The Extent of the Pauline Corpus: A Multivariate Approach

Author:
Publisher website
Google Scholar
Abstract
Samples of 1000 words were taken from the New Testament Epistles. From these 25 stylistic variables were analysed. After testing for normality 19 of these were used, first in cluster analysis, then in discriminant analysis. Where there were several samples from one epistle these usually grouped together. Epistles known to be by different authors (Paul, Hebrews, 1 Peter, 1 John) usually clustered in separate areas. Within the Pauline corpus the major and minor Paulines grouped together, but Colossians and Ephesians separated in one direction and the Pastorals in another. The cluster analysis identified these main groups. This was followed by discriminant analysis in which the data were partitioned into calibration and test sets. The results clearly assigned some initially marginal items to the groups mentioned above. Key probability factors confirmed the discrimination, and tables of distances corroborated the greater distance of the deutero-Paulines from the four major and three minor Paulines.

This publication has 10 references indexed in Scilit: