be decisive. How came the epistle to be addressed to the Ephesians, if not designed for them? How came the whole ancient church to regard it as addressed to the church in Eph- esus, if such were not the fact? It isa fundamental principle in historical criticism toallow greater weight to historical testi- mony than to conjectures drawn from ‘circumstantial evidence.
The objections to this view are: 1. That there is evidence that in some of the ancient MSS. no longer extant, the words ἐν Edéow were not in the text. 2. That although Paul was personally so well acquainted with the Ephesian Christians, he speaks as though he were astranger to them and they to him. The passages, however, cited in proof of this point, admit of an interpretation perfectly consistent with the common hypo- thesis. When Paul speaks in ch. 1, 15, of having heard of their faith and love, he may refer to the intelligence which had reached him at Rome. And the expression in ch. 3, 2, εἴγε ἀκούσατε does not necessarily express doubt of their knowledge of him or of his being an apostle. 3. It is objected that the epistle contains no reference to the peculiar circumstances of the Ephesians. It is so general, that it might as well be ad- dressed to one church as another. 4. It contains no salutations from Paul or from his companions to any one in Ephesus. 5. It contemplates exclusively heathen Christians, whereas the church in Ephesus was composed of both Jewish and Gentile converts. The facts on which these last three arguments are founded are undoubtedly true and very remarkable, and cer- tainly distinguish this epistle from all others addressed by Paul to particular churches. They prove, however, nothing more than that the apostle’s object in writing this epistle was peculiar. They cannot be allowed to outweigh the direct criti- cal and historical testimony in support of the fact that it was addressed to the Ephesians.
In favour of the hypothesis that this epistle was written to the church in Laodicea, it is urged: 1. That Marcion so en- titled it. But Marcion was a notorious falsifier of Scripture. 2. That in Col. 4, 16, it is said, ‘When this epistle is read among you, cause that it be read also in the church of the