This article is about the early Jewish Christian sect. For the gospel associated with them, see Gospel of the Ebionites.
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Ebionites (Greek: Ἐβιωναῖοι, translit. Ebiōnaîoi, derived from Hebrew אֶבְיוֹנִים,[1]ʾEḇyōnīm, meaning 'the poor' or 'poor ones') as a term refers to a Jewish Christian sect, which viewed poverty as a blessing, that existed during the early centuries of the Common Era.[2][3] The Ebionites embraced an adoptionist Christology, thus understanding Jesus of Nazareth as a mere man who, by virtue of his righteousness in following the letter and spirit of the Law of Moses, was chosen by God to be the messianic “Prophet like Moses“.[4] A majority of the Ebionites rejected as heresies the orthodox Christian beliefs in Jesus' divinity, pre-existence, virgin birth and substitutionary atonement; and therefore maintained that Jesus was born the natural son of Joseph and Mary, sought to abolish animal sacrifices by prophetic proclamation, and died as a martyr rather than as a substitute for others.
Beyond voluntary poverty and religious vegetarianism, the Ebionites were said to insist on the necessity of repentance, following the Written Law and Jesus' teachings on works of mercy as means of grace; used one, some or all of the Jewish–Christian gospels, such as the Gospel of the Ebionites, as additional scripture to the Hebrew Bible; and revered James the Just as an exemplar of righteousness and the true successor to Jesus (rather than Peter), while rejecting Paul as a false apostle and an apostate from the Law.[5][6][7]: 88
Since historical records by the Ebionites are scarce, fragmentary and disputed, much of what is known or conjectured about them derives from the Church Fathers who saw certain Jewish Christians as Ebionites and confused different groups in their polemics whom they labeled heretical "Judaizers".[8][9][page needed] Consequently, very little about the Ebionite sect or sects is known with certainty, and most, if not all, statements about them are speculative. The Church Fathers consider the Ebionites identical with other Jewish Christian sects, such as the Nazarenes.[10][11]
^Chisholm, Hugh, ed. (1911). "Ebionites" . Encyclopædia Britannica. Vol. 8 (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press. p. 842.
^The Oxford Dictionary of the Christian Church. Oxford University Press. 2005. pp. 526–. ISBN 978-0-19-280290-3.
^Bart D. Ehrman (2005). Lost Christianities: The Battles for Scripture and the Faiths We Never Knew. Oxford University Press. p. 102–. ISBN 978-0-19-518249-1.
^Kohler, Kaufmann (1901–1906). "EBIONITES (from = 'the poor')". In Singer, Isidore; Alder, Cyrus (eds.). Jewish Encyclopedia. Archived from the original on 2020-09-30. Retrieved 26 July 2020.
^Hyam Maccoby (1987). The Mythmaker: Paul and the Invention of Christianity. HarperCollins. pp. 172–183. ISBN 0-06-250585-8, an abridgement.
^Petri Luomanen (2007). Matt Jackson-McCabe (ed.). Jewish Christianity Reconsidered. Fortress Press. ISBN 978-0-8006-3865-8.
^A Companion to Second-Century Christian 'Heretics'. BRILL; 2008. ISBN 90-04-17038-3. p. 267–.
^Klijn, AFJ; Reinink, GJ (1973). Patristic Evidence for Jewish-Christian Sects. Brill. ISBN 90-04-03763-2.
^Hegg, Tim (2007). "The Virgin Birth — An Inquiry into the Biblical Doctrine" (PDF). TorahResource. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2007-08-21. Retrieved 13 August 2007.
^Jeffrey Butz (2010). The Secret Legacy of Jesus. Inner Traditions. ISBN 978-1-59477-307-5. p. 124: In fact, the Ebionites and the Nazarenes are one and the same; p. 137: "Following the devastation of the Jewish War, the Nazarenes took refuge in Pella, a community in exile, where they lay in anxious wait with their fellow Jews. From this point on it is preferable to call them the Ebionites. There was no clear demarcation or formal transition from Nazarene to Ebionite; there was no sudden change of theology or Christology."; p. 137: "While the writings of later church fathers speak of Nazarenes and Ebionites as if they were different Jewish Christian groups, they are mistaken in that assessment. The Nazarenes and the Ebionites were one and the same group, but for clarity we will refer to the pre-70 group in Jerusalem as Nazarenes, and the post-70 group in Pella and elsewhere as Ebionites."
related to this article: Ebionites according to the Church Fathers "Ebionites" . The American Cyclopædia. 1879. Yahad Ebyoni: Ebionite Jewish Community (archived...
modern scholars the Gospel of the Ebionites." p. 172 – "If the Gospel of the Ebionites and the Ascents of James were Ebionite texts, the implications, not...
"Ebionites". The Oxford Dictionary of the Christian Church. Oxford University Press. Dunn 2006, p. 282. Kohler, Kaufmann (1901–1906). "Ebionites". In...
Gospel of the Hebrews and Gospel of the Ebionites, even though Jerome linked the Nazarenes to the Ebionites in their shared use of the Gospel of the...
FL, eds. (1989). "Ebionites". The Oxford Dictionary of the Christian Church. Oxford University Press. Dunn 2006, p. 282. "Ebionites". Encyclopædia Britannica...
Bart D. (2005) [2003]. "At Polar Ends of the Spectrum: Early Christian Ebionites and Marcionites". Lost Christianities: The Battles for Scripture and the...
Gospel of the Hebrews, the Gospel of the Nazarenes and the Gospel of the Ebionites. Passages from the gospel of the Hebrews were quoted or summarized by...
Union of Messianic Jewish Congregations (UMJC). Black Hebrew Israelites Ebionites Hebrew Catholics Hebrew Roots Jews for Jesus Judeo-Christian Makuya Twelve...
associated with denial of the virgin birth were the Ebionites. However, Jerome does not say that all Ebionites denied the virgin birth, but only contrasts their...
Matthew were used by Jewish–Christian groups such as the Nazarenes and Ebionites. Fragments of these gospels survive in quotations by Jerome, Epiphanius...
postulated between this otherwise unknown gospel and the Gospel of the Ebionites. Jewish-Christian Gospels List of Gospels Origenes, Homilia in Lucam 1...
devotion to the will of God. The first representatives of this view were the Ebionites. They understood Jesus as Messiah and Son of God in terms of the anointing...
fulfillment of Jesus' mission. Among the early Judeo-Christian Gnostics the Ebionites held that John, along with Jesus and James the Just – all of whom they...
descendants of the earlier Elcesaites, and also among the Essenes and many other Ebionite communities. Epiphanius also mentions that the book condemned virginity...
Gospel according to the Hebrews. The same Gospel was in use among the Ebionites, and, in fact, as almost all critics[who?] are agreed, the Gospel according...
Apostles James the Just Simeon of Jerusalem Jude Paul Ancient groups Ebionites Elcesaites Nazarenes Recent groups Hebrew Christian movement Messianic...
Livingston, FL, eds. (1989). "Ebionites". The Oxford Dictionary of the Christian Church. Oxford University Press. "Ebionites". Encyclopædia Britannica. Kohler...
and sisters as precisely that. Main proponents of this belief were the Ebionites, a 2nd century Jewish Christian sect, who rejected both the incarnation...
Apostles James the Just Simeon of Jerusalem Jude Paul Ancient groups Ebionites Elcesaites Nazarenes Recent groups Hebrew Christian movement Messianic...
Apostles James the Just Simeon of Jerusalem Jude Paul Ancient groups Ebionites Elcesaites Nazarenes Recent groups Hebrew Christian movement Messianic...
and only distantly from Mark. Authorship of the Bible Gospel of the Ebionites Gospel of the Hebrews Gospel of the Nazarenes Hebrew Gospel hypothesis...
across the Jordan River. The flight to Pella probably did not include the Ebionites. The authenticity of this tradition has been a much debated question since...
Diognetus The Shepherd of Hermas Apocryphal gospels Jewish–Christian gospels Ebionites Hebrews Nazarenes Infancy gospels James Thomas Syriac Pseudo-Matthew History...
Bart D. (2005) [2003]. "At Polar Ends of the Spectrum: Early Christian Ebionites and Marcionites". Lost Christianities: The Battles for Scripture and the...
Invisible Spirit Gospel of the Hebrews Gospel of the Nazarenes Gospel of the Ebionites Gospel of the Twelve Armenian Infancy Gospel Protoevangelium of James...