EBIONITES

The 'Ebionites' (Greek: 'Ebionaioi' from Hebrew; 'אביונים', 'Evyonim', "the Poor Ones") were an early Jewish Christian sect that lived in and around the land of Israel from the 1st to the 5th century CE.^[1]
Without authenticated archaeological evidence for the existence of the Ebionites, their views and practices can only be reconstructed from textual references, while their history remains a matter of contention. Much of what is known about them derives from the Church Fathers, who wrote polemics against the Ebionites, whom they deemed judaizing heretics.^[2]
Modern scholars, aiming at elucidating on the views, practices and history of the Ebionites draw on other sources as well as the Church Fathers, with some agreeing with the substance of the traditional portrayal,^[3][4] while others challenging it.^[5][6][7]
The Ebionites are often distinguished from the Nazarenes, another Jewish Christian sect^[8], though some scholars, e.g. Harnack, consider the two names as references to the same sect.

Jesus's expounding of the Law during the Sermon on the Mount may have been a central issue to Jewish Christians such as the Ebionites. ''Image: The Sermon on the Mount by Carl Heinrich Bloch, 1890''

Contents

Name

History

Legacy

Views and practices

Judaism

Jewish or Gnostic Christianity

Essenism

Jesus

Other Figures

Writings

Archaeology

Religious perspectives

References

Primary sources

Name

The term 'Ebionites' derives from the Hebrew 'Evyonim', meaning "the Poor Ones".
Poverty, especially characteristic of the early Christians of Jerusalem, evoked from the Pagans and Jews the contemptuous appellation of "the poor". Christians however adopted the term as a reference to religious poverty, in line with Jesus' Sermon on the Mount^[9][10]
The Greek equivalent ''ptôchoi'' appears in the New Testament, possibly as an honorary title of the Jerusalem church.^[11] The term also has parallels the Psalms and the self-given term of pious Jewish circles^[12]
The term was at first a common designation for all Christians. Following schisms within the early Church, the graecized Hebrew term "Ebionite" was applied exclusively to Jewish Christians separated from the developing Pauline Christianity, and later in the fourth century a specific group of Jewish Christians or to a Jewish Christian sect distinct from the Nazarenes. All the while, the designation "the Poor" in other languages was still used in its original, more general sense.
The divergent application of "Ebionite" persists today, as some authors choose to label all Jewish Christians, even before the mentioned schism, as Ebionites, while others, though agreeing about the historical events, use it in a more restricted sense. Mainstream scholarship commonly uses the term in the restricted sense.
Origen reinterpreted the name Ebionites as a reference to "their low views of Christ".^[13] Another inaccurate explanation was put forth by Tertullian, who derived the name from a fictional heresiarch called Ebion.

History

The Ebionites are mentioned or referred to by various Fathers of the Church. The earliest reference to a group that might fit the description of the Ebionites appears in Justin Martyr's ''Dialogue with Trypho'' (c. 140). Justin distinguishes between Jewish Christians who observe the Law of Moses but do not require its observance of others, and those who believe the Mosaic Law to be obligatory on all.^[14] Irenaeus (c. 180) was the first to use the term "Ebionites" to describe a heretical judaizing sect, which he regarded as stubbornly clinging to the Law.^[15] Origen in c. 212 remarks that the name derives from the Hebrew word "evyon," meaning "poor."^[16] Epiphanius of Salamis in the 4th century gives the most complete but also questionable account in his heresiology called ''Panarion'', denouncing eighty heretical sects, among them the Ebionites.^[17][18] Epiphanius mostly gives general descriptions of their religious beliefs and includes quotations from their gospels, which have not survived.
The actual scope of the term Ebionites is difficult to ascertain, as the contradictory patristic accounts in their attempt to distinguish various sects, sometimes confuse them with each other. Other groups mentioned are the Carpocratians, the Cerinthians, the Elcesaites, the Nasoraeans, the Nazarenes, the Nazoraeans, and the Sampsaeans, most of whom were Jewish Christian sects who held gnostic or other views rejected by the Ebionites. Epiphanius, however, mentions that a group of Ebionites came to embrace some of these views despite keeping their name.^[19]
As the Ebionites are first mentioned as such in the 2nd century, their earlier history and their relation to the first Jerusalem church remains obscure and a matter of contention. Many scholars link the origin of the Ebionites with the First Jewish-Roman War. Prior to this, they are considered to be part of the Jerusalem church led by the Apostle Peter and later by Jesus' brother James. Eusebius relates a tradition, probably based on Aristo of Pella, that the early Christians left Jerusalem just prior to the war and fled to Pella beyond the Jordan River.^[4][3] They were led by Simeon of Jerusalem (d. 107) and during the Second Jewish-Roman War, they were persecuted by the Jewish followers of Bar Kochba for refusing to recognize his messianic claims.^[19]
According to these scholars, it was beyond the Jordan, that the Nazarenes/Ebionites were first recognized as a distinct group when some Jewish Christians receded farther from mainstream Christianity, and approximated more and more closely to Rabbinical Judaism, resulting in a "degeneration" into an exclusively Jewish sect. Some from these groups later opened themselves to either Jewish Gnostic (and possibly Essene) or syncretic influences, such as the book of Elchasai.^[23] The latter influence places some Ebionites in the context of the gnostic movements widespread in Syria and the lands to the east.^[24]
In contrast to the re-judaizing "degeneration" view, scholars James Tabor and Robert Eisenman argue that the Ebionites developed from non-gnostic messianic Essenism, being initially the Jewish followers of John the Baptist, whom they regarded as a priestly Aaronic Messiah. After John's death they continued to follow the ministry of Jesus, who had been baptised into the movement by John, and whom they regarded as the royal Davidic Messiah. These scholars relate that, at some point around this time, or slightly later, the movement organized itself into communes in several cities.
Further Eisenman and Tabor closely link the Ebionites with the Jerusalem church under Jesus' brother James the Just, who became leader after Jesus' death. These scholars define the Ebionites by their conflict with Pauline Christianity, under James or later. They identify the Ebionites with the "judaizing teachers" that opposed and were denounced by the Apostle Paul^[25] and the men from Judea who according to the Acts of the Apostles insisted that Gentile converts had to be circumcised to attain salvation.^[26]
They consider the first bishops of Jerusalem, Jesus' brother James and Simeon of Jerusalem (whom they consider another of Jesus' brothers), as heads of the Ebionite movement. After James' martyrdom (62 CE), they record the Ebionites' flight to Pella under Simeon's leadership. After Simeon's martyrdom (107 CE) the group's activities become unclear.
After the end of the First Jewish-Roman War, the importance of the Jerusalem church began to fade. Jewish Christianity became dispersed throughout the Jewish diaspora in the Levant, where it was slowly eclipsed by gentile Christianity, which then spread throughout the Roman Empire without competition from "judaizing" Christian groups.^[27] Once the Jerusalem church, still headed by Jesus' relatives, was eliminated during the Bar Kokhba revolt in 135, the Ebionites gradually lost influence and followers. This decline was due to marginalization and persecution by both Jews and Christians.^[28] Following the defeat of the rebellion and the expulsion of all Jews from Judea, Jerusalem became the Gentile city of Aelia Capitolina. Many of the Jewish Christians residing at Pella renounced their Jewish practices at this time and joined to the mainstream Christian church. Those who remained at Pella and continued in obedience to the Law were deemed heretics.^[29] In 375, Epiphanius records the settlement of Ebionites on Cyprus, but by the mid-5th century, Theodoret of Cyrrhus reported that they were no longer present in the region. Most historians place the end of the Ebionites during this time.

Map showing the region of Hejaz outlined in red

However, some scholars argue that the Ebionites survived much longer and identify them with a sect encountered by the historian Abd al-Jabbar around the year 1000.^[30] Another possible reference to surviving Ebionite communities in northwestern Arabia, specifically the cities of Tayma and Tilmas, around the 11th century, appears in ''Sefer Ha'masaot,'' the "Book of the Travels" of Rabbi Benjamin of Tudela, a rabbi from Spain.^[31] 12th century Muslim historian Muhammad al-Shahrastani, in his book ''Kitab al–Milal wa al-Nihal'', the "Book of Sects and Creeds", mentions Jews living in nearby Medina and Hejaz who accepted Jesus as a prophetic figure and followed traditional Judaism, rejecting mainstream Christian views.^[32] Some scholars argue that they contributed to the development of the Islamic view of Jesus due to exchanges of Ebionite remnants with the first Muslims.^[33]

Legacy

In the late 20th and early 21st centuries, several small yet competing new religious movements, such as the Ebionite Jewish Community and others, have emerged claiming to be revivalists of the views and practices of early Ebionites,^[34] although their idiosyncratic claims to authenticity cannot be verified.
The counter-missionary group Jews for Judaism favorably mentions the historical Ebionites in their literature in order to argue that "Messianic Judaism", as promoted by missionary groups such as Jews for Jesus, is Pauline Christianity misrepresenting itself as Judaism.^[35]
Some Messianic groups have expressed concern over leaders in Israel that deny Jesus' divinity and the possible collapse of the Messianic movement due to a resurgence of Ebionitism.^[36][37]
In a recent polemic, a Messianic leader asked whether Christians should imitate the Torah-observance of "neo-Ebionites".^[38]

Views and practices

Judaism

Most patristic sources portray the Ebionites as traditional yet ascetic Jews, who zealously followed the Law of Moses, revered Jerusalem as the holiest city, and restricted table fellowship only to Gentiles who converted to Judaism. They celebrated a commemorative meal annually^[39], on or around Passover, with unleavened bread and water only, in contrast to the daily Christian Eucharist.^[40][41]

Jewish or Gnostic Christianity

Epiphanius of Salamis is the only Church Father who describes some Ebionites as departing from traditional Jewish principles of faith and practice; specifically by engaging in excessive ritual bathing,^[42] possessing an angelology which claimed that the Christ is a great archangel who was incarnated in Jesus when he was adopted as the son of God,^[43] opposing animal sacrifice,^[44] denying parts or most of the Law,^[45] and practicing religious vegetarianism.^[46]
The reliability of Epiphanius' account of the Ebionites is questioned by some scholars.^[47] Shlomo Pines, for example, argues that the heterodox views and practices he ascribes to some Ebionites originated in Gnostic Christianity rather than Jewish Christianity, and are characteristics of the Elcesaite sect, which Epiphanius mistakenly attributed to the Ebionites.

Essenism

While mainstream biblical scholars do suppose some Essene influence on the nascent Jewish-Christian Church in some organizational, administrative and cultic respects, some scholars go beyond that assumption. Among them, some hold theories which have been discredited and others which remain controversial.^[48] Regarding the Ebionites specifically, a number of scholars have different theories on how the Ebionites may have developed from an Essene Jewish messianic sect.
Robert Eisenman, James Tabor, and Martin A. Larson argue that the Ebionites drew much of their original inspiration from rules, customs, theology, beliefs, and even their similarity in names from the Essenes through the founding influence of John the Baptist.James Tabor, ''Nazarenes and Ebionites''^[49] The fact that both the Qumran community and the Jerusalem church under James the Just referred to themselves by many epithets, including "the poor"; the religious vegetarianism of some Essene communities and of the Ebionite leaders John the Baptist, Jesus (as portrayed in the Gospel of the Ebionites) and James the Just;^[50][46] and the shared customs of religious poverty, religious communism and ritual bathing of the Ebionites and the authors of the Dead Sea scrolls; are all cited as evidence for this view.^[52] Countering this view, some scholars argue that apparent similarities between John the Baptist and the Essenes may be attributed to more general traditions and practices of Second Temple Judaism, John the Baptist - Prophet of Purity for a New Age, Murphy, Catherine, , , Liturgical Press, Collegeville, MN, 2003, ISBN 0814659330 while others, such as James H. Charlesworth, whilst recognizing the influence of the Essenes on John the Baptist, consider a direct connection between the Essenes and Jesus or the early Jewish-Christians to be improbable, based on major differences in their approaches and objectives. Jesus and the Dead Sea Scrolls, Charlesworth, James, , , Charlesworth, James (ed.), Anchor Bible Reference Library, NY, 1992, ISBN 0385478445 The religious vegetarianism of the Essenes ''at Qumran'' is called into question by some following the discovery of pre-31 BCE animal bones at Qumran.^[53][54]
Hans-Joachim Schoeps argues that the conversion of some Essenes to Jewish Christianity after the Siege of Jerusalem in 70 CE may be the source of some Ebionites adopting Essene views and practices; while some conclude that the Essenes did not become Jewish Christians but still had an influence on the Ebionites.^[55]

Jesus

The majority of Church Fathers agree that the Ebionites rejected many of the central Christian views of Jesus such as the pre-existence, divinity, virgin birth, atoning death, and physical resurrection of Jesus. The Ebionites are described as emphasizing the oneness of God and the humanity of Jesus as the biological son of both Mary and Joseph, who by virtue of his righteousness, was chosen by God to be the messianic "prophet like Moses" (foretold in ''Deuteronomy'' 18:14–22) when he was anointed with the holy spirit at his baptism.^[56]
Of the books of the New Testament, the Ebionites are said to have accepted only a Hebrew version of the ''Gospel of Matthew'', referred to as the ''Gospel of the Hebrews'', as additional scripture to the Hebrew Bible. This version of ''Matthew'', Irenaeus reports, omitted the first two chapters (on the nativity of Jesus), and started with the baptism of Jesus by John.
The Ebionites believed that all Jews and Gentiles must observe the commandments in the Law of Moses, in order to become righteous and seek communion with God;^[57] but that these commandments must be understood in the light of Jesus' expounding of the Law, revealed during his sermon on the mount.^[58] The Ebionites may have held a form of "inaugurated eschatology" positing that the ministry of Jesus had ushered in the Messianic Age so that the kingdom of God might be understood as present in an incipient fashion, while at the same time awaiting consummation in the future age.

Other Figures

In one excerpt from the ''Gospel of the Ebionites'' quoted by Epiphanius, John the Baptist is portrayed as a vegetarian Nazirite teacher of righteousness. It is a matter of debate whether John was in fact a vegetarian (a notion reinforced by the "Slavonic version" of Josephus^[59]) or whether some Ebionites (or the related Elchasaite sect which Epiphanius took for Ebionites) were projecting their vegetarianism onto him.
Some scholars argue that the Ebionites may have claimed unique legitimacy in terms of apostolic succession from James the Just, the first bishop of Jerusalem, whom they believed the rightful leader of the Church (due to a patrilineal succession of relatives of Jesus) rather than Peter.^[50] Furthermore, they argue that the Ebionites viewed James as the legitimate high priest of Israel, by virtue of his righteousness, in opposition to the officially recognized high priest.
Patristic sources report Ebionites as denouncing Paul of Tarsus as an apostate from the Law of Moses. Epiphanius relates that some Ebionites alleged that Paul was a Greek who converted to Judaism in order to marry the daughter of a high priest of Israel but apostasized when she rejected him.^[61] Some scholars argue that Paul was an apostate and developed the early Christian church as a Gnostic Jewish mystery religion.

Writings

Few writings of the Ebionites have survived, and these are in uncertain form. The ''Recognitions of Clement'' and the ''Clementine Homilies'', two 3rd century Christian works, are regarded by general scholarly consensus as largely or entirely Jewish Christian in origin and reflect Jewish Christian beliefs. The exact relationship between the Ebionites and these writings is debated, but Epiphanius's description of some Ebionites in ''Panarion'' 30 bears a striking similarity to the ideas in the ''Recognitions'' and ''Homilies''. Scholar Glenn Alan Koch speculates that Epiphanius likely relied upon a version of the ''Homilies'' as a source document.
The 1908 Catholic Encyclopedia mentions four classes of Ebionite writings:^[62]

★ ''Gospel of the Ebionites''. According to Irenaeus, the Ebionites used only the ''Gospel of Matthew''. Eusebius of Caesarea (''Historia Ecclesiae'' IV, xxi, 8) mentions a ''Gospel of the Hebrews'', often identified as the Aramaic original of Matthew, written with Hebrew letters. Such a work was known to Hegesippus (according to Eusebius, ''Historia Eccl''., ), Origen (according to Jerome's De viris illustribus ii, and to Clement of Alexandria (''Strom.'', II, ix, 45). Epiphanius of Salamis attributes this gospel to Nazarenes, and claims that Ebionites only possessed an incomplete, falsified, and truncated copy. (''Adversus Haereses'', xxix, 9). The question remains whether or not Epiphanius was able to make a genuine distinction between Nazarenes and Ebionites.

★ New Testament apocrypha: The ''Circuits of Peter'' and ''Acts of the Apostles'', including the work usually titled the ''Ascents of James''. The first-named books are substantially contained in the Homilies of Clement under the title of Clement's ''Compendium of Peter's itinerary sermons'', and also in the ''Recognitions'' attributed to Clement. They form an early Christian didactic fiction to express Jewish Christian views, i.e. the primacy of James the Just, their connection with the episcopal see of Rome, and their antagonism to Simon Magus, as well as gnostic doctrines. Scholar Robert Van Voorst opines of the ''Ascents of James'' (R 1.33–71), "There is, in fact, no section of the Clementine literature about whose origin in Jewish Christianity one may be more certain". Despite this assertion, he expresses reservations that the material is genuinely Ebionite in origin.

★ The Works of Symmachus the Ebionite, i.e. his Koine Greek translation of the Hebrew Bible, used by Jerome, fragments of which exist, and his lost ''Hypomnemata'', written to counter the canonical Gospel of Matthew. The latter work, which is totally lost (Eusebius, ''Hist. Eccl.'', VI, xvii; Jerome, ''De vir.'' ill., liv), is probably identical with ''De distinctione præceptorum'', mentioned by Ebed Jesu (Assemani, ''Bibl. Or.'', III, 1).

★ The ''Book of Elchesai'' (Elxai), or of "The Hidden power", claimed to have been written about 100 CE and brought to Rome in c. 217 CE by Alcibiades of Apamea. Ebionites who accepted its gnostic doctrines were judged to be apostates and called Elcesaites. (Hipp., ''Philos.'', IX, xiv-xvii; Epiphanius., ''Adv. Haer.'', xix, 1; liii, 1.)
It is also speculated that the core of the ''Gospel of Barnabas'', beneath a polemical medieval Muslim overlay, may have been based upon an Ebionite or gnostic document.^[63] The existence and origin of this source continues to be debated by scholars.^[64]

Archaeology

Biblical scholar Jacob Rabinowitz suggested that artifacts discovered by Franciscan biblical archaeologists in Jerusalem, Hebron and Nazareth may have belonged to the first Ebionites. The artifacts, which include ossuaries, figurines and ritual objects, incorporate the cross as a decorative motif combined with other biblical symbols. The Franciscan archeologists believe they are the work of a late 3rd or 4th century heretical judaizing sect.^[65]

Religious perspectives

The mainstream Christian view of the Ebionites is based on the polemical views of the Church Fathers who portrayed them as heretics for rejecting many of the central Christian views of Jesus, and allegedly having an improper fixation on the Law of Moses at the expense of the grace of God.^[66] In this view, the Ebionites may have been the descendants of a Jewish Christian sect within the early Jerusalem church which broke away from its mainstream theology.^[67]
Some Christian apologists have criticized the quest for the historical Jesus as having resulted in a "revival of the Ebionite heresy".^[68] Some scholars with mainstream Christian beliefs are acknowledging the recent emphasis on the Jewishness of Jesus and his earliest followers, and commenting on how they reconciled the Jewish Jesus with the Christ of faith.^[69]
The mainstream Jewish view of the Ebionites is that they were Jewish heretics due to their refusal to see Jesus as a false prophet and failed Jewish Messiah claimant but also for wanting to include their gospel into the canon of the Hebrew Bible.
Some Muslims who charge Christians with having corrupted the Bible, believe that the Ebionites (as opposed to Christians they encountered) who were faithful to the original teachings of Jesus with shared views about Jesus' humanity, despite Muslims believing in the virgin birth whilst denying the crucifixion^[70] which was contrary to the beliefs of the Ebionites.

References

1. Patristic Evidence for Jewish-Christian Sects, Klijn A.F.J.; Reinink, G.J., , , Brill, 1973, ISBN 9004037632
2. See also
3. G. Uhlhorn, "Ebionites", in: ''A Religious Encyclopaedia or Dictionary of Biblical, Historical, Doctrinal, and Practical Theology'', 3rd ed. (edited by Philip Schaff), p. 684–685 (vol. 2).
4. O. Cullmann, "Ebioniten", in: ''Religion in Geschichte und Gegenwart'', p. 7435 (vol. 2).
5. The Mythmaker: Paul and the Invention of Christianity, Maccoby, Hyam, , , HarperCollins, 1987, ISBN 0062505858 " "
6. James the Brother of Jesus: The Key to Unlocking the Secrets of Early Christianity and the Dead Sea Scrolls, Eisenman, Robert, , , Viking, 1997, ISBN 1842930265
7. The Jesus Dynasty: A New Historical Investigation of Jesus, His Royal Family, and the Birth of Christianity, Tabor, James D., , , Simon & Schuster, 2006, ISBN 0743287231
8.
9. Matthew 5,3; Luke 6,20
10. Minucius Felix, ''Octavius, 36'': "That we are called the poor is not our disgrace, but our glory."
11. Romans 15, 26; Galatians 2,10
12. PsSal 10, 6; 15, 1; 1 QpHab XII, 3.6.10
13. Origen, Contra Celsum, II. 1
14. Justin Martyr, ''Dialogue with Trypho'' ch. 47.
15. Irenaeus of Lyon,
''Adversus Haereses'' I, 26; II,21.
16. Origen, ''De Principiis'' IV, 22.
17. Epiphanius of Salamis, ''Panarion 30.
18. A Critical Investigation of Epiphanius' Knowledge of the Ebionites: A Translation and Critical Discussion of 'Panarion' 30, Koch, Glenn Alan, , , University of Pennsylvania, 1976,
19. A Dictionary of Early Christian Biography, Wace, Henry & Piercy, William, , , , 1911,
20. O. Cullmann, "Ebioniten", in: ''Religion in Geschichte und Gegenwart'', p. 7435 (vol. 2).
21. G. Uhlhorn, "Ebionites", in: ''A Religious Encyclopaedia or Dictionary of Biblical, Historical, Doctrinal, and Practical Theology'', 3rd ed. (edited by Philip Schaff), p. 684–685 (vol. 2).
22. A Dictionary of Early Christian Biography, Wace, Henry & Piercy, William, , , , 1911,
23.
24. The History of Dogma, Chp VI - The Christianity of the Jewish Christians, Harnack, Adolph, , , , ,
25. For instance, in his Second epistle to the Corinthians (see especially Chapter 11)
26. Acts 15
27. The fall of Jerusalem and the Christian church: A study of the effects of the Jewish overthrow of A. D. 70 on Christianity, Brandon, S. G. F, , , S.P.C.K, 1968, ISBN 0281004501
28. The Mythmaker: Paul and the Invention of Christianity, Maccoby, Hyam, , , HarperCollins, 1987, ISBN 0062505858
29. The Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire Chp.15, pp.390–391, Gibbon, Edward, , , Random House, NY, 2003, ISBN 0375758119 Chapter 15, , , , , ,
30. The Jewish Christians Of The Early Centuries Of Christianity According To A New Source, Pines, Shlomo, , , Proceedings of the Israel Academy of Sciences and Humanities II, No. 13, 1966, ISBN 102-255-998
31. The Itinerary of Benjamin of Tudela: Critical Text, Translation and Commentary, pp 70–72, Adler, Marcus N., , , Phillip Feldheim, 1907,
32. The Book of Religious and Philosphical Sects, William Cureton edition, page 167, Shahrastani, Muhammad, , , Gorgias Press, 2002,
33. Jewish Christianity: Factional Disputes in the Early Church. Translation Douglas R. A. Hare, Schoeps, Hans-Joachim, , , Fortress Press, 1969,
34.
35. The Jewish Response to Missionaries: Counter-Missionary Handbook, Kravitz, Bentzion, , , Jews for Judaism International, 2001,
36.
37.
38.
39.
40.
41. Irenaeus of Lyon, ''Against Heresies''
V, 1.
42. Epiphanius, Panarion 19:28–30
43. Epiphanius, Panarion 30.14.5, 30.16.4
44. Epiphanius, Panarion 30.16.5
45. Epiphanius, Panarion 30.18.7–9
46. Epiphanius, Panarion 30.22.4
47. The Ascents of James: History and Theology of a Jewish-Christian Community, Van Voorst, Robert E., , , Society of Biblical Literature, 1989, ISBN 1555402941
48.
49. James H. Charlesworth, Unique features shared by Essenes and John the Baptist in interpretation of Isaiah 40:3
50. James the Just's position as leader of the Jerusalem church after Jesus' death is testified by Clement of Alexandria (quoted by Eusebius in ''Church History'' II.1.3–4), Eusebius of Caesarea (''Church History'' II.1.2), and Hegesippus (quoted by Eusebius in ''Church History'' II.23.4), and of the wider community beyond Jerusalem by the Gospel of Thomas (saying 12), and
Acts 15:19–21
51. Epiphanius, Panarion 30.22.4
52. The Essene-Christian Faith, Larson, Martin A, , , Truth Seeker, 1989, ISBN 0-939482-16-9
53.
54.
55. The Scrolls and the New Testament, Stendahl, Kriste, , , Herder & Herder, 1991, ISBN 0824511360
56.
57. Hippolytus
58.
59. The Slavonic Josephus' Account of the Baptist and Jesus
60. James the Just's position as leader of the Jerusalem church after Jesus' death is testified by Clement of Alexandria (quoted by Eusebius in ''Church History'' II.1.3–4), Eusebius of Caesarea (''Church History'' II.1.2), and Hegesippus (quoted by Eusebius in ''Church History'' II.23.4), and of the wider community beyond Jerusalem by the Gospel of Thomas (saying 12), and
Acts 15:19–21
61. Epiphanius of Salamis, ''Panarion'', 16, 9.
62.
63. John Toland, ''Nazarenus, or Jewish, Gentile and Mahometan Christianity'', 1718.
64.
65. Buried Angels, Rabinowitz, Jacob, , , Invisible Books, 2004,
66. Catholic Encyclopedia, Volume V.: Ebionites, Arendzen, J.P., , , Robert Appleton Company, 1904,
67. The theology of Jewish Christianity: The Development of Christian doctrine before the Council of Nicea, Daniélou, Jean, , , H. Regnery Co, 1964, ASIN B0007FOFQI
68.
69.
70. Before Nicea: The Early Followers of Prophet Jesus, al-Ashanti, Abdulhaq and Bowes, Abdur-Rahmaan, , , Jamia Media, 2005, ISBN 0955109906

Primary sources

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