Amy-Jill Levine and Marc Zvi Brettlerauthors

Following the four Gospels and Acts of the Apostles, the New Testament contains thirteen letters in the name of Paul, followed by the anonymous Epistle to the Hebrews, and seven letters attributed to major figures in the history of the early Church (two ascribed to Peter, three ascribed to John the Apostle, one in the name of James the brother of Jesus, and one in the name of Jude, another of Jesus’ brothers). The canon ends with the book of Revelation, also known as the Apocalypse of John. The annotations to each of these texts provide details on authorship, date, location, and purpose. This brief introduction addresses the genres of the Epistles and Revelation and the relationship among these texts.

Epistles

An epistle is a public letter, designed to be read to a community (see 1 Thess 5.27; Col 4.16). Such letters are well attested in the ancient word, including the Latin letters of Cicero the orator and lawyer (106–43 bce) and Seneca the Stoic philosopher (4 bce–65 ce). Although Rome had developed a functional postal service, the Epistles in the New Testament were likely delivered by a personal messenger who also read the text to the intended recipients. For example, Phoebe the deacon, mentioned in Rom 16.1–2, may have been the one who recited the epistle to the congregation in Rome.

Epistles have a relatively standard form: (a) An Introduction providing the name of the author and the intended recipients (e.g., “Paul, called to be an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God, and our brother Sosthenes, to the church of God that is in Corinth” [1 Cor 1.1–2]); (b) a Greeting, which for Paul is usually “Grace” (a common Hellenistic term) and “peace” (a common Jewish term); for example, Rom 1.7; 1 Cor 1.3; 2 Cor 1.2; Gal 1.3; and (c) a Thanksgiving, in which the author expressions appreciation for various gifts from or traits of the recipients. Philippians 1.3, for example, offers “I thank my God every time I remember you.” (The Epistle to the Galatians is notorious for lacking a Thanksgiving.) The body of the text lays out the reason for writing; the Epistles typically address problems the author believes need addressing, whether issues of correct Christology, ritual, moral behavior, or economics. Epistles can also address emotions: they can encourage steadfastness, console, or shame. They typically include a section of ethical content (paranaesis or “exhortation”) in which the author provides instructions for living (e.g., 1 Cor 16.13–14, “Keep alert, stand firm in your faith, be courageous, be strong. Let all that you do be done in love”; 1 Thess 5.15–17, “See that none of you repays evil for evil, but always seek to do good to one another and to all. Rejoice always, pray without ceasing”). Epistles conclude with such matters as the name of the amanuensis (the scribe) to whom the letter was dictated (e.g., Rom 16.22) and final wishes from the sender to the recipients (e.g., Gal 6.18, “May the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with your spirit, brothers and sisters. Amen”; Philem 25, “The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ be with your spirit”).

Determining the occasion that prompted ancient letters is typically a matter of some guesswork. The early second century ce epistles between the Emperor Trajan and Pliny the Elder who was serving as governor in Bithynia (northern Turkey) are exceptional in that the biographies of both letter-writers are well known and the circumstances that stand behind the exchange of letters are clear. Biblical interpreters often engage in “mirror-reading”—an approach suggesting that it is possible to extrapolate the problems of the church addressed in the letter by what the letter says. This approach is fraught with difficulties: We do not know what the author knows about the local situation, or whether it was reported accurately.

For a number of reasons, the Epistles in the New Testament cannot be used in a straightforward way to reconstruct the history of the early Gentile follows of Jesus. The Epistles are edited compositions: the early communities decided what they wanted to preserve, and in what form. Some letters, such as 2 Corinthians, appear to be a composite of several separate letters secondarily edited together. First Corinthians 5.9 mentions an earlier letter to the Corinthian community, and 2 Cor 2.4; 7.8–9 also suggest missing correspondence. Colossians 4.16 even mentions an epistle sent by Paul to the Laodiceans—this has not been preserved. Thus, the letters do not present a complete picture either of their authors or the recipients.

Just as there are Apocryphal Gospels and Acts that were not accepted as canonical, so there are non-canonical or Apocryphal Epistles. These include the Epistle of Paul to Seneca the Younger, 3 Corinthians, and the Epistle to the Laodiceans. The early Church Fathers also composed epistles, which provide excellent information about the church as it developed in the early second century ce. These texts include seven letters written by Ignatius (ca. 35–108), the bishop of Antioch (To the Ephesians, To the Magnesians, To the Trallians, To the Romans, To the Philadelphians, To the Smyrnaeans, and to his fellow martyr, To Polycarp, the bishop of Smyrna). These represent a continuation of the genre of epistles found in the New Testament, though none of these was canonized in any tradition as part of the New Testament.

New Testament scholars often ask about the “authenticity” and “integrity” of particular Epistles. “Authenticity” refers to authorship: Did the person to whom the letter is ascribed actually write it? The Epistle of Paul to Seneca provides a convenient example of an “inauthentic” letter: it is written in Paul’s name, but it was not written by Paul. “Integrity” refers to whether the letter is now in the form that the author originally wrote, or whether elements have been added, removed, or shifted in place. A text may have authenticity (it was written by the person in whose name it appears) but lack integrity (material may be been added or removed), and vice versa. For example, the screed against women who speak in the assemblies (1 Cor 14.33b–36), seen as contradicting both another passage in 1 Corinthians (11.5ff.) in which women are recognized as prophets, and in contradiction to Rom 16.1–2, where Paul mentions Phoebe’s leadership, is often taken as an interpolation, material inserted into the original text and not written by Paul. First Corinthians is considered an authentic Epistle of Paul, but if the passage is secondary, the Epistle lacks integrity.

When reconstructing the history of the earliest years of the assemblies gathered in the name of Jesus, it is important not to generalize from one Epistle to the community as a whole. Further, all New Testament epistolary material should be considered in terms of impact: Is this statement designed to apply to all people everywhere, or is it case-specific to the situation at hand? Instructions sent to one congregation (whose full circumstances cannot be determined) may not be appropriate for another. Epistles generally are case specific or “occasional” rather than systematic treatises.

Paul’s Epistles

Thirteen documents in the New Testament are Epistles attributed to Paul. Of these, scholars agree that Paul wrote only seven: Romans, 1 and 2 Corinthians, Galatians, Philippians, 1 Thessalonians, and Philemon. Debates concern the authenticity of the rest, with the majority of scholars determining that 2 Thessalonians is authentic, and then the doubt increasing for Colossians, Ephesians, 1 and 2 Timothy, and Titus. These six texts, and especially the last three (called the Pastoral Epistles) are regarded by many scholars as “pseudonymous,” that is false writings, written in Paul’s name. They are also called “Deutero-Pauline” Epistles, to indicate that they are not by Paul himself but have a secondary (deutero) relationship to him. The introductions and annotations to these texts detail the reasons why Pauline authorship is questioned. In addition, the Epistle to the Hebrews, although traditionally considered Pauline, likely because of its epistolary opening, is an anonymous text that displays neither Pauline emphases nor Paul’s style.

Although the term “forgery” has been used for texts attributed to Paul but not likely composed by him, the negative connotations of this term mislead. In antiquity, it was common to write in the name of an ancient worthy; texts such as 1 Enoch and 4 Ezra were not written, respectively, by the antediluvian hero and the fifth-century bce priest. Nor were the Testaments of the Twelve Patriarchs written by Jacob’s sons. Similarly, many Tanakh books are pseudonymous or contain sections that are not by their original authors; scholars have shown, for example, that many sections of Jeremiah or Isaiah were not written by the prophet of that name, and they view Deuteronomy as a pseudonymous composition, attributed to Moses.

The order in which the Epistles appear in most Bibles is from longest (Romans) to shortest (Philemon). However, Galatians precedes Ephesians, even though the latter is slightly longer. Hebrews appears at the end of the Pauline letters, just prior to the General or “Catholic” Epistles (that is, those addressed to the Christian community in general; “catholic” means “having to do with the whole,” or “universal”; see further discussion below).

With the exception of Romans, the authentic Pauline Epistles are addressed to communities Paul founded. Because Paul did not found the Roman congregation, he takes more time in this Epistle to describe his views. But for each congregation, including that in Rome, he addresses their specific needs, as he understands them, from his personal visits and/or his messages from associates.

The dates of the authentic letters and hence the order of their composition remain, as much else, a matter of speculation. Scholars generally agree that 1 Thessalonians is the earliest Pauline letter, with dates ranging from as early as 41 to 49. Thus the text could have been composed within a decade of Jesus’ death. The others are assigned to the 50s and perhaps early 60s. The “Captivity Epistles,” which indicate that the writer is in prison, are Philippians, Ephesians, and Philemon, as well as the possibly pseudonymous Colossians, The Captivity Epistles may reflect Paul’s imprisonment in Rome (see Acts 28.16–31), which could date them to the early 60s, although it is not clear that they all refer to the same situation. Paul’s letters are earlier than the Gospels and Acts; whether the Gospels and Acts were influenced by Paul is a matter of speculation.

The order in which the letters were written may determine Paul’s understanding of his own Jewish identity, his Jewish practice and belief, and his relationship with fellow Jews. First Thessalonians 2.4b–6 assigns the death of Jesus to “the Jews” (Gk Ioudaioi) and suggests that Paul sees himself as apart from that community. However, a number of scholars think this passage was interpolated into the original document. Galatians, written to convince Gentile followers of Jesus not to convert to Judaism (via circumcision) can be read as having a negative view of Torah; conversely, it may represent Paul’s attempt to keep his Gentile congregants from converting to Judaism. Romans, likely Paul’s last letter, answers the question, “Then what advantage has the Jew? Or what is the value of circumcision?” with the emphatic “Much, in every way” (Rom 3.1–2). Consequently comments about Paul’s view of Jews as well as about “Judaizing” (the term for Gentiles who practice traditions that distinguish Jews; see “Judaizers,” p. 637) must be seen first in their own literary and sociological contexts, as best as those can be determined from the Epistles themselves.

The final Epistle traditionally assigned to Paul, but not written by him, is Hebrews. This document ends like a traditional Epistle, with paraenesis (ethical exhortation) and final greetings (Heb 13.16–25), but the introduction, lacking identification of author, Salutation, or Thanksgiving, reads more like a treatise or even sermon. Given its non-Pauline authorship, Hebrews is sometimes classified among the Catholic or General Epistles, to which we now turn.

The Catholic Epistles

The second set of Epistles, labelled “Catholic” (in the sense of “universal”) or “General Epistles,” include the Epistle of James (the brother of Jesus and leader of the Jerusalem church); 1 and 2 Peter; 1, 2, 3 John, which share common themes and vocabulary with both the Gospel of John and the Book of Revelation, and the Epistle of Jude (the brother of Jesus), which derives some of its apocalyptic material from 2 Peter. The term “Catholic” or “General” indicates the non-specific audiences to which these texts are addressed. Unlike, for example, the Corinthian letters, which precisely address issues in the Corinthian community, the Catholic Epistles offer general exhortations, Christological reflections, and views of eschatology that are broadly applicable. Although the texts differ in theme, vocabulary, and tone, they are also distinguished as not by Paul.

As with the Deutero-Pauline Epistles, the Catholic Epistles are often regarded as pseudonymous. And as with the Pauline Epistles in general, interpretation of the Catholic Epistles requires developing hypotheses regarding their purpose, intended audience, and sociological context. These issues are discussed in the introduction and annotations to each book.

The relationship among the Catholic Epistles themselves as well as to the Pauline Epistles, the canonical Gospels, and Acts, is a major topic of New Testament study. The Epistle of James bears numerous connections to Paul’s writings in terms of concern for justification (how one enters into a right relationship with God), faith, the use of Abraham as an exemplar of faith, and the relationship of the community to the Law. James may have been written as a corrective to readers who misunderstood Paul’s comments about freedom from the Law as offering permission to engage in whatever activity they wanted, without concern for ethical behavior. James also shares much in common with the Gospel of Matthew, especially material that resembles sayings in the Sermon on the Mount (Mt 5–7).

First Peter relates to Ephesians and the Pastoral Epistles in its concern for maintaining, at least on the surface, Roman values, including the subordinate roles of women, children, and slaves. Second Peter and Jude, which are literarily related, address the delay of the return of Jesus (the Parousia) and so anticipate the book of Revelation appearing at the end of the canon. The three Johannine Epistles share similar themes with the Gospel of John and Revelation (e.g., light, truth), but the order of composition of the three letters, as well as the order of all five Johannine texts (Gospel, three Epistles, Revelation), remains debated.

Questions of Jews, Jewish practice, and Jewish belief are of less import in these texts than they are in the Gospels, Acts, and the authentic Pauline Epistles. This is because like the Deutero-Paulines, the Catholic Epistles are more concerned with internal discipline among the followers of Jesus, avoiding what the authors consider false teaching, promoting correct Christology, and a correct understanding of ecclesial eschatology, rather than in debating how much Jewish practice should be adopted.

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Revelation

The final book in the New Testament canon is the Apocalypse (Gk apokalypsis) of John; the Greek term means “revelation,” “uncover,” or “reveal,” and hence the title “Revelation.” Like the Pauline and Catholic Epistles, it draws from the epistolary genre by opening with letters to seven churches in Asia Minor, but these letters are sent by a heavenly authority and convey eschatological warnings along with ethical exhortation. Revelation thus logically follows the Epistles in the canon; as a work that focuses in such detail on the future, it also is a fitting conclusion to the New Testament.

Books that scholars classify into the genre called “apocalyptic” include such elements as angelic mediation of heavenly secrets, tours of heaven and hell, insights into the final battle between God and Satan, and symbols recognizable by the intended audience but often opaque to generations following. The introduction and annotations detail the symbols and their likely interpretation.

Revelation fits into the canon somewhat uneasily. On the one hand, apocalyptic (details of heavenly secrets) and eschatological (comments on the end-times) passages are found throughout the New Testament. For example, the “little apocalypse” of Mk 13 (see also Mt 24) responds to the disciples’ question to Jesus, “Tell us, when will this be, and what will be the sign that all these things are about to be accomplished?” (Mk 13.4) with discussions of heavenly portents, such as “The sun will be darkened, and the moon will not give its light” (Mk 13.24). Paul also describes his own apocalyptic experience in 2 Cor 12.2–4, “I know a person in Christ who fourteen years ago was caught up to the third heaven—whether in the body or out of the body I do not know; God knows. And I know that such a person—whether in the body or out of the body I do not know; God knows— was caught up into Paradise and heard things that are not to be told, that no mortal is permitted to repeat.” On the other hand, the canonical material does not generally focus on esoteric visions or personal, mystical experiences.

Apocalyptic texts likely developed under Persian influence early in the Second Temple period, and they became common by the late Second Temple period. Daniel 7–14, Zech 9–14, and parts of Isa 24–27 are early examples of the genre. After the destruction of the Jerusalem Temple in 70 ce, apocalyptic texts provided both comfort in the present regarding divine righteousness and surety that those who persevered in faith would find eschatological reward (e.g., 4 Ezra; 2 Bar.). However, the more the Christian community stressed images of heaven and hell, the more the Jewish community prescinded from this focus. Jews in the rabbinic period and later did produce the hekhalot (Heb for “palaces”) or merkavah (Heb for “chariot”) texts, works that take their impulse from the initial chapters of Ezekiel which describe the prophet’s vision of the heavenly chariot of God, but these did not become part of the standard early rabbinic corpus.

For the most part, the Jewish tradition from the rabbinic period onward has promoted neither apocalyptic visions nor eschatological speculation. The communal focus of later Jewish tradition calls into question the necessarily individual focus of apocalyptic visions; the stress on sanctification in this world preempts the interest, seen in some Christian visionary material, in the world-to-come.