Wednesday, May 29, 2013

The Healing of the Leper Narrative in Clement's Hypotyposeis

I read about this reference in Osborn's Clement of Alexandria book but couldn't find the original Greek.  A shout out has to go to Andrew Criddle for tracking down the location of the reference and Jeffrey Gibson for providing the text for me to post here:

Fragment 12, line 1

Vatic. graec. 354 (= Evangeliencodex S, bei von Soden ε 89) nach Mercati, Studi e Testi 12 (1904) S. 3.

Κλήμεντος ἐκ τῆς ϛʹ τῶν Ὑποτυπώσεων· Καὶ τὸν λεπρὸν ἐθεράπευσεν καὶ εἶπεν· «δεῖξον σεαυτὸν τοῖς ἱερεῦσιν εἰς μαρτύριον» διὰ 12.5 τοιαύτην παράδοσιν. ἔθος εἶχον οἱ ἱερεῖς δυνάμει θεοῦ λεπροὺς ἰᾶσθαι ἡμέραις τακταῖς. τοῦτον οὖν τὸν λεπρὸν πολλῷ χρόνῳ μὴ δυνηθέντες ἰάσασθαι ἔλεγον· «τοῦτον οὐδεὶς ἰάσεται ἢ μόνος ὁ Χριστός, ἐὰν ἔλθῃ.» πολλὰ τοίνυν δεηθέντος τοῦ λεπροῦ ὁ σωτὴρ ἐπισπλαγ- χνισθείς, ἰασάμενος αὐτόν, διὰ τοῦτο εἶπεν· «ἄπελθε καὶ δεῖξον σεαυ- 12.10 τὸν τοῖς ἱερεῦσιν εἰς μαρτύριον, ὅτι, εἰ τεθεράπευται οὗτος, ἐφ' οὗ εἰρήκατε <οὐδεὶς ἀλλ' ἢ ὁ Χριστὸς μόνος αὐτὸν ἰάσεται>, ἦλθεν ὁ Χριστός, καὶ πιστεύσατε αὐτῷ.»


The original summary in Osborn - "This work (the Hypotyposeis) discusses passages of scripture, with interpretation and added detail. The story of Jesus’ healing of the leper is expanded. The priests had saidthat no one would heal this leper except the Christ, if he should come.Therefore Jesus, when he had healed the leper, sent him to give testimony to the priests that ‘Christ has come, believe in him’ (frag. 12)."

From Ben Smith's textexcavation summary - "In his "Hypotyposeis" (6.12, 12), written around 203 to 210, Clement quotes from an early reading related to D Luke 5.14: apelqe kai deixon seauton toiV iereusin eiV marturion. Clement's quotation is much shorter and he has "the priests" instead of the problematic singular tw ierei in canonical Mark and Luke. The unique ending of D Lk 5:14 eiV marturion hn umein touto is similar to what Epiphanius reports for Marcion ina h marturion touto umein and may be a very old reading." Jeffrey Gibson also provides the Greek text of the citation in Epiphanius:

Epiphanius Scr. Eccl., Panarion (= Adversus haereses) (2021: 002)
“Epiphanius, Bände 1–3: Ancoratus und Panarion”, Ed. Holl, K.
Leipzig: Hinrichs, 1:1915; 2:1922; 3:1933; Die griechischen christlichen Schriftsteller 25, 31, 37. Volume 2, page 108, line 7

Ἀπελθὼν δεῖξον σεαυτὸν τῷ ἱερεῖ καὶ προσένεγκε περὶ τοῦ καθαρισμοῦ σου, καθὼς προσέταξε Μωυσῆς»· «ἵνα ᾖ μαρτύριον τοῦτο ὑμῖν» ἀνθ' οὗ εἶπεν ὁ σωτήρ «εἰς μαρτύριον αὐτοῖς».

Epiphanius Scr. Eccl., Panarion (= Adversus haereses) Volume 2, page 125, line 4

Ἀπελθὼν δεῖξον σεαυτὸν τῷ ἱερεῖ καὶ προσένεγκε περὶ τοῦ καθαρισμοῦ σου, καθὼς προσέταξε Μωυσῆς»· «ἵνα ᾖ μαρτύριον τοῦτο ὑμῖν» ἀνθ' οὗ εἶπεν ὁ σωτήρ «εἰς μαρτύριον αὐτοῖς».

Scholion 1, from Marcion's Own Version of the Gospel 'Go, show thyself unto the priest, and offer for thy cleansing, according as Moses commanded—that this may be a testimony unto you' instead of the Saviour's 'for a testimony unto them.'

(a) Elenchus 1. How could the Lord whose teachings—as you say—were always against the Law, say to the persons he had healed, I mean to the leper, 'Go, show thyself unto the priest?' Since he says, 'to the priest,' he does not reject the priesthood of the Law.
(b) 'And offer for thy cleansing.' Even if you excise 'the gift,' it will be evident, from the word, 'offer,' that he is speaking of a gift.
(c) 'For thy cleansing, according as Moses commanded.' If he advises obedience to Moses' commandment, he is not rejecting or insulting the God of the Law, but acknowledging that both he and God, his Father, have given the Law to Moses.
(d) You have twisted the wording, Marcion, by saying 'testimony unto you' instead of 'testimony unto them.' In this too you have plainly lied against your own head. If he were saying, 'testimony unto you,' he would be calling himself to witness that 'I came not to destroy the Law or the prophets, but to fulfil.'


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