Epistle (Gr. epistole, “letter”). Term used to designate Paul’s letters (Rom 16:22; Col 4:16; cf 2Pe 3:1) and other writings (Acts 15:30; 23:33). Today the term “epistles” is used for any of the 21 books from Romans to Jude, inclusive. Most were addressed to a church or to Christians in general (1Co 1:2; Gal. 1:2; 1Pe 1:1, 2Pe 1:1; etc.); a few to people (Titus 1:1, 4; 2 Joh_1; etc.). They had the purpose of solving problems that arose in the churches, such as moral evils or heresy (1 Cor.; Gá.), to clarify some doctrines (He.) or to give instructions (1, 2 Ti.; Tit.) . Most of them follow the custom of the time: an epigraph bearing the name of the writer and the church or persons to whom the epistle is addressed; furthermore, most end with a salutation. It seems that Paul’s epistles were usually written by an amanuensis or scribe (Rom 16:22). However, the apostle apparently preferred to put his own signature on it (2Th 3:17; cÆ ‘1Co 16:21). He did so perhaps in order to prove that the letters were his, and to discourage forgeries, which would have occurred in one case (at least he had circulated a letter with his name on it; see 2 Thess 2:2 ). Perhaps Galatians and Philemon were written by him in their entirety (Gal. 6:11; FLam_19); three of them (1 and 2 Tim. and Tit.) are known as the Pastoral Epistles. Not all of Paul’s epistles were included in the canon (1Co 5:9), but they all reveal Paul’s sense of authority. He wrote to the Corinthians: “If anyone thinks he is a prophet or spiritual, let him acknowledge that what I write to you are the commandments of the Lord” (1Co 14:37). Whoever despises the instructions he gives – he wrote to the Thessalonians – “does not reject man, but God” (1Th 4:8); he believed that he had the Spirit of God (1Co 7:40). He was not only an apostle chosen and ordained by the risen Christ (Acts 9:15; 22:15; 26:16-18; Rom 1:1; 1Co 9:1, 2), but also a prophet who had received many visions and revelations from the Lord (Acts 13:1; 2Co 12:1-9). He was aware of having been chosen as a channel of revelation (Rom 16:25-27). The “mystery of Christ”, the divine purpose achieved by the coming of Jesus Christ to earth, is the “mystery that in past generations was not made known to men, as it has now been revealed to the holy apostles and prophets by the Spirit” (Eph 3:5, JB). Soon Paul became known in the Mediterranean world as a letter writer. In some of his epistles he reveals a concern regarding the public reception and use of his letters. With solemn and urgent language he cries out to the Thessalonians “I adjure you by the Lord, that this letter be read to all the holy brethren” (1Th 5:27). In his Epistle to the Colossians he gives instructions regarding the sharing of 2 of his letters: “when this letter has been read among you, have it also read in the church of 382 the Laodiceans, and that of Laodicea you also read it” (Col 4:16). As Goodspeed points out: “This will naturally have led to the preservation of these letters among the treasuries of both churches.” It should also be noted that few letters were addressed to a circle larger than a single congregation. Galatians addressed “to the churches of Galatia.” 2 Corinthians addressed not only the Corinthian church but “all the saints who are in all Achaia” (1:1). Ephesians is considered by many to be a circular addressed to various churches. Evidences in favor of this idea are found in the omission of the phrase in EÆ’eso, “those who are in Ephesus”, in some old and important manuscripts; the absence of personal greetings in the letter, even though Paul had worked 3 years in Ephesus; and in the fact that the letter does not deal with any specific ecclesiastical problem. Seven (Jas.; 1 and 2 P.; 1, 2 and 3 Jn.; Jud.) are called Catholic (universal) Epistles. Unlike those of Paul, those with personal names identify the author of the epistle, not the churches or people to whom they are addressed. See the names of the various epistles.
Source: Evangelical Bible Dictionary
(gr., epistole, letter, epistle).
Written correspondence, personal or official. The OT abounds with evidence of written letters, the best known being David’s letter to Joab about Uriah (2Sa 11:14-15), Jezebel’s letter about Naboth (1Ki 21:8-9), and Sennacherib’s letter. to Hezekiah (2Ki 19:14); letters also abound in the NT (Acts 9:2; Rom 16:1ff.; 1Co 7:1).
However, the term is almost technical, referring particularly to the 21 epistles of the NT, written by 5 (possibly 6) writers. Paul wrote 13 (or 14, if Hebrews was written by him); John, 3; Peter, 2; James, 1; and Jude, 1.
According to the custom of the time, they usually began with the name or title of the writer and that of the recipient or recipients; then followed words of greeting, the message of the epistle, and at the end the author usually gave his name. Paul’s practice was to employ a secretary to write down what he dictated. Seven epistles are called General, because they were written for the church in general.
The influence of the NT epistles on the literature of Christianity is seen in the writings of the following century, which were largely epistolary in form. In fact, there were heretics who wrote epistles on behalf of the apostles. Not all the epistles of the apostles have survived (1Co 5:9; Col 4:6).
Source: Hispanic World Bible Dictionary
(letter).
This term is usually reserved for the letters written by the Apostles, included in the Bible. There are 21: Pauline Epistles: (14).
1- Theological or soterological epistles, which speak directly of the message of salvation: (“sotero”=salvation).
romans
Corinthians, 1 and 2.
Galatians.
2- Christological Epistles, or of the Captivity, which deal with the figure of Christ, and were written from prison: Ephesians.
Colossians.
Philippians.
3- Eschatological Epistles, which deal with the end of time: The 2 to the Thessalonians.
4- Pastoral or Ecclesial Epistles: Written to Pastors, and dealing with pastoral issues, organization and care of the Church: Timothy 1 and 2.
Titus.
5- Apologetics: Epistle to the Hebrews, which according to S. Jerome was also written by Paul, although other scholars doubt it.
Catholic or Universal Epistles: They were addressed to the entire Church, as opposed to those of Paul, which were addressed to a community or a pastor of the Church: Santiago.
Saint Peter 1 and 2.
Saint John 1, 2 and 3.
(2 and 3 are not universal).
St. Jude.
See each Epistle in alphabetical order.
Christian Bible Dictionary
Dr. J. Dominguez
http://bible.com/dictionary/
Source: Christian Bible Dictionary
It is a letter from one person to another, or from one group to another, either for official or private purposes. It is true that in antiquity, especially among the Greeks, it was customary to write certain treatises, generally philosophical and always for didactic purposes, in letter form, which gave rise to a style that was called epistolary, but the letters that appear in the Bible do not have that particular style. They are, rather, communications that arose as a consequence of very concrete needs in the churches or around the ministry of the apostles. Some of them, however, could well fit within the definition, since they are true treatises, as is the case of Galatians, Ephesians and First John. Others, although exposing truths, make some references to people and places.
Paul wrote many letters, some of which have not come down to us. It is known, at least, that there were two other e. to the Corinthians (1Co 5:9; 2Co 7:8) and another to Laodicea (Col 4:16). The fact that Peter, in his second letter, mentions the e. of Paul and says that some misunderstood them “as well as the other Scriptures”, it is a sign that the early church considered this correspondence as the Word of God (2Pe 3:15-16).
There are several examples of letters in the OT, such as the one David sent to †¢Joab ordering the death of †¢Uriah (2Sa 11:14-15); those sent by †¢Jezebel for the death of †¢Naboth (1 Kings 21:8-10); the one that †¢Hezekiah commanded asking the people to come and celebrate the Passover (2Ch 30:6-9); those that † ¢ Sennacherib wrote blaspheming against Jehovah when he was besieging Jerusalem (2Ch 32:17); those sent by those who opposed the Jews in the time of Ezra (Ezr 4:6-9), etc.
Source: Christian Bible Dictionary
Letter that is addressed, as a general rule, to a specific community or group of recipients. Etymologically it refers to a message or document that is sent (Epi-stole, sending envelope) and received or answered.
Letters sent to individuals and relatives spread throughout the Greek and Roman world. In addition to the pragmatic use to cover distances, it also became a literary genre that spread to spread ideas of all kinds: politics, science, literature, law, even politics and religion. Thus they were used by the Greek Epicurus (Letter to Menoeceus), Cicero, Caesar and Seneca (Epistles to Lucilo)
This genre became frequent in certain Christian authors, especially from the 4th and 5th centuries. The Letters of St. Augustine, those of St. Jerome and those of the great patristic theologians are interesting. They used them with true literary mastery and used them as a means of disseminating and basing Christian doctrine in the communities that received them.
In the European Renaissance, the humanists (Vives, Erasmus, Thomas More, etc.) took them as the preferred genre to present their ideas and exchange their occurrences or communications.
In Christian language, the term Epistle was applied for centuries in preference to the Letters that remained among those written by the Apostles to the communities they had evangelized or those they wished to encourage in doctrine. That is why they were preferably instructive and deeply systematic.
Of the many that surely circulated in the communities, tradition preserved us 14 attributed to Saint Paul and 7 attributed to other Apostles (James, John, Peter and Judas). All of them use (except that of the Hebrews, which is more a sermon than a letter) the Roman way of writing: pompous and praiseworthy salutation to the person or community to whom it is addressed, body of the subject or doctrine, warnings, personal references and greetings. in affectionate farewell.
Pedro Chico González, Dictionary of Catechesis and Religious Pedagogy, Editorial Bruño, Lima, Peru 2006
Source: Dictionary of Catechesis and Religious Pedagogy
epistole (ejpistolhv, 1992), primarily a message (from epistelo, to send to), and therefore a letter, epistle. It is used in the singular form (eg Act 15:30); in the plural form (eg, Act 9:2; 2Co 10:10). “Epistle is a less common term for letter. A letter allows more freedom to the…