Panarion (Against Heresies) 1 part 3/82

Ezra, then, and those after him, taught the people in Samaria, and those who received the law through Ezra, who had come from Babylon, were called Samaritans.

Then another forty years passed, and the captivity was lifted, and Israel went up from Babylon.

From this point my treatise, undertaken against the heresies, has its beginning; and I will state briefly the reason, so as to make it clear.

What else is it but this: that just as, from the manifold diversity of tongues brought about by the confusion of languages, tribes came into being, and in accordance with each tribe and patriarchal line different nations arose, and every nation set up for itself a king as its head, and from this it came about that there was strife of wars and the clashing collisions of nation dashing against nation, each one forcing its own will to be preferred and carrying off to itself the possessions of its neighbors, on account of the insatiable greed present in all of us in this life—so also in this aforementioned time, when the single religion of Israel and the scripture according to the law passed over into other peoples, namely into the Assyrians, from whom came the settled Samaritans, it likewise came about that opinion was divided.

And thenceforth error and discord set out to sow, from the one true piety, many corrupted opinions, according as each one thought fit and supposed himself to be exercised in the letter, and each one spoke according to his own will.

Against the Samaritans: the seventh heresy since Hellenism, but the ninth in order.

The Samaritans, then, are the beginning of the heresies that arise from divine scripture, coming after the aforementioned Greek heresies, which arose without divine scripture, from men's own reasonings, †struck senseless in their minds.

The whole race, then, was called Samaritans.

'Samaritans' is interpreted 'guards,' because they were stationed in the land in the rank of guards, or because they were guardians of the ordinance according to the law of Moses.

And the mountain where they settled was also called Somoron, and likewise Shomer, after a certain ancient man named Somoron son of Shomer, the man being so called.

This Somoron was the son of a man from the race of the Perizzites and Girgashites, who at that time inhabited the land, being by succession children of Canaan, who had seized this land now called Judea or Samaria—a land belonging to the sons of Shem, though not properly their own, since Canaan himself was son of Ham, the paternal uncle of Shem.

And it came about that the name 'Samaritans' was applied for various reasons: from Shomer, from Somoron, from their guarding the land, and from their guarding the teachings of the law.

In the Hebrew language they are named thus: Bresith, Ellesimoth, Ouikra, Ouidaber, Elleaddebarin.

And in these five books the sign of the resurrection of the dead is scattered about, though it has not been proclaimed with full clarity; and there is scattered in them also teaching concerning the only-begotten Son of God and concerning the Holy Spirit and against idols.

But what is set forth in them more clearly is the introduction concerning the monarchy of God, and within that monarchy the Trinity is spiritually proclaimed.

Those who received the law were made eager to be turned away from idolatry and to come to know the one God, but no diligence was shown by them to know it more precisely.

Such people, having stumbled and not having grasped clearly every part of the faith and the precision of our life, were ignorant of the resurrection of the dead and disbelieve it, and they do not accept the Holy Spirit.

And this heresy, while rejecting the resurrection of the dead and repudiating idolatry, is itself, unwittingly, practicing idolatry, because the idols of the four nations lie hidden in the mountain that is falsely called by them Gerizim.

They practice idolatry, then, unwittingly, by turning their attention from every direction toward that mountain whenever they pray, supposing that it has been sanctified.

For it is impossible for scripture to lie, which declares that they continued keeping the law while worshipping their idols even to this present day, as is recorded in the Fourth Book of Kingdoms.

But these people are refuted from every side concerning the resurrection of the dead.

First, from Abel, because after his death his blood speaks to the Master.

Now blood is not the same thing as the soul, but the soul is in the blood; and scripture did not say, 'the soul cries out to me,' but 'the blood cries out to me,' showing that there is hope for the resurrection of bodies.

Moreover, Enoch was translated so as not to see death, and he was not found.

Moreover, Sarah too, after her womb had been deadened and the accustomed flow had dried up, was again revitalized for the conception of seed, and though an old woman, conceived a child according to promise, on account of the hope of the resurrection.

But not only that—Jacob also, taking care for his own bones, gave commands concerning them as though they were not going to perish.

And not only that, but Joseph too, giving commands in the same manner, indicated the form of the resurrection.

But not only that—Aaron's rod, too, which budded, being dry, again bore fruit unto the hope of life, signifying that our dead bodies shall rise, and pointing toward the resurrection.

And likewise Moses' rod, the wooden staff which, by God's will, was animated and became a serpent, made clear the resurrection.

But Moses also, in blessing those of Reuben's company, says: 'Let Reuben live and not die' — speaking of one who had died long ago — that he might show that there is life after death, but also a judgment of a second death unto condemnation.

Therefore he bestows upon him two blessings, saying 'let him live' with reference to the resurrection, and 'let him not die' with reference to the judgment — meaning not the death that comes through the release of the body, but the one that comes through condemnation.

These few remarks, then, will suffice as a refutation of these people.

...when they come from a foreign land, as though thereby, forsooth, defiled...

...washing themselves with water, garments and all, whenever they touch anyone of another nation.

For they consider it a defilement to touch, or even to come into contact with, any other person of a different persuasion.

Great indeed is the derangement of mind found in these people.

But apply your mind, most admirable sir, and you will see how readily their folly can be exposed.

For they abhor a dead body outright, though they themselves are dead in their works.

For it is not one testimony but many that bear witness that the dead body itself is not what is truly to be abhorred, but that the law was speaking in a riddling manner.

For it is no longer two or three witnesses that testify to us on this point, but the sixty-two myriads (six hundred and twenty thousand) who were numbered in the wilderness, and as many more besides, and yet far more still — those who, throughout the entire camp, followed after the coffin of Joseph, which was carried for forty years, without being abhorred or defiling anyone.

Now the law spoke the truth when it said that if anyone touches the dead, he remains unclean until evening, and shall wash with water and be purified.

But in this it was hinting at the death of our Lord Jesus Christ, according to his suffering in the flesh.

For it is by means of the article that it is possible to signify the name of the one who is specifically distinguished.

For wherever the article is placed, the assertion, by means of that article, is made concerning some one particular and most manifest person.

But without the article, it is to be understood indefinitely, of any one at random.

For instance, so to speak, if we say 'a king,' we have indeed signified a name, but we have not clearly shown the particular person meant.

For we speak of 'a king' both of the Persians and of the Medes and of the Elamites.

But if, with the addition of the article, we say 'the king,' the thing signified is beyond doubt.

For by means of the article is indicated 'the' king who is being sought, or spoken of, or known, or who reigns over some particular people.

And if we say 'god' without the article, we mean some random god of the nations, or simply a god who exists.

But if we say 'the God,' it is clear that by that article, 'the,' we signify the One who truly is — real and known — just as there is a difference between 'a man' and 'the man.'

Now if the law had said, 'If you touch a dead body' [without the article], the ruling would have been pronounced concerning all alike, and the wording of the ordinance would simply have applied to every dead body.

But since it says, 'If anyone touches the dead body' [with the article], it directs the meaning toward one particular person — I mean, toward the Lord, as I have already shown above.

So then the law was speaking of this in a riddling way on account of those who were going to lay hands on Christ and hand him over to the cross, because they had need of purification, until the day should set upon them and another light should dawn upon them through the baptism of water, the washing of regeneration.

As Peter also bears witness for me here, speaking to the Israelites in Jerusalem who said to him, 'What shall we do, men and brethren?' — this being on account of his having said to them, 'This Jesus, whom you crucified...'

And to those who were pierced in heart he said: 'Repent, men and brethren, and let each of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ our Lord, and your sins will be forgiven you, and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.'

The law, then, is not speaking about a dead body in general.

But even if it is indeed speaking about a dead body, the law is speaking about one who is specifically defined.

For concerning one who is not so defined, it is expressed differently.

For it says: 'If a dead body passes by, shut your doors and your windows, that the house may not be defiled' — as though it were speaking about the hearing of sin, saying: 'If you hear the voice of sin or the appearance of transgression, shut your eye from desire, and your mouth from evil speech, and your ear from wicked resounding, that the whole house' — that is, soul and body — 'may not be put to death.'

Wherefore the prophet also says, 'Death has come up through the windows,' and he is by no means speaking of these literal windows.

For otherwise, if we merely shut the windows, we would never have to die.

He means sight, hearing, and the other senses through which death makes its way into us, if we should sin by means of them.

Joseph, at any rate, buried Israel and did not abhor him, but after his death fell upon his face and kissed him.

And it is not written that he washed himself in order to be purified.

The angels, as the tradition that has come down to us holds, buried the body of the holy Moses, and they did not wash themselves; nor indeed were the angels in any way defiled by that holy body.

And again I fear lest I should draw out the resolution of this question to too great a length.

But from one or two arguments it will be granted to the wise man to be made wise in the Lord against those who oppose him.

And if I must also speak briefly concerning the Spirit, I would not hesitate to do so.

For at once the Lord expressly says to Moses: 'Bring up to me on the mountain seventy elders, and I will take of the Spirit that is upon you and pour it out upon them, and they will assist you.'

And that we may know also concerning the Son, the Father says: 'Let us make man according to our image and likeness.'

Now 'let us make' does not signify the act of one alone; and again, 'the Lord rained upon Sodom and Gomorrah fire and brimstone from the Lord out of heaven.'

Now as for the prophets: since only the Pentateuch had been given to them at that time, and no other Scriptures besides, they kept in line only with the Pentateuch, and not with the prophetic succession.

And let my exposition concerning the Samaritans stand thus far, spoken briefly on account of a fear I foresee, lest I extend the promised scope of this composition too broadly.

Against the Essenes: the first heresy stemming from the Samaritans, and the tenth in the overall succession.

For the Essenes remained in the original way of life, transgressing it in nothing.

After these came the Gorothenes, who fell into disagreement among themselves over some small matter, since a dispute had arisen among them — I mean, among the Sebuaeans, the Essenes, and the Gorothenes.

Now the dispute is of this kind:

The law commanded the Jews to assemble from every place at Jerusalem, indeed often at three seasons of the year: at the feast of Unleavened Bread, at Pentecost, and at Tabernacles.

Now the Jews dwelt scattered also at the borders of Judea and Samaria.

And it came about that they made their journey through Samaritan territory when travelling to Jerusalem.

Since, then, they happened to converge at one and the same time in their gathering for the feast, from this circumstance clashes arose.

Moreover, also when Ezra was rebuilding Jerusalem after the return from Babylon, the Samaritans requested to contribute assistance to the Jews and to join in the building, but they were turned away by Ezra himself and by Nehemiah.

Against the Sebuaeans: the second heresy stemming from the Samaritans, and the eleventh in the succession.

Then the Sebuaeans, out of resentment and anger, shifted the seasons of the aforementioned feasts — first out of anger at Ezra, and second on account of the aforementioned cause that provoked them to conflict through those passing by.

These fix the new month of Unleavened Bread after the new year, which falls in the autumn, that is, after the month of Tishri — which among the Romans is called August, among the Egyptians Mesore, among the Macedonians Gorpiaios, and among the Greeks Apellaios.

...they observe this, and they celebrate their Feast of Tabernacles at the time when, among the Jews, the feast of Unleavened Bread and the Passover take place.

The others, however, were not persuaded by the Sebuaeans.

Against the Gorothenes: the third heresy stemming from the Samaritans, and the twelfth in the succession.

The Gorothenes, and the others as well...

But the Essenes, being close to the others, do the same things as they do.

But the others do not act this way; rather, they keep the feasts separately, in the months we have already mentioned.

For they confess the resurrection, and there are communal ways of life among them.

...they abstain from things that have life; and some of them also practice continence from marriage after having lived for a time in that state, while others live in perpetual virginity.

Likewise they also keep circumcision and the Sabbath, and the practice of touching no one, since they alike abhor contact with any man.

And the account further tells that these same people observe fasts and practice asceticism.

This man, having set out originally from among the Jews, joined himself to the nation of the Samaritans; he was well advanced in the instruction of the law and in their repeated traditions, but seeking the first place of honor and failing, and not being deemed worthy of any standing among the Jews, he turned aside to the Samaritan race and set himself at the head of this heresy.

Withdrawing to a certain cave out of an excess of self-conceived wisdom, and persevering vainly and hypocritically in fasting, as the account has it, he died in this way from want of bread and water — ostensibly, so it seemed, by his own deliberate choice.

But after some days, those who came to visit him found the body reeking, crawling with worms, and a cloud of flies swarming upon it.

These, then, are the differences that have come to our knowledge concerning the four aforementioned heresies, which will be overthrown by what has been said against them.

I return once more to link together, in the succession of the ages, the intrusions of error and the grazing herds of deception, and to carry on my argument against them, by exposing their wretched practices and, in brief compass, carrying out the refutation of the venom of these evil and destructive creeping things.

The four sects of the Samaritans have now been dealt with in full.

But Judaism was divided into seven sects:

Against the Sadducees: sect 1 from Judaism, but 14th in the overall sequence.

Again, after these aforementioned sects of the Samaritans, and those of the Greeks pointed out earlier above, there arose among the Jews, before the incarnate coming of Christ, seven sects in number, in Judea and Jerusalem.

These call themselves Sadducees, their name supposedly deriving from the appellation 'righteousness.'

For 'Sedek' is interpreted 'righteousness.'

And there was also, in ancient times, among the priests, a certain man by the name of Sadduc.

But these did not abide in the teaching of their master.

For they rejected the resurrection of the dead, holding opinions similar to the Samaritans;

and they do not accept the existence of angels, which the Samaritans do not deny;

nor do they acknowledge the Holy Spirit, for they have not been deemed worthy of him;

but in everything else they observe the very same things as the Samaritans.

Yet these were not Samaritans, but Jews,

for they offered sacrifice in Jerusalem, and in all other respects acted in concert with the Jews.

They brought this upon themselves through his resolution of the question, when they came to him saying, whether there could be a resurrection of the dead —

and saying that there were seven brothers, and the first married a wife and died childless, and the second took her, since Moses commanded that, when a brother died childless, his brother should marry the dead man's wife and take her, in order to raise up offspring in the name of the deceased;

So, they said, the first and the second took her and died, and likewise all seven.

In the resurrection of the dead, then, whose wife will she be, since all seven had her as wife? But the Lord said, 'You are deceived, not knowing the Scriptures nor the power of God.'

For in the resurrection of the dead they neither marry nor are given in marriage, but are like the angels.

But that the dead will rise, Moses will teach you, since God declared to him, saying, 'I am the God of Abraham, and the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob';

and he is God not of the dead, but of the living.

And he silenced their mouth.

For these are easily caught, and are unable to withstand the truth for so much as a single hour.

Against the Scribes: sect 2 from Judaism, but 15th in the overall sequence.

After these Sadducees came the Scribes, arising in the middle of that period, or indeed sharing the same era with them;

These were expounders of the second, oral law, propounding, as it were, a kind of grammatical science; in other respects they did what the rest of the Jews did, but introduced, forsooth, a superfluous and sophistic exposition, living not only according to the Law but observing the washing of cups more scrupulously still, and of cups and platters and the other vessels of service, as though thereby disposed toward what is pure and holy, washing their hands with the fist, and with the fist scouring away certain defilements by means of water and bathings; and they had certain fringes signifying their manner of life, for a display of ostentation and the praise of onlookers;

and they placed upon their garments 'phylacteries,' that is, broad marks of purple.

Now someone might suppose, since this term also occurs in the Gospel, that perhaps he is speaking of amulets, since some are indeed accustomed to call amulets 'phylacteries.'

But the statement has nothing whatsoever to do with this.

Rather, since such men wore robes, that is, mantles, and dalmatics, that is, short-sleeved tunics, made of broad bands woven throughout in true purple, and those who spoke with precision were accustomed to rename these purple marks 'phylacteries,' for this reason the Lord too, following their usage, called them 'phylacteries.'

And the context also makes clear the sense of the term, namely the 'fringes of the garments';

for by 'fringes' he means tassels, and by 'phylacteries' he means the marks of purple.

For he says, 'You widen your phylacteries and enlarge the fringes of your garments.'

Each of them also had, on the four corners of his cloak, certain little pomegranate-shaped tassels tied on from the very warp-thread of the fabric, worn during whatever time he was practicing continence or observing virginity;

for since each one, having made a vow, would fix a period of purity or continence, these marks were their distinguishing tokens, meant to display to people what they had professed, so that, forsooth, no one might touch those who were, as it were, consecrated.

One tradition is attributed to the name of Moses the prophet; a second, to their teacher called Akiba, or Barakiba;

another, to Addas, or Annas, also called Judas;

and yet another, to the sons of Asamonaeus. Of these four 'deuteroseis,' whatever is held in repute among them, supposedly wisdom, though mostly folly, is boasted of and celebrated, and is proclaimed and renowned as a teaching to be preferred above the rest.

Against the Pharisees: sect 3 from Judaism, but 16th in the overall sequence.

Joined in succession to these two sects is yet another sect, that of the Pharisees;

who held the same views as these, I mean the Scribes, that is, those who are interpreted as 'teachers of the Law';

for the Lawyers also consorted with them.

But the Pharisees, in turn, held other views besides these, maintaining a stricter manner of life.

For some of them, when they practiced asceticism and fixed a period of ten years, or eight, or four, likewise for virginity or continence, prayed continually and pressed on more intensely in this struggle, lest, forsooth, they should suffer some bodily mishap, or be caught unawares through dreams producing an unpleasant bodily emission.

And some took delight in a plank only a span in width, and would lay themselves upon it in the evening, so that, if one fell asleep and tumbled off onto the floor, he would rise again to prayer, this in order to keep, so far as possible, a wakeful manner of life.

Others gathered pebbles and spread them beneath themselves, so that, being pricked, they would not be carried off into deep sleep, but would force upon themselves a state of watchfulness;

and yet others had thorns as bedding, for this same purpose.

They fasted twice a week, on the second and fifth days;

they paid the tithe of the tithe, gave the firstfruits, reckoned in groups of thirty and fifty, and most scrupulously rendered their sacrifices and their vows.

They went about in the aforementioned attire of the Scribes, appearing in mantles and in other forms of dress, including women's garments, going about in broad-strapped sandals with tongue-shaped thongs on their footwear.

They were called Pharisees because they were set apart from the rest on account of the voluntary, excessive religious observance customary among them;

for 'Phares,' in the Hebrew, is interpreted 'separation.'

These acknowledged the resurrection of the dead, and believed that there are angels and spirit, but, like the others, they were ignorant of the Son of God.

Moreover, fate and astrology also held very great sway among them.

For instance, the Greek names deriving from the astrology of those who have gone astray have, among them, been renamed with other names in the Hebrew tongue;

For example: the Sun is called 'hema' and 'semes'; the Moon is called 'ieree' and 'albana,' whence it is also called 'mene,' for 'ieree' means 'month,' and 'mene' means 'moon,' just as among the Greeks too it is named for the month; Mars is 'chocheb okbol'; Mercury is 'chocheb ochomod'; Jupiter is 'chocheb baal'; Venus is 'zeroua,' or otherwise 'loueth'; Saturn is called 'chocheb sabeth,' though it is called among them by other names as well, and I have not been able to set down their designation with precision.

Moreover, the names vainly devised, in reckoning the number of the elements, among those who have gone astray, which they call 'zodiacal signs,' and by which they have wickedly led the world astray into impiety, these too they likewise call by Hebrew names:

Tela (Aries), Sor (Taurus), Thomim (Gemini); Saratan (Cancer), Ari (Leo), Bethoula (Virgo); Mozanem (Libra), Akrab (Scorpio), Keseth (Sagittarius); Gadi (Capricorn), Dalli (Aquarius), Deggim (Pisces).

These, I mean the Pharisees, vainly following the Greeks, in this manner renamed these same names into the Hebrew tongue.

Now I have set these things down, not to confound my readers, nor in order to lend credence to the vulgar prattle of those who have introduced into human life the incoherent and mind-damaging folly of astrology;

for this astrology has been refuted by the truth as being incoherent and mistaken.

We have said much elsewhere, in other treatises, toward the overthrow of those who believe in horoscopes and fate; but also, in the preface of this treatise, we have dealt briefly with the same matters.

It has been stated by us that these things should also be set forth by name.

But an ultimate perplexity, and no ordinary folly, besets them, who both confess the resurrection and also lay down a righteous judgment,

for how can there be both judgment and fate? Of necessity, one of two things must hold: either, since a determined nativity exists, there is no judgment, because the one who acts does not act of himself, but by the compelling force of the dominance of what is fated; or else, since judgment exists and is truly threatened, and laws render sentence, and those who do evil undergo penalty, the law being acknowledged as just, and the judgment of God most true, fate is idle and has no consistency whatsoever;

since it is precisely because one is able both to sin and not to sin that the one is required to render account for his sins, while the other awaits praise for having acted well, the distinction between the two being determined accordingly.

so that, as it were with a single, righteous voice, one may speak the truth concisely, that word spoken through Isaiah the prophet, in the person of the Lord: 'If you are willing and obey me, you shall eat the good things of the land;'

but if you are not willing, nor obey me, the sword shall devour you.

For the mouth of the Lord has spoken these things.

So it is plain to everyone, and clear, and beyond doubt, that God, who himself said, 'If you are willing, and if you are not willing,' granted free will, so that it lies with man to do good or to desire base things.

Therefore the thinking of those who supposed there is a fixed nativity-fate (genesis) is in error, especially that of the Pharisees;

Against them one must cry out repeatedly and in many ways, not with a single utterance but often, the words spoken by the Savior against them: 'Woe to you, Scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites, for you have left aside the weightier matters of the law, judgment and mercy, and you tithe dill and mint and rue, and you cleanse the outside of the cup and the plate, but the inside is full of uncleanness and self-indulgence.'

And you judge it right to swear by what is above the altar, but among you the oath by the altar itself is dissolved; and you say that swearing by heaven is nothing, but if someone swears by what is above heaven, this is held to be binding.

Is it not the altar that supports what lies upon it, and is not heaven the throne of him who sits upon it? Or that you say, if someone says to father or mother, 'Corban' — that is, a gift — 'whatever you would have gained from me,' he need no longer honor his father; and you have set aside the commandment of God for the sake of the tradition of your elders.

And you go around sea and dry land to make one proselyte, and when he becomes one, you make him a son of Gehenna twice as much as yourselves.

What further, then, could one adduce from the holy sayings in opposition to what has been said above? Rather, I think it better to be content with the Savior's wise and true words, against which they were not able to look, not even in the smallest degree.

Against the Hemerobaptists, the fourth heresy stemming from Judaism, the seventeenth in the sequence.

Following upon these there is a certain heresy called that of the Hemerobaptists, differing in nothing from the others, but holding the same opinions as the Scribes and Pharisees, yet not equal to the Sadducees in denying the resurrection of the dead, but rather in the unbelief found in other matters.

But this peculiar practice this heresy had acquired: that in spring and autumn, winter and summer, they were baptized every single day without fail, whence it also received the name of Hemerobaptists.

For this heresy asserted that a man could not otherwise live, unless he were baptized in water every single day, washing and purifying himself from every cause of sin.

Against this one too refutation will come to us from a single argument: that among them the words are marks of unbelief rather than of faith.

Since they are baptized every single day, it is as though, for them, the hope of yesterday's day has died — both the faith and the purification.

For if they held fast to one baptism, then they would trust in it as something living and immortal forever;

but since today they wash themselves, not for the sake of cleansing the body or dirt, but for the sake of sins, then according to them that person has been purified;

yet again the next day, by washing themselves once more, they in effect declare that yesterday's baptism has died.