Epiphanius on the Ebionites

[Secret Alias]

I just want to say the morning after my discovery that IF I am correct THEN early Christian identity was largely shaped by the predictive expectation of Daniel chapter 12:

“At that time Michael, the great prince who protects your people, will arise. There will be a time of distress such as has not happened from the beginning of nations until then. But at that time your people—everyone whose name is found written in the book—will be delivered. 2 Multitudes who sleep in the dust of the earth will awake: some to everlasting life, others to shame and everlasting contempt. 3 And the gnostics (ha maskilim) will shine like the brightness (yeziru kezohar) of the heavens, and those who lead many to righteousness, like the stars for ever and ever (think about Philo and Paul's understanding of God's promise to Abraham as astral translation and Clement of Alexandria's understanding of an astral origin i.e. the milky way with the Christian sacraments of giving milk to new initiates). 4 But you, Daniel, roll up and seal the words of the scroll until the time of the end. Many will go here and there to increase knowledge (hadaat).”

5 Then I, Daniel, looked, and there before me stood two others, one on this bank of the river and one on the opposite bank. 6 One of them said to the man clothed in linen, who was standing above the waters of the river, “How long will it be before these wonders (hapelaut) are fulfilled?”

7 The man clothed in linen, who was above the waters of the river, lifted his right hand and his left hand toward heaven, and I heard him swear by him who lives forever, saying, “It will be for a time, times and half a time. When the power of the holy people has been finally broken, all these things will be completed.”

8 I heard (shamati), but I did not perceive/understand (welo avin). So I asked, “My lord, what will the outcome of all this be?”

9 He replied, “Go your way, Daniel, because the words are rolled up and sealed until the time of the end. (this has echoes of gospel language)10 Many will be purified, made white (cf. Irenaeus and the Marcosians) and refined, but the wicked will continue to be wicked. The wicked will not understand (welo yavinu), but the gnostics will know (hamaskilim yavinu). (this seems to parallel the parables of the gospels regarding mysteries imperceptible to those outside)

11 “From the time that the daily sacrifice is abolished and the abomination that causes desolation is set up, there will be 1,290 days. 12 Blessed is the one who waits for and reaches the end of the 1,335 days.

13 “As for you, go your way till the end. You will rest, and then at the end of the days you will rise to receive your allotted inheritance.”

Irenaeus reports on the followers of Mark using this passage from Daniel contextualizing their gnostic religion. I wonder whether 'the Ebionites' then - who happen to have a gospel with Markan features - are simply those who identify as those - predicted by Daniel - who would undergo some purification ritual which made them 'understand' or perceive all the things known to Daniel.

[Secret Alias]

If you notice too many of these same terminologies make their way in to Jewish mysticism - i.e. maskilim, zohar etc. I am going to look for whether 'I know/I perceive' is used in a special way among Jewish mystics.

[Secret Alias]

Some curious "I know" allusions in Paul:

"I know a man in Christ ... " third heaven etc i.e. as part of a heavenly ascent

Also the odd gnostic confession in 1 Corinthians 13 which is now contextualized STRANGELY in a section which devalues gnosis in favor of love but on its own sounds like it is derived from Daniel 12 and represents the fulfillment of some sort of gnostic initiation

For we know in part and we prophesy in part, 10 but when completeness comes, what is in part disappears. 11 When I was a child, I talked like a child, I thought like a child, I reasoned like a child. When I became a man, I put the ways of childhood behind me. 12 For now we see only a reflection as in a mirror; then we shall see face to face. Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I am fully known.

[Secret Alias]

Origen οἱ πτωχοὶ τῇ διανοίᾳ

[Ben C. Smith]

Origen οἱ πτωχοὶ τῇ διανοίᾳ

Surely neither a compliment nor a self designation.

[Secret Alias]

A common thing in Semitic literature. So Marcion is always polishing or cleansing (maroq) in Ephrem.

[Secret Alias]

I think the "poor in understanding" is a Semitic play on words.

[Secret Alias]

'I know' as part of the gnostic baptism ritual according to the Hebrew speaking Marcosians. After ascending up the planetary spheres the initiate then:

advances to the companions of the Demiurge, and thus addresses them:--"I am a vessel more precious than the female who formed you. If your mother is ignorant of her own descent, I know myself, and am aware whence I am, and I call upon the incorruptible Sophia, who is in the Father, and is the mother of your mother, who has no father, nor any male consort; but a female springing from a female formed you, while ignorant of her own mother, and imagining that she alone existed; but I call upon her mother.

Clement stress its appearance in the Wisdom of Solomon:

And so it is said in the book of Wisdom: "For He hath given me the unerring knowledge of things that exist, to know the constitution of the word," and so forth, down to "and the virtues of roots." Among all these he comprehends natural science, which treats of all the phenomena in the world of sense. And in continuation, he alludes also to intellectual objects in what he subjoins: "And what is hidden or manifest I know; for Wisdom, the artificer of all things, taught me." You have, in brief, the professed aim of our philosophy; and the learning of these branches, when pursued with right course of conduct, leads through Wisdom, the artificer of all things, to the Ruler of all, -- a Being difficult to grasp and apprehend, ever receding and withdrawing from him who pursues. But He who is far off has -- oh ineffable marvel! -- come very near.

The gnostic knows himself:

And the divine apostle furnishes the rule for the Gnostic in these words, writing as follows: "For I have learned, in whatsoever state I am, to be content. I know both how to be abased, and I know how to abound. Everywhere and in all things I am instructed both to be full and to be hungry, both to abound and to lack. I can do all things through Him who strengtheneth me."

The Pauline gnostic knows through 'I know':

"For I know," says the apostle, "that when I come to you, I shall come in the fulness of the blessing of Christ;" designating the spiritual gift, and the gnostic communication, which being present he desires to impart to them present as "the fulness of Christ, according to the revelation of the mystery sealed in the ages of eternity, but now manifested by the prophetic Scriptures, according to the command of the eternal God, made known to all the nations, in order to the obedience of faith," that is, those of the nations who believe that it is. But only to a few of them is shown what those things are which are contained in the mystery.

[Secret Alias]

Also 1 John 2:4 makes clear that knowing Jesus was core to the movement:

"Whoever says, 'I know him,' but does not do what he commands is a liar, and the truth is not in that person."

So the essence of Christian identity in the early Church was knowing Jesus. Is Jesus the fulfillment of the mystery of Daniel 12?

[John2]

And I've fallen behind at work, so I'm going to have to sleep on what you and Neil have offered today. The only thing I'm wondering at the moment (and I don't recall or have time right now to check if Nathan mentioned it, and assuming the citation I gave upthread is correct) is what would have given Lightfoot the idea that Rabbi Abin was "a founder of sects."

Where does the exact phrase "founder of sects" come from? In the passage that I found, Lightfoot himself says, "We find the names of some archheretics mentioned in the Talmuds, though we cannot say they were the same men."

It's from that old book I linked to upthread:

... Lightfoot says that he is mentioned in the Jerusalem Talmud as a founder of sects.


https://books.google.com/books?id=WA1QA ... ud&f=false

Of course I can't do anything with this if no one can find what Lightfoot supposedly saw. And now that I take another look at the book (I had copied it from an older thread), I see I had typed it wrong. It actually says, "Lightfoot says that he [Ebion] is mentioned in the Jerusalem Talmud as one of the founders of sects."

But if Lightfoot mistook Rabbi Abin for Ebion, I'd still like to see the passage that gave him the impression that he was "one of the founders of sects" (which I take to mean minim and thus as a pejorative). And where is the above passage you mention that refers to archheretics from? (Sorry if you've mentioned it already.)

Curiously, the Wikipedia page for the first Abin says:

... he is also cited frequently in the Jerusalem Talmud ... Among the amoraim named "Abin", R. Abin is the only one who is known simply by his name.


https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Abin_I

That sounds very tantalizing, but I don't get the impression (and maybe I'm wrong to have this impression from the above book) that Abin was "one of the founders of sects," i.e., minim, i.e., that he was a bad guy, since the page for him also says:

He was one of R. Yochanan bar Nafcha's most prominent pupils. As a young man he even managed to study under Judah ha-Nasi, and had delivered statements in his name. However, he acquired most of his Torah knowledge from his principle teacher R. Yochanan bar Nafcha.

Abin's sayings are mentioned many times in the Babylonian Talmud, mainly as an halakhic inquiry ... Among his colleagues was Jeremiah (I), who was one of the elders pupils of Yochanan bar Nafcha, and said to R. Abbahu that for this reason his and Jeremiah (I), Abin I, and R. Measha's opinions should be preferred over the opinions of R. Abbahu, R. Isaac Nappaha, and R. Hanina bar Papi.

So I can only scratch my head.