Such were the men composing the council of priests, when the Sanhedrin

assembled to judge Christ. Were we not justified in forming of them an

unfavorable opinion?... But let us pass on to the second chamber, viz.,

the chamber of the scribes.

II. CHAMBER OF THE SCRIBES

Let us recall in a few words who the scribes were. Chosen

indiscriminately among the Levites and laity, they formed the _corps

savant_ of the nation; they were doctors in Israel, and were held in

high esteem and veneration. It is well known what respect the Jews, and

the Eastern nations generally, have always had for their _wise men_.

Next to the chamber of the priests, that of the scribes was the most

important. But from information gathered from the documents to which we

have already referred, we are constrained to affirm that, with a few

individual exceptions, this chamber was no better than that of the

priests.

The following is a list of the names and histories of the _wise men_ who

composed the chamber of the scribes at the trial of Christ:

GAMALIEL, surnamed the ancient. He was a very worthy Israelite, and his

name is spoken of with honor in the Talmud as well as in the Acts of the

Apostles. He belonged to a noble family, being a grandson of the famous

Hillel, who, coming from Babylon forty years before Christ, taught with

such brilliant success in Jerusalem. Gamaliel acquired so great a

reputation among his people for his scientific acquirements that the

Talmud could say of him: "_With the death of Rabbi Gamaliel the glory of

the law has departed._" It was at the feet of this doctor that Saul,

afterwards Paul the apostle, studied the law and Jewish traditions, and

we know how he gloried in this fact. Gamaliel had also among his

disciples Barnabas and Stephen, the first martyr for the cause of

Christ. When the members of the Sanhedrin discussed the expediency of

putting the apostles to death, this worthy Israelite prevented the

passing of the sentence by pronouncing these celebrated words: "Ye men

of Israel, take heed to yourselves what ye intend to do as touching

these men.... And now I say unto you, refrain from these men, and let

them alone; for if this counsel be of men it will come to naught; but if

it be of God ye cannot overthrow it; lest haply ye be found even to

fight against God." Gamaliel died nineteen years after Christ (52 A.D.).

(Acts v. 34-39; xxii. 3; Mishna, "Sotah," or "the Woman Suspected of

Adultery," C. IX.; "Sepher Juchasin," or "the Book of the Ancestors," p.

53; David Ganz, "Germe de David ou Chronologie" to 4768; Bartolocci,

"Bibliotheca magna Rabbinica," T. i. pp. 727-732.)

SIMON, son of Gamaliel, like his father, had a seat in the assembly. The

rabbinical books speak of him in the highest terms of eulogy. The

Mishna, for instance, attributes to him this sentence: "Brought up from

my infancy among learned men, I have found nothing that is of greater

value to man than silence. Doctrines are not the chief things, but work.

He who is in the habit of much talking falls easily into error." This

Simon became afterwards the intimate friend of the too celebrated

bandit, John of Giscala, whose excesses and cruelty toward the Romans,

and even the Jews, caused Titus to order the pillaging of Jerusalem.

Simon was killed in the last assault in 70 A.D. (David Ganz,

"Chronologie" to 4810; Mishna, "Aboth," or "of the Fathers," C. I.;

"Talmud," Jerusalem, "Berachoth," or "of Blessings," fol. 6, verso;

"Historia Docorium Misnicorum," J. H. Otthonis, pp. 110-113; De

Champagny, "Rome et la Judée," T. ii. 86-171.)

ONKELOS was born of heathen parents, but embraced Judaism, and became

one of the most eminent disciples of Gamaliel. He is the author of the

famous Chaldaic paraphrase of the Pentateuch. Although the rabbinical

books do not mention him as a member of the Sanhedrin, yet it is highly

probable that he belonged to that body, his writings and memory having

always been held in great esteem by the Jews; even at the present day

every Jew is enjoined to read weekly a portion of his version of the

books of Moses. Onkelos carried the Pharisaical intolerance to the last

degree. Converted from idolatry to Judaism, he hated the Gentiles to

such an extent that he cast into the Dead Sea, as an object of impurity,

the sum of money that he had inherited from his parents. We can easily

understand how that, with such a disposition, he would not be favorably

inclined toward Jesus, who received Gentiles and Jews alike. ("Talmud,"

"Megilla," or "Festival of Esther," fol. 3, verso; "Baba-bathra," or

"the Last Gate," fol. 134, verso; "Succa," or "the Festival of

Tabernacles," fol. 28, verso; "Thosephthoth," or "Supplements to the

Mishna," C. v.; Rabbi Gedalia, "Tzaltzeleth Hakkabalah," or "the Chain

of the Kabalah," p. 28; "Histor. Doct. Misnic.," p. 110; De Rossi,

"Dizionario degli Autori Ebrei," p. 81.)

JONATHAN _ben_ UZIEL, author of a very remarkable paraphrase of the

Pentateuch and the Prophets. There is a difference of opinion regarding

the precise time at which he lived. Some place it several years before

Christ; others at the time of Christ. We believe, however, that not only

was he contemporary with Christ, but that he was also one of his judges.

In support of our assertion we give the two following proofs, which we

think indisputable: 1. Jonathan, the translator of the Prophets, has

purposely omitted Daniel, which omission the Talmud explains as due to

the special intervention of an angel who informed him that the manner in

which the prophet speaks of the death of the Messiah coincided too

exactly with that of Jesus of Nazareth. Now, since Jonathan has

intentionally left out the prophecies of Daniel on account of their

coincidence with the death of Christ, it proves that he could not have

lived before Christ, but must have been contemporary with him. 2. In

comparing the paraphrase of Onkelos with that of Jonathan, we find that

the latter had made use of the work of the former, who lived in the time

of Christ. Examples may be found in Deut. xxii. 5, Judges v. 26, Num.

xxi. 28, 29. If, then, Jonathan utilized the work of Onkelos, who lived

in the time of Christ, the fact proves beyond question that he could not

have lived before Christ. The Talmudists, in order to reward this person

for having, through his hatred of Christ, erased the name of Daniel from

the roll of prophets, eulogize him in the most absurd manner. They

relate that while engaged in the study of the law of God, the atmosphere

which surrounded him, and came in contact with the light of his

understanding, so caught fire from his fervor that the birds, silly

enough to be attracted toward it, were consumed immediately. ("Talmud,"

"Succa," or "the Festival of Tabernacles," fol. 28, verso; David Ganz,

"Chronol." 4728; Gesenius, "Comm. on Isaiah," Part I. p. 65; Zunz,

"Culte divin des Juifs," Berlin, 1832, p. 61; Dérembourg, work quoted

above, p. 276; Hanneburg, "Révelat Bibliq.," ii. 163, 432.)

SAMUEL HAKATON, or _the Less_. Surnamed to distinguish him from Samuel

the prophet. It was he who, some time after the resurrection of Christ,

composed the famous imprecation against the Christians, called

"Birchath Hamminim" (Benedictions of Infidels). The "Birchath Hamminim,"

says the Talmud, and the commentary of R. Jarchi, "was composed by R.

Samuel Hakaton at Jabneh, where the Sanhedrin had removed after the

misconduct of the Nazarene, who taught a doctrine contrary to the words

of the living God." The following is the singular benediction: "_Let

there be no hope for the apostates of religion, and let all heretics,

whosoever they may be, perish suddenly. May the kingdom of pride be

rooted out; let it be annihilated quickly, even in our days! Be blessed,

O Lord, who destroyest the impious, and humblest the proud!_" As soon as

Samuel Hakaton had composed this malediction, it was inserted as an

additional blessing in the celebrated prayer of the synagogue, the

"Shemonah-Essara" (the eighteen blessings). These blessings belonged to

the time of Ezra--that is to say, five centuries before the Christian

era; and every Jew has to recite it daily. St. Jerome was not ignorant

of this strange prayer. He says: "_The Jews anathematize three times

daily in their synagogue the name of the Christian, disguising it under

the name of Nazarene._" According to R. Gedalia, Samuel died before the

destruction of Jerusalem, about fifteen or twenty years after Christ.

("Talmud," "Berachoth," or "of Prayers," fol. 28, verso; "Megilla," or

"the Festival of Esther," fol. 28, verso; St. Jerome, "Comment. on

Isaiam," B. II. C. V. 18, 19; Tom. iv. p. 81 of the "Valarsius," quarto

edition; Vitringa, "de Synagoga vetr.," T. ii. p. 1036, 1047, 1051;

Castellus, "Lexicon heptaglotton," art. Min.)

CHANANIA _ben_ CHISKIA. He was a great conciliator in the midst of the

doctrinal quarrels so common at that time; and it happened that the

rival schools of Shammai and Hillel, which were not abolished with the

death of their founders, often employed him as their arbitrator. This

skillful umpire did not always succeed, however, in calming the

disputants; for we read in the ancient books that in the transition from

force of argument to argument of force, the members of the schools of

Shammai and Hillel frequently came to blows. Hence the French expression

_se chammailler_. It happened, however, according to the Talmud, that

Chanania once departed from his usual system of equilibrium in favor of

the prophet Ezekiel. It appears that on one occasion the most

influential members of the Sanhedrin proposed to censure, and even

reject, the book of this prophet, because, according to their opinion,

it contained several passages in contradiction of the law of Moses; but

Chanania defended it with so much eloquence that they were obliged to

desist from their project. This fact alone, reported fully as it is in

the Talmud, would be sufficient to show the laxity of the study of the

prophecies at that time. Although the exact date of his death is

uncertain, it is, nevertheless, sure that it took place before the

destruction of the Temple. ("Talmud," "Chagiga," or "the obligations of

the males to present themselves three times a year at Jerusalem," 2, 13;

"Shabbath," or "of the Sabbath," C. I.; "Sepher Juchasin," or "the Book

of Ancestors," p. 57.)

ISMAEL _ben_ ELIZA, renowned for the depth of his mind and the beauty

of his face. The rabbins record that he was learned in the most

mysterious things; for example, he could command the angels to descend

from heaven and ascend thither. We have it also from the same authority

that his mother held him in such high admiration that one day on his

return from school she washed his feet, and, through respect for him,

drank the water she had used for that purpose. His death was of a no

less romantic nature. It appears that after the capture of Jerusalem,

the daughter of Titus was so struck with his beauty that she obtained

permission of her father to have the skin of his face taken off after

his death, which skin she had embalmed, and, having perfumed it, she

sent it to Rome to figure among the spoils as a trophy. ("Talmud,"

"Aboda Zarah," or "of Idolatry," C. I.; Rabbi Gedalia, "Tzaltzeleth

Hakkabalah," or "the Chain of the Kabalah," p. 29; "Sepher Juchasin," or

"the Book of Ancestors," p. 25; "Tosephoth Kiddushin," C. IV.)

Rabbi ZADOK. He was about forty years old at the trial of Christ, and

died after the burning of the Temple, aged over seventy. The Talmud

relates that for forty years he ceased not from fasting, that God might

so order it that the Temple should not be destroyed by fire. Upon this

the question is propounded in the same book, but no answer given, as to

how this rabbin could have known that the Temple was threatened with so

great a calamity. We believe that Rabbi Zadok could have obtained

information of this terrible event in one of the two ways--either from

the prophetic voice of Daniel which proclaimed more than forty years

previous to the occurrence that abomination and desolation should crush

the Temple of Jerusalem when the Messiah should have been put to death;

or by the voice of Jesus himself, who said forty years before the

destruction of the Temple: "See ye not all these things?" (i.e., the

buildings of the Temple) "verily, verily I say unto you, There shall not

be left here one stone upon another that shall not be thrown down."

(Mishna, "Shabbath," or "of the Sabbath," C. XXIV. 5 to end; "Eduth," or

"of Testimony," C. VII. 1; "Aboth," or "of the Fathers of Tradition,"

IV. 5; David Ganz, "Chronol." 4785; Seph. Juchasin," fol. 21, 26;

Schikardi, "Jus Regium Hebræorum," p. 468; Dan. ix. 25-27; Luke xxi. 6;

Matt. xxvi. 2.)

JOCHANAN _ben_ ZAKAI. The rabbinical books accord to this rabbi an

extraordinary longevity. From their writings it would appear that, like

Moses, he lived a hundred and twenty years, forty years of which he

consecrated to manual labor; another forty to the study of the law; and

the last forty years of his life he devoted to imparting his knowledge

to others. His reputation as a savant was so well established that he

was surnamed the _Splendor of Wisdom_. After the destruction of the

Temple, he rallied together the remaining members of the Sanhedrin to

Jabneh, where he presided over this remnant for the last four or five

years of his life. He died in the year 73 A.D. When he breathed his

last, says the Mishna, a cry of anguish was heard, saying: "With the

death of Jochanan ben Zakai the splendor of wisdom has been quenched!"

We have, however, other information regarding this rabbi which is, so to

speak, like the reverse side of a medal. The Bereshith Rabba says that

Rabbi Jochanan was in the habit of eulogizing himself in the most

extravagant manner, and gives the following as a specimen of the praises

he bestowed upon himself: "If the skies were parchment, all the

inhabitants of the world writers, and all the trees of the forest pens,

all these would not suffice to transcribe the doctrines which he had

learned from the masters." What humility of language! One day his

disciples asked him to what he attributed his long life. "To my wisdom

and piety," was his reply in his tone of habitual modesty. Besides, if

we were to judge of his moral character by an ordinance of which he is

the author, his morality might be equal to the standard of his humility.

He abolished the Mosaical command of the ordeal of bitter waters,

immorally isolating a passage in Isaiah from its context. Finally, to

fill up the measure of his honesty, he became one of the lewdest

courtiers of Titus, and the destroyer of his country. But while

obsequious to human grandeur, he was obdurate to the warnings of God,

and died proud and impenitent. ("Talmud," "Rosh Hashanah," or "of the

New Year," fol. 20, recto; 31, recto; "Sotah," or "of the Woman

Suspected," etc., IX. 9; "Yoma," or "the Day of Atonement," fol. 39,

recto, and 43; "Gittin," or "of Divorce," fol. 56, verso and recto;

"Succa," or "of the Festival of Tabernacles," fol. 28, verso; Mishna,

Chapter, "Egla arupha"; "Sepher Juchasin," or "the Book of Ancestors,"

fol. 20, recto; "Seph. Hakkabalah"; Otthonis, "Hist. Doct. Misn.," pp.

93-103; Hosea iv. 14; Jos., "Wars," VI. V. 3; De Champagny, "Rome et la

Judée," T. i. p. 158.)

ABBA SAUL. He was of prodigious height, and had the charge of

superintending the burials of the dead, that everything might be done

according to the law. The rabbins, who delight in the marvelous, affirm

that in the exercise of his duties he found the thigh bone of Og, the

King of Bashan, and the right eye of Absalom. By virtue of the marrow

extracted from the thigh of Og, he was enabled to chase a young buck for

three leagues; as for the eye of Absalom, it was so deep that he could

have hidden himself in it as if in a cavern. These stories, no doubt,

appear very puerile; and yet, according to a Talmudical book

(Menorath-Hammoer, "the lighted candlestick"), which is considered of

great authority even in the modern [orthodox] synagogue, we must judge

of these matters in the following manner: "Everything which our doctors

have taught in the Medrashim (allegoric or historical commentaries) we

are bound to consider and believe in as the law of Moses our master; and

if we find anything in it which appears exaggerated and incredible, we

must attribute it to the weakness of our understandings, rather than to

their teachings; and whoever turns into ridicule whatever they have said

will be punished." According to Maimonides, Abba Saul died before the

destruction of the Temple. (Mishna, "Middoth," or "of the Dimensions of

the Temple," Chapter, "Har habbaith"; "Talmud," "Nidda," or "the

Purification of Women," C. III. fol. 24, recto; Maimonides, "Proef ad

zeraim"; Drach, "Harmonies entre l'Eglise et la Synagogue," T. ii. p.

375.)

R. CHANANIA, surnamed the Vicar of the Priests. The Mishna attributes to

him a saying which brings clearly before us the social position of the

Jewish people in the last days of Jerusalem. "Pray," said he, "for the

Roman Empire; for should the terror of its power disappear in Palestine,

neighbor will devour neighbor alive." This avowal shows the deplorable

state of Judea, and the divisions to which she had become a prey. The

Romans seem, however, to have cared very little for the sympathy of R.

Chanania, for, having possessed themselves of the city, they put him to

death. (Mishna, "Aboth," or "of the Fathers of Tradition," C. III. 2;

"Zevachim," or "of Sacrifices," C. IX. 3; "Eduth," or "of Testimony," C.

II. 1; David Ganz, "Chronologie," 4826; "Sepher Juchasin," or "the Book

of Ancestors," p. 57.)

Rabbi ELEAZAR _ben_ PARTAH, one of the most esteemed scribes of the

Sanhedrin, on account of his scientific knowledge. Already very aged at

the destruction of the Temple, he yet lived several years after that

national calamity. ("Talmud," "Gittin," or "of Divorces," C. III. 4;

"Sepher Juchasin," p. 31.)

Rabbi NACHUM HALBALAR. He is mentioned in the rabbinical books as

belonging to the Sanhedrin in the year 28 A.D., but nothing particular

is mentioned of his history. ("Talmud," "Peah," or "of the Angle," C.

II. 6, "Sanhedrin.")

Rabbi SIMON HAMIZPAH. He also is said to have belonged to the Sanhedrin

in the year 28 A.D. Beyond this but little is known. ("Talmud," "Peah,"

C. II. 6.)

These are, according to Jewish tradition, the principal scribes, or

doctors, that composed the second chamber of the Sanhedrin at the time

of the trial of Christ. The ancient books which speak of them are, of

course, filled with their praises. Nevertheless, blended with these

praises are some remarks which point to the predominant vice of these

men--namely, pride. We read in Rabbi Nathan's book, "Aruch" (a

Talmudical dictionary of great authority[196]): "_In the past and more

honorable times the titles of rabbin, rabbi, or rav,[197] to designate

the learned men of Babylon and Palestine, were unknown; thus when Hillel

came from Babylon the title of rabbi was not added to his name. It was

the same with the prophets, who were styled simply Isaiah, Haggai, etc.,

and not Rabbi Isaiah, Rabbi Haggai, etc. Neither did Ezra bring the

title of rabbi with him from Babylon. It was not until the time of

Gamaliel, Simon, and Jochanan ben Zackai that this imposing title was

first introduced among the worthies of the Sanhedrin._"

This pompous appellation appears, indeed, for the first time among the

Jews contemporary with Christ. "They love the uppermost rooms at feasts,

and the chief seats in the synagogues, and greetings in the

market-places, and to be called of men, Rabbi, Rabbi." Proud of their

titles and learning, they laid claim to the foremost rank in society. _A

wise man_, say they, _should be preferred to a king; the king takes the

precedence of the high priest; the priest of the Levite; the Levite of

the ordinary Israelite. The wise man should be preferred to the king,

for if the wise man should die he could not easily be replaced; while

the king could be succeeded by an Israelite of any order_.[198] Basing

the social status on this maxim we are not astonished to find in the

Talmud[199] that at a certain time twenty-four persons were

excommunicated for having failed to render to the rabbi the reverence

due his position. Indeed, a very small offense was often sufficient to

call forth maledictions from this haughty and intolerant dignitary.

Punishment was mercilessly inflicted wherever there was open violation

of any one of the following rules established by the rabbis themselves:

If any one opposes his rabbi, he is guilty in the same degree as if he

opposed God himself.[200]

If any one quarrels with his rabbi, it is as if he contended with the

living God.[201]

If any one thinks evil of his rabbi, it is as if he thought evil of the

Eternal.[202]

This self-sufficiency was carried to such an enormous extent that when

Jerusalem fell into the hands of Titus, who came against it armed with

the sword of vengeance of Jehovah, Rabbi Jehudah wrote with an

unflinching pen: "_If Jerusalem was destroyed, we need look for no other

cause than the people's want of respect for the rabbis._"[203]

We ask now of every sincere Israelite, What opinion can be formed of the

members of the second chamber who are about to assist in pronouncing

judgment upon Christ? Could impartiality be expected of those proud and

selfish men, whose lips delighted in nothing so much as sounding their

own praises? What apprehensions must one not have of an unjust and cruel

verdict when he remembers it was of these very men that Christ had said:

"Beware of the scribes, which desire to walk in long robes; they make

broad their phylacteries and enlarge the borders of their garments; they

love greetings in the market, and to be called Rabbi, Rabbi; which

devour widows' houses; and for show make long prayers."[204] The

remembrance of this rebuke, so galling to their pride, continually

rankled in their minds; and when the opportunity came, with what

remorseless hate did they wreak upon him their vengeance! We may, then,

conclude from the foregoing facts that the members of the chamber of the

scribes were no better than those composing the chamber of the priests.

To this assertion, however, there is one exception to be made; for, as

we have already seen, there was among those arrogant and unscrupulous

men[205] one whose sense of justice was not surpassed by his great

learning. That man was Gamaliel.

III. CHAMBER OF THE ELDERS

This chamber was the least influential of the three; hence, but few

names of the persons composing it at the period to which we refer have

been preserved.

JOSEPH OF ARIMATHEA. The Gospel makes of him the following eulogy: Rich

man; honorable counselor; good and just man; the same had not consented

to the counsel and deed of the others. Joseph of Arimathea is called in

the Vulgate, or the Latin version of the Bible, "noble centurion,"

because he was one of the ten magistrates or senators who had the

principal authority in Jerusalem under the Romans. His noble position is

more clearly marked in the Greek version. That he was one of the seventy

may be concluded, first, because it was common to admit senators who

were considered the ancients of the people in this assembly; they were

indeed the chiefs and the princes of the nation--_seniores populi,

principes nostri_; second, because these words, "he had not consented to

the counsel and deed of the others," proves that he had a right to be in

the grand assembly and take part in the discussions. (Matt. xxvii.

57-59; Mark xv. 43-46; Luke xxiii. 50; John xix. 38; Jacobi Alting,

"Schilo seu de Vaticinio patriarchæ Jacobi," p. 310; Goschler, _Diction.

Encyclopediq._; word, "Arimathea"; Cornelius Lapidus, "Comment. in

Script. sac.," edition Vivés, T. xv. p. 638, second col.)

NICODEMUS. St. John the Evangelist says that he was by profession a

Pharisee, a prince of the Jews, a master in Israel, and a member of the

Sanhedrin, where he one day attempted to oppose his colleagues by

speaking in defense of Jesus. This act brought down upon him the

disdainful retort from the others, "Art thou also a Galilean?" He was

one, it is true, but in secret. We know from the Gospel account of him

that he possessed great riches, and that he used nearly a hundred pounds

of myrrh and spices for the burial of Christ. The name of Nicodemus is

mentioned in the Talmud also; and, although it was known that his

attachment to Christ was great, he is, nevertheless, spoken of with

honor. But this fact may be due to his great wealth. There were, says

the Hebrew book, three eminent men in Jerusalem--Nicodemus ben Gurien,

ben Tzitzith Hacksab, ben Kalba Shevuah--each of whom could have

supported the whole city for ten years. (John iii. 1-10; vii. 50-52;

xix. 39; "Talmud" "Gittin," or "of Divorces," C. V. fol. 56, verso;

"Abodah Zarah," or "of Idolatry," C. II. fol. 25, verso; "Taanith," or

"of the Fast Days," III. fol. 19, recto; fol. 20, verso; Midrash Rabbah

on "Koheleth," VII. II; David Ganz, "Chron." 4757; Knappius, "Comment.

in Colloquium Christi cum Nicodemo"; Cornelius Lapidus, "Comment. in

Joann." Cap. III. _et seq._)

BEN KALBA SHEVUAH. After stating that he was one of the three rich men

of Jerusalem, the Talmud adds: "His name was given to him because

whosoever entered his house as hungry as a dog came out filled." There

is no doubt that his high financial position secured for him one of the

first places in the chamber of the ancients. His memory, according to

Ritter, is still preserved among the Jews in Jerusalem. ("Talmud,"

"Gittin," or "of Divorces," C. V. fol. 56, verso; David Ganz, "Chronol."

4757; Ritter, "Erdkunde," XVI. 478.)

BEN TZITZITH HACKSAB. The effeminacy of this third rich man is made

known to us by the Talmud, where it is stated that the border of his

pallium trained itself always on the softest carpets. Like Nicodemus and

Kalba Shevuah, he no doubt belonged to the Sanhedrin. ("Talmud,"

"Gittin," C. V. fol. 56, verso; David Ganz, "Chron." 4757.)

SIMON. From Josephus the historian we learn that he was of Jewish

parentage, and was highly esteemed in Jerusalem on account of the

accurate knowledge of the law which he possessed. He had the boldness,

one day, to convoke an assembly of the people and to bring an accusation

against King Herod Agrippa, who, he said, deserved, on account of his

bad conduct, that the entrance into the sacred portals should be

forbidden him. This took place eight or nine years after Christ--that is

to say, in the year 42 or 43 A.D. We may safely conclude that a man who

had power enough to convoke an assembly and sufficient reputation and

knowledge to dare accuse a king, must undoubtedly have belonged to the

council of the Sanhedrin. Besides, his birth alone at a time when

nobility of origin constituted, as we have already said, a right to

honors, would have thrown wide open to him the doors of the assembly.

(Jos., "Ant.," XIX. VII. 4; Dérembourg, "Essai sur l'histoire et la

géographie de la Palestine," p. 207, n. 1; Frankel, _Monatsschrift._,

III. 440.)

DORAS was a very influential citizen of Jerusalem, and is thus spoken of

by Josephus. He was, however, a man of cruel and immoral character, not

hesitating, for the sake of ingratiating himself with Governor Felix, to

cause the assassination of Jonathan, the high priest who had made

himself obnoxious to that ruler by some just remonstrances respecting

his administration. Doras effected the assassination in cold blood by

means of murderers hired at the expense of Felix (52 or 53 A.D.). The

prominence which this man for a long time maintained in Jerusalem

warrants the presumption that he was a member of the Sanhedrin. (Jos.,

"Ant.," XX. VIII. 5.)

JOHN, son of JOHN.

DOROTHEAS, son of NATHANAEL.

TRYPHON, son of THEUDION.

CORNELIUS, son of CERON.

These four personages were sent as ambassadors by the Jews of Jerusalem

to Emperor Claudius in the year 44, when Cuspius Fadus was governor of

Judea. Claudius mentions this fact in a letter sent by him to Cuspius

Fadus, and which Josephus has preserved. It is very probable that either

they themselves or their fathers were members of the chamber of the

ancients; for the Jews appointed as their ambassadors only such members

of the Sanhedrin as were distinguished for superior learning. (Jos.,

"Ant.," XX. I. 1, 2.)

The rabbinical books limit their information concerning the members of

this chamber to the names we have just mentioned. To be guided, then, by

the documents quoted, one would suppose that although this chamber was

the least important of the three, yet its members were perhaps more just

than those composing the other two, and consequently manifested less

vehemence against Christ during His trial. But a statement made by

Josephus the historian proves beyond doubt that this third chamber was

made up of men no better than were to be found in the others. It was

from among the wealthy element of Jewish society, says Josephus, that

Sadduceeism received most of its disciples.[206] Since, then, the

chamber of ancients was composed principally of the rich men of

Jerusalem, we may safely conclude that the majority of its members were

infected with the errors of Sadduceeism--that is to say, with a creed

that taught that the soul dies before the body.[207] We are, then, in

the presence of real materialists, who consider the destiny of man to

consist in the enjoyment of material and worldly things,[208] and who

are so carnally minded that it would seem as if the prophetic

indignation of David had stigmatized them beforehand when he says: "They

have so debased themselves as to become like the beasts that have no

understanding."[209] Let not our readers imagine that in thus speaking

we at all mean to do injustice to the memory of these men. A fact of

great importance proves indisputably that Sadducees or Epicureans were

numerous among the Sanhedrin. When, several years after the trial of

Christ, the apostle Paul had in his turn to appear before that body, he

succeeded by the skill of his oratory in turning the doctrinal

differences of that assembly to his benefit. "Men and brethren," he

exclaimed, "I am a Pharisee, the son of a Pharisee; of the hope and the

resurrection of the dead I am called in question."[210] Hardly had the

apostle pronounced these words when a hot discussion arose between the

Sadducees and the Pharisees, all of them rising and speaking in great

confusion--some for the resurrection, others against it--and it was in

the tumult of recrimination and general uproar that the apostle was able

peacefully to withdraw. Such was the state of things in the supreme

council of the Hebrews; and men of notorious heresy, and even impiety,

were appointed as judges to decide on questions of doctrine. Among these

materialists there were, however, two just men; and, like Lot among the

wicked inhabitants of Sodom, there were in this assembly Nicodemus and

Joseph of Arimathea.

We shall now briefly sum up the contents of the preceding chapter. We

possess certain information respecting more than one half of the

seventy-one members of the Sanhedrin. We know almost all the high

priests, who, as we have already said, formed the principal element of

this council. This majority, as we have intimated, is sufficient for the

forming of an estimate of the moral tone of all the judges; and before

the debates begin, it is easy to foresee the issue of the trial of

Christ.

What, indeed, could have been the issue of a trial before the first

chamber, composed as it was of demoralized, ambitious, and scheming

priests? of priests who were mostly Pharisees--that is to say, men of

narrow minds, careful only of the external, haughty, overbearing, and

self-satisfied, believing themselves to be both infallible and

impeccable?[211] It is true they expected a Messiah; but their Messiah

was to subdue unto them all their enemies, impose for their benefit a

tax on all the nations of the earth, and uphold them in all the

absurdities with which they have loaded the law of Moses.

But this man who is about to be brought before them has exposed their

hypocritical semblance of piety, and justly stripped them of the

undeserved esteem in which they were held by the people. He has

absolutely denounced the precepts which they invented and placed above

the law. He even desired to abolish the illegal taxes which they had

imposed upon the people. Are not all these more than sufficient to

condemn Him in their eyes and prove Him worthy of death?

Can a more favorable verdict be expected of the members of the second

chamber, composed as it was of men so conceited and arrogant? These

doctors expected a Messiah who would be another Solomon, under whose

reign and with whose aid they would establish at Jerusalem an academy of

learning that would attract all the kings, even as the Queen of Sheba

was attracted to the court of the wisest king of Israel. But this Jesus,

who claims to be the Messiah, has the boldness to declare blessed those

who are humble in spirit. His disciples are but ignorant fishermen,

chosen from the least of the tribes; his speech of a provoking

simplicity, condemning before the multitude the haughty and pretentious

language of the doctors. Are not these things sufficient to bring down

upon him their condemnation?

And what justice can we expect, in fine, from the third chamber, when we

remember that most of its members were depraved Sadducees, caring only

for the enjoyment of the things of this world, heedless of the welfare

of the soul, almost denying the existence of God, and disbelieving in

the resurrection of the dead? According to their views, the mission of

the Messiah was not to consist in the regenerating of Israel as well as

of the whole human race, but in the making of Jerusalem the center of

riches and worldly goods, which would be brought hither by the conquered

and humbled Gentiles, who were to become the slaves of the Israelites.

But the man upon whom they are called to pass judgment, far from

attaching great importance to wealth and dignity, as did they,

prescribes to his disciples the renunciation of riches and honors. He

even despises those things which the Sadducees esteem most--viz.,

pedigree, silk attire, cups of gold, and sumptuous repast. What could

have rendered his condemnation surer than such manifestations of

contempt for the pride and voluptuousness of these men?

To limit our inquiry to the moral characters of the judges alone, the

issue of the trial can be but fatal to the accused; and so, when the

three chambers constituting the Sanhedrin council had entered into

session, we can well imagine that there was no hope for the acquittal of

Jesus; for are not all the high priests, as well as the majority of the

scribes and ancients, against him?[212]

APPENDIX II

ACTS OF PILATE

The apocryphal Acts of Pilate are herewith given under Appendix II. The

authenticity of these writings has never been finally settled by the

scholarship of the world. It is safe to say, however, that the current

of modern criticism is decidedly against their genuineness.

Nevertheless, the following facts seem to be very generally conceded by

the critics: That there are now in existence certain ancient documents

called the "Acts of Pilate"; that they were probably discovered at

Turin, in northern Italy, and were first used by the noted New Testament

palæographer, Dr. Constantine Tischendorf, who studied them in company

with the celebrated orientalist, Victor Amadee Peyron, professor of

oriental languages in the University of Turin; and, furthermore, that

these documents that we now have are approximately accurate copies of

the document mentioned by Justin Martyr about the year 138 A.D., and by

Tertullian about the year 200 A.D.

But, admitting all these things, the question of _genuineness_ and

_authenticity_ still remains to be settled. Was the document referred to

by Justin as the "Acts of Pilate," and again as the "Acts recorded

under Pontius Pilate," a genuine manuscript, written by or composed

under the direction of Pilate, or was it a "pious fraud of some

Christian," who gathered his prophecies from the Old, and his facts from

the New Testament, and then embellished both with his imagination?

The subject is too vast and the space at our disposal is too limited to

permit a discussion of the authenticity of the Acts of Pilate. We have

deemed it sufficient to insert under Appendix II lengthy extracts from

the writings of Tischendorf and Lardner, two of the most celebrated

biblical critics, relating to the genuineness of these Acts. The reader

would do well to peruse these extracts carefully before reading the Acts

of Pilate.

LARDNER'S REMARKS ON THE ACTS OF PILATE

_The Acts of Pontius Pilate, and his letter to Tiberius_

"Justin Martyr, in his first Apology, which was presented to the emperor

Antoninus Pius, and the Senate of Rome, about the year 140, having

mentioned our Savior's crucifixion and some of the circumstances of it,

adds: 'And that these things were so done you may know from the Acts

made in the time of Pontius Pilate.'

"Afterwards in the same Apology, having mentioned some of our Lord's

miracles, such as healing diseases and raising the dead, he adds: 'And

that these things were done by him you may know from the Acts made in

the time of Pontius Pilate.'

"Tertullian, in his Apology, about the year 200, having spoken of our

Savior's crucifixion and resurrection, and his appearance to his

disciples, who were ordained by him to preach the gospel over the world,

goes on: 'Of all these things, relating to Christ, Pilate, in his

conscience a Christian, sent an account to Tiberius, then emperor.'

"In another chapter or section of his Apology, nearer the beginning, he

speaks to this purpose: 'There was an ancient decree that no one should

be received for a deity unless he was first approved by the senate.

Tiberius, in whose time the Christian religion had its rise, having

received from Palestine in Syria an account of such things as manifested

our Savior's divinity, proposed to the senate, and giving his own vote

as first in his favor, that he should be placed among the gods. The

senate refused, because he himself had declined that honor.'

"'Nevertheless the emperor persisted in his own opinion, and ordered

that if any accused the Christians they should be punished.' And then

adds: 'Search,' says he, 'your own writings, and you will there find

that Nero was the first emperor who exercised any acts of severity

toward the Christians, because they were then very numerous at Rome.'

"It is fit that we should now observe what notice Eusebius takes of

these things in his Ecclesiastical History. It is to this effect: 'When

the wonderful resurrection of our Savior, and his ascension to heaven,

were in the mouths of all men, it being an ancient custom for the

governors of provinces to write the emperor, and give him an account of

new and remarkable occurrences, that he might not be ignorant of

anything; our Savior's resurrection being much talked of throughout all

of Palestine, Pilate informed the emperor of it, as likewise of his

miracles, which he had heard of, and that being raised up after he had

been put to death, he was already believed by many to be a god. And it

is said that Tiberius referred the matter to the senate, but that they

refused their consent, under a pretence that it had not been first

approved of by them; there being an ancient law that no one should be

deified among the Romans without an order of the senate; but, indeed,

because the saving and divine doctrine of the gospel needed not to be

confirmed by human judgment and authority. However, Tiberius persisted

in his former sentiment, and allowed not anything to be done that was

prejudicial to the doctrine of Christ. These things are related by

Tertullian, a man famous on other accounts, and particularly for his

skill in the Roman laws. I say he speaks thus in his Apology for the

Christians, written by him in the Roman tongue, but since (in the days

of Eusebius) translated into the Greek.' His words are these: 'There was

an ancient decree that no one should be consecrated as a deity by the

emperor, unless he was first approved of by the senate. Marcus Aemilius

knows this by his god Alburnus. This is to our purpose, forasmuch as

among you divinity is bestowed by human judgment.'

"And if God does not please man, he shall not be God. And, according to

this way of thinking, man must be propitious to God. Tiberius,

therefore, in whose time the Christian name was first known in the

world, having received an account of this doctrine out of Palestine,

where it began, communicated that account to the senate; giving his own

suffrage at the same time in favor of it. But the senate rejected it,

because it had not been approved by themselves. 'Nevertheless the

emperor persisted in his judgment, and threatened death to such as

should accuse the Christians.' 'Which,' adds Eusebius, 'could not be

other than the disposal of Divine Providence, that the doctrine of the

gospel, which was then in its beginning, might be preached all over the

world without molestation.' So Eusebius.

"Divers exceptions have been made by learned moderns to the original

testimonies of Justin Martyr and Tertullian. 'Is there any likelihood,'

say they, 'that Pilate should write such things to Tiberius concerning a

man whom he had condemned to death? And if he had written them, is it

probable that Tiberius should propose to the senate to have a man put

among the gods upon the bare relation of a governor of a province? And

if he had proposed it, who can make a doubt that the senate would not

have immediately complied? So that though we dare not say that this

narration is absolutely false, yet it must be reckoned as doubtful.' So

says Du Pin.

"These and other difficulties shall now be considered.

"Now, therefore, I shall mention some observations:

"In the first place, I shall observe that Justin Martyr and Tertullian

are early writers of good repute. That is an observation of Bishop

Pearson. These testimonies are taken from the most public writings,

Apologies for the Christian religion, presented, or at least proposed

and recommended to the emperor and senate of Rome, or to magistrates of

high authority and great distinction in the Roman empire.

Secondly: It certainly was the custom of governors of provinces to

compose Acts or memoirs or commentaries of the remarkable occurrences in

the places where they presided.

In the time of the first Roman emperors there were Acts of the Senate,

Acts of the City, or People of Rome, Acts of other cities, and Acts of

governors of provinces. Of all these we can discern clear proofs and

frequent mention in ancient writers of the best credit. Julius Cæsar

ordered that Acts of the Senate, as well as daily Acts of the People,

should be published. See Sueton. Jul. Cæs. c. xx.

"Augustus forbade publishing Acts of the Senate.

"There was an officer, himself a senator, whose province it was to

compose those Acts.

"The Acts of the Senate must have been large and voluminous, containing

not only the question proposed, or referred to the senate by the consul,

or the emperor, but also the debates and speeches of the senators.

"The Acts of the People, or City, were journals or registers of

remarkable births, marriages, divorces, deaths, proceedings in courts of

judicature, and other interesting affairs, and some other things below

the dignity of history.

"To these Acts of each kind Roman authors frequently had recourse for

information.

"There were such Acts or registers at other places besides Rome,

particularly at Antium. From them Suetonius learned the day and place of

the birth of Caligula, about which were other uncertain reports. And he

speaks of those Acts as public authorities, and therefore more decisive

and satisfactory than some other accounts.

"There were also Acts of the governors of provinces, registering all

remarkable transactions and occurrences.

"Justin Martyr and Tertullian could not be mistaken about this; and the

learned bishop of Cæsarea admits the truth of what they say. And in the

time of the persecuting emperor Maximin, about the year of Christ 307,

the heathen people forged Acts of Pilate, derogatory to the honor of our

Savior, which were diligently spread abroad, to unsettle Christians, or

discourage them in the profession of their faith. Of this we are

informed by Eusebius in his Ecclesiastical History.

Thirdly: It was customary for the governors of provinces to send to the

emperor an account of remarkable transactions in places where they

presided.

"So thought the learned Eusebius, as we have seen.

"And Pliny's letters to Trajan, still extant, are a proof of it. Philo

speaks of the Acts or Memoirs of Alexandria sent to Caligula, which that

emperor read with more eagerness and satisfaction than anything else.

"Fourthly: It has been said to be very unlikely that Pilate should write

such things to Tiberius, concerning a man whom he [Pilate] had condemned

to death.

"To which it is easy to reply, that if he wrote to Tiberius at all, it

is very likely that he should speak favorably and honorably of the

Savior.

"That Pilate passed sentence of condemnation upon our Lord very

unwillingly, and not without a sort of compulsion, appears from the

history of the Evangelist: Matt. xxvii.; Mark xv.; Luke xxiii.; John

xviii. Pilate was hard pressed. The rulers of the Jews vehemently

accused our Lord to him. They said they had found him perverting the

nation, and forbidding to give tribute to Cæsar, saying that himself is

Christ, a king, and the like; and all without effect for a while.

"Pilate still sought for expedients to set Jesus at liberty.

"As his reluctance had been very manifest and public in a court of

judicature, in the chief city of the nation at the time of one of their

great festivals, it is highly probable that when he sent to Rome he

should make some apology for his conduct. Nor could anything be more

proper than to allege some of our Savior's miracles which he had heard

of, and to give an account to the zeal of those who professed faith in

him after his ignominious crucifixion, and openly asserted that he had

risen from the dead and ascended to heaven.

"Pilate would not dare in such a report to write falsehood, nor to

conceal the most material circumstances of the case about which he was

writing. At the trial he publicly declared his innocence: and told the

Jews several times 'that he found no fault in him at all.'

"And when he was going to pronounce the sentence of condemnation, he

took water and washed his hands before the multitude, saying: I am

innocent of the blood of this just person: 'See ye to it.' Matt. xxvii.

24.

"When he wrote to Tiberius he would very naturally say something of our

Lord's wonderful resurrection and ascension, which were much talked of

and believed by many, with which he could not be possibly unacquainted.

The mention of these things would be the best vindication of his inward

persuasion, and his repeated declarations of our Lord's innocence upon

trial notwithstanding the loud clamors and united accusations of the

Jewish people and their rulers.

"Pilate, as has been said several times, passed condemnation upon Jesus

very unwillingly, and not until after long trial.

"When he passed sentence upon him he gave orders that this title or

inscription should be put upon the cross: 'Jesus of Nazareth, the king

of the Jews.'

"When he had expired, application was made to Pilate, by Joseph of

Arimathea, an honorable counsellor, that the body might be taken down

and buried. To which he consented; but not till assurance from the

centurion that he had been sometime dead. The next day some of the

priests and pharisees came to him, saying: 'Sir, we remember that that

deceiver said while he was yet alive, After three days I will rise

again. Command, therefore, that the sepulchre be made sure, until the

third day, lest his disciples come by night and steal him away, and say

unto the people, He is risen from the dead.' 'So the last error shall

be worse than the first.'

"Pilate said unto them: 'Ye have a watch; go your way, make it sure as

you can.' So they went and made the sepulchre sure, sealing the stone

and setting a watch.

"Whilst they were at the sepulchre there was a 'great earthquake,' the

stone was rolled away by an Angel, 'whose countenance was like

lightning, and for fear of whom the guards did shake and become as dead

men.' Some of the guards went down into the City, and showed unto the

chief priests all the things that were done.

"Nor can there be any doubt that these things came also to the

governor's ears. Pilate, therefore, was furnished with materials of

great importance relating to this case, very proper to be sent to the

emperor. And very probably he did send them, for he could do no

otherwise.

"Fifthly: it is said, 'That if Pilate had sent such things to Tiberius,

it is nevertheless very unlikely that Tiberius should propose to the

senate that our Savior might be put among the gods, because that emperor

had little or no regard for things of religion.'

"But it is easy to answer that such observations are of little or no

importance. Few princes are able to preserve uniformity in the whole of

their conduct, and it is certain that Tiberius varied from himself upon

many occasions and in different parts of his life.

"Sixthly: it is further urged, that if Tiberius had proposed the thing

to the senate, there can be no doubt that the senate would have

immediately complied.

"But neither is this difficulty insuperable; for we are assured by

Suetonius that Tiberius let several things be decided by the senate

contrary to his own opinion, without showing much uneasiness.

(It must be observed here that Dr. Lardner is very copious in quotations

from the best authorities in proof of all his statements. The reader is

referred to Vol. VI of his great works, pages 605-620, where will be

found these quotations in foot-notes too lengthy to be transcribed

here.)

"Seventhly: The right interpretation of the words of Tertullian will be

of use to remove difficulties and to confirm the truth of the account.

"I have translated them in this manner: 'When Tiberius referred the

matter to the senate, that our Lord should be placed in the number of

gods, the senate refused, because he had himself declined that honor.'

"The words are understood to the like purpose by Pearson.

"There is another sense, which is that of the Greek translation of

Tertullian's Apology, made use of by Eusebius: 'The senate refused

because it had not itself approved of it.' But that sense, if it be any

sense at all, is absurd, and therefore unlikely. If none beside the

senate had a right to consecrate any for the deity, yet certainly the

consul or the emperor might _refer_ such a thing to that venerable body.

According to Tertullian's account, the whole is in a fair way of legal

proceeding." [And it may be remarked here that Tertullian, being well

versed in Roman law, would hardly have passed by a blunder here or

committed one in anything wherein he may have had to do with the

statement.]

"By virtue of an ancient law, no one might be reckoned a god (at least

by the Romans) without the approbation of the senate. Tiberius having

been informed of some extraordinary things concerning Jesus, referred it

to the senate, that he also might be placed in the number of deities.

Was it possible after this that the senate should refuse it, under a

pretense that Tiberius had bestowed divinity upon Jesus without their

consent, when he had done no such thing, and at the very time was

referring it to their judgment in the old legal way?

"Le Clerc objects that the true reading in Tertullian is not--_Non quia

in se non probaverat_, but _quia non ipse probaverat_.

"Be it so. The meaning is the same. _Ipse_ must intend the emperor, not

the senate. The other sense is absurd, and next to a contradiction, and

therefore not likely to be right, and at the same time it is a rude and

needless affront. The other interpretation represents a handsome

compliment, not without foundation. For it is very true that Tiberius

had himself declined receiving divine honors.

"Eighthly: It has been objected that Tiberius was unfriendly to the

Jewish people, and therefore it must be reckoned very improbable that he

should be willing to put a man who was a Jew among the gods.

"But there is little or no ground for this objection. It was obviated

long ago in the first part of this work, where beside other things it

is said: In the reign of Tiberius the Jewish people were well used. They

were indeed banished out of Italy by an edict; but it was for a

misdemeanor committed by some villains of that nation. The great

hardship was that many innocent persons suffered beside the guilty.

"Upon other occasions Tiberius showed the Jews all the favor that could

be desired, especially after the death of Sejanus; and is much applauded

for it by Philo.

"Ninthly: Still it is urged, 'Nothing can be more absurd than to suppose

that Tiberius would receive for a deity a man who taught the worship of

one God only, and whose religion decried all other deities as mere

fiction.'

"Upon which I must say, nothing can be more absurd than this objection.

Tertullian does not suppose Tiberius to be well acquainted with the

Christian religion, our Savior's doctrine.

"All he says is, that, having heard of some extraordinary things

concerning him, he had a desire to put him among the Roman deities.

"Tenthly: Tertullian proceeds: 'Nevertheless the emperor persisted in

his opinion, and ordered that if any accused the Christians they should

be punished.' This was very natural. Though the senate would not put

Jesus in the number of deities, the emperor was still of opinion that it

might have been done.

"And he determined to provide by an edict for the safety of those who

professed a high regard for Jesus Christ. Which edict, as Eusebius

reasonably supposes, was of use for securing the free preaching of the

gospel in many places.

"But the authority of that edict would cease at the emperor's demise, if

not sooner. Unfortunately, it could not be in force, or have any great

effect, for a long season.

"Nor need we consider the ordering such an edict as in favor of the

Christians as an incredible thing, if we observe what Philo says, who

assures us that 'Tiberius gave orders to all the governors of provinces,

to protect the Jews in the cities where they lived in the observation of

their own rights and customs; and that they should bear hard on none of

them, but such as were unpeaceable and transgressed the laws of the

State.'

"Nor is it impossible that the Christians should partake of the like

civilities, they being considered as a sect of the Jews. And it is

allowed that the Roman empire did not openly persecute the Christians,

till they became so numerous that the heathen people were apprehensive

of the total overthrow of their religion.

"In the eleventh place, says a learned and judicious writer, 'It is

probable that Pilate, who had no enmity toward Christ, and accounted him

a man unjustly accused and an extraordinary person, might be moved by

the wonderful circumstances attending and following his death, to hold

him in veneration, and perhaps to think him a hero and the son of some

deity. It is possible that he might send a narrative, such as he thought

most convenient, of these transactions to Tiberius: but it is not at all

likely that Tiberius proposed to the senate that Christ should be

deified, and that the senate rejected it, and that Tiberius continued

favorably disposed toward Christ, and that he threatened to punish those

who should molest and accuse the Christians.' 'Observe also,' says the

same learned writer, 'that the Jews persecuted the apostles, and slew

Stephen, and that Saul made havoc of the church, entering into every

house, and hailing men and women, committing them to prison, and that

Pilate connived at all this violence, and was not afraid of the

resentment of Tiberius on that account.'

"Admitting the truth of all these particulars just mentioned, it does

not follow that no orders were given by Tiberius for the protection of

the followers of Jesus.

"For no commands of princes are obeyed by all men everywhere. They are

oftentimes transgressed.

"Nor was any place more likely than Judea, where the enmity of many

against the disciples of Jesus was so great. Nor need it be supposed

that Tiberius was very intent to have this order strictly regarded. For

he was upon many occasions very indolent and dilatory; and he was well

known to be so. Moreover, the death of Stephen was tumultuous, and not

an act of the Jewish council. And further, the influence of Pilate in

that country was not now at its full height. We perceive from the

history of our Lord's trial before him, as recorded in the gospels, that

he stood in fear of the Jews.

"He was apprehensive that, if he did not gratify them in that point,

they might draw up a long list of maladministrations for the emperor's

view. His condemnation of Jesus at the importunity of the Jews, contrary

to his own judgment and inclination, declared to them more than once,

was a point gained; and his government must have been ever after much

weakened by so mean a condescension. And that Pilate's influence in the

province continued to decline is manifest, in that the people of it

prevailed at last to have him removed in a very ignominious manner by

Vitellius, president of Syria.

"Pilate was removed from his government before the Passover in the year

of Christ 36. After which there was no procurator or other person with

the power of life and death, in Judea, before the ascension of Herod

Agrippa, in the year 41.

"In that space of time the Jews would take an unusual license, and

gratify their own malicious dispositions, beyond what they could

otherwise have done, without control.

"Twelfth: Some have objected that Tertullian is so absurd as to speak of

Christians in the time of Tiberius; though it be certain that the

followers of Jesus were not known by that denomination till some time

afterwards.

"But this is a trifling objection. Tertullian intends no more by

Christians than followers of Jesus, by whatever name they were known or

distinguished; whether that of Nazarenes, or Galileans, or disciples.

"And it is undoubted, that the Christian religion had its rise in the

reign of Tiberius; though they who professed to believe in Jesus, as

risen from the dead and ascended to heaven, were not called Christians

till some time afterwards.

"So at the beginning of the paragraph he says, 'There was an ancient law

that no god should be consecrated by the emperor, unless it was first

approved by the senate.' Nevertheless, Tertullian was not so ignorant as

not to know that there were not any emperors when the ancient decree was

passed.

"His meaning is, that no one should be deified by any man, no, not by a

consul or emperor, without the approbation of the senate.

"Finally: We do not suppose that Tiberius understood the doctrine of the

Savior, or that he was at all inclined to be a Christian.

"Nor did Tertullian intend to say any such thing, for immediately after

the passage first cited from him, he adds: 'But the Cæsars themselves

would have believed in Jesus Christ, if they had not been necessary for

the world, or if Christians could have been Cæsars.'

"Grotius appears to have rightly understood the importance of these

passages of Tertullian; whose note upon Matthew xxiv. 2, I have

transcribed below." The reader is referred to Vol. VI. of Lardner's

Works, where he will find the notes of this learned writer, as quoted

from various ancients and moderns, in proof of all he has brought

forward in these lengthy arguments, and which cannot be transcribed

here.

"Admit, then, the right interpretation of Tertullian, and it may be

allowed that what he says is not incredible or improbable. The Romans

had almost innumerable deities, and yet they frequently added to that

number and adopted new. As deifications were very frequent, Tiberius

might have indulged a thought of placing Jesus among the established

deities without intending to derogate from the worship or honor of those

who were already received.

"But the senate was not in a humor to gratify him.

"And the reason assigned is, because the emperor himself had declined

that honor, which is so plausible a pretense, and so fine a compliment,

that we cannot easily suppose it to be Tertullian's own invention;

which, therefore, gives credibility to his account.

"Eusebius, though he acknowledged the overruling providence of God in

the favorable disposition of Tiberius toward the first followers of

Jesus, by which means the Christian religion in its infancy was

propagated over the world with less molestation, does also say, at the

beginning of the chapter quoted, 'The senate refused their consent to

the emperor's proposal, under a pretence that they had not been first

asked, there being an ancient law, that no one should be deified without

the approbation of the senate, but, indeed,' adds he, 'because the

saving and divine doctrine of the gospel needed not to be ratified by

human judgment and authority.'

Chrysostom's observation is to like purpose, but with some inaccuracies.

It is likely that he was not at all acquainted with Tertullian; and he

was no admirer of Eusebius. Perhaps he builds upon general tradition

only. 'The Roman senate,' says he, 'had the power of nominating and

decreeing who should be gods. When, therefore, all things concerning

Christ had been published, he who was the governor of the Jewish nation

sent to them to know if they would be pleased to appoint him also to be

a god. But they refused, being offended and provoked, that before their

decree and judgment had been obtained, the power of the crucified one

had shined out and had attracted all the world to the worship of him.

But, by the overruling providence of God, this was brought to pass

against their will, that the divinity of Christ might not be established

by human appointment and that he might not be reckoned one of the many

who were deified by them.'

"Some of which, as he proceeds to show, had been of infamous characters.

"I shall now transcribe below in his own words what Orosius, in the

fifth century, says of this matter, that all my readers may have it at

once before them without looking farther for it." This quotation from

Orosius will be found in the "Testimony of the Fathers," under the

title, "Testimony of Orosius."

"And I refer to Zonoras and Nicephoras. The former only quotes Eusebius,

and transcribes into his Annals the chapter of his Ecclesiastical

History quoted by me. Nor has Nicephoras done much more."[213]

TISCHENDORF'S COMMENTS ON THE ACTS OF PILATE

"It is the same with the second apocryphal work brought under review

above, the so-called Acts of Pilate, only with the difference that they

refer as much to John as to the synoptical Gospels. Justin, in like

manner as before, is the most ancient voucher for this work, which is

said to have been written under Pilate's jurisdiction, and by reason of

its specification of wonderful occurrences before, during, and after the

crucifixion, to have borne strong evidence to the divinity of Christ.

Justin saw as little reason as Tertullian and others for believing that

it was a work of pious deception from a Christian hand." [As has been

alleged by opponents.] "On the contrary, Justin appeals to it twice in

his first Apology in order to confirm the accounts of the occurrences

which took place at the crucifixion in accordance with prophecy, and of

the miraculous healings effected by Christ, also the subject of

prophetic announcement. He cites specifically (chap. 35) from Isaiah

lxv. 2, and lviii. 2: 'I have spread out my hands all the day unto a

rebellious people which walketh in a way that was not good. They ask of

me the ordinances of justice, they take delight in approaching to God.'

Further, from the 22nd Psalm: 'They pierced my hands and my feet; they

parted my garments upon them and cast lots upon my vesture.' With

reference to this he remarks that Christ fulfilled this; that he did

stretch forth his hands when the Jews crucified him--the men who

contended against him and denied that he was Christ. 'Then,' he says

further, 'as the prophet foretold, they dragged him to the judgment

seat, set him upon it and said, Judge us.' The expression, however,

'they pierced,' etc., refers to the nails with which they fastened his

feet and hands to the cross. And after they had crucified him they

threw lots for his clothing, and they who had taken part in the act of

crucifixion divided it among themselves. To this he adds: And you can

learn from the Acts, composed during the governorship of Pontius Pilate,

that these things really happened.

"Still more explicit is the testimony of Tertullian. It may be found in

Apologeticus (chap. 2) where he says that out of envy Jesus was

surrendered to Pilate by the Jewish ceremonial lawyers, and by him,

after he had yielded to the cries of the people, given over for

crucifixion; that while hanging on the cross he gave up the ghost with a

loud cry, and so anticipated the executioner's duty; that at that same

hour the day was interrupted by a sudden darkness; that a guard of

soldiers was set at the grave for the purpose of preventing his

disciples stealing his body, since he had predicted his resurrection,

but that on the third day the ground was suddenly shaken and the stone

rolled away from before the sepulchre; that in the grave nothing was

found but the articles used in his burial; that the report was spread

abroad by those who stood outside that the disciples had taken the body

away; that Jesus spent forty days with them in Galilee, teaching them

what their mission should be, and that after giving them their

instructions as to what they should preach, he was raised in a cloud to

heaven. Tertullian closes this account with the words, 'All this was

reported to the Emperor at that time, Tiberius, by Pilate, his

conscience having compelled even him to become a Christian.'

"The document now in our possession corresponds with this evidence of

Justin and Tertullian. Even in the title it agrees with the account of

Justin, although instead of the word _acta_, which he used, and which is

manifestly much more Latin than Greek, a Greek expression is employed

which can be shown to have been used to indicate genuine Acts. The

details recounted by Justin and Tertullian are all found in our text of

the Acts of Pilate, with this variation, that nothing corresponds to

what is joined to the declaration of the prophet, 'They dragged him to

the seat of judgment and set him upon it and said,' etc. Besides this,

the casting lots for the vesture is expressed simply by the allusion to

the division of the clothes. We must give even closer scrutiny to one

point. Justin alludes to the miracles which were performed in

fulfillment of Old Testament prophecy, on the lame, the dumb, the blind,

the dead, and on lepers. In fact, in our Acts of Pilate there are made

to appear before the Roman governor a palsied man who had suffered for

thirty-eight years, and was brought in a bed by young men, and healed on

the Sabbath day; a blind man cured by the laying on of hands; a cripple

who had been restored; a leper who had been cleansed; the woman whose

issue of blood had been stanched, and a witness of the raising of

Lazarus from the dead. Of that which Tertullian cites we will adduce

merely the passage found in no one of our gospels, that Jesus passed

forty days after his resurrection in company with his disciples in

Galilee.

"This is indicated in our Acts of Pilate at the end of the fifteenth

chapter, where the risen man is represented as saying to Joseph: 'For

forty days go not out of thy house, for behold I go to my brethren in

Galilee.'

"Every one will perceive how strongly the argument that our Acts of

Pilate are the same which Justin and Tertullian read is buttressed by

these unexpected coincidences. The assertion recently made requires,

consequently, no labored contradiction that the allusions to both men

have grown out of their mere suspicion that there was such a record as

the Acts of Pilate, or out of the circulation of a mere story about such

a record, while the real work was written as the consequence of these

allusions at the close of the third century. What an uncommon fancy it

requires in the two men to coincide so perfectly in a single production,

as is the case in the Acts to which I am now referring. And are we to

imagine that they referred with such emphasis as they employed to the

mere creations of their fancy?

"The question has been raised with more justice, whether the production

in our possession may not have been a copy or a free revision of the old

and primitive one. The modern change in the title has given support to

this conjecture, for it has occasioned the work to be commonly spoken of

as the Gospel of Nicodemus. But this title is borne neither by any Greek

manuscript, the Coptic-Sahidian papyrus, nor the Latin manuscripts with

the exception of a few of the most recent. It may be traced only

subsequently to the twelfth century, although at a very early period, in

one of the two prefaces attached to the work, Nicodemus is mentioned in

one place as a Hebrew author and in another as a Greek translator. But

aside from the title, the handwriting displays great variation, and the

two prefaces alluded to above show clearly the work of two hands.

Notwithstanding this, however, there are decisive grounds for holding

that our Acts of Pilate contains in its main substance the document

drawn from Justin and Tertullian. The first of these to be noticed is,

that the Greek text, as given in the version most widely circulated in

the manuscripts, is surprisingly corroborated by two documents of the

rarest character, and first used by myself--a Coptic-Sahidian papyrus

manuscript and a Latin palimpsest--both probably dating from the fifth

century. Such a documentary confirmation of their text is possessed by

scarcely ten works of the collective Greek classic literature. Both of

these ancient writings make it in the highest degree probable that the

Egyptian and Latin translations which they contain were executed still

earlier.

"But could a work which was held in great consideration in Justin's and

Tertullian's time and down to the commencement of the fourth century,

and which strenuously insists that the Emperor Maximin caused other

blasphemous Acts of Pilate to be published and zealously circulated,

manifestly for the purpose of displacing and discrediting the older

Christian Acts--could such a work suddenly change its whole form, and

from the fifth century, to which in so extraordinary a manner

translators, wholly different in character, point back with such

wonderful concurrence, continue in the new form? Contrary as this is to

all historical criticism, there is in the contents of the work, in the

singular manner in which isolated and independent details are shown to

be related to the canonical books, no less than in the accordance with

the earliest quotations found in Justin and Tertullian, a guaranty of

the greatest antiquity.

"There are in the contents, also, matters of such a nature that we must

confess that they are to be traced back to the primitive edition, as,

for example the narrative in the first chapter of the bringing forward

of the accused.

"It is incorrect, moreover, to draw a conclusion from Justin's

designation of the Acta which is not warranted by the whole character of

the work. The Acta, the _[Greek: hypomnêmata]_, are specified in

Justin's account not less than in the manuscripts which we possess, as

being written _under_ Pontius Pilate, and that can signify nothing else

than that they were an official production composed under the direct

sanction of the Roman governor. Their transmission to the emperor must

be imagined as accompanied by a letter of the same character with that

which has been brought down to us in the Greek and Latin edition, and

yet not at all similar in purport to the notable Acts of Pilate."[214]

THE ACTS OF PILATE

(_First Greek Form_)

I, Ananias, of the proprætor's bodyguard, being learned in the law,

knowing our Lord Jesus Christ from the Holy Scriptures, coming to Him by

faith, and counted worthy of the holy baptism, searching also the

memorials written at that time of what was done in the case of our Lord

Jesus Christ, which the Jews had laid up in the time of Pontius Pilate,

found these memorials written in Hebrew, and, by the favor of God, have

translated them into Greek for the information of all who call upon the

name of our Master Jesus Christ, in the seventeenth year of the reign of

our lord Flavius Theodosius, and the sixth of Flavius Valentianus, in

the ninth indiction.

All ye, therefore, who read and transfer into other books, remember me

and pray for me, and pardon my sins which I have sinned against Him.

Peace be to those who read and those who hear, and to their households.

Amen.

* * * * *

CHAPTER 1.--Having called a council, the high priests and the scribes

Annas and Caiaphas and Semes and Dathaes, and Gamaliel, Judas, Levi and

Nepthalim, Alexander and Jaïrus, and the rest of the Jews, came to

Pilate accusing Jesus about many things, saying: We know this man to be

the son of Joseph the carpenter, born of Mary; and he says that he is

the Son of God, and a king; moreover, profanes the Sabbath, and wishes

to do away with the law of our fathers. Pilate says: And what are the

things which he does, to show that he wishes to do away with it? The

Jews say: We have a law not to cure anyone on the Sabbath; but this man

has, on the Sabbath, cured the lame and the crooked, the withered and

the blind and the paralytic, the dumb and the demoniac, by evil

practices. Pilate says to them: What evil practices? They say to him:

He is a magician, and by Beelzebub, prince of the demons, he casts out

the demons, and all are subject to him. Pilate says to them: This is not

casting out the demons by an unclean spirit, but by the god Esculapius.

The Jews say to Pilate: We entreat your highness that he stand at the

tribunal and be heard. And Pilate, having called them, says: Tell me how

I, being a procurator, can try a king? They say to him: We do not say

that he is a king, but he himself says that he is. And Pilate, having

called the runner, says to him: Let Jesus be brought in with respect.

And the runner, going out and recognizing him, adored him, and took his

cloak into his hand and spread it on the ground, and says to him: My

Lord, walk on this and come in, for the procurator calls thee. And the

Jews, seeing what the runner had done, cried out against Pilate, saying:

Why hast thou ordered him to come in by a runner, and not by a crier?

for assuredly the runner, when he saw him, adored him, and spread his

doublet on the ground and made him walk like a king.

And Pilate, having called the runner, says to him: Why hast thou done

this, and spread out thy cloak upon the earth and made Jesus walk upon

it? The runner says to him: My Lord procurator, when thou didst send me

to Jerusalem to Alexander, I saw him sitting upon an ass, and the sons

of the Hebrews held branches in their hands and shouted; and others

spread their clothes under him saying: Save now, thou who art in the

highest; blessed is he that cometh in the name of the Lord.

The Jews cry out and say to the runner: The sons of the Hebrews shouted

in Hebrew; whence, then, hast thou the Greek? The runner says to them: I

asked one of the Jews, and said: What is it they are shouting in Hebrew?

And he interpreted it for me. Pilate says to them: And what did they

shout in Hebrew? The Jews say to him: _Hosanna membrome baruchamma

adonai._ Pilate says to them: And this hosanna, etc., how is it

interpreted? The Jews say to him: Save now in the highest; blessed is he

that cometh in the name of the Lord. Pilate says to them: If you bear

witness to the words spoken by the children, in what has the runner done

wrong? And they were silent. And the procurator says to the runner: Go

out and bring him in what way thou wilt. And the runner, going out, did

in the same manner as before, and says to Jesus: My Lord, come in; the

procurator calleth thee.

And Jesus, going in, and the standard bearers holding their standards,

the tops of the standards bent down, and adored Jesus. And the Jews,

seeing the bearing of the standards how they were bent down and adored

Jesus, cried out vehemently against the standard bearers. And Pilate

says to the Jews: Do you not wonder how the tops of the standards were

bent down and adored Jesus? The Jews say to Pilate: We saw how the

standard bearers bent them down and adored him. And the procurator,

having called the standard bearers, says to them: Why have you done

this? They say to Pilate: We are Greeks and temple slaves, and how

could we adore him? and assuredly, as we were holding them up, the tops

bent down of their own accord and adored him.

Pilate says to the rulers of the synagogue and the elders of the people:

Do you choose for yourselves men strong and powerful, and let them hold

up the standards, and let us see whether they will bend down with them.

And the elders of the Jews picked out twelve men powerful and strong,

and made them hold up the standards six by six; and they were placed in

front of the procurator's tribunal. And Pilate says to the runner: Take

him outside of the Pretorium, and bring him in again in whatever way may

please thee. And Jesus and the runner went out of the Pretorium. And

Pilate, summoning those who had formerly held up the standards, says to

them: I have sworn by the health of Cæsar, that if the standards do not

bend down when Jesus comes in, I will cut off your heads. And the

procurator ordered Jesus to come in the second time. And the runner did

in the same manner as before, and made many entreaties to Jesus to walk

on his cloak. And he walked on it and went in. And as he went in the

standards were again bent down and adored Jesus.

* * * * *

CHAP. 2.--And Pilate, seeing this, was afraid, and sought to go away

from the tribunal, but when he was still thinking of going away, his

wife sent to him saying: Have nothing to do with this just man, for many

things have I suffered on his account this night. And Pilate, summoning

the Jews, says to them: You know that my wife is a worshiper of God, and

prefers to adhere to the Jewish religion along with you. They say to

him: Yes, we know. Pilate says to them: Behold, my wife has sent to me,

saying, Have nothing to do with this just man, for many things have I

suffered on account of him this night. And the Jews answering, say unto

Pilate: Did we not tell thee that he was a sorcerer? Behold, he has sent

a dream to thy wife.

And Pilate, having summoned Jesus, says to him: What do these witness

against thee? Sayest thou nothing? And Jesus said: Unless they had the

power, they would say nothing; for every one has the power of his own

mouth to speak both good and evil. They shall see to it.

And the elders of the Jews answered, and said to Jesus: What shall we

see? First, that thou wast born of fornication; secondly, that thy birth

in Bethlehem was the cause of the murder of the infants; thirdly, that

thy father Joseph and thy mother Mary fled into Egypt because they had

no confidence in the people.

Some of the bystanders, pious men of the Jews, say: We deny that he was

born of fornication; for we know that Joseph espoused Mary, and he was

not born of fornication. Pilate says to the Jews who said he was of

fornication: This story of yours is not true, because they were

betrothed, as also these fellow-countrymen of yours say. Annas and

Caiaphas say to Pilate: All the multitude of us cry out that he was born

of fornication, and are not believed; these are proselytes and his

disciples. And Pilate, calling Annas and Caiaphas, says to them: What

are proselytes? They say to him: They are by birth children of the

Greeks, and have now become Jews. And those that said that he was not

born of fornication, viz.: Lazarus, Asterius, Antonius, James, Amnes,

Zeras, Samuel, Isaac, Phinees, Crispus, Agrippas and Judas, say: We are

not proselytes, but are children of the Jews, and speak the truth; for

we were present at the betrothal of Joseph and Mary.

And Pilate, calling these twelve men who said that he was not born of

fornication, says to them: I adjure you, by the health of Cæsar, to tell

me whether it be true that you say, that he was not born of fornication.

They say to Pilate: We have a law against taking oaths, because it is a

sin; but they will swear by the health of Cæsar that it is not as we

have said, and we are liable to death. Pilate says to Annas and

Caiaphas: Have you nothing to answer to this? Annas and Caiaphas say to

Pilate: These twelve are believed when they say that he was not born of

fornication; all the multitude of us cry out that he was born of

fornication, and that he is a sorcerer; and he says that he is the Son

of God and a king, and we are not believed.

And Pilate orders all the multitude to go out, except the twelve men who

said that he was not born of fornication, and he ordered Jesus to be

separated from them. And Pilate says to them: For what reason do they

wish to put him to death? They say to him: They are angry because he

cures on the Sabbath. Pilate says: For a good work do they wish to put

him to death? They say to him: Yes.

* * * * *

CHAP. 3.--And Pilate, filled with rage, went outside of the Pretorium

and said to them: I take the sun to witness that I find no fault in this

man. The Jews answered and said to the procurator: Unless this man were

an evil-doer, we should not have delivered him to thee. And Pilate said:

Do you take him and judge him according to your law. The Jews said to

Pilate: It is not lawful for us to put anyone to death. Pilate said: Has

God said that you are not to put to death, but that I am?

And Pilate went again into the Pretorium and spoke to Jesus privately,

and said to him: Art thou the king of the Jews? Jesus answered Pilate:

Dost thou say this of thyself, or have others said it to thee of me?

Pilate answered Jesus: Am I also a Jew? Thy nation and the chief priests

have given thee up to me. What hast thou done? Jesus answered: My

kingdom is not of this world; for if my kingdom were of this world, my

servants would fight in order that I should not be given up to the Jews:

but now my kingdom is not from thence. Pilate said to him: Art thou,

then, a king? Jesus answered him: Thou sayest that I am king. Because

for this have I been born, and I have come, in order that everyone who

is of the truth might hear my voice. Pilate says to him: What is truth?

Jesus says to him: Truth is from heaven. Pilate says: Is truth not upon

earth? Jesus says to Pilate: Thou seest how those who speak the truth

are judged by those that have the power upon earth.

* * * * *

CHAP. 4.--And leaving Jesus within the Pretorium, Pilate went out to

the Jews and said to them: I find no fault in him. The Jews say to him:

He said, I can destroy this temple, and in three days build it. Pilate

says: What temple? The Jews say: The one that Solomon built in forty-six

years, and this man speaks of pulling it down and building it up in

three days. Pilate says to them: I am innocent of the blood of this just

man. See you to it. The Jews say: His blood be upon us and upon our

children.

And Pilate, having summoned the elders and priests and Levites, said to

them privately: Do not act thus, because no charge that you bring

against him is worthy of death; for your charge is about curing and

Sabbath profanation. The elders and the priests and the Levites say: If

anyone speak evil against Cæsar, is he worthy of death or not? Pilate

says: He is worthy of death. The Jews say to Pilate: If anyone speak

evil against Cæsar, he is worthy of death; but this man has spoken evil

against God.

And the procurator ordered the Jews to go outside of the Pretorium; and,

summoning Jesus, he says to him: What shall I do to thee? Jesus says to

Pilate: As it has been given to thee. Pilate says: How given? Jesus

says: Moses and the prophets have proclaimed beforehand of my death and

resurrection. And the Jews, noticing this and hearing it, say to Pilate:

What more wilt thou hear of this blasphemy? Pilate says to the Jews: If

these words be blasphemous, do you take him for the blasphemy, and lead

him away to your synagogue and judge him according to your law. The Jews

say to Pilate: Our law bears that a man who wrongs his fellow-men is

worthy to receive forty save one: but he that blasphemeth God is to be

stoned with stones.

Pilate says to them: Do you take him and punish him in whatever way you

please. The Jews say to Pilate: We wish that he be crucified. Pilate

says: He is not deserving of crucifixion.

And the procurator, looking round upon the crowds of the Jews standing

by, sees many of the Jews weeping, and says: All the multitude do not

wish him to die. The elders of the Jews say: For this reason all the

multitude of us have come, that he should die. Pilate says to the Jews:

Why should he die? The Jews say: Because he called himself the Son of

God and King.

* * * * *

CHAP. 5.--And one Nicodemus, a Jew, stood before the procurator and

said: I beseech your honor let me say a few words. Pilate says: Say on.

Nicodemus says: I said to the elders and the priests and Levites, and to

all the multitude of the Jews in the synagogue, What do you seek to do

with this man? This man does many miracles and strange things, which no

one has done or will do. Let him go and do not wish any evil against

him. If the miracles which he does are of God, they will stand; but if

of man, they will come to nothing. For assuredly Moses, being sent by

God into Egypt, did many miracles, which the Lord commanded him to do

before Pharaoh, king of Egypt. And there were Jannes and Jambres,

servants of Pharaoh, and they also did not a few of the miracles which

Moses did; and the Egyptians took them to be gods--this Jannes and

Jambres. But, since the miracles which they did were not of God, both

they and those who believed in them were destroyed. And now release this

man, for he is not deserving of death.

The Jews say to Nicodemus: Thou hast become his disciple, and therefore

thou defendest him. Nicodemus says to them: Perhaps, too, the procurator

has become his disciple, because he defends him. Has the emperor not

appointed him to this place of dignity? And the Jews were vehemently

enraged, and gnashed their teeth against Nicodemus. Pilate says to them:

Why do you gnash your teeth against him when you hear the truth? The

Jews say to Nicodemus: Mayst thou receive his truth and his portion.

Nicodemus says: Amen, amen; may I receive it, as you have said.

* * * * *

CHAP. 6.--One of the Jews, stepping up, asked leave of the procurator to

say a word. The procurator says: If thou wishest to say anything, say

on. And the Jew said: Thirty-eight years I lay in my bed in great agony.

And when Jesus came, many demoniacs and many lying ill of various

diseases were cured by him. And when Jesus saw me he had compassion on

me, and said to me: Take up thy couch and walk. And I took up my couch

and walked. The Jews say to Pilate: Ask him on what day it was when he

was cured. He that had been cured says: On a Sabbath. The Jews say: Is

not this the very thing we said, that on a Sabbath he cures and casts

out demons?

And another Jew stepped up and said: I was born blind; I heard sounds,

but saw not a face. And as Jesus passed by I cried out with a loud

voice, Pity me, O son of David. And he pitied me and put his hands upon

my eyes, and I instantly received my sight. And another Jew stepped up

and said: I was crooked and he straightened me with a word. And another

said: I was a leper, and be cured me with a word.

* * * * *

CHAP. 7.--And a woman cried out from a distance and said: I had an issue

of blood, and I touched the hem of his garment, and the issue of blood,

which I had had for twelve years, was stopped. The Jews say: We have a

law that a woman's evidence is not received.

* * * * *

CHAP. 8.--And others, a multitude both of men and women, cried out,

saying: This man is a prophet, and the demons are subject to him. Pilate

says to them who said that the demons were subject to him: Why, then,

were not your teachers also subject to him? They say to Pilate: We do

not know. And others said: He raised Lazarus from the tomb after he had

been dead four days. And the procurator trembled, and said to all the

multitude of the Jews: Why do you wish to pour out innocent blood?

* * * * *

CHAP. 9.--And, having summoned Nicodemus and the twelve men that said he

was not born of fornication, he says to them: What shall I do, because

there is an insurrection among the people? They say to him: We know not;

let them see to it. Again Pilate, having summoned all the multitude of

the Jews, says: You know that it is customary, at the feast of

unleavened bread, to release one prisoner to you. I have one condemned

prisoner in the prison, a murderer named Bar Abbas, and this man

standing in your presence, Jesus in whom I find no fault. Which of them

do you wish me to release to you? And they cry out: Bar Abbas. Pilate

says: What, then, shall we do to Jesus, who is called Christ? The Jews

say: Let him be crucified. And others said: Thou art no friend of

Cæsar's if thou release this man, because he called himself the Son of

God and King. You wish this man, then, to be a king, and not Cæsar?

And Pilate, in a rage, says to the Jews: Always has your nation been

rebellious, and you always speak against your benefactors. The Jews say:

What benefactors? He says to them: Your God led you out of the land of

Egypt from bitter slavery, and brought you safe through the sea as

through dry land, and in the desert fed you with manna and gave you

quails, and quenched your thirst with water from a rock, and gave you a

law; and in all these things have you provoked your God to anger, and

sought a molten calf. And you exasperated your God, and he sought to

slay you. And Moses prayed for you, and you were not put to death. And

now you charge me with hating the emperor.

And, rising up from the tribunal, he sought to go out. And the Jews cry

out and say: We know that Cæsar is king, and not Jesus. For assuredly

the magi brought gifts to him as to a king. And when Herod heard from

the magi that a king had been born, he sought to slay him, and his

father, Joseph, knowing this, took him and his mother, and they fled

into Egypt. And Herod, hearing of it, destroyed the children of the

Hebrews that had been born in Bethlehem.

And when Pilate heard these words he was afraid; and, ordering the crowd

to keep silence, because they were crying out, he says to them: So this

is he whom Herod sought? The Jews say: Yes, it is he. And, taking water,

Pilate washed his hands in the face of the sun, saying: I am innocent of

the blood of this just man: see you to it. Again the Jews cry out: His

blood be upon us and upon our children.

Then Pilate ordered the curtain of the tribunal where he was sitting to

be drawn, and says to Jesus: Thy nation has charged thee with being a

king. On this account, I sentence thee first to be scourged, according

to the enactment of venerable kings, and then to be fastened on the

cross in the garden where thou was seized. And let Dysmas and Gestas,

the two malefactors, be crucified with thee.

* * * * *

CHAP. 10.--And Jesus went forth out of the Pretorium, and the

malefactors with him. And when they came to the place they stripped him

of his clothes and girded him with a towel, and put a crown of thorns on

him round his head. And they crucified him; and at the same time, also,

they hung up the two malefactors along with him. And Jesus said: Father,

forgive them, for they know not what they do. And the soldiers parted

his clothes among them; and the people stood looking at him. And the

chief priests and the rulers with them mocked him, saying: He saved

others, let him save himself. If he be the Son of God, let him come down

from the cross. And the soldiers made sport of him, coming near and

offering him vinegar mixed with gall, and said: Thou art the king of the

Jews; save thyself.

And Pilate, after the sentence, ordered the charge against him to be

inscribed as a superscription in Greek and Latin and Hebrew, according

to what the Jews had said: He is king of the Jews.

And one of the malefactors hanging up spoke to him, saying: If thou be

the Christ, save thyself and us. And Dysmas answering reproved him,

saying: Dost thou not fear God, because thou art in the same

condemnation? And we, indeed, justly, for we receive the fit punishment

of our deeds; but this man has done no evil. And he said to Jesus:

Remember me, Lord, in thy kingdom. And Jesus said to him: Amen, amen; I

say to thee, To-day shalt thou be with me in Paradise.

* * * * *

CHAP. 11.--And it was about the sixth hour, and there was darkness over

the earth until the ninth hour, the sun being darkened; and the curtain

of the temple was split in the middle. And, crying out with a loud

voice, Jesus said: Father, _baddach ephkid ruel_, which is, interpreted,

Into thy hands I commit my spirit. And, having said this, he gave up the

ghost. And the centurion, seeing what had happened, glorified God and

said: This was a just man. And all the crowds that were present at this

spectacle, when they saw what had happened, beat their breasts and went

away.

And the centurion reported what had happened to the procurator. And when

the procurator and his wife heard it they were exceedingly grieved, and

neither ate nor drank that day. And Pilate sent for the Jews and said to

them: Have you seen what has happened? And they say: There has been an

eclipse of the sun in the usual way.

And his acquaintances were standing at a distance, and the women who

came with him from Galilee, seeing these things. And a man named Joseph,

a councillor from the city of Arimathea, who also waited for the kingdom

of God, went to Pilate and begged the body of Jesus. And he took it down

and wrapped it in a clean linen, and placed it in a tomb hewn out of the

rock, in which no one had ever lain.

* * * * *

CHAP. 12.--And the Jews, hearing that Joseph had begged the body of

Jesus, sought him, and the twelve who said that Jesus was not born of

fornication, and Nicodemus and many others who had stepped up before

Pilate and declared his good works. And of all these that were hid

Nicodemus alone was seen by them, because he was a ruler of the Jews.

And Nicodemus says to them: How have you come into the synagogue? The

Jews say to him: How hast thou come into the synagogue? for thou art a

confederate of his, and his portion is with thee in the world to come.

Nicodemus says: Amen, amen. And likewise Joseph also stepped out and

said to them: Why are you angry against me because I begged the body of

Jesus? Behold, I have put him in my new tomb, wrapping him in clean

linen; and I have rolled a stone to the door of the tomb. And you have

acted not well against the just man, because you have not repented of

crucifying him, but also have pierced him with a spear. And the Jews

seized Joseph and ordered him to be secured until the first day of the

week, and said to him: Know that the time does not allow us to do

anything against thee, because the Sabbath is dawning: and know that

thou shalt not be deemed worthy of burial, but we shall give thy flesh

to the birds of the air. Joseph says to them: These are the words of the

arrogant Goliath, who reproached the living God and holy David. For God

has said by the prophet, Vengeance is mine, and I will repay, saith the

Lord. And now that he is uncircumcised in flesh, but circumcised in

heart, has taken water and washed his hands in the face of the sun,

saying, I am innocent of the blood of this just man; see ye to it. And

you answered and said to Pilate: His blood be upon us and upon our

children. And now I am afraid, lest the wrath of God come upon you and

upon your children, as you have said. And the Jews, hearing these words,

were embittered in their souls, and seized Joseph and locked him into a

room where there was no window; and guards were stationed at the door,

and they sealed the door where Joseph was locked in.

And on the Sabbath the rulers of the synagogue and the priests and the

Levites made a decree that all should be found in the synagogue on the

first day of the week. And, rising up early, all the multitude in the

synagogue consulted by what death they should slay him. And when the

Sanhedrin was sitting, they ordered him to be brought with much

indignity. And, having opened the door, they found him not. And all the

people were surprised and struck with dismay, because they found the

seals unbroken, and because Caiaphas had the key. And they no longer

dared to lay hands upon those who had spoken before Pilate in Jesus'

behalf.

* * * * *

CHAP. 13.--And while they were still sitting in the synagogue and

wondering about Joseph, there came some of the guard whom the Jews had

begged of Pilate to guard the tomb of Jesus, that his disciples might

not come and steal him. And they reported to the rulers of the

synagogue, and the priests and Levites, what had happened: how there had

been an earthquake; and we saw an angel coming down from heaven, and he

rolled away the stone from the mouth of the tomb and sat upon it; and he

shone like snow and like lightning. And we were very much afraid, and

lay like dead men; and we heard the voice of the angel, saying to the

women who remained beside the tomb, Be not afraid, for I know that you

seek Jesus, who was crucified. He is not here. He has risen, as he said.

Come, see the place where the Lord lay; and go quickly and tell his

disciples that he is risen from the dead, and is in Galilee.

The Jews say: To what women did he speak? The men of the guard say: We

know not who they were. The Jews say: At what time was this? The men of

the guard say: At midnight. The Jews say: And wherefore did you not lay

hold of them? The men of the guard say: We were like dead men from fear,

not expecting to see the light of day, and how could we lay hold of

them? The Jews say: As the Lord liveth, we do not believe you. The men

of the guard say to the Jews: You have seen so great miracles in the

case of this man, and have not believed; and how can you believe us? And

assuredly you have done well to swear that the Lord liveth, for indeed

he does live. Again the men of the guard say: We have heard that you

have locked up the man that begged the body of Jesus, and put a seal on

the door; and that you have opened it and not found him. Do you, then,

give us the man whom you were guarding, and we shall give you Jesus. The

Jews say: Joseph has gone away to his own city. The men of the guard say

to the Jews: And Jesus has risen, as we heard from the angel, and is in

Galilee.

And when the Jews heard these words they were very much afraid, and

said: We must take care lest this story be heard, and all incline to

Jesus. And the Jews called a council, and paid down a considerable money

and gave it to the soldiers, saying: Say, while he slept, his disciples

came by night and stole him; and if this come to the ears of the

procurator we shall persuade him and keep you out of trouble. And they

took it, and said as they had been instructed.

* * * * *

CHAP. 14.--And Phinees, a priest, and Adas, a teacher, and Haggai, a

Levite, came down from Galilee to Jerusalem, and said to the rulers of

the synagogue, and the priests and the Levites: We saw Jesus and his

disciples sitting on the mountain called Mamilch; and he said to his

disciples, Go into all the world, and preach to every creature: he that

believeth and is baptized shall be saved, and he that believeth not

shall be condemned. And these signs shall attend those who have

believed: in my name they shall cast out demons, speak new tongues, take

up serpents; and if they drink any deadly thing it shall by no means

hurt them, they shall lay hands on the sick, and they shall be well. And

while Jesus was speaking to his disciples we saw him taken up into

heaven.

The elders and priests and Levites say: Give glory to the God of Israel,

and confess to him whether you have heard and seen those things, of

which you have given us an account. And those who had given the account

said: As the Lord liveth, the God of our fathers, Abraham, Isaac, and

Jacob, we heard these things, and saw him taken up into heaven. The

elders and the priests and the Levites say to them: Have you come to

give us this announcement, or to offer prayer to God? And they say: To

offer prayer to God. The elders and the chief priests and the Levites

say to them: If you have come to offer prayer to God, why, then, have

you told these idle tales in the presence of all the people? Says

Phinees, the priest, and Adas, the teacher, and Haggai, the Levite, to

the rulers of the synagogues, and the priests and the Levites: If what

we have said and seen be sinful, behold, we are before you; do to us as

seems good in your eyes. And they took the law and made them swear upon

it not to give any more an account of these matters to anyone. And they

gave them to eat and drink and sent them out of the city, having given

them also money, and three men with them; and they sent them away to

Galilee.

And these men, having gone into Galilee, the chief priests and the

rulers of the synagogue, and the elders came together in the synagogue

and locked the door, and lamented with great lamentation, saying: Is

this a miracle that has happened in Israel? And Annas and Caiaphas said:

Why are you so much moved? Why do you weep? Do you not know that his

disciples have given a sum of gold to the guards of the tomb, and have

instructed them to say that an angel came down and rolled away the stone

from the door of the tomb? And the priests and elders said: Be it that

his disciples have stolen his body; how is it that the life has come

into his body, and that he is going about in Galilee? And they, being

unable to give an answer to these things, said, after great hesitation:

It is not lawful for us to believe the uncircumcised.

* * * * *

CHAP. 15.--And Nicodemus stood up, and stood before the Sanhedrin,

saying: You say well; you are not ignorant, you people of the Lord, of

these men that come down from Galilee, that they fear God, and are men

of substance, haters of covetousness, men of peace; and they have

declared with an oath, we saw Jesus upon the mountain Mamilch with his

disciples, and he taught what we heard from him, and we saw him taken up

into heaven. And no one asked them in what form he went up. For

assuredly, as the book of the Holy Scriptures taught us, Helias also was

taken up into heaven, and Elissæus cried out with a loud voice, and

Helias threw his sheepskin upon Elissæus, and Elissæus threw his

sheepskin upon the Jordan, and crossed and came into Jericho. And the

children of the prophets met him and said, O Elissæus, where is thy

master Helias? And he said, He has been taken up into heaven. And they

said to Elissæus, Has not a spirit seized him, and thrown him upon one

of the mountains? But let us take our servants with us and seek him. And

they persuaded Elissæus, and he went away with them. And they sought him

three days, and did not find him; and they knew that he had been taken

up. And now listen to me, and let us send into every district of Israel

and see, lest, perchance, Christ has been taken up by a spirit and

thrown upon one of the mountains. And this proposal pleased all. And

they sent into every district of Israel and sought Jesus, and did not

find him; but they found Joseph in Arimathea, and no one dared to lay

hands on him.

And they reported to the elders and the priests and the Levites: We have

gone round to every district of Israel, and have not found Jesus; but

Joseph we have found in Arimathea. And hearing about Joseph they were

glad and gave glory to the God of Israel. And the rulers of the

synagogue, and the priests and the Levites, having held a council as to

the manner in which they should meet with Joseph, took a piece of paper

and wrote to Joseph as follows:

Peace to thee! We know that we have sinned against God, and against

thee; and we have prayed to the God of Israel that thou shouldst deign

to come to thy fathers and to thy children, because we all have been

grieved. For, having opened the door, we did not find thee. And we know

that we have counseled evil counsel against thee; but the Lord has

defended thee, and the Lord himself has scattered to the winds our

counsel against thee, O honorable father Joseph.

And they chose from all Israel seven men, friends of Joseph, whom, also,

Joseph himself was acquainted with; and the rulers of the synagogue, and

the priests and the Levites say to them: Take notice; if, after

receiving our letter he read it, know that he will come with you to us.

But if he do not read it, know that he is ill-disposed towards us. And,

having saluted him in peace, return to us. And having blest the men,

they dismissed them. And the men came to Joseph and did reverence to

him, and said to him: Peace to thee! And he said: Peace to you and to

all the people of Israel! And they gave him the roll of the letter. And

Joseph, having received it, read the letter and rolled it up, and

blessed God and said: Blessed be the Lord God, who has delivered Israel,

that they should not shed innocent blood, and blessed be the Lord, who

sent out his angel and covered me under his wings. And he set a table

for them: and they ate and drank and slept there.

And they rose up early and prayed. And Joseph saddled his ass and set

out with the men: and they came to the holy city Jerusalem. And all the

people met Joseph and cried out: Peace to thee in thy coming in! And be

said to all the people: Peace to you! and he kissed them. And the people

prayed with Joseph, and they were astonished at the sight of him. And

Nicodemus received him into his house and made a great feast, and called

Annas and Caiaphas and the elders and the priests and the Levites to his

house. And they rejoiced, eating and drinking with Joseph; and, after

singing hymns, each proceeded to his own house. But Joseph remained in

the house of Nicodemus.

And on the following day, which was the preparation, the rulers of the

synagogue and the priests and the Levites went early to the house of

Nicodemus; and Nicodemus met them and said: Peace to you! And they said:

Peace to thee and to Joseph, and to all thy house and to all the house

of Joseph! And he brought them into his house. And all the Sanhedrin sat

down, and Joseph sat down between Annas and Caiaphas; and no one dared

to say a word to him. And Joseph said: Why have you called me? And they

signaled to Nicodemus to speak to Joseph. And Nicodemus, opening his

mouth, said to Joseph: Father, thou knowest that the honorable teachers

and the priests and the Levites seek to learn a word from thee. And

Joseph said: Ask. And Annas and Caiaphas, having taken the law, made

Joseph swear, saying: Give glory to the God of Israel, and give him

confession; for Achar, being made to swear by the prophet Jesus, did not

forswear himself, but declared unto him all, and did not hide a word

from him. Do thou also, accordingly, not hide from us to the extent of a

word. And Joseph said: I shall not hide from you one word. And they said

to him: With grief were we grieved because thou didst beg the body of

Jesus and wrap it in clean linen and lay it in a tomb. And on account

of this we secured thee in a room where there was no window; and we put

locks and seals upon the doors, and guards kept watching where thou wast

locked in. And on the first day of the week we opened and found thee

not, and were grieved exceedingly; and astonishment fell upon all the

people of the Lord until yesterday. And now relate to us what happened

to thee.

And Joseph said: On the preparation, about the tenth hour, you locked me

up, and I remained all the Sabbath. And at midnight, as I was standing

and praying, the room where you locked me in was hung up by the four

corners, and I saw a light like lightning into my eyes. And I was afraid

and fell to the ground. And some one took me by the hand and removed me

from the place where I had fallen; and moisture of water was poured from

my head even to my feet, and a smell of perfumes came about my nostrils.

And he wiped my face and kissed me, and said to me, Fear not, Joseph:

open thine eyes and see who it is that speaks to thee. And, looking up,

I saw Jesus. And I trembled and thought it was a phantom; and I said the

commandments, and he said them with me. Even so you are not ignorant

that a phantom, if it meet anybody and hear the commandments, takes to

flight. And seeing that he said them with me, I said to him, Rabbi

Helias. And he said to me, I am not Helias. And I said to him, Who art

thou, my lord? And he said to me, I am Jesus, whose body thou didst beg

from Pilate; and thou didst clothe me with clean linen, and didst put a

napkin on my face, and didst lay me in thy new tomb, and didst roll a

great stone to the door of the tomb. And I said to him that was speaking

to me, Show me the place where I laid thee. And he carried me away and

showed me the place where I laid him; and the linen cloth was lying in

it, and the napkin for his face. And I knew that it was Jesus. And he

took me by the hand and placed me, though the doors were locked, in the

middle of my house, and led me away to my bed and said to me, Peace to

thee! And he kissed me and said to me, For forty days go not forth out

of thy house; for, behold, I go to my brethren in Galilee.

* * * * *

CHAP. 16.--And the rulers of the synagogue, and the priests and the

Levites when they heard these words from Joseph, became as dead, and

fell to the ground, and fasted until the ninth hour. And Nicodemus,

along with Joseph, exhorted Annas and Caiaphas, the priests and the

Levites, saying: Rise up and stand upon your feet, and taste bread and

strengthen your souls, because to-morrow is the Sabbath of the Lord. And

they rose up and prayed to God, and ate and drank, and departed every

man to his own house.

And on the Sabbath our teachers and the priests and Levites sat

questioning each other and saying: What is this wrath that has come upon

us? for we know his father and mother. Levi, a teacher, says: I know

that his parents fear God, and do not withdraw themselves from the

prayers, and give the tithes thrice a year. And when Jesus was born his

parents brought him to this place and gave sacrifices and burnt

offerings to God. And when the great teacher, Symeon, took him into his

arms, he said, Now thou sendest away thy servant, Lord, according to thy

word, in peace; for mine eyes have seen thy salvation, which thou hast

prepared before the face of all the peoples; a light for the revelation

of the Gentiles, and the glory of thy people Israel. And Symeon blessed

them, and said to Mary his mother, I give thee good news about this

child. And Mary said, It is well, my lord. And Symeon said to her, It is

well; behold, he lies for the fall and the rising again of many in

Israel, and for a sign spoken against; and of thee thyself a sword shall

go through the soul, in order that the reasoning of many hearts may be

revealed.

They say to the teacher Levi: How knowest thou these things? Levi says

to them: Do you not know that from him I learned the law? The Sanhedrin

say to him: We wish to see thy father. And they sent for his father. And

they asked him, and he said to them: Why have you not believed my son?

The blessed and just Symeon himself taught him the law. The Sanhedrin

says to Rabbi Levi: Is the word that you have said true? And he said: It

is true. And the rulers of the synagogue, and the priests and the

Levites said to themselves: Come, let us send into Galilee to the three

men that came and told about his teaching and his taking up, and let

them tell us how they saw him taken up. And this saying pleased all. And

they sent away the three men who had already gone away into Galilee with

them; and they say to them: Say to Rabbi Adas and Rabbi Phinees and

Rabbi Haggai, Peace to you and all who are with you! A great inquiry

having taken place in the Sanhedrin, we have been sent to you to call

you to this holy place, Jerusalem.

And the men set out into Galilee and found them sitting and considering

the law: and they saluted them in peace. And the men who were in Galilee

said to those who had come to them: Peace unto all Israel! And they

said: Peace to you! And they again said to them: Why have you come? And

those who had been sent said: The Sanhedrin call you to the holy city

Jerusalem. And when the men heard that they were sought by the Sanhedrin

they prayed to God, and reclined with the men and ate and drank, and

rose up and set out in peace to Jerusalem.

And on the following day the Sanhedrin sat in the synagogue, and asked

them, saying: Did you really see Jesus sitting on the mountain Mamilch

teaching his eleven disciples, and did you see him taken up? And the men

answered them and said: As we saw him taken up, so also we said.

Annas says: Take them away from one another and let us see whether their

account agrees. And they took them away from one another. And first they

call Adas and say to him: How didst thou see Jesus taken up? Adas says:

While he was yet sitting on the mountain Mamilch and teaching his

disciples, we saw a cloud overshadowing both him and his disciples. And

the cloud took him up into heaven, and his disciples lay upon their

faces upon the earth. And they call Phinees, the priest, and ask him

also, saying: How didst thou see Jesus taken up? And he spoke in like

manner. And they again asked Haggai, and he spoke in like manner. And

the Sanhedrin said: The law of Moses holds: At the mouth of two or three

every word shall be established. Buthem, a teacher, says: It is written

in the law, And Enoch walked with God, and is not, because God took him.

Jaïrus, a teacher, said: And the death of holy Moses we have heard of,

and have not seen it; for it is written in the law of the Lord, and

Moses died from the mouth of the Lord, and no man knoweth of his

sepulchre unto this day. And Rabbi Levi said: Why did Rabbi Symeon say,

when he saw Jesus, "Behold, he lies for the fall and rising again of

many in Israel, and for a sign spoken against"? And Rabbi Isaac said: It

is written in the law, Behold, I send my messenger before thy face, who

shall go before thee to keep thee in every good way, because my name has

been called upon him.

Then Annas and Caiaphas said: Rightly have you said what is written in

the law of Moses, that no one saw the death of Enoch, and no one has

named the death of Moses; but Jesus was tried before Pilate, and we saw

him receiving blows and spittings on his face, and the soldiers put

about him a crown of thorns, and he was scourged and received sentence

from Pilate, and was crucified upon the Cranium, and two robbers with

him; and they gave him to drink vinegar with gall, and Longinus, the

soldier, pierced his side with a spear; and Joseph, our honorable

father, begged his body, and he says he is risen; and as the three

teachers say, We saw him taken up into heaven; and Rabbi Levi has given

evidence of what was said by Rabbi Symeon, and that he said, Behold, he

lies for the fall and rising again of many in Israel, and for a sign

spoken against. And all the teachers said to all the people of the Lord:

If this was from the Lord, and is wonderful in your eyes, knowing you

shall know, O house of Jacob, that it is written, Cursed is every one

that hangeth upon a tree. And another scripture teaches: The gods which

have not made the heaven and the earth shall be destroyed. And the

priests and the Levites said to each other: If this memorial be until

the year that is called Jobel, know that it shall endure forever, and he

hath raised for himself a new people. Then the rulers of the synagogue,

and the priests and the Levites, announced to all Israel, saying: Cursed

is that man who shall worship the work of man's hand, and cursed is the

man who shall worship the creatures more than the Creator. And all the

people said, Amen, amen.

And all the people praised the Lord, and said: Blessed is the Lord, who

hath given rest to his people Israel, according to all that he hath

spoken; there hath not fallen one word of every good word of his that he

spoke to Moses, his servant. May the Lord our God be with us, as he was

with our fathers; let him not destroy us. And let him not destroy us,

that we may incline our hearts to him, that we may walk in all his ways,

that we may keep his commandments and his judgments which he commanded

to our fathers. And the Lord shall be for a king over all the earth in

that day; and there shall be one Lord, and his name one. The Lord is our

king; he shall save us. There is none like thee, O Lord. Great art

thou, O Lord, and great is thy name. By thy power heal us, O Lord, and

we shall be healed; save us, O Lord, and we shall be saved, because we

are thy lot and heritage. And the Lord will not leave his people, for

his great name's sake; for the Lord has begun to make us into his

people.

And all, having sung praises, went away each man to his own house

glorifying God; for his is the glory forever and ever. Amen.

FOOTNOTES:

[1] Mommsen, "Römisches Staatsrecht," III. I. p. 748.

[2] "The Jewish People in the Time of Jesus Christ," 2d Div., I. p. 185.

[3] "The Jewish People in the Time of Jesus Christ," 2d Div., I. p. 187.

[4] Josephus, "Wars of the Jews," II. 8, 1.

[5] Josephus, "Ant.," XX. 9, 1.

[6] John xix. 10.

[7] John xviii. 31.

[8] Acts xxv., xxvi.

[9] "The Trial of Jesus," p. 77.

[10] "The Jewish People in the Time of Jesus Christ," 1st Div., II. p.

74.

[11] "The Legal Procedure of Cicero's Time," p. 118.

[12] "The Legal Procedure of Cicero's Time," p. 118.

[13] "The Trial of Jesus," p. 293.

[14] "The Legal Procedure of Cicero's Time," p. 413.

[15] "Geschichte des römischen Criminalprocesses."

[16] "The Trial of Jesus," pp. 291-93.