The Ecclesiastical History of Eusebius Pamphilus/Book 1
THE
ECCLESIASTICAL HISTORY
OF
EUSEBIUS PAMPHILUS.
BOOK I.
CHAPTER I.
Subject of the present work.
But here, acknowledging that it is beyond my power to present the work perfect and unexceptionable, I freely confess it will crave indulgence, especially since, as the first of those that have entered upon the subject, we are attempting a kind of trackless and unbeaten path. Looking up with prayer to God as our guide, we, trust indeed, that we shall have the power of Christ as our aid, though we are totally unable to find even the bare vestiges of those who may have travelled the way before us; unless, perhaps, what is only presented in the slight intimations, which some in different ways have transmitted to us in certain partial narratives of the times in which they lived; who, raising their voices before us, like torches at a distance, and as looking down from some commanding height, call out and exhort us where we should walk, and whither direct our course with certainty and safety. Whatsoever, therefore, we deem likely to be advantageous to the proposed subject, we shall endeavour to reduce to a compact body by historical narration. For this purpose we have collected the materials that have been scattered by our predecessors, and culled, as from some intellectual meadows, the appropriate extracts from ancient authors. In the execution of this work we shall be happy to rescue from oblivion, the successions, if not of all, at least of the most noted apostles of our Lord, in those churches which even at this day are accounted the most eminent; a labour which has appeared to me necessary in the highest degree, as I have not yet been able to find that any of the ecclesiastical writers have directed their efforts to present any thing complete in this department of writing. But as on the one hand I deem it highly necessary, so also I believe it will appear no less useful, to those who are zealous admirers of historical research. Of these matters, indeed, I have already heretofore furnished an epitome in my chronological tables, but in the present work I have undertaken a more full narrative. As I said above, I shall begin my treatise with that dispensation, and that doctrine of the divinity which in sublimity and excellence surpasses all human invention, viz. that of our Saviour Christ. And indeed, whoever would give a detail of ecclesiastical history to posterity, is necessarily obliged to go back to the very origin of the dispensation of Christ, as it is from him, indeed, that we derive our very epithet, a dispensation more divine than many are disposed to think.
CHAPTER II.
Summary view of the pre-existence and Divinity of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ.
As the mode of existence in Christ is twofold, the one resembling the head of the body, indicating his divinity; the other compared to the feet, by which he, for the sake of our salvation, assumed that nature which is subject to the same infirmities with ourselves; hence our account of the subsequent matter may be rendered complete and perfect, by commencing with the principal and most important points in his history. By this method, at the same time, the antiquity and the divine dignity of the Christian name will be exhibited to those who suppose it a recent and foreign production, that sprung into existence but yesterday, and was never before known.
No language, then, is sufficient to express the origin, the dignity, even the substance and nature of Christ. Whence even the divine Spirit in the prophecies says, "who will declare his generation?" For as no one hath known the Father, but the Son, so no one on the other hand, can know the Son fully, but the Father alone, by whom he was begotten. For who but the Father hath thoroughly understood that Light which existed before the world was—that intellectual and substantial wisdom, and that living Word which in the beginning was with the Father, before all creation and any production visible or invisible, the first and only offspring of God, the prince and leader of the spiritual and immortal host of heaven, the angel of the mighty council, the agent to execute the Father's secret will, the maker of all things with the Father, the second cause of the universe next to the Father, the true and only Son of the Father, and the Lord and God and King of all created things, who has received power, and dominion with divinity itself, and power and honour from the Father. All this is evident from those more abstruse passages in reference to his divinity, "In the beginning was the word, and the word was with God, and the word was God." "All things were made by him, and without him nothing was made." This, too, we are taught by the great Moses, that most ancient of all the prophets, when under the influence of the divine Spirit, he describes the creation and arrangement of all things, he also informs us that the Creator and maker of the universe yielded to Christ, and to none but to his divine and first begotten word, the formation of all subordinate things, and communed with him respecting the creation of man. "For," says he, "God said let us make man according to our image and according to our likeness." This expression is confirmed by another of the prophets, who, discoursing of God in his hymns, declares, "He spake, and they were made; he commanded, and they were created." Where he introduces the Father and maker as the Ruler of all, commanding with his sovereign nod, but the divine word as next to him, the very same that is proclaimed to us, as ministering to his Father's commands. Him too, all that are said to have excelled in righteousness and piety, since the creation of man; Moses, that eminent servant of God, and Abraham before him, the children of the latter, and as many righteous prophets as subsequently appeared, contemplated with the pure eyes of the mind, and both recognized and gave him the worship that was his due as the Son of God. The Son himself, however, by no means indifferent to the worship of the Father, is appointed to teach the knowledge of the Father to all. The Lord God, therefore, appeared as a common man to Abraham, whilst sitting at the oak of Mamre. And he, immediately falling down, although he plainly saw a man with his eyes, nevertheless worshipped him as God, and entreated him as Lord. He confesses, too, that he is not ignorant who he is in the words, "Lord, the judge of all the earth, wilt not thou judge righteously?" For as it were wholly unreasonable to suppose the uncreated and unchangeable substance of the Almighty God to be changed into the form of a man, or to deceive the eyes of beholders with the phantom of any created substance, so also it is unreasonable to suppose that the Scriptures have falsely invented such things as these. "God and the Lord who is judge of the whole earth, and executeth judgment" appearing in the shape of man, who else can he be called, if it be not lawful to call him the author of the universe, than his only pre-existing word? Concerning whom also in the Psalms it is said, "He sent his word and healed them, and delivered them from their corruptions." Of Him, Moses obviously speaks as the second after the Father, when he says, "The Lord rained upon Sodom and Gomorrah brimstone and fire from the Lord." Him also again appearing to Jacob in the form of man, the sacred Scriptures call by the name of God, saying to Jacob, "Thy name shall no longer be called Jacob, but Israel shall be thy name, because thou hast prevailed with God." Whence also Jacob called the name of that place the vision of God, saying, "I have seen God face to face, and my soul has lived." To suppose these divine appearances the forms of subordinate angels and servants of God, is inadmissible; since, as often as any of these appeared to men, the Scriptures do not conceal the fact in the name, expressly saying that they were called not God nor Lord, but angels, as would be easy to prove by a thousand references. Joshua also, the successor of Moses, calls him as the ruler of celestial angels and archangels, of supernal powers, and as the power and wisdom of God, intrusted with the second rank of sovereignty and rule over all, "the captain of the Lord's host," although he saw him only in the form and shape of man. For thus it is written: "And it came to pass when Joshua was by Jericho, that he lifted up his eyes, and looked, and behold there stood a man over against him, with his sword drawn in his hand; and Joshua went unto him, and said unto him, Art thou for us, or for our adversaries. And he said, Nay but as captain of the Lord's host am I now come. And Joshua fell on his face to the earth, and said unto him, What saith my Lord unto his servant? And the captain of the Lord's host, said unto Joshua, Loose thy shoe from off thy foot: for the place whereon thou standest is holy." Josh. v.
Here then you will perceive from the words themselves, that this is no other than the one that also communicated with Moses. Since the Scriptures in the same words, and in reference to the same one says, " When the Lord saw that he drew near to see. the Lord called to him from the midst of the bush, saying, Moses, Moses. And he answered. Here am I. But he said. Draw not nearer, loose thy shoes from off thy feet, for the place on which thou standest is holy ground. And he said to him, I am the God of thy fathers, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob."
That there is also a certain antemundane, living, and self-existing substance, ministering to the Father and God of all unto the formation of all created objects, called the word and the wisdom of God, besides the proofs already advanced, we may also learn from the very words of wisdom, speaking of herself in the clearest manner, through Solomon, and thus initiating us into her mysteries. Prov. viii. " I wisdom make my habitation with prudence and knowledge, and have called to understanding. By me kings reign and princes define justice. By me the great are magnified, and rulers subdue the earth." To which he subjoins the following : " The Lord created me in the beginning of his ways, for his works ; before the world he established me, before the formation of the earth, before the waters came from their fountains, before the foundation of the mountains, before all hills, he brought me forth. When he prepared the heavens, I was present with him, and when he established the fountains under the heavens, I was with him, adjusting them. I was his delight; daily I exulted before him at all times, when he rejoiced that he had completed the world." That the divine word, therefore, preexisted and appeared, if not to all, at least to some, has been thus briefly shown.
THE REASONS WHY THE GOSPEL WAS NOT PROCLAIMED SOONER.
The reason, however, why this was not also proclaimed before in ancient times, to all men and all nations, as it is now, will appear from the following considerations. The life of men, in ancient times, was not in a situation to receive the doctrine of Christ, in the all-comprehensive fulness of its wisdom and its virtue. For immediately in the beginning, after that happy state, the first man, neglecting the Divine commands, fell into the present mortal and afflicted condition, and exchanged his former divine enjoyment for the present earth, subject to the curse. The descendants of this one, having filled our earth, and proved themselves much worse, excepting one here and another there, commenced a certain brutal and disorderly mode of life. They had neither city nor state, no arts or sciences, even in contemplation. Laws and justice, virtue and philosophy they knew not, even in name. They wandered lawless through the desert, like savage and fierce animals, destroying the intellectual faculty of man, and exterminating the very seeds of reason and culture of the human mind, by the excesses of determined wickedness, and by a total surrender of themselves to every species of iniquity.
Hence, at one time they corrupted each other by criminal intercourse; at another, they murdered; and at others, fed upon human flesh. Hence too, their audacity, in venturing to wage war with the Deity himself; and hence those battles of the giants, celebrated by all. Hence too, their attempts to wall up the earth against heaven, and by the madness of a perverted mind, to prepare an attack upon the supreme God himself. Upon these men, leading a life of such wickedness, the Omniscient God sent down inundations and conflagrations, as upon a forest scattered over the earth. He cut them down with successive famines and pestilence, with constant wars and thunderbolts, as if to suppress the dreadful and obdurate disease of the soul, with his more severe punishments. Then it was, when the excess of malignity had nearly overwhelmed all the world, like a deep fit of drunkenness overshadowing and beclouding the minds of men — then it was, that the first begotten wisdom of God, existing before all creatures, and the self-same pre-existing word, induced by his exceeding love of man, appeared at times to his servants, in visions of angels; at others, in his own person. As the salutary power of God, he was seen by one and the other of the pious in ancient times, in the shape of man, because it was impossible to appear in any other way. And as by these pious men, the seeds of godliness had been already scattered among the mass of mankind, and the whole nation that claimed its origin from those ancient Hebrews, continued devoted to the worship of God— to these, therefore, as to a multitude still affected by former corrupt practices, he imparted, through Moses, images and signs of a certain mystical Sabbath and circumcision, and instructions in other spiritual principles, but did not yet grant the privilege of an immediate initiation. But when their law obtained celebrity, and like a fragrant odour was spread abroad among all men ; and by means of this law, the dispositions of men, even among most of the gentiles, were improved by legislators and philosophers every where, who softened their wild and savage ferocity, so as to enjoy settled peace, friendship, and mutual intercourse; then it was, when men at length throughout the whole world, and in all nations had been, as it were, previously prepared and fitted for the reception of the knowledge of the Father, that he himself again appeared, the master of virtue, the minister of the Father in all goodness ; the divine and celestial word of God. He appeared in a human body, in substance not differing from our own nature, at the commencement of the Roman empire; performed and suffered such things as were to follow, according to prophecy, viz. that man and God, the author of miraculous works, would dwell in the world, and would be exhibited to all the nations as the teacher of that piety which the Father will approve. In these prophecies, also, were foretold the extraordinary fact of his birth, his new doctrine, and his wonderful works ; as also the manner of his death, his resurrection from the dead, and finally his divine return to the heavens. The prophet Daniel, under the influence of the divine Spirit, foreseeing his kingdom in the end, was inspired thus to write and describe his vision, in adaptation to human capacity, in the following language: "I beheld," said he, " until the thrones were placed ; and the Ancient of Days sat, and his garment was white as snow, and the hair of his head was as pure wool ; his throne was a flame of fire, his wheels burning fire ; a river of fire rolled before him; thousand thousands ministered unto him, and ten thousand thousands stood near him. He appointed judgment, and the books were opened." " And next, I beheld," says he, " and lo ! one coming with the clouds as the Son of Man, and he advanced as far as the Ancient of Days, and he was brought into his presence. And to him was given the dominion, and the glory, and the kingdom, and all people, tribes, tongues shall serve him. His power is an everlasting power, which shall not pass away; and his kingdom shall not be destroyed." These passages can evidently be referred to no one but to our Saviour, that God word[1] which was in the beginning with God ; called the Son of God, by reason of his final appearance in the flesh. But having collected the prophetic declarations concerning our Saviour Jesus Christ, in distinct commentaries[2] on this subject, and having elsewhere digested whatever is revealed concerning him, in a more demonstrable form, what has been said upon the subject here may suffice for the present.
CHAPTER III.
The name Jesus, as also that of Christ, was both known and honoured from ancient times, by the inspired prophets.
It is now the proper place to show that the very name of Jesus, as also that of Christ, was honoured by the pious p'-ophets of old. And first, Moses himself, having intiinated how exceedingly august and illustrious the name of Christ is, delivering types and mystical images, according to the oracle which declared to him, " See that thou make all things according to the pattern which was shown thee on the mount," — the same man whom, as far as it was lawful, he had called the high priest of God, the self-same he calls Christ.[3] And in this way, to the dignity of the priesthood, which surpasses with him, all superiority among men, as additional honour and glory, he attaches the name of Christ. Hence he evidently understood that Christ was a Being divine. The same Moses, under the divine Spirit, foreseeing also the epithet Jesus, likewise dignifies this with a certain distinguished privilege. For this name, which had never been uttered among men, before Moses, he applies first to him alone who, by a type and sign, he knew would be his successor after his death, in the government of the nation. His successor, therefore, who had not assumed the appellation Jesus,[4] (Joshua,) before this period, being called by his other name Osliea, which his parents had given, was called by Moses Jesus, (Jehoshua, Joshua.) Num. xiii. 17. This name, as an honourable distinction, far superior to any royal diadem, was conferred on Joshua, because Joshua the son of Nun bore a resemblance to our Saviour, as the only one after Moses, and the completion of that symbolical worship given through him, that should succeed him in a government of pure and undefiled religion. Thus Moses attaches the name of our Saviour Jesus Christ, as the greatest honour to two men, who, according to him, excelled all the rest in virtue and glory ; the one to the high priest, the other to him that should have the government after him. But the prophets that lived subsequently to these times, also plainly announced Christ before by name; whilst at the same time they foretel the machinations of the Jews against him, and the calling of the Gentiles through him. Jeremiah bears testimony, speaking thus: "The breath[5] (the spirit,) before our face, Christ the Lord, was taken away in their destructions; of whom we said, under his shadow will we live among the nations." Lam. iv. 20. David also, fixed in astonishment, speaks of him as follows: " Why do the heathen rage, and the people imagine vain things? The kings of the earth stood up, and the rulers were gathered together against the Lord and against his Christ." To which he afterwards adds, in the person of Christ himself: " The Lord said to me, thou art my Son, this day have I begotten thee ; ask of me, and I will give thee the nations for thine inheritance, and the uttermost parts of the earth for thy possession." Ps. ii.
Nor was the name of Christ among the Hebrews, given solely as an honour to those that were dignified with the priesthood, in consequence of their being anointed with oil prepared for the purpose, as a sacred symbol; the same was done also to the kings, whom the prophets, after anointing them under a divine impulse, constituted certain typical Christs, as they themselves also were, the shadows of the royal and princely sovereignty of the only and true Christ, of that divine word which holds sovereignty over all. Moreover, we are also told respecting the prophets, that some were typical Christs, by reason of their unction; so that all these have a reference to the true Christ, the divine and heavenly word, the only high priest of all men, the only king of all creation, and the Father's only supreme Prophet of the prophets. The proof of this is evident, from the fact that none of those anciently anointed, whether priests, kings, or prophets, obtained such power with divine excellence as our Saviour and Lord Jesus, the only and true Christ, has exhibited. For these, although illustrious among their countrymen in dignity and honour, and for a long series of generations, never called their subjects after themselves by a similar epithet. Christians , and neither was there ever divine honour paid to any of these from their subjects ; nor even after their death, was there ever so strong a disposition in any, as to be prepared to die for the honoured individual. And never was there so great a commotion among the nations of the earth, respecting any one then existing, since the mere force of the type could not act with such efficacy among them, as the exhibition of the reality by our Saviour. Though He received no badges and emblems of priesthood from any ; though he did not even derive his earthly origin from a sacerdotal race, nor was raised to empire under the escort of guards ; nor installed a prophet, like those of old ; nor obtained a peculiar, or even any dignity among the Jews, yet notwithstanding all this, he was adorned by the Father with all these, not merely typical honours, but with the reality itself Although He did not obtain then the same honours with those mentioned above, yet he is called Christ by a far superior claim ; and as he is the only, and the true Christ of God, he has filled the whole world with a name really august and sacred, the name of Christians. To those who are admitted among these, he no longer imparts mere types and similitudes, but undisguised virtues, and a heavenly hfe, in the doctrines of truth. He received an unction, not formed of material substances, but that which comports with Deity, the divine Spirit itself, by a participation of the uncreated divinity of the Father. This is shown by Isaiah, who seems to exclaim in the very person of Christ : " The spirit of the Lord is upon me, wherefore he hath anointed me, (he hath sent me) to proclaim glad tidings to the poor, to heal the broken hearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives, and the recovery of sight to the blind.'* And not only Isaiah but David also, addressing him, says, " Thy throne, O God, is from everlasting to everlasting. A sceptre of righteousness is the sceptre of thy kingdom. Thou hast loved righteousness and hated iniquity. Therefore hath God, thy God, anointed thee with the oil of gladness above thy fellows." In which words, he calls him God in the first verse; and in the second he ascribes to him the royal sceptre, and thus proceeding after the divine and royal power, in the third place, he represents him as Christ, anointed not by the oil of material substances, but by the divine oil of gladness. By this also, he shows his excellence and great superiority over those who, in former ages, had been anointed as typical images with the material substance. The same speaks of him in another place, thus: " The Lord said unto my Lord, sit thou at my right hand, until I make thine enemies thy footstool ;" and a little after, " From the womb before the morning star did I beget thee; the Lord hath sworn and he will not repent, thou art a priest for ever after the order of Melchisedech." This Melchisedek is mentioned in the holy Scriptures, as a priest of the Most High God, not consecrated by any unction prepared of any material substance, and not even succeeding to the priesthood of the Jews, by any descent of lineage. Hence, Christ our Saviour is denominated, with the addition of an oath, Christ and priest after his own order, but not according to the order of those who received merely the badges and emblems. Hence, also, neither does history represent him anointed corporeally among the Jews, nor even as sprung from a tribe of the priesthood, but as coming into existence from God himself, before the morning star; that is, before the constitution of the world, obtaining an immortal priesthood, subject to no infirmity of age, to all endless ages. But the great and convincing evidence of that incorporeal and divine power in him, is the fact that he alone, of all that have ever existed to the present day, even now is known by the title of Christ, among all men over the world; and with this title he is acknowledged and professed by all, and celebrated both among Barbarians and Greeks. Even to this day, he is honoured by his votaries throughout the world, as a king ; he is admired as more than a prophet, and glorified as the only true high priest of God. In addition to all these, as the preexisting word of God, coming into existence before all ages, and who has received the honours of worship, he is also adored as God ; but what is most remarkable, is the fact, that we who are consecrated to him, honour him not only with the voice and sound of words, but with all the affections of the mind ; so that we prefer giving a testimony to him, even to the preservation of our own lives.
CHAPTER IV.
The religion announced by Christ among all nations, was neither unexpected nor strange.
These matters have thus been necessarily premised before our history, that no one may suppose our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ was merely a new comer, on account of the date at which he appeared among men, in the flesh. And now, that no one may suppose his doctrine is new or strange, as if springing from one of recent origin, and in no respect differing from the rest of men, let us also briefly examine this point.
It is evident, that but a short time after the appearance of our Saviour Jesus Christ had been made known to all men, a new nation suddenly came into existence ; a nation confessedly neither small nor weak, nor situated in a remote corner of the earth, but the most populous and the most religious of all, and so much the more indestructible and invincible, as it has always had the power of God as its support. This nation, appearing at the time appointed by inscrutable wisdom, is that which among all, is honoured with the name of Christ. One of the prophets, foreseeing with the eye of the spirit of God, that this people would arise, was so struck with amazement that he exclaimed: " Who hath heard such things as this? and who hath ever declared thus? hath the earth brought forth in a single day, and hath a nation been born at once?" The same prophet also gives some intimation of the name that would be introduced: "They who serve me shall be called by a new name, which shall be blessed upon the earth." And indeed, though we are evidently a new people, this new name also of Christians has lately become known to all nations. The practice, however, and the walk and conversation, the principles of piety prevalent among this people, have not been recently invented, but were established, we may say, by the Deity in the natural dictates of pious men of old, from the very origin of our race; an assertion which we shall endeavour to prove, in the following manner.
That the nation of the Hebrews is not new, but honoured among all for its antiquity, is well known. The writings and literature of this nation concern ancient men, rare and few in number, but yet excelling in piety, righteousness, and every virtue. And indeed, even before the flood, there were some who were distinguished for their virtue; and after this others, both of the sons and posterity of Noah, among whom we would mention Abraham, celebrated by the Hebrews as the founder and progenitor of their nation. Should any one, beginning from Abraham, and going back to the first man, pronounce those who have had the testimony of righteousness. Christians in fact, though not in name, he would not be far from the truth. For as the name Christians is intended to indicate this very idea, that a man, by the knowledge and doctrine of Christ, is distinguished by modesty and justice, by patience and a virtuous fortitude, and by a profession of piety towards the one and only true and supreme God; all this was no less studiously cultivated by them than by us. They did not, therefore, regard circumcision, nor observe the Sabbath, neither do we; neither do we abstain from certain foods, nor regard other injunctions, which Moses subsequently delivered to be observed in types and symbols, because such things as these do not belong to Christians. But they obviously knew the Christ of God, as he appeared to Abraham, communed with Isaac, spoke to Jacob; and that he communed with Moses and the prophets after him, has already been shown.
Hence you will find, also, these pious persons honoured with the name of Christ, as in the following expression: " Touch not my anointed ones (my Christs,) and do my prophets no harm." Whence we should plainly suppose, that the first and most ancient religion known, that of those pious men that were connected with Abraham, is the very religion lately announced to all in the doctrines of Christ. Abraham is said to have received the command of circumcision, and yet long before this, was proved to have received the testimony of righteousness through faith. " Abraham," the Scriptures say, " believed, and it was imputed unto him for righteousness." And, indeed, the divine communication was given to him from God, who appeared to him when he bore this character before circumcision. And this was Christ himself, the word of God announcing that all who should come in future times should be justified in a similar way; saying, ^* and in thee shall be blessed all the nations of the earth." And again, " when he shall become a great and mighty nation, in him all the nations of the earth shall be blessed." We may obviously understand this by its fulfilment in us; for he indeed was justified by his faith in Christ, the word of God that appeared to him; and having renounced the superstition of his fathers and the former errors of his life, confessed the one supreme God, and served him by deeds of virtue, and not by the service subsequently enjoined in the law of Moses.
To him, then, being such, it was declared that all the tribes and all the nations of the earth should be blessed in him. But the course of piety which was pursued by Abraham, has appeared thus far cultivated only by Christians, and that too by works more efficacious than words. What, then, should prevent us henceforth from acknowledging that there is one and the same principle of life and conduct, the same course of piety common to us, who have come after Christ, with those pious men who lived in times long before? Whence it is evident that the religion delivered to us in the doctrine of Christ is not a new nor a strange doctrine; but if the truth must be spoken, it is the first and only true religion. Thus much may suffice on this point.
CHAPTER V.
The times of our Saviour's manifestation among men.
After the necessary preliminary to the Ecclesiastical History which we have proposed to write, it now remains that we commence our course, invoking God, the Father of the word, and Jesus Christ himself, our revealed Saviour and Lord, the heavenly word of God, as our aid and fellow-labourer in the narration of the truth. It was the forty-second year of the reign of Augustus, but the twenty-eighth from the subjugation of Egypt and the death of Antony and Cleopatra, which terminated the dynasty of the Ptolemies, when, according to prophetic prediction, our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ was born in Bethlehem of Judea; the same year, when the first census was taken, and Quirinius[6] was governor of Syria. — This census is mentioned by Flavins Josephus, the distinguished historian among the Hebrews, who also adds another account respecting the sect of the Galileans, which arose about the same time, of which also mention is made by our Luke in his book of Acts, in the following words — " After this man arose Judas of Galilee, in the days of the taxing (assessment), and drew away much people after him, he also preached; and all, even as many as obeyed him were dispersed." Acts v. 37. The aforesaid author agreeing with this statement in the 18th book of his Antiquities, adds the following: " But Quirinius, who belonged to the senate, and having enjoying other offices, advanced through all the grades of office to the consulship, a man also of great dignity in other respects, by the appointment of Cesar, came to Syria, with a small force, and with judicial power over the people, to take a valuation of their property." A little after he says: " But Judas, the Gaulonite, sprung from the town called Gamala, together with Sadducus, a Pharisee, headed a revolt of the people, saying that the assessment had nothing else in view but manifest slavery; and they exhorted the people to assert their liberty." He also writes in the second book of the history of the Jewish War, concerning the same man: " About this time a certain Judas of Galilee, stimulated the inhabitants to revolt, urging it as a reproach, that they endured paying tribute, and that they who had God for their master, suffered mortals to usurp the sovereignty over them." Thus far Josephus.
CHAPTER VI.
About the time of our Lord, agreeably to prophecy , those rulers ceased that had formerly governed the nation of the Jews by regular succession, and Herod was the first foreigner that reigned over them.
At the time that Herod was king, who was the first foreigner that reigned over the Jewish people, the prophecy recorded by Moses received its fulfilment, viz. " That a prince should not fail of Judah, nor a ruler from his loins, until he should come for whom it is reserved."[7] The same, he also shows, would be the expectation of the nations. The prediction was evidently not accomplished, as long as they were at liberty to have their own native rulers, which continued from the time of Moses down to the reign of Augustus. Under him, Herod was the first foreigner that obtained the government of the Jews. Since, as Josephus has written, he was an Idumean by the father's side, and an Arabian by the mother's. But, as Africanus, who is also no common writer, says, " They who have written more accurately respecting him, say that he was the son of Antipater, and that the latter was the son of a certain Herod of Ascalon, one of those called the ministers of the temple of Apollo, in that city. This Antipater, when a boy, having been taken prisoner by some Idumean robbers, lived with them, because his father being a poor man, was unable to pay his ransom. Thus growing up in their practices, he was afterwards befriended by Hyrcanus the high priest of the Jews. His son was that Herod that flourished in the times of our Saviour. The government of the Jews, therefore, having devolved on such a man, the expectation of the nations was now at hand, according to prophecy; because with him terminated the regular succession of governors and princes, from the time of Moses. For before their captivity and their transfer to Babylon, they were first governed by Saul and David as their kings; and before the kings, the government was administered by magistrates called judges,) who came after Moses and his successor Joshua. After the return from the captivity of Babylon, they continued to retain the aristocratical form of government, together with an oligarchy. The high priests had then the direction of affairs, until Pompey, the proconsular general of the Romans, took Jerusalem by force of arms, and defiled the sacred places, entering the sanctuary of the temple. Aristobulus, who had been both king and high priest by regular succession until then, was sent with his children in chains to Rome, and the priesthood was given to his brother Hyrcanus, whilst the whole nation of the Jews was made tributary to the Romans from that time.
But Hyrcanus, who was the last of the high priests by succession, having been soon after taken prisoner by the Parthians, Herod, as I said before, had the government of the Jews conferred upon him by the senate of Rome and the emperor Augustus. About this time, the advent of Christ being nigh at hand, the expected salvation of the nations received its fulfilment, and was followed by the calling of the Gentiles, according to prophetic declarations. From this time also, the princes and rulers of Judah, i. e. of the Jewish nation, ceasing, by a natural consequence, the priesthood, which had descended from a series of ancestors in the closest succession of kindred, was immediately thrown into confusion. Of this, you have the evidence of Josephus; who shows that when Herod was appointed king by the Romans, he no longer nominated the chief priests from the ancient lineage, but conferred the honour upon certain obscure individuals. A course similar to that of Herod, in the appointment of the high priest, was pursued by Aichelaus, his son; and next by the Romans, who, after him, took the government of the Jews into their own hands. The same Josephus shows that Herod was the first that locked up the sacred vesture of the high priest, and having secured it under his own private seal, no longer permitted the high priests to have it at their disposal. The same thing was done by Archelaus his successor, as also by the Romans. It may suffice then, to have said thus much, in proof of another prophecy, which has terminated in the appearance of our Saviour Jesus Christ. Most clearly indeed does the book of Daniel, expressly embracing a number of certain weeks, until the government of Christ, concerning which we have treated in another work, predict that after the termination of these, the sacred unction amongst the Jews should be totally abolished. And this is evidently proved to have been fulfilled at the time of our Saviour's birth. Let this be sufficient, however, as a necessary preliminary, to establish the truth in reference to the times.
CHAPTER VII.
On the discrepancy which is supposed to exist in the Gospels, respecting the genealogy of Christ.
As the genealogy of Christ is differently given to us by Matthew and Luke, and they are supposed by the generality to disagree in their statements; and as every believer, for want of knowing the truth, has been led to apply some investigation to explain the passages, we may also subjoin the account which has come down to us. We refer to the history which has been handed down on these passages by Africanus, in an epistle to Aristides, respecting the harmony of the genealogy of the gospels. After having refuted the opinions of others as forced and fictitious, he sets forth the account that he had ascertained himself, in the following words. " It was customary in Israel to calculate the names of the generations, either according to nature, or according to the law; according to nature, by the succession of legitimate offspring; according to the law, when another raised children to the name of a brother who had died childless. For as the hope of a resurrection was not yet clearly given, they imitated the promise which was to take place by a kind of mortal resurrection, with a view to perpetuate the name of the person who had died. Since then, there are some of those who are inserted in this genealogical table, that succeed each other in the natural order of father and son, some again that were born of others, and were ascribed to others by name, both the real and reputed fathers have been recorded. Thus, neither of the gospels has made a false statement, whether calculating in the order of nature, or according to law. For the families descended from Solomon, and those from Nathan, were so intermingled, by substitutions in the place of those who had died childless, by second marriages and the raising up of seed, that the same persons are justly considered, as in one respect, belonging to the one of these, and in another respect belonging to others. Hence it is, that both of these accounts being true, viz. of those who were reputed fathers, and those who really were fathers, they come down to Joseph with considerable intricacy, it is true, but with great accuracy. That this, however, may be made evident, I will state the series of generations. If (in the genealogy of Matthew,) you reckon the generations from David through Solomon, Matthan, who begat Jacob the father of Joseph, is found to be the third from the end. But if, with Luke, you reckon from Nathan the son of David, in like manner, Melchi, whose son was Eli, the father of Joseph, will be found to be the third. As Joseph, then, is our proposed object, we are to show how it happened that each is recorded as his father; both Jacob, as deduced from Solomon, and Eli from Nathan; also, how it happened that these two, Jacob and Eli, were brothers; and moreover, how the fathers of these, Matthan and Melchi, being of different families, are proved to be the grandfathers of Joseph.
Matthan and Melchi. having married in succession the same woman, had children, who were brothers by the same mother, as the law did not prohibit a widow, whether she became such by divorce, or by the death of her husband, to marry again. Matthan, therefore, who traces his lineage from Solomon, first had Jacob, by Estha, for this is her name as handed down by tradition. Matthan dying, and Melchi, who traces his descent from Nathan, though he was of the same tribe, but of another family, having as before said, married her, had a son Eli. Thus, then, we shall find the two of different families, Jacob and Eli, brothers by the same mother. Of these, the one Jacob, on the death of his brother, marrying his widow, became the father of a third, viz. Joseph; his son both by nature and calculation. Wherefore, it is written, Jacob begat Joseph. But according to the law, he was the son of Eli, for Jacob being his brother, raised up seed to him. Wherefore, the genealogy traced also through him, will not be rendered void, which, according to Matthew, is given thus — " but Jacob begat Joseph." But Luke, on the other hand, says, " who was the son, as was supposed, (for this he also adds,) the son of Joseph, the son of Eli, the son of Melchi." For it was not possible to express the legal genealogy more distinctly, so that he entirely omits the expression, " he begat," in a generation like this, until the end; having traced it back as far as Adam, " who was the son of God," he resolves the whole series by referring back to God. Neither is this incapable of proof, nor is it an idle conjecture. For the relatives of our Lord, according to the flesh, whether to display their own illustrious origin, or simply to show the fact, but at any rate adhering strictly to the truth, have also handed down the following accounts: That robbers of Idumea, attacking Ascalon, a city of Palestine, led Antipater away captive together with other booty, from the temple of Apollo, which was built close to the walls. He was the son of one Herod, a minister of the temple. The priest, however, not being able to pay the ransom for Ins son, Antipater was trained up in the practices of the Idumeans, and afterwards in great favour with Hyrcanus the high priest of Judea. He was subsequently sent by Hyrcanus on an embassy ta Pompey, and having restored the kingdom to him, which had been invaded by Aristobulus, the brother of the latter, Antipater himself had the good fortune to be nominated the procurator of Palestine. Antipater, however, having been treacherously slain, by those who envied his good fortune, was succeeded by his son Herod. He was afterwards, by a decree of the senate, appointed king of the Jews, under Antony and Augustus. His sons were Herod and the other tetrarchs. These accounts of the Jews also coincide with those of the Greeks. But, as the genealogies of the Hebrews had been regularly kept in the archives until then, and also of those who referred back as far as the ancient proselytes; as for instance, to Achior the Ammonite, and Ruth the Moabitess, and to those that were intermixed with the Israelites at their departure from Egypt; and as the lineage of the Israelites contributed nothing to Herod's advantage, he was goaded by the consciousness of his ignoble extraction, and committed all these records of their families to the flames. Thinking that himself might appear of noble origin, by the fact that no one else would be able to trace his pedigree by the public records, back to patriarchs or proselytes, and to those strangers that were called georae.[8] A few however of the careful, either remembering the names, or having it in their power in some other way, by means of copies, to have private records of their own, gloried in the idea of preserving the memory of their noble extraction. Of these were the abovementioned persons, called desposyni,[9] on account of their affinity to the family of our Saviour. These coming from Nazara and Cochaba, villages of Judea, to the other parts of the world, explained the aforesaid genealogy from the book of daily records, as faithfully as possible. Whether, then, the matter be thus or otherwise, as far as I and every impartial judge would say, no one certainly could discover a more obvious interpretation. And this, then, may suffice on the subject; for, although it be not supported by testimony, we have nothing to advance, either better or more consistent with truth. The gospel, altogether, states the truth." At the close of the same epistle, this writer, (Africanus,) adds the following: " Matthan, whose descent is traced to Solomon, begat Jacob, Matthan dying, Melchi, whose lineage is from Nathan, by marrying the widow of the former, had Eli, Hence, Eli and Jacob were brothers by the same mother. Eli dying childless, Jacob raised up seed to him, having Joseph, according to nature belonging to himself, but by the law to Eli. Thus, Joseph was the son of both." So far Africanus; and the lineage of Joseph thus being traced, Mary, also, at the same time, as far as can be, is evinced to be of the same tribe, since, by the Mosaic law, intermarriages among different tribes were not permitted. For the injunction is, to marry one of the same kindred, and the same family, so that the inheritance may not be transferred from tribe to tribe. And this may suffice, also, on the present point
CHAPTER VIII.
Herod's cruelty against the infants, and his wretched end.
Christ, then, having been born, according to the prophecies, in Bethlehem of Judea, about the times that had been revealed, Herod was not a little alarmed at the intelligence. Having ascertained, on the inquiry of the eastern Magi, where the king of the Jews should be born, as they had seen his star, and this had been the cause of so long a journey to them, glowing with zeal to worship the infant as God; he was under great apprehensions, as supposing his own kingdom to be in danger. Having, therefore, inquired of the doctors of the law in the nation, where they expected Christ should be born, and ascertained the prophecy of Micah, announcing that it would be in Bethlehem, in a single edict he orders the male infants from two years and below to be slain, both in Bethlehem and all its parts, according to the time that he had accurately ascertained from the Magi; thinking at all events, as seemed very probable, that he would carry off Jesus also, in the same destruction with those of his own age. The child, however, anticipated the snare, being carried into Egypt by his parents, who had been informed by the appearance of an angel of what was about to happen. These same facts are also stated in the sacred text of the gospel.
It is also worth while to observe the reward which Herod received for his criminal audacity against Christ and the infants; how, without the least delay, the Divine justice immediately overtook him; and even before his death, exhibited the prelude to those punishments that awaited him after death. It is not possible for me here, to relate in what ways he tarnished what was supposed to be the felicity of his reign, by the successive calamities of his family, the slaughter of his wife and children, and the rest of his kindred, allied to him in the closest and most tender bonds. The whole subject of these particulars, which casts all the representations of tragedy into the shade, has been handled to its full extent in the histories written by Josephus. But to understand in what manner also, the chastisement of Heaven scourged him onwards to the period of death, it may not be less proper to hear the words of the same author, describing the end of his life, in the seventeenth book of his Antiquities, as follows: " But the disease of Herod became daily more virulent, God inflicting punishment for his crimes. For it was a slow fire, not only exhibiting to those who touched him a heat in proportion to the internal wasting of his body, but there was also an excessive desire and craving after food, whilst no one dared to refuse. This was attended with swellings of the intestines, and especially excessive pains of the colon. A moist and transparent humour also covered his feet. Similar also was the disease about the ventricle, so that the corruption causing worms in the lower part of the abdomen, there was an increased violence of breathing, which of itself was very offensive; both on account of the disagreeable effluvia, and the rapidity of the respiration. He was also convulsed in every part of his body, with a violence that could not be repressed. It was said, therefore, by those who are conversant with divine things, and to whose wisdom it appertained to declare such things, that God inflicted this punishment upon the king on account of his great impiety."
These are the particulars which are stated by the aforesaid writer, in the book mentioned; and in the second book of his history, he gives very much the same account concerning him, in the following words: " Then the disease pervading his whole body, distracted it by various torments. For the fever became more intense, the itching of the whole surface was insupportable, and the pains of the lower abdomen were incessant. On his feet were swellings, as of one labouring with the dropsy. There was also an inflammation of the ventricle, and a putrefaction that generated worms. Beside this, a more violent breathing, and difficult respiration, and convulsions of all the limbs; so that they who referred to a divine agency, said that this disease was a punishment. But, though struggling with so many sufferings, he nevertheless clung to life, and did not relinquish the hope of deliverance, but was ever devising new remedies. Crossing the Jordan, therefore, he used the warm baths near Callirhoe. These flow into the lake Asphaltites, (Dead sea,) but by reason of their sweetness, they are also potable. As the physicians here deemed it necessary to use some soothing application, his whole body was bathed in tepid oil, in a bathing tub filled with oil for that purpose, when he was so overcome that his eyes began to break, and turn up like one dead. His servants then being alarmed and raising an outcry, he came to himself at the noise; but after that, despairing of recovery, he ordered about fifty drachms to be distributed to the soldiers, and considerable sums to be given to his generals and friends. He returned to Jericho; where, being seized with despair, and now threatened with instant death, he proceeded to a crowning act of the most horrid character. He collected the distinguished men of every village from the whole of Judea, and commanded them to be shut up in what was called the Hippodrome. He then sent for Salome, his sister, and her husband Alexander. "I know," said he, "that the Jews will rejoice at my death; but I may be lamented by means of others, and have splendid funeral rites, if you are willing to perform my commands. As soon as I have expired, surround these men that are now under guard with soldiers, as soon as possible, and slay them, that all Judea and every house, though against their will, may be compelled to weep at my death." And soon after, he adds, " again he was so tortured, partly by the want of food and by a convulsive cough, that, overpowered by his pains, he contemplated anticipating his fate. Having taken an apple, he also asked for a knife, for he was accustomed to use one in eating apples. Then, looking around, lest there should be any person to hinder him, he raised his right arm as if to strike himself." The same author, in addition to these, says, " that he slew another of his own sons before his death, being the third that had already been slain by his orders, and that immediately after this, he breathed out his life, not without excessive torture."
Such, then, was the end of Herod, who thus suffered the just punishment for the crimes that he committed in the murder of the children of Bethlehem, when he designed the destruction of our Saviour. After this, an angel appearing in a dream to Joseph, who was then in Egypt, directed him to return with the child and his mother, revealing to him that they were dead who had sought the life of the infant. To this account the Evangelist adds: " But he hearing that Archelaus reigned in Judea, in the place of Herod, his father, was afraid to go thither, and being warned in a dream, he retired into the parts of Galilee."
CHAPTER IX.
OF THE TIMES OF PILATE.
The same historian also agrees with the statements respecting the government of Archelaus after Herod's death; and relates in what manner he succeeded to the kingdom of the Jews, by the will of Herod, his father, and the confirmation of it by Cesar Augustus; as also, that he having lost his kingdom after ten years, his brothers Philip and Herod the younger, together with Lysanias, received their respective tetrarchies. The same author, in the eighteenth book of his Antiquities, says, " that about the twelfth year of the reign of Tiberius, (for he succeeded to the empire after Augustus, who had reigned fifty-seven years,) Pontius Pilate was appointed over Judea, and remained there ten years, almost to the death of Tiberius. Hence the fraud of those persons is plainly proved, who lately, and at other times have given currency to certain spurious acts against our Saviour. In which the very time of the date proves the falsehood of the inventors. For in the fourth consulship of Tiberius, which was in the seventh year of his reign, those things are said to have occurred, which they have dared to say respecting his salutary suffering. At which time, indeed, it is plain, that Pilate was not yet appointed over Judea, if Josephus is to be credited, who plainly says, in the work already cited, that Pilate was appointed procurator of Judea, by Tiberius, in the twelfth year of his reign.
CHAPTER X.
THE HIGH PRIESTS OF THE JEWS, UNDER WHOM CHRIST PROMULGATED HIS DOCTRINES.
It was about the fifteenth year of the reign of Tiberius, according to the Evangelist, in the fourth year of Pilate's procuratorship, Herod, Lysanias, and Philip, as tetrarchs, holding the government of the rest of Judea, when our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ was in his thirtieth year, that he came to the baptism of John, and then began to promulgate his gospel. The holy Scriptures, moreover, relate that he passed the whole time of his public ministry under the high priests Annas and Caiaphas; intimating that during the years of their priesthood, the whole time of his ministry was terminated. For, beginning with the pontificate of Annas, and continuing after that of Caiaphas, the whole of this interval does not even give us four years. The rites, indeed, of the law, having been already abolished since that period, with it were also annulled the privileges of the priesthood, viz. of continuing it for life, and of hereditary descent. And under the Roman governors, different persons at different times were appointed as high priests, who did not continue in office more than a year. Josephus, indeed, relates that there were four high priests in succession from Annas to Caiaphas. Thus, in his book of Antiquities, he writes in the following manner: " Valerius Gratus, having put a period to the priesthood of Annas, promoted Ishmael, the son of Baphi, to the office; and, removing him also, not long after, he appointed Eleazar, the son of Annas, who had been high priest, to the office. After the lapse of a year, removing also him, he transfers the priesthood to Simon, the son of Camithus. And he, also, did not continue to hold the honour longer than a year, when he was succeeded by Josephus, surnamed Caiaphas." Hence, the whole time of our Saviour s ministry is proved not to embrace four entire years, there being four high priests for four years, from Annas to the appointment of Caiaphas, each of which held the office a year respectively. Caiaphas, indeed, is justly shown, by the gospel narrative, to have been high priest in that year in which our Saviour's sufferings were finished. With which observation, the time of Christ's ministry is also proved to agree. Our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ, not very long after the commencement of his public ministry, elected the twelve, whom he called Apostles, by way of eminence over the rest of his disciples. He also appointed seventy others beside these, whom he sent, two and two, before him into every place and city whither he himself was about to go.
CHAPTER XI.
THE TESTIMONIES RESPECTING JOHN THE BAPTIST AND CHRIST.
As it was not long before this that John the Baptist was beheaded by Herod the younger, the holy Scriptures record the fact, which is also confirmed by Josephus, who has expressly made mention of Herodias by name, and the circumstance of her being married to Herod, though she was the wife of his brother, Herod having first divorced his former lawful wife. She was a daughter of Aretas, king of Arabia Petraa. But having forced Herodias from her husband while living, on whose account also he slew John, he was involved in a war with Aretas for the disgrace inflicted on his daughter; in which war it is related that, when coming to battle, the army of Herod was completely destroyed, and that he suffered all this, on account of the crime that he committed against John. But the same Josephus, in this account, in which he confesses that John was a most righteous man, also bears testimony to what is recorded of him in the narratives of the gospels. He relates, also, that Herod lost his kingdom on account of the same Herodias, and that he was driven into exile with her, and condemned to dwell at Vienna, a city of Gaul. These facts are stated by him in the eighteenth book of his Antiquities, where in the same paragraphs, he also writes thus concerning John: " To some of the Jews the army of Herod seemed to have been destroyed by God; who thus, with signal justice, avenged John, called the Baptist. For Herod slew him, a good man, and one who exhorted the Jews to the practice of virtue, and with the pursuit of righteousness and piety towards God, to receive baptism. For this baptism appeared to have been imparted to him for this object, not with the view to avoid a few trifling sins, but for the purification of the body, as far as the mind had been first purified by righteousness.
" And when many others flocked to him, for they were also much delighted with listening to his discourses, Herod, dreading the great confidence of men in him, lest, perhaps, he might stimulate them to a revolt, (for they seemed disposed to do any thing at his suggestion,) considered it much better, before any change should be attempted by him, to anticipate it by destroying him, than after a revolution, when involved in difficulties, to repent when it was too late. In consequence of Herod's suspicions, therefore, he was sent in bonds to the aforesaid prison of Machserus, and there slain." After relating these things concerning John, Josephus in the same work, also makes mention of our Saviour in the following manner: " About the same time, there was a certain Jesus, a wise man, if indeed it is proper to call him a man. For he performed extraordinary deeds; was a teacher of men, who received his doctrine with delight; and attached to himself many of the Jews, and many of the Greeks. This was Christ. Pilate having inflicted the punishment of the cross upon him, on the accusation of our principal men, those who had been attached to him before, did not, however, afterwards cease to love him: for he appeared to them alive again on the third day, according to the holy prophets, who had declared these and innumerable other wonderful things respecting him. The race of the Christians, who derive their name from him, likewise still continues." When such testimony as this is transmitted to us by an historian who sprung from the Hebrews themselves, both respecting John the Baptist and our Saviour, what subterfuge can be left, to prevent those from being convicted as shameless deceivers, who have forged the acts against them? This however, may suffice on this subject.
CHAPTER XII.
OF THE DISCIPLES OF OUR LORD.
The names of our Saviours apostles are sufficiently known to every one, from his gospels; but of the seventy disciples, no catalogue is given any where. Barnabas, indeed, is said to have been one of them, of whom there is distinguished notice in the Acts of the Apostles; and also in St. Paul's epistle to the Galatians. Sosthenes, who at the same time with Paul sent letters to the Corinthians, is said to have been one of these. Clement, in the fifth of his Hypotyposes or Institutions, in which he also mentions Cephas, of whom Paul also says, that he came to Antioch, and "that he withstood him to his face;" — says, that one who had the same name with Peter the Apostle, was one of the seventy; and that Matthias, who was numbered with the apostles in place of Judas, and he who had been honoured to be a candidate with him, are also said to have been deemed worthy of the same calling with the seventy. They also say that Thaddeus was one of them; concerning whom I shall presently relate a narrative that has come down to us. Moreover, if any one observe with attention, he will find more disciples of our Saviour than the seventy, on the testimony of Paul, who says, that " he appeared after his resurrection, first to Cephas, then to the twelve, and after these to five hundred brethren at once." Of whom, he says, " some are fallen asleep," but the greater part were living at the time he wrote. Afterwards, he says, he appeared to James; he however was not merely one of these disciples of our Saviour, but he was one of his brethren. Lastly, when beside these, there still was a considerable number who were apostles in imitation of the twelve, such as Paul himself, he adds, saying, " afterwards he appeared to all the apostles."
This account may suffice respecting these apostles; but the history of Thaddeus, already mentioned by us, was as follows.
CHAPTER XIII.
NARRATIVE RESPECTING THE PRINCE OF EDESSA.
The divinity of our Lord and Saviour Christ, being proclaimed abroad among all men, in consequence of his wonder-working power, attracted immense numbers, both from abroad and from the remotest parts of Judea, with the hope of being cured of their diseases and various afflictions. Agbarus, therefore, who reigned over the nations beyond the Euphrates with great glory, and who had been wasted away with a disease, both dreadful and incurable by human means, when he heard the name of Jesus frequently mentioned, and his miracles unanimously attested by all, sent a suppliant message to him, by a letter-carrier, entreating a deliverance from his disease. But, though he did not yield to his call at that time, he nevertheless condescended to write him a private letter, and to send one of his disciples to heal his disorder; at the same time, promising salvation to him and all his relatives. And it was not long before the promise was fulfilled. After the resurrection, however, and his return to heaven, Thomas, one of the twelve apostles, by a divine impulse, sent Thaddeus, who was also one of the seventy disciples, to Edessa, as a herald and evangelist of the doctrines of Christ. And by his agency all the promises of our Saviour were fulfilled. Of this, also, we have the evidence, in a written answer, taken from the public records of the city of Edessa, then under the government of the king. For in the public registers there, which embrace the ancient history and the transactions of Agbaras, these circumstances respecting him are found still preserved down to the present day. There is nothing, however, like hearing the epistles themselves, taken by us from the archives, and the style of it, as it has been literally translated by us, from the Syriac language:
Copy of the letter written by king Agbarus, to Jesus, and sent to him, at Jerusalem, by Ananias, the courier.
Agbarus, prince of Edessa, sends greeting to Jesus the excellent Saviour, who has appeared in the borders of Jerusalem. I have heard the reports respecting thee and thy cures, as performed by thee without medicines and without the use of herbs. For as it is said, thou causest the blind to see again, the lame to walk, and thou cleansest the lepers, and thou castest out impure spirits and demons, and thou healest those that are tormented by long disease, and thou raisest the dead. And hearing all these things of thee, I concluded in my mind one of two things: either that thou art God, and having descended from heaven, doest these things, or else doing them, thou art the son of God. Therefore, now I have written and besought thee to visit me, and to heal the disease with which I am afflicted. I have, also, heard that the Jews murmur against thee, and are plotting to injure thee; I have, however, a very small but noble state, which is sufficient for us both."
This epistle he thus wrote, whilst yet somewhat enlightened by the rays of divine truth. It is, also, worth the time to learn the epistle sent to him from Jesus, by the same bearer, which, though very brief, is yet fall of power, written in the following style:
The answer of Jesus, to king Agbarus, by the courier, Ananias.
" Blessed art thou, O Agbarus, who, without seeing, hast believed in me. For it is written concerning me, that they who have seen me, will not believe, that they who have not seen, may believe and live. But in regard to what thou hast written, that I should come to thee, it is necessary that I should fulfil all things here, for which I have been sent. And after this fulfilment, thus to be received again by Him that sent me. And after I have been received up, I will send to thee a certain one of my disciples, that he may heal thy affliction, and give life to thee and to those who are with thee."
To these letters there was, also, subjoined in the Syriac language: "After the ascension of Jesus, Judas, who is also called Thomas, sent him Thaddeus, the apostle, one of the seventy; who, when he came, remained at the house of Tobias, the son of Tobias. When the report was circulated concerning his arrival, and he became publicly known by the miracles which he performed, it was communicated to Agbarus, that an apostle of Jesus had come thither, as he had written. Thaddeus, therefore, began in the power of God to heal every kind of disease and infirmity; so that all were amazed. But when Agbarus heard the great deeds and miracles which he performed, and how he healed men in the name and power of Jesus Christ, he began to suspect that this was the very person concerning whom Jesus had written, saying, After I have been received up again, I will send to thee one of my disciples, who shall heal thy affliction. Having, therefore, sent for Tobias, with whom he staid, I have heard, said he, that a certain powerful man, who hath come from Jerusalem, is staying at thy house, and is performing many cures in the name of Jesus. He answered, Yea, my lord, a certain stranger has come, who hath lodged with me, and is performing many wonders. And he replied. Bring him to me. Tobias, then, returning to Thaddeus, said to him, Agbarus the king having sent for me, has told me to conduct thee to him, that thou mayest heal his disorder. And Thaddeus replied, I will go, since I have been sent with power, to him. Tobias, therefore, arose early the next day, and taking Thaddeus with him, came to Agbarus. When he came, his nobles were present, and stood around. Immediately on his entrance, something extraordinary appeared to Agbarus, in the countenance of the apostle Thaddeus ; which Agbarus observing, paid him reverence. But all around were amazed ; for they did not perceive the vision which appeared to Agbarus alone : he then asked Agbarus whether he were truly a disciple of Jesus the Son of God, who had said to him, I will send one of my disciples to thee, who will heal thy sickness, and will give life to thee and to all thy connexions? And Thaddeus answered. Since thou hast had great confidence in the Lord Jesus, who hath sent me, therefore, I am sent to thee. And, moreover, if thou believest in him, with increasing faith, the petitions of thy heart shall be granted thee, as thou believest. And Agbarus replied. So much did I believe in him that I had formed the resolution to take forces, in order to destroy those Jews who had crucified him, had I not been deterred from my purpose by a regard for the Roman empire. Thaddeus replied, Our Lord and God, Jesus the Christ, hath fulfilled the will of his Father, and having fulfilled it, was taken up again to his Father. Agbarus saith to him, I have believed both in him and in his Father. Then said Thaddeus, Therefore, I place my hand upon thee in the name of the same Lord Jesus. And this being done, he was immediately healed of the sickness and sufferings with which he was afflicted. And Agbarus was amazed, that just as he had heard respecting Jesus, so in very deed he received it through his disciple and apostle Thaddeus, who had healed him without any medicine and herbs, and not only him, but Abdas also, the son of Abdas, who was afflicted with the podagra. He also, approaching, fell down at his feet, and received his benediction, with the imposition of his hand, and was healed. Many of the same city were also healed by the same apostle, who performed wonderful and great deeds, and proclaimed the word of God. After this, said Agbarus, Thaddeus, thou doest these things by the power of God, and we are filled with wonder. But, beside these things, I request thee, also, to inform me respecting the coming of Jesus, how he was born, and as to his power, with what power he performed these things which we have heard. And Thaddeus answered. Now, indeed, 1 will not tell thee, since I have been sent to proclaim the word abroad ; but to-morrow assemble all thy citizens, and before them I will proclaim the word of God, and will sow among them the word of life, both respecting the coming of Jesus, as he was, and respecting his mission, and for what purpose he was sent by the Father ; also, concerning the power of his works, and the mysteries which he declared in the world ; by what power, also, he did these things, concerning his new mode of preaching, his lowly and abject condition, his humiliation in his external appearance, how he humbled himself, and died, and lowered his divinity ; what things, also, he suffered from the Jews ; how he was crucified, and descended into hell, (hades,) and burst the bars which had never yet been broken, and rose again, and also raised with himself the dead that had slept for ages. And how he descended alone, but ascended with a great multitude to his Father. And how he sitteth at the right hand of God and the Father, with glory, in the heavens ; and how he is about to come again with glory and power, to judge the living and dead. — Agbarus, therefore, commanded his subjects to be called early in the morning, and to hear the annunciation of Thaddeus ; and after this, he commanded gold and silver to be given him ; but he would not receive it, saying, If we have left our own, how shall we take what belongs to others? These things were done in the three hundred and fortieth year. Which also, we have literally translated from the Syriac language, opportunely as we hope, and not without profit.
- ↑ God word. The literal expression is retained here.
- ↑ Commentaries. Eusebius here refers to two other works of his, written before this history, his Preparation and Demonstration.
- ↑ Christ. Christ and Messiah, the same epithets in different languages, signify anointed, or the anointed one.
- ↑ Jesus. By some corruption of the name of Joshua, Eusebius calls him Auses. Jesus is the Greek form, for the more Hebrew Joshua. The Septuagint invariably use the former, and in one instance it is retained in our English version. Heb. iv. 8.
- ↑ This passage from Jeremiah is rendered as the above from the Septuagint, as quoted by Eusebius. In our English version, the force of the allusion is not perceptible, and one might look in vain for the passage as rendered here ; but the Hebrew fully admits the Greek version here given.
- ↑ Quirinius. — This Quirinius is the same Cyrenius mentioned by St. Luke. The former is the original Roman name, the latter the Latin mode oi transferring the name from the Greek. Had it been recollected that the Greek name was not the original, this proper name would not have been returned to its own language, in a form so disguised.
- ↑ This celebrated passage we here give after the Septuagint, which Eusebius invariably quotes.
- ↑ The word γειςραις, used here byEusebius, is taken from the Septuagint, Exod. xii. 19. It is evidently a corruption of the Hebrew word nj, a stranger, and is interpreted by Theodoret, in loc. stranger.
- ↑ The word desposynos signifies, in general, one who belongs to a master; it is here applied according to the usage of the primitive church, to indicate the relatives of our Lord, as those who were the Lord's according to the flesh. Suidas explains the words παις του δεσποτου εχτι.