Messenger of the Lord

Paul’s Several Assistants

In the New Testament, Paul employed several editorial assistants. Tertius helped prepare the Romans manuscript (16:22). Apparently Sosthenes assisted in writing the first letter to the Corinthians (1:1). Paul, in the Roman prison, dictated his second letter to Timothy, and Luke, his physician, prepared it in written form. ⁹ MOL 14.7

Paul was a consummate Greek scholar, well-recognized by Jewish leaders. But there were plausible reasons why he would employ literary assistants. In prison, his writing capabilities would be severely reduced, but assistants could take his thoughts and write them down much more conveniently. Some feel that his “thorn in the flesh” was poor eyesight (2 Corinthians 12:7-9; Galatians 4:15). Whatever method Paul used in writing his Epistles, those who read these letters (or heard them read) knew they were listening to inspired messages. MOL 14.8

The significant difference in the Greek style (not necessarily in content) of each of his letters suggests strongly that Paul used different literary assistants with varying abilities to place his messages in written form. ¹⁰ MOL 14.9

Peter referred to his literary assistant by name, Silvanus [Silas], “our faithful brother” (1 Peter 5:12). Why would Peter need editorial help? For several reasons: In addition to not being academically trained, Peter had the same prison restrictions as Paul; and since his mother tongue was Aramaic, he probably was not skilled in Greek. Peter’s first epistle is high-grade polished Greek, the mark of an educated mind, reflecting Silvanus’s assistance. However, Peter’s second epistle is written in a crude literary style, though truth shines through brightly. Obviously, Silvanus was not available on short notice, and Peter either wrote it himself or employed another scribe without Silvanus’s literary skill. ¹¹ MOL 15.1