Beruflich Dokumente
Kultur Dokumente
The Ebionites were a Jewish-Christian sect[1] that insisted on the necessity of following
Jewish religious law and rites,[2] which they interpreted in light of Jesus' expounding of the
Law.[3] They regarded Jesus as the Messiah but not as divine. The Ebionites revered his
brother, or cousin, James as the head of the Jerusalem Church and rejected Paul of Tarsus
because he was an apostate towards the Law[4]. Their name suggests that they placed a
special value on religious poverty.
Much of what is known about the Ebionites derives from the Church Fathers, who wrote
polemics against the Ebionites, whom they deemed heretical Judaizers.[5][6] Some scholars
agree with the substance of the traditional portrayal as an offshoot of mainstream
Christianity. Many scholars distinguish the Ebionites from other Jewish Christian groups, e.g.
the Nazarenes,[7] while others contest this.
Jesus' expounding of the Law during the Sermon on the Mount may have been a central
issue to Jewish Christians such as the Ebionites.[3] Image: The Sermon on the Mount by Carl
Heinrich Bloch, 1890
Contents
1 Name
2 History
3 Legacy
4 Views and practices
4.1 Judaic and Gnostic Ebionitism
4.2 Jesus
4.3 James vs. Paul
5 Writings
6 Religious perspectives
7 References
8 Literature
9 Primary sources
Name
The term Ebionites derives from the Hebrew Evyonim, meaning "the Poor Ones",[8][9] which
has parallels in the Psalms and the self-given term of pious Jewish circles.[10][11] The term
"the poor" was at first a common designation for all Christians - a reference to their material
as well their religious poverty.[8][12][13] Following schisms within the early Church, the
graecized Hebrew term "Ebionite" was applied exclusively to Jewish Christians separated
from the developing Pauline Christianity, and later in the fourth century a specific group of
Jewish Christians or to a Jewish Christian sect distinct from the Nazarenes. All the while, the
designation "the Poor" in other languages was still used in its original, more general
sense.[8][10][14][15] Origen says "for Ebion signifies poor among the Jews, and those Jews who
have received Jesus as Christ are called by the name of Ebionites."[16][17] Tertullian
inaccurately derived the name from a fictional heresiarch called Ebion.[8][10]
The divergent application of "Ebionite" persists today, as some authors choose to label all
Jewish Christians, even before the mentioned schism, as Ebionites,[14][15] while others,
though agreeing about the historical events, use it in a more restricted sense.[4] Mainstream
scholarship commonly uses the term in the restricted sense.[8][10]
History
Without authenticated archaeological evidence, attempts to reconstruct their history have
been based on textual references, mainly the writings of the Church Fathers. They said that
the Ebionites used an altered Gospel according to the Hebrews [1]. The earliest reference to
a group that might fit the description of the Ebionites appears in Justin Martyr's Dialogue
with Trypho (c. 140). Justin distinguishes between Jewish Christians who observe the Law of
Moses but does not require its observance upon others, and those who believe the Mosaic
Law to be obligatory on all.[18] Irenaeus (c. 180) was probably the first to use the term
"Ebionites" to describe a heretical judaizing sect, which he regarded as stubbornly clinging to
the Law.[19] Origen (c. 212) remarks that the name derives from the Hebrew word "evyon,"
meaning "poor."[20] Epiphanius of Salamis in the 4th century gives the most complete but
also questionable account in his heresiology called Panarion, denouncing eighty heretical
sects, among them the Ebionites.[21][22] Epiphanius mostly gives general descriptions of their
religious beliefs and includes quotations from their gospels, which have not survived.
According to the Encyclopaedia Britannica, the Ebionite movement may have arisen about
the time of the destruction of the Jewish Temple in Jerusalem (AD 70).[23] Others have
argued that the Ebionites were more faithful to the authentic teachings of Jesus and
constituted the mainstream of the Jerusalem church before being gradually marginalized by
the followers of Paul of Tarsus.[4][24][25][26][27][28]
did interact significantly with the Ebionates. Most (pro-) Muslim historical narrations support
the idea that there were hardly any interactions.
Legacy
In the late 20th and early 21st centuries, several small yet competing new religious
movements, such as the Ebionite Jewish Community and others, have emerged claiming to
be revivalists of the views and practices of early Ebionites,[37] although their idiosyncratic
claims to authenticity cannot be verified.
The counter-missionary group Jews for Judaism favorably mentions the historical Ebionites
in their literature in order to argue that "Messianic Judaism", as promoted by missionary
groups such as Jews for Jesus, is Pauline Christianity misrepresenting itself as Judaism.[38]
Some Messianic groups have expressed concern over leaders in Israel that deny Jesus'
divinity and the possible collapse of the Messianic movement due to a resurgence of
Ebionitism.[39][40] In a recent polemic, a Messianic leader asked whether Christians should
imitate the Torah-observance of "neo-Ebionites".[41]
argues that the conversion of some Essenes to Jewish Christianity after the Siege of
Jerusalem in 70 CE may be the source of some Ebionites adopting Essene views and
practices;[24] while some conclude that the Essenes did not become Jewish Christians but still
had an influence on the Ebionites.[52]
Jesus
The majority of Church Fathers agree that the Ebionites rejected many of the central
Christian views of Jesus such as the pre-existence, divinity, virgin birth, atoning death, and
physical resurrection of Jesus.[5] The Ebionites are described as emphasizing the oneness of
God and the humanity of Jesus as the biological son of both Mary and Joseph, who by virtue
of his righteousness, was chosen by God to be the messianic "prophet like Moses" (foretold
in Deuteronomy 18:1422) when he was anointed with the holy spirit at his baptism.[4][53]
Of the books of the New Testament, the Ebionites are said to have accepted only a Hebrew
(or 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, Irenaeus reports, omitted
the first two chapters (on the nativity of Jesus), and started with the baptism of Jesus by
John.[19]
The Ebionites believed that all Jews and Gentiles must observe the commandments in the
Law of Moses,[18] in order to become righteous and seek communion with God,[54] but these
commandments must be understood in the light of Jesus' expounding of the Law,[53]
revealed during his sermon on the mount.[3] The Ebionites may have held a form of
"inaugurated eschatology" positing that the ministry of Jesus had ushered in the Messianic
Age so that the kingdom of God might be understood as present in an incipient fashion,
while at the same time awaiting consummation in the future age.[4][53]
Some scholars[58][59] argue that the Ebionites regarded James, brother, or cousin of Jesus, the
first bishop of Jerusalem,[60] the rightful leader of the Church rather than Peter. James Tabor
argues that the Ebionites claimed a unique dynastic apostolic succession for the relatives of
Jesus.[61] They opposed the Apostle Paul, who established that gentile Christians did not have
to be circumcised or otherwise follow the Law of Moses, and named him an apostate.[19]
Epiphanius relates that some Ebionites alleged that Paul was a Greek who converted to
Judaism in order to marry the daughter of a high priest of Israel but apostasized when she
rejected him.[62]
Writings
Few writings of the Ebionites have survived, and these are 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 beliefs. The exact relationship between the Ebionites and these
writings is debated, but Epiphanius's description of some Ebionites in Panarion 30 bears a
striking similarity to the ideas in the Recognitions and Homilies. Scholar Glenn Alan Koch
speculates that Epiphanius likely relied upon a version of the Homilies as a source
document.[22]
The Catholic Encyclopedia classifies the Ebionite writings into four groups:[63]
The Gospel of the Ebionites: According to Irenaeus, the Ebionites used only the
Gospel of Matthew. Eusebius of Caesarea[64] mentions a Gospel of the Hebrews, often
identified as the slightly modified Aramaic original of Matthew, written with Hebrew
letters. Such a work was known to Hegesippus,[64] Origen[65] and to Clement of
Alexandria.[66] Epiphanius of Salamis attributes this gospel to Nazarenes, and claims
that Ebionites only possessed an incomplete, falsified, and truncated copy.[67] The
question remains whether Epiphanius was able to accurately distinguish between
Nazarenes and Ebionites.
Apocrypha of the New Testament: The Circuits of Peter and Acts of the Apostles,
including the work usually titled the Ascents of James. 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 the Just, their connection with the episcopal see of
Rome, and their antagonism to Simon Magus, as well as gnostic doctrines. Scholar
Robert E. Van Voorst opines of the Ascents of James (R 1.3371), "There is, in fact, no
section of the Clementine literature about whose origin in Jewish Christianity one
may be more certain".[50] Despite this assertion, he expresses reservations that the
material is genuinely Ebionite in origin.
The Works of Symmachus the Ebionite: Symmachus produced a translation of the
Hebrew Bible into Koine Greek, which was used by Jerome and is still extant in
fragments, and Hypomnemata written to counter the canonical Gospel of Matthew.
The latter work, which is totally lost[68][69] is probably identical with De distinctione
prceptorum mentioned by Ebed Jesu (Assemani, Bibl. Or., III, 1).
The Book of Elchesai claimed to have been written about 100 CE and brought to
Rome in c. 217 CE by Alcibiades of Apamea. Ebionites deemed those who accepted
its gnostic doctrines apostates.[70][71]
Some also speculate that the core of the Gospel of Barnabas, beneath a polemical medieval
Muslim overlay, may have been based upon an Ebionite or gnostic document.[72] The
existence and origin of this source continues to be debated by scholars.[73]
Religious perspectives
The mainstream Christian view of the Ebionites is based on the polemical views of the
Church Fathers who portrayed them as heretics for rejecting many of the central Christian
views of Jesus, and allegedly having an improper fixation on the Law of Moses at the
expense of the grace of God.[63] In this view, the Ebionites may have been the descendants of
a Jewish Christian sect within the early Jerusalem church which broke away from its
mainstream theology.[74]
The mainstream Jewish view of the Ebionites is that they were Jewish heretics due to their
refusal to see Jesus as a false prophet and failed Jewish Messiah claimant but also for
wanting to include their gospel into the canon of the Hebrew Bible.[4]
Mainstream Islam charges mainstream Christianity with having corrupted the Bible. Some in
the Muslim community believe that the Ebionites (as opposed to Christians they
encountered) were faithful to the original teachings of Jesus with shared views about Jesus'
humanity, though the Islamic view of Jesus conflicts with the Ebionites' views regarding the
virgin birth and the crucifixion.[75]
Some scholars (secular or from mainstream Christianity) are acknowledging the recent
emphasis on the Jewishness of Jesus and his earliest followers, and commenting on how
they reconciled the Jewish Jesus with the Christ of faith.[76] On the other hand, some
Christian apologists have criticized the quest for the historical Jesus as having resulted in a
"revival of the Ebionite heresy".[77]
References
1. ^ Encyclopedia Britannica: Ebionites
2. ^ Kaufmann Kohler, "Ebionites", in: Isidore Singer & Cyrus Alder (ed.), Jewish Encyclopedia,
1901-1906.
3. ^ a b c Francois P. Viljoen (2006). Jesus' Teaching on the Torah in the Sermon on the Mount.
Neotestamenica 40.1, pp. 135-155. (PDF) Jesus' Teaching on the Torah in the Sermon on the
Mount. http://www.geocities.com/neotestamentica/archive/401/401gviljoen-sample.pdf.
Retrieved 2007-03-13.
4. ^ a b c d e f g Hyam Maccoby (1987). The Mythmaker: Paul and the Invention of Christianity.
HarperCollins. pp. 172183.. ISBN 0062505858.
5. ^ a b c A.F.J. Klijn & G.J. Reinink (1973). Patristic Evidence for Jewish-Christian Sects. Brill. ISBN
9004037632.
6. ^ See also Church Fathers on the Ebionites (Wikisource)
7. ^ Tim Hegg (2007) (PDF). The Virgin Birth - An Inquiry into the Biblical Doctrine.
TorahResource. http://www.torahresource.com/EnglishArticles/VirginBirth.pdf. Retrieved
2007-08-13.
8. ^ a b c d e f G. Uhlhorn, "Ebionites", in: A Religious Encyclopaedia or Dictionary of Biblical,
Historical, Doctrinal, and Practical Theology, 3rd ed. (edited by Philip Schaff), p. 684685 (vol.
2).
9. ^ The word is still in use in that sense in contemporary Israeli Hebrew
10. ^ a b c d e f g h O. Cullmann, "Ebioniten", in: Religion in Geschichte und Gegenwart, p. 7435 (vol.
2).
11. ^ PsSal 10, 6; 15, 1; 1 QpHab XII, 3.6.10
12. ^ Minucius Felix, Octavius, 36: "That we are called the poor is not our disgrace, but our
glory."
13. ^ The Greek equivalent (Greek: ) ptkhoi appears in the New Testament (Romans 15,
26; Galatians 2,10), possibly as an honorary title of the Jerusalem church.
14. ^ a b James Tabor, Nazarenes and Ebionites
15. ^ a b Eisenman (1997), p. 4, 45.
16. ^ Origen, Contra Celsum, II, 1.
17. ^ ANF04. Fathers of the Third Century: Tertullian, Part Fourth; Minucius Felix; Commodian;
Origen, Parts First and Second | Christian Classics Ethereal Library
18. ^ a b c Justin Martyr, Dialogue with Trypho, 47.
19. ^ a b c d Irenaeus of Lyon, Adversus Haereses I, 26; II,21.
20. ^ Origen, De Principiis, IV, 22.
21. ^ a b Epiphanius of Salamis, Panarion, 30.
22. ^ a b Glenn Alan Koch (1976). A Critical Investigation of Epiphanius' Knowledge of the
Ebionites: A Translation and Critical Discussion of 'Panarion' 30. University of Pennsylvania.
23. ^ article Ebionite
24. ^ a b c Hans-Joachim Schoeps (1969). Jewish Christianity: Factional Disputes in the Early
Church. Translation Douglas R. A. Hare. Fortress Press.
25. ^ Robert Eisenman (1997). James the Brother of Jesus: The Key to Unlocking the Secrets of
Early Christianity and the Dead Sea Scrolls. Viking. pp. 56.. ISBN 1842930265.
26. ^ James Tabor (2006). The Jesus Dynasty: A New Historical Investigation of Jesus, His Royal
Family, and the Birth of Christianity. Simon & Schuster. ISBN 0743287231.
27. ^ Tabor (2006), p. 275, 278-283.
28. ^ Howard Bream's review of H. J. Schoeps, Theologie und Geschichte des Judenchristentums
(1949), in: The Journal of Religion (1952), p. 58: "In the development of Christianity itself, he
[Schoeps] believes that they [the Ebionites] were in many respects closer to the teachings of
Jesus than were the Gentiles. This is true particularly where the Ebionites differed from
normative Judaism, as in rejecting animal sacrifice and in deleting certain passages from
Scripture with the claim that they were interpolations."
29. ^ a b c Henry Wace & William Piercy (1911). A Dictionary of Early Christian Biography.
http://www.ccel.org/ccel/wace/biodict.html?term=Ebionism%20and%20Ebionites. Retrieved
2007-08-01.
30. ^ Peter Kirby. Book of Elchasai. http://www.earlychristianwritings.com/elchasai.html.
Retrieved 2007-08-18.
31. ^ Adolf von Harnack, The History of Dogma, "Chapter VI. The Christianity of the Jewish
Christians".
32. ^ Brandon, S. G. F (1968). The fall of Jerusalem and the Christian church: A study of the effects
of the Jewish overthrow of A. D. 70 on Christianity. S.P. C.K. ISBN 0281004501.
33. ^ Edward Gibbon (2003). The Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire, ch. 15, p. 390391..
Random House, NY. ISBN 0375758119. Chapter 15.
http://etext.library.adelaide.edu.au/g/gibbon/edward/g43d/chapter15.html. Retrieved
2007-08-02.
34. ^ a b Shlomo Pines (1966). The Jewish Christians Of The Early Centuries Of Christianity
According To A New Source. Proceedings of the Israel Academy of Sciences and Humanities II,
No. 13. ISBN 102-255-998.
35. ^ Marcus N. Adler (1907). The Itinerary of Benjamin of Tudela: Critical Text, Translation and
Commentary, p. 7072.. Phillip Feldheim.
36. ^ Muhammad al-Shahrastani (2002). The Book of Religious and Philosophical Sects, William
Cureton edition, page 167. Gorgias Press.
37. ^ Self Help Guide (2006). Jesus Christ. http://selfhelp-guide.com/heros4u/jesus_christ.htm.
Retrieved 2006-02-21.
38. ^ Bentzion Kravitz (2001). The Jewish Response to Missionaries: Counter-Missionary
Handbook. Jews for Judaism International.
39. ^ Moshe Koniuchowsky (2007). "Messianic" Leaders Deny Yeshua in Record Numbers.
http://yourarmstoisrael.org/Editorials/?page=MESSIANIC_LEADERS_DENY&type=2.
Retrieved 2007-07-21.
40. ^ James Prasch (2007). You Foolish Galatians, Who Bewitched You? A Crisis in Messianic
Judaism?. http://www.moriel.org/articles/sermons/new_galatians.htm. Retrieved 2007-0721.
41. ^ John Parsons (2007). Should Christians be Torah-observant?.
http://www.hebrew4christians.com/Articles/Torah_Observance/torah_observance.html.
Retrieved 2007-07-21.
42. ^ W.M. Ramsey (1912). The Tekmoreian Guest-Friends, The Journal of Hellenic Studies, Vol.
32, p. 151-170..
43. ^ Exarch Anthony J. Aneed (1919). Syrian Christians, A Brief History of the Catholic Church of
St. George in Milwaukee, Wis. And a Sketch of the Eastern Church.
http://www.melkite.org/HolyCommunion.html. Retrieved 2007-04-28.
44. ^ Irenaeus of Lyon, Against Heresies V, 1.
45. ^ Epiphanius, Panarion, 19:2830.
46. ^ Epiphanius, Panarion, 30, 14, 5.
47. ^ a b Epiphanius, Panarion, 30, 16, 4-5.
48. ^ Epiphanius, Panarion, 30, 18, 79.
49. ^ Epiphanius, Panarion, 30.22.4
50. ^ a b Robert E. van Voorst (1989). The Ascents of James: History and Theology of a JewishChristian Community. Society of Biblical Literature. ISBN 1555402941.
51. ^ Gza Vermes (1992). Brother James' Heirs? the community at Qumran and its relations to
the first Christians (Times Literary Supplement).
52. ^ Kriste Stendahl (1991). The Scrolls and the New Testament. Herder & Herder. ISBN
0824511360.
53. ^ a b c Tabor, James D. (1998). Ancient Judaism: Nazarenes and Ebionites.
http://www.religiousstudies.uncc.edu/JDTABOR/ebionites.html. Retrieved 2006-09-31.
54. ^ Hippolytus
55. ^ a b Cross, F. L., ed. The Oxford Dictionary of the Christian Church. New York: Oxford
University Press. 2005, article Jerusalem
56. ^ Cross, F. L., ed. The Oxford Dictionary of the Christian Church. New York: Oxford University
Press. 2005, article Paul, St
57. ^ Cross, F. L., ed. The Oxford Dictionary of the Christian Church. New York: Oxford University
Press. 2005, article Acts of the Apostles
58. ^ Eisenman (1997), p. 155-184.
59. ^ Tabor (2006), p. 222-223, 231.
60. ^ James is traditionally considered the leader of the Jerusalem church. As such he appears in
Acts (15 and 21), Eusebius of Caesarea (Church History II, 1, 2), Clement of Alexandria
(quoted by Eusebius in Church History I, 1, 34), Hegesippus (quoted by Eusebius in Church
History II, 23, 4) and the Gospel of Thomas (saying 12).
61.
62.
63.
64.
65.
66.
67.
68.
69.
70.
71.
72.
73.
74.
75.
76.
77.
Literature
Eisenman, Robert (1997). James the Brother of Jesus: The Key to Unlocking the
Secrets of Early Christianity and the Dead Sea Scrolls. Viking. ISBN 1842930265.
Tabor, James D. (2006). The Jesus Dynasty: A New Historical Investigation of Jesus, His
Royal Family, and the Birth of Christianity. Simon & Schuster. ISBN 0743287231.
G. Uhlhorn, "Ebionites", in: Philip Schaff (ed.), A Religious Encyclopaedia or Dictionary
of Biblical, Historical, Doctrinal, and Practical Theology, 3rd ed. (1894), p. 684685
(vol. 2).
Wilson, Barrie (2008). How Jesus Became Chrisitan - The early Chritians and the
transformation of a Jewish teacher into the Son of God. Orion. ISBN 978 0 297 85200
1.