- Chapters
- 4
- Verses
- 0
- Where it sits
- The Letters of Paul
What it is
The most personal thing in the corpus. Paul writes as one already being poured out: the time of his departure is at hand, he has fought the good fight, he has finished the course. Demas has deserted him. Only Luke is with him.
And then, in the middle of it, the small human requests — bring Mark, he is useful to me; bring the cloak I left at Troas, and the books, especially the parchments.
Known for
3:16–17, on Scripture. 4:6–8.
A note for Orthodox readers
4:6–8 is read at the funerals of clergy. Verse 3:16 is cited in Orthodox teaching alongside Holy Tradition, not instead of it.
Where it sits
One of the Pastorals, and disputed with them — though its personal detail is sometimes noted, even by critical scholars, as hard to account for as invention.
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