The Legend of James the Just and His Martyrdom
Posted: Sat Mar 16, 2024 9:01 pm
Edited to add: I eventually arrive at this diagram.
The James Tradition
Gospel of Thomas
Gospel of the Hebrews (as quoted by Jerome)
Clement of Alexandria (as quoted by Eusebius)
First Apocalypse of James
These provide references to James "the Just" (ὁ δίκαιος) that to me indicate in favor of seeing it as having fairly wide currency by the time of the third century, when Origen is writing.
For some more specific comments:
Gospel of Thomas
Among several other non-approved gospel texts, in a commentary on the prologue of Luke, Origen writes, "I know one gospel called According to Thomas and another According to Matthias. We have read many others, too, lest we appear ignorant of anything, because of those people who think they know something if they have examined these gospels." (Homilies on Luke, p. 6) Implied here is a claim that Origen, who no doubt read widely, read the gospels of Thomas and of Matthias. While there is some room for doubt about the exact text being mentioned or even whether Origen did read it, the statement itself indicates that it is certainly plausible that Origen had read, say, the statement of Thomas 12, as the simplest consequence here if this is the same Thomas and if Origen read it. This is mentioned here for completeness, as I don't rely on this hypothesis for anything else. One might suppose that Origen would not rely on this reference alone.
Gospel of the Hebrews
In the case of the Gospel of the Hebrews, we have Eusebius saying that there is a literary dependence in the other direction, where Hegesippus makes use of the Gospel of the Hebrews (EH 4.22.8): "Hegesippus made use in his Memoirs of the Gospel according to the Hebrews."
Clement of Alexandria (Stromateis 1.9.45) also used this text: "Even (or also, in the Gospel according to the Hebrews is written the saying, 'he that wondereth shall reign, and he that reigneth shall rest'."
Origen also used this text: Commentary on John, 2.12. "And if any accept the Gospel according to the Hebrews, where the Saviour himself saith, 'Even now did my mother the Holy Spirit take me by one of mine hairs, and carried me away unto the great mountain Thabor', he will be perplexed..."
With the quote from Jerome above referencing the phrase in this text ("gave it unto James the Just"), the Gospel of the Hebrews is a source that called James "the Just" and that Hegesippus, Clement, and Origen all used. This doesn't discount the idea that the phrase "James the Just" is also the kind of phrase that would naturally be transmitted outside of such literary contexts, whenever people might be speaking about James. It's possible for example that the phrase enters Thomas this way, rather than by dependence on the Gospel of the Hebrews, or that any of these writers may have known about it not just from the Gospel of the Hebrews. In any event, however, we can say that this phrase and the description of James as righteous predates and is independent of Hegesippus.
Clement of Alexandria
Eric Osborn writes (The Westminster Handbook to Origen, p. 81):
Eusebius quotes a letter of Alexander to Origen suggesting that Alexander became acquainted with Origen through Clement (EH 6.14.8-9):
While providing no extant explicit mention of Clement, Origen does seem at times to wrestle with his work. One example is given as follows: "In the Commentary on Matthew 14.2. Origen refers to the exegesis of Matthew 18:19-20 that Clement offers in his Stromateis 3.10 68.1." (The Westminster Handbook to Origen, p. 6)
So when it comes to Origen's description of James as righteous (δίκαιος), we are faced with an embarrassment of riches when it comes to sources that we are aware, on other grounds, that Origen used. It is a rare situation when we are able to trace as many as three different sources (the Gospel of the Hebrews, Clement, and Thomas) that are already indicated as works that someone had actually read (two of them by Origen's explicit statement, the third i.e. Clement only by the implication of Eusebius and from what is implicit in analysis of Origen's work). Yet that is the situation that we are in here.
The James Tradition
Here are three four instances where I haven't concluded that there is a literary dependence on the Hegesippus account.Peter Kirby wrote: ↑Thu Mar 21, 2024 10:47 pm Right about now, it might help to have an ambitious but hopefully illuminating diagram.
Legend
Oval: historical events or sites
Diamond: oral tradition
Rectangle: written source
Arrow: oral dependence
Large Arrow: literary dependence
Bold: exact words in Greek from oral tradition the same in more than one written source mentioned
Comments
- Death before war: A historical death of James before the First Jewish War.
- Stoned because of Priest(s): A historical event where Temple priest(s) had James killed.
- Burial site at Jerusalem wall: this may not be the actual burial site of James, but during the second century there was a burial site reputed to be that of James. This site is mentioned explicitly by Hegesippus. It was near Jerusalem. That it was near a wall would explain the description from Hegesippus and some of the later tradition about James.
- Josephus: This is the Ant. 20.200 reference, if it mentioned the same James.
- Martyr: Every early leader figure like James became a martyr in Christian tradition.
- Thrown from the Pinnacle of the Temple and beaten to death with a Fuller's Club: An oral tradition about the death of James would have arisen as part of his memory. This is the substance of a popular Christian legend about the martyr's death of James. Its legendary elements have an etiological relationship to the site believed to be his grave.
- Ascents of James: a text of this name is identified by Epiphanius, although some would distinguish between the text of that title and the source behind the Recognitions. The text is presented in 1.27-71. Although there may be some differences, no substantial differences between the text of the Recognitions 1.27-71 and this source are postulated here. The discussion has been based on the actual text of Recognitions 1.27-71. It's supposed that this text has featured part of a martyrdom legend (thrown down from a high point of the temple) in a story that takes place very early, when Paul was a persecutor. Because James lived in this story, this text doesn't provide the manner of the death of James.
- Taught the people: it is supposed that James had a reputation (in legend) for teaching the Jewish people, not just Christians.
- The Righteous One: The reputation of James as a holy man and teacher, as well as his eventual martyrdom, led him to be called the Righteous one or James the Just. There could also be some influence here from the Septuagint, which uses the word righteousness or justice (Genesis 32:10 LXX) with Jacob. This is a word that patristic writers also use with respect to the Septuagint Jacob. These are of course the same name.
- Death before the destruction of Jerusalem: There is some awareness in Christian tradition that the death of James happened before the destruction of Jerusalem, which is reflected in the First Apocalypse of James and in Hegesippus. In the First Apocalypse of James, this temporal relationship is mentioned without much additional reflection on it. In Hegesippus, it is a major theme with greater elaboration. Other texts that are part of the James tradition present predictions of the destruction of the Temple (during the life of James) but not necessarily for the same reasons or in the same way, as in Ascents of James (because of a refusal to stop sacrifices) and the Second Apocalypse of James (James is made parallel to Jesus in a few ways, including saying that he will destroy the "house" like Jesus says in the gospels).
- The Gospel of the Hebrews: The text is extant only in a few quotes, but we can see that it referred to James the Just. It's not really possible to confirm or deny because the text is not complete, but there is a possibility that this text could have been the first to introduce the fixed phrase "James the Just."
- The Gospel of Thomas: Has a reference to James the Just, his exalted leadership role, and even his cosmic significance.
- Second Apocalypse of James: one of the texts that has built off the base story provided in Ascents of James, which doesn't provide the manner of his death. This text may have been written in the early to mid second century and transmitted the basics of an oral tradition, perhaps around Syria, that James died by stoning at the order of the Temple priests. Because the way the story is told resembles in some ways the legal tradition about requirements of a stoning (Sanh. 6.3-4), this seems to be how the story of his death was elaborated on here. It presents James as martyr, such as with the prayer at his death. Themes in the speech of James have a doctrinal purpose. The legend of James being thrown from the "pinnacle" of the Temple may also have influenced this text.
- Hegesippus: this source combines pre-existing stories, including a story about the death of James involving the fuller's club and a different story of stoning from the Second Apocalypse of James. It also conforms the death of James in many ways to the manner of the death of Jesus. It uses Ascents of James for details about sects and schisms, and it paraphrase some elements of the story in Ascents of James. It introduces a story of how the righteousness and prayer of James, the bulwark, held off the destruction of Jerusalem. The names Oblias, Bulwark, and the description of what sounds like Nazirite vows for James are unique to this source when compared with other known sources before Eusebius.
- First Apocalypse of James: This text says that James will die before the outbreak of the war in Judea and before what brings sorrow for those in Jerusalem. It may have had an account of his death, now in a lacuna.
- Clement of Alexandria: Would have known the name James the Just from the Gospel of the Hebrews, possibly also from oral tradition. Clement tells what may be a popular story about the death of James. It is possibly true but not necessarily true that Clement had read Hegesippus.
Gospel of Thomas
12 The disciples said to Jesus, "We know that you are going to leave us. Who will be our leader?" Jesus said to them, "No matter where you are you are to go to James the Just, for whose sake heaven and earth came into being."
Gospel of the Hebrews (as quoted by Jerome)
Also the Gospel according to the Hebrews, lately translated by me into Greek and Latin speech, which Origen often uses, tells, after the resurrection of the Saviour: "Now the Lord, when he had given the linen cloth unto the servant of the priest, went unto James and appeared to him" (for James had sworn that he would not eat bread from that hour wherein he had drunk the Lord's cup until he should see him risen again from among them that sleep), and again after a little, "Bring ye, saith the Lord, a table and bread," and immediately it is added, "He took bread and blessed and brake and gave it unto James the Just and said unto him: 'My brother, eat thy bread, for the Son of Man is risen from among them that sleep'."
Clement of Alexandria (as quoted by Eusebius)
Euseb. H. E. II 1, 3. Κλήμης ἐν ἕκτῳ τῶν Ὑποτυπώσεων γράφων ὧδε παρίστησιν· Πέτρον γάρ φησιν καὶ Ἰάκωβον καὶ Ἰωάννην μετὰ τὴν ἀνάληψιν τοῦ σωτῆρος, ὡς ἂν καὶ ὑπὸ τοῦ σωτῆρος προτετιμημένους, μὴ ἐπιδικάζεσθαι δόξης, ἀλλὰ Ἰάκωβον τὸν δίκαιον ἐπίσκοπον τῶν Ἱεροσολύμων ἑλέσθαι.
Clement in the sixth of his Hypotyposes presents the following account: "After the ascension of the Savior, Peter, James, and John, not having yet entered on their ministry, were present at the election of his successor. They all unanimously chose James the Just as bishop of Jerusalem."
Euseb. H. E. II 1, 4f. Ὁ δ' αὐτὸς (Clemens) ἐν ἑβδόμῳ τῆς αὐτῆς ὑποθέσεως (d. i. der Hypotyposeis) ἔτι καὶ ταῦτα περὶ αὐτοῦ (d. i. den Jakobus) φησιν· »Ἰακώβῳ τῷ δικαίῳ καὶ Ἰωάννῃ καὶ Πέτρῳ μετὰ τὴν ἀνάστασιν παρέδωκεν τὴν γνῶσιν ὁ κύριος, οὗτοι τοῖς λοιποῖς ἀποστόλοις παρέδωκαν, οἱ δὲ λοιποὶ ἀπόστολοι τοῖς ἑβδομήκοντα, ὧν εἷς ἦν καὶ Βαρνάβας. δύο δὲ γεγόνασιν Ἰάκωβοι, εἷς ὁ δίκαιος, ὁ κατὰ τοῦ πτερυγίου βληθεὶς καὶ ὑπὸ γναφέως ξύλῳ πληγεὶς εἰς θάνατον, ἕτερος δὲ ὁ καρατομηθείς. αὐτοῦ δὴ τοῦ δικαίου καὶ ὁ Παῦλος μνημονεύει γράφων· <ἕτερον δὲ τῶν ἀποστόλων οὐκ εἶδον, εἰ μὴ Ἰάκωβον τὸν ἀδελφὸν τοῦ κυρίου.>»
In the seventh book of the same Hypotyposeis, Clement also speaks concerning James as follows: "The Lord after His resurrection delivered knowledge to James the Just and to John and Peter; these delivered it to the rest of the apostles, and the rest of the apostles to the seventy, of whom one was Barnabas. But there are two Jameses: one called the Just, who was thrown from the pinnacle of the temple and beaten to death with a club by a fuller, and another who was beheaded. And Paul mentions the Just, one of the apostles, in his writings, saying, 'But I saw none of the other apostles except James, the Lord's brother.'"
Clement in the sixth of his Hypotyposes presents the following account: "After the ascension of the Savior, Peter, James, and John, not having yet entered on their ministry, were present at the election of his successor. They all unanimously chose James the Just as bishop of Jerusalem."
Euseb. H. E. II 1, 4f. Ὁ δ' αὐτὸς (Clemens) ἐν ἑβδόμῳ τῆς αὐτῆς ὑποθέσεως (d. i. der Hypotyposeis) ἔτι καὶ ταῦτα περὶ αὐτοῦ (d. i. den Jakobus) φησιν· »Ἰακώβῳ τῷ δικαίῳ καὶ Ἰωάννῃ καὶ Πέτρῳ μετὰ τὴν ἀνάστασιν παρέδωκεν τὴν γνῶσιν ὁ κύριος, οὗτοι τοῖς λοιποῖς ἀποστόλοις παρέδωκαν, οἱ δὲ λοιποὶ ἀπόστολοι τοῖς ἑβδομήκοντα, ὧν εἷς ἦν καὶ Βαρνάβας. δύο δὲ γεγόνασιν Ἰάκωβοι, εἷς ὁ δίκαιος, ὁ κατὰ τοῦ πτερυγίου βληθεὶς καὶ ὑπὸ γναφέως ξύλῳ πληγεὶς εἰς θάνατον, ἕτερος δὲ ὁ καρατομηθείς. αὐτοῦ δὴ τοῦ δικαίου καὶ ὁ Παῦλος μνημονεύει γράφων· <ἕτερον δὲ τῶν ἀποστόλων οὐκ εἶδον, εἰ μὴ Ἰάκωβον τὸν ἀδελφὸν τοῦ κυρίου.>»
In the seventh book of the same Hypotyposeis, Clement also speaks concerning James as follows: "The Lord after His resurrection delivered knowledge to James the Just and to John and Peter; these delivered it to the rest of the apostles, and the rest of the apostles to the seventy, of whom one was Barnabas. But there are two Jameses: one called the Just, who was thrown from the pinnacle of the temple and beaten to death with a club by a fuller, and another who was beheaded. And Paul mentions the Just, one of the apostles, in his writings, saying, 'But I saw none of the other apostles except James, the Lord's brother.'"
First Apocalypse of James
James said, "Rabbi, you have said, 'they will seize me.' But I, what can I do?" He said to me, "Fear not, James. You too will they seize. But leave Jerusalem. For it is she who always gives the cup of bitterness to the sons of light. She is a dwelling place of a great number of archons. But your redemption will be preserved from them. So that you may understand who they are and what kinds they are, you will [...]. And listen. They are not [...] but archons [...]. These twelve [...] down [...] archons [...] upon his own hebdomad." ...
You are to hide <these things> within you, and you are to keep silence. But you are to reveal them to Addai. When you depart, immediately war will be made with this land. Weep, then, for him who dwells in Jerusalem. But let Addai take these things to heart. In the tenth year let Addai sit and write them down. And when he writes them down [...] and they are to give them [...] he has the [...] he is called Levi. ...
The Lord said, "James, do not be concerned for me or for this people. I am he who was within me. Never have I suffered in any way, nor have I been distressed. And this people has done me no harm. But this (people) existed as a type of the archons, and it deserved to be destroyed through them. But [...] the archons, [...] who has [...] but since it [...] angry with [...] The just [...] is his servant. Therefore your name is "James the Just". You see how you will become sober when you see me. And you stopped this prayer. Now since you are a just man of God, you have embraced me and kissed me. Truly I say to you that you have stirred up great anger and wrath against yourself. But (this has happened) so that these others might come to be." ...
You are to hide <these things> within you, and you are to keep silence. But you are to reveal them to Addai. When you depart, immediately war will be made with this land. Weep, then, for him who dwells in Jerusalem. But let Addai take these things to heart. In the tenth year let Addai sit and write them down. And when he writes them down [...] and they are to give them [...] he has the [...] he is called Levi. ...
The Lord said, "James, do not be concerned for me or for this people. I am he who was within me. Never have I suffered in any way, nor have I been distressed. And this people has done me no harm. But this (people) existed as a type of the archons, and it deserved to be destroyed through them. But [...] the archons, [...] who has [...] but since it [...] angry with [...] The just [...] is his servant. Therefore your name is "James the Just". You see how you will become sober when you see me. And you stopped this prayer. Now since you are a just man of God, you have embraced me and kissed me. Truly I say to you that you have stirred up great anger and wrath against yourself. But (this has happened) so that these others might come to be." ...
These provide references to James "the Just" (ὁ δίκαιος) that to me indicate in favor of seeing it as having fairly wide currency by the time of the third century, when Origen is writing.
For some more specific comments:
Gospel of Thomas
Among several other non-approved gospel texts, in a commentary on the prologue of Luke, Origen writes, "I know one gospel called According to Thomas and another According to Matthias. We have read many others, too, lest we appear ignorant of anything, because of those people who think they know something if they have examined these gospels." (Homilies on Luke, p. 6) Implied here is a claim that Origen, who no doubt read widely, read the gospels of Thomas and of Matthias. While there is some room for doubt about the exact text being mentioned or even whether Origen did read it, the statement itself indicates that it is certainly plausible that Origen had read, say, the statement of Thomas 12, as the simplest consequence here if this is the same Thomas and if Origen read it. This is mentioned here for completeness, as I don't rely on this hypothesis for anything else. One might suppose that Origen would not rely on this reference alone.
Gospel of the Hebrews
In the case of the Gospel of the Hebrews, we have Eusebius saying that there is a literary dependence in the other direction, where Hegesippus makes use of the Gospel of the Hebrews (EH 4.22.8): "Hegesippus made use in his Memoirs of the Gospel according to the Hebrews."
Clement of Alexandria (Stromateis 1.9.45) also used this text: "Even (or also, in the Gospel according to the Hebrews is written the saying, 'he that wondereth shall reign, and he that reigneth shall rest'."
Origen also used this text: Commentary on John, 2.12. "And if any accept the Gospel according to the Hebrews, where the Saviour himself saith, 'Even now did my mother the Holy Spirit take me by one of mine hairs, and carried me away unto the great mountain Thabor', he will be perplexed..."
With the quote from Jerome above referencing the phrase in this text ("gave it unto James the Just"), the Gospel of the Hebrews is a source that called James "the Just" and that Hegesippus, Clement, and Origen all used. This doesn't discount the idea that the phrase "James the Just" is also the kind of phrase that would naturally be transmitted outside of such literary contexts, whenever people might be speaking about James. It's possible for example that the phrase enters Thomas this way, rather than by dependence on the Gospel of the Hebrews, or that any of these writers may have known about it not just from the Gospel of the Hebrews. In any event, however, we can say that this phrase and the description of James as righteous predates and is independent of Hegesippus.
Clement of Alexandria
Eric Osborn writes (The Westminster Handbook to Origen, p. 81):
Clement's relation to Origen remains a puzzle. While the latter is Clement's intellectual successor, he does not mention Clement explicitly. The dates of their activity is one explanation. Clement left Alexandria during the persecution in which Origen's father was martyred. Origen's enthusiasm for martyrdom would also limit his appreciation for Clement, who fled, while Origen's father received the ultimate prize. Nevertheless almost every element in Clement's theological architecture and attitudinal stance finds a clear echo in the later Origenian system, though that system obviously developed along more biblico-exegetical lines.
Eusebius quotes a letter of Alexander to Origen suggesting that Alexander became acquainted with Origen through Clement (EH 6.14.8-9):
8. Again the above-mentioned Alexander, in a certain letter to Origen, refers to Clement, and at the same time to Pantænus, as being among his familiar acquaintances. He writes as follows:
For this, as you know, was the will of God, that the ancestral friendship existing between us should remain unshaken; nay, rather should be warmer and stronger.
9. For we know well those blessed fathers who have trodden the way before us, with whom we shall soon be; Pantænus, the truly blessed man and master, and the holy Clement, my master and benefactor, and if there is any other like them, through whom I became acquainted with you, the best in everything, my master and brother.
For this, as you know, was the will of God, that the ancestral friendship existing between us should remain unshaken; nay, rather should be warmer and stronger.
9. For we know well those blessed fathers who have trodden the way before us, with whom we shall soon be; Pantænus, the truly blessed man and master, and the holy Clement, my master and benefactor, and if there is any other like them, through whom I became acquainted with you, the best in everything, my master and brother.
While providing no extant explicit mention of Clement, Origen does seem at times to wrestle with his work. One example is given as follows: "In the Commentary on Matthew 14.2. Origen refers to the exegesis of Matthew 18:19-20 that Clement offers in his Stromateis 3.10 68.1." (The Westminster Handbook to Origen, p. 6)
So when it comes to Origen's description of James as righteous (δίκαιος), we are faced with an embarrassment of riches when it comes to sources that we are aware, on other grounds, that Origen used. It is a rare situation when we are able to trace as many as three different sources (the Gospel of the Hebrews, Clement, and Thomas) that are already indicated as works that someone had actually read (two of them by Origen's explicit statement, the third i.e. Clement only by the implication of Eusebius and from what is implicit in analysis of Origen's work). Yet that is the situation that we are in here.