Novum Testamentum has now published my article, "Paul, Phoebe, Timothy, and their Collections for Judea." It is open access here.
Here is the abstract:
Studies of Paul’s collection(s) for Judea have suffered from the largely unexamined assumption that he wanted all regions to donate at the same time. Paul and Phoebe collaborated to organize a collection from Rome, and Paul anticipated a collection from Asia. There was likely a collection from Galatia several years before the collection from Macedonia and Achaia, and there is little reason to doubt the collection from Antioch. The silence of Acts concerning these collections is no argument against them, and it can be explained as a protective measure. We have no evidence that any of the collections were rejected.
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ReplyDeleteThere is a further piece of evidence that Paul wrote hoped that the churches in Rome would organize a collection for Judea. At Rom 16:23 Paul sends greetings from Erastus and describes him as the city treasurer. I take this to be an office in the church because Paul does not refer to anyone's worldly profession, and because Erastus had been involved in organizing the collection from Macedonia and Achaia, along with Titus-Timothy (Acts 19:22; 2 Cor 12:18). By sending greetings from the Corinthians' financial administrator, Paul reminds the Romans of their obligation to give. Phoebe will be able to explain the role that Erastus played as treasurer of the church in Corinth, and that most of the other greeters were to accompany the collection from Macedonia and Achaia. The greetings let the Roman believers know that the collection organizers are watching them and this puts pressure on them to organize their own collection. The greetings in Philemon serve much the same purpose: to cajole Philemon to send Onesimus back.
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