What happened in the last few years of Paul's life? Did he ever get to Spain? How and why did he die? Were his plans fulfilled or frustrated? How should we interpret our scant sources? And what light can be shed on these matters by the social, historical, and legal context of Paul's life? In this fresh investigation of the central historical questions, a group of leading international scholars bring together their collective expertise on the apostle Paul and on the Roman, Jewish and early Christian worlds in which he lived and died. Through new scrutiny of all the key sources, a number of fresh questions and hypotheses are developed, with wide significance for all who wish to know about the climactic and traumatic final years of Paul.

Klappentext

What happened in the last few years of Paul's life? Did he ever get to Spain? How and why did he die? Were his plans fulfilled or frustrated? How should we interpret our scant sources? And what light can be shed on these matters by the social, historical, and legal context of Paul's life? In this fresh investigation of the central historical questions, a group of leading international scholars bring together their collective expertise on the apostle Paul and on the Roman, Jewish and early Christian worlds in which he lived and died. Through new scrutiny of all the key sources, a number of fresh questions and hypotheses are developed, with wide significance for all who wish to know about the climactic and traumatic final years of Paul.

Zusammenfassung
Was geschah in den letzten Jahren des Paulus? Ging er noch nach Spanien? Wie und warum starb er? Waren seine Pläne in Erfüllung gegangen oder enttäuscht worden? Wie können wir die spärlichen Quellen deuten? Und wie lassen sich diese Fragen aus den sozialen, historischen und rechtlichen Kontexten im Leben des Paulus erhellen? Zur neuen Erörterung dieser zentralen Fragen hat eine Gruppe international ausgewiesener Wissenschaftler ihre Kenntnisse und Perspektiven zu den römischen, jüdischen und frühchristlichen Kontexten in denen Paulus lebte und starb, zusammengetragen. In einer neuen Diskussion der wesentlichen Quellen werden neue Fragen und Hypothesen entwickelt, die für alle relevant sind, die mehr über die letzten und traumatischen Jahre des Paulus wissen wollen.