Perspectives of Colossian ‘philosophy’: the meaning of intertextuality in the Epistle to the Colossians

Abstract

The academic research dedicated to the way in which the author of the Epistle to Colossians relates to the Old Testament can be found in several recent specialized works by the Bible scholars Gordon Fee, G. K. Beale, C. Beetham and Jerry L. Sumney. One of the remarkable characteristics of the epistles of the Apostle Paul is that the Apostle takes over the old testamentary language in contexts in which the recipients are expected to understand not only the allusion or echo but also to recognize their implications. In this context, Colossian philosophy has a predominantly Jewish character – not a mystical one, but one anchored in a Jewish understanding of the law, circumcision and holidays.