New Books Network Matthew Pawlak, "Sarcasm in Paul's Letters" (Cambridge UP, 2023)
Dec 28, 2025
Matthew Pawlak, a New Testament scholar and author specializing in sarcasm in ancient texts, delves into the nuanced use of sarcasm in Paul's letters. He reveals how sarcasm shapes our understanding of Paul's relationships with early Christian communities. Pawlak discusses the linguistic signals of sarcasm in ancient Greek, analyzes specific instances from Galatians and Romans, and contrasts semantic and pragmatic approaches to irony. He also touches on the broader implications of humor and trust in early Christianity, making a compelling case for sarcasm’s rhetorical role.
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Research Origin Story
- Matthew Pawlak started noticing sarcasm while researching 2 Corinthians in his master's thesis and expanded it into a PhD and book project.
- The research began from repeated examples in Paul's letters that hadn't been treated systematically before.
Shift From Semantic To Pragmatic Irony
- Older irony studies in biblical scholarship are semantic and out of date compared with newer pragmatic approaches.
- Pragmatic approaches evaluate speaker attitude (criticism or compliment) rather than only literal meaning, which matters for identifying sarcasm in Paul.
Sarcasm Doesn't Require Falsehood
- Sarcasm can criticize without asserting factual falsehood, so prior dismissals of sarcasm in Paul based on truth-value are mistaken.
- Pawlak uses an undergraduate example and Romans 11 to show Paul can be sarcastic while affirming theological claims.