Publication Date
Spring 4-26-2024
School
College of Arts and Sciences
Major
Applied Mathematics and Statistics; Mathematics
Keywords
statistical linguistics, stylometry, statistics, linguistics, digital humanities, mathematics, authorship, biblical studies, Greek, Hebrews, Paul, Luke
Disciplines
Applied Statistics | Biblical Studies | Language Interpretation and Translation | Statistical Theory
Recommended Citation
Erickson, Benjamin J., ""Who Wrote the Epistle, God Only Knows": A Statistical Authorial Analysis of Hebrews in Comparison with Pauline and Lukan Literature" (2024). Senior Honors Theses. 1392.
https://digitalcommons.liberty.edu/honors/1392
Abstract
The authorship of Hebrews has been a point of contention for scholars for the past two millennia. While the epistle is traditionally attributed to Paul, many scholars assert that it carries thematic, structural, and stylistic differences from the remainder of his extant epistles; therefore, many other possible authors have been proposed. Of these, only Luke has other New Testament writings. Therefore, this project conducts a statistical comparison of Hebrews to the Pauline and Lukan corpora using stylometric authorial analysis methods. This analysis demonstrates that Hebrews is stylistically closer to Lukan literature than Pauline (but not to a significant degree), and thus concludes that Luke is a possible but not definite author (or possibly a co-author).
Included in
Applied Statistics Commons, Biblical Studies Commons, Language Interpretation and Translation Commons, Statistical Theory Commons
