Author:

Estimated Range of Dating: 197-220 A.D.

Chronological List of Early Christian Writings
Online Text for Tertullian

The Apology
On Idolatry
De Spectaculis (The Shows)
De Corona (The Chaplet)
To Scapula
Ad Nationes
(A Fragment)
An Answer to the Jews
The Soul’s Testimony
A Treatise on the Soul
The Prescription Against Heretics
Book I
Book II
Book III
Book IV
Book V
Against Hermogenes
Against the Valentinians
On the Flesh of Christ
On the Resurrection of the Flesh
Against Praxeas
Scorpiace
Appendix (Against All Heresies) (spurious)
On Repentance
On Baptism
On Prayer
Ad Martyras
The Martyrdom of Perpetua and Felicity (sometimes ascribed to Tertullian)
Of Patience
On the Pallium
On the Apparel of Women
On the Veiling of Virgins
To His Wife
On Exhortation to Chastity
On Monogamy
On Modesty
On Fasting
De Fuga in Persecutione
Online Resources for Tertullian

Roberts-Donaldson Introduction
Wace Introduction
Handbook of Patrology: Tertullian
The Tertullian Home Page
Catholic Encyclopedia: Tertullian
The Ecole Glossary: Tertullian
Glenn Davis: Tertullian
Offline Resources for Tertullian

Recommended Books for the Study of Early Christian Writings
Information on Tertullian

Tertullian wrote in the early third century.

The Temple Proper
=================
The description in the scroll is very short and fragmentary. It mentions, but does not describe in detail, the objects which stood inside, including: The Golden Veil (in front of the Holy Ark); the Table for the Bread of Presence (Showbread); the Menorah (Seven-branched Lampstand), and the cherubim (above the Ark).

The Courtyards
==============
The courtyards are described in detail: Inner (with several structures), Middle, Outer courtyards. They are arranged in a concentric manner, each provided with gates. the gates are not just openings in the wall but are complex buildings whose plan is based on Ezekial’s description of the Temple.

The Structures
==============
Most of all details concerning this Temple are devoted to the structures (other than the Temple itself) which are located in the Inner courtyard. The Alter of Sacrifice (Great Altar of Burnt Offerings) was crowned with four horns, one on each corner. No information survived as to the means of accessing it’s top.

The House of Utensils
=====================
The House of Utensils was planned to contain cupboards along its walls to house the utensils used in the daily cult ceremonies. The priests could cleanse themselves in the big laver (or basin) contained in another small building. As the ritual rites of purifications were carried out in the nude, special niches in the upper side of the House of Laver were planned.

The Slaughterhouse
==================
Facing the Altar, a construction made of 12 columns carrying a flat roof was planned. It was provided with som ekind of rings which were attached to the pillars. It seems that this device whould be used to chain animals for sacrifice and that the structure was to serve as a slaughterhouse.

A similar construction, for another specific group of sacrificial animals, was built just to the west of the Temple.

The Stairhouse
==============
A stairhouse (in the shape of a stairwell) was planned to sit at the northwest corner of the Temple. Its purpose was to let the priests reach the upper and inner parts of the Temple indirectly (that is, not through the main gate) for the Temple’s maintenance.

The Collanades
==============
In the surrounding collanades there were plans for the priests to eat from the sacrifices without mixing (or mingling) with the rest of the people. the kitchens were arranged in the corners near the gates.

The Gates
=========
The middle and outer gates were named after the 12 children of Israel (the tribes, sons of Jacob). The northern three gates were named Dan, Naphtali, and Asher; the eastern three gates were named Simeon, Levi, and Judah; the southern three gates were named Reuben, Joseph and Benjamin; and the western three gates were named Issachar, Zebulum and Gad.

The Outer Courtyard
===================
The dimensions of the outer courtyard were vast, 1590 x 1590 cubits (one cubit equals 800 square meters). For the sake of comparison the measurements of the Herodian Temple Mount was 280 x 480 meters and was, in its day, one of the largest holy precincts in the world.

On top of the Temple’s roof was a scarecrow in the shape of rows of spikes all over. These were designed to prevent birds of prey from landing on the roof and defiling it.

Translation by Y. Yadin

Part of COL 15 (XV)

13 an offering by fire, a pleasing odour before the Lord. [And they shall burn everything on the alter over]
14 the burnt offering, to complete their own ordination, (throughout) the seven days of [ordination. {
15 And if the high priest will be about [to serve the Lord, (the priest) who] has been or-
16 dained to w[ea]r the garments in place of his father, he shall offer [one bull]
17 [fo]r all the peo[ple] and one for the priests; he shall offer the one of the
18 [prie]sts first. And the elders of the priest[s] shall lay [their hands]

COL 41 (XLI)

04 [of Reuben to the gate of Joseph, the same measure, sixty and three]
05 [hundred cubits; and from the gate of Joseph to the gate of Benjamin, three

1 [hundred and sixty cubits; and from the gate of benjamin to the we]st[ern(?) corner,]
2 [three hundred and sixty cubits; and thus from] this (?) [corner] 3 to the ga[te of Issachar, three hundred and sixty] cubits; and from the gate of
4 Issachar [to the gate of Zebulun, sixty and three] hundred cubits; 5 and from the gate of Ze’bulun to the gate of Gad, six[ty and] three hundred
6 cubits; and from th ega[te of] “Gad” [to the north corner,] three hundred
7 and sixty cubits{[}and] from (?) this corner to 8 the gate of Dan, three hundred and sixty cubits, and thus from the gate of Dan to
9 the gate of Naphtali, sixty and three hundred cubits; and from the gate of Naphtali
10 to the gate of Asher, three hundred and sixty cubits; and from the gate of
11 Asher to the east {of (?)} corner, three hundred and sixty cubits. 12 And the gates (shall) protude from the wall of the court outwards seven cubits
13 and (shall) penetrate from the wall of the court inwards six and thirty cubits
14 And the width of the gates’ entrances (shall be) fourteen cubits; and their height
15 eight and twenty cubits up to the lintel. And they shall be roofed
16 by beams of cedar wood and overlaid with gold. And their doors (shall be) overlaid with gold. And their doors (shall be) overlaid
17 with pure gold. And between one {x} gate and another, inward you shall make chambers

Estimated Range of Dating: 160-170 A.D.

Chronological List of Early Christian Writings
Online Text for Tatian’s Address to the Greeks

Roberts-Donaldson English Translation
Roberts-Donaldson English Translation: Fragments of Tatian
Online Resources for Tatian’s Address to the Greeks

Roberts-Donaldson Introduction
Handbook of Patrology: Tatian
Catholic Encyclopedia: Tatian
Rutgers University: Tatian
Offline Resources for Tatian’s Address to the Greeks

Recommended Books for the Study of Early Christian Writings
Information on Tatian’s Address to the Greeks

Tatian was a pupil of Justin Martyr and author of the Diatessaron, a harmony of the four gospels. Tatian composed his apology c. 155-165 CE.

In his later years, after the death of Justin Martyr c. 163 CE, Tatian is reported to have become an Encratite. Irenaeus makes mention of this Tatian in Against Heresies 1.28.1.

Many offshoots of numerous heresies have already been formed from those heretics we have described. This arises from the fact that numbers of them-indeed, we may say all-desire themselves to be teachers, and to break off from the particular heresy in which they have been involved. Forming one set of doctrines out of a totally different system of opinions, and then again others from others, they insist upon teaching something new, declaring themselves the inventors of any sort of opinion which they may have been able to call into existence. To give an example: Springing from Saturninus and Marcion, those who are called Encratites (self-controlled) preached against marriage, thus setting aside the original creation of God, and indirectly blaming Him who made the male and female for the propagation of the human race. Some of those reckoned among them have also introduced abstinence from animal food, thus proving themselves ungrateful to God, who formed all things. They deny, too, the salvation of him who was first created. It is but lately, however, that this opinion has been invented among them. A certain man named Tatian first introduced the blasphemy. He was a hearer of Justin’s, and as long as he continued with him he expressed no such views; but after his martyrdom he separated from the Church, and, excited and puffed up by the thought of being a teacher, as if he were superior to others, he composed his own peculiar type of doctrine. He invented a system of certain invisible Aeons, like the followers of Valentinus; while, like Marcion and Saturninus, he declared that marriage was nothing else than corruption and fornication. But his denial of Adam’s salvation was an opinion due entirely to himself.

In chapter 23 of book III, Irenaeus launches an attack on Tatian’s theory that Adam is beyond salvation, concluding:

All therefore speak falsely who disallow his (Adam’s) salvation, shutting themselves out from life for ever, in that they do not believe that the sheep which had perished has been found. For if it has not been found, the whole human race is still held in a state of perdition. False, therefore, is that, man who first started this idea, or rather, this ignorance and blindness–Tatian.

Estimated Range of Dating: 188-217 A.D.

Chronological List of Early Christian Writings
Online Text for Talmud

Baraitha Bab. Sanhedrin 43a
B. Yebamoth 49a, M. Yebamoth 4.13
Sanhedrin 107b
Online Resources for Talmud

Jewish Encyclopedia: Talmud
A Page of Talmud: Mishnah
Catholic Encyclopedia: Talmud
What is the Torah? What is the Talmud?
Lowder: Talmud
Tektonics: Talmud
Offline Resources for Talmud

Soncino Press, Complete Babylonian Talmud
Philip Blackman, Mishnayoth
Recommended Books for the Study of Early Christian Writings
Information on Talmud

The Babylonian Talmud is huge and occupies thirty volumes in the Soncino translation. The Mishnah is the earliest material and constitutes about 20% of the whole Babylonian Talmud. Amazingly, this great mass of material was passed on in oral form for generations of rabbis. The Mishnah was codified by Rabbi Judah before his death in 217 CE, but this may not have involved writing the material down on paper.

Only the tiniest portion of the Talmud may refer to Christianity in any definite way. The three most noteworthy references are given in links above: the hanging of Yeshu on the eve of Passover, the bastard son found in a book of genealogies, and the account of a certain Yeshu of around 100 BCE. Only the first of these can be related to Christianity with reliabilty.

Here is what is written in Baraitha Bab. Sanhedrin 43a, probably second century:

On the eve of Passover Yeshu was hanged. For forty days before the execution took place, a herald went forth and cried, “He is going forth to be stoned because he has practiced sorcery and enticed Israel to apostasy. Any one who can say anything in his favour, let him come forward and plead on his behalf.” But since nothing was brought forward in his favour he was hanged on the eve of the Passover! – Ulla retorted: Do you suppose that he was one for whom a defence could be made? Was he not a _Mesith_ [enticer], concerning him Scripture says, _Neither shalt though spare, neither shalt thou conceal him?_ With Yeshu however it was different, for he was connected with the government for royalty [i.e., influential]. Our Rabbis taught: Yeshu had five disciples, Matthai, Nakai, Nezer, Buni, and Todah.

Robert Stein writes (Jesus the Messiah, pp. 33-34):

Several passages dealing with the treatment of heresy have also been suggested as possible allusions to Jesus even though his name is not present.

b. Berakot: “May our company not be like that of Elisha, from which issued Gehazi. _In our bread places_: may we produce no son or pupil who disgraces himself in public.” One manuscript (M) adds to the end of this saying, “like the Nazarene.”

b. Sanhedrin 103a. “Another interpretation: ‘There shall no evil befall thee’ – though wilt not be affrighted by nightmares and dread thoughts; ‘neither shall any plague come nigh thy dwelling’ – thou will not have a son or a disciple who publicly burns his food.” The expression “to burn food” refers to accepting or propounding heresy.

Other possible allusions to Jesus or his teachings may be found in b. Sabbat 116b (a possible reference to Mt 5:17) and b. Sanhedrin 107b, where one manuscript tradition refers to “Jesus the Nazarene [who] practised magic and led Israel astray.”

Robert Stein writes (Jesus the Messiah, p. 34): “The key question that arises involves the origin of these rabbinic references. The value of these passages would be greatly enhanced if they originated from contemporaries of Jesus who were eyewitnesses of the events they were reporting. This would be true even though they presented the side of Jesus’ opponents. On several occasions, however, aspects of these accounts seem to be due less to eyewitness reports than to later Jewish intereaction with the teachings and claims of the early church. This is especially true with respect for such matters as the claim that a forty-day search for witnesses on Jesus’ behalf preceded his trial and, if the accounts refer to Jesus, to his brith being due not to virginal conception but to adultery on the part of his mother. As a result, the rabbinic materials are primarily valuable for providing information concerning second-, third- and fourth-century Judaism, and even here they must be read critically. Like the pagan sources, however, they provide little information for the historian seeking to construct a life of Jesus.”

It seems to me that the passage about the execution of Jesus (b. Sanhedrin 43a) derives not necessarily from the actual events but from Jewish and Christian dialogue & polemics. Notice that in the Christian Gospels, Jesus is given a hasty and highly illegal trial in the middle of the night in which false witnesses testify against him. In the Jewish response to the Christian story, Jesus is given a full forty day period in which witnesses could have stepped forward to defend him. I wouldn’t make too much of the fact that the language is that of hanging, as even in the New Testament we find the phrase that Jesus was hanged on a tree. The point that Pilate is not involved at all, while modern reconstruction tends to regard Pilate as the prime mover in the earliest Christian memory, tends to indicate that the Jewish story most likely does not depend on Jewish witnesses but rather was formed as a polemical adaptation of the Christian story. The passage also agrees with John against the synoptics in the relationship of the day of death to the day of the Passover, but too much cannot be made of this because scholars are divided as to whether John or the synoptics are to be preferred here.

Estimated Range of Dating: 115-115 A.D.

Chronological List of Early Christian Writings
Online Text for Cornelius Tacitus

Perseus: The Annals
Perseus: A Dialogue on Oratory
Perseus: Germany and Its Tribes
Perseus: The History
Perseus: Agricola
The Internet Classics Archive: The Histories by Tacitus
The Internet Classics Archive: The Annals by Tacitus
The Histories
Germania
Agricola in Latin
Germania in Latin
Online Resources for Cornelius Tacitus

Tacitus and his manuscripts by Roger Pearse
Roman Historians: Tacitus
The Tacitus Home Page by Steven H. Rutledge
Tacitus and Nero’s Persecution of Christians by Darrell J. Doughty
Josh McDowell’s “Evidence” for Jesus: Is It Reliable? (On Annals 15.44 by Jeffery Jay Lowder)
Offline Resources for Cornelius Tacitus

Robert E. Van Voorst, Jesus Outside the New Testament: An Introduction to the Ancient Evidence (Grand Rapids: Wm. B. Eerdmans, 2000), pp. 39-53.
Recommended Books for the Study of Early Christian Writings
Information on Cornelius Tacitus

The most famous passage in which Tacitus mentions Christianity is as follows (Annals 15.44):

Such indeed were the precautions of human wisdom. The next thing was to seek means of propitiating the gods, and recourse was had to the Sibylline books, by the direction of which prayers were offered to Vulcanus, Ceres, and Proserpina. Juno, too, was entreated by the matrons, first, in the Capitol, then on the nearest part of the coast, whence water was procured to sprinkle the fane and image of the goddess. And there were sacred banquets and nightly vigils celebrated by married women. But all human efforts, all the lavish gifts of the emperor, and the propitiations of the gods, did not banish the sinister belief that the conflagration was the result of an order.

Consequently, to get rid of the report, Nero fastened the guilt and inflicted the most exquisite tortures on a class hated for their abominations, called Christians by the populace. Christus, from whom the name had its origin, suffered the extreme penalty during the reign of Tiberius at the hands of one of our procurators, Pontius Pilatus, and a most mischievous superstition, thus checked for the moment, again broke out not only in Judaea, the first source of the evil, but even in Rome, where all things hideous and shameful from every part of the world find their centre and become popular. Accordingly, an arrest was first made of all who pleaded guilty; then, upon their information, an immense multitude was convicted, not so much of the crime of firing the city, as of hatred against mankind. Mockery of every sort was added to their deaths. Covered with the skins of beasts, they were torn by dogs and perished, or were nailed to crosses, or were doomed to the flames and burnt, to serve as a nightly illumination, when daylight had expired. Nero offered his gardens for the spectacle, and was exhibiting a show in the circus, while he mingled with the people in the dress of a charioteer or stood aloft on a car. Hence, even for criminals who deserved extreme and exemplary punishment, there arose a feeling of compassion; for it was not, as it seemed, for the public good, but to glut one man’s cruelty, that they were being destroyed.

There has been some question about the integrity of this passage. Jeffery Jay Lowder responds to Gordon Stein in a footnote on this issue:

Gordon Stein denied the authenticity of this passage, arguing: (1) there is no corroborating evidence that Nero persecuted the Christians; (2) there was not a multitude of Christians in Rome at that date; (3) ‘Christian’ was not a common term in the first century; (4) Nero was indifferent to various religions in his city; (5) Nero did not start the fire in Rome; (6) Tacitus does not use the name Jesus; (7) Tacitus assumes his readers know Pontius Pilate; (8) the passage is present word-for-word in the Chronicle of Sulpicius Severus. However, Stein’s arguments are extremely weak. At best, (1), (2), and (5) only cast doubt on the reliability of the passage; these are not good reasons for rejecting the authenticity of the passage. (3) and (4) are likewise irrelevant. Contrary to what Stein claims, (6) and (7) suggest that Pontius Pilate might have been relatively unknown. Finally, (8) is irrelevant. The fact that a later author expanded the passage in no way makes it probable that the original passage was interpolated. Furthermore, there are good reasons for accepting the authenticity of this passage: the anti-Christian tone of the passage, the scapegoat motif, the Latin style, and the integration of the passage with the story. Stein’s argument for interpolation is completely unconvincing. See Stein 1982.

Robert Van Voorst comments on the question of authenticity (Jesus Outside the New Testament, pp. 42-43):

But there are good reasons for concluding with the vast majority of scholars that this passage is fundamentally sound, despite difficulties which result in no small measure from Tacitus’ own compressed style. The overall style and content of this chapter are typically Tacitean. The passage fits well in its context and is the necessary conclusion to the entire discussion of the burning of Rome. Sulpicius Severus’s Chronicle 2.29 attests to much of it in the early fifth century, so most suggested interpolations would have to have come in the second through fourth centuries. As Norma Miller delightfully remarks, “The well-intentioned pagan glossers of ancient texts do not normally express themselves in Tacitean Latin,” and the same could be said of Christian interpolators. Finally, no Christian forgers would have made such disparaging remarks about Christianity as we have in Annals 15.44, and they probably would not have been so merely descriptive in adding the material about Christ in 15.44.3.

Even though the passage is authentic to Tacitus, it might be argued that Tacitus received his information about the origin of the Christian name from Christians themselves. This could be argued on six grounds: (1) Tacitus does not identify his source explicitly. (2) Tacitus anachronistically identifies Pilate as a procurator, when the proper title would have been prefect. (3) Tacitus refers to the founder of the name as ‘Christus’, while written records would presumably have used the name Jesus. (4) As meticulous as the Romans were, crucifixion records hardly went back nearly a century in time (the Annals being written c. 115 CE). (5) There is insufficient motive for Tacitus to research about this Christus in any detail, as the reference appears in Tacitus merely as an explanation of the origin of the name Christian, which in turn is being described only as an example of Nero’s cruelty. (6) Finally, there would be no reason for Tacitus not to take the basic Christian story at face value, especially since the idea that they were of recent origin would correctly classify Christianity as a superstitio.

On (1), this evidence could go either way. It has been pointed out that Tacitus relied heavily on written material, and so the lack of explicit reference could suggest a written source per his normal practice. On (2), this could be resolved on the supposition that the source identified Pilate as “PR,” which could be misread as an abbreviation for procurator. Of course, this is only a supposition. On (3), the purpose of referring to Jesus as “Christus” is to elucidate the origin of the Christian name, as Van Voorst points out: “even if Tacitus did know the name ‘Jesus’ he presumably would not have used it in this context, because it would have interfered with his explanation of the origin of Christianoi in Christus, confusing his readers” (Jesus Outside the New Testament, p. 46). On (4), it could be suggested that the written report on which Tacitus relies is not a letter from Pilate, as it would indeed be remarkable for it to survive so long. Rather, it could be that Tacitus relied upon a report that described the Christian sect and their classification as a religio prava. This classification would have been made sometime before the official persecution of Domitian, which could not have been undertaken legally without such a classification. A report of this classification would have been found in at least the Acta Diurna and the Acta Senatus, both of which were available to Tacitus. This report would have included such basic information on Christianity as to its origin and founder such that we find in Tacitus’ description. On (5), it may be suggested that Tacitus didn’t expend considerable effort but rather had a servant find what could be found on the Christian sect (not necessarily on Jesus), which would have included the report on their classification as a religio prava. On (6), this fails to show that Tacitus received the “basic Christian story” from Christian channels.

There are five arguments that might suggest that Tacitus consulted some kind of written record for this information. (1) As his practice, Tacitus was a meticulous researcher, frequently consulting written documents and multiple sources. (2) Tacitus shows hostility towards the Christian sect and thus wouldn’t have trusted them. (3) Tacitus does not mention any important Christian doctrines such as the divinity and resurrection of Jesus. (4) According to Goguel, the source is not Christian “since it presumed an eclipse of Christianity after the death of Jesus” (Jesus the Nazarene, p. 41). (5) Also according to Goguel, the mention of Christ “must originate in some documentary source, since it contains no such word as ‘dicunt’ or ‘ferunt,’ which would authorize us to suppose that Tacitus is only relating gossip” (Jesus the Nazarene, p. 40).

On (1), although this may be suggestive evidence, this doesn’t prove that Tacitus consulted written records in this particular case. On (2), even though Tacitus may have held some contempt towards Christians, that does not prevent him from taking their story about the origin of their name at face value. Similarly, a modern writer may be indifferent towards Mormons but may nevertheless take their story of the origin of the name “Mormon” at face value. On (3), Tacitus is giving merely the briefest account of the origin of the name Christian and so cannot be expected to mention such Christian doctrines. On (4), Goguel depends on an interpretation of the passage according to which the superstition was checked for several decades until the time of Nero, and this interpretation is unnecessary. On (5), this is an important point, as it can be shown that Tacitus is normally careful to make the distinction when relying upon oral testimony.

According to John P. Meier (A Marginal Jew, p. 91), “It could be, instead, that Tacitus is simply repeating what was common knowledge about Christians about the beginning of the 2d century.” According to Robert Van Voorst (Jesus Outside the New Testament, p. 52), “The most likely source of Tacitus’s information about Christ is Tacitus’s own dealings with Christians, directly or indirectly.” However, note well the contrary opinion of Maurice Goguel (Jesus the Nazarene, p. 43): “But one fact is certain, and that is, Tacitus knew of a document, which was neither Jewish nor Christian, which connected Christianity with the Christ crucified by Pontius Pilate.” The present writer believes that the most persuasive case is made by those who maintain that Tacitus made use of a first century Roman document concerning the nature and status of the Christian religion. As to the reliability of that source, following normal historical practice, it is prudently assumed to be accurate until demonstrated otherwise. The reference from Tacitus constitutes prima facie evidence for the historicity of Jesus.

Poor am I and weak,>* for the worm cannot confess Thee, nor the maggot rehearse Thy loving kindness; the living alone can do so, the living alone.1 Whenever Thou showest men Thy kindness, what time their foot has slipped, they needs must confess Thee (and own) that in Thy hand it is that the souls of all living lie, and that Thou it is hast given breath to all flesh.2

5 Deal with us, then, 0 LORD** after the manner of Thy goodness, Thine abundant compassion and Thy justice.8 The LORD** hath (alway) heard the voice of them that love His name,4 and ne’er hath He abandoned His lovingkindness5 toward them.

‘Blessed is the LORD** Who dealeth bountifuily.6 Who crowneth with loyal love and compassion them that are loyal to Him.”7 (So) hath mine own soul come to acclaim Thy name in a roar of praise,
.

————————
* Supplied from another fragmentary copy.
** Written in archaic script (YHWH)
————————
.
confessing Thy loyal love in joyous song, telling forth the tale of Thy constancy.8 (Endless, indeed, is the praise that is due unto Thee!)

10 1 too had been marked for death on account of my sins, my wrongdoings had sold me to Sheol;*9 but Thou, in accord with Thine abundant compassion, Thou, in accord with Thy bounteous ways, didst rescue me, 0 LORD.

I too have loved Thy name, sought shelter in Thy shade;10 in calling to mind Thy power my heart finds strength,11 and upon Thy loyal love have I come to lean. Wherefore forgive Thou my sin, 0 LORD and purge me of my wrongdoing.13 Vouchsafe Thou unto me a spirit of constancy and knowledge (of Thy truth)14Let me not stumble in waywardness.15

15 Suffer no devil16 nor spirit unclean17 to bear sway over me; let not pain or evil bent gain mastery over my body. For Thou, 0 LORD it is from Whom comes (all) my worth,18 and on Thee have I alway pinned my hopes.19 Let my brethren and father’s house who now are desolate
.

—————————
* That is, the netherworld.
————————–
.
rejoice along with me in the dowering of Thy grace. Let me find in Thee an [everl]asting joy.

Estimated Range of Dating: 115-115 A.D.

Chronological List of Early Christian Writings
Online Text for Suetonius

Perseus: Lives of the Caesars in Latin
Lives of the Caesars: Rolfe Translation
Online Resources for Suetonius

Suetonius: Electronic Texts and Resources
Josh McDowell’s “Evidence” for Jesus: Is It Reliable? (On Suetonius by Jeffery Jay Lowder)
Offline Resources for Suetonius

Josh McDowell’s “Evidence” for Jesus: Is It Reliable? (On Suetonius by Jeffery Jay Lowder)
Recommended Books for the Study of Early Christian Writings
Information on Suetonius

In The Life of Claudius 25.4, we find the statement, “As the Jews were making constant disturbances at the instigation of Chrestus, he expelled them from Rome.”

This is plausibly a reference to the expulsion of Jewish Christians from Rome. The author of Acts makes mention of this same expulsion, which occurred in 49 CE according to the fifth century church father Orosius, in Acts 18:2. “There he [Paul] met a Jew named Aquila, a native of Pontus, who had recently come from Italy with his wife Priscilla, because Claudius had ordered all the Jews to leave Rome.” Aquila and Priscilla seem to have been converted prior to meeting Paul.

However, it is also possible that the Jews were expelled from Rome for a different cause. Chrestus is a suitable Greek name, so there may have been an agitator by the name of Chrestus in Rome. Or there may have been a different messianic pretender in Rome. It is difficult to say.

Suetonius also makes mention of Nero’s persecution in 16.2: “Punishment by Nero was inflicted on the Christians, a class of men given to a new and mischievous superstition.”

Notably, unlike Tacitus, Suetonius does not associate this punishment with the fire that swept Rome.

From “The Apocryphal New Testament”
M.R. James-Translation and Notes
Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1924

Introduction

The ‘Revelation called of Stephen’ is condemned, like that of Thomas, in the Gelasian Decree. Sixtus Senensis, Bibliotheca Sancta (1593), p. 115, says: ‘The Apocalypse of Stephen the first martyr who was one of the seven deacons of the apostles was prized by the Manichaean heretics as Serapion witnesses.’ Serapion of Thmuis he elsewhere says (p. 299),wrote a large and very notable work against the Manichaeans in Greek ‘which I have lately read’. Our texts of Serapion contain no mention of the Apocalypse of Stephen. But no Manichaean would have cared about the book which I am going to speak of.

[I must record one of the very rare errors of Fabricius here. He (Cod. Apocr. N.T.,i, p.965) cites Sixtus Senensis as saying (on the authority of Serapion) that the Manichaeans so prized the Revelation of Stephen as to carry it in the skin of their thighs! This long puzzled me, and I could not find it in Sixtus. But at last I noticed that at the end of the article just preceding Stephanus, Victor Vitensis is quoted to this effect: The Manichaeans so honoured their teacher that they used to have these words inscribed on the skin of their thighs. ‘Manichaeus, disciple of Christ Jesus’. Perhaps some one has already explained this in print; if so, I have not seen it.]

It has been usually guessed that the writing so described was the account of the finding of St. Stephen’s body, the whereabouts of which was revealed by Gamaliel in a vision to Lucian. With Stephen were found the bodies of Gamaliel and his son Abibas, and of Nicodemus. Lucian’s narrative was known to Augustine: it purports to be of the year 415, and there is little in it, as compared with similar ‘inventions’ of relics, which justifies its being solemnly condemned as apocryphal .

So says I. Franko, who in 1906 (Zeitschr. f. Ntl. Wiss.) published a Slavonic romance which, he says, is the real beginning of Lucian’s narrative.

The substance of it is this:

Two years after the Ascension there was a contest about Jesus. Many learned men had assembled at Jerusalem from Ethiopia, the Thebaid, Alexandria, Jerusalem, Asia, Mauretania and Babylon. There was a great clamour among them like thunder, lasting till the fourth hour.

Stephen, a learned man of the tribe of Benjamin, stood on a high place and addressed the assembly. Why this tumult? said he. Blessed is he who has not doubted concerning Jesus. Born of a pure virgin he filled the world with light. By Satan’s contrivances Herod slew 14,000 (144,000) children. He spoke of the miracles of Jesus. Woe to the unbelievers when he shall come as judge, with angels, a fiery chariot, a mighty wind: the stars shall fall, the heavens open, the books be brought forward. The twelve angels who are set over every soul shall unveil the deeds of men. The sea shall move and give up what is in it. The mountains fall, all the surface of the earth becomes smooth. Great winged thrones are set. The Lord, and Christ, and the Holy Spirit take their seats. The Father bids Jesus sit on his right hand.

At this point the crowd cried out: Blasphemy! and took Stephen before Pilate.

Pilate stood on the steps and reproached them: You compelled me to crucify the Innocent; why rage against this man? Why gnash your teeth? Are ye yet foolish?

They led Stephen away. Caiaphas ordered him to be beaten till the blood ran. And he prayed: Lay not this sin to their charge. We saw how angels ministered to him.

In the morning Pilate called his wife and two children: they baptized themselves and praised God.

Three thousand men now assembled and disputed with Stephen for three days and three nights. On the fourth day they took counsel and sent to Caesarea of Palestine for Saul of Tarsus, who had a commission to seize upon Christians. He took his place on the judgement seat and said: I wonder that thou, a wise man, and my kinsman, believest all this. None of the Sanhedrin have given up the Law. I have been through all Judaea, Galilee, Peraea, Damascus, and the city of the Jesitites to seek out believers.

Stephen lifted up his hands and said: Silence, persecutor! Recognize the Son of God. Thou makest me doubt of my own descent. But I see that thou shalt ere long drink of the same cup as I. What thou doest, do quickly. Saul rent his clothes and beat Stephen. Gamaliel, Saul’s teacher, sprang forth and gave Saul a buffet, saying: Did I teach thee such conduct? know that what this man saith is acceptable and good.

Saul was yet more enraged, and looked fiercely on him, saying: I spare thine old age, but thou shalt reap a due reward for this. Gamaliel answered: I ask nothing better than to suffer with Christ. The elders rent their clothes, cast dust on their heads, and cried: Crucify the blasphemers.

Saul said: Guard them until the morrow. Next day he sat on the judgement seat and had them brought before him, and they were led away to be crucified. An angel came and cast away the cross, and Stephen’s wounds were healed. Seven men came and poured molten lead into his mouth and pitch into his ears. They drove nails into his breast and feet, and he prayed for their forgiveness. Again an angel came down and healed him, and a great multitude believed.

Next day all assembled and took him out of the city to judge him. He mounted upon a stone and addressed them: How long will ye harden your hearts? The Law and the Prophets spake of Christ. In the first Law, and the second, and the other books it is written: When the year of the covenant cometh I will send my beloved angel, the good spirit of sonship, from a pure maiden, the fruit of truth, without ploughshare and without seed, and an image of sowing (?), and the fruit shall grow after the . . . of planting for ever from the word of my covenant, and signs shall come to pass. And Isaiah saith: Unto us a child is born, &c. And again: Behold, a virgin shall conceive, &c. And the prophet Nathan said: I saw one, a maiden and without touch of man, and a man child in her arms, and that was the Lord of the earth unto the end of the earth. And again the prophet Baruch saith: Christ the eternal appeareth as a stone from the mountain and breaketh in pieces the idol temples of the . . . David also said: Arise, O Lord, unto thy resting place, &c. Understand then, O foolish ones, what the prophet saith: In this word shalt thou judge.

And he looked up to heaven and said: I see the heaven opened and the Son of man standing at the right hand of God.

Then they laid hands on him, saying: He blasphemeth! Gamaliel said: Wherein? This righteous man hath seen the Son saying to the Father: Lo, the Jews rage against me and cease not to ill-treat them that confess my name. And the Father said: Sit thou on my right hand until I make thine enemies thy footstool.

Then they bound Stephen and took him away to Alexander, the reader, who was a chief of the people, and of the troop in Tiberias.

In the fourth watch of the night, a light as of lightning shone round about him, and a voice said: Be strong. Thou art my first martyr, and thine hour is nigh. I will write the record of thee in the book of everlasting life.

The Jews took counsel and decreed that he should be stoned. There were with him Abibas, Nicodemus, Gamaliel, Pilate, his wife and two children, and a multitude of believers. Saul stood forth and beckoned, and said: It would have been better that this man should not be slain, because of his great wisdom: but forasmuch as he is an apostate, I condemn Stephen to be stoned. The people said: He shall be stoned: but those who stood in the front rank with staves looked on each other and durst not lay hands on him: for he was renowned among the people.

Saul was wroth, and stripped those servants of their garments and laid them on the table; and commanded the men to stone Stephen.

Stephen looked round and said: Saul, Saul, that which thou doest unto me to-day, that same will the Jews do unto thee to-morrow. And when thou sufferest, thou shalt think on me.

The people cast stones upon him so thickly that the light of the sun was darkened. Nicodemus and Gamaliel put their arms about him and shielded him, and were slain, and gave up their souls to Christ.

Stephen prayed, saying: Forgive them that stone us, for by their means we trust to enter into thy kingdom. And at the tenth hour he gave up the ghost. Then beautiful youths appeared, and fell upon the bodies and wept aloud: and the people beheld the souls borne up by angels into heaven, and saw the heavens open and the hosts coming to meet the souls. And the people mourned for three days and three nights.

Pilate took the bodies and put each one into a silver coffin with his name upon it: but Stephen’s coffin was gilt: and he laid them in his secret sepulchre. But Stephen prayed: Let my body be buried in my land of Serasima in Kapogemala (Caphargamala) until the revealing, when the martyrs that follow me shall be gathered together. And an angel came and removed the bodies thither.

But Pilate rose early to burn incense before the bodies, and found them not; and rent his clothes, saying: Was I then not worthy to be thy servant? On the night following, Stephen appeared and said to him: Weep not. I prayed God to hide our bodies. In the time of our revealing one of thy seed shall find us after a vision, and thy desire shall be fulfilled. But build a house of prayer and celebrate our feast in the month of April. After seven months thou also shalt rest. And Pilate did so: and he died, and was buried at Kapartasala: and his wife also died in peace. But the holy martyrs appeared thrice to venerable and believing men, speaking to them, and revealing divine words: for after their death many believed.

Wise men of old gave the soul a feminine name. Indeed she is female in her nature as well. She even has her womb.

As long as she was alone with the father, she was virgin and in form androgynous. But when she fell down into a body and came to this life, then she fell into the hands of many robbers. And the wanton creatures passed her from one to another and […] her. Some made use of her by force, while others did so by seducing her with a gift. In short, they defiled her, and she […] her virginity.

And in her body she prostituted herself and gave herself to one and all, considering each one she was about to embrace to be her husband. When she had given herself to wanton, unfaithful adulterers, so that they might make use of her, then she sighed deeply and repented. But even when she turns her face from those adulterers, she runs to others and they compel her to live with them and render service to them upon their bed, as if they were her masters. Out of shame she no longer dares to leave them, whereas they deceive her for a long time, pretending to be faithful, true husbands, as if they greatly respected her. And after all this they abandon her and go.

She then becomes a poor desolate widow, without help; not even a measure of food was left her from the time of her affliction. For from them she gained nothing except the defilements they gave her while they had sexual intercourse with her. And her offspring by the adulterers are dumb, blind and sickly. They are feebleminded.

But when the father who is above visits her and looks down upon her and sees her sighing – with her sufferings and disgrace – and repenting of the prostitution in which she engaged, and when she begins to call upon his name so that he might help her, […] all her heart, saying “Save me, my father, for behold I will render an account to thee, for I abandoned my house and fled from my maiden`s quarters. Restore me to thyself again.” When he sees her in such a state, then he will count her worthy of his mercy upon her, for many are the afflictions that have come upon her because she abandoned her house.

Now concerning the prostitution on the soul, the Holy Spirit prophesies in many places. For he said in the prophet Jeremiah (3:1-4),

If the husband divorces his wife and she goes and takes another man, can she return to him after that? Has not that woman utterly defiled herself? “And you prostituted yourself to many shepherds and you returned to me!” said the lord. “Take an honest look and see where you prostituted yourself. Were you not sitting in the streets defiling the land with your acts of prostitution and your vices? And you took many shepherds for a stumbling block for yourself. You became shameless with everyone. You did not call on me as kinsman or as father or author of your virginity”.

Again it is written in the prophet Hosea (2:2-7),

Come, go to law with your mother, for she is not to be a wife to me nor I a husband to her. I shall remove her prostitution from my presence, and I shall remove her adultery from between her breasts. I shall make her naked as on the day she was born, and I shall make her desolate like a land without water, and I shall make her longingly childless. I shall show her children no pity, for they are children of prostitution, since their mother prostituted herself and put her children to shame. For she said, “I shall prostitute myself to my lovers. It was they who gave me my bread and my water and my garments and my clothes and my wine and my oil and everything I needed.” Therefore behold I shall shut them up so that she shall not be able to run after her adulterers. And when she seeks them and does not find them, she will say, ‘I shall return to my former husband, in those days I was better off than now.”

Again he said in Ezekiel (16:23-26),

It came to pass after much depravity, said the lord, you built yourself a brothel and you made yourself a beautiful place in the streets. And you built yourself brothels on every lane, and you wasted your beauty, and you spread your legs in every alley, and you multiplied your acts of prostitution. You prostituted yourself to the sons of Egypt, those who are your neighbors, men great of flesh.

But what does “the sons of Egypt, men great of flesh” mean, if not the domain of the flesh and the perceptible realm and the affairs of the earth, by which the soul has become defiled here, receiving bread from them, as well as wine, oil, clothing, and the other external nonsense surrounding the body – the things she thinks she needs.

But as to this prostitution, the apostles of the savior commanded (Acts 15:20, 29; 21:25; 1Th 4:3; 1 Co 6:18; 2 Co 7:1): “Guard yourselves against it, purify yourselves from it,” speaking not just of the prostitution of the body but especially that of the soul. For this reason the apostles write to the churches of God, that such prostitution might not occur among us.

Yet the greatest struggle has to do with the prostitution of the soul. From it arises the prostitution of the body as well. Therefore Paul, writing to the Corinthians (1Co 5:9-10), said, “I wrote you in the letter, ‘Do not associate with prostitutes,’ not at all (meaning) the prostitutes of this world or the greedy or the thieves or the idolaters, since then you would have to go out from the world.” – here it is speaking spiritually – “For our struggle is not against flesh and blood – as he said (Ep 6:12) – but against the world rulers of this darkness and the spirits of wickedness.”

As long as the soul keeps running about everywhere copulating with whomever she meets and defiling herself, she exists suffering her just deserts. But when she perceives the straits she is in and weeps before the father and repents, then the father will have mercy on her and he will make her womb turn from the external domain and will turn it again inward, so that the soul will regain her proper character. For it is not so with a woman. For the womb of the body is inside the body like the other internal organs, but the womb of the soul is around the outside like the male genitalia which is external.

So when the womb of the soul, by the will of the father, turns itself inward, it is baptized and is immediately cleansed of the external pollution which was pressed upon it, just as garments, when dirty, are put into the water and turned about until their dirt is removed and they become clean. And so the cleansing of the soul is to regain the newness of her former nature and to turn herself back again. That is her baptism.

Then she will begin to rage at herself like a woman in labor, who writhes and rages in the hour of delivery. But since she is female, by herself she is powerless to beget a child. From heaven the father sent her her man, who is her brother, the firstborn. Then the bridegroom came down to the bride. She gave up her former prostitution and cleansed herself of the pollutions of the adulterers, and she was renewed so as to be a bride. She cleansed herself in the bridal chamber; she filled it with perfume; she sat in it waiting for the true bridegroom. No longer does she run about the market place, copulating with whomever she desires, but she continued to wait for him – (saying) “When will he come?” – and to fear him, for she did not know what he looked like: she no longer remembers since the time she fell from her father’s house. But by the will of the father <...> And she dreamed of him like a woman in love with a man.

But then the bridegroom, according to the father’s will, came down to her into the bridal chamber, which was prepared. And he decorated the bridal chamber.

For since that marriage is not like the carnal marriage, those who are to have intercourse with one another will be satisfied with that intercourse. And as if it were a burden, they leave behind them the annoyance of physical desire and they turn their faces from each other. But this marriage […]. But once they unite with one another, they become a single life. Wherefore the prophet said (Gn 2:24) concerning the first man and the first woman, “They will become a single flesh.” For they were originally joined one to another when they were with the father before the woman led astray the man, who is her brother. This marriage has brought them back together again and the soul has been joined to her true love, her real master, as it is written (cf. Gn 3:16; 1 Co 11;1; Ep 5:23), “For the master of the woman is her husband.”

Then gradually she recognized him, and she rejoiced once more, weeping before him as she remembered the disgrace of her former widowhood. And she adorned herself still more so that he might be pleased to stay with her.

And the prophet said in the Psalms (Ps 45:10-11): “Hear, my daughter, and see and incline your ear and forget your people and your father’s house, for the king has desired your beauty, for he is your lord.”

For he requires her to turn her face from her people and the multitude of her adulterers, in whose midst she once was, to devote herself only to her king, her real lord, and to forget the house of the earthly father, with whom things went badly for her, but to remember her father who is in heaven. Thus also it was said (Gn 12:1) to Abraham: “Come out from your country and your kinsfolk and from your father`s house”

Thus when the soul had adorned herself again in her beauty […] enjoyed her beloved, and he also loved her. And when she had intercourse with him, she got from him the seed that is the life-giving spirit, so that by him she bears good children and rears them. For this is the great, perfect marvel of birth. And so this marriage is made perfect by the will of the father.

Now it is fitting that the soul regenerates herself and become again as she formerly was. The soul then moves of her own accord. And she received the divine nature from the father for her rejuvenation, so that she might be restored to the place where originally she had been. This is the resurrection that is from the dead. This is the ransom from captivity. This is the upward journey of ascent to heaven. This is the way of ascent to the father. Therefore the prophet said (Ps 103:1-5):

“Praise the lord, O my soul, and, all that is within me, (praise) his holy name. My soul, praise God, who forgave all your sins, who healed all your sicknesses, who ransomed your life from death, who crowned you with mercy, who satisfies your longing with good things. Your youth will be renewed like an eagle’s.”

Then when she becomes young again, she will ascend, praising the father and her brother, by whom she was rescued. Thus it is by being born again that the soul will be saved. And this is due not to rote phrases or to professional skills or to book learning. Rather it is the grace of the […], it is the gift of the […]. For such is this heavenly thing. Therefore the savior cries out (Jn 6:44), “No one can come to me unless my Father draws him and brings him to me; and I myself will raise him up on the last day.”

It is therefore fitting to pray to the father and to call on him with all our soul – not externally with the lips, but with the spirit, which is inward, which came forth from the depth – sighing; repenting for the life we lived; confessing our sins; perceiving the empty deception we were in, and the empty zeal; weeping over how we were in darkness and in the wave; mourning for ourselves, that he might have pity on us; hating ourselves for how we are now.

Again the savior said (cf Mt 5:4, Lk 6:12): “Blessed are those who mourn, for it is they who will be pitied; blessed, those who are hungry, for it is they who will be filled.”

Again he said (cf. Lk 14:26), “If one does not hate his soul he cannot follow me.” For the beginning of salvation is repentance. Therefore (cf. Acts 13:24), “Before Christ`s appearance came John, preaching the baptism of repentance.”

And repentance takes place in distress and grief. But the father is good and loves humanity, and he hears the soul that calls upon him and sends it the light of salvation. Therefore he said through the spirit to the prophet (cf. 1 Cl 8:3), “Say to the children of my people, ‘If your sins extend from earth to heaven, and if they become red like scarlet and blacker than sackcloth, and if you return to me with all your soul and say to me ‘my Father!’, I will heed you as a holy people.'”

Again another place (Is 30:15), “Thus says the lord, the holy one of Israel: “If you return and sigh, then you will be saved and will know where you were when you trusted in what is empty.”

Again he said in another place (Is 30:19-20), “Jerusalem wept much, saying, ‘Have pity on me.’ He will have pity on the sound of your weeping. And when he saw, he heeded you. And the lord will give you bread of affliction and water of oppression. From now on, those who deceive will not approach you again. Your eyes will see those who are deceiving you.”

Therefore it is fitting to pray to God night and day, spreading out our hands towards him as do people sailing in the middle of the sea: they pray to God with all their heart without hypocrisy. For those who pray hypocritically deceive only themselves. Indeed, it is in order that he might know who is worthy of salvation that God examines the inward parts and searches the bottom of the heart. For no one is worthy of salvation who still loves the place of deception.

Therefore it is written in the poet (Homer, Odyssey 1.48-1.59), “Odysseus sat on the island weeping and grieving and turning his face from the words of Calypso and from her tricks, longing to see his village and smoke coming forth from it. And had he not received help from heaven, he would not have been able to return to his village.”

Again Helen <...> saying (Odyssey 4.260-261), “My heart turned itself from me. It is to my house that I want to return.”

For she sighed, saying (Odyssey 4.261-4.264), “It is Aphrodite who deceived me and brought me out of my village. My only daughter I left behind me, and my good, understanding, handsome husband.”

For when the soul leaves her perfect husband because of the treachery of Aphrodite, who exists here in the act of begetting, then she will suffer harm. But if she sighs and repents, she will be restored to her house.

Certainly Israel would not have been visited in the first place, to be brought out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage, if it had not sighed to God and wept for the oppression of its labors.

Again it is written in the Psalms (6:6-9), “I was greatly troubled in my groaning. I will bathe my bed and my cover each night with my tears. I have become old in the midst of all my enemies. Depart from me, all you who work at lawlessness, for behold the lord has heard the cry of my weeping and the lord has heard my prayer.”

If we repent, truly God will heed us, he who is long suffering and abundantly merciful, to whom is the glory for ever and ever. Amen!