The Apocryphal New Testament (1924)/Infancy Gospels/Coptic Lives
COPTIC LIVES, ETC., OF THE VIRGIN
There are a number of Lives, Panegyrics, Discourses, &c., in Coptic, complete and fragmentary, which tell the story of the Virgin’s birth. In Forbes Robinson's Coptic Apocryphal Gospels are:
I. A Sahidic fragment of a homily, perhaps attributed to Evodius of Antioch, disciple of the apostles.
This tells of Joakim—formerly called Cleopas—and Anna, and of the way in which they were taunted by the men and women they met when they went to Jerusalem, because they had no children: and of their grief in consequence. Each then had a vision of a white dove: it came and sat on Joakim's head, and on Anna's bosom. Anna had another vision with a prediction of Mary’s birth. Mary was born on the 15th of Hathor. Zacharias was warned by an angel to tell Anna and Joakim to dedicate Mary in three years' time.
IIa. (Sahidic.) Mary is brought to the Temple and lives there, fed by angels. Her chastity and sobriety of attire are described in terms which recur in other panegyrics, especially that of Demetrius: see below.
IIb. The Annunciation. Decree of Augustus. Nativity. Before it, Mary's face is radiant and then troubled, but her vision of two peoples is not mentioned. Joseph goes to find a midwife.
There seem to be only rather faint memories of the Protevangelium in these fragments.
In Budge's Miscellaneous Coptic Texts, 1915, are some which bear on this subject, viz.
1. p. 626. The Twentieth Discourse of Cyril of Jerusalem.
In this Mary is represented as saying to Cyril: 'I was a child promised to God, and my parents dedicated me to Him before I came into the world. My parents ... were of the tribe of Judah and house of David. My father was Joakim, which is being interpreted Kleopa. My mother was Anna ... who was usually called Mariham. I am Mary Magdalene because the name of the village wherein I was born was Magdalia. My name is Mary of Cleopa. I am Mary of James the son of Joseph the carpenter.'
p. 631. We are told that in the village of Magdalia dwelt a rich and devout man David. A vision told him that the Redeemer should come out of his family. His wife Sara bore him a child whom the father called Joakim, and the mother Cleopa. He married Anna, daughter of Aminadab, David’s brother. They were childless. After many days they went to the Temple, prayed for a child, and promised to dedicate it to God. A voice came, saying that their prayer was heard. Mary was born, dedicated in the Temple at three years old, and brought up there till she was fifteen.
The reckless identification of the Virgin Mary with all the other Maries of the Gospels is characteristic of these Egyptian rhapsodies. In the Book of Bartholomew the appearance of Christ to Magdalene after the resurrection is turned into an appearance to his mother: and so too in another Coptic fragment on the Passion described later on.
2. Discourse by Demetrius of Antioch.
p. 653. There was a man in Jerusalem whose name was Joakim and he had a wife whose name was Susanna (sic. elsewhere in the discourse it is Anna). They were childless and prayed for a child. A man of light appeared and promised them a daughter whom they were to dedicate to God. She was born on 15th of Athor and dedicated. The description of her habits is almost identical with that in fragment II a of Robinson. When she was twelve the priests decided to commit her to the care of a man. The lot fell on Joseph. She sat in his house and weaved the veil of the Temple. Angels ministered to her in the form of doves or some other kind of holy bird. 'They flew about her in the place where she used to sit working at her handicraft, and they would alight upon the window of her room and they longed to hear her holy voice, which was sweet, and pretty, and holy.' We then read of the Annunciation and the salutation of Gabriel—of great length—the Visitation, Decree of Caesar, journey to Bethlehem. Joseph looked at Mary and saw her whole body shining, and that she was greatly moved, for the time of the birth drew nigh. A great star appeared and excited much comment. At dawn on the 29th of Khoiak, Mary asked Joseph to seek a woman to help her. He found one on the roof of her house, and asked if she knew a midwife. She said: 'Thou art Joseph the husband of Mary,' and came down, and put on her finest apparel. Before they reached the caravanserai the child was born. The woman's name was Salome. When they entered the house they saw the Child in the manger and the ox and ass protecting him. Salome worshipped him. She was the first who recognized the Christ, and she followed him everywhere throughout his life. 'I wish very much that I might describe unto you fully the life of that woman and her acts and deeds ...' but there is not time.[1]
The story is continued with some few non-Biblical details to the Flight into Egypt, on p. 682. The killing of Zacharias is shortly told in agreement with the account in the Protevangelium.
3. The Discourse of Epiphanius.
This has very few points of contact with the Apocrypha. It is mentioned that Mary was working when the Annunciation took place.
4. The Discourse of Cyril of Alexandria.
In this the care of Mary for her child, and her intercourse with him, is rather prettily described. 'She used to take hold of his hand and lead him along the roads, saying, "My sweet son, walk a little way", in the same manner as all other babes are taught to walk. And he, Jesus, the very God, followed after her untroubled. He clung to her with his little fingers, he stopped from time to time, and he hung on to the skirts of Mary his mother, he upon whom the whole universe hangeth. He would lift up his eyes to her face ... and she would catch him up to herself and lift him up in her arms, and walk along with him.'
At p. 721 is essentially the same description of the Virgin's habits that we have found in Robinson, II A, and Demetrius.
These documents on the whole show great negligence in the use of ancient sources and great licence on the part of the writers; and I think this is rather characteristic of the Christian literature of Egypt. When we come to the Passion-narratives and the Acts and Apocalypses we shall encounter some striking instances of the taking of liberties with texts.
- ↑ There is, however, a Coptic text not yet printed in full, which does tell the whole story of Salome, and simply transfers to her a great part of the legend of Thais or of Mary the niece of the hermit Abraham.