the Gospels and the sermons in Acts, though embedded within a narrative, would basically fit within these parameters. In addition, some portions of Scripture, while perhaps not meeting all of these criteria purely or precisely, still have a strong didactic feel to them. Sections of Old Testament legal material, wisdom literature, and the prophets come to mind here. But the quintessential example of didactic literature is the New Testament epistle, which will be the focus of this chapter. Concentrating