Thursday, December 13, 2012

Was It Eusebius Who Added the Words 'καὶ τὰ ἑξῆς ἕως' to Fill in the Heretical Citations of Scripture in Clement and Origen?

It is very curious.  You'd think that citing a section of text by listing its first line and its last line connected by a word or phrase containing the Greek term 'heos' would be pretty common in antiquity.  But the more I search the more that it seems to be associated with Alexandrians and in particular people that Eusebius of Caesarea was actively defending (including himself).  In Eusebius's case, it is obviously little more than his habitual manner of citing material.  I see examples in all of his writings.  But in the case of Clement and Origen it appears in particularly problematic texts.  The first three books of the Stromata, for instance, and in particular the second and third books of that series.

We know that Eusebius is accused by Jerome of having gone through the writings of the Alexandrians in an attempt to purge them of 'heresy.'  Now I am seriously considering the possibility that part of that effort was to fill in major 'potholes' in Clement's citation of scripture.  In other words, Clement's New Testament canon was clearly heretical.  Origen's only changes as he leaves Alexandria for Caesarea.  Here are some examples of Eusebius's pattern of citing scripture with heos:

Eclogae propheticae 213 - 214 Τίς γὰρ ἂν ἄλλος εἴη ὁ φάσκων, μὴ οὐκ ἰσχύει ἡ χείρ μου, καὶ τὰ ἑξῆς ἕως τοῦ, ἐνδύσω τὸν οὐρανὸν σκότος, καὶ ὡς σάκκον τὸ περιβόλαιον αὐτοῦ, ἢ ὁ τοῦ Θεοῦ Λόγος. (citation of Isaiah 50:2 - 4)

Commentary on Psalms · Εἶπον τῇ ψυχῇ μου. Σωτηρία σου εἰμὶ ἐγὼ,  καὶ τὰ ἑξῆς,  ἕως τοῦ,  Καὶ ἄγγελος Κυρίου ἐκθλίβων αὐτούς.  (Psalm 34: 2 - 4)

Ecclesiastica Theologia 2.22.2 - 3 αὐτίκα δ' οὖν ὁ Ἡσαΐας μᾶλλον δὲ ὁ θεὸς δι' αὐτοῦ εἰπὼν «πλὴν ἐμοῦ οὐκ ἔστιν θεός. τίς ὥσπερ ἐγώ;» καὶ ἑξῆς «μάρτυρες ὑμεῖς ἐστε εἰ ἔστιν θεὸς πλὴν ἐμοῦ», ἐπήγαγεν τὸ «καὶ οὐκ ἦσαν τότε. οἱ πλάσσοντες καὶ οἱ γλύφοντες πάντες μάταιοι, ποιοῦντες τὰ καταθύμια αὐτῶν»

Eusebius Commentary on Luke 24.585 εἴσελθε εἰς τὸ ταμεῖόν σου, καὶ τὰ ἑξῆς, ἕως οὗ παρέλθοι ἡ ὀργὴ Κυρίου (Matthew 6:6f)

Eusebius Commentary on Luke 24.577 Πρὸς τοῦτον οὖν φησιν· Ἄνθρωπός τις ἐποίησε δεῖπνον μέγα, καὶ τὰ ἑξῆς. Ἤρξαντο ἀπὸ μιᾶς παραιτεῖσθαι πάντες.

Ecclesiastical History 1.7.10 «Ἰακὼβ δέ» φησίν «ἐγέννησεν τὸν Ἰωσήφ», ὁ δὲ Λουκᾶς ἀνάπαλιν «ὃς ἦν, ὡς ἐνομίζετο καὶ γὰρ καὶ τοῦτο προστίθησιν τοῦ Ἰωσὴφ τοῦ Ἡλι τοῦ Μελχι». τὴν γὰρ κατὰ νόμον γένεσιν ἐπισημότερον οὐκ ἦν ἐξειπεῖν, καὶ τὸ «ἐγέννησεν» ἐπὶ τῆς τοιᾶσδε παιδοποιίας ἄχρι τέλους

If we just look at examples of Eusebius connecting the beginning and end of a passage with hexes there are too many examples to count.  But the reader should understand that the particular use of heos hexes in this manner is unique to the Stromata, the Letter to Theodore, the writings of Origen and Eusebius's own writings.  Since we already know from Jerome that Eusebius involved himself in a 'correction effort' in these very same writings, it is hard not to see this literary habit as somehow connected.

I simply can't find another Church Father who uses heos hexes to string together the beginning and end of passages in this predictable manner.

UPDATE Epiphanius does employ 'καὶ ἕως' (amended to read καὶ τὰ ἑξῆς  ἕως by scholarly editions of the text) on a single occasion Scholion 38 There is an amputation from 'There came some that told him of the Galilaeans whose blood Pilate had mingled with their sacrifices' down to (ἕως) where he speaks of the eighteen who died in the tower at Siloam; and of 'Except ye repent' and the rest until (καὶ ἕως) the parable of the fig tree of which the cultivator said, 'I am digging about it and dunging it, and if it bear no fruit, cut it down.'

The texts I find that actually use καὶ τὰ ἑξῆς ἕως (or some derivation) are Clement Stromata, Clement's Letter to Theodore, Origen's Commentary on Matthew, Origen's Homilies on Leviticus, Origen's Homilies on Joshua, Origen's Homilies on the Origen's Acts of the Apostles and the texts of Eusebius cited above - or if you will, texts that passed through the hands of Eusebius.  How can that be explained?


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