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Presentation
Romans 1:18-2:29: A Stylometric Reconsideration
Eastern Great Lakes Biblical Society 2013 Annual Meeting (2013)
  • Keith L. Yoder, University of Massachusetts
Abstract
Here I use the tools of multivariate data analysis to reconsider the proposal that Romans 1:18-2:29 was not originally composed by Paul. I examine the distributions of the 35 most frequent words in the New Testament epistolary Greek text, using Correspondence Analysis, Cluster Analysis, and Linear Discriminant Analysis. These tests jointly reveal a distinct statistical demarcation between Romans 1:18-29 and the undisputed Pauline letters, as well as differentiation between the undisputed Paulines and all the other letters of the New Testament. Data analysis thus supports the proposal that Romans 1:18-2:29 is a non-Pauline text.

Note of 12 September 2018: This study needs to be brought up to date by using the Support Vector Machine and Support Vector Clustering algorithms. I hope to have time for this next year (2019)..
Keywords
  • New Testament,
  • Paul,
  • Romans,
  • authorship attribution,
  • multivariate data analysis,
  • correspondence analysis,
  • cluster analysis,
  • discriminant analysis,
  • R
Publication Date
Spring 2013
Citation Information
Keith L. Yoder. "Romans 1:18-2:29: A Stylometric Reconsideration" Eastern Great Lakes Biblical Society 2013 Annual Meeting (2013)
Available at: http://works.bepress.com/klyoder/1/