Acknowledgments
Note On Text And Translation
List Of Abbreviations
A Word To The Reader
1. Chapter One - Stories Of Colossians And Authorship
2. Chapter Two - Rhetoric And Opposition
3. Chapter 3 -The Household Code, Ethics, And Interpretation
References
Index

Janice Capel Anderson is Professor of Philosophy and Religious Studies at the University of Idaho, Moscow, Idaho, USA

This guide introduces readers to key issues in the interpretation and reception of Colossians. Anderson first explores the issue of Pauline authorship. She challenges readers to reflect on why the question of authorship has dominated scholarship as well as why and how interpreters create "stories" about the letter. Second, Anderson
examines rhetoric and context. She asks readers to consider how the letter constructs and seeks to persuade its addressees past and present. She surveys several pictures of the first audience and "opponents." Finally, Anderson delves into the functions of the Colossian household code, its reception, and the ethics of interpretation.