INTRODUCTION TO THE NEW TESTAMENT LETTERS

By Charles L. Quarles

T wenty-one of the twenty-seven books of the New Testament (NT) are letters. Although the four Gospels, Acts, and Revelation belong to other genres, portions of some of these books are also letters (Ac 15:23-29; 23:25-30; Rv 2:1-3:22). Although the NT Letters taken individually are each shorter than the other NT books, these documents still constitute one-third of the total word count of the NT in Greek. Understanding these letters is key to understanding the NT message.

HOW WERE THE NEW TESTAMENT LETTERS WRITTEN?

Ancient letter-writing was similar to modern letter writing in many ways. Unfortunately, the conventions of modern letter writing are quickly being forgotten in this age of digital communication. Thus a brief overview of ancient letter writing is needed.

Use of Trained Scribes

While our first inclination may be to imagine the authors of the NT Letters penning the entirety of documents with their own hands, this was not the way that most letters were produced in the ancient world. Most letters were handwritten by a skilled scribe who was normally compensated for his work. Sometimes the author dictated the letter word-for-word to the scribe. The scribe initially used an ancient form of shorthand to preserve the precise content of the letter and later wrote out the letter in full. In other situations, the scribe had more input by suggesting specific expressions that might make a thought clearer or proposing a particular structure for the argument of the letter. Even when the scribe had greater influence on the content of the letter, the author had the opportunity to make corrections during a final reading to ensure that the letter still communicated exactly what he wished to say.

St. Paul by Jan Lievens. Paul went to great lengths to ensure that the churches would recognize his authentic letters by writing the closing with his distinctive handwriting as well as by carefully selecting couriers both he and the churches trusted.

These approaches are similar to the different types of business letters typed by modern administrative assistants. If an assistant has typed a letter that the supervisor dictated, the assistant’s initials appear in lowercase against the left margin, two lines below the author’s signature (jcq). However, if the assistant composed the letter in dialogue with the supervisor and under the supervisor’s direction, the supervisor’s initials are written in all-caps, followed by the assistant’s initials in all-caps, followed by the assistant’s lower-case initials with each set of initials separated by a slash or colon (CLQ/JCQ/jcq). The supervisor’s signature and fronted initials demonstrate that the letter communicates what the supervisor wishes to communicate and that the supervisor has read the letter and is responsible for its content, even though the letter was composed and typed by the assistant. Ancient scribes used comparable procedures in letter writing. The autograph that appeared at the end of the letter functioned like the modern signature and capitalized initials to indicate that the author approved the letter as an accurate expression of his thoughts and intention.

Understanding the different approaches to letter writing helps explain some of the differences in style, vocabulary, and grammar that appear in different letters by the same NT author. Sometimes scholars point to differences between Romans and 2 Thessalonians, for example, to argue that the same author could not have produced both. Several explanations can be given for these differences. Differences in vocabulary may be influenced by the specific needs of the audience, the nature of the author’s relationship with them, and his own circumstances at the moment. Some of these differences may imply only that the letters were penned for Paul by different scribes. The scribe Tertius, for example, penned the letter to the Romans for Paul (Rm 16:22). Second Thessalonians lists both Silas and Timothy as co-senders of the letter (2Th 1:1-2), and one of these men may have served as the scribe. These different influences may account for some of the subtle differences in expression between these two letters of Paul.

Use of Standard Forms

Modern letters have standard forms and style. Business letters place different elements in a distinct order and use formalities like “Dear Sir/Madam:” and “Sincerely,” in the greeting and closing. Ancient letters had standard forms and styles too. The letters normally had three distinct sections: the opening, the body, and the closing. Each section normally contained several specific features.

All letters opened with a prescript that identified the sender and the recipient and expressed a greeting (normally Gk chairein, “greetings”). The prescript was followed by a thanksgiving formula that expressed gratitude to the gods and offered prayer for the good health or safe travel of the recipient.

The NT Letters use these conventions but modify them for theological purposes. For example, although the normal “Greetings!” formula is used by James (see also Ac 15:23; 23:26), Paul consistently changes a few letters of the formula to transform “Greetings to you” into “Grace to you” (Gk chairein to charis). Then he adds the standard Jewish greeting “Peace be with you.” The use of both greetings showed how the grace of God leads to peace with God and made sure that neither Gentiles nor Jews felt left out in the customary greeting.

NT Letters also expand and modify the thanksgiving formula. In particular, the focus of thanksgiving and prayer is for the spiritual health rather than the physical health of the recipients. Philippians is a perfect example of this. Paul gave thanks for the Philippians’ partnership in the gospel and for God’s continued work among them. He prayed for the growth of their love and for their purity (Php 1:3-11).

The closing of ancient letters often contained greetings to individuals and an autograph. The autograph was used when a secretary penned the letter for the author. By writing a portion of the closing with his own hand, the author verified his identity. The clearest examples of these features appear in Paul’s letters. For example, the longest list of greetings to individuals in the NT appears in the closing of Romans 16:3-16. Paul has clear examples of the autograph as well. Paul closed Galatians with the statement: “Look at what large letters I use as I write to you in my own handwriting” (Gl 6:11). He closed 2 Thessalonians with the words: “I, Paul, am writing this greeting with my own hand, which is an authenticating mark in every letter; this is how I write.” (2Th 3:17). Most ancient letters did not call attention to the autograph so conspicuously. The simple shift from one hand-writing sample to another made the autograph clear. Unfortunately, that shift is apparent in the original letter, but not in copies or translations. Nevertheless, Paul’s statement that the autograph was a sign “in every letter” indicates that Paul consistently used the autograph even when it is not conspicuous in modern translations.

WHO WROTE THE NEW TESTAMENT LETTERS?

Some scholars claim that a few of the NT Letters are pseudonymous. The adjective pseudonymous is derived from the Greek words pseudos (“lie,” “falsehood”) and onoma (“name”). A pseudonymous letter is one written under the name of an important figure who was not truly the author.

Some scholars claim that letters like Ephesians, 1 and 2 Timothy, and Titus are pseudonymous. Although the letters claim to be written by Paul, they were actually written by someone else, perhaps a later disciple of Paul. Most of those scholars add that the pseudonymous letters were not written to deceive the readers. The earliest readers recognized the letters as pseudonymous and had no objection to the practice as long as the letter was true to the spirit of the purported author. However, this theory should be rejected for several reasons.

First, few, if any, examples of pseudonymous letters from among the Jews exist. Some scholars argue that the so-called Letter of Aristeas and Epistle of Jeremy are exceptions. It is true that both works are pseudonymous. However, neither work is actually a letter. The first is an account of the translation of the Old Testament into Greek. The second is a short sermon. Neither work contains the hallmarks of the ancient letter such as greeting and address.

Second, NT references clearly show that the apostles and the early church objected to pseudonymous letters. Second Thessalonians 2 shows that the Thessalonians were entertaining the notion that the “day of the Lord” had already occurred. They had been led to believe that this was Paul’s own view “by a message or by a letter supposedly from us” (2Th 2:2). Paul’s reaction, “Don’t let anyone deceive you in any way,” makes it clear that he regarded the suspected pseudonymous letter as a deception. As discussed above, Paul went to great lengths to ensure that the churches would recognize his authentic letters by writing the closing with his distinctive handwriting as well as by carefully selecting couriers both he and the churches trusted.

Third, the early church rejected pseudonymous letters. In the second century, someone wrote a letter that claimed to be the missing letter Paul wrote to the Laodiceans— the one he mentioned in Colossians 4:16. The letter is mainly a patchwork of passages and expressions from Paul’s true letters. Even though the letter did not contain dangerous doctrines and was largely consistent with Paul’s writings, the early church rejected it simply because it was pseudonymous. The Muratorian Canon (AD 170-200), a list of accepted NT books, rejected the Epistle to the Laodiceans because it was “forged in Paul’s name” (Mur. Can. 64-65). Due to the closeness of the early church to the authors of the NT Letters and their great familiarity with Greek, early Christians were in a better position to evaluate the authenticity of letters that claimed authorship by an apostle or by another important leader in the church. They did not naively accept just any letter that purported to be written by an apostle, but carefully evaluated the letters and rejected those that they regarded as pseudonymous.

HOW SHOULD WE INTERPRET THE NEW TESTAMENT LETTERS?

Read the Letters as historical documents. Rather than first reading the NT Letters as letters written by God directly to the modern reader, the Letters are first studied as correspondence written to churches that were facing specific challenges and threats in Italy, Greece, and Asia Minor nearly two thousand years ago. The NT Letters certainly communicate God’s revelation for modern readers. But before modern readers can understand what God intends to say to them, they must first determine what the letter was intended to communicate to the original readers. Readers who seek to interpret accurately the NT Letters should seek to understand the original historical context of the letter as fully as possible.

Interpreters sometimes employ a practice called “mirror-reading” in their quest to understand the historical content. Mirror-reading uses the responses of the authors of the NT Letters to reconstruct the problems in the churches that they were addressing. Just as a person can often listen to the words of one participant in a telephone conversation and accurately reconstruct much of what the other participant said even without directly hearing that portion of the conversation, readers can often reconstruct the problems in the churches based on a careful reading of the responses to those problems. A clearer understanding of these problems then assists in interpreting the response in the Letters. This procedure is admittedly circular. But if the reconstruction of the problem prioritizes explicit descriptions in the Letters above mere inferences, the results are generally reliable. The introductions to each letter in this study Bible are helpful guides to understanding the historical contexts in which Paul’s letters were written and the specific situations that they addressed.

Read the Letters as one would ordinarily read a letter. Modern readers often read the NT Letters very differently than they read other letters. Very few people receive a letter and read only a paragraph at a time. If their reading of the letter happened to be interrupted, they would likely resume where they left off in their reading rather than jumping here and there, back and forth, to various portions of the letter. They recognize that if they are going to understand the letter, they must read it in a single sitting and in order so that they can properly appreciate the flow and progression of the argument. Yet many read the NT Letters haphazardly and, as a result, miss the development of thought in the letter.

As one reads through the letter from beginning to end, one should pay attention to the introduction and conclusion which often summarize the major themes of the letter. One should highlight instances of repetition or heavy concentrations of specific words that identify the author’s emphases. The introductory outlines to each NT Letter in this study Bible will serve as helpful guides for understanding the development of thought.

Read the Letter being conscious of the important differences between then and now. Sometimes statements in the NT Letters are culturally conditioned. They were written assuming the conditions of first-century Jewish or Gentile culture in various parts of the world. They may not apply to readers in a different culture or era in precisely the same way that they applied to the original readers.

In order to interpret and apply the NT Letters, readers must appreciate the differences between then and now, there and here. The differences are sometimes significant and influence interpretation and application greatly. Prudent application of texts that originally addressed cultural situations quite different from those of the modern reader requires principalization. This involves an attempt to discover the moral or theological principles that apply in all situations and which lie behind directives addressed to a situation different from today.

The following questions will help: What instruction does the letter give to the original reader? What particular situation was the instruction addressing? How is my situation like that original situation? How is my situation different? If our situation is very similar to that of the original reader, the instruction may directly apply. However, if our situation is very different from that of the original reader, the instruction will still apply, but less directly. Readers must identify the moral or theological principle that prompted the instruction and consider how that principle applies in their unique situation.

For example, 1 Timothy 5:23 says, “Don’t continue drinking only water, but use a little wine because of your stomach and your frequent illnesses.” Does this mean that modern Christians are required to drink wine? Does it matter that most water supplies in major ancient cities were contaminated and carried disease, but that water available in developed countries today is pure and safe? Does it matter that ancient wine was normally diluted with several parts water to reduce its alcoholic content to a mere fraction of that of most modern wines? And does it matter that Paul was addressing a specific ailment in one individual? A careful look at the differences between then and now, there and here, shows that interpreting Paul’s instruction to Timothy as a mandate for modern Christians to add wine to their diet is misguided.