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Ebionites
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The Ebionites were a Jewish-Christian sect[1] that insisted on the necessity of following
Jewish religious law and rites,[2] which they interpreted in light of Jesus' expounding of the
Law.[3] They regarded Jesus as the Messiah but not as divine. The Ebionites revered his
brother, or cousin, James as the head of the Jerusalem Church and rejected Paul of Tarsus
because he was an apostate towards the Law[4]. Their name suggests that they placed a
special value on religious poverty.
Much of what is known about the Ebionites derives from the Church Fathers, who wrote
polemics against the Ebionites, whom they deemed heretical Judaizers.[5][6] Some scholars
agree with the substance of the traditional portrayal as an offshoot of mainstream
Christianity. Many scholars distinguish the Ebionites from other Jewish Christian groups, e.g.
the Nazarenes,[7] while others contest this.
Jesus' expounding of the Law during the Sermon on the Mount may have been a central
issue to Jewish Christians such as the Ebionites.[3] Image: The Sermon on the Mount by Carl
Heinrich Bloch, 1890
Contents
1 Name
2 History
3 Legacy
4 Views and practices
4.1 Judaic and Gnostic Ebionitism
4.2 Jesus
4.3 James vs. Paul
5 Writings
6 Religious perspectives
7 References
8 Literature
9 Primary sources
Name
The term Ebionites derives from the Hebrew Evyonim, meaning "the Poor Ones",[8][9] which
has parallels in the Psalms and the self-given term of pious Jewish circles.[10][11] The term
"the poor" was at first a common designation for all Christians - a reference to their material
as well their religious poverty.[8][12][13] 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.[8][10][14][15] Origen says "for Ebion signifies “poor” among the Jews, and those Jews who
have received Jesus as Christ are called by the name of Ebionites."[16][17] Tertullian
inaccurately derived the name from a fictional heresiarch called Ebion.[8][10]
The divergent application of "Ebionite" persists today, as some authors choose to label all
Jewish Christians, even before the mentioned schism, as Ebionites,[14][15] while others,
though agreeing about the historical events, use it in a more restricted sense.[4] Mainstream
scholarship commonly uses the term in the restricted sense.[8][10]
History
Without authenticated archaeological evidence, attempts to reconstruct their history have
been based on textual references, mainly the writings of the Church Fathers. They said that
the Ebionites used an altered Gospel according to the Hebrews [1]. 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 does not require its observance upon others, and those who believe the Mosaic
Law to be obligatory on all.[18] Irenaeus (c. 180) was probably the first to use the term
"Ebionites" to describe a heretical judaizing sect, which he regarded as stubbornly clinging to
the Law.[19] Origen (c. 212) remarks that the name derives from the Hebrew word "evyon,"
meaning "poor."[20] 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.[21][22] Epiphanius mostly gives general descriptions of their
religious beliefs and includes quotations from their gospels, which have not survived.
According to the Encyclopaedia Britannica, the Ebionite movement may have arisen about
the time of the destruction of the Jewish Temple in Jerusalem (AD 70).[23] Others have
argued that the Ebionites were more faithful to the authentic teachings of Jesus and
constituted the mainstream of the Jerusalem church before being gradually marginalized by
the followers of Paul of Tarsus.[4][24][25][26][27][28]
The actual number of groups described as Ebionites is difficult to ascertain, as the
contradictory patristic accounts in their attempt to distinguish various sects, sometimes
confuse them with each other.[10] Other groups mentioned are the Carpocratians, the
Cerinthians, the Elcesaites, 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.[29]
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, or cousin, 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.[8][10] 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.[29]
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.[30] The latter influence places some Ebionites in the context of
the gnostic movements widespread in Syria and the lands to the east.[10][31]
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.[32] 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. According to one writer
their decline was due to marginalization and "persecution" by both Jews and Christians.[4]
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.[33] 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.[29]
Map showing the region of Hejaz outlined in red
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.[34] 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.[35] 12th century Muslim historian
Muhammad al-Shahrastani mentions Jews living in nearby Medina and Hejaz who accepted
Jesus as a prophetic figure and followed traditional Judaism, rejecting mainstream Christian
views.[36] 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.[10][24] However,
Muslim theologians and those who accept their narratives of early Islam maintain that the
Islamic view of Jesus was revealed in the Quran well before any significant Muslim
encounter with Christians such as the Migration to Abyssinia. Muslims argue also that
Mohammad did show signs and miracles to prove that he speaks with authority in the Name
of God; one of these revelatory signs is to clarify the nature of the person and mission of
Jesus. In a similar vein, Jesus came to testify the truth about the Torah and the revelations
upon the Prophets before him: that Jews already existed doesn't mean Jesus merely 'copied'
their ideas. In the same sense, Muslims maintain that Mohammad did not take from the
ideas of the Ebionites, based on the unproved assumption that Mohammad or early Muslims
did interact significantly with the Ebionates. Most (pro-) Muslim historical narrations support
the idea that there were hardly any interactions.
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,[37] 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.[38]
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.[39][40] In a recent polemic, a Messianic leader asked whether Christians should
imitate the Torah-observance of "neo-Ebionites".[41]
Views and practices
Judaic and Gnostic Ebionitism
Most patristic sources portray the Ebionites as traditional yet ascetic Jews, who zealously
followed the Law of Moses, revered Jerusalem as the holiest city,[19] and restricted table
fellowship only to Gentiles who converted to Judaism.[18] They celebrated a commemorative
meal annually,[42] on or around Passover, with unleavened bread and water only, in contrast
to the daily Christian Eucharist.[21][43][44]
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,[45] possessing an angelology which claimed that the Christ is a great archangel
who was incarnated in Jesus and adopted as the son of God,[46][47] opposing animal
sacrifice,[47] denying parts or most of the Law,[48] and practicing religious vegetarianism[49]
The reliability of Epiphanius' account of the Ebionites is questioned by some scholars. [5][50]
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.[34]
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.[51]
Regarding the Ebionites specifically, a number of scholars have different theories on how the
Ebionites may have developed from an Essene Jewish messianic sect. 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;[24] while some conclude that the Essenes did not become Jewish Christians but still
had an influence on the Ebionites.[52]
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.[5] 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.[4][53]
Of the books of the New Testament, the Ebionites are said to have accepted only a Hebrew
(or Aramaic) 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.[19]
The Ebionites believed that all Jews and Gentiles must observe the commandments in the
Law of Moses,[18] in order to become righteous and seek communion with God,[54] but these
commandments must be understood in the light of Jesus' expounding of the Law,[53]
revealed during his sermon on the mount.[3] 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.[4][53]
James vs. Paul
James, the brother, or cousin, of Jesus, presided over the Jerusalem church after the other
apostles dispersed.[55] Paul, Apostle to the Gentiles, established many churches[56] and
founded a Christian theology, see Pauline Christianity. At the Council of Jerusalem (c 49),[55]
Paul argued to abrogate Mosaic observances[57] for his non-Jewish converts. When Paul
recounted the events to the Galatians (Galatians 2:9-10), he referred only to the
remembrance of the poor rather than conveying the four points of the council (Acts 15:1921). The nature of the laws for the Gentiles described by James is contested, see Council of
Jerusalem.
The issue of the observance of Mosaic law by Gentile converts remained unresolved (Acts
21:21), with Paul agreeing to James' request to lead a group of Greeks in carrying out
Nazarite vows in order to for Paul to prove his adherence to the law. James reiterated (Acts
21:25) the four points of the earlier council, saying that Gentiles were not required to
perform the Nazarite vows. The uproar that followed ended with Paul being rescued from
the people of Jerusalem by Roman centurions (Acts 21:30-35).
Some scholars[58][59] argue that the Ebionites regarded James, brother, or cousin of Jesus, the
first bishop of Jerusalem,[60] the rightful leader of the Church rather than Peter. James Tabor
argues that the Ebionites claimed a unique dynastic apostolic succession for the relatives of
Jesus.[61] They opposed the Apostle Paul, who established that gentile Christians did not have
to be circumcised or otherwise follow the Law of Moses, and named him an apostate.[19]
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.[62]
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.[22]
The Catholic Encyclopedia classifies the Ebionite writings into four groups:[63]



The Gospel of the Ebionites: According to Irenaeus, the Ebionites used only the
Gospel of Matthew. Eusebius of Caesarea[64] mentions a Gospel of the Hebrews, often
identified as the slightly modified Aramaic original of Matthew, written with Hebrew
letters. Such a work was known to Hegesippus,[64] Origen[65] and to Clement of
Alexandria.[66] Epiphanius of Salamis attributes this gospel to Nazarenes, and claims
that Ebionites only possessed an incomplete, falsified, and truncated copy.[67] The
question remains whether Epiphanius was able to accurately distinguish between
Nazarenes and Ebionites.
Apocrypha of the New Testament: 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 E. 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".[50] Despite this assertion, he expresses reservations that the
material is genuinely Ebionite in origin.
The Works of Symmachus the Ebionite: Symmachus produced a translation of the
Hebrew Bible into Koine Greek, which was used by Jerome and is still extant in
fragments, and Hypomnemata written to counter the canonical Gospel of Matthew.
The latter work, which is totally lost[68][69] is probably identical with De distinctione
præceptorum mentioned by Ebed Jesu (Assemani, Bibl. Or., III, 1).

The Book of Elchesai claimed to have been written about 100 CE and brought to
Rome in c. 217 CE by Alcibiades of Apamea. Ebionites deemed those who accepted
its gnostic doctrines apostates.[70][71]
Some also speculate that the core of the Gospel of Barnabas, beneath a polemical medieval
Muslim overlay, may have been based upon an Ebionite or gnostic document.[72] The
existence and origin of this source continues to be debated by scholars.[73]
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.[63] 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.[74]
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.[4]
Mainstream Islam charges mainstream Christianity with having corrupted the Bible. Some in
the Muslim community believe that the Ebionites (as opposed to Christians they
encountered) were faithful to the original teachings of Jesus with shared views about Jesus'
humanity, though the Islamic view of Jesus conflicts with the Ebionites' views regarding the
virgin birth and the crucifixion.[75]
Some scholars (secular or from mainstream Christianity) 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.[76] On the other hand, some
Christian apologists have criticized the quest for the historical Jesus as having resulted in a
"revival of the Ebionite heresy".[77]
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9. ^ The word is still in use in that sense in contemporary Israeli Hebrew
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11. ^ PsSal 10, 6; 15, 1; 1 QpHab XII, 3.6.10
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15. ^ a b Eisenman (1997), p. 4, 45.
16. ^ Origen, Contra Celsum, II, 1.
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48. ^ Epiphanius, Panarion, 30, 18, 7–9.
49. ^ Epiphanius, Panarion, 30.22.4
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59. ^ Tabor (2006), p. 222-223, 231.
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^ Epiphanius of Salamis, Panarion, 16, 9.
^ a b "Ebionites", Catholic Encyclopedia, vol. V (1909).
^ a b Eusebius of Caesarea, Church History, IV, 21, 8.
^ Jerome, De viris illustribus, 2
^ Clement of Alexandria, Stromata II, 9, 45
^ Epiphanius, Panarion 29, 9.
^ Eusebius of Caesarea, Church History, VI, 17.
^ Jerome, De viris illustribus, 54.
^ Hippolytus, Philosophumena, IX, 14-17.
^ Epiphanius, Panarion, 19, 1; 53, 1.
^ John Toland, Nazarenus, or Jewish, Gentile and Mahometan Christianity, 1718.
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Retrieved 2007-08-05.
^ Brad Bromling (1995). Jesus: Truly God and Truly Human. Apologetics Press.
http://www.apologeticspress.org/articles/263. Retrieved 2007-08-05.
Literature
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Eisenman, Robert (1997). James the Brother of Jesus: The Key to Unlocking the
Secrets of Early Christianity and the Dead Sea Scrolls. Viking. ISBN 1842930265.
Tabor, James D. (2006). The Jesus Dynasty: A New Historical Investigation of Jesus, His
Royal Family, and the Birth of Christianity. Simon & Schuster. ISBN 0743287231.
G. Uhlhorn, "Ebionites", in: Philip Schaff (ed.), A Religious Encyclopaedia or Dictionary
of Biblical, Historical, Doctrinal, and Practical Theology, 3rd ed. (1894), p. 684–685
(vol. 2).
Wilson, Barrie (2008). How Jesus Became Chrisitan - The early Chritians and the
transformation of a Jewish teacher into the Son of God. Orion. ISBN 978 0 297 85200
1.