What was Paul's attitude toward his own death? How did he act and what did he say and write in view of it? What hopes did he hold for himself beyond death? Alexander N. Kirk explores these questions through a close reading of four Pauline letters that look ahead to Paul's death and other relevant texts in the first two generations after Paul's death (AD 70-160). The author studies portraits of the departed Paul in Acts, 1 Clement, the letters of Ignatius, Polycarp's letter To the Philippians, and the Martyrdom of Paul. He also examines portraits of the departing Paul in 1 and 2 Corinthians, Philippians, and 2 Timothy, arguing that Paul's death did not primarily present an existential challenge, but a pastoral one. Although touching upon several areas of recent scholarly interest, Alexander N. Kirk sets forth a new research question and fresh interpretations of early Christian and Pauline texts.

F.C. Baur's monumental study Paul, the Apostle of Jesus Christ (1845) is one of the greatest works of all time on the Apostle to the Gentiles. Laying the basis for modern Pauline scholarship, its three sections in turn thoroughly deconstruct the account of Paul found in Acts, examine the authentic, deuteron-Pauline and Pastoral Epistles, and draw the various strands of Paul's thought into a cohesive whole. In the first two parts Baur's historical-critical skills are at their finest, while in the third the influence of Hegel and Schleiermacher can be seen as Baur presents a comprehensive synthesis of Pauline theology. Since the original nineteenth-century English translation of Baur's masterpiece is no longer adequate, Hodgson and Brown's new edition will serve as the definitive resource for future scholarship. They not only present a new translation of the German, but also provide critical annotations and translations of all the scriptural passages originally quoted in Greek. Baur on Paul becomes truly available in English for the first time.

Baur’s Paul, the Apostle of Jesus Christ was the major study of Paul published in the nineteenth century, and it is one of the greatest works of all time on Paul. It lays the basis for modern Pauline scholarship. The first part, “The Life and Activity of the Apostle Paul,” consists of a thoroughgoing deconstruction of the account of Paul found in the Acts of the Apostles. While the author of Acts passed on historical traditions about Paul, he greatly embellished them with stories about the miraculous feats of the apostles, and constructed the entire account to show fictitious parallels between the apostles Peter and Paul. The second part, “The Epistles of the Apostle Paul,” is divided into three main sections: the authentic epistles of Paul (Galatians, 1 and 2 Corinthians, Romans), the deutero-Pauline epistles (Ephesians, Colossians, Philippians, Thessalonians, Philemon), and the Pastoral Epistles (1 and 2 Timothy, Titus). In the first two parts Baur’s historical-critical skills are at their finest. The third part, “The Apostle’s Theological Framework,” draws the elements of Pauline theology into a magnificent synthesis, where the influence of Hegel and Schleiermacher is evident. The earlier English translation is no longer adequate. Our new translation presents a very readable text with critical annotations and translations of all the scriptural passages quoted in Greek. Baur on Paul truly becomes available in English for the first time.