reason to hope that it had served ite tum in diverting suspicion from Nero, and wae near its close. Anyhow, he hoped to be "restored unto them soon," and to come to them with Timothy (Heh. xiii. 19, 23).1 But this expectation was not destined to be fulfilled. Nor do we know whether Timothy arrived in time to see him alive. Perhaps he did, if the traditional date of St. Paul's martyrdom, June 29, is true (Lewin, vol. ii. p. 400), as that would allow plenty of time for Timothy to reach Ro111- It would also be intensely interesting to know whether St. Peter and Paul met before or at the time of their respective martyrdoms. Had the writing of the Epistle to the Hebrews (supposing it to be St. Paul's) by the apostle of the Gentiles anything to do with a desire on the part of the apostle of the circumcision to show the perfect unity that existed between himself and St. Paul? Were they the same body of Hebrews in whole or in part as those to whom St. Peter wrote his First Epistle? It is certainly remarkable that both Epistles imply that those to whom they were addre1111ed had lately been under grievous persecution, and both have a strong light thrown upon them by the circumstances of the Neronian persecution (Heb. x. 32-34; xi. 32-40; xii.1-13; xiii. 3; 1 Pet. ii. 12; iii. 14-18; iv. 12-19; v. 8-10). Moreover, the passage 2 Pet. iii. 15 distinctly aeaerts that St. Paul had written them an Epistle. And if 2 Peter was written to the same body of Chrietia.ne as 1 Peter was (2 Pet. iii. 1), then we are told, in so many words, that the Epistle of St; Paul to which allusion is made was addressed to the Hebrews •• of the Dispersion in Pontus, Galatia, Cappadocia, Asia, and Bithynia." Could this Epistle be the Epistle to the Hebrews? There is certainly a very strong resemblance in the allegorical teaching of the Epistle to the Hebrews to that in the Epistle to the Galatians. Compare the pas1:1age about Hagar (Gal. iv. 22-31) with that about Melchisedec (Heb. v., vii.; Gal. iii. 11 with Heh. x. 38; Gal. iii. 20 with Heh. xii. 24, etc.; and, as regards the particular reference in 2 Pet. iii. 15, it seems to be justified by Heb. ix. 28 and x. 35-39, better than by any other passage in St. Paul's Epistles. But if it is St. Paul's, why does it not bear hie name, as all his other Epistles do? It is impossible to give a decided answer to this question. But a concurrence of several slight indications suggests a. possible explanation. The mention of St. Paul by St. Peter in 2 Pet. ii. 15; the fact that St. Paul did write a letter to those Hebrew Christiane who were under St. Pater's special charge (2 Pet. iii. 15); the coming of Mark to St. Paul at Rome (2 Tim. iv. 11) from St. Peter at Babylon (1 Pet. v. 13); the mission of Crescene to Galatia (2 Tim. iv. 10); and the presence of St. Peter and St. Paul together at Rome at the time of their martyrdoms, as related by Clemens Roman us, Eusebiue, and others ;-all point to some intercourse between the two apostles about this time. It occurs to one, therefore, that St. Peter might, in order to emphasize the union butween himself and St. Paul, and between the Jewish and Gentile Churches, have • If the rending of the T.R. of Heb. x. 94, '6,11µ.ois µ.ou, is true, it supplies & direct testimon1 to the imprisonment of the writer. But wit.bout it Heb. xiii. 18 is su.ffioienL l.l\1'HODUCTION TO
requested St. I'aul (through Mark or otherwise) to write to the Jews of the Uisper,-;ion, and that St. Paul, in complying with the request, with his usual delicacy of feeling, may have withheld his apostolio style, and given bis Epitstle more the form ofa treatise than of a letter (see, too, Heh. xiii. 22). Not, however, to dwell upon uncertain speculations, the practical matter is that, if the Epistle to the Hebrews was written at this time, we may register the further fact of Timothy's imprisonment and release, and, if written by St. Paul, that of his own expectation of being released, and 11111st also mndify the statement in the note to 2 Tim. iv. 22, that we have there the last utterance of the great apostle. Upon the whole, we conclude, with confidenoe, that the pastoral Epistles were written subsequently to St. Paul's imprisonment at Rome related in Acts xxviii., and shortly before his martyrdom in the imperial city as related in ecclesiastical history. 3. As regards the absolute date of the pastoral Epistles, they may; with most probability, be assigned to the year A.O. 65, A.D. 66, or A.D. 67, accord- ing as St. Paul's martyrdom is assigned to A.D. 66, A.D. 67, or A.D. 68. Eusebius (' Chronic.' A., 2i183) says, under the thirteenth year of Nero, that Peter and Paul suffered martyrdom; while Jerome places it in the fourteenth year. It is impossible to arrive at certainty in the matter. Some considerations point strongly to A.D. 65 for the Epistles, and A.D. 66 for the martyrdom.
§ 3. THE CONTENTS AND STYLE OF THE p ASTORAL EPISTLES. The contents and style of these Epistles need detain us but a short time, having been already partially discussed in the preceding pages. In regard to style, the three Epistles go together, and show plain indications of having been written nearly at the same time. But in regard to their contents, the Epistle to Titus and the First Epistle to Timothy go together, and the Second Epistle to Timothy stands alone. The object and motive of the two first were precisely similar. Paul, having left Titus in the tem• porary oversight of the Churches of Crete, and Timothy in that of the Church of Ephesus, writes plain practical instructions to both of them how to order and rule the Churches committed to them. The conduct of the public prayers, the qualifications of the clergy, the discipline of the Church sucieties, the example to be set to the Christian communities by the ohief pastor, together with earnest warnings in regard to growing heresies, make up the bulk of uoth Epistles, supplemented by a few directions peculiar to each case. Nothing can be more obvious, more artless, and less open to suspicion of any concealed motive, than the treatment of the subjects in hand. The Second Epistle to Timothy is of a different character, as it was caused by wholly different circumstances. Its main purpose was to en• courage Timothy, u11<ler the new danger which had come upon the Church through the Neronian persecutions, aw.l tbe apostle's imprisonment under a capital charge. By hiH own 1,.oble example of faith :.nd constancy, by TIIE l'Mfl UltAL Ll'l~'l'l,I·>,.