Page:History of Joseph & his brethren.pdf/22

22 far from Corinth. Going thence to Rome, he sent his epistle to the Phillipians by Epaphroditus, who had been sent from them with relief, not knowing to what straits he might be reduced by his imprisonment at Rome. In the next place, he sends by Tychicus his epistle to the Ephesians. Not long after, (if not about the same time) he wrote his epistle to the Colossians, and sent it by Epaphras, his fellow-prisoner for some time at Rome. As for his second epistle to Timothy, there is some dispute about the time of his writing it; only it seems probable by authentic authors, that it was written after the Philippians and Ephesians As for the epistle to the Hebrews, it is not known when, or from whence written, and rather conjectured than certainly known to have been St. Paul's. Tertulliah judgeth it to be written by Barnabas; but the most received opinion is, that it was St. Paul's, but written by him in Hebrew, and so sent to the Jews; but for the better publishing it to the Gentiles, translated into Greek, some say by St. Luke, and others by St. Clement, for the style of whose epistles to the Corinthians and Ephesians is observed by St. Jerome to come very near the style of this epistle, and to contain a purer vein of Greek than is found in the rest of St. Paul's epistles.

Our apostle having been now two years a prisoner at Rome, is at length set free, and soon after departs to visit other parts of the world, for the further divulging the gospel, but into what particular parts is variously conjectured; some think into Greece, and some parts of Asia, where he had not yet been; others will have it that he went preaching, as well into the Eastern as Western parts of the world; for in his epistle to the Corinthians it is said, that Paul being a preacher both Eastward and Westward, taught righteousness to