Panarion (Against Heresies) 1 part 10/82

But I do not know whether they have also removed the genealogies from Abraham to Christ.

But having also detected this sect—like a feeble wasp's nest that inflicts pain through its venom—and having crushed it with the words of truth, let us move on, beloved, to what follows, asking help from God.

Against the Ebionites: the tenth heresy of this book, but the thirtieth in the overall series.

Ebion, from whom the Ebionites take their name, following next in sequence and holding views similar to these aforementioned sects, having reproduced in himself a many-formed monstrosity and, so to speak, the serpentine shape of the fabled many-headed hydra, rose up again into the world, being of their school, yet proclaiming and teaching things different from them.

For just as if someone should gather for himself an ornament from various precious stones, and a garment of varied clothing, and should thereby adorn himself splendidly—so this man, conversely, taking from each sect whatever terrible, destructive, and abominable teaching there was, shapeless and implausible, full of rivalrous malice, refashioned himself into the likeness of them all.

For he has the abominable character of the Samaritans, the name of the Jews, the opinion of the Ossaeans and Nazoraeans and Nasaraeans, the outward form of the Cerinthians, the evil disposition of the Carpocratians, and he wishes to have only the appellation of the Christians—but by no means their practice, opinion, knowledge, or their agreement with the faith of the Gospels and apostles.

Being, so to speak, in the middle of all of them, he is nothing at all; but in him is fulfilled what is written: 'I was almost in every evil, in the midst of the church and the assembly.'

For being, as it were, a Samaritan through his abominable practice, he denies the name; and confessing himself a Jew, he is opposed to the Jews, although agreeing with them in part, as I shall later demonstrate in the proofs concerning him, in the refutation against them, with God's help.

For this Ebion was a contemporary of these men, and being from among them, and together with them, he set out on his own course.

At first he said that Christ was born from intercourse and the seed of a man, that is, of Joseph.

As we have already said before, holding the same views as the others in everything, he differed only in this: in adhering to the law of Judaism with regard to Sabbath-keeping and circumcision and all the other things that are observed among the Jews and the Samaritans.

And this man practices still more, beyond the Jews, similarly to the Samaritans.

For he added the observance of avoiding contact with anyone of another nation, and, every day, if ever he had relations with a woman and came from her, to be baptized in water—wherever he might have access, whether the sea or other waters.

Again he runs back to be baptized, often even with his clothes on.

But now virginity and continence are altogether forbidden among them, just as also among the other sects similar to this one.

For at one time they used to hold virginity in honor, ostensibly on account of James the brother of the Lord.

For this reason they also write their treatises addressed to elders and virgins.

And the beginning of this sect occurred after the capture of Jerusalem.

And he begins to have his dwelling in a certain village called Kochaba, in the region of Karnaim, also called Ashtaroth, in the land of Bashan, as the information that has come to us relates.

From there he begins his evil teaching, from which place too, allegedly, come the Nazoraeans, who have already been made known by me above.

For he joined himself to them, and they to him, and each imparted to the other something of his own wickedness.

And they differ from one another in some respects, but in ill-will they have modeled themselves on one another.

Already I have spoken at length, both in other treatises and in connection with the other heresies, about the location of Kokaba and of Arabia.

And at first this Ebion, as I said, defined Christ as being from the seed of a man, that is, of Joseph;

but from a certain time onward his followers, having turned their own understanding into something incoherent and unmanageable, relate different things about Christ among themselves, one in one way and another in another;

I suppose this is perhaps because Elxai the false prophet was joined to them—the one I have already described among those called Sampsaeans, Ossaeans, and Elkesaites—so that, like him, they relate a certain fantastic notion about Christ and about the Holy Spirit.

For some of them say that Christ is Adam himself, the one first formed and breathed into by the inbreathing of God;

but others among them say that he is from above, created before all things, being a spirit and being above the angels and lord of all, and that he is called Christ, and that the age there has been allotted to him;

and that he comes to this world whenever he wishes, just as he came in Adam, and appeared to the patriarchs, putting on the body;

having come to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, this same one came in the last days and put on that very body of Adam, and was seen by men, and was crucified, and rose, and ascended.

But again, whenever they wish, they say:

No, rather the Spirit which is Christ came into him, and put on him who is called Jesus.

And there is much darkness among them, as they posit him differently at different times, now this way, now that.

And they too accept the Gospel according to Matthew,

for they, like those who follow Cerinthus and Merinthus, use this one alone.

They call it 'According to the Hebrews,' which is true to say, because Matthew alone, in the New Testament, composed the exposition and proclamation of the gospel in the Hebrew language and in Hebrew letters.

Now some have also said elsewhere that the Gospel according to John, translated from the Greek dialect into Hebrew, is in circulation in the treasuries of the Jews—I mean those in Tiberias—and is stored away among the hidden books, as certain of those who had believed from among the Jews related to us in detail;

Moreover, it is also reported that the book of the Acts of the Apostles, likewise translated from the Greek tongue into Hebrew, is stored there in the treasuries, so that it was through reading this that the Jews who related this to us came to believe in Christ.

For this Joseph was numbered among the men of rank among them,

and these are the ones who, after the patriarch, are called apostles.

They attend upon the patriarch and often spend their time continuously with him, both night and day, in order to counsel him and to report to him matters pertaining to the Law.

Now the patriarch at that time was named Ellel—for I think that this is how Joseph gave his name, unless I am mistaken due to the lapse of time—and he belonged to the family of that Gamaliel who had been patriarch among them.

And it is possible to suppose, as others also have conjectured, that these were of the lineage of that first Gamaliel who lived in the time of the Savior, the one who, according to God's will, counseled that they refrain from doing violence against the apostles.

Now Ellel, as he was dying, requested the bishop of that time who was in a district neighboring Tiberias, and received from him the holy washing at his departure from life, under the pretext of a medical matter.

For having summoned him through the aforementioned Joseph, as though he were a physician, and having caused everyone to go outside, he entreated the bishop, saying, 'Grant me the seal in Christ.'

And he, having called back in the attendants, ordered that water be prepared, as though he were about to administer some remedy by means of water to the patriarch, who was gravely ill, on account of his sickness.

And they did what had been commanded.

And on the pretext of modesty, having caused everyone to go outside, the patriarch was deemed worthy of the washing and of the holy mysteries.

Now Joseph himself related this to me.

For I heard all these things from his own mouth and from no one else, when he was in his old age, being about seventy years old or even more.

For I lodged with him in Scythopolis;

for having removed from Tiberias, he had also acquired notable estates there in Scythopolis.

For it was in his house that the late Eusebius, bishop of the Italian city of Vercelli, was lodged as a guest, when he had been exiled by Constantius on account of his orthodox faith; and when I and the other brothers went there to visit him, we too lodged with him.

And meeting with Joseph at his house, and asking about his affairs, and learning that he had been a man of distinction among the Jews, when we inquired closely into his case and how he had passed over to Christianity, we heard all these things clearly, and not from any hearsay from someone else.

Therefore, judging the things that had befallen this man to be worthy of remembrance for the edification of the faithful, on account of the matter of the books translated into Hebrew that were in the treasuries, we have set forth the whole account concerning the aforementioned Joseph, and not as a mere digression.

For the man was not only deemed worthy to become a faithful Christian, but also vehemently denounced the Arians.

For in that city—Scythopolis, I mean—he alone was orthodox, and all the rest were Arians.

And had it not been that he was a comes, and that the rank of comes protected him from persecution by the Arians, the man would not even have been able to bear remaining in the city, especially under Patrophilus, the Arian bishop, who had great power both through wealth and severity, and through his acquaintance and influence with the emperor Constantius.

There was also another younger man in the city, of Hebrew origin, who believed rightly, but who did not dare to do so openly, and visited us only in secret.

Joseph also related something plausible yet somewhat ridiculous, though I suppose that perhaps in this too he was speaking the truth.

...a wife, fearing lest perhaps the Arians should seize him and make him a cleric; for they often flattered him, trying to persuade him to their heresy, promising him greater advancement, and, if need be, even to make him a bishop—but he himself claimed that it was for this very reason that he had joined himself to a second wife, so that he might escape their ordinations.

But I return to the narrative concerning the affair of the patriarch and of Joseph himself, intending to set it forth openly and in detail, for those who wish to peruse it, by means of the very words spoken to me by him.

And already, as he related it, while the patriarch was being deemed worthy of the washing, peering in through the cracks in the doors, he said, 'I observed what was being done by the bishop to the patriarch, and I took it to mind and stored it up within myself.'

For, he said, the patriarch himself, having a considerable weight of gold at hand, stretched out his hand and gave it to the bishop, saying, 'Offer this on my behalf.'

For it is written that through the priests of God things are bound and loosed on earth, and that these same things shall be loosed and bound in heaven.

So, he said, when this had been done and the doors were opened, the patriarch was asked by his visitors how he was faring after the remedy, and he acknowledged that he was doing extremely well;

Then, after two or three days, the bishop having visited him often under the pretext of being his physician, the patriarch fell asleep in a good departure, having entrusted his own son, who was quite young, to Joseph and to another most reasonable man.

All matters, then, were conducted by these two men, since the patriarch, being still a child, was in his infancy and was being raised in their hands.

At this time, Joseph's mind being frequently disturbed on account of the mysterious things that had happened in the matter of the washing, he kept pondering what he should do.

And there was in that place a certain treasury-house that was sealed;

and 'gaza,' translated according to the Hebrew, means 'treasure.'

While many people speculated many things about this treasury on account of its seal, Joseph, having secretly dared to open it, found no money at all, but only books more precious than money.

And reading among these, as I have already said, he found the Gospel according to John, translated from the Greek into the Hebrew tongue, and also the Acts of the Apostles;

and moreover also the Gospel according to Matthew, being Hebrew by nature; and having read these, he was again tormented in his mind, being troubled in some way concerning the faith in Christ;

and though he was now being goaded by two circumstances, the reading of the books and the initiation of the patriarch into the mysteries, nevertheless his heart was hardened, as often happens.

Now while he was worn down by these things, the boy who had been left by Ellel, being raised for the patriarchate, grew up;

for no one else seizes the offices of authority among the Jews, but a son succeeds his father.

So then, as the young man was coming into the prime of his age, certain idle companions of his own age, accustomed to evil, corrupted him;

and perhaps, I think, this one was called Judas, though I do not know for certain, due to the lapse of time.

So his young companions of the same age led him into many wicked practices—the seduction of women and unholy acts of lust—attempting, by certain magical devices, to assist him in his debauchery, performing certain love-charms, and, through incantations, compelling free women to be brought by force to their ruin at his hands.

Now Joseph and the elder who was with him, being obliged to accompany the boy, bore it heavily, and often brought charges against him in words, and admonished him.

But he was persuaded rather by the young men, concealing his shameful deeds and denying them;

for those around Joseph did not dare to speak out openly against him in plain words, but admonished him rather as though by way of instruction.

At any rate, they came to Gadara, to the hot springs.

And a festival is held there every year;

people come from everywhere who wish to bathe there for several days, ostensibly for the sake of the removal of diseases—which is in fact a diabolical stratagem.

For wherever wonders from God have occurred, the adversary has taken the initiative to set his destructive nets there.

for men and women bathe together there indecently.

Now by chance a certain freeborn woman happened to be in the bath, distinguished for the beauty of her comely form.

And the young man, being enticed according to his habitual licentiousness, as he passed by in the open, brushed his side against the side of the woman.

But she signed herself with the sign of the cross in the name of Christ, being indeed a Christian;

though indeed there was no necessity for her to transgress the law and bathe together with men.

These things happen to simple and untrained people because of the negligence of teachers who fail to make them secure through instruction.

Yet in order that God might display his wonders, the young man's attempt failed — I mean the Patriarch.

For he sent messengers to the woman and promised her gifts;

But she scorned those who were sent and was not swayed by the vain scheming of the licentious man.

From this, his accomplices, learning of the young man's anguish, which he had squandered upon the woman, attempted to devise for him some greater sorcery, as Joseph himself related to me in detail.

For after sunset they led the wretched youth away to the tombs nearby;

Now 'polyandria' is the name given in that country to caves hewn out of the rock and made [into burial places].

There the sorcerers who were with him took the aforesaid youth and performed upon him certain incantations, exorcistic bindings, and practices full of impiety, and likewise in the name of the aforesaid woman.

But by the will of God, this came into the mind of the other elder who happened to be with Joseph;

And he, perceiving what was taking place, disclosed it to Joseph.

And first, bewailing himself, he said, 'Wretched are we,' he said, 'brother, vessels fit for destruction — whom do we serve?' But though Joseph asked the reason, he did not hear it from him in words, until the elder took him by the hand and led him away to where the corrupters, together with the young man, were holding their gathering among the tombs for the sake of sorcery.

And standing outside the door, they listened to what those men were doing inside, and when the men came out, they withdrew.

For it was not yet late evening, but close to the very setting of the sun, when the eye could still see dimly.

So after the departure of those most impious men from the tomb, Joseph and his companions went in and found certain devices and other implements of magic-working thrown on the ground; and having poured urine over them and heaped dust upon them, as he himself said, they came out.

And they learned of the plot — on account of which woman these evil deeds had been wrought against them — and they kept watch to see whether the sorcerers would prevail.

So, since the sorcerers did not prevail (for through the seal of Christ and faith the woman was helped), they learned that the young man had persisted for three nights on account of his longing for the woman's arrival, but afterward quarreled with those who had worked the sorcery, because he had not succeeded.

This became for Joseph a third work of instruction: that the power of sorcery had no strength wherever the name of Christ and the sign of the cross were present.

Yet even so he was not yet persuaded to become a Christian.

Then the Lord appeared to him in his sleep, saying, 'I am Jesus, whom your forefathers crucified; but believe in me.'

But even then he was not persuaded, and he fell into a great illness and was given up for dead.

And the Lord appeared to him again, telling him to believe and he would be healed;

And having made the promise, he recovered, but again persisted in his stubbornness.

Then he fell again, a second time, into illness, and was likewise given up for dead.

And being supposed by his Jewish relatives to be dying, he heard from them that thing which is always done among them in secret ritual.

Coming to his ear, one declared to him, saying: 'Believe in Jesus, who was crucified under the governor Pontius Pilate — the Son of God who existed before, and was afterward born of Mary; being the Christ of God, and having risen from the dead; and who is coming to judge the living and the dead.'

These things Joseph himself clearly related to me in his account, as I can truthfully say.

But I also heard something similar from another man — one who was still a Jew, out of fear of the Jews, though he often spent time among Christians and both honored and loved them — who journeyed with me in the wilderness of Bethel and Ephraim, as I was going up into the hill country from Jericho, and as I was conversing with him about the coming of Christ, and he was not contradicting me.

And when I marveled and asked the reason — for he was learned in the Law and able to dispute — why he did not contradict but was persuaded concerning Christ Jesus our Lord, upon hearing all this he too disclosed to me that, when he was about to die, he had heard from his people, whispered into the hearing of his ear, that 'Jesus Christ, who was crucified, the Son of God, is about to judge you.'

But let these things concerning this matter, and according to this account, be set down here by me from a report I know to be true.

Now while Joseph was still ill, and having heard from the elder, as I said before, along with the others, that 'Jesus Christ will judge you,' he still hardened himself.

But the Lord, again in his loving-kindness, [came] to him through a vision in a dream, saying, 'Behold, I heal you; but rise up and believe.'

But having risen again from his illness, he did not believe.

And to him, now in health, the Lord appeared once more in a dream, rebuking him for the reason that he had not believed.

And the Lord made him a promise, saying: 'For the full assurance of faith, if you wish to work any sign of God in my name, call upon me, and I will do it.'

Now there was a certain madman in the city — I mean in Tiberias — who went about the city naked, and though he was often clothed, he would tear his garments, as is the custom with such people.

Joseph, then, wishing to put the vision to the test, but still hesitant, was held back by shame.

So he took the man indoors, and having shut the door, took water into his hand, and having sealed the water [with the sign of the cross], sprinkled it upon the demon-possessed man, saying: 'In the name of Jesus of Nazareth who was crucified, come out of him, demon, and let him be made whole.'

And the man cried out loudly and fell to the ground, foaming greatly and convulsing, and remained motionless for a long while; and Joseph suspected that the man had died.

But after a while, rubbing his forehead, he arose; and having risen and seen his own nakedness, he hid himself and put his hands over his shame, no longer able to bear the sight of his own nakedness.

And having been clothed with a garment from among those Joseph himself possessed, and having come to a settled state of understanding and self-control, he gave much thanks both to the man and to God, knowing that through him he had obtained his healing; and he spread the man's fame throughout the city, so that this sign became known to the Jews there.

And much rumor spread through the city, with people saying that Joseph, having opened the treasuries and found the Name of God written there, and having read it, was working great signs.

Now what was said by them was true, but not in the way they supposed.

Yet still Joseph persisted, hardened in heart.

But God, who loves mankind, always working out good occasions for those who love him, provides these to men who are counted worthy of life.

For it happened to Joseph that, after Judah the Patriarch — whom we mentioned before, for that, it seems, was indeed his name — had grown to maturity, he, in return for [Joseph's] service, gave Joseph, as a reward, the income of the apostolic office.

And with letters he was sent to the land of Cilicia;

He collected the first-fruits from the Jews in that province.

At this time he lodged very close to the church — I cannot say in which city.

And he became friendly with the bishop there, who secretly asked him for the Gospels and read them.

Since then, as an 'apostle' (for that is the title given to this office among them, as I said), being most rigorous and, as it seemed, scrupulously pure, he continually made it his practice to put forward measures for establishing good order, deposing and removing from office many appointed heads of synagogues, priests, elders, and 'hazzanim' — which is interpreted among them as 'deacons' or 'attendants' — he was resented by many, who, as though trying to defend themselves against him, took great pains to pry into his affairs and track down what he was doing.

And for this reason, having pried into his affairs, they suddenly burst into his house, into his own home, and caught him going through the Gospels; they seized the book and seized the man, dragging him on the ground and shouting, and inflicting on him no ordinary abuse; they led him away to the synagogue and scourged him according to the Law.

And this became his first ordeal;

But the bishop of the city arrived and rescued him.

At another time they caught him during a journey, as he related to us, and threw him into the river Cydnus.

And when he was swept away by the current, they supposed that he had perished, having drowned beneath the waters, and they rejoiced at this.

But a little later he was deemed worthy of the holy bath [of baptism], for he was saved; and he went up to the imperial court and became friendly with the emperor Constantine, and he related to him everything concerning himself — how he had held the most eminent rank among the Jews, and how divine visions had appeared to him in every way, the Lord calling him to the holy calling and salvation of faith and knowledge concerning himself.

For [the emperor] made him a Count, and told him to ask again for whatever he wished;

But he asked for nothing except this greatest gift, to obtain from the emperor permission — by imperial decree — to build churches of Christ in the cities and villages of the Jews, where no one had ever been able to establish a church, because there was neither Greek, nor Samaritan, nor Christian living among them.

So Joseph, having received the documents and the authority together with the rank, came to Tiberias, having also letters authorizing him to draw funds from the imperial treasury, and he himself had also been honored with a stipend from the emperor.

So he began building in Tiberias.

Now there had previously existed in the city a very great temple;

Perhaps, I think, they called this the Hadrianeum.

This Hadrianeum, having remained unfinished, the citizens were perhaps attempting to convert into a public bathhouse.

Joseph, finding this, took his occasion from it; and since he found the walls already raised on four sides to a certain height with square-hewn stones, from this point he began to undertake the building of the church.

And there was need of lime and other material.

So he ordered that many kilns be built outside the city — perhaps seven in number; the local people call these 'fournakes' (furnaces).

But the Jews, being crafty and bold for every kind of undertaking, did not refrain from the sorcery that was always being practiced among them.

For by certain magic arts and sorceries those 'gallant' Jews strove to bind the fire, but they did not succeed in the end.

At any rate, the fire lay idle and did not burn, but, so to speak, was put outside its own nature.

Those set to tend the fire — I mean with twigs, or rather brushwood — reported to Joseph what had happened. The man, stung to the heart and stirred with zeal for the Lord, ran outside the city, and having ordered water to be brought in a vessel — in a 'capsace,' I mean, which the local people call a 'cacoubion' — taking this same vessel of water before everyone (for a crowd of Jews had gathered to watch, eager to see what would come of it and whatever Joseph might attempt to do), the man, in a loud voice, having sealed the vessel with the sign of the cross by his own finger and having called upon the name of Jesus, spoke thus: 'In the name of Jesus of Nazareth, whom my fathers and all these bystanders crucified, let power come to be in this water, to nullify all the sorcery and magic which these men have wrought, and to bring about the working of power upon the fire, so that the house of the Lord may be completed.'

And thus he takes the water in his hand and sprinkles each furnace with the water.

And their charms were undone, but before the eyes of all the fire burst forth.

And the crowds present cried out, 'There is one God, who helps the Christians!' and departed.

But since those men frequently maltreated him, afterward, having built on part of the temple site in Tiberias and having completed a small church there, he departed from that place, and coming to Scythopolis, he settled there.

These things having happened, and having been recalled by me here for the sake of the translation of the books — how the Gospel according to John, and also the Acts of the Apostles, passed from the Greek into Hebrew — let the matter of the history and the narrative stand thus far.

But I return, continuing the sequence of my discourse against Ebion.

For because the discourse, in proceeding through the Gospel according to Matthew, followed a sequence, it compelled me to set forth the succession of the knowledge that has come down to us.

In their so-called Gospel according to Matthew, then — not whole and entirely complete, but adulterated and mutilated (this they call the 'Hebrew' Gospel) — it is contained that there was a certain man named Jesus, himself about thirty years old, who chose us.

And coming to Capernaum he entered the house of Simon, who was called Peter, and opening his mouth he said: