2 Timothy 4:13 The cloke that I left at Troas with Carpus, when thou comest, bring with thee, and the books, but especially the parchments.
"And the books." It is impossible to determine what books are meant here. They may have been portions of the Old Testament, or classic writings, or books written by other Christians, or by himself. It is worthy of remark, that even Paul did not travel without books, and that he found them in some way necessary for the work of the ministry.
"Especially the parchments." The word here used, (membranoV, whence our word membrane,) occurs only in this place in the New Testament, and means skin, membrane, or parchment. Dressed skins were among the earliest materials for writing, and were in common use before the art of making paper from rags was discovered. These "parchments" seem to have been something different from "books," and, probably, refer to some of his own writings. They may have contained notes, memorandums, journals, or unfinished letters. It is, of course, impossible now to determine what they were. Benson supposes they were letters which he had received from the churches; Macknight, that they were the originals of the letters which he had written; Bishop Bull, that they were a kind of common-place book, in which he inserted hints and extracts of the most remarkable passages in the authors which he read. All this, however, is mere conjecture.
Barnes
Acts 17:28 For in him we live, and move, and have our being; as certain also
of your own poets have said, For we are also his offspring.
--Paul studied enough that he was able to quote from the Greek poets as well as from the Bible.
Titus 1:12 One of themselves,
even a prophet of their own, said, The Cretians are alway liars, evil beasts, slow bellies.
--Paul was educated enough to quote from the prophetic writings of a Cretian.
Jude 1:14
And Enoch also, the seventh from Adam, prophesied of these, saying, Behold, the Lord cometh with ten thousands of his saints,
--Jude was familar enough with Apocryphal writings to quote from a book called "The Book of Enoch."
Also, did he just have this interesting fact, that Enoch was the seventh from Adam memorized? Or, did he go back and check his facts in the Torah before writing them down in that which would later become sacred Scripture? It was the Holy Spirit that commanded us to "Study to show ourselves approved unto God."
You don't believe that verse do you?
Just one other question for you:
The Bible uses the word "unicorn" 7 times, all in the Old Testament. We know that the unicorn is a Greek mythological creature. But what does it mean in the Bible? Can you tell me?
DHK
n a final note,I wonder if Jesus cried to a woman about "personal attacks"? The Troll