Exegetical study in the days of liberal theology assumed that Paul spoke on impulse, according to the mood of the moment, deeply moved, and with often changing emotions. Scholars read between the lines, searching for crises in the life of the apostle that might explain his changes of attitude. If we consider Adolf Deissmann's research on Paul it is not difficult to see that an interpretation assuming a far too detailed knowledge of the apostle's spiritual life is an exaggeration. The actual material of our study is the texts, not the man behind them. And Paul is not as spontaneous as was believed by the older generation of exegetes. The letters are those of an experienced missionary, used to preaching and instructing. And it is possible that in the letters he is dealing with subjects he has discussed before, so that the expressions he uses have not necessarily been new minted for this particular occasion.

Papias of Hierapolis has suffered from the fact that his work, Exposition of the Words of the Lord, in five books, has been lost, and that so little or, if preferred, just so much, has been preserved, that the fragments confront us with difficult problems. These are many and may easily overshadow the text. The following comments are primarily of an exegetic nature and serve to shed light on Papias and his work.