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I have a question for scholarly minds on the intended audience of Ephesians. I frequently see it stated that Ephesians must have been a circular letter, based on the "in Ephesus" issue and also because of the lack of "warmth" / personal greetings. Personally I think this argument makes certain a priori assumptions, but I'll set that aside for now.
Paul never visited Colosse yet included substantial personal greetings there. Romans, written to churches he had not yet visited, devotes an entire chapter to personal greeting, listing several dozen names along the way. Why need there be a direct correlation between familiarity and time given to salutations? When I write to good friends, I very frequently cut to the chase and often leave out context. When it comes to those on the periphery of my life, then the extended personal references come in. "Please say hi to so and so." "I hear from X that Y has fallen on hard times." "Do you know where Z has been? I haven't heard anything in months."
Is it possible that the relative lack of personal address in Ephesians is not merely a non-issue but actually an argument - not a conclusive one by any means, of course - for the fact that this letter was in fact intended for the church in Ephesus, regardless of any additional hopes Paul may have had for its circular distribution? He was there for years. He didn't need to introduce himself or establish his credentials.
Paul never visited Colosse yet included substantial personal greetings there. Romans, written to churches he had not yet visited, devotes an entire chapter to personal greeting, listing several dozen names along the way. Why need there be a direct correlation between familiarity and time given to salutations? When I write to good friends, I very frequently cut to the chase and often leave out context. When it comes to those on the periphery of my life, then the extended personal references come in. "Please say hi to so and so." "I hear from X that Y has fallen on hard times." "Do you know where Z has been? I haven't heard anything in months."
Is it possible that the relative lack of personal address in Ephesians is not merely a non-issue but actually an argument - not a conclusive one by any means, of course - for the fact that this letter was in fact intended for the church in Ephesus, regardless of any additional hopes Paul may have had for its circular distribution? He was there for years. He didn't need to introduce himself or establish his credentials.