chapter three
In order to answer these questions, two sets of evidence must be
investigated. () Eusebius’ references to theGospel of the Hebrews:In
addition to the passage quoted above (Hist. eccl. .), Eusebius writes
that theGospel of the Hebrewswas used by the Ebionites (Hist. eccl.
...), Papias knew a story from it (Hist. eccl. ..) and finally he
relates that it was used by Hegesippus (Hist. eccl. ..). () Eusebius’
own quotations from a gospel written in Hebrew characters or language:
Theoph. . (PG , –) andTheoph. Syriaca.. For the passages
(and my reconstruction of theGospel of Hebrews)seeAppendix.
Eusebius himself does not make clear whether or not he identifies
the gospel written in Hebrew characters with theGospel of the Hebrews
anditisimpossibletosayforsurehowhesawtherelation.Asamatter
of fact, I shall suggest below that Eusebius may intentionally have left
open whether the passages he himself quoted came from theGospel of
the Hebrewsor from early “canonical” tradition, perhaps the Gospel of
Matthew in Aramaic, in order to give further credence to his quotations.
On the other hand, I shall also argue that from historical point of view,
there are many common features pointing out that passages quoted
by Eusebius came from the same gospel or the same sphere of gospel
traditions as the passages quoted by Eusebius’ predecessors, Papias in
particular.
The Ebionites Use the Gospel of the Hebrews
Eusebius’ second reference to theGospel of the Hebrewsis in the section
where he describes the heresy of the Ebionites (Hist. Eccl..).Follow-
ing Origen (Cels. .), he makes a distinction between two kinds of
Ebionites: one group denied the virgin birth, others did not. Although
this distinction between the two kinds of Ebionites is hardly historical as
such (see above Chapters .. and ..), it is worth considering whether
Eusebius’ references to theGospel of the Hebrewshave some historical
value. When describing the latter group, Eusebius notes that despite the
fact that they accept the virgin birth, they are still heretics, especially
because they are zealous in observing the law and because they reject
the letters of the apostle Paul, calling him apostate, and “used only the
so-calledGospel of the Hebrewsand accorded the others little respect.”
gospels. Metzger , –. Metzger obviously does not make any distinction
between the “Gospel of the Nazoreans” and theGospel of the Hebrewsfor he ascribes
both Origen’s Greek quotations and Jerome’s Semitic quotations to the one and the same
gospel.