241. B.J. ii. 8. 9 φυλάσσονται ... ταῖς ἑβδόμασιν ἔργων ἐφάπτεσθαι διαφορώτατα Ἰουδαίων ἁπάντων· οὐ μόνον γὰρ τροφὰς ἑαυτοῖς πρὸ ἡμέρας μιᾶς παρασκευάζουσιν, ὡς μηδὲ πῦρ ἐναύοιεν ἐκείνῃ τῇ ἡμέρᾳ, ἀλλ’ οὐδὲ σκεῦός τι μετακινῆσαι θαρῥοῦσιν κ.τ.λ. Hippolytus (Hær. ix. 25) adds that some of them do not so much as leave their beds on this day.
242. Philo Quod omn. prob. lib. § 12. Of the Therapeutes see Philo Vit. Cont. § 3, 4.
243. B.J. l.c. § 9 σέβας δὲ μέγιστον παρ’ αὐτοῖς μετὰ τὸν Θεὸν τὸ ὄνομα τοῦ νομοθέτου, κἂν βλασφημήσῃ τις εἰς τοῦτον (i.e. τὸν νομοθέτην), κολάζεσθαι θανάτῳ: comp. § 10.
244. B.J. l.c. § 2 γάμου μὲν ὑπεροψία παρ’ αὐτοῖς ... τὰς τῶν γυναίκων ἀσελγείας φυλασσόμενοι καὶ μηδεμίαν τηρεῖν πεπεισμένοι τὴν πρὸς ἕνα πίστιν, Ant. xviii. 1. 5; Philo Fragm. p. 633 γάμον παρῃτήσαντο μετὰ τοῦ διαφερόντως ἀσκεῖν ἐγκράτειαν· Ἐσσαίων γὰρ οὐδεις ἄγεται γυναῖκα, δίοτι φίλαυτον ἡ γυνὴ καὶ ζηλότυπον οὐ μετρίως καὶ δεινὸν ἀνδρὸς ἤθη παρασαλεῦσαι, with more to the same purpose. This peculiarity astonished the heathen Pliny, N.H. v. 15, ‘gens sola et in toto orbe præter ceteros mira, sine ulla femina, venere abdicata.... In diem ex æquo convenarum turba renascitur large frequentantibus.... Ita per sæculorum millia (incredibile dictu) gens æterna est, in qua nemo nascitur. Tam fœcunda illis aliorum vitæ pœnitentia est.’
245. B.J. l.c. § 13. Josephus speaks of these as ἕτερον Ἐσσηνῶν τάγμα, ὃ δίαιταν μὲν καὶ ἔθη καὶ νόμιμα τοῖς ἄλλοις ὁμοφρονοῦν, διεστὸς δὲ τῇ κατὰ γάμον δόξῃ. We may suppose that they corresponded to the third order of a Benedictine or Franciscan brotherhood; so that, living in the world, they would observe the rule up to a certain point, but would not be bound by vows of celibacy or subject to the more rigorous discipline of the sect.
246. B.J. l.c. § 5; see Philo’s account of the Therapeutes, Vit. Cont. § 4 σιτοῦνται δὲ πολυτελὲς οὐδέν, ἀλλὰ ἄρτον εὐτελῆ· καὶ ὄψον ἅλες, οὓς οἱ ἀβροδιαιτότατοι παραρτύουσιν ὑσσώπῳ· ποτὸν ὕδωρ ναματιαῖον αὐτοῖς ἐστιν; and again more to the same effect in § 9: and compare the Essene story of St James in Hegesippus (Euseb. H.E. ii. 23) οἶνον καὶ σίκερα οὐκ ἔπιεν, οὐδὲ ἔμψυχον ἔφαγε. Their abstention from animal food accounts for Porphyry’s giving them so prominent a place in his treatise: see Zeller, p. 243.
247. B.J. l.c. § 8.
248. B.J. l.c. § 3 κηλῖδα δὲ ὑπολαμβάνουσι τὸ ἔλαιον κ.τ.λ.; Hegesippus l.c. ἔλαιον οὐκ ἠλείψατο.
249. B.J. l.c. § 5 πρός γε μὴν τὸ θεῖον ἰδίως εὐσεβεῖς· πρὶν γὰρ ἀνασχεῖν τὸν ἥλιον οὐδὲν φθέγγονται τῶν βεβήλων, πατρίους δεώω τινας εἰς αὐτὸν εὐχάς, ὥσπερ ἱκετεύοντες ἀνατεῖλαι. Compare what Philo says of the Therapeutes, Vit. Cont. § 3 ἡλίου μὲν ἀνίσχοντος εὐημερίαν αἰτούμενοι τὴν ὄντως εὐημερίαν, φωτὸς οὐρανίου την δίανοιαν αὐτῶν ἀναπλησθῆναι, and ib. § 11. On the attempt of Frankel (Zeitschr. p. 458) to resolve this worship, which Josephus states to be offered to the sun (εἰς αὐτόν), into the ordinary prayers of the Pharisaic Jew at day-break, see the appendix to this chapter.
250. B.J. l.c. § 9 ὡς μὴ τὰς αὐγὰς ὑβρίζοιεν τοῦ θεοῦ. There can be no doubt, I think, that by τοῦ θεοῦ is meant the ‘sun-god’; comp. Eur. Heracl. 749 θεοῦ φαεσίμβροτοι αὐγαί, Alc. 722 τὸ φέγγος τοῦτο τοῦ θεοῦ, Appian Præf. 9 δυομένου τοῦ θεοῦ, Lib. 113 τοῦ θεοῦ περὶ δείλην ἑσπέραν ὄντος, Civ. iv. 79 δύνοντος ἄρτι τοῦ θεοῦ: comp. Herod. ii. 24. Dr Ginsburg has obliterated this very important touch by translating τὰς αὐγὰς τοῦ θεοῦ ‘the Divine rays’ (Essenes p. 47). It is a significant fact that Hippolytus (Hær. ix. 25) omits the words τοῦ θεοῦ, evidently regarding them as a stumbling-block. How Josephus expressed himself in the original Hebrew of the Bellum Judaicum, it is vain to speculate: but the Greek translation was authorised, if not made, by him.
251. Epiphan. Hær. xix. 2, xx. 3 Ὀσσηνοὶ δὲ μετέστησαν ἀπὸ Ἰουδαϊσμοῦ εἰς τὴν τῶν Σαμψαίων αἵρεσιν, liii. 1, 2 Σαμψαῖοι γὰρ ἑρμηνεύονται Ἡλιακοί, from the Hebrew שמש ‘the sun.’ The historical connexion of the Sampsæans with the Essenes is evident from these passages: though it is difficult to say what their precise relations to each other were. See the appendix.
252. B.J. l.c. § 11 καὶ γὰρ ἕρρωται παρ’ αὐτοῖς ἥδε ἡ δόξα, φθαρτὰ μὲν εἶναι τὰ σώματα καὶ τὴν ὕλην οὐ μόνιμον αὐτοῖς, τὰς δὲ ψυχὰς ἀθανάτους ἀεὶ διαμένειν ... ἐπειδὰν δὲ ἀνεθῶσι τῶν κατὰ σάρκα δεσμῶν, οἷα δὴ μακρᾶς δουλείας ἀπηλλαγμένας, τότε χαίρειν καὶ μετεῶρους φέρεσθαι κ.τ.λ. To this doctrine the teaching of the Pharisees stands in direct contrast; ib. § 13: comp. also Ant. xviii. 1. 3, 5.
Nothing can be more explicit than the language of Josephus. On the other hand Hippolytus (Hær. ix. 27) says of them ὁμολογοῦσι γὰρ καὶ τὴν σάρκα ἀναστήσεσθαι καὶ ἔσεσθαι ἀθάνατον ὃν τρόπον ἤδη ἀθάνατός ἐστιν ἡ ψυχή κ.τ.λ.; but his authority is worthless on this point, as he can have had no personal knowledge of the facts: see Zeller p. 251, note 2. Hilgenfeld takes a different view; Zeitschr. XIV. p. 49.
253. Ant. xviii. 1. 5 εἰς δὲ τὸ ἱερὸν ἀναθήματά τε στέλλοντες θυσίας οὐκ ἐπιτελοῦσι διαφορότητι ἁγνειῶν, ἃς νομίζοιεν, καὶ δι’ αὐτὸ εἰργόμενοι τοῦ κοινοῦ τεμενίσματος ἐφ’ αὑτῶν τὰς θυσίας ἐπιτελοῦσι. So Philo Quod omn. prob. lib. § 12 describes them as οὐ ζῷα καταθύοντες ἀλλ’ ἱεροπρεπεῖς τὰς ἑαυτῶν διανοίας κατασκευάζειν ἀξιοῦντες.
254. The following considerations show that their abstention should probably be explained in this way: (1) Though the language of Josephus may be ambiguous, that of Philo is unequivocal on this point; (2) Their abstention from the temple-sacrifices cannot be considered apart from the fact that they ate no animal food: see above p. 86, note 246. (3) The Christianized Essenes, or Ebionites, though strong Judaizers in many respects, yet distinctly protested against the sacrifice of animals; see Clem. Hom. iii. 45, 52, and comp. Ritschl p. 224. On this subject see also Zeller p. 242 sq., and the appendix to this chapter.
255. Ant. xviii. 1. 5 ἱερεῖς τε [χειροτονοῦσι] διὰ ποίησιν σίτου τε καὶ βρωμάτων, B.J. ii. 8. 5 προκατεύχεται δὲ ὁ ἱερεὺς τῆς τροφῆς κ.τ.λ.; see Ritschl p. 181.
256. B.J. l.c. § 7 ὅρκους αὐτοῖς ὄμνυσι φρικώδεις ... μήτε κρύψειν τι τοὺς αἱρετιστὰς μήτε ἑτέροις αὐτῶν τι μηνύσειν, καὶ ἂν μέχρι θανάτου τὶς βιάζηται. πρὸς τούτοις ὀμνύουσι μηδενὶ μὲν μεταδοῦναι τῶν δογμάτων ἑτέρως ἢ ὡς αὐτὸς μετέλαβεν· ἀφέξεσθαι δὲ λῃστείας καὶ συντηρήσειν ὁμοίως τὰ τε τῆς αἱρέσεως αὐτῶν βιβλία καὶ τὰ τῶν ἀγγέλων ὀνόματα. With this notice should be compared the Ebionite διαμαρτυρία, or protest of initiation, prefixed to the Clementine Homilies, which shows how closely the Christian Essenes followed the practice of their Jewish predecessors in this respect. See Zeller p. 254.
257. See below, in the appendix.
258. Philo Omn. prob. lib. § 12 (p. 458) τὸ δὲ φυσικὸν ὡς μεῖζον ἢ κατὰ ἀνθρωπίνην φύσιν μετεωρολέσχαις ἀπολιπόντες, πλὴν ὅσον αὐτοῦ περὶ ὑπάρξεως Θεοῦ καὶ τῆς τοῦ παντὸς γενέσεως φιλοσοφεῖται.
259. The word Apocrypha was used originally to designate the secret books which contained the esoteric doctrine of a sect. The secondary sense ‘spurious’ was derived from the general character of these writings, which were heretical, generally Gnostic, forgeries. See Prof. Plumptre’s article Apocrypha in Smith’s Dictionary of the Bible, and the note on ἀπόκρυφοι below, ii. 3.
260. B.J. ii. 8. 12 εἰσὶ δὲ ἐν αὐτοῖς οἳ καὶ τὰ μέλλοντα προγινώσκειν ὑπισχνοῦνται, βίβλοις ἱεραῖς καὶ διαφόροις ἁγνείαις καὶ προφητῶν ἀποφθέγμασιν ἐμπαιδοτριβούμενοι· σπάνιον δὲ, εἴποτε, ἐν ταῖς προαγορεύσεσιν ἀστοχήσουσιν. Dr Ginsburg (p. 49) translates βίβλοις ἱεραῖς ‘the sacred Scripture,’ and προφητῶν ἀποφθέγμασιν ‘the sayings of the prophets’; but as the definite articles are wanting, the expressions cannot be so rendered, nor does there seem to be any reference to the Canonical writings.
We learn from an anecdote in Ant. xiii. II. 2, that the teachers of this sect communicated the art of prediction to their disciples by instruction. We may therefore conjecture that with the Essenes this acquisition was connected with magic or astrology. At all events it is not treated as a direct inspiration.
261. B.J. ii. 8. 6 σπουδάζουσι δὲ ἐκτόπως περὶ τὰ τῶν παλαιῶν συγγράμματα, μάλιστα τὰ πρὸς ὠφέλειαν ψυχῆς καὶ σώματος ἐκλέγοντες· ἔνθεν αὐτοῖς πρὸς θεραπείαν παθῶν ῥίζαι τε ἀλεξιτήριοι καὶ λίθων ἰδιότητες ἀνερευνῶνται. This passage might seem at first sight to refer simply to the medicinal qualities of vegetable and mineral substances; but a comparison with another notice in Josephus invests it with a different meaning. In Ant. viii. 2. 5 he states that Solomon, having received by divine inspiration the art of defeating demons for the advantage and healing of man (εἰς ὠφέλειαν καὶ θεραπείαν τοῖς ἀνθρῶποις), composed and left behind him charms (ἐπῳδάς) by which diseases were allayed, and diverse kinds of exorcisms (τρόπους ἐξορκώσεων) by which demons were cast out. ‘This mode of healing,’ he adds, ‘is very powerful even to the present day’; and he then relates how, as he was credibly informed (ἱστόρησα), one of his countrymen, Eleazar by name, had healed several persons possessed by demons in the presence of Vespasian and his sons and a number of officers and common soldiers. This he did by applying to the nose of the possessed his ring, which had concealed in it one of the roots which Solomon had directed to be used, and thus drawing out the demon through the nostrils of the person smelling it. At the same time he adjured the evil spirit not to return, ‘making mention of Solomon and repeating the charms composed by him.’ On one occasion this Eleazar gave ocular proof that the demon was exorcized; and thus, adds Josephus, σαφὴς ἡ Σολομῶνος καθίστατο σύνεσις καὶ σοφία. On these books relating to the occult arts and ascribed to Solomon see Fabricius Cod. Pseud. Vet. Test. I. p. 1036 sq., where many curious notices are gathered together. Comp. especially Origen, In Matth. Comm. xxxv. § 110 (III. p. 910), Pseudo-Just. Quæst. 55.
This interpretation explains all the expressions in the passage. The λίθων ἰδιότητες naturally points to the use of charms or amulets, as may be seen e.g. from the treatise, Damigeron de Lapidibus, printed in the Spicil. Solemn. III. p. 324 sq.: comp. King Antique Gems Sect. IV, Gnostics and their Remains. The reference to ‘the books of the ancients’ thus finds an adequate explanation. On the other hand the only expression which seemed to militate against this view, ἀλεξιτήριοι ῥίζαι, is justified by the story in the Antiquities. It should be added also that Hippolytus (Hær. ix. 22) paraphrases the language of Josephus so as to give it this sense; πάνυ δὲ περιέργως ἔχουσι περὶ βοτάνας καὶ λίθους, περιεργότεροι ὄντες πρὸς τὰς τούτων ἐνεργείας, φάσκοντες μὴ μάτην ταῦτα γενονέναι. The sense which περίεργος (‘curiosus’) bears in Acts xix. 19 and elsewhere, referring to magical arts, illustrates its use here.
Thus these Essenes were dealers in charms, rather than physicians. And yet it is quite possible that along with this practice of the occult sciences they studied the healing art in its nobler forms. The works of Alexander of Tralles, an eminent ancient physician, constantly recommend the use of such charms, of which some obviously come from a Jewish source and not improbably may have been taken from these Solomonian books to which Josephus refers. A number of passages from this and other writers, specifying charms of various kinds, are given in Becker and Marquardt Rom. Alterth. IV. p. 116 sq. See also Spencer’s note on Orig. c. Cels. p. 17 sq.
262. See especially B.J. ii. 8. 7, 10.
263. I have said nothing of the Cabbala, as a development of Jewish thought illustrating the Colossian heresy: because the books containing the Cabbalistic speculations are comparatively recent, and if they contain ancient elements, it seems impossible to separate these from later additions or to assign to them even an approximate date. The Cabbalistic doctrine however will serve to show to what extent Judaism may be developed in the direction of speculative mysticism.
264. Philo Fragm. p. 632 οἰκοῦσι δὲ πολλὰς μὲν πόλεις τῆς Ἰουδαίας, πολλὰς δὲ κώμας, καὶ μεγάλους καὶ πολυανθρώπους ὁμίλους; Joseph. B.J. ii. 8. 4 μία δὲ οὐκ ἔστιν αὐτῶν πόλις, ἀλλ’ ἐν ἑκάστῃ κατοικοῦσι πολλοί. On the notices of the settlements and dispersion of the Essenes see Zeller p. 239.
265. Philo names Judæa in Fragm. p. 632; Palestine and Syria in Quod omn. prob. lib. 12 p. 457. Their chief settlements were in the neighbourhood of the Dead Sea. This fact is mentioned by the heathen writers Pliny (N.H. v. 15) and Dion Chrysostom (Synesius Dio 3). The name of the ‘Essene gate’ at Jerusalem (B.J. v. 4. 2) seems to point to some establishment of the order close to the walls of that city.
266. They are only known to us from Philo’s treatise de Vita Contemplativa. Their settlements were on the shores of the Mareotic lake near Alexandria. Unlike the Essenes, they were not gathered together in convents as members of a fraternity, but lived apart as anchorites, though in the same neighbourhood. In other respects their tenets and practices are very similar to those of the Essenes.
268. Acts xix. 13 τῶν περιερχομένων Ἰουδαίων ἐξορκιστῶν.
270. On the later contact of Essenism with Christianity, see the appendix, and Galatians p. 310 sq.
271. There is doubtless a reference to the charms called Ἐφέσια γράμματα in this passage: see Wetstein ad loc., and the references in Becker and Marquardt Röm. Alterth. IV. p. 123 sq. But this supposition does not exclude the Jews from a share in these magical arts, while the context points to some such participation.
272. I can only regard it as an accidental coincidence that the epulones of the Ephesian Artemis were called Essenes, Pausan. viii. 13. 1 τοὺς τῇ Ἀρτέμιδι ἱστιάτορας τῇ Ἐφεσίᾳ γινομένους, καλουμένους δὲ ὑπὸ τῶν πολιτῶν Ἐσσῆνας: see Guhl Ephesiaca 106 sq. The Etymol. Magn. has Ἐσσήν: ὁ βασιλεὺς κατὰ Ἐφεσίους, and adds several absurd derivations of the word. In the sense of ‘a king’ it is used by Callimachus Hymn. Jov. 66 οὔ σε θεῶν ἐσσῆνα πάλιν θέσαν. It is probably not a Greek word, as other terms connected with the worship of the Ephesian Artemis (e.g. μεγάβυζος, a Persian word) point to an oriental or at least a non-Greek origin; and some have derived it from the Aramaic הסין chasin ‘strong’ or ‘powerful.’ But there is no sufficient ground for connecting it directly with the name of the sect Ἐσσηνοί or Ἐσσαῖοι, as some writers are disposed to do (e.g. Spanheim on Callim. l.c., Creuzer Symbolik IV. pp. 347, 349); though this view is favoured by the fact that certain ascetic practices were enjoined on these pagan ‘Essenes.’
273. Its date is fixed by the following allusions. The temple at Jerusalem has been destroyed by Titus (vv. 122 sq.), and the cities of Campania have been overwhelmed in fire and ashes (vv. 127 sq.). Nero has disappeared and his disappearance has been followed by bloody contests in Rome (vv. 116 sq.); but his return is still expected (vv. 134 sq.).
274. See vv. 27–30 οἳ νηοὺς μὲν ἅπαντας ἀποστρέψουσιν ἰδόντες, καὶ βωμοὺς, εἰκαῖα λίθων ἱδρύματα κωφῶν ἅιμασιν ἐμψύχων μεμιασμένα καὶ θυσίῃσι τετραπόδων κ.τ.λ. In an earlier passage vv. 8 sq. it is said of God, οὔτε γὰρ οἴκον ἔχει ναῷ λίθον ἱδρυθέντα κωφότατον νωδόν τε, βροτῶν πολυαλγέα λώβην.
275. ver. 160 ἐν ποταμοῖς λούσασθε ὅλον δέμας αἐνάοισι. Another point of contact with the Essenes is the great stress on prayers before meals, ver. 26 εὐλογέοντες πρὶν πιέειν φαγέειν τε. Ewald (Sibyll. Bücher p. 46) points also to the prominence of the words εὐσεβεῖν, εὐσεβής, εὐσεβία (vv. 26, 35, 42, 45, 133, 148, 151, 162, 165, 181, 183) to designate the elect of God, as tending in the same direction. The force of this latter argument will depend mainly on the derivation which is given to the name Essene. See the appendix.
276. Thus for instance, Ewald (l.c., p. 47) points to the tacit approval of marriage in ver. 33. I hardly think however that this passage, which merely condemns adultery, can be taken to imply so much. More irreconcilable with pure Essenism is the belief in the resurrection of the body and the future life on earth, which is maintained in vv. 176 sq.; though Hilgenfeld (Zeitschr. XIV. p. 49) does not recognise the difficulty. See above p. 88. This Sibylline writer was perhaps rather a Hemerobaptist than an Essene. On the relation of the Hemerobaptists and Essenes see the appendix. Alexandre, Orac. Sibyll. (II. p. 323), says of this Sibylline Oracle, ‘Ipse liber haud dubie Christianus est,’ but there is nothing distinctly Christian in its teaching.
277. vv. 106 sq., 145 sq.; see above p. 40, note 131. It begins κλῦθι λεὼς Ἀσίης μεγαλαυχέος Εὐρώπης τε.
278. The exceptional activity of the forces of nature in these districts of Asia Minor may have directed the speculations of the Ionic school towards physics, and more especially towards cosmogony. In Heraclitus there is also a strong mystical element. But besides such broader affinities, I venture to call attention to special dicta of the two philosophers mentioned in the text, which curiously recall the tenets of the Judæo-Gnostic teachers. Thales declared (Diog. Laert. i. 27) τὸν κόσμον ἔμψυχον καὶ δαιμόνων πλήρη, or, as reported by Aristotle (de An. i. 5, p. 411), πάντα πλήρη θεῶν εἰναι. In a recorded saying of Heraclitus we have the very language of a Gnostic teacher; Clem. Alex. Strom. v. 13, p. 699, τὰ μὲν τῆς γνώσιος βάθη κρύπτειν ἀπιστίη ἀγαθή, καθ’ Ἡηράκλειτον· ἀπιστίη γὰρ διαφυγγάνει τὸ μὴ γινώσκεσθαι. See above pp. 77, 92.
279. For the characteristic features of Phrygian religious worship see Steiger Kolosser p. 70 sq.
280. The prominence, which the Phrygian mysteries and Phrygian rites held in the syncretism of the Ophites, is clear from the account of Hippolytus Hær. v. 7 sq. Indeed Phrygia appears to have been the proper home of Ophitism. Yet the admixture of Judaic elements is not less obvious, as their name Naassene, derived from the Hebrew word for a serpent, shows.
281. The name, by which the Montanists were commonly known in the early ages, was the sect of the ‘Phrygians’; Clem. Strom. vii. 17, p. 900 αἱ δὲ [τῶν αἱρεσέων] ἀπὸ ἔθνους [προσαγορεύονται], ὡς ἡ τῶν Φρυγῶν (comp. Eus. H.E. iv. 27, v. 16, Hipp. Hær. viii. 19, x. 25). From οἱ (or ἡ) κατὰ Φρυγάς (Eus. H.E. ii. 25, v. 16, 18, vi. 20) comes the solœcistic Latin name Cataphryges.
282. Socrates (iv. 28) accounts for the spread of Novatianism in Phrygia by the σωφροσύνη of the Phrygian temper. If so, it is a striking testimony to the power of Christianity, that under its influence the religious enthusiasm of the Phrygians should have taken this direction, and that they should have exchanged the fanatical orgiasm of their heathen worship for the rigid puritanism of the Novatianist.
283. i. 28 νουθετούντες πάντα ἄνθρωπον καὶ διδάσκοντες πάντα ἄνθρωπον ἐν πάσῃ σοφίᾳ ἵνα παραστήσωμεν πάντα ἄνθρωπον τέλειον ἐν Χριστῷ κ.τ.λ. The reiteration has offended the scribes; and the first πάντα ἄνθρωπον is omitted in some copies, the second in others. For τέλειον see the note on the passage.
284. The connexion of the sentences should be carefully observed. After the passage quoted in the last note comes the asseveration that this is the one object of the Apostle’s preaching (i. 29) εἰς ὃ καὶ κοπιῶ κ.τ.λ.; then the expression of concern on behalf of the Colossians (ii. 1) θέλω γὰρ ὑμᾶς εἰδέναι ἡλίκον ἀγῶνα ἔχω ὑπὲρ ὑμῶν κ.τ.λ.; then the desire that they may be brought (ii. 2) εἰς πᾶν πλοῦτος τῆς πληροφορίας τῆς συνέσεως, εἰς ἐπίγνωσιν τοῦ μυστηρίου τοῦ Θεοῦ; then the definition of this mystery (ii. 2, 3), Χριστοῦ ἐν ᾧ εἰσὶν πάντες οἱ θησαυροὶ κ.τ.λ.; then the warning against the false teachers (ii. 4) τοῦτο λέγω ἵνα μηδεὶς ὑμᾶς παραλογίζηται κ.τ.λ.
285. Col. iii. 11 after περιτομὴ καὶ ἀκροβυστία the Apostle adds βάρβαρος, Σκύθης. There is nothing corresponding to this in the parallel passage, Gal. iii. 28.
286. For σοφία see i. 9, 28, ii. 3, iii. 16, iv. 5; for σύνεσις i. 9, ii. 2; for γνῶσις ii. 3; for ἐπίγνωσις i. 9, 10, ii. 2, iii. 10.
287. ii. 4 πιθανολογία, ii. 8 κενὴ ἀπάτη.
288. ii. 23 λόγον μὲν ἔχοντα σοφίας, where the μὲν suggests the contrast of the suppressed clause.
289. e.g. i. 9, 28, iii. 16 ἐν πάσῃ σοφίᾳ; ii. 2 τῆς πληροφορίας. For the ‘wealth’ of this knowledge compare i. 27, ii. 2, iii. 16; and see above p. 44.
290. ii. 4, 18.
291. i. 26, 27, ii. 2, iv. 3.
292. ii. 2 ἐν ᾧ εἰσὶν πάντες οἱ θησαυροὶ τῆς σοφίας καὶ τῆς γνώσεως ἀπόκρυφοι. For the meaning of ἀπόκρυφοι see above p. 90, and the note on the passage.
293. The two great Christological passages are i. 15–20, ii. 9–15. They will be found to justify the statements in this and the following paragraphs of the text. For the meaning of individual expressions see the notes on the passages.
294. See the detached note on πλήρωμα.
295. i. 19 ἐν αὐτῷ εὐδόκησεν πᾶν τὸ πλήρωμα κατοικῆσαι, ii. 9 ἐν αὐτῷ κατοικεῖ πᾶν τὸ πλήρωμα τῆς θεότητος σωματικῶς.
296. See especially i. 16 εἴτε θρόνοι εἴτε κυριότητες εἴτε ἀρχαὶ εἴτε ἐξουσίαι κ.τ.λ., compared with the parallel passage in Eph. i. 21 ὑπεράνω πάσης ἀρχῆς καὶ εξουσίας καὶ δυνάμεως καὶ κυριότητος καὶ παντὸς ὀνόματος ὀνομαζομένου κ.τ.λ. Compare also ii. 10 ἡ κεφαλὴ πάσης ἀρχῆς καὶ ἐξουσίας, and ii. 15 ἀπεκδυσάμενος τὰς ἀρχὰς καὶ τὰς ἐξουσίας κ.τ.λ.
297. ii. 18 θέλων ἐν ταπεινοφροσύνῃ καὶ θρησκείᾳ τῶν ἀγγέλων κ.τ.λ.
298. ii. 10; comp. i. 9.
300. ii. 18.
301. iii. 17.
302. iii. 18, 20, 23.
303. At least in 2 Tim. iii. 1–7, where, though the most monstrous developments of the evil were still future, the Apostle’s language implies that it had already begun. On the other hand in the picture of the heresy in 1 Tim. iv. 2 the ascetic tendency still predominates.
304. 2 Pet. ii. 10 sq., Jude 8.
305. Apoc. ii. 14, 20–22.
306. See the notes on Clem. Rom. Ep. ii. § 9.
307. ii. 16.
308. ii. 21.
309. ii. 23.
310. Asceticism is of two kinds. There is the asceticism of dualism (whether conscious or unconscious), which springs from a false principle; and there is the asceticism of self-discipline, which is the training of the Christian athlete (1 Cor. ix. 27). I need not say that the remarks in the text apply only to the former.
311. Gal. ii. 21, v. 2, 4.
312. ii. 8, 20–22.
313. ii. 23 οὐκ ἐν τιμῇ τινι πρὸς πλησμονὴν τῆς σαρκός: see the note on these words.
314. iii. 1, 2.
315. iii. 3, 5.
316. iii. 10.
318. The relation of Cerinthus to the Colossian heresy is briefly indicated by Neander Planting of Christianity I. p. 325 sq. (Eng. Trans.). It has been remarked by other writers also, both earlier and later. The subject appeared to me to deserve a fuller investigation than it has yet received.
319. Hippol. Hær. vii. 33 Αἰγυπτίων παιδείᾳ ἀσκηθείς, x. 21 ὁ ἐν Αἰγύπτῳ ἀσκηθείς, Theodoret. Hær. Fab. ii. 3 ἐν Αἰγύπτῳ πλεîστον διατρίψας χρόνον.
320. Iren. i. 26. 1 ‘et Cerinthus autem quidam ... in Asia docuit,’ Epiphan. Hær. xxviii. 1 ἐγένετο δὲ οὗτος ὁ Κήρινθος ἐν τῇ Ἀσίᾳ διατρίβων, κἀκεῖσε τοῦ κηρύγματος τὴν ἀρχὴν πεποιημένος, Theodoret. 1. c. ὕστερον εἰς τὴν Ἀσίαν ἀφίκετο. The scene of his encounter with St John in the bath is placed at Ephesus: see below, note 322.
321. Epiphanius (xxviii. 2 sq.) represents him as the ringleader of the Judaizing opponents of the Apostles in the Acts and Epistles to the Corinthians and Galatians. Philastrius (Hær. 36) takes the same line.]