Gospel of the Ebionites

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Epiphanius of Salamis's book Panarion was also known as Against Heresies. It is our main source regarding the Ebionite gospel.

Gospel of the Ebionites is the conventional name given to the description by Epiphanius of Salamis of a gospel used by the Ebionites. All that is known of the gospel text consists of seven brief quotations found in Chapter 30 of a heresiology written by Epiphanius known as the Panarion. The quotations were used as part of a polemic to point out inconsistencies in the beliefs and practices of the Ebionites relative to Nicene orthodoxy.^[] The seven citations are numbered GE 1 to GE 7 in Schneemelcher's New Testament Apocrypha.^[]

The original title of the gospel is unknown. Epiphanius mistakenly identifies it as the "Hebrew" gospel, believing it to be a truncated and modified version of the Gospel of Matthew. The text is a gospel harmony of the Synoptic Gospels composed in Greek with various expansions and abridgments reflecting the theology of the writer.^[] Distinctive features of the text include the absence of the virgin birth and genealogy of Jesus, an adoptionist Christology in which Jesus is chosen to be God's son at the time of his baptism, Jesus' appointed task of abolishing the Jewish sacrifices, and an advocacy of the practice of vegetarianism.^[] The gospel harmony is believed to have been composed sometime during the first half of the 2nd century in or around the region East of the Jordan River.^[] The gospel text was said to be used by "Ebionites" during the time of the early church,^[] however the identity of the group or groups that used the text remains a matter of conjecture.^[]

The Gospel of the Ebionites is one of the Jewish-Christian Gospels, along with the Gospel of the Hebrews and the Gospel of the Nazoraeans, which survive only as fragments in quotations of the early Church Fathers. Because so little of the text is known, its relationship to the other Jewish-Christian Gospels and a hypothetical original Hebrew Gospel has been a subject of scholarly investigation. More recently, it has been recognized that the gospel harmony is a distinctive text from the others^[] and it has been identified more closely with the lost Gospel of the Twelve.^[] A similarity between the Gospel and a source document contained within the Clementine Recognitions (Rec. 1.27–71), conventionally referred to by scholars as the Ascents of James, has also been noted with respect to the command to abolish the Jewish sacrifices.^[]

Background

Epiphanius is believed to have come into possession of a gospel that he attributed to the Ebionites when he was bishop of Salamis. He alone among the Church Fathers identifies Cyprus as one of the "roots" of the Ebionites.^[] The Gospel survives only in brief quotations by Epiphanius in his heresiology Panarion Chapter 30. as a polemic against the Ebionites. His citations are often contradictory and thought to be based in part on his own conjecture.^[][] The various, sometimes conflicting, sources of information were combined to point out inconsistencies in Ebionite beliefs and practices relative to Nicene orthodoxy,^[] possibly to serve, indirectly, as a polemic against the Arians of his time.^[]

The term Gospel of the Ebionites is a scholarly convention in use at least as early as the French priest Richard Simon (1689),^[] however, no surviving document of the Early Church mentions a gospel by that name.^[] Epiphanius identifies the gospel only as "in the Gospel used by them, called 'according to Matthew'" and "they call it 'the Hebrew [gospel]'".^[][] The name is used by modern scholars as a convenient way to distinguish a gospel text that was probably used by the Ebionites from Epiphanius' mistaken belief that it was a Hebrew version of the Gospel of Matthew.^[][] Nothing is known for certain about its place of origin. One speculation is that it was composed in the region East of the Jordan where the Ebionites were said to have been present, according to the accounts of the Church Fathers.^[] It is thought to have been composed during the first half of the 2nd century, since several other gospel harmonies are known to be from this period.^[]

Composition

Epiphanius is believed to have incorporated the text at a late stage in the composition of Panarion 30, primarily in chapters 13 and 14. As Epiphanius describes it, "The Gospel which is found among them...is not complete, but falsified and distorted" (13.1–2). In particular, it lacked some or all of the first two chapters of Matthew, which contain the infancy narrative of the virgin birth of Jesus and the Davidic genealogy via Solomon, "They have removed the genealogies of Matthew" (14.2–3).^[]

The translations of Bernhard Pick (1908),^[] with the sequence of four fragments arranged in the order of Wilhelm Schneemelcher from the beginning of the Gospel harmony are as follows:

It came to pass in the days of Herod, King of Judaea under the high priest Caiaphas, that John came and baptized with the baptism of repentance in the river Jordan; he is said to be from the tribe of Aaron and a son of Zacharias the priest and of Elizabeth and all went out to him.(13.6) And it came to pass when John baptized, that the Pharisees came to him and were baptized, and all Jerusalem also. He had a garment of camels' hair, and a leather girdle about his loins. And his meat was wild honey, which tasted like manna, formed like cakes of oil.(13.4) The people having been baptized, Jesus came also, and was baptized by John. And as he came out of the water the heavens opened, and he saw the Holy Spirit descending under the form of a dove, and entering into him. And a voice was heard from heaven: "Thou art my beloved Son, and in thee am I well pleased. And again: "This day have I begotten thee." And suddenly shone a great light in that place. And John seeing him, said, "Who art thou, Lord?" Then a voice was heard from heaven: "This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased." Thereat John fell at his feet and said: "I pray thee, Lord, baptize me." But he would not, saying "Suffer it, for so it behoveth that all should be accomplished."(13.7)

"There was a man named Jesus, and he was about thirty years old; he has chosen us. And He came into Capernaum and entered into the house of Simon, surnamed Peter, and He opened His mouth and said, 'As I walked by the sea of Tiberias, I chose John and James, the sons of Zebedee, and Simon and Andrew and Thaddaeus and Simon Zelotes, and Judas Isariot; thee also, Matthew, when thou wast sitting at the receipt of custom, did I call and thou didst follow me. According to my intention ye shall be twelve apostles for a testimony unto Israel.'" (13.2b-3)

The three quotations by Epiphanius in Panarion 30.13.6, 4, and 7, respectively, form the opening of the Gospel narrative, including the mission of John the Baptist, his appearance and diet, and the baptism of Jesus by John.^[] The beginning of the Gospel (13.6) has parallels to the Gospel of Luke but in abbreviated form. The text shows a familiarity with the infancy narrative of Luke 1:5 despite lacking a birth narrative of its own. Quoting from the text regarding the diet of John (13.4), Epiphanius complains that the Ebionites have falsified the text by substituting the word "cake" (egkris ἐγκρίς^[]) for "locust" (akris ἀκρίς, in Matthew 3:4). The similarity of the wording in Greek has led scholars to conclude that Greek was the original language of composition.^[] In the narrative of the baptism of Jesus by John, the voice of God speaks three times in close parallels to the Gospel of Mark, Luke (Western text-type), and Matthew, respectively. The parallels to the Synoptic Gospels have led to the conclusion that the text quoted by Epiphanius is a Gospel harmony. The appearance of a great light on the water may be an echo of St. Paul's conversion or an additional harmonization to the Gospel of the Hebrews.^[]

Epiphanius begins his description of the Gospel text (13.2b-3) with a quotation which has Matthew narrating directly to the reader. Jesus recalls how the twelve apostles were chosen and addresses Matthew in the second person as "you also Matthew". Although twelve apostles are mentioned, only eight are named. They are said to be chosen by Jesus, "for a testimony to Israel". The phrase "who chose us" has been interpreted as evidence that the text may be the lost Gospel of the Twelve mentioned by Origen. However, the identification of the Gospel text quoted by Epiphanius with this otherwise unknown Gospel is disputed.^[] The position of this quotation was tentatively assigned based on a parallel to the Synoptic Gospels.^[]

The fifth and sixth quotations (following Schneemelcher's order) are associated with a Christological controversy. The polemics of Epiphanius along with his quotations of the Gospel text are shown in parallel:

"Moreover they deny that he was a man, evidently on the ground of the word which the Savior spoke when it was reported to him: Behold, thy mother and thy brethren stand without, namely: Who is my mother and who are my brethren? And he stretched forth his hand towards his disciples and said: These are my brethren and mother and sisters, which do the will of my Father." (14.5)

"They say that he was not begotten of God the Father, but created as one of the archangels...that he rules over the angels and all the creatures of the Almighty, and that he came and declared, as their Gospel, which is called according to the Hebrews, reports: I am come to abolish the sacrifices, if ye cease not from sacrificing, the wrath will not cease from you." (16.4–5)

The fifth quotation (14.5) appears to be a harmony of Matthew 12:47–48 and its Synoptic parallels. However, Jesus' final proclamation shows a closer agreement to 2 Clement 9:11 than any of the Synoptics.^[] The unity of this quotation with the Gospel text in Chapter 13 has been questioned.^[] The command to abolish the sacrifices in the sixth quotation (16.5) is unparalleled in the Canonical Gospels, and it suggests a relationship to Matthew 5:17 ("I did not come to abolish the Law")^[] that is echoed in the Clementine literature.^[]

Referring to a parallel passage in Luke 22:15, Epiphanius complains that the Ebionites have again falsified the Gospel text "they destroyed the true order and changed the passage..."

"they made the disciples say, Where wilt Thou that we prepare for Thee to eat the Passover? To which He replied: I have no desire to eat the flesh of this Paschal Lamb with you.", (22.4)

thereby making Jesus declare that he would not eat meat on Passover. The immediate context suggests the possible attribution of the quotation to a Clementine source.^[]

Christology

The baptismal scene of the Gospel text (13.7) is a harmony of the Synoptic Gospels, but one in which the Holy Spirit is said to descend to Jesus in the form of a dove and enter into him. This divine election at the time of his baptism is known as an adoptionist Christology,^[] and it is emphasized by the quotation of Psalm 2:7, as found in the "Western text" of Luke 3:23, "You are my son, this day I have begotten you."^[][] The Spirit entering into Jesus and the great light on the water are thought to be based on the prophesies of Isaiah 61:1 and 9:1, respectively.^[] The absence of any reference to a Davidic son-ship in the Gospel text suggests that Jesus has been elected to be the end-time prophet, the Chosen One, sent to abolish the Jewish sacrifices.^[][][] The Prophet-Christology of the Gospel text quoted by Epiphanius is more at home with the Clementine literature than the Christology of the Ebionites known to Irenaeus.^[][]

Vegetarianism

The change in wording of the Gospel text from "locust" (akris) to "cake" (egkris) for John the Baptist's diet (13.4) has been interpreted as evidence of vegetarianism.<ref>Klijn (1992) Jewish-Christian Gospel Tradition p.68 – "John the Baptist is supposed to have followed a vegetarian life-style." with a reference to S. Brock, (1970) The Baptists Diet in Syriac Sources, Oriens Christianus, vol.54, pp.113–124</ref> However, the association of the diet of John the Baptist with vegetarianism has been questioned. Epiphanius gives no indication of concern for vegetarianism in this part of the Gospel text,<ref>Skarsaune (2007) Jewish Believers in Jesus p.459</ref> and it may instead be an allusion to the manna in the wilderness of Exod 16:31 and Num 11:8,<ref>Skarsaune (2007) Jewish Believers in Jesus p.251 – "Linking John's wilderness food with the food the Israelites ate while crossing the wilderness and preparing for entry into the promised land may lend an additional element of restoration theology to the ministry and activity of John."</ref> or to 1Kgs 19:6 where Elijah eats cakes and oil.<ref>Koch (1976) A Critical Investigation of Epiphanius' Knowledge of the Ebionites: A Translation and Critical Discussion of 'Panarion' 30 pp.328–329, p.328 – "While it is not clear which version is older, one might perhaps see at work here an exegetical principle which was practiced in Judaism... – the change in meaning occasioned by the change of a syllable." p.329 – "On the other hand, one might argue just as convincingly that the Exodus-manna typology is older than the "locust" texts,... This would have the effect of identifying John the Baptist with the desert experience, perhaps conveying the impression that he was the new prophet like Moses."</ref>

Further evidence has been found in the quotation based on Luke 22:15 (22.4), where the saying has been modified by insertion of the word "flesh" to provide a rationale for vegetarianism.<ref>Skarsaune (2007) Jewish Believers in Jesus p.253 – The saying may indicate that Christ is the Passover sacrifice, so that eating the Passover lamb is no longer required and a vegetarian diet may be observed.</ref> The immediate context of the quotation suggests that it may be closely related to a Clementine source, the Journeys of Peter. Reading from the same source, Epiphanius states that the Ebionites abstained from "meat with soul in it" (15.3), and he attributes this teaching to Ebionite interpolations "they corrupt the contents and leave a few genuine items". Due to the close association of this saying with the Clementine literature of the 3rd and 4th century, the earlier practice of vegetarianism by the 2nd-century Ebionites known to Irenaeus has been questioned.<ref>Skarsaune (2007) Jewish Believers in Jesus pp.454–455, p.454 – "The 'Ebionite' reason for not eating meat seems to be based on a fear of eating souls, which was the main reason for Pythagorean vegetarianism." p.455 – "In summary, Epiphanius' report of the vegetarianism of the 'Ebionites' seems to be based on his reading of the Pseudo-Clementine Journeys of Peter (and possibly other pseudo-apostolic works)...which makes one hesitate very much in ascribing any of this to the Ebionites of Irenaeus and his followers."</ref>

Relationship to other texts

Epiphanius mistakenly refers to the Gospel used by the Ebionites as the "Hebrew" gospel and the Gospel of Matthew, perhaps relying upon and conflating the testimony of the earlier Church Fathers. Jerome remarks that the Nazoraeans and Ebionites both used the Gospel of the Hebrews, which was considered the original Matthew by many of them. Jerome's report is consistent with the prior accounts of Irenaeus and Eusebius.<ref>Skarsaune (2007) Jewish Believers in Jesus pp.544–545, Jerome – "In the Gospel which the Nazoraeans and the Ebionites use which we translated recently from Hebrew to Greek and which is called the authentic text of Matthew by a good many, it is written..." Comm. Matt. 12.13; p.435, Irenaeus – "For the Ebionites who use the Gospel according to Matthew only, are confuted of this very same book, when they make false suppositions with regard to the Lord." Haer. 3.11.7; p.446, Eusebius – "These men moreover thought that it was necessary to reject all the epistles of the Apostle, whom they called an apostate from the Law; and they used only the so-called Gospel according to the Hebrews and made small account of the rest." Hist. eccl. 3.27.1; p.457, Epiphanius – "They also accept the Gospel according to Matthew. For they too use only this like the followers of Cerinthus and Merinthus. They call it, however, 'according to the Hebrews', which name is correct since Matthew is the only one in the New Testament who issued the Gospel and the proclamation in Hebrew and with Hebrew letters." Panarion 30.3.7</ref>

It is not clear if and how Gospel of the Ebionites is related to the Gospel of the Hebrews and the Gospel of the Nazoraeans. All the Jewish-Christian Gospels survive only as fragments in quotations, so it is difficult to tell if they are independent texts or variations of each other. Klijn concluded that the Gospel harmony composed in Greek appears to be a distinctive text known only to Epiphanius.<ref name="Klijn 1992 pp.27-30"/> It's putative relationship to the Gospel text known to Origen as the Gospel of the Twelve remains a speculation.<ref name="Henri-Charles Puech"/> as well as it's relationship to a hypothetical original Gospel of Matthew.<ref name="Meyer (1884)">Meyer and Meyer (1884) Critical and exegetical hand-book to the Gospel of Matthew, see remark on p.13</ref>

The Recognitions of Clement contains a source document (Rec. 1.27–71), conventionally referred to by scholars as the Ascents of James,<ref>Luomanen (2007) Jewish Christianity Reconsidered p.93 – "Scholars also largely agree that one section of the Recognitions, Rec. 1.27–71, is based on an independent source, but there is no consensus about the possible original title of the writing. Some think that this section of the Recognitions (Rec. 1.27–71) may indeed preserve the Ascents of James, which Epiphanius ascribes to the Ebionites in Pan. 30.16.7 (Van Voorst 1989)."</ref> which is believed to be of Jewish-Christian origin.<ref name="Van Voorst 1989">Van Voorst (1989) The Ascents of James: History and Theology of a Jewish-Christian Community p.177 – "There is, in fact, no section of the Clementine literature about whose origin in Jewish Christianity one may be more certain." (quoting the conclusion of Martyn (1978) "Clementine Recognitions 1.33 to 71, Jewish Christianity, and the Fourth Gospel" in God's Christ and his People. Studies in honor of N.A. Dahl p.271)</ref> The Ascents shares a similarity to the Gospel of the Ebionites with regard to the command to abolish the Jewish sacrifices,<ref name="Luomanen (2007) p.95"/> adding that a Christian water baptism is to be substituted for the remission of sins.<ref>Skarsaune (2007) Jewish Believers in Jesus p.395 – "The most striking parallel to this concept (Christian baptism as a substitute for sacrifices for purification from sin) is to be found in the Jewish-Christian source in the Pseudo-Clementine Recognitions, 1.27–71. Here we read the following: '[The prophet like Moses] would first of all admonish them...to cease with sacrifices; lest they think that with the ceasing of the sacrifices remission of sins could not be effected for them, [he] instituted for them baptism by water, in which they might be absolved of all sins through the invocation of his name,...[so that] henceforth following a perfect life they might remain in immortality, purified not through the blood of animals but through the purification of God's wisdom'." (Rec. 1.39.1–2)</ref>

Inferences about the Ebionites

The Ebionites<ref>Luomanen (2007) Jewish Christianity Reconsidered p.88 – Much of what Epiphanius reports about the Ebionites is consistent with the accounts of his predecessors, Irenaeus, Hippolytus, Origen, and Eusebius." p.314, notes: See Irenaeus, Haer. 1.26.2; 3.11.7; Hippolytus, Haer. 7.34.1–2; 10.22; Origen, Cels. 5.65; Hom. Gen. 3.5; Hom. Jer. 19.12.2; Eusebius, Hist. eccl. 3.27.1–6; 6.17.</ref><ref name="Bart Ehrman (2003)">Ehrman (2003) Lost Christianities: The Battles for Scripture and the Faiths We Never Knew pp.95-103 Ehrman offers a popular treatment of the subject.</ref><ref name="Klijn and Reinink 1973">Klijn and Reinink (1973) Patristic evidence for Jewish-Christian sects pp.19-43 Klijn and Reinink offers a rigorous academic treatment of the subject.</ref> known to Irenaeus (first mentioned in Adversus Haereses 1.26.2, written around 185) and other Church Fathers prior to Epiphanius were described as a Jewish sect that regarded Jesus as the Messiah but not as divine. They insisted on the necessity of following Jewish religious law and rites and they used only the Jewish-Christian Gospel.<ref>Kohler, "Ebionites", in: Isidore Singer & Cyrus Alder (ed.), Jewish Encyclopedia, 1901–1906.</ref> The Ebionites rejected the epistles of Paul of Tarsus, who they regarded as an apostate from the Law.<ref name="Jones 2000">Jones (2000) "Ebionites" in Eerdman's Dictionary of the Bible p.364</ref>

In Epiphanius' polemic against the Ebionites found in Panarion 30, a complex picture emerges of the beliefs and practices of the 4th century Ebionites that cannot easily be separated from his method of combining together disparate sources.<ref name="Koch 1976"/> While scholars such as H.J. Schoeps literally interpreted Epiphanius' account as describing a later syncretistic development of Ebionism,<ref name="Schoeps 1969">Schoeps (1969) pp.1-37 Note: the English translation has no ISBN number.</ref> more recent scholarship has found it difficult to reconcile his report with those of the earlier Church Fathers, leading to a conjecture that a second group of Hellenistic-Samaritan Ebionites may also have been present.<ref name="Luomanen (2007) pp.101-102, 115"/> The rejection of the Jewish sacrifices and the implication of an end-time prophet Christology due to the lack of a birth narrative lend support for the association of the Gospel of the Ebionites with a group or groups of Ebionites different than the Ebionites known to Irenaeus.<ref>Skarsaune (2007) Jewish Believers in Jesus pp.460–1 – "There is one more feature of this Gospel that clearly makes it distinct...it contained no genealogy of Jesus. According to Epiphanius, it began with a short version of Luke 3:1–3. ... This probably reveals something about the genre this Gospel was intended to represent. This is clearly the beginning of a prophet's book. We have seen repeatedly how important the Davidic genealogy was for Ebionite Christology; it was the importance of this Davidic lineage through Joseph that made them deny the virgin birth. For them, Jesus was the Davidic Messiah. For the author of the Ebionite Gospel this seems to have been no concern at all. Instead, he may have conceived of Jesus as the end-time prophet, endowed with the Spirit at his calling – his baptism by John."</ref>

Footnotes

References

Primary sources

• Bernhard Pick 1902 Gospel of the Ebionites

External links

• New Testament Apocrypha: Volume 1: Gospels and related writings, section IV 2: The Gospel of the Ebionites (pg 166–172), ed Wilhelm Schneemelcher, translated by Robert McLachlan Wilson Google books. ISBN 066422721X