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CvpiuAN OF Carthage. A. D. 248. 41
This is so plain that I suppose no one will contest it. Dr.
Mill^ allows that this epistle is no where cited by St. Cyprian
; and his not quoting- this epistle, which is so large, in
any of his tracts or epistles, may be reckoned an argument
that he m as not accjuainted with it, or that he did not esteem
it a part of holy scripture. Accordingly, Mr. Ilallett," in
the Introduction to his Paraphrase and Notes on the three
last Chapters of the Epistle to the Hebrews, admits it to be
very likely that St. Cyprian was of the same opinion with
some others of the Latin church at that time, who did not
receive this as a canonical epistle.
And indeed, that this Latin father did not reckon the
epistle to the Hebrews to have been written by the apostle
Paul, is farther evident from an observation twice mentioned
by him, concerning' the number of churches to Avhich that
apostle had Mritten. In the first book of Testimonies,"
Cyprian having quoted the words of Hannah, " the barren
has borne seven, and she that has many sons ' [or children] is
waxed feeble," (1 Sam. ii. 5.) g-oes on: The seven sons are
seven churches ; for which reason Paul wrote to seven
churches; and the Revelation has seven churches, that the
number seven may be preserved.' In another tract, havingmentioned
the seven golden candlesticks in the Revelation,
the seven pillars in Solomon's Proverbs, upon which Wisdom
built her house, and likewise the forementioned seven in the
Hrst book of Samuel, and the seven women in Is. iv. 1, he
adds; ' And> the apostle Paul, who was mindful of this
authorized, and well-known number, writes to seven
churches ; and in the Revelation our Lord sends his divine
and heavenly instructions and commands to seven churches
and their ang-els.' By the seven churches, to which Paul
wrote, Cyprian unquestionably meaneth the churches of
Rome, Corinth, Galatia, Ephesus, Philippi, Colosse, and
Thessalonica ; as is also observed by bishop Fell^ in a note
upon this passag-e.
" Tertullianum nescio an secutus sit Cj'prianus ; in cujus openbus epistolam
hanc [ad Hebraeos] nusquara citatam reperias. Prol. n. 216.
* See Introd. p. xviii. * Item in Basileion primo :
' Sterilis sep-
* tem pepCTit, et quae pluiimos habebat filios, infirmata est.' Filii autem septem
sunt ecclesiae septem. Unde et Paulus septem ecclesiis scribit, et Apocalypsis
ecclesias septem ponit, ut sen'etur septenarius numerus. Test. 1. i. cap.
20.
^ Et apostolus Paulus, qui hujus nuraeri legitimi et certi meminit,
ad septem ecclesias scribit. Et in Apocalypsi Dominus mandata suadivina et
prsecepta coelestia ad septem ecclesias et earum angelos scnbit. De exhort.
Mart. cap. 11. p. 179. ' Ad septem ecclesias scribit.] Nimirum
ad Romanes, Corinthios, Galatas, Ephesios, Philippenses, Colossenses, et Thessalonicenses.
Si requiratur, quo in loco Paulus hujus legitimi et certi uumeri
raeminerit, forte dicendum, hoc ab eo praestitum. Hebr. xi. 30.