Double Names in the Documentary Papyri and in Paul: Some Legal Considerations on the Agreement in Jerusalem

Abstract Paul’s report on the conference in Jerusalem will be addressed primarily with respect to the legal features of some important terms employed as reflected in the documentary papyri. Paul presents the discussions as a process of common truth- and identity-formation with a binding agreement at the end. The Greek name Πέτρος exceptionally appears twice in the core part of this arrangement, in which the mission areas are defined. The widespread practice of people with double names to use in legal documents the “official” Greek name rather than the native name provides the necessary documentary background for a critical examination of some previous hypotheses on this debated topic and for the proposal of a new solution to the problem. This approach is not compilatory, as it is often the case when dealing with documentary papyri applied to New Testament texts, but heuristic, with the purpose of elaborating new exegetical insights in old controversies.