The Jewish–Christian Gospels were
gospel
Gospel originally meant the Christian message ("the gospel"), but in the 2nd century it came to be used also for the books in which the message was set out. In this sense a gospel can be defined as a loose-knit, episodic narrative of the words an ...
s of a
Jewish Christian
Jewish Christians ( he, יהודים נוצרים, yehudim notzrim) were the followers of a Jewish religious sect that emerged in Judea during the late Second Temple period (first century AD). The Nazarene Jews integrated the belief of Jesus ...
character quoted by
Clement of Alexandria
Titus Flavius Clemens, also known as Clement of Alexandria ( grc , Κλήμης ὁ Ἀλεξανδρεύς; – ), was a Christian theologian and philosopher who taught at the Catechetical School of Alexandria. Among his pupils were Origen and ...
,
Origen
Origen of Alexandria, ''Ōrigénēs''; Origen's Greek name ''Ōrigénēs'' () probably means "child of Horus" (from , "Horus", and , "born"). ( 185 – 253), also known as Origen Adamantius, was an Early Christianity, early Christian scholar, ...
,
Eusebius
Eusebius of Caesarea (; grc-gre, Εὐσέβιος ; 260/265 – 30 May 339), also known as Eusebius Pamphilus (from the grc-gre, Εὐσέβιος τοῦ Παμφίλου), was a Greek historian of Christianity, exegete, and Christian ...
,
Epiphanius,
Jerome
Jerome (; la, Eusebius Sophronius Hieronymus; grc-gre, Εὐσέβιος Σωφρόνιος Ἱερώνυμος; – 30 September 420), also known as Jerome of Stridon, was a Christian presbyter, priest, Confessor of the Faith, confessor, th ...
and probably
Didymus the Blind
Didymus the Blind (alternatively spelled Dedimus or Didymous) (c. 313398) was a Christian theologian in the Church of Alexandria, where he taught for about half a century. He was a student of Origen, and, after the Second Council of Constantinopl ...
. All five call the gospel they know the "
Gospel of the Hebrews
The Gospel of the Hebrews ( grc, τὸ καθ' Ἑβραίους εὐαγγέλιον), or Gospel according to the Hebrews, is a lost Jewish–Christian gospel. The text of the gospel is lost, with only fragments of it surviving as brief quot ...
". But most modern scholars have concluded that the five early church historians are not quoting the same work. As none of the works survive to this day attempts have been made to reconstruct them from the references in the
Church Fathers
The Church Fathers, Early Church Fathers, Christian Fathers, or Fathers of the Church were ancient and influential Christian theologians and writers who established the intellectual and doctrinal foundations of Christianity. The historical per ...
. The majority of scholars believe that there existed one gospel in Aramaic/Hebrew and at least two in Greek, although a minority argue that there were only two, in Aramaic/Hebrew and in Greek.
The standard edition of
Schneemelcher
Wilhelm Schneemelcher (21 August 1914, Berlin – 6 August 2003, Bad Honnef) was a German Protestant theologian and expert on the New Testament Apocrypha.
Career
He obtained through Hans Lietzmann a post researching Latin and Greek manuscripts ...
he creates three different Jewish–Christian gospels by dividing up the references in the church fathers. Schneemelcher uses the following working names for the three proposed gospels:
# The
Gospel of the Ebionites ("GE") – 7 quotations by Epiphanius.
# The
Gospel of the Hebrews
The Gospel of the Hebrews ( grc, τὸ καθ' Ἑβραίους εὐαγγέλιον), or Gospel according to the Hebrews, is a lost Jewish–Christian gospel. The text of the gospel is lost, with only fragments of it surviving as brief quot ...
("GH") – 1 quotation ascribed to Cyril of Jerusalem, plus GH 2–7 quotations by Clement, Origen, and Jerome.
# The
Gospel of the Nazarenes
The Gospel of the Nazarenes (also ''Nazareans'', ''Nazaraeans'', ''Nazoreans'', or ''Nazoraeans'') is the traditional but hypothetical name given by some scholars to distinguish some of the references to, or citations of, non-canonical Jewish-Chri ...
("GN") – GN 1 to GN 23 are mainly from Jerome; GN 24 to GN 36 are from medieval sources.
The reconstructed texts of the gospels are usually categorized under
New Testament apocrypha
The New Testament apocrypha (singular apocryphon) are a number of writings by early Christians that give accounts of Jesus and his teachings, the nature of God, or the teachings of his apostles and of their lives. Some of these writings were cit ...
.
The
relationship between the Jewish–Christian gospels and a
hypothetical original Hebrew Gospel remains a speculation.
Overview
The Jewish–Christian gospels are known through quotations in the works of the early
Church Fathers
The Church Fathers, Early Church Fathers, Christian Fathers, or Fathers of the Church were ancient and influential Christian theologians and writers who established the intellectual and doctrinal foundations of Christianity. The historical per ...
Clement of Alexandria
Titus Flavius Clemens, also known as Clement of Alexandria ( grc , Κλήμης ὁ Ἀλεξανδρεύς; – ), was a Christian theologian and philosopher who taught at the Catechetical School of Alexandria. Among his pupils were Origen and ...
,
Origen
Origen of Alexandria, ''Ōrigénēs''; Origen's Greek name ''Ōrigénēs'' () probably means "child of Horus" (from , "Horus", and , "born"). ( 185 – 253), also known as Origen Adamantius, was an Early Christianity, early Christian scholar, ...
,
Eusebius
Eusebius of Caesarea (; grc-gre, Εὐσέβιος ; 260/265 – 30 May 339), also known as Eusebius Pamphilus (from the grc-gre, Εὐσέβιος τοῦ Παμφίλου), was a Greek historian of Christianity, exegete, and Christian ...
,
Epiphanius,
Jerome
Jerome (; la, Eusebius Sophronius Hieronymus; grc-gre, Εὐσέβιος Σωφρόνιος Ἱερώνυμος; – 30 September 420), also known as Jerome of Stridon, was a Christian presbyter, priest, Confessor of the Faith, confessor, th ...
and probably
Didymus the Blind
Didymus the Blind (alternatively spelled Dedimus or Didymous) (c. 313398) was a Christian theologian in the Church of Alexandria, where he taught for about half a century. He was a student of Origen, and, after the Second Council of Constantinopl ...
. These all assumed that only one Jewish Christian gospel existed, although in various versions and languages, which they attributed to well-known sects such as the
Ebionites
Ebionites ( grc-gre, Ἐβιωναῖοι, ''Ebionaioi'', derived from Hebrew (or ) ''ebyonim'', ''ebionim'', meaning 'the poor' or 'poor ones') as a term refers to a Jewish Christian sect, which viewed poverty as a blessing, that existed during ...
and
Nazarenes. The majority of critical scholars have rejected this view and identify at least two and possibly three separate Jewish–Christian gospels. The standard collection of the Jewish–Christian gospels is found in
Schneemelcher
Wilhelm Schneemelcher (21 August 1914, Berlin – 6 August 2003, Bad Honnef) was a German Protestant theologian and expert on the New Testament Apocrypha.
Career
He obtained through Hans Lietzmann a post researching Latin and Greek manuscripts ...
's ''New Testament Apocrypha''; Schneemelcher, following
Hans Waitz Johannes Waitz, also Hans Waitz, was a German Biblical scholar specializing in the New Testament Apocrypha and source-critical studies. He was an Evangelical pastor in Darmstadt until 1927, and not to be confused with the Austrian Catholic bishop of ...
, groups the extant sayings into three lost gospels:
*
Gospel of the Ebionites, consisting of seven citations by Epiphanius, GE-1 to GE-7
*
Gospel of the Hebrews
The Gospel of the Hebrews ( grc, τὸ καθ' Ἑβραίους εὐαγγέλιον), or Gospel according to the Hebrews, is a lost Jewish–Christian gospel. The text of the gospel is lost, with only fragments of it surviving as brief quot ...
, consisting of seven verses numbered GH-1 to GH-7
*
Gospel of the Nazarenes
The Gospel of the Nazarenes (also ''Nazareans'', ''Nazaraeans'', ''Nazoreans'', or ''Nazoraeans'') is the traditional but hypothetical name given by some scholars to distinguish some of the references to, or citations of, non-canonical Jewish-Chri ...
, consisting of citations and marginal notes by Jerome and others GN-1 to GN-36
The Gospel of the Ebionites
The
Gospel of the Ebionites is the name given by modern scholars to a proposed lost gospel thought to lie behind fragments quoted by
Epiphanius in his
Panarion
In early Christian heresiology, the ''Panarion'' ( grc-koi, Πανάριον, derived from Latin ''panarium'', meaning "bread basket"), to which 16th-century Latin translations gave the name ''Adversus Haereses'' (Latin: "Against Heresies"), is t ...
. Epiphanius quotes a fragment which states the gospel is narrated by the
twelve apostles
In Christian theology and ecclesiology, the apostles, particularly the Twelve Apostles (also known as the Twelve Disciples or simply the Twelve), were the primary disciples of Jesus according to the New Testament. During the life and minist ...
. It began with the
Baptism of Jesus
The baptism of Jesus by John the Baptist is a major event in the life of Jesus which is described in the three synoptic Gospels of the New Testament (Matthew, Mark and Luke). It is considered to have taken place at Al-Maghtas (also called Bethan ...
(presumably because the Ebionites denied the
Virgin Birth) and included a narrative of the
Last Supper
Image:The Last Supper - Leonardo Da Vinci - High Resolution 32x16.jpg, 400px, alt=''The Last Supper'' by Leonardo da Vinci - Clickable Image, Depictions of the Last Supper in Christian art have been undertaken by artistic masters for centuries, ...
. It is thought to have been a
gospel harmony
A gospel harmony is an attempt to compile the canonical gospels of the Christian New Testament into a single account. This may take the form either of a single, merged narrative, or a tabular format with one column for each gospel, technically kn ...
based on the
Synoptic Gospels
The gospels of Gospel of Matthew, Matthew, Gospel of Mark, Mark, and Gospel of Luke, Luke are referred to as the synoptic Gospels because they include many of the same stories, often in a similar sequence and in similar or sometimes identical ...
composed in Greek in the first half of the 2nd century, and it possibly originated in the
Transjordan Transjordan may refer to:
* Transjordan (region), an area to the east of the Jordan River
* Oultrejordain, a Crusader lordship (1118–1187), also called Transjordan
* Emirate of Transjordan, British protectorate (1921–1946)
* Hashemite Kingdom of ...
region (the home of the Ebionites). It is probably the same as the lost
Gospel of the Twelve
The ''Gospel of the Twelve'' ( el, τὸ τῶν δώδεκα εὐαγγέλιον), possibly also referred to as the ''Gospel of the Apostles'', is a lost gospel mentioned by Origen in ''Homilies on Luke'' as part of a list of heretical works.
...
, or Gospel of the Apostles, referred to by Origen and Jerome, respectively.
The Gospel of the Hebrews
The
Gospel of the Hebrews
The Gospel of the Hebrews ( grc, τὸ καθ' Ἑβραίους εὐαγγέλιον), or Gospel according to the Hebrews, is a lost Jewish–Christian gospel. The text of the gospel is lost, with only fragments of it surviving as brief quot ...
presented traditions of Christ's pre-existence, coming into the world, baptism and temptation, with some of his sayings. It was probably composed in Greek in the first half of the 2nd century and used among Greek-speaking Jewish Christians in Egypt. It is known from fragments preserved chiefly by Clement, Origen and Jerome, and shows a high regard for
James, the brother of Jesus and head of the Jewish Christian church in Jerusalem.
The Gospel of the Nazarenes
The
Gospel of the Nazarenes
The Gospel of the Nazarenes (also ''Nazareans'', ''Nazaraeans'', ''Nazoreans'', or ''Nazoraeans'') is the traditional but hypothetical name given by some scholars to distinguish some of the references to, or citations of, non-canonical Jewish-Chri ...
(a modern scholarly name) has been deduced from references in Jerome and Origen. It seems to have much in common with the canonical
Gospel of Matthew
The Gospel of Matthew), or simply Matthew. It is most commonly abbreviated as "Matt." is the first book of the New Testament of the Bible and one of the three synoptic Gospels. It tells how Israel's Messiah, Jesus, comes to his people and for ...
, and would have been written in Palestinian
Aramaic
The Aramaic languages, short Aramaic ( syc, ܐܪܡܝܐ, Arāmāyā; oar, 𐤀𐤓𐤌𐤉𐤀; arc, 𐡀𐡓𐡌𐡉𐡀; tmr, אֲרָמִית), are a language family containing many varieties (languages and dialects) that originated in ...
in the first half of the 2nd century for use by
Nazarenes in the neighborhood of Beroea near Aleppo in Syria.
History of scholarship in the Jewish–Christian gospel problem
The sources for the Jewish–Christian gospels are the early church fathers of the late 2nd to the early 5th centuries – Clement of Alexandria, Origen, Eusebius, Didymus the Blind, Epiphanius and Jerome. Not all of them were aware that there were different Jewish Christian communities with varying theologies, or that some of them (or at least one) was
Aramaic
The Aramaic languages, short Aramaic ( syc, ܐܪܡܝܐ, Arāmāyā; oar, 𐤀𐤓𐤌𐤉𐤀; arc, 𐡀𐡓𐡌𐡉𐡀; tmr, אֲרָמִית), are a language family containing many varieties (languages and dialects) that originated in ...
-speaking while others knew only Greek; as a result they frequently confused one gospel with another, and all with a supposed Hebrew version of the
Gospel of Matthew
The Gospel of Matthew), or simply Matthew. It is most commonly abbreviated as "Matt." is the first book of the New Testament of the Bible and one of the three synoptic Gospels. It tells how Israel's Messiah, Jesus, comes to his people and for ...
.
This confusion has created uncertainty for modern scholars. There is agreement that the fragments cannot be traced back to a Hebrew/Aramaic version or revision of Matthew's gospel, as most of them have no parallel in the canonical gospels. There are good reasons for thinking that there must have been at least two Jewish–Christian gospels, since there are two differing accounts of the baptism and good evidence that some fragments were originally in Aramaic and others in Greek. Most modern scholars have concluded that there was one Jewish–Christian gospel in Aramaic/Hebrew and at least another one in Greek. Some have argued that the total number was three (Bauer, Vielhauer and Strecker, Klijn), others that there were only two (Schlarb and Luhrmann).
See also
*
List of Gospels
A gospel (a contraction of Old English , meaning "good news/glad tidings", comparable to Greek , ) is a written account of the career and teachings of Jesus. The term originally meant the Christian message itself, but came to be used for the bo ...
*
Development of the New Testament canon
The canon of the New Testament is the set of books many modern Christians regard as divinely inspired and constituting the New Testament of the Christian Bible. For historical Christians, canonization was based on whether the material was from ...
References
Sources
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Further reading
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