Eusebus Pamphilia Parts 1,2 and 3

Page 85

84 BOOK I CHAPTER VII The Alleged Discrepancy in the Gospels in regard to the Genealogy of Christ. Roman senate and by Augustus. 8. Under him Christ appeared in bodily shape, and the expected Salvation of the nations and their calling followed in accordance with prophecy.95 From this time the princes and rulers of Judah, I mean of the Jewish nation, came to an end, and as a natural consequence the order of the high priesthood, which from ancient times had proceeded regularly in closest succession from generation to generation, was immediately thrown into confusion.96 9. Of these things Josephus is also a witness,97 who shows that when Herod was made King by the Romans he no longer appointed the high priests from the ancient line, but gave the honor to certain obscure persons. A course similar to that of Herod in the appointment of the priests was pursued by his son Archelaus,98 and after him by the Romans, who took the government into their own hands.99 10. The same writer shows100 that Herod was the first that locked up the sacred garment of the high priest under his own seal and refused to permit the high priests to keep it for themselves. The same course was followed by Archelaus after him, and after Archelaus by the Romans. 11. These things have been recorded by us in order to show that another prophecy has been fulfilled in the appearance of our Saviour Jesus Christ. For the Scripture, in the book of Daniel,101 having expressly mentioned a certain number of weeks until the coming of Christ, of which we have treated in other books, 102most clearly prophesies, that after the completion of those weeks the unction among the Jews should totally perish. And this, it has been clearly shown, was fulfilled at the time of the birth of our Saviour Jesus Christ. This has been neces sarily premised by us as a proof of the correctness of the time. CHAPTER VII. The Alleged Discrepancy in the Gospels in regard to the Genealogy of Christ. 1. Matthew and Luke in their gospels have given us the genealogy of Christ differently, and many suppose that they are at variance with one another. Since as a consequence every believer, in ignorance of the truth, has been zealous to invent some explanation which shall harmonize the two passages, permit us to subjoin the account of the matter which has come down to us,103 and which is given by Africanus, who was mentioned by us just above, in his epistle to Aristides,104 where he discusses the harmony of the gospel genealogies. After refuting the opinions of 95 Compare Isa. ix. 2; xlii. 6; xlix. 6, etc. 96 Eusebius’ statement is perfectly correct. The high priestly lineage had been kept with great scrupulousness until Hyrcanus II., the last of the regular succession. (His grandson Aristobulus, however, was high priest for a year under Herod, but was then slain by him.) Afterward the high priest was appointed and changed at pleasure by the secular ruler. Herod the Great first established the practice of removing a high priest during his lifetime; and under him there were no less than six different ones. 97 Josephus, Ant. XX. 8. 98 Archelaus, a son of Herod the Great by Malthace, a Samaritan woman, and younger brother of Herod Antipas. Upon the death of his father, b.c. 4, he succeeded to the government of Idumea, Samaria, and Judea, with the title of Ethnarch. 99 After the death of Archelaus (a.d. 7), Judea was made a Roman province, and ruled by procurators until Herod Agrippa I. came into power in 37 a.d. (see below, Bk. II. chap. 4, note 3). The changes in the high priesthood during the most of this time were very rapid, one after another being appointed and removed according to the fancy of the procurator, or of the governor of Syria, who held the power of appointment most of the time. There were no fewer than nineteen high priests between the death of Archelaus and the fall of Jerusalem. 100 Josephus, Ant. XV. 11. 4. 101 Dan. ix. 26. 102 It is commonly assumed that Eusebius refers here to the Dem. Evang. VIII. 2 sq., where the prophecies of Daniel are discussed at length. But, as Lightfoot remarks, the reference is just as well satisfied by the Eclogæ Proph. III. 45. We cannot, in fact, decide which work is meant. 103 “Over against the various opinions of uninstructed apologists for the Gospel history, Eusebius introduces this account of Africanus with the words, τὴν περὶ τούτων κατελθούσαν εὶς ἡμᾶς ἱστορίαν.” (Spitta.) 104 On Africanus, see Bk. VI. chap. 31. Of this Aristides to whom the epistle is addressed we know nothing. He must not be confounded with the apologist Aristides, who lived in the reign of Trajan (see below, Bk. IV. c. 3). Photius (Bibl. 34) mentions this epistle, but tells us nothing about Aristides himself. The epistle exists in numerous fragments, from which Spitta (Der Brief des Julius Africanus an Aristides kritisch untersucht und hergestellt, Halle, 1877) attempts to reconstruct the original epistle. His work is the best and most complete upon the subject. Compare Routh, Rel. Sacræ, II. pp. 228–237 and pp. 329–356, where two fragments are given and discussed at length. The epistle (as given by Mai) is translated in the Ante-Nicene Fathers, Am. ed. VI. p. 125 ff. The attempt of Africanus is, so far as we know, the first critical attempt to harmonize the two genealogies of Christ. The question had been the subject merely of guesses and suppositions until his time. He approaches the matter in a free critical spirit (such as seems always to have characterized him), and his investigations therefore deserve attention. He holds that both genealogies are those of Joseph, and


Turn static files into dynamic content formats.

Create a flipbook

Articles inside

The Epistle of Clement and the Writings falsely ascribed to him

4min
page 213

The Evangelists that were still Eminent at that Time

4min
page 212

Trajan forbids the Christians to be sought after

9min
pages 205-206

Symeon, Bishop of Jerusalem, suffers Martyrdom

8min
pages 203-204

Nicolaus and the Sect named after him

4min
page 199

Cerinthus the Heresiarch

8min
pages 197-198

Menander the Sorcerer

4min
page 194

The Heresy of the Ebionites

9min
pages 195-196

The Divine Scriptures that are accepted and those that are not

26min
pages 188-193

Narrative Concerning John the Apostle

17min
pages 179-182

The Order of the Gospels

22min
pages 183-187

The Relatives of our Saviour

3min
page 177

Symeon rules the Church of Jerusalem after James

4min
page 172

Domitian commands the Descendants of David to be slain

4min
page 176

The Manner in which Josephus mentions the Divine Books

16min
pages 167-171

The Signs which preceded the War

7min
pages 164-165

Josephus and the Works which he has left

4min
page 166

The Famine which oppressed them

14min
pages 159-162

The Predictions of Christ

3min
page 163

The Last Siege of the Jews after Christ

3min
page 158

The First Successors of the Apostles

19min
pages 154-157

The Epistles of the Apostles

35min
pages 148-153

The Jews, afflicted with Innumerable Evils, commenced the Last War Against the Romans

5min
page 144

The Parts of the World in which the Apostles preached Christ

3min
page 145

The First Ruler of the Church of Rome

7min
pages 146-147

The Persecution under Nero in which Paul and Peter were honored at Rome with Martyrdom in Behalf of Religion

13min
pages 141-143

Annianus the First Bishop of the Church of Alexandria after Mark

5min
page 140

The Martyrdom of James, who was called the Brother of the Lord

22min
pages 135-139

Paul having been sent bound from Judea to Rome, made his Defense, and was acquitted of every Charge

9min
pages 133-134

The Calamity which befell the Jews in Jerusalem on the Day of the Passover

5min
page 131

The Works of Philo that have come down to us

21min
pages 127-130

The Preaching of the Apostle Peter in Rome

9min
pages 120-121

Simon Magus

9min
pages 118-119

The Gospel according to Mark

5min
page 122

Helen, the Queen of the Osrhœnians

4min
page 117

The Impostor Theudas and his Followers

4min
page 116

The Misfortunes which overwhelmed the Jews after their Presumption against Christ

7min
pages 111-112

Philo’s Embassy to Caius in Behalf of the Jews

5min
page 110

After the Death of Tiberius, Caius appointed Agrippa King of the Jews, having punished Herod with Perpetual Exile

4min
page 109

How Tiberius was affected when informed by Pilate concerning Christ

13min
pages 105-107

The Doctrine of Christ soon spread throughout All the World

4min
page 108

The Course pursued by the Apostles after the Ascension of Christ

18min
pages 101-104

Narrative concerning the Prince of the Edessenes

13min
pages 98-100

The Disciples of our Saviour

10min
pages 96-97

Testimonies in Regard to John the Baptist and Christ

9min
pages 94-95

The Alleged Discrepancy in the Gospels in regard to the Genealogy of Christ

26min
pages 85-89

About the Time of Christ, in accordance with Prophecy, the Rulers who had governed the Jewish Nation in Regular Succession from the Days of Antiquity came to an End, and Herod, the First Foreigner, Became King

10min
pages 83-84

The Cruelty of Herod toward the Infants, and the Manner of his Death

9min
pages 90-91

The High Priests of the Jews under whom Christ taught

4min
page 93

The Times of Pilate

5min
page 92

The Time of his Appearance among Men

10min
pages 81-82

The Religion Proclaimed by Him to All Nations Was Neither New Nor Strange

4min
page 80

The Name Jesus and also the Name Christ were known from the Beginning, and were honored by the Inspired Prophets

8min
pages 78-79

5. Literature

4min
page 58

Summary View of the Pre-existence and Divinity of Our Saviour and Lord Jesus Christ

19min
pages 74-77

Sozomen in the First Book of his Ecclesiastical History (chap. 1

5min
page 64

From Constantine’s Letter to the Antiochians in Eusebius’ Life of Constantine, Book III. chap. 60

4min
page 59

3. Eusebius as a Historian. The Merits and Defects of his History

19min
pages 51-54

4. Editions and Versions

13min
pages 55-57

VII. ORATIONS

7min
pages 48-49

IV. DOGMATIC WORKS

4min
page 43

VI. BIBLICAL DICTIONARIES

4min
page 47

V. CRITICAL AND EXEGETICAL WORKS

12min
pages 44-46

II. APOLOGETIC WORKS

24min
pages 37-41

3. The Persecution of Diocletian

9min
pages 19-20

6. The Council of Nicæa

9min
pages 28-29

7. Continuance of the Arian Controversy. Eusebius’ Relations to the Two Parties

14min
pages 30-32

2. Catalogue Of His Works

4min
page 35

III. POLEMIC WORKS

4min
page 42

5. The Outbreak of the Arian Controversy. The Attitude of Eusebius

29min
pages 22-27

4. Eusebius’ Accession to the Bishopric of Cæsarea

4min
page 21
Issuu converts static files into: digital portfolios, online yearbooks, online catalogs, digital photo albums and more. Sign up and create your flipbook.