Victorinus of Pettau, Commentary on Rev 4.4

Translation Stephen C. Carlson (2021) Comment Translation Stephen C. Carlson (2021)1 4 So the animals which are different in their face have this rationale. The animal like the lion is the Gospel according to John, because, while all the evangelists proclaimed that Christ became human, he preached, however, that he was God before he descended …

Irenaeus of Lyons, Against Heresies 3.1.1

Translation Stephen C. Carlson (2021) Comment Translation Stephen C. Carlson (2021)1 So Matthew, among the Hebrews in their own language, brought forth a writing of the gospel,2 when Peter and Paul in Rome were evangelizing and founding the church; after their departure Mark, the disciple and interpreter of Peter, he too handed down to us …

Eusebius of Caesarea, Ecclesiastical History 3.24

Translation Stephen C. Carlson (2021) Comment Translation Stephen C. Carlson (2021)1 5 Nevertheless then out of all of those who spent time with the Lord, Matthew and John alone have left behind memoirs for us, which a report holds that they came to the writing even out of compulsion. 6 For Matthew having earlier preached …

Joshua: Authorship, Date, and Composition

Introduction There are no formal indicators in the book of Joshua as to its authorship and date. The authorship, date, and composition of Joshua are tied to larger source critical issues that concern several Old Testament books (Genesis to 2 Kings). It is beyond the scope of this article to evaluate the merits of such …

The Letter of James: Authorship and Date

Introduction Author's Self-Identification An Anonymous James? Simple and Humble Identification Pseudepigrapha in James's Name Why Write in the Name of James? Quality of the Greek Knowledge of the Jesus Tradition Paul's Letters Acts of the Apostles Other New Testament Writings Knowledge of Palestine Undeveloped Christology Rich and Poor No Mention of Gentile Issues Destruction of …

Book of Proverbs: Authorship

Superscriptions Superscriptions mark off seven collections in the book of Proverbs and attribute authorship to Solomon, Agur, and Lemuel: 1:1: The proverbs of Solomon, son of David, king of Israel 10:1: The proverbs of Solomon 22:17: The words of the wise 24:23: These sayings also are from the wise 25:1: These also are proverbs of …

The Importance Of And Evidence For Paul’s Authorship Of Ephesians

The Importance Of And Evidence For Paul's Authorship Of Ephesians One of the cumulative effects of what I've discussed in this post is that there seems to have been a steady stream of individuals from the middle of the first century into the second century who were in contact with Ephesus or lived there and …

Gospel of Matthew: Introduction and Commentary

Introduction Text Structure Sources Theology Setting and Purpose External References Authorship Provenance Date Commentary 1:1-17: The Genealogy of Jesus Christ 1:18-25: The Birth of Jesus Christ 2:1-12: The Visit of the Wise Men 2:13-23: The Escape to Egypt and The Return to Nazareth 3:1-12: The Ministry of John the Baptist 3:13-17: The Baptism of Jesus …

Authorship of the Gospel of Matthew

Introduction The external evidence is early and unanimous in support of the first gospel being written by the apostle Matthew. But the external evidence speaks of a gospel written in Aramaic or Hebrew and later being translated into Greek while the canonical gospel seems to have been written in Greek from the beginning. How to …

Authorship of the Letters of John

Introduction Tradition ascribes authorship of the Letters of John to the apostle John, son of Zebedee and brother of James. Tradition also credits him with writing the Gospel of John and Revelation. Internal Evidence Anonymous? Technically the letters of John are anonymous, meaning the author does not provide his personal name within the body of …