EPISTLE ĭ pĭs’ əl (סֵ֫פֶר֒, H6219, ἐπιστολή, G2186, letter or dispatch...written communication, communication in writing or printing addressed to a person or number of persons). While tr. “epistle” fifteen times and “letter” only nine times in the KJV NT, epistolé is tr. “letter” invariably in the RSV.
1. Differentiations. Preserved documents in epistolary form “might more accurately be classified as public orations, philosophical treatises, political tracts, or moral exhortations...[and] have all the marks of having been written for general publication” (Seitz). Robinson notes that “An epistle is a work of art; a letter is a piece of life....One is like the carefully finished photograph which does you justice; the other is like a snapshot which shows you as you are.” The letter is less formal, more personal and direct than is the epistle. Indeed, some of Paul’s letters, esp. Romans, bear certain epistolary characteristics, as does Hebrews. Few letters, in the technical sense, are found in the OT canonical books (see 2 Sam 11:14, 15; 1 Kings 21:8, 9; 2 Kings 19:14; Jer 29; cf. Acts 9:2; Rom 16:1ff.; 1 Cor 7:1).
2. Composition and delivery. The NT letters were the earliest form of Christian lit. They, like those of the Hellenists, were written on sheets of papyrus with a reed pen and ink, then rolled or folded, tied, and often sealed for privacy and authentication (2 Kings 21:17; Esth 3:12; 8:8; Dan 12:4; Rev 5:9). Such letters were sometimes written on waxed tablets with a stylus, mainly for economy since they could be erased. As the official Rom. postal service (cursus publicus) was not open to private correspondence, the Christians employed members of the churches as carriers (Acts 15:22; 2 Cor 8:16-23; Phil 2:25; Col 4:7, 8). While the NT letters were written under divine guidance, as also in human wisdom, in response to specific needs of individuals or churches (1 Cor 7:1), it may be questioned whether the authors were ever aware that they were writing for all time and Christendom (2 Tim 3:16).
3. Classifications. Twenty-one of the twenty-seven NT books are letters, plus two brief letters in Acts (15:23-29; 23:26-30), and seven in Revelation (2:1-3:22), which are, Seitz thinks, “simply literary introductions to a book which is itself cast in an epistolary framework.” Together they constitute more than one third of the NT. Christianity is unique in that of all the other sacred books of the world, not one is composed of letters.
Four persons were usually involved in a NT letter; the writer, the secretary (amanuensis), the carrier, and the readers. It is considered, traditionally, that Paul was the author of thirteen of the NT letters; James, one; Peter, two; John, three; Jude, one; and one (Hebrews), anonymous. Paul’s letters may be classified as follows: (1) eschatological (1 and 2 Thess), (2) soteriological (Gal, Rom, 1 and 2 Cor), (3) christological (Col, Eph, Phil), (4) ecclesiological (1 and 2 Tim, Titus), and personal (Philem). James is ethical; Jude is polemical; 1 and 2 Peter are pastoral; 1, 2, 3 John are pastoral; and Hebrews is largely polemical.
4. Structure and value. Structurally the NT letters closely resemble their Hellenist counterparts. Paul’s general practice is typical. He begins with (1) his personal greetings, which sometimes include Christian friends or coworkers present with him, or possibly his secretary, which may account for his frequent use of the first person pl. He usually combines the Gr.-Heb. salutation-blessing, χάρις, G5921. His introductory greetings normally set the keynote for the entire letter. (2) He offers thanksgiving to God for his Christian readers. (3) Prayers for the spiritual, and sometimes temporal, welfare of his readers usually follow. (4) He treats the principal concerns of his readers, often including a doctrinal discussion of their problems that may have been raised in previous communications (see 1 Cor 7:1). (5) A practical or ethical section follows in which he applies to their needs the doctrinal principles set forth. (6) A benediction, personal messages and salutations are sometimes included (Rom 16). (7) A brief autograph, in part for authentication, usually closes the letter (Gal 6:11; 2 Thess 3:17). Marked differences between the forms of the Hellenic and NT letters occur in the secular as opposed to the Christian greetings, and in the absence of dates and places of writing in the Christian letters. The far-reaching influence of the NT letters on subsequent Christian lit. is evinced by the writings of the 2nd cent. Not all of the 1st-cent. Christian letters survived (1 Cor 5:9; Col 4:16). From the beginning these NT letters were received by the church as divinely inspired messages along with the OT Scriptures (2 Pet 3:15, 16). See Letter.
Bibliography F. W. Farrar, The Message of the Books (n.d.), 143-157; W. M. Ramsay, Letters to the Seven Churches (1905), 23ff.; A. Deissmann, Light From the Ancient East (1911), 217-238; J. Moffatt, An Introduction to the Literature of the New Testament (1923), 44-58; D. M. Pratt, “Epistle,” ISBE (1939), II, 966, 967; E. W. K. Mould, Essentials of Bible History (1951), 582-588; M. S. and J. L. Miller, “Epistles,” Harper’s Bible Dictionary (1955), 169, 170; C. K. Barrett, The New Testament Background (1961), 27-29; O. J. F. Seitz, “Letter,” IDB (1962), K-Q, 113-115; S. Barabas, “Epistle,” The Zondervan Pictorial Bible Dictionary (1963), 257; E. F. Harrison, Introduction to the New Testament (1964), 238-244; J. Stein, ed., The Random House Dictionary of the English Language (1966).