Dr Jeffrey Chadwick, BYU Jerusalem Center

In his 1915 classic entitled Jesus the Christ, Elder James E. Talmage maintained that Jesus Christ was born on April 6 in the year 1 BC.¹ Talmage was apparently the first LDS writer to propose this particular date.  Nearly a century has passed since his book appeared, and in that time it has become practically axiomatic among Latter-day Saints that Jesus was born on April 6 of 1 BC.

The above quote comes from the January 2011 issue of BYU Studies.  Jeffrey Chadwick has undertaken a study to figure out when Jesus was born, and he comes to the conclusion that December was the correct month.  Trying to precisely date the birth of Jesus is problematic, because Luke and Matthew can’t even agree on when Jesus was born.

The Gospel of Luke states that Mary and Joseph traveled to Bethlehem due to a census that was being taken when Ceasar Augustus was head of the Roman Empire and Cyrenius (also spelled Quirinius) was governor of Syria.  A footnote for the New American Bible (a Catholic study Bible) states:

Although universal registrations of Roman citizens are attested in 28 BC, 8 BC, and AD 14, and enrollments of individual provinces of those who are not Roman citizens are also attested, such a universal census of the Roman world under Ceasar Augustus is unknown outside the New Testament.  Moreover, there are notorious historical problems connected with Luke’s dating the census when Quirinius was governor of Syria and the various attempts to resolve the difficulties have proved unsuccessful.

P. Sulpicius Quirinius became a legate of the province of Syria in AD 6-7 when Judea was annexed to the province of Syria.  At that time, a provincial census of Judea was taken up.  If Quirinius had been legate of Syria previously, it would have been before 10 BC because of the various legates of Syria from 10 BC to 4 BC (the death of Herod) are known, and such a dating for an earlier census under Quirinius would create additional problems for dating the beginning of Jesus’ ministry.

A previous legateship after 4 BC (and before AD 8 ) would not fit with the dating of Jesus’ birth in the days of Herod.  Luke may simply be combining Jesus’ birth in Bethelehem with his vague recollection of a census under Quirinius to underline the significance of this birth for the whole Roman world: through this child born in Bethlehem peace and salvation came to the empire.

The Gospel of Matthew states that Jesus was a decade earlier than Luke.  In Matthew, Jesus was born just before Herod’s death.  Chadwick takes considerable effort to precisely date Herod’s death.  The ancient historian Josephus recorded a lunar eclipse 10 days to 2 weeks prior to Herod’s death.  Astronomical research places this eclipse on March 13 in 4 BC, so Herod’s death must have occurred in late March or early April of 4 BC.  Most scholars generally agree that Herod died in 4 BC, placing Jesus’ birth some time before 4 BC.  (Chadwick notes another eclipse occurred in September 15 of 5 BC, but argues that

this date fell months prior to Passover and is otherwise difficult to reconcile with the known length of time Herod is recorded to have reigned, as noted by Thomas A. Wayment’s study.  Wayment–and Brown, Griggs, and Hansen before him–seem willing to at least consider the September 15 eclipse of 5 BC as the one mentioned by Josephus, but they seem more convinced by the 4 BC eclipse of March 13.³⁶ The present study argues that a September eclipse and November death date for Herod in 5 BC are not possible in view of what is known about the length of Jesus’s life.

Chadwick notes many other historical pieces to the puzzle, but I want to hit the crux of why he thinks Jesus was born on December.  Though most scholars believe that the census in Luke was not related to the birth of Jesus, Chadwick calculates that Gabriel appeared to Mary (also known as “the Anunciation of Mary”)

to announce to Mary that she would conceive and bring froth a son to be named Jesus (see Luke 1:27-31).  In the Jewish context of this account, this would mean that the month of Adar, the sixth month of the Jewish year occurred from mid-to-late February to mid-to-late March….

From the account in Luke it appears that the Annunciation actually occurred near the end of Adar (mid-to-late March) and that Mary conceived immedately or within a day or two of the angel’s visit.  This is all evident because Luke reported that after the Annunciation Mary traveled “with haste” (immediately) to Judea, where she stayed for three months with her older kinswoman Elisabeth, and that the older woman, six months pregnant with her own child, instantly recognized that Mary was also carrying a child in her womb (see Luke 2:39-43).

Of course, nine months after March would put Jesus birth in December.  Chadwick goes on to say that “it is quite possible, perhaps even probable that Jesus was born during Hanakkuh at the end of 5 BC.”

Now, I’m sure this flies in the face of conventional LDS thought.  Chadwick references other studies of the birth of Jesus and notes problems with the dates proposed.  Here is a summary.

April of 1 BC.  As mentioned earlier, this is the date proposed by Elder James E Talmage in Jesus the Christ.  However, since it has been demonstrated that Herod died in 4 BC, the year is wrong.

April of 4 BC.  Orson Pratt and Bruce R. McConkie have postulated a date of April 11 for this year.  Chadwick states

Herod died within days of the beginning of April that year, and Jesus has to have been born at least two months, and more likely three to four months, prior to Herod’s death in order for all the events described in Luke and Matthew to have taken place before Herod’s passing.  This would push the latest historically plausible date for Jesus’s birth to December of 5 BC.

April of 5 BC.  Chadwick explains why this date is unworkable as well.

Any date in April of 5 BC, whether it be April 6 or some other day, is likewise unworkable as the natal date of Jesus.  The death of Jesus must have occurred in early April of AD 30, the only other year in which Passover fell late in the week and which also allows Jesus to have lived thirty-three full years from his birth.  But April of 5 BC was thirty-four full years prior to Jesus’s death, and the language of the Book of Mormon does not allow for thirty-four full years to have passed from Jesus’s birth to his death.

Spring or Autumn of 5 BC.  Chadwick rules out Autumn as well, because the Annunciation of Mary occurred in the Jewish month of Adar, corresponding to March.  As for any other spring date, Chadwick notes that other authors have also excluded Spring or Summer dates as well.

Dates in 6 or 7 BC.  Chadwick notes that some non-LDS scholars have proposed earlier dates.  Some reference that Herod wanted all children two years and younger killed, so they have proposed an earlier date.  Such dates would put Passover on a Tuesday at the death of Christ, making him stay in the tomb longer than the requisite three days recorded in the Gospels.  Earlier dates would also conflict with John the Baptist’s ministry that occurred

“in the fifteenth year in the reign of Tiberius Ceasar” (Luke 3:1), the commencement of which can be confidently dated to autumn A.D. 27. Jesus cannot have died in the same year that John began preaching, since Jesus himself only began preaching at Passover (spring AD 28), just months after John’s advent.

Mormons have a strange relationship with the cross.  We don’t like to show the cross. It is one of the reasons why many say that Mormons aren’t Christian.  When I attended the MHA meetings last year in Independence, I was surprised to see a cross on both the outside and inside of Independence Temple.  Most Mormons find displays of the cross to be distasteful.  On my mission, I remember being asked why Mormons don’t show the cross.  My standard response was that if Christ had been killed by a knife, gun, or electric chair, would we hang one of those weapons around our neck in remembrance.  The cross was a very gruesome, tortured way to die.

But the sign of the cross dates back thousands of years.  Constantine had a dream in which he saw a cross on the sun, and felt this was a sign that he should merge with Christianity.  He outfitted his army with the cross in a major battle, and won the empire.  Christianity became the official religion of the empire.  The cross is synonymous with traditional Christianity.  Mormons rejection of the cross causes other Christians to question our Christianity.

But since the atheists are attacking the cross, Mormons are coming down on the side of the cross.  LDS member and state Senator Carl Wimmer of Herriman, Utah plans to introduce a bill to allow the crosses to stay.  It should be noted that the Supreme Court seems to have had some conflicting opinions on whether crosses constitute a state-sponsored form of religious preference.

Quoting from the Deseret News article,

Past high court rulings on the issue have “confounded the lower courts and rendered the constitutionality of displays of religious imagery on government property anyone’s guess,” [Justice Clarence Thomas] wrote.

Thomas suggested the case would have been a good vehicle for a major review and revision of Establishment Clause jurisprudence. “It is hard to imagine an area of the law more in need of clarity,” he wrote. The court “should not now abdicate our responsibility to clean up our mess.”

[Utah Attorney General Mark] Shurtleff agrees.

“I’m upset at our Supreme Court for not taking the case,” he said. “They clearly need to resolve a question that differs depending on where you live in the country.”

The appeals court decision, he said, applies to the six states in the 10th circuit — Oklahoma, Kansas, New Mexico, Colorado, Wyoming and Utah — making crosses illegal in those states, but permissible in every other state.

But Barnard [attorney representing the atheist group] said the case is limited to Utah.

“There are no similar government approved displays or memorial programs for law enforcement officers in other states,” he said. No other states allow similar large crosses with state emblems in front of the state offices.”

I know that the Community of Christ has a cross on their temple, and I know most Mormons don’t like the cross on their temple, feeling they are too cozy with Protestantism.  I also wonder if representative Wimmer’s response is more against the atheists, than it is in support of the cross.  What’s your take?

On page 8, Harrell describes what a proof-text is.

A proof-text is a scriptural passage lifted out of its original context and given an interpretation other than that which was originally intended–or at least as can be determined by the most reasonable reading of the text.  BYU religion professor Stephen Robinson notes that even Latter-day Saints have a tendency to read Mormon beliefs into the Bible as proof-texts, largely because they assume that the doctrines of the Restoration are all corroborated in the Bible.⁴⁰ Most occurences of proof-texting are the innocent result of careless or uninformed reading of the scriptures, though they can still be detrimental.  When however, one deliberately twists the meaning of a passage in order to justify a personal belief or bias, it is condemned in both the New Testament and the Book of Mormon as “wresting [i.e. twisting] the scriptures” (2 Pet. 3:16; Alma 13:20, 41:1).⁴¹

Harrell describes a proof-text well known to missionaries.  Often Christians will refer to Revelation 22:18, and state that the Bible is the end of God’s word, so there is no need for a Book of Mormon.  Missionaries will often counter that a similar scripture is found in Deuteronomy 4:2, and would have left the Bible far smaller if Deuteronomy was the end of scripture.

But Christians are guilty of proof-texting as well.  Zechariah 13:6 reads (quoting from page 9, formatting changed):

And one shall say unto him, What are these wounds in thine hands?  Then he shall answer, Those with which I was wounded in the house of my friends.

Latter-day Saints, like many other Christians, interpret this passage as a prophecy of Christ.⁴⁴ The Doctrine and Covenants (D&C 45:51-52) alludes to Zechariah 13:6 this way and even adds wound to the “feet”, which makes the fit more obvious.

According to most biblical scholars, the wounds referred to in Zechariah are actually in the chest (the Hebrew reads “between” the hands) and, in the context of Zecharaiah 13:2-6, were inflicted on “the [false] prophets” in Israel (v. 4).⁴⁵ The NSRV uses the pronouns “they” and “them” thoughout verses 2-6, making it clear that verse 6 is speaking of the same false prophets alluded to in verse 4.  Pagan prophets were often self-lacerated (Lev. 19:28; Deut. 14:1; 1 Kgs. 18:28) for reasons that are not entirely clear.  Methodist Bible commentator Adam Clarke censured popular Christian applications of this verse to Christ noting that it was clearly referring to false prophets who alleged that they have received these marks in their own families when, more likely, the wounds “had been dedicated to … idols.”⁴⁶

Harrell notes that New Testament writers often looked for parallels in Christ’s life, and then found them in the Old Testament.  Some examples found on page 10: (formatting changed)

• Hosea 11:1:  ”When Israel was a child, then I loved him, and called my son out of Egypt”; he then applies it as a prophecy of Christ’s infancy in Egypt (Matt 2:15), even though in its original context it had reference to the historical exodus of Israel from Egypt.⁴⁹
• Matthew also cites Jeremiah 31:15 (“A voice was heard in Ramah, lamentation, and bitter weeping; Rachel weeping for her children refused to be comforted for her children, because they were not”) as a reference to Herod’s slaughter of Bethlehem’s male children, while the original context referred to the slaughtering of Jerusalem’s inhabitants and the Babylonian exile of the children of Israel (Jer. 31:16).

There is no harm in finding shadows and types of Christ in these passages, but one should not confuse later allegorical meanings with the originally intended meaning.

Harrell describes other proof-texts in the New Testament.  He also notes that there is a common misperception about Old Testament prophets.  While many of us like to think that ancient prophets saw our day clearly, Harrell says that ‘Old Testaments prophets were more forthtellers than foretellers, with their attention being focused on immediate times and situations” rather than being prophecies of the distant future.’

A recent comment on Stephen Marsh’s Sunday School post decried the use of “proof texting of modern LDS concepts from the ancient texts”.  However, it seems that the LDS, like ancient and modern Jews and Christians, are all guilty of proof-texting.

In order to avoid proof-texting, one must really understand the ancient cultures of the Bible.  Is it realistic to believe that church members without a degree in theology can really avoid proof-texting?  Is it acceptable to look for parallels between Christ and the Old Testament? Are these proof-texts valuable in finding new meanings from old scriptures?

Brian Hales gave a very interesting presentation on Joseph Smith’s polygamy. I was late and didn’t hear the beginning of the presentation, but he discussed the issue of Joseph being sealed to other men’s wives. Most refer to this as polyandry, though Larry Foster has disputed that terminology in the past, preferring the term “proxy husband” or something similar. At any rate, Hales contends that there is no evidence that Joseph had sexual relations with any of these women. He notes that many other experts disagree with this position, and wasn’t surprised that many in the audience disagreed with that position.  He also discussed the reliability of John C. Bennett’s words about polygamy.  Bennett was Nauvoo Mayor, and Assistant President of the Church before he was excommunicated for unauthorized polygamy.  Bennett later wrote an expose of Mormonism and some believe he was one of the instigators of the mob that killed Joseph.

Hales did a great job presenting his information.  He stated that Bennett was very unreliable (as most experts agree.)  He also noted that many of the allegations that Joseph had sexual relations with these “polyandrous” wives occurred at least a decade after the marriages, so there is nothing contemporary from Joseph’s lifetime.  While Hales makes a good point, on this second issue I am not persuaded.  I asked him 2 questions.  First, I asked him about a really odd story about surrogate parenthood in the days of Brigham Young. Click here for full details. In brief, a convert couple could not conceive children due to a medical condition of the husband. Brigham Young proposed a temporary civil divorce. The wife (Mary Richardson) was civilly married to a man by the name of Frederick Cox. He fathered two children in a sort of levirate marriage (mentioned in the New Testament). Then they divorced, Mary re-married (and was sealed) to her original husband. It’s definitely an odd story.

My point is that this seems to be a sort of polyandry. Kathryn Daines mentions that it was “family legend” that the Richardsons obtained a divorce. Brian Hales indicated he felt it was solid evidence and not adultery. It sure seems like if the Richardson divorce was arranged with an understanding of re-marriage, that it was a form of sexual polyandry, with a wink and a nod to civil law. If Brigham Young sanctioned it, it seems to me that Brigham must have felt that such an unusual arrangement must have been ok with Joseph Smith.

Secondly, I asked about an unusual issue with Emma Smith. Quoting from my previous post,

Some of the footnotes are very interesting on this subject. Footnote 26 on page 305 quotes an 1844 expose of Mormonism. I don’t know if this can be corroborated, but I found it interesting.

“Emma’s threat to “be revenged and indulge herself” may have been merely a warning to the prophet to give up his spiritual wives. But Joseph H. Jackson, a non-Mormon opportunist who gained the confidence of the prophet in Nauvoo, recorded in an 1844 expose of Mormonism: “Emma wanted [William] Law for a spiritual husband,” and because Joseph “had so many spiritual wives, she thought it but fair that she would at least have one man spiritually sealed up to her and that she wanted Law, because he was such a ‘sweet little man.’”

Although there is nothing to suggest that Law and Emma were more to each other than friends, Law later confirmed that Joseph “offered to furnish his wife Emma with a substitute for him, by way of compensation for his neglect of her, on condition that she would forever stop her opposition to polygamy and permit him to enjoy his young wives in peace and keep some of them in his house and to be well treated, etc.” (Salt Lake Tribune, 3 July 1887.)

D&C 132:51 seems to refer to this incident. It says,

Verily, I say unto you: A commandment I give unto mine handmaid, Emma Smith, your wife, whom I have given unto you, that she stay herself and partake not of that which I commanded you to offer unto her;

If Emma had accepted in time, perhaps she would have been a polyandrous wife.  Of course that is just speculation, and the rest of verse 51 says it is an Abrahamic test. But it still seems like another odd incident.  Though I don’t agree with all of Hales’ conclusions, he was well prepared, and I was impressed with his presentation.

LDS members Newell Bringhurst and Craig Foster, along with RLDS members Bill Russell and Mark Sherer held a panel discussion on the Presidential candidacies of Jon Huntsman and Mitt Romney.  (Mark was the moderator and did not present.)  Russell had high praise for Huntsman, saying the he was the best republican field.  Russell noted that Huntsman seems well-versed in other cultures and religions, and said that Huntsman would be able to describe other religions “in laymans, as well as Lemuel’s terms.”  Russell also indicated that if a Mormon wants to run for office and have religion be a non-issue, then they should be a democrat.  He noted that Morris Udall lost narrowly to Jimmy Carter for the democratic nominee in 1976, and noted that Harry Reid, the Senate Minority Leader does not have questions about his religion.  It was a great discussion.

Following lunch, I attended two controversial sessions.  Fred Collier gave a very academic presentation on the relationship between Yahweh and Satan.  He showed that Dead Sea Scroll discoveries seemed to corroborate the JST translation.  He specifically seemed to reference Deuteronomy quite a bit, with a bit of Genesis and ancient Jewish writings.  In LDS theology, Yahweh is considered the son of Elohim.

While Collier’s presentation was interesting, he fell apart during the Q&A session.  I asked him about the Documentary Hypothesis.  In brief, the hypothesis states that Elohim and Yahweh are interchangeable terms for God.  Collier hand-waved the question away, saying the hypothesis was completely debunked as far as he was concerned.  I was a bit flabbergasted with his response, as I completely disagree with this characterization.  Collier seemed completely unprepared to answer the question.

The next question was ever worse for Collier.  During the presentation, Collier said that ancient Hebrew scriptures said that Abel was the first born of Adam and Eve, and Cain was not his brother.  Rather Cain was the son of Lilith and the Serpent.  It was an interesting position–I’ve heard that Lilith was Adam’s first wife, but cast out when she refused to submit to Adam and was cast out of the Garden for saying the name of God.  Apparently she hooked up with the serpent after the expulsion and conceived Cain–that part was new to me.

At any rate, an audience member asked who the offspring of Cain were.  At first, Collier seemed to give a humorous response by saying “international bankers.”  When pressed to clarify, Collier shocked the audience by saying that “international bankers are Jews.”  The questioner was appalled, called Collier an expletive, and a few audience members stormed out of the room.  I was appalled at the anti-Semitic remarks, and was saddened that Collier holds such views.  The views overshadowed what was an otherwise interesting presentation.  It saddens me that anyone would hold such views, and I call on Fred Collier to apologize for the offensive remarks.  A few other people asked more about the curse of Cain doctrine.  Thankfully, we were out of time; I’m afraid of what other racist remarks may have come out of his mouth.

The last presentation was controversial as well.  Janice Allred, Joanna Brooks, and Margaret Toscano gave excellent presentations discussing the recent BYU Studies article titled, A Mother There: A Survey of Historical Teachings About Mother in Heaven. Janice and Margaret were both excommunicated in the 1990s for discussing Mother in Heaven in Sunstone.  Both had praise for the BYU Studies article, though they had some criticisms as well.  Margaret noted that the article referenced over 600 references in the past 167 years in General Conference or official church publications.   The BYU authors seemed to indicate that it is acceptable to discuss Mother in Heaven, and indicated an “abundance” of information on the subject.

However, Toscano noted that in the most recent 2 day General conference, there were 900 references to Father in Heaven.  She said that the BYU authors should be discussing the dearth of information on Mother in Heaven, rather than framing it as “abundant” information.  She also noted that official church pronouncements refer to the equality of husband and wife, but do not refer to “God the Mother” and “God the Father.”  I thought these were a valid points.

Joanna Brooks gave a very interesting presentation discussing some anecdotal references in her ward.  For example, On Mothers Day, the primary chorister in San Diego ward she attends non-chalantly showed a painting of a Mother in Heaven in the clouds teaching children.  During Sacrament meeting talks, there were surprising references to Mother in Heaven as well.  She tweeted about these incidents and received a variety of responses, indicating that some other wards seemed to reference Mother in Heaven as well.

The session was marred by Holly Welker, the moderator.  Holly has no manners, and seems to enjoy mocking religion.  She gave some thoughts that indicated that she does not believe in God, yet announced at the beginning of the session that they would hold a prayer circle to pray to Mother in Heaven at the end of the session.  She allowed people to leave if they were uncomfortable with the process.  Many people left because they were uncomfortable.

It seems to me that Holly enjoys shocking people, and she has poor manners even with other panelists.  For example, an audience member asked why Mother in Heaven was not present in the First Vision.  Janice Allred started to explain her belief about this incident, but Holly cut her off, saying that Holly didn’t believe in the First Vision (ignoring that Janice did), and cut off Janice’s answer because Holly was “uncomfortable.”  Yet Holly didn’t mind mocking believers with her prayer circle.  She marred an otherwise great session, and I have no respect for her.

Due to some controversial presentations in the 1990s, Sunstone has a cold relationship with the church, and the church still refuses to allow some employees to participate.  There has been a thaw in relations, though it’s still cold.  I would really like Sunstone to gain favor in the church.  However, with people like Holly Welker and Fred Collier, I can understand why the church has a cold war with Sunstone.  It makes me sad that these people can spoil such a wonderful opportunity to discuss theology and Mormonism.  Comments?

We often think that the Bible has a set number of books.  However, this is not true.  The King James Version (that many Protestants and Mormons use) has 39 Old Testament Books, but the Catholic Bible has 46 books, and the Eastern Orthodox Bible has 51 books.  The extra 7 books in the Catholic Bible are:  Tobit, Judith, 1 Maccabees, 2 Maccabees, Sirach, Baruch, and Wisdom.  In addition to these books, the Orthodox Bible also contains 3 Maccabees, 4 Maccabees, 1 Esdras, Odes, and Letter of Jeremiah.  A few other books are considered part of the Apocrypha:  Bel and the Dragon, Song of the Three Young Men and Prayer of Azariah, Prayer of Manasseh, Story of Susannah.  The Book of Esther has 6 additional chapters in Greek, not found in the KJV.

Recently, I purchased the New American Bible.  It is the standard Bible for American Catholics.  One of the things that I was surprised to see in the NAB was scholarly information integrated within the Bible.  For example, there is a brief introduction to the Documentary Hypothesis right before the Book of Genesis.  The Dead Sea Scrolls are the oldest available versions of many Biblical books (in some cases by 1000 years), and this version of the Bible includes corrections from the Dead Sea Scrolls.  I found that pretty cool.

As part of my introduction to “the Apocrypha”, I thought it would be interesting to discuss the book of Judith.  (Here is a post on some other apocryphal books I have discussed previously.)  As I was looking through the table of contents, I was immediately struck by the female name of Judith.  After all, except for Ruth and Esther, I can’t think of any books of scripture with a female name.  So, I decided to pick this one first.

Judith was the widow of a man named Manasseh.  The Assyrians were attacking Israel, and cut off the water supply.  Concerned for her people, Judith dressed up in “her festive garments and all her feminine adornments” (Judith 12:15) , and approached the Assyrians.  She gains the trust of Assyrian General Holofernes, and promises to deliver Israel to them with no loss of life for the Assyrians.  At this point, the story gets really interesting, starting in chapter 13.

2  Judith was left alone in the tent with Holofernes, who lay prostrate on his bed, for he was sodden with wine.  3 She had ordered her maid to stand outside the bedroom and wait, as on the other days, for her to come out; she said she would be going out for her prayer.  To Bagoas she had said this also.

4  When all had departed, and no one, small or great, was left in the bedroom, Judith stood by Holofernes’ bed and said within herself: “O Lord, God of all might, in this hour look graciously on my undertaking for the exaltation of Jerusalem: 5 now is the time for aiding your heritage and for carrying out my design to shatter the enemies who have risen against us.”  6 She went to the bedpost near the head of Holofernes, and taking his sword from it, 7 drew close to the bed, grasped the hair of his head, and said, “Strengthen me this day, O God of Israel!”

8 Then with all her might she struck him twice in the neck and cut off his head.  9 She rolled his body off the bed and took the canopy from its supports.  Soon afterward, she came out and handed over the head of Holofernes to her maid, 10 who put it into her food pouch; and the two went off together as they were accustomed to do for prayer.”

Judith and her maid return to Israel and show them the head of Holofernes.  Encouraged, the Israelites then rout the scared Assyrians.

So why is this story considered apocryphal?  The NAB Bible cautions, “Any attempt to read the book directly against the backdrop of Jewish history in relation to the empires of the ancient world is bound to fail.”  The Jewish Encyclopedia says,

with the very first words of the tale, “In the twelfth year of the reign of Nebuchadnezzar, who reigned over the Assyrians in Nineveh,” the narrator gives his hearers a solemn wink. They are to understand that this is fiction, not history. It did not take place in this or that definite period of Jewish history, but simply “once upon a time,” the real vagueness of the date being transparently disguised in the manner which has become familiar in the folk-tales of other parts of the world.

Many believe this book to be historical fiction.  Martin Luther noted that books of questionable authenticity are found only in Greek, not Hebrew.  Jews also do not consider the book canonical.  Catholics consider the book written “by godly men”, but not quite on par with other scriptures.  However, they do consider the book canonical.  What do you think of this story?  Is it nice to have a feminine hero?

I just watched Biblical Authors?  Dr Steve Kellmeyer, author of Fact and Fiction in the Da Vinci Code said,

The Catholic Bible contains more books than the Protestant Bible because of events that happened long before Christ was born.  During the Babylonian exile, the Hebrews were scattered across the Mediterranean and many never returned.  Those who were in the east and never went back to Jerusalem lost their native language.  They were unable to read or write Hebrew after just a few generations.

But they wanted to maintain their connection with their faith.  In order to do this, the Jewish scriptures had to be translated into Greek.  So a hundred years before Christ is born, we have two versions of the Old Testament.  We have the Hebrew canon of scripture, and we have the Greek version of the Old Testament scriptures, and the Greeks themselves wrote additional books that were never translated back into the Hebrew.

This Greek version of scripture is called the Septuagint, and if we look at the New Testament, 80% of the quotes that Jesus and the apostles make to Old Testament scripture are from the Septuagint.  This is important because the Greek version is much more Christological and much more prophetic than the Hebrew versions of the scriptures.  Isaiah is different, for instance; Jeremiah is different, and the differences in the Greek version point much more clearly to Christ than those in the Hebrew.

So when it came to the point that the apostles were proselytizing those in the eastern Mediterranean, and the Hebrews were seeing enormous numbers of their fellow converting to Christianity, they decided to canonize their Old Testament, and the rule the used was, “anything written in Greek was not scripture.”  Why did they pick that rule?  Because the Greek scriptures were so Christological that people would convert simply by reading them.

But it was the Greek scriptures that were used by Jesus and the apostles, that were used constantly during the early church.  When people attempted to attack the scriptures and question what was part of scripture and what wasn’t, the churches decided what actually was and wasn’t scripture.  By the late 300′s and early 400′s, the popes and the councils of the church had defined scripture according to the Septuagint.  The Septuagint as I said had more books.

By the 1500′s when Martin Luther with the faith alone theology, he found that the excessive Christology of the Old Testament also pointed to elements of doctrine that did not support faith alone theology, so he was forced to move back to the Hebrew canon of scripture in order to support the idea that he was bringing forward.  That is why all of the Protestant scriptures now have fewer books in the Old Testament than those that are present in the Catholic Bible.

The interesting point is, up until 1827, there was no version of Protestant scripture that did not include those books.  Luther did not entirely throw them out of the Bible.  He simply lifted them and placed them into an appendix between the Old and the New Testaments.  The first time a Bible was ever printed without was 1827–the English Bible Society first promulgated a Bible that was missing those books.  Prior to that, centuries before it had even been illegal in England to do such a thing under the Protestant kings.  Anyone who put forward a Bible that was missing those books could be beheaded.

Here is a list of the books of the Apocrypha:

1. The First Book of Esdras (also known as Third Esdras)
2. The Second Book of Esdras (also known as Fourth Esdras)
3. Tobit
4. Judith
5. The Additions to the Book of Esther
6. The Wisdom of Solomon
7. Ecclesiasticus, or the Wisdom of Jesus the Son of Sirach
8. Baruch
9. The Letter of Jeremiah (This letter is sometimes incorporated as the last chapter of Baruch. When this is done the number of books is fourteen instead of fifteen.)
10. The Prayer of Azariah and the Song of the Three Young Men
11. Susanna
12. Bel and the Dragon
13. The Prayer of Manasseh
14. The First Book of Maccabees
15. The Second Book of Maccabees

I find it a bit ironic that Mormons and Protestants discuss whether faith or works is more important.  Why don’t we use the Catholic Bible?  Should we really be supporting Luther’s Bible?

That’s a really good question, because very little is known about him.  He seems to be a real person, because archaeologists have discovered an ancient catacomb in Rome and church dedicated to him.  In 496 Pope Gelasius set up his feast day as February 14 (along with other martyrs) ”… whose names are justly reverenced among men, but whose acts are known only to God.”   That’s the facts of what we know.

Legends say that the Emporer Claudius II didn’t want his soldiers worrying about wives back home, so he banned solders from marrying.  Valentine thought this was unjust, and married the soldiers in secret.  When Claudius discovered this, he sentenced Valentine to prison.  In jail, Valentine tried to convert the Goth emperor and was sentenced to death.  On his way to his execution, he sent a note to his jailer’s daughter signed “From Your Valentine.”  The Catholic Encyclopedia tells us that he was first beaten with clubs and then beheaded on February 14, around the year 270 AD.  Pope Julius I apparently built a church near to his memory, dating to around the 5th century.  The History Channel has a nice short video here.

What are you doing to celebrate Valentine’s Day?

The first writer who makes any mention of the Epistles that passed between Jesus Christ and Abgarus, is Eusebius, Bishop of Caesarea, in Palestine, who flourished in the early part of the fourth century.  For their genuineness, he appeals to the public registers and records of the City of Edessa in Mesopotamia, where Abgarus reigned, and where he affirms that he found them written, in the Syriac language.  He published a Greek translation of them in his Ecclesiastical History.

The learned world have been much divided on this subject; but notwithstanding  that the erudite Grabe, with Archbishop Cave, Dr. Parker, and other divines has strenuously contended for their admission into the canon of Scripture, they are deemed apocryphal.  The Rev. Jeremiah Jones observes that the common people in England have this Epistle in their houses, in many places, fixed in a frame, with the picture of Christ before it; and that they generally, with much honesty and devotion, regard it as the word of God, and the genuine Epistle of Christ.

Chapter 1

1 – Abgarus, king of Edessa, to Jesus the good Saviour who appears at Jerusalem, greeting.

2 – I have been informed concerning you and your cures, which are performed without the use of medicines and herbs.

3 – For it is reported that you cause the blind to see, the lame to walk, do both cleanse lepers, and cast out unclean spirits and devils, and restore them to health who have been long diseased, and raisest up the dead;

4 – All which when I heard, I was persuaded of one of these two, viz: either that you are God himself descended from heaven, who do these things, or the son of God.

5 – On this account therefore I have wrote to you, earnestly to desire you would take the trouble of a journey hither, and cure a disease which I am under.

6 – For I hear the Jews ridicule you, and intend you mischief.

7 – My city is indeed small, but neat, and large enough for both of us.

Chapter 2

1 – Abgarus, you are happy, forasmuch as you have believed on me, whom ye have no see.

2 – For it is written concerning me, that those who have seen me should not believe on me, that they who have not seen might believe and live.

3 – As to that part of your letter, which relates to my giving you a visit, I must inform you, that I must fulfil all the ends of my mission in this country, and after that be received up again to him who went me.

4 – But after my ascension I will send one of my disciples, who will cure your disease, and give life to you, and all that are with you.

So, do you think this was really written by Jesus?

The gospel was translated into English and published by Professor Henry Pike in 1697 in Cambridge.  It dates to at least the 3^rd century.  The gospel is a Gnostic gospel, so the portrayals of Jesus are quite different than traditional Christians would expect to see.  Frankly, some of the things in this gospel are just plain weird.

This gospel is a bit longer than some of the other gospels.  For this post, I’ve quoted some stories, and given short summaries of some of the others.  As you can see, Jesus could speak even in the cradle.

Chapter 1

2 – [Caiaphus] relates that Jesus spake even when he was in the cradle, and said to his mother;

3 – Mary, I am Jesus the Son of God….

Chapter 2

1 – And when the time of his circumcision was come, namely, the eighth day, on which the law commanded the child to be circumcised, they circumcised him in a cave.

2 – And the old Hebrew woman took the foreskin (others say she took the navel-string), and preserved it in an alabaster-box of old oil of spikenard.

3 – And she had a son who was a druggist, to whom she said, Take heed thou sell not this alabaster box of spikenard-ointment, although thou shouldst be offered three hundred pence for it.

4 – Now this is that alabaster box which Mary the sinner procured, and poured forth the ointment out of it upon the head and the feet of our Lord Jesus Christ, and wiped if off with the hairs of her head.

…

Ok, I don’t know about you, but I think that is really gross.

Chapter 3

1 – And it came to pass, when the Lord Jesus was born at Bethlehem, a city of Judaea, in the time of Herod the King; this wise men came from the East to Jerusalem, according to the prophecy of Zoradascht [footnote says Zoroaster—I blogged about Zoroastrianism a few years ago] and brought with them offerings; namely gold, frankincense, and myrrh, and worshipped him, and offered to him their gifts.

2 – Then the Lady Mary took one of his swaddling clothes in which the infant was wrapped, and gave it to them instead of a blessing, which they received from her as a most noble present.

…

5 – But they produced the swaddling cloth which St. Mary had given to them, on account whereof they kept a feast.

6 – And having, according to the custom of their country, made a fire, they worshipped it.

7 – And casting the swaddling cloth into it, and kept it.

8 – And when the fire was put out, they took forth the swaddling cloth unhurt, as much as if the fire had not touched it.

9 – Then they began to kiss it, and put it upon their heads and their eyes, saying, This is certainly an undoubted truth, and it is really surprising that the fire could not burn it, and consume it.

10 – Then they took it, and with the greatest respect laid it up among their treasures.

Chapter 4

1 – Now Herod, perceiving that the wise men did delay, and not return to him, called together the preists and wise men…

…

3 – But an angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph in his sleep, and said, Arise, take the child and his mother, and go into Egypt as soon as the cock crows.  So he arose and went.

…

6 – And now he drew near to a great city, in which there was an idol, to which the other idols and gods of Egypt brought their offerings and vows.

…

8 – This priest had a son three years old, who was possessed with a great multitude of devils, who uttered many strange things, and when the devils seized him, walked about naked with his clothes torn, throwing stones at those whom he saw.

…

10 – And all the magistrates and priests of the idols assembled before that idol, and made inquiry there, saying, What means all this consternation, and dread, which has fallen upon all our country?

11 – The idol answered them, The unknown God is come hither, who is truly God; nor is there any one besides him, who is worthy of divine worship; for he is truly the Son of God.

…

13 – And at the same instant this idol fell down, and at his fall the inhabitants of Egypt besides others, ran together.

14 – But the son of the priest, when his usual disorder came upon him, going into the inn, found there Joseph and St. Mary, whom all the rest had left behind and forsook.

15 – And when the Lady St. Mary had washed the swaddling clothes of the Lord Christ, and hanged them out to dry upon a post, the boy possessed with the devil took down one of them, and put it upon his head.

16 – And presently the devils began to come out of his mouth, and fly away in the shape of crows and serpents.

17 – From that time, the boy was healed by the power of the Lord Christ, and he began to sing praises, and give thanks to the Lord who had healed him.

…

Chapter 5

1 – Now Joseph and Mary, when they heard that the idol was fallen down and destroyed, were seized upon with fear and trembling…

…

3 – They went therefore hence to the secret places of robbers, who robbers travelers as they pass by…

4 – The thieves upon their coming heard a great noise, such as the noise of a king with a great army and many horses, and the trumpets sounding as his departure from his own city; at which they were so affrighted as to leave all their booty behind them, and fly away in haste.

5 – …Where is that king, the noise of whose approach the robbers heard, and left us, so that we are now come off safe?

6 – Joseph answered, He will come after us.

Chapter 6

[Jesus heals naked woman possessed of devils.  He also cures a bride made dumb by sorcerer, a leprous woman is cured by washing in Jesus' bathwater, a leprous prince is also cured in same manner.]

Chapter 7

[a man who could not enjoy his wife, freed from his disorder]

11 – It was now winter-time, and the girl went into the parlour where these women were, and found them weeping and lamenting, as before

12 – By them stood a mule, covered over with silk, and an ebony collar hanging down from his neck, whom they kissed, and were feeding.

13 – But when the girl said, How handsome, ladies that mule is!  They replied with tears, and said, This mule, which you see, was our brother, born of this same mother as we.

14 – For when our father died, and left us a very large estate, and we had only this brother, and we endeavored to procure him a suitable match, and though he should be married as other men, some giddy and jealous woman bewitched him without our knowledge.

15 – And we, one night, a little before day, while the doors of the house were all fast shut, saw this our brother was changed into a mule, such as you now see him to be;

16 – And we, in the melancholy condition in which you see us, have applied to all the wise men, magicians, and diviners in the world, but they have been of no service to us.

…

21 – As soon as the women had heard the girl’s discourse, they hastened away to the Lady St. Mary…

22 – And said, O our Lady St. Mary, pity your handmaids for we have no head of our family, no one older than us; no father, or brother to go in and out before us.

23 – But this mule, which you see, was our brother, which some woman by witchcraft have brought into this condition which you see; we therefore entreat you to compassionate us.

24 – Hereupon St. Mary was grieved at their case, and taking the Lord Jesus, put him upon the back of the mule.

25 – And said to her son, O Jesus Christ, restore (or heal) according to thy extraordinary power this mule, and grant him to have again the shape of a man and a rational creature, as he had formerly.

26 – This was scarce said by the Lady St. Mary, but the mule immediately passed into a human form, and became a young man without any deformity.

27 – Then he and his mother and the sisters worshipped the Lady St. Mary, and lifting the child upon their heads, they kissed him, and said, Blessed is thy mother, O Jesus, O Saviour of the world!  Blessed are the eyes which are so happy as to see they.

…

Chapter 8

1 – In their journey from hence they came into a desert country, and were told it was infested with robbers; so Joseph and St. Mary prepared to pass through it in the night.

2 – And as they were going along, behold they saw two robbers asleep in the road, and with them a great number of robbers, who were their confederates, also asleep.

3 – The names of these two were Titus and Damachus; and Titus said to Damachus, I beseech thee let those persons go along quietly, that our company may not perceive anything of them;

4 – But Damachus refusing, Titus again said, I will give thee forty groats, and as a pledge take my girdle, which he gave them before he had done speaking, that he might not open his mouth, or make a noise.

5 – When Lady St. Mary saw the kindness which this robber did show them, she said to him, The Lord God will receive thee to his right hand, and grant the pardon of thy sins.

6 – Then the Lord Jesus answered, and said to his mother, When thirty years are expired, O mother, the Jews will crucify me at Jerusalem.

7 – And these two thieves shall be with me at the same time upon the cross, Titus on my right hand, and Dumachus on my left, and from that time Titus shall go before me into paradise;

8 – And when she had said, God forbid this should be thy lot, O my son, they went on to a city in which were several idols; which, as soon as they came near to it, was turned into hills of sand.

….

12 – Thence they proceeded to Memphis, and saw Pharaoh, and abode three years in Egypt.

13 – And the Lord Jesus did very many miracles in Egypt, which are neither to be found in the Gospel of the Infancy or the Gospel of Perfection.

…

[After Herod dies, they return to Israel.]

Chapter 9

[sick children cured by water wherein Christ was washed]

Chapter 10

[Two wives of a man fight over child.  One woman tries to kill son of other woman.  Mary prophecies that evil woman will die.  She falls in a well.]

Chapter 11

[Bartholomew lies on Christ’s bed and is healed]

Chapter 12

[Leprous woman healed by washing in Christ’s bathwater.  Leprous princess is healed by same method.]

Chapter 13

[Girl possessed by Satan is healed by Christ’s swaddling clothes.]

Chapter 14

1 – Another woman likewise lived there, whose son was possessed by Satan.

2 – This boy, named Judas, as often as Satan seized him, was in clined to bite all that were present; and if he found no one else near him, he would bite his own hands and other parts.

…

5 – Then Judas, who was possessed, came and sat down at the right hand of Jesus.

6 – When Satan was acting upon him as usual, he went about to bite the Lord Jesus.

7 – And because he could not do it, he struck Jesus on the right side, so that he cried out.

8 – And in the same moment Satan went out of the boy, and ran away like a mad dog.

9 – This same boy who struck Jesus, and out of whom Satan went in the form of a dog, was Judas Iscariot, who betrayed him to the Jews.

10 – And that same side, on which Judas struck him, the Jews pierced with a spear.

Chapter 15

1 – And when the Lord Jesus was seven years of age, he was on a certain day with other boys his companions about the same age.

2 – Who when they were at play made clay into several shapes, namely asses, oxen, birds, and other figures,

3 – Each boasting of his own work, and endeavoring to exceed the rest.

4 – Then the Lord Jesus said to the boys, I will command these figures which I have made to walk.

5 – And immediately they moved, and when he commanded them to return, they returned.

6 – He had also made the figures of birds and sparrows, which when he commanded to fly, did fly, and when he commanded to stand still, did stand still; and if he gave them meat and drink, they did eat and drink.

7 – When at length the boys went away, and related these things to their parents, their fathers said to them, Take heed, children for the future, of his company, for he is a sorcerer; shun and avoid him, and from henceforth never play with him.

8-15 [Jesus throws a bunch of linens at a shop in the fire.  The store owner is upset, so Jesus retrieves them from the fire unharmed.]

Chapter 16

[Joseph spends 2 years making a throne for the king of Jerusalem.  It is too small, so Jesus miraculously enlarges the throne.]

Chapter 17

[Jesus plays hide and seek with some boys.  Some women throw the boys into a furnace, but Jesus transforms them into baby goats—kids.  Then Jesus transforms them back into boys, unharmed by the furnace.]

Chapter 18

[Serpent bites Simon the Canaanite as a boy.  Jesus causes serpent to suck back the poison, and then the serpent bursts.  Simon is cured.]

Chapter 19

[James is bitten by viper and cured.  Jesus accused of throwing boy off roof.  Jesus causes dead boy to live and the boy acquits Jesus.  Pitcher breaks, and Jesus restores water to pitcher.]

16 – Again on another day the Lord Jesus was with some boys by a river and they drew water out of the river by little channels, and made little fish-pools.

17 – But the Lord Jesus had made twelve sparrows, and placed them about his pool on each side, three on a side.

18 – But it was the Sabbath day, and the son of Hanani a Jew came by, and saw them making these things, and said, Do ye thus make figures of clay on the Sabbath?  And he ran to them and broke down the fish-pools.

19 – But when the Lord Jesus clapped his hands over the sparrows which he had made, the flew away chirping.

20 – At length the son of Hanani coming to the fish-pool of Jesus to destroy it, the water vanished away, and the Lord Jesus said to him,

21 – In like manner as this water has vanished, so shall thy life vanish; and presently the boy died.

22 – Another time, when the Lord Jesus was coming home in the evening with Joseph, he met a boy, who ran so hard against him, that he threw him down;

23 – To whom the Lord Jesus said, As thou hast thrown me down, so shalt thou fall, nor ever rise.

24 – And that moment the boy fell down and died.

Chapter 20

[Jesus sent to school to learn the alphabet, but teaches the schoolmaster, then he is sent to another teacher…]

13 – They brought him then to a more learned master, who when he saw him, said, say Aleph.

14 – And when he had said Aleph, the master bade him pronounce Beth; to which the Lord Jesus replied, Tell me first the meaning of the letter Aleph, and then I will pronounce Beth.

15 – But this master, when he lift up his hand to whip him, had his hand presently withered, and he died.

16 – Then said Joseph to St. Mary, henceforth we will not allow him to go out of the house; for every one who displeases him is killed.

Chapter 21

[At 12 years old, Jesus teaches in the temple about astronomy and many other subjects.]

Chapter 22

[Jesus begins concealing his miracles.  He is baptized at age 30.]

In reviewing my next post, I decided to add some information concerning a very similar gospel titled, Thomas’s Gospel of the Infancy of Jesus Christ.  This gospel is just a fragment containing just over 3 chapters.  Chapter 1 discusses te4h same incident where Jesus animates clay sparrows on the Sabbath Day, along with another story of Jesus clearing water after the rain.  Chapter 2 discusses a boy withering after tearing down Jesus’ fish pool, and Jesus mostly restoring him to health, with the warning,

6 – Then Jesus at the request of all who were present did heal him, leaving only some small member to continue withered, that they might take warning.

Jesus goes on to blind some accusers.  When people complain,

18 – And when they say this action of Christ, Joseph arose, and plucked him by the ear, at which the boy was angry and said to him, Be easy;

In Chapter 3, Jesus astonishes a schoolmaster again with the alphabet.  Chapter 4 is just 2 verses, and appears to tell the same tale as Jesus in the dyer’s shop, though the rest of the book is missing.  As far as background, this is the only background given.

The original in Greek, from which this translation is made, will be found printed by Cotelerius, in his notes on the constitutions of the Apostles, from a MS, in the French King’s Library, No. 2279–It is attributed to Thomas, and conjectured to have originally been connected with the Gospel of Mary.

So what do you make of these stories?  Obviously, some of these are a bit outlandish–humans are turned into animals and back; Jesus kills people that ticked him off.  Jesus seems a bit capricious in some of these stories.

There are some strange stories in the New Testament as well.  What do you make of some of the more outlandish stories in the New Testament–Jesus walking on water, turning water to wine?  Do you think these more accepted New Testament stories could be just as outlandish as the stories in this gospel?

The Protevangelion fills in many of these details.  The subtitle of the book is quite long: An Historical Account of the BIRTH of CHRIST, and the Perpetual VIRGIN MARY, his Mother, by JAMES THE LESSER, Cousin and Brother of the Lord Jesus, chief Apostle and first Bishop of the Christians.  Now this is the same James that I blogged about previously as the leader of ancient Christians (rather than the traditional Peter.)

Apparently this gospel was considered canonical among eastern Christians, but generates some controversy because it states that Joseph was a much older widower before marrying Mary.  Some ancient church fathers disputes this and state that Joseph was a virgin as well.  It is believed this manuscript was originally composed in Hebrew.  Postellus translated it into Latin.  This version I will quote below was printed in 1552 in Zurich.

The first few chapters are similar to the gospel of the birth of Mary, discussing Joachim and Anna’s failure to conceive a child.  In this gospel, Anna complains that even the birds can conceive.  I won’t reference that part of the story since it is similar, but there are some interesting facts about Mary’s childhood.  For example, she walks 9 steps at 9 months of age, and dances in the temple at age 3.  But since I discussed her childhood previously, I’ll leave that for now.

I want to discuss some interesting events about John the Baptist, his father Zacharias, and the more detailed account of discord between Mary and Joseph at her unexpected pregnancy.  As you remember from my previous post, there was some Jewish custom about rods for the betrothal of the virgins at the temple.  Zacharias plays a prominent role in this story, as he helps Mary find a husband.

Chapter 8

6 – And behold the angel of the Lord came to him and said, Zacharias, Zacharias, Go forth and call together all the widowers of the people, and let every one of them bring his rod, and he by whom the Lord shall shew a sign shall be the husband of Mary.

7 – And the criers went out through all Judaea, and the trumpet of the Lord sounded, and all the people ran and met together.

8 – Joseph also, throwing away the hatchet, went out to meet them; and when they were met, they went to the high-priest, taking every man his rod.

9 – After the high-priest had received their rods, he went into the temple to pray;

10 – And when he had finished his prayer, he took the rods, and went forth and distributed them, and there was no miracle attended them.

11 – The last rod was taken by Joseph, and behold a dove proceeded out of the rod, and flew upon the head of Joseph.

12 – And the high-priest said, Joseph, Thou art the person chosen to take the Virgin of the Lord, to keep her for him;

13 – But Joseph refused, saying, I am an old man, and have children, but she is young, and I fear lest I should appear ridiculous in Israel.

14 – Then the high-priest replied, Joseph, fear the Lord they God, and remember how God dealt with Dathan, Korah, and Abiram, how the earth opened and swallowed them up, because of their contradiction.

15 – Now therefore, Joseph, fear God, lest the like things should happen in your family.

16 – Joseph then being afraid, took her into his house, and Joseph said unto Mary, Behold, I have taken thee from the temple of the Lord, and now I must go to mind my trade of building.  The Lord be with thee.

Chapter 9 – [Mary meets with angel, learns of Elizabeth’s pregnancy, Zacharias can’t speak]

23 – But perceiving herself daily to grow big, and being afraid, she went home and hid herself from the children of Israel; and was fourteen years old when all these things happened.

Chapter 10

1 – And when her sixth month was come, Joseph returned home from his building houses abroad, which was his trade, and entering into the house, found the Virgin grown big:

2 – Then smiting upon his face, he said, With what face can I look up to the Lord my God?  Or, what shall I say concerning this young woman?

3 – For I received her a Virgin out of the temple of the Lord my god, and have not preserved her such!

4 – Who has thus deceived me?  Who has committed this evil in my house, and seducing the Virgin from me, hath defiled her?

5 – Is not the history of Adam exactly accomplished in me?

6 – For in the very instant of his glory, the serpent came and found Even, and seduced her.

7 – Just after the same manner it has happened to her.

8 – Then Joseph arising from the ground, called her, and said, O thou who hast been so favored by God, why hast thou done this?

9 – Why hast thou thus debased thy soul, who wast educated in the Holy of Holies, and received thy food from the hand of angels?

10 – But she, with a flood of tears, replied, I am innocent, and have known no man.

11 – Then said Joseph, How comes it to pass that you are with child?

12 – Mary answered, As the Lord my God liveth, I know not by what means.

13 – Then Joseph was exceedingly afraid, and went away from her, considering what he should do with her, considering what he should do with her; and he thus reasoned with himself;

14 – If I conceal her crime, I shall be found guilty by the law of the Lord;

15 – And if I discover her to the children of Israel, I fear, lest she being with child by an angel, I shall be found to betray the life of an innocent person;

16 – What therefore shall I do?  I will privately dismiss her.

17 – Then the night was come upon him, when behold an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream, and said,

18 – Be not afraid to take that young woman, for that which is within her is of the Holy Ghost;

19 – And she shall bring forth a son, and thou shalt call his name Jesus, for he shall save his people from their sins.

20 – Then Joseph arose from his sleep, and glorified the God of Israel, who had shown him such favour, and preserved the Virgin.

Chapter 11

1 – Then came Annas the scribe, and said to Joseph, Wherefore have we not seen you since your return?

2 – And Joseph replied, Because I was weary after my journey, and rested the first day.

3 – But Annas turning about perceived the Virgin big with child.

4 – And went away to the priest, and hold him, Joseph in whom you placed so much confidence, is guilty of a notorious crime, in that he hath defiled the Virgin whom he received out of the temple of the Lord, and hath privately married her, not discovering it to the children of Israel.

5 – Then said the priest, Hath Joseph done this?

6 – Annas replied, If you send any of your servants, you will find that she is with child.

7 – And the servants went, and found it as he said.

8 – Upon this both she and Joseph were brought to their trial, and the priest said unto her, Mary what hast thou done?

9 – Why hast thou debased thy soul, and forgot they God, seeing thou wast brought up in the Holy of Holies, and didst receive thy food from the  hands of angels, and heardest their songs?

10 – Why hast thou done this?

11 – To which with a flood of tears she answered, As the Lord my God liveth, I am innocent in his sight, seeing I know no man.

12 – Then the priest said to Joseph, Why hast thou done this?

13 – And Joseph answered, As the Lord my God liveth, I have not been concerned with her

14 – But the priest said, Lie not, but declare the truth; thou hast privately married her, and not discovered it to the children of Israel, and humbled thyself under the mighty hand (of God), that they seed might be blessed.

15 – And Joseph was silent.

16 – Then said the priest (to Joseph), You must restore to the temple of the Lord the Virgin which you took thence.

17 – But he wept bitterly, and the priest added, I will cause you both to drink the water of the Lord, which is for trial, and so your iniquity shall be laid open before you.

18 – Then the priest took the water, and made Joseph drink, and sent him to a mountainous place.

19 – And he returned perfectly well, and all the people wondered that his guilt was not discovered.

20 – So the priest said, Since the Lord hath not made your sins evident, neither do I condemn you.

21 – So he sent them away.

22 – Then Joseph took Mary and went to his house, rejoicing and praising the God of Israel.

Chapter 12

1 – And it came to pass, that there went forth a decree from the Emporer Augustus, that all the Jews should be taxed, who were of Bethlehem in Judaea;

2 – And Joseph said, I will take care that my children be taxed; but what shall I do with this young woman?

3 – To have her taxed as my wife I am ashamed; and if I tax her as my daughter, all Israel knows she is not my daughter.

4 – When the time of the Lord’s appointment shall come, let him do as seems good to him.

5 – And he saddled the ass, and put her upon it, and Joseph and Simon followed after her, and arrived at Bethlehem within three miles.

6 – Then Joseph turning about saw Mary sorrowful, and said within himself, Perhaps she is in pain through that which is within her.

7 – But when he turned about again he saw her laughing, and said to her,

8 – Mary, how happens it that sometimes I see sorrow, and sometimes I see laughter and joy in thy countenance?

9 – And Mary replied to him, I see two people with mine eyes, the one weeping and mourning, and other laughing and rejoicing.

10 – And he went again across the way, and Mary said to Joseph, Take me down from the ass, for that which is in me presses to come forth.

11 – But Joseph replied, Whither shall I take thee? For the place is a desert.

12 – Then said Mary again to Joseph, take me down, for that which is within me mightily presses me.

13 – And Joseph took her down.

14 – And he found there was a cave, and let her into it.

Chapter 13

1 – And leaving her and his sons in the cave, Joseph went forth to seek a Hebrew midwife in the village in Bethlehem….

Chapter 14

…

3 – She replied to me, Where is the woman that is to be delivered?

4 – And I answered, In the cave, and she is betrothed to me.

5 – Then said the midwife, Is she not thy wife?

6 – Joseph answered, It is Mary, who was educated in the Holy of Holies, in the house of the Lord, and she fell to my lot, and it not my wife, but has conceived by the Holy Ghost.

7 – The midwife said, Is this true?

8 – He answered, Come and see.

9 – And the midwife went along with him, and stood in the cave.

10 – Then a bright cloud overshadowed the cave, and the midwife said, This day my soul is magnified, for mine eyes have seen surprising things, and salvation is brought forth to Israel.

11 – But on a sudden the cloud became a great light in the cave, so that their eyes could not bear it.

12 – But the light gradually decreased, until the infant appeared, and sucked the breast of his mother Mary.

13 – Then the midwife cried out, and said, How glorious a day is this, wherein mine eyes have seen this extraordinary sight!

14 – And the midwife went out from the cave, and Salome met her.

15 – And the midwife said to her, Salome, Salome, I will tell you a most surprising thing which I saw,

16 – A virgin hath brought forth, which is a thing contrary to nature.

17 – To which Salome replied, As the Lord my God liveth, unless I receive particular proof of this matter, I will not believe that a virgin hath brought forth.

18 – Then Salome went in, and the midwife said, Mary, shew thyself, for a  great controversy is risen concerning thee.

19 – And Salome received satisfaction.

20 – But her hand was withered, and she groaned bitterly.

21 – And said, Woe to me, because of mine iniquity; for I have tempted the living God, and my hand is ready to drop off.

22 – Then Salome made her supplication to the Lord, and said, O God of my fathers, remember me, for I am of the seed of Abraham, and Isaac, and Jacob.

23 – Make me not a reproach among the children of Israel, but restore me sound to my parents.

24 – For thou well knowest, O Lord, that I have performed many offices of charity in thy name, and have received my reward from thee.

25 – Upon this an angel of the Lord stood by Salome, and said, The Lord God hath heard they prayer, reach forth thy hand to the child, and carry him, and by that means thou shalt be restored.

26 – Salome, filled with exceeding joy, went to the child, and said, I will touch him;

27 – And she purposed to worship him, for she said, This is a great king which is born in Israel.

28 – And straightway Salome was cured.

29 – Then the midwife went out of the cave, being approved by God.

30 – And Lo! A voice come to Salome, Declare not the strange things which thou hast seen, till the child come to Jerusalem.

31 – So Salome also departed, approved by God.

Chapter 15

1 – Then Joseph was preparing to go away, because there arose a great disorder in Bethlehem by the coming of some wise men from the east,

2 – Who said, Where is the king of the Jews born?  For we have seen his star in the east and are come to worship him.

3 – When Herod heard this, he was exceedingly troubled, and sent messengers to the wise men, and to the priests, and inquired of them in the town-hall,

4 – And said unto them, Where have you it written concerning Christ the king, or where should he be born?

5 – Then they say unto him, In Bethlehem in Judaea; for this it is written: And thou Bethlehem in the land of Judah are not the least among the princes of Judah, for out of thee shall rule my people Israel.

6 – And having sent away the chief priests, he inquired of the wise men in the town-hall, and said unto them, What sign was it ye saw concerning the king that is born?

7 – They answered him, We saw an extraordinary large star shining among the stars of heaven, and so out-shined all the other stars, as that they became not visible, and we knew thereby that a great king was born in Israel, and therefore we are come to worship him.

8 – Then said Herod to them, Go and make diligent inquiry; and if ye find the child, bring me word again, that I may come and worship him also.

9 – So the wise men went forth, and behold, the star which they saw in the east went before them, till it came and stood over the cave where the young child was with Mary his mother

10 – Then they brought forth out of their treasures, and offered unto him gold and frankincense, and myrrh.

11 – And being warned in a dream by an angel, that they should not return to Herod through Judaea, they departed into their own country by another way.

Chapter 16

1 – Then Herod perceiving that he was mocked by the wise men, and being very angry, commanded certain men to go and to kill all the children that were in Bethlehem, from two years old and under.

2 – But Mary hearing that the children were to be killed, being under much fear, took the child, and wrapped him up in swaddling clothes, and laid him in an ox-manger, because there was no room for them in the inn.

3 – Elizabeth also, hearing that her son John was about to be searched for, took him and went up unto the mountains, and looked for a place to hide him;

4 – And there was no secret place to be found.

5 – Then she groaned within herself and said, O mountain of the Lord, receive the mother with the dhild.

6 – For Elizabeth could not climb up.

7 – And instantly the mountain was divided and received them.

8 – And there appeared to them an angel of the Lord, to preserve them.

9 – But Herod made search after John, and sent servants to Zacharias, when he was (ministering) at the altar, and said unto him, Where hast thou hid thy son?

10 – He replied to them, I am a minister of God, and a servant at the altar; how should I know where my son is?

11 – So the servants went back, and told Herod the whole; at which he was incensed, and said, Is not this son of his like to be king in Israel?

12 – He sent therefore again his servants to Zacharias, saying, Tell us the truth were is they son, for you know that your life is in my hand.

13 – So the servants went and told him all this;

14 – But Zacharias replied to them, I am a martyr for god, and if he shed my blood, the Lord will receive my soul.

15 – Besides know that he shed innocent blood.

16 – However Zacharias was murdered in the entrance of the temple and altar, and about the partition;

17 – But the children of Israel knew not when he was killed.

18 – Then at the hour of salutation the priests went into the temple, but Zacharias did not according to his custom meet them and bless them;

19 – Yet they still continued waiting for him to salute them;

20 – 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 saw blood lying upon the ground congealed;

21 – When, behold a voice from heaven said, Zacharias is murdered, and his blood shall not be wiped away, until the revenger of his blood come.

22 – But when he heard this, he was afraid, and went forth and told the priests what he had seen and heard; and they all went in and saw the fact.

23 – Then the roofs of the temple howled, and were rent from the top to the bottom;

24 – And they could not find the body, but only blood made hard like stone.

25 – And they went away, and told the people, that Zacharias of Israel heard thereof and mourned for him, and lamented three days.

26 – Then the priests took counsel together concerning a person to succeed him.

27 – And Simeon and the other priests cast lots, and the lot fell upon Simeon.

28 – For he had been assured by the Holy Spirit, that he should not die, till he had seen Christ come in the flesh.

[I James wrote the History  in Jerusalem; and when the disturbance was I retired into a desert  place, until the death of Herod.  And the disturbances ceased at Jerusalem.  That which remains is, 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) glory and dominion for ever and ever.  Amen.]

So how much validity is there to this story?  Do you think Zacharias may have been killed defending the location of John the Baptist?  How real were the arguments between Joseph and Mary?  Do you think Joseph was a much older widower than Mary?  What problems do you see with this gospel?