given to the blood of Christ (Eph. i. 7; Heb. ix. 12). In the use of terms, too, there are resemblances of some significance. In both we have the phrases αἷμα καὶ σάρξ (for the more usual σὰρξ καὶ αἷμα), ὑπεράνω πάντων τῶν οὐρανῶν, αἰὼν μέλλων, προσφορὰ καὶ θυσία, εἰς ἀπολύ- tpwow. And certain expressive words are found in both, such as ἀγρυπνεῖν, κραυγή, ὑπεράνω, βουλή. These things have been supposed to point to the priority of Ephesians, while some, on the other hand (e.g., von Soden), have regarded them as indicating that Hebrews is the earlier writing. But it would be in the highest degree precarious to draw any inference from such data with respect to the chrono- logical relation of the one Epistle to the other.
Of more interest is the connection between our Epistle and 1 Peter. The points of affinity between these two writings have been ex- aggerated, it is true, and conclusions have been drawn from them with a confidence which they do not warrant. They undoubtedly deserve attention, however, both for their number and for their significance. At the same time the lists prepared by Holtzmann and others require to be carefully sifted and considerably reduced. Among the more relevant coincidences are the following: the place given to hope ; the connection of the Christian hope with the resurrection of Christ and with the κληρονομία (Eph. i. 18-20; 1 Pet. i. 3-5); the prominence of the idea of the Divine power (δύναμις Θεοῦ, Eph. i. 19; 1 Pet. i. 5); the mention of the access or introduction (τὴν προσαγωγὴν πρὸς τὸν πατέρα, Eph. ii. 18) to God which we have through Christ in the one, and the definition of the object of Christ’s sufferings in the other (iva ἡμᾶς προσαγάγῃ τῷ Θεῷ, | Pet. iii. 18); the mystery hid πρὸ καταβολῆς κόσμου in Eph. iii. 9, and the fore-ordination of Christ πρὸ καταβολῆς κόσμου in 1 Pet. i, 20. Perhaps of yet greater significance are the parallels in idea and in expression with regard to the ascension of Christ (Eph. iv. 8-10; 1 Pet. iii. 22); the session of Christ at God’s right hand in heaven (ἐκάθισεν ἐν δεξιᾷ αὐτοῦ ἐν τοῖς ἐπουρανίοις, Eph. i. 20 ; ὅς ἐστιν ἐν δεξιᾷ τοῦ Θεοῦ, πορευθεὶς εἰς οὐρανόν, 1 Pet. ili. 22); the subjection of all angelic powers to Christ (Eph. i. 21; 1 Pet. iii. 22).
There are other coincidences to which great importance has been attached, but which are of more doubtful relevancy. The most striking of these are the analogous statements about the prophets, the hiding of the meaning of their prophecies from themselves, and the extent of the revelation made to them (1 Pet. i. 10-12; Eph. iii. 5, 10). But it is not the same class of prophets that is in view in both. In 1 Peter it is the OT prophets ; in Ephesians it appears to be the NT prophets. The resemblance between Eph. ii. 18-22 and 1 Pet. ii. 4-6 must be discounted to a considerable extent, because