passion traditions reinterpreted It is interesting to note that several key issues from Stephen’s speech
and martyrdom in Acts reappear inRec. :–. Promises given to
Abraham and especially Moses’ announcement of the future prophet who
will be like him, play a central role both in Stephen’s speech and in the
account of the history inRec. :–. It is also clear that the martyr-
dom of James inRec. :– has made use of elements of Stephen’s
martyrdom as it is described in Acts. The most notable similarity is that
both descriptions of the executions assume the presence of Paul (inRec.
he even instigates the attack) and describe Paul’s further actions against
Christians in Damascus. Furthermore, criticism of the temple cult is one
of the key issues and one of the reasons for the execution in both narra-
tives.
Undoubtedly,Rec. :– has here made creative use of Acts. Thus,
it is clear that we have at least some evidence of the reception of Stephen
traditions in the Ebionites’ literature. We also know that these traditions
were central building blocks in the Ebionites’ interpretation of history,
since the prophet announced by Moses, his criticism of the temple cult
and anti-Paulinism are the main characteristics of the theology of the
Ebionites.
As regards Epiphanius’ Ebionites, their prehistory before Epiphanius
meets them in Cyprus is unknown. We know that these Ebionites were a
Greek-speaking community that gathered in synagogues (Pan. ..–
) and made use of a Greek gospel that was a harmony prepared from
the canonical gospels. Thus, if they had their origins among the Hebrews
of the early Jerusalem community, we have to assume that at some
point they switched their language or—as would be more probable—
Hebrew missionaries would have been received by Hellenistic Jews who
then had prepared for themselves a gospel on the basis of the canonical
Greek gospels. Even in this case, we would have to explain how the
Greek Ebionites, as the followers of the “Hebrews,” might have ended
up adopting a critical attitude towards the sacrificial cult. As far as we
:–) is connected to Stephen: “While there is not enough evidence to conclude
that the community of theAJis the linealphysicaldescendant of the Hellenist Jewish
Christians of Acts, it is certainly aspiritualdescendant of Stephen and his circle.”
However, van Voorst does not provide any discussion of the Hellenists in Acts or of
Stephen’s speech, which he simply reads as radical criticism of sacrifices. Furthermore,
Van Voorst does not regard theAscents of Jamesas an Ebionite writing (pp. –).
Stephen has also been connected to the Ebionites in earlier research. Cf. Schoeps ,
, –. For further references, see Räisänen , n. .