Epistle to the Colossians

9.9

A book of the Christian Bible containing a letter by Paul to Christians in Colossae

proper noun

: Epístola a los Colosenses

The Epistle to the Colossians is often studied in courses on religious literature.

Examples

Many scholars debate the authorship of the Epistle to the Colossians.
He quoted from the Epistle to the Colossians during his sermon.
The Epistle to the Colossians emphasizes the supremacy of Christ.
Have you read the Epistle to the Colossians?
In his Epistle to the Colossians, Saint Paul emphasizes the importance of faith and love among the early Christians.
The Church regularly studies the Epistle to the Colossians to understand Paul's teachings on unity in Christ.
Every Sunday, the pastor reads passages from the Epistle to the Colossians to inspire the congregation.

Synonyms

Epistle of Paul the Apostle to the Colossians

vsEpistle to the Colossians

9.9

A book of the Christian Bible that Paul wrote to the Christians in Colossae

is described as attributed, suggesting uncertain authorship rather than definite authorship

Colossians

vsEpistle to the Colossians

9.7

A book of the Bible that is a letter from Paul to Christians in Colossae

is framed as attributed, implying tradition rather than confirmed authorship

Surface Forms

Epistle to the Colossians main

Morphology

epistle + to + the + Colossians

The phrase is compositionally transparent: 'epistle' means a letter and 'to the Colossians' specifies the recipients, so the whole phrase literally denotes a letter addressed to the Colossians. This title follows a standard cross-linguistic pattern for naming letters/books, so a B1 learner who knows the constituent words would be able to derive the meaning.

Etymology

The Epistle to the Colossians is simply the title of a letter: epistle means 'letter', and Colossians are the people from the town of Colossae. So the book is a letter written to those Christians.