Hans-Josef Klauck (Th. D. University of Munich) is the Naomi Shenstone Donnelly Professor of New Testament and Early Christian Literature at the University of Chicago.

"This is an outstanding book, since it combines basic syllabus material with advanced philological and exegetical scholarship. Its author displays a profound knowledge both of Early Christianity and of the Hellenistic-Roman world. A special asset consists of the numerous little-known examples of ancient letters which are presented in a most convenient and easily accessible way in this rich book." -- Samuel Vollenweider, University of Zurich, Switzerland

• PrefaceAbbreviationsGeneral BibliographiesList of BibliographiesList of ExercisesInroduction1. Foundations--Two Letters of Apion and Two Letters of the ""Elder""2. Practical Realities--Paper and Postal System3. Nonliterary and Diplomatic Correspondence 4. Poetry and Philosophy--Literary Letters5. Epistolary Theory and Rhetoric6. Letters in Early Judaism7. New Testament Letters I: Overview8. New Testament Letters II: Selected TextsEpilogueAnswer KeyIndex of Ancient SourcesIndex of Modern AuthorsIndex of Subjects