“In My Own Hand”: Grapho-Literacy and the Apostle Paul 43 rigorous pedagogue” (18): “Between [the amanuensis’] fluent hand and that of Paul there was a pronounced difference … . The large letters naturally suggest that the explanation rather lies in the formal and external matter of calligraphy” (19). Again he claims, “The handwriting of the amanuensis of Gal. i. 1 – vi. 10 … was probably cursive, and the autograph signature of St. Paul the stiff, heavy uncials of a manual labourer” (20). There are, however, numerous dissenters to this view (21). Betz claims phlivka gravmmata should be interpreted neutrally as “large letters” rather than implying “clumsy” and that the large letters serve to “underscore the importance of what he has to say in these last words”(22). Similarly, Lightfoot claims the size of the letters “answers to the force of the apostle’s convictions”: The language almost bursts with the surcharge of feeling. The very forms of the letters too bear witness to his intense earnestness. He writes in large bold characters to arrest the eye and rivet the mind” (23). After considering a number of possibilities, including Paul’s poor eyesight, a hand defect due to an actual crucifixion (24), and Paul’s familiarity with Hebrew letters rather than Greek and thus reflecting that Paul was “a Hebrew of the Hebrews”, George concludes: “All of these are intriguing possibilities, but none of them can be set forth with certainty” (25). In the very least, the weight of scholarly opinion is aligned against Deissmann’s notion of a sloppily-writing Paul, as (18) A. DEISSMANN, Paul. A Study in Social and Religious History (London 1926) 49; DEISSMANN, Light, 166, n. 7, 246; A. DEISSMANN, Bible Studies. 2 Contributions Chiefly from Papyri and Inscriptions to the History of the Language, the Literature, and the Religion of Hellenistic Judaism and Primitive Christianity (Edinburgh 21909) 348, respectively. (19) DEISSMANN, Bible Studies, 348. (20) DEISSMANN, Light, 174. (21) In addition to those discussed below in the main text, see F.F. BRUCE, The Epistle to the Galatians. A Commentary on the Greek Text (NIGTC; Grand Rapids 1982) 268; W.K.L.CLARKE, “St. Paul’s ‘Large Letters’”, ExpT 24 (1912- 1913) 285; J.S. CLEMENS, “St. Paul’s Handwriting”, ExpT 24 (1912-1913) 380; RICHARDS, Secretary, 181. (22) BETZ, Galatians, 314. (23) LIGHTFOOT, Galatians, 218, 65, respectively. So also BURTON, Galatians, 348. J.D.G. DUNN, The Epistle to the Galatians (BNTC; London 1993) 335, claims Paul perhaps wrote “large enough for the reader to hold up so that the various congregations could read his words for themselves”, which was also the suggestion of BRUCE, Epistle to the Galatians, 268. (24) This is the suggestion of TURNER, Grammatical Insights, 94. (25) T. GEORGE, Galatians (NAC 30; Nashville 1994) 432.