Expresión génica durante la fermentación

The proper manuscript order has the fourteen epistles of Paul following the seven General Epistles. There is, however, a major variation that differs from the present arrangement of the King James Version (and maintained by virtually every other version since the invention of the printing press). Modern editions have placed the Book of Hebrews at the very end of the Pauline collection of books. This is what some church officials of the Western Church (Carthage and Rome) did in the late 4^th century contrary to the best manuscripts and the opinions of most officials in the Eastern Church.

The proper positioning of the Book of Hebrews in the manuscripts is right after Second Thessalonians — just before First Timothy. Nearly all the best manuscript evidence supports this. Prof. Scrivener writes:

“In the Pauline epistles, that to the Hebrews immediately follows the second to the Thessalonians in the four great codices Vaticanus, Sinaiticus, Alexandrinus, and Ephraemi.”

Scrivener, Introduction, vol. l, p. 74 ¹ In the margin of his work, Prof. Scrivener lists some of the many manuscripts which

position the Book of Hebrews in this fashion. The evidence for this arrangement is so strong that one wonders why Hebrews was moved out of its manuscript order and placed at the back of Paul’s works? The reason is not difficult to discover. Scrivener mentions a major purpose why the Western Church relegated Hebrews to last position. It was:

“... an arrangement which at first, no doubt, originated in the early

scruples prevailing in the Western Church, with respect to the authorship and canonical authority of that divine epistle.”

Scrivener, Introduction, vol. l, p. 74 The Latin section of the church found it difficult to believe that the epistle was from the pen of Paul and because of this many refused to accept it as belonging in the New Testament.

Most easterners had no major reservations about the book. Jerome, the great western scholar and translator of the Latin Vulgate version (a translation from the Hebrew and Greek into the Latin language), shows the differences of opinions among the eastern and western sections of the church regarding the Book of Hebrews. In his letter to Dardanus, Jerome wrote:

“To our own people [Christians], we must say that this Epistle, which is inscribed `To the Hebrews,’ is received as the Apostle Paul’s, not only in the churches of the east, but by all the ecclesiastical writers of former times. But the Latins do not receive it among the canonical scriptures.”

Whytehead, Handbook, p. 131 ² There was a belief that Paul, the apostle to the Gentiles, had no reason to be writing to the Jews. This, of course, is not a proper evaluation, When the apostle Paul was commissioned by Christ on the road to Damascus, he was told to teach to Israelites as well as Gentiles (Acts 9:15), and throughout the history of Paul’s ministry he always went to the Jews first.

Indeed, he understood that it was absolutely essential to do this. Paul said: “It was necessary that the word of God should first have been spoken to you [the Jews]”

(Acts 13:46). Paul’s motto was: “The Jew first, and also the Greek [Gentile]” (Romans 1:16).

There was every reason for Paul, the finest Christian intellect of the time, was thoroughly trained in Jewish law and customs (Acts 22:3), to have written a treatise to Jewish people

Restoring the Original Bible

Chapter 23

(or those with strong Judaistic tendencies) about the typical nature of the Temple services ordained by Moses. The New Testament canon would have suffered from a prime deficiency had not such a work been included. And the Book of Hebrews fits this to a tee.

Most Christians of the east simply accepted it as Paul’s (or written by a secretary of Paul).

It certainly had “Pauline” characteristics associated with it, especially since the majority of manuscripts placed it in the interior of Paul’s collection of canonical letters. And another point. If Hebrews is not Paul’s, then there are 13 epistles of Paul, whereas 14 (2 times 7) has a canonical symmetry to it, with the number 7 (or its multiples) having the theme of completion and finality associated with it. Prof. Bacon comments:

“The anonymous epistle anciently superscribed ‘To the Hebrews,’ was connected in the east with the letters of Paul. Even in the west, where the statements of all the Fathers down to the fourth century are opposed to Pauline authorship, its position in the Canon, when admitted, was next to those of Paul.”

Introduction to the New Testament, p. 140 ³ Moffatt, the translator of the Bible, said, regarding the manuscript location of Hebrews:

“The position of Hebrews within the Pauline body of letters is usually between the ecclesiastical and private epistles (Eastern Church) or after the latter (Western Church).”

Introduction to the Literature of the New Testament, p.17 ⁴ The ecclesiastical letters to which Moffatt had reference are: Romans, Corinthians, Galatians, Ephesians, Philippians, Colossians and Thessalonians. The Easterners and the best manuscripts placed the Book of Hebrews immediately after his letters to those seven congregations, and just before Paul’s Pastoral Epistles, those to Timothy, Titus, and Philemon.

The Design of Paul’s Epistles

The fourteen epistles of Paul are arranged into three parts in the New Testament canon.

The First Section consists of nine epistles to seven church congregations:

(1) Romans,

(2) Corinthians (2 epistles), (3) Galatians,

(4) Ephesians, (5) Philippians, (6) Colossians, and

(7) Thessalonians (2 epistles)

The Second Section is composed of one general letter, the Book of Hebrews. The Third Section is called in modern circles the Pastoral Epistles: the private letters to individual pastors: Timothy, Titus and Philemon.

Look at the first section, which, from ancient times, has been technically named “Paul’s Letters to Seven Churches.” In the Muratorian Canon (written about 180 AD, though some recent scholars date it much later), there is a general reference to this first section:

“The apostle Paul himself, following the example of John [in the Book of Revelation], wrote by name to Seven Churches. True, he wrote twice to the Corinthians and Thessalonians for their correction, but he shows thereby the unity of the Church; for John also in Revelation, though he writes to seven churches only, yet speaks to all.”

Bacon, Introduction, p. 52

Victorinus, who wrote about 290 AD, also gave an interesting comment about Paul’s seven congregations. After observing that God rested from all his labors on the seventh day, Victorinus continued to mention the symbolic use of the number seven in biblical matters.

In the course of his discussion, he stated:

“That in the whole world there are Seven Churches; and that those churches called seven are one general church as Paul has taught; and that he might keep to it, he did not exceed the number of Seven

Churches, but wrote to the Romans, to the Corinthians, to the Galatians, to the Ephesians, to the Philippians, to the Colossians, to the

Thessalonians. Afterwards, he wrote to particular persons, that he might not exceed the measure of Seven Churches: and contracting his doctrine into a little compass, he says to Timothy: ‘thou mayest know how thou oughtest to behave thyself in the Church of the living God.’”

Lardner, Credibility, vol. III, p. 177 ⁵ Cyprian of Carthage (c. 250 AD) also recognized the symbolic teaching behind the fact that Paul wrote only to Seven Congregations. In the first book of his

Testimonies, having quoted the words of Hannah:

“the barren has born seven, and she that has many sons is waxed feeble,” [he continued by saying:] ... “the seven sons represent Seven Churches; for which reason Paul wrote to Seven Churches; and the Revelation has Seven Churches, that the number seven may be preserved.”

Lardner, Credibility, vol. III. p. 41 In another book, after having mentioned the seven golden lampstands in the Book of Revelation and the seven pillars in Solomon’s Proverbs upon which Wisdom built her home, Cyprian added:

“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 angels.”

Lardner, Credibility, vol. III, p. 177 Many other ancients took note of this significant number of congregations

(precisely seven) to which Paul wrote. Among them were Jerome (about 400 AD) ⁶ and Isidore of Seville (near 600 AD). ⁷ More recently, Dr. E.W. Bullinger made some pertinent remarks showing the symbolic reasons why Paul wrote to Seven

Congregations.

“Seven Churches [by Paul] were addressed as such by the Holy Spirit, seven being the number of spiritual perfection, the. ... Is it not

remarkable that the Holy Spirit addressed seven churches and no more:

exactly the same number as the Lord himself addressed later from the glory [in the Book of Revelation]?”

Bullinger, The Church Epistles, p. 85 ⁸ Dr. Bullinger is correct in his appraisal of the number seven being associated with this particular collection of Paul’s epistles which are called the “Church Epistles.”

But there is also another numerical factor that accompanies this collection. That is the number nine. It will be noted that though there were exactly seven

congregations to whom the epistles were sent, there were in fact nine epistles in the group (Corinth and Thessalonica both got two epistles each, making nine altogether). There is a point of emphasis that this number nine has within the seven. Since the emphasis by Paul in this collection is a concentration on high spiritual teachings, the fact of the Spirit and its actions is seen in a profound way that is not found in any other section of the Holy Scriptures. And the number nine is closely associated in the Bible with the Holy Spirit. It will be appraised there are

nine graces comprising the fruit (not fruits) of the Spirit. They are:

(1) love, (2) joy, (3) peace,

(4) longsuffering, (5) gentleness, (6) goodness, (7) faith, (8) meekness,

(9) temperance (Galatians 5:22–23).

But there are also nine gifts of the Holy Spirit:

(1) the word of wisdom, (2) the word of knowledge, (3) faith,

(4) healing,

(5) the working of miracles, (6) prophecy,

(7) discerning of spirits,

(8) diverse kinds of languages,

(9) the interpretation of languages (1 Corinthians 12:8–10).

In the book of Revelation (chapters 4 and 5, particularly 4:5), a major part of the divine hierarchy is described as being God the Father (who is a Spirit John 4:24), Christ Jesus (who is also a Spirit — Romans 8:26, 34), and the seven spirits (who are the seven angelic powers associated with the throne of God). This makes nine spirits in all.

In Paul’s epistles to his Seven Congregations there is to be found the main New Testament doctrinal teachings concerning spiritual matters that should be taught to the Christian community of believers. This is why the subjects of repentance, faith, baptisms [that is, the real spiritual meaning of baptisms], and details concerning the work of the Holy Spirit, etc. are discussed at length in the letters to these Seven Congregations. These spiritual doctrines are all a part of subjects that Paul called the “fruit” and the “gifts” of the Holy Spirit. It is no accident that the number was seven (with nine parts), and no more, was associated with these congregations and the collection of letters sent to them. This number seven, as the early Christian authors mentioned, was also found in the Book of Revelation. Though John could have written the first edition of the Book of Revelation with his seven congregations before Paul’s collection of epistles first appeared, it may have been the other way around. Frank W. Beare, Professor of New Testament Studies at Trinity College, Toronto, goes so far as to say that John in Revelation followed the example of Paul.

“The device of introducing an apocalypse by a sequence of letters

addressed severally to seven churches but issued together under cover of a general letter ... can only be explained as indicating that the author [of Revelation] had before him a corpus of Pauline letters similarly

constructed.”

Beare, “Canon of the New Testament” ⁹