Who Were the 'Good Ones' in Earliest Christianity?

[Secret Alias]

As noted in another post (which I fear has been derailed by the obsessiveness) there seems to be ample evidence from the earliest Church Fathers that there was a subclass of Jesus believers who were called 'the Good (Ones).' The reference to this class of people was written not only into the earliest (lost) copies of the gospel (Clement, Justin) but specifically the earliest (lost) Hebrew gospel (cf. Eusebius, Origen).

Of course this has something to do with the oft-described Marcionite or heretical preference for the title Chrestos as opposed to Christos. Unlike many who think that all you have to do is substitute an 'e' for 'i' to rescue 'Chrestian' and 'Chrestianity' as the original name of the Jesus movement I am certain that is not the case. Christianoi is a Latinized-Greek name. The Chrestos-associated gentilic plural was chrestoi a pre-existent title associated with the aristocracy in Athens.

The evidence seems to point in the direction of a Hebrew origin for the name unfortunately. In other words, the Chrestos association was not original developed in Greek. Indeed there seems to be a further distinction between 'the faithful' (ha'minim) who were of a lower simpler rank and these mysterious 'good ones.' This is promising because it would seem that this reference survives in Hebrew/Aramaic texts:

Although the etymology of minim is unknown, it may derive from Mani (founder of Manichaeism) or by way of abbreviation from ma'amin Yeshu notseri (believer in Jesus the Nazarene). https://books.google.com/books?id=hKAaJ ... 22&f=false

If rabbinic texts know of the common Christian type what of those in leadership positions? Is there a reference somewhere to the 'good (ones)' in Aramaic? This would blow the whole study of Christianity up to the next level.

אָ-מִינִי a-mini (means: a-sexual) asexual

[Secret Alias]

I think I already found something. From the Mishnah (so very early)

If one says, “The good ones shall bless you,” this is the way of heresy (minnut). “Your mercy extends upon the nest of birds,” “Your Name shall be remembered for the good,” “We thank You, we thank You,”—we silence him. (Mishnah, Megillah 4:9)

I keep telling people Marcionism was Jewish but ...

[Secret Alias]

Here is the bilingual reference:

האומר יברכוך טובים. הרי זו דרך המינות. על קן צפור יגיעו רחמיך ועל טוב יזכר שמך. מודים. מודים. משתקין אותו. המכנה בעריות. משתקין אותו. האומר מזרעך לא תתן להעביר למולך (ויקרא יח, כא). ומזרעך לא תתן לאעברא בארמיותא. משתקין אותו בנזיפה:

A person who, in his prayers to the Almighty, says, "The good shall [alone] bless thee," acts in a heretical manner; if he says, "Even to birds’ nests were thy mercies extended," or, "For thy goodness be thy name remembered," or one who says twice, "Modim" [in the Amidah], he shall be silenced [by authority]. Also, whoever explains the text (Lev. 18:21), Umizaracho lo titen laehavir lamolech to mean, "Thou shalt not give thy seed to an Aramite [heathen] woman," and those who explain figuratively the section in the law relating to the prohibition of carnal intercourse between relatives (Lev. 18), shall be silenced, and publicly reprimanded.

[Secret Alias]

So my hunch here is that the chrestoi are the טובים, the followers of the Good (god).

[Secret Alias]

Not surprisingly Elisha ben Abuyah is big into 'good deeds' -

אלישע בן אבויה אומר, אדם שיש בו מעשים טובים ולמד תורה הרבה למה הוא דומה

רבי אלעזר המודעי אומר, המחלל את הקדשים, והמבזה את המועדות, והמלבין פני חברו ברבים , והמפר בריתו של אברהם אבינו עליו השלום, והמגלה פנים בתורה שלא כהלכה, אף על פי שיש בידו תורה ומעשים טובים, אין לו חלק לעולם הבא.

Rabbi Elazar of Modi'in says: One who profanes the Kodeshim (sacred material); one who desecrates the holidays; one who whitens (embarrasses) the face of another in public; one who nullifies the covenant of Abraham our father, peace be upon him; one who reveals meanings in the Torah that run contrary to the law, even though he has Torah knowledge and good deeds, he has no share in the world to come.

[Secret Alias]

Abuyah:

Rabbi Meir was sitting and teaching in the Beit Midrash of Tiberias. His teacher Elisha passed by riding on a horse on Shabbat. They came and said to Elisha, “Your teacher is outside.” He stopped his teaching and went out to him. [Elisha] said to him, “What were you teaching today?” [Meir ] answered, “God blessed the end of Iyov from his beginning.” [Elisha asked], “And how did you begin [your teaching]?” [Meir] said, “And God increased all that Iyov had, two-fold; God doubled his money.” [Elisha] said, “Woe to that which was lost and not found. Your teacher Akiva did not say this. Rather God blessed the end of Iyov from his beginning; in the merit of the commandments and good deeds (ומעשים טובים) that he had from the beginning.”

[Secret Alias]

בר טבין has the same meaning as chrestos as it relates to 'nobility' https://books.google.com/books?id=rlYSW ... le&f=false


br ṭbyn n.m. noble person


1 high society person Gal, CPA, Sam. PTSan20.b:9[2] : לית ביש׳ בר טבין ^סגין^ מיני no Israelite is of a higher status than I.

[Secret Alias]

What I am imagining is a Platonized-Judaism which venerated the 'Good' (god).

[Secret Alias]

Let's not forget the (allegedly) pagan Tobiads:

ṭwbyn, ṭwbynˀ (ṭūḇyān, ṭūḇyānā) n.m. fortunate person


1 fortunate person JBA. BT Ket 40a(20) : טוביינא דחכימי most fortunate one of the wise men. BT Git 26b(31) †.

2 Tobiad Syr. IIMac12:17 : ܝܗܘ̈ܕܝܐ ܗܢܘܢ ܕܡܬܩܪܝܢ ܛܘ̈ܒܝܢܐ

[Secret Alias]

The importance of this neo-Marcionite term manifests itself still in Syriac (not surprisingly) where it means 'blessed' or 'saintly'

ṭwbn (ṭūḇān) adj. blessed


1 blessed, saintly CPA, Syr, Man. AphDem6.114:3 : ܘܦܪܕܝܣܐ ܡܠܝܟ ܠܛܘ̈ܒܢܐ .


Page refs. in other dictionaries: LS2: 514[270]; Payne-Smith: ~1436; J. Payne-Smith: 168; DCPA[Schulthess]: 145[73];


ṭwbnw, ṭwbnwtˀ (ṭūḇānū, ṭūḇānūṯā) n.f. blessedness


1 blessedness Syr.


ṭwbtnˀyt (ṭūḇṯānāˀīṯ) adv. blessedly


1 blessedly, in a saintly manner Syr. IVMac12:1 : ܟܕ ܕܝܢ ܐܦ ܗܢܐ ܛܘܒܬܢܐܝܬ ܡܝܼܬ when then this one too had died blessedly.
See also s.v. ṭwbnˀyt.