Gospel of the Nazoraeans

The "Gospel of the Nazoraeans" is a book of the New Testament Apocrypha. It may or may not be the same as, or derived from, the Gospel of the Hebrews. Due to the fragmentary nature of both works, there is little certainty regarding their relationship, although there is a strong affinity between the two. Whatever the origin, and similarity of the text, this version of the text was the one used by the Nazarenes of Beroea, Syria (Aleppo).

The book itself has completely disappeared; all that survives comes to us in the form of quotations by Clement, Origen, Jerome, and Cyril of Jerusalem, which contain twenty or more fragments. It has, however, been the subject of many critical surmises and discussions in the course of the last century, and recent discussions in a growing body of literature have thrown considerable light upon the problems connected with this Gospel.

Background

Early Jewish Christians were thought to have favoured the Gospel of Matthew as it emphasizes the importance of conforming to every jot of the Jewish Law (Matt 5:17-20), and the Jewishness of Jesus.*) was a stonemason, and splits the rich male youth (of ) into two separate people. Since the gospel adds clarifications, it is likely based on the canonical text (instead of vice versa) due to the argument of unlikelihood that a scribe creating a canonical version of the Gospel of Matthew would intentionally obscure the text.

The time and place of origin are disputed, but since Clement used the book in the last quarter of the second century, it is certainly dated before the middle of that era. Alexandrian Egypt is most often indicated as its place of origin by the fact that its principal witnesses are the Alexandrians - Clement and Origen - and by the idea of Jesus as the Son of the Holy Spirit, which is documented for Egypt by the Coptic Epistle of James. The original language of the gospel suggests that it was drawn up for Hebrew and Aramaic-speaking Jewish Christians in Palestine and Syria.

Since the text was so similar to the canonical form, the Gospel of the Nazarenes was considered orthodox, but because it was effectively redundant, it passed out of use.

References

See also

* Jewish-Christian Gospels
* Gospel of the Hebrews
* Gospel of the Ebionites
* Hebrew Gospel of Matthew

External links

Online translations of the Gospel of Matthew:
* (KJV)
* [http://www.earlychristianwritings.com/ Early Christian Writings] : texts and introductions.
* [http://www.earlychristianwritings.com/gospelhebrews.html Early Christian Writings:] "Gospel of the Hebrews"
* [http://www.earlychristianwritings.com/gospelnazoreans.html Gospel of the Nazoreans at earlychristianwritings.com]
* [http://www.ntcanon.org/Gospel_of_the_Hebrews.shtml Development of the Canon of the New Testament: "Gospel of the Hebrews"]
* [http://www.thenazareneway.com/index.htm The Nazarene Way]