The Language of the Epistle to the Hebrews as Bearing upon Its ...

LANGUAGE OF THE EPISTLE TO THE HEBREWS.
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mitted to us no writing with which to institute a comparison (the
spuriousness of the epistle attributed to him being admitted),l and in
having been a Hellenistic Jew, likely to have written somewhat better
Greek than S. Paul. His birthplace also was in the Levant, in Cyprus,
where he could have had the full benefit of Alexandrian literature.
Being at Jerusalem he became one of the very early converts to
Christianity, long before S. Paul, and he was a man of property and
benevolence; for although a Cypriote, he had land in Jerusalem and
sold it to relieve the necessities of the early Christian community
(Acts iv. 36, 37). A very few writers, indeed, have identified him
with "Joseph called Barsabas, who was surnamed Justus," of Acts i.
23, and this is countenanced by the Codex Bezae and the AEthiopic
reading papvai3av; and in this case he must have been an original
disciple, and would be excluded by the language of Heb. ii. 3. But
there seems to be no ground for the identification, which, indeed, is
generally rejected. In Acts iv. 36 the language implies that Barnabas
is there spoken of for the first time, the names themselves are different,
and Barsabas was known by the surname of Justus, which does
not appear to have been ever given to Barnabas. He is next heard
1 The following memorandum of the authorities for and against the genuineness
of the Epistle of Barnabas, and for its date, has been kindly furnished me by the
Rev. E. C. Richardson, Librarian of the Hartford Theological School: -
Genuineness, etc. For: Origen, Clement of A., Eusebius, Hieron., Apost. const.,
Voss, Hammond, Pearson, Bull, Cave, Du Pin, Grynaeus, Wake, Lardner, Fleury,
Le Nourry, Russel, Galland, Less, Rosenmiiller, Muenscher, Staudlin, Danz, Bertholdt,
Hemsen, Schmidt, Henke, Bleek, R6rdam, Gieseler, Nabe, Credner, Bretschneider,
Guericke, Francke, Gfr6rer, Mohler, Baumgarten-Crusius, De Wette (?),
Rysewyk, Schneckenburger, Sprinzl, Alzog, Nirschl, Sharpe. Against: Rivet,
Usher, Menard, Daille, Papebroch, Calmet, Cotelerius, Le Moyne, Tenzel, Natalis
Alex., Ittig, Spanheim, Tillemont, Basnage, Oudin, Ceillier, Stolle, Pertsch, Baumgarten,
Walch, Mosheim, Semler, Schroekh, R6ssler, Starke, Lumper, Michaelis,
Gaab, Lange, Hanlein, Winter, Neander, Ullmann, Mynster, Hug, Baur, Winer,
Ilase, Ebrard, Semisch, Kayser, Reithmayr, Hefele, MacKenzie, Lipsius, Weizacker,
Donaldson, Roberts and D., Riggenbach, Westcott, Braunsberger, Cunningham,
Funk, Alford. Interpolated. Schenkel, Heydecke.
Date. Reign of Vespasian, Menardus, Ewald, Weizacker, Milligan; 71-73,
Galland; 70-Ioo, Tischendorf (at first); reign of Domitian, Wieseler, Hilgenfeld,
Riggenbach. Donaldson, Reuss, Ewald, Dressel, and Ritschl also put it in the
first century. Papebroch pronounces for some time later than 97, Hefele for
107-20, Volkmar, Tischendorf (later), Baur, and others, for I19; Tentzel for the
reign of Trajan; and Hug, Ullmann, Liicke, Neander, Winer, Zeller, and K6stlin
for some time early in the 2d century, while Heydecke distinguishes into a
genuine B., 70-71, and an inteipolator, II9-I2I.