δέξαι μητέρα μετὰ τέκνα ἐ γὰρ ἐδύνατο ἡ Ἐλισάβετ προσαναθῆναι καὶ παραχρῆμα διεσχίσθη τὸ ὄρος ἐκεῖνο, καὶ ἦν διαφαίνων αὐτοῖς ἄγγελο Κυρία, καὶ διαφυλάττων αυτ τός. the mother with the child, (for Elizabeth could not climb up), and inftantly the mountain was divided (and received them), and there appeared to them an angel of the Lord to preferve them. ΧΧΙΙΙ. Ὁ δὲ Ἡρώδης ζητήσας τὸν Ἰωάννην, ἀπέσελεν ὑπηρέτας πρὸς Ζαχα ρίαν ὄντα ἐν τῷ θυσιασηρίῳ, καὶ εἶπεν αὐτῷ· Πε απέ κρυψας τὸν υἱόν σε; Ὁ δὲ εἶπεν αὐτοῖς· Ἐγὼ λειτεργὸς ὑπάρχω τῇ Θεῖ, καὶ προσε δρεύω τῷ θυσιαςηρίῳ, καὶ πό δεν γινώσκω τε ἐσιν ὁ υἱός με ; πορευθέντες δὲ ὑπηρέται ἀνήγγειλαν τῷ Ἡρώδη πάντα. Ὀργισθεὶς δὲ ὁ Ἡρώδης εἶπε· Μὴ ὁ υἱὸς αὐτῇ μέλλει βασιλεύειν ἐν τῷ Ἰσραήλ; καὶ πέμψας τὰς ὑπηρέτας αὐτῇ πρὸς Ζαχαρίαν εἶπε· Εἰπὲ ἡμῖν τὸ ἀληθὲς, πᾶ ἐσιν ὁ υἱός σε ; οἶδας γὰρ ὅτι τὸ αἷμά σε ὑπὸ τὴν χεῖρά με ἐείν. Οἱ δὲ ὑπηρέται ἀπελθέντες απήγγειλαν αὐτῷ ταῦ τα πάντα· καὶ εἶπεν αὐτοῖς ὁ Ζαχαρίας Μάρτυς εἰμὶ τῆ XXIII. But Herod made fearch after John, and sent fervants to Zacharias, when altar, and faid unto him, he was (miniftering) at the Where haft thou hid thy fon? He replied to them, I am a minifer of God, and a fervant at the altar : how fould I know where my fon is? So the fervants went back, and told Herod the whole; at which he was incenfed, and faid, Is king in Ifracl? He fent therenot this fon of his like to be fore again his fervants to Zacharias, faying, Tell us the truth, where is thy fon, for you know that your life is in my hand. So the fervants went and told him all this; I am a witnes (or martyr) but Zacharias replied to them, for God, and if ye fed my blood, the Lord will receive my foul. Befides (know that Θεῖ, καὶ ἐὰν χέηέ με τὸ αἷμα, τὸ πνεῦμά με ὁ Θεὸς λήψε εται τα πλὴν ὅτι αἷμα ἐκχεῖτε ἀθῷον. Παρὰ τὰ πρόθυρα τα νακ καὶ τὰ θυσι αφηρίε, καὶ περὶ τὸ διάφραγμα ἔφονεύθη Ζαχαρίας οἱ δὲ υἱοὶ Ἰσραὴλ ἐκ ἔγνωσαν πότε ἐφονεύθη. χχιν. ̓Αλλὰ τῇ ὥρᾳ τε ἀσπασμὸ ἦλθον οἱ ἱερεῖς, καὶ ἐκ ἀπήντησεν αὐτοῖς Ζαχα ρίας κατὰ τὸ ἔθος, ὡς εὐλόγει αὐτές. Καὶ ἵσαντο οἱ ἱερεῖς προσδοκῶντες τὸν Ζαχαρίαν, τῇ ἀσπάσασθαι αὐτές χρονίζοντος δὲ αὐτᾶ, τολμήσας εἷς ἐξ αὐτῶν εἰσῆλθεν εἰς τὸ αγίασμα τα θυσιατηρίε, καὶ εἶδε τὸ αἷμα κείμενον καὶ πε πηγές. Καὶ ἰδὲ φωνὴ λέγεσα, Ζαχαρίας πεφόνευται, καὶ ἐκ ἐξηλειφθήσεται τὸ αἷ μα αὐτε, ἕως ξ ἔλθη ὁ ἐκδικῶν. Ὁ δὲ ἀκέσας τα λόγε ἐφοβήθη, καὶ ἐξελθὼν ἀνήγε γειλε τοῖς ἱερεῦσιν, ἃ εἶδε καὶ ἔκεσε· καὶ εἰσῆλθον καὶ εἶδον τὸ γεγονός. Τά τε φατνώματα τα νας ὠλόλυξαν, αὐτὰ δὲ περιεσχίσαντο ἀπὸ ἄνωθεν ἕως κάτω. Καὶ τὸ σῶμα αὐτὰ ἐχ εὗρον, ἀλλὰ τὸ αἷμα αὐτὰ μόνον, καὶ γενόμενον ώσε εἰ λίθος. Καὶ ἀπελθόντες. ye fed innocent blood. However Zacharias was murdered in the entrance of the temple and altar, and about the partition; but the children of Ifrael knew not when he was killed. xxiv. Then at the hour of falutation the priefs went (into the temple), but Zacharias did not according to cuf them, yet they fill continued waiting for him to falute them ; and when they found he did not in a long time come, one of them ventured into the holy place where the altar was, and he faw blood lying upon the ground congealed ; when, behold, a voice from heaven faid, Zacharias is murdered, and his blood hall not be wiped away, until the revenger (of his blood) come. But when he heard tom meet them and blefs this, he was afraid, and went forth and told the priests what he had feen and heard; and they all went in, and faw the fact. Then the roofs of the temple howled, and were rent from the top to the bottom: and they could not find the body, but only blood made (hard) like ftone. And they went απήγγειλαν τῷ λαῷ, ὅτι Ζαχαρίας πεφόνευται· καὶ ἤκασαν πᾶσαι αἱ φυλαὶ το Ἰσραὴλ, καὶ ἐπένθησαν αὐτ τὸν, καὶ ἐκόψαντο αὐτὸν τρεῖς ἡμέρας. Καὶ ἐξελεύσαντο οἱ ἱερεῖς, τίνα αναςήσεσιν εἰς τὸν τόπον αὐτῇ· καὶ ἔβαλε Συμεὼν καὶ οἱ ἱερεῖς κλήρες αυτ τῶν, ἀνέβη δὲ ὁ κλῆρος ἐπὶ Συμεῶν· ὗτος γὰρ ἦν χρήμα. τισθεὶς ὑπὸ τῇ ἁγία πνεύμα τος μὴ ἰδεῖν θάνατον, ἕως ἂν ἴδῃ τὸν Χρισὸν Κυρία ἐν σαρκὶ ἐληλυθότα. xxv. Ἐγὼ δὲ Ἰάκωβος ἔγραψα τὴν ἱςορίαν ταύτην ἐν Ἱεροσολύμοις· γενομένε δὲ θορυβε συνέςειλα ἐγὼ ἐμαυ τὸν ἐν τόπῳ ἐρήμῳ, ἕως ὅ ἐτελεύτησεν Ἡρώδης· καὶ κατε παύθη ὁ θόρυβος ἐν Ἱεροσο Then went away, and told the people, that Zacharias was mure dered, and all the tribes of Ifrael heard thereof, and mourned for him, and lamented three days. the priefs took counfel toge ther concerning a perfon to fucceed him. And Simeon and the other priests caft lots, and the lot fell upon Simeon, for he had been affured by the holy Spirit, that he should not die, till be had feen Chrift come in the flesh. XXV. I JAMES WROTE THIS HISTORY IN JERUSA LEM; AND WHEN THE DISTURBANCE WAS, I RETIRED INTO A DESERT PLACE, UNTIL THE DEATH OF HERod. AND THE DISTURBANCE CEASED AT JERUSALEM. THAT WHICH REMAINS IS, λύμοις. Τό τε λοιπὸν ἤμην δοξάζων τὸν Θεὸν, τὸν δόντα THAT I GLORIFY GOD THAT HE HATH GIVEN ME SUCH WISDOM TO WRITE UNTO YOU WHO ARE SPIRITUAL, AND WHO LOVE GOD; TO WHOM (BE ASCRIBED) GLO RY AND DOMINION FOR EVER AND EVER, AMEN. a Luke ii. 26. Voy. II. K CHAP. CHA P. XVI. The Gospel of the Nativity of Mary extant in the primitive Ages of Chriftianity, and received by feveral of the antient Hereticks. The prefent Gofpel different from the old one. It went heretofore under the Name of St. Matthew. Is for the most Part the fame as the Protevangelion of James. HAV [AVING thus produced these two famous Apocryphal pieces, I fhall now offer to the reader whatfoever I have obferved confiderable, relating to them, under the following diftinct heads. OBS. I. In the early ages of Christianity (viz. the third, and even the second century) there was a book published, intitled, Of the Nativity of Mary. This is evident from the places of Epiphanius and Austin referred to at the bottom of the page 2. OBS. II. This book was received by several of the antient Hereticks of that time, as a genuine and authentick monument of the Chriftian religion. Out of this the Gnofticks borrowed, and by this they supported their monftrous and abfurd ideas of Christianity; of which more hereafter. Out of this the Manichees, and particularly Fauftus, after having endeavoured to prove, that Christ was not the Son of God till after his baptifm, endeavours, contrary to all the Scriptures both of the Old and New Teftament, to prove, that Chrift was not of the progeny of David, and tribe of Judah, because the Virgin herself (according to this book) was not of this tribe, but of the tribe of Levi, because her father was a priest whose name was Joachim c. Out of this the Collyridians feem to have gathered and established their ridiculous doctrine concerning the neceffity of worshipping and offering facrifices to the Virgin Mary, a Hæref. 26. §. 12. et lib. 23. contr. Fauft. Manich. c. 4 and 9. tom, opp. 6. b Epiph. ibid. whom whom they seem to have imagined born of a virgin (as our Saviour was born of her), by means of this book 3. OBS. III. The book of the Nativity of Mary fuffered many alterations; and the antient copies of it were very different from the prefent copy, which I have above published out of Jerome's works. This is evident from the small fragments of it, which are in Epiphanius and Auftin; for whereas in that place above cited Epiphanius has produced a paffage out of it, concerning the occafion of the death of Zacharias, there is not in the present Gospel of the Nativity of Mary any mention or footsteps of it. The history I refer to is as follows, viz. "That it was the occafion of the death of Zacharias in the "Temple, that when he had seen a vifion, he through surprise "was willing to disclose it, and his mouth was stopped. That "which he saw was at the time of his offering incense, and it was a man standing in the form of an afs. When he was gone out, and had a mind to speak thus to the people, Woe "unto you, whom do ye worship? He who had appeared to " him in the Temple took away the use of his fpeech. Af"terwards when he recovered it, and was able to speak, he "declared this to the Jews, and they flew him. They add (viz. the Gnosticks in this book), that on this very account "the High-prieft was appointed by their lawgiver (by God "to Mofes) to carry little bells, that whenfoever he went into "the Temple to facrifice, he, whom they worshipped, hear ing the noise of the bells, might have time enough to hide "himself, and not be caught in that ugly fhape and figure." Nothing of this is in the prefent Gospel of the Nativity of Mary: wherefore the antient and the present one are not the fame. This is further evident from this manifeft contradiction, which I have obferved to be between them, viz. That whereas the old Gofpel of the Generation of Mary, which the Manichees made ufe of, afferted, that the father of Mary, viz. Joachim, was of the tribe of Levi, and a prieft, from whence Fauftus argues (as above), that Christ was not of the tribe of Judah; the prefent Gospel of the Birth of Mary expressly afferts |