The demise of the Naṣarenes: From Christians to heretics

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The First Christians / pt. 14 I bring this series of posts to a close with the migration of the Naṣarenes out of the land of Palestine. This was the watershed event that began the gradual decline of the first Christians, for after the so-called “flight to Pella” the early community no longer had a central authority—cf. the early reputation of James the Just in Jerusalem, referenced in GTh 12, Gal 1-2 and also by the Church Fathers. The flight to Pella It is unfortunate that we do not have precise details as to when that migration took place, for such historical information would help date “pre-migration” and “post-migration” texts. Scholars suspect that many gnostic “Jewish Christian” writings—such as the Gospel of … Continue reading →

The Testaments of the Twelve Patriarchs (conclusion)

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The First Christians / pt. 13 In the last couple of posts we have looked (here and here) at the Testaments of the Twelve Patriarchs (T12P), a work written in the last half of the first century BCE and later edited and interpolated by Catholic Christians. Here I signal one more passage of interest and then will conclude this particular discussion with a some closing observations on T12P and the New Testament. Testament of Benjamin, chp. 11 2/ And in later times there shall rise up the beloved of the Lord, from the lineage of Judah and Levi, one who does his good pleasure by his mouth, enlightening all the nations with new knowledge. The light of knowledge will mount up in … Continue reading →

Levites and early Christians

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The First Christians / pt. 12 We have recently looked at the Testament of Levi as a Naṣarene-inspired work. Another work, one found at Qumran (1Q21) and known as “The Words of Levi,” seems to have been an earlier version of Test. Levi and has a similar tone. The Naṣarenes and Qumran were antagonists (as were Yeshu and the Teacher of Righteousness), and the fact that some Naṣarene writings were found in the Qumran caves suggests to me that the DSS was a library and not the repository of a single sect. Levi—the third son of Jacob and Leah—is accorded particular reverence in a number of works, including the Naṣarene Testaments of the Twelve Patriarchs (T12P), where two patriarchs are accorded special … Continue reading →

An early Christian poem

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The First Christians / pt. 11 A remarkable poem from the Testaments of the Twelve Patriarchs (T12P) invites commentary. I give the passage in full below, which comes from the Testament of Levi. We have seen that the author of T12P singled out Levi and Judah for special recognition. Among the Jews, these two tribes held religious power and royal power respectively. Yeshu haNotsri was a Levite (as were all males in the Hasmonean line) and thus was a priest by birth. Historically, the poem below has been routinely interpreted through Catholic lenses. Today, conservative scholarship assumes it (and much of T12P) refers to Jesus of Nazareth and accordingly dates the entire work to late I CE+. However, the consensus of scholarship … Continue reading →

The heart of the matter

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From time to time on this website I have reiterated the essence of the Christian religion: baptism, a sacrament involving immersion in running water where “water” symbolizes gnosis and “baptism” signifies conversion, enlightenment, and resurrection all in one. Baptism was the first Christian sacrament and for a long time the only one. It appeared among the Naṣarene Christians once the symbolic equivalence water = gnosis was firmly established, probably by the turn of the era. However, conversion, enlightenment, and resurrection are (and can only be) private. Originally, the sacrament of baptism was a ritual, a public acknowledgment, affirmation, and celebration of those all-important private transformations. Only later was baptism itself endowed with quasi-magical properties when it became a ceremony of … Continue reading →

The Testaments of the Twelve Patriarchs

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The First Christians / pt. 10 The Testaments of the Twelve Patriarchs (T12P) is a long work made up of deathbed testaments of the sons of Jacob, they being the patriarchs of the twelve tribes of Israel. The Old Testament Pseudepigrapha edition (1983) suggests a dating shortly after 150 BCE (I.778), loosely based on suspected parallels with Qumran literature. However, in recent decades the dating of Qumran has itself moved several generations later (DeVaux’s early Period 1 is doubtful), with the result that those suspected “Essene” parallels should now be moved up to a century later. This revised dating conforms with my own research that places both the heyday of the DSS and that of Naṣarene literature in the middle to the … Continue reading →

The road to two Gods

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The First Christians / pt. 9 Prior posts have noted that (a) the Naṣarenes disparaged the material realm and termed God “the Lord of Spirits” (Parables of Enoch); (b) they were radically ebionite, despising the rich and identifying with the poor of the world; and (c) “Rather than being immersed in the affairs of the world, raising a family, and accruing riches, the first Christians were symbolically immersed in gnosis as in flowing water.” At Qumran we similarly witness a general flight from the world, together with asceticism. But Qumran, as we have seen, attempted a fusion (or compromise) between the radically uncompromising message of Yeshu on the one hand, and Judaism on the other. Thus, the Qumranites present a mixture of … Continue reading →

The early Christians and Qumran

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The First Christians / pt. 8 Early Enochian literature of the second century BCE (the Book of Watchers, Dream Visions, etc.) was very popular at Qumran, as attested by the many copies that survive in the DSS. However, Naṣarene literature of the first century BCE is spectacularly absent from the DSS, including the Parables of Enoch which we have looked at in recent posts. Other works that were inspired by the sect of the Naṣarenes are also absent from the DSS. We should recognize that the early followers of Yeshu—those who lived in the mid- to late-first century BCE—were not yet called Naṣarenes. The name “Naṣarene” came after their founding prophet was dubbed “haNotsri,” which means “the guardian, preserver.” Thus: Yeshu haNotsri, … Continue reading →

The Parables of Enoch—Pt. 3

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The First Christians / pt. 7 The Parables of Enoch (chapters 37–71 of 1 Enoch) is a unique composition dating to the last decades of the first century BCE. It has been preserved as part of the First Book of Enoch (1 Enoch), but scholars have noted that it does not fit its context, neither as to theology nor vocabulary. Its dating is also different: the remaining parts of 1 Enoch have been dated to late II BCE, while the Parables of Enoch are dated a century later (more on dating below). One writer has opined: “I think we should not even rule out the possibility that the authors of the Parables might have been Jewish Christians.”  The theology of the Parables—in … Continue reading →

The Parables of Enoch—Pt. 2

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The First Christians / pt. 6 In the previous post I introduced the Parables (also called “Similitudes”) of Enoch, which forms a major part (chps. 37–71) of the book known as 1 Enoch. Scholars date these chapters to around the turn of the era, which happens also to be the critical period of the first followers of Yeshu haNotsri (d. ca. 65 BCE). I identify those early followers with Epiphanius’ Nasarenes (Panarion 18)—not to be confused with his invented sect of Nazoraeans (Pan 29). Except for the “nazirite” (in Judaism, a person consecrated to God, generally temporarily), all cognates with the “z” sound betray Catholic inventions: Nazarene (Mk 1:24), Nazareth and Nazoraean (Mt 2:23), as well as variations of these words found … Continue reading →