Literary Categories in the New Testament

Gospel – Matthew, Mark, Luke, John

• Derives from the Greek evangelion which means “good news”
• New Testament gospels appear to take previous oral preaching about Jesus along with sayings attributed to him and then form them into biographies of sorts
• NT gospels are written to particular contexts and with particular agendas
• Focuses upon the events of Jesus’ life
  

Narrative History – Acts

• Only one example in the NT
• Complements the gospels in that the story of Jesus and the story of the church are incomplete without one another
  

Letters – Romans, 1 & 2 Corinthians, Galatians, Philippians, Colossians, 1 & 2 Thessalonians, Philemon, 3 John

• Private correspondence between pastor and people
• Address particular peoples and circumstances
• Typically follow pattern of letter writing in the ancient world
  

Epistle – Ephesians, 1 & 2 Timothy, Titus, Hebrews, James, 1 & 2 Peter, 1 John, 2 John, Jude

• More sophisticated literary form typically in the ancient world
• Intended more for publication
• Intended for a general audience
• Addresses broader issues
  

Letters and epistles in the NT include liturgical materials, moral instruction, and religious instruction. Because of this nature, both tend to break literary stylistic rules.

Apocalyptic – Revelation

• Derives from the Greek word apokalypsis which means disclosure, unveiling, or revelation
• Often includes a negative view of the present time and highlights hope in a new order, time, or creation
• Uses highly symbolic language