Paul's Writing Process

It occured to me recently that Paul may have revised some of his letters several times in one sitting. (Or one day, or one week.) Sometimes. But at other times, I bet Paul didn't have the time, paper, ink or money to spend on more than one draft. And it may also appear (if we look into this further) that the idea occured to him more often as he gained more experience as a writer.

I wonder how much criticism of Pauline authorship [from a textual standpoint] would suffer if someone studied his letters (completely in sequence and situational context) with an eye towards observing patterns of revision & editing. (Or has this been done? Sortof? Maybe. But precisely as I've just suggested it? I doubt it.)

Situational context could matter a lot. Romans looks like Paul worked on it an awful lot more than Galatians. That tells you something about the time and situation of Paul as he worked on those letters. Galatians was an urgent reaction to critical, emergency news. But Paul had been thinking about the saints in Rome for two years, before they'd all gotten there (from places like Antioch & Ephesus). He'd had lots of time to think about what they needed to hear.

In two contrasting situations like this, we can even see mental pre-writing as another element affecting the difference in writing style.

More possibile views, at first thought: Ephesians absolutely drew on Colossians and was a smoother expansion/revision in many ways. On the other hand, 2Thess is evidence Paul might not have thought through 1Thess fully enough and they both seem poorly structured and less than fully polished. But Paul was nearby and Timothy was there to explain any unclearness and Paul was still new to this letter thing. Context like this helps even more when combined with the idea that Paul allowed himself to shoot off stream of consciousness first drafts.

Another example: my chronological work on the background to 1Tim says Paul wrote that letter while travelling (in Philippi or sailing to Troas), not while settled in any place of his own. Paul was extremely busy with Corinth/Chenchrea & Philippi until he got on that boat. It's likely his paper supply was very limited, and Timothy, being like a son to Paul, wouldn't require a polished presentation for good friendly effect. It was info and exhortations. It only needed to be 'hodge-podge'. And sure enough, it's not the most sculpted piece of literature Paul ever put down.

Sequence of events and situational context matter.

Paul's developing awareness of literary function/strategy also matters.

The realization that letters can be revised more than once, at the same point in time, and that revised letters can display a completely different style than drafts, for many authors - that could matter a whole lot.

This is something else I'd like to see scholars work on... eventually!