Colossians

• Jewish observance pressed on Gentile believers. Held by Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible, on 2:20, and by John Chrysostom, Homilies on Colossians, homily 6, on 2:8.
• Jewish practice with visions and a mystic strain. Held by J. B. Lightfoot, Saint Paul's Epistles to the Colossians and to Philemon (1875).
• A local blend of Jewish practice and the religion of Phrygia. Held by F. F. Bruce, The Epistles to the Colossians, to Philemon, and to the Ephesians (1984), and by Douglas J. Moo, The Letters to the Colossians and to Philemon (2008).

What the evidence does not settle: Every account is built from Paul's answers to the teaching: he calls it philosophy and empty deception based on human tradition (2:8), and he names its food, feasts, angels and visions (2:16 to 18).

• Paul wrote it, with Timothy. Held by F. F. Bruce, The Epistles to the Colossians, to Philemon, and to the Ephesians (1984), by N. T. Wright, Colossians and Philemon, Tyndale New Testament Commentaries (1986), and by Douglas J. Moo, The Letters to the Colossians and to Philemon (2008).
• A student of Paul wrote in his name. Held by Eduard Lohse, Colossians and Philemon, Hermeneia (1971), and by Walter Bujard, Stilistische Untersuchungen zum Kolosserbrief (1973).

What the evidence does not settle: How far a secretary, a co-sender and a new subject can change a writer's style; the letter ends with a greeting in Paul's own hand (4:18).

• From Rome. Held by Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible, on 4:9, and by Albert Barnes, Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments, on 4:10.
• From Ephesus. Held by George S. Duncan, St. Paul's Ephesian Ministry (1929).
• From Caesarea. Held by Bo Reicke, 'Caesarea, Rome, and the Captivity Epistles', in Apostolic History and the Gospel (1970).

What the evidence does not settle: The letter places Paul in chains (4:3 and 18) with Aristarchus his fellow prisoner (4:10); Acts records him held two years at Caesarea (Acts 24:27) and two years at Rome (Acts 28:30), and each fits the names of 4:10 to 14.

• Firstborn names rank over creation, the Nicene answer. Held by Athanasius of Alexandria in his Discourses Against the Arians, 2.63, and by Ambrosiaster in his Commentary on Colossians, on 1:16.
• Firstborn of the new creation. Held by Gregory of Nyssa in his Against Eunomius, book 4, and by Severian of Gabala in his Commentary on Colossians, on 1:18.
• An older hymn Paul takes up. Held by Eduard Lohse in his Colossians and Philemon, Hermeneia.
• A poem Paul could have written himself. Held by N. T. Wright, Colossians and Philemon, Tyndale New Testament Commentaries (1986).

What the evidence does not settle: Whether Paul wrote the lines or quoted them; every reading named here holds that the Son is before all things and that all things were created through him (1:16 to 17).

• The first lessons of religion, the Law's rites. Held by Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible, on 2:20, who calls them the alphabet out of which the whole science of Christianity was composed.
• The sun and moon that mark the days. Held by John Chrysostom in his Homilies on Colossians, homily 6, on 2:8.
• Spirit powers behind the world. Held by Ambrosiaster in his Commentary on Colossians, on 2:8, who renders the phrase the elemental spirits of the world.

What the evidence does not settle: The Greek word can mean letters, first principles, the physical elements or spirits, and the letter uses it twice, at 2:8 and 2:20, both times of the world; the Berean text renders it spiritual forces.

• The sufferings of Christ's body, the church. Held by Augustine of Hippo in his Tractates on the Gospel of John, tractate 108, and by John Wesley in his Explanatory Notes upon the New Testament, on 1:24.
• A share of suffering in the same cause. Held by Albert Barnes, Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments, on 1:24, and by Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible, on 1:24.
• A measure of affliction appointed before the end. Held by Eduard Lohse in his Colossians and Philemon, Hermeneia.

What the evidence does not settle: Whose afflictions are meant, since the letter says reconciliation was made by the blood of the cross (1:20) and Paul still speaks of what is lacking.

• A letter of Paul to Laodicea, now lost. Held by Thomas Aquinas in his Commentary on Colossians, on 4:16, who sets it beside the letter to Corinth that 1 Corinthians 5:9 names.
• The letter we call Ephesians. Held as a possibility by Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible, on 4:16, who says some think it was the epistle to the Ephesians.
• A letter written from Laodicea. Held by John Gill in his Exposition of the New Testament, on 4:16, following the Syriac version, and reported by John Chrysostom in his Homilies on Colossians, homily 12.

What the evidence does not settle: Which letter Paul means by the letter from Laodicea (4:16); John Gill notes that the later Latin letter under that name is a collection of phrases from Paul's other letters.