Analysis of the Biblical Epistle Genre in the Light of Contemporary Language Studies

ABSTRACT

The article aims to examine the behavior of contemporary speech genre theory in the analysis of Pauline epistles. The genre of letters is conceived within its original communicative purpose, limited to sender and receivers, whereas the epistle refers to the letter read outside of its original context, considered as literature. The research corpus is composed of the Corinthian epistles of the New Testament, which are accepted as authored by the Apostle Paul. They are selected due to their shared audience, enabling a comparison of production context aspects in the apostle’s writings over time. Research findings include: letters that acquire new meanings, when transformed into epistles with a broader readership; the epistle genre, despite undergoing significant modifications, remains recognizable to present-day readers due to its macrostructure; the social role and communicative intent of the sender that result in alternating usage of formal and informal language, as well as variations in discourse person.

KEYWORDS:
Textual genre theory; Genre of letter; Biblical epistle

RESUMO

O artigo busca verificar como a teoria de gêneros discursivos contemporâneos se comporta na análise de epístolas paulinas. Concebe-se o gênero carta em seu propósito comunicativo original, limitado a emissor e receptores, enquanto a epístola se refere à carta lida longe do contexto original, como literatura. O corpus da pesquisa, composto por I e II Coríntios, epístolas aceitas como de autoria de Paulo, é escolhido por estar voltado ao mesmo público, possibilitando a comparação de aspectos de contexto de produção nos escritos do apóstolo ao longo do tempo. São resultados de pesquisa: as cartas, ao se tornarem epístolas, com número de leitores ampliado, assumem novos sentidos; o gênero epístola, apesar das muitas modificações sofridas, mantém-se reconhecível pelo leitor atual devido à sua macroestrutura; o papel social e o propósito de comunicação do emissor resultam na alternância do uso de linguagem formal e informal e de variação de pessoas do discurso.

PALAVRAS-CHAVE:
Teoria de gêneros textuais; Gênero carta; Epístola bíblica

Introduction

Although, currently, handwritten texts have lost ground to digital tools used for exchanging messages, there is an ancient genre that was of great importance to societies for many eras: the epistle. It is sufficient to examine the Bible, concerning the New Testament, to observe that, among the present genres, the epistle appears most frequently. Regarding its etymology, the term epistle derives from the Greek epistolé and means letter, which, in turn, is originated from the Latin word charta, from the Greek chártes, meaning paper: medium for the messages exchanged between sender and receiver. Both terms, however, have long been used as synonyms, even nowadays, in the Portuguese language.

Recognizing this, Deissman and Strachan (1910) categorized as epistles those letters whose texts displayed a certain literariness and were intended for audiences much larger than mere personal recipients. This occurred with the apostle Paul, intending to communicate with the ecclesiastical communities of the Roman province of Macedonia, for, to provide them guidance, he wrote the renowned Pauline Epistles, which constitute the subject of this article.

The research theme is relevant to contribute to contemporary linguistic studies of textual genres, broadening the interpretation of written content in the religious sphere, since, in order to carry out this reading, an understanding of the production context, the compositional structure, and the stylistic characteristics of the genre is essential.

From a transdisciplinary perspective, the Pauline letters are of interest to Historiography, as they serve as historical sources by going back to the characteristics of a particular era. As for Theology, the relevance of the epistles is due to the fact that they lay the foundation for Christian doctrines. Furthermore, Paul’s writings exhibit compositional characteristics that can be examined in the light of literary studies. However, it is worth considering that linguistic studies on the epistles, applying novel theories of speech genre, are scarce. In regard to this, the following research question raises: How are the Pauline Epistles characterized within the framework of speech genre studies?

Based on this question, the following objective is proposed: to analyze the Pauline Epistles of the Holy Bible according to the theory of speech genres, examining how these characteristics manifest within ancient texts.

From a discursive perspective, this work primarily draws upon Vološinov (1973)¹ and Marcuschi (2008), through which the speech genre theory is briefly reviewed, engaging in dialogue with other authors in the fields of Literature, Historiography, and Theology.

The article is structured as follows: it begins with the theoretical aspects of the epistle genre from a transdisciplinary perspective; then proceeds with contextualizing the Pauline Epistles; presents the methodological procedures; and, subsequently, conducts the textual analyses of production conditions, compositional structure, and the style of the epistles, concluding with the final considerations.

1 Distinctions Between Letter and Epistle

Distinguishing between an epistle and a letter is not a simple task. When it comes to genres that exhibit similar characteristics, there is occasionally confusion, with researchers lacking consensus with regard to their definitions. Oliveira (2006) broadly designates epistolary text, encompassing three modalities: the epistle, or verse letter; the prose letters; and the epistolary novel. According to Tavares (1991, as cited inOliveira, 2006), the epistolary genre is comprised of prose and, less commonly, verse, encompassing diverse themes and exhibiting an expository composition. Coutinho (1987, as cited inOliveira, 2006) classifies the epistolary genre as essayistic. From this, it can be inferred that this classification is of a literary nature, intended for publication, which is suitable for this study, given that it concerns the Bible as literature.

In the case of the letter, it is assumed to be of a personal nature, as Oliveira (2006) and Malatian (2007) highlight, with the purpose of establishing communication (at a distance) concerning personal matters of everyday life, such as commercial relationships, requests and instructions to acquaintances, exchange of family information, conversations among friends, and so forth.

It is understood that every letter, before becoming a subject of study, is written to someone, conceived with the intention of communicating with another individual or a group of other individuals. However, once removed from the original context and read by someone other than the intended recipient, it becomes detached from its purpose, losing its personal nature. Thus, one concurs with Oliveira’s definition (2006, p. 61) that “a letter belongs to the intimate sphere, whereas an epistle is an ‘artificial’ genre.”² Artificial because, akin to other literary texts, it relinquishes the communicative purpose to become an object of observation, analysis, and so forth.

In this manner, the distinction between letter and epistle is based on the context: when the text is examined outside of its original social and communicative purpose, it is termed an epistle; however, when it is read within the conditions of its intended recipient, it is referred to as a letter. From this perspective, it is possible to state that every epistle was once a letter, but not every letter will become an epistle.

2 Transdisciplinary Perspective of Studies on the Epistolary Genre

Due to its relevance across various fields of knowledge, the subject of this article is transdisciplinary. Historiography identifies the historical context, contributing both for Literature to be able to study the conditions of production, conception, and style of the epistolary genre, and for Theology to be able to conduct its doctrinal studies. Researchers from these fields are the ones who redefine letters as epistles by emphasizing the scientific study of genre from the perspective of each area. Table 01 presents a synthesis of the mentioned approaches.

It is possible to compare the perspectives of each field of knowledge about the epistle. In the case of Historiography, the epistle can provide evidence about the past. For Literature, it is a literary genre that allows the study of style and context. In Theology, the epistles serve as sources of knowledge about the beginnings of Christianity, especially because they are the earliest datable Christian documents, written between 18 and 30 years after the death of Jesus (Bruce, 2000).³

Table 1
Concepts and characteristics of the epistle from a transdisciplinary perspective Source: the authors.

Fields of knowledge	Author/date	Concepts of epistle	Characteristics of epistle
Historiography	Malatian, 2009.	a) Source of information from past eras. Addresses everyday themes: family news, exchanges and sales, conversations among friends, etc. Context: sender (active); receiver (passive). - Content: analytical framework, with sociability networks. Production conditions: To whom, when, where, how, and why. Approaches: Epistle as a historical source, containing individual and collective information from the perspective of the narrator-author (requires comparison with other historical documents); Epistle as an object, with a subjective nature (emotions, experiences, and social practices of the self).	- Sensory attributes reveal the writing context. Senders highlight various aspects of their identity to different receivers. Comparing more than one letter from the same author can lead to conflicts of identity.
Literature	Coutinho, 1987. Oliveira, 2006.	- Poetic genre. Simulates dialogue among acquaintances. Aims to maintain conversations at a distance.	- Variable content. Typologies: expository or narrative. Written in verse or prose. Spontaneous production. Presents marks of orality. Formal and informal language. Situated in specific time and space. Reveals the circumstance for which it was written. Thematic: doctrinal, familial, romantic, philosophical, moral, political, aesthetic, literary, etc. Implies the existence of an author and a recipient. Content can be public or confidential.
Theology	Alter; Kermode, 1997.	- Foundational text for doctrines and religions. Reveals information about moral and ethical norms. Expresses instructions, guidance, and supplications from the author to the recipient(s).	a) Sender conceived as a messenger from God. Use of analogies and metaphors. Compositional structure of biblical epistles: Initial greetings. Thanksgiving words. Discussion of the church’s situation. Guidelines for practical holiness. Devout conclusion.

Although each field of knowledge conceptualizes the epistle in a different way and values it for distinct characteristics, it is possible to identify similarities. It is noticeable, for instance, that in all three areas, there is the importance of a sender and a receiver, in order for effective communication to occur. Therefore, in order to interpret the text from all the mentioned perspectives, the context of production is necessary, providing conditions for understanding the information.

Historiography and Theology, when brought together in the interpretation of the epistle, reframe the practice of exegesis. When the reader lacks historical knowledge about the production context of the epistle, the understanding of the text can be compromised. For this reason, Theology consistently seeks the assistance of Historiography to substantiate the interpretation of biblical texts.

The production conditions observed in the epistle by Historiography are also essential for theological studies, facilitating the understanding of the messages. Furthermore, the approach taken by Historiography involves the comparison of texts, as other sources are examined to ascertain whether the content of the epistles aligns with the events reported in the records. In the case of biblical epistles, some of the sources are part of the texts studied by Theology, such as the Gospels and the book of Acts.

Literature, on the other hand, also intersects with Historiography in the study of the epistle, as the field lays foundations for understanding literary trends of the past, aiding in the study of production conditions, conception, and style.

3 The Genre of Letter: Production Conditions, Compositional Characteristics, and Stylistic Features

After distinguishing a letter from an epistle based on the social purpose, the characteristic of being an “intimate genre,” that is, “personal,” is attributed to the letter. Regarding the concept of textual genre, Marcuschi (2008, p. 155) provides the following definition:

Textual genres are the texts encountered in our daily lives, which exhibit distinct sociocommunicative patterns defined by functional compositions, enunciative purposes, and styles concretely manifested through the integration of historical, social, institutional, and technical forces.⁴

In other words, textual genres are texts of diverse structures that assume specific communication objectives within the society. Therefore, they cannot be conceived “independently of their social reality and their relationship with human activities”⁵ (Marcuschi, 2008, p. 155). Such perspective aligns with Vološinov’s (1973)⁶ proposition that language is a phenomenon of social interactivity and, consequently, inherent to social organizations and relationships. Marcuschi (2008, p. 155), citing Vološinov, asserts:

To uphold these positions, we concur, following Vološinov, that all human activities are linked to the use of language, which is realized through utterances (oral and written) “concrete and unique, that emanate from participants in one or another sphere of human activity.”⁷

In the case of the letter, it is not different. When dealing with a handwritten or printed message aimed at facilitating communication between two individuals, Figueiredo (2013) observes that its emergence also occurred based on the needs of human interaction. Having been one of the most frequently employed communicative means throughout history, it is understood as one of the most significant genres for discursive studies, as Pessoa (2002, as cited inCosta; Silva; Gomes, 2017, p. 2) notes that through letters, one can discern “the changes in language and society, the role of genres in various historical periods, and its relevance in shaping other genres.”⁸

Historically, the letter has played the social role of bringing people closer together, as it enables communication between distant parties. Within this dynamic, its communicative purpose has been diverse, capable of embodying familial, romantic, commercial relationships, and more. Additionally, it takes on various formats based on the sender’s intention, such as scientific treatises, historical accounts, and others, as asserted by Silva (2018). This statement is consistent with Costa (2012) in regard to the content and form of letters not being static, with the relationship between the interlocutors defining these aspects.

Hence, given that the purpose of a letter is diversified, so too is the receiver, resulting in an equally varied relationship with the sender. Encompassing social relationships beyond the familial sphere, the exchange of letters can occur among individuals of various hierarchies (military, governmental, academic, etc.), social classes, occupational positions, and more. Moreover, letters can also be written from one sender to multiple receivers simultaneously: a practice observed in monarchical governments, for instance, as seen in ancient Egypt, where one of the earliest postal systems emerged. It was common for authorities to send letters “in which important events were reported,”⁹ as elucidated by Bakos (2010, as cited inSilva, 2018, p. 57).

Indeed, correspondence practices have varied significantly throughout history, as the significance of the genre of letter has. In Ancient Greece, the use of correspondence has expanded among family members as well as among philosophers, becoming commonplace, as explained by Figueiredo (2013, as cited inSilva, 2018). During the period of the Roman Empire, letters held significant importance for the Christian Church, through which it disseminated its doctrine.

During the Middle Ages, letters became widely disseminated in the Western World, evolving to be more personal and intimate. In Brazil, the significance of this genre is recognized, for instance, in Pero Vaz de Caminha’s letter to the King of Portugal, which constitutes the first historical document and the first literary work about the Brazilian territory. Effectively, a public postal service was established in the country during the colonial period. However, there is limited information available on this matter: it is known that such a service already existed in Portugal, having been formalized in 1520 when D. Manuel I established the position of Correio-Mor [Master of the Posts]. Only in 1931 the Empresa Brasileira de Correios e Telégrafos [Brazilian Post and Telegraph Company] was established, which continues to exist to this day.

Concerning the compositional structure of the genre, Silva (2018) lists the following indispensable elements for characterization: the indication of the place where the letter is written, the date, the initial greeting, the body of the text, the farewell, and the signature.

The inclusions of date and location are the most fundamental elements of a letter, aiding the reader in identifying the sender and in situating themselves in terms of time and space in relation to the written content. Despite such information being traditionally presented in the opening of the letter, Silva (2018) observes that, at times, one of the elements - or even both - may be shifted to the end.

The initial greeting of the letter expresses courteous words from the sender to the receiver. It is the space where the salutation is written, addressing the letter to a specific reader. Such salutations may or may not be accompanied by pronouns, such as “my,” “dear,” and honorific titles like “sir,” “madam,” which convey various degrees of intimacy in the relationships.

In the body of the text, the subject of the letter is developed, allowing one to discern the thematic content. It is also within this element that the sender records what prompted them to write the letter.

The farewell, likewise, the initial greeting, is written as a demonstration of cordiality from the sender, also serving as an indication of the conclusion of the addressed content. Following the farewell, the sender writes the signature, thereby validating their identity.

Costa, Silva, and Gomes (2017) observe that, despite the traditional maintenance of the same structure in letters, in various contexts, there are instances of letters in which rhetorical instability is evident - due to the author’s haste in writing or for specific purposes - indicating that certain elements of the structure were ignored during the writing process.

Given that the letter is a genre subject to the writer’s subjectivity, it allows for a certain degree of freedom with regard to “transgressions” in the compositional structure. Similarly, Marcuschi (2008) remarks that the author is free to make transitions between typologies, potentially incorporating more than one within a single text.

Regarding the style of the genre of letter, Durante (2017) and Silva (2018) concur that, despite being a written genre, it is characterized by carrying traces of oral-like conception. Because of this, it is common to encounter expressions of colloquial language in its content. As the authors observe, the prevalence of language type, however, is related to the theme of the letter: when dealing with family matters, for instance, one can observe the use of nicknames and informal expressions that denote personal feelings. In the case of academic or governmental subjects, the language used tends to be more sophisticated, closer to the formal.

The relationship between the sender and the receiver becomes evident in letters through the distinct linguistic choices employed in the writing of this genre. Costa, Silva, and Gomes (2017) observe this phenomenon in letters exchanged between individuals with different types of relationships. In the case of family letters written in Brazil during the 19th and 20th centuries, there are observed forms of addressing that highlight both an intimate and hierarchical nature, based on the individual’s position within the family. In letters exchanged between friends, Costa, Silva, and Gomes (2017, p. 7) note that “the closer the friendship and intimacy is, the greater the degree of emotional intensity in the expressions”¹⁰ used. Such linguistic choices are particularly observed in the opening and closing expressions of letters, as noted by Costa, Silva, and Gomes (2017, p. 6) when they affirm that “it is the salutations and farewell expressions, or their absence, that primarily provide significant clues about the degree of familiarity or affection between correspondents.”¹¹

In this sense, it can be asserted that the Apostle Paul probably employs a more informal and affectionate language to connect with the communities for which he sends his letters that will become epistles in the biblical literature; he utilizes a more formal language when he aims to be firm, urging the recipients toward holiness.

4 Methodological Assumptions

The selection of the corpus is based on the division of the letters of the New Testament, as categorized by Gabel and Wheeler (1986),¹² which separates them into the following categories: genuine letters of Paul, letters supposedly written by Paul but whose authenticity is a matter of dispute, pastoral letters, and general or catholic letters. The genuine letters of Paul, which form the research focus of this study, include: Romans, I Corinthians, II Corinthians, Galatians, Philippians, I Thessalonians, and Philemon. Among these, I and II Corinthians are selected for analysis. The analysis of the corpus is conducted through a linguistic-discursive examination based on concepts from textual linguistics.

The choice is due to the fact that they were the only ones written to the same audience, enabling the comparison of contextual aspects employed in writing to the same recipient over time. Table 2 briefly describes a portion of this context.

Table 2
Contextual aspects of I and II Corinthians. Source: the authors, 2023, based on Aguiar and Souza (2013).

Letter	Date of writing	Length of the letter (chapters)	Translation	Place of writing	Recipient’s location
I Corinthians	56 AD	16	Almeida Revista e Corrigida (ARC)	Ephesus	Corinth
Il Corinthians	Between 56 and 57 AD*	13		Macedonia	Corinth
*The accuracy of the year when this letter was written is uncertain in the literature of the area.

As for the translation, Almeida Revista e Corrigida [Almeida Revised and Corrected] (ARC)¹³ version, originally conceived in 1898, is chosen, which stands as one of the most widely used in the Brazilian territory, and according to the Sociedade Bíblica do Brasil [Brazilian Bible Society], it follows the principle of translation by formal equivalence: a methodology through which the aim is to translate the original text faithfully to its words and structure.

The analysis of the corpus is supported by three criteria: production context, compositional structure, and genre and author style, hereinafter referred to as “epistles,” as per the distinction made earlier.

5 Corpus Analysis

5.1 Production Context

During the period in which the Apostle Paul wrote the epistles to the Corinthians, such practice constituted a means by which Jewish leaders kept Jewish communities outside of Israel informed “about the calendar each year, and innovations and ad hoc decisions would require such communication”¹⁴ (Goulder, 1990, p. 479). Confirmation of this common practice among the Jews is corroborated by certain verses in II Maccabees:

1. The Jews in Jerusalem and those in the land of Judea, To their Jewish kindred in Egypt, Greetings and true peace.

7. In the reign of Demetrius, in the one hundred sixty-ninth year, we Jews wrote to you, in the critical distress that came upon us in those years after Jason and his company revolted from the holy land and the kingdom

8. and burned the gate and shed innocent blood. We prayed to the Lord and were heard, and we offered sacrifice and grain offering, and we lit the lamps and set out the loaves.

9. And now see that you keep the Festival of Booths in the month of Chislev, in the one hundred eighty-eighth year.

In these verses, it is understood that the Jewish authorities in Jerusalem are writing to the Jews in Egypt with the purpose of sharing a blessing that occurred 19 years before, instructing them, because of that, to celebrate a new festival.

The circulation of these epistles took place through messengers of the Jewish community. The evangelist Luke reports, in Acts 9:1-2, a request from Paul (also known as Saul among the Jews) to the high priest to carry letters to Damascus: “Meanwhile Saul (...) went to the high priest and asked him for letters to the synagogues at Damascus (...).”¹⁵ This passage allows us to infer that Paul took on this role, and by understanding such cultural norms, he employed this practice in his ministry.

The writing of the Pauline Epistles takes place during the evangelistic journeys of Paul, whose commencement is reported in the book of Acts 13:2-3: “(...) the Holy Spirit said, ‘Set apart for me Barnabas and Saul for the work to which I have called them.’ Then after fasting and praying they laid their hands on them and sent them off.”¹⁶

I Corinthians is written in the spring of 56 AD while Paul is in the city of Ephesus. The recipient synagogue was situated in the city of Corinth, a port city in the southern region of Greece, adjacent to the Gulf of Corinth. Verses 1 and 4 of Acts 18 disclose the period during which Paul was in the city: “After this Paul left Athens and went to Corinth (...) Every Sabbath he would argue in the synagogue and would try to convince Jews and Greeks.”¹⁷

Although it is titled as the First Epistle to the Corinthians, the author indicates that it was not the first letter sent to that community. This is evidenced in verse 9 of chapter 5 in I Corinthians, where Paul makes reference to a previously sent letter: “I wrote to you in my letter not to associate with sexually immoral persons” (emphasis added).¹⁸

As the apostle became known to the Corinthians, it is deduced that they may have written to him a letter after Paul’s departure from the city, and I Corinthians was drafted as a letter of response. This inference is supported by chapter 1, verse 11, which reads: “For it has been made clear to me by Chloe’s people that there are quarrels among you, my brothers and sisters”¹⁹ (emphasis added), and in chapter 7, verse 1: “Now concerning the matters about which you wrote (...)”²⁰ (emphasis added), revealing that the purpose of the epistle was to address the questions raised by the community.

Some of the key themes addressed by Paul reveal that the church in Corinth was grappling with issues related to factional divisions, as written in the first chapter, verses 11 and 12: “For it has been made clear to me by Chloe’s people that there are quarrels among you, my brothers and sisters. What I mean is that each of you says, “I belong to Paul” or “I belong to Apollos,” or “I belong to Cephas,” or “I belong to Christ.”²¹

The community had become divided among those who claimed to belong “to Paul,” “to Apollos” (another religious leader), “to Cephas,” and “to Christ.” The apostle then urges them, in verse 1:10, to refrain from differing opinions with regard to leadership: “Now I appeal to you, brothers and sisters, by the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that all of you be in agreement and that there be no divisions among you but that you be knit together in the same mind and the same purpose.”²² Paul concludes, in chapter 3:6-7, that no devotion should be given to him or Apollos for their labors, but rather to God, who indeed provided the growth: “I planted, Apollos watered, but God gave the growth. So neither the one who plants nor the one who waters is anything, but only God who gives the growth.”²³

During the time Paul was in the city of Ephesus, after writing the first epistle to the Corinthians, a riot erupted in the city due to his teachings - as recorded in Acts 19:23: “About that time no little disturbance broke out concerning the Way.”²⁴ - this forced him to depart for Macedonia, as stated in Acts 20:1: “After the uproar had ceased, Paul sent for the disciples, and after encouraging them and saying farewell, he left for Macedonia.”²⁵ It is believed that at some point during Paul’s time in Macedonia, the second epistle to the Corinthians was written.

In regard to the second epistle, written between 56 and 57 AD, it is assumed that there were other interactions of the apostle with the community, which are not documented in the book of Acts but are indicated in certain passages of the epistle. In II Corinthians 1:15, for instance, Paul writes: “Since I was sure of this, I wanted to come to you first, so that you might have a double favor.”²⁶ This suggests that he had visited the city a second time before actually going to Macedonia.

In II Corinthians 7:5-9, Paul records his arrival in Macedonia followed by the reception of new information about the church in Corinth:

For even when we came into Macedonia, our flesh had no rest (...) But God, who consoles the downcast, consoled us by the arrival of Titus, and not only by his arrival but also by the consolation with which he was consoled about you, as he told us of your longing, your mourning, your zeal for me, so that I rejoiced still more. For although I grieved you with my letter, I do not regret it. Although I did regret it (for I see that that letter caused you grief, though only briefly), now I rejoice, not because you were grieved but because your grief led to repentance, for you felt a godly grief, so that you were not harmed in any way by us.²⁷

Being informed about the news from Corinth, Paul wrote the second epistle to exhort and instruct the community concerning the issues surrounding it. He also aimed to defend his authority as an apostle of Jesus Christ in contrast to those he accuses as false apostles. He writes in 10:12: “We do not dare to classify or compare ourselves with some of those who commend themselves. But when they measure themselves by one another and compare themselves with one another, they do not show good sense.”²⁸

Although Paul’s letters were written to address specific issues with the Corinthians in order to manage the church, when they are presented to different audiences and read from a literary perspective (detached from the original reading context), they become epistles. As a result, their audience is expanded, and their content becomes applicable not only to the original recipients but to all Christians, across different places in the world and throughout distinct eras. This contributes to the development of foundations and practices of the Christian faith.

5.2 Compositional Structure of the Epistles

The structure of Paul’s epistles is based on the pattern of letters commonly written by Jews during that era. Goulder (1990)²⁹ observes that the apostle employs a structure model consisting of six main parts: salutation; thanksgiving; prayer for the recipients’ well-being; report of the situation; exhortation/command to follow the sender’s wishes; and devout conclusion.

It is observed below the excerpts from I Corinthians and II Corinthians in which Paul begins the epistles with the greeting:

I Corinthians 1:1-3: Paul, called to be an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God, and our brother Sosthenes, to the church of God that is in Corinth, to those who are sanctified in Christ Jesus, called to be saints, together with all those who in every place call on the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, both their Lord and ours: Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.

II Corinthians 1:1-2: Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God, and Timothy our brother, To the church of God that is in Corinth, together with all the saints throughout Achaia: Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.³⁰

There are noticeable similarities between the greetings in both epistles, as both begin with Paul identifying himself as an “apostle by the will of God.” Through such statements, he establishes an image of authority (particularly necessary in the second epistle, as he argues against “false” apostles).

In the greetings, Paul also employs terms commonly used, as seen in the expression used in his greetings: “grace to you and peace from God (...)” (I Corinthians 1:3 and II Corinthians 1:2). According to Riofrío, Quiroca, and Bereche (2010), the term “grace” (kairós) was used during that time by the Gentiles (non-Jews) as a form of greeting, whereas the term “peace” (shalom) was used by the Jews. Possibly, the dynamic of combining them into a single greeting was an effort by the apostle to reconcile the differences between the two groups, establishing a unity among them.

In this way, Paul establishes a unique and historical tradition of Christian greeting interaction, which, through the repetition of cultural expressions, continues to be used in many Christian contexts to this day. During that time, this textual formula could have been individual and unprecedented, considering that the Roman formula was “Salve” (meaning “Health”), and Paul replaces it with a lexicon that is a testimony the Christian faith. Thus, the presupposition that human historicity is constituted by language is fulfilled. After the greetings, we observe the expressions of gratitude:

I Corinthians 1:9: God is faithful, by whom you were called into the partnership of his Son, Jesus Christ our Lord.

II Corinthians 1:3-4: Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies and the God of all consolation, who consoles us in all our affliction, so that we may be able to console those who are in any affliction with the consolation with which we ourselves are consoled by God.³¹

Another formulaic expression is Paul’s thanksgiving, which has a structure larger than the greeting but still belongs to the macrostructure of the epistles. Once again, he introduces a component of the epistle linked to the Jewish tradition of giving thanks, historical aspect tied to language.

Alongside the greetings and words of thanksgiving, we find prayers for the well-being of the recipients, as in I Corinthians 1:10: “Now I appeal to you, brothers and sisters, by the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that all of you be in agreement and that there be no divisions among you but that you be knit together in the same mind and the same purpose.”³²

The prayer, or supplication, is related to a request from the sender to the receiver, asking for an improvement in an action either for oneself or for another person. These are exhortations, which means instructions and advice given to the Corinthian community in a multidirectional letter that, upon becoming an epistle, transforms into Pauline apostolic exhortation; in the cited verse 10, there is a prayer for the unity of the church.

Regarding the situational accounts, they correspond to the body of the epistle, that is, its central part, as they are Paul’s true purpose: to apply, in each reported situation, the way of acting according to the new life of the Christians, sanctified in Christ and called to holiness. In I Corinthians, from chapter 2 onwards, we observe a situation already known to the recipients - from the time when Paul was in Corinth (from his perspective):

2:1-2: When I came to you, brothers and sisters, I did not come proclaiming the testimony of God to you with superior speech or wisdom. For I decided to know nothing among you except Jesus Christ and him crucified.

3:1: And so, brothers and sisters, I could not speak to you as spiritual people but rather as fleshly, as infants in Christ.³³

In the first passage, Paul recounts his initial visit to the Corinthian congregation, admitting to avoiding the use of persuasive words or mere displays of wisdom, so that, as he explains, their faith “might rest not on human wisdom but on the power of God” (2:5).³⁴ In the second passage, he reports having received a negative impression from the Corinthians and, using the analogy of “infancy,” he indicates that he observed “jealousy and quarreling”³⁵ among them (3:3), which prevented him from discussing more mature matters with them.

In relation to the encouragements/directives, which are also components of the macrostructure of the epistles, they can be found in various passages throughout I and II Corinthians. In the first epistle, for example, there is the case of a man who commits adultery with the stepmother, which Paul rebukes, giving a directive to the church:

5:3-5: For I, though absent in body, am present in spirit, and as if present I have already pronounced judgment in the name of the Lord Jesus on the man who has done such a thing. When you are assembled and my spirit is present with the power of our Lord Jesus, you are to hand this man over to Satan for the destruction of the flesh, so that the spirit may be saved in the day of the Lord.³⁶

In this case, Paul does not merely offer a suggestion, but he employs the apostolic authority and, in the name of Christ, commands the church not to tolerate such behavior, but rather to exclude the member.

On the other hand, the case of the adulterous son, previously addressed in I Corinthians, is revisited in the second epistle, chapter 2, verses 6 to 8, urging the community to forgive him:

This punishment by the majority is enough for such a person; so now instead you should forgive and console him, so that he may not be overwhelmed by even worse grief. So I urge you to reaffirm your love for him.³⁷

Finally, the devout conclusion belonging to the macrostructure of the letter can be found at the end of the epistles, representing the farewell in which Paul mentions individuals known to both him and the recipients. The structure bears Roman influence but is consistently reconfigured within the Jewish culture and the Christian faith perspective of the apostle Paul. This can be observed in the exhortation he addresses to the Corinthians in both epistles as a conclusion.

Thus, in the first epistle to the Corinthians, Paul bids farewell by recording greetings from his fellow companions in the field: “The churches of Asia send greetings. Aquila and Prisca, together with the church in their house, greet you warmly in the Lord (...)” (16:19). And he also records his own greeting, “I, Paul, write this greeting with my own hand”³⁸ (16:21),³⁹ in order to leave no doubt to the Corinthians about the authorship of the epistle; during that time, it was a common practice to dictate letters to a scribe, perhaps this is why Paul made this notation. In the conclusion, he also writes exhortations - “Keep alert; stand firm in the faith; be courageous; be strong. Let all that you do be done in love” (16:13-14).⁴⁰ At the end of the last sentence, the apostle concludes the epistle with the word “Amen” (16:24), which means “so be it,” a term that is used to this day as the church’s confirmation of something that has been said.

In the conclusion of the second epistle, all the elements from the first remain, however, the greetings are more general: “All the saints greet you”⁴¹ (13:12). The exhortations are also present: “Finally, brothers and sisters, farewell. Be restored; listen to my appeal; agree with one another; live in peace; and the God of love and peace will be with you”⁴² (13:11); and the final sentence, too, concludes with an “Amen” (13:13).

Therefore, in addition to the temporal gap between the society of that era and present-day readers, the writings from biblical times, whether conceived in Hebrew, Aramaic, or Greek, have undergone losses and changes through the process of translation, impacting the reading. Furthermore, although reliable information is not easily found on the subject, it is known that over time, the biblical texts departed from their original written formats and mediums to assume structures with very similar characteristics, having been divided into chapters, subtitles, and numbered verses, all created to facilitate the task of citing, memorizing, and locating Bible passages with greater ease.⁴³

All the changes they went through led epistles, historical narratives, poems, etc. to adopt the same format, making their genres less identifiable to the modern reader. However, it is evident that I and II Corinthians retain the genre recognizable when their macrostructure is analyzed: greeting, situational account (body), and conclusion. These characteristics remain observable in letters even in the present day.

5.3 Genre Style and Author’s Style

Upon analyzing the epistles, it can be observed in Paul’s discourse, per his own designations, certain patterns attributed to those he writes to and those he cites. Throughout I and II Corinthians, three predominant discourse persons can be found: “I/we,” “you,” and “they.” According to Gadini and Furtado (2015), the letters were read publicly, and possibly, Paul alternates between formal and informal language to either draw closer to or distance himself from his social role (apostle) in relation to the recipients. This can be observed throughout I and II Corinthians.

The use of the discourse persons in the epistles occurs as follows:

Figure 1
Discourse persons in Pauline Epistles to the Corinthians. Source: The Authors.

Certain passages in the epistles allow the observation that when Paul refers to himself using the term “I” (or “me”) he does so in a way that associates characteristics and ideas that reaffirm his role as an apostle and religious leader before the Corinthians:

I Cor. 2:1: When I came to you, brothers and sisters, I did not come proclaiming the testimony of God to you with superior speech or wisdom.

I Cor. 3:10: According to the grace of God given to me, like a wise master builder I laid a foundation, and someone else is building on it. Let each builder choose with care how to build on it.

I Cor. 11:1: Be imitators of me, as I am of Christ.

II Cor. 11:22: Are they Hebrews? So am I. Are they Israelites? So am I. Are they descendants of Abraham? So am I. (emphasis added by the authors).⁴⁴

From these texts, it is possible to observe that Paul positions himself as the proclaimer of the “testimony of God,” a “wise master builder,” someone who imitates God and to whom the Corinthians can imitate. In other words, by employing the term “I” (or “me”) as the sender of the epistle, Paul assumes his role as an apostle, reaffirming the purpose for which he was called by God, and he becomes more assertive in his exhortations, distinguishing himself from the receivers.

However, when Paul uses the pronoun “I” in II Corinthians 11:22, the apostle draws closer to the recipients, demonstrating that he was part of that community. He does this in case they were using their place of birth as a criterion to disregard the message.

Concerning the term “we” (or, “us”) it can be observed used in the following passages:

I Cor. 12:13: For in the one Spirit we were all baptized into one body-Jews or Greeks, slaves or free-and we were all made to drink of one Spirit.

II Corinthians 5:18: All this is from God, who reconciled us to himself through Christ and has given us the ministry of reconciliation (emphasis added).⁴⁵

In regard to the emphasized terms, Paul uses them when including himself as a Christian, a work of God, and a result of the action of Jesus Christ, alongside the people of Corinth, positioning himself as equal to them. He uses the first person plural with the intention of getting closer to the community.

However, when exhorting his interlocutors, Paul distances himself from the group by employing the second person plural, the term “you,” which appears in the following passages:

I Cor. 9:1: Am I not free? Am I not an apostle? Have I not seen Jesus our Lord? Are you not my work in the Lord?

II Corinthians 2:4: For I wrote you out of much distress and anguish of heart and with many tears, not to cause you grief but to let you know the abundant love that I have for you (emphasis added).⁴⁶

In these verses, it is noticeable that Paul uses the discourse person “you” to demonstrate that the Corinthians are the work/result of Paul’s ministry, through God’s action in his life. Therefore, when the apostle exhorts that community, his words demonstrate that he has responsibility for their lives before God, and this leads him to care for those individuals.

To refer to the people outside the community circle, i.e., the Gentiles (non-Christians, Christians excluded from the community, or those who behaved in ways considered improper), and throughout the centuries, to people of distant times, the apostle uses the third person plural: “they”/ “them,” as in I Corinthians 10:5-6:

Nevertheless, God was not pleased with most of them, and they were struck down in the wilderness. Now these things occurred as examples for us, so that we might not desire evil as they did (emphasis added by the authors).⁴⁷

In this case, the term “they” refers to the Hebrew people who came out of slavery in Egypt and chose to turn away from God during the journey through the wilderness. Paul exhorts the Corinthians not to behave in the same way.

It is noted that most of the time, Paul uses “they” when making comparisons (with himself or with the Corinthians), for example, in I Corinthians 9:24-25:

Do you not know that in a race the runners all compete, but only one receives the prize? Run in such a way that you may win it. Athletes exercise self-control in all things; they do it to receive a perishable wreath, but we an imperishable one (emphasis added).⁴⁸

In the above passage, Paul makes a comparison using an example familiar to the recipients. Through this figure of speech, he refers to the Isthmian Games, held at the Isthmus of Corinth, to illustrate the intensity with which he desired the Corinthians to engage in Christian activities, encouraging them to mirror the dedication of those athletes.

It is possible to observe that, by using the discourse persons, Paul distances himself or gets closer to his recipients, in order to express ideas and instruct the Corinthian community.

In parallel with this alternation of discourse persons, there is the use of rhetorical questions. According to Michaelis online dictionary (2021), a rhetorical question is “one that is asked not with the intent of obtaining an answer but to achieve a specific rhetorical effect.”⁴⁹ That is to say, through this linguistic feature, Paul does not intend to elicit a response - as exemplified in the mentioned passages (I Cor. 9:1; II Cor. 11:22) - since, for both him and the Corinthians, these were pieces of information that were mutually understood - instead, his aim is to prompt contemplation, whereby they would reassess their conduct upon being reminded.

Due to his continuous engagement in missionary journeys, Paul would typically dispatch the epistles to the Corinthians with the purpose that they be read aloud during moments of religious gatherings. Furthermore, the intention was for these letters to be disseminated to other regions beyond the one to which they were initially sent (Miller; Huber, 2003).⁵⁰

With respect to the use of metaphors, one of Paul’s stylistic choices in composing his letters is to adopt a paternal tone, which can be observed, for instance, in I Corinthians 4:14-15:

I am not writing this to make you ashamed but to admonish you as my beloved children. For though you might have ten thousand guardians in Christ, you do not have many fathers. Indeed, in Christ Jesus I fathered you through the gospel (emphasis added).⁵¹

The apostle’s metaphorical language demonstrates the desire to care for the Corinthians, thereby revealing an aspect of affection. This aligns once again with his social role, which, as a mentor, required him to have a relationship with his subordinates similar to how Jesus had with his followers: that of a “shepherd” in relation to his “sheep.” While employing this affectionate tone, he alternated it with a firm tone of admonition in situations involving behaviors inconsistent with Christian doctrines, as seen in the case of the young adulterer mentioned in I Corinthians 5:1-5:

It is actually reported that there is sexual immorality among you (...) for a man is living with his father’s wife. And you are arrogant! Should you not rather have mourned, so that he who has done this would have been removed from among you? (...) as if present I have already pronounced judgment in the name of the Lord Jesus on the man who has done such a thing (...) you are to hand this man over to Satan for the destruction of the flesh, so that the spirit may be saved in the day of the Lord (emphasis added).⁵²

This alternation of language establishes Paul’s social image as someone serious yet also approachable. Serious in displaying commitment to Christian doctrines by acting firmly in cases of sin, and approachable by expressing closeness to the Corinthians through the use of affectionate terms.

It can also be observed that in the epistles, there is an alternation of the level of formality in the language employed by the Apostle Paul. At times, he employs a more affectionate tone, with elements of informal language, to draw closer to the community; at other times, he adopts a firmer tone, using formal language to create distance and uphold his authority.

It is evident that, likewise Paul, the Pope employs his social role, resembling that of the Apostle in the time he wrote to the Corinthians to issue as a religious authority letters aimed at guiding and keeping groups of believers across various cultures around the world united. For the purpose of comparison, it is observed in the letter delivered during his address to the Ecumenical Council of Churches in Slovakia in 2021, that the Pope also attributes qualities to himself by employing the first-person plural, casting himself as a pilgrim in a foreign land and expressing gratitude to his recipients for their reception. Similarly to Paul’s discourse, he addresses the recipients in order to provide instructions: “A distinctive feature of the Slavic peoples, one which you are together called to preserve, is the contemplative spirit (...),” “Help one another to cultivate this spiritual tradition (...)” (Vatican News, 2021).⁵³

Furthermore, as mentioned in this section, just as Paul’s letters were written to be read before the community, so that the information could be shared with the nearby churches, it is observed that the Pope, in a similar manner, reads his letter publicly, and it is subsequently shared on the internet so that all the faithful can have access.

In conclusion, it can be deduced that the alternation of language formality, the use of different discourse persons, and the employment of figures of speech are contingent upon the purpose and the social role of the sender. These factors can be observed in the current letters of the Pope, who, akin to Paul, employs them to oversee the Church.

Conclusion

The main objective of this article was to analyze two Pauline Epistles from the Holy Bible, following the theory of contemporary speech genres. In order to achieve it, a preliminary distinction was made between the genres of letter and epistle, followed by a comprehensive review of epistolary concepts from a transdisciplinary perspective. Subsequent to this, genuinely Pauline Epistles that contained two dispatches to the same community were selected. As a result, the epistles sent to the Corinthians were chosen as the corpus for this study.

In the first and second epistles to the Corinthians, it is evident that letters, when they evolve into epistles as literature, expand their readership and renew their meaning, thereby generating new significances for readers as time progresses.

Furthermore, a new organization involving chapters, verses, and subtitles has resulted in these texts having a structure akin to that of other books in the Bible, thereby facilitating the reader’s ability to locate and interpret the texts. However, despite these modifications, the genre prevails over them, as it remains possible to identify it through the compositional macrostructure.

Other characteristics inherent to the epistle genre can be observed, such as the alternation between formal and informal language that Paul employs, depending on his social role, the section of the epistle, and the communicative purpose. The use of discourse persons “I/we,” “you,” and “they” varies as Paul assumes the roles of an apostle of God (I), the church of Christ (we), the work (you), and the Gentiles or errant Christians (they).

It can be concluded, therefore, that the knowledge of the historical context, the structure of the epistle, and the style of the genre and the author can influence the interpretation of the Pauline Epistles. In other words, when a reader in the 21st century engages with the text while considering the theory of textual genres, the understanding and application of the text in daily life can be achieved with greater comprehension.

Lastly, it’s noteworthy to underscore the significance of applying linguistic and literary studies to the Holy Bible, contributing to the establishment of interfaces with Theology.

Research Data and Other Materials Availability

The contents underlying the research text are included in the manuscript.

• 1
  VOLOŠINOV, V. N. Marxism and the Philosophy of Language. Trad. Ladislav Matejka and R. Titunik. Translator’s Preface.Cambridge: Harvard University Press, 1973.
• 2
  In Portuguese: “carta é esfera íntima, enquanto a epístola é um gênero ‘artificial’.”
• 3
  BRUCE, F. F. Paul: Apostle of the Heart Set Free. Grand Rapids: William B. Eerdmans Publishing Company, 2000.
• 4
  In Portuguese: “Os gêneros textuais são os textos que encontramos em nossa vida diária e que apresentam padrões sociocomunicativos característicos definidos por composições funcionais, objetivos enunciativos e estilos concretamente realizados na integração de forças históricas, sociais, institucionais e técnicas.”
• 5
  In Portuguese: “independentemente de sua realidade social e de sua relação com as atividades humanas.”
• 6
  For reference, see footnote 2.
• 7
  In Portuguese: “Para defender essas posições, admitimos, com Bakhtin, que todas as atividades humanas estão relacionadas ao uso da língua, que se efetiva através de enunciados (orais e escritos) ‘concretos e únicos, que emanam dos integrantes de uma ou de outra esfera da atividade humana’.”
• 8
  In Portuguese: “as transformações da língua e da sociedade, a função do gênero em diferentes momentos históricos e, ainda, sua relevância na formação de outros gêneros.”
• 9
  In Portuguese: “em que autoridades relatavam fatos importantes.”
• 10
  In Portuguese: “quanto mais amigo e íntimo, maior o grau de implicação emocional das expressões.”
• 11
  In Portuguese: “os vocativos e as expressões de despedida, ou a falta deles, sobretudo, que deixam pistas significativas do grau de familiaridade ou afetividade entre os missivistas.”
• 12
  GABEL, J. B; WHEELER, C. B. The Bible as Literature. Oxford: Oxford University Press, Inc. 1986.
• 13
  In the Portuguese version of this article, biblical passages are cited from Almeida Revista e Corrigida (ARC). For the English version, the authors have opted for the New Revised Standard Version Updated Edition (NRSVUE), a translation that aligns with the former in terms of the methodology of formal equivalence, as recognized by the Society of Biblical Literature. For more information about the NRSVUE, see the 2017 SBL Society Report: https://www.sbl-site.org/assets/pdfs/SocietyReport2017.pdf.
• 14
  GOULDER, M. The Pauline Epistles. In: ALTER, R.; KERMODE, F. The Literary Guide to the Bible. Illustrated edition, reprint. Cambridge: Harvard University Press, 1990. p. 479.
• 15
  For reference, see footnote 14.
• 16
  For reference, see footnote 14.
• 17
  For reference, see footnote 14.
• 18
  For reference, see footnote 14.
• 19
  For reference, see footnote 14.
• 20
  For reference, see footnote 14.
• 21
  For reference, see footnote 14.
• 22
  For reference, see footnote 14.
• 23
  For reference, see footnote 14.
• 24
  For reference, see footnote 14.
• 25
  For reference, see footnote 14.
• 26
  For reference, see footnote 14.
• 27
  For reference, see footnote 14.
• 28
  For reference, see footnote 14.
• 29
  For reference, see footnote 14.
• 30
  For reference, see footnote 14.
• 31
  For reference, see footnote 14.
• 32
  For reference, see footnote 14.
• 33
  For reference, see footnote 14.
• 34
  For reference, see footnote 14.
• 35
  For reference, see footnote 13.
• 36
  For reference, see footnote 14.
• 37
  For reference, see footnote 14.
• 38
  For reference, see footnote 14.
• 39
  For reference, see footnote 14.
• 40
  For reference, see footnote 14.
• 41
  For reference, see footnote 14.
• 42
  For reference, see footnote 14.
• 43
  In 1227, Stephen Langton, a professor at the University of Paris and later Archbishop of Canterbury, divided the Bible into chapters. Stephen Langton was the one who published the Latin version of the Bible, better known as the Vulgate (Geisler; Nix, 2006; Eggers, 2019).
• 44
  For reference, see footnote 14.
• 45
  For reference, see footnote 14.
• 46
  For reference, see footnote 14.
• 47
  For reference, see footnote 14.
• 48
  For reference, see footnote 14.
• 49
  For reference, see footnote 14.
• 50
  MILLER, S. M.; HUBER, R. V. The Bible: A History: The Making and Impact of the Bible. Oxford: Lion Hudson, 2003.
• 51
  For reference, see footnote 14.
• 52
  For reference, see footnote 14.
• 53
  VATICAN NEWS. Apostolic journey of His Holiness Francis to Budapest, on the occasion of the concluding holy mass of the 52nd International Eucharistic Congress, and to Slovakia. Available at: https://www.vatican.va/content/francesco/en/speeches/2021/september/documents/20210912-bratislava-incontroecumenico.html. Accessed on: 10 Nov. 2023.

• Reviews

  Due to the commitment assumed by Bakhtiniana. Revista de Estudos do Discurso [Bakhtiniana. Journal of Discourse Studies] to Open Science, this journal only publishes reviews that have been authorized by all involved.

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Publication Dates

• Publication in this collection
  08 Dec 2023
• Date of issue
  2024

History

• Received
  08 Sept 2023
• Accepted
  15 Nov 2023