The Lives of the Prophets is an ancient
apocryphal account of the lives of the
prophets of the
Old Testament. It is not regarded as
scripture by any
Jewish or
Christian denomination. The work may have been known by the author of some of the
Pauline epistles, as there are similarities in the descriptions of the fates of the prophets, although without naming the individuals concerned.
Manuscript tradition
The work survives only in Christian manuscripts. There are two groups of
Greek manuscripts: the first group includes many versions, well known in the past centuries, with heavy Christian additions. Some of these versions were attributed to
Epiphanius of Salamis,[1] others to
Dorotheus of Tyre.[2] The other group of Greek manuscripts is more stable and free from the interpolations found in the previous group: the best
codex is a 6th-century CE manuscript[3] usually referred to as Q or as anonymous recension, which is the earliest Greek version of this work.[4] There is also a
Latin version (Vitae prophetarum) with a text near to Q used by
Isidore of Seville (before 636 CE). There are also versions in
Syriac,
Armenian,
Ethiopic[4] and
Arabic. There are an abundance of Greek manuscripts, the most important of these are the following:[4]
Codex Marchalianus, Codex Vaticanus Gr. 2125, sixth century, in the Vatican Library;[5]
Codex Paris. Gr. 1115, copied in 1276, now in the Bibliothèque Nationale in Paris: it is the chief witness for the longer of the two recensions attributed to Epiphanius of Salamis;[6]
Codex Coisl. 120, tenth century, Bibliothèque Nationale (Fonds Coislin), Paris: it is the leading representative of the short attributed to Epiphanius;[7]
Codex Vindob. Theol. Gr. 40 (formerly 77), thirteenth century, Vienna: it is the best example of the recension attributed to Dorotheus;[8]
Codex Coisl. 224, tenth century, Bibliothèque Nationale (Fond Coislin), Paris: it is a member of the "anonymous recension".[9]
Original language and date
There is no consensus among scholars about the original language.[10] The preferred use of quotations from the
Septuagint suggests a
Greek original with semitic coloring.[11]
Authenticating the dating is highly problematic due to the Christian transmission and presumed expansions. Torrey[12] suggests a date before 106 CE. Hare[11] the first quarter of the 1st century CE. Satran[13] proposes an early
Byzantine origin in the 4th-5th century on previous materials. But the date must be before the 5th century, as Torrey writes in his Introduction that the Lives "exists in several different rescensions. Of these, the most familiar is the one which appears in the works of Epiphanius, Bishop of Salamis in Cyprus (fourth century)".[12]
Content
It begins with an account of what it is attempting to contain:
The names of the prophets, and where they are from, and where they died and how, and where they lie
The Lives of the Prophets includes the lives of the 23 prophets. Some lives are extremely short, only the most basic information is given, while for the others there are details and stories. The main facts indicated in the Lives are the following:
Ezekiel: said to be of Arira[14] and to be of a priesthood family. He suffered martyrdom in the land of the
Chaldeans and was buried in the grave of
Shem and
Arpachshad. A description of the grave is given. Same stories of Ezekiel in the
Babylonian captivity are then narrated.
Daniel: said to be of the
Tribe of Judah and born at Beth Horon.[14] He is described as a man devoted to fast and prayer, and the story, full of miraculous details, of
Nebuchadrezzar's conversion is narrated.
Amos: said to be born in
Tekoa (
Amos 1:1), tortured by Amaziah (the priest of Beth-el of
Amos 7:10) and martyred by the son of this one. He laid in his birth-land.
Jonah: said to be born in the land of Kariathmos[14] near the Greek town of Azotus. After his predication in
Nineveh he went to live with his mother in
Sur. He returned in
Judea, died, and was buried in the cave of
Kenaz (the one referred to in
Genesis 36:11).
Nahum: said to be of Elkesi (
Nahum 1:1), in front of Isbergabin[14] of the
Tribe of Simeon. He died in peace and was buried in his land.
Habakkuk: said to be from the land of Bethzuchar[17] and of the
Tribe of Simeon. After the fall of Jerusalem he went to live in the land of
Ishmael and then returned to help the Hebrews who remained. He later went in
Babylonia during the
Babylonian captivity where he met
Daniel. He died two years before the end of the captivity and was buried in his land.
Haggai: said to come in
Jerusalem from
Babylonia when he was young, and he saw the reconstruction of the
Temple. He was buried near the graves of the priests (probably in the
Kidron Valley).
Zechariah: said to come in
Jerusalem from
Babylonia when already old. He blessed both Jozadak (the father of
Joshua) and
Zerubbabel. He died old and was buried near Haggai.
Malachi: said to be born in Sofa.[14] He died young and was buried with his fathers.
Nathan: said to be from Gaba.[17] He taught the
Torah to
David.
Beliar caused he couldn't stop
David to kill
Bathsheba's husband. He died very old and was buried in his land.
Elijah the
Tishbite: said to be from the land of the
Arabs, of the tribe of
Aaron that was in
Gilead. The birth of
Elijah was miraculous: when he was to be delivered, his father Sobacha saw white figures of man who greeted him, wrapped him up and fed him with flames.
Since the work is found in Christian manuscripts, some New Testament prophets are typically appended, specifically
Zachariah,
Symeon, and
John the Baptist. Symeon is reported as dying of old age, while Zachariah is said to have been killed by Herod "between the temple and the altar," per Jesus' words in
Matthew 23:35 and
Luke 11:51.[18]
Themes
The author of the Lives of the Prophets seems to have been more interested in miracles, intercessions and predictions of the prophets than in their ethical teaching.
One of the more typical themes of the Lives of the Prophets is the interest of the author for the burial places of the prophets. Jeremias[19] in his study examines both the archaeological and the literary evidence, in particular the
Herod architectural activity and the attestations of
Matthew 23:29 and Luke 11:47, and considers the Lives as a witness of popular devotion in the 1st century.
The theme of prophets as intercessors for people long after the prophet's death is also present.
A major theme is
martyrdom of the prophets: six prophets are said to have been martyred.[20]
^Codex Paris gr 1115 (dated 1276, said E1 or Epiphanius Prior, published in the 16th century) and Codex Coisl. 120 (10th century, said E2 or Epiphanius Alter)
^referred to as D or Dorotheus and included in the Chronicon Paschale, 7th century
^
abcD. R. A. Hare, The Lives of The Prophets (First Century A.D.). A New Translation and Introduction, in
James H. Charlesworth (1985), The Old Testament Pseudoepigrapha, Garden City, NY: Doubleday & Company Inc., Volume 2,
ISBN0-385-09630-5 (Vol. 1),
ISBN0-385-18813-7 (Vol. 2), p. 379. Quote: "A critical text of Q is presented by T. Schermann, Prophetarum vitae fabulosae indices apostolorum discipuloruque Domini Dorotheo, Epiphanio, Hippolyto aliisque vindicate, pp. 69-78. With this was compared the text of Q as printed by E. Nestle, Marginalien und Materialien. Discussions of the major recensions and their chief witnesses may be found in T. Shermann, Propheten- und Apostellegenden nebst Jüngerkatalogen des Dorotheus und verwandter Texte, pp. 1-133; A. -M. Denis, Introduction, pp. 85-88; C. C. Torrey, The Lives of the Prophets, pp. 4-6".
^
abcdeThere is not agreement among scholars about the location of this place
^See the recension ascribed to
Epiphanius of Salamis in J.-P. Migne, ed., Patrologia Graeca, Volume 43 (Paris: J.-P. Migne, 1864), p. 414. Some New Testament manuscripts specify that Jesus is referring here to
Zechariah, son of Berechiah, but this clarification is not present in all.
^J. Jeremias Heiligengräber in Jesu Umwelt (Mt 23,29; Lk 11,47). Eine Untersuchung zur Volksreligion der Zeit Jesu, Göttingen 1958
^D. A.Carson, P.T. O'Brien, M.A. Seifrid Justification and Variegated Nomism: A Fresh Appraisal of Paul and Second Temple JudaismISBN3-16-146994-1 (2001) pag 69-71
Further reading
Bernheimer, Richard (1935). "Vitae prophetarum". Journal of the American Oriental Society. 55 (2): 200–203.
JSTOR594443.
Bernheimer, Richard (1952). "The Martyrdom of Isaiah". The Art Bulletin. 34 (1): 19–34.
JSTOR3047388.
Brock, Sebastian (2006). "The Lives of the Prophets in Syriac: Some Soundings". In Charlotte Hempel; S. N. C. Lieu (eds.). Biblical Traditions in Transmission: Essays in Honour of Michael A. Knibb. Brill. pp. 21–37.
Emil Schürer, G.Vermes, F.Millar The History of the Jewish People in the Age of Jesus ChristISBN0-567-09373-5 (1973) pag 783-786
G. Lusini Vite dei Profeti in ed. P.Sacchi Apocrifi dell'Antico Testamento Vol 4ISBN88-394-0587-9 (2000)