Herod's cruelty. THE PROTEVANGELION. 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, where is thy 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 ye shed innocent blood. 16 However Zacharias was murdered in the entrance of the temple and altar, and about the partition; Zuchs. murdered. 17 But the children of Israel knew not when he was killed. 18 Then at the hour of sa lutation the priests went into the temple, but Zacharias did not according to 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 was murdered, and all the tribes of Israel heard thereof, and mourned for him, and lamented three days.1 There is a story both in the Jerusalem and Babylonish Talmud very similar to this. It is cited by Dr. Lightfoot, Talmud, Hierosol, in Tuannith fol. 69; and Talmud, Babyl. in Sanhedr., fol. 96. "Rabbi Jochanan said, Eighty thousand priests were slain for the blood of Zacharias. Rabbi Judas asked Rabbi Achan, Where did they kill Zacharias? Was it in the woman's court, or in the court of Israel? He answered; Neither in the court of Israel, nor in the court of women, but in the court of the priests; and they did not treat his blood in the same manner as they were wont to treat the blood of a ram or a young goat. For of these it is written, He shall pour out his blood, and cover it with dust. But it is written here, The blood is in the midst of her she set it upon the top of a rock ahe poured it not upon the ground. (Ezek. xxiv. 7.) But why was this? That it might cause fury to come up to take vengeance: I have set his blood upon the top of a rock, that it should not be covered. They committed seven evils that day they murdered a priest, a prophet, and a Simeon succeeds THE PROTEVANGELION. 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.' Zacharias. ¶ James wrote this History in Jerusalem: and when the disturbance was I retired into a desert place, until the death of Herod. And the disturb ance 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. king; they shed the blood of the innocent: they polluted the court: that day was the Sabbath: and the day of expiation, When therefore Nebuzaradan came there (viz. Jerusalem,) he saw his blood bubbling, and said to them, What meaneth this? They answered, It is the blood of calves, lambs, and rams, which we have offered upon the altar. He commanded then, that they should bring calves, and lambs, and rams, and said I will try whether this be their blood: accordingly they brought and slew them, but the blood of (Zacharias) still bubbled, but the blood of these did not bubble. Then he said, Declare to me the truth of this matter, or else I will comb your flesh with iron combs. Then said they to him, He was a priest, prophet, and judge, who prophesied to Israel all these calamities which we have suffered from you; but we arose against him, and slew him. Then, said he, I will appease him: then he took the rabbins and slew them upon his (viz Zacharias's) blood, and he was not yet appeased. Next he took the young boys from the schools, and slew them upon his blood, and yet it bubbled. Then he brought the young priests and slew them in the same place, and yet it still bubbled. So he slew at length ninety-four thousand persons upon his blood, and it did not as yet cease bubbling. Then he drew near to it, and said, O Zacharias, Zacharias, thou hast occasioned the death of the chief of thy countrymen; shall I slay them all? then the blood ceased, and did bubble no more.' 1 Luke i zi. 37 The first Gospel of the INFANCY of JESUS CHRIST. [Mr. Henry Sike, Professor of Oriental Languages at Cambridge, first translated and published this Gospel in 1697. It was received by the Gnostics, a sect of Christians in the second century; and several of its relations were credited in the following ages by other Christians, viz., Eusebius, Athanasius, Epiphanius, Chrysostom, &c. Sozomen says, he was told by many, and he credits the relations, of the idols in Egypt falling down on Joseph, and Mary's flight thither with Christ; and of Christ making a well to wash his clothes in a sycamore tree, from whence balsam afterwards proceeded. These stories are from this Gospel. Chemnitius, out of Stipulensis, who had it from Peter Martyr, Bishop of Alexandria, in the third century, says, that the place in Egypt where Christ was banished is now called Matarea, about ten miles beyond Cairo; that the inhabitants constantly burn a lamp in remembrance of it; and that there is a garden of trees yielding a balsam, which were planted by Christ when a boy. M. La Crosse cites a synod at Angamala, in the mountains of Malabar, A.D. 1599, which condemns this Gospel as commonly read by the Nestorians in that country. Ahmed Ibu Idris, a Mahometan divine, says, it was used by some Christians in common with the other four Gospels; and Ocobius de Castro mentions a Gospel of Thomas, which he says, he saw and had translated to him by an Armenian Archbishop at Amsterdam, that was read in very many churches of Asia and Africa, as the only rule of their faith. Fabricius takes it to be this Gospel. It has been supposed, that Mahomet and his coadjutors used it in compiling the Koran. There are several stories believed of Christ proceeding from this Gospel; as that which Mr. Sike relates out of La Brosse's Persic Lexicon, that Christ practised the trade of a dyer, and his working a miracle with the colours; from whence the Persian dyers honour him as their patron, and call a dye-house the shop of Christ. Sir John Chardin mentions Persian legends concerning Christ's dispute with his schoolmaster about his A B C; and his lengthening the cedarboard which Joseph sawed too short.] on to the city, and said, Let us go into this cave. 7 At that time the sun was very near going down. 8 But Joseph hastened away, that he might fetch her a midwife; and when he saw an old Hebrew woman who was of Jerusalem, he said to her, Pray come hither, good woman, and go into that cave, and you will there see a woman just ready to bring forth. 9 It was after sunset, when the old woman and Joseph with her reached the cave, and they both went into it. 10 And behold, it was all filled with lights, greater than the light of lamps and candles, and greater than the light of the sun itself. 11 The infant was then wrapped up in swaddling clothes, and sucking the breasts of his mother St. Mary. 12 When they both saw this light, they were surprised; the old woman asked St. Mary, Art thou the mother of this child? 13 St. Mary replied, She was. 14 On which the old woman said, Thou art very different from all other women. 15 St. Mary answered, As there is not any child like to my son, so neither is there any woman like to his mother. 16 The old woman answered, and said, O my Lady, I am come hither that I may obtain an everlasting reward. 17 Then our Lady, St. Mary, said to her, Lay thine hands upon the infant; which, when she had done, she became whole. 18 And as she was going forth, the said, From henceforth, all the lays of my life, I will attend upon and be a servant of this infant. 19 After this, when the shep circumcised in the cave. herds came, and had made a fire, and they were exceedingly rejoicing, the heavenly host appeared to them, praising and adoring the supreme God. 20 And as the shepherds were engaged in the same employment, the cave at that time seemed like a glorious temple, because both the tongues of angels and men united to adore and magnify God, on account of the birth of the Lord Christ. 21 But when the old Hebrew woman saw all these evident miracles, she gave praises to God, and said, I thank thee, O God, thou God of Israel, for that mine eyes have seen the birth of the Saviour of the world. CHAP II. 1 The child circumcised in the cave, 2 and the old woman preserving his foreskin or navalstring in a box of spikenard, Mary afterwards anoints Christ with it. 5 Christ brought to the temple, 6 shines, 7 angels stand around him adoring. 8 Simeon praises Christ. the time of his cir cumcision was come, name ly, the eighth day, on which the law commanded the child to be circumcised, they circumcised him in the cave. 2 And the old Hebrew woman took the foreskin (others say she took the naval-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 alabasterbox of spikenard-ointment, although thou shouldst be offered three hundred pence for it. 4 Now this is that alabasterbox which Mary the sinner procured, and poured forth the ointment out of it upon the head and The wise men worship I. INFANCY. Christ's swaddling cloth. the feet of our Lord Jesus Christ, | time of Herod the King; the wise and wiped it off with the hairs of men came from the East to Jeruher head. salem, according to the prophecy of Zoradascht,' and brought with them offerings: namely, gold, frankincense, and myrrh, and worshipped him, and offered to him their gifts. 5 Then after ten days they brought him to Jerusalem, and on the fortieth day from his birth they presented him in the temple before the Lord, making the proper offerings for him, according to the requirement of the law of Moses namely, that every male which opens the womb shall be called holy unto God. 6 At that time old Simeon saw him shining as a pillar of light, when St. Mary the Virgin, his mother, carried him in her arms, and was filled with the greatest pleasure at the sight. 7 And the angels stood around him, adoring him, as a king's guards stand around him. 8 Then Simeon going near to St. Mary, and stretching forth his hands towards her, said to the Lord Christ, Now, O my Lord, thy servant shall depart in peace, according to thy word; 9 For mine eyes have seen thy mercy, which thou hast prepared for the salvation of all nations; a light to all people, and the glory of thy people Israel. 10 Hannah the prophetess was also present, and drawing near, she gave praises to God, and celebrated the happiness of Mary. CHAP. IIL 1 The wise men visit Christ. Mary gives them one of his swaddling clothes. 3 An angel appears to them in the form of a star. They return and make a fire, and worship the swaddling cloth, and put it in the fire, where it remains unconsumed. 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. 3 And at the same time there appeared to them an angel in the form of that star which had before been their guide in their journey; the light of which they followed till they returned into their own country. 4 On their return their kings and princes came to them inquiring, What they had seen and done? What sort of journey and return they had? What company they had on the road? 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, the fire took 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 A Lord Jameson at Beth is really surprising that the fire ND it came to pass, when the lehem, a city of Judæa, in the could not burn it, and consume it. 1 Zoroaster. |