Biblical Criticism & History Forum - earlywritings.com

Epiphanius, writing in the Fourth Century CE, addresses that prophecy to support the idea that the descendants of David continued through the Hasmoneans up until Herod, whom became the first non-Davidic ruler, and thus the harbinger of the Christ (since the scepter is not passed to Herod) Epiphaniu...

Somehow I get the impression that many ancient author lied about the extent of their archived works, or claimed to have deposited in libraries what others had actually done (including any editing). Isn't Julius Africanus' authorship of the Cesti seriously disputed? I mean, Eusebius and others though...

Peter & Bernard,

Can we have an intermission so I can buy more popcorn?

Ted, Strangely enough, my pants seem to be on fire. If something was commonly seen when folks were crucified, such as soldiers dividing up clothing items between them, maybe even by gambling, or it was heard that Judas had somehow betrayed Jesus, it is not a great step to "fill in" additio...

Ben C. Smith wrote:David, when can we expect the next Ignatian installment?

Ben.

Working on Trallians as we speak.

Had a family event last week, so didn't have time then. Otherwise, I hope to do one a week, although I'll skip the Greek letters attributed to him that do not have a short form.

Of Paul’s seven letters generally considered authentic, episkopos is found, as I indicated, only once --- in Philippians 1:1. The same thing is true of another word of interest, i.e., 'savior' (Philippians 3:20).) Yes, as the noun, soter , for “savior”, just the once. And the author of gMark didn’t...

When did the concept of the Shem ha Mephorash surface in written documents? What are some old qabalistic texts that discuss them? What are some contemporary sources that are the most thorough in discussing the Shem ha Mephorash? Thanks! Stella, Concepts developed in medieval times probably won't be...

Barnabas 15.9 (translation by B. Ehrman in the Loeb edition): Therefore also we celebrate the eighth day with gladness, for on it Jesus arose from the dead, and appeared, and ascended into heaven [ ἐν ᾗ καὶ ὁ Ἰησοῦς ἀνέστη ἐκ νεκρῶν καὶ φανερωθεὶς ἀνέβη εἰς οὐρανοίς ]. Granted that the eighth day i...

The phrase I always found most puzzling in Eusebius' quotation is "ὡς ἔφην". The quotation (direct or indirect?) is framed by two statements of Eusebius: The voice of Eusebius: : 14 And in his own writing he [Papias] also hands down other accounts of the aforementioned Aristion of the wor...

Doesn't this really only tell us that Papias thought Mark (or the author of gMark) was an interpreter of Peter? His opinion may have been based on his interpretation of that which he had heard verbally in interviews with those who purported to have some personal knowledge of these matters, but he ma...