Exegetic discussion of 1John 5:7, not present in most Greek manuscripts or other Western texts, nor in the earliest Latin manuscripts. The preface to the canonical Epistles ascribed to St Jerome in certain Latin Bibles is not by him. The impossibility of proving that the text of St Cyprian contained the self-same passage from the first Epistle of St John

Abstract

Nowadays in all Greek lectionaries designated as apostolic, and in all Latin versions, the following words appear: For there are three that bear witness in heaven, the Father, the Word and the Holy Ghost: and these three are one . Erasmus had read various Greek and Latin manuscripts of the New Testament and had also consulted the manuscripts used by St Jerome. The new edition with commentary of the works of St Cyprian has recently been published by the Bishop of Oxford, who lists a great many Latin Bibles containing this Prologue by St Jerome. It is appropriate at this stage to say something about the Prologue to the canonical Epistles, which is attributed to St Jerome, and which only occurs in the early Latin editions of the Bible under the title: qHere begins the Prologue to the seven Canonical Epistles by the Blessed Father Jerome.q. Keywords:canonical Epistles; Erasmus; Greek manuscripts; Latin Bibles; Latin manuscripts; Latin versions; New Testament; St Cyprian; St Jerome; St John