chapter two
solution was that the Gospel of Matthew in Hebrew was used by the
Nazarenes who preceded the Ebionites. However, Epiphanius was not
able to decide if the birth narratives were already cut from the version that
was used by the Nazarenes, or only from the Greek version that was used
by their successors, the Ebionites. In reality, Epiphanius had no first-hand
information at all about the character of the gospel that was allegedly
used by the Nazarenes. Everything he says about their gospel is based on
his own deductions.
The Ebionite gospel (or some passages of it) that Epiphanius had in his
hands was not the only information that was at odds with the characteri-
zation of the Ebionites that Epiphanius found in his sources. Epiphanius
reports that the Ebionites were usingCircuits of PeterandAscents of James
(.., ..), that obviously were sources for Pseudo-Clementine
writings,^64 and “other Acts of the Apostles.” Furthermore, Epiphanius
seems to have ascribed to the Ebionites views that were typical of the
Book of Elchasai.^65
BecausethedocumentswereusedbyEpiphanius’Ebionitesandthey
gave a picture of Ebionite practices and doctrine that differed remarkably
from the earlier information about the Ebionites, Epiphanius was faced
with the problem of how to deal with the “traditional” picture of the
Ebionites. Furthermore, had Epiphanius dealt only with the “Pseudo-
Clementine” and “Elchasaite” Ebionites, he would have left open the
possibility that Jewish Christianity in its more traditional, “pure” form
was not so corrupt after all. My hypothesis is that, because this is not
what he wanted to say, he created a picture of an earlier Nazarene heresy
which made it possible for him to refute all attempts to try to be both a
Jew and a Christian at the same time.
The Doctrines of the Nazarenes
As regards the Christology of the Nazarenes, Epiphanius confesses that he
does not know whether or not the Nazarenes followed the Cerinthians in
regarding Christ as a mere man (Pan. ..). This statement is revealing
in two respects. First, since Epiphanius did not know the Nazarenes’
stance on such a burning Christological issue, it is unlikely that he
had any personal contact with a sect known as the Nazarenes. Second,
(^64) For the sources of the Pseudo-Clementine writings, see the discussion above,
Chapter ..; Jones .
(^65) For theBook of Elchasai, see Chapter ...