Difference between revisions of "Ebionites" - New World Encyclopedia

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The '''Ebionites''' (from Hebrew; '''אביונים''', '''Ebyonim''', "the poor ones") were an early [[sect]] of mostly [[Jewish]] followers of [[Jesus]], which flourished from the 1st to the 5th century CE in and around the Land of [[Israel]].<ref>Tabor 1998</ref> In contrast to the dominant [[Christianity|Christian sects]] that came to believe Jesus was the incarnation of God and the [[savior]] of mankind, the Ebionites believed that Jesus was a mortal human being, who by virtue of having become a sage and a holy man,<ref>Ante-Nicene Fathers, Hippolytus</ref> was chosen by God to be the [[prophet]] of the "[[Kingdom of Heaven]]".<ref>Maccoby 1987</ref> They believed in the necessity of following Jewish religious law and rites,<ref>Jewish Encyclopedia: Ebionites</ref> and rejected the writings of Paul of Tarsus as heretical.<ref>Ante-Nicene Fathers, Irenaeus</ref> They called themselves the 'Poor Ones' because they regarded a vow of poverty as a method of simple living as if the "kingdom of God" was already on Earth.<ref>Shand 2006</ref> Accordingly, they dispossessed themselves of all their goods and lived in religious communistic societies.<ref>Jewish Encyclopedia: Ebionites</ref>
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The '''Ebionites''' (from Hebrew; '''אביונים''', '''Ebyonim''', "the poor ones") were an early [[sect]] of [[Jewish]] followers of [[Jesus]], which flourished from the 1st to the 5th century CE in and around the Land of [[Israel]].<ref>Tabor 1998</ref> In contrast to the dominant [[Christianity|Christian sects]] that viewed Jesus as the incarnation of God, the Ebionites saw Jesus as a mortal human being, who by being a holy man,<ref>Ante-Nicene Fathers, Hippolytus</ref> was chosen by God to be the [[prophet]] of the "[[Kingdom of Heaven]]".<ref>Maccoby 1987</ref> The Ebionites insisted on following Jewish dietary and religious laws,<ref>Jewish Encyclopedia: Ebionites</ref> and rejected the writings of Paul of Tarsus as heretical.<ref>Ante-Nicene Fathers, Irenaeus</ref> Thus, Ebionites were in theological conflict with the emerging dominant streams of Christianity that opened up to the [[Gentile]]s.  
  
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Ebionites were in theological conflict with other streams of early Christianity. As a result, our knowledge of them is fragmentary, originating primarily from the [[polemics]] of the early [[Church Fathers]]. Their accounts at times seem to be contradictory due to the double application of the term "Ebionite", some referring to Jewish Christianity as a whole, others only to a sect within it. Many modern scholars argue that they existed as a distinct group from Pauline Christians and [[Gnosticism|Gnostic Christians]] before and after the fall of Jerusalem in 70 C.E.<ref>Eisenman 1996</ref> Some even contend that Ebionites were more faithful than [[Paul of Tarsus|Paul]] to the authentic teachings of Jesus.<ref>Maccoby 1987</ref><ref>Akers 2000</ref><ref>Schoeps 1969</ref><ref>Tabor 2006</ref>
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Scholarly knowledge of the Ebionites is limited and fragmentary, deriving primarily from the [[polemics]] of the early [[Church Fathers]]. Many scholars argue that they existed as a distinct group from Pauline Christians and [[Gnosticism|Gnostic Christians]] before and after the fall of Jerusalem in 70 C.E.<ref>Eisenman 1996</ref> Some even contend that Ebionites were more faithful than [[Paul of Tarsus|Paul]] to the authentic teachings of Jesus.<ref>Maccoby 1987</ref><ref>Akers 2000</ref><ref>Schoeps 1969</ref><ref>Tabor 2006</ref> They called themselves the 'Poor Ones' because they regarded a vow of poverty to be central to actualizing the "kingdom of God" was already on Earth.<ref>Shand 2006</ref> Accordingly, they dispossessed themselves of all their goods and lived in religious communistic societies.<ref>Jewish Encyclopedia: Ebionites</ref> Their accounts at times seem to be contradictory due to the double application of the term "Ebionite", some referring to Jewish Christianity as a whole, others only to a sect within it.
  
 
==History==
 
==History==
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Since there is no independent archeological evidence for the existence and history of Ebionites, much of what we know about them comes from brief references by early and influential [[theology|theologians]] and writers in the Christian Church, who considered them to be "[[heretics]]" and "Judaizers". [[Justin Martyr]], in the earliest text known to us, describes an unnamed sect estranged from the Church who observe the Law of Moses, and who hold it of universal obligation.<ref>Ante-Nicene Fathers, Justin Martyr (140 C.E.)</ref> [[Irenaeus]] was the first to use the term "Ebionites" to describe a heretical Judaizing sect, which he regarded as stubbornly clinging to the Law.<ref>Ante-Nicene Fathers, Irenaeus (180 C.E.)</ref> The most complete account comes from Epiphanius of Salamis, who wrote a heresiology in the 4th century, denouncing 80 heretical sects, among them Ebionites.<ref>Koch 1976</ref> These are mostly general descriptions of their religious ideology, though sometimes there are quotations from their [[gospel]]s, which are otherwise lost to us.  
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Since there is no independent archeological evidence for the existence and history of Ebionites, much of what we know about them comes from brief references to them by early and influential [[theology|theologians]] and writers in the Christian Church, who viewed the group as "[[heretics]]" and "Judaizers". [[Justin Martyr]], in the earliest text known to us, describes an unnamed sect estranged from the Church who observe the Law of Moses, and who hold it of universal obligation.<ref>Ante-Nicene Fathers, Justin Martyr (140 C.E.)</ref> [[Irenaeus]] was the first to use the term "Ebionites" to describe a heretical Judaizing sect, which he regarded as stubbornly clinging to the Law.<ref>Ante-Nicene Fathers, Irenaeus (180 C.E.)</ref> The most complete account comes from Epiphanius of Salamis, who wrote a heresiology in the 4th century, denouncing 80 heretical sects, among them Ebionites.<ref>Koch 1976</ref> These figures provide mostly general descriptions of their religious ideology, though sometimes there are quotations from their [[gospel]]s, which are otherwise lost to us.  
  
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The Fathers of the Church sometimes distinguished Ebionites from Nazarenes, another early sect of Jewish followers of Jesus also believed to be a branch of the first "Christian church of Jerusalem" (which thrived from ''c.'' 30 to 70 C.E.) or the first "Judeo-Christian synagogue" (built on Mount [[Zion]] between 70 and 132 C.E.),<ref>Pixner 1990</ref> one patristic author often depending upon another for his assessment. However, [[Jerome]] clearly thinks that Ebionites and Nazoraeans were a single group.<ref>Ante-Nicene Fathers, Jerome</ref> Without surviving texts, it is difficult to establish exactly the basis for their distinction.
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The Fathers of the Church distinguished between the Ebionites and the Nazarenes, another early sect of Jewish followers that thrived from ''c.'' 30 to 70 C.E..  It is believed that the Nazarenes were one of the earliest Christian churches in Jerusalem or, properly speaking, the first "Judeo-Christian synagogue" built on Mount [[Zion]] between 70 and 132 C.E.,<ref>Pixner 1990</ref>. While many Fathers of the Church differentiated between the Ebionites and the Nazarenes in their writings, [[Jerome]] clearly thinks that Ebionites and Nazoraeans were a single group.<ref>Ante-Nicene Fathers, Jerome</ref> Without surviving texts, it is difficult to establish exactly the basis for their distinction.
  
 
===Beliefs and practices===  
 
===Beliefs and practices===  
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Most historical sources agree that Ebionites denied many of the central doctrines of mainstream Christianity such as the [[trinity]] of God, the pre-existence and divinity of Jesus,  the [[virgin birth]], and the death of Jesus as an [[atonement]] for sin.<ref>Catholic Encyclopedia: Ebionites, 1908</ref><ref>Jewish Encyclopedia: Ebionites</ref> Ebionites seemed to have emphasized the humanity of Yeshua (the Hebrew name for Jesus) as the biological son of both [[Mary]] and [[Joseph]], who, after having had [[John the Baptist]] as a teacher, became the "[[Prophet#Prophets in the Tanakh .28Hebrew Bible.29|prophet]] like [[Moses]]" (foretold in [[Deuteronomy]] 18:14-22) when he was anointed with the [[holy spirit]] at his baptism.<ref>Maccoby 1987</ref>
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Most historical sources agree that the Ebionites denied many of the central doctrines of mainstream Christianity such as the [[trinity]] of God, the pre-existence and divinity of Jesus,  the [[virgin birth]], and the death of Jesus as an [[atonement]] for sin.<ref>Catholic Encyclopedia: Ebionites, 1908</ref><ref>Jewish Encyclopedia: Ebionites</ref> Ebionites seemed to have emphasized the humanity of Yeshua (the Hebrew name for Jesus) as the biological son of both [[Mary]] and [[Joseph]], who, after following [[John the Baptist]] as a teacher, became a "[[Prophet#Prophets in the Tanakh .28Hebrew Bible.29|prophet]] like [[Moses]]" (foretold in [[Deuteronomy]] 18:14-22) when he was anointed with the [[holy spirit]] at his baptism.<ref>Maccoby 1987</ref>
  
 
[[Image:Bloch-SermonOnTheMount.jpg|thumb|300px|right|[[Jesus]]' expounding of the Law during the [[Sermon on the Mount]] is at the core of the argument about the relationship between the views attributed to Jesus, and those attributed to [[Moses]]. This issue may have been a central one to Ebionites.  ''Image: The Sermon on the Mount by Carl Heinrich Bloch, 1890'']]  
 
[[Image:Bloch-SermonOnTheMount.jpg|thumb|300px|right|[[Jesus]]' expounding of the Law during the [[Sermon on the Mount]] is at the core of the argument about the relationship between the views attributed to Jesus, and those attributed to [[Moses]]. This issue may have been a central one to Ebionites.  ''Image: The Sermon on the Mount by Carl Heinrich Bloch, 1890'']]  
  
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Of the books of the ''[[New Testament]]'' Ebionites only accepted an Aramaic version of the ''[[Gospel of Matthew]]'', referred to as the ''[[Gospel of the Hebrews]]*'', as additional [[scripture]] to the Hebrew Bible. This version of Matthew, critics reported, omitted the first two chapters (on the nativity of Jesus), and started with the [[baptism]] of Jesus by John.<ref>Maccoby 1987</ref> Ebionites understood Jesus has inviting believers to live according to an ethic that will be standard in the future kingdom of God. Since they believed that this will be the ethic of the future, Ebionites went ahead and adjusted their lives to this ethic in this age. Ebionites, therefore, believed all [[Jew]]s and [[gentile]]s must observe [[Mosaic Law]]; but it must be understood through Jesus' expounding of the Law, which he taught during his ''[[Sermon on the Mount]]''.<ref>Viljoen 2006</ref> They held a form of "inaugurated eschatology" which posited that the ministry of Jesus has ushered in the Messianic Age so that the kingdom of God may be understood to be present in an incipient fashion, while at the same time awaiting consummation in the future age following the coming of the Jewish [[Messiah]], to whom Jesus was only a herald.<ref>Tabor 1998</ref>
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Of all the books of the ''[[New Testament]]'', Ebionites only accepted an Aramaic version of the ''[[Gospel of Matthew]]'', referred to as the ''[[Gospel of the Hebrews]]*'', as additional [[scripture]] to the [[TaNaK|Hebrew Bible]]. This version of Matthew, critics reported, omitted the first two chapters (on the nativity of Jesus), and started with the [[baptism]] of Jesus by John.<ref>Maccoby 1987</ref> Ebionites understood Jesus as inviting believers to live according to an ethic that will be standard in the future kingdom of God. Since they believed that this will be the ethic of the future, Ebionites went ahead and adjusted their lives to this ethic in this age. Ebionites, therefore, believed all [[Jew]]s and [[gentile]]s must observe [[Mosaic Law]]; but it must be understood through Jesus' expounding of the Law, which he taught during his ''[[Sermon on the Mount]]''.<ref>Viljoen 2006</ref> They held a form of "inaugurated eschatology" which posited that the ministry of Jesus has ushered in the Messianic Age so that the kingdom of God may be understood to be present in an incipient fashion, while at the same time awaiting consummation in the future age following the coming of the Jewish [[Messiah]], to whom Jesus was only a herald.<ref>Tabor 1998</ref>
  
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Like traditional Jews, Ebionites may have restricted [[communion]] only to gentiles who converted to Judaism,<ref>Ante-Nicene Fathers, Justin Martyr</ref> and revered [[Jerusalem]] as the holiest city.<ref>Ante-Nicene Fathers, Irenaeus</ref> Scholar James Tabor, however, argues that Ebionites rejected doctrines and traditions, which they believed had been added to Mosaic Law, including scribal alterations of the texts of scripture; and that they had a greater interest in restoring the more anarchist form of worship reflected in the pre-Mosaic period of Judaism.<ref>Tabor 1998</ref> Tabor relies on Epiphanius' description of Ebionites as rejecting parts or most of the Law, as religious [[Vegetarianism|vegetarians]], as opposed to animal sacrifice; and his quoting of their gospel as ascribing these injunctions to a Jesus seen as the [[arianism|incarnation of Christ]], a great [[archangel]].<ref>Epiphanius, Panarion 30.14.5, 30.16.4, 30.16.5, 30.18.7-9, 30.22.4</ref> Scholar Shlomo Pines counters that all these teachings are "[[Gnosticism|Gnostic Christian]]" in origin and are characteristics of the Elcesaite sect, which have been mistakenly or falsely attributed to Ebionites.<ref>Pines 1966</ref> Without a consensus among scholars, the issue remains contentious.<ref>Klijn and Reinink, 1973</ref>
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Like traditional Jews, Ebionites may have restricted [[communion]] only to gentiles who converted to Judaism,<ref>Ante-Nicene Fathers, Justin Martyr</ref> and revered [[Jerusalem]] as the holiest city.<ref>Ante-Nicene Fathers, Irenaeus</ref> Scholar James Tabor, however, argues that Ebionites rejected doctrines and traditions, which they believed had been added to Mosaic Law, including scribal alterations of the texts of scripture; and that they had a greater interest in restoring the more anarchist form of worship reflected in the pre-Mosaic period of Judaism.<ref>Tabor 1998</ref> Tabor relies on Epiphanius' description of Ebionites as rejecting parts or most of the Law, as religious [[Vegetarianism|vegetarians]], as opposed to animal sacrifice; and his quoting of their gospel as ascribing these injunctions to a Jesus seen as the incarnation of Christ, a great [[archangel]].<ref>Epiphanius, Panarion 30.14.5, 30.16.4, 30.16.5, 30.18.7-9, 30.22.4</ref> Scholar Shlomo Pines counters that all these teachings are "[[Gnosticism|Gnostic Christian]]" in origin and are characteristics of the Elcesaite sect, which have been mistakenly or falsely attributed to Ebionites.<ref>Pines 1966</ref> Without a consensus among scholars, the issue remains contentious.<ref>Klijn and Reinink, 1973</ref>
  
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Ebionites regarded the Desposyni (the blood relatives of Jesus) as the legitimate [[Apostolic Succession|apostolic successors]] to James the Just (the brother of Jesus), and patriarchs of the Jerusalem Church, rather than [[Saint Peter|Peter]].<ref>Tabor 1998</ref> Furthermore, Ebionites denounced [[Paul of Tarsus|Paul]] as an [[apostate]] from the Law and a false apostle. Epiphanius claims that some Ebionites gossiped that Paul was a Greek who converted to Judaism in order to marry the daughter of (Annas?) a High Priest of Israel, and then apostasized when she rejected him.<ref>Epiphanius, Panarion 16.9</ref>
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Ebionites regarded the [[Desposyni]] (the blood relatives of Jesus) as the legitimate [[Apostolic Succession|apostolic successors]] to James the Just (the brother of Jesus), and patriarchs of the Jerusalem Church, rather than [[Saint Peter|Peter]].<ref>Tabor 1998</ref> Furthermore, Ebionites denounced [[Paul of Tarsus|Paul]] as an [[apostate]] from the Law and a false apostle. Epiphanius claims that some Ebionites gossiped that Paul was a Greek who converted to Judaism in order to marry the daughter of (Annas?) a High Priest of Israel, and then apostasized when she rejected him.<ref>Epiphanius, Panarion 16.9</ref>
  
 
===Influence===
 
===Influence===
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The influence of Ebionites is debated. Once the Roman army decimated the Jerusalemite leadership of the mother church of all Christendom during [[Bar Kokhba's revolt]]* in 135 C.E., Jewish Christians gradually lost the struggle for the claim to orthodoxy due to marginalization and persecution.<ref>Maccoby 1987</ref> Scholar Hans-Joachim Schoeps, however, argues that the primary influence of Ebionites on mainstream Christianity was to aid in the defeat of [[gnosticism]] through counter-missionary work.<ref>Schoeps 1969</ref> It has also been argued by writer Keith Akers that they had an influence on the origins of  [[Islam]] and the [[Sufi]]s.<ref>Akers 2000</ref> Ebionites may be represented in history as the sect encountered by the Muslim historian Abd al-Jabbar (''c.'' 1000 C.E.) almost 500 years later than most Christian historians allow for their survival.<ref>Pines 1966</ref> An additional possible mention of surviving Ebionite communities existing in the lands of north-western [[Arabia]], specifically the cities of Tayma and Tilmas, around the 11th century, is said to be in ''Sefer Ha'masaoth,'' the "Book of the Travels" of Rabbi Benjamin of Tudela, a [[sephardic]] rabbi of Spain.<ref>Adler 1907</ref> 12th century historian Mohammad Al-Shahrastani, in his book ''Religious and Philosophical Sects'', mentions Jews living in nearby [[Medina]] and Hejaz who accepted Jesus as a prophetic figure and followed normative Judaism, rejecting the [[christology]] of the Pauline Church.<ref>Shahrastani 1842</ref>
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The influence of Ebionites on mainstream Christianity is debated. Once the Roman army decimated the Jerusalemite leadership of the mother church of all Christendom during [[Bar Kokhba's revolt]]* in 135 C.E., Jewish Christians gradually lost the struggle for the claim to orthodoxy due to marginalization and persecution.<ref>Maccoby 1987</ref> Scholar Hans-Joachim Schoeps, however, argues that the primary influence of Ebionites on mainstream Christianity was to aid in the defeat of [[gnosticism]] through counter-missionary work.<ref>Schoeps 1969</ref> It has also been argued by writer Keith Akers that they had an influence on the origins of  [[Islam]] and the [[Sufi]]s.<ref>Akers 2000</ref> Ebionites may be represented in history as the sect encountered by the Muslim historian Abd al-Jabbar (''c.'' 1000 C.E.) almost 500 years later than most Christian historians allow for their survival.<ref>Pines 1966</ref> An additional possible mention of surviving Ebionite communities existing in the lands of north-western [[Arabia]], specifically the cities of Tayma and Tilmas, around the 11th century, is said to be in ''Sefer Ha'masaoth,'' the "Book of the Travels" of Rabbi Benjamin of Tudela, a [[sephardic]] rabbi of Spain.<ref>Adler 1907</ref> 12th century historian Mohammad Al-Shahrastani, in his book ''Religious and Philosophical Sects'', mentions Jews living in nearby [[Medina]] and Hejaz who accepted Jesus as a prophetic figure and followed normative Judaism, rejecting the [[christology]] of the Pauline Church.<ref>Shahrastani 1842</ref>
  
 
In the late 20th and early 21st centuries, several small yet competing [[new religious movement]]s, such as the Ebionite Jewish Community, have emerged claiming to be revivalists of the beliefs and practices of ancient Ebionites,<ref>Self Help Guide 2006</ref> although their idiosyncratic claims to authenticity cannot be verified. Like virtually all Jewish denominations, groups and national organizations, modern Ebionites charge Messianic Judaism, as promoted by controversial groups such as Jews for Jesus, to be Pauline Christianity blasphemously presenting itself as Judaism.<ref>Phillips 2006</ref>
 
In the late 20th and early 21st centuries, several small yet competing [[new religious movement]]s, such as the Ebionite Jewish Community, have emerged claiming to be revivalists of the beliefs and practices of ancient Ebionites,<ref>Self Help Guide 2006</ref> although their idiosyncratic claims to authenticity cannot be verified. Like virtually all Jewish denominations, groups and national organizations, modern Ebionites charge Messianic Judaism, as promoted by controversial groups such as Jews for Jesus, to be Pauline Christianity blasphemously presenting itself as Judaism.<ref>Phillips 2006</ref>
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The Catholic Encyclopedia, 1908, mentions four classes of Ebionite writings:<ref>Catholic Encyclopedia: Ebionites, 1908</ref>
 
The Catholic Encyclopedia, 1908, mentions four classes of Ebionite writings:<ref>Catholic Encyclopedia: Ebionites, 1908</ref>
 
* ''[[Gospel of the Ebionites]]*''. Ebionites used only the ''[[Gospel of Matthew]]'' (according to Irenaeus). Eusebius of Caesarea (''Historia Ecclesiae'' IV, xxi, 8) mentions a ''[[Gospel of the Hebrews]]*'', which is often identified as the Aramaic original of Matthew, written with Hebrew letters. Such a work was known to Hegesippus (according to Eusebius, ''Historia Eccl''., ), [[Origen]] (according to Jerome, ''De vir.'', ill., ii), and to [[Clement of Alexandria]] (''Strom.'', II, ix, 45). Epiphanius of Salamis attributes this gospel to Nazarenes, and claims that Ebionites only possessed an incomplete, falsified, and truncated copy. (''Adversus Haereses'', xxix, 9). The question remains whether or not Epiphanius was able to make a genuine distinction between Nazarenes and Ebionites.
 
* ''[[Gospel of the Ebionites]]*''. Ebionites used only the ''[[Gospel of Matthew]]'' (according to Irenaeus). Eusebius of Caesarea (''Historia Ecclesiae'' IV, xxi, 8) mentions a ''[[Gospel of the Hebrews]]*'', which is often identified as the Aramaic original of Matthew, written with Hebrew letters. Such a work was known to Hegesippus (according to Eusebius, ''Historia Eccl''., ), [[Origen]] (according to Jerome, ''De vir.'', ill., ii), and to [[Clement of Alexandria]] (''Strom.'', II, ix, 45). Epiphanius of Salamis attributes this gospel to Nazarenes, and claims that Ebionites only possessed an incomplete, falsified, and truncated copy. (''Adversus Haereses'', xxix, 9). The question remains whether or not Epiphanius was able to make a genuine distinction between Nazarenes and Ebionites.
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* New Testament apocrypha: The ''Circuits of Peter'' (''periodoi Petrou'') and ''Acts of the Apostles'', amongst which is the work usually titled the ''Ascents of James'' (''anabathmoi Iakobou''). The first-named books are substantially contained in the Homilies of Clement under the title of Clement's ''Compendium of Peter's itinerary sermons'', and also in the ''Recognitions'' attributed to Clement. They form an early Christian didactic fiction to express Jewish Christian views, i.e. the primacy of James, their connection with Rome, and their antagonism to [[Simon Magus]], as well as Gnostic doctrines.  Van Voorst opines of the ''Ascents of James'' (R 1.33-71), "There is, in fact, no section of the Clementine literature about whose origin in Jewish Christianity one may be more certain".<ref>Van Voorst 1989</ref> Despite this assertion, he expresses reservations that the material is genuinely Ebionite in origin.  
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* New Testament apocrypha: The ''Circuits of Peter'' (''periodoi Petrou'') and ''Acts of the Apostles'', amongst which is the work usually titled the ''Ascents of James'' (''anabathmoi Iakobou''). The first-named books are substantially contained in the Homilies of Clement under the title of Clement's ''Compendium of Peter's itinerary sermons'', and also in the ''Recognitions'' attributed to Clement. They form an early Christian didactic fiction to express Jewish Christian views, i.e. the primacy of James, their connection with Rome, and their antagonism to [[Simon Magnus]], as well as Gnostic doctrines.  Van Voorst opines of the ''Ascents of James'' (R 1.33-71), "There is, in fact, no section of the Clementine literature about whose origin in Jewish Christianity one may be more certain".<ref>Van Voorst 1989</ref> Despite this assertion, he expresses reservations that the material is genuinely Ebionite in origin.  
 
* The Works of Symmachus the Ebionite, i.e. his Greek translation of the Old Testament, used by Jerome, fragments of which exist, and his lost ''Hypomnemata'' which was written to counter the canonical Gospel of Matthew. The latter work, which is totally lost (Eusebius, ''Hist. Eccl.'', VI, xvii; Jerome, ''De vir.'' ill., liv), is probably identical with ''De distinctione præceptorum'', mentioned by Ebed Jesu (Assemani, ''Bibl. Or.'', III, 1).
 
* The Works of Symmachus the Ebionite, i.e. his Greek translation of the Old Testament, used by Jerome, fragments of which exist, and his lost ''Hypomnemata'' which was written to counter the canonical Gospel of Matthew. The latter work, which is totally lost (Eusebius, ''Hist. Eccl.'', VI, xvii; Jerome, ''De vir.'' ill., liv), is probably identical with ''De distinctione præceptorum'', mentioned by Ebed Jesu (Assemani, ''Bibl. Or.'', III, 1).
 
* The ''Book of Elchesai'' (Elxai), or of "The Hidden power", claimed to have been written about 100 C.E. and brought to Rome about 217 by Alcibiades of Apamea. Those who accepted its doctrines and new practices were called Elcesaites. (Hipp., ''Philos.'', IX, xiv-xvii; Epiphanius., ''Adv. Haer.'', xix, 1; liii, 1.)
 
* The ''Book of Elchesai'' (Elxai), or of "The Hidden power", claimed to have been written about 100 C.E. and brought to Rome about 217 by Alcibiades of Apamea. Those who accepted its doctrines and new practices were called Elcesaites. (Hipp., ''Philos.'', IX, xiv-xvii; Epiphanius., ''Adv. Haer.'', xix, 1; liii, 1.)

Revision as of 20:42, 20 January 2007

The Ebionites (from Hebrew; אביונים, Ebyonim, "the poor ones") were an early sect of Jewish followers of Jesus, which flourished from the 1st to the 5th century CE in and around the Land of Israel.[1] In contrast to the dominant Christian sects that viewed Jesus as the incarnation of God, the Ebionites saw Jesus as a mortal human being, who by being a holy man,[2] was chosen by God to be the prophet of the "Kingdom of Heaven".[3] The Ebionites insisted on following Jewish dietary and religious laws,[4] and rejected the writings of Paul of Tarsus as heretical.[5] Thus, Ebionites were in theological conflict with the emerging dominant streams of Christianity that opened up to the Gentiles.

Scholarly knowledge of the Ebionites is limited and fragmentary, deriving primarily from the polemics of the early Church Fathers. Many scholars argue that they existed as a distinct group from Pauline Christians and Gnostic Christians before and after the fall of Jerusalem in 70 C.E.[6] Some even contend that Ebionites were more faithful than Paul to the authentic teachings of Jesus.[7][8][9][10] They called themselves the 'Poor Ones' because they regarded a vow of poverty to be central to actualizing the "kingdom of God" was already on Earth.[11] Accordingly, they dispossessed themselves of all their goods and lived in religious communistic societies.[12] Their accounts at times seem to be contradictory due to the double application of the term "Ebionite", some referring to Jewish Christianity as a whole, others only to a sect within it.

History

Since there is no independent archeological evidence for the existence and history of Ebionites, much of what we know about them comes from brief references to them by early and influential theologians and writers in the Christian Church, who viewed the group as "heretics" and "Judaizers". Justin Martyr, in the earliest text known to us, describes an unnamed sect estranged from the Church who observe the Law of Moses, and who hold it of universal obligation.[13] Irenaeus was the first to use the term "Ebionites" to describe a heretical Judaizing sect, which he regarded as stubbornly clinging to the Law.[14] The most complete account comes from Epiphanius of Salamis, who wrote a heresiology in the 4th century, denouncing 80 heretical sects, among them Ebionites.[15] These figures provide mostly general descriptions of their religious ideology, though sometimes there are quotations from their gospels, which are otherwise lost to us.

The Fathers of the Church distinguished between the Ebionites and the Nazarenes, another early sect of Jewish followers that thrived from c. 30 to 70 C.E. It is believed that the Nazarenes were one of the earliest Christian churches in Jerusalem or, properly speaking, the first "Judeo-Christian synagogue" built on Mount Zion between 70 and 132 C.E.,[16]. While many Fathers of the Church differentiated between the Ebionites and the Nazarenes in their writings, Jerome clearly thinks that Ebionites and Nazoraeans were a single group.[17] Without surviving texts, it is difficult to establish exactly the basis for their distinction.

Beliefs and practices

Most historical sources agree that the Ebionites denied many of the central doctrines of mainstream Christianity such as the trinity of God, the pre-existence and divinity of Jesus, the virgin birth, and the death of Jesus as an atonement for sin.[18][19] Ebionites seemed to have emphasized the humanity of Yeshua (the Hebrew name for Jesus) as the biological son of both Mary and Joseph, who, after following John the Baptist as a teacher, became a "prophet like Moses" (foretold in Deuteronomy 18:14-22) when he was anointed with the holy spirit at his baptism.[20]

Jesus' expounding of the Law during the Sermon on the Mount is at the core of the argument about the relationship between the views attributed to Jesus, and those attributed to Moses. This issue may have been a central one to Ebionites. Image: The Sermon on the Mount by Carl Heinrich Bloch, 1890

Of all the books of the New Testament, Ebionites only accepted an Aramaic version of the Gospel of Matthew, referred to as the Gospel of the Hebrews, as additional scripture to the Hebrew Bible. This version of Matthew, critics reported, omitted the first two chapters (on the nativity of Jesus), and started with the baptism of Jesus by John.[21] Ebionites understood Jesus as inviting believers to live according to an ethic that will be standard in the future kingdom of God. Since they believed that this will be the ethic of the future, Ebionites went ahead and adjusted their lives to this ethic in this age. Ebionites, therefore, believed all Jews and gentiles must observe Mosaic Law; but it must be understood through Jesus' expounding of the Law, which he taught during his Sermon on the Mount.[22] They held a form of "inaugurated eschatology" which posited that the ministry of Jesus has ushered in the Messianic Age so that the kingdom of God may be understood to be present in an incipient fashion, while at the same time awaiting consummation in the future age following the coming of the Jewish Messiah, to whom Jesus was only a herald.[23]

Like traditional Jews, Ebionites may have restricted communion only to gentiles who converted to Judaism,[24] and revered Jerusalem as the holiest city.[25] Scholar James Tabor, however, argues that Ebionites rejected doctrines and traditions, which they believed had been added to Mosaic Law, including scribal alterations of the texts of scripture; and that they had a greater interest in restoring the more anarchist form of worship reflected in the pre-Mosaic period of Judaism.[26] Tabor relies on Epiphanius' description of Ebionites as rejecting parts or most of the Law, as religious vegetarians, as opposed to animal sacrifice; and his quoting of their gospel as ascribing these injunctions to a Jesus seen as the incarnation of Christ, a great archangel.[27] Scholar Shlomo Pines counters that all these teachings are "Gnostic Christian" in origin and are characteristics of the Elcesaite sect, which have been mistakenly or falsely attributed to Ebionites.[28] Without a consensus among scholars, the issue remains contentious.[29]

Ebionites regarded the Desposyni (the blood relatives of Jesus) as the legitimate apostolic successors to James the Just (the brother of Jesus), and patriarchs of the Jerusalem Church, rather than Peter.[30] Furthermore, Ebionites denounced Paul as an apostate from the Law and a false apostle. Epiphanius claims that some Ebionites gossiped that Paul was a Greek who converted to Judaism in order to marry the daughter of (Annas?) a High Priest of Israel, and then apostasized when she rejected him.[31]

Influence

The influence of Ebionites on mainstream Christianity is debated. Once the Roman army decimated the Jerusalemite leadership of the mother church of all Christendom during Bar Kokhba's revolt in 135 C.E., Jewish Christians gradually lost the struggle for the claim to orthodoxy due to marginalization and persecution.[32] Scholar Hans-Joachim Schoeps, however, argues that the primary influence of Ebionites on mainstream Christianity was to aid in the defeat of gnosticism through counter-missionary work.[33] It has also been argued by writer Keith Akers that they had an influence on the origins of Islam and the Sufis.[34] Ebionites may be represented in history as the sect encountered by the Muslim historian Abd al-Jabbar (c. 1000 C.E.) almost 500 years later than most Christian historians allow for their survival.[35] An additional possible mention of surviving Ebionite communities existing in the lands of north-western Arabia, specifically the cities of Tayma and Tilmas, around the 11th century, is said to be in Sefer Ha'masaoth, the "Book of the Travels" of Rabbi Benjamin of Tudela, a sephardic rabbi of Spain.[36] 12th century historian Mohammad Al-Shahrastani, in his book Religious and Philosophical Sects, mentions Jews living in nearby Medina and Hejaz who accepted Jesus as a prophetic figure and followed normative Judaism, rejecting the christology of the Pauline Church.[37]

In the late 20th and early 21st centuries, several small yet competing new religious movements, such as the Ebionite Jewish Community, have emerged claiming to be revivalists of the beliefs and practices of ancient Ebionites,[38] although their idiosyncratic claims to authenticity cannot be verified. Like virtually all Jewish denominations, groups and national organizations, modern Ebionites charge Messianic Judaism, as promoted by controversial groups such as Jews for Jesus, to be Pauline Christianity blasphemously presenting itself as Judaism.[39]

Ebionite writings

Few writings of Ebionites have survived, and in uncertain form. The Recognitions of Clement and the Clementine Homilies, two 3rd-century Christian works, are regarded by general scholarly consensus as largely or entirely Jewish Christian in origin and reflect Jewish Christian ideas and beliefs. These can be found in volume 8 of the Ante-Nicene Fathers. The exact relationship between Ebionites and these writings is debated, but Epiphanius's description of the Ebionites in Panarion 30 bears repeated and striking similarity to the ideas in the Recognitions and Homilies. Koch speculates that Epiphanius likely relied upon a version of the Homilies as a source document.[40]

The Catholic Encyclopedia, 1908, mentions four classes of Ebionite writings:[41]

  • Gospel of the Ebionites. Ebionites used only the Gospel of Matthew (according to Irenaeus). Eusebius of Caesarea (Historia Ecclesiae IV, xxi, 8) mentions a Gospel of the Hebrews, which is often identified as the Aramaic original of Matthew, written with Hebrew letters. Such a work was known to Hegesippus (according to Eusebius, Historia Eccl., ), Origen (according to Jerome, De vir., ill., ii), and to Clement of Alexandria (Strom., II, ix, 45). Epiphanius of Salamis attributes this gospel to Nazarenes, and claims that Ebionites only possessed an incomplete, falsified, and truncated copy. (Adversus Haereses, xxix, 9). The question remains whether or not Epiphanius was able to make a genuine distinction between Nazarenes and Ebionites.
  • New Testament apocrypha: The Circuits of Peter (periodoi Petrou) and Acts of the Apostles, amongst which is the work usually titled the Ascents of James (anabathmoi Iakobou). The first-named books are substantially contained in the Homilies of Clement under the title of Clement's Compendium of Peter's itinerary sermons, and also in the Recognitions attributed to Clement. They form an early Christian didactic fiction to express Jewish Christian views, i.e. the primacy of James, their connection with Rome, and their antagonism to Simon Magnus, as well as Gnostic doctrines. Van Voorst opines of the Ascents of James (R 1.33-71), "There is, in fact, no section of the Clementine literature about whose origin in Jewish Christianity one may be more certain".[42] Despite this assertion, he expresses reservations that the material is genuinely Ebionite in origin.
  • The Works of Symmachus the Ebionite, i.e. his Greek translation of the Old Testament, used by Jerome, fragments of which exist, and his lost Hypomnemata which was written to counter the canonical Gospel of Matthew. The latter work, which is totally lost (Eusebius, Hist. Eccl., VI, xvii; Jerome, De vir. ill., liv), is probably identical with De distinctione præceptorum, mentioned by Ebed Jesu (Assemani, Bibl. Or., III, 1).
  • The Book of Elchesai (Elxai), or of "The Hidden power", claimed to have been written about 100 C.E. and brought to Rome about 217 by Alcibiades of Apamea. Those who accepted its doctrines and new practices were called Elcesaites. (Hipp., Philos., IX, xiv-xvii; Epiphanius., Adv. Haer., xix, 1; liii, 1.)

It is also speculated that the core of the Gospel of Barnabas, beneath a polemical medieval Muslim overlay, may have been based upon an Ebionite document.[43] The existence and origin of this source continues to be debated by scholars.[44]

Notes

  1. ↑ Tabor 1998
  2. ↑ Ante-Nicene Fathers, Hippolytus
  3. ↑ Maccoby 1987
  4. ↑ Jewish Encyclopedia: Ebionites
  5. ↑ Ante-Nicene Fathers, Irenaeus
  6. ↑ Eisenman 1996
  7. ↑ Maccoby 1987
  8. ↑ Akers 2000
  9. ↑ Schoeps 1969
  10. ↑ Tabor 2006
  11. ↑ Shand 2006
  12. ↑ Jewish Encyclopedia: Ebionites
  13. ↑ Ante-Nicene Fathers, Justin Martyr (140 C.E.)
  14. ↑ Ante-Nicene Fathers, Irenaeus (180 C.E.)
  15. ↑ Koch 1976
  16. ↑ Pixner 1990
  17. ↑ Ante-Nicene Fathers, Jerome
  18. ↑ Catholic Encyclopedia: Ebionites, 1908
  19. ↑ Jewish Encyclopedia: Ebionites
  20. ↑ Maccoby 1987
  21. ↑ Maccoby 1987
  22. ↑ Viljoen 2006
  23. ↑ Tabor 1998
  24. ↑ Ante-Nicene Fathers, Justin Martyr
  25. ↑ Ante-Nicene Fathers, Irenaeus
  26. ↑ Tabor 1998
  27. ↑ Epiphanius, Panarion 30.14.5, 30.16.4, 30.16.5, 30.18.7-9, 30.22.4
  28. ↑ Pines 1966
  29. ↑ Klijn and Reinink, 1973
  30. ↑ Tabor 1998
  31. ↑ Epiphanius, Panarion 16.9
  32. ↑ Maccoby 1987
  33. ↑ Schoeps 1969
  34. ↑ Akers 2000
  35. ↑ Pines 1966
  36. ↑ Adler 1907
  37. ↑ Shahrastani 1842
  38. ↑ Self Help Guide 2006
  39. ↑ Phillips 2006
  40. ↑ Koch 1976
  41. ↑ Catholic Encyclopedia: Ebionites, 1908
  42. ↑ Van Voorst 1989
  43. ↑ Toland 1718
  44. ↑ Blackhirst 2000

References
ISBN links support NWE through referral fees

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  • Ante-Nicene Fathers, Hippolytus, "Refutation of All Heresies" 7.22 [2]
  • Ante-Nicene Fathers, Irenaeus, "Against Heresies" 1.26.2 [3].
  • Ante-Nicene Fathers, Jerome, "Epistle to Augustine" 112.13 [4].
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  • Blackhirst, R. Barnabas and the Gospels: Was There an Early Gospel of Barnabas?. J. Higher Criticism, 7/1, pp 1-22, Spring 2000. [6]
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  • Eisenman, Robert. James the Brother of Jesus: The Key to Unlocking the Secrets of Early Christianity and the Dead Sea Scrolls. New York: Viking, 1996.
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  • Maccoby, Hyam. The Mythmaker: Paul and the Invention of Christianity. New York: Harper & Row, 1987. [10]
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  • Pixner, Bargil. Church of the Apostles found on Mt. Zion. Biblical Archaeological Review. May/June 1990
  • Phillips, Shemayah. Messianic Jews: Jewish Idolatry Revisited. Our Liberation Magazine, Issue Five, August /September 2006
  • Schoeps, Hans-Joachim. Jewish Christianity: Factional Disputes in the Early Church. Trans. Douglas R. A. Hare. Philadelphia: Fortress Press, 1969.
  • Self Help Guide / Jesus Christ, 2006. [11]
  • Shand, Richard. The Ministry of Jesus. Illuminations: The Real Jesus?, 19 December 2006, 16:00, [12] [accessed 19 December 2006]
  • Shahrastani, Muhammad. The Book of Religious and Philosphical Sects, p. 167. London, 1842. Reprinted by Gorgias Press, William Cureton ed., 2002
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