The Expositor's Bible: The General Epistles of St. James and St. Jude

The Expositor's Bible: The General Epistles of St. James and St. Jude

The table in Footnote 10, that categorises the books of the New Testament, contains numerous braces that extend over several lines. They have been replaced by horizontal lines that have the same effect. THIS volume is to treat of the General Epistle of St.James and the General Epistle of St.Jude. According to the most common, but not invariable arrangement, they form the first and the last letters in the collection which for fifteen centuries has been known as the Catholic Epistles. The epithet "General," which appears in the titles of these Epistles in the English versions, is simply the equivalent of the epithet "Catholic," the one word being of Latin (generalis), the other of Greek () origin. In Latin, however, e.g. in the Vulgate, these letters are not called Generales, but Catholic. The meaning of the term Catholic Epistles ( ) has been disputed, and more than one explanation may be found in commentaries; but the true signification is not really doubtful. It certainly does not mean orthodox or canonical; although from the sixth century, and possibly earlier, we find these Epistles sometimes called the Canonical Epistles (Epistol Canonic), an expression in which "canonical" is evidently meant to be an equivalent for "catholic." This use is said to occur first in the Prologus in Canonicas Epistolas of the Pseudo-Jerome given by {2} Cassiodorus (De Justit. Divin. Litt., viii.); and the expression is used by Cassiodorus himself, whose writings may be placed between A.D. 540 and 570, the period spent in his monastery at Viviers, after he had retired from the conduct of public affairs. The term "catholic" is used in the sense of "orthodox" before this date, but not in connexion with these letters. There seems to be no earlier evidence of the opinion, certainly erroneous, that this collection of seven Epistles was called "Catholic" in order to mark them as Apostolic and authoritative, in distinction from other letters which were heterodox, or at any rate of inferior authority. Five out of the seven letters, viz. all but the First Epistle of St. Peter and the First Epistle of St. John, belong to that class of New Testament books which from the time of Eusebius (H. E. III. xxv. 4) have been spoken of as "disputed" (), i.e. as being up to the beginning of the fourth century not universally admitted to be canonical.[1] And it would have been almost a contradiction in terms if Eusebius had first called these Epistles "catholic" (H. E. II. xxiii. 25; VI. xiv. 1) in the sense of being universally accepted as authoritative, and had then classed them among the "disputed" books. ......Buy Now (To Read More)

Product details

Ebook Number: 47337
Author: Plummer, Alfred
Release Date: Nov 12, 2014
Format: eBook
Language: English

Contributors

Editor: Nicoll, W. Robertson (William Robertson), Sir, 1851-1923