Epiphanius of Salamis, Panarion

those assigned to the fire, I mean shrubs or rather kindling, reported to Joseph what had been done, the man, stung in his heart and lifted up with zeal for the Lord, ran outside the city and having ordered water to be brought in a vessel, in a pitcher I mean—the locals call this a kakoubion—and taking the same vessel of water in front of everyone—and a crowd of Jews gathered for the sight, eager to see the outcome and what Joseph would attempt to do—the man, with a loud voice, after placing the seal of the cross on the vessel with his own finger and calling upon the name of Jesus, spoke thus: “In the name of Jesus the Nazarene, whom my fathers and all these bystanders crucified, let there be power in this water for the undoing of all the sorcery and magic which these men have practiced, and for the working of power in the fire, for the completion of the house of the Lord.” And so he takes the water in his hand and sprinkles from the water on each furnace. And the sorceries were undone, and the fire blazed up in front of everyone. And the crowds present cried out, “One God, who helps the Christians,” and departed. But since they often harassed the man, later on he built part of the church in Tiberias and, having completed a small church, thus departed from there, and coming to Scythopolis he remained. And in Diocaesarea and some other places he built completely. And these things that were done and mentioned by me here are for the sake of the interpretation of the books, how from the Greek the Gospel according to John was changed into Hebrew, and the Acts of the Apostles; let the matters of the history and narrative extend thus far. 13. I return to make the sequence against Ebion; for on account of the Gospel according to Matthew, the account proceeding was compelled to set forth the sequence 1.349 of the knowledge that has come to us. In the gospel among them, then, named according to Matthew, not the whole most complete one, but falsified and mutilated—they call this the Hebrew one—it is reported that: “There was a certain man named Jesus, and he was about thirty years of age, who chose us. And coming to Capernaum, he entered into the house of Simon, who was called Peter, and opening his mouth he said: ‘Passing by the lake of Tiberias I chose John and James, sons of Zebedee, and Simon and Andrew and * Thaddaeus and Simon the Zealot and Judas Iscariot, and you, Matthew, sitting at the tax office I called, and 1.350 you followed me. Therefore I want you to be twelve apostles for a testimony to Israel’” and “John came baptizing, and Pharisees went out to him and were baptized, and all Jerusalem. And John had a garment of camel's hair and a leather belt around his loins. And his food, it says, was wild honey, whose taste was that of manna, like a cake in oil”; so that they might turn the word of truth into a lie and instead of locusts make it a cake in honey. And the beginning of the gospel among them has that “It happened in the days of Herod the king of Judea in the time of the high priest Caiaphas, a certain John came, baptizing a baptism of repentance in the river Jordan, who was said to be of the lineage of Aaron the priest, a child of Zacharias and Elizabeth, and all went out to him.” And after saying many things, it adds that “when the people were baptized, Jesus also came and was baptized by John. And as he came up from the water, the heavens were opened and he saw the Holy Spirit in the form of a dove, which came down and entered into him. And a voice from heaven, saying: You are my beloved Son, in you I am well pleased, and again: Today I have begotten you. And 1.351 immediately a great light shone around the place. Which when John saw, he says, he says to him: Who are you, Lord? And again a voice from heaven to him: This

πυρὶ ἐπιτεταγμένοι φημὶ δὲ ῥῶπας εἴτ' οὖν φρύγανα τῷ Ἰωσήπῳ τὸ πραχθὲν ἐσήμαναν, δηχθεὶς τὴν φρένα ὁ ἀνὴρ καὶ ζήλῳ ἀρθεὶς τῷ πρὸς τὸν κύριον ἔδραμεν ἔξω τῆς πόλεως καὶ ὕδωρ κελεύσας ἐνεχθῆναι ἐν ἀγγείῳ, ἐν καψάκῃ φημί κακούβιον δὲ τοῦτο οἱ ἐπιχώριοι καλοῦσι, λαβών τε τὸ αὐτὸ ἄγγος τοῦ ὕδατος ἐνώπιον πάντων συνηθροίσθη δὲ πλῆθος Ἰουδαίων ἐπὶ τὴν θέαν, καὶ τὸ ἀποβησόμενον ἰδεῖν σπουδάζοντες καὶ ὅ τι ἐπιχειρήσειεν Ἰώσηπος πράττειν μεγάλῃ τῇ φωνῇ ὁ ἀνὴρ σταυροῦ σφραγῖδα ἐπιθεὶς τῷ ἀγγείῳ διὰ τοῦ ἰδίου δακτύλου καὶ ἐπικαλεσάμενος τὸ ὄνομα Ἰησοῦ εἶπεν οὕτως «ἐν ὀνόματι Ἰησοῦ τοῦ Ναζωραίου, οὗ ἐσταύρωσαν οἱ πατέρες μου καὶ τούτων πάντων τῶν περιεστώτων, γένηται δύναμις ἐν τούτῳ τῷ ὕδατι εἰς ἀθέτησιν πάσης φαρμακείας καὶ μαγείας ἧς οὗτοι ἔπραξαν καὶ εἰς ἐνέργειαν δυνάμεως τῷ πυρὶ εἰς τὸ ἐπιτελεσθῆναι τὸν οἶκον κυρίου». καὶ οὕτως λαμβάνει τὸ ὕδωρ ἐν τῇ χειρὶ καὶ ῥαίνει ἑκάστῳ φούρνακι ἐκ τοῦ ὕδατος. καὶ ἀνελύετο μὲν τὰ φάρμακα, τὸ πῦρ δὲ ἐνώπιον πάντων ἀνεβλύστανεν. οἱ δὲ παρόντες ὄχλοι κραυγάσαντες «εἷς θεός, ὁ βοηθῶν τοῖς Χριστιανοῖς» ἀνεχώρησαν. πολλάκις δὲ κακούντων τὸν ἄνδρα ἐκείνων, εἰς ὕστερον μέρος τι τοῦ ναοῦ ἐν Τιβεριάδι οἰκοδομήσας καὶ μικρὰν ἐκκλησίαν ἀποτελέσας οὕτως ἐκεῖθεν ἀνεχώρησεν, ἐν Σκυθοπόλει δὲ ἐλθὼν κατέμεινεν. ἐν ∆ιοκαισαρείᾳ δὲ καὶ ἄλλαις τισὶ τελείως ᾠκοδόμησε. ταῦτα δὲ πραχθέντα καὶ ἐνταῦθά μοι ἐπιμνησθέντα ἕνεκεν τῆς τῶν βίβλων ἑρμηνείας, πῶς ἀπὸ Ἑλληνίδος τὸ εὐαγγέλιον τὸ κατὰ Ἰωάννην εἰς Ἑβραΐδα μετέπεσε καὶ αἱ Πράξεις τῶν ἀποστόλων, ἕως ὧδε τὰ τῆς ἱστορίας καὶ ὑφηγήσεως ἐχέτω. 13. Ἐπάνειμι δὲ τὴν κατὰ Ἐβίωνος ποιούμενος ἀκολουθίαν· διὰ γὰρ τὸ κατὰ Ματθαῖον εὐαγγέλιον προϊὼν ὁ λόγος τὴν ἀκολουθίαν 1.349 τῆς εἰς ἡμᾶς ἐλθούσης γνώσεως παραθέσθαι ἠνάγκασεν. ἐν τῷ γοῦν παρ' αὐτοῖς εὐαγγελίῳ κατὰ Ματθαῖον ὀνομαζομένῳ, οὐχ ὅλῳ δὲ πληρεστάτῳ, ἀλλὰ νενοθευμένῳ καὶ ἠκρωτηριασμένῳ Ἑβραϊκὸν δὲ τοῦτο καλοῦσιν ἐμφέρεται ὅτι «ἐγένετό τις ἀνὴρ ὀνόματι Ἰησοῦς, καὶ αὐτὸς ὡς ἐτῶν τριάκοντα, ὃς ἐξελέξατο ἡμᾶς. καὶ ἐλθὼν εἰς Καφαρναοὺμ εἰσῆλθεν εἰς τὴν οἰκίαν Σίμωνος τοῦ ἐπικληθέντος Πέτρου καὶ ἀνοίξας τὸ στόμα αὐτοῦ εἶπεν· παρερχόμενος παρὰ τὴν λίμνην Τιβεριάδος ἐξελεξάμην Ἰωάννην καὶ Ἰάκωβον, υἱοὺς Ζεβεδαίου, καὶ Σίμωνα καὶ Ἀνδρέαν καὶ * Θαδδαῖον καὶ Σίμωνα τὸν ζηλωτὴν καὶ Ἰούδαν τὸν Ἰσκαριώτην, καὶ σὲ τὸν Ματθαῖον καθεζόμενον ἐπὶ τοῦ τελωνίου ἐκάλεσα καὶ 1.350 ἠκολούθησάς μοι. ὑμᾶς οὖν βούλομαι εἶναι δεκαδύο ἀποστόλους εἰς μαρτύριον τοῦ Ἰσραήλ» καί «ἐγένετο Ἰωάννης βαπτίζων, καὶ ἐξῆλθον πρὸς αὐτὸν Φαρισαῖοι καὶ ἐβαπτίσθησαν καὶ πᾶσα Ἱεροσόλυμα. καὶ εἶχεν ὁ Ἰωάννης ἔνδυμα ἀπὸ τριχῶν καμήλου καὶ ζώνην δερματίνην περὶ τὴν ὀσφὺν αὐτοῦ. καὶ τὸ βρῶμα αὐτοῦ, φησί, μέλι ἄγριον, οὗ ἡ γεῦσις ἡ τοῦ μάννα, ὡς ἐγκρὶς ἐν ἐλαίῳ»· ἵνα δῆθεν μεταστρέψωσι τὸν τῆς ἀληθείας λόγον εἰς ψεῦδος καὶ ἀντὶ ἀκρίδων ποιήσωσιν ἐγκρίδα ἐν μέλιτι. ἡ δὲ ἀρχὴ τοῦ παρ' αὐτοῖς εὐαγγελίου ἔχει ὅτι «ἐγένετο ἐν ταῖς ἡμέραις Ἡρῴδου βασιλέως τῆς Ἰουδαίας ἐπὶ ἀρχιερέως Καϊάφα, ἦλθέν τις Ἰωάννης ὀνόματι βαπτίζων βάπτισμα μετανοίας ἐν τῷ Ἰορδάνῃ ποταμῷ, ὃς ἐλέγετο εἶναι ἐκ γένους Ἀρὼν τοῦ ἱερέως, παῖς Ζαχαρίου καὶ Ἐλισάβετ, καὶ ἐξήρχοντο πρὸς αὐτὸν πάντες». καὶ μετὰ τὸ εἰπεῖν πολλὰ ἐπιφέρει ὅτι «τοῦ λαοῦ βαπτισθέντος ἦλθεν καὶ Ἰησοῦς καὶ ἐβαπτίσθη ὑπὸ τοῦ Ἰωάννου. καὶ ὡς ἀνῆλθεν ἀπὸ τοῦ ὕδατος, ἠνοίγησαν οἱ οὐρανοὶ καὶ εἶδεν τὸ πνεῦμα τὸ ἅγιον ἐν εἴδει περιστερᾶς, κατελθούσης καὶ εἰσελθούσης εἰς αὐτόν. καὶ φωνὴ ἐκ τοῦ οὐρανοῦ λέγουσα· σύ μου εἶ ὁ υἱὸς ὁ ἀγαπητός, ἐν σοὶ ηὐδόκησα, καὶ πάλιν· ἐγὼ σήμερον γεγέννηκά σε. καὶ 1.351 εὐθὺς περιέλαμψε τὸν τόπον φῶς μέγα. ὃ ἰδών, φησίν, ὁ Ἰωάννης λέγει αὐτῷ· σὺ τίς εἶ, κύριε; καὶ πάλιν φωνὴ ἐξ οὐρανοῦ πρὸς αὐτόν· οὗτός