Introduction to the Books of the Holy Bible

Title As with the other 3 gospels, the title is derived from the author’s name. According to tradition, Luke was a Gentile. The Apostle Paul seems to confirm this, distinguishing Luke from those who were “from the circumcision” (Col 4:11, 14). That would make Luke the...

The Gospel According to JOHN Title The title of the fourth gospel continues the pattern of the other gospels, being identified originally as “According to John.” Like the others, “The Gospel” was added later. Author and Date Although the author’s name does not appear...

Title As the second book Luke addressed to Theophilus (see Lk 1:3), Acts may originally have had no title. The Greek manuscripts title it “Acts,” and many add “of the Apostles.” The Greek word translated “Acts” (praxeis) was often used to describe the achievements of...

Title This epistle’s name comes from its original recipients: the members of the church in Rome, the capital of the Roman Empire (1:7). Author and Date No one disputes that the apostle Paul wrote Romans. Like his namesake, Israel’s first king (Saul was Paul’s Hebrew...

Title The letter is named for the city of Corinth, where the church to whom it was written was located. With the exception of personal epistles addressed to Timothy, Titus, and Philemon, all Paul’s letters bear the name of the city where the church addressed existed....

Title This is the second NT epistle the Apostle Paul wrote to the Christians in the city of Corinth (see Introduction to 1 Corinthians). Author and Date That the Apostle Paul wrote 2 Corinthians is uncontested; the lack of any motive for a forger to write this highly...

Title Galatians derives its title (pros Galatas) from the region in Asia Minor (modern Turkey) where the churches addressed were located. It is the only one of Paul’s epistles specifically addressed to churches in more than one city (1:2; cf. 3:1; 1Co 16:1). Author...

Title The letter is addressed to the church in the city of Ephesus, capital of the Roman province of Asia (Asia Minor, modern Turkey). Because the name Ephesus is not mentioned in every early manuscript, some scholars believe the letter was an encyclical, intended to...

Title Philippians derives its name from the Greek city where the church to which it was addressed was located. Philippi was the first town in Macedonia where Paul established a church. Author and Date The unanimous testimony of the early church was that the Apostle...

Title Colossians is named for the city of Colosse, where the church it was addressed to was located. It was also to be read in the neighboring church at Laodicea (4:16). Author and Date Paul is identified as author at the beginning (1:1; cf. v. 23; 4:18), as...

Title In the Greek NT, 1 Thessalonians is listed literally as “To the Thessalonians.” This represents the Apostle Paul’s first canonical correspondence to the church in the city of Thessalonica (cf. 1:1). Author and Date The Apostle Paul identified himself twice as...

Title In the Greek NT, 2 Thessalonians is listed as “To the Thessalonians.” This represents the Apostle Paul’s second canonical correspondence to the fellowship of believers in the city of Thessalonica (cf. 1:1). Author and Date Paul, as in 1 Thessalonians, identified...

Title This is the first of two inspired letters Paul wrote to his beloved son in the faith. Timothy received his name, which means “one who honors God,” from his mother (Eunice) and grandmother (Lois), devout Jews who became believers in the Lord Jesus Christ (2Ti...

Title This epistle is the second of two inspired letters Paul the apostle wrote to his son in the faith, Timothy (1:2; 2:1). For biographical information on Timothy, see Introduction to 1 Timothy: Title. It is titled, as are the other personal letters of Paul to...

Title This epistle is named for its recipient, Titus, who is mentioned by name 13 times in the NT (1:4; Gal 2:1, 3; 2Ti 4:10; for the 9 times in 2 Corinthians, see Background and Setting). The title in the Greek NT literally reads “To Titus.” Along with 1, 2 Timothy,...

Title Philemon, the recipient of this letter, was a prominent member of the church at Colosse (vv. 1, 2; cf. Col 4:9), which met in his house (v. 2). The letter was for him, his family, and the church. Author and Date The book claims that the Apostle Paul was its...

Title When the various NT books were formally brought together into one collection shortly after a.d. 100, the titles were added for convenience. This epistle’s title bears the traditional Greek title, “To the Hebrews,” which was attested by at least the second...

Title James, like all of the general epistles except Hebrews, is named after its author (v. 1). Author and Date Of the 4 men named James in the NT, only two are candidates for authorship of this epistle. No one has seriously considered James the Less, the son of...

Title The letter has always been identified (as are most general epistles, like James, John, and Jude) with the name of the author, Peter, and with the notation that it was his first inspired letter. Author and Date The opening verse of the epistle claims it was...

Title The clear claim to authorship in 1:1 by the Apostle Peter gives the epistle its title. To distinguish it from Peter’s first epistle, it was given the Greek title “Petrou B,” or 2 Peter. Author and Date The author of 2 Peter is the Apostle Peter (see Introduction...

Title The epistle’s title has always been “1 John.” It is the first and largest in a series of 3 epistles that bear the Apostle John’s name. Since the letter identifies no specific church, location, or individual to whom it was sent, its classification is as a...

Title The epistle’s title is “2 John.” It is the second in a series of 3 epistles that bear the Apostle John’s name. Second and Third John present the closest approximation in the NT to the conventional letter form of the contemporary Greco-Roman world, since they...

Title The epistle’s title is “3 John.” It is the third in a series of 3 epistles that bear the Apostle John’s name. Third John and Second John present the closest approximation in the New Testament to the conventional letter form of the contemporary Greco-Roman world,...

Title Jude, which is rendered “Judah” in Hebrew and “Judas” in Greek, was named after its author (v. 1), one of the 4 half-brothers of Christ (Mt 13:55; Mk 6:3). As the fourth shortest NT book (Philemon, 2 John, and 3 John are shorter), Jude is the last of 8 general...

Title Unlike most books of the Bible, Revelation contains its own title: “The Revelation of Jesus Christ” (1:1). “Revelation” (Gr., apokalupsis) means “an uncovering,” “an unveiling,” or “a disclosure.” In the NT, this word describes the unveiling of spiritual truth...