Since at least the 4th century, the seven NT
epistles of James, Peter, John, and Jude have been collectively known as the
“catholic” or “universal” or “general” epistles, mainly to distinguish them
from the writings of Paul. This joint designation is intended to convey the
sense of a broad, indefinite address to all Christians as opposed to a
particular congregation or individual. C. R. Holladay suggests that one of the reasons
these epistles were collectively so designated early on was because
they were accepted and read by the church in general (A Critical Introduction to the NT 469).
Apparently 1 John was the first to receive
the appellation that was eventually applied to all seven epistles for the sake
of convenience (see Eusebius, Eccl. Hist.
2.23.25; 5.18.5; 7.25.7), although 2-3 John were not initially written for the
universal church and 1 Peter has a geographically limited address (cf. also 2 Pet. 3:1). The General
Epistles bear the respective names of their authors, in contrast to the Pauline
letters which bear the names of the recipients. While some have included
Hebrews in this list, most recognize as the “General Epistles” only James, 1
Peter, 2 Peter, 1 John, 2 John, 3 John, and Jude. The writings of James and 1
Peter are principally ethical, Jude and 2 Peter eschatological, and the
Johannine epistles christological and ethical.
B. M. Metzger observes that “our New
Testament would be infinitely poorer without the variety of emphases supplied
by the general letters…. As sunlight is composed of a variety of colors, so the
spectrum of early Christian theology represented in the New Testament letters
is remarkable for its diversity of emphases as well as for its unity in
fundamentals” (The NT: Its Background,
Growth, and Content 283).
Book
|
Approx.
Date
|
Writer(s)
|
James
|
45-50
|
James the Lord’s brother
(1:1)
|
1 Peter
|
64-65
|
Peter and Silvanus (1:1;
5:12)
|
2 Peter
|
64-65
|
Peter (1:1)
|
Jude
|
65-67
|
Jude the Lord’s brother
(1:1)
|
1, 2, 3 John
|
90-95
|
John the apostle
|
Five of these writings were contributed by
apostles of Jesus Christ, while the other two were written by the Lord’s
half-brothers. Chronologically they comprise the earliest and among the latest
of the NT documents.1
--Kevin L. Moore
Endnote:
1 For more chronological details, see K. L. Moore, A Critical Introduction to the New Testament 201-21.
Related Posts: Epistle of Jacob, Epistle of Judas, Distinctive Features of 1 Peter, Distinctive Features of 2 Peter, Introducing the Johannine Epistles
1 For more chronological details, see K. L. Moore, A Critical Introduction to the New Testament 201-21.
Related Posts: Epistle of Jacob, Epistle of Judas, Distinctive Features of 1 Peter, Distinctive Features of 2 Peter, Introducing the Johannine Epistles
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