what books did paul write?

[julian]

ones that are certain

 

[Matthew G]

I'm not a Bible expert (I say that a lot haha), but if I'm not mistaken, Hebrews is the only epistle whose authorship is uncertain. Even though it's commonly attributed to Paul, most scholars don't believe it, because its style differs so much from the ones we "know" he wrote:

Romans, 1 & 2 Corinthians, Galatians, Ephesians, Philippians, Colossians, 1 & 2 Thessalonians, 1 & 2 Timothy, Titus, and Philemon.

I put "know" in parenthesis because many scholars will say we have no concrete proof Paul actually wrote any of those, but agree that at least seven are genuine - Romans, 1 & 2 Corinthians, Philemon, 1 Thessalonians, Galatians, and Philippians. However, we also have no proof that Shakespeare actually wrote his plays. And there's less proof of the existence of Alexander the Great than there is that Paul wrote the epistles. Sorry to swerve off topic but had to put my two cents in there. ;)

Basically, it's commonly accepted that Paul wrote 13 epistles. Hebrews (contested), James, 1 & 2 Peter, 1, 2, & 3 John, Jude, and Revelation are the only ones he didn't write.

Sorry I drug that out more than was necessary, but hope that helped. Blessings.

 

[Knotical]

I think it would be safe to say that all of the epistles where he is listed in the salutation (first few verses) of them are the ones he wrote. Again, Hebrews is contested as to who the author was, but there is some pretty clear evidence as to which ones he wrote.

 

[farouk]

It's hard sometimes to remember to say, when referring to the author of the Epistle, 'the writer to the Hebrews', rather than 'Paul'!

 

[Claudya]

All except Romans, Corinthians, Philippians, Philemon, Galatians and 1st Thessalonians are disputed to some degree. Hebrews is the epistle which's authorship is most doubted.

 

[farouk]

All except Romans, Corinthians, Philippians, Philemon, Galatians and 1st Thessalonians are disputed to some degree. Hebrews is the epistle which's authorship is most doubted.

...but remember those Epistles apart from Hebrews actually say that Paul wrote them.

 

[Claudya]

Someone else may have written the letters on his behalf and Paul just signed them. That'd explain the style/ language/ word choice differences.

 

[Matthew G]

Someone else may have written the letters on his behalf and Paul just signed them. That'd explain the style/ language/ word choice differences.

I think this may be partially true. However, the thought of "writing on Paul's behalf" sounds like it leaves open the possibility of creative license IMO. Maybe that's not how you mean it, and I certainly don't want to put words in your mouth, but that doesn't ring true to me.

But we know Paul used scribes to write some of the letters, taking care to note when he had been the author.

Romans 16:22
1 Corinthians 16:21
Galatians 6:11
Colossians 4:18
2 Thessalonians 3:17

So assuming he was speaking as another copied, I tend to think of it this way - I don't know many people who speak the way they write. I'm one of the ones who doesn't. This could possibly account for the difference in style. Another possibility is Paul's emotional state at the time of writing; i.e. excitement, passion, anger, etc.

I may just be spinning a yarn here, but I suppose it's a thought.