Paul and Seneca within the Ancient Consolation Tradition

A Comparison

Series: 

Author:
Alex Muir
In this monograph, Alex W. Muir shows how Paul and Seneca were significant contributors to an ancient philosophical and rhetorical tradition of consolation. Each writer's consolatory career is surveyed in turn through close readings of key primary texts: chiefly Seneca's three literary consolations and 'Epistles'; and Paul's letters, 1 Thessalonians, 2 Corinthians, and Philippians. A final comparative dialogue highlights the pair's adaptations and innovations within this tradition.
Copyright Year:
2024
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Published
ISBN:
978-90-04-69552-8
Publication:
24 Jun 2024
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Published
ISBN:
978-90-04-69553-5
Publication:
27 Jun 2024
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Alex W. Muir, PhD (2022), University of Edinburgh, is Departmental Lecturer in New Testament at the University of Oxford.
Abbreviations

1 Defining Consolation in Antiquity: Traditions and Modes
 1 Consolation: Initial Definitions
 2 Ancient Sources on Consolation
 3 Consolation as Genre?

2 Comparing Paul and Seneca on Consolation: How and Why
 1 Issues with the Comparative Endeavour
 2 Merits of the Comparative Endeavour
 3 Comparing New Testament Writers with Ancient Philosophers
 4 Comparing Paul and Seneca
 5 Comparing Paul and Seneca on Consolation
 6 The Direction of This Study

3 Consolations from Seneca’s Early Career
 1 Introduction
 2 Ad Marciam
 3 Ad Helviam
 4 Ad Polybium
 5 Summary

4 Consolations from Seneca’s Later Career
 1 Introduction
 2 Naturales quaestiones 6
 3 Epistulae morales
 4 Conclusion

5 Paul’s First Letter to the Thessalonians
 1 Introduction
 2 Comfort and Consolation in Apocalyptic Affliction (1 Thessalonians 1)
 3 Paul’s Dramatic Entrance in Thessalonica: Mutual Consolation (1 Thessalonians 2)
 4 Consolatory Envoys and Networks (1 Thessalonians 3)
 5 Preparation for Consolation (1 Thess 4:13)
 6 Consolatory Parousia Narrative (1 Thess 4:14–18)
 7 Consolation in Community (1 Thess 5:12–14)
 8 Conclusion

6 Paul’s Second Letter to the Corinthians
 1 Introduction
 2 Grief on All Sides: From 1 Corinthians to 2 Corinthians
 3 Consolation from God and the Network of Consolation (2 Cor 1:1–11)
 4 Consolation then Reconciliation for Grief in Corinth (2 Cor 1:12–2:11)
 5 Beginnings of an Ekphrasis (2 Cor 2:12–17)
 6 Ekphrastic Auto-Consolation (2 Cor 4:1–5:5)
 7 Ekphrastic Reconciliation and Exhortation from Consolation (2 Cor 5:6–7:4)
 8 The Consolatory Network Developed (2 Cor 7:5–16)
 9 Continued Consolation in 2 Corinthians 8–13?
 10 Conclusion

7 Paul’s Letter to the Philippians
 1 Introduction
 2 Phil 1:1–11—From Joyful Memories to Eschatological Paraenesis
 3 Phil 1:12–26: Consolation from Prison
 4 Philippians 1:27–2:5: Comforting the Philippians between Exempla
 5 Phil 2:5–11: Christ’s Consolatory Example
 6 Phil 2:12–16: Exhortation for Cosmological Transformation
 7 Phil 2:17–30: Consolation through Exemplary Envoys
 8 Phil 3:1–14: Knowledge Changes Everything?
 9 Phil 3:15–21: Our Progress, Our Belonging, Our Consolation
 10 Phil 4:4–9: Present Joy and Peace—Valedictory Consolation
 11 Phil 4:10–23: The Gift Network Underpinning Consolation
 12 Conclusion

8 Comparing Paul’s and Seneca’s Consolatory Discourses and Narratives
 1 Introduction
 2 Seeking Common Ground: Comparing Seneca’s and Paul’s Consolatory Discourses
 3 Establishing Degrees of Difference: Towards Seneca’s and Paul’s Consolatory Narratives
 4 Conclusion

9 Conclusion: Paul and Seneca within the Ancient Consolation Tradition
 1 Chief Findings of the Study
 2 Chief Contributions of the Study
 3 Coda

Bibliography
Index
This book will be of relevance to all university students and researchers interested in the New Testament in its Graeco-Roman and Jewish contexts.
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