Biblical Criticism & History Forum - earlywritings.com

Posted: **Mon Nov 07, 2016 9:02 am**

Ben C. Smith wrote: No, it is your translation which is incorrect. Just because something is impossible does not mean that it has to be retranslated until it is at least feasible. "He flew to London by flapping his arms." That sentence has meaning, even if the meaning is impossible for a human. It would be a mistake to retranslate it as: "He flew to London by plane."

I do not translate αναστασις νεκρων as ‘the rising of the moribund’ because I want to avoid the impossible ‘resurrection of the dead’. I believe Didache XVI conveys historical information, and historical events are not impossible, that’s a contradictio in terminis. Why would the author of the Didache include one impossible event in a series of events that are traceable as war events? Josephus has described the rising of moribund survivors immediately after the fall of Jerusalem – see above.

Allow me to compare with Matthew 27, 51-52:
And behold, the curtain of the temple was torn in two, from top to bottom; and the earth shook, and the rocks were split; the tombs also were opened, and many bodies of the saints who had fallen asleep were raised, and coming out of the tombs after his resurrection they went into the holy city and appeared to many.

The tearing of the veil of the Temple is mentioned in Mark (and Luke), and at first sight Matthew’s overheated fantasy has been at work in the rest of this fragment, introducing an earthquake that has otherwise remained unreported, and also that same impossible event of people coming out of their tombs. Maybe Matthew wanted to underline the cosmic importance of Jesus’ death with these extraordinary accompanying events? I suppose in this mythological context we are urged to interpret ‘who had fallen asleep’ as ‘who died’, although the basis meaning of κοιμαω is ‘to sleep’.

I would like to reconsider this passage starting from the presumption that its author, just like the author of Didache XVI, has tried to convey historical information, not in a journalistic way but in a veiled way so that it was only accessible to insiders.

The veil of the Temple is the first element. Maybe we should take the hint seriously and consider its tearing to be a pars pro toto for the destruction of the Herodian Temple. It might be a chronological marker, a veiled way to say: I, Matthew (or whoever the real author was) am describing things that happened in 70 CE.

Then comes the earth that shook. Is it necessary to interpret ἡ γῆ ἐσείσθη as the natural phenomenon of an earthquake? Maybe not. In War IV, 286 Josephus describes a thunderstorm: For during the night a devastating storm broke out; a hurricane raged, rain fell in torrents, lightning flashed continuously, accompanied by fearful thunderbolts, and the earth quaked (σειομενης της γης) with extraordinary rumbles. Is Josephus describing an unreported earthquake or only giving a detailed account of a violent thunderstorm?
Would it be possible to discern sources of heavy trembling during the battle of Jerusalem? I see at least three of them: the coming down of ballista stones, the beating of battering rams against the walls of the city, and the falling down of huge ashlars when the walls were pulled down shortly after the capture.

Next comes the splitting of the rocks, and maybe it is not implausible to see the shaking of the earth and the splitting of the rocks as cause and effect. What wartime activity made the πετραι (rocks, blocks of stone) split? I think the Roman battering rams are the best candidates, and their use and the resulting damage is described in War V, 23-28 and VI, 222 and 394. I quote this last verse: When a section of the wall was broken through, and some of the towers gave way before the battering rams, the defenders immediately took flight and even the tyrants were filled with a terror unjustified by the situation.

And then the holy ones are raised: And many bodies of the saints who had fallen asleep were raised, and coming out of the tombs after his resurrection they went into the holy city and appeared to many. Here as well as in the garden of Gethsemane we encounter people who sleep. Maybe they had fallen asleep because they were lethargic, exhausted and depressed as part of the terminal phase of famine? Did they come out of their tombs, had their bodies been covered with earth? No, they came out of μνημεια, memorials with spacious underground dwellings for the well-to-do dead, which could be used as hiding places or as a last refuge for the terminally starved to die undisturbedly. Jesus’ rising is chronologically connected with this appearance of the emaciated survivors of the siege. I will return to this connection later.

Allow me this new translation with minimal comments:
And look, the curtain of the temple was torn in two, from top to bottom [as part of its destruction]; and the earth shook, and [→ so that] the blocks of stone were split; the memorials also were opened, and many bodies of the holy ones who had fallen asleep were raised, and coming out of the memorials after his rising they went into the holy city and appeared to many.

I believe that just like Didache XVI:5-6, Matthew 27:51-52 provides us with a series of chronological markers that the core events described in the Gospels took place during the time of the culminating events of the war of the Jews against the Romans in the summer of 70 CE.
Schematically it looks like this.

-----Fragment------	-------Veiled description-----------	---------Overt description--------	------------Timing-----------
Didache XVI, 5-6	Fiery trial	Burning of the Temple and the city of Jerusalem	Beginning and end of August 70 CE
	Sign spread out in the air	Smoke production of the burning of the Temple	Beginning of August 70 CE
	Sound of the salpinx	Roman victory over the Jews	End of August 70 CE
	Rising of the moribund	Appearance of survivors from their hiding places	End of August, beginning of September 70 CE
Matthew 27, 51-52	Tearing of the veil of the Temple	Destruction of the Temple	Beginning of August 70 CE
	The earth shaking	Ballista stones, battering rams, demolition of walls and towers	July to September 70 CE
	Blocks of stone split	Effect of battering rams or demolition	July to September 70 CE
	Appearance of holy ones who had fallen asleep	Appearance of survivors from their hiding places	End of August, beginning of September 70 CE

Posted: **Mon Nov 07, 2016 10:33 am**

Matthew 27:51-52
It is all of it only religious biblical language

one example of resurrection.
Ezekiel 37
7 So I prophesied as I had been commanded; and as I prophesied, suddenly there was a noise, a rattling, and the bones came together, bone to its bone. 8I looked, and there were sinews on them, and flesh had come upon them, and skin had covered them; but there was no breath in them. 9Then he said to me, ‘Prophesy to the breath, prophesy, mortal, and say to the breath:* Thus says the Lord GOD: Come from the four winds, O breath,* and breathe upon these slain, that they may live.’ 10I prophesied as he commanded me, and the breath came into them, and they lived, and stood on their feet, a vast multitude.
11 Then he said to me, ‘Mortal, these bones are the whole house of Israel. They say, “Our bones are dried up, and our hope is lost; we are cut off completely.” 12Therefore prophesy, and say to them, Thus says the Lord GOD: I am going to open your graves, and bring you up from your graves, O my people; and I will bring you back to the land of Israel. 13And you shall know that I am the LORD, when I open your graves, and bring you up from your graves, O my people

one example of darkness and quakes
Amos 8
8 Shall not the land tremble on this account,
and everyone mourn who lives in it,
and all of it rise like the Nile,
and be tossed about and sink again, like the Nile of Egypt?

9 On that day, says the Lord GOD,
I will make the sun go down at noon,
and darken the earth in broad daylight.
10 I will turn your feasts into mourning,
and all your songs into lamentation;
I will bring sackcloth on all loins,
and baldness on every head;
I will make it like the mourning for an only son,
and the end of it like a bitter day.

Tearing of the curtain
The tearing of the curtain is the Christian addition to a traditional literary motif .The tearing of the curtain is the dead fig tree of Mark 11; In the morning, as they went along, they saw the fig tree withered from the roots. 21 Peter remembered and said to Jesus, “Rabbi, look! The fig tree you cursed has withered!”

Posted: **Mon Nov 07, 2016 10:50 am**

FransJVermeiren wrote:
Ben C. Smith wrote: No, it is your translation which is incorrect. Just because something is impossible does not mean that it has to be retranslated until it is at least feasible. "He flew to London by flapping his arms." That sentence has meaning, even if the meaning is impossible for a human. It would be a mistake to retranslate it as: "He flew to London by plane."
I do not translate αναστασις νεκρων as ‘the rising of the moribund’ because I want to avoid the impossible ‘resurrection of the dead’. I believe Didache XVI conveys historical information, and historical events are not impossible, that’s a contradictio in terminis.

Well, carry on, then. Your procedure of assuming a one-to-one correspondence between apocalyptic texts and historical events strikes me as virtually guaranteed to generate wildly inaccurate results, but have at it.

Posted: **Mon Nov 07, 2016 11:04 am**

Ha, ha, ha (rolling on the ground graphic needed)

Posted: **Tue Nov 08, 2016 2:03 pm**

(part 7)

Didache XVI verse 8
Then shall the world see the Lord coming on the clouds of heaven.

The arrival of the messiah

-------------------Didache XVI------------------	--------------Josephus------------	--------------------------New Testament-------------------------
Verse 8		Mt 24, 30
“Then shall the world see the Lord coming on the clouds of heaven.”		“Immediately after the catastrophe of those days the sun will be darkened, and the moon will not give its light (…) then will appear the sign of the Son of man in the sky, and then all the tribes of the earth will mourn, and they will see the Son of man coming on the clouds of heaven with power and great glory.”

(D) The arrival of the messiah is the crowning event of Didache XVI. Verse 8 starts with τότε, which means 'then, at that time, simultaneously’. So we have to look at the preceding verses to see which exactly is the moment when the messiah arrives. What immediately precedes are the signs in verse 6: the column of smoke, the final victory and the rising of the moribund. We know from Josephus that the survivors of the siege turned up from their hiding places immediately after the capture of Jerusalem, so the messiah arrived immediately after the war. Maybe he was one of those risen survivors, and maybe he was considered to be the expected messiah because his case was the most spectacular case of survival. He was a sign of hope in the deepest despair, the start of a reversal of fortune that would eventually lead to God’s (and the Jews’) reign over the world, as described in Zechariah 14, verse 9 as well as in Revelation 11, verse 15.

(NT) In Matthew 24 verse 30 τότε is used twice, and combined with verse 29 this gives the following chronological picture, also with the arrival of the messiah as the moment suprême:
1. The catastrophe
2. Immediately (εὐθέως) after the catastrophe a huge column of smoke spreads out in the air, that darkens the sun and the moon
3. At the same time (τότε) (a) all the tribes of Israel (γη in territorial sense) understandably mourn for the loss of their national sanctuary, and (b) the Son of man appears.

(J) Of course we do not find any corresponding information in Josephus as, according to Origen, Josephus did not believe in Jesus as the messiah.
Nevertheless, at the end of his Life Josephus gives an account of a small though spectacular event in the very last days of the siege of Jerusalem: “Once more, when I was sent (…) to a village called Tekoa (… )on my return saw many prisoners who had been crucified, and recognized three of my acquaintances among them, I was cut to the heart and came and told Titus with tears what I had seen. He gave orders immediately that they should be taken down and receive the most careful treatment. Two of them died in the physicians’ hands; the third survived.”
Could this spectacular case of a man surviving of a 100% fatal method of execution during the holocaust of Jerusalem be the ultimate proof op God’s compassion with his people?

Krijbolder has drawn my attention to the many parallels between this story and the Passion story in the Gospels. Below I have slightly adapted Krijbolder’s findings.

	--------------Josephus--------------	-------------------Gospels---------------
The amount of crucified persons	Three men	Three men
Plea before a Roman ruler	Yes (Pilate)	Yes (Titus)
By whom?	Joseph bar Matthea	Joseph Arimathaias
Result of the intervention	Premature deposition	Premature deposition
Treatment	The most careful treatment	Treatment with generous quantities of myrrh and aloe
Outcome	One of the three survives	One of the three rises
Place of execution	Levelled area west of the city	Golgotha = place as bald as a skull = levelled area

There is not only this survival story in Josephus, there is also an intriguing passage in the last chapter of the OT pseudepigraphon 4 Baruch (9: 8-13a). This writing originated during the first half of the second century CE. It is a reaction to the destruction of Jerusalem and the Temple by the Romans, under the veil of describing the first destruction of the Temple by the Babylonians. The real protagonists of this text are not Jeremiah, Baruch and Abimelech of the Old Testament.
And Baruch and Abimelech remained weeping and crying in a loud voice, “Woe to us, because our father Jeremiah has left us; the priest of God has departed.” And all the people heard their weeping, and they all ran to them and saw Jeremiah lying on the ground as though dead (ὥσπερ τεθνηκότα). And they tore their garments and put dust on their heads and wept bitterly. And after these things, they prepared themselves to bury him. And behold, there came a voice saying, “Do not bury one still living, for his soul is coming into his body again.” And because they heard the voice, they did not bury him but remained in a circle around his tabernacle for three days, saying, “At what hour is he going to rise (ἀναστῆναι)?” And after three days, his soul came into his body and he lifted up his voice in the midst of them all and said, “Glorify God with one voice! All of you glorify God!”

Posted: **Thu Nov 10, 2016 3:57 am**

(part 8)

The κατάθεμα of verse 5

Didache XVI 5 ends with “but they who endure in their faith shall be saved by the curse (κατάθεμα) itself”, and this saving, comforting action is associated with the fiery trial with its many casualties and with many others getting in big trouble.

The meaning of κατάθεμα is obscure, and so this phrase has been commented upon extensively. Some scholars believe it refers to the fiery trial, but most of them believe that κατάθεμα describes Jesus.
In Loeb Classical Library 24 Kirsopp Lake comments his translation as follows: “The meaning is obscure; but there seem to be other traces in early literature of a doctrine that each curse also contained the elements of a counterbalancing power to salvation.”
In The Didache in Context Nancy Pardee devotes a whole chapter to κατάθεμα and after her linguistic explorations she suggest that its meaning might be ‘utterly condemned’, and she explains that ‘the semantic range of κατάθεμα seems to favor the interpretation that the faithful will be saved by Christ themselves’.
In La Didachè – Instructions des Apôtres Jean-Paul Audet derives κατάθεμα from κατατίθημι and through κατάθεσις (deposition) he continues to ‘the deposited corpse’ and finally ends at ‘tomb’. So here as well the Jesus of the Gospels is involved.
This saving, comforting, supporting action of Jesus took place during the war. There is no trace that his act of salvation during the war was founded on activity that would have taken place decades before.

Posted: **Thu Nov 10, 2016 2:24 pm**

Anyone able to explain why, necessarily, υπο should be translated as indicative of agency in

σωθησονται [υπο] αυτου του {καταθεματος}
saved [from under/by] the {cursed thing} itself

and not "from [some consequence]" or "from under [some power]", which the context suggests to me?

Can anyone give other contexts for καταθεμα (beside Rev 22:3)? or is it basically a hapax legomenon, used here and nowhere else? I'm intrigued how L&S came to give καταθεμα as simply "cursed thing".

Rev 22:3
και παν [καταθεμα] ουκ εσται εκει
and all [cursed thing] will not be there

The word obviously had a life beyond what we can see, given the verb constructed from it, καταθεματιζω (translated "to curse"), used only in Mt 26:74, where Peter protests he doesn't know Jesus, accompanied by the verb "swear" (as in "solemnly swear").

I guess that it is seen as a parallel to αναθεμα (anathema), but the life of this word is also problematic. LXX Lev 27:28 bears the early meaning of "dedicated thing" (to the Lord), but elsewhere in the LXX it seems more negative. Israel's enemies in Joshua 7:12 were anathema.

Posted: **Thu Nov 10, 2016 2:43 pm**

spin wrote:Anyone able to explain why, necessarily, υπο should be translated as indicative of agency in

σωθησονται [υπο] αυτου του {καταθεματος}
saved [from under/by] the {cursed thing} itself

and not "from [some consequence]" or "from under [some power]", which the context suggests to me?

Good question. LSJ has:

A. WITH GENITIVE,
I. of Place, with Verbs of motion, from under, αὖτις ἀναστήσονται ὑ. ζόφου they will rise again from under the gloom, Il.21.56; “ὑ. χθονὸς ἧκε φόωσδε” Hes.Th.669; “ῥέει κρήνη ὑ. σπείους” Od.9.141, cf. Pl.Phdr.230b; “ὄσσε δεινὸν ὑ. βλεφάρων ἐξεφάανθεν” Il.19.17; ἐσιδόντες ὑπαὶ χειμῶνος αἴγλαν from under the storm-cloud, B.12.139; esp. of rescuing from under another's power, after the Verbs ἐρύεσθαι, ἁρπάζειν, ῥύεσθαι, ἐρύειν, Il.9.248, 13.198, 17.224,235; “ἤγαγεν ὑμέτερόνδ᾽ ἀνδροκτασίης ὕ. λυγρῆς” from the consequences of, 23.86; also ἵππους μὲν λῦσαν ὑ. ζυγοῦ from under the yoke, 8.543, Od.4.39; ὑπ᾽ ἀρνειοῦ λυόμην I loosed myself from under the ram, 9.463; σπλάγχνων ὕπο ματέρος μόλεν, i.e. was born, Pi.N.1.35, cf. O.6.43; rarely in Trag., “ὑ. πτερῶν σπάσας” E.Andr.441; “περᾷ γὰρ ἥδ᾽ ὑ. σκηνῆς πόδα” Id.Hec.53; once in Hdt., “τὰς δέ οἱ ἵππους ὑ. τοῦ ἅρματος νεμομένας ἀφανισθῆναι” 4.8; “αἴ τις ὑ. τῶν νομίων τῶν ἐπιϝοικων ἀνχωρέῃ” SIG47.27 (Locris, v B.C.); cf. ὑπέκ.

It seems that "saved from under the curse" or "saved from under the curse's power" would be appropriate. I am not sure why it is not seized upon more often.

Can anyone give other contexts for καταθεμα (beside Rev 22:3)? or is it basically a hapax legomenon, used here and nowhere else?

I lack the time to go through these appropriately, but here is a list of contexts for the string κατάθεμα from the TLG (via Diogenes). I have not done any declining or conjugating, so it is by no means exhaustive:

Novum Testamentum, Evangelium secundum Matthaeum (0031: 001)
“The Greek New Testament, 2nd edn.”, Ed. Aland, K., Black, M., Martini, C.M., Metzger, B.M., Wikgren, A.
Stuttgart: Württemberg Bible Society, 1968.
Chapter 26, section 74, line 1

τότε ἤρξατο καταθεματίζειν καὶ ὀμνύειν ὅτι Οὐκ οἶδα
τὸν ἄνθρωπον.

Go to Context

Novum Testamentum, Apocalypsis Joannis (0031: 027)
“The Greek New Testament, 2nd edn.”, Ed. Aland, K., Black, M., Martini, C.M., Metzger, B.M., Wikgren, A.
Stuttgart: Württemberg Bible Society, 1968.
Chapter 22, section 3, line 1

καὶ πᾶν κατάθεμα οὐκ ἔσται ἔτι.

Go to Context

Justinus Martyr Apol., Dialogus cum Tryphone (0645: 003)
“Die ältesten Apologeten”, Ed. Goodspeed, E.J.
Göttingen: Vandenhoeck & Ruprecht, 1915.
Chapter 47, section 4, line 11

καὶ τοὺς ἀπὸ τοῦ σπέρματος τοῦ Ἀβραὰμ
ζῶντας κατὰ τὸν νόμον καὶ ἐπὶ τοῦτον τὸν Χριστὸν μὴ πιστεύ-
οντας πρὶν τελευτῆς τοῦ βίου οὐ σωθήσεσθαι ὁμοίως ἀποφαί-
νομαι, καὶ μάλιστα τοὺς ἐν ταῖς συναγωγαῖς κατα-
θεματίσαντας καὶ καταθεματίζοντας τοὺς ἐπ' αὐτὸν τοῦτον
τὸν Χριστὸν πιστεύοντας ὅπως τύχωσι τῆς σωτηρίας καὶ τῆς
τιμωρίας τῆς ἐν τῷ πυρὶ ἀπαλλαγῶσιν.

Go to Context

Pseudo-Justinus Martyr, Quaestiones et responsiones ad orthodoxos (0646: 009)
“Corpus apologetarum Christianorum saeculi secundi, vol. 5, 3rd edn.”, Ed. Otto, J.C.T.
Jena: Mauke, 1881, Repr. 1969.
Morel page 473, section A, line 6

Τίς
δὲ ἡ διαφορὰ ἑκατέρων, τουτέστι τοῦ ἀναθεματισμοῦ, καὶ τοῦ
καταθεματισμοῦ, καὶ τί τὸ ὑπὸ θατέρου σημαινόμενον;

Go to Context

Pseudo-Justinus Martyr, Quaestiones et responsiones ad orthodoxos
Morel page 473, section B, line 3

Ἀνάθεμα λέγεται τὸ ἀνακείμενον καὶ ἀφωρισμένον θεῷ
καὶ εἰς κοινὴν χρῆσιν μηκέτι λαμβανόμενον, ἢ τὸ ἀπηλλοτριω-
μένον θεοῦ διὰ κακίαν· κατάθεμα δέ ἐστι τὸ συνθέσθαι τοῖς
ἀναθεματίζουσιν.

Go to Context

Clemens Romanus et Clementina Theol., Contestatio [Sp.] (1271: 004)
“Die Pseudoklementinen I. Homilien, 2nd edn.”, Ed. Rehm, B., Irmscher, J., Paschke, F.
Berlin: Akademie–Verlag, 1969; Die griechischen christlichen Schriftsteller 42.
Chapter 4, section 3, line 3

πρὸς τούτοις δ' ἅπασιν εἰ ψεύσομαι, κατάθεμα ἔσομαι ζῶν καὶ
θανὼν καὶ αἰωνίῳ κολασθήσομαι κολάσει.

Go to Context

Didache XII Apostolorum, Διδαχαὶ τῶν ἀποστολῶν (1311: 001)
“La Didachè. Instructions des Apôtres”, Ed. Audet, J.P.
Paris: Lecoffre, 1958.
Chapter 16, section 5, line 3

Τότε ἥξει ἡ κτίσις τῶν ἀνθρώπων εἰς τὴν πύρωσιν τῆς δοκιμασίας,
καὶ σκανδαλισθήσονται πολλοὶ καὶ ἀπολοῦνται· οἱ δὲ ὑπομείναντες ἐν
τῇ πίστει αὐτῶν σωθήσονται ἀπ' αὐτοῦ τοῦ καταθέματος.

Go to Context

Irenaeus Theol., Adversus haereses (libri 1–2) (1447: 001)
“Sancti Irenaei episcopi Lugdunensis libri quinque adversus haereses, vol. 1”, Ed. Harvey, W.W.
Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1857.
Book 1, chapter 7, section 3, line 5

Ἤδη δὲ τῶν προτέρων [Interpres, πιστοτάτων] τινὲς
γυναικῶν τῶν ἐχουσῶν τὸν φόβον τοῦ Θεοῦ, καὶ μὴ ἐξαπα-
τηθεισῶν, ἃς ὁμοίως ταῖς λοιπαῖς ἐπετήδευσε παραπείθειν,
κελεύων αὐταῖς προφητεύειν, καὶ καταφυσήσασαι, καὶ καταθε-
ματίσασαι αὐτὸν, ἐχωρίσθησαν τοῦ τοιούτου θιάσου· ἀκριβῶς
εἰδυῖαι, ὅτι προφητεύειν οὐχ ὑπὸ Μάρκου τοῦ μάγου ἐγγίνεται
τοῖς ἀνθρώποις, ἀλλ' οἷς ἂν ὁ Θεὸς ἄνωθεν ἐπιπέμψῃ τὴν
χάριν αὑτοῦ, οὗτοι θεόσδοτον ἔχουσι τὴν προφητείαν, καὶ
τότε λαλοῦσιν ἔνθα καὶ ὁπότε Θεὸς βούλεται, ἀλλ' οὐχ ὅτε
Μάρκος κελεύει.

Go to Context

Irenaeus Theol., Adversus haereses (libri 1-2)
Book 1, chapter 9, section 3, line 20

Ἣν γνώμην ὄντως καταφυσήσαντας, καὶ
καταθεματίσαντας, δέον πόῤῥω που μακρὰν φυγεῖν ἀπ' αὐτῶν,
καὶ ᾗ πλέον διισχυρίζονται, καὶ χαίρουσιν ἐπὶ τοῖς παρευρή-
μασιν αὐτῶν, ταύτῃ μᾶλλον εἰδέναι πλέον αὐτοὺς ἐνεργεῖσθαι
ὑπὸ τῆς ὀγδοάδος τῶν πονηρῶν πνευμάτων· καθάπερ οἱ εἰς
φρενίτιδα διάθεσιν ἐμπεσόντες, ᾗ πλέον γελῶσι, καὶ ἰσχύειν
δοκοῦσιν, καὶ ὡς ὑγιαίνοντες πάντα πράττουσι, ἔνια δὲ καὶ
ὑπὲρ τὸ ὑγιαίνειν, ταύτῃ μᾶλλον κακῶς ἔχουσι.

Go to Context

Martyrium Et Ascensio Isaiae, Fragmenta (1483: 001)
“Fragmenta pseudepigraphorum quae supersunt Graeca”, Ed. Denis, A.–M.
Leiden: Brill, 1970; Pseudepigrapha veteris testamenti Graece 3.
Chapter 3, section 18, line 2

Καὶ εἶπεν αὐτῷ ὁ ἅγιος
Ἡσαΐας· Κατάθεμά σοι, Μελχία
ψευδοπροφῆτα, διάβολε· Ζῆ γὰρ
κύριος ὁ θεός μου καὶ ζῆ τὸ
πνεῦμα αὐτοῦ τὸ λαλοῦν ἐν ἐμοί,
ὅτι Ἱερουσαλὴμ αὕτη ἡ μεγάλη
πόλις καὶ εὐρύχωρος τέλεον ἐρη-
μωθήσεται, καὶ Μανασσὴς καὶ τὰ
τέκνα αὐτοῦ καὶ ἡ γυνὴ αὐτοῦ
καὶ οἱ ἄρχοντες αὐτοῦ καὶ ὁ λαὸς
τῆς πόλεως ταύτης αἰχμάλωτοι

Go to Context

Eusebius Scr. Eccl., Theol., Demonstratio evangelica (2018: 005)
“Eusebius Werke, Band 6: Die Demonstratio evangelica”, Ed. Heikel, I.A.
Leipzig: Hinrichs, 1913; Die griechischen christlichen Schriftsteller 23.
Book 10, chapter 3, section 20, line 6

ἐπεὶ δὲ εἰσέτι νῦν οἱ ἐκ περιτομῆς τὴν τῶν πατέρων
αὐτῶν εἰς ἑαυτοὺς ἀρὰν ἐπισπώμενοι, βλασφήμοις καὶ ἀσεβέσι ῥήμασι
καταθεματίζειν τὸν σωτῆρα καὶ κύριον ἡμῶν καὶ τοὺς εἰς αὐτὸν
πεπιστευκότας ἅπαντας εἰώθασιν, τούτου χάριν ἑξῆς ἐπιλέγει «κατ-
αράσονται αὐτοί, καὶ σὺ εὐλογήσεις·
οἱ ἐπανιστάμενοί μοι αἰσχυν-
θήτωσαν, ὁ δὲ δοῦλός σου εὐφρανθήσεται.

Go to Context

Eusebius Scr. Eccl., Theol., Commentaria in Psalmos (2018: 034); MPG 23–24.
Volume 23, page 100, line 7

Δῆλον οὖν,
ὡς οἱ μισοῦντες καὶ καταθεματίζοντες Ἰησοῦν μι-
σοῦσι τὸν Θεόν· Ὁ γὰρ ἐμὲ, φησὶ, δεχόμενος δέ-
χεται τὸν ἀποστείλαντά με· καὶ, Ὁ ὁμολογῶν
τὸν Υἱὸν, καὶ τὸν Πατέρα ἔχει· οὐκοῦν καὶ ὁ μι-
σῶν τὸν Υἱὸν, καὶ τὸν Πατέρα μισεῖ. Καὶ πᾶς δὲ ἁμαρ-
τάνων μισεῖ τὸν Θεόν· μισεῖ γὰρ σοφίαν καὶ δικαιο-
σύνην, ἅπερ ἐστὶ Χριστός.

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Epiphanius Scr. Eccl., Panarion (= Adversus haereses) (2021: 002)
“Epiphanius, Bände 1–3: Ancoratus und Panarion”, Ed. Holl, K.
Leipzig: Hinrichs, 1:1915; 2:1922; 3:1933; Die griechischen christlichen Schriftsteller 25, 31, 37.
Volume 2, page 8, line 5

Ἤδη δὲ τῶν πιστοτέρων τινὲς γυναικῶν τῶν ἐχουσῶν τὸν φόβον τοῦ
θεοῦ καὶ μὴ ἐξαπατηθεισῶν, ἃς ὁμοίως ταῖς λοιπαῖς ἐπετήδευσε παρα-
πείθειν κελεύων αὐταῖς προφητεύειν, [καὶ] καταφυσήσασαι καὶ καταθεμα-
τίσασαι αὐτὸν ἐχωρίσθησαν τοῦ τοιούτου † θιάσου, ἀκριβῶς εἰδυῖαι ὅτι
προφητεύειν οὐχ ὑπὸ Μάρκου τοῦ μάγου ἐγγίνεται τοῖς ἀνθρώποις, ἀλλ'
οἷς ἂν ὁ θεὸς ἄνωθεν ἐπιπέμψῃ τὴν χάριν αὐτοῦ, οὗτοι θεόσδοτον ἔχουσι
τὴν προφητείαν καὶ τότε λαλοῦσιν ἔνθα καὶ ὁπότε θεὸς βούλεται, ἀλλ'
οὐχ ὅτε Μάρκος κελεύει.

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Epiphanius Scr. Eccl., Panarion (= Adversus haereses)
Volume 2, page 26, line 22

ἣν γνώμην ὄντως
καταφυσήσαντας καὶ καταθεματίσαντας δέον πόρρω που <καὶ> μακρὰν
φυγεῖν ἀπ' αὐτῶν καὶ ᾗ πλέον διισχυρίζονται καὶ χαίρουσιν ἐπὶ τοῖς
παρευρέμασιν αὐτῶν, ταύτῃ μᾶλλον εἰδέναι πλέον αὐτοὺς ἐνεργεῖσθαι ὑπὸ
τῆς ὀγδοάδος τῶν πονηρῶν πνευμάτων, καθάπερ οἱ εἰς φρενίτιδα διάθεσιν
ἐμπεσόντες † ἢ πλέον γελῶσι καὶ ἰσχύειν δοκοῦσιν καὶ ὡς ὑγιαίνοντες
πάντα πράττουσιν, ἔνια δὲ καὶ ὑπὲρ τὸ ὑγιαίνειν, ταύτῃ μᾶλλον κακῶς
ἔχουσιν.

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Basilius Theol., Liturgia (recensio brevior vetusta) (2040: 071); MPG 31.
Volume 31, page 1649, line 38

Ὁ Θεὸς, πάντας ἡμᾶς ἐλευθέρωσον, καὶ ἅπαντα
τὸν λαόν σου ἐλευθέρωσον ἀπὸ πάσης ἁμαρτίας,
ἀπαρνήσεως πάσης καὶ βλασφημίας, ἀπὸ πάσης
ἀρᾶς καὶ κατάρας, μαγείας, φαρμακείας, εἰδωλο-
λατρείας ἐπιόρκου, καὶ ἐπιορκίας· ἀπὸ ἀναθέματος
καὶ καταθέματος, ἀπὸ χωρισμοῦ γενομένου, ἀπὸ βέ-
λους πετομένου, ἀπὸ στεναγμοῦ δικαίων τε καὶ
ἀδίκων, ἀπὸ πάσης ἀπαντήσεως αἱρετικῶν καὶ
ἐθνικῶν.

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Origenes Theol., In Jeremiam (homiliae 1–11) (2042: 009)
“Origène. Homélies sur Jérémie, vol. 1”, Ed. Nautin, P.
Paris: Cerf, 1976; Sources chrétiennes 232.
Homily 10, section 8, line 7

Οὐ θαυμαστὸν εἰ τότε ἐγένετο ἡ κληρονομία αὐτοῦ «ὡς
λέων ἐν δρυμῷ»· νῦν ἔτι ἐν δρυμῷ λέοντές εἰσιν κατα-
θεματίζειν θέλοντες τὸν Ἰησοῦν καὶ δυσφημοῦντες αὐτὸν
καὶ ἐπιβουλεύοντες τοῖς πιστεύουσιν εἰς αὐτόν.

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Origenes Theol., Dialogus cum Heraclide (2042: 018)
“Entretien d'Origène avec Héraclide”, Ed. Scherer, J.
Paris: Cerf, 1960; Sources chrétiennes 67.
Section 6, line 11

Ἐπὶ Θεοῦ καὶ ἐκκλησίας, καὶ <ὑπο>γράφω
καὶ καταθεματίζω· πλὴν μέντοι ἵνα μὴ δισταχθεὶς
ὅλως καὶ διψυχήσω † περί τινος πυνθάνομαι· καὶ γὰρ
τοῦτο οἴδασιν οἱ ἀδελφοὶ ὅτι ἔλεγον· «Ἔχω παρὰ τοῦ
ἀδελφοῦ ὠφεληθῆναι καὶ τοῦτο διδαχθῆναι.

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Joannes Chrysostomus Scr. Eccl., In Matthaeum (homiliae 1–90) (2062: 152); MPG 57:13–472; 58:471–794.
Vol 58, pg 758, ln 28

Τότε ἤρξατο καταθε-
ματίζειν, καὶ ὀμνύειν, ὅτι Οὐκ οἶδα τὸν ἄνθρωπον.

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Theodorus Studites Scr. Eccl., Theol., Epistulae (2714: 002)
“Theodori Studitae Epistulae, vol. 1–2”, Ed. Fatouros, G.
Berlin: De Gruyter, 1992; Corpus Fontium Historiae Byzantinae, Series Berolinensis 31.
Epistle 276, line 52

σύνοδος κυροῦσα τὴν
πάλαι ἀσεβεστάτην καὶ καταθεματίζουσα τὴν ὀρθόδοξον.

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Oecumenius Phil., Rhet., Commentarius in Apocalypsin (2866: 001)
“The complete commentary of Oecumenius on the Apocalypse”, Ed. Hoskier, H.C.
Ann Arbor: University of Michigan Press, 1928.
Page 247, line 18

καὶ πᾶν κατά-
θεμα οὐκ ἔσται ἔτι· καὶ ὁ θρόνος τοῦ Θεοῦ καὶ τοῦ ἀρνίου
ἐν αὐτῇ ἔσται, καὶ οἱ δοῦλοι αὐτοῦ λατρεύσουσιν αὐτῷ· καὶ
ὄψονται τὸ πρόσωπον αὐτοῦ καὶ τὸ ὄνομα αὐτοῦ ἐπὶ τῶν
μετώπων αὐτοῦ· καὶ νὺξ οὐκ ἔσται ἔτι, καὶ οὐχ ἕξουσι
χρείαν φωτὸς λύχνου καὶ φωτὸς ἡλίου, ὅτι Κύριος ὁ Θεὸς
φωτιεῖ αὐτούς, καὶ βασιλεύσουσιν εἰς τοὺς αἰῶνας τῶν
αἰώνων· ἀμήν.

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Oecumenius Phil., Rhet., Commentarius in Apocalypsin
Page 249, line 9

καὶ κατά-
θεμά φησι οὐκ ἔσται ἔτι. νῦν μὲν γὰρ κἂν σφόδρα
φεύγῃ τὰ ἀναθέματα, ὅμως ἐν αὐτοῖς καλινδούμεθα, μυ-
ρίων ἡμῖν προφάσεων ἀναφυομένων ἐν εἰδήσει τέ γε
καὶ ἀγνοίᾳ· τότε δέ γε πάσης ἔσονται ψυχικῆς κηλίδος,
ὥσπερ καὶ σωματικῆς, οἱ ἅγιοι καθαροί τε καὶ ἀμιγεῖς.

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Acta Philippi, Acta Philippi (2948: 001)
“Acta apostolorum apocrypha, vol. 2.2”, Ed. Bonnet, M.
Leipzig: Mendelssohn, 1903, Repr. 1972.
Section 28, line 15

Ὀργισθεὶς δὲ ὁ Φίλιππος εἶπεν· Κατάθεμα· ἄπελθε λοιπὸν
κάτω ὅλος εἰς τὴν ἄβυσσον ἐνώπιον τούτων ἁπάντων.

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Theodoretus Scr. Eccl., Theol., Quaestiones et responsiones ad orthodoxos [Dub.] (4089: 016)
“Θεοδωρήτου ἐπισκόπου πόλεως Κύρρου πρὸς τὰς ἐπενεχθείσας”, Ed. Papadopoulos–Kerameus, A.
St. Petersburg: Kirschbaum, 1895.
Page 12, line 25

Τίς ἡ διαφορὰ ἀναθέματος καὶ καταθεματισμοῦ δίδαξον.

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Theodoretus Scr. Eccl., Theol., Quaestiones et responsiones ad orthodoxos [Dub.]
Page 122, line 28

> Εἰ ἀναθεματισμὸν μόνον ἐπὶ τῶν ἀτόπων ἡ
παλαιά τε καὶ νέα διαθήκη ἐπίσταται, πῶς ὁ μακάριος Πέτρος
ἐν τῷ πάθει τὸν δεσπότην ἀρνούμενος καταθεματίζειν ἤρξατο;

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Theodoretus Scr. Eccl., Theol., Quaestiones et responsiones ad orthodoxos [Dub.]
Page 123, line 2

τίς δὲ ἡ διαφορὰ ἀμφοτέρων, τουτέστι τοῦ ἀναθεματισμοῦ καὶ
τοῦ καταθεματισμοῦ, καὶ τί τὸ ὑπὸ θατέρου σημαινόμενον;

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Theodoretus Scr. Eccl., Theol., Quaestiones et responsiones ad orthodoxos [Dub.]
Page 123, line 5

> Ἀνάθεμα λέγεται ἢ τὸ ἀνακείμενον καὶ ἀφω-
ρισμένον θεῷ καὶ εἰς κοινὴν χρῆσιν μηκέτι λαμβανόμενον, ἢ τὸ
ἀπηλλοτριωμένον θεῷ διὰ κακίαν. κατάθεμα δέ ἐστι τὸ συνθέσθαι
τοῖς ἀναθεματίζουσιν.

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Concilia Oecumenica (ACO), Synodus Constantinopolitana et Hierosolymitana anno 536 (5000: 004)
“Acta conciliorum oecumenicorum, vol. 3”, Ed. Schwartz, E.
Berlin: De Gruyter, 1940, Repr. 1965.
Tome 3, page 88, line 19

ἔστωσαν τοίνυν οἱ εἰρημένοι Σεβῆρος ὁ
Ἀκέφαλος καὶ Ἰωάννης ὁ μανδρίτης καὶ τὸ δυσσεβὲς αὐτῶν φρόνημα μετὰ τῶν κοινω-
νούντων αὐτοῖς ἀνάθεμα καὶ κατάθεμα ἀπὸ πατρὸς καὶ υἱοῦ καὶ ἁγίου πνεύματος ἐν τῶι
οὐρανῶι καὶ ἐν τῆι γῆι, ἐν τῶι αἰῶνι τούτωι καὶ ἐν τῶι μέλλοντι.

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Doctrina Patrum, Doctrina patrum (fort. auctore Anastasio Sinaïta vel Anastasio Apocrisiario) (7051: 001)
“Doctrina patrum de incarnatione verbi”, Ed. Diekamp, F.
Münster: Aschendorff, 1907.
Page 271, line 4

>
Ἀνάθεμα τοίνυν καὶ κατάθεμα – ὁμόφυλοι καὶ
τὴν ἀσέβειαν σύστοιχοι.

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Passages found: 28

Posted: **Thu Nov 10, 2016 2:50 pm**

Ben C. Smith wrote:
spin wrote:Can anyone give other contexts for καταθεμα (beside Rev 22:3)? or is it basically a hapax legomenon, used here and nowhere else?
I lack the time to go through these appropriately, but here is a list of contexts for the string κατάθεμα from the TLG (via Diogenes).

Thanks for that, but I seem to see no early sources whatsoever, ie contemporary with the Didache or earlier, thus nothing to give perspective to its usage there.

One of the ideas behind the thread about evolving cultic terms is that we cannot assume that later significance reflects early significance—due to meaning shifts and narrowings. The language needs to be understood before we shoehorn it into our theories. (Are you listening Happy Herman?)

Posted: **Thu Nov 10, 2016 3:10 pm**

spin wrote:
Ben C. Smith wrote:I lack the time to go through these appropriately, but here is a list of contexts for the string κατάθεμα from the TLG (via Diogenes).
Thanks for that, but I seem to see no early sources whatsoever, ie contemporary with the Didache or earlier, thus nothing to give perspective to its usage there.

Agreed. But so far even further searching has failed to turn up anything earlier.

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Re: The apocalyptic XVIth chapter of the Didache

Re: The apocalyptic XVIth chapter of the Didache

Re: The apocalyptic XVIth chapter of the Didache

Re: The apocalyptic XVIth chapter of the Didache

Re: The apocalyptic XVIth chapter of the Didache

Re: The apocalyptic XVIth chapter of the Didache

Re: The apocalyptic XVIth chapter of the Didache