Did Epiphanius Identify James as the Naked from Hegesippus?

[Secret Alias]

And I see no evidence of James's age from the material cited from Hegesippus. Do you have something?

[Secret Alias]

In the Chronicle (Armenian version) Eusebius records the martyrdom of Symeon, the martyrdom of Ignatius, and Pliny's trials of the Christians between the tenth and the eleventh years of Trajan's reign - c. 107/108 CE. As Hegesippus identifies Symeon as 120 when he died he was born c. 12 BCE. This is roughly the same age as Jesus if he was thirty years of age in a gospel set in 20/21 CE which seems to have been the earliest dating known to Josephus and the Acts of Pilate tradition. If Epiphanius derived his idea of James being 96 years of age in 68 CE based on similar information only 'reconciled' with a 30 - 33 CE crucifixion (so adding 10 years) this seems to make sense.

[Secret Alias]

Hegesippus (in Eusebius):

James, the brother of the Lord, succeeded to the government of the Church in conjunction with the apostles. He has been called the Just by all from the time of our Saviour to the present day; for there were many that bore the name of James. He was holy from his mother's womb; and he drank no wine nor strong drink, nor did he eat flesh. No razor came upon his head; he did not anoint himself with oil, and he did not use the bath. He alone was permitted to enter into the holy place; for he wore not woolen but linen garments. And he was in the habit of entering alone into the temple, and was frequently found upon his knees begging forgiveness for the people, so that his knees became hard like those of a camel, in consequence of his constantly bending them in his worship of God, and asking forgiveness for the people.

Epiphanius's first reference:

No iron implement had touched his head, he had never visited a bath house, had never eaten meat.41 He did not own a change of clothing and wore only a threadbare linen garment, as it says in the Gospel, "The young man fled, and left the cloth where with he was clad."

Epiphanius's second reference:

He never put on a woolen garment. From their continual kneeling before the Lord with extreme piety, his knees grew as hard as camels'. He was no longer addressed by name; his name was “The Just.” He never washed in the bath house, did not eat meat, as I have already said, and did not put on a sandal. And a great deal could be said about James and his virtuous life

[Secret Alias]

Andrew, I don't think Epiphanius is saying the naked youth is like James. Epiphanius is saying the naked youth is James.

[Secret Alias]

It is also interesting that Epiphanius has the same habit of citing material from Hegesippus TWO TIMES in the Panarion. We wouldn't know that he was citing Hegesippus here or during the discussion of Marcellina coming to Rome. But it is uncanny that he goes back both times in order to cite the material twice. Hegesippus had quite the influence on the bishop of Salamis.

[Secret Alias]

In Hegesippus we see James "did not use the bath. He alone was permitted to enter into the holy place." This is clearly derived from the Gospel according to the Hebrews cited by Jerome. In Epiphanius it is the same structure but another gospel passage is cited - a passage from the canonical gospels - "he had never visited a bath house ... He did not own a change of clothing and wore only a threadbare linen garment, as it says in the Gospel, "The young man fled, and left the cloth where with he was clad." Not sure if he is actually deriving this teaching from Hegesippus or just confusing passages from the gospel or substituting a canonical example for an extra-canonical one. The second reference has him essentially remembering the contents albeit in a jumbled order "He never washed in the bath house, did not eat meat, as I have already said, and did not put on a sandal."

[Secret Alias]

As Hartin, James of Jerusalem, 123, commented: “The idea of 'camel's knees' resulting from long periods of kneeling does not reflect a Jewish form of piety.”

[Giuseppe]

Some suggestions (after I will order them):

the young man	the James of Hegesippus	James the brother of Lord of Gal 1:19
Is he the young rich who gives up his money?	He was holy from his mother's womb; and he drank no wine nor strong drink, nor did he eat flesh. No razor came upon his head; he did not anoint himself with oil, and he did not use the bath.	he is a mere baptized Christian.
In Secret Mark the young rich did know the mysteries of the Kingdom of God. He is the young man found alone in the tomb (allegory of the destroyed Temple of Jerusalem)	He alone was permitted to enter into the holy place; for he wore not woolen but linen garments. And he was in the habit of entering alone into the temple, and was frequently found upon his knees begging forgiveness for the people, so that his knees became hard like those of a camel, in consequence of his constantly bending them in his worship of God, and asking forgiveness for the people.	Only brother James was allowed to see the alter Christus during his first visit to Jerusalem: Paul.
The young man leaves his line cloth and receives it again. Curiously, in Acts 7:58 he is Paul the servant of the priest who receives their lines cloth: "Meanwhile, the witnesses laid their coats at the feet of a young man named Saul".	"Now the Lord, when he had given the linen cloth to the servant of the priest, went to James and appeared to him	Brother James is merely a servant, a mere witness of the meeting between Paul and Peter/Cephas/Caiaphas.

[Giuseppe]

Possible reconstruction:

1) the James of Gal 1:19 is only a mere baptized Christian.

2) Mark does the young man an allegory of the ''Christian Born Again'' by baptism (allegorized by his white line cloth).

3) Legend is born about this 'young man' with the writing of Secret Mark. Is he Paul?

4) in anti-marcionite function, Acts of Apostles is written. And particularly:

"Meanwhile, the witnesses laid their coats at the feet of a young man named Saul"

(Acts 7:58)
Saul/Paul, far from being naked - note the irony: far from being the 'young man' - , receives all the ''coats'' of the sinner killers of Stephan (not still identified with James the Just). Saul/Paul is the most sinner man among men.

5) Hegesippus invented an entire earthly family for Jesus in reaction to Marcion (so Marks Vinzent in his Christ's Resurrection).
Hegesippus makes James the 'young man' and not more Paul.

My conclusion:
this proves, in my eyes, that for Mark the ''young man'' is allegory of all the baptized Christians.

[Giuseppe]

Where the same proto-catholics confirm the Richard Carrier's view about Gal 1:19:


1) Mark: the young man is symbol of the baptized Christian par excellence.

2) Hegesippus: the young man is James the brother of Jesus.

3) Therefore, per 1 & 2, Galatians 1:19: James the brother of Lord is a mere baptized Christian.