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{{Split section|Memoirs of the Apostles|Talk:Gospel_of_the_Twelve#Proposal_to_create_a_new_article_entitled_Memoirs_of_the_Apostles|date=June 2011}}
{{Split section|Memoirs of the Apostles|Talk:Gospel_of_the_Twelve#Proposal_to_create_a_new_article_entitled_Memoirs_of_the_Apostles|date=June 2011}}
=== Name ===
=== Name ===
[[Justin Martyr]], in his [[First Apology of Justin Martyr|''First Apology'']] (ca. 155) and ''[[Dialogue with Trypho]]'' (ca. 160)<ref name="Rokeah 2002 p.2">Rokeah (2002) ''Justin Martyr and the Jews'' p.2 - His ''First Apology'' dates from about 155 CE, for it mentions (Chp 29) thr procurator of Egypt, Felix, who served in this capacity between 151 and 154. Grant (''Greek Apologists'' pp.53-54) links the ''First Apology'' to the martyrdom of Polycarp, the bishop of Smyrna, which occurred in 155 or 156; he finds allusions in the ''Apology'' to the description of Polycarp's death at the stake found in a letter sent by the Christian community of Smyrna to other Christian communities immediately after the event. ... The ''First Apology'' is mentioned in the ''Dialogue'' (end of chap. 120), and it is therefore likely that the latter was composed around 160 CE."</ref>, sometimes refers to written sources consisting of narratives of the life of [[Jesus]] and quotations of the [[sayings of Jesus]] as ''apomnemoneumata'', (memoirs) of the [[Apostles]], and less frequently as ''[[evangelium|euaggelion]]'' (gospels) which, Justin says, were read every Sunday in the church at Rome.{{cn|date=June 2011}}
[[Justin Martyr]], in his [[First Apology of Justin Martyr|''First Apology'']] (ca. 155) and ''[[Dialogue with Trypho]]'' (ca. 160)<ref name="Rokeah 2002 p.2">Rokeah (2002) ''Justin Martyr and the Jews'' p.2 - His ''First Apology'' dates from about 155 CE, for it mentions (chap. 29) the procurator of Egypt, Felix, who served in this capacity between 151 and 154. Grant (''Greek Apologists'' pp.53-54) links the ''First Apology'' to the martyrdom of Polycarp, the bishop of Smyrna, which occurred in 155 or 156; he finds allusions in the ''Apology'' to the description of Polycarp's death at the stake found in a letter sent by the Christian community of Smyrna to other Christian communities immediately after the event. ... The ''First Apology'' is mentioned in the ''Dialogue'' (end of chap. 120), and it is therefore likely that the latter was composed around 160 CE."</ref>, sometimes refers to written sources consisting of narratives of the life of [[Jesus]] and quotations of the [[sayings of Jesus]] as ''apomnemoneumata'', (memoirs) of the [[Apostles]], and less frequently as ''[[evangelium|euaggelion]]'' (gospels) which, Justin says, were read every Sunday in the church at Rome.{{cn|date=June 2011}}


The designation "memoirs of the Apostles" occurs twice in Justin's ''First Apology'' (66.3, 67.3–4) and thirteen times in the ''Dialogue'', mostly in his interpretation of Psalm 22, whereas the term "gospel" is used only three times, once in ''1 Apol.'' 66.3 and twice in the ''Dialogue''. The single passage where Justin uses both terms (''1 Apol.'' 66.3) makes it clear that "memoirs of the Apostles" and "gospels" are equivalent, and the use of the plural indicates Justin's awareness of more than one written gospel. ("The apostles in the memoirs which have come from them, which are also called gospels, have transmitted that the Lord had commanded...").<ref name="Koester 1990 pp.38,40–41">Koester (1990) ''Ancient Christian Gospels: Their History and Development'' pp.38,40–41; p.38 – ''Dial.'' 100.4; 101.3; 102.5; 103.6,8; 104.1; 105.1,5,6; 106.1,3,4; 107.1 "In each instance the materials quoted derive from written gospels, usually from Matthew and Luke, in one instance from Mark, and each time the term serves to quote, or to refer to, gospel materials which demonstrate that the prophecy of the Psalm has been fulfilled in the story of Jesus. The "Memoirs of the Apostles" are used as reliable historical records." p40 – "Justin uses the term gospel only three times ''1 Apol.'' 66.3, ''Dial.'' 10.2; 100.1." p.41 – "It is evident that "gospel" refers to the same literature that Justin otherwise calls "Memoirs of the Apostles". The use of the plural in ''1 Apol.'' 66.3 indicates that Justin knew of more than one written gospel."</ref> Justin may have preferred the designation "memoirs of the Apostles" as a contrast to the "gospel" of his contemporary [[Marcion]] to emphasize the connections between the historical testimony of the gospels and the [[Old Testament]] prophecies which Marcion rejected.<ref name="Koester 1990 pp.36–37,43">Koester 1990 ''Ancient Christian Gospels: Their History and Development'' pp.36–37,43; pp.36–37 - "...there is no evidence that anyone before Marcion had used the term "gospel" as a designation for a written document. ...those writings of Justin which are preserved, his two ''Apologies'' and his ''Dialogue with Trypho'', clearly show the effects of Marcion's challenge." p.43 – "In direct antithesis to Marcion's use of the written gospel, Justin binds these gospels to the prophetic revelation in the Old Testament scriptures."</ref>
The designation "memoirs of the Apostles" occurs twice in Justin's ''First Apology'' (66.3, 67.3–4) and thirteen times in the ''Dialogue'', mostly in his interpretation of Psalm 22, whereas the term "gospel" is used only three times, once in ''1 Apol.'' 66.3 and twice in the ''Dialogue''. The single passage where Justin uses both terms (''1 Apol.'' 66.3) makes it clear that "memoirs of the Apostles" and "gospels" are equivalent, and the use of the plural indicates Justin's awareness of more than one written gospel. ("The apostles in the memoirs which have come from them, which are also called gospels, have transmitted that the Lord had commanded...").<ref name="Koester 1990 pp.38,40–41">Koester (1990) ''Ancient Christian Gospels: Their History and Development'' pp.38,40–41; p.38 – ''Dial.'' 100.4; 101.3; 102.5; 103.6,8; 104.1; 105.1,5,6; 106.1,3,4; 107.1 "In each instance the materials quoted derive from written gospels, usually from Matthew and Luke, in one instance from Mark, and each time the term serves to quote, or to refer to, gospel materials which demonstrate that the prophecy of the Psalm has been fulfilled in the story of Jesus. The "Memoirs of the Apostles" are used as reliable historical records." p40 – "Justin uses the term gospel only three times ''1 Apol.'' 66.3, ''Dial.'' 10.2; 100.1." p.41 – "It is evident that "gospel" refers to the same literature that Justin otherwise calls "Memoirs of the Apostles". The use of the plural in ''1 Apol.'' 66.3 indicates that Justin knew of more than one written gospel."</ref> Justin may have preferred the designation "memoirs of the Apostles" as a contrast to the "gospel" of his contemporary [[Marcion]] to emphasize the connections between the historical testimony of the gospels and the [[Old Testament]] prophecies which Marcion rejected.<ref name="Koester 1990 pp.36–37,43">Koester 1990 ''Ancient Christian Gospels: Their History and Development'' pp.36–37,43; pp.36–37 - "...there is no evidence that anyone before Marcion had used the term "gospel" as a designation for a written document. ...those writings of Justin which are preserved, his two ''Apologies'' and his ''Dialogue with Trypho'', clearly show the effects of Marcion's challenge." p.43 – "In direct antithesis to Marcion's use of the written gospel, Justin binds these gospels to the prophetic revelation in the Old Testament scriptures."</ref>

Revision as of 15:08, 14 June 2011

Origen who lists the Gospel of the Twelve

The Gospel of the Twelve (Template:Lang-el), possibly also referred to as the Gospel of the Apostles, is a lost gospel mentioned by Origen in Homilies in Luke as part of a list of heretical works.

Gospel of the Twelve (Origen)

Main article: Jewish-Christian Gospels

Schneemelcher's standard edition of the New Testament Apocrypha states that "On the basis of a wrongly interpreted passage in Jerome (Dial. adv. Pelag. III 2)[1] an abortive attempt was made to link the Gospel of the Twelve with the Gospel of the Hebrews, but the majority of critics today are inclined to identify it with the Gospel of the Ebionites."[2]

Gospel of the Apostles (Jerome)

Main article: Gospel of the Hebrews

This has caused scholars such as Cassels (1874) and Parker (1940) to consider it a different "edition" of Matthew's Gospel of the Hebrews.[3][4] In regard to the "Memoirs of the Apostles," which are referred to some fifteen or twenty times by Justin, as the source of many of his quotations, Arthur Lillie (1882) and Waite Burlingame (1881) contends that Justin meant the Gospel of the Hebrews, as the Gospel of the Hebrews was also known as The Gospel of the Twelve Apostles. This was The Memoirs of the Apostles, referred to by Justin Martyr.[5][6]

Memoirs of the Apostles (Justin Martyr)

Main article: Justin_Martyr § Scriptural_citations

Name

Justin Martyr, in his First Apology (ca. 155) and Dialogue with Trypho (ca. 160)[7], sometimes refers to written sources consisting of narratives of the life of Jesus and quotations of the sayings of Jesus as apomnemoneumata, (memoirs) of the Apostles, and less frequently as euaggelion (gospels) which, Justin says, were read every Sunday in the church at Rome.[citation needed]

The designation "memoirs of the Apostles" occurs twice in Justin's First Apology (66.3, 67.3–4) and thirteen times in the Dialogue, mostly in his interpretation of Psalm 22, whereas the term "gospel" is used only three times, once in 1 Apol. 66.3 and twice in the Dialogue. The single passage where Justin uses both terms (1 Apol. 66.3) makes it clear that "memoirs of the Apostles" and "gospels" are equivalent, and the use of the plural indicates Justin's awareness of more than one written gospel. ("The apostles in the memoirs which have come from them, which are also called gospels, have transmitted that the Lord had commanded...").[8] Justin may have preferred the designation "memoirs of the Apostles" as a contrast to the "gospel" of his contemporary Marcion to emphasize the connections between the historical testimony of the gospels and the Old Testament prophecies which Marcion rejected.[9]

The origin of Justin's use the name "memoirs of the Apostles" as a synonym for the "gospels" is uncertain. Scholar David Aune has argued that the gospels were modeled after classical Greco-Roman biographies, and Justin's use of the term apomnemoneumata to mean all the Synoptic Gospels should be understood as referring to a written biography such as the Memorabilia of Xenophon because they preserve the authentic teachings of Jesus.[10] However, scholar Helmut Koester has pointed out the Greek title "Memorabilia" was not applied to Xenophon's work until the middle ages, and it is more likely apomnemoneumata was used to describe the oral transmission of the sayings of Jesus in early Christianity. Papias uses a similar term meaning "remembered" (apomnemoneusen) when describing how Mark accurately recorded the "recollections of Peter", and Justin also uses it in reference to Peter in Dial. 106.3, followed by a quotation found only in the Gospel of Mark (Mk 3:16–17). Therefore, according to Koester, it is likely that Justin applied the name "memoirs of the Apostles" analogously to indicate the trustworthy recollections of the Apostles found in the written record of the Synoptic Gospels of Matthew, Mark, and Luke, and probably also an apocryphal gospel.[11] Justin expounded on the gospel texts as an accurate recording of the fulfillment of prophecy, which he combined with quotations of the prophets of Israel from the LXX to demonstrate a proof from prophecy of the Christian kerygma.[12]

Composition

According to scholar Oskar Skarsaune, Justin relies on two main sources for his proofs from prophecy that probably circulated as collections of scriptural testimonies within his Christian school. He refers to Justin's primary source for demonstrating scriptural proofs in the First Apology and parallel passages in the Dialogue as a "kerygma source". A second source, which was used only in the Dialogue, may be identical to the lost dialogue of Aristo of Pella on the divine nature of the Messiah, The Disputation Between Jason and Papiscus (ca. 140). Justin brings in biblical quotes verbatim from these sources, and he often appears to be paraphrasing his sources very closely, even in his interpretive remarks.[13]

The following excerpts from the Dialogue with Trypho of the baptism (Dial. 88:3,8) and temptation (Dial. 103:5-6) of Jesus, which are believed to have originated from the Disputation, illustrate the use of gospel narratives and sayings of Jesus in a testimony source and how Justin has adopted these "memoirs of the Apostles" for his own purposes.

"And then, when Jesus had come to the river Jordan where John was baptizing, and when Jesus came down into the water, a fire was even kindled in the Jordan, and when He was rising up from the water, the Holy Spirit fluttered down upon Him in the form of a dove, as the Apostles have written about this very Christ of ours." (Dial. 88:3)
"And when Jesus came to the Jordan, and being supposed to be the son of Joseph the carpenter..., the Holy Spirit, and for man's sake, as I said before, fluttered down upon Him, and a voice came at the time out of the heavens - which was spoken also by David, when he said, impersonating Christ, what the Father was going to say to Him - 'You are My Son, this day I have begotten you'." (Dial. 88:8)[14]
"...the Devil himself,...[was] called serpent by Moses, the Devil by Job and Zachariah, and was addressed as Satanas by Jesus. This indicated that he had a compound name made up of the actions which he performed; for the word "Sata" in the Hebrew and Syrian tongue means "apostate", while "nas" is the word which means in translation "serpent", thus, from both parts is formed the one word "Sata-nas". It is narrated in the memoirs of the Apostles that as soon as Jesus came up out of the river Jordan and a voice said to him: 'You are My Son, this day I have begotten you', this Devil came and tempted him, even so far as to exclaim: 'Worship me'; but Christ replied: 'Get behind me, Satanas, the Lord your God shall you worship, and Him only shall you serve'. For, since the Devil had deceived Adam, he fancied that he could in some way harm him also." (Dial. 103:5-6)[15]

The source refers to the fulfillment of a prophecy of Psalm 2:7 found in the Western text-type of Luke 3:22.[16] The reference to the fire on the Jordan suggests that Justin was relying on an intermediate source for these gospel quotations of the "memoirs of the Apostles",[17] and Justin's reference to a pseudo-etymology of the Hebrew word Satan indicates a dependence on a testimony source with a knowledge of Hebrew, which was probably The Disputation of Jason and Papiscus.[18]

Justin occasionally uses the Gospel of Matthew directly as a source for Old Testament prophecies to supplement his testimony sources.[19][20] However, the fulfillment quotations from these sources most often appear to be harmonizations of the gospels of Matthew and Luke.[21] Koester suggests that Justin had composed an early harmony along the lines of his pupil Tatian's Diatesseron.[22] However, the existence of a harmony independent of a collection of sayings for exposition purposes has been disputed.[23][24] The question of whether the harmonized gospel materials found in Justin's writings came from a preexisting gospel harmony, composed by Justin or his school, or were assembled as part of an integral process of creating a scriptural proof-text is an ongoing subject of scholarly investigation.[25]

Notes

  1. ^ e.g. Sabine Baring-Gould, The Lost And Hostile Gospels, 1874; Print on demand Nabu Press, undated. p.122
  2. ^ Wilhelm Schneemelcher, R. McL. Wilson New Testament Apocrypha Vol.1 p.372 cf. Vol 2 Writings relating to the Apostles 2003 p17 "In gnostic and Manichean literature there are references to a Gospel of the Twelve (cf. vol. I, pp.374ff.), where the title is evidently intended to underline the comprehensive revelation content"
  3. ^ Walter Richard Cassels, Supernatural Religion - An Inquiry Into the Reality of Divine Revelation, 1874 reprint Read Books, 2010. Vol. 1, p 419- 422
  4. ^ Pierson Parker, A Proto-Lukan Basis for the Gospel According to the Hebrews, Journal of Biblical Literature, Vol. 59, No. 4, 1940. pp 471
  5. ^ Arthur Lillie, Buddha and early Buddhism 1882 extract The Gospel According to the Hebrews, Kessinger Publishing, 2005. pp 111–134
  6. ^ Waite Burlingame, History of the Christian Religion, to the Year Two Hundred, 1881 reprint BiblioBazaarPub, 2009. p 278
  7. ^ Rokeah (2002) Justin Martyr and the Jews p.2 - His First Apology dates from about 155 CE, for it mentions (chap. 29) the procurator of Egypt, Felix, who served in this capacity between 151 and 154. Grant (Greek Apologists pp.53-54) links the First Apology to the martyrdom of Polycarp, the bishop of Smyrna, which occurred in 155 or 156; he finds allusions in the Apology to the description of Polycarp's death at the stake found in a letter sent by the Christian community of Smyrna to other Christian communities immediately after the event. ... The First Apology is mentioned in the Dialogue (end of chap. 120), and it is therefore likely that the latter was composed around 160 CE."
  8. ^ Koester (1990) Ancient Christian Gospels: Their History and Development pp.38,40–41; p.38 – Dial. 100.4; 101.3; 102.5; 103.6,8; 104.1; 105.1,5,6; 106.1,3,4; 107.1 "In each instance the materials quoted derive from written gospels, usually from Matthew and Luke, in one instance from Mark, and each time the term serves to quote, or to refer to, gospel materials which demonstrate that the prophecy of the Psalm has been fulfilled in the story of Jesus. The "Memoirs of the Apostles" are used as reliable historical records." p40 – "Justin uses the term gospel only three times 1 Apol. 66.3, Dial. 10.2; 100.1." p.41 – "It is evident that "gospel" refers to the same literature that Justin otherwise calls "Memoirs of the Apostles". The use of the plural in 1 Apol. 66.3 indicates that Justin knew of more than one written gospel."
  9. ^ Koester 1990 Ancient Christian Gospels: Their History and Development pp.36–37,43; pp.36–37 - "...there is no evidence that anyone before Marcion had used the term "gospel" as a designation for a written document. ...those writings of Justin which are preserved, his two Apologies and his Dialogue with Trypho, clearly show the effects of Marcion's challenge." p.43 – "In direct antithesis to Marcion's use of the written gospel, Justin binds these gospels to the prophetic revelation in the Old Testament scriptures."
  10. ^ Aune (1987) The New Testament in its Literary Environment p.67 – "Justin Martyr (writing ca. 155) described the Gospels as 'reminiscences [apomnemoneumata] of the apostles' (1 Apology 66.3; 67.3) and 'reminiscences of Peter' (Dialogue with Trypho 106.3). Thus Justin, like Matthew, Luke, and Papias, prefers to designate the Gospels by a recognized literary form. Though apomnemoneumata are not carefully defined in rhetorical handbooks, they are essentially expanded chreiai, i.e., sayings and/or actions of or about specific individuals, set in a narrative framework and transmitted by memory (hence "reliable"). ... His use of the term "reminiscences", therefore, suggests a connection to Xenophon's Memorabilia (in Greek apomnemoneumata), a "biography" of Socrates."
  11. ^ Koester 1990 Ancient Christian Gospels: Their History and Development pp.33–34,38–40; pp.33-34 - "What Papias says about Mark reflects the use of categories which are drawn from the oral tradition. ... The written gospels' authority is assured by the same technical terms which had been established for the oral tradition. ... The term "remember" (mnemoneuein/apomnemoneuein) was decisive for the trustworthiness of the oral tradition." pp.39-40 - "The composite form of the verb "to remember" (apomnemoneuein) had been used by Papias of Hierapolis as a technical term for the transmission of oral materials about Jesus. If Justin's term "Memoirs of the Apostles" is derived from this usage, it designates the written gospels as the true recollections of the apostles, trustworthy and accurate, and more reliable than any oral tradition which they are destined to replace."
  12. ^ Koester 1990 Ancient Christian Gospels: Their History and Development p.377 – "The Christian proclamation about Jesus as Son of God, however, is true (in contrast to pagan myths), because the Christians possess trustworthy historical documents – "Remembrances of the Apostles" – from which it can be shown that everything in Christ's appearance and work happened in complete agreement with prophecy. What is demonstrated to be true is the Christian kerygma, not the story of the gospels. The reports contained in the gospels are used to show that the facts about Christ which the kerygma proclaims happened in complete agreement with the prophecy that announced them."
  13. ^ Skarsaune (2007) Jewish Believers in Jesus pp.380–81
  14. ^ Skarsaune (1987) The Proof From Prophecy pp.197-198, 391-392; p.197 - "Justin's narrative is a harmonization of the Synoptic accounts. There are other non-synoptic details in the context, however, which may indicate a non-synoptic source besides the Synoptic Gospels." pp.391-392 - "I have argued above that the narrative of Jesus' baptism in Dial. 88:3 derives from the "recapitulation" source. ... Men believed that Jesus was the son of Joseph, but the heavenly voice proclaimed him as God's son. Perhaps the mention of the fire is related to this idea: It may have been conceived of as a purifying or testing fire. ... Jesus at his baptism was tested as God's son by the fire, but not made God's son at his baptism. This, I gather, is also the idea embodied in Justin's narrative: Jesus was not made or established as God's son in his baptism, but he was proved to be God's son - proved by testing, or by conquering the fire."
  15. ^ Skarsaune (2007) Jewish Believers in Jesus pp.399-400; "In Justin's source, the Messiah is presented as God's pre-existent Wisdom who has descended to earth, and ascended again to his heavenly glory. ... Here I add another aspect of great significance in Justin's source, namely that Jesus is portrayed as the second and anti-typical Adam. He reverses the fall of Adam by conquering where Adam was conquered. He "recapitulates" in his own story the story of Adam, but with the opposite point of departure, the opposite direction and the opposite result. ... The very point of the (pseudo-)etymology given for Satanas in this passage is to identify the Tempter addressed by Jesus in Matt 4:11 (conflated with Matt 16:23) with the serpent that tempted the first man. In this way the parallelism between the first and second Adam is made plain. Since Justin knew no Hebrew and probably no Aramaic, there is every reason to think he got this midrashic etymology from a source..."
  16. ^ Koester (1990) Ancients Christians Gospels pp.394-395 - "In Dial. 88, Justin twice reports the coming of the holy spirit upon Jesus at his baptism. He gives this report in order to demonstrate the fulfillment of the prophecies of Isa 11:1-3 and Joel 2:28-29 about the coming of the spirit which he had quoted in Dial. 87:2 and 6. ... Finally, the heavenly voice is given by Justin in a citation of Ps 2:7, while Mark and Matthew present a wording of the heavenly voice which is a conflation of Isa 42:1 and 44:2. Only the Western text of Luke 3:22 presents the heavenly voice in the form that must be presupposed for Justin's source. Justin cannot have been the author of this form of the heavenly voice; he had no special interest in proving the fulfillment of this scriptural text, although he is quite aware of its appearance in scripture as a word of David, i.e., a psalm that David wrote. That Justin's source already contained this form of the heavenly voice is confirmed in Dial. 103:6, where he refers to it once more in passing; introducing a remark about Jesus' temptation, he again quotes the exact text of Luke 3:22 D = Ps 2:7."
  17. ^ Koester (1990) Ancients Christians Gospels p.395 - "In order to prove the fulfillment of the prophecies of Isa 11:1-3 and Joel 2:28-29, Justin only had to report the coming of the spirit upon Jesus. But not only does he add the report about the heavenly voice, he also mentions 'that a fire was lit in the Jordan'. Nothing in the context of Justin's discussion requires a mention of this phenomenon. It must have been part of the text Justin was quoting."
  18. ^ Rokeah (2002) pp.20-21 - "The accepted view is that Justin did not know Hebrew. There is clear-cut and overwhelming evidence for Justin's absolute reliance upon the Septuagint. The explanation for any apparent acquaintance or knowledge of Hebrew in Justin's writings should be sought elsewhere: in his sources. ... Dial. 103:5 contains the only two Hebrew-Aramaic etymologies in the entire work: of satan, and of yisrael. The source of these is apparently the work of Aristo of Pella, The Altercation of Jason and Papiscus."
  19. ^ Skarsaune (1987) The Proof From Prophecy p.163 note: Diagram of the internal structure of the putative "kerygma source", showing the insertion of scriptural quotation from Mt. 2:6
  20. ^ Koester (1990) Ancient Christian Gospels pp.382-383 - "In the discussion of the prophecy for the place of Jesus' birth (1 Apology 34), Justin only quotes the prophecy of Micah 5:1 and then remarks that Jesus was born in this 'village in the land of Judah which is 35 stades from Jerusalem' (1 Apol. 34:2). No actual narrative material from a gospel is quoted. ... However, the quotation of the text of Micah 5:1 is not given in the text of the LXX; rather, Justin follows the form of the text quoted in Matt. 2:6. ... The form of the quotation that appears in Matt 2:6 departs considerably from both the LXX and the Hebrew text. It is, in fact, a combination of Micah 5:1 and 2 Sam 5:2; only the latter speaks of the prince's function as the Shepard of Israel. The conflated quotation was wholly the work of Matthew. There can be no question that Justin is quoting this Matthean text."
  21. ^ Koester (1990) Ancient Christian Gospels p.365 - "The vast majority of the sayings quoted in Justin's writings are harmonizations of the texts of Matthew and Luke. These harmonizations are not casual or accidental, but systematic and consistent, (this certainly excludes...careless quotation from memory as an explanation for Justin's harmonizations) and they involve the composition of longer sections of parallel sayings from both gospels."
  22. ^ Koester, (2000) Introduction to the New Testament: History and literature of Early Christianity. 2nd ed., 1982 1st ed., p.344 - "On the basis of the gospel quotations of the First Apology and the Dialogue with Trypho, one can conclude with great certainty that Justin also had composed a harmony of the Gospels of Matthew, Mark, and Luke (he did not know the Gospel of John), which is lost but was used by his student Tatian for the composition of his famous and influential four-gospel harmony known as the Diatessaron."
  23. ^ Bellinzoni (1967) pp.99-100 - "It has already been argued above that the entire section Apol. 15-17 may have been based on a single source different from the sources underlying the rest of Justin's sayings of Jesus, and I have tried to indicate that this section has many features in common with primitive Christian catechisms."
  24. ^ Koester (1990) The Ancient Christian Gospels p.370 footnote 2: "Bellinzoni (Sayings in Justin Martyr 100) collapses stage (1) [a systematic harmonization of the texts of Matthew and Luke] and (2) [the composition of a cluster of sayings that warn against false prophets] of this process. He assumes that the harmonizations were made specifically for the composition of a catechism. This assumption, however, cannot explain why also the narrative materials quoted by Justin were drawn from a harmonized gospel text."
  25. ^ Koester (1990) Ancient Christian Gospels p.378 - "The question is whether Justin composed these harmonizations and inserted additional phrases just for the purpose of his demonstration of scriptural proof or whether he drew on a written gospel text that was already harmonized and expanded. It seems to me that we are not witnessing the work of an apologist who randomly selects pieces of various gospels and invents additional phrases for the purpose of a tight argument of literal fulfillment of scripture; nor can one solve the complex problems of Justin's quotations of gospel narrative materials by the hypothesis of a ready-made, established text of a harmonized gospel as his source. Rather, his writings permit insights into a school of scriptural exegesis in which careful comparison of written gospels with the prophecies of scripture endeavored to produce an even more comprehensive new gospel text."

References

  • Aune, David (1987). The New Testament in its Literary Environment. Westminster John Knox Press. ISBN 978-0664219123.
  • Bellinzoni, Arthur J. (1967). The Sayings of Jesus in the Writings of Justin Martyr. Brill. ASIN B0007ISJW6.
  • Koester, Helmut (2000). Introduction to the New Testament: History and literature of Early Christianity. 2nd ed. Walter de Gruyter, Berlin. ISBN 3-11-014693-2.
  • Koester, Helmut (1990). Ancient Christian Gospels: Their History and Development. SCM Press/Trinity Press. ISBN 978-0334024590.
  • Rokeah, David (2002). Justin Martyr and the Jews. Brill. ISBN 90 04 12310 5.
  • Skarsaune, Oskar (2007). Jewish Believers in Jesus. Hendrickson Publishers. ISBN 978-1565637634.
  • Skarsaune, Oskar (1987). The Proof From Prophecy: A Study in Justin Martyr's Proof Text Tradition. Brill. ISBN 90 04 07468 6.
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