Additional Fragments from Irenaeus
In his edition Lightfoot included a collection of the “reliques of the elders.” These are traditions, preserved in Irenaeus, that he variously attributes to “the divine elder,” “one better than we are,” “one of the ancients,” “a certain elder,” “one who was before us,” and so on. Strictly speaking, these fragments belong to the study of Irenaeus rather than the Apostolic Fathers. Reasons have been advanced, however, for thinking that some of these “traditions of the elders” were mediated to Irenaeus through Papias.[14] These have been extracted from Lightfoot’s larger collection and are presented below. They remain, however, anonymous fragments whose present wording owes an undeterminable debt to Irenaeus, and they must be used with caution.
Bibliography
Bauckham, Richard J. “Papias and Polycrates on the Origin of the Fourth Gospel.” Journal of Theological Studies n.s. 44 (1993): 24–69.
Black, Matthew. “The Use of Rhetorical Terminology in Papias on Mark and Matthew.” Journal for the Study of the New Testament 37 (1989): 31–41.
Hill, Charles E. The Johannine Corpus in the Early Church, 383–96 (“Papias of Hierapolis”). Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2004.
———. “Papias of Hierapolis.” Expository Times 117, no. 8 (2006): 309–15.
Munck, J. “Presbyters and Disciples of the Lord in Papias.” Harvard Theological Review 52 (1959): 223–44.
Schoedel, W. R. “Papias.” In Anchor Bible Dictionary, edited by David Noel Freedman, 5:140–42. New York: Doubleday, 1992.
———. “Papias.” ANRW 2.27.1 (1993): 235–70.
———. Polycarp, Martyrdom of Polycarp, Fragments of Papias. Vol. 5 of The Apostolic Fathers, edited by R. M. Grant. Camden, NJ: Nelson, 1967.
Stewart-Sykes, Alistair. From Prophecy to Preaching: A Search for the Origins of the Christian Homily, pp. 205–14. Supplements to Vigiliae Christianae 59. Leiden: Brill, 2001.
Walls, A. F. “Papias and Oral Tradition.” Vigiliae Christianae 21 (1967): 137–40.
Yarbrough, Robert W. “The Date of Papias: A Reassessment.” Journal of the Evangelical Theological Society 26 (1983): 181–91.
A Conspectus of Fragments in Various Collections
Fragment Funk Preuschen Kürzinger Körtner Ehrman
1 — 1 cf. 6 2 —
2 — 2 2 4 —
3 2 3 4 5 3
4 — — — — —
5 11 5 16 10 12
6 12 6 17 17 13
7 — 7a 7 7 5
8 — 7b 8 8 —
9 — 7c 9 9 —
10 5 8 12 11 8
11 4 9 13 12 9
12 6 10 14 15 10
13 7 11 15 16 11
14 1 12 1 1 1
15 8 4 10 13 6
16 9 13 11 14 7
17 10 14 18 18 14
18 3 16 5 6 4
19 13 17 21 20 16
20 — 18 20 21 15
21 — — — 3 2
22 — 15 19 19 —
23 — — 22 — —
24 — — 23 — —
25 — cf. 20 24 — —
26 — — 25 — —
The fragment numbers in the first column are those used in this edition. The other five columns represent the following editions and studies:
Funk
Karl Bihlmeyer, Die apostolischen Väter: Neubearbeitung der Funkschen Ausgabe, 3rd ed., rev. W. Schneemelcher (Tübingen: Mohr Siebeck, 1970); ET, W. R. Schoedel, Polycarp, Martyrdom of Polycarp, Fragments of Papias, vol. 5 of The Apostolic Fathers, ed. R. M. Grant (Camden, NJ: Nelson, 1967).
Preuschen
E. Preuschen, Antilegomena: Die Reste der ausserkanonischen Evangelien und urchristlichen Überlieferungen herausgegeben und übersetzt, 2nd ed. (Giessen: Töpelmann, 1905).
Kürzinger
J. Kürzinger, Papias von Hierapolis und die Evangelien des Neuen Testaments (Regensburg: Pustet, 1983).
Körtner
Ulrich H. J. Körtner. Papias von Hierapolis: Ein Beitrag zur Geschichte des frühen Christentums. Göttingen: Vandenhoeck & Ruprecht, 1983.
Ehrman
Bart D. Ehrman, The Apostolic Fathers, Loeb Classical Library 24–25 (Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press, 2003), 2:92–119.
FRAGMENTS OF PAPIAS
1
Irenaeus and others record that John, the theologian and apostle, survived until the time of Trajan. After this Papias of Hierapolis and Polycarp, bishop of Smyrna, both of whom had heard him, became well known.
2
1 At this time there flourished in Asia Polycarp, the disciple of the apostles, who had been appointed to the office of bishop of the church in Smyrna by the eyewitnesses and ministers of the Lord. 2 At this time Papias, who was himself bishop of the diocese of Hierapolis, became well known.
3
1 Five books of Papias are in circulation, which are titled Expositions of the Sayings of the Lord. Irenaeus also mentions these as the only works written by him, saying something like this:
“Papias, a man of the early period, who was a hearer of John and a companion of Polycarp, bears witness to these things in writing in the fourth of his books. For there are five books composed by him.”
2 So says Irenaeus. Yet Papias himself, in the preface to his discourses, indicates that he was by no means a hearer or eyewitness of the holy apostles, but shows by the language he uses that he received the matters of the faith from those who had known them:
1 SOURCE: Eusebius (ca. 260–340), Chronicle. TEXT: A Schöne, Eusebi Chronicorum canonum quae supersunt, vol. 2 (Berlin: Weidemann, 1866), 162. 2 SOURCE: Eusebius, Church History 3.36.1–2. 3 SOURCE: Eusebius, Church History 3.39.
3 “I will not hesitate to set down for you, along with my interpretations, everything I carefully learned then from the elders and carefully remembered, guaranteeing their truth. For unlike most people I did not enjoy those who have a great deal to say, but those who teach the truth. Nor did I enjoy those who recall someone else’s commandments, but those who remember the commandments given by the Lord to the faith and proceeding from the truth itself. 4 And if by chance someone who had been a follower of the elders should come my way, I inquired about the words of the elders—what Andrew or Peter said, or Philip or Thomas or James or John or Matthew or any other of the Lord’s disciples, and whatever Aristion and the elder John, the Lord’s disciples, were saying. For I did not think that information from books would profit me as much as information from a living and abiding voice.”
5 Here it is worth noting that he lists twice the name of John. The first he mentions in connection with Peter and James and Matthew and the rest of the apostles, clearly meaning the Evangelist, but he classes the other John with others outside the number of the apostles by changing the wording and putting Aristion before him, and he distinctly calls him “elder.” 6 Moreover, by these remarks he confirms the truth of the story told by those who have said that there were two men in Asia who had the same name, and that there are two tombs in Ephesus, each of which even today is said to be John’s. It is important to notice this, for it is probably the second, unless one prefers the first, who saw the Revelation that circulates under the name of John. 7 And Papias, of whom we are now speaking, acknowledges that he had received the words of the apostles from those who had followed them, but he says that he was himself a hearer of Aristion and John the Elder. In any event he frequently mentions them by name and includes their traditions in his writings as well. Let these statements of ours not be wasted on the reader.
8 It is worthwhile to add to the statements of Papias given above some other sayings of his, in which he records some other remarkable things as well, which came down to him, as it were, from tradition. 9 That Philip the apostle resided in Hierapolis with his daughters has already been stated, but now it must be pointed out that Papias, their contemporary, recalls that he heard an amazing story from Philip’s daughters. For he reports that in his day a man rose from the dead, and again another amazing stor
y involving Justus, who was surnamed Barsabbas: he drank a deadly poison and yet by the grace of the Lord suffered nothing unpleasant. 10 The book of Acts records that after the ascension of the Savior the holy apostles put forward this Justus with Matthias and prayed for the choice by lot to fill out their number in place of the traitor Judas; the passage runs as follows: “And they put forward two, Joseph, called Barsabbas, who was surnamed Justus, and Matthias; and they prayed and said. . . .” 11 The same writer has recorded other accounts as having come to him from unwritten tradition, certain strange parables of the Lord and teachings of his and some other statements of a more mythical character. 12 Among other things he says that after the resurrection of the dead there will be a period of a thousand years when the kingdom of Christ will be set up in material form on this earth. These ideas, I suppose, he got through a misunderstanding of the apostolic accounts, not realizing that the things recorded in figurative language were spoken by them mystically. 13 For he certainly appears to be a man of very little intelligence, as one may say judging from his own words. Yet he was the reason that so many ecclesiastical writers after him held the same opinion, on the grounds that he was a man of the early period—like Irenaeus, for example, and anyone else who has expressed similar ideas.
3.4 were saying Lit. says, in contrast to the preceding said, but the difference may be only stylistic. The entire section is much debated; for a good discussion of the key issues, see W. R. Schoedel, Polycarp, Martyrdom of Polycarp, Fragments of Papias, vol. 5 of The Apostolic Fathers, ed. R. M. Grant (Camden, NJ: Nelson, 1967), 97–100. • abiding Or surviving. 3.9 That Philip . . . been stated Cf. Eusebius, Church History 3.31.3.
14 In his writing he also passes along other accounts of the sayings of the Lord belonging to Aristion, who has been mentioned above, and the traditions of John the Elder, to which we refer those interested. For our present purpose we must add to his statements already quoted above a tradition concerning Mark, who wrote the Gospel, that has been set forth in these words:
15 “And the elder used to say this: ‘Mark, having become Peter’s interpreter, wrote down accurately everything he remembered, though not in order, of the things either said or done by Christ. For he neither heard the Lord nor followed him, but afterward, as I said, followed Peter, who adapted his teachings as needed but had no intention of giving an ordered account of the Lord’s sayings. Consequently Mark did nothing wrong in writing down some things as he remembered them, for he made it his one concern not to omit anything that he heard or to make any false statement in them.’”
3.10 And they put . . . said Acts 1:23. 3.12 realizing . . . mystically Or understanding the things spoken by them mystically in figurative language. 3.15 For discussions of this much-debated passage see Schoedel, Polycarp, 105–9; R. P. Martin, Mark: Evangelist and Theologian (Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 1973), 80–83; and M. Hengel, Studies in the Gospel of Mark (Philadelphia: Fortress, 1985), 47–50, 69–70. • Christ Some ancient authorities read the Lord.
Such, then, is the account given by Papias with respect to Mark. 16 But with respect to Matthew the following is said:
“So Matthew composed the oracles in the Hebrew language and each person interpreted them as best he could.”
17 The same writer utilized testimonies from the first letter of John and, likewise, from that of Peter. And he has related another account about a woman accused of many sins before the Lord, which the Gospel according to the Hebrews contains. And these things we must take into account, in addition to what has already been stated.
4
53 They went each to his own house, 1 but Jesus went to the Mount of Olives. 2 Early in the morning he came again to the temple and all the people came to him. 3 The scribes and Pharisees brought a woman who had been taken in sin, and standing her in the midst 4 they spoke to him, the priests putting him to the test in order that they might have some accusation to bring against him: “Teacher, this woman has been caught in the act of adultery. 5 Moses in the law ordered us to stone such women. But now what do you say?” 6 But Jesus bent down and with his finger wrote on the ground. 7 And as they kept on questioning, [he stood up and said to them: “Let the one who is without sin among you be the first to throw a stone at her.”] 8 And again he bent down and with his finger wrote on the ground. 9 [And each one of the Jews went away, beginning with the oldest, with the result that all went away, and he was left alone,] with the woman still in front of him. 10 Standing up, Jesus said to the woman: “Where are they? Has anyone condemned you?” 11 And she said to him: “No one, sir.” And he said: “Then neither do I condemn you. You may go; from now on, do not sin again.”
5
1 Papias, bishop of Hierapolis, who was a disciple of John the Theologian and companion of Polycarp, wrote five books on the Sayings of the Lord. 2 In them he made a list of apostles, and after Peter and John, Philip and Thomas and Matthew, he included among disciples of the Lord Aristion and another John, whom he also called “the Elder.” 3 So, some think that this John is the author of the two short catholic epistles that circulate under the name of John, because the people of the earliest period accept only the first epistle. And some have mistakenly thought that the Apocalypse was also his. 4 And Papias is also in error regarding the millennium, and so is Irenaeus, who follows him.
3.16 For discussions of this text, see Schoedel, Polycarp, 109–10, and R. H. Gundry, Matthew: A Commentary on His Literary and Theological Art (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1982), 609–20. 4 SOURCE: John 7:53–8:11 according to Codex Bezae. 4.53–11 The numbers here given within the text are verse numbers from current editions of the NT. Only the words in italics likely represent the form of the story known to Papias; see the introduction. 5 SOURCE: Philip of Side (5th cent.), Church History. TEXT: C. de Boor, Neue Fragmente des Papias, Hegesippus und Pierius: In bisher unbekannten Excerpten aus der Kirchengeschichte des Philippus Sidetes, TU 5.2 (Leipzig: Hinrichs, 1888), 170.
5 Papias says in his second book that John the Theologian and James his brother were killed by Jews. 6 The aforesaid Papias recorded, on the authority of the daughters of Philip, that Barsabbas, who was also called Justus, drank the poison of a snake in the name of Christ when put to the test by the unbelievers and was protected from all harm. 7 He also records other amazing things, in particular one about Manaim’s mother, who was raised from the dead. 8 As for those who were raised from the dead by Christ, he states that they survived until the time of Hadrian.
6
1 After Domitian, Nerva reigned one year. He recalled John from the island and allowed him to live in Ephesus. 2 At that time he was the sole survivor of the twelve disciples, and after writing the gospel that bears his name was honored with martyrdom. 3 For Papias, the bishop of Hierapolis, who had seen him with his own eyes, claims in the second book of the Sayings of the Lord that John was killed by Jews, thus clearly fulfilling, together with his brother, Christ’s prophecy concerning them and their own confession and agreement about this.
4 For when the Lord said to them, “Are you able to drink the cup that I drink?” and they eagerly assented and agreed, he said: “You will drink my cup and will be baptized with the baptism with which I am baptized.” 5 And this is to be expected, for it is impossible for God to lie. 6 Moreover the encyclopedic Origen also affirms in his interpretation of the Gospel according to Matthew that John was martyred, indicating that he had learned this from the successors of the apostles. 7 In addition, the well-informed Eusebius says in his Church History: “Thomas was allotted Parthia, while John received Asia, where he made his residence and died in Ephesus.”
6 SOURCE: George the Sinner (9th cent.), Chronicle. TEXT: H. Nolte, Theologische Quartalschrift 44 (1862): 466–67. 6.1 island I.e., Patmos; cf. Rev. 1:9. 6.4 Cf. Mark 10:38–39. 6.6 Origen, Commentary on Matthew 16.6. 6.7 Church History 3.1.
7
1 Papias, a hearer of John and bishop of Hierapolis in Asia, wrote only five books, which he titled An Exposition of the Discourses of the Lord. 2 In th
em, when he asserts in his preface that he is not following diverse conjectures but has the apostles as his authorities, he says:
3 “I used to inquire about what Andrew or Peter had said, or Philip or Thomas or James or John or Matthew, or any other of the Lord’s disciples, and what Aristion and John the Elder, disciples of the Lord, were saying. 4 For books to read are not as useful to me as the living voice sounding out clearly up to the present day in the persons of their authors.”
5 From this it is clear that in the list of names itself there is one John who is placed among the apostles, and another, John the Elder, whom he lists after Aristion. 6 We have mentioned this fact because of the statement made above, which we have recorded on the authority of a considerable number of people, that the two later epistles of John are not the work of the apostle but of the elder. 7 He is the one who is said to have promulgated the Jewish tradition of a millennium, and he is followed by Irenaeus, Apollinarius, and others, who say that after the resurrection the Lord will reign in the flesh with the saints.
8
Moreover, the rumor reaching you—that the books of Josephus and the writings of saints Papias and Polycarp have been translated by me—is false; I have neither the leisure nor the strength to translate works such as those into another language with corresponding elegance.
9
Irenaeus . . . a disciple of Papias (who was a hearer of John the Evangelist) . . . relates . . .
10
Regarding, however, the divine inspiration of the book [i.e., the Revelation of John] we think it superfluous to speak at length, since the blessed Gregory (I mean the Theologian) and Cyril, and men of an older generation as well, namely Papias, Irenaeus, Methodius, and Hippolytus, bear witness to its genuineness.
7 SOURCE: Jerome (ca. 342–420), On Illustrious Men 18. TEXT: E. C. Richardson, Hieronymus liber De viris inlustribus, TU 14.1 (Leipzig: Hinrichs, 1896), 19. 8 SOURCE: Jerome, To Lucinius (Letter 71.5). TEXT: I. Hilberg, ed., Sancti Evsebii Hieronymi Epistvlae, CSEL 55 (Vienna: Tempsky, 1912), 6. 9 SOURCE: Jerome, To Theodora (Letter 75.3). TEXT: Hilberg, Hieronymi Epistvlae, 9. 10 SOURCE: Andrew of Caesarea (563–637), Preface to the Apocalypse. TEXT: Josef Schmid, Studien zur Geschichte des griechischen Apokalypse-Textes, vol. 1, Der Apokalypse-Kommentar des Andreas von Kaisareia (Munich: K. Zink, 1955), 10. 11 SOURCE: Andrew of Caesarea, On the Apocalypse, chap. 34, serm. 12. TEXT: Schmid, Apokalypse-Kommentar, 129–30. 12 SOURCE: Anastasius of Sinai (d. ca. 700), Considerations on the Hexaemeron 1. TEXT: J. B. Pitra, Analecta Sacra, vol. 2 (Paris: Jouby & Roger, 1884), 160–61. • Bosom-Friend I.e., John the Evangelist; cf. John 13:23, 25; 21:20. • and earliest . . . in understanding Some editors suggest interpreters before the councils who understood. • “six days” Lit. hexaemeron, i.e., the six days of creation in Gen. 1. 13 SOURCE: Anastasius of Sinai, Considerations on the Hexaemeron 7. TEXT: H. Nolte, Theologische Quartalschrift 49 (1867): 55–56. 14 SOURCE: Irenaeus of Lyons, Against Heresies 5.33.3–4 (written ca. 180–185). 14.1 from the dew . . . earth Cf. Gen. 27:28. 15 SOURCE: Maximus the Confessor (ca. 580–662), Scholia on Dionysius the Areopagite, On the Ecclesiastical Hierarchy, chap. 2. TEXT: J. P. Migne, Patrologia Graeca 4:48. 16 SOURCE: Maximus the Confessor, Scholia on Dionysius the Areopagite, On the Ecclesiastical Hierarchy, chap. 7. TEXT: Migne, Patrologia Graeca 4:176.
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