may mean that the apostle was treated as one of the worst of criminals. had befallen him during his second imprisonment at Rome, and to request him to come to him before the ensuing winter. 3. The situation of Paul, when he wrote this Epistle, was ex- But, being uncertain whether he should live so long, he gave tremely dangerous. This appears from 2 Tim. iv. 6, 7, 8. and from him in this letter a variety of advices, charges, and encouverse 16. where, at his first answer, all men forsook him. Further, ragements, for the faithful discharge of his ministerial func(verse 17.) The Lord delivered him from the mouth of the lion, tions, with the solemnity and affection of a dying parent; or the cruelty of Nero. And in verse 18. he hopes the Lord in order that, if he should be put to death before Timothy's will deliver him from every evil work, by preserving him unto arrival, the loss might in some measure be compensated to his heavenly kingdom. This was totally different from the gen-him by the instructions contained in this admirable Epistle. tle treatment recorded in Acts xxviii., and shows that this epistle With this view, after expressing his affectionate concern for was written at a later period than the two years' imprisonment him, he exhorts him to stir up the gift which had been conmentioned by Luke. ferred upon him (2 Tim. i. 2-5.); not to be ashamed of the 4. It appears from 2 Tim. iv. 13. 20. that when the apostle testimony of the Lord, nor of Paul's sufferings (6-16.); to wrote, he had lately been at Troas, Miletus, and Corinth. This hold fast the form of sound words, and to guard inviolable was a different route from that described in the Acts. Also in that good deposit of Gospel doctrine (i. 13, 14.), which he 2 Tim. iv. 13. he desires Timothy to bring with him a trunk and was to commit to faithful men who should be able to teach some books which he had left at Troas. But in his journey to others (ii. 1, 2.); to animate him to endure, with fortitude, Italy in Acts xxvii. he did not come near Troas. It is true he persecutions for the sake of the Gospel (ii. 3-13.); to supvisited that place on his way to Jerusalem. (Acts xx. 5-7.) press and avoid logomachies (14. 23.); to approve himself But as this visit to Troas happened in the year 57, and the pre-him of the perils of the last days, in consequence of wicked a faithful minister of the word (15-22.); and to forewarn sent Epistle was not written before the year 65, these articles hypocritical seducers and enemies of the truth, who even were not then left there; for he would hardly have delayed then were beginning to rise in the church. These Saint Paul sending for them for seven or eight years. He would rather have admonishes Timothy to flee, giving him various cautions sent for them to Cæsarea, where he was in prison two years; or more early on his first coming to Rome. against them. (iii.) 5. When he wrote this Epistle, he had left Trophimus sick at Miletus. (iv. 20.) But this could not have happened on the journey to Jerusalem, because Trophimus was with Saint Paul at Jerusalem (Acts xxi. 29.), and in his voyage from Cæsarea to Italy he did not touch at Miletus. It is obvious, contrary to Dr. Lardner's hypothesis, that the north wind would not suffer them to proceed further north from Cnidus along the coast of Asia. (Acts xxvii. 7.) 6. Paul says (2 Tim. iv. 20.) that Erastus stayed behind at Corinth. The apostle must therefore have passed through Corinth on that journey to Rome, after which he wrote this Epistle. But from Cæsarea to Italy, in Acts xxviii. he did not pass through Corinth. Dr. Lardner's two objections to this argument are not satisfactory. For he says that Erastus stayed behind at Corinth when Saint Paul left that city to go to Jerusalem, though Timothy, who was then with Saint Paul, must have known that circumstance, but Saint Paul only wished to remind him of it,-or he mentions his stay, because he was sent by Paul from Ephesus into Macedonia (Acts xix. 22.); and when Paul, going there also, returned to Asia Minor, he did not return with him, not being mentioned in Acts xx. 4. IV. The Epistle therefore consists of three parts; viz. SECT. 1. To diligence, patience, and firmness in keeping the SECT. 2. To fortitude under afflictions and persecutions, to deliver the uncorrupted doctrine of the Gospel to others, and to purity of life. (ii.) SECT. 3. To beware of false teachers in the last times (whose practices are described), to be constant in his profession of the Gospel, and to be diligent in his ministerial labours. (iii. iv. 1—8.) PART III. The Conclusion, containing the Apostle's Request to Timothy to come to him as soon as possible, together with various Salutations for the Brethren in Asia Minor. (iv. 922.) V. As this Epistle was written to Saint Paul's most intimate friend, under the miseries of a jail, and the near prospect of death, and was not designed for the use of others, it may serve to exhibit the temper and character of the apostle, The result of the preceding observations is, that this Epis-and to convince us that he was no deceiver, but sincerely tle was written by Paul at Rome, and during an imprisonment different from that recorded in Acts xxviii. Paul, we have seen,1 was released from his confinement A. D. 63, and, after visiting several churches, returned to Rome early in 65; where, after being confined rather more than a year, it is generally agreed that he suffered martyrdom A. D. 66. Now, as the apostle requests Timothy to come to him before winter (2 Tim. iv. 21.), it is probable that this Epistle was written in the month of July or August A. D. 65.2 II. It is generally supposed that Timothy was at Ephesus when Paul wrote his second Epistle to him. This opinion is advocated by Drs. Lardner, Benson, and Macknight, but is opposed by Michaelis; who has shown that Timothy was most probably somewhere in Asia Minor when Paul sent this letter to him, because the apostle, towards the close of the first chapter, mentions several persons who dwelt in that region, and also because (2 Timv. 13.) he requests Timothy to bring with him the cloak, books, and parchments, which he had left behind him at Troas; and because Troas does not lie in the route from Ephesus to Rome, to which city Timothy was desired to "make haste to come to him before winter." (iv. 21.) Michaelis concludes, therefore, that Paul, not knowing exactly where Timothy was, wrote to him this Epistle, which he intrusted to a safe person (whom Dr. Benson supposes to have been Tychicus) that was travelling into Asia Minor, with an order to deliver it to him wherever he might find him.3 III. The immediate design of Paul in writing this Epistle to Timothy, was to apprize him of the circumstances that believed the doctrines which he preached. "This excellent writing, therefore, will be read by the disciples of Christ, to the end of the world, with the highest satisfaction. And the impression which it must have on their minds, will often be recollected by them with the greatest effect, for the confirmation of their faith in the Gospel, and their consolation under all the evils which their adherence to the Gospel may bring upon them." 66 Imagine," says Dr. Benson, "a pious father, under sentence of death for his piety and benevolence to mankind, writing to a dutiful and affectionate son, that he might see and embrace him again before he left the world; particularly that he might leave with him his dying commands, and charge him to live and suffer as he had done :-and you will have the frame of the apostle's mind, during the writing of the whole Epistle."3 On the undesigned coincidences between this Epistle and the Acts of the Apostles, see Dr. Paley's Horæ Paulinæ, Chap. XII. SECTION XIV. ON THE EPISTLE TO TITUS. I. Account of Titus.-II. Christianity, when planted in Crete. I. TITUS was a Greek (Dr. Benson thinks he was a native of Antioch in Syria), and one of Paul's early converts, who attended him and Barnabas to the first council at Jerusalem, A. D. 49, and afterwards on his ensuing circuit. (Tit. i. 4. Preface to 2 Tim. p. 517. The topics above noticed are ably treated at length by Dr. Macknight in his Preface to 2 Tim. sect. 3. Gal. ii. 1-3. Acts xv. 2.) Some years after this we find that Paul sent him to Corinth (2 Cor. xii. 18.), to investigate and report to him the state of the church in that city, and particularly to report what effect had been produced by his first Epistle to the Corinthians. The intelligence brought to the apostle by Titus afforded him the highest satisfaction, as it far exceeded all his expectations. (vii. 6-13. And as Titus had expressed a particular regard for the Corinthians, the apostle thought proper to send him back again, with some others, to hasten the collection for the poor brethren in Judæa. (viii. 6.) After this we meet with no further notice of Titus; except that he is mentioned in this Epistle as having been with Paul in Crete (Tit. i. 5.), and in 2 Tim. iv. 10. (shortly before that apostle's martyrdom) as being in Dalmatia. How highly he was esteemed by the great apostle of the Gentiles, is evident from the affectionate manner in which he has spoken of him to the Corinthians. Whether Titus ever quitted Crete we know not: neither have we any certain information concerning the time, place, or manner of his death; but, according to ancient ecclesiastical tradition, he lived to the age of ninety-four years, and died and was buried in that island. In The genuineness and authenticity of the Epistle to Titus were never questioned.5 IV. Titus having been left in Crete to settle the churches in the several cities of that island according to the apostoli cal plan, Paul wrote this Epistle to him, that he might discharge his ministry among the Cretans with the greater success, and to give him particular instructions concerning his behaviour towards the judaizing teachers, who endeavoured to pervert the faith and disturb the peace of the Christian church. The Epistle, therefore, consists of three parts. PART I. The Inscription. (i. 1—4.) PART II. Instructions to Titus, SECT. 1. Concerning the ordination of elders, that is, of bishops and deacons, whose qualifications are enumerated. (5—9.) Further, to show Titus how cautious he ought to be in selecting men for the sacred office, Paul reminds him of the acts of the judaizing teachers. (10—16.) SECT. 2. That he should accommodate his exhortations to the respective ages, sexes, and circumstances of those whom he was commissioned to instruct; and, to give the greater weight to his instructions, he admonishes him to be an example of what he taught. (ii.) SECT. 3. That he should inculcate obedience to the civil magistrate, in opposition to the Jews and judaizing teachers, who, being averse from all civil governors, except such as were of their own nation, were apt to imbue Gentile Christians with a like seditious spirit, as if it were an indignity for the people of God to obey an idolatrous magistrate; and also that he should enforce gentleness to all men. (iii. 1-7.) SECT. 4. That he should enforce good works, avoid foolish questions, and shun heretics. (iii. 8—11.) PART III. An Invitation to Titus, to come to the Apostle at Nicopolis, together with various Directions. (iii. 12—15.) II. We have no certain information when or by whom Christianity was first planted in Crete. As some Cretans were present at the first effusion of the Holy Spirit at Jerusalem (Acts ii. 11.), Bishop Tomline things it not improbable, that, on their return home, they might be the means of introducing the Gospel among their countrymen.2 But Michaelis, Dr. Hales, and many other critics are of opinion that Christianity was first planted there by Paul, during the year and a half that he spent at Corinth, between the latter part of A. D. 51, and the former part of A. D. 53. It appears from 2 Cor. xii. 14. and xiii. 1. that the apostle did make an excursion during this interval, and returned to Corinth. this excursion it is supposed that he made a voyage to Crete, in order to preach the Gospel there, and took Titus with him as an assistant, whom he left behind to regulate the concerns V. From a comparison of the Epistle of Titus with the of that church. (Tit. i. 5.) Josephus informs us that there two Epistles to Timothy, Dr. Macknight remarks, we learn were many Jews in this island at the time Paul wrote this that the judaizing teachers were every where indefatigable in Epistle to Titus; and the apostle seems to have considered propagating their erroneous doctrine concerning the necessity them a more dangerous people than the Cretans themselves, of obedience to the law of Moses, as the only means of obwho were formerly notorious for piracy, luxury, debauchery, taining salvation; that in the most distant countries they and especially for lying. So infamous were they for their uniformly taught the same doctrine, for the purpose of renderhabitual practice of falsehood, that xgTiger, to act like a Cre-ing the practice of sin consistent with the hope of salvation; tan, was a proverbial term for telling a lie. With these vices and that in order to draw disciples after them, they enthey were charged by Epimenides, one of their own poets; themselves followed, in the persuasion that they would be couraged them in sin by the vicious practices which they and Paul has quoted him as expressing their true character. (Tit. i. 12.) pardoned by the efficacy of the Levitical sacrifices. That eminent critic thinks it probable, from the apostle's commanding Titus in Crete, and Timothy in Ephesus, to oppose those errors, that the judaizing teachers were more numerous and successful in Ephesus and Crete than in other places. As, however, Titus was a Gentile convert, whose interest it was to maintain the freedom of the Gentiles from the law of Moses, and also a teacher of long standing in the faith, Paul was not so full in his directions and exhortations to him, as to Timothy: neither did he recommend to him meekness, lenity, and patience in teaching, as he did to Timothy, but rather sharpness. (Tit. i. 13. ii. 15.) Dr. Macknight accounts for this difference in the apostle's letters to those two evangelists, by supposing that Titus was a person of a soft and mild temper; whereas Timothy, being a young man, might have been of a more ardent spirit that stood in need III. No date is so controverted as that of the Epistle to Titus. Michaelis, who thinks it was written soon after his supposed visit to Crete, is of opinion, that, in the chronological arrangement of Paul's epistles, it should be placed between the second Epistle to the Thessalonians (A. D. 52) and the first Epistle to the Corinthians (A. D. 57). Hug places it between the two Epistles to the Corinthians; Dr. Hales dates this Epistle in A. D. 52; Dr. Lardner in 56; Lord Barrington in 57; Dr. Benson and Bishop Tomline in 64; and Bishop Pearson, Drs. Whitby and Paley, and the Bible chronology in A. D. 65. The subscription states this Epistle to have been written from Nicopolis of Macedonia, probably because Saint Paul desired to meet him at a city called Nicopolis, but which could not be the place intended by the author of the subscription; for the Nicopolis referred to by him was situated on the river Nessus in Thrace, and was not built till after this period by the emperor Trajan. As Luke is totally silent concerning Saint Paul's preaching at Crete, though he has noticed that he touched at the Fair Havens and Lasea in his first voyage to Rome, it is most probable that this Epistle was written after his liberation from his first imprisonment, a. D. 64. And this opinion is strengthened by the verbal harmony subsisting between the first Epistle to Timothy and the letter to Titus; which cannot be naturally accounted for, but by supposing that they were both written about the same time, and while the same ideas and phrases were present to the writer's mind. Among other instances that might be adduced, compare 1 Tim. 1. 1-3. with Tit. i. 4, 5.; 1 Tim. i. 5. with Tit. i. 14.; 1 Tim. iv. 12. with Tit. ii. 7. 15., and 1 Tim. iii. 2—4. with Tit. i. 6—8.4 1 See particularly 2 Cor. ii. 13. vii. 6. 7. 13–15. viii. 16-23. and xii. 18. Elements of Christian Theology, vol. i. p. 446. of some restraint.6 I. PHILEMON was an inhabitant of Colossæ, as appears from Paul's mentioning Onesimus in his Epistle to the Colossians (iv. 9.) as one of them, and also from his saluting Calmet, Preface sur l'Epitre de S. Paul à Tite; Dr. Benson's Preface Archippus in this Epistle (ver. 2.), who appears from Col. Ant. Jud. lib. xvii. c. 12. § 1. De Bell. Jud. lib. ii. c. 7. § 1., &c. to his Paraphrase and Commentary on this Epistle; Lardner's Works, 8vo. vol. vi. pp. 320–321.; 4to. vol. iii. pp. 291–296.; Michaelis's Introd. vol. iv. pp. 29-41.; Iug's Introd. vol. ii. pp. 354-360. Dr. Macknight's Preface to Titus. It is cited or alluded to by all the fathers who have quoted the two iv. 17. to have been a pastor of that church. Philemon seems to have been a person of great worth as a man, and of some note as a citizen in his own country: for his family was so numerous that it made a church by itself, or at least a considerable part of the church at Colossæ. (ver. 2.) He was likewise so opulent, that he was able by the communication of his faith, that is, by his beneficence, to refresh the bowels of the saints. (6,7.) According to Grotius, Philemon was an elder of Ephesus; Beausobre and Dr. Doddridge suppose him to have been one of the ministers of the Colossian church and from Paul's requesting him (22.) to provide a lodging for him at Colossæ, Michaelis thinks that he was a deacon of that church. These opinions appear to have been founded on the inscription of this Epistle, where Paul calls him a fellow-labourer. But this appellation, Drs. Whitby, Lardner, and Macknight have remarked, is of ambiguous signification; being given not only to those who were employed in preaching the Gospel, but also to such pious individuals, of either sex, as assisted the apostles in any manner.1 from their own masters without their master's consent. (See ver. 13, 14.) 4. We should love and do good unto all men. We should not contemn persons of low estate, nor disdain to help the meanest slave when it is in our power. The apostle has here set us an example of benevolence, condescension, and Christian charity, which it well becomes us to follow. He took pains with and converted a slave, and in a most affectionate and earnest manner interceded with his master for his pardon. 5. We should not utterly despair of those who are wicked, but should use our best endeavours to reclaim them. Though Onesimus had robbed his master and run away from him, the apostle attempted his conversion among others, and succeeded therein. 6. Restitution is due where an injury has been done, unless the injured party freely forgive: accordingly, the apostle Paul gives a promise, under his own hand, for Onesimus's making restitution as a matter of justice, if Philemon insisted upon it. 7. We should be grateful to our benefactors. This Saint Paul touches upon very gently (ver. 19.), where he intimates to Philemon that he owed unto him himself also: and therefore, in point of gratitude, he was obliged to grant his request. 8. We should forgive the penitent, and be heartily reconciled to them. 9. The apostle's example teaches us to do all we can to make up quarrels and differences, and reconcile those who are at variance. 10. A wise man chooses sometimes to address in Philemon was, most probably, a converted Gentile, and from the nineteenth verse of this Epistle, some have supposed that he was converted under the ministry of Paul; but, from the apostle's saying in the fifth verse that he had heard of Philemon's faith in Christ (which was his usual phrase when writing to Christians whom he had never seen),2 Dr. a soft and obliging manner, even in cases where there is auBenson is of opinion that, during Paul's long stay at Ephe-thority to command. 11. The bishops and pastors of the sus, some of the Colossians had gone thither, and heard him Christian church, and all teachers of religion, have here the preach the Christian doctrine (Acts xix. 10. xx. 31.); or that most glorious example set before them, to induce them to the apostle had sent some of his assistants who had planted | have a most tender regard to the souls of men of all ranks the Gospel at Colossæ. If Saint Paul had not come into and conditions; and to endeavour to convert a slave, as well those parts of Asia Minor, it is highly probable that Phile- as the rich and great and honourable of the earth. He who mon would never have become a Christian; the apostle might disdained not to teach a slave, a fugitive and a thief, but therefore well say, that Philemon owed unto him himself, or preached the doctrine of salvation to him, and took pains his own soul. with him, till he had restored him to his master, an honest II. It appears from verses 1. 10. 13. and 23. of this Epis-worthy man ;-how disinterested must he have been! To tle, that Paul was under confinement when he wrote it; and whom would he not condescend? or whose salvation and as he expresses (22.) his expectation of being shortly re- happiness would he not endeavour to promote? Would to leased, it is probable that it was written during his first im- God there was the same spirit in all the teachers of Christiprisonment at Rome towards the end of A. D. 62, or early in anity, at all times and in all places! 12. Here is a most 63; and was sent, together with the Epistles to the Ephe- glorious proof of the good effects of Christianity, where it is sians and Colossians, by Tychicus and Onesimus. rightly understood and sincerely embraced. It transforms a worthless slave and thief into a pious, virtuous, amiable, and useful man; makes him not only happier and better in himself, but a better servant, and better in all relations and circumstances whatever. III. So early as the time of Jerome, some fastidious critics showed an inclination to expunge this Epistle from the sacred canon as being a private letter, and consequently of very little importance to the Christian church. Unquestionably the apostles might (and, for aught we know to the contrary, did) write private letters as well as other persons. But we have no reason to consider the Epistle to Philemon in this light; it was wholly written with the apostle's own hand, which was much more than what he called the token in all his Epistles. (2 Thess. iii. 17.) Although from its brevity, and the private nature of its subject, it was but rarely mentioned by the primitive ecclesiastical writers, yet we know that it was alluded to, though not cited by name, by Tertullian,3 and was reckoned among Saint Paul's Epistles by Caius. It was likewise most expressly quoted by Origen, and was pronounced to be authentic by all the ancient writers cited by Eusebius, and also by all subsequent ecclesiastical writers; and it has always been inserted in every catalogue of the books of the New Testament. Stronger external testimony to the authenticity of any part of the Bible exists not, than that which we have for the Epistle to Philemon, the argument of which is not mean, nor is any part of it unworthy of the great apostle of the Gentiles. "Shall an epistle so full of useful and excellent instructions be rejected for its brevity? or because the occasion required that it should be written concerning one particular person? or addressed to a private man? Men would do well to examine it carefully before they reject it, or speak of it so slightly." 997 IV. We learn from this Epistle that Onesimus was the slave of Philemon, whom he had probably robbed, and ran away from him as far as Rome. Whether he repented of what he had done, and voluntarily went to Paul, or in what other manner they came to meet there, we have no information. But the apostle, during his confinement in his own hired house, opened a way to the heart of the rude slave, converted him to the Christian faith, and baptized him. It also appears that Paul kept Onesimus with him for some time, to wait upon himself, until Onesimus, by his conduct, confirmed the truth and sincerity of his conversion. During his abode with the apostle, he served him with the greatest assiduity and affection: but, being sensible of his fault in running "Whoever," says Dr. Benson, "will carefully study it, away from his master, he wished to repair that injury by will discern a great number of the doctrines and precepts of returning to him. At the same time being afraid lest, on his Christianity expressed or insinuated: for instance, 1. In a return, his master should inflict upon him the punishment religious view, or upon a spiritual account, all Christians are which by the law or custom of Phrygia was due to a fugitive upon a level. Onesimus, the slave, upon becoming a Chris- slave," he entreated Paul to write to Philemon in his behalf, tian, is the apostle's dear son and Philemon's brother. and requested him to forgive and receive him again into his 2. Christianity makes no alteration in men's civil affairs. family. The apostle therefore wrote this Epistle to PhiBy Christian baptism a slave did not become a freedman; lemon, "in which, with the greatest softness of expression, his temporal state or condition was still the same; and, warmth of affection, and delicacy of address, he not only though Onesimus was the apostle's son and Philemon's bro- interceded for Onesimus's pardon, but urged Philemon to ther upon a religious account, yet he was obliged to be Phi-esteem him and put confidence in him as a sincere Christian. lemon's slave for ever, unless his master voluntarily gave him his freedom. 3. Servants should not be taken or detained 1 See instances of this in Rom. xvi. 8. and 3 John 8. 2 See Eph. i. 15. Col. i. 4. and ii. 1. Lardner's Works, 8vo. vol. ii. p. 465.; 4to. vol. i. p. 424. Ibid. 8vo. vol. ii. p. 472.; 4to. vol. i. p. 535. Hist. Eccl. lib. iii. c. 25. 311. 2d edit. Dr. Benson's History of the First Planting of Christianity, vol. ii. p. Macknight and Lardner are of opinion that Saint Paul's expression in the eighteenth verse does not insinuate that Onesimus had robbed his mnaster of any thing but his service. Grotius informs us that masters had a power to torture their slaves who behaved ill, and even to put them to death, without applying to the inagistrate; and that this was agreeable not only to the Roman but also to the Grecian law. And because restitution, by repairing the injury that has been done, restores the person who did the injury to the character which he had lost, the apostle, to enable Onesimus to appear in Philemon's family with some degree of reputation, bound himself in this Epistle by his handwriting, not only to repay all that Onesimus owed to Philemon, but to make full reparation also to Philemon for whatever injury he had done to him by running away." To account for the solicitude expressed by Paul in this Epistle in order to obtain Onesimus's pardon, and procure a thorough reconciliation, it is not necessary to suppose, with some critics, that Philemon was keen and obstinate in his resentments, or of that rough and mtractable disposition for which the Phrygians were proverbial. The contrary is insinuated by the apostle, who has in other places commended his benevolence and charity. It is most probable, as Dr. Macknight has conjectured, that Philemon had a number of slaves, on whom the pardoning of Onesimus too easily might have had a bad effect; and therefore he might judge some punishment necessary as an example to the rest. At least Paul could not have considered the pardoning of Onesimus as an affair that merited so much earnest entreaty, with a person of Philemon's piety, benevolence, and gratitude, unless he had suspected him to have entertained some such intention. V. Whether Philemon pardoned or punished Onesimus, is a circumstance concerning which we have no information. From the earnestness with which the apostle solicited his pardon, and from the generosity and goodness of Philemon's disposition, the eminent critic above cited conjectures that he actually pardoned Onesimus, and even gave him his freedom, in compliance with the apostle's insinuation, as it is interpreted by some, that he would do more than he had asked. For it was no uncommon thing, in ancient times, to bestow freedom on those slaves whose faithful services had procured for them the esteem and good will of their masters. The primitive Christians preserving this Epistle, and placing it in the sacred canon (Dr. Benson remarks), are strong arguments to induce us to believe that Philemon granted the apostle's request, and received Onesimus into his house and favour again. As Onesimus was particularly recommended by Saint Paul to the notice of the Colossians (iv. 9.), it cannot be doubted that they cheerfully received him into their church. In the Apostolical Constitutions, Onesimus is said to have been bishop of Beræa; but they are a compilation of the fourth century, and consequently, of no authority. When Ignatius wrote his Epistle to the Ephesians (A. D. 107), their bishop's name was Onesimus: and Grotius thought that he was the person for whom Saint Paul interceded. But this, as Dr. Lardner3 remarks, is not certain. Dr. Mills has mentioned a copy, at the conclusion of which it is said that Onesimus suffered martyrdom at Rome by having his legs broken. urged every thing that can be said upon the occasion. Pliny SECTION XVI. ON THE EPISTLE TO THE HEBREWS. I. To whom written.-II. In what language.-III. Its genuineness and authenticity.-Proofs that it was written by Paul.-IV. Its date.-V. Occasion and scope of this Epistle.-VI. Synopsis of its contents. I. AFTER the thirteen Epistles avowedly written by Paul, with his name prefixed to them, succeeds what we call the Epistle to the Hebrews; the nature and authenticity of which has been more controverted, perhaps, than any other book of the New Testament. As the initiatory formula, usual in the other apostolical letters, is wanting in this Epistle (notwithstanding the superscription terms it the Epistle to the Hebrews), it has been questioned whether it was really an Epistle sent to a particular community, or only a discourse or dissertation intended for general readers. Michaelis determines that it is an Epistle, and remarks that not only the second person plural ye incessantly occurs in it, which alone indeed would be no proof, but also that the author alludes to special circumstances in this writing, in chapters v. 11, 12. vi. 9. x. 32-34., and above all in chapter xiii. 23, 24., which contains the promise of a visit, and various salutations; all which circumstances taken together show that it really is an apostolical Epistle. Who the Hebrews were, to whom this letter was addressed, learned men are by no means agreed. Sir Isaac Newton was of opinion that by "the Hebrews" in this Epistle we are to understand those Jewish believers who had left Jerusalem a short time before its destruction, and were now dispersed throughout Asia Minor; but of this we have no authentic record. Others again have imagined that it was addressed to the Hebrew Christians in Spain, Galatia, Macedonia, or at Corinth or Rome, or to those who resided in Palestine. Clement of Alexandria, Jerome, Euthalius, Chrysostom, Theodoret, Theophylact, and other fathers, were of opinion that the Epistle to the Hebrews was sent to the converted Jews living in Judæa; who in the apostle's days were called Hebrews, to distinguish them from the Jews in the Gentile countries, who were called Hellenists or Grecians. (Acts vi. 1. ix. 29. xi. 20.) The opinion of these learned fathers is adopted by Beza, Louis Cappel, Carpzov, Drs. Lightfoot, Whitby, Mill, Lardner, and Macknight, Bishops Pearson and Tomline, Hallet, Rosenmüller, Hug, Scott, and others. Michaelis considers it as written for the use of the Jewish Christians at Jerusalem and in Palestine; and Professor Stuarts, (who is followed by M. La Harpe) that it was directed to Hebrews in Palestine, and probably to the church of Cæsarea. The very ancient opinion last stated is corroborated by the contents of the Epistle itself, in which we meet with many things peculiarly suitable to the believers in Judæa. 1. It is evident from the whole tenor of this Epistle, that the The whole of this Epistle is indeed a most beautiful composition. Such deference and respect for Philemon, such affection and concern for Onesimus, such distant but just insinuation, such a genteel and fine address pervade the whole, that this alone might be sufficient to convince us that Paul was not unacquainted with the world, and was not that weak and visionary enthusiast, which the enemies of revelation have sometimes represented him to be. It is, indeed, impossible to peruse this admirable Epistle without being touched with the delicacy of sentiment, and the masterly address that appear in every part of it. We see here, in a most striking light, how perfectly consistent true politeness is, not only with all the warmth and sincerity of the friend, but even with the dignity of the Christian and the apostle. Every word has its force and propriety. With what dignity persons to whom it was addressed, were in imminent danger of and authority does Paul entreat, though a prisoner! With falling back from Christianity to Judaism, induced partly by a what condescension and humility does he command, though severe persecution, and partly by the false arguments of the raban apostle! And if this letter were to be considered in no bins. This could hardly have happened to several communities other point of view than as a mere human composition, it must at the same time in any other country than Palestine, and therebe allowed to be a master-picce in its kind. As an illus-fore we cannot suppose it of several communities of Asia Minor, tration of this remark, it may not be improper to compare it to which, in the opinion of some commentators, the Epistle was with an Epistle of the younger Pliny, that seems to have been written on a similar occasion; which, though composed by one who has always been reckoned to excel in the epistolatory style, and though it undoubtedly has many beauties, yet it must be acknowledged by every impartial reader to be vastly inferior to this animated composition of the apostle. Pliny seems desirous of saying something; the apostle has Doddridge, Introd. to Philemon. Observations on the Apocalypse of Saint John, p. 244. • Stuart's Comm. on the Epistle to the Hebrews, vol. i. pp. 67–73. (Andover, N. Am. 1827.) In pp. 8-67. he has discussed the various hypotheses of Dr. Storr, who supposes it to have been written to the Hebrew church at Thessalonica; of Bolten, who imagined that it was directed to Hebrews who were sojourners in Asia Minor; of Michael Weber, who advanced and endeavoured to support the opinion that it was addressed to the church at Corinth; and of the ancients (whose opinion he adopts), that this epistle was written to the Hebrew church in Palestine. church at Galatia; of Noesselt, who considered it as addressed to the La Harpe, Essai Critique sur l'Authenticite de l'Epitre aux Hebreux. p. 136. (Toulouse, 1832.) addressed. Christianity at this time enjoyed, from the tolerating | the exhortation in ii. 1-4., are peculiarly, suitable to the believers spirit of the Roman laws and the Roman magistrates, through- of Judæa, where Jesus Christ himself first taught, and his disciout the empire in general, so much religious liberty, that out of ples after him, confirming their testimony with very numerous Palestine it would have been difficult to have effected a general and conspicuous miracles. persecution. But, through the influence of the Jewish sanhedrin in Jerusalem, the Christians in that country underwent several severe persecutions, especially during the high-priesthood of the younger Ananus, when Saint James and other Christians suffered martyrdom. 5. The people to whom this Epistle was sent were well acquainted with our Saviour's sufferings, as those of Judæa must have been. This appears in Heb. i. 3.; ii. 9. 18.; v. 7. 8.; ix. 14. 28.; x. 12.; xii. 2, 3.; and xiii. 12. 6. The censure in v. 12. is most properly understood of Christians in Jerusalem and Judæa, to whom the Gospel was first preached. 7. Lastly, the exhortation in Heb. xiii. 12—14. is very difficult to be explained, on the supposition that the Epistle was written to Hebrews who lived out of Palestine; for neither in the Acts of the Apostles, nor in the other Epistles, do we meet with an instance of expulsion from the synagogue merely for a belief in Christ; on the contrary, the apostles themselves were permitted to teach openly in the Jewish' assemblies. But if we suppose that the Epistle was written to Jewish converts in Jerusalem, this passage becomes perfectly clear, and Dr. Lardner observes, must have been very suitable to their case, especially if it was written only a short time before the commencement of the Jewish war, about the year 65 or 66. The Christians, on this suppsition, are exhorted to endure their fate with patience, if they should be obliged to retire, or should even be ignominiously expelled from Jerusalem, since Christ himself had been forced out of this very city, and had suffered without its walls. It was a city devoted to destruction, and they who fled from it had to expect a better in heaven. The disciples of Christ had been already warned by their Master to flee from Jerusalem (Matt. xxiv. 15-22.), and the time assigned for their flight could, when this Epistle was written, be not far distant. That they actually followed his advice, appears from the relation of Eusebius; and, according to Josephus, the most sensible inhabitants of Jerusalem took similar measures after the retreat of Cestius Gallus, which happened in November 66, and likewise left the city. If we suppose, therefore, that the Epistle was written to the Hebrews of Jerusalem, the passage in question is clear; but on the hypothesis, that it was written to Hebrews, who lived in any other place, the words, “Let us go forth with him out of the camp, bearing his reproach," lose their meaning. Further (x. 25.) the exhortation, Not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as the manner of some is, but exhorting one another, and so much the more as ye see the day approaching, is an additional confirmation of this opinion. The approaching day can mean only the day appointed for the destruction of Jerusalem, and the downfall of the Jewish nation: but this event immediately concerned only the Hebrews of Pa 2. Further, if we examine the Epistles of Saint Paul, especially those to the Ephesians, Philippians, and Colossians, and compare them with the two Epistles of Saint Peter, which were addressed to the Christians in Pontus, Galatia, Cappadocia, Asia, and Bithynia, we shall find, though mention is made of seducers, not the smallest traces of imminent danger of an apostasy to Judaism, and still less of blasphemy against Christ, as we find in the sixth and tenth chapters of the Epistle to the Hebrews. The two passages of this Epistle (vi. 6. x. 29.) which relate to blasphemy against Christ, as a person justly condemned and crucified, are peculiarly adapted to the situation of communities in Palestine; and it is difficult to read these passages without inferring that several Christians had really apostatized and openly blasphemed Christ; for it appears from Acts xxvi. 11. that violent measures were taken in Palestine for this very purpose, of which we meet with no traces in any other country at that early age. Neither the Epistles of Saint Paul, nor those of Saint Peter, furnish any instance of a public renunciation of Christianity and return to Judaism: and yet, if any such instances had happened in the communities to which they wrote, these apostles would hardly have passed them over in silence, or without cautioning other persons against following such examples. The circumstance, likewise, to which the author of the Epistle to the Hebrews alludes (x. 25.), that several who still continued Christians forsook the places of public worship, does not occur in any other Epistle, and implies a general and continued persecution, which deterred the Christians from an open confession of their faith. In this melancholy situation, the Hebrews, almost reduced to despair, are referred (x. 25. 35—38.) to the promised coming of Christ, which they are requested to await with patience, as being not far distant. This can be no other than the promised destruction of Jerusalem (Matt. xxiv.), of which Christ himself said (Luke xxi. 28.), “When these things begin to come to pass, then look up, and lift up your heads, for your redemption draweth | nigh." Now this coming of Christ was to the Christians in Palestine a deliverance from the yoke with which they were oppressed; but it had no such influence on the Christians of other countries. On the contrary, the first persecution under Nero happened in the year 65, about two years before the com-lestine, and could have no influence in determining the inhabitants mencement of the Jewish war, and the second under Domitian, about five-and-twenty years after the destruction of Jerusalem. 3. From ch. xii. 7. though no mention is made in express terms of martyrs who had suffered in the cause of Christianity, we may with great probability infer, that several persons had really suffered, and afforded a noble example to their brethren. If this inference be just, the Hebrews, to whom this Epistle was written, must have been inhabitants of Palestine, for in no other part of the Roman empire, before the year 65, had the enemies of Christianity the power of persecuting its professors in such a manner as to deprive them of their lives, because no Roman court of justice would have condemned a man to death, merely for religious opinions; and the pretence of the Jews, that who ever acknowledged Jesus for the Messiah was guilty of treason against the emperor, was too sophistical to be admitted by a Roman magistrate. But, in Palestine, Stephen and the elder James had already suffered martyrdom (Acts vii. xiii.); both Saint Peter and Saint Paul had been in imminent danger of undergoing the same fate (Acts xii. 3—6. xxii. 11–21. 26. 30.); and according to Josephus,2 several other persons were put to death, during the high-priesthood of the younger Ananus, about the year 64 or 65.3 4. The declarations in Heb. i. 2. and iv. 12., and particularly This is evident from the Acts of the Apostles. See also Lardner's Credibility, chap. vii. (Works, 8vo. vol. i. pp. 164-201.; 4to. vol. i. pp. 90-110.) younger Ananus, who had obtained the office of high-priest, was a man of * Ant. Jud. lib. xx. c. 9. §1. The words of Josephus are as follow:"The desperate character, of the sect of the Saducees, who, as I have observed in other places, were in general severe in their punishments. This Ananus embraced the opportunity of acting according to his inclination, after the death of Festus, and before the arrival of his successor Albinus. In this interval he constituted a court of justice, and brought before it James, a brother of Jesus who was called Christ, and several others, where they were accused of having violated the law, and were condemned to be stoned to death. But the more moderate part of the city, and they who strictly adhered to the law, disapproved highly of this measure." 3 Michaelis, vol. iv. pp. 193-197. of other countries, such as Asia Minor, Greece, and Spain, either to forsake or to frequent the places of public worship. To these clear and decisive evidences, that the Epistle to the Hebrews was addressed to Jewish Christians resident in Palestine, it has been objected, blood, combating against sin) cannot apply to the church of 1. That the words in Heb. xii. 4. (ye have not resisted unto Jerusalem, where there had already been two martyrs, viz. Stephen and James. But this objection is of no weight; for the apostle Epistle was directed, and not to the rulers; and few, if any, of was addressing the laity of that church, to whom alone this the common people, had hitherto been put to death, though they had been imprisoned, pillaged, and defamed. Compare Acts viii. 1-3. xxvi. 10, 11. and 1 Thess. ii. 14. 2. That the remark in Heb. vi. 10. (God is not unrighteous to forget your work and labour of love, in that ye have ministered to the saints, and do minister) is not suitable to the state of the church at Jerusalem, at that time, because, though the members of that church at first were in a state of affluence, when they had all things in common, yet afterwards they became so poor that they were relieved by the contributions of the Gentile Christians in Macedonia, Galatia, Corinth, and Antioch. There is, however, days did not consist solely in helping them with money. Attendno force in this objection. Ministering to the saints in those offices of which they stood in need-speaking to them in a kind ing on them in their imprisonment-rendering them any little and consolatory manner-these and such other services as may be performed without money were, and still are, as much ministering to the saints as affording them pecuniary aid. And, doubt 4 Hist. Eccl. lib. iii. c. 25. Bell. Jud. lib. ii. c. 20. § 1. Michaelis, vol. iv. p. 199. Lardner's Works, 8vo. vol. vi. pp. 383–387. ; 4to. vol. i. pp. 326, 327. |