Canonizing Paul: Ancient Editorial Practice and the Corpus Paulinum

Winner of the North American Patristics Society Best First Book Award

In Canonizing Paul Eric W. Scherbenske explores how ancient editorial practices utilized in the publication of corpora were employed not only to shape editions of Paul's letters, but also to shape their interpretation. Scherbenske reveals the interrelationship of text and paratext in the Marcionite, Euthalian, and Vulgate editions of Paul's letters, and fills an often overlooked gap in the field of New Testament textual criticism.

The investigation into the Marcionite edition shows how its paratexts introduced Marcion's hermeneutic and, in some measure, justified his editorial principles. The Euthalian edition preferred instead a catechetical and pedagogical goal extending from the deployment of paratexts to the organization of the tracts and a textual arrangement for ease of comprehension. The exploration of text and sometimes disparate paratexts culminates in an investigation of Codex Fuldensis, which transmits the Vulgate textual revision of Paul's letters and its Primum Quaeritur prologue alongside numerous other paratexts. By demonstrating how these practices and interpretive concerns left their mark on these editions of the Corpus Paulinum, Scherbenske explores the ways in which editions of the Corpus Paulinum were shaped by, and in turn shaped, these traditions and interpretations.