Epiphanius, Phanarion

 

Epiphanius, Phanarion

 

III. ANACEPHALAEOSIS I

5:1 5. Pythagoreans, or Peripatetics. Pythagoras taught the doctrines of the monad, providence, the prohibitions of sacrifice to the supposed gods and the eating of meat, and abstention from wine.

5:2 As well, he distinguished between what is above the moon, which he called immortal, and what is below it, which he called mortal. He taught the transmigrations of souls from body to body, even of beasts and insects, as well as the keeping of a five-year period of silence. Lastly he pronounced himself divine.

III. ANACEFALAEOZA I 5: 1 5. Pitagoreici sau peripatetici. Pitagora a învățat doctrinele monadei, providența, interdicțiile sacrificiului către zeii presupuși și consumul de carne și abținerea de la vin. 5: 2 De asemenea, el a făcut distincția între ceea ce este deasupra lunii, pe care l-a numit nemuritor și ceea ce este sub ea, pe care l-a numit muritor. El a învățat transmigrațiile sufletelor de la corp la corp, chiar și de fiare și insecte, precum și păstrarea unei perioade de cinci ani de tăcere. În cele din urmă s-a pronunțat divin.

 

Part 7. Epiphanius On the Pythagoreans

1:1 Pythagoras and the Peripatetics characterized God as one before Plato, but still adhered to other philosophies, and to the principles of the philosophers I have been discussing. Like them, Pythagoras and his followers in their turn proclaim the wicked, extremely impious doctrine of the immortalizations and transmigrations of souls and the dissolution of bodies.

1:2 Pythagoras finally died in Media. He says that God is a body, meaning heaven, and that the sun and the moon, the other stars, and the planets of heaven are God's eyes and his other features, as in a man.

Partea 7. Epifanie despre pitagorici 1: 1 Pitagora și peripateticii l-au caracterizat pe Dumnezeu ca fiind unul în fața lui Platon, dar au aderat în continuare la alte filozofii și la principiile filozofilor pe care i-am discutat. La fel ca ei, Pitagora și adepții săi, la rândul lor, proclamă doctrina rea, extrem de impie, a imortalizărilor și transmigrațiilor sufletelor și a dizolvării corpurilor. 1: 2 Pitagora a murit în cele din urmă în Media. El spune că Dumnezeu este un corp, adică cerul, și că soarele și luna, celelalte stele și planetele cerului sunt ochii lui Dumnezeu și celelalte trăsături ale lui, ca la un om.

Part 18. Epiphanius Against the Nasaraeans²⁷

1:1 Next I shall undertake the describe the sect after the Hemerobaptists, called the sect of the Nasaraeans. They are Jews by nationality, from Gileaditis, Bashanitis and the Transjordan as I have been told, but descendants of Israel himself. This sect practices Judaism in all respects and have scarcely any beliefs beyond the ones that I have mentioned.

1:2 It too had been given circumcision, and it kept the same Sabbath and observed the same festivals, and certainly did not inculcate fate or astrology.

1:3 It also recognized as fathers the persons in the Pentateuch from Adam to Moses who were illustrious for the excellence of their piety—I mean Adam, Seth, Enoch, Methuselah, Noah, Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Levi and Aaron, Moses and Joshua the son of Nun. However, it would not accept the Pentateuch itself. It acknowledged Moses and believed that he had received legislation—not this legislation though, they said, but some other.²⁸

1:4 And so, though they were Jews who kept all the Jewish observances, they would not offer sacrifice or eat meat;²⁹ in their eyes it was unlawful to eat meat or make sacrifices with it. They claimed that these books are forgeries³⁰ and that none of these customs were instituted by the fathers.

1:5 This was the difference between the Nasaraeans and the others; and their refutation is to be seen not in one place but in many.

2:1 First, in their acknowledgment of the fathers and patriarchs, and Moses. Since no other writing speaks of them, how do they know the fathers' names and excellence if not from the Pentateuchal writings themselves?

2:2 And how is it possible that there is truth and falsehood in the same place, and that scripture partly tells the truth but partly lies,

2:3 when the Saviour says, 'Either make the tree good and his fruits good; or else make the tree corrupt and his fruits corrupt. For a good tree cannot bring forth evil fruit, neither can a corrupt tree bring forth good fruit?^'31

2:4 Hence their idea and the teaching they inculcate is futile, and there are many grounds for its refutation. Thus not only are the events recorded in scripture famous to this day, but even the sites of the wonders are preserved.

2:5 First there is the spot where Abraham offered the ram to God, called Mount Zion to this day. Moreover, the site of the oak of Mamre, where the calf was served to the angels. But if Abraham served a meat-dish to angels, he would not fail to share some of it himself.

3:1 Moreover, the tradition of the lamb which was slaughtered in Egypt is still famous among the Egyptians, even the idolaters.

3:2 At the time when the Passover was instituted there—this is the beginning of spring, at the first equinox—all the Egyptians take red lead, though without knowing why, and smear their lambs with it. And they also smear the trees, the fig-trees and the rest, and spread the report that fire once burned up the world on this day. But the fiery-red appearance of the blood is a protection against a calamity of such a magnitude and such nature.

3:3 But where can I not find evidence of the rite?³² Thus even today the remains of Noah’s ark are still shown in Cardyaei.³³

3:4 And if one were to make a search and discover them—it stands to reason—he would surely also find the ruins of the altar at the foot of the mountain. That was where Noah stayed after leaving the ark; and when he had offered some of the clean beasts, and their fat, to the Lord God, he was told, 'Behold, I have given thee all things even as herbs of the field. Slay and eat!'³⁴

3:5 But once more, I shall also pass by the sect’s strangeness and foolishness. I am content with the few words I have said, inserted here with my limited ability to oppose the error of the sect we have been discussing.

Partea 18. Epifanie împotriva nasarenilor27 1: 1 În continuare voi întreprinde descrierea sectei după hemerobaptiști, numită secta nasarienilor. Sunt evrei după naționalitate, din Gileaditis, Bashanitis și Transjordania, după cum mi s-a spus, dar descendenți ai lui Israel însuși. Această sectă practică iudaismul în toate privințele și abia are credințe dincolo de cele pe care le-am menționat. 1: 2 Și lui i s-a dat circumcizie și a ținut același Sabat și a respectat aceleași sărbători și cu siguranță nu a inculcat soarta sau astrologia. 1: 3 De asemenea, a recunoscut ca părinți persoanele din Pentateuh, de la Adam până la Moise, care erau ilustre pentru excelența pietății lor - mă refer la Adam, Set, Enoh, Metușela, Noe, Avraam, Isaac, Iacov, Levi și Aaron, Moise și Iosua, fiul lui Nun. Cu toate acestea, nu ar accepta Pentateuhul însuși. Acesta l-a recunoscut pe Moise și a crezut că a primit legislație - nu, însă, a spus această legislație, ci și alta 1: 4 Așadar, deși erau evrei care păstrau toate păzirile evreiești, nu au oferit sacrificii și nu au mâncat carne; 29 în ochii lor era ilegal să mănânce carne sau să facă sacrificii cu ea. Ei au susținut că aceste cărți sunt falsuri30 și că niciuna dintre aceste obiceiuri nu a fost instituită de părinți. 1: 5 Aceasta a fost diferența dintre narașeni și ceilalți; iar infirmarea lor trebuie văzută nu într-un singur loc, ci în multe. 2: 1 În primul rând, prin recunoașterea părinților și patriarhilor și a lui Moise. Întrucât nicio altă scriere nu vorbește despre ele, de unde știu numele și excelența părinților, dacă nu chiar din scrierile pentateucale? 2: 2 Și cum este posibil să existe adevăr și minciună în același loc și că Scriptura spune parțial adevărul, dar parțial minciuni, 2: 3 când Mântuitorul spune: „Fie ca pomul să fie bun și roadele lui bune; sau altfel face coruptul corupt și fructele lui corupte. Căci un copac bun nu poate aduce roade rele și nici un copac stricat nu poate aduce roade bune? '31 2: 4 Prin urmare, ideea lor și învățătura pe care o inculcă sunt inutile și există multe motive pentru respingerea ei. Astfel nu numai evenimentele consemnate în scripturi sunt faimoase până în prezent, ci chiar și locurile minunilor sunt păstrate. 2: 5 Mai întâi este locul în care Avraam i-a oferit berbecul lui Dumnezeu, numit Muntele Sion până astăzi. Mai mult, locul stejarului Mamre, unde vițelul a fost servit îngerilor. Dar dacă Avraam ar servi un fel de mâncare îngerilor, nu ar fi omis să împartă el însuși. 3: 1 Mai mult, tradiția mielului care a fost sacrificat în Egipt este încă faimoasă printre egipteni, chiar și idolatri. 3: 2 În vremea când Paștele a fost instituit acolo - acesta este începutul primăverii, la primul echinocți - toți egiptenii iau roșu plumb, deși fără să știe de ce, și își ung miei cu el. Și, de asemenea, ung copacii, smochinii și restul și răspândesc raportul că focul a ars odată lumea în această zi. Dar aspectul roșu aprins al sângelui este o protecție împotriva unei calamități de o asemenea amploare și de o asemenea natură. 3: 3 Dar unde nu pot găsi dovezi ale ritului? 32 Astfel, chiar și astăzi rămășițele arcei lui Noe sunt încă prezentate în Cardyaei.33 3: 4 Și dacă cineva ar face o căutare și le va descoperi - este normal - ar găsi cu siguranță și ruinele altarului la poalele muntelui. Acolo a rămas Noe după ce a părăsit arca; și când a oferit Domnului Dumnezeu o parte din fiarele curate și grăsimea lor, i s-a spus: „Iată, ți-am dat toate lucrurile ca niște ierburi de pe câmp. Ucide și mănâncă! '34 3: 5 Dar încă o dată, voi trece și pe lângă ciudățenia și prostia sectei. Mă mulțumesc cu cele câteva cuvinte pe care le-am spus, inserate aici cu capacitatea mea limitată de a mă opune erorii sectei despre care am discutat.

 

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Part 29. Epiphanius Against the Nazoraeans¹

1:1 Next after these come the Nazoraeans, at the same time as they or even before them—either together with them or after them, in any case their contemporaries. I cannot say more precisely who succeeded whom. For, as I said, these were contemporary with each other, and had ideas similar to each other's.

1:2 For these people did not give themselves the name of Christ² or Jesus' own name, but that of 'Nazoraeans.'

1:3 But at that time all Christians alike were called Nazoraeans. They also came to be called 'Jessaeans'³ for a short while, before the disciples began to be called Christians at Antioch.

1:4 But they were called Jessaeans because of Jesse, I suppose, since David was descended from Jesse and Mary was a lineal descendant of David. This was in fulfilment of sacred scripture, since in the Old Testament the Lord tells David, 'Of the fruit of thy belly shall I set upon thy throne.'

2:1 I am afraid of drawing the treatment of every expression out too long and so, though the truth moves me to touch on the considerations for contemplation in every expression, I give this note in brief, not to go to great length in giving the explanation.

2:2 Since the Lord said to David, 'Of the fruit of thy belly shall I set upon the throne,' and, 'The Lord sware unto David and will not repent,'⁴ it is plain that God's promise is irrevocable.

2:3 In the first place, what does God have to swear by but 'By myself have I sworn, saith the Lord?'⁵—for 'God hath no oath by a greater.'⁶ The divine does not swear, however, but the statement has the function of providing confirmation. For the Lord swore to David with an oath that he would set the fruit of his belly upon his throne.

2:4 And the apostles bear witness that Christ had to be born of David's seed, as our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ indeed was. I shall pass over the vast number of testimonies, in order, as I said, not to drag the discussion out to great length.

2:5 But probably someone might say, 'Since Christ was physically born of David's seed, that is, of the Holy Virgin Mary, why is he not sitting on David's throne? For the Gospel says, 'They came that they might anoint him king, and when Jesus perceived this he departed ... and hid himself in Ephraim, a city of the wilderness.' '⁷

2:6 But now that I have gotten to this passage and am asked about this text and the reason why the prophecy about sitting on David's throne has not been fulfilled physically in the Saviour's case—for some have thought that it has not—I shall still say that it is a fact. No word of God's holy scripture comes to nothing.

3:1 For David's throne and kingly seat is the priesthood in the holy church. The Lord has combined this kingly and high priestly rank and conferred it on his holy church by transferring David's throne to it, never to fail.

3:2 In time past David's throne continued by succession until Christ himself, since the rulers from Judah did not fail until he came 'for whom are the things prepared, and he is the expectation of the nations,'⁸ as scripture says.

3:3 For the rulers in succession from Judah came to an end with Christ's arrival. Until he came the rulers were anointed priests,⁹ but after his birth in Bethlehem of Judea the order ended and was altered¹⁰ in the time of Alexander, a ruler of priestly and kingly stock.

3:4 This position died out with this Alexander from the time of Salina also known as Alexandra, in the time of King Herod and the Roman emperor Augustus. (Though this Alexander was crowned also, as one of the anointed priests and rulers.¹¹

3:5 For when the two tribes, the kingly and priestly, were united—I mean the tribe of Judah with Aaron and the whole tribe of Levi—kings also became priests, for nothing hinted at in holy scripture can be wrong.)¹²

3:6 But then finally a gentile, King Herod, was crowned, and not David's descendants any more.

3:7 But with the transfer of the royal throne the rank of king passed, in Christ, from the physical house of David and Israel to the church.¹³ The throne is established in God's holy church forever, and has both the kingly and the high-priestly rank for two reasons.

3:8 It has the kingly rank from our Lord Jesus Christ, in two ways: because he is physically descended from King David, and because he is in fact a greater king from all eternity in virtue of his Godhead. But it has the priestly rank because Christ himself is high priest and the founder of the office¹⁴ of the high priests

3:9 since James, who was called the Lord's brother and who was his apostle, was immediately¹⁵ made the first bishop.¹⁶ He was Joseph's son by birth, but was ranked as the Lord's brother because of their upbringing together.

4:1 For this James was Joseph's son by Joseph's first wife,¹⁷ not by Mary, as I have said in many other places¹⁸ and dealt with more clearly for you.

4:2 And moreover I find that he was of Davidic descent because of being Joseph's son, and that he was born a Nazirite—for he was Joseph's first-born, and (thus) consecrated.¹⁹ And I have found further that he also functioned as (high)-priest in the ancient priesthood.²⁰

4:3 Thus he was permitted to enter the Holy of Holies once a year, as scripture says the Law directed the high priests to do. For many before me—Eusebius, Clement and others—have reported this of him.

4:4 He was allowed to wear the priestly tablet²¹ besides, as the trustworthy authors I mentioned have testified in those same historical writings.

4:5 Now our Lord Jesus Christ, as I said, is 'priest forever after the order of Melchizedek,'²² and at the same time hereditary king, so that he may transfer the priesthood along with the lawgiving.

4:6 And since David's seed, through Mary, is seated on the throne, his throne endures forever and of his kingdom there shall be no end. He should now transfer the order  of the former kingship; for indeed his kingdom is not earthly, as he said to Pontius Pilate in the Gospel, 'My Kingdom is not of this world.'²³

4:7 For since Christ brings to fulfilment²⁴ all the things (that have been said) in riddles, the preliminaries have reached a limit. For he who is always king did not come to achieve sovereignty. He granted the crown to those whom he appointed—lest it be thought that he advanced from a lower estate to a higher.

4:8 For his throne endures, of his kingdom there shall be no end, and he is seated on the throne of David and has transferred David's kingship and granted it, together with the high priesthood, to his own servants, the high priests of the catholic church.

4:9 And there is much to say about this. But in any case, since I have come to the topic of the reason why those who had come to faith in Christ were called Jessaeans before they were called Christians, we said that Jesse was the father of David. And they had been named Jessaeans, either because of this Jesse; or from the name or our Lord Jesus since, being his disciples, they were derived from Jesus; or because of the etymology of the Lord's name. For in Hebrew Jesus means 'healer' or 'physician,'²⁵ and 'saviour.'

4:10 In any case, they had got this name before they were called Christians. But at Antioch, as I have mentioned before and as is the essence of the truth, the disciples and the whole church of God began to be called Christians.

5:1²⁶ If you enjoy study and have read the passage about them in Philo's historical writings, in his book entitled 'Jessaeans,' you can find that, in giving his account of their way of life and their hymns and describing their monasteries in the vicinity of the Marean marsh, Philo described none other than Christians.²⁷

5:2 For when he visited the area—the place is called Mareotis—and was entertained by them at their monasteries in the region, he was edified.

5:3 He arrived there during Passover and observed their customs, and how some of them put off (eating) throughout the holy week of Passover, though others ate every other day and others, indeed, each evening.²⁸ But all this has been written by Philo on the subject of the Christians' faith and regimen.

5:4 So when they were called Jessaeans then shortly after the Saviour's ascension and after Mark had preached in Egypt,²⁹ in those times certain other persons, supposed followers of the apostles, seceded in their turn. I mean the Nazoraeans, whom I am discussing here. They were Jewish, were attached to the Law, and had circumcision.

5:5 But it was as though people had seen fire under a misapprehension. Not understanding why, or for what use, the persons who had kindled this fire were doing it—either to cook their rations with the fire, or burn some dead trees and brush, which are usually destroyed by fire—they kindled fire too, in imitation, and set themselves ablaze.

5:6 For by hearing just Jesus' name, and seeing the miracles performed by the hands of the apostles, they came to faith in Jesus themselves. And since they found that he had been conceived at Nazareth and brought up in Joseph's home, and for this reason is called 'Jesus the Nazoraean' in the Gospel—as the apostles say, 'Jesus the Nazoraean, a man approved by signs and wonders,'³⁰ and so on—they adopted this name, so as to be called Nazoreans.

5:7 Not 'Nazirites'—that means 'consecrated persons.' Anciently this rank belonged to firstborn sons and men who had been dedicated to God. Samson was one, and others after him, and many before him. Moreover, John the Baptist too was one of these same persons who were consecrated to God, for 'He drank neither wine nor strong drink.'³¹ (This regimen, an appropriate one for their rank, was prescribed for such persons.)

6:1 They did not call themselves Nasaraeans either; the sect of Nasaraeans was before Christ and did not know Christ.

6:2 But besides, as I have indicated, everyone called the Christians Nazoraeans, as they say in accusing Paul the apostle, 'We have found this man a pestilent fellow and a perverter of the people, a ring-leader of the sect of the Nazoraeans.'³²

6:3 And the holy apostle did not disclaim the name—not to profess these people's heresy, but he was glad to own the name his adversaries' malice had applied to him for Christ's sake.

6:4 For he says in court, 'They neither found me in the temple disputing with any man, neither raising up the people, nor have I done any of those things whereof they accuse me. But this I confess unto thee, that after the way which they call heresy, so worship I, believing all things in the Law and the prophets.'³³

6:5 And no wonder the apostle admitted to being a Nazoraean! In those days everyone called Christians this because of the city of Nazareth—there was no other usage of the name at the time. And so people gave the name of 'Nazoraeans' to believers in Christ, of whom it is written, 'because he shall be called a Nazoraean.'³⁴

6:6 Even today in fact, people call all the sects, I mean Manichaeans, Marcionites, Gnostics and others, by the common name of 'Christians,' though they are not Christians. However, although each sect has another name, it still allows this one with pleasure, since the name is an ornament to it. For they think they can preen themselves on Christ's name—certainly not on Christ's faith and works!

6:7 Thus Christ's holy disciples too called themselves 'disciples of Jesus' then, as indeed they were. But when others called them Nazoraeans they did not reject it, being aware of the intent of those who were calling them that. They were calling them Nazoraeans because of Christ, since our Lord Jesus was called 'the Nazoraean' himself—as the Gospels and the Acts of the Apostles say—

6:8 because of his upbringing in the city of Nazareth (now a village) in Joseph's home, after having been born in the flesh at Bethlehem, of the ever-virgin Mary, Joseph's betrothed. For Joseph had settled in Nazareth after leaving Bethlehem and taking up residence in Galilee.

7:1 But these same sectarians whom I am discussing here disregarded the name of Jesus, and neither called themselves Jessaeans, kept the name of Jews, nor termed themselves Christians—but 'Nazoraeans' supposedly from the name of the place 'Nazareth.' But they are Jews in every way and nothing else.

7:2 They use not only the New Testament but the Old Testament as well, as the Jews do. For they do not repudiate the legislation, the prophets, and the books which are called Writings by the Jews and by themselves. They have no different views but confess everything in full accord with the doctrine of the Law and like the Jews, except that they are supposedly believers in Christ.

7:3 For they acknowledge both the resurrection of the dead and that all things have been created by God,³⁵ and they declare that God is one, and that his Son is Jesus Christ.

7:4 They are perfectly versed in the Hebrew language, for the entire Law, the prophets, and the so-called Writings—I mean the poetic books, Kings, Chronicles, Esther and all the rest—are read in Hebrew among them, as of course they are among the Jews.

7:5 They are different from Jews, and different from Christians, only in the following ways. They disagree with Jews because of their belief in Christ; but they are not in accord with Christians because they are still fettered by the Law—circumcision, the Sabbath, and the rest.³⁶

7:6 As to Christ, I cannot say whether they too are misled by the wickedness of Cerinthus and Merinthus, and regard him as a mere man—or whether, as the truth is, they affirm that he was born of Mary by the Holy Spirit.

7:7 This sect of Nazoraeans is to be found in Beroea³⁷ near Coelesyria, in the Decapolis near Pella, and in Bashanitis at the place called Cocabe³⁸—Khokhabe in Hebrew.

7:8 For that was its place of origin, since all the disciples had settled in Pella after their remove from Jerusalem—Christ having told them to abandon Jerusalem and withdraw from it³⁹ because of the siege it was about to undergo. And they settled in Peraea for this reason and, as I said, lived their lives there. It was from this that the Nazoraean sect had its origin.

8:1 But they too are wrong to boast of circumcision, and persons like themselves are still 'under a curse,'⁴⁰ since they cannot fulfil the Law. For how will they be able to fulfil the Law's provision, 'Thrice a year thou shalt appear before the Lord thy God, at the feasts of Unleavened Bread, Tabernacles and Pentecost,'⁴¹ on the site of Jerusalem?

8:2 For since the site is closed off,⁴² and the Law's provisions cannot be fulfilled, it must be plain to anyone with sense that Christ came to be the fulfiller of the Law—not to destroy the Law but to fulfil the Law—and to lift the curse that had been pronounced on transgression of the Law.

8:3 For after Moses had given every commandment he came to the end of the book and 'included the whole in a curse'⁴³ by saying, 'Cursed is he that continueth not in all the words that are written in this book to do them.'⁴⁴

8:4 Hence Christ came to free what had been fettered with the bonds of the curse by granting us, in place of the lesser commandments which cannot be fulfilled, ones which are greater and which are not inconsistent with the completion of the task as the former ones were.

8:5 For often in every Sect, when I reached the point, I have explained in connection with the Sabbath, circumcision and the rest, how the Lord has granted us something more perfect.

8:6 But how can people like these be defensible since they have not obeyed the Holy Spirit who said through the apostles to gentile converts, 'Assume no burden save the necessary things, that ye abstain from blood, and from things strangled, and fornication, and from meats offered to idols?'⁴⁵

8:7 And how can they fail to lose the grace of God, when the holy apostle Paul says, 'If ye be circumcised, Christ shall profit you nothing .... whosoever of you do glory in the Law are fallen from grace?'⁴⁶

9:1 In this Sect too, my brief discussion will be sufficient. People of their kind are refutable at once and easy to detect and, rather (than being heretical Christians), are Jews and nothing else.

9:2 Yet to the Jews they are very much enemies. Not only do Jewish people bear hatred against them; they even stand up at dawn, at midday, and toward evening, three times a day when they recite their prayers in the synagogues, and curse and anathematize them—saying three times a day, 'God curse the Nazoraeans.'47

9:3 For they harbour a further grudge against them, if you please, because despite their Jewish origin, they preach that Jesus is the Christ—something that is the opposite of those who are still Jews and have not accepted Jesus.

9:4 They have the Gospel according to Matthew in its entirety in Hebrew.⁴⁸ For it is clear that they still preserve this as it was originally written, in the Hebrew alphabet. But I do not know whether they have also excised the genealogies from Abraham till Christ.

9:5 But now that we have also detected this sect—like a stinging insect that is small, and yet causes pain with its poison—and have squashed it with the words of the truth, let us go on to the next, beloved, praying for help from God.

 

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Part 10. Epiphanius Against the Essenes

1:1 The Samaritans²⁴ were divided into four sects. These agreed on circumcision, the Sabbath and the other provisions of the Law. But each of the three differed from its fellows—with the sole exception of the Dositheans, in unimportant ways and to a limited extent.

1:2 The Essenes continued their original practice and never went beyond it. After them, the Gorothenes disagreed over a certain small point for a dispute has arisen between them, I mean between the Sebuaeans, Essenes and Gorothenes.

1:3 The nature of the dispute is this. The Law directed the Jews to gather at Jerusalem from all quarters—often, and at three times of the year, the Feast of Unleavened Bread, Pentecost and Tabernacles.

1:4 There were Jews living here and there within the boundaries of both Judea and Samaria, and they naturally used to cross Samaria on their way to Jerusalem.

1:5 Since (Jews and Samaritans) would meet at one season, (each) with their gathering for the festival, clashes would result. Besides, when Ezra was building Jerusalem after the return from Babylon, and the Samaritans asked if they could contribute aid to the Jews and take part in the building, and were refused by Ezra himself, and by Nehemiah.

Constantin Daniel Fragment din carte: Esenienii, locuind în peşteri, este foarte probabil că, după zile întregi de izolare senzorială (lipsă de percepţii vizuale şi auditive), aveau astfel de halucinaţii vizuale - vedeau felurite arătări, - sau auzeau voci şi sunete, pe care le considerau ca ale divinităţii, ale îngerilor sau ale tainelor divine. Pe de altă parte, s-a pus în evidenţă că lipsa îndelungată de somn (peste trei zile) este şi ea în stare să provoace astfel de halucinaţii vizuale la subiecţii care au fost supuşi la asemenea experimente de suprimare voluntară (şi nu numai medicamentoasă) a somnului62. Tot astfel vom adăuga că esenienii de la Qumran nu beau la masă vin, ci ceea ce traducătorii textelot de la Marea Moartă au numit în mod foarte ciudat fie "must", fie "vin dulce", fie "suc". Cuvântul obişnuit pentru vin în ebraică este yayin, şi există şi un alt cuvânt rar pentru vin, 'asis, însă în Regula Comunităţii, VI, 4-5 se consemna că se bea în mod obişnuit o altă băutură numită tiros tradus în modul de mai sus de interpreţi. Se pare că băutura reprezenta o parte importantă la mesele esenienilor, căci masa este numită adesea "băutura celor Numeroşi". Se poate presupune că în această "băutură", care nu era vin, nici must (căci nu s-ar fi conservat în pustiu), se introducea de către conducătorii comunităţii eseniene o substanţă halucinogenă de tipul celei ce se extrage din claviceps purpurea (ciupercă parazită a bobului de secară, din care se fabrică actualul LSD), sau, de asemenea, o substanţă halucinogenă ca cea din ciuperca amanita muscaria, ori poate este vorba de un amestec de haşiş (cunoscut şi folosit apoi pe o scară mare de o sectă mistică islamică, haşişinii), ce provine dintr-o specie de cânepă, cannabis indica. In felul acesta s-ar putea explica viziunile descrise în mod atât de frecvent în manuscrisele de la Marea Moartă. Trebuie să adăugăm că şi alte cărţi scrise de esenieni, aşa-zisele cărţi eseniene pseudoepigrafice, menţionează deseori vederea divinităţii, a îngerilor şi a tainelor divine, doctrină care este cu totul străină de iudaismul tradiţional, pentru că, de pildă, în Faptele Apostolilor (cap. VII), Sf. Ştefan este ucis cu pietre fiindcă strigase că vede cerurile deschise şi divinitatea. Or, în cărţile eseniene, se poate citi că "dreptul" Enoch vede divinitatea. Tot astfel în Cartea tainelor lui Enoch se află numeroase teofanii (XXII, 1; XXII, 4-6, etc.) ca şi în Cartea Jubileelor (44, 5). ...în manuscrisele de la Marea Moartă, esenienii îşi dau adesea denumirea de "lot, parte a lui Dumnezeu", iar A. Dupont-Sommer observă că termenul goral (lot, parte) revine deseori ca un leitmotiv în diferitele texte de la Qumran, frecvenţa sa corespunzând unei idei dominante, aceea a unei predestinări riguroase. Or Filon din Alexandria scrie: "Căci iată, el numeşte lot al lui Dumnezeu pe credinciosul său slujitor, văzătorul" (De plantatione, § 60) şi: "Să nu ne mirăm deci de a vedea astfel că lotul excepţional al Divinităţii Supreme... este, se spune, comunitatea sufletelor înţelepte care vede în chipul cel mai adânc, care nu se foloseşte decât de ochii fără de prihană şi totdeauna curaţi ai gândirii, care are privirea totdeauna clară şi îşi păstrează mereu calea dreaptă" (Deplantatione, §§ 58-59). CUPRINS: I. Din enigmele manuscriselor de la Marea Moartă 1. ORIGINEA MIŞCĂRII ESENIENE 2. SCIZIUNILE DIN MIŞCAREA ESENIANĂ 3. CINE SUNT PROROCII MINCINOŞI? 4. CINE SUNT TÂLHARII? II. Filon din Alexandria şi esenienii III. Două menţiuni revelatoare despre esenienii de la Marea Moartă IV. O importantă menţionare a esenienilor făcută de Ap. Pavel V. "Irodieni" - denumirea esenienilor în Noul Testament VI. Manuscrisele de la Marea Moartă şi literatura aramaică a iudeilor APOCRIFUL GENEZEI CARTEA LUI ENOCH

Esenienii si manuscrisele de la Marea Moarta

https://www.carti-bune.ro/carte/esenienii-si-manuscrisele-de-la-marea-moarta--i36804

 

Part 14. Epiphanius Against the Sadducees

 

2:1 First are the Sadducees, who were an offshoot of Dositheus.2 These give themselves the name of 'Sadducees,' and the title is derived from 'righteousness,' if you please; 'zedek' means 'righteousness.' (But anciently there was also a priest named Zadok.)3

 

2:2 However, these did not abide by their master's teaching. They rejected the resurrection of the dead4 and held an opinion like the Samaritans'. But they do not admit the existence of angels, though Samaritans do not deny this. And they do not know the Holy Spirit,5 for they have not been deemed worthy of him. All their observances are just like the Samaritans'.

 

2:3 But they were Jews, not Samaritans; for they offered sacrifice in Jerusalem, and cooperated with Jews in everything else.

 

3:1 But they too will be demolished by the Lord's trustworthy saying, which they brought on themselves through his solution to their problem, when they came to him and said, 'Can there be a resurrection of the dead?' And 'There were seven brothers,'6 they said, 'and the first married a wife and died childless. And the second took her—Moses commands a man to perform the levirate for his brother’s wife if he has died childless, and marry her for his brother’s sake, to beget offspring in the name of the deceased. So the first took her, and the second,' they said, 'and died, and so with all seven. But at the resurrection of the dead whose wife will she be, since all seven knew her?'

 

3:2 But the Lord replied, 'Ye do err, not knowing the scriptures nor the power of God. In the resurrection of the dead they neither marry nor are given in marriage, but are equal unto the angels. But that the dead will be raised Moses will teach you, as God declared to him and said, 'I am the God of Abraham, and the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob.' But he is a God of the living, not of the dead.'7 And he 'put them to silence.' For they are easily cured and cannot hold out even for an instant against the truth.

 

Note: Dositheos also known as Nathanael, both meaning "gift of God" was an exiled high ranking Jewish priest in Samaria, in the time of Sanballat the Horonite.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dositheos_(Samaritan)