P<\/span>aul writes letters. Letter-writing\u2014or mail electronically composed and delivered\u2014has become so commonplace that we don\u2019t immediately grasp the significance of Paul\u2019s activity. Noting the Old Testament background will shake us from our privatized assumptions about epistle-writing.<\/p>\n There are two main words for \u201cletter\u201d in the Old Testament. The first, sepher<\/em>, has a broad meaning, referring to various forms of writing. Moses has a sepher<\/em> of the law, and prophets write \u201cbooks\u201d of Chronicles of kings of Israel and Judah. When it means \u201cletter,\u201d the word refers to something that originates from an authority figure and bears the authority of the source. David sends a letter to Joab, giving him instructions about to dispose of Uriah (2 Samuel 11). A letter sealed with Ahab\u2019s seal seals the fate of Naboth (1 Kings 21).<\/p>\n The other word for \u201cepistle,\u201d\u00a0agereth<\/em>, appears only in Chronicles, Nehemiah, and Esther. Hezekiah sends letters throughout Israel and Judah to invite all Israel to celebrate Passover (2 Chronicles 30:1, 6). Nehemiah requests letters from the Persian emperor to authorize safe passage back to Jerusalem (Nehemiah 2:7\u20139). Letters from Mordecai instruct Jews to celebrate Purim (Esther 9:26, 29).<\/p>\n Then comes Paul, writing letters that bear the authority of King Jesus and sending messengers bearing letters that give them safe passage to their destination. Perhaps by writing letters Paul himself is assuming a derivative form of royal authority. Paul\u2019s letters are often deeply personal, but they are also instructions from Paul\u2019s Lord, an exercise of authority from a distance. It\u2019s no accident that Jesus\u2019s messages to the angels of the churches (Revelation 2\u20133) begin with a royal-prophetic \u201cThus saith.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/body><\/html>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Paul writes letters. Letter-writing\u2014or mail electronically composed and delivered\u2014has become so commonplace that we don\u2019t immediately grasp the significance of Paul\u2019s activity. Noting the Old Testament background will shake us from our privatized assumptions about epistle-writing. There are two main words for \u201cletter\u201d in the Old Testament. The first, sepher, has a broad meaning, referring […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3021,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[37,1900],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-18989","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-bible","category-epistles"],"yoast_head":"\n