Johannine Comma and Clement of Alexandria

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This page is a branch of a lager article, see Johannine Comma

Clement of Alexandria

Clement of Alexandria with allusions to the Comma Johanneum [1].

There are two main sections of Clement's work that are discussed concerning the Johannine Comma, Eclogae propheticae Chapter 13 and A new plea for the authenticity of the text of the three heavenly witnesses p 54-55 (1867).

Eclogae propheticae Chapter 13

Clement of Alexandria (c. 200) in Eclogae propheticae Chapter 13:

Every promise is valid before two or three witnesses, before the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit; before whom, as witnesses and helpers, what are called the commandments ought to be kept. Eclogae propheticae 13.1Ben David, Monthly Review, 1826 p. 277)

In Greek comparison to the text of Beza's 1598:

Πᾶν ῥῆμα ἵσταται ἐπὶ δύο καὶ τριῶν μαρτύρων, ἐπὶ πατρὸς καὶ υἱοῦ καὶ ἁγίου πνεύματος, ἐφ᾿ ὧν μαρτύρων [2](Clement)

ὅτι τρεῖς εἰσιν οἱ μαρτυροῦντες εν τῷ οὐρανῷ, ὁ πατήρ, ὁ λόγος, καὶ τὸ ἅγιον Πνεῦμα· (Beza)

With some of the non highlighted words removed, a comparison is clearer. Note, Logos and Uios are placed side by side as synonymous here. The Π in Πνεῦμα was also made small, for better comparison:

Clement	Beza 1598
τριῶν	τρεῖς
μαρτύρων	μαρτυροῦντες
πατρὸς	πατήρ
υἱοῦ	λόγος
καὶ	καὶ
ἁγίου	ἅγιον
πνεύματος	πνεῦμα

This is seen by some such as Bengel, John Gill, Ben David, and Thomas Burgess, as allusion evidence that Clement was familiar with the verse.

We can also compare this to Matthew 28:19, in which it is difficult not to see the similarities:

πατρὸς καὶ ...... υἱοῦ καὶ ...... ἁγίου πνεύματος (Clement)

Πατρὸς καὶ τοῦ Υἱοῦ καὶ τοῦ Ἁγίου Πνεύματος (Beza)

πατήρ, ........ ὁ λόγος, καὶ τὸ ἅγιον Πνεῦμα· (Beza - 1 John 5:7)

But, this does not explain why Clement spoke of witnesses twice, in a verse with a clear reference to the Father, Son, and Spirit, with μαρτύρων appearing twice. Grantley Mcdonald says in his article Raising the ghost of Arius: Erasmus, the Johannine Comma and Religious Difference in Early Modern Europe

For example, in an attempt to show that the Greek Fathers knew and quoted the comma, Forster cites such passages as the following from a sermon on the Trinity by John of Chrysostom (PG 48:1087), in which “the text of the Heavenly Witnesses [72] stands out”: “Βλέπε γάρ μοι τὰς μαρτυρίας τῆς ἁγίας καὶ ὁμοουσίου Τριάδος, καὶ σέβου ταύτην ὀρθῶς, ἵνα μὴ ἀπόλῃ.” Forster claims that the word μαρτυρία in proximity of a mention of the Trinity must refer to the comma (“The idea exists solely in 1 John v. 7”), but in fact the word μαρτυρία here means nothing more than “Scriptural witnesses.” This sentence merely serves to introduce a list of Scriptural passages, including several from the Hebrew bible, in which Chrysostom sees evidence of the Trinity. Other passages adduced by Forster, such as the following from the Eclogæ of ps.-Clement of Alexandria (PG 9:704), cit. Forster, 74, are barely more convincing: “Πᾶν ῥῆμα ἵσταται ἐπὶ δύο καὶ τριῶν μαρτύρων, ἐπὶ πατρὸς καὶ υἱοῦ καὶ ἁγίου πνεύματος, ἐφ᾽ ὧν μαρτύρων καὶ βοηθῶν αἱ ἐντολαὶ λεγόμεναι φυλάσσεσθαι ὀφείλουσιν.”

Grantley criticizes the incredible work of Forster by simply contesting two references, claiming Forster makes a fool of himself in doing so.

"By two and three witnesses every word is established. By Father, and Son, and Holy Spirit,

by whose witness and help the prescribed commandments ought to be kept."

“Πᾶν ῥῆμα ἵσταται ἐπὶ δύο καὶ τριῶν μαρτύρων, ἐπὶ πατρὸς καὶ υἱοῦ καὶ ἁγίου πνεύματος, ἐφ᾽ ὧν μαρτύρων καὶ βοηθῶν αἱ ἐντολαὶ λεγόμεναι φυλάσσεσθαι ὀφείλουσιν.”

Fragments of Clemens Alexandrius

Critics of the Comma claim that it is absent from an extant fragment of Clement through Cassiodorus (6th century), with homily style verse references from 1 John, including verse 1 John 5:6 and 1 John 5:8 without verse 7, the heavenly witnesses.

He says, "This is He who came by water and blood"; and again, - For there are three that bear witness, the spirit, which is life, and the water, which is regeneration and faith, and the blood, which is knowledge; "and these three are one. For in the Saviour are those saving virtues, and life itself exists in His own Son.""Fragments of Clemens Alexandrius", translated by Rev. William Wilson, section 3.

Charles Forster in A new plea for the authenticity of the text of the three heavenly witnesses p 54-55 (1867) notes that the quote of verse 6 is partial, bypassing phrases in verse 6 as well as verse 7. And that Clement's "words et iterum clearly mark the interpolation of other topics and intervening text, between the two quotations". Et iterum is "and again" in the English translation.

According to the UBS textual apparatus, support for this shorter reading is found in Clement of Alexandria (before 215).

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