ABSTRACT
In origin the earliest texts in the New Testament, the authentic Pauline Epistles date from c.ad 50–60. It is generally agreed, however, that Titus and Timothy contain at best Pauline fragments, while the authorship of Colossians and Ephesians is debated. The rest are, on the whole, Paul’s work, although the shape in which we have them is not. Nor can we be exactly sure where they have been ‘tidied up’.
