Paul regularly employed assistants in composing his letters

Paul regularly employed assistants in composing his letters. Paul used secretaries or scribes (called amanuenses) when composing his epistles, following the standard procedure where the amanuensis would take down the speaker’s words and produce a transcript for the author to review and edit, then create a final draft that the author would sign in his own handwriting.[1]

The clearest evidence comes from Paul’s own letters. Tertius identifies himself as writing the letter to the Romans on behalf of Paul[2], making him the only amanuensis Paul explicitly names. Beyond this, several of Paul’s epistles indicate that he provided the concluding salutation in his own handwriting: 1 Corinthians, Galatians, Colossians, and 2 Thessalonians.[1] In 2 Thessalonians 3:17 Paul explicitly states it was his practice to add a personal subscription to his letters in his own handwriting, thereby attesting to what was written and assuring his converts that the letter was really from him.[3]

The extent of the amanuensis’s role, however, remains uncertain. The extent of freedom that amanuenses had in drafting letters is impossible to determine from the evidence presently at hand, and it undoubtedly varied from case to case—they may have written word-for-word, been given only the sense of the message to develop themselves, or even been asked to write on a subject without explicit directions.[3] The amanuensis likely took down the Apostle’s words in shorthand, which was extensively used at the time, and later wrote out the letter for transmission.[4] Paul then took up the pen and authenticated the letter, guarding against forged documents under his name.[4]

[1] Walter A. Elwell and Philip Wesley Comfort, in Tyndale Bible Dictionary (Wheaton, IL: Tyndale House Publishers, 2001), 1313.
[2] Ed Hindson and Elmer L. Towns, Illustrated Bible Survey: An Introduction (Nashville, TN: B&H Academic, 2013), 345.
[3] D. A. Carson and John D. Woodbridge, Scripture and Truth (Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Book House, 1992), 107–108.
[4] T. B. Allworthy, “Tertius,” in Dictionary of the Apostolic Church (2 Vols.), ed. James Hastings (New York: Charles Scribner’s Sons, 1916–1918), 2:559.