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Jewish-Christian Christology and Jewish Mysticism

Author(s): Jarl FossumReviewed work(s):Source: Vigiliae Christianae, Vol. 37, No. 3 (Sep., 1983), pp. 260-287Published by: BRILLStable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/1583086 .

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VigiliaeChristianae7(1983)260-287,E. J. Brill,Leiden

JEWISH-CHRISTIAN HRISTOLOGYANDJEWISHMYSTICISMBY

JARL FOSSUMGilles Quispel lately has profferedthe intriguingtheory that the

Jewishconcept of God's kavOd,the "likeness as the appearanceofman" (demfth kemar'^gdarm)irst beheldby the prophetEzekiel,'isthe model of the GnosticAnthroposand even of the Son of Man inJewishapocalypticsand the heavenlyMan in Pauline theology.2Byfocusingon Jewish-Christianvidencenot dealt with by Quispel,thepresentarticlewill supportthe view that the Jewishmysticismwhichcentered around the man-likefigure upon the heavenlythrone wasinfluentialn shaping hesaviour mage n the first centuriesof ourera.Elchasai,a Jewish-Christianect-leaderwho is saidto havearisen nthe thirdyearof Trajan'sreign,i.e., in 101,3basedhis authorityon acertainbook of revelation,which later was broughtto Rome by theElchasaitemissionaryAlkibiades.Hippolytus,whogivesextracts romthisbook, says:

It had been revealedby an angelwhose heightwas 24 schoenoi,whichmake 96miles, and whosebreadthwas four schoenoi,and from shoulder o shoulder ixschoenoi,andthetracksof hisfeetextend o thelengthof 3 /2schoenoi,whichmake14 miles, whilethe breadth1V schoenosand the heighthalf a schoenos.Thereshouldalsobe a femalewithhimwhosedimensions,he [i.e., Alkibiades] ays,areaccordingo thosealreadymentioned.Themale s theSonof God,while he femaleis calledthe HolySpirit.4

This representation f the enormousangel of the Son has been com-pared o thedescription f Godin hisappearance ponthe throneof theMerkabahoundin SicurQ6ma,"theMeasurementf theBody", i.e.,the Bodyof theKabod,the man-likemanifestationof God.' A typicalfragmentof ShiurQomahwhich s putintothe mouthof R. Ishmael,apillarof orthodoxy,andquotedin SeferRazielreads:I haveseen the Kingof kings, sittingupona veryhighand lofty throne,and Hishostsstanding ndfacingHimat Hisright ideandat His left side.Theprince f thepresence,whose name s Metatron, aidto me:"RabbiIshmael, amgoingto tellyouwhat s the measure f theHolyOne,blessedbe He, thatis hidden romall His

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JEWISH-CHRISTIAN CHRISTOLOGY AND JEWISH MYSTICISM

creatures. The soles of His feet are all the worlds, as has been said: 'The heavens areMy throne and the earth My footstool' [Is. 66, 1]. The height of His soles is threetimes ten thousand leagues. From the sole of His feet unto His ankle there are thou-sand times ten thousand and four hundred times hundred miles. From His anklesunto His knees there are nineteen thousand times and four leagues in height. FromHis thighs unto His neck there are twenty-four thousand times ten thousand leagues.His neck is ten thousand times ten thousand and eight hundredleagues. His beard isten thousand and thousand and five hundred leagues. The black in His right eye isten thousand and thousand and five hundred leagues, and so is the left one. His righthand is twenty-two times ten thousand and two leagues, and so is the left. From Hisright shoulder to His left there are ten thousand and two leagues. From His rightarm to His left arm there are twelf thousand times ten thousand leagues [...]."6

The fragments of Shiur Qomah cannot be dated to a time prior to the6th century, when they were known to the poet Eleazar ha-Kallir, butthe monotonous enumerations of the figures (and even the names) ofeach and every part of the divine Body which are contained in themmust have developed from a mysticism which is considerably older. Inthe 3rd century, Origen reports that the Song of Songs as well as the firstchapter of Ezekiel was not among those parts of Scripture that therabbis expounded before those who had not reached full maturity.7AsG. Scholem has pointed out, the reason for this was that the descriptionof the beautiful body of the Lover in Song of Songs 5, 11-16 was madethe Scriptural prop of the representation of the divine Body in the ShiurQomah mysticism.8In support of the protestation of the high age of the Shiur Qomahspeculation, Scholem also cites the Jewish-Christian doctrine of thePseudo-Clementine Homilies that God has a beautiful bodily form(soma and morphe) with all the limbs of a body.9 Before Scholem, M.Gaster had seen that the description of the divine "Body of Truth"(soma tes aletheias) given by the Gnostic Marcus in the 2nd centuryapparently derives from Jewish Shiur Qomah traditions.'0 Finally,Scholem has discovered "a clear reference" to the Shiur Qomahdoctrine in a passage from the short version of 2 (the Slavonic) Book ofEnoch, which in all probability is pre-Christian." In this passage, which"reflects the precise Hebrew terminology", Enoch-the prototype ofthe mystics who ascended to heaven and beheld the man-like figureupon the throne-says: "I have seen the measure of the height of theLord, without dimension and without shape, which has no end." 2It is evident that the idea of the unbelievably vast measurements ofthe Lord purports that God really is immeasurable. Still, and this is the

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paradoxof this kind of mysticism,the visionaryactuallyis able tobehold he divineBodyinecstasy.This s apparenthroughouthetradi-tion running rom2 Enoch, "I have seenthe measureof the heightofthe Lord," to ShiurQomah,"I have seen (rn'ithi) he Kingof kings,sitting upona highandlofty throne."That themeasurementsn the fragmentrelatingElchasai'svisionaremeantto be literalfigures s not verylikely; theyapparently remeantto conveythe idea that the personof the Son (and that of the HolySpirit)is an otherwordlybeing.This issuesfrom Elchasai'sstatementthat,although heSonwasseenby himand"is a figuresimilar o men,[he is] invisible to men (einai ti androeikelonektypoma aoratonanthropois),with a lengthof 96miles,that is 24schoenoi,and a breadthof 6 schoenoi,24 miles, and with a thicknessof otherdimensions."3Thus, Elchasai, like the prophet Ezekiel and the later Merkabahmystics,had a visionof thegenerallynvisiblegodhead n the formof aman. Althoughthe measurements f the divineBodyin ShiurQomahgreatlysurpass hose of the Sonin Elchasaitism,herecanbe no doubtthatElchasai n relatinghis visionis dependentupontraditions imilarto those whichweredevelopedby the Merkabahmystics.As has been mpliedabove,the divineBody nJewishmysticisms notthat of the essentialgodhead.Scholem states:"The theorydoes notimplythat God in Himselfpossessesa physicalform, but only that aform of this kind may be ascribedto "the Glory", which in somepassages is called guf ha-Shekhinah("the body of the DivinePresence")." Thus, a plausible nferencewould seem to be that theangel of the Son in Elchasaitismwas conceivedof as the Kabod,theGloryof God.It hasoftenbeen doubted hat the Christian lementsn Elchasaitismare part of the originaldoctrinalmake-upof the movement.'5Hip-polytusdoes notmention he nameof Christwhenrelating hefragmentof the vision of the prophet, but Epiphanius'account states thatElchasaicalled thegiganticangelof theSon by thenameof Christ.Ontheotherhand,Epiphanius lso statesthat,althoughElchasaiconfessesChrist by calling him "the Great King" (ho megas basileus), it isdifficult to find out whether he book of the false prophet speaksof"ourLord JesusChrist".'6 willnot enter ntothisdiscussion,and stillless maintain that the singular Christological epithet "the GreatKing"-which obviously pertains to "the Son of God" of thevision'7-is to be explainedfrom the "basileomorphism"of Shiur

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Qomah, which relishes in calling the figure upon the throne "King"(e.g., "[...] King of Truth, Mighty King, Blessed King, Sole King, Firstand Last King, Lord of Kings, [...] Great King [...]",).18 For ourpurpose, it is sufficient to note that Elchasai swept a great followingamong the Jewish-Christians in Transjordanian country, and that thisinevitably would imply that the Son of God appearing together with theSpirit was identified as Christ. This, then, would seem to mean that theJewish-Christians regardedChrist as the Kabod, the heavenly Makran-thropos.There is firm evidence that Christians in the 2nd century could con-ceive of Christ as the Glory. The author of the Nag Hammadi writingknown as the TripartiteTractate(NH I, 5), showing clear affinities withthe teaching of the Valentinian Gnostic Heracleon, states that the Sonpossesses all the names which commonly are referred to the Father:

He [also],without alsification,s allof thenames,andheis in theproper ense,thesole firstone, [theM]an([p-r]ome) f the Father.He it is whom I [call]the Form(t-morphe) f the Formless -morphe), he Body (p-soma)of the Bodiless -soma),the Appearance p-ho)of the Invisible -newaraf),the Logosof the Ineffable, heNous of the Inconceivable [...].'9

That the Son is the Man of the Father is paraphrasedby his being calledGod's morphe, sOma and ho, the last of which can be used in transla-tions of opsis, eidea and even morphe, as well as of prosopon. Thisapparently means that the Son is the Glory, the man-like appearance ofGod, who is "formless", "bodiless" and "invisible" in his essence.That this is the purport of the text becomes palpable when we notethat morphe is used interchangeablywith doxa, the Greek translation ofkavod, in Old Testament theophanies. In Job 4, 16, the temund,"form", "appearance", of the divine spirit (ruah) which revealed itselfto Eliphas is renderedby morphe in the LXX. In Num. 12, 8, however,the LXX translatesGod's temund, which is beheld by Moses, with doxa.In the same way, Psalm 16, 15 renders God's tmaund, which thepsalmist expects to be revealed unto salvation, by doxa.20We also oughtto note that, in the Christologically important text of Is. 52, 14, theto'ar, "form", "appearance", of the Servant is renderedby morphe byAquila, but by doxa by the LXX.The close association or even equivalence of morphe and doxa is alsoseen clearly in the following text of the apologist Justin Martyr, whostates that the statues of the gods found in the pagan temples

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are soullessanddead,and do not have he Formof God(theoumorphen),or we donot consider hat God hassucha form(ten morphen) s somesaythattheyimitateto His honour ...], whichwe considernotonlysenseless,butevento beinsultingoGod, who,having neffableGloryandForm arreton oxankaimorphen),husgetsHis nameattached o things hat arecorruptible ndrequire onstant ervice.2'The true manifestationof God's "Gloryand Form" obviouslyis hisSon. This is perceived learly rom anotherpassage,whereJustinshowsinfluence from a type of Judaism like that of Philo-though lessphilosophical-by asserting that the Old Testamentwitnesses theexistenceof an intermediary earing he namesof all the divine attri-butesand modesof manifestationntheOldTestament.22he Christianapologistsays:

God has begottenas Beginningbefore all His creatures kind of rationalPowerfromHimselfthatis also calledby theHoly Spirit"the Gloryof the Lord"(doxaKyriou), and sometimes"Son", and sometimes"Wisdom", or "Angel", or"God", and "Lord" and "Word".23

Several passages in the Bible report that, when men experienceatheophany, heysee God'sKabod,bywhich susually uggested splen-dourof light bywhichGod is both revealedand concealed.TheprophetEzekiel, however,adds that the Kabodhad a form like a man, andJustinobviouslymust haveEzekiel'svision in mindwhencounting"theGloryof theLord"as oneof the namesof theSon under he olddispen-sation.ThatJustintook theGloryof man-like ormin Ez. 1, 26 to be Christis positivelyevidencedby anotherenumeration f the namesof theSonin the Old Testament:

[...] he is calledat one time "the Angelof greatcounsel"[Is. 9, 6], and "Man"(aner)by Ezekiel,and "like the Son of Man" by Daniel,and "Child"by Isaiah

As in the TripartiteTractate,the Son is called "Man". While theGnostic tractexpoundsthis nameby designationswhichundoubtedlysuggestthe figureof the Gloryin Ez. ch. 1, Justinevengives a clearreference o the Biblicalsource.The name "the Glory" is not expresslygiven to Christin JewishChristianity,but there is other evidence which corroborates theinferencethat the Jewish-Christiansegarded he Son as the man-likefigureenthronedn heaven.In the firstplace,we mustpayheedto the"Ebionite"teaching hatGod has a Body:

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For He has a Form(morphen),and He hasevery imbprimarily ndsolelyfor thesake of beauty kallos),andnot for use. For He does nothaveeyes n order hat Hemay see with them, for He sees on everyside, since He is incomparablymorebrilliant lamproteros)n His Body (soma)than the visualspiritwhich s in us, andHe is moresplendid photos)thaneverything, o thatin comparisonwith Himthelightof the sunmaybereckoned s darkness.Nor has He earsthatHemayhear,forHe hears,perceives,moves,energizes, and]actson everyside. But Hehas the mostbeautifulForm kallistenmorphen) naccountof man,so thatthepure n heartmaybe ableto see Him [...].2"

This text contains terms and concepts which make it justified to askwhether it is a description of the Glory. It has been seen that "Form"(morphe) is a word which is closely associated or even synonymous with"Glory" (doxa), and Justin uses both together with apparent referenceto the Son. The Jewish-Christian text uses "Form" and "Body" (soma)alternately of the physical appearance of God, as does the TripartiteTractate, where these terms appear as names of the Son, who obviouslyis identified as the Glory. Furthermore, the assertion in the "Ebionite"text that the elect actually are able to behold the bodily Form of God isan idea which we have found throughout the tradition about the Glory.The text contains a fresh element in that it says that the Form of Godis very beautiful. This is a motif which we also meet in a couple of thetexts where Quispel has discerned Gnostic versions of the Kabod. In theso-called Naassene Homily, summarized by Hippolytus, the celestialAdamas is called the "great and most beautiful and perfect Man"(megalou kai kallistou kai teleiou Anthropou).26 In Poimandres, thefirst tract of Corpus Hermeticum, it is said that Anthropos, the heaven-ly Man, "was exceedingly beautiful (perikalles) and wore his Father'simage (eikona), and God really loved His own Form (morphes) ...]." 27Again, when Anthropos looked down through the harmony of thespheres, "he showed to Physis below the beautiful Form of God (tenkalen tou theou morphen)," and Nature "saw the appearance of thebeautiful Form of Anthropos (tes kallistes morphes tou AnthrOpou toeidos) [reflected] in the water [...]." 28Thus, Poimandres teaches thatGod has a beautiful Form which is hypostasized in the form of acelestial Man.

The "Ebionite" text introduces us to another new element in thepicture of the divine Body in that it emphasizes its luminous nature. It isnot difficult to find a precedent for this representation. The prophetEzekiel gives the following description of the heavenly Man:

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I sawthatfromwhatappearedo be hiswaistuphe looked ikeglowingmetal,as iffull of fire, and that fromtheredown he looked likefire;and brilliant ightsur-roundedhim. Liketheappearancef a rainbownthecloudson a rainyday,so wasthe radiance roundhim. Thiswastheappearancef the likeness f theGloryof theLord.29

Quispel has evinced that the Gnostics, with a pun on phos, meaningboth "light" and "man", identified the heavenly Man with the lightwhich was brought into being on the first day of the creation: "AndGod said: 'Let there be phos!' and phos came into being."30 A briefsurvey of a couple of texts will make this point clear. The Letter ofEugnostos from Codex III of the Nag Hammadi libraryrelates that thehighest deity beheld himself within himself as in a mirror and "wasmanifested in His image (eine) as Self-Father [...]."31 In a later passage,we read:

In thebeginning,He [i.e., God]decided o letHisimage eine)come ntobeingas aGreatPower.Immediately,he archeof thatlightwas manifested s an immortal,androgynousMan.32Later on, this Man is called "Adam of the Light".33There can be nodoubt that this celestial Man of light who is God's hypostasized Formmust be the Glory.In On the Origin of the World from Codex II of the same Gnosticlibrary, the light which shone forth on the first day is said to haveenclosed the Man: "When this light appeared, an image (eine) of Man,which was marvellous, revealed itself within it."34 Later on, thisbeing-who is encompassed by light in a way recallingthe description ofthe Glory in Ez. 1, 27-28-is called "Light-Adam".35 As is the case inboth the "Naassene Homily" and Poimandres, the earthy man is madeafter the image of this heavenly Man.36It would seem that the Jewish-Christiansalso identified the Son withthe phOs in Gen. 1, 3. J. Zandee, demonstrating that the non-GnosticTeaching of Silvanus from Codex VII of the Nag Hammadi library issaturated with Jewish-Christian concepts, points out that thecharacterization of the Son as Phos ek Photos in the Nicaenum isforeshadowed in this tractate, where Christ is called "the Light of theEternal Light".37 That this expression derives from some exegesis ofGen. 1, 3 is possible. Moreover, it may have been derived from Jewishsources. Quispel has showed that Philo, when describing the Logos asthe celestial Man and the image after which the earthy man wasfashioned, reveals influence from heterodox Jewish traditions such as

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those foundin On theOriginof the World.38hiloactuallywould seemto knowthe exegesiswhichfound the Kabod n thephos in Gen. 1, 3,for he identifiesthis lightas the Logos:

God is light, for there is a verse in one of the Psalms, "The Lord is my illuminationand my saviour" [Ps. 27, 11. And He is not only light, but the archetype of everyother light, nay, prior to and high above every archetype, holding the position of themodel of a model. For the model or pattern was the Logos that contained all Hisfullness-even light (phOs), for as the lawgiver tells us, "God said: Let light (phos)come into being," whereas He Himself resembles none of the things which havecome into being."

Like the Son in Silvanus,Philo's Logos is light of the self-originatedand transcendentalightthatis God, andit thus turnsout to bepossiblethat the phrase n the Nag Hammadiwriting s baseduponan exegesisof Gen. 1, 3. This hypothesis s corroboratedby an enumerationofsomeof thenamesof Christat the bottomof theprecedingeaf, wherewe find "theFirstborn, heWisdom,thePrototype,theFirstLight."40Bythelastname,Silvanus,whichwaswrittennGreek nthelate2nd orearly 3rd century, probably indicates the primal phos which wasbrought nto beingon the firstday. This identificationwouldcarry heimplication hat the Son was the celestialMan, eventhe Kabod.4'Sincethe beautifuland brilliantbodilyFormof God in the Pseudo-ClementineHomiliesobviously s to berecognized s theGlory,it is notunreasonableo querywhether he "Ebionites" ook thisto be the Son.This is in factan identificationwhichappears o be deducible.As is wellknown, "the Pseudo-Clementines...] let Christ,the trueProphet,beidenticalwithAdam."42Theprimalman is the first incarnation f thetrue Prophet, "so Adam and Christare interchangeable;hey are as'trueProphet'identical."43That the trueProphetor the Son is olderthan the creation s statedoutright n theRecognitions:

Although he indeed was the Son of God and the beginning of all things, he was mademan (filius dei et initium omnium, homofactus est). Him first God anointed with oilwhich was taken from the wood of the Tree of Life. From that anointing, therefore,he is called "Christ".44

Adam-Christs the pre-existent"Form" or "Appearance"of the trueProphet ncarnate:But after all these things [i.e., those made prior to Adam], He [i.e., God] made man

(hominem), on whose account He had prepared all things, whose internal Form isolder (cuius internaspecies est antiquior), and for whose sake all things that are weremade [...].45

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This internaland pre-existentpeciesof Adam is givenas demathd ntheSyriac ranslation f theRecognitions,and W. Frankenbergendersit byeikonin his reconstructionf the Greekoriginal.46 hereconstruc-tion, however,is not necessarilyright. The LXX does not translatedemQthby eikon, but mostlyby homoioma,which means"form" aswell as "similarity" infrequentlyby homoiosis, "likeness",whichisnot a verycommonword).47n the Peshitta,the divineeikonof Christin 2 Cor. 4, 4 and Col. 1, 15 is translatedby the Syriaccognateforselem,"image".Butrenderinghe divinemorphe,"form", of Christ nPhil. 2, 6-where Quispelpersuasively rgues hat theSon is seen as theKabod48-the Peshitta uses demfithO.Moreover,we have seen thatPoimandreseaches hatAnthropos, hecelestialmodel of earthyman,wore God's eikon and was his morphe,and this obviouslycarriesanallusion to Gen. 1, 26, where we have selem/eikon anddemuth/homoiosis.Finally, let us note that the SibyllineOraclesuseeikon and morphetogetherwith clear reference o the sameBiblicaltext.49 All this shows that demfth, which means "form" or"appearance" s well as "copy" or "imitation",was seenas a Semiticequivalentof the Greekmorphe.The internal and pre-existent"Form" of Adam correspondstoAdamas n the"NaasseneHomily"andAnthroposn Poimandres.The"Homily"relates hatthefirstearthlymanwasthe "image"(eikon) nhis outwardappearance f the heavenlyAdamas,andthat the creatorsof the formermanaged o make Adamasa slave underthe laws of theastrologicaluniverse hroughthe captureand enclosureof his soul orspirit in this material image.50 Poimandres tells that Anthropos fell inlove with his own "form" (morphe) which was reflected andhypostasizedn matter,and thus "cameto inhabitthe irrational orm(morphe)."5 Lateron, it is toldthat"Physisproducedbodiesafter theform(eidos)of Anthropos."52n thematerialbody, Anthropos s saidto be presentas the higherelement,"soul and spirit".53Quispel has pointed out that there are both Jewish and Greekelements n theanthropogonicmythof the Gnostics.54 heJewishcon-cept of the celestialMan, the Kabod,has become the Platonicideaorarchetypeof man, and the Orphicallegorizationof the myth of theseveranceof Dionysosas the dispersionof the world soul into all menhasbeenadapted o explain hepresenceof theManin allmen. Butit isa thoroughlyJewish dea thatit is thebodyof manwhichwasmade onthe model of the Man, who is now present n all men as the spiritual

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element. The "Ebionites"-true to their heritage-continued thisgenuinely Jewish exegesis. Thus, Horn. 3, 7, 2 says that God is "Hewhose form (morphen) the body (sOma)of man bears," 55while 11, 4, 1expounds the statement that "the image of God (eikon theou) is man"by saying that "the body (soma) of man bears the image of God (eikonatheou)."'6 Since morphe and eikon are used synonymously, it reallydoes not matter which of the two is the original of species and demtthain Rec. 1, 28, 4. The important point to note is that Adam apparently isthe bodily "form" or "image" of his pre-existent "Form".In a chapter of the Homilies, it is argued that Adam did not sin andfall, and it is spoken the following of him who would deny this:For hewhoinsults heImage eikona) andthethingsbelongingo the EternalKing)has the sin reckoned s committed gainstHimafterWhose ikenesshomoiOsin)he

image(eikOn)was made.57That Adam was created "after" (kata) God's homoiosis obviouslyrefers to Gen. 1, 26, so it is perhaps not allowable to argue that theauthor by this word had mystical connotations-e.g., the demithkemarS 'adam/homoioma hos eidos anthropou of Ex. 1, 26-in mind.That Adam was "the image", however, is not stated in the Bible, andsince the concept of eikon always involves an archetype, this representa-tion must mean that Adam was the manifestation of God or of a divineaspect. If Adam is an "image" of God, there must be a way in whichGod or a certain aspect of him is human-like, and in an "Ebionite" con-text this can only refer to man's physical being. The divine archetype ofAdam thus obviously corresponds to his pre-existent "Form" in Rec. 1,28, 4 and must be identical with the beautiful and bright bodily Form(morphe, sOma) of God described in Horn. 17, 7, 2-4. Furthermore,since Adam is an incarnation of Christ, his pre-existent and internal"Form", even the Form or Body of God and thus the Kabod, must bethe Son.

The divine "form" or "image" carried by the body of every man ofcourse is inherited from Adam, the first of men, in the manner which isassumed in Gen. 5, 1-3.58Unlike the Gnostics, however, the Jewish-Christians did not use the idea of the indwelling of the celestial Man toillustrate an anthropological dualism; being anti-dualists, they framed itsoteriologically as the prerogative of the true Prophet, who is called fit-tingly the "Son of Man" in some passages.59When Epiphanius reports that some of the "Ebionites" said thatChrist "clothed" himself with the body of Adam, he apparently refers

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to a notionbeinganalogous o the Clementinedoctrine hat thedivineForm,eventheGlory,waswithinAdam. Afterhavingstated hatsomeof the "Ebionites"saidthatChrist sa spiritwho was createdbeforeallthings,he goes on to relatethat thesepeoplesaid:

He [i.e., Christ] comes into the world when he wishes, for he came into Adam (hoskai en to Adam eithe) and appeared to the patriarchsclothed with a body. He is thesame who went to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, and who came at the end of time andclothed himself with the body of Adam (auto to soma tou Adam enedysato), andwho appeared to men, was crucified, raised, and returned on high.60

This account actuallyseems to be a veraciousreproductionof theChristologicalview of the groupbehind the Clementine omance,foronlyAdam and Jesusappear o have been conceivedof as real ncarna-tions of the trueProphet,whereas he othermanifestations f the trueProphetwereregardedas mereconveyorsof the divinerevelation.61According o the bishopof Salamis,the Elchasaitesalso taughtthatChrist"put on" the body of Adam:

They confess Christ in name, believing that he was created and that he appears timeand again. He was formed for the first time in Adam, and he puts off the body ofAdam and assumes it again whenever he wishes (kai proton menpeplasthai auton ento Adam, ekdyesthai de auton to soma tou Adam kai palin endyesthai, hotebouletat).62

Epiphaniusn fact maintains hat the "Ebionites" becameinfluencedby theElchasaitesn Christologicalmattersandbeganto split upin fac-tions,63 utA. F. J. KlijnandG. J. Reininkprobablyarerightthat thisassertionmust be seenas an attempt o explainwhythe Christologyofthe Grundschriftof the Pseudo-Clementines id not agree with theadoptionistChristologyof the "Ebionites"reportedby the Patristicsourcesand found in the Gospel of theEbionites.6 SinceHippolytusmerelynotes the idea of the frequent appearancesof the ElchasaiteChrist,65everalscholars-presenting respective easoningsn supportof their contention-even have arguedthat Epiphanius'account ismodelledupon his descriptionof the "Ebionite" Christfigure.66Butthe source-criticalpproachdoes not seem to allowanyclear-cutsolutions.BlindlytrustingHippolytusdoes not seemwise.AlreadyW.Brandthad to admit that Hippolytus'reportthat Christrecentlyhadbeen born of a virgincould not have been foundedupon Elchasai'sbook, sinceEpiphanius ays that it is impossible o make out whetherElchasaispeaksabout "our Lord Jesus Christ".67Hippolytusstatesthat thenotion of thefrequent ppearancesf Christwas a Pythagorean

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idea adapted by Elchasai, and he uses Pythagorean concepts and terms(metensomatoumenon, metaggizesthai) in describingit. It is well knownthat the "bishop" of Rome held the opinion that all heresies derivedfrom Greek philosophy,68and he may very well have altered Elchasai'steaching of the method of the reincarnations of the Son in order tomake it look like a Pythagorean doctrine of metempsychosis in everdifferent bodies.

Furthermore, upon careful reading of Epiphanius, it transpires thatwhile the Elchasaite Christ always manifests himself in the body ofAdam, only the first and the last manifestation of the "Ebionite" Christare clothed with the body of Adam. Thus, the one account is not simplya copy of the other. Nor are Klijn and Reinink right that, "according toEpiphanius, the identification of Adam and Christ is a typical Elkesaitedoctrine,"69 so that the description of the Elchasaite Christ had aguideline in his antecedent account that some of the "Ebionites" said:"Christ is also Adam, who was the first man created and into whomGod's breath was blown."'7

This form of "Ebionite" Christology, however, appears to be quitesimilar to that of the presumablyJewish-ChristianSymmachians,7 whoare reported by Marius Victorinus to have said that "he [i.e., Christ] isalso Adam and a general soul."'2 There obviously was a conspicuoustendency among the Jewish-Christians to associate and even identifyChrist and Adam, and it is not improbable that the Elchasaites con-ceived of this association of the two as an incarnation of Christ in hisearthly eikon. In any case, that Christ "put on" the body of Adam isnot a phrase which was invented by Epiphanius when describing"Ebionite" Christology, for it occurs in a source which has been takento reveal a considerable amount of Jewish-Christian influence and thusevidences that its presence in the account of Elchasai's Christology isnot necessarily to be explained as a derivation from the report on the"Ebionites". In ch. 10 of the Syriac version of the Acts of Thomas,Christ is eulogized thus:

You are the Beginning, and you put on the first man. You are the Great Power, andthe Wisdom, and the Knowledge, and the Will and the Rest of your Father [...].73Similar to the representation of the Son in Justin's works, this passagefrom the encratite Acts describes the Son by many names, a patternwhich was adopted from a certain Jewish tradition about the agent ofGod, as can be seen from Philo. The idea that the intermediaryhad been

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present in Adam is possibly derived from Judaism; this would explainits occurrence in different Jewish-Christian quarters.A new point to be taken up from the passage from the Acts is thatChrist is called "the (Great) Power". This name is also found in Justin,who says:

It is, therefore,wrongto understand he Spiritand the Powerof God (dynamintheou)as anythingelse thanthe Logos, who is also the Firstbornof God, as theforesaidprophetMosesdeclared.7

Among the many names of the intermediary, we also find "thePower"." The idea of the power of God in the Old Testament expressesthe characteristic of the will of the personal God who guides personallife and history. In rabbinic literature, ha-gevird even occurs as a nameof God. In Jewish-Christian tradition, however, it is the Son who isnamed "the Power". Pointing out a parallel to the enumeration ofnames in the passage from the Acts of Thomas, Zandee cites thefollowing "enumeration of aspects of Christ" in Silvanus:

For the Tree of Life is Christ. He is Wisdom.For He is Wisdom. He is also theWord. He is theLife, the PowerandtheDoor. He is theLight,theAngel,andtheGoodShepherd.76Already in the Pauline corpus, Christ is both "the Power of God andthe Wisdom of God",77and the apostle goes on to relate that the princesof the world did not know the hidden "Wisdom of God" and thereforecrucified "the Lord of the Glory" (ton kyrion tes doxes)." Quispelargues that this means that Christ is identified with the Glory, since itcan be established that "the Power" was a name of the Glory in Jewishmysticism.79Thus, in Maasseh Merkabah, R. Aqiba says: "When Iascended and beheld the Power (ha-gevQrd),I saw all the creaturesthatare to be found in the pathways of heaven."80 In the Visions of Ezekiel,we read: "The Holy One, blessed be He, opened to him [i.e., to Ezekiel]the seven heavens, and he beheld the Power."81 Some lines below, thesentence is repeated with the following variation: "[...] and he beheldthe Glory (kavod) of God."The Gnostics could also use "the Power" as a name of the Glory, forwe have seen that the Letter of Eugnostos characterizes the heavenly"Adam of the Light" who is God's "image" as "Great Power" (nocn-com). Whatever is the explanation of "the Power" as a name ofChrist in Paul and Justin, the Jewish-Christians carriedon the esotericaluse of the term. A passage from Silvanus which is not quoted by Zandee

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reads: "A Great Power (noc n-amahte) and a Great Glory (noc n-ebu)has made the universe known."82 The name "the Great Glory", ha-kavOd ha-gad6l or megale doxa, is well known from the Merkabahtradition; it occurs as a name of the figure upon the heavenly throne inthe very early version of heavenly journey in 1 Enoch ch. 14, whichclearly recalls Ez. ch. 1. In the Hekaloth literature, its Aramaic counter-part, ziwd rabbd, is one of the names of Metatron, the chief angel.83Thename "the Great Power" is obviously evolved on the analogy of "theGreat Glory", just as "the Glory" and "the Power" are appearing asinterchangeable in the esoterical texts.

Thus, when the Jewish-Christians called the Son "the (Great)Power", they obviously identified him as the Glory. When the Acts ofThomas say that the Great Power "put on" the first man, we apparent-ly are meeting with the same idea as that expressed by the Pseudo-Clementines in the statement that Adam carrieshis pre-existent "Form"within his body, for "the Form" as well as "the Power" is a synonymof "the Glory".That "the (Great) Power" even could be used as a designation of theearthly manifestation of the Glory, the Body of God, is deducible fromthe title given to Simon Magus, who was hailed as he megale dynamis.s4This term has often been compared to the name of Elchasai.Epiphanius, giving the prophet's name as "Elxai", writes:

They[i.e., the Elchasaites] oldillusory deas,callinghim[i.e., Elxai or Elchasai]"HiddenPower" (dynaminapokekalymmenen),ince el means"power"and xai"hidden"."5The Semitic original of Elchasai's name, hel kesay, is also found in theSyriac translation of the Pseudo-Clementines; here, hayldkasyd denotesthe highest God who is incomprehensible to all.86 This concept ispermeating the Shiur Qomah mysticism as well as Gnosticism. TheMerkabah mystic thus grasps an incognizable secret: "God who isbeyond the sight of His creatures and hidden to the angels who serveHim, has revealed Himself to R. Aqiba in the vision of theMerkabah." 87

The angelus interpressays to R. Ishmael: "I am going to tell you whatis the measure of the Holy One, blessed be He, that is hidden from allthe creatures."88 Paradoxically, the visionary learns the "hidden"measures of God, which really pertain to the divine Glory.Another Shiur Qomah passage says: "His [i.e., God's] demuth ishidden from everyone."89 Still, as we have seen, God does reveal his

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"hidden" demfith, for this term denotes the Glory, the hypostasizedForm or Body of God, which could be beheld by the mystics.The visionary speaks thus about this mystery: "He is like us, as itwere, but greater than everything, and this is His Glory which is hiddenfrom us."90 The statement that the Glory is "like" men, but "greaterthan everything" and "hidden" from men, has a striking parallel in theaccount that the "Ebionites" received their "imagination" from

Elchasai,so thattheysuppose hat the Christ s a figure imilar o men, nvisible o men(einaiti androeikelonktypoma oratonanthropois),witha lengthof 96miles,that s, 24schoenoi,and a breadthof 6 schoenoi,24 miles, and with a thicknessof otherdimensions.9'

Yet, like the "Hidden Glory" reveals himself to the mystics, the "invisi-ble" Christ revealed himself to Elchasai.Since "the Power" is a term which is interchangeable with "the

Glory", it is apparent that Elchasai's name, the "Hidden Power",alludes to the concept of the Hidden Glory which we find in the laterShiur Qomah texts. Elchasai, then, apparently regarded himself as anew manifestation of the Adamic Christ, the Glory of God, who hadappeared to him in a vision.That the Elchasaites held the idea of continual incarnations of Christis recounted by Hippolytus, who gives it a Pythagorean tinge:

And he [i.e., Elchasai] sserts hat Christwas borna man n the samewaycommonto all, and thathe was not at this timeborn for the first time of a virgin,but thatbothpreviously nd frequently gainhe had beenbornandwould be born,wouldappearand exist, undergoing lterations f birth and movingfrombodyto body(toutonde ou nynprOtos kparthenougegennesthai, lia kaiproteron,kai authispollakisgennethenta aigennomenon ephenenai aiphyesthai,allassonta eneseiskai metensOmatoumenon).92

Since Elchasai prophesied the outbreak of an eschatological battleinvolving the cosmic powers in the thirdyear after the Parthian war, butstill under Trajan's rule,93 t would seem that he thought that he was thefinal manifestation of Christ. In this respect, Elchasai is comparable toSimon Magus, who-according to the system transmitted byIrenaeus-claimed to have been present in Jesus and then to havereturned before the world was about to be destroyed.94The self-consciousness of Elchasai explains the prayer in the form ofan anagram which has been preserved by Epiphanius: "Let none seek

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afterthe interpretation, ut let him only say in his prayer hesewords[...]: Abar anid moib nochile daasimane daasim nochilemoib anidabar. Selam."95Theexplanationof thisanagramhas been knownsince1858, when two Jewishscholars ndependently f each other realizedthatif we readfrom the middleoutwardsneitherdirection, heresult san Aramaicsentencemeaning:"I am witness(mshdl)overyou on theday of the great judgement." Behind this prayer which Elchasaiimpartedto his followers, we discern his self-assertionof being theParaclete, the "advocate" of "helper" of the believers before theforumof God on the day of judgement.96

To be true, Elchasaistyled himself as a "witness", and not as a"paraclete",but "martysandparakletosare so relatedconceptsthatthey actuallycan be interchanged."97 . Kretschmarccordingly lacestheconceptof thetwo "witnesses"n Rev. ch. 11intheJewish raditionof thejointappearance f twoMessiahsor twoangels,forboth of thesepairs can be conceived of as paracletes. Kretschmaralso viewsElchasai'svision of the Angel of the Son and the Angel of the Spiritagainstthisbackground,98ut the Son andthe Spiritarenot describedas paracletes,and theElchasaiteprayerknowsonlyone witnessbeforeGod. The Aramaicwordfor this "witness"occurs n thetranslationofced LXX: martys) n theTargum o Job 16, 19,whichusesmesahddodescribe Job's witness in heaven who endeavoursto vindicate manbefore the throneof God. In the next verse as well as in 33, 23, theTargum allsthispersonage eraqle.t.99Althoughcherishinghe ideaoftwo or even severalangelsactingasparacletes,Judaismalso continuedthis traditionof onlyoneguardianangel,andthissingularangel,usual-ly identifiedas Michael,could be conceivedof as the paracleteof allIsrael.'00In Christianity,of course,the heavenlyadvocatewas Christ,101ndthe notionof ChristbeingtheeschatologicalParacletes foundalreadythroughout the New Testament.'02Thus, according to a Jewish-Christiansentiment,Elchasai'spromise of being the eschatological"witness"of the believerswouldimplythat he took himself to be thefinal manifestationof Christ.The meaningof his name, the HiddenPower, undoubtedlysuggestedthis identityand is anotherpiece ofevidencethat the Son in JewishChristianitywas seen as the GloryofGod, since "the Power"appearsas interchangeable ith "the Glory"in the mystical exts.

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AppendixKretschmar thinks that the personification of the Holy Spirit in Chris-tianity must be explained as "a consequence of the fact that the exaltedChrist is and remains a person." 103 "To speak of an 'Angel of the HolySpirit' as in the 'Ascension of Isaiah' and the 'Shepherdof Hermas' [...]has, according to my knowledge, no parallel in late Judaism."'04G. Stroumsa, however, recently has tried to resolve the idea of the jointappearance of the masculine Angel of the Son and the feminine Angelof the Spirit in the Ascension of Isaiah and the Elchasaite tradition asderiving from the image of the two cherubimupon the Ark of the Cove-nant, which was conceived of as the divine throne.'?0There does seem tohave been a Jewish tradition which explained the two cherubim asmanifestations of God, and it is true that there were Jewish-Christianswho identified them as the Son and the Spirit, the latter having afeminine gender on Semitic soil; but evidence for the Jewish identifica-tion of one of the cherubimas the feminine Angel of the Spirit seems tobe lacking.'06Furthermore, although the cultic derivation may be rele-vant in the case of the Ascension,'07the background of Elchasai's visionseems different. As a conclusion of the present article, I will suggest atheory of derivation which sticks to the same provenance which appearsto have been determinative for the conception of the Son as the heavenlyMan.

In the argument to the effect that Adam did not sin, the Pseudo-Clementine Homilies say:If any one denies that the man (anthrOpos)who came from the hands of God theCreator of all things possessed the Great and Holy Spirit of divine foreknowledge,but acknowledges that another, born of a spurious stock, did this, how does he notcommit a grievous sin? [...] But then, he says, the Divine Spirit left him when hesinned. In that case, [the Spirit] sinned along with him; and how can he escape perilwho says this? But perhaps he received the Spirit after he sinned? Then it is given tothe unrighteous; and where is justice? But it was afforded to the just and the unjust[alike, he says]. This would be the most unrighteous of all.'0

The theme is taken up again three chapters below, where it is affirmedthat the true Prophet alone possessed the Spirit. Adam, who was thefirst incarnation of the Prophet, thus had the Spirit of God. We mustnote that the Holy Spirit in this Jewish-Christian literature is feminine,for she is identified with Sophia.'09The personification of the Spirit is not emphasized in the Homilies,but this changes when we look into the tradition behind the Jewish-

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Christiannotionthat Adampossessed heSpiritand did not sin. In oneof Philo's works,we find the following passage:Quite excellentlydoes Mosesdescribe he bestowalof namesalso to the firstman;for this is the businessof wisdomand royalty,and the first man was wisewithawisdom earned romandtaughtbyWisdom'sownlips, for he was madebydivinehands.He was,moreover, king,and it befits a ruler o bestow itleson hisseveralsubordinates.And we mayguessthat the sovereigntywithwhich he first man wasinvestedwasa mostlofty one, seeingthat God has fashionedhim withthe utmostcareanddeemedhimworthyof the secondplace,makinghimHis ownviceroyandlord of all others."0

This text appears o havepreservedraitsof a myth tellingthatAdamwas conductedand counselledby Wisdom.In the Book of Wisdom,thereare a coupleof passages o the sameeffect. In thebeginningof ch.9, we read that God throughhis Wisdomequippedman(en te Sophiasou kataskeuasas nthrOpon),o thathe became he rulerandjudgeofthe world."' In a parallel n the nextchapter,we evenread:She [viz., Wisdom] guardedto the end the first-formed ather of the world(prOtoplastonaterakosmou) hat was createdalone,and deliveredhimout of histransgressionexeilatoauton ek paraptOmatosdiou),and gave him powerto getdominionover all things."2

TheJewish-Christiandea that Adamdidnot sinobviouslyderives romthe Jewishtraditionwhichis reflected n this text. In the Jewishtext,Wisdomappearsas a personalforce consortingwith Adam and evenprotectinghim, and the "Ebionites" would seem to have availedthemselvesof this notionwhenteaching hatAdampossessed he Spiritand thereforecould not have sinned. It is true that the Jewishtextspeaksabout Wisdomandnot abouttheSpirit,butit is wellknownthatSophiaand the Spiritare identical n the Book of Wisdomand otherHellenisticJewishworks as wellas in the Pseudo-Clementines."3be lacking.'06 urthermore, lthoughthe cultic derivationmaybe rele-vantin thecaseof theAscension,'?' hebackground f Elchasai'svisionseems different.As a conclusionof the presentarticle,I will suggestatheoryof derivationwhichsticksto thesameprovenancewhichappearsto have beendeterminativeortheconceptionof the Son astheheavenlyMan.In the argument o the effect that Adam did not sin, the Pseudo-ClementineHomiliessay:

If any one deniesthat the man(anthrOpos) ho camefromthe handsof God theCreatorof all thingspossessed he GreatandHoly Spiritof divineforeknowledge,

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but acknowledges that another, born of a spurious stock, did this, how does he notcommit a grievous sin? [...] But then, he says, the Divine Spirit left him when hesinned. In that case, [the Spirit] sinned along with him; and how can he escape perilwho says this? But perhaps he received the Spirit after he sinned? Then it is given tothe unrighteous; and where is justice? But it was afforded to the just and the unjust[alike, he says]. This would be the most unrighteous of all.'08

The theme s takenup againthreechaptersbelow,where t is affirmedthat the trueProphetalone possessedthe Spirit.Adam, who was thefirstincarnationof the Prophet,thushad the Spiritof God. We mustnote that theHoly Spirit n thisJewish-Christianiteratures feminine,for she is identifiedwithSophia.'09The personification f the Spirit s not emphasizedn the Homilies,but this changeswhen we look into the traditionbehindthe Jewish-Christiannotionthat Adampossessed heSpiritand didnot sin. In oneof Philo's works,we find the followingpassage:Quite excellently does Moses describe the bestowal of names also to the first man;for this is the business of wisdom and royalty, and the first man was wise with awisdom learned from and taught by Wisdom's own lips, for he was made by divinehands. He was, moreover, a king, and it befits a ruler to bestow titles on his severalsubordinates. And we may guess that the sovereignty with which the first man wasinvested was a most lofty one, seeing that God has fashioned him with the utmostcare and deemed him worthy of the second place, making him His own viceroy andlord of all others.' ?

This textappears o havepreservedraitsof a mythtellingthat Adamwas conductedand counselledby Wisdom.In the Book of Wisdom,therearea coupleof passages o the sameeffect. In thebeginningof ch.9, we readthatGod throughhis Wisdomequippedman(en te Sophiasou kataskeuasas nthropon), o that he became he rulerandjudgeofthe world."' In a parallel n the nextchapter,we evenread:

She [viz., Wisdom] guarded to the end the first-formed father of the world(protoplaston patera kosmou) that was created alone, and delivered him out of histransgression (exeilato auton ek paraptomatos idiou), and gave him power to getdominion over all things."'

TheJewish-Christiandeathat Adamdidnot sinobviouslyderives romthe Jewishtraditionwhich is reflected n this text. In the Jewishtext,Wisdomappearsas a personalforce consortingwith Adamand evenprotectinghim, and the "Ebionites" would seem to have availedthemselvesof thisnotionwhenteaching hat Adampossessed heSpiritand thereforecould not have sinned. It is true that the Jewish text

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speaksabout Wisdomand notabout theSpirit,butit is wellknown hatSophiaand the Spiritare identical n the Book of Wisdomand otherHellenisticJewishworks as well as in the Pseudo-Clementines.Throughout his line of tradition,we have discernedan assimilationof the firstearthyman to thecelestialMan, which,in fact, is a trend obe distinguished n several branchesof Jewish and Judaizedlitera-ture.'14As regards he Philonictext, it is obvious that featuresusedinthedescriptionof theheavenlyMan have been transferredo hisearthyimage.The"Ebionite"textgoesa stepfurthern takingAdam to be anincarnation f the celestialMan. Thetext from Wisdom,however,goesstillfurther, ince t actuallyascribes re-existenceo the Manby callinghimthe "fatherof the world"(paterkosmou),whichwasa well-knowntitle of thedemiurgen the Hellenisticage.' Lateron, the rabbishadtomaintain:"Adamwascreatedon the eveof theSabbath i.e., at thelastmoment of the sixthday of the firstweek].And why?Lestthe minimshouldsay:'TheHolyOne,blessedbe He, had a partnern His workofcreation.' 116 TheAdamfigurerenouncedby therabbisobviouslywasidenticalwith thephOs hat wasbrought ntobeingon thefirstday, forthe Merkabahmystics actuallynamedthe Glory, the heavenlyMan,Y6serBere'fth, the "Creator n the Beginning"."'For unequivocal videnceof the associationof thecelestialManandWisdom, 1 Enoch is a primesource. The patriarchEnoch relates avision of the futureabodeof the elect:

And in thatplaceI saw thefountainof righteousness hichwas inexhaustible. ndaround t weremanyfountainsof wisdom.And all the thirstydrankof themandwere filled withwisdom,and theirdwellingswerewiththe righteous ndholyandelect. "Theelect, then,aregoingto be satisfiedwithwisdom ntheageto come.Then the "Son of Man", an idiom meaningsimply"man", is intro-duced and describedas a pre-existentpersonage:

Andat thathour,the Sonof Manwas named n thepresence f theLordof Spirits,and his namebeforethe Head of Days. Yea, beforethe sun and the signswerecreated,his namewas namedbefore the Lord of Spirits ...]."9WhentheSonof Man s met withforthe firsttime,he is depictedasone"whose countenance adtheappearance f man,"120a characterizationwhich-as pointedout by Quispel'2'-clearlyalludesto Ez. 1, 26 andidentifiesthe Son of Man as the Glory.Althoughthe Son of Man hasbeen hidden frommenin general,he has been revealed o the electbyWisdom:

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[...] he has beenchosenand hiddenbeforeHimbefore hecreation f the worldandfor evermore.And theWisdomof the Lordof Spiritshas revealedhim to theholyand righteous, or he haspreservedhe lot of the righteous.'22The heavenlyMan in 1 Enoch is closely associatedwith the divinewisdom. The beginningof the nextchapterpraiseshimthus:

Forwisdom s pouredout likewater,and thegloryfails not beforehimevermore.Forhe is mighty n all secretsof righteousness...]. Andin himdwells hespiritofwisdom,and the spiritof understandingnd of might,and thespiritof thosewhohavefallenasleep n righteousness.'23In thisrepresentationf theGlory,whichemploysIs. 11,2, we find thenow familiarassociationof the Spiritand Wisdom. To be true, thedivinewisdomorspirit n 1Enoch chs.48-49cannotbe definedas a per-sonal force, but-in the vein of Proverbsch. 8 and the apocrypha-Wisdom s describedas a hypostasis n the interpolatedpartin ch. 42,wheresheis said to be a heavenly igurewhoonce came down to earth,but wasdisconcerted ndascended o take herplace amongtheangels.If, withthispicturenmind,one alsoseesthat,in theBible,thepresenceof the Spirit s a markof the messianicage,'24and that the apocryphaimplythatWisdom"willreturnn Messianicimes,"125thenit is easytosee thata readerof 1 Enoch could draw heconclusion hat theheavenlyMessiah, heKabod,whenheshouldmanifesthimself,wouldbe accom-paniedby Sophiaor the Spirit.

NOTESSee Ez. 1, 26-28.

2 See Hermetism nd the NewTestament, speciallyPaul,AufstiegundNiedergang err6mischenWelt I. 22(GnostizismusndVerwandtes),d. W. Haase Berlin&NewYork[appearing,t is hoped,in the foreseeableuture]);Ezekiel1:26 n JewishMysticism ndGnosis, VigiliaeChristianae 4 (1980)1-13.3 See Hipp. Ref. omn. haer.9, 13, 4. Cf. Epiphan.Pan. 19, 1, 4. It seems that themajority f scholars ccept hedategivenbyHippolytus.However,A. F. J. Klijn&G. J.Reinink,ed. & trans., PatristicEvidence or Jewish-Christianects, SupplementsoNovumTestamentum XXVI(Leiden1973)56 n. 1, 60, 66-67,connect hebeginning fthe Elchasaitemovementwith the events of the Parthianwar (114-116),becauseHip-polytusquotesElchasai s having aid:"[...] when hreeyearsof thereignof theemperorTrajanare againcompleted rom the time that he subjected he Parthians o his ownsway-when threeyearshavebeencompleted,warragesbetween heimpiousangelsof thenorth" 9, 16,4 [Klijn&Reinink,118]).Inanycase,sincethisprophecywasnot fulfilled,it musthavebeenfixed n literaryormbefore hedeathof Trajan, .e., in 117.Thiscom-pelsusto date theorigination f Elchasaitismo sometimeduring he firstfifteenyearsof

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the 2nd century; ee G. Strecker,Elkesai,Reallexikonir Antike und Christentum V(Stuttgart1959)1173.4 Ref. 9, 13,2-3(Klijn&Reinink,114).Cf. Epiphan.Pan. 19,4, 1-2;30, 17,6; 53, 1,9.For the vision,seeW. Brandt,Elchasai Leipzig1912)58-60.' See M. Smith,Observations n HekhalotRabbati,Biblicaland OtherStudies,PhilipW. LownIstituteof AdvancedJudaicStudies,BrandeisUniversityStudiesand Texts1,ed. A. Altmann Cambridge,Mass. 1963)151.6 SeferRaziel37a. Translationn J. A. Eisenmenger, ntdecktes udentumFrankfurt1700)3, and inQuispel,Hermetism, hapterV. Several ragmentswithvariant eadings fthe ShiurQomah ext in SeferRaziel37a-38bare foundin S. Musajoff,ed., MerkabahShelemah Jerusalem 921,reprinted 971)34a-43a.' See In CanticumCanticorum, rologus.8 See JewishGnosticism,MerkabahMysticism,and TalmudicTradition,The JewishTheologicalSeminary f America NewYork1960)38-40.9 See 17, 7, 2-4. Seebelow,265.'0 See Iren.Adv. haer.1, 14,3. SeeGaster,DasSchiurKomah, n hisStudiesand TextsII (London1927)1344.G. Scholem,MajorTrends nJewishMysticismNewYork31954andreprints) 5, andKabbalah,Library f JewishKnowledgeJerusalem 974)17,notesthat this formof Jewishmysticisms also discerniblenotherGnostic extsandinmagicalmaterial rom the 2nd and 3rdcentury." See Scholem,Kabbalah17.12 Ch. 13 (A. Vaillant,ed. a trans.,Le livre des secretsd'Henoch,Textespublidsparl'Institutd'ltudes slavesIV [Paris21952,reprinted 976]38).3Epiphan. o.c. 30, 17, 6 (Klijn&Reinink,186).Cf. Brandt,60.14 Kabbalah 17.'5 See Klijn&Reinink,66-67with n. 1 on 67.16 O.c. 19, 3, 4 (Klijna Reinink,156)." Hipp.o.c. 9, 15, 1 reports hatthe Elchasaites aptize n the nameof God and "hisSon, theGreatKing"(Klijn&Reinink,116).'s Musajoff,35a-b. Christ s called "theGreatKing" nDid. 14,3, but thisis a quota-tion fromMal. 1, 14. In the Bible,it is God who is "the GreatKing".9 66, 8-16(R. Kasser,M. Malinine,H.-Ch.Puech,G. Quispel&J. Zandee, d.a trans.,TractatusTripartitus [De supernis]Bern1973]96).

20 In viewof the use of theCopticwordhoin66, 14of the Tripartite ractate,t is worthnotingthat the parallelof doxain LXX Ps. 16, 15 is prosopon.21 1 Apol. 9, 1-3(E. J. Goodspeed, d., Die altestenApologeten Gottingen1914]31).22 See E. R. Goodenough,TheTheology f JustinMartyr Jena1923)147-148,168-172.Cf. now A. F. Segal,TwoPowers nHeaven,Studies n Judaismn LateAntiquityXXV(Leiden1977)160-181,221-225.23 Dial. c. Tryph.61, 1 (Goodspeed,166).Cf. Diogn. 9, 6; see belown. 37.24 Dial. 126, 1 (Goodspeed,246). Quispel,Hermetism, hapter V, and Ezekiel2, citesJust. Dial. 128, 2 as evidence that Justin as well as his predecessorsheld that theintermediary as the Kabodof Ez. 1, 26-28,butthefigurewho is calleddoxaand said toappear n a visionin this passagewould rather eem to be the Angelof the Lord,whomanifestedhimself"in thegloryof fire as at the bush"(Goodspeed, 49).Cf. Ex. ch. 3.JustinspeaksabouttheangelophanytSodom,"the vision n thebush","thenamingofJoshua",and the appearances f the Angelof the Lord to the patriarchs.

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2 Horn.17, 7, 2-4(B. Rehm,ed., Die Pseudoklementinen[Homilien],GCS42 (Berlin&Leipzig1953]232).26 Hipp. o.c. 5, 7, 7 (P. Wendland,ed., Hippolytus, Werke3 [Refutatioomniumhaeresium],GCS 26 [Leipzig1916,reprintedHildesheim&NewYork1977]80).27 12(A. D. Nock,ed., &A.-J. Festugiere,rans.,CorpusHermeticum [Traites -XII],Collectiondes Universites e France, 'associationGuillaumeBude[Paris1945]10).28 14 (Nock &Festugiere, 11).29 Ez. 1, 27-28b.Translation fter TheHolyBible. NewInternationalVersionLondonetc. 1978).30 Gen. 1, 3. SeeQuispel,Hermetism, haptersX. 3 andXII;Ezekiel6.31 75, 5-6 (TheFacsimileEditionof theNag HammadiCodicesIII, editorialboardS.Faridet al. [Leiden1976]75).32 76, 19-24 FacsimileEdition III76).31 81, 12(FacsimileEditionIII79).34 108,7-9 (FacsimileEdition II [Leiden1974] 120).35 108,21 (FacsimileEditionII 120).36 See 112,26-113,10. For the "Homily"andPoimandres, ee below,268.37 113,6-7 (FacsimileEdition VII [Leiden1972]119).See Zandee,"TheTeachings fSilvanus" NHC VII, 4) and JewishChristianity, tudies n Gnosticism ndHellenisticReligions Presentedo GillesQuispelon the Occasionof his65thBirthday), d. R. vanden Broek & M. J. Vermaseren,Etudes preliminaires ux religionsorientalesdansl'EmpireRomain 1(Leiden1981)566.Seealso 106,26 and112,36-37; ee below272and267. In a longlist of names n Diogn. 9, 6, Jesus s bothphos anddoxa.38 SeeHermetism, hapterXII;Ezekiel4-5.39 De somn. I. 75 (F. H. Colson & G. H. Whitaker, d. &trans.,Philo V, The LoebClassicalLibrary London&Cambridge,Mass.,1934andreprints] 36).In De op. mundi29-31, thephos in Gen. 1, 3 is the invisible ightof reasonandan imageof the Logos.40 112, 35-37(FacsimileEditionVII 118).41 It is possible hatthisidentification lso is implied n the archaicChristologicalitle"Day", for this nameobviouslyderivesfrom collectionsof Old Testament estimoniawhichmayhave includedGen. 1, 5, "AndGodcalledthephos 'day'." For hemeraas anameof Christ,see J. Danielou,TheTheology f JewishChristianity, heDevelopmentof ChristianDoctrinebeforetheCouncilof NicaeaI, trans.J. A. Baker London1964)168-172.

Traditionsuchas thoseexamined boveareapplied o Moses n Samaritanism, herethegreat prophet s identifiedwiththe primordialightandseenas the divine mage.Agenerallyappositecollationof some texts with Philonic and Kabbalistic videncewasmade alreadyby M. Heidenheim,Zur Logoslehreder Samaritaner,Deutsche Viertel-jahresschriftffurheologischeForschungndKritik,4/1 (1868)126-128.Cf. further elown. 59.42 H. J. Schoeps, TheologieundGeschichte esJudenchristentumsTiibingen1949)99.Cf. 103:"Adamand Christarethusin the end thesame."43 G. Strecker,Das Judenchristentumn denPseudoklementinen,U 70 (Berlin1958)148. Syrian conographicmaterial hows Adambeingseatedupona throne n Paradiseand assimilated o Christ;see M.-T. & P. Canivet,La mosaiqued'Adamdans l'eglisesyriennede Htiarte VeS.), CahiersArcheologiques4 (1975)49-69. Cf. belown. 114.44 1, 45,4-5(B. Rehm,ed.,Die PseudoklementinenI[RekognitionennRufinsUberset-zung],GCS51 [Berlin1965]34).

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5 Rec. 1, 28, 4 (Rehm, II 24).46 See Die syrischen Clementinen, mit griechischen Parallelltext, TU 48/3 (Berlin &Leipzig 1937) 36.

7 The exception to the rule is Gen. 5, 1, where the demath 'elohim of man is translatedeikon theou, as is selem 'elohim in Gen. 1, 27. In Gen. 5, 3, idea renders demith in thestatement that Adam begot a son "after his form (idean), after his image (eikona)."4 See Hermetism, chapter XI; Ezekiel 8-9.49 See III, 8 and 27.50 See Hipp. o.c. 5, 7, 6-7.5 14 (Nock &Festugiere, 11).52 17 (Nock &Festugiere, 12).53 Ibid.54 See Hermetism, chapters II, VI, X. 4, XII et passim; Ezekiel 4-5.S5 Rehm, I 59.56 Ibid. 155.

7 3, 17, 2 (Rehm, I 62).58 "[...] the transmission of the divine likeness is thought of in terms of the physicalsequence of generations and therefore obviously in a physical sense" (G. Kittel, ixwcv,Theological Dictionary of the New Testament II, ed. G. Kittel & trans. G. W. Bromiley[Grand Rapids 1964 and reprints] 391). Cf. above n. 47.59 See C. Colpe, 6 ui6orou&vOpcpou, Theological Dictionary of the New TestamentVIII,ed. G. Friedrich & trans. G. W. Bromiley (Grand Rapids 1972 and reprints) 474. TheSamaritans teach that the premundane light-image of Moses was transmitted fromrighteous to righteous in every generation, beginning with Adam and ending with Moses;see J. Macdonald. The Theology of the Samaritans, New Testament Library (London1964) 162-179, 314-320. Cf. above n. 41.60 O.c. 30, 3, 5 (Klijn &Reinink, 178).61 See Schoeps, 106-110.62 O.c. 53, 1, 8 (Klijn &Reinink, 196).63 See o.c. 30, 3, 1-2.64 See o.c. 33, 37, 43, 65. Cf. Strecker, Judenchristentum 151-153.65 See o.c. 9, 14, 1; 10, 29, 2. See below, 274.66 See, e.g., Brandt, 81 and 84; Strecker, Elkesai 1175-1176 and 1179; Klijn &Reinink,loc. cit. (see n. 64).67 See 81-82. Because Brandt misunderstood Epiphan. o.c. 30, 3, 5 to say that the"Ebionite" Christ "always appears solely with the body of Adam," he was able topostulate a dependence of the account of the Elchasaites upon that of the "Ebionites".68 See o.c. 1, preamble 11.69 O.c. 33. Italics mine.70 O.c. 30, 3, 3 (Klijn &Reinink, 176/178).71 For a survey of the sources, see Klijn &Reinink, 52-54.72 In ep. ad Gal. 1, 15 (Klijn &Reinink, 232).73 P. Bedjan, ed., Acta Martyrum et Sanctorum III (Paris 1892) 11.

4 1 Apol. 33, 6 (Goodspeed, 49).5 Cf. the logike dynamis in the passage from Dial. 61, 1 quoted above 264. In Dial. 128,

2, the intermediary manifesting himself on earth is called "the Power from the Father".Cf. above n. 24.

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76 106,21-28(FacsimileEditionVII 112).Zandee,552quotesaccordingo the transla-tion of A. F. J. Klijn, rans.,TheActsof Thomas,Supplementso NovumTestamentumV (Leiden1962)70, whobaseshimselfon the textin W. Wright,ed., ApocryphalActsoftheApostlesI (London 1871),whichreadsonly "the Power"(179).Although t makeslittleor no difference, havechosenBedjan's ext,whichcontainsvariations n thebasisof a BerlinMS.77 1 Cor. 1, 24.78 2, 7-8.79 See Hermetism, haptersXI andXII;Ezekiel10.80 ? 2 (Scholem,JewishGnosticism103).8' S. A. Wertheimer, d., BatteiMidrashot I (Jerusalem 1954 [byA. J. Wertheimer])129.82 112,8-10 (Facsimile Edition VII 118).83 E.g., in the early post-Talmudic ract called the Alphabet of R. Aqiba; seeWertheimer,I 354. Scholem,JewishGnosticism 7, asserts hat even Matt.26, 64 andMark14, 62, "You shallseetheSonof Manseatedat therighthandof thePower,"alludeto a visionof the Glory.Thisis certainly he interpretationn the Ascensionof Isaiah,where hevisionary aysthat he "sawhim[i.e., Christ] it down at therighthandof thatGreatGlory" 11,32).James he Justsaid thatJesuswassittingat therightof "theGreatPower"(accordingo Hegesippus,quotedby Euseb.Hist. eccl. 2, 23, 13).84 Acts 8, 10. Later,this form of the term was used of Melchizedek,who-althoughbeingregarded s a divinebeing-was known o haveappeared nearth; eeHipp.o.c. 7,36, 16;et al.85 O.c. 19, 2, 2 (Klijn &Reinink, 156).86 See Rec. 2, 50, 2; 2, 51, 6.87 HekhalotZutratiMS. Oxford 153145b (Scholem,MajorTrends364 n. 80).88 Sefer Raziel 37a.89 Musajoff, 41b.90 HekhalotZutratiMS. Oxford 153140b (Scholem,MajorTrends365n. 92).91 Epiphan.o.c. 30, 17, 6 (Klijn&Reinink,186).Cf. Ps.-Clem. Hom. 17, 16, whichspeaksof the"incorporeal"asarkos) ivinemorphe rdynamis,whichparadoxicallyanbe seenby thejust.92 O.c. 9, 14, 1(Klijn&Reinink,186).In 10,29, 2, Hippolytus aysthat theElchasaitestaught hatChrist"wasmanifestedn manypeopleat different imes"(Klijn&Reinink,122).93 See aboven. 3.94 ForSimonMagusas a novelmanifestation f Christ, eeIren.Adv. haer.1, 23, 1and3. For Simon'steachingabout the imminentend, see ibid. 1, 23, 3 (at the end). Thewarningagainstthe messianicpretendersn Mark13, 6 maybe directedagainstpeopleclaiming to be Jesus returningor incarnatedanew; see, of late, R. Pesch, DasMarkusevangelium I, Herders theologischerKommentarzum Neuen Testament(Freiburgtc. 1977)279. Fora surveyof exegesis,see V. Howard,Das Ego Jesuin densynoptischenEvangelien,MarburgerheologischeStudien14(Marburg 975)117-121.SinceMandean ndSyrianChristianextsdesignate heSpiritcomingdownuponthebaptismalwateras"thePower"oreven"the HiddenPower",G. Widengren,TheAscen-sion of theApostleand theHeavenlyBook, KingandSaviour II, UppsalaUniversitetsArsskrift ActaUniversitatisUppsaliensis) 950:7 Uppsala&Leipzig/Wiesbaden 950),

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asserts hat the namesof Simonand Elchasaimplied heclaimof theprophetso be "theincarnateSpiritof God" (55). Moreover, hereis some evidence o the effect that theSpiritwasseenas theGloryof God;seeE. Peterson,Das AmulettvonAcre, Friihkirche,Judentumund Gnosis Romeetc. 1959)351-352. t is truethat theGospelof theHebrews(quotedby Jer. Comm. in Is. 4, ad 9, 2) and the Gospel of the Ebionites quotedbyEpiphan.o.c. 30, 13,7) relate hattheSpiritunitedwithJesuswhenhe cameupfromthewatersof hisbaptism,and theActs of Thomasdo saythat"the HiddenPower",thatis,theSpirit,"dwells n the Messiah" ch. 132).In thisdiscussion, t would havealsoto beconsideredwhether he so-calledMelchizedekiansaught hat "the GreatPower",thatis,Melchizedek,was theSpiritwhichdescended ponJesus; hisis at leastwhat s suggestedby latersourcesas MarcusEremita,De Melch.ch. 4. To Monarchiansf theadoptionistbranch, he Spiritwouldnaturallybe identicalwith theGlory,but thegroupbehind hePseudo-Clementinesnd the Elchasaites aughtthe pre-existence f Christand wouldratherregard heGloryand Christas one.95 O.c. 19,4, 3 (Klijn&Reinink,158).96 "As regardsthe translationof IapaxXi-ro ...], no single word can provideanadequate endering.f weareto avoidthe alienParaclete, ...] "supporter" r"helper" sperhaps best, though the basic concept and sustaining religious idea is that of"advocate"" (J. Behm,wxap6ArroC,heologicalDictionary f theNew TestamentV, ed.G. Friedrich& trans. G. W. Bromiley[GrandRapids 1968 and reprints]814). TheMelchizedekiansook "the Great Power" that was Melchizedeko be an advocatus,thoughnot for men but for the angels;see Ps.-Tert.Adv. omn. haer. ch. 8.97 G. Kretschmar,Studien zur frihchristlichen Trinitatstheologie,Beitrage zurhistorischenTheologie21 (Ttlbingen 956)104. Cf. 121 n. 3.98 See ibid. 98-99.99 See S. Mowinckel,Die Vorstellungendes Spatjudentums om heiligenGeist alsFiirsprecherund der johanneischeParaklet, Zeitschriftfir die neutestamentlicheWissenschaft2 (1933)109-110.100 SeeW. Lueken,Michael Gottingen1898)7-12;Behm,810.1''"In laceof the manyadvocateswhichJudaism oundto defendtherighteousbeforethe forumof theheavenlyudge, primitiveChristianityecognises nlyoneadvocatewiththeFather,JesusChrist ...]" (Behm,812).TheSpirit s also a paraclete,hough"not thedefenderof the disciplesbefore God but theircounselin relation o the world"(ibid.803-804).Cf. ibid. 813.102 See Matt. 10, 32-33;Luke9, 26 and 12, 8-9;Rev.3, 5. Cf. Mark8, 38. See furtherMatt.7, 21-23. Cf. Behm,812.

03 O.c. 122-123.04 Ibid. 123.

'O5 SeeLecouplede l'angeet de l'esprit: raditionsuivesetchretiennes,RevueBiblique88 (1981)42-61.106 The Book of Sirach24, 10 tellsthat Wisdomwaspresentn theTabernacle nd wasestablished n Sion,obviouslybecause hewasidentifiedwiththeLaw,whichwaskept nthe Arkin theHolyof Holies;and thefigureof Wisdom s manifestlydentifiedwithboththemasculineAngelof theLordandthe feminineSpiritof Godin 24, 3-4. A midrashnYoma 54a describes he two cherubimas two lovers, one male and one female. SeeStroumsa, 47-48, 53, 54-55.107 The SonandtheSpiritaresittingon therightandthe left of the GreatGloryon thedivinethrone.Cf. above n. 83.

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'08 3, 17, 1 and 3-5 (Rehm,I 62). Forquotationof 3, 17, 2, seeabove,269.'09 See 16, 12, 1."0 De op. mundi148(F. H. Colson&G. H. Whitaker, d. & rans.,Philo I, The LoebClassicalLibrary London&Cambridge,Mass., 1929andreprints] 16)."' 9, 2 (J. Reider,ed. & rans.,TheBookof Wisdom,DropsieCollegeEdition,JewishApocryphalLiterature (NewYork1957) 126).112 10, 1-2 (Reider, 132).13 SeeSir.24, 3; Wisd.1, 4-7;7, 7 and22;9-10and 17; Philo,De op. mundi135and144;De gig. 22 and 27.'4 See J. Fossum,TheNameof God and theAngel of the Lord(Diss., Utrecht1982)171-172with n. 427on 466, 282-305with relevantnoteson499-503.Especiallymportantarethe traditionsnthe so-calledAdamic iterature,whereAdam s named he"image"ofGodandpromisedo regainhisoriginal oftystatusandbeenthronedn heavenat theendof times.As I havepointedoutin the mentionedwork,theapocalyptic isionof Adam nch. 11of the long recension f the Testament f Abraham,a Jewishwritingwhichhasbeendated o the firstcenturyC.E., contains learallusions o thefigureof theGloryandthus indicates he provenance nd high age of this imagery.The TestamentdescribesAdamas an "all-marvellousMan" hoanerhopanthaumastos)eatedona golden hronein heavenwatchinghegodlyenteringParadise nd the wickedgoingto hell,andit is saidthat "theappearancef the Man heideatouanthropou)wasterrible,ike untothatof theLord"(M. R. James,ed., The Testament f Abraham,Textand Studies2/2 [Cambridge1892]88). Therecan be no doubt that thisrefers o LXX Ez. 1, 26, where he Kabodonthe heavenly hrone s described s homoiomahos eidosanthropou.In my dissertation, did not note that the Testament oes on to depicta "wondrousMan(aner) hiningikethesun,"who sits on a fierycrystal hroneandjudges hesoulsofmen(ch. 13[James,92]).This visionhaspertinently eencomparedo that of "the GreatGlory"in 1 Enoch ch. 14;see G. H. McCurdy,PlatonicOrphismn the Testament fAbraham,Journalof BiblicalLiterature 1 (1942)224. Ch. 10 of the short recensionsalso veryinteresting;t describes"the Man" as beingof exceedingly reatstatureandwearing hreegoldencrowns.The attribution f immense tature o "the Man" showsthat theenormousdimensions f the Glorywasan idea whichwasknownat Elchasai'stime. His threecrownsare reminiscentf the threecrownsof Adam nPs.-Clem.Rec. 1,46. This"Man",however,s notAdambutAbel;butit is onaccountof his father hatheholds his lofty office: "For every man has sprungfrom Adam the protoplast,andthereforehere firstby his son all arejudged"(ch. 13of thelongrecensionJames,92]).Adam, then,is theoriginal epresentationf theGlory,and his statushaspassedovertohis offspring.'5 See A. Dupont-Sommer, dam. 'P6redu Monde'dansla Sagessede Solomon(10,1.2), Revuede l'histoiredes religions119(1939)182-203.116 Sanh. 38a(L. Goldschmidt,d. & rans.,DerbabylonischeTalmudVII[TheHague1933] 153).Parallel n ToseftaSanh.8, 7.'7 SeeScholem,MajorTrends 5-66.Quispel,Hermetism, haptersX passimand XII

passim, pointsout tracesof the cosmogonic unctionof the heavenlyManin Gnostictexts.I"8 48, 1 (M. A. Knibb,ed. &trans.[inconsultationwith E. Ullendorff],TheEthiopicBook of Enoch 1 [The Text] [Oxford 1978] 133-134). I reproduce the well-known transla-tionby R. H. Charles, d., TheApocrypha ndPseudepigraphaf the Old TestamentnEnglish II (Pseudepigrapha) (Oxford 1913 and reprints) 216-217.

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JEWISH-CHRISTIAN CHRISTOLOGY AND JEWISH MYSTICISM 287

948, 2-3 (Knibb, 134).120 46, 1 (Knibb, 128).121 See Hermetism, chapter III; Ezekiel 2.122 48, 7a (Knibb, 135).

23 49, 1-2a and 3 (Knibb, 137).24 See Is. 32, 15; 44, 3; Ez. 36, 26-27; 39, 29; Joel 3, 1-2. Cf. Jub. 1, 23; 1 Q S 4, 21.

125 Charles, 213 (note ad 42, 1-2) with references.3721 CD Bilthoven, St. Hubertuslaan 18

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