the Acts of the Scillitan Martyrs 1.1.2 Paul’s Approach to His Own Death 1.1.3 How to Approach Death: A Live Question in the Ancient Mediterranean World 1.2 A Brief Survey of Related Scholarship 1.2.1 Recent Studies on Paul’s Theology of Death and Beyond 1.2.2 Recent Interest in Paul’s “Religious Experience” 1.2.3 Recent Interest in Early Pauline Reception 1.3 The Outline of This Study Chapter 2: Family Remembrances of the Departed Paul: Effective History and Paul’s Approach to Death 2.1 Introduction 2.2 The Apostle Paul – Constructed or Remembered in Early Christianity? 2.3 Literary Portraits of Paul in Early Pauline Effective History 2.3.1 The Complex Genesis of Early Pauline Portraits 2.3.2 Implications for the Study of Early Pauline Effective History 2.4 Wittgenstein and Paul’s Literary Family 2.4.1 Wittgenstein’s Concept of Family Resemblances 2.4.2 Family Resemblances as a Key to Pauline Ancestry 2.5 Conclusion Part II: The Departed Paul Chapter 3: Paul the Herald: Remembering Paul’s Departure in Acts 3.1 Introduction 3.2 Luke’s Portrayal of Paul’s Approach to His Own Death 3.2.1 Luke’s Narrative Rendering of Paul’s Ministry in Relation to Death 3.2.2 Paul’s Approach to Rome 3.2.3 Paul’s Speech at Miletus and His Declaration in Acts 20:24 3.2.4 Luke’s Portrayal of Paul as a Prophet and Ideal Disciple 3.3 The Finishing Touches on Luke’s Portrait of Paul 3.3.1 The End of Paul in the Book of Acts 3.3.2 The Inner Logic of Acts 20:24 3.4 Conclusion: Luke’s Paul as Pauline Offspring? Chapter 4: Paul the Athlete: Remembering Paul’s Departure in 1 Clement 4.1 Introduction 4.2 Paul’s Departure according to 1 Clement 4.2.1 1 Clement 5.5–7 in the Context of 1 Clement 4–6 4.2.2 Athletic Imagery in 1 Clement 5.1–7.1 and Its Source 4.2.3 The Enduring Paul (1 Clem. 5.5–7) 4.2.4 The Function of “Paul the Athlete” in 1 Clement 4.3 Conclusion: Clement’s Paul as Pauline Offspring? Chapter 5: Paul the Ascended: Remembering Paul’s Departure in Ignatius’s Letters 5.1 Introduction 5.2 Paul’s Departure according to Ignatius 5.2.1 Paul at the End of the Road ( To the Ephesians 12.2) 5.2.2 Paul the Free ( To the Romans 4.3) 5.2.3 Paul’s Influence on Ignatius’s Concept of Ascending to God 5.3 Conclusion: Ignatius’s Paul as Pauline Offspring? Chapter 6: Paul the Teacher of Righteousness: Remembering Paul’s Departure in Polycarp’s Letter To the Philippians 6.1 Introduction 6.1.1 Polycarp and the Letter He Wrote 6.1.2 Polycarp’s Sources for His Portrait of Paul and His Redaction of Them 6.2 Paul’s Departure according to Polycarp 6.2.1 The Theme of Righteousness in Polycarp’s Letter 6.2.2 Paul the Teacher in Visits and Letters ( Phil. 3.2–3; 11.2–3) 6.2.3 The Example of Christ in the Departed Paul ( Phil. 8.1–10.1a) 6.3. Conclusion: Polycarp’s Paul as Pauline Offspring? Chapter 7: Paul the Anti-Roman Martyr: Reconfiguring Paul’s Departure in the Martyrdom of Paul 7.1 Introduction 7.2 Paul’s Departure according to the Martyrdom of Paul 7.2.1 Paul the Soldier of King Jesus ( MPl 1–4) 7.2.2 Paul the Evangelist Martyr ( MPl 4–6) 7.2.3 Paul as Jesus redivivus ( MPl 7) 7.3 Polycarp: An Anti-Roman Martyr in the Mold of Paul? 7.3.1 Questionable Marks of Pauline Influence on Polycarp’s Approach to Death 7.3.2 Paul and Polycarp as Anti-Roman Martyrs 7.4 The Christian’s Approach to Death in the Mid-Second Century Greek Apologists 7.4.1 Justin Martyr on the Christian’s Approach to Death 7.4.2 Other Apologists on the Christian’s Approach to Death 7.5 Conclusion: The Paul of the Martyrdom of Paul as Pauline Offspring? Chapter 8: The Departed Paul’s Family Portrait 8.1 Introduction 8.2 Images of the Departed Apostle in Early Pauline Effective History 8.2.1 Paul the Athlete 8.2.2 Paul the Teacher of Righteousness 8.2.3 Paul the Herald 8.2.4 Paul the Anti-Roman Martyr 8.2.5 Paul the Ascended 8.2.6 The Departed Paul as a Model for Imitation 8.3 Traveling in Reverse: From the Departed Paul to the Departing Paul Part III: The Departing Paul Chapter 9: Paul the Household Manager: Paul Approaches Judgment in 1 Corinthians 9.1 Introduction: The Day before Paul’s Death 9.2 It Is the Lord Who Judges 9.2.1 Paul’s Concerns in 1 Cor 1–4 9.2.2 Paul’s Praise Will Be from God (1 Cor 4:1–5) 9.3 What Death is Better Than 9.3.1 Paul’s Concerns in 1 Cor 8:1–11:1 9.3.2 The Reward of a Household Manager (1 Cor 9:15–23) 9.3.3 Running as a Team for the Prize (1 Cor 9:24–27) 9.3.4 The Way of Love Is the Way to Salvation 9.4 Conclusion: Paul’s Preparation for the Lord’s Arrival Chapter 10: Paul the Tent-Dweller: Paul Approaches Death in 2 Corinthians 10.1 Introduction: The Day after Paul’s Death 10.2 Encouragement in Affliction, the Theme of 2 Corinthians 10.3 Paul and the Corinthians, Partners to the End 10.3.1 Partners in Paul’s Sufferings (2 Cor 1:8–11) 10.3.2 Partners in Paul’s Encouragement (2 Cor 1:12–14) 10.4 Paul’s Confidence in Departure 10.4.1 Renewal within Decay as Encouragement in Affliction (2 Cor 4:16–17) 10.4.2 The Ultimate Christian Hope: Bodily Resurrection (2 Cor 4:18–5:5) 10.4.3 Paul’s Penultimate Hope: Being Away from the Body (2 Cor 5:6–10) 10.5 Conclusion: Paul’s Reevaluation of His Life, Death, and Body Chapter 11: Paul the Drink Offering: Paul Approaches Death in Philippians 11.1 Introduction: Facing Death in Rome 11.2 The Advance of the Gospel in Paul’s Life and Death 11.2.1 Setting the Stage for Paul’s Soliloquy: From What Would Paul Be Delivered? (Phil 1:12–18c) 11.2.2 The Magnification of Christ in Paul’s Body as His Deliverance (Phil 1:18d–21) 11.2.3 Paul’s Soliloquy: Life is Fruit and Death is Fellowship (Phil 1:22–26) 11.3 Paul the Exuberant Drink Offering 11.4 Pursuit of the Resurrection, Into and Out of Death 11.4.1 Knowing Christ in Life and Death (Phil 3:7–11) 11.4.2 In Pursuit of the Prize (Phil 3:12–14) 11.5 Conclusion: Paul’s Double Gain Chapter 12: Paul the Victor: Paul Approaches Death in 2 Timothy 12.1 Introduction: The Paul We Encounter in 2 Timothy 12.1.1 The “Authorship” of 2 Timothy 12.1.2 The Portrait of Paul in 2 Timothy and the Letter’s Legal Setting 12.2 Paul at the Finish Line 12.2.1 Identifying the Genre of 2 Timothy 4:6–8 12.2.2 Paul’s Glances to the Past at the Finish Line (2 Tim 4:6–7) 12.2.3 Paul’s Sight of the Future beyond His Death (2 Tim 4:8) 12.3 God the Guardian of Paul and His Legacy 12.3.1 The Lord Who Strengthens, Delivers, and Saves Paul (2 Tim 4:17–18) 12.3.2 The God Who Guards Paul’s Deposit (2 Tim 1:12) 12.4 Conclusion: Paul’s Shaping of His Own Legacy Chapter 13: The Departing Paul’s Self-Portrait 13.1 Observations Gleaned from Paul’s Anticipated Departure 13.1.1 The “Decision of Death” (2 Cor 1:9) Was a Significant Event in Paul’s Life 13.1.2 Paul Was Assured of His Own Postmortem Destination 13.1.3 Paul’s Death Presented Primarily a Pastoral Challenge 13.1.4 Paul Set Forth His Approach to Death as an Example to Be Imitated 13.2 Paul the Father from a Distance Part IV: Conclusion Chapter 14: Where We Have Arrived 14.1 The Departing Paul Translated 14.1.1 Images of the Departing and Departed Apostle 14.1.2 Features Shared by the Departing Paul and Departed Paul 14.1.3 Features Not Shared by the Departing Paul and the Departed Paul 14.2 Paul’s Approach to Death in Shakespearean Relief 14.3 Paul’s Approach to Death a Viable Topic for Further Study 14.4 The Opportunity and Challenge in Consciously Approaching Death Appendix Bibliography Index of Sources Septuagint Apocrypha and Pseudepigrapha Other Early Jewish Writings New Testament Other Early Christian Writings Greco-Roman Writings Shakespeare Index of Authors Index of Subjects