as a persecutor, he was avoided by all; until Barnabas, a teacher of consideration in the church, who as a Hellenist stood nearer to him and may perhaps have had some earlier connexion with him, introduced him to the apostles and other Christians.1 His bellenistic descent gave occasion to much discourse and controversy with the hellenistic Jews, on the subject of Judaism and the christian doctrines. The question here arises, whether Paul at that time by his Christian polemics already placed himself in the same relation towards the hellenistic Jews which he afterwards sustained; and this again stands connected with the question respecting the first (genetic) developement of his convictions and of his type of christian doctrine. The question is, whether Paul, when he first came to a knowledge of the gospel, immediately recognized its independence of the Mosaic law. To acknowledge this would perhaps be the most difficult of all, for one who had just broken loose from the dogmas of Phariseeism; as indeed we are elsewhere accustomed to find the gospel intermixed with the dogmas of Phariseeism, in those who went over from this party to Christianity. Ananias, the first teacher of the apostle, was generally respected even by the Jews for his legal piety;2 and was therefore assuredly far from wishing a disruption of the gospel from the Mosaic ceremonial law. And in general, at the time of Paul's conversion, this was the prevailing tendency among the Christians; for, as we have formerly remarked, it was only in consequence of what took place after the martyrdom of Stephen, that new views in this respect began to open by degrees from various quarters. But we are not entitled to assume, that these first had an influence upon Paul to determine his mode of thinking. to the circumstances of the times, it is impossible to arrive in this manner at entire certainty as to the year of Paul's conversion; but still the bypothesis which places it in A. D. 36, has also this in its favour, that then the interval from the time of Christ's ascension till the martyrdom of Stephen and the conversion of Paul, is neither too long nor too short for the events which occurred in the christian church during that period. 1 Acts 9: 26, 27; comp. Acts 4: 36. According to an account of Clemens Alexandrinus, which however is not sufficiently authenticated, Barnabas had formerly been one of the seventy disciples. Clem. Alex. Hypotypos. in Euseb. Hist. Ecc. II. 1. 2 Acts 22: 12. Indeed, in a man of his great and independent peculiarities, we must not venture to ascribe too much weight to any determining influences from without, through the communication of doctrines and ideas. We ought rather to believe himself, when he affirms with so much confidence, that his manner of preaching the gospel was imparted to him, not from any human instruction, but only by the communication of the Spirit of Christ. The historical circumstances indeed, and also the letter of the discourses uttered by Christ, and the ordinances appointed by him, he must have learned through human tradition; as also in such cases he appeals to tradition, to words spoken by our Lord; but the Spirit of Christ which enlightened him, independently of all human instruction, guided him in his peculiar understanding and peculiar developement of the letter and the materials thus delivered to him. In those, indeed, who conducted by degrees the pharisaic Judaism over to Christianity, it might be longer ere the spirit of the gospel had burst the shackles of the pharisaic-Jewish form. But it was otherwise with Paul, in whom Phariseeism had declared itself in the sternest opposition to the gospel; and who then, without any such gradual transition, by a sudden crisis had been arrested by the power of the gospel, and from the most vehement opposer transformed into the most zealous confessor of the christian faith ;-with Paul, who, as he describes it in the seventh chapter of the epistle to the Romans, after the feeling of bondage had risen in him to the highest point, had broken through to freedom by faith in a Redeemer. In him, as was natural, the bands of Phariseeism were at once cast loose; in him opposition to pharisaic Judaism now took the place of opposition to the gospel; as he says of himself, that every thing which before he prized so highly, he had renounced for the sake of Christ, every thing which before had seemed to him so splendid, he now counted as filth, that he might win Christ. Thus had he probably, from the very first, of himself, through the illumination of the Spirit alone, recognized with greater depth and freedom the essential features of the gospel in reference to its relations with Judaism; without having been first led 1 1 Cor. 11: 23; where Schulz justly remarks, that Paul with good reason employs άnó instead of naqά, i. e. received from the Lord, not immediately, but mediately. [Comp. Winer, Gram. des N. T. p. 313, 318.] 2 Phil. 3: 8. to take such views by the influence of Peter1 and those other Christians of hellenistic descent, who had already preached the gospel to the heathen. And thus also it probably happened, that, while Paul, as formerly Stephen, in controversy against the Hellenists unfolded the truths of the gospel more freely from this point of view, he thereby exasperated still more the rage of the Jews. On the other hand, there was opened to him the prospect of a wider field of labour among heathen nations. At this time, as he was praying in the temple, and his soul elevated to God in prayer was rapt above all earthly things, it was made known to him in a vision from the Lord, that he would be able to accomplish nothing at Jerusalem in opposition to the rage of the Jews; but that he was destined to carry abroad the knowledge of salvation among other nations, even to the remotest regions. Almost immediately upon this, after a sojourn of no more than a fortnight at Jerusalem, he was compelled by the machinations of the Jews to fly from the city. He now returned to Tarsus, his native city, where he spent several years; 5 assuredly not inactive in behalf of the spread of the gospel, which he probably preached to both Jews and heathen in Tarsus and throughout Cilicia; for to him in all probability the churches of Jewish Christians, which we find a short time after in Cilicia, were indebted for their origin.6 1 That is, in case the conversion of Cornelius had already taken place; which by putting together chronological inferences is indeed possible, but not certain. It may be said, that the first account of the spread of the gospel among the heathen at Antioch, would not have created so great a sensation in the church at Jerusalem, had Peter already returned to that city after the conversion of Cornelius. 2 Acts 6: 9-14. 9: 29. 4 Acts 9: 29, 30. Gal. 1: 18. 3 Acts 22: 17-21. 6 The silence of the book of Acts in respect to these labours of Paul in Cilicia, certainly proves nothing against them; since the accounts there given of the whole of this period exhibit so many chasms. It might rather, perhaps, be inferred from the manner in which Paul, up to the time of his first missionary journey with Barnabas, is always named after the latter, that he had never before occupied so independent a field of labour. But it may be too, that while it had before been customary to rank Barnabas, the elder and approved preacher of the gospel, before Paul, the younger and less well known preacher, VOL. IV. No. 13. 20 ART. VII. PHILOLOGY AND LEXICOGRAPHY OF THE NEW By the Editor.* 1. De vera Natura atque Indole Orationis Graecae Novi Testamenti Commentatio, Auctore HENRICO PLANCK. Goetting. 1810. [Reprinted in the Commentationes Theologicae of Rosenmueller, Leipz. 1825. Translated in the Biblical Repository, Vol. I. p. 638 sq.] 2. Grammatik des Neutestamentlichen Sprachidioms u. s. w. von G. B. WINER, Prof. der Theol. an der Univ. Erlangen, Leipz. 1822. [2d edit. 1825. 3d edit. greatly enlarged and improved, 1830.] 3. Clavis Novi Testamenti Philologica, etc. Auctore C. A. WAHL, etc. 8vo. Lips. 1822. [2d edit. 8vo. 1829. 3d edit. condensed, 1831, small folio.] 4. Lexicon Manuale Graeco-Latinum in Libros Novi Testamenti, Auctore C. G. BRETSCHNEIDER, etc. 8vo. Lips. 1824. [2d edit. 1829.] The progress of Sacred Literature in this country, has, of late, been rapid. Five and twenty years ago there were few facilities for the pursuit of it; and a good apparatus for this department of study was a thing almost unknown, and altogether unattainable. For the literature of the Old Testament, there was here and there a copy of the Hebrew lexicons of Parkhurst and Simonis, and occasionally, perhaps, some of an earlier date. Some of the older Hebrew grammars were also to be found; of which Buxtorf's was far the best. But a knowledge of the Hebrew language was confined to a few individuals; and in those schools where it was professedly taught, it was practically accounted as of secondary importance; was studied without the points; and was seldom pursued beyond the elementary so it was first by degrees and in consequence of the great and active energy of Paul, that this estimate underwent a change. But at all events it would be more advisable to place the date of Paul's conversion, as to which we can in no case arrive at definite certainty, several years later, than to suppose that he passed several years in his native city, inactive in behalf of the spread of the gospel,-he who, as he himself testifies, from the time of his conversion, had felt himself impelled by so urgent an inward call to preach the gospel. Gal. 1: 16 sq. 1 Cor. 9: 16. * Reprinted from the N. A. Review for July 1826. principles. The New Testament, in its original tongue, was an object of more general attention, because the Greek language was taught to a considerable extent in all our seminaries. But it was studied just like the Greek of Homer or Xenophon; as forming a constituent part of the national Greek literature, which has descended to us; with little or no reference to the peculiar character of its style and composition; and with a disregard of all those circumstances of time, place, manners, and opinions, which combined to produce that character. This, however, was no more than was to be expected; since almost the only means of pursuing the study of the New Testament, were those which were common to the whole circle of Grecian literature. The helps adapted exclusively to this object were very rare. Even the work of Parkhurst was seldom to be met with; and scattered copies of the lexicon of Schleusner were just beginning to find their way into the country. So far as it regards apparatus for biblical study, the times are now changed. The important results of the labors of Gesenius in Hebrew grammar have been condensed, and improved, and spread before our countrymen in the Grammar of Professor Stuart; while the valuable Hebrew lexicon of the same author has also been translated by Mr Gibbs. Among the scholars of the continent of Europe, these works have taken the place of all others on these subjects; and they are now as accessible to the students of this country, as to those of Germany. We have also in our own language treatises on Sacred Interpretation and Jewish Antiquities; while other books of a similar kind, and the latest and best lexicons and commentaries on both the Old and New Testaments, are beginning to be extensively circulated. We would not be understood to say, that the advances made among us in this department of study are yet so great or so general, as those which have been made on the continent of Europe. There are among our countrymen, doubtless, individuals, whose profound researches, and extensive acquisitions in the particular branches to which they have given their attention, may well vie with those of the celebrated philologists of the other continent; but the shortness of the time, which has yet elapsed, and the nature of the demands upon that class of our youth, who alone can be expected to devote themselves to these pursuits, forbid us to suppose, that such should be the general character of those who have as yet embarked in them. It is to the clergy, that we must principally look for the successful cul |