Paul was the author of 13 books of the Bible. Some think that he wrote many other books but these 13 were the only that the Romans would allow in the Bible. I’m not a big believer in that theory, but I do have a shocking revelation of my own.
Paul did not write the book of Romans.
Actually I don’t really think Paul wrote most of those so called “epistles.” It’s all there in Romans 16:22. A guy named Tertius wrote the book of Romans.
Alright, so it really isn’t as controversial as I make out. More that likely Tertius was just Paul’s amanuensis. That means someone who writes what someone else dictates, like a stenographer. Paul was very educated or so he thought in Galatians 1:14. He more than likely knew at least four languages and probably wrote his own copy of the Hebrew Bible while he was studying in Jerusalem. So he was more than capable of writing all 13 of the epistles attributed to him. But he was also a very busy man as you see in 2 Corinthians 11:24-28. So to help him out one of his disciples wrote down as he dictated, Tertius being the lucky guy to write Romans.
You would probably be correct in assuming that most of Paul’s letters were dictated to an amanuensis. It seemed to be a common practice to dictate letters, but allow the author to write the last few lines themselves as a sort of signature. You can see this at the end of many of Paul’s other letters such as 2 Thessalonians 3:17 and Colossians 4:18 and 1 Corinthians 16:21. This would have authenticated the source, as well as made it more personal. Similar to the modern day practice of checking to see if the signature in a salutation was written by hand with a pen or printed on there.
Tertius is never mentioned again in the Scriptures. His name means “third son” which have caused many to think that Quartus (“fourth son” from Romans 16:23) might have been his little brother. Both being the children of uncreative parents. But Tertius does have one thing going for him. I (heretically) imagine people discussing the books of Romans in heaven and Tertius just sitting back saying, “Oh did you like that…cause I wrote it you know.”
References:
- ISBE
- Holman Bible Dictionary
- Romans 16:22-23
- 1 Corinthians 16:21
- 2 Corinthians 11:24-28
- Galatians 1:14
- Colossians 4:18
- 2 Thessalonians 3:17