More importantly, Ken Olson brings out some important connections in understanding the text of Hegesippus, including: why is James called "bulwark of the people" (περιοχὴ τοῦ λαοῦ)? What is the significance of James "begging forgiveness for the people" and the objection later made "Cease, what do ye? The just one prayeth for you"? What is the supposed fulfillment of "therefore they shall eat the fruit of their doings" quoted from Isaiah?
The first question is best explained with reference to another passage of Eusebius (EH 3.7.9)But it may be proper to mention also those events which exhibited the graciousness of that all-good Providence which held back their destruction full forty years after their crime against Christ — during which time many of the apostles and disciples, and James himself the first bishop there, the one who is called the brother of the Lord, were still alive, and dwelling in Jerusalem itself, remained the surest bulwark of the place (ἕρκος ὥσπερ ὀχυρώτατον). Divine Providence thus still proved itself long-suffering toward them in order to see whether by repentance for what they had done they might obtain pardon and salvation; and in addition to such long-suffering, Providence also furnished wonderful signs of the things which were about to happen to them if they did not repent.
In the midst of a bunch of borrowed text from Eusebius and/or Josephus and/or Hegesippus, this material appears in George Monachos:There is also a similar reference from Eusebius previously (EH 3.5.3):But the people of the church in Jerusalem had been commanded by a revelation, vouchsafed to approved men there before the war, to leave the city and to dwell in a certain town of Perea called Pella. And when those that believed in Christ had come there from Jerusalem, then, as if the royal city of the Jews and the whole land of Judea were entirely destitute of holy men, the judgment of God at length overtook those who had committed such outrages against Christ and his apostles, and totally destroyed that generation of impious men.
During the days of the Passover feast, people from all over Judea came to Jerusalem, and they alone were besieged by the Romans in the metropolis, with divine revelation preceding the believers in Christ and the friends, saints, and servants of God. Those who remained were like captives in the dens of the impious and pitiful wilderness, according to their ancient customs, similar to the threefold doomed Sodomites. Concerning the cities of Sodom, the divine Abraham interceded, saying, "Do not destroy the righteous with the wicked, and let the righteous be as the wicked." Therefore, the benevolent God also promised that if ten righteous people were found in Sodom, the city would be spared from His wrath. However, they were not found, and thus they were completely destroyed. Regarding Jerusalem, the prophet Jeremiah lamented, and God said to him again, "Run around, go through the streets of Jerusalem, and see and know and search in its squares. If you find a man, if there is one who does justice, who seeks faithfulness, then I will be merciful to her," says the Lord. But even she has become scarce of this zeal for God, and not at any other time, but in the days of the feast. And quite rightly so, for they should have committed their offenses against the Lord in those days and endured the attempts of Christ-killing.
George Monachos may not have any ancient source for making the connection with Sodom or with Jeremiah 5:1, but the passage does illustrate the kind of logic being stated by Eusebius above:
And when those that believed in Christ had come there from Jerusalem, then, as if the royal city of the Jews and the whole land of Judea were entirely destitute of holy men, the judgment of God at length overtook those who had committed such outrages against Christ and his apostles, and totally destroyed that generation of impious men.
Where the absence of the "holy men" there (because of a "divine revelation preceding the believers in Christ and the friends, saints, and servants of God," mentioned in the NT without specific reference to Pella and in Eusebius as a flight to Pella) allowed for the destruction of Jerusalem.
This essay discusses some of those less specific references in in the Pseudo-Clementine Recognitions and Luke 21:20-22.
https://digitalcommons.luthersem.edu/cg ... y_articles
Statistics: Posted by Peter Kirby — Sat Mar 16, 2024 4:28 pm