WHAT RUNS THROUGH THEM · SHARED THREADS · NAMES · PLACES · TOPICS

Threads

The themes, people, places and topics that run from one collection into another.

SHARED THREADS

What the collections share

Choose a thread to follow it.

  • Faith that works
  • Suffering and endurance
  • Love as the fulfilled law
  • Guarding the faith from false teaching
  • The Lord's coming
  • One Scripture, quoted across the groups
  • Leaders and the life of the church
  • Hospitality to travelling believers
  • Holiness
  • Households and rulers

Faith that works

Paul insists that "a man is justified by faith without the deeds of the law", yet that believers are "created ... unto good works"; James that "faith, if it hath not works, is dead"; Hebrews that "without faith it is impossible to please him"; 1 John that "our faith" is "the victory that overcometh the world". Schaff read James's teaching as "no protest against that of Paul, but prior to it"; the James, Peter and Jude page sets out the other readings. Romans 3:28 Galatians 2:16 Ephesians 2:8–10 Titus 3:8 James 2:17 James 2:24 +2 more [5]

NAMES

People who cross the collections

Choose a name to see who they were and where they appear.

  • Paul
  • Peter (Cephas)
  • Silas (Silvanus)
  • Mark
  • Timothy
  • James, the Lord's brother
  • John
  • Barnabas
  • Apollos
  • Luke
  • Priscilla and Aquila
  • Abraham
  • Sarah
  • Rahab
  • Cain
  • Enoch
  • Noah
  • Esau
  • Elijah (Elias)
  • Adam
  • Moses

Paul

Thirteen letters open with his name. Outside them, 2 Peter calls him "our beloved brother Paul" and knows "all his epistles". Eusebius counted Hebrews as Paul's fourteenth letter, noting that the church of Rome disputed it; Hebrews itself never names its writer. Romans 1:1 2 Peter 3:15–16 [32]

PLACES

The places the letters name

Every place the letters name, and where.

  • Ephesus 7
  • Jerusalem 7
  • Macedonia 6
  • Asia 5
  • Achaia 4
  • Corinth 4
  • Galatia 4
  • Judaea 4
  • Thessalonica 4
  • Rome 3
  • Antioch 2
  • Damascus 2
  • Egypt 2
  • Gomorrah 2
  • Mount Sinai 2
  • Philippi 2
  • Sodom 2
  • Troas 2
  • Arabia 1
  • Athens 1
  • Babylon 1
  • Bithynia 1
  • Cappadocia 1
  • Cenchrea 1
  • Cilicia 1
  • Colossae 1
  • Colosse 1
  • Crete 1
  • Dalmatia 1
  • Gomorrha 1
  • Greece 1
  • Hierapolis 1
  • Iconium 1
  • Illyricum 1
  • Italy 1
  • Jericho 1
  • Laodicea 1
  • Lystra 1
  • Miletum 1
  • Mount Zion 1
  • Nicopolis 1
  • Pontus 1
  • Red Sea 1
  • Salem 1
  • Sion 1
  • Sodoma 1
  • Spain 1
  • Syria 1
  • The palace 1
  • Zion 1

Ephesus

  • 1 Corinthians 1 Corinthians 15:32 1 Corinthians 16:8
  • Ephesians · The words "at Ephesus" are absent from the oldest manuscripts; Tischendorf's Greek text prints them in brackets. Ephesians 1:1
  • 1 Timothy 1 Timothy 1:3
  • 2 Timothy 2 Timothy 1:18 2 Timothy 4:12
  • 1 John (implied) · Not named in the letter. Early tradition places John at Ephesus late in his life.
  • 2 John (implied) · Not named in the letter. Plummer, Westcott and Easton think it was written from the same place as 1 John.
  • 3 John (implied) · Not named in the letter. Tradition places the elder's letters at Ephesus.

TOPICS

The Topics that draw most on the letters

The topics in the site's Topics library that cite the letters most.

WHERE THIS PAGE COMES FROM

  • Adolf Deissmann (trans. Lionel R. M. Strachan), Light from the Ancient East (1910), ch. III, the twenty-one ancient letters: pp. 147-149 (address and salutation), 153 n. 2 (dictation and the autograph close), 158-159 (letters of commendation; closing in one's own hand), 167-172 (Apion's letters: health-wish, thanks, intercession, greetings, farewell), 176-178 notes ("I would have you know").
  • Adolf Deissmann (trans. Lionel R. M. Strachan), Light from the Ancient East (1910), ch. III, §§4-8: pp. 218-224 (letter and epistle; pseudonymous epistles), 225-234 (Paul's letters and 2-3 John as real letters; letter copy-books, pp. 227-228), 234-237 (catholic epistles, Hebrews, 1 John), 239 (Acts and Paul's letters), 244 (the canon).
  • Adolf Deissmann (trans. Lionel R. M. Strachan), Light from the Ancient East (1910), ch. IV, pp. 372-373 (parousia).
  • Adolf Deissmann (trans. Alexander Grieve), Bible Studies: "Prolegomena to the Biblical Letters and Epistles" (1901), pp. 3-59, especially 14-15 (pseudonymity), 50-51 ("catholic"), 55-56 (the collection of Paul's letters).
  • Philip Schaff, History of the Christian Church, vol. 1: Apostolic Christianity (revised ed.) (1890), §76 (order of the books, with notes 868-870), §86 (The Epistles), §87 (The Catholic Epistles), §88 (The Epistles of Paul).
  • B. F. Westcott, A General Survey of the History of the Canon of the New Testament (7th ed.) (1896), pp. 248-249 (Peshitta), 377 with n. 2 (place of Hebrews in the manuscripts), 400-401 (the seven catholic epistles and Euthalius), 488-491 (Luther's prefaces).
  • W. J. Conybeare and J. S. Howson, The Life and Epistles of St. Paul, new edition (first published 1852) (1891), p. 319 n. 1 (letters written by an amanuensis with an autograph postscript), p. 321 (the stages of an apostolic letter), p. 498 n. 1 (Tertius), p. 499 n. (Phoebe the bearer).
  • J. B. Lightfoot, Saint Paul's Epistle to the Galatians (1865), note on Gal 6:11, pp. 220-221.
  • J. B. Lightfoot, Saint Paul's Epistles to the Colossians and to Philemon (1875), detached note "The Epistle from Laodicea", pp. 340-366.
  • W. M. Ramsay, St. Paul the Traveller and the Roman Citizen (1895), ch. VII, §6, "The Separation of Paul and Barnabas" (Silas and Silvanus).
  • Dwight M. Pratt, "Epistle", International Standard Bible Encyclopedia, ed. James Orr (1915), §§1-2, 5, 7, 9; checked against CrossWire's digital ISBE (1915), 2026-10-07.
  • Dwight M. Pratt, "Catholic Epistles", International Standard Bible Encyclopedia, ed. James Orr (1915), checked against CrossWire's digital ISBE (1915), 2026-10-07.
  • J. S. Riggs, "Canon of the New Testament", International Standard Bible Encyclopedia, ed. James Orr (1915), §II.1-3; checked against CrossWire's digital ISBE (1915), 2026-10-07.
  • William G. Moorehead, "Peter, the Second Epistle of", International Standard Bible Encyclopedia, ed. James Orr (1915), §§I-II; checked against CrossWire's digital ISBE (1915), 2026-10-07.
  • R. Dykes Shaw, "Corinthians, First Epistle to the", International Standard Bible Encyclopedia (1915), checked against CrossWire's digital ISBE (1915), 2026-10-07.
  • R. Dykes Shaw, "Corinthians, Second Epistle to the", International Standard Bible Encyclopedia (1915), checked against CrossWire's digital ISBE (1915), 2026-10-07.
  • A. T. Robertson, "Paul, the Apostle", International Standard Bible Encyclopedia (1915), part 1, Sources; checked against CrossWire's digital ISBE (1915), 2026-10-07.
  • Robert Law, "John, the Epistles of", International Standard Bible Encyclopaedia, ed. James Orr (1915), vol. III pp. 1711-1720 (checked against the 1915 scan).
  • M. G. Easton, Illustrated Bible Dictionary (3rd ed.) (1897), "Corinthians, First Epistle to the"; "Thessalonians, Epistles to the".
  • Charles Bigg, A Critical and Exegetical Commentary on the Epistles of St. Peter and St. Jude (1901), pp. 246-247 (secretaries; Zahn on 2 Peter).
  • Joseph B. Mayor, The Epistle of St. James (1892), Introduction, ch. VI (date).
  • Joseph B. Mayor, The Epistle of St. Jude and the Second Epistle of St. Peter (1907), Introduction, pp. lxviii, cxxxv, cxliv.
  • John Calvin (trans. John Owen), Commentaries on the Catholic Epistles (1551) (1855), Argument to 2 Peter.
  • John Calvin (trans. William Pringle), Commentary on Galatians (1548) (1854), on Gal 2:1.
  • A. Plummer, The Epistles of S. John (Cambridge Bible) (1886 (1890 reprint used)), notes on 1 John 2:12-14, pp. 97-99; Introduction p. 61 (Demetrius).
  • A. E. Brooke, A Critical and Exegetical Commentary on the Johannine Epistles (1912), Introduction p. lxxxiii.
  • B. F. Westcott, The Epistle to the Hebrews: The Greek Text with Notes and Essays (2nd ed.) (1892), Introduction, "History and Authorship", pp. lxxiv-lxxix.
  • A. B. Davidson, The Epistle to the Hebrews (1882), Introduction ch. III, p. 34.
  • Marcus Dods, "The Epistle to the Hebrews", in The Expositor's Greek Testament, vol. IV (1897 (1910 printing)), Introduction: history, pp. 221-224.
  • Marcus Dods, "The Epistle to the Hebrews", in The Expositor's Greek Testament, vol. IV (1897 (1910 printing)), Introduction: authorship, pp. 228-229 (Harnack on Priscilla).
  • R. H. Charles, The Book of Enoch, or 1 Enoch (1912), 1 Enoch 1:9 with note, pp. 8-9.
  • Eusebius (trans. A. C. McGiffert, Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers, series 2, vol. 1), Church History (1890), 2.15; 2.23.25 with McGiffert's note 528; 3.3.5; 3.25; 3.39.16; 4.14.9; 5.8.7; 5.26; 6.14; 6.20; 6.25; 7.25.
  • Athanasius (trans. R. Payne-Smith, Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers, series 2, vol. 4), Festal Letter 39 (1892), §§5-6.
  • Henry R. Percival (ed.), Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers, series 2, vol. 14, The Code of Canons of the African Church (Carthage, 419) (1900), canon 24 (Greek 27), with the editor's note that it is canon 36 of Hippo, 393.
  • Unknown (Ante-Nicene Fathers, vol. 5), The Muratorian Fragment (Canon Muratorianus) (1886), §§3-4.
  • Tertullian (Ante-Nicene Fathers, vol. 3), Against Marcion, book 5; On Baptism (1885), Against Marcion 5.2-21; On Baptism 17.
  • Tertullian (trans. S. Thelwall, Ante-Nicene Fathers, vol. 4), On Modesty (De Pudicitia) (1885), ch. 20.
  • Clement of Rome (Ante-Nicene Fathers, vol. 1), First Epistle to the Corinthians (1885), ch. 47.
  • Ignatius (Ante-Nicene Fathers, vol. 1), To the Ephesians (1885), chs. 12 and 18.
  • Polycarp (Ante-Nicene Fathers, vol. 1), Epistle to the Philippians (1885), chs. 7, 12 and 13 (13: the letters of Ignatius).
  • Polycarp (trans. J. B. Lightfoot), To the Philippians (1891), 3:2-3; 5:1; 6:2; 7:1; 11:2-4; 12:1.
  • Irenaeus (Ante-Nicene Fathers, vol. 1), Against Heresies (1885), preface to book 1; 3.13-16 (3.16.5 and 3.16.8 on 1 and 2 John); 5.2.3.
  • Clement of Alexandria (Ante-Nicene Fathers, vol. 2), Stromata; Fragments (Comments on the Second Epistle of John) (1885), Stromata 1.14 and 2.15; Comments on 2 John.
  • Jerome (trans. E. C. Richardson, Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers, series 2, vol. 3), Lives of Illustrious Men (1892), chs. 1, 2, 4, 5, 9, 18.

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