Gospel of The Ebionites - Composition

Composition

Epiphanius is believed to have incorporated the text at a late stage in the composition of Panarion 30, primarily in chapters 13 and 14. As Epiphanius describes it, "The Gospel which is found among them...is not complete, but falsified and distorted" (13.1–2). In particular, it lacked some or all of the first two chapters of Matthew, which contain the infancy narrative of the virgin birth of Jesus and the Davidic genealogy via Solomon, "They have removed the genealogies of Matthew" (14.2–3).

The translations of Bernhard Pick (1908), with the sequence of four fragments arranged in the order of Wilhelm Schneemelcher from the beginning of the Gospel harmony are as follows:

It came to pass in the days of Herod, King of Judaea under the high priest Caiaphas, that John came and baptized with the baptism of repentance in the river Jordan; he is said to be from the tribe of Aaron and a son of Zacharias the priest and of Elizabeth and all went out to him.(13.6) And it came to pass when John baptized, that the Pharisees came to him and were baptized, and all Jerusalem also. He had a garment of camels' hair, and a leather girdle about his loins. And his meat was wild honey, which tasted like manna, formed like cakes of oil.(13.4) The people having been baptized, Jesus came also, and was baptized by John. And as he came out of the water the heavens opened, and he saw the Holy Spirit descending under the form of a dove, and entering into him. And a voice was heard from heaven: "Thou art my beloved Son, and in thee am I well pleased. And again: "This day have I begotten thee." And suddenly shone a great light in that place. And John seeing him, said, "Who art thou, Lord?" Then a voice was heard from heaven: "This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased." Thereat John fell at his feet and said: "I pray thee, Lord, baptize me." But he would not, saying "Suffer it, for so it behoveth that all should be accomplished."(13.7)

"There was a man named Jesus, and he was about thirty years old; he has chosen us. And He came into Capernaum and entered into the house of Simon, surnamed Peter, and He opened His mouth and said, 'As I walked by the sea of Tiberias, I chose John and James, the sons of Zebedee, and Simon and Andrew and Thaddaeus and Simon Zelotes, and Judas Isariot; thee also, Matthew, when thou wast sitting at the receipt of custom, did I call and thou didst follow me. According to my intention ye shall be twelve apostles for a testimony unto Israel.'" (13.2b-3)

The three quotations by Epiphanius in Panarion 30.13.6, 4, and 7, respectively, form the opening of the Gospel narrative, including the mission of John the Baptist, his appearance and diet, and the baptism of Jesus by John. The beginning of the Gospel (13.6) has parallels to the Gospel of Luke but in abbreviated form. The text shows a familiarity with the infancy narrative of Luke 1:5 despite lacking a birth narrative of its own. Quoting from the text regarding the diet of John (13.4), Epiphanius complains that the Ebionites have falsified the text by substituting the word "cake" (egkris ἐγκρίς) for "locust" (akris ἀκρίς, in Matthew 3:4). The similarity of the wording in Greek has led scholars to conclude that Greek was the original language of composition. In the narrative of the baptism of Jesus by John, the voice of God speaks three times in close parallels to the Gospel of Mark, Luke (Western text-type), and Matthew, respectively. The parallels to the Synoptic Gospels have led to the conclusion that the text quoted by Epiphanius is a Gospel harmony. The appearance of a great light on the water may be an echo of St. Paul's conversion or an additional harmonization to the Gospel of the Hebrews.

Epiphanius begins his description of the Gospel text (13.2b-3) with a quotation which has Matthew narrating directly to the reader. Jesus recalls how the twelve apostles were chosen and addresses Matthew in the second person as "you also Matthew". Although twelve apostles are mentioned, only eight are named. They are said to be chosen by Jesus, "for a testimony to Israel". The phrase "who chose us" has been interpreted as evidence that the text may be the lost Gospel of the Twelve mentioned by Origen. However, the identification of the Gospel text quoted by Epiphanius with this otherwise unknown Gospel is disputed. The position of this quotation was tentatively assigned based on a parallel to the Synoptic Gospels.

The fifth and sixth quotations (following Schneemelcher's order) are associated with a Christological controversy. The polemics of Epiphanius along with his quotations of the Gospel text are shown in parallel:

"Moreover they deny that he was a man, evidently on the ground of the word which the Savior spoke when it was reported to him: Behold, thy mother and thy brethren stand without, namely: Who is my mother and who are my brethren? And he stretched forth his hand towards his disciples and said: These are my brethren and mother and sisters, which do the will of my Father." (14.5)

"They say that he was not begotten of God the Father, but created as one of the archangels...that he rules over the angels and all the creatures of the Almighty, and that he came and declared, as their Gospel, which is called according to the Hebrews, reports: I am come to abolish the sacrifices, if ye cease not from sacrificing, the wrath will not cease from you." (16.4–5)

The fifth quotation (14.5) appears to be a harmony of Matthew 12:47–48 and its Synoptic parallels. However, Jesus' final proclamation shows a closer agreement to 2 Clement 9:11 than any of the Synoptics. The unity of this quotation with the Gospel text in Chapter 13 has been questioned. The command to abolish the sacrifices in the sixth quotation (16.5) is unparalleled in the Canonical Gospels, and it suggests a relationship to Matthew 5:17 ("I did not come to abolish the Law") that is echoed in the Clementine literature.

Referring to a parallel passage in Luke 22:15, Epiphanius complains that the Ebionites have again falsified the Gospel text "they destroyed the true order and changed the passage..."

"they made the disciples say, Where wilt Thou that we prepare for Thee to eat the Passover? To which He replied: I have no desire to eat the flesh of this Paschal Lamb with you.", (22.4)

thereby making Jesus declare that he would not eat meat on Passover. The immediate context suggests the possible attribution of the quotation to a Clementine source.