Koine Foundations

When this letter is read among you, see that it is also read in the church of the Laodiceans. And see that you also read the letter from Laodicea.
(Colossians 4:16)

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Word Focus
letter, epistle
ἐπιστολή / epistolē
<Hear It>

The New Testament is a collection of 27 individual books. 21 of these are called epistles. This word is a loanword from Greek that means “letter”. The epistles are simply personal letters by various Christian leaders written to individuals or churches. They teach important doctrines, address local problems in the churches, and provide instructions for believers to live holy and Christlike lives.

Scholars organize the epistles into two groups: The Pauline Epistles written by the Apostle Paul, and the General or Catholic Epistles written by a number of other church leaders. Click here to see a chart of the New Testament books.

Although most of the epistles were addressed to a specific church or individual, they were freely circulated among other churches. In fact, Paul encouraged this as seen in Colossians 4:16 at the top of this post. He directs the churches in the cities of Colossae and Laodicea to swap and read the letters he sent to them.

What is also implied in Colossians 4:16 is that the letters were to be read aloud to the whole congregation. This was a common practice in the early church. The epistles were meant to be read aloud. In fact, in the epistle named First Thessalonians, the Apostle Paul clearly commands the public reading of his epistle:

I implore you before the Lord to have this letter read to all the brothers and sisters. (1 Thessalonians 5:27)

Epistles make up about one-third of the content in the New Testament. After the resurrection of Jesus, the early church grew rapidly because of its missionary zeal. The epistle was the best means for quick communication, often to address an urgent issue.

It was a common practice in the Roman and Greek worlds to use the services of an amanuensis when writing a letter. An amanuensis was a person who wrote what another person dictated. The amanuensis would be good at taking notes. In our culture we might refer to this person as a writing secretary.

It appears that the Apostle Paul regularly used an amanuensis to write his epistles. It is implied in 1 Corinthians 16:21, Galatians 6:11, Colossians 4:18, and 2 Thessalonians 3:17 where Paul interrupted to write a final greeting with his own hand. In Romans 16:22, the amanuensis identified himself and added his own personal greeting:

I, Tertius, who wrote this letter, greet you in the Lord. (Romans 16:22)

It also appears that Peter used an amanuensis to help him write his letter known today as First Peter:

Through Silvanus, whom I regard as a faithful brother, I have written to you briefly, to exhort you and to bear witness that this is the true grace of God. Stand firm in it. (1 Peter 5:12)

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Word Focus Lexicon

Lexical Form: ἡ ἐπιστολή ἐπιστολῆς <Hear It>
Gloss: letter, epistle
Part of Speech: First Declension Feminine Noun
New Testament Frequency: 24
Strong’s Number: G1992 (Link to Blue Letter Bible Lexicon)

Unless otherwise noted, English translations of Bible verses are by the author from the Greek text and are not quotations from any copyrighted Bible version or translation.