1992. epistolé
Lexical Summary
epistolé: Letter, Epistle

Original Word: ἐπιστολή
Part of Speech: Noun, Feminine
Transliteration: epistolé
Pronunciation: eh-pis-to-LAY
Phonetic Spelling: (ep-is-tol-ay')
KJV: "epistle," letter
NASB: letter, letters
Word Origin: [from G1989 (ἐπιστέλλω - write)]

1. a written message

Strong's Exhaustive Concordance
epistle, letter.

From epistello; a written message -- "epistle," letter.

see GREEK epistello

NAS Exhaustive Concordance
Word Origin
from epistelló
Definition
an epistle, a letter
NASB Translation
letter (16), letters (8).

Thayer's Greek Lexicon
STRONGS NT 1992: ἐπιστολή

ἐπιστολή, ἐπιστολῆς, (ἐπιστέλλω), a letter, epistle: Acts 15:30; Romans 16:22; 1 Corinthians 5:9, etc.; plural, Acts 9:2; 2 Corinthians 10:10, etc.; ἐπιστολαί συστατικαι, letters of commendation, 2 Corinthians 3:1 (Winers Grammar, 176 (165). On the possible use of the plural of this word interchangeably with the singular (cf. Thomas Magister, Ritschl edition, p. 113, 8), see Lightfoot and Meyer on Philippians 3:1. (Euripides, Thucydides, others)).

Topical Lexicon
Overview

In the New Testament the word translated “letter” or “epistle” denotes a written message that carries varied purposes—authorization, commendation, instruction, correction, encouragement, and, ultimately, divine revelation. Twenty-four occurrences span Acts through 2 Peter, illustrating both ordinary correspondence and the inspired documents that form a substantial portion of the Christian canon.

Administrative and Legal Letters

1. Saul of Tarsus secured written authority to persecute believers (Acts 9:2; Acts 22:5).
2. The Jerusalem Council drafted a letter settling the question of Gentile inclusion (Acts 15:30).
3. The Roman commander Lysias sent an explanatory letter to Governor Felix (Acts 23:25, Acts 23:33).

These passages show how first-century communities relied on written directives to authenticate missions and convey official decisions.

Apostolic Letters as Scripture

Peter places “all his letters” by Paul alongside “the other Scriptures” (2 Peter 3:16), revealing that the church already viewed apostolic writings as divinely authoritative. Peter himself refers to “this is now my second letter to you” (2 Peter 3:1), signaling an ongoing written ministry that the Spirit would preserve for future generations.

Personal and Pastoral Correspondence

Paul’s communications exhibit deep relational concern:
• “Even if I grieved you with my letter, I do not regret it” (2 Corinthians 7:8).
• “I wrote to you in my letter not to associate with sexually immoral people” (1 Corinthians 5:9).

Such passages show letters functioning as pastoral extension, allowing an apostle to shepherd believers from afar.

Letters as Instruments of Authority

2 Corinthians 10 contrasts the charge that “his letters are weighty and forceful” (verse 10) with Paul’s personal meekness, highlighting how written words could bear decisive authority. To guard against forgeries he adds, “This greeting is in my own hand… this is a sign in every letter” (2 Thessalonians 3:17; cf. 2 Thessalonians 2:2, 3:14).

Communal Reading and Circulation

Colossians 4:16 instructs, “After this letter has been read among you, have it read also in the church of the Laodiceans,” while 1 Thessalonians 5:27 commands, “I adjure you by the Lord to have this letter read to all the brothers.” Early churches treated apostolic writings as public proclamation, fostering doctrinal unity across congregations.

Commendation and Introduction

Letters served as references for traveling ministers. Paul asks Corinthian believers if he needs “letters of recommendation” (2 Corinthians 3:1) and plans to send approved messengers to Jerusalem “with letters” (1 Corinthians 16:3), displaying an orderly system for recognizing trustworthy workers.

Believers as Living Letters

Moving from parchment to person, Paul tells the Corinthians, “You yourselves are our letter, inscribed on our hearts, known and read by everyone. You are a letter of Christ… written not with ink but with the Spirit of the living God” (2 Corinthians 3:2-3). The church embodies the message it proclaims, demonstrating the transformative power the written word intends.

Integrity and Preservation

The need to authenticate letters (2 Thessalonians 2:2; 3:17) and to copy and circulate them (Colossians 4:16) contributed to careful transmission. God’s providence safeguarded these writings so that the faith once for all delivered might be accurately received through the ages.

Ongoing Ministry Significance

The inspired epistles continue to teach, reprove, correct, and train in righteousness. At the same time the administrative letters of Acts remind believers that God works through ordinary correspondence to direct His mission. Whether exhorting saints, refuting error, or ratifying church decisions, every New Testament occurrence of this term underscores the enduring role of the written word in the life and governance of God’s people.

Forms and Transliterations
επιστολαι επιστολαί ἐπιστολαὶ επιστολαις επιστολαίς ἐπιστολαῖς επιστολας επιστολάς ἐπιστολὰς επιστολη επιστολή ἐπιστολή ἐπιστολὴ ἐπιστολῇ επιστολην επιστολήν ἐπιστολήν ἐπιστολὴν επιστολης επιστολής ἐπιστολῆς επιστολων επιστολών ἐπιστολῶν epistolai epistolaì epistolais epistolaîs epistolas epistolàs epistole epistolē epistolḗ epistolḕ epistolêi epistolē̂i epistolen epistolēn epistolḗn epistolḕn epistoles epistolês epistolēs epistolē̂s epistolon epistolôn epistolōn epistolō̂n
Links
Interlinear GreekInterlinear HebrewStrong's NumbersEnglishman's Greek ConcordanceEnglishman's Hebrew ConcordanceParallel Texts
Englishman's Concordance
Acts 9:2 N-AFP
GRK: παρ' αὐτοῦ ἐπιστολὰς εἰς Δαμασκὸν
NAS: and asked for letters from him to the synagogues
KJV: of him letters to Damascus
INT: from him letters to Damascus

Acts 15:30 N-AFS
GRK: ἐπέδωκαν τὴν ἐπιστολήν
NAS: together, they delivered the letter.
KJV: together, they delivered the epistle:
INT: delivered the letter

Acts 22:5 N-AFP
GRK: ὧν καὶ ἐπιστολὰς δεξάμενος πρὸς
NAS: received letters to the brethren,
KJV: I received letters unto
INT: whom also letters having received to

Acts 23:25 N-AFS
GRK: γράψας ἐπιστολὴν ἔχουσαν τὸν
NAS: And he wrote a letter having this
KJV: And he wrote a letter after this
INT: having written a letter having the

Acts 23:33 N-AFS
GRK: ἀναδόντες τὴν ἐπιστολὴν τῷ ἡγεμόνι
NAS: and delivered the letter to the governor,
KJV: delivered the epistle to the governor,
INT: having delivered the letter to the governor

Romans 16:22 N-AFS
GRK: γράψας τὴν ἐπιστολὴν ἐν κυρίῳ
NAS: this letter, greet
KJV: who wrote [this] epistle, salute
INT: having written this letter in [the] Lord

1 Corinthians 5:9 N-DFS
GRK: ἐν τῇ ἐπιστολῇ μὴ συναναμίγνυσθαι
NAS: I wrote you in my letter not to associate
KJV: unto you in an epistle not to company
INT: in the letter not to associate with

1 Corinthians 16:3 N-GFP
GRK: δοκιμάσητε δι' ἐπιστολῶν τούτους πέμψω
NAS: I will send them with letters to carry
KJV: by [your] letters, them
INT: you might approve by letters these I will send

2 Corinthians 3:1 N-GFP
GRK: τινες συστατικῶν ἐπιστολῶν πρὸς ὑμᾶς
NAS: as some, letters of commendation
KJV: some [others], epistles of commendation
INT: some commendatory letters to you

2 Corinthians 3:2 N-NFS
GRK: ἐπιστολὴ ἡμῶν ὑμεῖς
NAS: You are our letter, written
KJV: are our epistle written in
INT: the letter of us you

2 Corinthians 3:3 N-NFS
GRK: ὅτι ἐστὲ ἐπιστολὴ Χριστοῦ διακονηθεῖσα
NAS: being manifested that you are a letter of Christ,
KJV: to be the epistle of Christ ministered
INT: that you are a letter of Christ having been ministered to

2 Corinthians 7:8 N-DFS
GRK: ἐν τῇ ἐπιστολῇ οὐ μεταμέλομαι
NAS: you sorrow by my letter, I do not regret
KJV: sorry with a letter, I do not
INT: in the letter not I do regret [it]

2 Corinthians 7:8 N-NFS
GRK: ὅτι ἡ ἐπιστολὴ ἐκείνη εἰ
NAS: it -- [for] I see that that letter caused you sorrow,
KJV: that the same epistle hath made you
INT: that the letter same if

2 Corinthians 10:9 N-GFP
GRK: διὰ τῶν ἐπιστολῶν
NAS: I would terrify you by my letters.
KJV: you by letters.
INT: by means of the letters

2 Corinthians 10:10 N-NFP
GRK: ὅτι Αἱ ἐπιστολαὶ μέν φησίν
NAS: For they say, His letters are weighty
KJV: For [his] letters, say they,
INT: because the letters indeed they say

2 Corinthians 10:11 N-GFP
GRK: λόγῳ δι' ἐπιστολῶν ἀπόντες τοιοῦτοι
NAS: we are in word by letters when absent,
KJV: by letters when we are absent,
INT: in word by letters being absent such [we are]

Colossians 4:16 N-NFS
GRK: ὑμῖν ἡ ἐπιστολή ποιήσατε ἵνα
NAS: When this letter is read among
KJV: And when this epistle is read among
INT: you the letter cause that

1 Thessalonians 5:27 N-AFS
GRK: ἀναγνωσθῆναι τὴν ἐπιστολὴν πᾶσιν τοῖς
NAS: to have this letter read
KJV: by the Lord that this epistle be read
INT: [that] be read the letter to all the

2 Thessalonians 2:2 N-GFS
GRK: μήτε δι' ἐπιστολῆς ὡς δι'
NAS: or a letter as if
KJV: nor by letter as from
INT: nor by letter as if by

2 Thessalonians 2:15 N-GFS
GRK: εἴτε δι' ἐπιστολῆς ἡμῶν
NAS: [of mouth] or by letter from us.
KJV: or our epistle.
INT: or by letter from us

2 Thessalonians 3:14 N-GFS
GRK: διὰ τῆς ἐπιστολῆς τοῦτον σημειοῦσθε
NAS: in this letter, take special note
KJV: word by this epistle, note that
INT: by the letter that [man] take note

2 Thessalonians 3:17 N-DFS
GRK: ἐν πάσῃ ἐπιστολῇ οὕτως γράφω
NAS: in every letter; this is the way
KJV: in every epistle: so I write.
INT: in every letter so I write

2 Peter 3:1 N-AFS
GRK: ὑμῖν γράφω ἐπιστολήν ἐν αἷς
NAS: the second letter I am writing
KJV: This second epistle, beloved, I
INT: to you I write letter in [both] which

2 Peter 3:16 N-DFP
GRK: ἐν πάσαις ἐπιστολαῖς λαλῶν ἐν
NAS: in all [his] letters, speaking
KJV: in all [his] epistles, speaking in
INT: in all [his] letters speaking in

Strong's Greek 1992
24 Occurrences


ἐπιστολαὶ — 1 Occ.
ἐπιστολαῖς — 1 Occ.
ἐπιστολὰς — 2 Occ.
ἐπιστολῇ — 7 Occ.
ἐπιστολήν — 6 Occ.
ἐπιστολῆς — 3 Occ.
ἐπιστολῶν — 4 Occ.

1991
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