Part I presents the textual and conceptual vectors which form the background to the specific examination of the OT in 1 and 2 Cor. Ihe first aim is to discern the original OT text-forms in order to conclude what
was or was not a Pauline alteration. Septuagintal transmission-history in first century Palestine is discussed
in the light of recent methodological advances made by
Barthelemy, Cross and others. The paper follows, in the
main, the established positions of Barthelemy and Tov.
The second aim concerns why Paul selected and, in several
cases, edited the OT texts. Oral and written tradition in
Palestine is examined by interaction with the critical
debates centered on the works of Gerhardsson and others.
Distinctions between literary form and exegetical method
are made in view of possible anachronistic errors when
comparing early Christianity with Judaism and Rabbinics.
Part I concludes by surveying nine major works specifically concerning Paul's use of the OT. A caveat arises to
consider Paul's own usage apart from the imposition of a
later critical method.Part II contains the detailed observation of the
textual and hermeneutical evidences. Organized by OT
books, each passage is examined on textual, contextual
and hermeneutical levels. A cumulative perspective of
Paul's textual bases and hermeneutical methods and conceptualities emergesPart III presents the textual and conceptual con¬
clusions. Hermeneutically, Paul shows a consistent
tendency to use the OT for more than anti-Judaistic
polemic (Lindars) or simple illustration (Ulonska). The
basis of his use was an historical understanding of the
OT. Paul's conceptuality displays a continuity of deity
and piety from the OT to the NT. The conclusions of
Harnack, Dodd, Lindars, Braun and others concerning
Paul's concepts of continuity are evaluated in this light.
The paper concludes with an elaboration of possible in¬
dications of a Palestinian Greek OT in 1 and 2 Cor.
Textually, Paul shows positive evidence for a Palestin¬
ian Greek OT divergent from the LXX. In the absence of
evidence from Qumran, Paul's OT text-forms provide early
evidence for the state of the Greek OT in Palestin
