Bible Dictionary
Letter
“Letter” can mean the written form of a command or the outward form of obedience. Paul contrasts the oldness of the letter, associated with the written Mosaic law, with the newness of the Spirit.
Definition
In Acts 18:14, “lewdness” means wickedness, villainy, or unlawful conduct, not specifically sexual immorality in the modern restricted sense.
Biblical Usage
The term appears when Gallio refuses to judge a matter involving alleged wrongdoing that did not constitute a serious crime or legal offense.
Historical Background
The English word originally carried the sense of being ignorant or unlearned and then came to mean low or vicious conduct.
Scripture References
Historical Bible Dictionaries
Easton's Bible Dictionary
In Rom. 2:27, 29 means the outward form. The “oldness of the letter” (7:6) is a phrase which denotes the old way of literal outward obedience to the law as a system of mere external rules of conduct. In 2 Cor. 3:6, “the letter” means the Mosaic law as a written law. (See WRITING.)
International Standard Bible Encyclopedia (ISBE)
<p>let'-er.</p><p>See EPISTLE.</p>