The Ebionites
The Ebionites were early followers of Jesus who believed He was the Messiah the Jewish people had expected to come. Ebionites (Greek: Ebionaioi, derived from a Hebrew word meaning 'the poor' or 'poor ones') as a term refers to a Jewish Christian sect who were vegetarians, viewed poverty as holy, believed in ritual cleansing, and rejected animal sacrifices.
What did the Ebionites believe?
The Ebionites existed during the early centuries of the Common Era and believed Jesus became the Messiah because he obeyed the Jewish Law. They believed in one God and taught that Jesus was the Messiah and was the true "prophet" mentioned in Deuteronomy 18:15 - a Jewish Christian sect who viewed poverty as holy believed in ritual washings, rejected animal sacrifices and the Virgin Birth of Jesus, instead holding that he was the natural son of Joseph and Mary.
How many gospels were used by the Ebionites?
The Ebionite gospel is one example of a type of gospel harmony that used the Gospel of Matthew as a base text but did not include the Gospel of John; it is believed to pre-date Tatian's Diatessaron - which combined all four official gospels into a single narrative.
The Gospel of the Ebionites is the conventional name scholars give to a fictional gospel existing only as seven brief quotations in a heresiology (1. the study of heresies; 2. a treatise on heresies.) known as the Panarion, by Epiphanius of Salamis; he misidentified it as the "Hebrew" gospel, believing it to be a truncated and modified version of the Gospel of Matthew. The quotations were embedded in a *polemic to point out inconsistencies in the beliefs and practices of a Jewish Christian sect known as the Ebionites relative to Nicene orthodoxy.
*polemic - 1a: an aggressive attack on or refutation of the opinions or principles of another b: the art or practice of disputation or controversy —usually used in plural but singular or plural in construction 2: an aggressive controversialist: DISPUTANT
The surviving fragments derived from a gospel harmony of the Synoptic Gospels, composed in Greek with various expansions and abridgments reflecting the writer's theology. Distinctive features include the absence of the virgin birth and the genealogy of Jesus; an Adoptions Christology, in which Jesus is chosen to be God's Son at the time of his Baptism; the abolition of the Jewish sacrifices by Jesus; and advocacy of vegetarianism. Although the gospel was said to be used by "Ebionites" during the early church, the identity of the group or groups that used it remains a matter of conjecture.
The Gospel of the Ebionites is one of several Jewish–Christian gospels, Hebrews, and the Nazarenes Gospel; all survive only as fragments in quotations of the early Church Fathers. Due to their fragmentary state, the relationships between the Jewish–Christian gospels and a hypothetical original Hebrew Gospel are uncertain. They have been a subject of intensive scholarly investigation. The Ebionite gospel has been recognized as distinct from the others, and it has been identified more closely with the lost Gospel of the Twelve. It shows no dependence on the Gospel of John and is similar to the harmonized gospel sayings based on the *Synoptic Gospels used by Justin Martyr. There is a similarity between the gospel and a source document contained within the Clementine Recognitions, conventionally referred to by scholars as to the Ascents of James, concerning the command to abolish the Jewish sacrifices.
*Synoptic - The gospels of Matthew, Mark, and 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 wording. They stand in contrast to John, whose content is largely distinct.
Epiphanius is believed to have possessed a gospel that he attributed to the Ebionites when he was bishop of Salamis, Cyprus. His citations are often contradictory and thought to be based partly on his conjecture. He alone among the Church Fathers identifies Cyprus as one of the "roots" of the Ebionites. The gospel survives only in seven brief quotations by Epiphanius in Chapter 30 of his heresiology, the Panarion, or "Medicine Chest," as a polemic against the Ebionites. The various, sometimes conflicting, sources of information were combined to point out inconsistencies in Ebionite beliefs and practices relative to Nicene orthodoxy, possibly to serve, indirectly, as a polemic against the Arians of his time.
Nicene Creed
The Nicene Creed, also called the Nicaeno-Constantinopolitan Creed, is a statement of the orthodox faith of the early Christian church in opposition to certain heresies, especially Arianism. These heresies, which disturbed the church during the fourth century, concerned the doctrine of the trinity and of the person of Christ.
We believe in one God,
the Father almighty,
maker of heaven and earth,
of all things visible and invisible.
And in one Lord Jesus Christ,
the only Son of God,
begotten from the Father before all ages,
God from God,
Light from Light,
true God from true God,
begotten, not made;
of the same essence as the Father.
Through him all things were made.
For us and for our salvation
he came down from heaven;
he became incarnate by the Holy Spirit and the virgin Mary,
and was made human.
He was crucified for us under Pontius Pilate;
he suffered and was buried.
The third day he rose again, according to the Scriptures.
He ascended to heaven
and is seated at the right hand of the Father.
He will come again with glory
to judge the living and the dead.
His kingdom will never end.
And we believe in the Holy Spirit,
the Lord, the giver of life.
He proceeds from the Father and the Son,
and with the Father and the Son is worshiped and glorified.
He spoke through the prophets.
We believe in one holy catholic and apostolic church.
We affirm one baptism for the forgiveness of sins.
We look forward to the resurrection of the dead,
and to life in the world to come. Amen.
The term Gospel of the Ebionites is a modern convention; no surviving document of the early church mentions a gospel by that name. Epiphanius identifies the gospel only as "in the Gospel used by them, called 'according to Matthew'" and "they call it 'the Hebrew [gospel].'" As early as 1689, the French Priest Richard Simon called the text "Gospel of the Ebionites." Modern scholars as a convenient way to distinguish a gospel text that the Ebionites probably used from Epiphanius' mistaken belief that it was a Hebrew version of the Gospel of Matthew. Its place of origin is uncertain; one speculation is that it was composed in the region east of the Jordan where the Ebionites were said to have been present, according to the accounts of the Church Fathers. It is thought to have been composed during the middle of the 2nd century since several other gospel harmonies are known to be from this period.
Christology.
Jesus became one with God by Adoption at his Baptism according to the Gospel of the Ebionites, fulfilling a proclamation of Psalm 2:7 "You are my son, this day I have begotten you."
The baptismal scene of the gospel text (13.7) is a harmony of the Synoptic Gospels, but one in which the Holy Spirit is said to descend to Jesus in the form of a dove and enter into him. This divine election at the time of his Baptism is known as an Adoptionist Christology, and it is emphasized by the quotation of Psalm 2:7, as found in the "Western text" of Luke 3:22, "You are my son, this day I have begotten you." The Spirit entering into Jesus and the incredible light on the water are thought to be based on the prophecies of Isaiah 61:1 and 9:1, respectively. His Adoptionist son-ship is characterized by the belief that Jesus was a mere man, who, by his perfect righteousness, was imbued with the divinity of the eternal Christ through his Baptism in order to carry out the prophetic task for which he had been chosen.
The absence of any reference to a Davidic son-ship in the gospel text suggests that Jesus has been elected to be the end-time prophet, the Chosen One, sent to abolish the Jewish sacrifices. The Prophet-Christology of the gospel text quoted by Epiphanius is more at home with the Clementine literature than the Christology of the Ebionites known to Irenaeus. Jesus is understood in this gospel as having come to abolish the sacrifices rather than substituting for them. However, scholars have yet to reach a consensus over the sacrificial significance of Jesus' mission as depicted in the Ebionite gospel.
Vegetarianism
The change in the wording of the gospel text from "locust" (akris) to "cake" (egkris) for John the Baptist's diet (13.4) has been interpreted as evidence of Jewish vegetarianism. However, the association of the diet of John the Baptist with vegetarianism has been questioned. Epiphanius gives no indication of concern for vegetarianism in this part of the Gospel text, and it may instead be an allusion to the manna in the wilderness of Exodus 16:31 and Numbers 11:8, or, according to scholar Glenn Alan Koch, to 1 Kings 19:6 where Elijah eats cakes in oil.
Further evidence has been found in the quotation based on Luke 22:15 (22.4), where the saying has been modified by insertion of the word "flesh" to provide a rationale for vegetarianism. The immediate context of the quotation suggests that it may be closely related to a Clementine source, the Journeys of Peter. Reading from the same source, Epiphanius states that the Ebionites abstained from "meat with soul in it" (15.3), and he attributes this teaching to Ebionite exclamations, “they corrupt the contents and leave a few genuine items." Due to the close association of this saying with the Clementine literature of the 3rd and 4th centuries, the earlier practice of vegetarianism by the 2nd-century Ebionites known to Irenaeus has been questioned. The strict vegetarianism of the Ebionites known to Epiphanius may have been a reaction to the cessation of Jewish sacrifices and a safeguard against the consumption of unclean meat in a pagan environment.
Relationship to other texts
Epiphanius incorrectly refers to the gospel in his possession as the Gospel of Matthew and the gospel "according to the Hebrews," perhaps relying upon and blending the writings of the earlier Church Fathers, Irenaeus and Eusebius, respectively. His 4th-century colleague Jerome remarks that the Nazarenes and Ebionites both used the Gospel of the Hebrews, which was considered the original Matthew by many of them. Jerome's report is consistent with the prior accounts of Irenaeus and Eusebius.
The Ebionite gospel is one example of a type of gospel harmony that used the Gospel of Matthew as a base text but did not include the Gospel of John; it is believed to pre-date Tatian's Diatessaron (c. 170), which included all four canonical gospels. The gospel is a quotation in a mid-2nd-century homily known as 2 Clement, suggesting that both may depend on a harmonizing tradition from an earlier 2nd-century source. The harmonized (synchronized) gospel sayings sources used by Justin Martyr to compose his First Apology and Dialogue with Trypho were similarly based on the Synoptic Gospels. According to scholar George Howard, harmonization was a widely used method of configuration in the early Patristic period. Many of the heterodox variants found in the Gospel of the Ebionites may have been adopted from a larger pool of variants in circulation; an example is the appearance of a great light that shone during Jesus' Baptism, which is also found in the Diatessaron (the four Gospels combined into a single narrative).
The Recognitions of Clement contains a source document (Rec. -receipt) 1.27–71), conventionally referred to by scholars as the Ascents of James, which is believed to be of Jewish–Christian origin. The Ascents shares a similarity to the Gospel of the Ebionites with regard to the Baptism of the Pharisees by John and the command to abolish the Jewish sacrifices, adding that a Christian water baptism is to be substituted for the remission of sins. Based on these similarities, scholars Richard Bauckham and F. Stanley Jones have postulated (assumed) a direct dependence of the Ascents of James on the Gospel of the Ebionites.
Inferences about the Ebionites
The gospel Epiphanius attributed to the Ebionites is a valuable source of information that provides modern scholars with insights into the distinctive characteristics of a vanished branch of Jewish Christianity. However, scholars disagree on whether the information contained within the seven fragments preserved by Epiphanius accurately reflects the traditions of the second-century Ebionite sect known to Irenaeus, or if their belief system changed, perhaps greatly, over a span of 200 years compared to this early group. The Ebionites known to Irenaeus (first mentioned in Adversus Haereses, written around 185) and other Church Fathers prior to Epiphanius were described as a Jewish sect that regarded Jesus as the Messiahbut not as divine. They insisted on the necessity of following Jewish Law and rites and they used only the Jewish–Christian gospel. The Ebionites rejected the epistles of Paul of Tarsus, whom they regarded as an apostate from the Law.
Scholarship in the area of Jewish Christian studies has tended to be based on artificial concepts (notions) similar to those developed by the early Christian heresiologists (a person who studies history of heresy), with the underlying assumption that all of the beliefs and practices of these groups were based on theology. This has led to the perpetuation of ideological definitions that fail to take into account the pluriformity (plurality) (of these groups, reflecting differences in geography, time periods in history, and ethnicity. With respect to For Epiphanius, and the Ebionites in particular, insufficient attention has been paid to the highly speculative nature of his theological constructs (concepts) and his mixing together of disparate (dissimilar) sources, including his use of a gospel harmony that may have had nothing to do with the Ebionite sect known to Irenaeus. In the end, he presents an enigmatic (mysterious) picture of the Ebionites and their place in early Christian history.
Josephus reports four main sects or schools of Judaism: Pharisees, Sadducees, Essenes, and Zealots. The earliest followers of Jesus were known as Nazarenes, and perhaps later, Ebionites, and form an important part of the picture of Palestinian Jewish groups in late 2nd Temple times.
The Ebionite/Nazarene movement was made up of mostly Jewish/Israelite followers of John the Baptizer and later Jesus, who were concentrated in Palestine and surrounding regions and led by "James the Just" (the oldest brother of Jesus), and flourished between the years 30-80 C.E. They were zealous for the Torah and continued to walk in all the mitzvot (commandments) as enlightened by their Rabbi and Teacher, but accepted non-Jews into their fellowship on the basis of some version of the Noachide Laws (Acts 15 and 21). The term Ebionite (from Hebrew' Evyonim) means "Poor Ones" and was taken from the teachings of Jesus: "Blessed are you Poor Ones, for yours is the Kingdom of God" based on Isaiah 66:2 and other related texts that address a remnant group of faithful ones. Nazarene comes from the Hebrew word Netzer (drawn from Isaiah 11:1) and means "a Branch"—so the Nazarenes were the "Branchites" or followers of the one they believed to be the Branch. The term Nazarene was likely the one first used for these followers of Jesus, as evidenced by Acts 24:5 where Paul is called "the ringleader of the sect of the Nazarenes." Here we see the word used in an equivalent way to that of Josephus in writing of the four sects/schools of Judaism: Pharisees; Sadducees; Essenes; and Zealots. So, the term Nazarene is probably the best and broadest term for the movement, while Ebionite (Poor Ones) was used as well, along with a whole list of other terms: Saints, Children of Light, the Way, New Covenanters, et al. We also know from the book of Acts that the group itself preferred the designation "The Way" (see Acts 24:14, 22, etc.). The term "Christian," first used in Greek speaking areas for the movement, actually is an attempt to translate the term Nazarene and basically means a "Messianist."
The Essenes (possibly from 'Ossim, meaning "Doers of Torah"), who wrote or collected the Dead Sea Scrolls, pioneered certain aspects of this "Way" over 150 years before the birth of Jesus. They were a wilderness (out in the Arava, near the Dead Sea–based on Isaiah 40:3), baptizing (mikveh of repentance as entrance requirement into their fellowship), new covenant, messianic/apocalyptic group (they were expecting three redemptive Figures—the Prophet like Moses and his two Messiahs), that saw themselves as the remnant core of God's faithful people—preparing the Way for the return of YHVH's Glory (Kavod) as set forth in Isaiah 40-66. They too referred to themselves as the Way, the Poor, the Saints, the New Covenanters, Children of Light, and so forth. Perhaps their most common designation was the Yachad–the brotherhood or community, and they referred to themselves as brother and sister. They were bitterly opposed to the corrupt Priests in Jerusalem, to the Herods, and even to the Pharisees whom they saw as compromising with that establishment to get power and influence from the Hellenistic/Roman powers. They had their own developed Halacha (interpretation of Torah), some aspects of which Jesus picks up (ideal of no divorce, not using oaths, etc.). They followed one they called the True Teacher (Teacher of Righteousness) whom most scholars believe lived in the 1st century B.C.E. and was opposed and possibly killed by the Hasmonean King/Priests at the instigation of the Pharisees. John the Baptizer seems to arise out of this context and rekindle the apocalyptic fervor of the movement in the early decades of the first century C.E.
So, the terminology is flexible; there are a variety of self-designations used by the Jesus movement, most of which had previously been used by the Essenes. In that sense you might call the Jesus movement a further developed messianic "Essenism," modified through the powerful, prophetic influence of Jesus as Teacher.
Later, when Christianity developed in the 3rd and 4th centuries and gradually lost its Jewish roots and heritage, largely severing its Palestinian connections, the Gentile, Roman Catholic Church historians began to refer to Ebionites and Nazarenes as two separate groups—and indeed, by the late 2nd century there might have been a split between these mostly Jewish followers of Jesus. The distinction these writers make (and remember, they universally despise these people and call them "Judaizers"), is that the Ebionites reject Paul and the doctrine of the Virgin Birth or "divinity" of Jesus, use only the Hebrew Gospel of Matthew, and are thus more extreme in their Judaism. They describe the Nazarenes more positively as those who accept Paul (with caution) and believe in some aspect of the divinity of Jesus (virgin born, etc.). What we have to keep in mind in reading these accounts from the Church fathers is that they are strongly prejudiced against this group(s) and claim to have replaced Judaism entirely with the new religion of Christianity, overthrowing the Torah for both Gentile and Jew.
I think it best today to use the collective term Ebionite/Nazarene in an attempt to capture the whole of this earliest movement, and it would be useful to revive the term Yachad as a collective designation for the community of the Hasidim/Saints. I use Ebionite/Nazarene as an historical designation to refer to those original, 1st century, largely Palestinian followers of Jesus, gathered around Yaaqov (James) in Jerusalem, who were zealous for the Torah, but saw themselves as part of the New Covenant Way inaugurated by their "True Teacher" Jesus. James is a key and neglected figure in this whole picture. As the blood brother of Jesus, authority and rights of guidance were passed on to him. When he was brutally murdered in 62 C.E. by the High Priest Ananus, Simeon, a second brother [sic "cousin" according to Hegesippus (an early Christian writer)] of Jesus took over the leadership of the Jerusalem based movement. Clearly we have the idea here of a blood-line dynasty, and according to the Gospel of Thomas, discovered in 1946 in upper Egypt, this dynastic succession was ordained by Jesus himself who tells his followers who ask him who will lead them when he leaves: "No matter where you are, you are to go to James the Just, for whose sake heaven and earth came into being". Indeed, when Simeon was crucified by the Emperor Trajan around 106 C.E., a third brother of Jesus, Judas, took over the leadership of the community.
As far as "beliefs" of the Ebionites, the documents of the New Testament, critically evaluated, are among our best sources. There are fragments and quotations surviving from their Hebrew Gospel tradition (see A. F. J. Klijn, Jewish-Christian Gospel Tradition, E. J. Brill, 1992), as well as the text of "Hebrew Matthew" preserved by Ibn Shaprut, and now published in a critical edition by George Howard (The Hebrew Gospel of Matthew, Mercer University Press, 1995). Based on what we can reliably put together from other sources we can say the Ebionite/Nazarene movement could be distinguished by the following views:
1) Jesus as the Prophet like Moses, or True Teacher (but not to be confused with YHVH God of Israel), who will anoint his Messiahs on his right and left hand when he is revealed in power following his rejection and death. These two figures, the Davidic Nasi (Prince of the Yachad) and Priest, will rule with him in the Kingdom of God.
2) Disdain for eating meat and even the Temple slaughter of animals, preferring the ideals of the pre-Flood diet and what they took to be the original ideal of worship (see Gen 9:1-5; Jer 7:21-22; Isa 11:9; 66:1-4). A general interest in seeking the Path reflected in the pre-Sinai revelation, especially the time from Enoch to Noah. For example, divorce was shunned, even though technically Moses later allowed it.
3) Dedication to following the whole Torah, as applicable to Israel and to Gentiles, but through the "easy yoke" halacha of their Teacher Jesus, which emphasized the Spirit of the Biblical Prophets in a restoration of the "True Faith," the Ancient Paths (Jeremiah 6:16), from which, by and large, they believed the establishment Jewish groups of 2nd Temple times had lost.
4) Rejection of the "doctrines and traditions" of men, which they believed had been added to the pure Torah of Moses, including scribal alterations of the texts of Scripture (Jeremiah 8:8).
How the earliest group(s) viewed Paul is unclear. By some reports he was tolerated or accepted as one who could go to the Gentiles with a version of the Nazarene message (Acts 15, 21). Others apparently believed he was an apostate from the Torah and founder of a new religion—Christianity.
What happened to Ebionites?
Once the Jerusalem church was eliminated during the Bar Kokhba revolt in 135, the Ebionites gradually lost influence and followers. Some modern scholars, such as Hyam Maccoby, argue the decline of the Ebionites was due to marginalization and persecution by both Jews and Christians.
Do Ebionites still exist?
Little information exists on the Ebionites, and the surviving accounts are subject to considerable debate since they are uniformly derived from the Ebionites' opponents.
When was the Gospel of Ebionites written?
Written during the 2nd century
It is thought to have been composed during the middle of the 2nd century, since several other gospel harmonies are known to be from this period.
Facts and data from the article.
• The word ebionite means "poor.
• Ebionites referred to themselves as "poor" men, but their detractors referred to them as having a "poor" understanding.
• They probably spoke Aramaic.
• They were very devout Jews who believed that Jesus was, indeed, the Jewish Messiah and were early followers of Jesus.
The Ebionites and the Gospels of Matthew and Luke
• Matthew's gospel was very popular with the early Jewish Christians because it is the most Jewish.
• Especially 5:17-18 which states, "Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I have not come to abolish them but to fulfill them.
• For truly I tell you, until heaven and earth disappear, not the smallest letter, not the least stroke of a pen, will by any means disappear from the Law until everything is accomplished."
• The Ebionites had an Aramaic version of Matthew's gospel at their disposal.
• The Ebionite version of Matthew didn't have the first two chapters, which include the Nativity story and virgin birth, just as the earliest manuscripts of Matthew's gospel do not include these chapters.
• Reinforcing confusion about the virgin birth and the Nativity was the earliest manuscripts of Luke that specifically refer to Joseph as Jesus' "father" (2:33, 43).
• However, later manuscripts refer to Jesus' parents as "Joseph and the mother of Jesus" instead of calling them "the father and mother of Jesus.
• In addition, an early version of Luke 3:22 states that God "adopted" Jesus.
• Ebionite beliefs were largely based on the versions of the Gospels that they have at hand.
Beliefs about Jesus
• The Ebionites did not believe in the virgin birth or in the pre-existence of Jesus, perhaps because of not having the first two chapters of Matthew and the passages in Luke referenced above.
• They believed that Jesus was born to two human parents and was "adopted" by God at the moment of Baptism because he was the most righteous man on earth.
• They believed that Jesus had a normal childhood and that God had specifically chosen Jesus as the perfect sacrifice to lay down his life for the sake of others.
• They no longer felt the need to continue with the ritual animal sacrifices that were integral to Jewish practice because Jesus was the "perfect" sacrifice.
• They believed that God demonstrated His acceptance of Jesus' sacrifice by raising Jesus from the dead.
Conflict with Paul and Demise
• The Ebionites believed Paul was the nemesis of Jesus' true message because he preached that anyone could be saved.
• By the end of the fourth century, the Ebionites had been eradicated and the Gentile Christians went on to make history.
