INTRODUCTION AND AGENDA 1 Timothy, 2 Timothy and Titus have been known as “the Pastoral Epistles” (PE) from about the eighteenth century,1 but as early as the second century they had been grouped together within the broader Pauline corpus.2 In the course of New Testament interpretation, this grouping has undeniably had some adverse consequences. There are, however, good reasons for considering these three letters together—they are unique within the Pauline corpus—though this by no means permits interpreters
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