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PAUL AND SENECA, LETTERS OF

A collection of 14 Latin letters purportedly exchanged between the apostle and the 1st-century Roman philosopher. Known to both Jerome and Augustine, the correspondence, which includes eight brief letters by Seneca and six by Paul, probably dates to the 4th century (although two or more may be later). Jerome notes that the letters were “read by many” in his age, and the letters remained popular through the Middle Ages as evidenced by the numerous manuscripts from that period. Seneca’s letters to Paul contain praise for Paul’s “admirable exhortation to an upright life” (letter 1); agreement with Paul’s sentiments as expressed in his letters to the Galatians, Corinthians, and Achaeans (letter 7); and an expression of sadness regarding the wrongful persecution of the Christians (letter 11). Paul’s responses are full of flattery, caution in terms of the emperor, and concern for proper epistolary etiquette, with an occasional encouragement to respectful treatment of others. None of the letters expresses any of the well-known thought of either correspondent, instead highlighting the friendship and mutual respect between two equals.

There seem to be two purposes behind the pseudepigraphical correspondence. On the one hand, the letters clearly commend Christianity as worthy of respect by pagans after the example of Seneca. In fact, some traditions even posit that Seneca converted to Christianity, although there is no evidence of such a conversion in his authentic writings. On the other hand, the letters also exhibit an early Christian understanding of the compatibility of Pauline and Stoic ideas, perhaps acknowledging what some modern scholars see as influences of pagan moral philosophy in Paul’s letters.

Bibliography. J. K. Elliot, ed., “The Correspondence of Paul and Seneca,” The Apocryphal New Testament, rev. ed. (Oxford, 1993), 547-53; J. N. Sevenster, Paul and Seneca. NovTSup 4 (Leiden, 1996), 11-14.

James R. Mueller

Prayer Tents Bible References - Prayer Tents

PAUL AND SENECA, LETTERS OF

Eerdmans Dictionary of the Bible (2000)