7: Literary Genres and Features (Didactic Literature)

Literary Genres and Features: Didactic Literature

Didactic literature makes up around one-third of the Scriptures. This is the “teaching” material of the Bible (e.g., the New Testament Epistles). There can be some overlap between the categories of historical narrative, wisdom literature, prophecy, and didactic literature. It is possible to have didactic teaching in a book of wisdom, poetry in a historical narrative, etc. For this reason, we cannot be overly rigid when categorizing the text.

The New Testament Epistles represent the largest chunk of didactic literature in the Bible. The Epistles of the New Testament are real and authoritative historical letters.¹ The human writers were conscious of the fact that they were speaking the words of God (1 Thessalonians 2:13) and with apostolic authority (cf. 2 Thessalonians 3:6).

The Epistles of the New Testament are not “personal” letters (like what we may commonly write to a friend)—even though some of these may have been directed to particular individuals (e.g., 1-2 Timothy, Titus, and Philemon). In general, they were written to a specific church or a group of churches for a specific reason. Correspondingly, they are called “occasional” documents because they were written for specific occasions to address particular individuals who were facing unique problems.² Personal comments are kept to the minimum and the focus is chiefly theological. Moreover, the Epistles often contain complex argumentation and rhetorical devices. So, it would be a mistake to read them as casual correspondences. By God’s providence, these letters are profitable for Christians everywhere throughout all ages.

Literary and historical contexts matter. The Epistles are actual letters, and therefore each of them is intended to be handled as a whole, rather than being read piecemeal. Like any other letter that we may receive, these are intended to be read from beginning to end in a single sitting, rather than broken up piecemeal. In the early church, when a particular church received a letter from one of the apostles, they would have read the letter together in its entirely in their worship service. “For the most part, apostolic writings were first read by someone like a lector, and the rest of the church heard what was read (cf. Acts 13:15; Colossians 4:16; Revelation 1:3).”³ This means, when we read the Epistles of the New Testament, it is generally a good idea to read the whole letter first to get the general thrust of the epistle, then to look at a particular text in context, if possible. We should be careful not to zoom in on a particular verse or passage so much that we end up losing sight of the whole.

“The more cogently the letter was written, the risker it would be to break it up arbitrarily. Moreover, part of the meaning of a document is the total impact it makes on the reader, and that meaning is often more than the sum of its parts… Another way of stating [this] is to say that… a New Testament letter must be read in context.”⁴

Historical context matters.⁵ For example, in the Epistle to the Galatians, the situation that precipitated the letter was the fact that the Christians in the Galatian churches were straying from Christ’s grace “to a different gospel” (1:6). Some people, identified as Judaizers, were distorting the gospel by claiming that the Galatian gentiles needed to observe the Old Testament law, especially circumcision, in order to be saved (Galatians 1:7; 5:11; 6:12-13).⁶ In the First Epistle to the Corinthians, the problem that occasioned the letter was the fact that the Corinthians were steeped in paganism and fell prey to sexual sin, the allure of wealth and position, compromise with respect to food offered to idols, and the rejection of a bodily resurrection.⁷ On the other hand, the Epistle to Philemon is quite a different type of letter, where Paul exhorts Philemon regarding his slave Onesimus who had previously run away, but now had become a Christian; Paul’s aim is to exhort and encourage Philemon to receive Onesimus back as a brother in Christ.⁸ The Epistle to the Romans was also a historical document that was written to address a specific issue pertinent to that congregation. (Some scholars have previously claimed that the letter was intended to be a full presentation of Paul’s theology, but this is an overstatement as there are important themes that are absent or underdeveloped in the letter). It appears that the focus of this letter was to address specific issues dividing Jews and gentiles within the Chrisitan church—such that Paul felt it necessary to clarify the priority of the gospel as it is revealed (Romans 1:16; 2:9-10), the way in which sin is made known (1:19-32; 2:1-29), how both Jew and gentile are justified the same way (3:29-30; 4:9-16), and both are children of Abraham (4:17-25), and how the destiny of Israel is tied to the gentiles (9-11).⁹

The importance of taking everything in context is especially true for understanding difficult passages.

Case Study:

Take, for example, Hebrews 6:4-6: “For it is impossible for those who were once enlightened, and have tasted the heavenly gift, and have become partakers of the Holy Spirit, and have tasted the good word of God and the powers of the age to come, if they fall away, to renew them again to repentance, since they crucify again for themselves the Son of God, and put Him to an open shame.” This warning is widely considered to be one of the “most puzzling and enigmatic” passages to interpret.¹⁰ Some possible interpretations that have been proposed include the following:

            1. Christians may lose their salvation permanently;

            2. Christians may lose their salvation temporarily, but restoration is possible;

            3. Professing Christians may fall away, but not the truly regenerate;

            4. Christians may lose their rewards, but not their salvation;

            5. The passage only speaks hypothetically; etc.

The broader context may be helpful here. The Epistle to the Hebrews was originally written to a predominantly (if not exclusively) Jewish audience. It is likely that many Jewish believers, in the face of mounting persecution in the early- to mid-60s AD were tempted to retreat back to Judaism and the old covenant system (which had already been rendered obsolete by the finished work of the Messiah on the cross), prompting the author to warn them, “how shall we escape if we neglect so great a salvation?” (2:3). The purpose of the book is to present a powerful and sustained argument that Jesus is superior to all previous mediators of God’s revelation and redemption—including angels, Moses, Joshua, the Levitical priesthood, and other Old Testament figures.¹¹ Knowing the overarching message of the book gives us a reasonable sense of what the warning passage in chapter 6 is likely about.

Moreover, if we read the entire book, we will notice that 6:4-6 is not the only passage of its kind. There are actually four other similar “warning passages” in the Book of Hebrews (i.e., 2:1-4; 3:7-15; 10:26-31; and 12:25-29). Altogether, it appears that the five warning passages deal with a similar situation and provide a cumulative effect: “the author is deeply concerned about his readers, and he is carefully trying to achieve his one great aim, that is, preventing them from committing some terrible sin that will bring down God’s severe judgment.”¹² Knowing this, we can quickly eliminate some of the proposed interpretations above:

            4. Does not fit with the wider context of the book where the warnings issued are not about personal rewards but about salvation (e.g., 2:3; 3:12; 10:26-27, 31; 12:25).

            5. Hypothetical apostasy also makes little sense. After all, “what is the point of writing a whole letter with such emotional and severe warnings to prevent something that cannot really happen?”¹³ The warnings are personally directed to the recipients to caution them from falling away (e.g., 3:12).

Deciding between the remaining options requires consideration of other factors (e.g., what the rest of Scripture has to say about the topic of perseverance and apostasy). A number of other New Testament passages teach the eternal security of believers (cf. John 10:28-29; 2 Timothy 1:12; 1 John 5:13). That being the case, Scripture, as a whole, seems to rule against the 3^rd interpretation. This is the principle of sacra Scriptura est sui interpres (holy Scripture is its own interpreter).

Moreover, we can also consider that Hebrews seems to have been originally addressed to a congregation that was wavering in their faith. While many in the congregation were holding fast to their confession (4:14; 10:23) even in the midst of persecution (cf. 10:34), others were no longer regularly meeting and had recently drifted away (10:24-25).¹⁴ “That said, it is possible, if not likely that those addressed [in Hebrews 6] were unbelievers in the congregation who had never truly placed their faith in Christ [cf. 1 John 2:19].”¹⁵

Literary features. The New Testament Epistles are structured much like many of the other letters of their day with an introduction, body, and conclusion.¹⁶ Knowing the general structure of the Epistles helps us to recognize when important irregularities are present. For example, the Epistle to the Galatians is conspicuously missing any expression of thanks in its introduction (which we would have normally expected between 1:5 and 1:6). This should immediately alert us that there is something atypical going on:

“Paul stresses the severity of the Galatians’ lapse into legalism by ignoring standard conventions and plunging directly into the heart of his complaint against them.”¹⁷

Other examples include the Epistles to the Hebrews, James, and 1 John. Specifically, Hebrews does not begin like a letter, James does not end like one, and 1 John has neither a salutation nor a closing.¹⁸ For these reasons (and others) it is generally believed that all three of these books were originally a series of sermons (or homilies) that were preached and later compiled into letters.¹⁹ This has practical implications on how we should read and understand these letters. It means that the numerous passages in Hebrews that warn against apostasy (as noted above) are not hypothetical; rather the author of Hebrews seriously believed that some in his congregation were in danger of abandoning their professional of faith.²⁰

Other distinctive literary features of New Testament Epistles include their claim that they bear divine authority (e.g., Romans 1:1-7; 1 Corinthians 14:37; Galatians 1:1-5; etc.). The Epistles also contain doxologies (e.g., Ephesians 3:20-21), creeds (e.g., 1 Peter 1:18-21; 2:21-25; 3:18-22), and hymns (e.g., Philippians 2:6-11; Colossians 1:15-20; 1 Timothy 3:16). These are structured poetically (according to their rhythm and parallelism) and interject suddenly into ordinary prose.²¹ Another interesting literary feature are slogans (see below).

Case Study:

The Epistle of 1 Corinthians is a challenging book to interpret. One particularly thorny verse is 7:1b, which reads: “It is good for a man not to touch a woman” (i.e., it is good for a man not to marry). Taken out of its original context, some people have incorrectly concluded that Paul must be teaching that marriage is a bad thing and should be avoided if possible. But this interpretation is inconsistent with the rest of Scripture (even Paul’s own writings) where marriage is commended (Ephesians 5:22-33; 1 Timothy 3:2; 4:3).²²

We can “read between the lines” (looking at the internal evidence found within a letter) to reconstruct some of the historical context.²³ It appears that the Corinthian church was greatly divided by matters related to sexual morality: some members appeared to be quite loose (e.g., 5:1-2; 6:15-16) and another group—perhaps in reaction to the former—were very strict (7:3-5). Supporting this inference, Paul tells us that he has received a letter from the Corinthians concerning marriage (7:1a)—among other things.

It seems that the phrase in 7:1b, “It is good for a man not to touch a woman,” was not Paul’s, but rather a quotation from the letter Paul received from the Corinthians.²⁴ It was likely a slogan that the Corinthians adopted to promote strict abstinence, even within marriage, as a broad sweeping solution to the sexual immorality that was occurring within the church. It is this that Paul is addressing. Specifically, in verses 1b-16, Paul deals with those who are already married (or who have been formerly married but whose marriages have been dissolved by the death of a spouse); in verses 25-38, he addresses those who have yet to be married. “Paul’s response on both sides is the same: ‘Stay as you are.’ For the married there are no real exceptions; here he has the command of the Lord. But for the never-before married and widows/widowers, he allows genuine exceptions, even though singleness is clearly his own preference.”²⁵

In fact, Paul frequently quotes the slogans he wishes to dispute, such as the following:

            – “All things are lawful for me” (meaning: “I have the right to do anything”) (6:12)

            – “Foods for the stomach and the stomach for foods” (6:13)

            – “It is good for a man not to touch a woman”
            (meaning: “It is good for a man not to have sexual relations with a woman”) (7:1)

            – “We know that we all have knowledge” (8:1)

Slogans share some common features: they are short and concisely worded; and they reflect views with which Paul can agree in part but which prove significantly misleading if accepted without qualification.²⁶ Paul responds to each of these items, one by one, with a “yes-but” logic; His responses are generally introduced by the term “now concerning” (peri de; 7:1, 25; 8:1, 4; 12:1; 16:1, 12).²⁷

Finally, the Epistles also contain many of the same literary features that we learned about in the other biblical genres, such as chiasms (e.g., Galatians 4:4-5).²⁸

Christocentric. At the center of the Bible, especially Paul’s writings, is the death, resurrection, and exaltation of Jesus Christ; this is the turning point of all of redemptive history.²⁹ Knowing this can help us understand some of the difficult passages of the New Testament.

Case Study:

One example is Romans 1:3-4 where Paul, in summarizing the gospel, describes Jesus as the one “who was born of the seed of David according to the flesh” but who was also “declared to be the Son of God with power according to the Spirit of holiness, by the resurrection from the dead.” Here, we have both a parallelism and a chiasm:³⁰

            A: born of the seed of David
                        B: according to the flesh
                        B’: according to the Spirit of holiness
            A’: by the resurrection from the dead

Traditionally, this passage was taken to be a contrast between the human nature (“flesh”) and the divine nature (“Spirit of holiness”) of Christ, both coexisting together. According to this interpretation, this passage is intended to teach, perhaps more explicitly than anywhere else in Scripture, the hypostatic union of Christ’s two natures.³¹ This is the ontological view.

Others, however, have convincingly argued that the passage actually refers to the two successive stages of Christ’s work, specifically his humiliation and exaltation, rather than serving as a contrast between his two natures. This is also called the redemptive-historical view.³² In support of this view, it seems that in the introduction to the Book of Romans, Paul is especially committed to presenting a summary of the gospel (i.e., describing himself as one who has been “separated [or set apart] to the gospel of God… concerning his Son Jesus Christ our Lord” in verses 1-3). While the doctrine of the two natures of Christ is important for the gospel, it is not by itself a summary of the gospel.

“Paul is intent in the opening verses of Romans on giving an encapsulated summary of the gospel… The gospel is not the person of Christ, but the person and work of Christ… [It is about] Christ, God who became man, and who, as such, entered the sin-cursed present even age with all of the humiliation, weakness, suffering, and ultimately death for sin associated with that existence in the flesh… and who by the Holy Spirit was resurrected from the dead and constituted the possessor and source of the eschatological life and power of the age to come. This is the gospel.”³³

A similar parallelism is presented in 1 Timothy 3:16, which similarly outlines the focus of redemptive history.³⁴

The implication of the redemptive-historical approach is that Christ’s resurrection is intimately related to the work of the Holy Spirit of which we have also become partakers (Romans 8:11; 1 Corinthians 15:44-45; 2 Corinthians 3:17-18). Those who are united to Christ have died with him and have also been raised with him to new life (Romans 6:4). The Holy Spirit, the agent of our new birth, has been given to us as proof that our resurrection existence has begun (cf. Ephesians 4:30). The Holy Spirit is not only given as a pledge (down payment) for our future inheritance but he is seen as the beginning of its fulfillment (Ephesians 1:11, 13-14). For this reason, Paul is able to state that we already reign with Christ (Ephesians 2:6; Colossians 3:1-4; Philippians 3:20). But the final, consummated, irreversible state of glory has not yet come. Christians continue to live in “this present evil age” (Galatians 1:4) and “in the flesh” (2:20). This tension is referred to as the “already-not yet”—a description of what God has already fulfilled and what God will yet to do in the future.³⁵

“While Jesus, with his coming, did bring in the kingdom of God and thus has already conquered the forces of the enemy, yet sin and misery continue to be with us until the consummation.”³⁶

This has implications on how we understand what the New Testament teaches us about Christian sanctification. There are two opposing forces that are operational in the life of a believer:

“The conflict between the flesh and the Spirit experienced by believers (Galatians 5:16-26) reflects a struggle, not precisely between two parts of each individual, but rather between two forces of cosmic proportions. However, since we have already died to sin and are not under subjection to the law but alive to God, we are assured that sin will not have dominion over us (Romans 6:14). In the light of this assurance, moreover, the believer’s responsibility to lead an obedient life becomes very clear. If sin has been dethroned, we simply have no excuse when we disobey God. The Spirit of Christ has freed us from sin and death. May we learn to ‘put to death the misdeed of the body’ as children of God who are led by his Spirit (Romans 8:13-14).”³⁷

Footnotes

1
Kaiser, Walter C., and Moisés Silva. An Introduction to Biblical Hermeneutics: The Search for Meaning (Revised and Expanded Edition). Zondervan, 2007, pp. 174-175.
2
Recognizing this has important implications on how we understand and apply the text. “Interpreters must reconstruct those original ‘occasions’ and purposes as precisely as possible in order to separate timeless principles from situation-specific applications.” Klein, William W., Craig L. Blomberg, and Robert L. Hubbard. Introduction to Biblical Interpretation: Third Edition. Zondervan, 2017, p. 542. Paul’s letters also deal with principles that have permanent validity, [so] it is easy for us to overlook their occasional character.” Ibid, p. 177.
3
“Yet from the NT Itself it is apparent that letters were to be read and reread not only in different churches but probably also in the same churches. Furthermore, new believers would have been increasingly exposed to the content of the OT: we know that part of the early church’s meetings and instruction included the reading and teaching of the OT Scriptures (e.g., cf. Romans 15:4; 1 Corinthians 10:6, 11; 1 Timothy 4:13-16; 5:17-18; 2 Timothy 2:15; 3:16-17). In addition, awe also know that letter carriers likely explained part of the meaning of the letters.” Beale, G. K. Handbook on the New Testament Use of The Old Testament: Exegesis and Interpretation. Baker Academic, 2012, p. 10.
4
Kaiser, Walter C., and Moisés Silva. An Introduction to Biblical Hermeneutics: The Search for Meaning (Revised and Expanded Edition). Zondervan, 2007, p. 175.
5
“A good appreciation for the historical setting of a document can help us not only to deal with difficult verses; it can also enhance our understanding of a letter as a whole.” Ibid, p. 180.
6
Schreiner, Thomas R. Handbook on Acts and Paul’s Letters. Baker Academic, 2019, p. 44.
7
Ibid, p. 123.
8
Ibid, pp. 423-424.
9
Ibid, pp. 53-54.
10
O’Brien, Peter Thomas. The Letter to the Hebrews: The Pillar New Testament Commentary. W.B. Eerdmans, 2010, p. 217.
11
Köstenberger, Andreas J. Handbook on Hebrews through Revelation. Baker Academic, 2020, pp. 2-5.
12
Kaiser, Walter C., and Moisés Silva. An Introduction to Biblical Hermeneutics: The Search for Meaning (Revised and Expanded Edition). Zondervan, 2007, p. 176.
13
Ibid, p. 176; also, O’Brien, Peter Thomas. The Letter to the Hebrews: The Pillar New Testament Commentary. W.B. Eerdmans, 2010, p. 219.
14
Köstenberger, Andreas J. Handbook on Hebrews through Revelation. Baker Academic, 2020, p. 26.
15
Ibid, pp. 26-27.
16
“A fairly typical structure… began with a salutation (identification of author, recipients, and some kind of greeting) and a prayer or expression of thanks for the well-being of the recipients. Then one proceeded to the body of the epistle, which set forth the major reason(s) for writing. If the writer had advice or exhortation to give, this came after the body. A closing farewell rounded out the document.” Klein, William W., Craig L. Blomberg, and Robert L. Hubbard. Introduction to Biblical Interpretation: Third Edition. Zondervan, 2017, p. 545.
17
Ibid, pp. 545-546.
18
Goswell, Greg. Text and Paratext: Book Order, Title, and Division as Keys to Biblical Interpretation. Lexham Academic, 2023, p. 112.
19
Another reason to suspect that Hebrews was originally a series of sermons is that it describes itself as a “word of exhortation” (Hebrews 13:22) and the only occurrence of this phrase in the New Testament is Acts 13:15 where it specifically refers to a sermon.
20
Klein, William W., Craig L. Blomberg, and Robert L. Hubbard. Introduction to Biblical Interpretation: Third Edition. Zondervan, 2017, p. 549.
21
Ibid, p. 551.
22
Kaiser, Walter C., and Moisés Silva. An Introduction to Biblical Hermeneutics: The Search for Meaning (Revised and Expanded Edition). Zondervan, 2007, p. 177.
23
Ibid, p. 178. A more elaborate reconstruction has been proposed by Gordon Fee. “The historical situation in Corinth was one of conflict between the church and its founder… Our letter records Paul’s third dealings with this church… Paul’s first association with them was the founding visit mentioned in Acts 18… A couple of years later, while Paul was in Ephesus, he wrote the Previous Letter to the community mentioned in 1 Cor. 5:9… [there] he dealt with some problems of sexual immorality… That leads, then, to our 1 Corinthians, which was occasioned primarily by a letter brought to Paul by Stephanas, Fortunatus, and Achaicus (16:15-17)—as a response on their part to his letter… It seems highly likely that in their letter they have taken considerable exception to several of [Paul’s] positions and/or prohibitions.” The situation was confirmed by oral communication by some believers from Chloe’s household. For this reason, Paul “must reassert his authority in a situation where it has [been] severely eroded…. [and] he must convince [the members of the Corinthian church] to change both their theology and their behavior to conform to his, since they are moving toward positions that threaten the gospel itself—every bit as much as the Judaizers in Galatia were doing in another direction.” Fee, Gordon D. The New International Commentary of the New Testament: The First Epistle to the Corinthians. Eerdmans, 1987, pp. 6-7.
24
“Most likely, therefore, as in 6:12-13 and 8:1 and 4, Paul is here quoting from the letter [he received from the Corinthians] itself… This also explains its abruptness following the mention of their letter.” Ibid, p. 276. “This view seems to be supported by almost all the details in the text itself. It is also supported by the overall structure.” Ibid, pp. 273-274.
25
Ibid, p. 269.
26
Klein, William W., Craig L. Blomberg, and Robert L. Hubbard. Introduction to Biblical Interpretation: Third Edition. Zondervan, 2017, pp. 552-553.
27
For instance, 7:1, “Now concerning the things of which you wrote to me: It is good for a man not to touch a woman.” 8:1, “Now concerning things offered to idols: We know that we all have knowledge.” And, so on.
28
The chiasm is laid out as follows:

A: God sent forth His Son

B: born under the law

B’: to redeem those who were under the law

A’: that we might receive the adoption as sons
29
This point was made especially clear by Geerhardus Vos (The Pauline Eschatology. Eerdmans, 1930) and Herman Ridderbos (Paul: An Outline of His Theology. Eerdmans, 1975). The historical emphasis of “justification by faith alone” as the central message of the New Testament (though admittedly a theologically important point) was probably an imbalanced view motivated by Martin Luther’s personal experiences, rather thana reflection of the Apostle Paul’s main thesis. Kaiser, Walter C., and Moisés Silva. An Introduction to Biblical Hermeneutics: The Search for Meaning (Revised and Expanded Edition). Zondervan, 2007, p. 185.
30
The pairing of A and A’ in this chiasm is clearer in the Greek. Gaffin, Richard B. In the Fullness of Time: An Introduction to the Biblical Theology of Acts and Paul. Crossway, 2022, p. 345, fn. 25. In terms of the parallelism, it is both an antithetical parallelism and a progressive parallelism. Ibid, p. 359.
31
This view was held by John Calvin, Charles Hodge, and B.B. Warfield. Ibid, p. 345.
32
This view was defended by Geerhardus Vos, Herman Ridderbos, John Murray, and Richard Gaffin. See: Vos, Geerhardus. The Pauline Eschatology. Eerdmans, 1961, p. 156, fn. 10; Gaffin, Richard B. In the Fullness of Time: An Introduction to the Biblical Theology of Acts and Paul. Crossway, 2022, pp. 346-348, 358-361.
33
Gaffin, Richard B. In the Fullness of Time: An Introduction to the Biblical Theology of Acts and Paul. Crossway, 2022, p. 360.
34
Ibid, p. 359.
35
Riddlebarger, Kim. A Case for Amillennialism: Understanding the End Times. Inter-Varsity Press, 2003, p. 62.
36
Kaiser, Walter C., and Moisés Silva. An Introduction to Biblical Hermeneutics: The Search for Meaning (Revised and Expanded Edition). Zondervan, 2007, p. 187.
37
Ibid. 187-188.

Footnotes

Related Articles

1. Introduction to Hermeneutics

2. Meaning and Significance

3. Literary Genres and Features (Historical Narrative)

4. Literary Genres and Features (Wisdom and Poetry)

5. Literary Genres and Features (Prophecy)

6. Literary Genres and Features (The Gospels, Parables, and Acts)