JEWS A N D CHRISTIANS IN ANTIOCH IN THE

FIRST FOUR CENTURIES OF THE COMMON ERA

 SOCIETY OF BIBLICAL LITERATURE
SOURCES FOR BIBLICAL STUDY
edited by
Wayne A. Meeks

Number 13
JEWS A N D CHRISTIANS IN ANTIOCH IN THE
FIRST FOUR CENTURIES OF THE COMMON ERA
by
Wayne A. Meeks and Robert L. Wilken

SCHOLARS PRESS
Missoula, Montana
 JEWS A N D CHRISTIANS IN ANTIOCH IN THE
FIRST FOUR CENTURIES OF THE COMMON ERA
by
Wayne A. Meeks and Robert L. Wilken

Published by
SCHOLARS PRESS
for
The Society of Biblical Literature
 Distributed by
SCHOLARS PRESS
P.O. Box 5207
Missoula, Montana 59806

JEWS A N D CHRISTIANS IN ANTIOCH IN THE

FIRST F O U R CENTURIES OF THE C O M M O N ERA

by
Wayne A. Meeks
Yale University

and

Robert L. Wilken
University of Notre Dame

Copyright © 1978
by
The Society of Biblical Literature

Library of Congress Cataloging in Publication Data

Meeks, Wayne A
Jews and Christians in Antioch in the first
four centuries of the common era.

(Sources for Biblical study ; no. 13 ISSN 0145-2762)

Includes translation of 8 letters of Libanius
concerning the Jews, Libanius' oration on systems
of patronage, and 2 of John Chrysostom's Homilia adversus Judaeos.
Includes bibliographical references.
1. Jews in Antioch—History. 2. Christians in
Antioch—History. 3. Judaism—C—Controversial
literature. 4. Antioch—History. I. Wilken,
Robert Louis, 1936- joint author. II. Libanius.
III. Chrysostomus, Joannes, Saint, Patriarch of
Constantinople, d. 407. Logoi kata ioudaion.
English. Selections. 1978. IV. Title.
V Series
DS135.S95M4 209\564 78-3760
ISBN 0-89130-229-8

Printed in the United States of America

1 2 3 4 5 6
Edwards Brothers, Inc.
Ann Arbor, Michigan 48104
 TABLE OF CONTENTS

Page

PREFACE vii

ABBREVIATIONS ix

CHAPTER I
J E W S A N D C H R I S T I A N S IN A N T I O C H 1
The Jews of Antioch 2
The Political Situation . . . . 2
Internal Organization 6
Social Relations 10
Christians and Jews 13
B e g i n n i n g s o f C h r i s t i a n i t y in A n t i o c h 13
C h r i s t i a n s a n d J e w s in t h e S e c o n d a n d Third
Centuries 19
The Fourth Century 25

CHAPTER II
ARCHAEOLOGICAL SOURCES 53
Apamea 53
Beth She'arim 55
Tiberias 56
Antioch 56

CHAPTER III
LETTERS OF LIBANIUS CONCERNING THE JEWS 59
E p . 1 2 5 1 , [To P r i s c i a n u s ] . . . . 60
Ep. 914, To the Patriarch 60
Ep. 917, To the Patriarch 60
E p . 973, To the P a t r i a r c h 61
E p . 974, To the Same 61
Ep. 1084, To the Patriarch 61
Ep. 1097, To the Patriarchs 62
E p . 1098, To the Same 62
E p . 1105, To the P a t r i a r c h 63

CHAPTER IV

LIBANIUS' ORATION ON SYSTEMS OF P A T R O N A G E . . . . 67

CHAPTER V
J O H N C H R Y S O S T O M ' S HOMILIA ADVERSUS JUDAEOS . . . . 83
H o m i l y 1 A g a i n s t t h e J e w s (PG 4 8 . 8 4 3 - 8 5 6 ) . . . . 85
H o m i l y 8 A g a i n s t t h e J e w s (PG 4 8 . 9 2 7 - 9 4 2 ) . . . . 105

v
 PREFACE

This volume emerged out of the Working Group on the Social

World of Early Christianity of the Society of Biblical Litera­
ture and the American Academy of Religion. Its chief purpose
is to p r o v i d e resources for the study of early Christianity in
its setting within the urban culture of the Roman Empire. We
have also tried to show that, for the u n d e r s t a n d i n g of early
Christianity, it is n e c e s s a r y to study Judaism, not only as
it e x i s t e d in t h e so-called "intertestamental period," i.e.,
as "background" to Christianity, but as a vital social and
religious force during the early centuries of the Common Era.
Its presence as an independent religion alongside Christianity
during this period helped to shape the context in w h i c h Chris­
tianity developed. This book also reflects the convergence of
two d i s c i p l i n e s . New Testament studies and early church history
or p a t r i s t i c s . Early Christianity has a continuous history
throughout this period, and we believe there is no r e a s o n ar­
bitrarily to set o f f the first century from the history that
follows.
We are grateful for the comments and criticisms of our
colleagues in t h e W o r k i n g Group. We wish also to thank Abraham
Malherbe of Yale University for his assistance on points of
translation and C. Thomas McCollough, graduate assistant at
Notre Dame, for help in p r e p a r i n g the manuscript. The major
part of M e e k s ' s research for this project was made possible by
a fellowship from the National Endowment for the H u m a n i t i e s and
a special leave of absence from Yale University, for b o t h of
which he expresses gratitude here. Part of Wilken's research
was made possible by a grant from the A s s o c i a t i o n of Theologi­
cal Schools for w h i c h he expresses gratitude. He also wishes
to thank members of the library staff and faculty of Spertus
College of Judaica in C h i c a g o for a s s i s t a n c e . We are grateful,
too, for the invitation of the Research and Publication Com­
mittee of the Society of Biblical Literature to p u b l i s h this
book in t h e S o u r c e s for B i b l i c a l Study series.

The division of work was as follows: Meeks translated the

oration and letters of Libanius, Wilken translated the homilies

vii
of John Chrysostom and the inscriptions. The introductory
essay was written jointly.

New Haven and Notre Dame W. A. M.

11 January 1978 R. L . W.

viii
 ABBREVIATIONS

Ag. Ap. Against Apion

Ant. Antiquities of the Jews
ATR Anglican Theological Review
b. The Babylonian Talmud
CIJ Corpus inscriptionum judaicarum
Deut. Rab. Deuteronomy Rabbah
Gen. Rab. Genesis Rabbah
Geog. Geographia
HE Historia eoolesiastioa
HNT Handbuch zum N e u e n Testament
HTR Harvard Theological Review
Horn. ad. Jud. Homilia adversus Judaeos
JAC Jahrbuch fur Antike und Christentum
JBL Journal of Biblical Literature
JR Journal of Religion
JRomSt Journal of Roman Studies
J. W. The Jewish War
KEK Kritisch-exegetischer Kommentar iiber d a s NT
LCL Loeb Classical Library
Lev. Rab. Leviticus Rabbah
p. The Palestinian Talmud (Yerushalmi)
PEQ Palestine Exploration Quarterly
PG Patrologia graeca
PL Patrologia latina
RSR Religious Studies Review
SBLDS Society of Biblical Literature Dissertation
Series
SJLA Studies in J u d a i s m in L a t e Antiquity
SNTSMS Society for N e w Testament Studies Monograph
Series
SPB Studia postbiblica
ST Studia theologica
t. Tosefta
TAPA Transactions of the American Philological
Association
TU Texte und Untersuchungen

ix
For names of biblical books, the usual abbreviations are used;
for t r a c t a t e s of the Mishnah, Tosefta, and Talmuds, those of
H. Danby, The Mishnah} for P h i l o , t h o s e of t h e L o e b edition.

x
 CHAPTER I

JEWS AND CHRISTIANS IN ANTIOCH

Asked to t h i n k of Jews and Christians in t h e first four

centuries of our era, the mind obliges with pictures of peas­
ants and shepherds in G a l i l e a n hills, fishermen at t h e lake-
shore, women around a village well. Such is t h e p o w e r of the
gospel stories of J e s u s , the many laws of Mishnah that deal
with agriculture or crafts or village life, and the rural set­
ting of so m u c h aggadah. In r e a l i t y , however, both early
Judaism and early Christianity were mostly urban movements,
streetwise and cosmopolitan."^"
Antioch on the Orontes was a key city for b o t h , besides
being one of the t h r e e or four most important cities in the
Roman Empire. Jews were among the original settlers of the
2
city when it w a s founded by Seleucus N i c a t o r in 300 B.C.E.
1
Antioch s proximity to Palestine (the lake of A n t i o c h w a s con­
sidered by later rabbis to be o n e of t h e seven lakes surround­
ing Eretz Israel), as well as its importance as an administra­
tive and commercial center, made it a t t r a c t i v e to J e w s . Its
accessibility to A s i a M i n o r also made it a c o n v e n i e n t stopping
place for Jews traveling between Palestine and Asia Minor,
either by land through Cilicia or by ship to the coastal cities
Antioch was also to become one of the p r i n c i p a l centers of
Christianity. At the beginning. Christians were merely one
among the various groups which we may suppose to have existed
in the Jewish community of the city. However, it w a s pre­
cisely in A n t i o c h , according to our earliest sources, that the
Christians were first perceived as a distinct m o v e m e n t , and
there that they first crossed the boundaries of Judaism and
sought gentile proselytes.
At that moment began the powerful ambivalence which has
marked the relationship between the parent community and its
somewhat unnatural offspring throughout the history of their
encounters. The Pauline missionary group, which originated in
Antioch although its center soon shifted elsewhere, fought most
vigorously for the freedom of gentiles to become Christians

1
2

without becoming Jews, yet it a l s o m a d e t h e u n i t y of Jew and

gentile in t h e n e w c o m m u n i t y a primary theological paradigm.
Emerging from Judaism, the new movement would inevitably in­
herit some of the gains and losses which had accrued to the
Jewish diaspora in its long struggle to live well and truly in
the midst of a pagan society. But equally inevitably, the
Christians would complicate life for the Jews and even threaten
the delicate balance of their social and political position.
Indeed, they would become active competitors w i t h the Jews for
the social as well as r e l i g i o u s f a v o r s of t h e larger society,
and finally the synagogue's most dangerous enemy. The ambiva­
lence is a m p l y exhibited in C h r i s t i a n literature from Antioch.
From Ignatius to John Chrysostom, Isaac, and Symeon Stylites,
attacks on Judaism and on "Judaizing" Christians grow in both
ferocity and specificity. Yet those very attacks were occa­
sioned by the attraction which Judaism continued to exert on
Christians, in o n e w a y o n o r d i n a r y church folk, in a n o t h e r way
on their theologians, even those who attacked "Judaizing" most
vehemently. The ambivalent relationship did not, of course,
develop in a v a c u u m , but was intertwined with the complex at­
tachments and reactions of each group to the G r e c o - R o m a n cul­
ture and government. Consequently an investigation of Jewish-
Christian relations will shed some light on the broader ques­
tion of each group's place in t h e larger society.

The Jews of Antioch

3
The Political Situation

By the m i d d l e of the second century B . C . E . , and perhaps

earlier, the Jews were recognized as a distinct group within
4

the city, free to follow their own customs. This probably

meant that they were organized a s a rcoACxeuuct w i t h i n the larger
community. Josephus says they were called "Antiochenes" (Ag.
Ap. 2.39), but the legal significance of t h i s term is unclear.
For most of the Hellenistic period the Jewish community was
able to carry on its affairs undisturbed except for the brief
interlude under Antiochus Epiphanes (175 B . C . E . ) . His policy
of repression of Judaism surely had consequences for the Jews
of Antioch, because the capital of his kingdom was located
 3

there, but it is n o t e w o r t h y that most of the events associated

with his reign occurred in J e r u s a l e m , not Antioch. Josephus
does say, however, that his successors restored to the Jews of
Antioch portions of the spoil Antiochus had taken from Jeru­
salem and "granted them citizen r i g h t s o n an equality with the
Greeks" (J.W. 7.44), implying that these rights had been cur­
tailed by A n t i o c h u s . ^ Possibly captives from Jerusalem were
brought to A n t i o c h . Later Jewish tradition spoke of three
7

" e x i l e s , " o n e of w h i c h w a s at D a p h n e n e a r A n t i o c h , and John

Chrysostom speaks of a "captivity" under Antiochus Epiphanes
(Horn, ad Jud. 5.10). Further, the Maccabean martyrs are some-
8
times associated with Antioch, though it seems more likely
that the martyrdoms actually took place in Jerusalem.
All this suggests that Antiochene Jewry was affected by
the policies of A n t i o c h u s , but details are sparse. Josephus,
our chief source, emphasizes, no doubt intentionally, that
except for the rule of A n t i o c h u s Epiphanes the Jews lived in
peace and tranquility under the Hellenistic kings and the com­
m u n i t y g r e w and p r o s p e r e d . Jews were, he w r i t e s ,
p a r t i c u l a r l y n u m e r o u s in S y r i a , w h e r e i n t e r m i n g l i n g
is d u e to the p r o x i m i t y of the two c o u n t r i e s . But
it w a s at A n t i o c h t h a t t h e y s p e c i a l l y c o n g r e g a t e d ,
p a r t l y owing to the g r e a t n e s s of that c i t y , but
mainly because the successors o f King A n t i o c h u s had
e n a b l e d t h e m t o l i v e t h e r e in s e c u r i t y . For, a l ­
though A n t i o c h u s surnamed Epiphanes sacked Jerusalem
and plundered the temple, his successors on the
throne restored to the Jews of A n t i o c h all such v o ­
tive o f f e r i n g s as w e r e m a d e of b r a s s , to be laid up
in t h e i r s y n a g o g u e , a n d , m o r e o v e r , g r a n t e d t h e m
c i t i z e n r i g h t s o n an e q u a l i t y w i t h t h e G r e e k s . Con­
tinuing to receive similar treatment from later
m o n a r c h s , t h e J e w i s h c o l o n y g r e w in n u m b e r s , a n d
their richly d e s i g n e d and c o s t l y o f f e r i n g s formed a
splendid ornament to the temple. Moreover, they
were constantly attracting to their religious c e r e ­
m o n i e s m u l t i t u d e s o f G r e e k s , a n d t h e s e t h e y h a d in
some measure incorporated with themselves.^
The Romans captured Syria in 64-63 B . C . E . and m a d e it into
a Roman province. The n e w rulers brought changes, but their
policies had little immediate effect on the status of the Jews
in A n t i o c h . If t h e a n a l o g y of o t h e r Jewish communities within
the empire is u s e d , the Jews of A n t i o c h will have been allowed
to exist as a distinct group within the city, to use their own
4

laws on matters which pertained to their common life, to main­

tain relations with Eretz Israel and to send funds to Jeru­
salem, to follow their traditional mode of worship."^
To b e sure, Roman rule was not always benign, for the
Jews of Antioch were inevitably drawn into the growing con­
flict between Jews and Romans in P a l e s t i n e . Nevertheless, the
history of the conflict shows that the imperial officials
usually worked to c o n t a i n local hostilities and to p r e s e r v e the
fundamental rights of the Jewish community. For example,
Caligula's order that his statue be placed in t h e t e m p l e in
Jerusalem was transmitted via the governor of Syria, precipi­
tating a dangerous confrontation. The governor Petronius
warned that, if t h e J e w s resisted the order, his army was
"ready at h a n d " and w o u l d "strew the land w i t h t h e d e a d . " The
Jews refused to be intimidated, and when the governor went to
Jerusalem to carry out the order, Jews lined the roads to pro­
test his action. The initial impetus for t h i s p r o t e s t , which
succeeded in p e r s u a d i n g Petronius to delay, according to both
Philo and Josephus, probably originated in A n t i o c h . In the
same year, Malalas reports, mobs in A n t i o c h attacked Jews,
killing many and burning synagogues. Although the story re­
lated by M a l a l a s is f a n t a s t i c , including a retaliatory expedi­
tion of 30,000 men led b y P h i n e a s , high priest in Jerusalem,
both Kraeling and Downey find a local disturbance in 4 0 C.E.
perfectly credible. Malalas also reports that the emperor him­
self settled the strife, and that, too, is c r e d i b l e , if we
identify him not w i t h Caligula but with Claudius, who did the
12
same in Alexandria.
The next crisis came at t h e time of the revolt in 66-70
C.E. At first, although there were massacres of Jews through­
out Syria ( J o s e p h u s , J.W. 2.457-79), Jews in A n t i o c h , Sidon,
and Apamea were not affected (J.W. 2.479). However, shortly
after Vespasian arrived in S y r i a , an a p o s t a t e n a m e d Antiochus,
son of the arohon of the Antiochene J e w s , '^ncited the pagans
with a story that Jews were plotting to burn the city (J. W.
7.47). The pogrom which followed brought terror to the Jews,
and four years later they were threatened with a recurrence of
the same violence when fire actually broke out and destroyed
 5

1
several public buildings, appearing to confirm Antiochus
13
charges. This time the Jews were saved from m o b action by
Gnaeus Collega, the deputy governor, who carefully investigated
the affair and cleared the Jews of any complicity (J.W. 7.58-
61). However, Josephus suggests that the Jews were still in
danger until the coming of Titus Caesar, for w h e n he arrived
at A n t i o c h the population greeted him w i t h cries urging the
14
expulsion of the Jews (J.W. 7.100-103). When Titus returned
from Zeugma on the Euphrates, the petition was repeated by the
assembled citizens and senate. Again Titus refused, on the
grounds that, Judea being destroyed, the Jews had n o w h e r e to go
if t h e y w e r e banished (J.W. 7.109). Thereupon the Antiochenes
demanded that the privileges of the Jews inscribed on bronze
tablets be removed. That also was refused by T i t u s , "leaving
the status of the Jews of Antioch exactly as it w a s before"
(J.W. 7.110-11). Josephus may have put too happy a face on the
situation, for M a l a l a s reports that the emperor set u p several
bronze figures, presumably from the temple, outside the south­
ern gate of the city. Since Jews were concentrated in that
part of the city, the figures served a s an a f f r o n t to Jews
every time they passed through the gate, reminding them of the
fall of Jerusalem. Malalas (260-61) also says that a theater
was built on the site of the Jewish synagogue in D a p h n e with
the legend: "From the Jewish spoils." Nevertheless, there is
no evidence that the war and its a f t e r m a t h produced any sub­
stantial change in t h e s t a t u s of t h e A n t i o c h e n e Jews.
This picture is c o n s i s t e n t with what w e know of other
parts of t h e d i a s p o r a . The legacy of the war lingered in atti­
tudes toward the Jews,^ the imposition of an o n e r o u s tax, the
fiscus judaicus, and the devastation of Palestine and the loss
of Jerusalem. However, the long-range consequences of the war
affected Jewish life in P a l e s t i n e m o r e than in t h e diaspora;
for example, the center of P a l e s t i n i a n Jewry shifted from Jeru­
salem to p l a c e s like Caesarea, on the coast, and the northern
towns of Sepphoris, Tiberias, and Beth She arim. The Bar Koch-
ba revolt in 135 C . E . a g a i n brought great destruction and deso­
lation to P a l e s t i n e , but its significance for the diaspora
communities was minimal. Under Antoninus Pius (138-161)
6

relations with Rome began to improve. Hadrian's ban on circum­

cision was modified to allow Jews to c i r c u m c i s e their own
sons,^ and in P a l e s t i n e as well as in d i a s p o r a cities Jews
began gradual recovery. It is in t h i s p e r i o d , for example,
that a large building adjacent to the Palaestra in S a r d i s was
bought and made into a Jewish synagogue.
In t h e b e g i n n i n g of the third century, with the establish­
ment and o f f i c i a l recognition of the patriarchate, and the new
law (Constitutio Antoniana) recognizing all free inhabitants of
the Empire as c i t i z e n s , the Jews in P a l e s t i n e and in t h e dias­
pora were more fully integrated into civic life. For the next
several hundred years the Jews are a significant factor in the
life of t h e Greek-speaking c i t i e s of the E a s t . (1) J e w s some­
times served on the councils of the cities in w h i c h they lived.
They performed liturgies and held positions as magistrates.
They served as watchmen, clerks in t h e m a r k e t s , p o l i c e officers
In S a r d i s several served as m e m b e r s of the p r o v i n c i a l adminis­
tration. According to Malalas (p. 2 9 0 ) , A n t i o c h had a Jewish
18
magistrate ca. 190 C.E. (2) N u m e r o u s dedicatory inscriptions
of synagogues built during the third and fourth centuries have
been found in c i t i e s scattered throughout Asia Minor, Syria,
Greece, and of course Palestine. These inscriptions indicate
that the Jews were able to continue their way of life undis­
turbed and that they had the r e s o u r c e s to build and decorate
suitable structures for r e l i g i o u s , e d u c a t i o n a l , and social
19
purposes. (3) E v e n after Constantine there was little change
in t h e legal status of the Jews, and opposition to the continu­
ation of privileges to J e w i s h leaders (e.g., exemption from
liturgies) indicates that the cities counted on and could not
dispense with the contributions of t h e J e w i s h c i t i z e n s . ^ The
scattered references we have to Jewish life in A n t i o c h in the
third century and the somewhat fuller evidence from the fourth
are consistent with this wider picture. In A n t i o c h as in other
cities in t h e e a s t e r n Empire Jews held an important place in
the city's life.

Internal Organization

Not very much is k n o w n about the organization of the Jew­

ish groups or about their internal divisions. There was one
 7

principal official who could b e c a l l e d " t h e apxcov o f t h e A n -

21
t i o c h e n e J e w s " in 6 9 / 7 0 C . E . Three centuries later a letter
f r o m L i b a n i u s s p e a k s o f " t h e c h i e f o f t h e i r o f f i c i a l s " ( T 6 V XCOV
22
&PX6VTOOV TCBV reap' a O x o i e apxovxa) . Both probably refer to
the YepouaCapxog, head of the council of elders, which, as in
other Jewish communities in t h e E a s t , w a s m a d e u p o f repre-
23
sentatives of the v a r i o u s synagogues in t h e c i t y . The
Gerousia served as the g o v e r n i n g body for a l l the Jews in the
city, and thus also as the formal channel for interaction be­
tween the imperial government and the Jewish community. The
family tomb of one Gerousiarch of Antioch, Aidesius, was found
24
in t h e c e m e t e r y of Beth She arim.
Libanius' letter provides tantalizing hints about the
governance of the Jewish community in A n t i o c h , but it is most
helpful in illustrating the informal relations of power and in­
fluence which existed in the fourth century between that com­
munity and the larger society. Importuned by the Antiochene
Jews, Libanius writes to his long-time friend Priscianus, who
has just b e c o m e p r o c o n s u l of Palestine, because the Jews have
heard that Priscianus has been persuaded to use his influence
to get their chief official to appoint a certain "wicked old
man" to o f f i c e . They are deeply disturbed, because at some
former time the man in q u e s t i o n had exercised the same office
so t y r a n n i c a l l y that he had been removed. With his customary
tact, Libanius assures Priscianus that he doesn't believe that
the governor has really been taken in b y t h e o l d m a n . Moshe
Schwabe argues that the old man, or rather "Elder," is a dele­
gate sent by the P a t r i a r c h in T i b e r i a s to be the head (apxo>v)
of the whole Antiochene community, so t h a t the letter is testi­
mony both to the extended political power of the Patriarch and
at the same time to the way in w h i c h the Roman governor of
25
Palestine could control the Patriarch's decisions. This re­
construction cannot be sustained, however, as Gedaliahu Alon
26
has succinctly shown. The "archon of the archons" cannot be
t h e Nasi* in T i b e r i a s , f o r t h e p h r a s e reap' a o x o i g corresponds
to that in t h e first sentence of the letter, 6v xoig reap' fiucov
...'Iou6a£oig, i.e., among the Jews of Antioch, It w o u l d have
been quite astonishing to find t h e Nasi ' a c t u a l l y governing the
Jewish community in a c i t y like Antioch through his delegate,
8

and there is n o e v i d e n c e in a n y o t h e r source which would prove

that he had such power. If S c h w a b e ' s argument fails, however,
we cannot be sure just what office (dpxfi) t h e o l d m a n w a s try­
i n g to r e g a i n . It c a n n o t have been the head of t h e whole' c o m ­
munity, for t h a t w a s the position (dpxoav xcov dpxc5vxa>v) o f the
one expected to appoint him. P e r h a p s , as S c h w a b e argues, he
would be called dpxoov, i.e., as one of the dpxovxeg, but that
is a r a t h e r general term, found in l i t e r a r y but not legal
27
sources. Or perhaps he was t o b e t h e dpxiauv&YooYog of one of
the synagogues. The latter office is a t t e s t e d from two in­
scriptions in A p a m e a , for in t h e y e a r 3 91 I l a s i o s , "Archisyna-
1 1
gogos of the A n t i o c h e n e s , m a d e a substantial c o n t r i b u t i o n for
t h e m o s a i c f l o o r of t h e s y n a g o g u e t h e r e , w h e r e h e h a d c l o s e
28
family connections.
K r a e l i n g e s t i m a t e s a J e w i s h p o p u l a t i o n in t h e c i t y o f
4 5 , 0 0 0 in t h e t i m e o f A u g u s t u s and 65,000 in t h e fourth cen-
29
tury, but these figures are probably high. Liebeschuetz, for
example, estimates that the city itself contained perhaps as
f e w a s 15 0 , 0 0 0 p e r s o n s in t h e fourth century, while the whole
territory of A n t i o c h (comprising some 2,500 square miles) had
3 0
a population approaching 400,000. If w e accept Liebeschuetz'
low estimate, and assume with Kraeling that the proportion of
Jews to the total population was somewhat higher than the
31
twelve to thirteen percent usually accepted for Egypt, we
would arrive at a figure around 22,000. Obviously the margin
of error in s u c h g u e s s w o r k is enormous.
We cannot be certain how many synagogues existed in An­
tioch, for the literary evidence is spotty and the archaeologi-
32
cal data nil. From Seleucid times there was one in t h e city
33
itself. In t h e R o m a n p e r i o d the main synagogue was located
34
in t h e southern quarter of the city, the Kerateion. It was
probably the one supposed to have been built over the tomb of
the Maccabee martyrs and thus called, at least in o n e medieval
source, kenneset hasmuniti.e.. Synagogue of the Hasmoneans.
The same source, however, says that this was the first syna-
gogue built after (the d e s t r u c t i o n of) the Second Temple.
It w a s surely not the only synagogue within the city. One of
the synagogues burned in t h e d i s o r d e r s of the late fifth
 9

century was named for A s a b i n u s , perhaps the same as the Jewish

ouvialis of that name whose property, according to M a l a l a s , had
37
been purchased to build a new Plethrion in 193 C . E . This was
obviously different from the Hasmonean synagogue and, assuming
its foundation to have been near the time of the A s a b i n u s known
to u s , it m u s t have existed simultaneously with the Hasmonean
rather than having been built to r e p l a c e the latter when it was
38
seized by the Christians in t h e fourth century.
During the Hellenistic period Jews had also settled in
Daphne, the lovely suburb on a plateau south of the q i t y . At
39
least since Tiberius there was a synagogue in D a p h n e , and it
is p o s s i b l e there had been one earlier. Rabbinic sources speak
of D a p h n e as a Jewish center, even locating a meeting there
40
between King Nebuchadnezzar and the Sanhedrin. The account
is n o d o u b t legendary, but it i n d i c a t e s a certain importance to
Daphne in J e w i s h m e m o r y . In J o h n Chrysostom's day there was a
synagogue in D a p h n e c a l l e d Maxpc&vrie. ^
Whether there was also an o r g a n i z e d Jewish community to
the north of the city, on the plain of A n t i o c h , as Kraeling
42
argues, is m o r e uncertain. There certainly were rural Jews
in t h e v i c i n i t y of Antioch; the question is w h a t their status
was. As Kraeling pointed out, the Tosefta speaks of rice grown
in t h e Hulat of A n t i o c h , so t h e r e m u s t have been Jewish far­
mers. 4 3
Moreover, his argument that the K * > m ^ : i K KD^in is
the same as the ooaAadd mentioned b y J o s e p h u s , Ant. 17.24, and
TO xcov AVTIOX£CDVTt£6iov in S t r a b o , Geog. 1 6 . 2 . 8 , is b o t h i n -
44
genious and convincing. B u t it w i l l n o t d o t o r e g a r d t h a t
45
area as a "Jewish suburb." At several places in M i d r a s h Rab­
bah there is a s t o r y o f a v i s i t t o t h i s a r e a b y r a b b i s to col-
46
lect money for Eretz Israel. The account makes clear that
the rabbis came regularly to the area to c o l l e c t funds. From
Libanius' Oration 47.13-16, "On P a t r o n a g e s , " w e learn of Jewish
peasants who had worked Libanius' family land for four genera­
tions. Although some earlier scholars argued that the estate
must have been in P a l e s t i n e , L. Harmand has shown that it must
have lain near Antioch, in t h e O r o n t e s v a l l e y — i . e . , probably
47
in t h e Hulat of A n t i o c h by Kraeling's reckoning.
10

Social Relations

These tenants of Libanius were not like the small free

proprietors who lived in t h e large villages (xtou-ai u£Y&A.ai) and
owned tiny portions of t h e communal fields, though since Liban­
ius also describes the troubles of the latter, they were evi­
dently to b e found in t h e same area, and there may well have
48
been Jews among them, too. Nor were they hired free workers
(dpYdxai = operarii o r u-iadooxai* = meroenarii) . Rather, they
were tenants of the most restricted sort (YeoapYoC = coloni) .
Even though the colonate in t h e strict legal sense (which made
t h e oolonus virtually a serf) probably did not yet exist in
1
Syria in L i b a n i u s time, Harmand argues that workers like these
49
had lost their original liberty b y oonsuetudo. The terms of
their work and their share of the crop were determined entirely
by the landowner. In a d e s p e r a t e attempt to "shake off the old
yoke and henceforth to d i c t a t e t h e t e r m s " of t h e i r employment,
they went on strike.^
Unfortunately we do not learn what kind of connections
there may have been between these Jewish peasants and their
more affluent coreligionists in t h e c i t y . It m a y be signifi­
cant, however, that their confrontation with Libanius does not
seem to h a v e affected the congenial relationship w h i c h he had
both with the patriarch in T i b e r i a s and w i t h leaders of the
51
Jewish community in A n t i o c h , and that the peasants did not,
so f a r a s L i b a n i u s informs u s , try to get either of t h e s e to
intercede with him on their b e h a l f . Whether they were separ­
ated from the urban Jews by language (the l a t t e r used Greek),
52
by r e l i g i o u s practice, or only by economic class, one can
3
only guess.^
In o n e respect, however, the peasants of Libanius and the
urban Jews of A n t i o c h w e r e alike. When in d i f f i c u l t i e s , both
sought help from a strong patron, who was likely to be con­
nected with the imperial government. In t h e case of the peas­
ants, this was a military commander, perhaps t h e magister mili-
54
turn per orientem. Such military patrons are the chief object
1
of L i b a n i u s complaints to the e m p e r o r , for they have usurped a
role w h i c h used to b e l o n g to the local a r i s t o c r a c y . ^ The
 11

power of t h i s n e w form of patronage is w e l l illustrated in the

fact that Libanius lost his case. The fact that he had to file
suit against his workers already shows that disadvantaged
groups like the Jews could count on some protection from Roman
1
law. Nevertheless, Libanius c a s e , at least on grounds of
56
breach of contract, would appear to have been very strong
certainly he thought it w a s — h a d it n o t been for the superior
power of the patron. Those peasants who lacked such a patron—
a p e r s o n of i n f l u e n c e s t a n d i n g o u t s i d e the s t r u c t u r e of the
aristocracy that oppressed t h e m — w e r e little better off than
57
slaves.
For the patron, on the other hand, intervention in such
cases provided opportunity to increase his power as the number
of c l i e n t s d e p e n d e n t upon him grew. That is l i k e l y to have
been a more important factor in h i s self-interest than the
amount of m o n e y he could squeeze out of them, which Libanius
dwells on. The whole episode, as L i b a n i u s himself emphasizes,
was part of a very general shift in t h e forms of social and
economic power, and during the transition there were enormous
o p p o r t u n i t i e s for e n t r e p r e n e u r s of all s o r t s , v i a the m i l i t a r y ,
the rapidly growing imperial civil service, the law, a n d —
58
already—the church.
Not all the Jews had thrown in t h e i r lot w i t h t h e new
power brokers. Ironically Libanius himself acted as a patron
for the w h o l e Jewish community of A n t i o c h on o n e o c c a s i o n , in
59
the letter to P r i s c i a n u s already quoted, and he o f t e n inter­
vened informally as a patron for individuals in t h e correspon­
dence he conducted with the Patriarch between the years 388 and
6 0
3 93. Eight of his letters "To t h e P a t r i a r c h " are extant.
They provide an interesting and, to those accustomed to hand­
book generalizations about rabbinic Judaism's anti-hellenism
after Bar Kochba, astonishing picture of the relationship be­
tween cultured Jews and pagans at the end of the fourth century.
The earliest of these letters replies to a complaint by the
Patriarch about mistreatment which Jews have suffered, perhaps
6 1
in t h e C h r i s t i a n reaction after Julian's death. Libanius
assures the Patriarch that, far from having any sympathy with
the Jews' opponents, he would regard help for them as damaging
12

to h i m s e l f . The others are written on behalf of individuals,

as introductions (973) o r appeals for h e l p a g a i n s t opponents
(917), for financial help (974), or other favors (1084, 1097).
One (1105) asks the Patriarch to assist in t h e d e f e n s e of
Libanius* former pupil who, as p r o c o n s u l of P a l e s t i n e 392/93
C.E., has committed some misdeed resulting in c r i m i n a l charges.
And one (1098) is a c h a r m i n g letter on behalf of the Patri­
arch's son, w h o has dropped out of school after studying
briefly with Libanius. Libanius asks the old man to be neither
harsh nor perplexed, for at this stage of life "perhaps it will
be profitable for him to see m a n y cities—as it w a s for
Odysseus." It is a p p a r e n t that the Patriarch himself was edu­
cated in G r e e k culture, for L i b a n i u s flatters him for his love
62
of books and the excellence of h i s letters (1084; c f . 9 7 3 ) .
It is a l s o clear that for some Jews in A n t i o c h it w a s perfectly
natural to w o r k through the network of
relationships involving
63
the curial class and the old rhetorical schools.
T h e u r b a n J e w s of A n t i o c h w e r e of a l l c l a s s e s . The cuvi-
64
alls Asabinus has already been mentioned. The donors of the
fourth-century mosaics in t h e A p a m e a synagogue, including the
Antiochene arohisynagogos, were both wealthy and Greek-speaking
and bore hellenic n a m e s . But there were also Jewish shopkeepers
a n d a r t i s a n s , s t i l l in t h e t i m e o f C h r y s o s t o m and doubtless from
65
the beginning. A few m e m b e r s of these groups w e r e able to
gain wealth, but for the most part they were poor, burdened
directly or indirectly by t h e heavy traders' tax (oollatio lus-
66
tralis) and subject to abuse by soldiers and o f f i c i a l s . There
were certainly Jewish slaves as well.
Libanius' letters to the Patriarch show that, at least in
the fourth century, there were close connections between the
Antiochene Jews and Palestine. That is c o n f i r m e d by inscrip­
tions, from earlier in t h e same century, found at B e t h She'arim
67
and Tiberias, a n d b y o c c a s i o n a l r e f e r e n c e s in r a b b i n i c
sources. T h e P a l e s t i n i a n r a b b i s k n e w of a B e t h D i n in A n -
68
tioch, and a number of them are reported to have visited the
city. Some of the stories of R. Tanhuma bar Abba's disputes
6 9
with gentiles over Jewish beliefs are set in A n t i o c h , and R.
70
Simlai (3rd century) was also associated with Antioch. On
 13

occasion the Patriarch traveled to Antioch because of dealings

7 1
with the Roman legate of Palestine who was often in Antioch.
After the revolt under Gallus two rabbis visited Ursicinus in
Antioch, and the Palestinian Talmud depicts them as respected
72
by the Roman general and on good terms with him. These
scattered references indicate that Jews from Palestine had
continuous relations w i t h the Jews of A n t i o c h (and t h e communi­
ty outside the city as w e l l ) and with Roman officials in the
city.

Christians and Jews

Beginnings of Christianity in Antioch

For the story of Christianity's beginnings in Antioch,

and consequently of the first interactions between Jews and
Christians there, we have to depend upon the account in the
b o o k of A c t s , together with the clues in a f e w v e r s e s of
Galatians. If t h e r e is o n e t h i n g that has been made clear by
scholarship from F. C . B a u r u n t i l the m o s t recent "redaction
critics," it is t h a t h i s t o r i a n s have to read the Acts' account
with a sharp eye open for its functions within the literary
and theological plan of the whole two-volume work. When that
is d o n e , h o w e v e r , it b e c o m e s a very useful document for our
purposes.
In A c t s A n t i o c h is s i n g l e d out as the scene of the first
deliberate mission to gentiles (11:19-26) and as the locus of
the decisive controversy over terms of their admission to the
church (chap. 15). There is n o r e a s o n to doubt the accuracy of
the former, and comparison with Gal 2:llf. suggests that the
second as w e l l has some factual basis. The account begins with
a sentence (Acts 11:19) which is p r o b a b l y entirely a Lucan con­
struction. It links the Antioch report with the preceding
story of Stephen, the subsequent persecution, and the "scatter­
ing" o f the Jerusalem disciples—actually of the Jewish-
Christian "Hellenists" in t h e consensus of m o s t m o d e r n scholar­
ship. In b e t w e e n , the author has inserted the story of Paul's
conversion and the story of Peter's instruction and b a p t i s m of
Cornelius—both important for the significance which our author
14

wants to give to the g e n t i l e m i s s i o n that begins in Antioch.

Since the n o t i o n that the persecution produced a wider spread
of the Word is a n important Lucan motif, the final phrase of
11:19, "speaking the Word to no one except to Jews alone," is
probably Lucan. It looks as if t h e author wants especially to
avoid the impression that the "Hellenists" were directly re­
sponsible for the beginning of the gentile mission. Rather
(vs. 2 0 ) it w a s certain anonymous individuals of Cyprus and
Cyrenaea. If so, h i s p u r p o s e is p a r t l y defeated by v s . 20, for
the Cypriot and Cyrenaean preachers were also among the scat­
tered "Hellenists" (TLVEQ auxcov a v 6 p e g ) . Perhaps the author
has merely chosen an awkward way of saying that in g e n e r a l the
Hellenists spoke only to Jews, but some few of them, w h o hap­
pened to be C y p r i o t s and Cyrenaeans (thus d i s t i n c t from those
w h o had previously been living in J e r u s a l e m , chap. 6 ? ) , by ex­
ception began preaching to g e n t i l e s . Nevertheless, it is worth
asking why so c o m p e t e n t an a u t h o r w a s led into such awkwardness
One plausible answer is t h i s : h e h a d a tradition or source that
connected the origin of the g e n t i l e m i s s i o n w i t h A n t i o c h , be­
ginning in t h e m i s s i o n of certain Greek-speaking Jews associ­
ated with the "hellenistic" wing of the J e r u s a l e m Christians.
(It m a y b e significant that one of the seven hellenist Diakonoi
elected in J e r u s a l e m w a s an A n t i o c h e n e proselyte, Nicolaus
[Acts 6:5].) The disclaimer o f v s . 19 is L u k e ' s own, for he
wants to tie this beginning in A n t i o c h firmly to the authori­
tative figures in J e r u s a l e m and also properly to introduce
Paul, who is for him the paradigmatic missionary to the gen-
73
tiles. Hence he sets before this report the vision of Peter
and the conversion of C o r n e l i u s , so t h a t a nihil obstat for the
conversion of g e n t i l e s has already been provided among the
Jerusalem apostles, under the authoritative person of Peter.
And he inserts the story of Paul's conversion, tying it arti­
ficially to the m a r t y r d o m of S t e p h e n , to p r e p a r e P a u l for t h e
r o l e g i v e n h i m in 1 1 : 2 5 . Then appears Barnabas, himself a
74
Cypriot (4:36), who has been introduced before as one with
impeccable Jewish credentials (a L e v i t e , 4:36) and a particu­
larly devoted disciple directly and obediently related to the
75
apostles in J e r u s a l e m (4:36-37). F i n a l l y P a u l is i n t r o d u c e d
 15

to t h e A n t i o c h situation at second-hand, by Barnabas, who has

been made the official Jerusalem delegate at A n t i o c h (11:25).
From this brief report, which is a k e y s t o n e in t h e struc­
ture of Luke's second volume, what trustworthy information can
be gleaned then? That Antioch was the starting point for self-
conscious mission to gentiles who had n o t p r e v i o u s l y become
Jewish proselytes; that this mission was initiated by Greek-
speaking Jewish Christians, "Cypriots and Cyrenaeans," among
whom Barnabas was probably the leading figure.
This tiny glimpse of the early leadership at A n t i o c h is
augmented very slightly at t h e b e g i n n i n g of Luke's next major
section, 13:1, by another bit of information: a list of
76
"prophets and teachers" in A n t i o c h . The list is traditional;
Symeon called the Black, Lucius the Cyrenaean, and Menaen
(= M e n a h e m ) t h e aovxpocpoe o f H e r o d the Tetrarch (Antipas). One
might be tempted to doubt whether the names which Luke puts in
the prominent positions at the head and tail of this list,
Barnabas and Paul, belonged to the t r a d i t i o n a l list, since this
author often manipulates the comings and goings of his chief
characters. In t h i s case, however, we have confirmation from
Galatians that both Paul and Barnabas were closely connected
with Antioch in t h e e a r l i e s t d a y s of t h e i r m i s s i o n . The pres­
ence in t h e A n t i o c h e n e c h u r c h of a syntrophos of Herod Antipas
is interesting, for w h i l e w e have no record of any significant
connection between the Tetrarch and Antioch, his father had
77
been a major benefactor of the city. The honorific ("child­
hood companion," "foster brother"; Haenchen: "Milchbruder")
obviously implies high social status. If M e n a e n w a s a native
of Antioch, of which we cannot be sure, the Herodian connection
may have been advantageous. Of the five names, all but Lucius
are Semitic, but only because Luke up to t h i s p o i n t calls Paul
"Saul."
In 11:26 Luke adds another "first" for A n t i o c h : "And in
1
Antioch they first called the disciples 'Christians. " This
detail is n o t likely to h a v e been invented by the author of
Acts. Considerable ingenuity has been expended on attempts to
78
explain its significance, but the most satisfactory remains
the simplest: that the disciples were called "Christians,"
16

i.e., "Christus-people," by pagans, because it w a s in

Antioch
79
that they first stood out from Judaism as a distinct sect.
It i s i n t e r e s t i n g t h a t a m o n g C h r i s t i a n w r i t e r s I g n a t i u s o f
11
Antioch is t h e first to use the term "Christianity (Xpiaxiav-
80
laudg). And later Theophilus writes to A u t o l y c u s , "You call
81
me a Christian a s if I were bearing an e v i l n a m e . . . . " What­
ever the reason for t h e o r i g i n a l designation, the author of
Acts thought it significant that it t o o k p l a c e p r e c i s e l y in
Antioch. Even if it is o n l y t h e accidents of t r a n s m i s s i o n that
make Ignatius' usage appear unique, it a l s o c a l l s attention to
the fact that the "Christ-movement" attained a degree and kind
of self-identity at A n t i o c h w h i c h m a d e it v i s i b l e to outsiders
as a distinct movement very early in its h i s t o r y . Antioch was
the birthplace of "gentile Christianity."
It w a s also the place where controversy between Jews and
82
gentiles first erupted within the church. We cannot touch on
all the issues which have been raised in t h e long debate over
the "Jerusalem Council" and the conflicting descriptions of it
in A c t s 15 a n d Galatians 2. Olof Linton's suggestion, made a
number of years ago, is l i k e l y correct: the version of the
events which Luke had was just the kind of interpretation Paul
83
was trying to refute in G a l a t i a n s . But b o t h v e r s i o n s agree
on a few points that are clear and significant. (1) T h e ques­
t i o n of the terms of admission of gentiles to the Christian
community, with circumcision as the focal issue, arises at
Antioch and is s e n t u p t o J e r u s a l e m for a j u d i c a t i o n . (2) The
principal delegates from Antioch are Paul and Barnabas. Paul
adds the name of Titus, not as a delegate but as a test case,
unmentioned by A c t s , t h o u g h A c t s does mention "certain others"
(15:2). Paul implies that the decision for the trip w a s pri­
marily his own, "by r e v e l a t i o n , " w h i l e A c t s records a formal
action (STCL^CLV) by t h e A n t i o c h congregation to send them. But
if t h e d e c i s i o n w a s m a d e b y p r o p h e t i c l e a d e r s h i p , l i k e t h a t
d e s c r i b e d in A c t s 1 3 : 2 f . , b o t h could b e t a l k i n g a b o u t t h e same
84
procedure. (3) T h e issue is r a i s e d by a p a r t i c u l a r group
among the Judean Christians, not identified with the leadership
In t h e A c t s v e r s i o n , these were already active at A n t i o c h , pre­
cipitating the whole issue; Paul has them first intervene in
 17

the discussions at J e r u s a l e m . Acts calls them former

Pharisees; Paul does not identify them but calls them "false
brothers." (4) T h e u p s h o t of the debate is a g r e e m e n t between
the Antioch delegates and the Jerusalem leadership that the
former are to p u r s u e the gentile mission as before, and that
circumcision is n o t to be required of gentile converts. The
Acts version, however, goes on to record a "decree" requiring
a modified form of kashrut as w e l l as forbidding idolatry and
86
sexual immorality. The only requirement Paul acknowledges
is "remember the p o o r , " and it i s c o m m o n l y understood that his
concern for the "collection" for J e r u s a l e m was his way of
carrying out that part of t h e agreement.
Acts and Galatians further agree that Paul and Barnabas
had a major disagreement soon after these decisions were made
(Acts 15:39 calls it a n a p o £ u a u 6 g ; Gal 2:13 accuses Barnabas
of "hypocrisy"). The reasons given for t h i s b r e a k , however,
are quite different. Acts knows nothing of a visit of Peter to
Antioch or of the confrontation there between him and Paul, nor
of a delegation from James that wrecked the previous agreement
87
and provoked such a confrontation.
There is o n e further area of agreement, of a negative
sort. Neither in A c t s n o r in P a u l ' s letters does Paul have any
further important connection with Antioch. After
the "first
88
m i s s i o n a r y j o u r n e y , " w h i c h has A n t i o c h as its b a s e . Acts has
P a u l p a y o n l y o n e f u r t h e r , o b s c u r e v i s i t ( 1 8 : 2 2 ) ; in h i s l e t -
89
ters Paul never mentions Antioch outside Galatians. Now John
Schiitz h a s m a d e the shrewd deduction that Barnabas' turnabout
and support for Peter (Gal 2 : 1 1 - 2 1 ) and Paul's subsequent
separation from him do not represent merely a personal dis­
agreement, as Acts would have us believe, but a fundamental
crisis of authority affecting the relationship between Paul and
90
Antioch. What Paul was resisting, in h i s confrontation with
Peter, was the attempt of Jerusalem to extend its a u t h o r i t y to
Antioch. When not only Peter but even Barnabas, whose connec­
tion with Antioch was older and m o r e intimate than Paul's, ac­
cepted compromise with the James group, Paul made himself in-
91
dependent of Antioch as well as of Jerusalem.
18

Antioch at t h i s earliest point in t h e church's history

looks then like a place of compromise, a bridge between Jewish
and gentile Christianity. Neither in A c t s n o r in P a u l d o we
learn of any locally bred division between Jewish and gentile
Christians; division occurs only at t h e instigation of certain
92
people from Jerusalem. The form of the compromise after the
crisis and Paul's withdrawal is n o t altogether clear, although
it looks from Gal 2:12f. as if former Jews and former gentiles
formed henceforth separate fellowships, presumably meeting in
different houses. There is a l s o n o m e n t i o n of hostility from
93
synagogue authorities in A n t i o c h , although an a r g u m e n t from
this silence would be precarious. Had the emergence of the
Chvistianoi as a distinct religious movement not yet occurred?
William Farmer has argued that the decisive break came in
fact, and precisely at A n t i o c h , a generation later: in the
94
aftermath of t h e Jewish revolt of 66-70 C.E. The war must
have had a strong effect on Antioch, he a r g u e s , because troops
would have been recruited there to take p a r t in p u t t i n g d o w n
t h e r e b e l l i o n , r e s u l t i n g in a n i n c r e a s e of t h e " p e r e n n i a l a n t i -
95
Jewish feelings." Farmer thinks the Christians would conse­
quently have had very good reasons for d i s t i n g u i s h i n g them­
selves from the Jews. It is a n a t t r a c t i v e
hypothesis, even
96
t h o u g h t h e r e is h a r d l y a n y e v i d e n c e t o s u p p o r t i t . Josephus'
r e p o r t s o f t h e p o g r o m in 6 6 / 6 7 a n d t h e u p r o a r f o l l o w i n g t h e
A n t i o c h f i r e o f 70 c e r t a i n l y s h o w t h e i n t e n s i t y o f a n t i - J e w i s h
97
feeling. The desire of some Christians to separate from them
is a p l a u s i b l e conjecture. However, this would have amounted
to a r e i n f o r c e m e n t of the division along lines of religious
practice which had been effected by the P e t e r - B a r n a b a s conces­
sions, rather than an a b r u p t b r e a k d o w n of the successful Jeru-
98
salem compromise, as Farmer sees it. Moreover, if such a
separation did take place around 7 0 , it c e r t a i n l y did not mean
the once-for-all isolation of the Judaeo-Christians from
gentile Christians nor of Jews from Christians. The active
influence of Judaism upon Christianity in A n t i o c h w a s perennial
until Christian leaders succeeded at last in d r i v i n g the Jews
from the city in t h e seventh century.
 19

Christians and Jews in t h e SEcond and Third Centuries

Sources of information about Christian-Jewish relations in

the second and third centuries are fragmentary, mostly indirect,
and almost entirely from the Christian side. During this peri­
od it is a l s o d i f f i c u l t or impossible to d i s t i n g u i s h between
continuing direct Jewish influence on Christianity and the
independent internal development of C h r i s t i a n exegesis of the
common scriptures. Consequently the "Jewishness" posited of
certain schools of A n t i o c h e n e theology by ancient as well as
modern writers may sometimes be so v a g u e as to be of little
help.
Ignatius, although his letters address directly the prob­
lems of the Asian churches to w h i c h he is w r i t i n g and speak
only allusively of the situation in A n t i o c h , nevertheless
allows some inferences to be drawn for our topic. Certain
passages in t h e letters to the Smyrnaeans, the M a g n e s i a n s , and
the Philadelphians are particularly important. The letter to
Smyrna opens with an epistolary thanksgiving (l:lf., not usual
in Ignatius' letters) which probably echoes the liturgy of
99
baptism at A n t i o c h . It is t h e r e f o r e particularly interesting
that it c o n t a i n s a version of the "baptismal reunification
formula" which in t h e N e w Testament is f o u n d in w r i t i n g s of the
00 1
Pauline school:"'" "...that 'he m i g h t set up an e n s i g n [Isa
5:26] for all ages through his Resurrection, for his saints and
believers, whether among the J e w s , or among the heathen, in one
1 0 1
body of his C h u r c h . " Furthermore, just as in t h e Pauline
s c h o o l , it is t h e u n i f i c a t i o n of J e w a n d g e n t i l e in t h e o n e
b o d y o f C h r i s t t h a t is t h e p a r a d i g m i n s t a n c e of G o d ' s w i l l t o
102
make all one. Ignatius himself, however, is f a r from posi­
tive toward continuing Jewish elements in C h r i s t i a n i t y . He can
equate Jewish teachings ( t h o u g h of w h a t sort is n o t said) with
heterodoxy and "old fables (uudeuuxxxot) w h i c h are profitless"
1 0 3 1 0 4
(Magn 8:1). To live "according to J u d a i s m " would mean to
confess "that we h a v e not received grace" (Magn 8:2). He warns
that "It is m o n s t r o u s (axorcov) t o t a l k o f J e s u s Christ and to
practise Judaism. For Christianity did not base its faith on
Judaism (eCc 'Iou6aiauov £rtiaxeuaev), but Judaism on Chris­
tianity, and every tongue believing on God was brought together
20

in it" (10:3, L a k e ) . Similarly Ignatius warns the Phila-

delphians against Judaeo-Christianity:

B u t if a n y o n e i n t e r p r e t J u d a i s m t o y o u d o n o t l i s t e n
t o h i m ; f o r it i s b e t t e r t o h e a r C h r i s t i a n i t y f r o m
the circumcised than Judaism from the uncircumcised.
But b o t h o f them, u n l e s s they speak of J e s u s C h r i s t ,
are to m e tombstones and sepulchres of the dead...
( P h i l a d 6:1)

These polemical passages may be occasioned by controver­

sies in M a g n e s i a and Philadelphia, but almost certainly they
1
reflect also Ignatius experience of J u d a e o - C h r i s t i a n s in
1 0 5
Antioch. Note that it i s t h e Judaeo-Christians, Christians
adopting Jewish practices, not Jewish-Christians, i.e., those
of Jewish origins, who attract Ignatius' ire. If h i s language
in P h i l a d 6:1 is c a r e f u l , n o t just a rhetorical flourish, then
both sorts of Christians are known to him. The other group
whom Ignatius takes pains to refute in h i s letters are the
docetists, and it h a s b e c o m e customary to t h i n k of these as the
opposites of the Judaeo-Christians. That may be misleading,
however, for t h e r e are prominent elements drawn from Jewish or
Judaeo-Christian tradition in m o s t of t h e g n o s t i c movements
l n&
associated with Syria. This seems to h a v e been true, for
example, of M e n a n d e r , the first of the g n o s t i c t e a c h e r s k n o w n
107
by name in A n t i o c h , whose christology was undoubtedly doce-
tic To be sure, Ignatius does s a y of h i s docetists, "These
are they whom neither the prophecies nor the law of Moses per­
suaded, nor the gospel even until now, nor our own individual
sufferings" (Smyr 5:1, Lake), but that does not necessarily
mean that they opposed the Jewish scriptures—only that they
interpreted them differently than Ignatius. His own hermeneu-
t i c p r i n c i p l e is s t a t e d in P h i l a d 8 : 2 :
F o r I h e a r d s o m e s a y i n g , "If I d o n o t f i n d i t in
t h e a r c h i v e s ( a p x e C o i g ) , I d o n o t b e l i e v e in t h e
gospel." A n d w h e n I s a i d t o t h e m , "It is w r i t t e n , "
t h e y r e p l i e d , " T h a t is j u s t t h e i s s u e . " But for
m e "the a r c h i v e s " are J e s u s C h r i s t ; the i n v i o l a b l e
a r c h i v e s are h i s c r o s s and d e a t h and his r e s u r r e c ­
tion and the faith w h i c h c o m e s t h r o u g h h i m . . .

In p r a c t i c e , h o w e v e r , at least in t h e e x t a n t letters, Ignatius

does not offer any extended exegetical arguments. Laeuchli
 21

even goes so f a r a s t o d e n y that he knew m u c h of the Old

Testament: "Ignatius, therefore, cannot have grown up in a
Septuagint-diaspora community, nor can he have lived very long
in a C h r i s t i a n c o n g r e g a t i o n that was familiar with Old Testa-
, . ,,108
ment models."
If t r a d i t i o n s of Septuagint-exegesis are lacking in
Ignatius, the lack is a m p l y m a d e up by his successors, for
exegesis depending ultimately on Jewish models becomes a hall­
mark of the Antioch school. This is q u i t e clear in Theophilus,
who wrote his apology to Autolycus around 1 8 0 , for "almost
everything in h i s e x e g e s i s can be p a r a l l e l e d in J e w i s h haggadic
109
literature." It is n o t o n l y w i t h Palestinian aggadah that
Theophilus' exegesis has parallels, however, for Grant has
shown that many of the apologist's basic theological phrases
and ideas are drawn from the synthesis of biblical and Stoic
language which had been worked out in h e l l e n i s t i c Judaism and
1 1 0
best known to u s t h r o u g h Philo. Theophilus' expositions,
however, never attain the profundity of P h i l o ' s , nor his
allegorical complexity; it is d o u b t f u l that he knew Philo's
1 1 1
works at first hand. Theophilus' attitude toward the Law
also sounds superficially like that of A l e x a n d r i a n Jews: ^Of
this divine law the minister (6idKOvoQ) w a s M o s e s , t h e servant
of God, not only to all the world but especially the Hebrews
112
(also c a l l e d Jews)..." The positive emphasis upon the Law
1 1 3
probably carries a specifically anti-Marcionist thrust, thus
providing evidence for a M a r c i o n i t e — a n d consequently counter-
Jewish—influence in A n t i o c h at t h i s early date. He can call
Moses "our p r o p h e t and the minister of God" (3.18), the Hebrews
"our forefathers" (3.20), and David "our a n c e s t o r " (3.25). Yet
it is a l s o clear that "this great and m a r v e l l o u s law" is under­
stood by Theophilus as the m o r a l law epitomized in t h e "ten
chapters" (xecpdAaia) (3.9), distinct from the ritual command­
ments which Christian commentators were by now regularly inter-
114
preting as a secondary addition pertinent only to Jews.
Furthermore, this strong emphasis on the continuity of the
revelation to "the H e b r e w s " w i t h that to the Christians does
not carry any necessary implication of continued positive rela­
tionship with living Jews. On the contrary, Theophilus commonly
22

speaks of "our scriptures" (xa, fiuex£pa Y p d u u a x a ) with casual

disregard for the c o n t i n u e d existence of Judaism. When he
argues, for e x a m p l e , that the true p i c t u r e of the w o r l d ' s ori­
gin and the early spread of its p e o p l e s is found only in the
scriptures (and t h e Sibyllene oracles that depend on them)
rather than in p a g a n w r i t i n g s , h e concludes that "it is plain
that all the rest were in e r r o r and that only the Christians
1 1 5
have held the truth..." (2.33).
During the whole of the second and third centuries we have
evidence for the continued influence of J e w i s h scriptures and
thought on Antiochene Christianity, but virtually none from
which we can get a picture of r e l a t i o n s h i p s between Jewish and
Christian communities. The presence of Jewish elements in the
1 1 6
local liturgy, which Grant has d e m o n s t r a t e d , does not prove
continued contact with the synagogue, for they m a y have been
included earlier. They are not like the entire book of prayers
incorporated into the eucharistic prayer in t h e seventh book of
the Apostolic Constitutions, which Simon thinks must have re-
117
suited from a mass conversion of a whole Jewish community.
Even the intensive textual and exegetical work accomplished by
Lucian and his school, though it i n d i c a t e s a certain continuity
of tradition from the rather naive expositions by T h e o p h i l u s to
the mature work at t h e t u r n of t h e t h i r d to fourth centuries,
does not p r o v e that Lucian and his associates w e r e in close
contact with the synagogue. It is t r u e t h a t Eusebius describes
a certain Dorotheus, a contemporary of L u c i a n , w h o "made so
careful a study of the Hebrew tongue that he read with under-
118
standing the original Hebrew scriptures." One may suppose
that he, like Jerome, learned his Hebrew from the rabbis, but
there is n o e v i d e n c e to that effect.
Yet at o n e p o i n t , around 200 C.E., we hear of a conversion
from Christianity to Judaism, proving that the kind of contact
and attraction which would become chronic in t h e fourth century
was not unknown earlier. The case was important enough for the
apostate, a certain Domnus, to receive a letter from his bishop,
Serapion, w h i c h Eusebius m e n t i o n s but unfortunately does not
119
quote.
 23

More problematic for our topic is t h e significance of Paul

of Samosata, who was bishop of A n t i o c h during the period of

Palmyrene rule, 2 60/61 to 272 C.E. John Chrysostom calls him
120
"a J e w w e a r i n g a Christian mask," and the nickname may well
have been coined earlier by Paul's opponents, for reports cir­
culated which connected his teaching with Judaism, and Athanas-
ius even asserted that he was pro-Jewish in o r d e r to please his
121
protector, the Palmyrene queen Zenobia, herself a JewessI
Both Loofs and Bardy, however, after independently examining
the sparse evidence, conclude that there is n o historical sub­
stance to the reports that Zenobia had a special relationship
122
to Judaism. Loofs thinks all the reports originated in
Antiochene gossip, perhaps fueled by the fact that Zenobia had
a Semitic (probably good Palmyrene) name, Bat Zvi. Athanasius'
statement that Zenobia was Paul's "patroness"—if indeed
Tipo^axn has here that narrow sense and does not mean simply
that she w a s his sovereign—probably referred to her helping
him avoid the execution of the
sentence of excommunication
123
decreed by the Council of Antioch.
Until recently, Harnack's conjecture, that Paul repre­
sented the "Palmyrene party" in A n t i o c h , was almost universally
124
accepted. Bardy supposed that Paul had to gather around him
all those w h o were pro-Palmyrene, be they Christians, Jews, or
125
pagans. Downey thought it likely that support would have
come especially from "people of Semitic stock in and around
Antioch who hated the Romans and looked to the East for sym-
12 6
pathy and possible rescue." Recently, however, Fergus
Millar has shown that there is n o reason at all to suppose
either that Paul represented a general resurgence of "Oriental,"
Aramaic culture against the Greco-Roman world, or that he held
an o f f i c i a l post ("ducenarius") for the Palmyrene queen. In
fact, there is n o evidence that the Palmyrenes exercised any
real influence in A n t i o c h before around 270 C.E., while Paul
held the bishopric from 2 61 a n d was formally deposed (though he
refused to relinquish "the church house") in 268/69. Millar
does allow the possibility that there may have been some influ­
ence on Paul by Judaism or by some native Syrian Christian tra­
ditions, but he cautions that there is a l m o s t no evidence to
24

127
support such a supposition. And it is c e r t a i n l y significant,
as Bardy points out, that the letter of the Council of Antioch
that condemned Paul contains not a word about his "Judaism,"
128
which would later become the standard accusation.
What, then, was the origin of t h e later assertion of
Paul's "Jewishness"? John Chrysostom!s statements about the
Samosatan are typical and instructive. The reason he calls
Paul a Jew is simply because of the latter's "low" christology;
129
he does not hint of any actual Jewish connection. Epiphanius
observes that the Samosatans did not practice circumcision or
1 0
observe the S a b b a t h ; ^ the reason they deserved the name "Jews"
is p u r e l y the fact that their theology sounded "Jewish" in or­
thodox ears. Possibly Paul's supposed connections with the
Semitic rulers of Palmyra helped the slander along. Probably,
too, there were Jews in A n t i o c h w h o p r u d e n t l y sought good rela­
tions with the new regime. But in a l l o f t h e s e possibilities
and probabilities there is n o t h i n g w h i c h w o u l d count as evi­
dence for specific influence of Judaism on Paul's thought or
practice, nor for positive relations between his Christian sup-
131
porters and the local synagogues.
From the t i m e of Ignatius to the flourishing of Lucian's
school, then, we may surmise that active contact between
Christians and Jews continued. But only at o n e p o i n t , Domnus'
conversion around 200 C.E., is t h e r e any firm evidence. We
132
have to r e m e m b e r , as both Downey and Corwin stress, that
there were without doubt numerous "house c h u r c h e s " in t h e early
decades of Christianity in A n t i o c h , and that this division into
small, natural groupings, each of w h i c h w o u l d evolve its own
leadership, would facilitate growth and persistence of diver-
133
sity in d o c t r i n e and p r a c t i c e . Most likely some previously
existing groupings, related to networks o f clientela, kinship,
and of course ethnic and language groups, affected the forma­
tion of these early Christian congregations. Some of these
groups were closer to Jewish traditions, thought, and exegesis
than others. But none of t h e m e m e r g e s into clear light in the
extant sources, nor can any straight lines be drawn from early
ones to later; for example, from the Judaeo-Christians opposed
by Ignatius to the Paulists or the Arians. Fortunately, from
the fourth century much more evidence is a t hand.
 25

The Fourth Century

1
Constantine s pro-Christian policy obviously marked a
shift in t h e p o l i t i c a l situation which worked increasingly
through the fourth and fifth centuries to the advantage of the
Christians and the detriment of the J e w s . In 315 conversions
to J u d a i s m w e r e forbidden anew, and subsequent legislation pro­
scribed the kinds of situation which would facilitate prosely-
tism, such as intermarriage and Jewish ownership of gentile
134
slaves. During the fourth century, however, the new legis­
l a t i o n did not yet attack the fundamental rights of the Jewish
community, which continued to be protected by most of the em­
perors and the imperial officers in t h e p r o v i n c e . Its aim
seems rather to have been the isolation of t h e J e w s , a n d even
that aim does not seem to have been achieved until the turn of
135
the century brought much harsher measures against them.
During the same period a more subtle and pervasive shift
in t h e foci of power was taking place. The letters and ora­
tions of Libanius give an unusually full picture of the changes,
as seen by a deeply interested participant, and Liebeschuetz
136
has described them brilliantly in h i s m o n o g r a p h . The social
and economic distance was growing between the higher and lower
classes of the old urban order, and b o t h ends of the scale were
subject to increased pressures. The artisans and shopkeepers
in t h e c i t y h a d to cope with heavy taxes and, at intervals,
rapid inflation; peasants in t h e p l a i n , u n l e s s they were able
to s e c u r e the help of a m o r e or less honest patron, were re­
duced to serfdom. At the other end, the curial class was being
squeezed; the council was reduced to a fraction of its earlier
size as m a n y landowners escaped from its h e a v y financial duties
either by selling their land or by obtaining an imperial ap­
pointment immune to c o n c i l i a r duties. A small number of prin-
oipales connived in t h i s in o r d e r to concentrate land and power
in t h e i r o w n h a n d s . However, a new aristocracy was developing
at the same time, composed of former imperial officials
(honorati), both civilian and military.
These shifts brought with them new opportunities for both
upward and horizontal mobility. As the century passed, Chris­
tians seem to have been in a p o s i t i o n to take m o r e and more
26

advantage of them. There were, for e x a m p l e , a number of

1
Christians among Libanius students, all of them of families
137
that were well off. The rhetorical training they were re­
ceiving was still a sure means of advancement, envied by those
who could not afford it. Incidentally, only one Jew is iden­
1
tifiable in L i b a n i u s school, the son of the Patriarch already
mentioned. Yet Libanius did have acquaintances and clients in
the Antiochene Jewish community; is it o n l y accidental that we
do not hear of their sons taking this traditional road to
success?
Libanius, however, complains that pupils are deserting him
for the newer and surer ladders to the top: the study of law,
138
Latin, and even shorthand. He might also have mentioned the
church, for those w h o lacked the means for r h e t o r i c a l schooling
were able to use the b i s h o p s ' schools and, in p l a c e of the old-
boy system of the rhetors, the new connections between the
139
church itself and the imperial court. T h e n e w form of
patronage, both ecclesiastical and military, could occasionally
w o r k to the b e n e f i t of o p p r e s s e d g r o u p s , like t h e J e w i s h p e a s -
140
ants of Libanius. That these happened to be Jews is quite
incidental to L i b a n i u s ' d i s c u s s i o n of the case; countless
others, by h i s o w n r e p o r t , w e r e using the military patrons in
similar ways. There were doubtless Jews, Christians, and
pagans among them. Further, a new figure was emerging whose
power, first in t h e r u r a l areas, l a t e r e v e n in t h e city, could
141
rival even that of the g e n e r a l s : the m o n k . The Jews had
n o t h i n g q u i t e l i k e t h i s , a l t h o u g h in B a b y l o n i a t h e r a b b i s in
this period and even earlier sometimes functioned very much
. 142
l i k e mag%; and in A n t i o c h , as we shall see, Jews commanded
attention as adepts in b o t h religion and magic.
These shifts in t h e relations of power have to b e seen
also within a more general picture of unsettled social and
economic conditions. During the fourth century as a whole,
Antioch appears to have been very prosperous. But that general
affluence not only was very unequally distributed, it w a s also
punctuated by o c c a s i o n a l severe shortages and violent swings in
the e c o n o m y — l i k e the sharp inflation in t h e t i m e o f Julian.
As Peter Brown has discerned, it w a s a t i m e w h e n new
 27

institutions were being formed, and in t h e m e a n w h i l e inarticu­

late forms of power had their opportunity, though they must
clash with the articulate forms of the old o r d e r . In s u c h a
time, also, resort to occult m e a n s of explanation and influence
was attractive: the urbane, rational Libanius was accused four
times of sorcery and believed himself on one occasion a victim
143
of black magic. M o r e o v e r , the emerging forms of a r t i c u l a t e
power, tied as they were to the imperial service, tended to be
in c o n f l i c t with the local, urban loyalties of the conservative
144
aristocracy. That is t h e r e a s o n w h y u p w a r d m o b i l i t y was
linked with horizontal mobility: success in t h e civil service
or the military required loyalty to the central authorities and
a sharp eye for the next plum appointment, wherever it might
be. The Christians, who from the beginning had developed ef­
fective practical forms of cosmopolitanism and, by the fourth
century, an elaborate international organization, were in a way
ideally suited to take advantage of this situation. For this
reason the hostility toward them on the part of the old urban
aristocracy was quite understandable.
But the trans-nationalism of the Christians was in large
measure directly inherited from Judaism, and in e a r l i e r years,
as w e have seen, the urban Jews were skillful in t r a d i n g on
Roman law and Roman power to protect their local rights and
opportunities. Why were they unable to retain these advantages
in t h e latter part of the fourth century? What forces had
dealt them weaker hands than the Christians in t h e g a m e of
power? There is n o simple answer to these questions; it i s no
adequate explanation merely to name Constantine or to point to
the anti-Jewish legislation of later Christian emperors, for
these were themselves in p a r t responses to the facts of Chris­
tian power. This much can be said: in t h e late fourth century
Christians and Jews were competitors for p o w e r and influence in
the new society of the eastern Empire, and the advantage of the
Christians brought the direct decline of the Jews.
At one revealing point they are pitted directly against
6ne another by imperial power: in t h e r e l i g i o u s reform of
Julian. It seems curious that Julian would have thought the
Jews a natural ally for his program to restore pagan worship to
28

the Empire, but so it w a s . Downey even suggests that one of

the reasons why Julian decided to make his residence in Antioch
at the b e g i n n i n g of his reign was in o r d e r to win support from
145
the large Jewish community there. It w a s d u r i n g his stay in
Antioch, at any rate, that he decided to rebuild the Jerusalem
temple. According to A m m i a n u s Marcellinus (23.1.2) he put an
Antiochene, Alypios, in c h a r g e , w i t h ample funds at his dis­
posal. The attempt was unsuccessful, because some disaster,
perhaps an e a r t h q u a k e , interrupted work as soon as the old
foundations had been u n c o v e r e d — n a t u r a l l y the Christians inter­
preted this as d i v i n e intervention, and later accounts expand
146
the miraculous features. Julian himself, speaking in retro­
spect of the failure, shows some bitterness and m a k e s it clear
147
that the attempt would not be renewed. Why, then, did he
undertake it, especially since he frequently makes remarks
148
showing that he regarded Judaism as far inferior to paganism?
Vogt has shown that in t h e N e o p l a t o n i c tradition in which
Julian was schooled, the alliance of paganism with Judaism
against Christianity was not unprecedented. It first appears
vividly in C e l s u s , w h o in h i s d i a l o g u e o f a J e w r e f u t i n g Jesus
149
makes most of the points raised by Julian. In t h e t h i r d
century, with Porphyry's attack on Christianity, the common
150
front became still clearer. This tradition explains the
source of intellectual legitimation of J u l i a n ' s alliance, but
not its p u r p o s e . Chrysostomus Baur's suggestion, that Julian
depended on Jewish financing,"'*^"'* i s a d v a n c e d without any evi­
d e n c e to support it, and looks like a reading of later prac­
tices back into the fourth century. We might speculate that
Libanius' connections with the local Jewish leaders and his
friendship with the Patriarch may have influenced the Emperor,
who was a friend and onetime pupil of the rhetorician. Unfor­
1
tunately, Libanius letters from the time when Julian was in
Antioch have not been preserved—one of the few gaps in his
voluminous correspondence—and there is n o m e n t i o n of Julian's
relationship with the Jews in t h o s e t h a t survive. Chrysostom
says that the attempted reconstruction followed Julian's admoni­
tion to the Jews to r e s u m e t h e i r ancestral sacrifices, for they
told him they were not permitted by their law to d o so outside
 29

Jerusalem. That tallies well with what Julian himself says

in t w o p l a c e s . In h i s letter appointing the pagan priest Theo-
dorus to o v e r s e e and reform all temples in A s i a , he holds up
the Jews as models of r e l i g i o u s fervor who ought to be emulated
by the p a g a n s , w h i l e contrasting the "disease of t h e Gali-
153
leans." And in h i s t r a c t "Against the G a l i l e a n s , " he says:
...the Jews agree w i t h the G e n t i l e s , except that they
b e l i e v e in o n l y o n e G o d . T h a t is i n d e e d p e c u l i a r t o
them and strange to u s ; since all the rest w e have
in a m a n n e r in c o m m o n w i t h t h e m — t e m p l e s , s a n c t u a r i e s ,
altars, purifications, and certain p r e c e p t s . For as
t o t h e s e w e d i f f e r f r o m o n e a n o t h e r e i t h e r n o t at a l l
o r in t r i v i a l m a t t e r s . . . . 1 5 4

Julian wanted to link the Jews and pagans together as de­

fenders of ancient traditions and cultivators of the rites and
ceremonies which, for the Roman, constituted and manifested
religio. They had to form common ranks against the Christians,
whose great fault in J u l i a n ' s eyes was their destruction of the
links with the p a s t — e v e n their own Jewish past. While the
evidence does not permit us to be very precise, it is worth
asking what this alliance would have meant in t h e context of
fourth-century Antiochene society. The insults which Julian
received upon his arrival in A n t i o c h m a d e it p l a i n that he
could expect little support from those who were presently in
155
power in t h e c i t y . Indeed, his rather eccentric crusade led
to something like an inversion of the ordinary connections.
The old pagan aristocracy, whose primary loyalty had always
been to the city first and the Empire only when need be, now
1 5 6
had to be his first resort; Libanius is t h e perfect example.
The n e w l y w e a l t h y and powerful c l a s s e s w h i c h had been created
by t h e central government, beginning especially with Diocle­
tian's reforms that multiplied the bureaucracy, were now
largely in t h e h a n d s o f C h r i s t i a n s . Correspondingly, the Jews
were also in a p e c u l i a r position. Their traditional alliance
had been with the central government rather than with the
local, but since Constantine that relationship, while not
entirely destroyed, was more and more precarious. Meanwhile,
the wealthier members of t h e J e w i s h community found more in
common w i t h the old Greek aristocracy than with the honorati.
30

Among the leadership classes of t h e city, p a g a n and Jew found

themselves similarly excluded from the revised channels of
power, while the pagan emperor found those same channels of
power recalcitrant to his w i l l . Thus the seemingly improbable
religious alliance joins people who had been forced by a social
and political shift to b e c o m e b e d f e l l o w s . This is n o t t o say
that the religious factors are mere disguises of t h e social
facts, for it w a s p r e c i s e l y Julian's deeply held beliefs and
his puritanical reform measures that brought about the alli­
ance. The point is r a t h e r t h a t the religious and social fac­
tors are inextricably knitted together.
On the ideological side, there was one further reason why
support for t h e J e w s , and particularly the rebuilding of the
Jerusalem temple, were attractive to J u l i a n . From his Chris­
tian training he was doubtless familiar with the apologetic
topos which made the destruction of the temple and the appar­
ently permanent interruption of the sacrificial cultus a sign
that God w i l l e d for h i s p r o m i s e s to p a s s at that m o m e n t from
the Jews to the Christians. What better way to refute the
Christians than to rebuild the temple and reestablish the
cultus? Unfortunately the failure of t h e attempt appeared so
dramatically to confirm the Christian claim that it became
itself a regular part of subsequent Christian arguments against
157
D 1
the Jews.
Shortly after the end of Julian's reign, Antiochene
Christians begin to m a n i f e s t increasing hostility toward the
Jews, which could be construed as a backlash against Julian's
I CO

use of the Jews against the Christians. It w a s a t t h i s t i m e

that the Synagogue of the Hasmonean Martyrs was seized by the
159
Christians and m a d e into a church, the first of m a n y such
i n c i d e n t s . A n d twenty-three years after Julian's death,
John Chrysostom, newly ordained to the priesthood, began a
series of eight sermons against the Jews in h i s native
1 1
Antioch. ^ The highly rhetorical invective of these sermons,
combining elements of popular pagan anti-semitism with anti-
Jewish exegetical traditions from the Christian apologists,
f
established Chrysostom as "le m a i t r e de l imprecation anti-
162
juive...sans conteste...." Two of the h o m i l i e s (actually
 31

one very long sermon interrupted by hoarseness) make particular

1 6 3
reference to Julian's restoration project. Chrysostom com­
pares the outburst of flame that stopped the rebuilding of the
foundations with what happened to A a r o n ' s sons, who were burned
up when they sought to offer sacrifice illegitimately. The
miracle, like the Jews' defeats under Vespasian and Titus,
under Hadrian, and again under Constantine, proved that the
temple had been destroyed in a c c o r d a n c e w i t h God's will, making
it c l e a r to all "that the w r e a t h belongs indubitably to the
164
church." Chrysostom thus draws the conclusion which is im­
plicit in t h e a n t i - J e w i s h polemic of the Christian apologists
from Pseudo-Barnabas and Justin—if not indeed from the Acts
of the A p o s t l e s — o n : the Jews' rejection of Jesus as Messiah
meant the end of their role in t h e h i s t o r y of salvation, and
the destruction of t h e i r city and temple w a s God's public pro­
nouncement of their rejection, fulfilling Jesus' prophecy in
Matt 24:2. Consequently there seems hardly any limit to his
invective. Jewish souls, like Jewish buildings, are haunts of
demons (PG 48.847; 852B; 861A; 940B); no Jew worships God (PG
48.847B); Jewish festivals are no better than theatre spec­
tacles, occasions of "gluttony and d r u n k e n n e s s , sexual license,"
and "dancing barefoot in t h e agora" (1.2, 846B; 1.3, 848B; 6.6,
912B-913A; 7.1, 916; 8.1, 927). To be sure, m u c h of this be-
165
longs to stereotyped insults of the rhetorical tradition,
but there are ominous new elements. In t h e first of these
homilies Chrysostom urges his congregation to use every means
possible, including force if n e c e s s a r y (x&v 3Cav Tcoifjaau, x&v
uPpCaca) t o save a brother from "the t r a p of t h e d e v i l , and to
separate him from the fellowship of the C h r i s t - k i l l e r s " (PG
48.849A). He may not have been the first to use this last
1 6 6 1 6 7
dreadful term, but he uses it w i t h d e a d l y seriousness.
1
Nevertheless, Chrysostom s aim in t h e s e h o m i l i e s is not
an a t t a c k o n the Jews as such, but the deterrance of Christians
from participating in J e w i s h rites. Far from representing a
popular hostility toward Judaism among Christians in Antioch,
Chrysostom's imprecations reveal the exact opposite: a wide­
spread Christian infatuation with Judaism. Seven of the eight
homilies are timed to precede the High Holy Days of autumn;
32

the remaining one (No. 3) c o n c e r n s Passover. The reason, as

Chrysostom explains, is t h a t large numbers of C h r i s t i a n s are
drawn to observe the "spectacle" of these festivals and fasts
and even to participate in t h e m (1.1, 8 4 4 ) . Not only at festi­
val time, however, but throughout the year the synagogues
appear to some Christians as awesome, numinous p l a c e s . Chry­
sostom relates t h e c a s e of a Christian matron required by a
man, also claiming to be a Christian, to go to the synagogue
to t a k e an o a t h for some business transaction, since "many had
told him that oaths taken there were more awesome" (1.3, 847B-
848A). Chrysostom has also heard that many believers go to the
synagogue in D a p h n e for incubation when they are ill (1.6,
852A). The sanctity of the synagogue seems in t h e m i n d of
these Christians to stem particularly from the presence of the
scrolls of the Torah in the a r k , for Chrysostom takes pains to
refute this notion, and ridicules these arks, which are such
feeble substitutes for the implements of the former Temple
1 6 8
(6.7, 914A-915A; 1.5f., 850B-852A). So strong is t h e at­
traction of t h e J e w i s h r i t e s that some Christians in Antioch—
or at least one known to C h r y s o s t o m — h a v e been circumcised
(2.2, 858B-860A; cf. 1.8, 855B). What is m o s t interesting here
is t h a t it is not simply a case of conversion to Judaism, for
the man regards himself as still a Christian. It is Chrysostom
who, appealing to Galatians 5:3, insists that the m a n has in
fact become apostate, but even he still calls him a "brother,"
hidden in J u d a i s m "like an a n i m a l in t h e b u s h e s " (857B).
Marcel Simon, who has made a very careful study of
1 1 6 9
Chrysostom s anti-Jewish polemic, concluded that Chrysostom
was responding to an active proselytizing effort mounted by the
170
Jews. That is d o u b t f u l . True, Chrysostom can say things
like, "The J e w s , w o r s e than any w o l v e s , prepare at the approach
of their festivals to attack the flock" (4.1, 8 7 1 B ) , but that
is e x c e p t i o n a l . Chrysostom sometimes is c a r r i e d away by his
own metaphors; in o n e o f t h e last of t h e a n t i - J e w i s h homilies
he admits to his c o n g r e g a t i o n that, like a gentle animal that
has acquired the taste for human blood, he has come to lust for
combat against the Jews (6.1, 9 0 3 B ) . The dominant note in the
homilies is n o t that the Jews are agressors, but that they are
 33

ungodly and that Christians should restrain their own and their
brothers' strange attraction to them. The recurrent themes in
Chrysostom's sermons show that there are three principal fac­
tors which lead Christians to become "infected" with the "di-
171
sease of Judaism": (1) t h e g r e a t festivals and fasts of the
Jewish year exerted great power; (2) t h e J e w s a n d t h e i r places
of worship were endowed with a numinous aura, expressing it-
172
self, for example, in m i r a c u l o u s healing; (3) t h e y w e r e after
all the people of the Old Testament, still observing the impres­
sive rites and celebrations found in t h e L a w , and prominently
displaying the sacred scrolls in t h e i r synagogues. So many
Christians are caught up in t h e a t t r a c t i o n of Judaism that
Chrysostom warns in S e p t e m b e r 387 n o t to say how m a n y , lest the
public reputation of the church suffer (8.4, 9 3 3 ) . The reme­
dies which Chrysostom prescribes also support the impression
that he feared Christian fascination with Judaism more than
active Jewish recruitment of C h r i s t i a n s . He does not yet urge
•attacks o n t h e J e w s a s such, even though there are ominous
notes in h i s p o l e m i c which, when read in m e d i e v a l Europe, would
look quite different than they did in f o u r t h - c e n t u r y Antioch.
Rather, he u n d e r t a k e s to isolate the Jews from the church. On
the one hand, he u n d e r t a k e s to convert the numinous halo of the
synagogues into a taboo. He does not deny that healings take
place in t h e synagogues, but asserts that they are accomplished
through evil powers (1.6f., 851B-855B; 8.5-7, 935-41). He in­
sists over and over again that the synagogues are "dens of
thieves" and "lairs of d e m o n s " ; they are no different from
pagan temples (1.6, 8 5 1 B ) ; the festivals no different from the
theatre, which is f o r b i d d e n to Christians (4.7, 8 8 1 B ) . He
warns husbands not to permit their wives to go t h e r e ; "Are you
not afraid they will return from there possessed of demons?"
(2.3, 861A). Even the Christ-killer theme serves the same pur­
pose: Christians found in t h e company of Jews run the risk of
guilt by association, just as after the Riots of the Statues
many innocent bystanders were dragged into court and punished,
simply because they were present where the mischief took place
(6.6, 913 m i d d l e ) . On the other hand, he urges each Christian
to b e c o m e the policeman of his brother's conscience, "to track
34

down and w i n b a c k " those Christians infected with Judaism (2.1,

857A). The sermons are intended to equip them all with argu­
ments, which they can use "like a b r i d l e " to seize anyone they
see running to the synagogue and "lead h i m into the church"
(6.7, 915A; c f . Horn. 8 p a s s i m ) . Not to d o so w o u l d be as irre­
sponsible as for a soldier finding a Persian sympathizer in his
camp to fail to report it t o h i s c o m m a n d e r (1.4, 850A).
From the end of Julian's reign until the expulsion of Jews
from Antioch in t h e seventh century, there was a rising cam­
paign to contain and isolate the Jewish community. Inside the
church this was carried out by invective like C h r y s o s t o m ' s and,
not long after, incitement to v i o l e n c e against the Jews. Out­
side, pressure on the Christian emperors brought changes in the
imperial legislation to the same effect. These attempts to
insulate Christians from Jewish influence cannot be regarded as
simply a reaction against Julian's short-lived Jewish-pagan
front. On the contrary, the direct impetus comes from the dis­
covery by ecclesiastical leaders of a very strong "Judaizing"
173
movement within the church. The picture which emerges from
Chrysostom's sermons is o f a naive infatuation with Jewish
rites benignly tolerated or ignored by those who do not par­
ticipate. It is o n l y he, the zealous young ascetic priest, who
sees mortal danger. Can the Jewish sympathizers be identified?
Sometimes it is s u p p o s e d that they were found chiefly among the
Arians or N e o - A r i a n s . Chrysostom and subsequent church writers
do use the term "Jew" as a pejorative for t h e s e and other here­
tics, but that does not prove that they saw themselves in that
light. The fact that Jews are reported to have taken sides
17 4
occasionally in t h e A r i a n - A t h a n a s i a n conflict in Alexandria
may also be only orthodox slander or, if t r u e , local opportun­
ism. Chrysostom interrupted a series of sermons against the
Anomoeans to begin his attacks on Judaizing Christians and,
while he excuses this shift by saying that the A n o m o e a n s are
after all "akin to the Jews" (Horn. adv. Jud. 1.1, PG 48.845),
he does not suggest anywhere that they are the ones "infected
with Judaism." On the contrary, he talks about members who are
in c o m m u n i o n with his own church; otherwise the recurrent
 35

appeal for m u t u a l vigilance and correction would be meaning­

less. Simon, following Chrysostom, says that the Christian
Judaizers were principally to be found among women and the
175
relatively uneducated. That may be, but such assertions
are common coin in a n c i e n t attacks on religious deviance, so
they should not be taken too literally. Thus we do not obtain
any clear idea just w h o the Christians w e r e w h o w e r e flocking
1
to synagogues in C h r y s o s t o m s day.
Perhaps, indeed, it i s m o r e p r o f i t a b l e to ask what was the
s o u r c e o f t h e anti-Jewish sentiment. Perhaps it is Chrysostom
himself and other leaders of the church w h o are exceptional.
Chrysostom is a s t r i k i n g l y complex figure, for he combines in
his person two utterly divergent cultures: the aristocratic
1 7 6
world of Greek rhetoric and the ascetic Christianity of the
1 7 7
monks in t h e h i l l s . Yet in t h i s p e r i o d the two had one
thing in c o m m o n : advancement, whether construed in spiritual
terms or in t e r m s o f a c a r e e r , w a s achieved by m e a n s of talent,
discipline, and personal exertion, within the context of con­
nections which were more personal than institutional. Now con­
sider the observations by Peter Brown that, where articulate
a n d i n a r t i c u l a t e f o r m s o f p o w e r m e e t , in t h e r e a l m w h e r e it i s
charismatic authority that c o u n t s , accusations of w i t c h c r a f t
178
arise. Rhetoricians who lose their following and chariot
drivers who are upset accuse one another of sorcery; the monks
combat a world with devils filled; and Chrysostom portrays the
synagogue and the individual Jew as "full of demons."
The Canons of Laodicaea responding to a similar situation
prohibit any intercourse w i t h J e w s , e.g., "celebrating festi­
vals with them," "keeping the Sabbath," "eating unleavened
fc>read" d u r i n g the Pasch, bringing gifts on festival days.
Christians were urged to w o r k on the Sabbath and to read the
Gospels as w e l l as the Jewish Scriptures on Saturday (Canons
16,29,37,38). The Apostolic Constitutions (2.61; 4.17; 6.27)
forbid Christians to enter the synagogues of the Jews and pro­
hibit participation in "Jewish f e a s t s , " and order them to close
their ears to Jews who say "you are unclean because of noctur­
nal p o l l u t i o n s " or "menstruation."
36

The existence of large numbers of J u d a i z i n g Christians in

this period is e v i d e n c e not only of the continuing attraction
of Judaism to outsiders, but of the strength and v i t a l i t y with­
in t h e J e w i s h c o m m u n i t i e s in S y r i a and in A n t i o c h . Other than
the cities already mentioned, e.g., Apamaea, Laodicaea, other
cities close to A n t i o c h w i t h Jewish communities are Ihmestar
near Chalcis ( S o c r a t e s , Eistovia Ecolesiastioa 3.7.16), Aleppo
(CIJ, 8 1 9 ) , Cyrhhus (Theodoret wrote a commentary on Daniel
directed against t h e J e w s , PG 81, 1255-1546), Emessa (see J u s -
ter I, 197). That the Jews in A p a m a e a would build and decorate
a synagogue in the l a s t d e c a d e of t h e fourth century, some ten
years after Theodosius' edict Cunotos populos making the Empire
officially Christian, is t e s t i m o n y not only to their status
within the Greek-speaking cities of the later Roman Empire but
also their confidence in t h e future. That these hopes and ex­
pectations should be disappointed by later events is n o evi­
dence that they were misplaced in t h e fourth century. To the
historian looking back from the perspective of a Christian
civilization, the events in t h e fourth century appear to be
moving swiftly and inexorably, but neither Jew nor Christian
could see this in t h e fourth century even as late as the last
decade. Elias Bickermann writes.

T h e c o n t e m p o r a r i e s of C h r y s o s t o m d i d n o t y e t k n o w
that they were opening the Christian period. Julian
was yesterday, the persecutors the day before yester­
day. Ambrose knew some magistrates who could boast
of h a v i n g spared C h r i s t i a n s . At Antioch the catholics
had just endured the p e r s e c u t i o n of V a l e n s w h e r e u n ­
b e l i e v e r s of e v e r y sort d o m i n a t e d the c a p i t a l of
Syria. T h e army, composed of p e a s a n t s a n d b a r b a r i a n s ,
could acclaim tomorrow another Julian, another Valens,
e v e n a n o t h e r D i o c l e t i a n . 1*79
 NOTES

CHAPTER I

J. Z. S m i t h , " T h e S o c i a l D e s c r i p t i o n o f E a r l y C h r i s ­
t i a n i t y , " RSR 1/1 (1975) 2 0 . F o r i m p o r t a n t s t u d i e s of J u d a i s m ' s
r e l a t i o n t o c h a n g i n g u r b a n s o c i e t y in t h i s p e r i o d , s e e L . I.
L e v i n e , Caesavea under Roman Rule (SJLA 7; L e i d e n : B r i l l , 1 9 7 5 ) ;
R . R . K i m e l m a n , Rabbi Yohanan of Tiberias (dissertation; New
H a v e n : Y a l e U n i v e r s i t y , i 9 7 7 ) ; E . M a r y S m a l l w o o d , The Jews
under Roman Rule (SJLA 2 0 ; L e i d e n : B r i l l , 1 9 7 6 ) ; M . A v i - Y o n a h ,
The Jews of Palestine. A Political History from the Bar Kokhba
War to the Arab Conquest (New Y o r k : S c h o c k e n , 1 9 7 6 ) .
2
J o s e p h u s , Ag.Ap. 2 . 3 9 ; Ant. 12.119.
3
S u r v e y s o f t h e h i s t o r y of t h e J e w i s h c o m m u n i t y in A n t i o c h
d u r i n g H e l l e n i s t i c a n d R o m a n t i m e s c a n b e f o u n d in S . K r a u s s ,
" A n t i o c h e , " Revue des fltudes Juives 45 (1902) 2 7 - 4 9 ; C . H .
K r a e l i n g , " T h e J e w i s h C o m m u n i t y at A n t i o c h , " JBL' 51 (1932) 1 3 0 -
6 0 ; B . L u r i e , The Jews in Syria [in H e b r e w ] ( J e r u s a l e m : A s s o ­
c i a t i o n f o r B i b l i c a l R e s e a r c h in I s r a e l , 1 9 5 7 ) ; a n d G . D o w n e y ,
A History of Antioch in Syria (Princeton University P r e s s ,
1961), passim. The Kraeling article, though over forty years
o l d , is t h e m o s t c o m p r e h e n s i v e ; K r a u s s g i v e s m o r e i n f o r m a t i o n
from Talmudic and M i d r a s h i c s o u r c e s ; L u r i e , somewhat too g e n ­
e r a l a n d s u p e r f i c i a l , is u s e f u l b e c a u s e h e h a d a c c e s s t o e p i -
g r a p h i c s o u r c e s u n k n o w n to K r a e l i n g , a n d h e d i s c u s s e s A n t i o c h e n e
J e w r y in r e l a t i o n t o J e w i s h c o m m u n i t i e s in o t h e r S y r i a n c i t i e s .
D o w n e y is h e l p f u l o n s p e c i f i c p o i n t s , b u t h i s c o m m e n t s a r e
scattered throughout the book. Rabbinic references to Antioch
a r e a l s o d i s c u s s e d in the a r t i c l e s "Antioch" and "Daphne of A n ­
11
t i o c h , Encyclopedia for Talmudic Geography [in H e b r e w ] , e d .
P h i n h a s N a ' a m a n (Tel A v i v : J o s h u a C h a c h i k , 1 9 7 2 ) 1 . 8 7 - 1 0 2 .
4
Josephus, J.W. 7 . 4 4 ; Ant. 12.119.

5
J o s e p h u s c l a i m s t h a t it i m p l i e d f o r m a l c i t i z e n s h i p
(noXiTsia), g r a n t e d a l r e a d y b y t h e f o u n d e r a n d r e m a i n i n g in
f o r c e "to t h i s v e r y d a y " (Ant. 1 2 . 1 1 9 ) . Most scholars doubt
that the A n t i o c h e n e Jews as a group would have enjoyed legal
c i t i z e n s h i p , a n y m o r e t h a n A l e x a n d r i a n J e w s (the p o i n t d i s p u t e d
b y A p i o n , Ag.Ap. 2 . 3 9 ) , w h o s o u g h t it in v a i n u n d e r R o m a n r u l e
until Claudius rejected their petition conclusively. S e e H . I.
B e l l , Jews and Christians in Egypt (Greek P a p y r i in t h e B r i t i s h
M u s e u m 6; L o n d o n : B r i t i s h M u s e u m , 1 9 2 4 ) 1 0 - 1 9 . K r a e l i n g (139)
t h o u g h t 2 M a c e 4:9, w h e r e J a s o n o f f e r s m o n e y for A n t i o c h e n e
c i t i z e n s h i p for J e r u s a l e m J e w s , p r e s u p p o s e d similar r i g h t s a l ­
r e a d y f o r J e w s l i v i n g in A n t i o c h , b u t t h a t d o e s n o t f o l l o w .
On the q u e s t i o n of "Antioch-in-Jerusalem," see E . B i c k e r m a n n ,
Der Gott der Makkabaer (Berlin: Schocken, 1937) 59-65, and V.
T c h e r i k o v e r , Hellenistic Civilization and the Jews (Phila­
delphia: Jewish Publication Society, 1959) 161-69.

37
38

6
K r a e l i n g (139) s a w h e r e a c o n t r a d i c t i o n w i t h Ant. 12.119
(cf. a l s o T h a c k e r a y ' s n o t e at J.W. 7.44 in t h e L o e b e d i t i o n ) .
7
p . S a n h . 1 0 : 6 , 2 9 c ; Pesikta Rabbati 31:10; Krauss, 30.
8
See below on the synagogue dedicated to the martyrs.
9
J.W. 7 . 4 4 - 4 5 , t r a n s . H . S t . J. T h a c k e r a y in Josephus
with an English Translation 3 (LCL; C a m b r i d g e , M A : Harvard;
London: Heinemann, 1961).

^ S e e , for e x a m p l e , the d e c r e e concerning the Jews in

S a r d i s , J o s e p h u s , Ant. 14.259.

1 : L
Philo, Leg. 2 2 2 - 2 4 ; J o s e p h u s , Ant. 18.262-72 .
12
M a l a l a s , Chronographia 5 0 . 1 0 (ed. D i n d o r f , p p . 2 4 4 . 1 5 -
2 4 6 . 2 ) ; K r a e l i n g , 1 4 8 ; D o w n e y , History, 192-95. See also
Smallwood, 176, n. Ill, and 360f.
"^Kraeling thinks the two accounts are d o u b l e t s of one
e v e n t ( 1 5 0 f . ) , b u t D o w n e y {History, E x c u r s u s 4, 5 8 6 f . ) e f f e c ­
tively defends Josephus' version.
14
F o r a l a t e r p e r i o d ( f o u r t h c e n t u r y ) t h e r e is a m p l e e v i ­
d e n c e for the p r a c t i c e of p r e s e n t i n g such p e t i t i o n s to an
o f f i c i a l o n h i s a r r i v a l : s e e J. H . W . G. L i e b e s c h u e t z , Antioch:
City and Imperial Administration in the Later Roman Empire '
(Oxford: U n i v e r s i t y P r e s s , 1972) 208-19 and his a p p e n d i x on the
claque, 278-80.
"^E.g., Tacitus, Histories 5.

1 6
Justinian, Big. 48.811.
17
S e e R. L . W i l k e n , " M e l i t o , t h e J e w i s h C o m m u n i t y at
S a r d i s , a n d t h e S a c r i f i c e of I s a a c , " Theological Studies 37
(1976) 5 3 - 6 9 .
18
See A m n o n L i n d e r , "The Roman Imperial G o v e r n m e n t and the
J e w s u n d e r C o n s t a n t i n e " [in H e b r e w ] , Tarbiz 44 (1973) 1 1 0 - 1 4 .
19
S e e B . L i f s c h i t z , Donateurs et fondateurs dans les
synagogues juives ( C a h i e r s d e la R e v u e B i b l i q u e ; P a r i s : G a b a l d a
1967) .
20
S e e e s p e c i a l l y Codex Theodosianus 12.1.157-158; Linder,
95-110; Avi-Yonah, 161-66.
2 1
Josephus, J.W. 7.47.
22
Ep. 1251. For a translation, see b e l o w , p. 60.
23
For a discussion of M . Schwabe's quite different inter­
p r e t a t i o n , see b e l o w .
 39

24
See below, p . 55.
25
"A N e w D o c u m e n t R e l a t i n g t o t h e H i s t o r y o f t h e J e w s i n
t h e F o u r t h C e n t u r y C . E . : L i b a n i u s e p . 1 2 5 1 ( F ) " [in H e b r e w ] ,
Tarbiz 1/3 ( A p r i l , 1 9 3 0 ) 1 0 7 - 2 1 . H i s i n t e r p r e t a t i o n is a c ­
c e p t e d b y H . M a n t e l , Studies in the History of the Sanhedrin
(Cambridge, MA: Harvard, 1961) 203f.
Studies in Jewish History in the Time of the Second
1
Tern-pie and the Era of the Mishnah and Talmud [in H e b r e w ] ( J e r u ­
salem: Hakibbutz Hameuchad, 1970) 2.315-16.
27
J. J u s t e r , Les Juifs dans I'empire romaine (Paris:
G e u t h n e r , 1 9 1 4 ) 1 . 4 4 4 - 4 6. Inscriptional evidence suggests that
& P X O V T E Q were numerous, evidently exercising a lower function
than the A p x t o u v d Y o y o i ; see, for the abundant evidence from
R o m e , H . L e o n , The Jews of Ancient Rome (Philadelphia: Jewish
Publication Society, 1960) 173-80.
28

See below, pp. 53-54.

^Kraeling, 136.

3 0
L i e b e s c h u e t z , 40-41, 92-96.
31
In f a c t K r a e l i n g u s e s 1 5 % f o r h i s c a l c u l a t i o n s .
32
A p p a r e n t l y n o r e m a i n s o f s y n a g o g u e s w e r e f o u n d in t h e
P r i n c e t o n - F r e n c h A c a d e m y e x c a v a t i o n s , e v e n t h o u g h t h e s i t e of
the D a p h n e s y n a g o g u e , w h i c h M a l a l a s says w a s p u l l e d d o w n to
m a k e w a y f o r a t h e a t e r ( D o w n e y , History, 206f.), was excavated,
p r o d u c i n g f r a g m e n t s o f t h e t h e a t e r (D. N . W i l b u r , " T h e T h e a t r e
at D a p h n e , " Antioch-on-the-Orontes [ P u b l i c a t i o n s of t h e C o m m i t ­
t e e f o r t h e E x c a v a t i o n o f A n t i o c h a n d i t s V i c i n i t y ] 2 , e d . R.
Stillwell [Princeton, 1938] 5 7 - 9 4 ) .
33
J o s e p h u s , J.W. 7.44, says that the successors of
A n t i o c h u s E p i p h a n e s r e s t o r e d t o t h e J e w s in A n t i o c h t h e b r a s s
votive plaques which had been seized from the Jerusalem temple,
"to b e i n s t a l l e d in t h e i r s y n a g o g u e . " D o w n e y {History, 109)
d o u b t s t h e t r u s t w o r t h i n e s s of t h e r e p o r t , b u t t h e e x i s t e n c e o f
a n A n t i o c h s y n a g o g u e in t h a t p e r i o d is n o t t h e r e b y c a l l e d i n t o
question.
34
D o w n e y , History, 5 4 4 , n . 1 7 9 ; c f . p . 109 a n d t h e m a p ,
plate 11.
"^Kraeling m a k e s the identification, p . 1 4 0 , and Downey
s e e m s t o c o n c u r , a s d o e s M . S i m o n , "La p o l e m i q u e a n t i - j u i v e d e
S . J e a n C h r y s o s t o m e et l e m o u v e m e n t j u d a i s a n t d ' A n t i o c h e , " in
f f
Annuaire de l Institut de Philologie et d Histoire Orientales
et Slaves 4 (= Melanges F. Cumont) (1936) 4 1 4 . See also the
p i o n e e r i n g w o r k o f C a r d . R a m p o l l a [y T i n d a r o ] , " M a r t y r e et
f
s e p u l t u r e d e s M a c h a b e e s , " Rev. de l art chretien 4e s e r . , 10
(1899) 3 0 2 , 3 8 3 - 8 7 .
40

J. O b e r m a n n , " T h e S e p u l c h r e o f t h e M a c c a b e a n M a r t y r s , "
JBL 50 (1931) 2 5 5 f . T h e s o u r c e is a J u d a e o - A r a b i c F a r a g - b o o k
1
(The Arabic Original of Ibn Shahin s Book of Comfort, e d . J.
O b e r m a n n [Yale O r i e n t a l S e r i e s 1 7 ; N e w H a v e n : Y a l e , 1 9 3 3 ] 2 5 -
28). For further l i t e r a t u r e on the q u e s t i o n , see E . B i c k e r m a n n ,
" L e s M a c c a b e e s d e M a l a l a s , " Byzantion 21 (1951) 6 3 - 8 2 ; a n d
D o w n e y , History, 109-11 and nn. 116, 118, 121. See also the
c o m m e n t s in W . F . S t i n e s p r i n g , The Description of Antioch in
Codex Vaticanus Arabicus 286 ( U n p u b l i s h e d Y a l e d i s s e r t a t i o n ,
1 9 3 2 ) 4 8 - 5 0 (on 1 8 . 1 6 - 1 9 . 1 0 o f t h e t r a n s l a t i o n ) .

3 7
Downey, History, 499 and 237.
38
Chrysostom preached four sermons there and Augustine
(Sermo 3 0 0 . 3 ) s p o k e of i t s ( r e c e n t ) a c q u i s i t i o n ( S i m o n , " P o l e -
mique," 414; Rampolla, 387-92, 4 5 7 - 5 8 ) .
3 9
Malalas (ed. D i n d o r f ) , p. 261.
40
p . S h e k . 6, 5 0 a ; b . S h e k . 6 b . This story may have been
suggested by the m e e t i n g w i t h M a r k Antony of a hundred d e l e ­
g a t e s f r o m J e r u s a l e m in 4 2 / 4 1 B . C . E . , t o o p p o s e t h e a c c e s s i o n
o f H e r o d a n d P h a s a e l ( J o s e p h u s , J.W. 1 . 2 4 3 ) . It d o e s n o t
n e c e s s a r i l y i m p l y a n y t h i n g a b o u t t h e J e w i s h c o m m u n i t y in
Daphne. K r a e l i n g finds e v i d e n c e for a J e w i s h settlement t h e r e
f r o m t h e r e p o r t in 2 M a c e 4 : 3 3 f . t h a t O n i a s t o o k r e f u g e in a
p a g a n s h r i n e at D a p h n e (p. 1 4 1 ) .
41
Horn, ad Iud. 1.6 (see b e l o w , p . 9 5 ) .
42
Kraeling, 141-43. Following ancient convention but not
the compass, Kraeling places the plain to the east of Antioch;
it s h o u l d r a t h e r b e n o r t h o r n o r t h e a s t : s e e D o w n e y , History,
E x c u r s u s 9; a l t h o u g h J. L a s s u s (Antioch-on-the-Orontes, 5.140)
i n s i s t s t h a t t h e a n c i e n t p r a c t i c e , in w h i c h t h e m a i n s t r e e t w a s
d e s i g n a t e d W e s t - t o - E a s t , w a s not an " e r r o r , " but o n l y a c o n v e n ­
tion. H . H . T a n z e r , The Villas of Pliny the Younger (N.Y.:
Columbia, 1924) points out that the cardinal compass points
w e r e g e n e r a l l y a v o i d e d in t h e s i t t i n g of a n c i e n t c i t i e s , t h o u g h
t h e d e v i a t i o n of 2 2° W e s t o f t r u e N o r t h s h e c i t e s is n o t e n o u g h
1
to explain the A n t i o c h s t r e e t s deviation, which parallels the
river.
43
"R. L e a z a r b e n R . J o s e s a y s : 'Rice o f t h e H u l a t o f
1
A n t i o c h is p e r m i t t e d a s f a r a s B O R O " (some m s s . r e a d 'as f a r
a s B e i r u t ' ) ; t . D e m . 2:1 (ed. L i e b e r m a n n , p . 6 8 ) ; c f . p . D e m .
2:1, 22d.
44
Kraeling, 141-43. Josephus tells of a Babylonian Jew
named Z a m a r i s w h o w i t h a r e t i n u e of 500 m o u n t e d a r c h e r s and a
h u n d r e d k i n s m e n (Kraeling c a l l s him an "emir") had settled in
"a p l a c e c a l l e d OtiaAadd" w h e n S a t u r n i n u s w a s g o v e r n o r o f S y r i a .
L a t e r H e r o d t h e G r e a t m o v e d h i m to a v i l l a g e h e w a s f o u n d i n g in
B a t a n a e a {Ant. 17.23-29).
 41

45
M u c h l e s s t o f a n c y t h a t t h e r o a d , 20 s t a d i a l o n g , p a v e d
b y H e r o d ( J o s e p h u s , J.W. 1 . 4 2 5 ) w a s b u i l t t o c o n n e c t t h i s
"suburb" w i t h the city (Kraeling, 1 4 4 f . ) . J o s e p h u s c l e a r l y is
d e s c r i b i n g the m a i n street of A n t i o c h itself, "once shunned on
a c c o u n t of the m u d " but paved by Herod "with p o l i s h e d m a r b l e ,
and, as a p r o t e c t i o n from the rain, adorned...with a colonnade
of equal length." C f . D o w n e y , History, 17 3 f . a n d , o n e x c a v a ­
t i o n s i n t h i s s t r e e t , J. L a s s u s , Antioch-on-the-Orontes, 5.

46
Deut. Rab. 4.8; Lev. Rab. 4.3.
47 .
L . H a r m a n d , Libamus: Discours Sur les -patronages (Paris:
Presses Universitaires de France, 1955) 73-87. H i s a r g u m e n t is
accepted by Liebeschuetz (44), who points out, however, that the
estate would therefore not have been fortified like the farm
n e a r t h e w i l d e r n e s s at E t - T o u b a , t h e p l a n o f w h i c h H a r m a n d u s e s
a s a n i l l u s t r a t i o n (p. 1 4 2 ) .
48
Or. 4 7 . 4 - 6 . For t r a n s l a t i o n , see below, p p . 6 7 - 6 8 .
4 9
Harmand, 138f.
50
L i b a n i u s , Or. 4 7 . 1 3 . L i e b e s c h u e t z (45) t h i n k s t h e i r
s i t u a t i o n m a y h a v e b e e n l i k e t h a t o f J e w i s h p e a s a n t s in B a b y ­
lonia, where the landlord controlled the crops the tenant could
grow and even the time of the harvest.
5
''"See t h e letters in C h a p t e r III and the discussion below,
pp. llff.
52
1
W e d o n o t f i n d a n y t h i n g in L i b a n i u s account to justify
D o w n e y ' s d e s c r i p t i o n o f t h e m a s " v e r y o r t h o d o x " (History, 447).
53 .
O n t h e s h a r p s e p a r a t i o n in g e n e r a l b e t w e e n c i t y a n d
c o u n t r y d w e l l e r s , s e e R . M a c M u l l e n , Roman Social Relations (New
Haven & L o n d o n : Yale, 1974) chap. 2, and Liebeschuetz, 61-73.
54
Liebeschuetz, 44.
55
Or. 4 7 p a s s i m ; n o t e e s p e c i a l l y § § 1 9 - 2 1 , w h e r e h e i n s i s t s
t h a t t h e o n l y p r o p e r p a t r o n a n d j u d g e o f p e a s a n t s , as of slaves,
is t h e o w n e r . T h a t i s , h e t a k e s for g r a n t e d t h e i r r e d u c t i o n t o
s e r f d o m , a n d g r a n d l y a s s e r t s t h a t t h e o w n e r ' s noblesse oblige
is t h e only p r o t e c t i o n they n e e d .
5 6
H a r m a n d ( c h a p . 6) d i s c u s s e s in s o m e d e t a i l the probable
form of L i b a n i u s ' complaint and its legal b a s i s .
57
Cf. Liebeschuetz, 66, and above, n. 55. Liebeschuetz,
7 1 - 7 3 , p o i n t s o u t t h a t i n t h e p e r i o d L i b a n i u s d e s c r i b e s in Or.
47 t h e s i t u a t i o n w a s a g g r a v a t e d b y a d e p r e s s i o n f o l l o w i n g t h e
b a t t l e of A d r i a n o p l e .
58
Liebeschuetz has described the transition very effec­
tively. F o r t h e p l a c e of t h e c h u r c h , in b o t h i t s f o r m a l a n d
" c h a r i s m a t i c " o p p o r t u n i t i e s , s e e P. B r o w n , " T h e R i s e a n d F u n c ­
t i o n o f t h e H o l y M a n , " JRomSt 61 (1971) 8 0 - 1 0 1 , a n d T . K o p e c e k ,
42

"Social A s p e c t s of t h e N e o - A r i a n M o v e m e n t , " a paper distributed

to the w o r k i n g group on "The Social World of Early C h r i s t i a n ­
ity," 1975.
59
Ep. 1251 (Foerster); below, p. 60.
6 0
These are translated below, Chapter III.

6 1
0n which see below, p p . 27-30.
62
On the p h i l o h e l l e n i s m of t h e p a t r i a r c h a l family, b e g i n ­
n i n g w i t h J u d a h h a - N a s i , s e e M . S i m o n , Verus Israel (Paris:
Boccard, 1948) chap. 1 0 .
63
See the thorough discussion of these letters by M.
Schwabe, "Letters of Libanius to the Patriarch of P a l e s t i n e "
[in H e b r e w ] , Tarbiz 1/2 ( J a n u a r y , 1 9 3 0 ) 8 5 - 1 1 0 .
64
Above, n. 35.
ft R
Kraeling, 1 3 5 . But h o w can Kraeling be certain that the
dvadT^ucxxa s e n t b y A n t i o c h e n e J e w s t o t h e J e r u s a l e m t e m p l e
( J o s e p h u s , J.W. 7.45) w e r e g o l d , o r t h a t t h e y w e r e n e c e s s a r i l y
made by Jewish metalsmiths? On shopkeepers, see Chrysostom,
PG 5 1 . 1 7 6 (a h o m i l y f r o m A n t i o c h , c o n t r a M i g n e ) .

^Liebeschuetz, 52-61.
67

See below, Chapter II.

6 8
p.Sanh. 3:2, 14a.

69
Gen. Rab. 19.4.

7 0
p.Kidd. 3:13, 35a.

7 1
Sifre N u m . 84 (22a, e d . Friedmann).
7 2
p.Ber. 5:1, 9a.
73
C f . E . H a e n c h e n , Die Apostelgeschichte (KEK, 1 2 t h e d . ,
1959) 3 1 4 .
74
W a s B a r n a b a s t h e r e f o r e o n e o f t h e <5.v6pec Ktinpioi (11:20)?
So E . Schwartz c o n j e c t u r e d . W a s h e in f a c t t h e f o u n d e r o r
leader of the group that founded the Antiochene church? Cf.
Haenchen, 314.
75
O n t h e s i g n i f i c a n c e o f B a r n a b a s ' l a y i n g h i s m o n e y "at
the feet of the a p o s t l e s " as a symbol for Luke of t h e c o n t i n u ­
ity o f a u t h o r i t y t h r o u g h t h e s p i r i t - f i l l e d l e a d e r s r e p r e s e n t i n g
t h e P r o p h e t J e s u s , s e e L . J o h n s o n , The Literary Function of
Possessions in Luke-Acts (SBLDS 3 9 ; M i s s o u l a , M T : S c h o l a r s
Press, 1977).
 43

7 6"Prophets" are not distinguished from "teachers" as

distinct "offices"; see Haenchen, 337f., and E . E . Ellis, "The
R o l e o f t h e C h r i s t i a n P r o p h e t in A c t s , " i n Apostolic History
and the Gospel (F. F . B r u c e F e s t s c h r i f t ) , e d . W . W . G a s q u e a n d
R. P . M a r t i n ( E x e t e r : P a t e r n o s t e r , 1 9 7 0 ) 6 4 .
77
Josephus, J.W. 1.425; s e e n . 45 a b o v e .
78
S e e t h e a r t i c l e s b y E . P e t e r s o n , E . B i c k e r m a n n , J.
Moreau, and others cited by Haenchen, 312; further bibliography
i n H . C o n z e l m a n n , Die Apostelgesohichte (HNT 7, 4 t h e d . ;
T u b i n g e n : M o h r , 1 9 6 3 ) 6 8 , a n d D o w n e y , History, 275f., n. 19.
79
Cf. Haenchen, 3 1 2 . See also D . W . Riddle, "Environment
a s a F a c t o r in t h e A c h i e v e m e n t o f S e l f - C o n s c i o u s n e s s in E a r l y
C h r i s t i a n i t y , " JR 9 (1927) 1 4 6 - 6 3 .
80
M a g 1 0 : 1 , 3 ( b i s ) ; R o m 3:3 (with Xpiaxiav6g a s v a r .
l e c t . ) ; P h i l a d 6 : 1 . E l s e w h e r e in t h e A p o s t o l i c F a t h e r s o n l y in
M a r t P o l y c 1 0 : 1 , x 6 v T O O XpiaTiavlauoO...\6yov; c f . V . C o r w i n ,
St. Ignatius and Christianity in Antioch (Yale S t u d i e s in R e l i ­
g i o n 1; N e w H a v e n & L o n d o n : Y a l e , 1 9 6 0 ) 1 8 9 . In g e n e r a l , I g n a ­
t i u s l i k e s c o m p o u n d s i n Xpiax-. According to Kraft's index he
i s a l s o t h e o n l y " A p o s t o l i c F a t h e r " t o u s e t h e n o u n Xpiaxiav6g
(7x), also used fairly often by second-century apologists J u s ­
tin, A r i s t i d e s , and A t h e n a g o r a s . Also Xpiaxiavix6g. Trail 6:1;
Xptaxouadta, P h i l a d 8 : 2 ; X p i a x 6 v o u o g o r X p i a x 6 v u u o g , R o m inscr.;
X p i a x 6 c p o p o g , Eph 9:2.
81
Ad Autol. 1 . 1 , t r a n s . R . M . G r a n t , Theophilus of Antioch
Ad Autolycum (Oxford E a r l y C h r i s t i a n T e x t s ; O x f o r d : C l a r e n d o n ,
1970). H e g o e s o n , "I b e a r t h i s n a m e b e l o v e d o f G o d in t h e
h o p e o f b e i n g u s e f u l (eOxpnaxog) t o G o d . It i s n o t t h e c a s e ,
as y o u s u p p o s e , that t h e n a m e of God is o f f e n s i v e . " The state­
ment is the m o r e remarkable since Theophilus does not elsewhere
m e n t i o n " C h r i s t " o r " J e s u s " in h i s a p o l o g y . He takes up the
q u e s t i o n a g a i n in 1 . 1 2 , t h i s t i m e c o m b i n i n g h i s p l a y o n X p n a x 6 g
w i t h examples of "anointing" that makes objects "useful." "Do
you n o t want to be anointed with the oil of God? We are ac­
tually called C h r i s t i a n s just b e c a u s e w e are anointed w i t h the
oil of God."
82
W e p a s s o v e r t h e a c c o u n t in A c t s 1 1 : 2 7 - 3 0 o f t h e A n t i o c h
c o n g r e g a t i o n ' s famine-relief for Jerusalem. If t h e r e p o r t
c o u l d b e t a k e n at face v a l u e , it w o u l d a f f o r d e v i d e n c e f o r t h e
early importance of the Antioch church and of its strong ties
with Jerusalem. However, the internal difficulties with the
p a s s a g e a n d t h e p r o b l e m s i n v o l v e d i n a t t e m p t s t o h a r m o n i z e it
w i t h P a u l ' s r e p o r t s o f t r i p s t o J e r u s a l e m in G a l a t i a n s 1-2
make its historical value precarious.
83
"The T h i r d A s p e c t : A N e g l e c t e d P o i n t o f V i e w . A S t u d y i n
G a l . i - i i a n d A c t s ix a n d x v , " ST 3 (1949) 7 9 - 9 5 ; c f . J. H a w k ­
i n s , The Opponents of Paul in Galatia (Yale d i s s e r t a t i o n , 1 9 7 1 )
317-40, 348.
44

84
Codex D has the intervening group from Jerusalem "com­
mand" Paul and his a s s o c i a t e s to c o m e .
85
A t l e a s t t h a t is t h e m o s t n a t u r a l r e a d i n g o f G a l 2 : 4 .
86
T h e " W e s t e r n " t e x t is u n d o u b t e d l y s e c o n d a r y .
87
A c t s 21:25 does have James refer to a letter w h i c h he
and the Jerusalem elders have sent, containing the "Jerusalem
decree." Some commentators have identified this letter with
t h e a c t i o n b y t h e J a m e s p a r t y m e n t i o n e d in G a l 2 : 1 1 a n d h a v e
surmised that t h e a u t h o r of A c t s has m i s t a k e n l y or d e l i b e r a t e l y
p r e s e n t e d it a s an a c t i o n o f t h e J e r u s a l e m C o u n c i l f o r t h e s a k e
of a more harmonious picture. See the standard commentaries.
88
N o t e t h e inolusio formed by the c o m m i s s i o n i n g , 1 3 : 2 f . ,
and the report, 1 4 : 2 6 - 2 8 .
89
A n t i o c h is a l s o a b s e n t f r o m t h e d e u t e r o P a u l i n e l i t e r a ­
t u r e , f o r 2 T i m 3:11 p r o b a b l y d e p e n d s o n A c t s 1 3 : 5 0 a n d t h e r e ­
fore r e f e r s to P i s i d i a n A n t i o c h .
90
J. H . S c h u t z , Paul and the Anatomy of Apostolic Author­
ity (SNTSMS 2 6 ; C a m b r i d g e : U n i v e r s i t y P r e s s , 1975) 1 3 8 - 4 0 .
9 1
Schutz, 151f.
92
D o w n e y (History, 278) thinks the separate groups existed
before P e t e r ' s a r r i v a l , but I do not think that can be read out
o f u e x a xcov edvcov auvrfadiev. P a u l , at l e a s t , w a n t s t h e r e a d e r
t o b e l i e v e t h a t d i v i s i o n is a n i n n o v a t i o n .
93
ol E H TxepiTOufjc w n o
w e r e " f e a r e d " b y P e t e r (Gal 2 : 1 2 )
are evidently Jewish Christians.
94
" J e s u s a n d t h e G o s p e l s , " Perkins Journal 2 8 / 2 (1975)
3 1 - 3 6 ; e x p a n d e d s o m e w h a t in h i s p a p e r r e a d at t h e S B L A n n u a l
M e e t i n g , 1 9 7 5 ; s e e f u r t h e r " T h e P o s t - S e c t a r i a n C h a r a c t e r of
M a t t h e w a n d I t s P o s t - w a r S e t t i n g in A n t i o c h o f S y r i a , " Per­
spectives in Religious Studies 3 (1976) 2 3 5 - 4 7 .
95
"Jesus and the Gospels," 34. Recruitment was more often
f r o m r u r a l a r e a s , so t h e v i l l a g e s m a y h a v e b e e n a f f e c t e d m o r e
than the c i t y . J o s e p h u s in f a c t t e l l s u s t h a t A n t i o c h , S i d o n ,
a n d A p a m e a w e r e e x c e p t i o n s at f i r s t t o t h e g e n e r a l w a v e o f
a n t i - J e w i s h f e e l i n g s a n d a c t i o n a t t h i s t i m e (J.W. 2.479).
96
A s L . E . K e c k p o i n t e d o u t in h i s r e s p o n s e at S B L 1 9 7 5 .
97
See above, p p . 4-5.
98
One may also ask whether the Jewish-Christian group may
h a v e b e e n s t r e n g t h e n e d by r e f u g e e s from J e r u s a l e m ; c f . D o w n e y ,
History, 286f.
 45

99
Its form is "baptismal A n a m n e s i s " ; c f . N . A . D a h l ,
" A n a m n e s i s , " ST 1 (1947 [ 1 9 4 8 ] ) 6 9 - 9 5 (ET i n Jesus in the Mem­
ory of the Early Church [Minneapolis: Augsburg, 1976] 1 1 - 2 9 ) .

1 0 0
W. A. Meeks, "The Image o f the A n d r o g y n e , " ER 13 (1974)
165-208.

1 0 1
1:2, t r a n s . K. Lake (Loeb).
102
S e e W . A . M e e k s , "In O n e B o d y : T h e U n i t y o f H u m a n k i n d
1
in C o l o s s i a n s a n d E p h e s i a n s , " in God s Christ and Eis People:
Essays in Eonour of Nils Alstrup Dahl, e d . J. J e r v e l l a n d W . A .
M e e k s (Oslo: N o r w e g i a n U n i v e r s i t i e s P r e s s , 1 9 7 7 ) 2 0 9 - 2 1 . For
t h e i m p o r t a n c e o f t h e s y m b o l s o f u n i f i c a t i o n in I g n a t i u s ' t h e ­
ology, see Corwin, 85f., 165, and chap. 7 passim.
103
Tr. Lake; or perhaps, "fables that were unprofitable
t o t h o s e o f o l d , " t r e a t i n g T O I Q rcaAaioie a s a s u b s t a n t i v e .
1 0 4
KaTa 'Iou6aiau6v; v a r . lect. v6uov *Iou6aiH6v, v6uov
* Iou6a'Cau6v.

1 0 5
C o r w i n , 61-64; R. M . Grant, " J e w i s h - C h r i s t i a n i t y in
A n t i o c h in t h e S e c o n d C e n t u r y , " Rech.Sci.Rel. 60 (Danie'lou
Festschrift, 1972) 101. Corwin thinks the Antiochene Judaizers
resembled the Qumran sect and must have been of Essene b a c k ­
ground; Grant a g r e e s that "the m o r e extreme J u d a i z e r s had a f ­
finities with Qumran." The evidence adduced seems too slim,
h o w e v e r , to b e confident about this identification.

106
Particularly emphasized by Grant, "Jewish Christianity
in A n t i o c h . " Grant also argues, however, that gnostics like
S a t u r n i n u s (in A n t i o c h in H a d r i a n ' s t i m e ) f o r m e d a f r o n t o p p o s ­
ing the kind of Judaeo-Christianity represented later by
T h e o p h i l u s (p. 1 0 5 ) .
107
A c c o r d i n g t o J u s t i n , 1 Apol. 2 6 . 4 .
108
S . L a e u c h l i , " T h e D r a m a o f R e p l a y , " i n Searching in the
Syntax of Things (Philadelphia: Temple University Press, 1974)
89. O n t h e o t h e r h a n d , t h e r e a r e i n d i c a t i o n s in I g n a t i u s '
l e t t e r s t h a t h e p r e s u p p o s e s s u c h u s e in t h e c h u r c h e s . Beside
t h e p o s s i b l e a l l u s i o n s t o t h e L X X i n E p h 5:3 (Prov 3 : 3 4 , b u t
p e r h a p s v i a J a s 4:6 o r 1 P e t 5 : 5 ) ; E p h 1 5 : 1 (Ps 3 3 : 9 ; 1 4 8 : 5 o r
J d t 1 6 : 1 4 ) ; M a g n 1 5 : 1 (Prov 1 8 : 1 7 ) ; M a g n 1 3 : 1 (Ps 1 : 1 ) ; T r a i l
8:2 (Isa 5 2 : 5 ) , E p h 1 9 : 2 f . s o u n d s a s if I g n a t i u s w e r e f a m i l i a r
w i t h t h e A b r a h a m a g g a d a h , in w h i c h t h e a p p e a r a n c e o f t h e s t a r
heralding the patriarch's birth signalled the destruction of
astrology. T h e p r a y e r in T r a i l 1 2 : 3 m a y b e an a l l u s i o n t o
Deut 31:26. T h e p h r a s e e t c T O e u a Y Y ^ X i o v K a T n Y Y e ^ H ^ v a i in
P h i l a d 5 : 2 , w h e n c o m p a r e d w i t h t h e s i m i l a r e x p r e s s i o n in 9:1-2
suggests that "the prophets" refers to the O T , n o t Christian
prophets. Indeed 5:1-2 m a y be a reference to Ignatius' scrip­
t u r e c a n o n , in w h i c h "the G o s p e l " a n d "the A p o s t l e s " stand
alongside "the p r o p h e t s . " I n P h i l a d 8:2 I g n a t i u s h a s a r g u e d
with those w h o insist on proving everything from the dpxetoi.
46

but h i s o w n Y ^ Y P C L T I T C U must accept t h e appropriateness of scrip­

ture arguments, even though h e rejects t h e hermeneutics of any
who do not begin with christology.
109
R. M . G r a n t , " T h e o p h i l u s o f A n t i o c h t o A u t o l y c u s , " i n
After the New Testament (Philadelphia: Fortress, 1967) 136
( o r i g i n a l l y in ETR, 1 9 4 7 ) . G r a n t , w h o d e p e n d s f o r t h i s j u d g ­
ment mainly on research by L. Ginzberg, cites numerous examples
h e r e ( 1 3 6 - 4 1 ) a n d in t h e n o t e s t o h i s t r a n s l a t i o n (see n . 8 1
above).
110
After the New Testament, 129.

1 1 1
O n e example m a y illustrate the relationship and differ­
ence. Like Philo and the rabbis, Theophilus knows traditions
that seek to explain the different names of God, especially
d e 6 g = D^n^tf a n d xtipioc = m r P . (On t h e d e v e l o p m e n t o f t h e s e
t r a d i t i o n s , s e e A . S e g a l , Two Powers in Reaven [SJLA 2 5 ; L e i d e n :
Brill, 1977] and the paper by N . A . Dahl and A . Segal at the
1975 A n n u a l M e e t i n g of S B L . ) T h e o p h i l u s is c l o s e r to P h i l o
t h a n t o t h e r a b b i s in d e p e n d i n g e n t i r e l y o n t h e L X X i n h i s
e x p l a n a t i o n o f xtipioe a s r e f e r r i n g t o G o d ' s r u l e (xupietieiv) o f
the u n i v e r s e , and in c o n n e c t i n g d e 6 e w i t h T C O T I U I and equating
it w i t h G o d ' s c r e a t i v e p o w e r . However, he adds yet another
e t y m o l o g y , f r o m d£eiv, a n d g o e s o n t o m e n t i o n o t h e r " n a m e s , "
TUXT^P, 6 r i U L O U p Y 6 e , TioiriTT^Q, Oipiaxdc (Ad Autol. 1 . 4 ) . One of
the t r a d i t i o n a l m o t i f s taken u p b y T h e o p h i l u s is i l l u s t r a t e d
by an Antioch mosaic. In h i s exposition of t h e c r e a t i o n story,
Theophilus says that the eschatological restoration of m a n will
a l s o b r i n g g e n t l e n e s s a m o n g t h e a n i m a l s (Ad Autol. 2.17). This
s e e m s t o b e t h e t h e m e o f t h e Philia m o s a i c in w h i c h f o u r p a i r s
of animals, o n e carnivore, the other gentle, face each other
o n s i d e s o f a r e c t a n g l e (Doro L e v i , Antioch Mosaic Pavements
[Princeton: University Press, 1947] v o l . 2, P I . L X X I I ) . The
e x e g e t i c a l b a s i s is p r e s u m a b l y I s a 1 1 : 7 , q u o t e d e x p l i c i t l y i n a
s i m i l a r m o s a i c f r o m t h e " h a l l c h u r c h " a t M a ' i n in M a d a b a ,
T r a n s j o r d a n (Levi, 1 . 3 1 8 f . ) , a n d L e v i t h i n k s t h e a n i m a l p a i r in
the synagogue at Beth Alpha probably has t h e same meaning.
112
3.9, trans. Grant.
113
Theophilus constructs "syntheses" of OT and N T p a s ­
sages which m a y be intended to counter Marcion's "Antitheses"
(Grant, After the NT, 1 4 4 ) . A c c o r d i n g t o E u s e b i u s , HE 4 . 2 4 , h e
also wrote a tract against Marcion, n o w lost.
1 1 4
0 n t h e n o t i o n o f t h e 6euT^po)OLC, s u g g e s t e d a l r e a d y in
Diognetus, A r i s t i d e s , and Barnabas, and receiving its classic
e x p r e s s i o n in t h e D i d a s c a l i a , s e e S i m o n , Verus Israel, 114-17.

1 1 5
T r a n s . Grant, italics added. This claim on the Jewish
s c r i p t u r e s is o f c o u r s e i m p o r t a n t f o r T h e o p h i l u s ' a p o l o g e t i c ,
for A u t o l y c u s t h i n k s "that o u r scriptures a r e n e w and m o d e r n "
(3.1).

1 1 6
" T h e E a r l y A n t i o c h e n e A n a p h o r a , " ATR 30 (1948) 91-94,
f o l l o w e d b y D o w n e y , History, 301.
 47

1i 7
x
'Verus Israel, 436.
118
HE 7 . 3 2 . 2 , t r a n s . L a k e . It is o f t e n s u p p o s e d t h a t h e
a s s i s t e d L u c i a n in t h e l a t t e r ' s f a m o u s r e c e n s i o n o f t h e G r e e k
B i b l e , b u t t h e r e is no d i r e c t e v i d e n c e of t h i s . Grant thinks
both Lucian and Dorotheus "studied w i t h Jewish t e a c h e r s "
("Anaphora," 9 3 ) .
119
HE 6 . 1 2 . 1 . D o m n u s , h e s a y s , "had f a l l e n a w a y f r o m t h e
f a i t h of C h r i s t , at the t i m e of t h e p e r s e c u t i o n , to J e w i s h
w i l l - w o r s h i p ( 6 d e X o d p n a x e l a ) . " It is n o t c l e a r w h i c h p e r s e c u ­
t i o n is m e a n t — n o t likely t h e m e a s u r e s t a k e n a g a i n s t C h r i s t i a n ­
ity by S e p t i m i u s S e v e r u s w h i l e Serapion w a s b i s h o p , since t h e s e
f o r b a d e c o n v e r s i o n t o e i t h e r C h r i s t i a n i t y or Judaism (Downey,
305). P o s s i b l y t h e n D o m n u s h a d d e f e c t e d in t h e t i m e o f M a r c u s
Aurelius. T h e u s e o f t h e r a r e w o r d 6 d e A o d p n a x e t a is d o u b t l e s s
d e p e n d e n t on Col 2:23 and shows that t h e C h r i s t i a n s are s t i l l
looking for s c r i p t u r a l m o d e l s for their o p p o s i t i o n to J u d a i s m —
b u t t h i s w o r d is l i k e l y E u s e b i u s ' r a t h e r t h a n S e r a p i o n ' s .
120
* I o u 6 a i o g . . .Ttpdaamov X p i a x i a v o O Tiepicp^pcov; Exp. in Ps.
109.2 = PG 5 5 . 2 6 7 . C f . S i m o n , Verus Israel, 123.
121
Hist. Arianorum ad monaoh. 71 = PG 2 5 . 7 7 7 B , c i t e d b y F.
L o o f s , Paulus von Samosata (TU, 3d s e r i e s 1 4 / 5 ; L e i p z i g : H i n -
richs, 1924) 18, who has assembled all the significant sources.
S e e a l s o G. B a r d y , Paul de Samosate (Spicilegium sacrum
L o v a n i e n s e , E t u d e s e t D o c u m e n t s 4; L o u v a i n , 1 9 2 3 ) 2 3 f . , 3 2 ,
382-84.
1 2 2
L o o f s , 20-34; Bardy, 23f., 32, 172-74, 384.
123 '
As stated explicitly by Bar H e b r a e u s I: cui gratissimae
Pauli sententiae exstiterunt; cited by Loofs, 32f.
124
S e e , b e s i d e s L o o f s a n d B a r d y , D o w n e y , H%story, 310-15.
L o o f s , h o w e v e r , t h i n k s it " u n w a h r s c h e i n l i c h " t h a t Z e n o b i a e l e ­
v a t e d P a u l t o t h e o f f i c e o f duoenarius. N o c r e d e n c e is t o b e
g i v e n to late r e p o r t s that she w a s even r e s p o n s i b l e for his
installation as bishop, though Bardy accepts this (197).
1 2 5
Bardy, 194.
126
Downey, History, 311.
127
F. M i l l a r , "Paul of S a m o s a t a , Zenobia and A u r e l i a n .
T h e C h u r c h , L o c a l C u l t u r e a n d P o l i t i c a l A l l e g i a n c e in T h i r d -
c e n t u r y S y r i a , " JRomSt 61 (1971) 1 - 1 7 .
1 2 8
B a r d y , 384.

129
Exp. in Ps. 109.1 = PG 55.265.
130
Haer. 65.2; Bardy, 32. Epiphanius says they are called
"second Jews" (6etixepoi ' I o u 6 a i o t ) .
48

131
It i s a n o t h e r q u e s t i o n , w h i c h c a n n o t b e t a k e n u p h e r e ,
just w h i c h g r o u p s of C h r i s t i a n s in A n t i o c h and v i c i n i t y r a l l i e d
to Paul's cause. Do the allegations about his social climbing,
m a d e b y t h e C o u n c i l l e t t e r ( E u s e b i u s , HE 7 . 3 0 . 7 ) s u g g e s t a
d i f f e r e n c e in s o c i a l c l a s s b e t w e e n t h e P a u l i s t s and t h e C a t h o ­
l i c s ? (cf. T . K o p e c e k ) . Paul's chief opponent was the presby­
ter M a l c h i o n , w h o w a s head of a rhetorical school and hence
p r o b a b l y o f r e l a t i v e l y h i g h s o c i o - e c o n o m i c c l a s s (see P. P e t i t ,
Les etudiants de Libanius [Paris: Nouvelles Editions Latines,
1 9 5 7 ] ) — i n effect thus a member of the Greco-Roman "establish­
ment . "
132
Downey, Hxstovy, 277f.; Corwin, 49, 76f. , 85f.
133
I g n a t i u s ' p r e o c c u p a t i o n w i t h t h e q u e s t i o n o f u n i t y is
implicit t e s t i m o n y to t h i s d i v e r s i t y ; cf. C o r w i n , 85f.
134
S e e S i m o n , Verus Israel, 3 3 7 - 4 1 , a n d a b o v e , p . 6.
135
F o r a d i g e s t of t h e m a i n l a w s , see J u s t e r , 1 . 1 6 0 - 7 2 ;
cf. 226-38, 248-51. N o t e p a r t i c u l a r l y the s e q u e n c e of l e g i s l a ­
tion from Constantine to Theodosius II, alternately restricting
a n d d e f e n d i n g t h e J e w s , in C.Theod. 1 6 . 8 . 1 - 2 9 (ET in C . P h a r r ,
e t a l . . The Theodosian Code [Princeton U n i v e r s i t y P r e s s , 1952]
467-71).
''"^See n . 14 above.
137
O f 1 0 0 s t u d e n t s w h o s e r e l i g i o n is a s c e r t a i n a b l e . P e t i t
f i n d s 12 C h r i s t i a n s , m o s t o f t h e m f r o m C a p p a d o c i a a n d A r m e n i a
(only t w o f r o m A n t i o c h ) . All Libanius' students were from the
three highest provincial classes, and the Christians were all
o f t h e t o p t w o , s o n s of e i t h e r i m p e r i a l o f f i c i a l s o r ouviales.
They are t h u s e x a m p l e s m o r e of the r e s u l t s t h a n of t h e p r o c e s s
of upward m o b i l i t y (Petit, 1 1 3 - 1 7 and T a b l e s I and I I ) . An
e x a m p l e not c o u n t e d by P e t i t (since t h i s p e r s o n ' s study w i t h
L i b a n i u s is n o t c o n f i r m e d in t h e a u t h e n t i c l e t t e r s o f L i b a n i u s )
w a s J o h n C h r y s o s t o m , w h o s e f a t h e r a n d g r a n d f a t h e r h a d s e r v e d in
t h e offioium o f t h e magister militum -per ovientem, but who
a s p i r e d b y h i s r h e t o r i c a l t r a i n i n g t o a s t i l l h i g h e r c a r e e r in
t h e c i v i l s e r v i c e (see A . H . M . J o n e s , " S t . J o h n C h r y s o s t o m ' s
P a r e n t a g e a n d E d u c a t i o n , " HTR 46 [1953] 1 7 1 - 7 3 ) .
1 3 8
See Liebeschuetz, 50 a n d 247-51.
139
For the case of the N e o - A r i a n s , demonstrated by
Kopecek, see n. 58 a b o v e .
140
x u
See above, pp. 9-11.
141
B r o w n , " H o l y M a n " ; t h e c a s e s o f A e t i u s a n d G e o r g e in
Kopecek. In a d i f f e r e n t w a y P a u l of S a m o s a t a p r e s e n t e d a n
earlier example. The c o u n c i l ' s accusation that he intervened
in l a w s u i t s f o r m o n e y p a r a l l e l s t h e k i n d o f a c c u s a t i o n L i b a n i u s
would make against military p a t r o n s , and suggests the kind of
m e d i a t i o n w h i c h p a t r o n s of b o t h the older and newer t y p e s w e r e
 49

expected to p r o v i d e . L i b a n i u s , Or. 3 0 ( P r o templis).Q, says the

m o n k s , w h o h a v e l e d a t t a c k s o n p a g a n s h r i n e s , "eat m o r e t h a n
1
elephants." H a r m a n d (2 8 n . 3) c o m p a r e s t h i s w i t h L i b a n i u s
words about the gluttony of military patrons.
142
J. N e u s n e r , A U%story of the Jews in Babylonia 2 (SPB
11; Leiden: Brill, 1966) 147-50.
143
C . B o n n e r , " W i t c h c r a f t in t h e L e c t u r e R o o m o f L i b a n i u s , "
TAPA 63 (1932) 3 4 - 4 4 ; P. B r o w n , " S o r c e r y , D e m o n s a n d t h e R i s e
o f C h r i s t i a n i t y . . . , " in Religion and Society in the Age of St.
Augustine ( L o n d o n : F a b e r & F a b e r , 1 9 7 2 ) 1 1 9 - 5 0 ( o r i g i n a l l y in
M . D o u g l a s , e d . , Witchcraft Confessions and Accusations [1970]
17-45).
144
On Libanius* p r i m a r y loyalty to the city, and the city
as focus of conservative views of society, see L i e b e s c h u e t z ,
12f.
145
D o w n e y , History, 381f.
1 4 6
S e e J. V o g t , Kaiser Julian und das Judentum (Morgen-
l a n d . H e f t 3 0 ; L e i p z i g , 1 9 3 9 ) c h a p . 6. S . P. B r o c k h a s r e c e n t ­
ly d i s c o v e r e d a n e w s o u r c e , c o n t a i n i n g a C h r i s t i a n a c c o u n t
p u r p o r t i n g to be by C y r i l of Jerusalem, and p e r h a p s a c t u a l l y
w r i t t e n w i t h i n a g e n e r a t i o n o f t h e e v e n t ("The R e b u i l d i n g o f
t h e T e m p l e u n d e r J u l i a n : A N e w S o u r c e , " PEQ 1 1 8 [1976] 1 0 3 - 1 0 7 ) .
S e e a l s o J. L e w y , " E m p e r o r J u l i a n a n d t h e B u i l d i n g o f t h e
T e m p l e " [in H e b r e w ] , Zion 6 ( 1 9 4 0 - 4 1 ) 1 - 3 2 .

1 4 7
£ p . 8 9 b ( B i d e z - C u m o n t ) 2 9 5 C ; E T in t h e L o e b e d . b y W .
C. Wright, 2.296-339. V o g t e v e n t h i n k s J u l i a n ' s p a r o d y of
judgment oracles by Jewish prophets, "Tremble, be afraid, fire,
flamer death, a dagger, a broad-sword!" m a y allude to the "fire"
w h i c h sprang from the earth to stop the r e s t o r a t i o n , but h e has
misread the passage. J u l i a n is n o t t a l k i n g a b o u t c o n t e m p o r a r y
p r o p h e t s in A n t i o c h w h o p e r s u a d e d h i m t o u n d e r t a k e t h e f u t i l e
p r o j e c t , a s V o g t b e l i e v e s (50, c f . 4 7 , 5 9 ) , b u t t h e O T p r o p h e t s ,
w h o m a k e t h e p r o f a n a t i o n o f p a g a n t e m p l e s "a r e p r o a c h a g a i n s t
us."
148
E.g. the first portions of "Against the Galileans" (in
vol. 3 of the Loeb e d . ) .
1 4 9
0 r i g e n , C.Cels. 1.28-71; 1.1-79; for E T , see H. Chad-
wick, Origen: Contra Celsum (Cambridge University P r e s s , 1 9 5 3 ) .
150
-^Vogt, 9-18.

^^John Chrysostom and his Time (London & G l a s g o w : S a n d s ,

1 9 5 9 [The 1 s t G e r m a n e d . w a s 1 9 1 9 - 3 0 ] ) 1 . 6 6 . Contrast Simon,
Verus Israel, 2 4 1 a n d n . 1, w h o p o i n t s o u t t h a t t h e r e w a s n o
e c o n o m i c b a s i s f o r a n t i - s e m i t i s m in a n t i q u i t y . The role of
" m o n e y l o v e r s " in a n c i e n t s t e r e o t y p e s w a s p l a y e d r a t h e r b y
Egyptians and Phoenicians.
50

^ Horn, adv. Jud. 5 . 1 1 (PG 4 8 . 9 0 0 B ) . This homily was

delivered twenty years after the event. The "Letter to the
J e w i s h C o m m u n i t y " a t t r i b u t e d t o J u l i a n (No. 2 4 0 B i d e z - C u m o n t =
N o . 5 1 in t h e L o e b e d . ) a s k s t h e J e w s t o p r a y f o r h i m , "in
order that, when I have successfully concluded the war with
Persia, I may rebuild by my own efforts the sacred city of
J e r u s a l e m , w h i c h f o r so m a n y y e a r s y o u h a v e l o n g e d t o s e e
inhabited, and may bring settlers there, and, together with
you, m a y glorify the Most High God therein" (trans. Wright,
Loeb). T h i s l e t t e r , h o w e v e r , is p r o b a b l y a f o r g e r y , d e s p i t e
W r i g h t ' s d e f e n s e o f i t : so S c h w a r t z , K l i m e k , G e f f c k e n , B i d e z -
Cumont; see e s p . Vogt, 6 4 - 6 8 . If s o , o n l y a s i n g l e l i n e o f h i s
a u t h e n t i c l e t t e r t o t h e J e w s r e m a i n s (quoted b y L y d u s , De mens.
4, p . 1 1 0 . 4 , e d . Wiinsch = Ep. 1 3 4 , B i d e z - C u m o n t ) : "I s h a l l w i t h
a l l e n t h u s i a s m r a i s e u p t h e t e m p l e of t h e M o s t H i g h G o d . "

153
Ep. 20 in t h e Loeb ed. = 89 Bidez-Cumont.
154
306B, trans. Wright (Loeb, v o l . 3 ) .

^ " ^ S e e h i s Misopogon and the Julianic orations of Libanius,

t h e l a t t e r c o n v e n i e n t l y c o l l e c t e d a n d t r a n s l a t e d in v o l . 1 o f
t h e n e w L o e b e d i t i o n b y A . F. N o r m a n .
156
Liebeschuetz has aptly described the significance of
t h i s a l l i a n c e : " B e l i e f in t h e c i t y a s t h e e s s e n t i a l f o r m o f
s o c i a l o r g a n i z a t i o n , and in t h e v a l u e of t h e c u l t s of t h e city
are different a s p e c t s of the same attitude of c u l t u r a l c o n ­
s e r v a t i s m " (13) .
1 5 7
Cf. Brock, 105; Lewy, 4-6.
158
M. Simon, "Polemique," 414; Vogt, 68-72; Schwabe,
"Letters," 93-95.
159
Rampolla, 387-88; Simon, "Polemique," 414; cf. above,
n. 36.
160
Baur, 1.52, accepts as factual the report by Ambrose,
Ep. 4 0 . 1 5 Ad Theodosium, that the Jews under Julian had burned
s e v e r a l c h u r c h e s in D a m a s c u s , A l e x a n d r i a , G a z a , A s k a l o n ,
Beirut, and e l s e w h e r e .
1 6 1
P G 48.843-942. For translations of two of them, see
below. Chapter V.

1 6 2
Simon, "Polemique," 256.

163
Hom. adv. Jud. 5 a n d 6, PG 4 8 . 8 9 9 B - 9 0 1 B , 9 0 5 A - 9 0 7 A .
The sermons were d e l i v e r e d o n 28 a n d 30 S e p t e m b e r 3 8 8 .

1 6 4
900A, 900B-901A.

^"^Compare Liebeschuetz' s remarks about Libanius' conven­

tions of abuse, 31-39.
 51

166
L a m p e ' s Patristic Greek Lexicon, s.v. XpiaxoxT6voc,
g i v e s e x a m p l e s f r o m Apoc. Pauli 4 9 ; Const.Ap. 2.61.1; 6.25.1;
A t h a n a s i u s f r . (PG 2 6 . 1 2 2 4 B ) , a n d P r o c l u s , Constant.Or. 12.2
(PG 6 5 . 7 8 9 A ) , a s w e l l a s s e v e r a l i n s t a n c e s f r o m C h r y s o s t o m .
Most of these, however, seem to refer to those actually i n ­
1
volved in J e s u s death, such as Caiaphas, rather than the
nation as a whole. But Chrysostom likes to quote Matt 2 7 : 2 5 .
It i s p o s s i b l e t h a t t h i s i s a n o t h e r i n s t a n c e o f t h e i n f l u e n c e
of Syriac C h r i s t i a n i t y o n C h r y s o s t o m , for E p h r e m r e g u l a r l y u s e s
t h e w o r d s saloba a n d zaqopa, "crucifier," as synonyms for "Jew"
(R. M u r r a y , Symbols of Church and Kingdom [Cambridge: Univer­
sity Press, 1975] 4 1 ) .

1 6 7
S e e especially 1.5 (PG 4 8 . 8 5 0 A - 8 5 1 B ) , 2.3 (862A); and
6.2 (907A).
168
The viewpoint he opposes provides evidence in favor of
E . R. G o o d e n o u g h ' s h y p o t h e s i s , that the arks of the Torah
s e r v e d in s y n a g o g u e s o f t h e G r e c o - R o m a n p e r i o d a s n u m i n o u s
o b j e c t s f u n c t i o n a l l y a n a l o g o u s t o t h e s t a t u e in t h e i n n e r
s h r i n e o f a p a g a n t e m p l e (Jewish Symbols 4 [1954] 9 9 - 1 4 4 ; 12
[1965] 8 3 - 8 6 ) .
169
" P o l e m i q u e , " p a s s i m ; c f . Verus Israel, 256-64. See
also Baur, 1.274-76.
1 7 0
" C ' e s t veritablement une campagne de propagande,
a m p l e m e n t o r c h e s t r e e " (Verus Israel, 3 3 6 ) .

1 7 1
1 . 1 , 8 4 4 ; 1.8, 855B; 3.1, 8 6 2 ; 5.12, 9 0 4 ; 7.6, 926B-
927A; 8.9, 9 4 1 f . J u l i a n h a d spoken o f t h e "disease o f t h e
G a l i l e a n s , " Ep. 89 B i d e z - C u m o n t = 2 0 L o e b , 4 5 4 B . A common
p e j o r a t i v e term for false opinion; similar language is found
a l r e a d y in t h e P a s t o r a l E p i s t l e s .
172
It i s w e l l k n o w n t h a t t h e J e w s h a d a r e p u t a t i o n a s
m a g i c i a n s in a n t i q u i t y ; s e e , e . g . , S i m o n , Verus Israel, chap.
12. "Throughout this age the Jews share with Persians and
Chaldaeans a reputation as expert sorcerers second only to the
E g y p t i a n p a s t m a s t e r s " (A. A . B a r b , " T h e S u r v i v a l o f M a g i c
A r t s , " i n The Conflict Between Paganism and Christianity in the
Fourth Century [Oxford-Warburg Series; Oxford: Clarendon, 1963]
118). (In p r i v a t e c o n v e r s a t i o n B a r b h a s v e n t u r e d t h e g u e s s
t h a t in b o t h A n t i o c h a n d A l e x a n d r i a , w h i c h w e r e a p p a r e n t l y t h e
chief centers for the production of magic gems, Jews were r e ­
s p o n s i b l e f o r v e r y m a n y , if n o t m o s t o f t h e s e o b j e c t s . ) John
complains that the Jewish amulets and incantations are attract­
ing Christians because the Jewish magical rites seem to have
greater power. That is, t h e Jewish magicians were probably
m o r e s u c c e s s f u l t h a n t h e p a g a n o r C h r i s t i a n m a g i c i a n s (Horn, ad
Jud. 8 ) . It i s l i k e l y t h a t t h e J e w s w h o p r a c t i c e d m a g i c w e r e
devout and pious and saw no contradiction between the use of
magic and Jewish religion. Magic helped them deal with fears,
anxieties, sicknesses, and to soften the abuse and mistreatment
lower class citizens received from the wealthy and powerful.
The recently discovered book of magic from this period written
in H e b r e w , t h e Sepher EaRazim (ed. M a r g a l i o t h [Margulies]
52

[Jerusalem: Judah Lev Fund, 1 9 6 6 ] ) , was produced by a person

without power and influence, dependent on the w h i m s and desires
o f t h o s e in a u t h o r i t y . He u s e s m a g i c to impress " k i n g s , " the
"head o f a c i t y , " a " j u d g e , " or "military o f f i c e r , " or a "rich
o r f a m o u s w o m a n " (Sepher EaRazim 1.218-20; 2.45-47; 2.133-34).
173
C f . J. P a r k e s , The Conflict of the Church and the Syna­
gogue (London: Soncino, 1934) 1 5 0 - 9 5 . S i m o n (Verus Israel,
2 7 2 f . ) s a y s P a r k e s g o e s t o o f a r in c l a i m i n g t h a t a n t i - s e m i t i s m
w a s i m p o s e d f r o m a b o v e b y t h e e c c l e s i a s t i c a l h i e r a r c h y ; it w a s
also a popular movement. But he agrees that there w a s also a
popular philo-Judaism, and that Christian anti-semitism was
above all a d e f e n s i v e reaction to it.
174
S e e S i m o n , Verus Israel, 2 6 4 , w h o c i t e s A t h a n a s i u s , Ep.
encycl. 3 (PG 2 5 . 2 2 8 ) a n d T h e o d o r e t , EE 4 . 1 8 - 1 9 .
1 7 5
"Polemique," 405.

" ^ ^ S o z o m e n r e p o r t s that he studied u n d e r L i b a n i u s , and

1
C h r y s o s t o m s rhetorical style makes that believable. See Baur,
1, c h a p . 4, e s p . p p . 2 2 f . , a n d J o n e s (n. 1 3 7 a b o v e ) .
177
Palladius says he lived four years with an old Syrian
monk, practicing self-mortification. Baur thinks this may have
been Carterius, and the time with him that period which Chrysos­
t o m , T h e o d o r e o f M o p s u e s t i a , a n d M a x i m u m (later b i s h o p o f I s a u r -
i a n S e l e u c i a ) s p e n t in t h e Asketerion of Diodorus (1.109f.).
Though ascetic Christianity w a s especially identified w i t h the
S y r i a c - s p e a k i n g p o p u l a t i o n , it h a d a l r e a d y b e g u n t o p e n e t r a t e
the urban, Greek-speaking church, particularly the anti-Arians.
D i o d o r u s and Flavian, the two laymen who b e c a m e leaders of the
pro-Nicene faction, became closely allied with rural m o n a s t i - *
cism, although their own background was aristocratic with
classical training. Under Meletius they introduced the antiph-
onal c h a n t i n g of Psalms from the v i l l a g e s into the churches of
Antioch. T h e o d o r e t r e p o r t s t h a t t h e y w e r e j o i n e d in t h e s t r u g ­
gle a g a i n s t the A r i a n s by a S y r i a c - s p e a k i n g h e r m i t from E d e s s a ,
1
the "Persian" Aphrahat, and later, during M e l e t i u s second or
third exile, by another Osroenean holy m a n , Julian (Relig.hist.
2 a n d 8 [PG 8 2 . 1 3 1 7 C - D a n d 1 3 6 8 C - 7 6 C ] a n d EE 4 . 2 5 - 2 7 [GCS 4 4 ,
2nd ed. 1 9 5 4 ] ) . As a youthful eyewitness, Theodoret's report
cannot b e ignored, yet this A p h r a h a t , w h o came to A n t i o c h ca.
3 6 0 a n d r e m a i n e d t h e r e u n t i l h i s d e a t h a f t e r 4 0 0 (S. S c h i w i e t z ,
Das morgenlandische Monchtum, v o l . 3 [Modling b e i W i e n : St.
#

G a b r i e l , 1 9 3 8 ] 2 7 8 - 8 0 ; A . F e s t u g i e r e , Antioche paienne et
chretienne ] P a r i s : B o c c a r d , 1 9 5 9 ] 2 6 7 - 7 6 ) , is a n o b s c u r e f i g ­
ure. He is not to be c o n f u s e d w i t h t h e w e l l - k n o w n S y r i a n
c h u r c h l e a d e r a n d a u t h o r (A. V o o b u s , " A p h r a h a t , " JAC 3 [1960]
153) .
178

Brown, "Sorcery" (above, n. 1 4 3 ) .

1 7 9
"Les Maccabees," 82.
 C H A P T E R II

ARCHAEOLOGICAL SOURCES

Excavations in A n t i o c h in t h e 1930s y i e l d e d little infor­

mation about Jewish life i n t h e city.^" But a number of inscrip
tions from other locations d o shed light o n t h e Jewish communi­
ty i n A n t i o c h in t h e fourth century. They a r e the following:
(1) S e v e r a l d e d i c a t o r y inscriptions from t h e mosaic floor of a
synagogue built in Apamea, a neighboring city in Syria, in t h e
last d e c a d e o f t h e fourth century. The donors mentioned in t w o
of t h e inscriptions a r e from an A n t i o c h e n e Jewish family. (2)
A tomb at Beth She'arim, the Jewish burial ground in G a l i l e e .
This tomb w a s owned by members o f t h e same Jewish family, and
inscriptions found there indicate that some A n t i o c h e n e Jews
were buried (i.e., r e - b u r i e d ) at Beth She'arim. (3) A v e r y
fragmentary inscription from Tiberias in G a l i l e e mentioning
Jews from Antioch. Besides these inscriptions w e have also i n ­
cluded another inscription from Apamea m e n t i o n i n g a Jewish
hazzan, i.e., deacon or minister {diakonos) and a dedicatory
inscription from a Christian church built at Antioch at approx­
imately t h e same time t h e Jewish synagogue w a s built in A p a m e a .

APAMEA

1. 'ETIL TCOV TIUIG)T&TG)V &PX IOVVOLY&-

Ycov EuaeftCou x a l N e u t o u xai Oiv£ou

xal 6eo6(t>pou y e p o u a i & p x o u x a l xcov
TIULOT&TCOV TipeaftuT^payv EtaaxCou

xal SaouXou xal XOITUOV, 'IX&caoc dpxicnjva-

YG>YOQ ' A V T l O x £ f c ) V , ^TloCnOXV TT)V t a o 6 o V TOO
iKi<ptou TI6(6ag) p v , 1
STOUQ Y ^ 1
EU6UV£OU EOXOY ta naat.

At the time of t h e most honored archisynagogoi Eusebius

and Nemios and Phineos, and Theodoros the gerousiarch,
and t h e most honored presbyters Eisakios and Saulos and t h e
rest, Ilasios, archisynagogos of the Antiocheians,
donated the mosaic entryway, 150 feet, in t h e y e a r
703, the seventh of Aydynaios [January 7, 3 9 1 ] . Blessing
on a l l .

53
54

T e x t in B a r u c h L i f s h i t z , Donateurs et fondateurs
dans les synagogues juives (Cahiers d e la
R e v u e B i b l i q u e 7; P a r i s : G a b a l d a , 1 9 6 7 ) , N o .
38. A l s o in E . L . S u k e n i k , " T h e M o s a i c I n ­
s c r i p t i o n s in t h e S y n a g o g u e a t A p a m e a o n t h e
O r o n t e s , " HUCA 2 3 / 2 ( 1 9 5 0 - 5 1 ) 5 4 4 , N o . 1; P.
J e a n - B a p t i s t e F r e y , Corpus Insariptionum
Iudaioarum, No. 803.

2. 'IAdoLog EtaaxCou d p x lauvaycoyOQ *AVTIOX£-

cov, unep acoTnptag GCDTCOU auu3£ou xal T£XVG)V

xal unep oarer) pC a s Etiaxadtag rcevdepag

xal urcep u v C a g EiaaxCou xal 'E6eaCou xal 'Hauxt-
ou TIPOY6VCOV, inoir)oev x n v iMcjxacav
xfje C a 6 6 o u . Etprivn x a l £\EOQ ini rcdv
x 6 riYiaaudvov bv&v rcA.fjdoQ.

Ilasios son of E i s a k i o s , archisynagogos of the Antiocheians,

for t h e w e l l - b e i n g of Photion his wife and his children,
and for the well-being of Eustathia his mother-in-law,
and in m e m o r y of Eisakios and Edesios and Hesychios
his ancestors, donated the mosaic entryway. Peace
and mercy on all your holy people.

T e x t in L i f s h i t z , N o . 3 9 ; S u k e n i k , N o . 2 ;
Frey, N o . 804.

3. 'Ercl N e u C a d££ava
xal T O O 6idxovog
Sijjncpc&dri f\ rcpdadeaig
[TOO] vaou € T O U £ Y^ 1
A O a x p o u d' .

At the time Nemias w a s hazzan, i.e., minister,

the vestibule of the temple w a s s e t in m o s a i c ,
in t h e y e a r 703, the 9th of Dystros [March 9, 3 9 1 ] .

T e x t i n L i f s h i t z , N o . 4 0 ; S u k e n i k , N o . 6;
Frey, N o . 805.
 55

BETH SHE' ARIM

%
1. AIJJC£

AC6eaCou
yepou(a)i&pxou
'AVTUOX^COQ

Burial chamber of Aidesios,

the gerousiarch of Antioch.

T e x t i n M . S c h w a b e a n d B . L i f s h i t z , Beth
She'arim (New B r u n s w i c k , N J : R u t g e r s , 1973-
7 4 ) , N o . 141.

2. ECGLV 6V

4»L6I xpnui-

6ioup£pou-
aai At6eaCq>

T h e r e a r e in t h e b u r i a l chamber
six tombs b e l o n g i n g to Aidesios.

Text in S c h w a b e - L i f s h i t z , N o . 142.

3. At6£aig

Aidesi(o)s

Text i n S c h w a b e - L i f s h i t z , N o . 143.

4. * HouxIS

Hesychi(o)s

Text in S c h w a b e - L i f s h i t z , N o . 144.
56

TIBERIAS

*Evdd6e xixa] L A e o v x C v a
duyaxnp Saul outf A.ou ye-
pouai&px(ou), yuv]n eauuaoCou
dpxLCJuvayc&Y (ou) ] ' A v x i o x [£COV
1
[£xc5v] o

[Here l i e s ] Leontina
[daughter of Sam]uel the ge[rousiarch,
wife of] Thaumasios [archisynagogos]
of the Antioch[eians]
seventy [years].

T e x t in M . S c h w a b e , " T o w a r d s t h e H i s t o r y o f
T i b e r i a s : E p i g r a p h i c S t u d y , " in M . S c h w a b e a n d
J. G u t m a n ( e d s . ) , Sefev Yohanan Levi. Studies in
Jewish Hellenism [in H e b r e w ] ( J e r u s a l e m : M a g n e s ,
1949) 216-21. Schwabe dates the inscription at
the end of the third or the beginning o f the
fourth century.

ANTIOCH

'Eni T O O a y t o x a x o u £7110x61100 fiu&v OAxxouiavou,

xal £rci T O O euXa|3 e o x & x o u |
Etioe£Cou otxov6uou x a l Tipeoftuxe'pou, Acopug 6
Tipe (a) 3 u x e p o g xal |
xatixnv xriv £ £ £ 6 p a v , eu£&uevog, x n v ^ncpt6a
^TtAtfpcooev.
1
Mn (vog) A u o x p o u xou e X u 2xou[g]

At t h e time of our most holy bishop Flavian

and t h e m o s t devout administrator and presbyter
Eusebius, Dorys the presbyter, fulfilling a vow,
donated the mosaic exedra. In t h e m o n t h of
Dystros 435 [March 3 8 7 ] .

T e x t in J e a n L a s s u s , " L ' E g l i s e C r u c i f o r m e , " in

Antiooh-on-the-Orontes , 2.38-39. The term exedra
refers to o n e of t h e four arms o f the church which
w a s c r u c i f o r m in s h a p e . This inscription was
found o n t h e mosaic pavement of the north arm.
 NOTES

CHAPTER II

Only one Jewish inscription was reported, a marble

funerary slab roughly inscribed with a m e n o r a h and the Greek
l e t t e r s rOAB (Antioch-on-the-Orontes, 2.150f., No. 2 4 ) . Downey
(ibid.) o f f e r s s e v e r a l p o s s i b l e e x p l a n a t i o n s o f t h e w o r d , w h i c h
seems most likely Aramaic. N o . Ill, w i t h its paraphrase of
1 Kdms 1 6 : 4 , could as easily be C h r i s t i a n as J e w i s h ; see L.
J a l a b e r t a n d R. M o u t e r d e , Inscriptions grecques et latines de
1
la Syrie 3/1 ( P a r i s : I n s t i t u t F r a n c a i s d A r c h e o l o g i e d e
B e y r o u t h , 1 9 5 0 ) 4 4 2 , a n d L e v i , Ant%och Mosaic Pavements , 1.320.
2
L i f s h i t z r e a d s N e u ^ o u ; w e f o l l o w S u k e n i k in t h i s
instance.

57
 CHAPTER III

LETTERS OF LIBANIUS CONCERNING THE JEWS

Among the more than 1500 letters of L i b a n i u s w h i c h have

survived are nine which bear directly upon the situation of
Jews in A n t i o c h and in P a l e s t i n e in t h e fourth century. The
first one, numbered 1251 in F o e r s t e r ' s edition, gives a tanta­
lizing glimpse of the internal organization of the Jewish com­
munity in A n t i o c h and of its r e l a t i o n s to o f f i c i a l s and persons
1
of influence in t h e p a g a n w o r l d . In it w e see L i b a n i u s per­
suaded by t h e Jews of his own city to use his influence on
their behalf with his long-time acquaintance Priscianus, who
has just become governor of the province Palestine. It was
written in 364 C . E . , w h e n Libanius was fifty.
Some twenty-five years later, in t h e last y e a r s of his
life, Libanius carried on an extended correspondence with some­
one called "the Patriarch" (in o n e letter, "the Patriarchs").
Eight of his letters to this figure are extant, dated 388 to
393 C.E. Although some earlier scholars had thought that the
f
Patriarch might have been a Christian bishop, Moshe S c h w a b e s
2 3
careful investigation has confirmed Otto Seeck's view that
the Jewish in T i b e r i a s w a s m e a n t . The sources make it
more difficult to say w h o held that position in t h e y e a r s 388-
393. Seeck identifies Libanius* addressee with the Gamaliel
mentioned by Jerome (Ep. 5 7 . 3 , PL 22.570) shortly before 395
C.E., whom he thinks identical with the Gamaliel mentioned in
415 C . E . in C o d . Theod. 16.8.22. Schwabe, however, thinks the
earlier reference is m o r e likely to G a m a l i e l ben Hillel, the
later to h i s g r a n d s o n . But he observes that the dating of both
is sufficiently uncertain that Judah, son of G a m a l i e l ben
Hillel, cannot be excluded.

The text followed is t h a t o f R i c h a r d Foerster in the

1 f
Teubner edition of L i b a n i u s works. Schwabe s Hebrew transla­
tion as well as his comments in t h e a r t i c l e m e n t i o n e d above
have been very helpful.

59
60

L i b a n i u s , Ep. 1251 (Wolf 1342) 364 C.E.

4
To the same
(1) S o m e d i s t u r b a n c e has arisen among our Jews because (of
a rumor that) a certain wicked old man is g o i n g to come into
office, whom they had expelled when he held it previously,
because he had m a d e the office into a tyranny. They a r e of the
opinion that the chief of their officials will order this done
(again) at y o u r behest. For (they t h i n k ) that you accepted the
old m a n ' s petition without knowing his character, which not
even age has been able to amend. (2) T h o s e w h o a r e agitated
believe the matter to be as stated, and, while they were unable
to c o n v i n c e m e of it, t h e y did succeed in c o m p e l l i n g me to
write. Please forgive both me and t h e m — m e for h a v i n g yielded
to so m a n y , them because they suffered what is common to crowds,
to b e e a s i l y deceived.

L i b a n i u s , Ep. 914 (Wolf 832) 388 C.E.

To the Patriarch
(1) O f t h e t h i n g s m e n t i o n e d in t h e letter, some I already
knew, others I have just learned. And my grief has been in­
creased by t h i s additional information contained in t h e letter.
Who would not be distressed that such a race suffers for so
long? (2) B u t no one has written to us to defend those who are
wronging you. Indeed, even if m a n y had done so, I would have
done nothing^ nor would I have wronged myself by wronging you.
(3) B u t as for the one w h o you believe will become a magistrate
in o u r city^ and who you think is somewhat close to u s , an un­
true report has deceived you as it h a s u s . However, we have
stopped being deceived, and so n o w m u s t you, if indeed you have
not done so already.

L i b a n i u s , Ep. 917 (Wolf 835) 390 C.E.

To the Patriarch
(1) T h i s second letter on behalf of Ammonille comes because
the former one was in v a i n , owing to the power of those who are
mistreating the woman. (2) S o p l e a s e share the concern I ex­
pressed in the first letter and honor this one, lest w e need
yet a third!
 61

L i b a n i u s , Ep. 973 (Wolf 892) 390 C.E.

To the Patriarch
(1) W h i l e the badge of office does make Philippian great
in o u r e y e s , it is a l s o h i s zeal for v i r t u e w h i c h enhances him,
as does the person who would grant benefits to your cities out
of friendship for P h i l i p p i a n . (2) H e further becomes great in
this, that he passionately desired your friendship and wanted
to o b t a i n it for h i m s e l f through a letter from m e . So let him
enjoy his favorite pursuits and be enrolled as a friend; let
him delight in w h a t he will say about future events before they
happen. (3) I, t o o , can make you rejoice by what was said to
me about you by one who nobly shows his parentage, Siburius.
F o r he b r o u g h t my praise of you to a stop w i t h g r e a t e r praise
of his own.

Libanius, Ep. 974 (Wolf 893) 390 C.E.

To the same [the Patriarch]
(1) I d i d not send this letter in o r d e r that the good
Euthymius might acquire your friendship, for he has it already,
but that it m i g h t increase as a favor to m e . For I know that
you will want to honor the letter for him, just as you will
many others in similar cases. (2) N o w t h e m a n is j u s t the sort
to help those who need an advocate, and he is a c c o m p l i s h e d in
rhetoric and law, but he carries an empty w a l l e t , though he
would like to carry one that is n o t empty. Next to F o r t u n e , it
is y o u and the governor who have this in y o u r p o w e r ; you do
especially, more than someone who has the responsibility of
7
governing.

Libanius, Ep. 1084 (Wolf 1004) 393 C.E.

To the Patriarch
(1) Y o u w e r e ready anyway, I think, even if I wrote you
nothing, to be concerned about the affairs of Theophilus, a man
most wise and most just, w h o wakes and sleeps in t h e m i d s t of
books. You, the members of that race, are of the same sort.
You are accustomed to help everyone, especially the best,
caring for some indeed simply because they are human beings,
but particularly for t h o s e w h o live virtuously. (2) So,
62

fearing lest you should think either that I am not his friend
or that I neglect my friends, I am sending this letter, not to
persuade one who is a l r e a d y c o n v i n c e d , but that I may win your
esteem by assisting such a person. (3) M a y his affairs then
turn out right for h i m — m y profit will be your letter. Rather,
I shall gain two t h i n g s : b o t h the letter which I shall have and
the defeat of those who are abusing him who imitates the son of
o
Lysimachus.

Libanius, Ep. 1097 (Wolf 1 0 1 7 ) 393 C.E.

9
To the Patriarchs (sic)
(1) I am a w a r e of m a n y things which have been done by this
Theomnestus in a c c o r d with my wishes. But I have not repaid
him for t h e s e favors until now, when I found the opportunity to
do so t h r o u g h this letter. To be s u r e , he requested it, but I
gave it w i t h t h e t h o u g h t that I am not altogether despised among
you. (2) O h , yes, there were some who said this and even tried
to prove it. But my m e m o r y of your many and magnificent deeds
made it impossible for them to convince me of t h i s . (3) Grant
1
the favor, then, and do not disturb Theomnestus old age, which
wants to remain settled rather than to go abroad. And you must
not fear that I shall ask many other favors—I probably do not
even have many days yet to live. (4) T h u s I pray that he will
obtain the greater boon, i.e., to remain, but if t h e r e is some­
thing preventing that, then I ask the second best, that he see
his own land again as q u i c k l y as possible.

L i b a n i u s , Ep. 1098 (Wolf 1018) 393 C.E.

To the same^
(1) Y o u r son c a m e ^ with ability to learn; indeed,
12
through the rhetorical p o w e r of A r g e u s he had something in
common with me even before he saw m e . He has not attained any­
thing more noble, but perhaps it w i l l b e p r o f i t a b l e for him to
see many cities—as it w a s for Odysseus. (2) I e n t r e a t you to
forgive his flight and not to treat him harshly or to make him
despair, for that could cause sorrow, which, we see, becomes an
obstacle even for those w h o earnestly desire.rhetorical
training.
 63

L i b a n i u s , Ep. 1105 (Wolf 1025) 393 C.E.

To the Patriarch
13
As long as Hilarius behaves badly, we are both grieved,
he as well as I. N o n e of t h e s e t h i n g s ought to have happened,
nor ought there to be so m u c h t a l k in t h e c i t i e s about what
occurred. Yet, since he was destined to fall into this situa­
tion by ill fortune which compelled an intelligent man to sin—
for a m a n like you, who avoids treating people badly but is
accustomed r a t h e r to doing good, would not h a v e p u b l i c l y
accused him without c a u s e — b e c o m e , then, Achilles to his
14
Telephus and by your kindness heal the results of anger.
Thus give everyone reason to say that you have restored the
foremost of our households which had suffered great damage.
 NOTES

CHAPTER III

Just what the situation was which the letter presupposes,

h o w e v e r , is a m a t t e r o f c o n t r o v e r s y . See above, pp. 7f.
2
" L e t t e r s o f L i b a n i u s t o t h e P a t r i a r c h o f P a l e s t i n e " (in
H e b r e w ) , Tarbiz 1/2 ( J a n u a r y , 1 9 3 0 ) 8 5 - 1 1 0 .
3
Die Briefe des Libanius zeitlioh geordnet (TU, n . F . 1 5 /
1-2; L e i p z i g : H i n r i c h s , 1906; reprint; H i l d e s h e i m : Olm, 1966)
1 6 2 , s.v. " G a m a l i e l . "
4
T h e p r e v i o u s l e t t e r is a d d r e s s e d t o P r i s c i a n u s , e v i d e n t ­
ly a n o l d f r i e n d o f L i b a n i u s . O t t o S e e c k (Die Briefe des
Libanius, 1 0 3 ) t h o u g h t P r i s c i a n u s h a d n o t e v e r b e e n in a p o s i ­
t i o n to p e r f o r m t h e sort of favor asked h e r e . But Seeck had
only the edition of Wolf, which lacked the word 'Iou6atoic
(found in a b b r e v i a t e d f o r m o n l y in t h e V a t i c a n m s . , b u t a c c e p t ­
ed b y R e i s k e a n d F o e r s t e r ) . M . S c h w a b e ("A N e w D o c u m e n t r e ­
l a t i n g t o t h e H i s t o r y o f t h e J e w s in t h e F o u r t h C e n t u r y C . E . :
L i b a n i u s e p . 1 2 5 1 ( F ) " [in H e b r e w ] , Tarbiz 1/3 [ A p r i l , 1 9 3 0 ]
108-11 shows that P r i s c i a n u s had just m o v e d from C i l i c i a , w h e r e
h e h a d b e e n praeses, t o b e c o m e prooonsularis palaestinae.
L e t t e r 1 2 5 0 , in f a c t , i s a w a r m l e t t e r o f c o n g r a t u l a t i o n o n t h e
new post. F r o m e v i d e n c e in s e v e r a l o t h e r l e t t e r s S c h w a b e is
able to d a t e these two letters to late summer 364 C . E . , t h u s
1
a g r e e i n g w i t h S e e c k s d a t e (p. 4 3 0 ) .
5
S c h w a b e ("Letters o f L i b a n i u s t o t h e P a t r i a r c h , " 1 0 7 )
t a k e s gnpaxTOv a s 3 p i . r a t h e r t h a n 1 s g . , e v e n t h o u g h t h e
f o l l o w i n g I*|6LKOUV is u n a m b i g u o u s l y 1 sg. Hence he translates:
HDIttD C P > y i S K>, "They w o u l d h a v e b e e n a c c o m p l i s h i n g
nothing."
6
S c h w a b e : " w i l l r u l e o u r l a n d " OJ^nK >V >*1TO^). In h i s
c o m m e n t a r y (p. 94) h e i d e n t i f i e s t h e p o s t s p e c i f i c a l l y w i t h t h e
oonsularis Syriae.

N e v e r t h e l e s s , Libanius at the same time g a v e E u t h y m i u s

a letter for the same p u r p o s e addressed to Siburius, proconsul
o f P a l e s t i n e (Ep. 9 7 5 ) .
p
A r i s t i d e s , t h e s t a t e s m a n o f a n c i e n t A t h e n s (cf. Or. 2 0 .
1
35). Libanius also brings Theophilus situation to the a t t e n ­
t i o n o f P r i s c i o , a t e a c h e r o f r h e t o r i c s o m e w h e r e in P a l e s t i n e
( C a e s a r e a ? ) , in Ep. 1 0 8 5 .
9
T h e p l u r a l is s t r a n g e , but c o n j e c t u r e d e m e n d a t i o n to t h e
s i n g u l a r (Wolf, R e i s k e ) is n o t a c c e p t a b l e , s i n c e t h e p l u r a l
forms of address are consistent through the body of the letter
( S e e c k , 4 6 5 ) . F o e r s t e r t h i n k s t h e p l u r a l c o u l d s t a n d f o r xcp
TtaTpi&pxn K C U T $ auve6picp; c f . S c h w a b e , " L e t t e r s of L i b a n i u s , "
99-102. The Vatican and Leiden m s s . lack the definite article;
Sinaiticus reads T O L Q apxtepeuaiv 'AvxioxeCac ( O -

65
66

Given the plural address of the previous letter in the

c o l l e c t i o n , t h i s s u p e r s c r i p t is p r o b l e m a t i c a l .

1 1
T h e m s s . read, "The boy came to y o u , " but t h e context
requires the sense given here. Either aoi is to be u n d e r s t o o d
as a p o s s e s s i v e dative or w e should accept R e i s k e ' s e m e n d a t i o n
to a o u .
12
A r g e u s w a s a t e a c h e r o f r h e t o r i c in P a m p h i l i a , t o w h o m
L i b a n i u s w r o t e s e v e r a l l e t t e r s ( S e e c k , 8 4 ) . S c h w a b e ("Letters
o f L i b a n i u s , " 1 0 3 ) s u p p o s e s t h a t h e m u s t h a v e m o v e d in t h e t w o
years since Libanius last wrote to him to a p l a c e nearer to
Tiberias.
13
1 1
Hilarius, who had been L i b a n i u s pupil, pleaded A n t i o c h s
case w i t h the emperor T h e o d o s i u s after t h e riot of 3 8 7 . Soon
thereafter he w a s m a d e p r o c o n s u l of P a l e s t i n e , w h e r e apparently
h e c o m m i t t e d s o m e m i s d e e d w h i c h led t o a c r i m i n a l p r o c e s s
against him. T h i s l e t t e r m a k e s it c l e a r t h a t t h e P a t r i a r c h
h i m s e l f w a s t h e delator or one of those who prosecuted the case.
S e e S e e c k , 1 7 8 f . , s.v. " H i l a r i u s V I I . "
14
W o u n d e d b y A c h i l l e s , T e l e p h u s w a s t h e n c u r e d b y h i m , in
accord w i t h an o r a c l e .
 C H A P T E R IV

LIBANIUS* ORATION ON SYSTEMS OF PATRONAGE

1
The importance of L i b a n i u s forty-seventh oration, Uepl
xcov rtpOQTaaicov, h a s l o n g b e e n recognized by those w h o seek to
understand the shifting social relationships in t h e e a s t e r n
Empire during the fourth century. Several things in t h e s p e e c h
are also pertinent to the particular problems of a social his­
tory of Christianity and Judaism in A n t i o c h : t h e g e n e r a l pic­
ture of the ways in w h i c h n e w f o r m s o f p a t r o n a g e were replacing
the traditional prerogatives of the aristocracy, the tensions
between the curial class and the military and governmental
administrations, and especially the case of t h e Jewish peasants
1
who had worked Libanius land "for four generations."
We have followed the text printed by Louis Harmand,
Libanius: Discours Sur les patronages,^ 15-23, which in t u r n is
2
almost identical with Foerster's. The following translation
is i n d e p e n d e n t , though we have naturally been greatly assisted
by H a r m a n d ' s French version as well as by his excellent com­
mentary. A . F. N o r m a n ' s fine translation, in t h e s e c o n d volume
o f h i s e d i t i o n o f Libanius: Selected Works in t h e L o e b Classical
Library,^ reached u s too late to be taken into account.
* * * * * * *

1. I f I h a d n o t s e e n y o u f o r a l o n g t i m e a n d in m y r i a d s o f
circumstances, 0 king, rejoicing in t h e g o o d of your subjects
and wishing that none should be injured by another, I would
perhaps have advised myself to remain silent and would n o t have
bothered or annoyed one who would not gladly listen (to m e ) .
But since your natural disposition gives m e hope that I shall
please you by what I say and persuade you and gain the reputa­
tion of goodwill toward you, I have come gladly and eagerly to
offer counsel, counsel which will seem yours rather than mine,
since it b e l o n g s t o t h e o n e w h o g i v e s p o w e r to what is s a i d b y
adding action, without which speech is v a i n . 2. I know the
violent men, 0 k i n g — t h e y are the ones who benefit from t h e
misfortunes of o t h e r s — I know that they are both numerous and

67
68

powerful. I think, too, that they will be angry with me and

will seek to t a k e revenge on me, but that they will never ob­
tain it so long as your n o b l e p e r s o n is p r o t e c t e d by the gods
who marvel at y o u r life. For (I k n o w ) that you will not want
to abandon your counselor and that when you try to help him you
will not fail. Why then should I be silent out of needless
fear, when I have such security?
3. I w o u l d w i s h b o t h o f f i c e r s commanding whole armies and
their subordinates commanding detachments to prosper and to
live in h a p p i n e s s — a l l of them—but certainly not to m a k e pro­
fit from evil deeds nor to cause others to be a u d a c i o u s in all
kinds of w a y s . And many such things are happening today.
Listen, 0 king, and learn.
4. T h e r e are large villages, each with multiple owners.
These rely for protection on the soldiers stationed there, not
in o r d e r to a v o i d m i s c h i e f , but to be able to commit it. The
soldiers are paid with the things which the earth yields, wheat
and barley and the fruit of t r e e s , or w i t h gold or coin. Hid­
ing b e h i n d the hands of the soldiers, then, those who have made
these gifts have bought the license to do a n y t h i n g . And now,
these are the crimes and troubles they cause to their neighbors:
appropriating land, cutting down trees, robbing, slaughtering,
butchering, devouring. Then, when they see t h o s e to w h o m these
things belonged weeping, they laugh while feasting sumptuously.
They are so far from fearing that anyone will inquire into
these affairs that they add threats to their deeds and w i l l not
refrain from other crimes. 5. T h e s e things appear terrible to
you, your majesty, but you have not heard the gravest, if in­
deed daughters are m o r e important than goats and sheep, for
they do not even spare them. Why then should I speak more
about blows and insults, and how women drag other women by the
hair, and how they render wells useless to their o w n e r s by the
things they throw in t h e m , and how they divert rivers and by
them destroy gardens too? And about how they feed the soldiers,
some m o r e , some less, who usually sit in t h e m i d s t of the vil­
lages and doze over plenteous wine and meat, so t h a t , if o n e of
the injured parties, smarting with pain, should defend himself,
and if a b l o w should chance to strike a soldier, it w o u l d mean
 69

death for the one who struck, with no explanation given to him
from anywhere? For he must submit to the soldier in a l l his
drunkenness, putting up with everything, and the laws must not
come into the picture. 6. T h i s has even made brigands of peas­
ants; this has put iron into their hands, not the iron which is
friend to the soil, but that which kills. For, as their power
grows through the presence of the garrison, their audacity also
increases, for the village police, as the proverb says, "see
such men and do not see them." For they know that it w o u l d be
costly to help those who are laid low because of the patron.
Oh, yes, "patron" is t h e n a m e w h i c h they apply to such crimes,
a name appropriate, in m y opinion, rather to those who by means
of just assistance deliver to safety powerless victims of in­
justice.
7. B u t t h i s p a t r o n a g e does everything to the contrary.
It g i v e s power to harm others, among whom are those who collect
the taxes. I wish they were here with me to cry out all that
they have suffered. Certainly this would be accompanied by
tears from men who have been reduced from happiness to poverty.
You ask to learn how this happened, 0 king? Those who collect
the taxes, who have this as their work and assigned service,
come to these villages w h i c h have been fortified by the gen­
erals. Then they make their request, at first gently and with
low voice, but when they are scorned and ridiculed, then they
speak up m o r e loudly and indignantly, as is q u i t e reasonable
for those w h o fail in t h e i r lawful duties. Then the collectors
threaten them with the p r e f e c t s — i n vain, since the latter are
inferior to those who exploit the villages. Then they seize
them and begin to drag them along, but (the v i l l a g e r s ) show
that they have stones. 8. T h e n , getting wounds instead of
taxes, the collectors return to the city, showing by the blood
on their clothing what they have suffered. Further, while they
have no one who is a n g r y (on their b e h a l f ) — f o r the power of
the one who has taken the pay-off does not allow that—these
unfortunates hear that they must pay up or be flogged if they
refuse. Since they are compelled to do t h i s , d e s p a i r i n g of the
produce of the fields and fearing further wounds, since they
have no gold or silver, in t e a r s t h e y sell their female slaves
70

and even their retainers, the sons of their own nurses, even
when these implore their seller, grasping his knees. 9. They
go into the fields, not as formerly, with their children, but
with the buyers, intending to sell. A common table is s e t for
them; the seller sees the price of the land come to equal the
tax. A s he abandons the estate of h i s father—sometimes also
of his grandfather—glancing at their tombs he salutes them by
kissing his hand and, deeming himself to have their forgive­
ness, he departs. Then comes concern about food for himself
and his wife and children; then, when none appears from any­
where, the necessity for begging. 10. Thus a councilor is
erased from the council, not as a sponge w i p e s away letters,
but because he no longer has a livelihood. These things make
the councils smaller rather than larger, the members of each
fewer rather than m o r e . By this the whole city is injured.
For even if it fares well in its other parts, but this part
limps, the other parts too are diminished, and the affairs of
the empire are diminished. For it is t h r o u g h its subjects that
the empire either grows or the opposite. Surely then the coun­
cils are harmed by these fine patronages, by injury of the
councils the cities are harmed, and by the injury of the cities
even the armies are harmed. And these are not a matter of in­
difference to y o u , 0 king, for through them you are able to
capture and not to be captured, to be feared and not to fear.
Do away with such patronages, then, which our enemies would
w i s h on us.
11. The quest for a p a t r o n is f o u n d n o t only in those
farms which have more than one owner, each of w h o m possesses
a small section, but also in t h o s e w i t h a s i n g l e o w n e r . And
these add the pay-offs (made t o t h e m i l i t a r y patrons) to the
loss of the o w n e r , since they raise the money and give it out
of the amount by w h i c h they have cheated him. Moreover, the
villages belong even to the illustrious, who have the means to
extend a hand to those in t r o u b l e . But I believe it is in
pursuit of evil doing, and not to avoid suffering, that they
are buying the influence of certain persons. As they use this
influence over a long period of time, even against their own
masters, when they urge them to do (the w o r k ) which the land
 71

requires, they oppose them with a fierce look, as if t h e y were

beyond any obligation and w o r k only if t h e y p l e a s e and do not
intend to touch the soil unless they persuade themselves to do
so. 12. Those who first showed such audacity quickly got many
imitators who followed their wicked example. So (the owners)
take them to court and file a complaint, but they have men who
also defend their case. And the defender outweighs the laws,
so w h a t is seen is a p i t i f u l spectacle. What is t h i s ? Cries
of the owners about the land, insolent tongues, a multitude of
advocates, contests, judgments, victories. And one goes away,
bowed to the ground; the others follow, jeering him. That is
the sort of thing, 0 king, that has also happened to us.
13. Some J e w s — o f that famous p e o p l e — w h o have worked our
land for a long time, four generations, were seized with the
desire to be no longer what they had been. They took it upon
themselves to shake off the old yoke and h e n c e f o r t h to dictate
the terms by which we were to employ them. Since we could not
tolerate that, we sued them. When the judge learned who they
were, whom they had been drunkenly abusing, and in w h o m they
put their h o p e s , he had some of them put in d o u b l e bonds, both
jailed and fettered, and he ordered others to be brought to
testify to the facts. After he had said this, he became angry
with me when I suggested releasing them, and turning about, he
went off in o n e d i r e c t i o n , but the others, resorting to the
trick of many, took themselves to the house of the general,
their shield against justice. And (with t h e m w e n t ) barley and
wheat and ducks and fodder for h o r s e s . 14. And he (sc. the
general] ordered that those who had abandoned their duty should
be excused, and the other [sc. t h e judge] knuckled under and
obeyed. Thus the judge was what he was not, but was not what
he w a s : instead of a judge, he became a defense attorney. Con­
sequently, he dragged us into court day after day, sending one
(bailiff) after another, treating arbitrarily what was already
said, complaining about what was not yet said, eager to show
the kind of favoritism that is h a t e f u l to the g o d s . And it was
so c l e a r that he would abandon justice for favoritism, that
those who were going out of his place one night said to some
friends of m i n e whom they chanced to m e e t that my case had been
72

decided and the victory would belong to the opponents. 15. And
the next day it b e c a m e apparent that this was the way things
were. For the rhetors on our side sat listening, since they
had to keep silent when liberally equipped with strong argu­
ments, while those on the side of the opponents, in t h e judg­
ment of everyone present, had no weak argument in m a t t e r s lack-
4
m g substance. When the sentence was delivered, just as the
helmet and breastplate willed, the one who announced it k e p t on
prosecuting himself, for his c o n s c i e n c e w o u l d n o t permit him to
be quiet, and to all who entered, though they accused him of
nothing, he kept swearing all kinds of oaths that the right
judgment had certainly been made. For he deemed it a lesser
evil to commit impiety toward the gods than to speak out on
anything the general wanted kept quiet. 16. I should have
thought that the latter would have feared to mistreat the
righteous rather than to have people find out how he exercised
his command in t h e s e m a t t e r s . If it w a s just, why would he be
ashamed? If u n j u s t , why does he desire such? But if justice
could not be maintained even for m e , I who labor exceedingly
over speeches, and have been honored by letters from you, and
who would have the grief of m y disciples (for c o m f o r t ) , what
use is t h e r e in t a k i n g up the subject of others, who have none
of these advantages?
17. I have related this to demonstrate the way in which
many patrimonies have been destroyed by these defections of the
peasants. For in e v e r y c i t y t h e r e are such peasants, such ani­
mals, such bribes, such pacts, such profits, such losses, such
rejoicings, such dejections. And indeed there are not a few
from other farms, where the way is n o t o p e n for such violence,
who have abandoned wives and children and who betake themselves
to t h o s e strongmen, those fortresses, in o r d e r to enjoy that
illegal power. And even if t h e p r o s e c u t o r happened to be a
member of the general's entourage, after saying that he had an
interest in t h e d e f e n d a n t , once he had overpowered the accuser,
5
he would take o f f . 18. Whose responsibility is it t o p u t a
stop to these evasions? Whose to protect the farms for those
who inherited them? The task, 0 king, is y o u r s . It is from
you that the gift ought to come. It is y o u r s t o suffer somewhat
 73

and to heal rather than to overlook the creeping jealousy.

Rather, since this has already been overlooked for a long time,
it m u s t be halted somewhere.
19. Now someone will ask me on behalf of these peasants
whether it w i l l n o t b e legitimate for t h e m t o o b t a i n h e l p for
themselves. Help that is n o t u n j u s t , I would certainly agree,
but help by c r i m i n a l means, certainly not. First of all they
should obtain the help that comes from the g o d s , w h i c h comes by
prayers and religious rites. Then there is t h e help which be­
longs to those who, even though driven away by damaging floods,
will render a service by m a k i n g an o p p o r t u n i t y for themselves.^
It is a l s o p o s s i b l e for them to m a k e the owners of the property
more humane toward them, so that in s o m e c a s e s they would remit
debts, in o t h e r s even grant gifts, and so t h a t , if t h e y should
require legal arbitration between them, he (the l a n d l o r d ) would
take the role of judge, unless he should appeal to a superior
court. 2 0 . But not all forms of aid are to be used, if they
are not in a c c o r d with the law, or if t h e y render me incompetent
over my own possessions. There are cities among us, O king, on
our borders with the barbarians. Suppose a city, harmed by
another through some strife and contention, were to call on
allies from the neighboring barbarians—would it b e d o i n g some­
thing tolerable and n o b l e and worthy of praise rather than
punishment? In m y opinion it w o u l d be better for it e v e n to be
overthrown and to become a tomb for its citizens than to attain
the victory in such a way. For even if it n e e d e d some addi­
tional assistance in o r d e r to prevail, that ought to come from
within the empire and from fellow citizens. 21. For a slave
[oiketes] , though deserving justice for w h a t e v e r he has suf­
fered, does not have the right to a t t a c h himself to this one or
that o n e , to look to and stand supplicating someone not his
master, while forsaking his lord. For then he would no longer
belong totally to his master, but he would m a k e no small part
of h i m s e l f the property of his helper by a p p o r t i o n i n g to him
not only his goodwill but the powers of his body as w e l l . To
be sure, even this person ought to receive justice, but receive
it t h r o u g h his master. Judgment obtained through another often
might defraud the master of his slave, since he stands despised
for his slave's having obtained help from someone else.
74

22. But, they say, what if t h e o w n e r of the farm should

fall short of what is n e e d e d and a more powerful personage
should be required? Then let the peasant speak to the owner,
the latter to the superior, and let y o u r r e q u e s t be to the
owner, h i s to the o t h e r . And you would benefit from this,
while the owner would suffer no harm, when the arrangement for
these things is f i x e d . For (the o f f i c i a l s ) certainly would not
obey and cooperate with these rustics who live with cows far
from the cities, if t h e y w o u l d not even pay heed to their mas­
ters. Nor would they think it r i g h t to take advice from the
peasants and not from the masters, even though there was no
difference. But it is n o t the same thing for the owners to
make gifts to the powerful for the sake of the w o r k e r s as for
the w o r k e r s to make gifts against the interest of the owners.
For the former secures the possessions of the owners, while the
latter does not permit any confidence, as t h o u g h one were
standing on quicksand. 23. Furthermore, not a few of these
(owners) m a y also possess influence, from which it is possible
for t h e m to help o t h e r s . Why then is it n o t enough for them—

rather for both them and their troubles—that the generals

7
satisfy their greed through them? For if t h e y w e r e making
their profits through the owners, they would certainly not
think of using the o w n e r s ' property against them. But since
they did want to do that, they acted against the prominent
citizens, then against myriads of o t h e r s , in o r d e r to do those
things I have gone through earlier. Therefore they deny the
right even to live to t h o s e w h o , w h i l e they have acquired a
fine position of power, have done so w i t h o u t use of arms.
24. There's nothing terrible, they say, about adding pro­
tectors. That this i s n o t at all the case has been shown
(above) in w h a t I said about domestic slaves. In m y opinion
the same is to be said about the peasants. For even if the
power of those to w h o m they belong should be sharply reduced
by God, it w o u l d be better for them to conform their lives to
their owners' weakness and to bear their fortune patiently,
than to p u r c h a s e this kind of power and to d i s g r a c e their
owners. A woman who belonged to two m e n would be in a stronger
position, too, but you would not be happy about her having the
 75

one in m a r r i a g e , the other in a d u l t e r y . Even though it b e the

case that the adulterer is m u c h w e a l t h i e r , and from him the
woman would get much m o r e than from the one who took her in
marriage! Well then, shall we put up with her saying that one
doesn't equal two, nor great, small, nor handsome, ugly? For
in t h i s w a y that which most of all sustains life, the law of
marriage, will vanish.
25. Now someone will say, in t h e m a n n e r of those w h o al­
ways flatter the authorities, that less money would accrue to
the generals, if someone were to check this flood. And why
would it b e so t e r r i b l e if t h e p r e s e n t illegal gains were
stopped? The proper consideration is n o t w h e t h e r they will
make less, but whether the situation would become more just
than the present, and whether it w o u l d free from an evil repu­
tation those who are appointed to lead the army. For that
would be beneficial alike to t h o s e who cheat and to those who
are cheated: to the latter no longer to be cheated, to the
former no longer to cheat.
26. "The g e n e r a l s w i l l be despondent if t h e y are prevented
from making this fine harvest." Yes, for a l s o thieves, burg­
lars, cutpurses, graverobbers, and those who pillage temple
treasures, all these grieve because of the punishment which is
due for their respective crimes. They grieve, but the laws cry
out what they shall suffer when caught. To be sure, they (the
laws) do not remove audacity altogether, but this audacity
(which they do remove) is not slight. And no one is so desper­
ate that he would d a r e to say, "0 k i n g , let us a b o l i s h the laws
which prevent these crimes, so t h a t w e m a y n o t m a k e trouble for
those who are kept by them from getting rich, nor may seem to
begrudge anyone wealth." 2 7 . So then, let n o w a y be open, even
to the g e n e r a l s for corrupt profits, nor let o n e fix his atten­
tion on these while neglecting the share of the small property
owners. For what secures the power of the Romans and keeps
their enemies afraid is n o t the constant need, day and night,
of new coffers for the g e n e r a l s for their accumulating wealth.
Indeed, it is n o t b y w e a l t h t h a t o n e b e c o m e s a better general,
but by virtue and skill and love of glory and by fearing censure
more than death. 28. Nor would a person suited to command be
76

someone who is a b l e to count up a great amount of m o n e y , but

someone who can count up a great amount of booty and captives
and trophies, such as my ancestors could look upon. One of
those, after exercising the highest of commands for a long time,
was scarcely able to buy a single field, and of other things
not especially praiseworthy, he had eleven domestic slaves, a
dozen mules, three horses, and four Laconian dogs. And never­
theless he struck terror into the hearts of the barbarians. He
married my aunt, who had a large dowry, but his gift to her was
his fame. Once married he never caroused at b a n q u e t s , nor did
he ever, during the time he was a general, either give or re­
ceive invitations to them, but he commanded his stomach no less
than his soldiers. But as for the generals today, what cor­
rupts them is l i v i n g in t h e m i d s t of such abundance that it
makes them lovers of life rather than lovers of h o n o r , and per­
suades them to flee from the noble dangers to the opportunities
for r e v e l r y . 29. Therefore all of you ought to provide the
generals with the opportunities not for g e t t i n g rich, but for
showing that they are lovers of great deeds. As it is now,
they can see only one thing, money, and every possible pretense
for getting it is q u i c k l y seized, and such great mountains of
gold and silver pile up in t h e i r houses, as more and more is
constantly being added, that when some of the (soldiers) as­
signed (to g u a r d ) it h e a r how much they possess, they cannot
believe it. Yet in y o u r own treasuries, which ought to be
filled, since they belong to the government, rather than those
of private persons, almost the entire floor is v i s i b l e , since
only a little is c o v e r e d . Yet, even though you know both of
these facts, you do not d r a w on their funds at all for your
wars, but rather abstain from these deposits even though there
is a reason which calls for their confiscation. 30. I should
like to put the question to t h e m here before the throne, what
this great quantity of m o n e y m e a n s to them, and what the sense
is o f t h e p i l e s . Surely they would not say t h a t it w a s for
their daughters or their sons, or for the w e d d i n g s of either,
or for opportunity for advancement to the top p o s t s , or any
other innocent expenditure. Force them, then, even anyone who
is u n w i l l i n g , to come to that expenditure which it is not safe
 77

t o t h i n k o f e v e n in a d r e a m . If s o m e o n e t h u s t h o u g h t l e s s o f
p
you, h e w o u l d b e a g r e a t e r b e n e f a c t o r t o y o u t h a n if h e g a v e
you everything. 31. But if t h e y cannot stop taking, if this
necessity is a d i s e a s e , w h y , there are many streams which flow
for them, bursting from many fountains and o f t e n m a k i n g each of
them into a Midas or a Cinyras or the like. The gifts of their
clients amount to as m u c h as they could possibly receive, yet
they take an equal amount from the food p r o v i s i o n s of their
troops. They are able to m a k e the departed still live and to
feed themselves in t h e n a m e o f t h e d e a d . 32. As great as these
. 9
Csources of income) are, there are still greater Pactoli: the
gold w h i c h by rights would have remained in t h e h a n d s o f the
soldiers but which has passed to those of the g e n e r a l s . This
makes the fighting men poor and disheartened, as they wear
pieces of sandals and what passes for a c l o a k . Often it is
their stomachs which pay the tax, so t h a t t h e y enter battle
with famished bodies. 33. Still other tricks are devised that
are not inferior to gold-bearing earth. Slowness in deciding
on an honor which, while not ancient, has penetrated all the
same; then this caused anger, and then the reconciliations made
money. And there is m o n e y also from the following: a soldier
provokes a loiterer, mocking him and irritating him with in­
sults, seizes him, drags and pulls him about. Then he himself
is t o u c h e d perhaps, but the action hardly seems equal, for such
a person must not use either voice or hand against the soldier.
The one compelled to suffer is a r r e s t e d and is Cplaced) in the
1 0
guard house. So h e b u y s t h e r i g h t not to be beaten to death.
Many acts of this sort are sown and reaped every day, but they
are small in c o m p a r i s o n with that which is y e t to be mentioned.
That is t h e p r i c e of the m a g i s t r a t e s : gold by the camel load.
And I shan't even mention the money which passes each year from
your palace to t h e i r s . 34. Why is it n e c e s s a r y , after so great
a shower of p r o f i t s , to m a k e m e n m i s e r a b l e w h o have nothing but
their fields? Why is it n e c e s s a r y to assist those who increase
their holdings by impious means? Indeed, there are many unjust
methods, for just m e a n s do not even issue from the authorities,
but by far the most unjust device of all is t h i s : L e t u s say
that my father left m e some land—or my mother, or their
78

parents, or I bought it m y s e l f — i n which I had peasants who

behaved sensibly and worshipped Fortune for the h u m a n e treat­
ment they received from m e . Then you get hold of them, drive
them mad, set in m o t i o n h o p e l e s s hostilities, and reduce well­
born men to destitution.
35. But these people would never willingly bridle their
own insatiable desire, 0 king. Rather the matter requires your
wisdom and genius. For you alone could be physician for an
unbearable wound. But do not think you will hear from m e about
a law which would restrain the ones and help the o t h e r s . For
the law is w r i t t e n and stands on the books, decreed by him who
1 1
quenched tyranny and halted the Scythian fire. It i s very
important to me in m y opposition to t h e things which are being
done, that through the law there agrees with my statement a
king who is " g o d l i k e , " as H o m e r says, in s o u l r a t h e r than in
body.
36. Why then have I been so zealous about these matters,
when there has long been a law about them on the books? Not to
draft a law, w h i c h would be ridiculous, but to see that the one
written is not in v a i n . For it is w r i t t e n in v a i n — y e s , in
vain, 0 k i n g — s o long as t h e r e are some people who apply to
patrons, others who accept them; some who do not seek support­
ers in t h e fray, others who do so. For those things which
would be d o n e if t h e r e w e r e no law prohibiting them take place
despite p r o h i b i t i o n — a n d so t h e ( m i s ) d e e d is e n o r m o u s a n d i t s
12
(ill) f a m e e v e r y w h e r e . 37. I beseech you to enforce the law
by punishing those who do not obey it. O t h e r w i s e w h a t g o o d is
the code, when it i s in n o w a y superior to the men who have
13
been described, who would do nothing? This is n o t o n l y a
loss for the king's subjects, it is n o t g o o d for the author of
the law if it is r e g a r d e d as invalid. But shall he who tres-
14
passes the law of that other fellow pay his penalty, while he
who disobeys yours go scot free? Will he remain faithful to
your other laws, but be above this one, which derives from the
same mind and the same purple? 3 8 . Put some m u s c l e in t h i s law,
and m a k e it r e a l l y law instead of a bare name. If y o u d o not
wish to do that, repeal it. For it is b e t t e r that it should
not be on the books than to be published but disregarded. But
 79

may I never see that happen; rather may that law be immortal
with your progeny, and may the prosecution of those who have
committed injustice bring improvement to all else.
 NOTES

CHAPTER IV

"'"Paris: P r e s s e s Universitaires de France, 1955.

2
Richard Foerster, Lib ami opera 3 (Leipzig: Teubner,
1906) 401-22.
^Cambridge, MA: Harvard, and London: Heineman, 1977.
4
T h i s t r a n s l a t i o n i s s u g g e s t e d b y A . J. M a l h e r b e , t a k i n g
ou6ev &adev£c as an ironic l i t o t e s and O K i d , as f r e q u e n t l y , t h e
o p p o s i t e o f ocoucx, " s u b s t a n c e . "
5
T h i s s e n t e n c e is f a r f r o m c l e a r . Compare the various
a t t e m p t s t o c o n s t r u e it c i t e d b y H a r m a n d (pp. 3 5 f . , n . 7 ) , n o n e
o f w h i c h , i n c l u d i n g h i s o w n , is c o m p l e t e l y s a t i s f a c t o r y . We
f o l l o w a s u g g e s t i o n b y A . J. M a l h e r b e .
^Suggestion o f A . J. Malherbe.

7
T h e t e x t is u n c e r t a i n — w i t h F o e r s t e r w e f o l l o w R e i s k e ' s
e m e n d a t i o n , b u t r e a d aOxcov f o r R e i s k e ' s a O x c o v — a n d it is n o t
clear what Libanius meant to say.
o
S u g g e s t i o n b y A . J. M a l h e r b e . T h e s e n t e n c e is h a r d t o
m a k e sense of and may be corrupt. Reiske emends the text to,
"If s o m e o n e m a k e s t h e m s u b o r d i n a t e t o y o u . . . " ; H a r m a n d s u g g e s t s
t h e w h o l e s e n t e n c e is an a s i d e t o t h e g e n e r a l s , so o n e w o u l d
t r a n s l a t e t h e r e c e i v e d t e x t s o m e t h i n g l i k e , "If s o m e o n e c u t s
y o u down to s i z e . . . . "
9
T h e P a c t o l u s R i v e r , in w h i c h a c c o r d i n g t o legend M i d a s
w a s h e d o f f h i s l e t h a l t o u c h o f g o l d , is p r o v e r b i a l f o r i t s
gold-bearing sands.
1 0
Lit. "among the standards."

"'""'"Gothic; s e e H a r m a n d , ad loc.
12
These last phrases are loosely connected w i t h the sen­
t e n c e ; they could p e r h a p s be applied to the k i n g ' s w o r k and
f a m e , a s H a r m a n d u n d e r s t a n d s , b u t b e t t e r , in malam partem, to
the m i s d e e d s of the m i l i t a r y p a t r o n s and their infamy.
13
O r "Men in p i c t u r e s " ; c f . H a r m a n d a n d N o r m a n , t h e l a t t e r
p o i n t i n g o u t a p u n in Y P O L U U d x c o v / Y E Y p a u u ^ v c o v .
14
R e i s k e t a k e s t h i s a s an a l l u s i o n t o C h r i s t i a n i t y , a
suggestion Harmand thinks possible. B u t it c o u l d a s w e l l r e f e r
t o t h e J e w s , 6 6 e i v a b e i n g M o s e s , w h i c h is p e r h a p s m o r e l i k e l y
in v i e w o f L i b a n i u s ' b i t t e r n e s s a b o u t h i s r e b e l l i o u s J e w i s h
workers.

81
 CHAPTER V

f
JOHN CHRYSOSTOM S HOMILIA ADVERSUS JUDAEOS

John Chrysostom, later to become b i s h o p of Constantinople,

was born in A n t i o c h ca. 349 C . E . As a young man he joined the
church and was ordained to the presbyterate in 3 8 6 C . E . by
Flavian, one of the catholic bishops in t h e city. During his
years as presbyter in A n t i o c h (386-398) he preached regularly
in t h e c h u r c h e s there. Most of his sermons from this period
are homilies on b o o k s from the Bible, festive addresses on days
honoring the saints and m a r t y r s , or sermons for liturgical
feasts. During the first two years of his p r e s b y t e r a t e , how­
ever, he preached several series of polemical sermons directed
at the Arians, who continued to wield influence within the
city, and the Judaizers among the Christians. In A u g u s t 386 he
1
had begun to p r e a c h against the A r i a n s , but several days later
he interrupted this series and began to p r e a c h against the Ju­
daizers. These sermons were prompted by the imminence of the
Jewish festivals, specifically Rosh Hashannah, Yom Kippur, and
Sukkoth. Some Christians in A n t i o c h celebrated the festivals
with the Jews and John hoped to dissuade them from doing so.
After the Jewish festivals were passed he returned to his ser­
mons against the Arians. But early in t h e following year dur­
ing the Q u a d r a g e s i m a , and again in t h e fall, in e a c h c a s e prior
to the c e l e b r a t i o n of J e w i s h festivals, he p r e a c h e d against the
Judaizers. In t h e course of fourteen months he preached eight
sermons on the Jews and Judaizers. Some dispute exists about
the precise chronology of the sermons, but they appear to have
been preached as follows: Homily 1 and 2 in a u t u m n 386; Homily

3 in late winter 387 (dealing w i t h the P a s c h ) ; Homilies 4-8 in

2
autumn 387. We have translated the first of these sermons
preached prior to Rosh H a s h a n n a h in 386 and the last preached
after Sukkoth in 387.
John's s e r m o n s Adversus Judaeos were first edited by David
Hoeschel at A u g s b u r g in 1 6 0 2 and have been continually reedited
until 1862 when M. P. M i g n e reprinted the edition published by
Montfaucon in P a r i s in 1 7 1 8 . A modern critical edition does

83
84

not exist. Normally a critical edition should precede a trans­

lation, but the vast number of Chrysostom manuscripts has re­
quired that the manuscripts first be catalogued before new edi­
tions are undertaken. Robert Carter, who has been engaged in
this project, has urged scholars to refrain from n e w editions
3
until this task is c o m p l e t e d . Thus far a n u m b e r of volumes
4
listing the manuscripts have appeared, and a study of the
available material to date indicates that the Eomili.a Adversus
Judaeos were not transmitted as a unit. Further examination
of the manuscript tradition may give us insight into the rela­
tion of the various sermons to one another. Even the printed
editions vary considerably in t h e o r d e r they print the sermons;
it w a s n o t u n t i l M o n t f a u c o n that the present numbering and
order were introduced.
The sermons were translated into French by M . L'Abbe J.
5
Bareille in t h e n i n e t e e n t h century, but this translation was
made from the Latin translations of Hoeschel, Fronton de Due,
and Erasmus. An English translation was made by C. Mervyn Max­
well as a dissertation at t h e U n i v e r s i t y of Chicago in 1966,^
and an English translation will be published in t h e future by
Paul Harkins. We have chosen to t r a n s l a t e Homily 1 and Homily
8 because they yield the greatest information about the Jews in
Antioch in t h e latter half of the fourth century.
The text on which our translation is b a s e d can be found in
J. P. M i g n e , Patrologia Gvaeca, Vol. 48 (Paris, 1 8 6 2 ) , cols.
839-942.
 85

Homily 1 Against the Jews

Patrologia Graeoa 48.843-856

1. (col. 843) Today I wanted to finish the topic we were

discussing recently and to show as clearly as possible that God
is incomprehensible. Last Sunday I spoke in d e t a i l and at
length on this topic and at that t i m e I brought forth the tes­
timony of Isaiah, of David, and of Paul. From Isaiah I cited
the words, "Who can describe his generation?" (Isa 53:8). The
psalmist, giving him thanks because of his incomprehensibility,
says, "I w i l l praise you, for you fill me with awe and your
works are wonderful" (Ps 1 3 9 : 1 4 ) . And again, "Such knowledge
is b e y o n d my understanding, so h i g h t h a t I cannot reach it" (Ps
138:6). And Paul, chary of inquiring into the essence of God,
speaks only of his p r o v i d e n c e , and only of a single aspect of
his providence, namely that w h i c h is seen in t h e calling of the
gentiles. Gazing on God's providence as a vast and yawning
sea, he cries out, "0 d e p t h o f w e a l t h , w i s d o m , and knowledge in
God: How unsearchable his judgments, how untraceable his ways!"
(Rom 11:35).

Although these testimonies were sufficient proof, I was not

satisfied with the prophets; nor did I stop with the apostles.
I went up to heaven itself and displayed the chorus of angels
singing, "Glory to God in h i g h e s t heaven, and on earth peace,
good will to men" (Luke 2 : 1 4 ) . Moreover you heard the sera­
phim, trembling and filled with awe, cry out, "Holy, Holy,
Holy is the Lord of Hosts; the whole earth is f u l l o f his
glory" (Isa 6:3). To w h i c h w e r e added the cherubim, crying,
"Blessed is t h e g l o r y of t h e L o r d in h i s p l a c e " (Ezek 3:12).
(844) Three testimonies from earth, three from heaven declare
the unapproachable glory of God. When I finished and the proof
was irrefutable, the congregation broke into thunderous
applause shaking the building and setting the people afire with
enthusiasm. I was delighted not because they were praising me,
but because they glorified my Lord. Your applause and your
praise showed what love you have for God. Just as affectionate
86

servants, when they hear someone praising their master love the
one who praises him because they love him too, so a l s o y o u did
the same on Sunday. The excessiveness of your applause showed
your love for t h e Lord.
Today I wanted to return to the same contest. For if the
enemies of truth have not had their fill of b l a s p h e m i n g their
benefactor, how much more have we not been satiated with honor­
ing the supreme God. But what can I do? Another more terrible
sickness beckons and our tongue must be turned to heal a
disease which is f l o u r i s h i n g in t h e b o d y of t h e c h u r c h . First
we must root this out and then return to those who are outside
of the church. We must first heal our own m e m b e r s and then
busy ourselves with outsiders.
What is t h i s sickness? The festivals of the wretched and
miserable Jews which follow one after another in succession—
Trumpets, Booths, the F a s t s — a r e about to take p l a c e . And many
who belong to us and say t h a t they believe in o u r teaching,
attend their festivals, and even share in t h e i r celebrations
and join in t h e i r fasts. It is t h i s evil practice I now wish
to drive from the church. (845) Sermons against the Anomoeans
[Arians] can be delivered at another time and the delay would
not work any harm. But if t h o s e w h o are sick with Judaism
are not healed now when the Jewish festivals are "near, at
the very door" (Matt 24:33), I am afraid that some, out of
misguided habit and gross ignorance, will share in t h e i r trans­
gressions, and sermons about such matters would be pointless.
If t h e o f f e n d e r s are not present to hear what we say today,
afterward medicine would be applied in v a i n b e c a u s e they would
already have committed the sin. This is t h e reason I am in a
hurry to take up this matter before the festivals. That is the
way doctors do things. They deal with the most urgent and acute
sicknesses first.

Of c o u r s e this struggle [with t h e J e w s ] is r e l a t e d to the

previous struggle [with t h e A n o m o e a n s ] . And since there is
kinship between the impiety of the Anomoeans and the impiety of
the Jews, there is a r e l a t i o n between the present and the for­
mer controversies. For that which the Jews have long charged
 87

us, the Anomoeans also accuse u s . What do they charge? That

by calling God his own father Jesus claimed equality with God
(John 5:18). This a c c u s a t i o n — t h o u g h not really an accusation—
is r a t h e r an a t t e m p t to eliminate this text and its meaning
completely, if n o t w i t h the hand, then with the mind.
2. Do not be surprised if I h a v e c a l l e d the Jews wretched.
They are truly wretched and miserable for they h a v e received
many good things from God yet they have spurned them and vio­
lently cast them away. The sun of righteousness rose on them
first, but they turned their back on its beams and sat in dark­
ness. But we, who were nurtured in d a r k n e s s , w e l c o m e d the
light and we w e r e freed from the yoke of e r r o r . The Jews were
branches of the holy root, but they were lopped off. We were
not part of the root, yet we have produced the fruits of piety.
They read the prophets from ancient times, yet they crucified
the one spoken of by the p r o p h e t s . We had not heard the Holy
Scriptures, yet now we worship the one about whom the prophets
speak. This is w h y t h e y a r e w r e t c h e d , because when others em­
braced and welcomed the good things given to them, the Jews
refused them.
They were called to sonship, but they degenerated to the
level of dogs. But we who were dogs w e r e by the g r a c e of God
able to cast off our former irrationality to be elevated to the
dignity of sons. How do I know this? "It is n o t r i g h t to take
the children's bread and throw it t o t h e d o g s " (Matt 15:26).
Jesus was speaking there to t h e C a n a a n i t e w o m a n and he called
the Jews "beloved children" and the Gentiles "dogs." But note
how the order is r e v e r s e d later; they have become "dogs" and
we are "beloved children." Paul said this about them, "Beware
of those dogs and their malpractices. Beware of those who
insist on mutilation—'circumcision' I will not call it; w e are
l
the circumcised" (Phil 3:2-3). Don t you see h o w those who
were formerly beloved children have become dogs?

Do you want to know how we who were once dogs have become
beloved children? "To a l l w h o received him, he gave the right
to become children of God" (John 1:12). Nothing is m o r e miser­
able than those who always kick against their own salvation.
88

When it w a s r e q u i r e d to keep the law, they trampled it under

foot; now when the law has been abrogated, they obstinately
observe it. What could be more pitiful than people who provoke
God's anger not only by t r a n s g r e s s i n g the Law but also by ob­
serving the Law. This is w h y the Scripture says, "You stiff-
necked and uncircumcised in h e a r t ; you always fight against the
Holy Spirit" (Acts 7:51). (846) T h e y n o t o n l y transgressed the
Law, but they want to o b s e r v e it a t the wrong time. They are
rightly called "stiffnecked" for they did not bear the yoke of
Christ although it w a s n e i t h e r grievous nor burdensome but
gentle. "Learn from m e , for I am g e n t l e and humble hearted,"
and "Bend your necks to m y y o k e , for my yoke is g o o d to bear,
my load is light" (Matt 11:29-30).

Nonetheless they did not bear it; they smashed it and

broke it. "Ages ago you broke your yoke and snapped your
traces" (Jer 2 : 2 0 ) . It w a s not Paul who said these things, but
the prophet, using "yoke" and "traces" as symbols of dominion
because the Jews rejected the Lordship of C h r i s t . "We h a v e no
king but Caesar," they said (John 19:15). When you broke the
yoke and snapped the traces, you cast yourself out of t h e king­
dom of heaven and subjected yourself to human rulers.
Consider with me how the prophet intimates that they are
unmanageable. For he did not say, "You t h r e w o f f m y y o k e , " but
"you b r o k e my yoke." This is t h e shortcoming of wild animals,
unused to t h e reins, who refuse to be tamed. Where does this
stiffness come from? From gluttony and d r u n k e n n e s s . Moses
himself said, "Israel ate, and he was w e l l fed and g r e w fat,
and the beloved became recalcitrant" (Deut 32:15). Just as
animals, when they are allowed to eat as m u c h as they want,
grow fat and become stubborn and hard to hold, and neither
the yoke, nor the bridle, nor the hand of t h e d r i v e r can re­
strain them, so a l s o the Jewish people, by d r u n k e n n e s s and
overeating have been driven to the ultimate evil. They have
kicked up their hooves refusing to bear the yoke of Christ and
to d r a w the plow of his teaching. One prophet intimated this
when he said, "Israel has run wild, wild as a h e i f e r " (Hos
4:16). Another called Israel an "unbroken calf" (Jer 31:18).
 89

Such animals, unfit for any u s e f u l w o r k , are fit o n l y for

slaughter. This is w h a t has happened since they made them­
selves unsuitable for any t a s k . They are suited only for
slaughter. This is w h y Christ said, "Those enemies of m i n e who
did not want m e for their king, bring them here and slaughter
them" (Luke 19:27).
You should have fasted, 0 Jew, when your drunkenness was
doing you such harm, and when your gluttony bred impiety, but
not now. Now the time for fasting is p a s t . Fasting has become
abominable. Who says these things? Isaiah cries out with a
loud voice, "Is n o t this what I require of you as a fast? says
the Lord." Why? "Since your fasting leads only to wrangling
and strife, and dealing vicious blows with the fists" (Isa 58:
4, 5) . If y o u r fast w a s abominable when you beat your fellow
servants, how can your fast be acceptable when you murder your
master? What logic is t h e r e t o that?
One who fasts should be restrained, subdued, humble, not
drunk with anger. Are you still beating your fellow servants?
Once their fasting led o n l y to wrangling and strife, now it
leads to w a n t o n violence and extreme licentiousness, to dancing
with naked feet in t h e m a r k e t p l a c e . They are supposed to be
fasting but they are really having a drunken party. Listen to
what the prophet says about fasting: "Sanctify a fast" (Joel
1:14). Don't make a pompous spectacle of fasting. "Announce
a day of abstinence; gather the elders" (Joel 1:14) . But they
gather rabble—effeminate men and prostitutes, and they drag
the crowd from the theater and the actors to the synagogue.
(847) There is n o d i f f e r e n c e between the theater and the syna­
gogue. I know that some condemn me for daring to say that the
synagogue is n o d i f f e r e n t from the theater, but I reply that it
is a u d a c i o u s of them to d i s a g r e e w i t h what I said. Condemn me
if I declare t h i s on m y own authority, but if I cite the words
of the prophet, accept what I say.

3. I know that many have high regard for the Jews and they
think that their present way of life is h o l y . That is w h y I am
so a n x i o u s to uproot this deadly opinion. I said that the
synagogue is n o b e t t e r than the theater and I submitted proof
from the prophet. The Jews are not more trustworthy than the
90

prophets. What did the prophet say? "Yours w a s a harlot's

brow, and you were resolved to show no shame" (Jer 3:3). A
place where a prostitute offers her wares is a h o u s e o f pros­
titution. But the synagogue is n o t o n l y a house of prostitu­
tion and a theater, it i s a l s o a hideout for thieves and a den
of wild animals. "Your h o u s e has become for m e a hyena's den"
(Jer 7 : 1 1 ) . But it is not simply the den of a wild animal but
of an u n c l e a n one at t h a t . Further, "I h a v e forsaken my house,
I have cast off my inheritance" (Jer 1 2 : 7 ) . When God leaves,
what hope of salvation remains? When God forsakes a place it
becomes a dwelling place for demons.
Surely they say that they worship God. Away with such
talk! No Jew worships God. Who says these things? The son of
God. "If y o u k n e w m e y o u w o u l d know my father as w e l l . You
know neither me nor my father" (John 8:19). What testimony can
I offer that is m o r e trustworthy than this one?
If t h e y are ignorant of the Father, if t h e y crucified the
son, and spurned the aid of t h e Spirit, can one not declare
with confidence that the synagogue is a d w e l l i n g place of
demons? God is n o t w o r s h i p p e d there. Far from it! Rather the
synagogue is a t e m p l e of idolatry. Nevertheless some go to
these places as though they were sacred shrines. I am not
imagining such things. I know them from my own experience.
Three days ago (believe m e , I am not lying) I saw a noble
and free woman, who is m o d e s t and faithful, being forced into a
synagogue by a coarse and senseless person who appeared to be a
Christian (I w o u l d not say that someone who dared to do such
things was really a Christian). He forced her into a synagogue
to m a k e an o a t h about certain business matters which were in
litigation. As the woman passed by she kept calling out for
help, hoping someone would stop this lawless show of force (for
she would not be allowed to participate in t h e sacred mysteries
[Eucharist] if she went into the synagogue). Enraged and burn­
ing w i t h anger, I roused myself and rescued her from this un­
just abduction so t h a t she would not be dragged into such law­
lessness. When I asked her abductor whether he w a s a Christian,
he admitted he w a s . I reproached him severely, accusing him of
stupidity and complete lack of understanding, and I told him
 91

that he was no better than a jackass if h e t h i n k s that one can

worship Christ and at t h e same time drag someone to the haunts
of the Jews who crucified him.
Then I went on to exhort him further. First I said that
it is not p e r m i s s i b l e to m a k e oaths at a l l , or to require some­
one else to make an oath, as the holy g o s p e l s teach. (848) F u r ­
ther, one should not f o r c e an unbaptized person to do such a
thing much less a woman who is b a p t i z e d and a faithful Chris­
tian. Then, as I expunged with many arguments these erroneous
ideas from this soul, I asked him why he had w a l k e d by the
church and dragged this woman to a g a t h e r i n g place [auv£6pia]
of the Hebrews. He replied that many had told him that oaths
which were taken there were more awesome. When I heard this I
shouted at h i m a n d w a s again consumed by anger. But then I
began to laugh. When I saw the villainy of the devil, and with
what skill he was able to d e c e i v e m e n , I groaned. When I
thought of the gullibility of those who are deceived I was
filled with anger. But w h e n I saw just how great was the
stupidity of those who w e r e deceived, I could only laugh.

I tell you these things and recount my experience because

your attitude to people w h o do such things as well as to those
to whom they are done is i n s e n s i t i v e and unfeeling. If y o u see
one of your brothers falling into such sins, you consider it to
be someone else's trouble not your own. And if someone accuses
you, you attempt to defend yourself by saying, "What business
is it of m i n e ? " or "What do I have in c o m m o n with that person?"
uttering words of utter contempt with the cruelty of satan. Do
you realize what you are saying? You are a man and you share
the same human nature. Even more, if o n e m u s t speak about
sharing the same nature, you have one head, Christ, and you
dare to say that you have nothing in c o m m o n w i t h y o u r o w n mem­
bers. How can you confess Christ to be the head of the church?
For the head knits together all the members, ensuring that each
looks after the other and that all are united. If y o u have
nothing in c o m m o n with your limbs, neither do you have anything
in c o m m o n w i t h y o u r brother, nor do you have Christ as your
head.
92

The Jews frighten you as though you were little children

and you don't even realize it. For just as coarse slaves will
show ridiculous and t e r r i f y i n g m a s k s to c h i l d r e n (the masks
themselves are not terrifying, but they appear so t o childish
minds) and make them l a u g h .loudly; so a l s o the Jews terrify
simple Christians. How can the Jewish synagogues be considered
worthy of awe when they are shameful and ridiculous, offensive,
dishonored, and contemptible?
4. O u r p l a c e s of w o r s h i p , however, are not of this sort;
they are truly places of awe and are filled with religious fear.
For where God, w h o has authority over life and death, is pres­
ent, that place is t e r r i f y i n g . For there one hears countless
sermons about eternal punishments, about fiery rivers, about
the poisonous worm (cf. I s a 66:24; Mark 9:48), about unbreak­
able chains, about outer darkness. But the Jews have not the
faintest idea of such things, living for t h e i r stomachs, all
agape about the present, no better off than pigs and goats,
ruled only by licentiousness and excessive gluttony. One thing
only they know—how to stuff themselves and get drunk, to come
to blows over d a n c e r s , and to get beat up in b r a w l s over char­
iot d r i v e r s . Tell m e , are these things holy and awesome? Who
would claim this? How can they appear awesome to u s , unless
one considers dishonored servants who have lost their privi­
leges and been banished from their master's house more worthy
of respect than servants who are held in h o n o r and good favor?
But that is n o t the way things are—they simply aren't. If an
inn is n o t m o r e august than the halls of kings, so a synagogue
is less h o n o r a b l e than any inn. (849) F o r it is n o t simply a
gathering place for thieves and h u c k s t e r s , but also of demons;
indeed, not only the synagogue, but the souls of Jews are also
the dwelling places of demons. And at t h e c o n c l u s i o n of this
sermon I will try to prove this to you. This is w h y I ask you
especially to remember my w o r d s . I am n o t saying these things
to show off or to win your applause, but to heal your souls.
What is t h e r e left to say if t h e r e are as many doctors as there
are sick?

There were only twelve a p o s t l e s , and they won the whole

world. The greater part of this city is C h r i s t i a n , yet there
 93

are some who are sick with Judaism. What sort of d e f e n s e can
we who are healthy put up? Of course the sick deserve the
blame themselves; but we who overlook their infirmity are not
completely free of blame; it is i n c o n c e i v a b l e that they would
remain ill if w e gave them our full attention. In anticipation
of that, I am n o w saying these things, that each of you can
attempt to persuade your brother, whether by force, by striking
him, by insulting him, or by arguing w i t h him. Do anything to
rescue him from the devil's snare and deliver him from the
fellowship of Christ killers. Tell m e : if y o u see someone in
the marketplace being led away and w h o has been condemned just­
ly, and you had authority to release him f r o m t h e h a n d s of his
executioners, wouldn't you do everything to free him from his
sentence? But now you see your brother being dragged unjustly
and iniquitously to the pit of destruction not by an execu­
tioner but by the d e v i l , and you don't m a k e the slightest effort
to rescue him from that iniquity. What kind of excuse can you
offer? That he is stronger and more powerful. Show him to me.
I would rather have my head cut off than allow him to enter the
doors of the church if h e is c o n t e n t i o u s and w i l l not change
his w a y s . What do you have in c o m m o n w i t h t h e "free Jerusalem,"
with the "heavenly Jerusalem?" You chose the earthly; be a
slave just like she is. For "she and h e r children are in slav­
ery" (Gal 4 : 2 5 ) , as t h e apostle says.

Do you fast with Jews? Then take off your sandals with
the Jews and go barefoot into the marketplace and join in their
disgraceful and ridiculous behavior. But you'd be too ashamed
and embarrassed to d o t h i s . If y o u a r e a s h a m e d to participate
in t h e i r indecorous dances, are you not ashamed to participate
in t h e i r impiety? What kind of mercy do you expect to receive
when you are only a half-Christian? Believe m e — i f I see any­
one sick with this disease I would rather have my head cut off
than overlook them. On the o t h e r hand, if I d o n ' t k n o w any­
thing about them, God w i l l forgive me. I want each of you to
mull over these things; don't consider this thing to be a
peripheral matter.

Haven't you noticed that in t h e m y s t e r i e s the deacon fre­

quently calls out, "Acknowledge one another"? In s a y i n g this
94

he entrusts you with the responsibility of carefully examining

your brother. Do the same things with those about whom you
have question. If y o u know someone who is j u d a i z i n g , grab him
and take note of him, so that you yourself will not be exposed
to p e r i l . In frontier army camps, if someone is found among
the soldiers who sympathizes with the Barbarians or the Per­
sians, not only is he in d a n g e r , b u t also anyone who knew him
and did not report him to the general is in d a n g e r . Since you
belong to the camp of Christ, (850) c a r e f u l l y examine and take
pains to see w h e t h e r someone is m i x e d in w i t h y o u from the
other side; make clear to them, however, that you do so n o t to
kill them or punish them, as they do in t h e army, nor to take
vengeance on them, but to deliver them from error and impiety
and make them completely one of u s . But if y o u r e f u s e to do
this and conceal what you know, you can be assured that you
will receive the same punishment as the judaizer. For Paul
does not only correct and p u n i s h those who do evil but also
those who tolerate evildoers. And the prophet condemns not
only those who steal but also their accomplices. For if some­
one has knowledge of an evildoer and protects and hides him, he
only gives greater opportunity for his indulgence and allows
him to do evil with less restraint.
5. But w e m u s t return again to the sick. Do you realize
that those who are fasting have dealings with those who
shouted, "Crucify him! Crucify him!" (Luke 2 3 : 2 1 ) ; and with
those who said, "His blood be on us and on our children" (Matt
27:23, 25)? If a b a n d of w o u l d - b e revolutionaries were appre­
hended and then condemned, would you dare to go to them and
talk with them? I certainly don't think so! I s it n o t absurd
to be zealous about avoiding someone who sinned against man­
kind, but to have dealings w i t h those who have affronted God?
I s it n o t folly for t h o s e w h o w o r s h i p the crucified to cele­
brate festivals with those who crucified him? This is not only
stupid—it is s h e e r madness.

But since there are some who consider the synagogue to be

a holy place, we must say a few things to them as well. Why do
you reverence this place when you should disdain it, d e s p i s e it
and avoid it? "The L a w and the b o o k s of the p r o p h e t s can be
 95

found there," you say. What of it? You say, "Is it n o t the
case that the books make the place holy?" Certainly not! This
is t h e r e a s o n I especially hate the synagogue and avoid it,
that they have the prophets but do not believe in t h e m , that
they read these books but do not accept their testimonies.
This makes their effrontery all the w o r s e . Tell me, if y o u see
a distinguished man, one who is h o n o r e d and respected being led
into a tavern, or into a den of r o b b e r s , and he is assaulted
there and beaten up by a b u n c h of d r u n k s , w o u l d you admire the
tavern or the robber's den because once a noble and distin­
guished man had been there and was beaten up by drunks? I
doubt it! Instead, for this very reason, you would all the
more hate it a n d avoid it. The same applies to the synagogue.
They brought the prophets and Moses with them into the syna­
gogue, not in o r d e r to honor them but to insult and dishonor
them. When they say that the prophets and Moses did not know
about Christ, nor did they say anything about his coming, what
greater insult can there be against these holy men? When they
accuse them of not knowing their Lord, they make them accom­
plices in t h e i r impiety. For this reason we should all the
more hate them and their synagogue because they offend these
holy men.
But why am I speaking about books and places? In t i m e s of
persecutions executioners seize the bodies of the martyrs to
beat and whip them. Are their hands holy because they have
touched the bodies of holy men? Far from it! Such hands, al­
though they have held the bodies of the saints, remain impure
for the very reason that they have held them for evil ends.
Similarly, those who handle the writings of the saints (851)
and mistreat them no less than executioners mistreat the bodies
of the m a r t y r s — s h o u l d they be venerated for this reason? Is
not this the height of irrationality? For those who seize
bodies for the purpose of harming them not only are not sancti­
fied by touching them, but they are made even more cursed. How
much less are writings read with unbelief able to help those
who read them. Indeed the extent of their impiety is evident
in t h a t they possess the books with evil intentions. They
would not be worthy of such condemnation if t h e y d i d n o t possess
96

the prophets; they would not be so u n c l e a n and impure if they

did not read these books. Now they are deprived of any for­
giveness, because they possess the heralds of t r u t h and have
maliciously resisted them as well as the truth. For this rea­
son they are impure and accursed, because having the prophets
at their disposal they consult them w i t h an evil purpose.
Therefore I beg you to shun them and avoid their gatherings.
The harm to our weaker brethren is n o t a small matter, nor
is t h e o p p o r t u n i t y for them to flaunt their arrogance a minor
matter. For when they see y o u , w h o w o r s h i p the Christ who was
crucified by them, observing Jewish customs and reverencing Jew­
ish w a y s , h o w can they not think that everything done by them is
the best? How can they not think that our ways are not worth
anything when you, who confess to be a C h r i s t i a n and to follow
the Christian way, run to those w h o degrade these same prac­
tices. It is w r i t t e n , "If a w e a k character sees you sitting
down to a m e a l in a h e a t h e n temple—you who have knowledge—
will not his conscience be emboldened to eat food consecrated
to h e a t h e n deity?" (1 C o r 8:10). And I say: If a w e a k charac­
ter sees you arriving at a synagogue to w a t c h them blow trum­
pets [for t h e N e w Y e a r festival]—you who have knowledge—will
not his conscience be emboldened to marvel at t h e J e w i s h prac­
tices? One who falls is p u n i s h e d not only because of his own
fall but also for tripping others up. Similarly, the one who
stands firm is h o n o r e d not only for his v i r t u e , b u t also be­
cause he inspired others to emulate him. Therefore stay away
from their gatherings and from their synagogues and do not
praise the synagogue on account of its b o o k s . Rather, hate it
and avoid it f o r t h a t v e r y reason, for they h a v e m a n g l e d the
saints because they do not believe their words and they accuse
them of extreme impiety.

6. T h a t y o u m a y learn that books do not make a place holy

and that the disposition of those who gather there defiles it,
let m e t e l l y o u a s t o r y from ancient history. When Ptolemy
Philadelphus, who was collecting books from all over the world,
learned that among the Jews there were books which philosophized
about God and the best way of life, he sent for men from Judaea
and commissioned them to translate these books. Ptolemy
 97

placed the books in t h e temple of S e r a p i s . He was a Greek and

this translation of the prophets is in u s e t o t h i s v e r y day.
Now then, are w e to consider the temple of Serapis holy because
of these books? Of course not! While books do have a holiness
of their own, they do not impart it t o a p l a c e if t h o s e who
frequent it a r e d e f i l e d . You should think about the synagogue
in t h e same way. Even if t h e r e is n o t a n idol there, demons
inhabit the p l a c e . (852) A n d I say t h i s n o t o n l y about the
synagogue here in t h e c i t y b u t also about the one in Daphne.
For the pit of d e s t r u c t i o n there, which they call Matrona's, is
even more evil. For I heard that many of t h e faithful have
gone up there to practice incubation in t h e shrine. But I
should not be calling such people "faithful". Both the shrine
of M a t r o n a and the temple of A p o l l o are equally impure to m e .
If someone condemns my audacity in speaking this way I
condemn his utter madness. Tell m e , if d e m o n s dwell there, is
it not a place of impiety even if t h e r e is n o t a s t a t u e of an
idol standing there? Where Christ-killers gather, the cross is
ridiculed, God blasphemed, the father unacknowledged, the son
insulted, the grace of the Spirit rejected. Indeed is n o t the
harm even greater where demons are present? In a p a g a n temple
the impiety is o p e n and obvious and can hardly seduce or de­
ceive one who has his wits about him and is s o b e r m i n d e d . But
in the synagogue they say t h a t they w o r s h i p God and abhor idols.
They read and admire the prophets and use their words as bait,
tricking the simple and foolish to fall into their snares. The
result is t h a t their impiety is e q u a l to that of the Greeks,
but their deception is m u c h w o r s e . They have an altar of de­
ception in t h e i r m i d s t which is i n v i s i b l e and on w h i c h they
sacrifice not sheep and calves but the souls of m e n . In a
word, if y o u admire the Jewish way of life, what do you have
in c o m m o n w i t h u s ? If t h e J e w i s h rites are holy and venerable,
our way of life must be false. But if o u r w a y is t r u e , a s in­
deed it is, theirs is f r a u d u l e n t . I am not speaking of the
Scriptures. Far from it! For they lead o n e to C h r i s t . I am
speaking of their present impiety and madness.

But it is n o w t i m e to show that demons dwell in the syna­

gogue and not only in t h e p l a c e b u t also in t h e souls of the
98

Jews. "When the unclean spirit comes out, it w a n d e r s over the

deserts seeking a resting place. If it f i n d s n o n e , it says,
1
'I w i l l g o b a c k into my own house. So it r e t u r n s and finds the
house unoccupied, swept clean and tidy. Off it g o e s a n d col­
lects seven other spirits more wicked than itself, and they all
come in and in t h e end the man's plight is w o r s e than before.
This is h o w it w i l l be in t h i s g e n e r a t i o n " (Matt 12:43-45).
Can you see that demons inhabit their souls and that the pres­
ent demons are worse than before? But that is h a r d l y surpris­
ing. Then they sinned against the prophets; now they insult
the Lord of the p r o p h e t s . Tell m e , how can you gather together
in a p l a c e w i t h m e n p o s s e s s e d by demons, w h o s e spirits are so
impure, and who are nurtured on slaughters and m u r d e r s — h o w can
you do this and not shudder? Instead of exchanging greetings
with them and addressing one word to them, ought one not rather
avoid them as a pestilence and disease spread throughout the
whole world? Haven't they been the cause of all kind of evil?
Haven't the prophets wasted many words condemning them time
after time? What kind of tragedy, what manner of lawlessness
has not been hidden in t h e i r b l o o d guiltiness? "They sacrificed
their sons and daughters to d e m o n s " (Ps 1 0 6 : 3 6 ) , ignoring nature,
forgetting the pangs of birth, trampling on childrearing, turn­
ing the laws of kinship upside down, and they became wilder than
wild beasts. (853) W i l d beasts often give up their lives and
disregard their own safety to protect their young. But the
Jews, without any compulsion, slaughtered their offspring with
their own hands to appease the avenging demons who are enemies
of life itself. Which of t h e s e things astonish more? Their
impiety or their brutality and inhumanity? That they sacri­
ficed them to demons? Their licentiousness has overshadowed
the lechery of animals. Listen to what the prophet says about
their intemperance. "They became as lusty stallions; each
neighed after his neighbor's wife" (Jer 5 : 8 ) . Instead of say­
ing, "Each d e s i r e s his n e i g h b o r ' s w i f e , " he expresses vividly
their inborn madness and licentiousness by using the sound of
animals.

7. What more can I say? Rapacity, greed, betrayal of the

poor, thefts, keeping of taverns. The whole day would not suf­
fice to tell of these t h i n g s . But you ask, "Aren't their
 99

festivals holy and venerable?" Even these they have made im­
pure. Listen to the prophet, or rather, listen to God w h o is
repelled by their festivals: "I h a t e , I s p u r n y o u r feasts"
(Amos 5:21). God hates them and you have fellowship with them.
Furthermore, he did not say this feast or that o n e , but all of
them. Don't you realize that he hates worship by means of
kettledrums, and lyres and psalteries and other musical instru­
ments? "Spare me the sound of your songs," he says. "I cannot
endure the music of your lutes" (Amos 5:23). God says "Spare
me" and you run off to hear t r u m p e t s . Are their sacrifices and
offerings not an abomination? "If y o u o f f e r m e w h e a t cakes they
are useless; the reek of sacrifice is a b h o r r e n t to m e " (Isa 1:
13). How can the reek of sacrifices be abhorrent and the place
not be abhorrent? When was it a b h o r r e n t ? Before they committed
the height of iniquity, before they killed their Lord, before the
cross, and before the abomination of k i l l i n g Christ. Is it not
much more abhorrent now? What is m o r e fragrant than incense?
God does not look at the n a t u r e of t h e g i f t s b u t the disposi­
tion of those who offer them and in t h i s w a y h e judges the of­
ferings. He looked at A b e l and regarded his gifts with favor.
"But h e looked at C a i n and did not receive his sacrifices" (Gen
4:5). He had no regard for Cain and his sacrifices. Noah
brought sacrifices to God, sheep and calves and b i r d s , and
Scripture says, "The Lord smelled the soothing odor" (Gen 8:21).
That is, he accepted the offerings. God h a s , of course, no
nostrils because the divine is i n c o r p o r e a l . Moreover there is
nothing fouler than the smoke and odor of burning flesh which
comes from offerings, yet God accepts the sacrifices of o n e and
rejects those of another in o r d e r t h a t y o u m i g h t learn that God
is c o n c e r n e d about the disposition of those who offer. The
odor and smoke of one he calls an odor of sweetness, but the
incense of the other he calls an a b o m i n a t i o n since the disposi­
tion of the latter is f u l l o f foul odors.

Don't you realize that because of t h o s e w h o enter it God

rejects the temple with its sacrifices and musical instruments
and festivals and incense? He has shown this especially
through his actions, first handing it o v e r t o t h e Barbarians,
later destroying it c o m p l e t e l y . Likewise even before the
100

catastrophe he cried out through the prophet saying, "You keep

saying, 'This p l a c e is t h e t e m p l e of the Lord, the temple of
1
the L o r d ! This catchword of yours is a l i e , p u t no trust in
it. It w i l l d o y o u n o g o o d " (Jer 7 : 4 ) .
(854) T h e temple does not sanctify those who enter, but
those who enter make the temple holy. If t h e temple w a s of no
benefit even when the cherubim and the ark were present, how
much less value is it w h e n it is d e p r i v e d of all these things,
when God has turned his back completely and there is e v e n great­
er r e a s o n for his enmity. What sort of folly, what kind of mad­
ness, to p a r t i c i p a t e in t h e festivals of those who are dis­
honored, abandoned by God, and provoked the Lord? If someone
killed your son, tell me, could you bear the sight of him?
Could you stand to h e a r h i s n a m e ? Would you not rather flee
from him as from an evil demon, as from the devil himself?
They killed the son of your Lord, and you dare to gather with
them in t h e same place? When the one who was killed by them
honors you by making you a brother and fellow heir, you dis­
honor him by revering his m u r d e r e r s , those who crucified him,
and by attending their festival assemblies. You enter their
defiled synagogues, you pass through impure g a t e s , and you
share in t h e t a b l e of d e m o n s . That is w h a t I am persuaded to
call the Jewish fast after the God-slaying. What else can one
call those who set themselves against God than worshippers of
demons?
Are you hoping to be healed by d e m o n s ? When Christ allowed
demons to enter the swine (Matt 8:31ff.), w i t h o u t a moment's no­
tice they drowned the swine in t h e sea. Do you think they will
spare you because you are human? Would that they did not kill,
would that they did not plot against us I However, if they
drove man out of p a r a d i s e and deprived him of his celestial
glory, do you think they will heal his body? That is ridicu­
lous! Foolish myths! Demons know how to scheme, to harm, but
not to h e a l . If t h e y d o n o t spare the soul, tell m e , will they
spare our bodies? If t h e y d r i v e m e n o u t of the kingdom, will
they attempt to deliver them from diseases? Have you not heard
the word of the prophet (i.e., the word of G o d t h r o u g h the
prophet), that they can neither do harm nor good? Even if they
 101

are able to heal and wish to—which is i m p o s s i b l e — y o u must

not exchange a small and fleeting benefit for an interminable
and eternal loss. Will you have your body healed only to lose
your soul? Hardly a good bargain. You anger God w h o created
your body and beseech your enemy to heal you.
Might it n o t h a p p e n that a man devoted to Greek supersti­
tion, but skilled in m e d i c i n e , could lead you easily to worship
his gods? For the Greeks (through their skill) have often
driven out many diseases and restored many sick people to health.
What shall w e make of this? That this is r e a s o n t o h a v e converse
with impiety? Of course not! Listen to what Moses said to the
Jews. "If a p r o p h e t or a dreamer appears among you and offers
you a sign or a portent and calls on you to follow other gods whom
you have not known and worship them, e v e n if t h a t sign or portent
should come true, do not listen to the words of t h a t prophet
or that d r e a m e r " (Deut 13:1-2). What he means is t h i s : If a
prophet arises among you, he says, and does a sign or raises
the dead, or cleanses a leper, or heals a cripple, and after
doing the sign he invites you to embrace a false religion;
don't trust him just because he did a sign. Why? "God is
testing you through him to discover whether you love the Lord
your God w i t h all your heart and soul" (Deut 13:13). (855)
Whence it is e v i d e n t that demons do not h e a l . If o n c e in a
while God allows healing to take place, it is t o t e s t you.
This is not because God is ignorant of you, but that you might
be trained to stay clear from demons even when they heal. And
why am I speaking of the healing of the body? If someone
threatens you with hell unless you deny Christ, pay no atten­
tion to him. If someone promises you a kingdom only if you
apostasize from the only son of God, avoid and despise him.
Become a d i s c i p l e of Paul and emulate the sentiments which the
blessed and noble soul of the apostle expressed: "For I am con­
vinced," h e s a i d , " t h a t t h e r e is n o t h i n g in d e a t h or life, in the
realm of spirits or superhuman powers, in t h e w o r l d as it is or
the world as it s h a l l be, in t h e forces of the universe, in
heights or d e p t h s — n o t h i n g in a l l c r e a t i o n that can separate us
from the love of God in C h r i s t Jesus our Lord" (Rom 8:38-39).
Neither angels, nor anything in t h e r e a l m o f spirits or
102

superhuman spirits, nor the world as it i s o r t h e w o r l d as it

shall be, nor anything in all creation could separate Paul from
the love of God in C h r i s t Jesus. And the healing of the body
separates you! What kind of m e r c y can we expect? Christ is
surely more terrifying to us than Gehenna and m o r e desirable
than a kingdom.
If w e b e c o m e sick, it is b e t t e r to remain sick than to
fall into impiety simply to be healed of our illness. For if
a demon heals us, the healing does us more harm than good. It
helps the body, that insignificant part of m a n w h i c h will
surely die in a s h o r t time and rot, but it d a m a g e s your
immortal soul. Just as slavedealers show sweets and cakes,
dice and similar things to small children to entice them and
deprive them of their freedom and even of their lives; so also
demons, promising to heal the sick limbs of our body, completely
destroy the health of the soul. Let us not give in, brethren;
rather let u s seek to free ourselves from all manner of impiety.
Could not Job, urged by his w i f e to b l a s p h e m e God, have been
delivered from the calamity which was brought on him? "Curse
God," she said, "and d i e " (Job 2 : 9 ) . But he chose rather to
suffer and to w a s t e away, to bear that intolerable calamity
than to blaspheme and be delivered from his present misfortunes.
Imitate Job. If a d e m o n p r o m i s e s to release you from a myriad
of evils which beset you, don't trust him, don't give in, just
as the righteous J o b did not give in t o h i s w i f e . Choose rath­
er to endure the illness than to lose your faith and the health
of your soul. God is n o t abandoning you when he often allows
you to get sick; rather he wishes to make you an object of ad­
miration. Keep strong then that you might hear the words, "Do
you think I am speaking to you for any other reason than to
show that you are a righteous m a n ? " (Job 40:8).

8. T h e r e are still many other things to say, but to ensure

you will not forget what has been said I will end this oration
with the words of M o s e s . "I s u m m o n heaven and earth to witness
against you this day" (Deut 30:19). If someone who is present
or someone who is a b s e n t goes to watch the blowing of trumpets
or enters the synagogue, or v i s i t s the shrine of Matrona, or
shares in t h e fast, or keeps the Sabbath, or observes any other
 103

Jewish custom, be it significant or insignificant, "I a m inno­

cent of the blood of all of you" (Acts 2 0 : 2 6 ) . These words
will stand you and me in g o o d stead in t h e d a y o f o u r Lord
Jesus Christ; if y o u h e e d them they will give you great confi­
dence; if y o u spurn them, (856) a n d y o u d o n o t expose those who
dare to do such things, these same words will turn against you
and become your stern accusers. "For I have kept back nothing;
I have disclosed to y o u the whole purpose of God" (Acts 20:27).
In a w o r d I have deposited money in t h e h a n d s o f b a n k e r s . Your
responsibility is to let t h a t d e p o s i t increase, to put to use
for the salvation of your brothers what you have heard. It is
disagreeable and burdensome to have to denounce those who have
sinned in t h e s e w a y s . But it i s a l s o t e d i o u s and burdensome to
keep silent. This same silence which angers God brings de­
struction both on those of you who conceal [your b r o t h e r s ] as
well as those among them who escape notice. How much better to
incur the enmity of your fellow servants than to provoke the
Lord's anger. For if y o u r brother is a n g r y w i t h y o u n o w he
cannot hurt you and w i l l thank you later, because you helped
him to be h e a l e d . But if y o u are silent, supposedly doing your
fellow servant a favor—which of course will only hurt him—God
will condemn you eternally. So that, if y o u are silent you
make yourself an enemy of God and you hurt your brother; but if
you denounce him and expose him, God w i l l be g r a c i o u s , you will
win your brother back, and you will earn a devoted friend, who
has learned by experience of the favor you have done him.
Don't think you are doing your brothers a favor, if, when you
see them participating in s u c h a b s u r d m a t t e r s , y o u d o n ' t re­
prove them vigorously. If y o u lose a coat, don't you consider
not only the one who stole it b u t also anyone who knew he did
it b u t did not denounce him? Aren't both considered enemies?
Our mother whom we both share has not lost a coat but one of
our brothers. The d e v i l abducted him and holds him now in Ju­
daism. You know the kidnapper and you know the victim. You
see m e as a torch, setting afire the word of our teaching,
dashing about and looking everywhere. Are you going to stand
there mute, saying not a word? What kind of forgiveness do you
expect to receive? How else can the church think about you
104

except as o n e of the worst of its e n e m i e s , a h o s t i l e spoiler?

God forbid that anyone who heard this advice would be guilty of
the sin of betraying a brother for w h o m Christ died. Christ
poured out his blood for him. But you can't even bring your­
self to utter a word on his behalf. Come now, I exhort you!
Leave this place at once and set o u t on t h e h u n t . Each of you
bring me one of those who are sick with this disease; rather—
God forbid that there should be so m a n y sick—two or three of
you, or groups of ten or twenty, bring me one, so t h a t on that
day when I see the prey trapped in t h e n e t , I can set a more
bountiful table for you. If I see you p u t t i n g into effect the
advice given you today, I will attend to their healing with high
enthusiasm, and both you and they will profit more. Don't make
light of what I say. Women should go after women, men after
men, slaves after slaves, freemen after freemen, children
after children. In a w o r d — l e t everyone join w i t h diligence in
the hunt for those afflicted with this disease and then return
to our next service to receive our praise. But you are worthy
of m o r e than my eulogies for you w i l l d e s e r v e a splendid and
ineffable reward from God, a reward which far exceeds the
labors of those who are successful.
May we well earn this reward by the grace and loving kind­
ness of our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom and with whom be
glory to the Father and the Holy Spirit, n o w and forever, to
ages unending. Amen.
 105

Homily 8 Against the Jews

Patrologia Graeoa 48.927-942

1. (col. 927) The fast of the J e w s — o r should I say the

drunkenness of the J e w s — i s past. It is p o s s i b l e to be drunk
without wine, just as i t is p o s s i b l e for a sober p e r s o n acting
like a drunk to revel in p r o f l i g a c y . Were it n o t possible to
be drunk without wine, the prophet would not have said, "Woe to
those who are drunk but not w i t h w i n e " (Isa 29:9). If it were
not possible Paul would not have said, "Don't get d r u n k with
wine" (Eph 5:18). Since it is p o s s i b l e to be d r u n k in other
ways he said, "Don't get drunk with wine." It is certainly
possible to get d r u n k w i t h anger, w i t h u n n a t u r a l lust, with
avarice and vanity, and with innumerable other passions.
Drunkenness is n o t h i n g else than displacement of right reason­
ing, derangement, the loss of spiritual health.
Not only then is o n e w h o d r i n k s large quantities of strong
wine said to be drunk, but also someone who nurtures any kind
of p a s s i o n in h i s soul—this person is m o s t assuredly drunk.
A man who loves someone other than his wife, who spends his
leisure time with prostitutes, is d r u n k . Just as a m a n who has
lost his senses by d r i n k i n g m u c h strong wine begins to jabber
like a coarse slave and is u n a b l e to tell one thing from the
other; so a l s o someone who is filled w i t h u n b r i d l e d lust, as
another is w i t h strong w i n e — t h i s person can only mutter vul­
garities. Everything he says is shameful, corrupt, coarse, and
ridiculous; his perception goes haywire, and he is b l i n d to the
very things which are before his eyes. For the woman he de­
sires to defile lives always in h i s imagination and he behaves
like someone who is d e r a n g e d and has lost his w i t s . He reminds
o n e of the kind of person seen at assemblies and banquets, who,
no matter what the time or place, seems oblivious to everything
around him even though numerous people speak to him about many
things. His thoughts are only on that woman and his dreams are
filled with sin. Like a trapped animal he is s u s p i c i o u s and
fearful of everything.

Likewise, a person overcome with anger is a l s o d r u n k . His

face becomes swollen, his voice harsh, his eyes bloodshot and
106

his mind is d a r k e n e d . His reason disappears as though thrown

in t h e sea; his tongue trembles, his eyes are out of focus and
his ears deceive him. When anger afflicts the mind it is much
worse than any strong wine, creating a storm whose violence is
as u n c o n t r o l l a b l e as the surging sea.
If someone seized by desire or anger is d r u n k , how much
more is an irreligious man who blasphemes God, (928) opposes
his laws and obstinately refuses to give up such ill-timed
contentiousness—how much more is t h i s p e r s o n drunk and insane?
His condition is m o r e p i t i f u l than that of drunken revelers or
of t h e d e m e n t e d even if h e d o e s n o t seem to r e a l i z e it. It is
especially characteristic of drunkenness to be unaware that one
is a c t i n g disgracefully, just as what is e s p e c i a l l y terrifying
about madness, is t h a t the sick do not know they are sick.
Similarly, the Jews who are presently drunk do not realize they
are drunk. So then, their fast w h i c h is m o r e shameful than any
drunkenness has passed; yet we should not relax our solicitude
for our b r o t h e r s , nor consider it o u t of place to be concerned
about them in t h e d a y s t o come.
When the battle is o v e r and the enemy put to rout, what do
the soldiers do? They do not return immediately to their tents,
but first return to the b a t t l e field, carry off their comrades
who have fallen and bury the dead; but if t h e y see any lying
among the corpses with signs of life, not mortally wounded,
they carry them off and bring them carefully into the tents,
pull out the arrow, summon the doctor, wash the wound clean of
blood, apply medicine, and take care of whatever other things
are necessary to lead them back to health. Similarly, since we
by the grace o f God have pursued the Jews, armed against them
with the prophets, let us n o w return and look all about lest
any of our brothers have fallen or been swept away by the fasts
or have joined with them in c e l e b r a t i n g their festivals. Let
us hand no one over for b u r i a l but carry them all home to be
healed. In o r d i n a r y b a t t l e s , a person falls only once, and
when his life is t a k e n it i s impossible for him to be regained
for the army and to be brought back to life; but in t h e present
war, in t h i s c o n f l i c t , even if someone receives a mortal wound,
it i s p o s s i b l e , if w e w i s h , w i t h t h e h e l p o f G o d ' s grace, to
 107

return him to life once again. For we are not speaking here of
the death of the body, as in t h e p r e v i o u s instance, but the
d e a t h of r e s o l u t i o n and w i l l . If o u r r e s o l u t i o n dies, it can
be resurrected. When the soul is dead it c a n b e p e r s u a d e d to
(929) r e t u r n again to its proper life and to recognize its Lord.
2. Let us not be weary, brothers, nor discouraged; let us
not lose heart. Let no one say to m e : "Before the fast it was
necessary to secure everything, to do whatever w e could; but
now, after the fast, after the sin is c o m m i t t e d , after they
have done the lawless deed, what is t o b e g a i n e d ? " If someone
knows what it m e a n s to look after his brothers, he also knows
that now, especially, is t h e t i m e t o e x e r t effort and show the
greatest zeal. We should keep the brother safe not only before
he sins, but after he has fallen we should also stretch out the
hand. For if G o d had been doing this, i.e., if h e k e p t us safe
only before we sinned but neglected us after we sinned and
allowed us to remain in o u r sin for good, n o n e of u s would ever
have been saved. But he did not d o this, b e c a u s e he is merciful
and gentle and is e s p e c i a l l y d e s i r o u s of o u r salvation; after
we sinned he demonstrated great solicitude. Because he was
concerned about Adam before he sinned, he said to him, "You may
eat from every tree in t h e g a r d e n , but not from the tree of the
knowledge of good and evil; for o n the day that you eat from
it, y o u w i l l certainly die" (Gen 2 : 1 6 - 1 7 ) . Note, then, by the
pliability of the law, by the a b u n d a n c e of his g i f t s , by the
threat of coming punishments, by the promptness of his chastis­
ing (for h e d i d n o t say "after one, or two, or t h r e e d a y s " but
"on t h e same day which you eat you will surely die"), in every
way which he could care for m a n , he did so. Nevertheless,
when, after such solicitude and instruction, such exhprtation
and kindness, man fell and refused to hear the divine commands,
God did not say: "Why b o t h e r ? What's the use? He ate, he fell
into sin, he transgressed the law, he trusted the devil, he
despised my command, he w a s afflicted, he became m o r t a l and was
handed over to death, and he came under judgment. Why must I
speak to him any longer?" But he did not say t h e s e t h i n g s . He
came to him at o n c e , spoke w i t h him, comforted him, applying
another medicine, labor and the sweat of his brow. God did not
108

stop doing all the things he was engaged in u n t i l h e h a d raised

up the fallen nature, redeemed it f r o m d e a t h and led it to
heaven. Indeed he endowed the fallen nature with greater bene­
fits than it h a d lost, thereby teaching the devil that he had
gained nothing from his plot except to drive m a n k i n d out of
paradise; for in a l i t t l e w h i l e he will see m a n k i n d in heaven
intermingled with angels.
He did the same with Cain. He looked after him before he
sinned, warning him, saying, "You h a v e sinned, be quiet; his
recourse is t o y o u and you will rule him" (Gen 4:7). What wis­
dom and u n d e r s t a n d i n g ! You are afraid, he said, that Abel will
take from you the prerogative of the first born, because of the
honor I showed him, and that he will usurp the authority which
belongs to you. For first born are supposed to be more honored
than second born. Be confident and unafraid; don't anguish
over this matter: "His r e c o u r s e is to y o u and you will rule
him." (930) W h a t he means is t h i s : M a i n t a i n your honor as the
first born, and be a refuge to your brother and a shelter and
patron; rule and dominate him. But don't murder him, and don't
commit any lawless slaughter. Nevertheless he did not listen,
nor did he keep silent; instead he committed the bloody act,
and smeared his right hand w i t h the blood of his brother's
throat. What happened then? Did God say: "Away w i t h him for
good. What's the use? He committed murder, he killed his
brother, he despised my admonition, he dared to commit repre­
hensible and unforgivable slaughter, although he had enjoyed
such concern, such instruction and counsel. All these things he
drove from his mind and turned them to n a u g h t . Should I not
desert him and abandon him for good because he is n o t w o r t h y of
any consideration on my p a r t ? " But God neither said nor did
this. He came to him a g a i n and corrected him, saying: "Where is
your brother Abel?" He did not a l l o w him to deny w h a t he had
done, but he urged him to c o n f e s s the deed w i l l i n g l y . When
Cain said, "I d o n ' t know," he said, "Your b r o t h e r ' s blood is
crying out to m e " (Gen 4 : 1 0 ) . The thing itself proclaims the
bloody act. What was his reply? "My p u n i s h m e n t is heavier
than I can bear; you have driven me today from the earth, and I
must hide myself from your p r e s e n c e " (vs. 1 4 ) . What he means
 109

is t h i s . I have committed a greater sin than can be excused,

pardoned, or forgiven, and if y o u w i s h to avenge w h a t has hap­
pened I will be abandoned by a l l , bereft of your aid. What
did God say? " N o , if a n y o n e kills Cain, Cain shall be avenged
sevenfold" (vs. 1 5 ) . "Don't be afraid of this," he said. "You
will live for a long time, and if someone kills you, he will be
liable for m a n y punishments," for the number seven in t h e Scrip­
tures signifies infinite magnitude. Since Cain was subjected
to e x t e n s i v e punishment, to anguish and trembling, to groaning
and faintheartedness, to physical paralysis, he said: "Whoever
kills you and delivers you from these torments will bring pun­
ishment on himself." And if t h a t seems harsh and severe, it is
nevertheless a proof of great solicitude. Since he w a n t e d to
make men who lived after these things happened w i s e , he who is
able to d e l i v e r Cain from sin d e v i s e d this type of punishment.
For if h e h a d killed him immediately, the one who committed the
sin w o u l d have vanished and his sin w o u l d have disappeared with
him. Those who lived later would have no knowledge of it. But
now, since he was allowed to live for a long time trembling
with fear, he became a teacher to everyone who comes to know
about him. By his appearance and his trembling body, he ex­
horts everyone not to do such things so t h a t they will not
undergo what he u n d e r w e n t . As a result of these experiences
Cain became better. The trembling and the fear, his company
with anguish, his bodily weakness holding him in b o n d a g e , did
not permit him to commit such a shameless crime again. He was
reminded continuously of his former act, and in t h i s w a y his
soul learned greater moderation.
3. W h i l e I was speaking the idea occurred to me to ask:
why, after he confessed his sin, condemned what happened, ad­
mitted that his sin w a s unforgivable and u n w o r t h y of pardon,
(931) w h y w e r e h i s sins not blotted out (although the prophet
said, "First set forth your transgressions, that you may be
justified" [Jer 4 3 : 2 6 ] ) , but instead he was condemned? How­
ever, Cain did not say the w o r d s w h i c h t h e prophet commanded.
The prophet did not simply say, "Set forth your transgressions,"
but rather, "First set forth your transgressions," which means,
"Don't simply set forth [your t r a n s g r e s s i o n s ] but be the first
110

to set t h e m forth," i.e., don't wait to be accused and con­

demned. He was not the first to set forth his transgressions;
he waited until he w a s accused by God. Indeed, when he was
accused he denied it. But once his sin w a s exposed, then he
owned up to it, w h i c h is h a r d l y a confession.
Therefore, brethren, when you sin, don't wait for condem­
nation from someone else. Before you are accused and condemned,
acknowledge what has happened, so t h a t if someone else accuses
you later, it w i l l not be the result of your confession but of
someone else's accusation. For this reason it is said, "The
just m a n is t h e first to accuse himself" (Prov 18:16). There­
fore it is n o t sufficient simply to accuse o n e s e l f , but one
must be the first to accuse oneself and not await the accusa­
tions of others.
Peter, therefore, after his grievious d e n i a l , did not take
long to remember his sin. Although no one accused him, he ac­
knowledged his transgression and wept bitterly. Thus he blotted
out his denial so t h a t he b e c a m e the first of the apostles and
was entrusted with responsibility for the w h o l e world.
But n o w to r e t u r n to the subject at h a n d . What I have been
saying in this a d d r e s s has demonstrated sufficiently that we
ought not neglect our fallen brothers, nor despise them, but that
we should watch over them before they sin, and after they have
sinned, we should show even greater solicitude for them. This
is w h a t doctors do. They give instructions to healthy people
about maintaining their health and w a r d i n g off any illness.
But they do not ignore those who disregard their instructions
and become sick; indeed they give special attention to t h e s e so
that they might deliver them from their illnesses. Paul did
the same thing. He did not ignore the man who committed incest
(1 C o r i n t h i a n s 5) a f t e r he had sinned and committed the griev­
ous fault. And this was a crime found not even among the gen­
tiles. But even this man who, like an a n i m a l , resisted the
reins, refused any remedy, who jumped about kicking up his
heels, Paul did not ignore but brought him back to health. He
led h i m b a c k to be u n i t e d to the body of the church once again.
He did not say to h i m s e l f : "What can be gained? What's the use?
He committed incest, he sinned, he does not want to put away
 Ill

licentiousness; he is p u f f e d up, haughty, and h i s w o u n d is in­

curable. Let us leave him alone and have nothing to do with
him." He did not say such things. Indeed for this very reason
he exercised enormous solicitude when he saw him slipping into
that despicable evil. He did not cease terrifying him with
threats, chastening him in w h a t e v e r w a y he could, by himself
and w i t h t h e h e l p of o t h e r s ; he used every effort to bring him
to acknowledge his sin and to admit his transgression, so that
eventually he might deliver him from every defilement.
(932) Imitate that Samaritan mentioned in t h e g o s p e l , the
one who showed such concern for the man w h o had been wounded.
A Levite and then a Pharisee passed him by, but neither stopped
and looked at t h e m a n lying there. They mercilessly and inhu­
manly left him and went on their w a y s . But a certain Samaritan
who had nothing in c o m m o n with him whatsoever did not rush by;
he stopped and had compassion on him. He provided him with oil
and wine, placed him upon his ass, brought him to an inn, gave
some money to the innkeeper. He even promised more m o n e y later
to heal someone with whom he had nothing in c o m m o n . He did not
say to h i m s e l f : "What business is t h i s o f m i n e ? I am a Samari­
tan, I have nothing in c o m m o n with him. Besides we are far
from the city and he is u n a b l e to walk. What if h e is not
strong enough to make the whole journey. Then I will have to
carry his corpse and may be seized for his d e a t h and be accused
of homicide." When people see a wounded man lying by the road
gasping for b r e a t h , they often pass by in a h u r r y . The reason
for this is not that they are unwilling to carry a wounded man,
or to spare him m o n e y — t h e y are afraid that if t h e m a n dies
they will be dragged before a judge and charged with murder.
But this gentle and kind m a n did not fear any of these things.
He ignored them all and placed the wounded man on his ass and
brought him to an inn. He was afraid of none of these things,
neither the danger, nor putting out his own money, nor anything
else. If t h e S a m a r i t a n w a s kind and gentle toward a man he did
not know, what excuse can we give if w e n e g l e c t our brothers
who are to be found among greater evils? For those who now
fast w i t h the Jews have fallen among bandits, indeed among
those who are worse than any bandit, and w h o do g r e a t e r harm to
112

their victims. They not only tore off their coats, and in­
flicted wounds on their bodies, as bandits did to the man in
the gospel; they also wounded the soul, afflicting it w i t h many
hurts, and then went away letting their victims lie in a s e a of
impiety.
4. Don't ignore such a tragedy, nor mercilessly pass by
this lamentable spectacle. If o t h e r s do so, don't you do the
same. Don't say to yourself: "I a m a m a n of t h e w o r l d . I have
a wife and children. This is t h e b u s i n e s s o f p r i e s t s and monks."
The Samaritan did not say: "Where are the priests? Where are
the Pharisees? Where are the teachers of the Jews?" But as
though he had found an extraordinary prey, he seized the oppor­
tunity. And you, when you see someone who is s i c k e i t h e r in
body or in s o u l , d o n ' t say: "Why d o e s n ' t so a n d so h e a l him?"
Rather, get rid of his sickness and don't ask others to give
account of their negligence. Tell me, if y o u find a piece of
gold lying on the ground, do you say to yourself: "Why d i d n ' t so
and so p i c k it u p ? " Don't you rush to pick it u p b e f o r e any one
else does? You should regard your fallen brothers in t h e same
way and think that, in l o o k i n g after them, you have found a
treasure. For if y o u let the t e a c h i n g of the Word drip down on
your brother like oil, if y o u bind him with gentleness, if you
heal with patience, you will have riches far greater than any
treasure. (933) "If y o u u t t e r w h a t is p r e c i o u s instead of what
is w o r t h l e s s , you shall be as my m o u t h " (Jer 1 5 : 1 9 ) . Can any­
thing be compared to this? For what neither fasting, nor sleep­
ing on the ground, nor vigils, nor anything else can do, the
salvation of one's brother can accomplish. Just think how often
and in h o w m a n y w a y s y o u r m o u t h h a s sinned, how many shameful
things it h a s u t t e r e d , how many blasphemies, how many abuses it
has belched forth, then you will surely not hesitate looking
after someone who has fallen. Through this one virtuous act,
you can cleanse yourself of defilement. What do I mean by
"cleanse"? You can make your mouth into the m o u t h of God. What
can equal such an honor? It is not I who promise such things.
It w a s God himself who said it: "Save one person and your mouth
will be as holy and p u r e as my mouth."*

* T h i s is a p a r a p h r a s e o f J e r 1 5 : 1 9 , c i t e d several lines earlier,

not another biblical citation.
 113

Therefore don't neglect your brothers. Don't look around

and say: " L o o k h o w m a n y are fasting with the J e w s , h o w m a n y have
been swept away." Rather make it y o u r b u s i n e s s to look after
them. If t h e r e are many who are fasting with the Jews, don't
parade it a b o u t , beloved, don't make a spectacle of the church's
misfortune. If someone says, "Many are fasting," shut him up
so t h a t the rumor does not spread. Say to him: "I h a v e n ' t heard
a thing. You're mistaken and not telling the truth. Perhaps
you have heard of two or three who w e r e snatched away and you
are only saying that it is m a n y . " Then after you have muzzled
your accuser, don't overlook those who have fallen, so t h a t the
church will be doubly secure—rumors will no longer be noised
about and those who were swept away will be led b a c k t o the
sacred flock.
Therefore don't look around and say, "Some have sinned."
Rather be zealous only to straighten out those w h o have sinned.
For it is a r e p r e h e n s i b l e practice only to condemn our brothers
and not to be concerned about them; to r i d i c u l e the sins of the
weak but not to cure them. Let us get rid of this evil prac­
tice, for the harm it b r i n g s is not a small t h i n g . Why do I
say that? Someone heard one of y o u saying, "Many fasted with
the Jews," and without looking further into the matter, passed
the report o n to someone else. Again, without looking into it
further, he repeats the same thing to someone else. Then little
by little this rumor increases, bringing on the one hand, much
disgrace to the church and, on the other hand, helping not a
whit those who are lost. Instead it c a u s e s injury to these as
well as to many others. Even if t h e r e are but a few, by the
many rumors we make them into many; those who stand firm we
weaken, and those about to fall, we shove. For if a brother
hears that many have fasted, he will be more negligent; and if
a weak person hears such t h i n g s , he w i l l run after the mob that
has already fallen. Don't take any pleasure in t h i s o r any
other failing, even if m a n y are sinning; for the result will be
that people will parade about saying that there are many. In­
stead, bridle your tongue and restrain yourself.

Don't say to m e that m a n y have fasted; rather set them

straight. I have not wasted so m a n y w o r d s just to a c c u s e the
114

many, but to reduce the many into a few; or b e t t e r , n o t into a

few, but that you might rescue them. Don't parade one's fail­
ures about; correct them. (934) S i n c e t h e r e are many who go
around talking about such things and who are interested only in
this, even if t h e n u m b e r is small, they make people think that
many are involved. So, even if t h e r e are many defectors, the
"big m o u t h s " can be silenced, their sails trimmed, and those
who are concerned about the defectors can easily straighten
them out and no one will be harmed by the r u m o r . Haven't you
heard what David said w h e n he m o u r n e d Saul? "How are t h e power­
ful fallen! Tell it n o t in G a t h , p r o c l a i m it n o t in the streets
of A s h k e l o n , lest the Philistine women rejoice, lest the daugh­
ters of the uncircumcised exult" (2 S a m 1:19-20). If h e does
not w a n t something so w e l l known published abroad lest it give
pleasure to his enemies, how much more should we not spread
such things to the ears of outsiders, nor even to those among
us, lest our enemies rejoice on hearing them, and our own people
stumble when they learn about them. Let us rather contain the
rumor and fence it in o n all sides. Don't say to m e : "I only
told one p e r s o n . " Keep the rumor to yourself. Just as you
cannot keep silent, so w h o e v e r hears it w i l l n o t be able to
hold his tongue.
5. W h a t I have been saying applies not only to the present
fast, but to countless other sins as w e l l . Let us consider not
only whether many are being swept away, but how we might bring
them back. Don't exaggerate the strength of our enemies and
minimize our own strength. Don't let them appear strong and
ourselves weak. Do just the reverse. Rumors can m a k e or break
one's spirit: where enthusiasm is a b s e n t a favorable rumor can
lift one up; but where enthusiasm is a l r e a d y present, an un­
favorable rumor can in t u r n destroy it. For this reason I urge
that those reports favorable to our cause be allowed to spread
and be m a d e to appear w e i g h t y , but that we curb those which
abuse our brothers. If w e h e a r something favorable, let every­
one know about it. If u n f a v o r a b l e or harmful, let us keep it
to ourselves and make every effort to destroy it.
Let us look all around, let us search out and see where
the defectors are. Even if it is n e c e s s a r y to enter someone's
 115

home, don't shrink back. If a d e f e c t o r is u n k n o w n to you, and

you have never had anything to do with him, ask around and in­
quire who his friend or acquaintance might be, someone he espe­
cially trusts. Take his friend along when you enter his house.
Don't be ashamed or embarrassed. If y o u w e r e g o i n g into his
house to ask for money, or to receive a gift from him, it would
be natural to be embarrassed; but if y o u h a v e g o n e t h e r e be­
cause of his salvation, the motive for y o u r v i s i t w i p e s away
any b l a m e . Sit down and speak with him, but begin with another
topic so t h a t h e d o e s not suspect you came to set h i m straight.
Then say, "Tell m e , do you agree with the Jews who crucified
Christ and who blaspheme him to this day and call him a trans­
gressor of the law?" Surely he will not dare say—if he is a
Christian, and even if h e h a s b e e n judaizing countless times—
"I a g r e e w i t h t h e Jews." But he w i l l cover his ears and say to
you, "Of c o u r s e n o t ; hush up, man." When you have gotten him
to agree to t h i s , c o n t i n u e w i t h the topic and say, "Tell me,
how can you participate in t h e i r activities? How can you join
in t h e i r feasts, or fast with t h e m ? " Next, accuse the Jews of
ingratitude. Tell him of every transgression, which I have
narrated to your charity in r e c e n t days, and which has been
proven from the place, from the time, from the temple, (935)
and from the predictions of the p r o p h e t s . Show him how the
Jews do everything without purpose and in v a i n , that they will
never return to their former way of life and that it is ille­
gitimate to keep their former w a y of life outside of Jerusalem.
Besides these things, remind him of G e h e n n a , of the terrible
judgment seat of Christ, of the final reckoning; don't let him
forget that we will have to account for all w e h a v e d o n e and
that there will be no little punishment for those who have
dared to do such things. Remind him of what Paul said, "When
you seek to be justified by way of law, you have fallen out of
the domain of God's grace" (Gal 5 : 4 ) . And again, threatening,
"If y o u receive circumcision, Christ will do you no good at
all" (Gal 5:2). Tell him that Jewish fasting, just like cir­
cumcision, casts the one who fasts out of heaven even though
he might have a thousand other good d e e d s . Tell him that we
116

are Christians and are called Christians for this reason, that
we obey only Christ, not that we run to his enemies.
If some healing remedies are shown to y o u , a n d someone says
that they are able to heal, and for this reason he g o e s to the
Jews, expose their magical tricks, their spells, their amulets,
their potions. The Jews appear incapable of healing in any
other way; for they do not truly heal. Far from itI I'll go
even further and say t h i s : if t h e y truly heal, it is b e t t e r to
die than run to the enemies of God and be healed in t h i s way.
What profit is it if y o u r b o d y is h e a l e d but your soul lost?
What does one gain if h e g e t s r e l i e f in t h e p r e s e n t life only
to be sent into eternal fire in t h e l i f e to come? To prevent
them from saying such things, listen to what God says. "If a
prophet or a dreamer appears among y o u a n d o.ffers y o u a sign
or a portent and calls on you to follow other gods whom you
have no known and worship them, even if t h e sign or portent
should come true, do not listen to the words of that prophet or
that d r e a m e r . God is t e s t i n g y o u through him to discover
whether you love the Lord your God w i t h all your heart and
soul" (Deut 13:1-3). What the text means is t h i s : if a cer­
tain prophet would say, "I a m a b l e t o r a i s e the dead or heal
the blind, but submit to me and let us w o r s h i p demons and adore
idols"; and if t h e o n e w h o says such things is able to heal the
blind, or raise the dead, God says, "Don't believe in h i m for
that reason." Why? Because God is t e m p t i n g you; he allows him
to do such a thing, not because he d o e s not know your charac­
ter, but that he m i g h t give you an o c c a s i o n to show that you
truly love God. For a lover, even if someone who can raise the
dead to life attempts to separate him from his beloved, will
not desert his beloved. If s u c h t h i n g s w e r e spoken to the Jews,
how much more are they said to us whom he led t o a b e t t e r phi­
losophy, to whom he opened t h e door of R e s u r r e c t i o n and com­
manded not to dwell on present t h i n g s , but to place all our
hope on the life to come.
6. B u t w h a t do you reply? "My b o d y hurts and the pain
oppresses me." You have, however, not yet experienced anything
like what Job underwent, not the least part of it. After los­
ing all his flocks and herds, as well as e v e r y t h i n g else, his
 117

servants were snatched away. And all this happened in o n e day

in o r d e r that the trials themselves as well as their constancy
might overwhelm this valiant man. After all of these things
had happened, he was afflicted with a deadly disease—(936) he
saw worms swarming all over his body. And the calamity of this
just and faithful man, this pious man who held himself back
from evil, became a public spectacle to all who passed by. But
this was not the end of his troubles. His distress increased
day and night, and a strange and incredible kind of hunger as­
sailed him. "For food I eat fodder," he said (Job 6:6). Scorn,
mockery, scoffing and ridicule became his daily lot. "My serv­
ants," he said, "and t h e sons of my concubines, revolt against
me. My dreams are filled with terror, my thoughts surge like
the raging sea. And my wife, promising deliverance from all
1 1
these evils, says, Curse God and d i e " (Job 2 : 9 ) . "Blaspheme
him," she says, "and y o u w i l l be delivered from the evils which
beset you." What happened? Did her advice change the mind of
that holy man? On the contrary, it o n l y encouraged him more so
that he rebuked his wife. He chose rather to suffer the pain,
to undergo the hardship, and to endure a thousand devils than
to be delivered from his many evils by b l a s p h e m i n g God. h

Likewise, the man who had been sick for thirty-eight

years, and who went each year to bathe in t h e p o o l , w a s re­
buffed each year and was not healed (John 5). But each year he
saw others delivered from their infirmities because they had
friends who could look out for them. He who was destitute of
friends went unnoticed and was constantly passed over. But he
did not run to d i v i n e r s , nor did he go to charmers or wear amu­
lets. He relied solely on the help of God, and for t h i s reason
he was finally healed in a m a r v e l o u s and extraordinary way.
Lazarus also passed all his years in h u n g e r , sickness and
loneliness, not just thirty-eight years, but his whole life
(Luke 16). He died lying in t h e d o o r w a y of a rich man, de­
spised, scorned, starved, food for d o g s . His body was so
weakened that he was not able to scare away the dogs who at­
tacked him and licked his wounds. But he too did not seen in­
cantations, nor did he tie amulets on his body or use charms;
he did not engage a sorcerer for himself nor did he d o any of
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the other things which were forbidden. He chose rather to die

amidst these evils than forsake even the smallest part of his
devotion to God. What kind of excuse will we give, if, w h e n we
suffer and undergo such misfortunes because of fever or bodily
hurts, we run to the synagogue and invite sorcerers with their
potions to come to our homes? Have you not heard what the
Scripture says? "My son, if y o u aspire to be a servant of the
Lord, prepare yourself for t e s t i n g . Set a straight course, be
resolute. In d i s e a s e and poverty trust in h i m . For as gold is
assayed by fire, the Lord proves men in t h e furnace of humilia­
tion" (Sir 2 : 1 , 2, 5). If y o u b e a t your servant and, if, after
receiving thirty or fifty b l o w s , he begs to be freed and flees
from your authority or g o e s to t h e h o u s e of p e o p l e w h o hate you
and provokes them against you, tell me, would such a servant be
forgiven? Will anyone defend him? Not for a m o m e n t . Why not?
Because a master has a right to punish his servant. (937) But
there is a n o t h e r reason. If h e m u s t run away, he should not
run to your enemies nor to those who hate you but to your close
friends.
7. T h e r e f o r e , when you see God punishing you, don't flee
to your enemies the Jews only to provoke God; go to his friends
the martyrs, the holy ones, who are pleasing to him and w h o ap­
proach him with great confidence. Why am I speaking of servants
and m a s t e r s ? A son cannot run to someone else if h i s father
beats him, nor can he deny his kinship to h i s father. If a fa­
ther beats his son, if h e d r i v e s him from his table, if he
throws him out of the house, if h e p u n i s h e s him in e v e r y con­
ceivable way, the laws of n a t u r e and the laws instituted by men
require that all these things be borne dutifully. No one will
excuse the son if h e d i s o b e y s or does not bear u p . If the
child who is b e a t e n bitterly laments all that has happened to
him, everyone will say to him that it w a s h i s father and master
who beat him, and he has authority to do whatever he pleases.
You must bear up under everything without complaining. So it
is t h a t servants put up with m a s t e r s , and sons w i t h fathers,
even though they are often punished unjustly. But you refuse
to put up with God w h o corrects you, God w h o has m o r e authority
than any m a s t e r , who loves you more than a father, who does
 119

nothing out of w r a t h , and who does everything for your benefit.

Yet if y o u h a v e a m i n o r illness, you immediately turn away from
his authority and run to d e m o n s and flee to the synagogues.
What sort of forgiveness awaits you hereafter? How can you
beseech him again? Indeed, who is a b l e , e v e n if h e is a s bold
as Moses, to intercede for y o u ? There is n o o n e ! Have you not
heard what God said about the Jews to Jeremiah? "Offer u p no
prayer for this people; for even if M o s e s and Samuel stood be­
fore me, I would not listen to them" (Jer 7 : 1 6 ; 15:1). There
are certain sins which are beyond forgiveness and incapable of
pardon. Let us not, then, bring such wrath on ourselves.
Even if t h e y think they can abate the fever by incanta­
tions, it is not really alleviated, for they instill a yet more
terrible fever in y o u r conscience. Each day your mind goads
you and your conscience assails you saying that you have sinned,
broken the law, and transgressed your covenant in C h r i s t . For
the sake of a minor sickness, you have forsaken the faith. Are
you the only one to have suffered these things? Have not
others suffered more terrible things than you? None, however,
have dared to d o what you did. You are flaccid and corrupt,
sacrificing your own soul. How will you defend yourself before
Christ. How will you call on him in y o u r p r a y e r s ? Afterwards,
with what kind of conscience will you enter the church? With
what eyes will you l o o k at the priest? With what hands will
you touch the holy table? With what ears will you listen to
the reading of the Scriptures?
The pricks of reason and the plagues of conscience will
remind you of these things every day. What sort of h e a l t h can
we have when such accusers dwell within us? (938) If y o u can
hang on for a little w h i l e , if y o u d e r i d e those who want to
murmer incantations or tie an a m u l e t on your body, if y o u can
insult them by throwing them out of your house, you will at
once get relief from your conscience. Even if y o u h a v e been
burning with fever a thousand times, your soul brings a relief
which is b e t t e r and m o r e delightful than pure fresh water. For
after receiving an incantation, even if y o u a r e h e a l e d , you
continue to be m o r e m i s e r a b l e than those who have fever, be­
cause you are thinking about your sin. Therefore even if you
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still have fever, and suffer many evils, but have eluded these
perverse men, you are better off than those who are completely
healthy, for your soul exults and is h a p p y and joyful, your
conscience praises you and accepts you and says, "Well done!
Well done, servant of Christ, faithful man, athlete of the
faith, who prefers to d i e in t o r m e n t than to desert the faith
entrusted to us." On the final day you will take your place
alongside the m a r t y r s . For as they chose to be w h i p p e d and
tortured that they might gain honor, so t o d a y y o u chose to be
flogged and tortured by fever and by your pains rather than
submit to impious incantations and amulets. Since you are nur­
tured by such hopes you are insensitive to the evils which as­
sail you.
Even if this fever does not do you in, a n o t h e r surely will.
Even if w e d o not die now, eventually we will die. We have
been fated w i t h a corruptible body, not to be attracted to im­
piety by its passions but that through its sufferings we might
learn to delight in p i e t y . This corruption, and the mortality
which belongs to the body, will redound to our credit if w e are
vigilant. It w i l l g i v e u s b o l d n e s s before God on that final
day, and not only on that day but also in o u r p r e s e n t life.
When you have forcibly driven the enchanters from your house,
everyone who hears about it w i l l praise you and m a r v e l , saying
to one another, "This person who was sick and afflicted, even
though he was exhorted, encouraged and advised to make use of
magical incantations, did not succumb but said, 'It is better
1
to die than to betray the faith. " When people hear this they
will be amazed at such things, and they will glorify God with
loud applause. Will this not bring greater glory to you than
many statues, more reknown than many portraits, and m o r e dis­
tinction than any honor? Everyone will praise you and congrat­
ulate you and crown you, and they themselves will become better.
They will imitate you and emulate your courage, and if someone
else does what you did, you will be rewarded for you were the
first to exhibit such zeal.

There will not only be praise for your accomplishments,

but also swift relief from your sickness. Your noble decision
will itself persuade God to be g r a c i o u s , and the saints.
 121

rejoicing in y o u r zeal, will offer prayers for you from the

d e p t h of the heart. If s u c h a r e t h e p r e s e n t rewards of courage,
consider now what kind of crown you will receive when all the
angels and archangels are present. Then Christ will come and,
taking your hand, lead you to the front of that theatre and
with everyone listening, say, "This is t h e m a n w h o once was
overcome by fever. (939) C o u n t l e s s numbers of people encouraged
him to deliver himself from his sickness; but on account of my
name and his awe of m e , and in o r d e r n o t to d i s p l e a s e m e in any
way, he chased away and insulted all those who promised to heal
him by m a g i c . He chose rather to d i e from his sickness than to
betray his devotion to m e . " For if C h r i s t singles out those
who gave the thirsty to d r i n k , w h o clothed the naked, and fed
the hungry, how much more will he single out those who chose to
endure fever for his sake. The two are not equal. To endure
severe illness is m u c h greater than giving bread or one's coat.
For as great as the labor i s , so splendid will the crown be.
Whether one is h e a l t h y or sick, let u s p a y a t t e n t i o n to
these things and talk them over with one another. If w e find
that we a r e c o m i n g d o w n w i t h an u n b e a r a b l e fever, let us ask
ourselves: If w e w e r e accused of a crime and brought before the
judge, and then strung up and flogged on our sides, would we
not have to endure it w i t h o u t hope of gain or any reward? Now
consider t h i s : Let the reward of p e r s e v e r a n c e be set b e f o r e you,
that reward which is c a p a b l e of exciting a fallen spirit. Fever
is c r u e l ; but compare fever with the f i r e of G e h e n n a . If you
choose to b e a r the sickness through thick and thin you will
certainly escape the fire of Gehenna. Remember what the apos­
tles suffered. Remember the just w h o w e r e continually in trib­
ulation. Recall blessed Timothy who was never relieved of his
sickness and lived with a congenital illness. Paul referred to
this when he said, "Take a little w i n e for y o u r d i g e s t i o n , for
your frequent ailments" (1 T i m 5:32). If t h i s j u s t a n d holy
man, entrusted with a mission to the w h o l e w o r l d , w h o raised
the dead, drove out demons, who healed countless sicknesses in
others, endured such terrible calamities, what excuse will you
offer, you complainer, you who are troubled by intermittent
illnesses? Have you not heard what the Scriptures say? "For
122

the Lord disciplines those whom he loves; he lays the rod on

every son whom he a c k n o w l e d g e s " (Heb 1 2 : 6 ) . How many have
often desired to r e c e i v e a crown of m a r t y r d o m ? This same crown
of martyrdom is p r e p a r e d . For martyrs are n o t m a d e o n l y when
someone is o r d e r e d to sacrifice and chooses to die rather than
sacrifice; whenever someone does something which can only lead
to death, clearly that is martyrdom.
8. In o r d e r that you might know that this is t r u e , recall
how John the Baptizer died and for what reason, and how Abel
died. Neither of t h e s e saw fire burning on a sacrificial altar,
nor a pagan statue, nor was either ordered to sacrifice to de­
mons. John, simply because he denounced Herod, had his head
cut off, and A b e l , w h o honored God with a greater sacrifice
than his brother, was murdered. Have they been deprived of the
crowns of martyrdom for that reason? Who would dare say this?
Most assuredly the manner of death itself is e v i d e n c e enough
to demonstrate to e v e r y o n e that they belong among the first
rank of martyrs. If y o u w i s h to know God's sentence concerning
them, listen to w h a t Paul says. For what he says is clearly
spoken by the Holy Spirit. "I b e l i e v e that I too have the
Spirit of God" (1 C o r 7:40). (940) W h a t then did he say? He
begins with Abel, about whom he said that he offered a greater
sacrifice to God than Cain, yet died because of it; n e x t he
speaks of the prophets, and finally c o m e s to J o h n . "They were
put to the sword; some were tortured" (Heb 1 1 : 3 5 , 3 6 ) . And
after enumerating the many and various kinds of death, he con­
tinues in t h e following way: "And w h a t of o u r s e l v e s ? With all
these witnesses to faith around us like a cloud, we must throw
off every encumbrance, and run w i t h resolution" (Heb 12:1).
You see that h e called Abel a martyr, and Noah, Abraham, Isaac
and Jacob martyrs as w e l l . They all died for t h e sake of God.
As Paul says, "Every day I die" (1 C o r 15:31).
Not that Paul actually died. He endured death only by his
intention. And s o it is w i t h y o u . If y o u shun incantations,
spells, and c h a r m s , and you die from sickness, you are truly a
martyr, because when others were promising deliverance through
impious means, you chose death rather than impiety. These
things are said by us against those who boast and say "demons
 123

heal." That you might know that this is n o t true, listen to

what Christ said about the d e v i l : "He w a s a murderer from the
beginning" (John 8:44). God calls him a murderer and you run
to him as t h o u g h he w e r e a doctor. What reply will you have,
tell me, when you are accused of thinking that the sorcerers of
the Jews are more to be trusted than the word of C h r i s t ? When
God says that the devil is a m u r d e r e r , they say, setting them­
selves against the divine decree, that he can heal sicknesses.
But you accept their charm and incantations, showing by what
you do that you believe they are more trustworthy than he is,
even if y o u d o n o t say this in s o m a n y words.
If t h e d e v i l is a m u r d e r e r , it is e v i d e n t that those who
serve him are d e m o n s . Christ taught you this through his own
deeds when he allowed them to enter into a herd of swine. The
demons threw that whole herd of swine into the lake that you
might learn that they would do the same things to men, i.e.,
immediately choke them if G o d allowed it. But n o w he holds
them back and restrains them and d o e s n o t allow them to behave
in t h i s w a y . For when they received power, they used it
against the swine. If t h e y did not spare the swine, how much
less will they keep away from u s . Do not allow yourselves,
beloved, to be seduced by their tricks, but be firm in t h e fear
of God.
How then can you go into a synagogue? If y o u m a k e the
sign of the cross on your brow, the evil power which dwells in
the synagogue flees. But if y o u d o n o t m a k e the sign of the
cross, at o n c e y o u put aside your weapons at t h e d o o r s . Find­
ing you naked and unarmed, the devil will afflict you with
countless evils. But why do we insist on saying these things?
It is a p p a r e n t from the way you enter the synagogue that you
realize it i s a t e r r i b l e sin to go into that evil place. You
are anxious to escape n o t i c e w h e n you go t h e r e , and you ask
servants and friends and neighbors not to say anything to the
priests, and if someone squeals on you, you are angry. (941)
How ridiculous to try and hide from men when God, who is pres­
ent everywhere, sees you? How dare you commit this transgres­
sion without shame. Do you not fear God? At least give heed
to the J e w s . With what sort of eyes do you l o o k at them?
124

And with what kind of mouth do you speak with them, confessing
to be a C h r i s t i a n yet running to their synagogues and asking
help from them? Don't you realize how they ridicule you, how
they mock you and m a k e jokes and scoff? Aren't you aware that
you are shamed and disgraced, if n o t in p u b l i c , certainly in
the minds of the Jews?
9. T e l l m e , t h e n , can one tolerate such things? Can you
put up with them? Even if o n e h a d t o d i e a t h o u s a n d deaths,
and endure fatal injuries, would it n o t b e m u c h better to en­
dure all these terrible things than to be an o b j e c t of ridicule
and mockery and to live with an e v i l conscience? I say these
things not simply for your hearing but that you might heal
those who have this sickness. Just as w e complain about those
who are weak in faith, so a l s o w e b l a m e y o u for not wishing to
correct those who are weak. Do you think, beloved, that the
only thing expected of you w h e n you come here is t h a t you lis­
ten to what is s a i d ? You are just as liable to condemnation,
if a f t e r h e a r i n g the s e r m o n s , y o u go out and do nothing. This
is w h a t it m e a n s to be a C h r i s t i a n , to imitate Christ and obey
his laws. What did he d o ? He did not sit in J e r u s a l e m and
call the sick to c o m e to h i m — h e went about in c i t i e s and vil­
lages, healing the sickness of the body as w e l l as the sickness
of the soul. Although he could have sat in o n e p l a c e and at­
tracted everyone to h i m s e l f , he did not do t h i s . He gave us an
example to t r a v e l about and seek out those who are lost. He
also intimates this through the parable of the shepherd (Luke
15:4-6). He did not sit down w i t h the ninety-nine sheep to
wait for the errant one to return to him, but he himself went
out, found him, and after finding him he returned home bearing
him on his shoulders. Don't you see doctors doing this same
thing? They do not force the sick to be carried to their
houses lying on their beds, but they go to them. Do the same,
beloved, realizing that the present life is b r i e f , and unless
we take advantage of the opportunities before us now, we will
not be saved then. It c a n o f t e n happen that one soul which is
gained can wipe away a great number of sins and be a reprieve
for us on that day.
 125

Consider why the prophets and apostles, why just men and
angels were often sent out and why the Son of God himself came
to our aid. Was it n o t to save men? Was it n o t to lead the
errant back? You do the same according to your ability; (942)
show fervent zeal and forethought to t h e task of b r i n g i n g back
the errant. I will not cease exhorting you to do these things
in e v e r y synaxis [Eucharist]; whether you pay attention or not
I will not stop reminding you. This is G o d ' s law for us,
whether someone hears or does not hear—to carry out this min­
istry. But if y o u h e a r and do what has been said, the efforts
we have expended will bring us satisfaction; but if y o u a r e in­
different to what we have said and neglect our words we will be
deeply saddened. Besides, there will be n o d a n g e r for us due
to your disobedience, because we have done everything required
of u s . But even though we are in n o d a n g e r because we have
done all that was expected of u s , w e are disturbed to think
that you will be condemned on that day. Your listening will
not be without peril if d e e d s are not appended to the listen­
ing. Listen how Christ accused the teachers who hid his word
and even frightened those who were disciples. He said, "You
ought to have put my money on deposit," and he added, "and on
my return I should have got it b a c k w i t h interest" (Matt 25:27).
He showed that after listening (i.e., after the money was de­
p o s i t e d ) , it w a s necessary that those who received the teaching
earn interest on it. The interest from teaching is nothing
else than proof by d e e d s . Since, therefore, we deposited the
money for your hearing, it is n e c e s s a r y that you hand over in­
terest to the master, and this interest is t h e salvation of
your brothers. Thus, if y o u o n l y h o l d on to the things we have
said and make nothing out of them, I am afraid you will receive
the same condemnation that the man received who buried the
talent in t h e g r o u n d . For this reason his hands and his feet
were bound and he was cast into outer d a r k n e s s . He did not
offer to o t h e r s what he had heard. That we might not suffer
the same things, let u s imitate the one who received five
talents, and the one who received two talents, whether it be
words or goods or physical exertion or prayer, or w h a t e v e r must
be expended for the salvation of the n e i g h b o r . Let us not
12 6

hesitate so t h a t each of u s , multiplying the talent God has

given in h i s o w n w a y , m a y be able to hear that blessed voice:
"Well d o n e m y good and faithful servant. You have proved
trustworthy in a s m a l l w a y . I will now put you in c h a r g e of
something big. Come and share your master's delight" (Matt
25:21). May this happen to all of us by the grace and love of
our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom and with whom be glory and
power to the Father together w i t h the Holy Spirit, to ages un­
ending.
 NOTES

CHAPTER V

T e x t in A . M . M a l i n g r e y a n d R. F l a c e l i e r e , Jean Chrysos-
tome. Sur I'incomprehensibility de Dieu 1 ( S o u r c e s C h r e t i e n n e s
28; P a r i s : Cerf, 1 9 7 0 ) .
2
E d u a r d S c h w a r t z , Christliche und judische Ostertafeln
(Abhandlungen der Gottingen Akademie der Wissenschaften, p h i l . -
h i s t . K l . 8/6; B e r l i n : W e i d m a n n , 1 9 0 5 ) 1 6 9 - 8 4 , p l a c e s H o m i l y 8
i n f a l l , 3 8 7 ; G. R a u s c h e n , Jahrbucher der christlichen Kirche
( F r e i b u r g , 1 8 9 7 ) p l a c e s it in f a l l , 3 8 6 , a f t e r H o m i l y 2 .
3
R . E . C a r t e r , "The F u t u r e of C h r y s o s t o m S t u d i e s , " Studia
Patristica, 1 0 . 1 (TU 1 0 7 ; B e r l i n : A k a d e m i e , 1 9 7 0 ) 1 4 - 2 2 .
4
Codices Chrysostomici graeoi, v o l . 1, e d . M . A u b i n e a u ,
v o l s . 2 a n d 3, e d . R . C a r t e r ( D o c u m e n t s , E t u d e s et r e p e r t o i r e s
p u b l i e s p a r 1 ' I n s t i t u t d e r e c h e r c h e et d ' h i s t o i r e d e s t e x t e s , "
N o s . 13, 14, 15; Paris, 1 9 6 8 f f . ) .
5 v

Oeuvres completes de S. Jean Chrysostome 2 (Paris: L.

Vives, 1865).

^Chrysostom's Homilies Against the Jews. An English Trans­

lation (Ph.D. d i s s e r t a t i o n ; Chicago: University of Chicago,
1966).

127