Papias of Hierapolis - Traditions Related By Papias

Traditions Related By Papias

About the origins of the Gospels, Papias (as quoted by Eusebius) Quoting John the Elder wrote:

`And this the Presbyter used to say : "Mark, being the recorder of Peter, wrote accurately but not in order whatever he remembered of the things either said or done by the Lord; for he had neither heard the Lord nor followed him, but later, as I said, Peter, who used to make teachings according to the cheias, but not making as it were a systematic composition of the Lord's sayings; so that Mark did not err at all when he wrote certain things just as he had recalled . For he had but one intention, not to leave out anything he had heard, nor to falsify anything in them". This is what was related by Papias about Mark. But about Matthew`s this was said: "For Matthew composed the logia in Hebrew style; but each recorded them as he was able"` . This last part is translated into English as every one interpreted them as he was able by Dr. Arthur C. McGiffert and Dr. Ernest C. Richardson.

Citing this text, many argue that Papias claimed that Matthew was written in the Hebrew language, (as it is often translated in English). This claim of the Semitic origins (Aramaic primacy or Hebrew primacy) of the New testament writings is also testified to by other Church Fathers including Ireneus, Origen, Eusebius, Pantaeneus, Epiphanius, Jerome, Isho'dad, as well as, Clement of Alexandria. Some would argue, however, that Papias' comment in Greek, (Ματθαῖος μέν οὖν Ἑβραίδι διαλέκτῳ τά λόγια, "Hebrew dialect") is a common construction in Greek and is seen in many different sources and contexts and seems to consistently refer to a style or subset of a language being spoken; and, this is distinguished from the general Greek term for language or tongue, "γλῶσσα". Papias' statement seems to signify a style of language or dialect being used by the "Hebrews", (or in other words, the style or subset of a language being used by the Hebrew race). In the historical context, the "dialect of the Hebrews", (Ἑβραίδι διαλέκτῳ), was most probably a reference to the Hebrew dialect of Aramaic. Due to the testimony of so many other sources, including Papias' contemporaries, this argument seem likely to overlook the other sources for this same claim. In fact all of the previously listed Church Fathers are quoted in their own writings as testifying to the Semitic origins of, at the very least, the Gospel of Matthew. Other scholars on the language of the New Testament have also argued that at least portions of the New Testament writings were originally penned in a Semitic tongue. This has been asserted of all four Gospels, Acts and Revelation. The following is just some of what these scholars have written on the topic:

“When we turn to the New Testament we find that there are reasons for suspecting a Hebrew or Aramaic original for the Gospels of Matthew, Mark, John and for the apocalypse.” - Hugh J. Schonfield; An Old Hebrew Text of St. Matthew's Gospel; 1927; p. vii

“The material of our Four Gospels is all Palestinian, and the language in which it was originally written is Aramaic, then the principle language of the land ...” -C. C. Torrey; Our Translated Gospels; 1936 p. ix

Another group of scholars states that the 4 Gospels including Acts up to 15:35 are translated directly from Aramaic and from a written Aramaic text: “My own researches have led me to consider Torrey's position valid and convincing that the Gospels as a whole were translated from Aramaic into Greek.”- Frank Zimmerman; The Aramaic Origin of the Four Gospels; KTAV; ‘79

“Thus it was that the writer turned seriously to tackle the question of the original language of the 4th Gospel; and quickly convincing himself that the theory of an original Aramaic document was no chimera, but a fact which was capable of the fullest verification …” - Charles Fox Burney; The Aramaic Origin of the Fourth Gospel; 1922; p. 3

“... this Gospel of St. Matthew appears at least to be built upon the original Aramaic text which was the work of the Apostle himself.” - William Cureton; Remains of a Very Ancient Recension of the Four Gospels in Syriac; 1858; p. vi)

“... the Book of Revelation was written in a Semitic language, and that the Greek translation .. is a remarkably close rendering of the original.” - C. C. Torrey; Documents of the Primitive Church 1941;p. 160

“We come to the conclusion, therefore that the Apocalypse as a whole is a translation from Hebrew or Aramaic ...” - R. B. Y. Scott; The Original Language of the Apocalypse 1928;p. 6

“The question of the Luke/Acts tradition holds particular interest to us. This is because the common wisdom has been to portray Luke as a Greek speaking, Greek writing Gentile who wrote his account to the Gentiles. The reality of the matter is (whether Luke himself knew Greek or not) that Luke was most certainly written in a Semitic language as Charles Cutler Torrey states: In regard to Luke it remains to be said, that of all the Four Gospels it is the one which gives by far the plainest and most constant evidence of being a translation. - C.C. Torrey; Our Translated Gospels p. lix

Flavius Jospehus Antiquities of the Jews Bk 5, Sec 121: ... δὲ ὄνομα τοῦτο σημαίνει Ζεβεκηνῶν κύριος: ἀδωνὶ γὰρ τῇ Ἑβραίων διαλέκτῳ κύριος γίνεται:

Diodorus Siculus, Library: Bk 13, Chap 35: ... ἢ ἐξηγητὴν τοῦ νομοθέτου, διὰ τὸ τοὺς νόμους γεγραμμένους ἀρχαίᾳ διαλέκτῳ δοκεῖν εἶναι δυσκατανοήτους. μεγάλης δὲ οὔσης κατὰ τὴν νομοθεσίαν

Diogenes Laertius, Lives of Eminent Philosophers Bk 2, Chap 8: ... διάλογοι πέντε καὶ εἴκοσιν, οἱ μὲν Ἀτθίδι, οἱ δὲ Δωρίδι διαλέκτῳ γεγραμμένοι οἵδε: 84 Ἀρτάβαζος.

Acts, Chap 2: ... τὸ πλῆθος καὶ συνεχύθη, ὅτι ἤκουσεν εἷς ἕκαστος τῇ ἰδίᾳ διαλέκτῳ λαλούντων αὐτῶν: ἐξίσταντο δὲ καὶ ἐθαύμαζον λέγοντες Οὐχὶ ἰδοὺ... λαλοῦντες Γαλιλαῖοι; καὶ πῶς ἡμεῖς ἀκούομεν ἕκαστος τῇ ἰδίᾳ διαλέκτῳ ἡμῶν ἐν ᾗ ἐγεννήθημεν; Πάρθοι καὶ Μῆδοι καὶ

There is question whether the documents which Papias knew as the Gospels of Matthew and Mark are the same ones that we have today: Matthew is a narrative, rather than a sayings gospel with commentary, and some scholars reject the thesis that it was originally written in Hebrew. (See the Gospel according to the Hebrews.)

Papias also related a number of traditions that Eusebius had characterized as "some strange parables and teachings of the savior, and some other more mythical accounts." For example, Eusebius indicated that Papias heard stories about Justus, surnamed Barsabas, who drank poison but suffered no harm and another story via a daughter of Philip the Evangelist concerning the resurrection of a corpse.

Eusebius states that Papias "reproduces a story about a woman falsely accused before the Lord of many sins." J. B. Lightfoot identified this story with the Pericope Adulterae, and included it in his collection of fragments of Papias' work. However, Michael W. Holmes has pointed out that it is not certain "that Papias knew the story in precisely this form, inasmuch as it now appears that at least two independent stories about Jesus and a sinful woman circulated among Christians in the first two centuries of the church, so that the traditional form found in many New Testament manuscripts may well represent a conflation of two independent shorter, earlier versions of the incident."

According to a scholium attributed to Apollinaris of Laodicea, Papias also related a tradition on the death of Judas Iscariot:

Judas did not die by hanging, but lived on, having been cut down before he was suffocated. And the Acts of the Apostles show this, that falling head long he burst asunder in the midst, and all his bowels gushed out. This fact is related more clearly by Papias, the disciple of John, and the fourth book of the Expositions of the Oracles of the Lord as follows:

: Judas walked about in this world a terrible example of impiety; his flesh swollen to such an extent that, where hay wagon can pass with ease, he was not able to pass, no, not even the mass of his head merely. They say that his eyelids swelled to such an extent that he could not see the light at all, while as for his eyes they were not visible even by a physician looking through an instrument, so far have they sunk from the surface.

: His genitals appeared entirely disfigured, nauseous and large. When he carried himself about discharge and worms flowed from his entire body through his private areas only, on account of his outrages. After many agonies and punishments, he died in his own place. And on account of this the place is desolate and uninhabited even now. And to this day no one is able to go by that place, except if they block their noses with their hands. Such judgment was spread through his body and upon the earth.