A piece of what I'm learning in Advanced Bible Study Methods...
Every genre type in the Bible has a specific format which it follows. Epistles have an opening where the author and receiver are identified, followed by a greeting. Next comes either a note of thanksgiving or a prayer before the body comes.
The body is characterized by two aspects: an exposition and an exhortation. In concluding letters, we first see travel information (sending someone, making plans to come, or a wish to come soon) before greetings and/or a blessing.
Look at the epistles in the Bible, you'll see the pattern.
Then, look at 1 John. Where's the introduction of the author? Of the receiver? Hmm.... missing. Well, where's the greeting? The prayer? How about a note of thanksgiving instead? Hmm... missing. Since the entire introduction seems to be missing, let's look for the typical conclusion...
Travel information? Gone. A greeting or a blessing? Also absent. So is this an epistle?
Nope. Its not. Its poetry. And we start looking at all the parallelism (which is the main structure of Hebrew poetry), the "epistle" becomes alive! Wow, a whole new way to study the book of 1 John.
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