546 Read the Bible for Yourself 13: How to Read the Church Epistles
This is part 13 of the Read the Bible For Yourself (https://restitutio.org/category/class...) .
Before getting to the Church Epistles, we'll begin with an overview of how letters were written, read, and performed. Then we'll see how they are arranged in our Bibles. We'll spend a good deal of time talking about occasion. Why did Paul write each letter? What was going on that prompted him to initiate the expensive and elaborate process of writing to them? Lastly, we'll briefly consider how to apply what we read to our lives.
Listen to this episode on Spotify (https://open.spotify.com/show/1cVksI1...) or Apple Podcasts (https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast...)
• 13: How to Read the Church Epistles
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—— Notes ——
Letters in the First Century
• Letters written on papyrus with ink by a professional scribe (amanuensis)
• Though most letters that have survived from the ancient world were short and to the point, Paul’s Epistles are extremely long.
• Because there was no postal system, someone had to carry the letter to its destination.
• Upon arrival, most people couldn’t read, so a professional would need to read it aloud.
• This was difficult because there were no chapters, verses, paragraphs, punctuation, or spaces between words (scriptio continua).
Name
Greek Words
English Words
Verses
Chapters
Romans
7113
9506
432
16
1 Corinthians
6832
9532
437
16
2 Corinthians
4480
6160
257
13
Galatians
2232
3227
149
6
Ephesians
2424
3047
155
6
Philippians
1631
2261
104
4
Colossians
1583
1993
95
4
1 Thessalonians
1484
1908
89
5
2 Thessalonians
826
1065
47
3
Church Epistles in Chronological Order