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'''Notzri''' plural '''Notzrim''' ({{lang-he|נוצרים}}), is the [[modern Hebrew]] standard term for "Christian" and "Christians".<ref>"Christian adj. n. נוצרי " (''Notzri'') ''The Oxford English-Hebrew Dictionary'' (9780198601722) 1999 p.69; ''The New Bantam-Megiddo Hebrew & English Dictionary'', Dr. Sivan Reuven, Dr. Edward A. Levenston, 2009 p.50; [[Ben Yehuda]]'s Hebrew Dictionary, 1940 reprint, p.450</ref> An alternative term, used to translate the [[Greek (language)|Greek]] ''Christianoi'' in many [[Bible translations into Hebrew|translations of the New Testament into Hebrew]], and by some churches, is '''Meshiykhiyyim''' "Messianics" ({{lang-he|משיחיים}}).<ref>United Bible Societies Hebrew New Testament, 1997 printing, based on the [[BFBS]] New Testament of [[Franz Delitzsch]]: Acts 11:26, Acts 26:28, 1 Peter 4:16.</ref>
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The synthesis of a variety of Judaic sources demonstrates that '''Notzrim''' (נוצרים) were polygamous royalist Israelite Minim who trampled the Torah-for-Qehal while venerating the [[Baetylus]] on Sundays. Their politics caused much strife in Israel for 30 years after their ring-leader Ben Stada was executed in 56CE for spreading Gnosticism among his Karaite supporters in Beit Shammai.  
  
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The first confirmed use of "Nazarenes" (in Greek ''[[Nazarene (sect)|Nazoraioi]]'') occurs from [[Tertullus]] before [[Antonius Felix]].<ref>Marvin R. Wilson ''Our father Abraham: Jewish roots of the Christian faith'' 1989 p41 "The Greek Nazoraioi (Acts 24:5), "Nazarenes," was likely used as a designation for Jewish Christians from a very early date. It was apparently retained in Hebrew conversation (and later in Hebrew literature) by the term Notzrim,"</ref> One such as Tertullus who did not acknowledge ''Iesous ho Nazoraios'' ("Jesus of Nazareth") as ''Iesous ho Christos'' ("Jesus the Messiah") would not call Paul's sect ''Christianoi'' ("followers of the Messiah").<ref>Eckhard J. Schnabel ''Paul the missionary: realities, strategies and methods'' p73 2008 "... that is “Nazarenes” 64 Jews who did not acknowledge Jesus as Messiah would hardly have called the believers in Jesus “followers of the Messiah” (Christeioi or Christianoi). It is quite possible that the term Christianoi was an official designation coined by the Roman authorities in Antioch."</ref> The terms "Nazarenes" and "of Nazareth" are both ''nasraya'' (ܕܢܨܪܝܐ) in Syrian Aramaic, while ''Nasrat'' (ܢܨܪܬ ) is used for Nazareth.<ref>Bruce Manning Metzger The early versions of the New Testament p86 - 1977 "Peshitta Matt, and Luke ... nasraya, 'of Nazareth'."</ref><ref>[[William Jennings]] ''Lexicon to the Syriac New Testament'' 1926 p143</ref><ref>[[Robert Payne Smith]] ''Compendious Syriac Dictionary'' 1903 p349</ref>
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Although Notzrim came out of the Royalists who followed the Sions ([[Netzarim]]) of the House of David, in their purest form they still survive only as Mandaeans (Gnostics). The singular form is '''Notzri'''. In Aramaic they call themselves '''Nāṣorāyi'''. They divide into two sects, the original Antimomians (who are not vegetarians) and their  Noahized "Nomians" (who are vegetarians) who are called Nasara in Arabic and who each have their own Imam. Noahized Gnostics are considered to be the closest in affection to genuine [[Messianic Noahides]] who are nevertheless warned against establishing any alliance with them.
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==Rabbinical tradition==
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The first Hebrew language mentions of ''Notzrim'' are in manuscripts of the [[Babylonian Talmud]], these mentions are not found in the [[Jerusalem Talmud]].<ref>Yaakov Y. Teppler, Susan Weingarten ''Birkat haMinim: Jews and Christians in conflict in the ancient world'' 2007 p48 "Only in a few places is the term notzrim mentioned, and they too are on the pages of the Babylonian Talmud. The only clear mention is as follows: The rabbis said: the people of the watch used to pray for their brothers' offering to be ..."</ref>
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According to the Teliya, in 86CE the Sanhedrin and Herod Agrippa II decided that it would be best if the Notzrim would fall under [[Apollyon]] so ordered [[Hakham Elijah]] ([[Rav Shimeon HaKalpus]]) to fulfil Devarim 32:21 by organising the [[Ishmaelim]] in such a way as to make the Notzrim jealous and thereby attract them away from Israel's Qehal to be subsumed into Noahide Judaism instead of allowing them to  invoke HaShem's wrath by letting them continue to identify as Jews. The good intention of the Jews has been much maligned by the enemies of traditional Judaism.
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As a result, despite its correct application, the word Notzrim soon came to be synonymous with Christians. Nevertheless, although Notzrim came out of the Royalists who followed the Sions ([[Netzarim]]) of the House of David, they originally had no connection to either Tertullus' description of Paul, nor to the later 4th Century [[Nazoraioi]].
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=Sources=
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Although Devarim 32:21 is understood to be a prophecy concerning the rise and fall of the Notzrim, they are not mentioned at that time.
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==8thC.BC==
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'''Notzrim''' are first named concerning the raid of Samaria during the reign of King Hoshea (759-714BC) in 2 Kings 17:9 being:
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:בני ישראל דברים אשר לא כן על י**ה א**יהם
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:Sons of Israel who did things secretly which were not right against the L*RD G*d.  
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The tower of these warlocks is also mentioned in 2 Kings 18.
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This is probably the earliest (albeit oblique) reference to the now very well known but so-called "Great Secret" of Gnosticism whereby Gnostics exchange Israel's liberator for the Serpent of the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil.
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==7thC.BC==
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Notzrim frequently claim identification with the Scions (Netzarim) of the House of Jesse and the watchmen of Mount Ephraim in Samaria mentioned in Jeremiah 31:16 during the reign of King Josiah (648-609BC).
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==1stC.BC==
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Not much is known about the Notzrim before the 1st century BCE when King Yanneus Alexander is also mentioned in connection with the spread of Notzrut under the doctrine of two students of Antigonus of Sokko called Sadduc and Boethus who founded the sect of the Sadducees and Boethusians to which Alexander forcibly converted the remnant of Edom. At that time, Judah ben Tabbai is hinted at as a student of Joshua ben Perachia who went to Egypt and brought back students who began to worship the Baetylus.
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===Nazerini vs Nazareni===
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[[Pliny the Elder]] mentioned a people called the "'''Nazerini'''" in his ''[[Natural History (Pliny)|Historia Naturalis]]'' (Book V,22).<ref>Plinii naturalis historia: Libri I-VII ed. Francesco Della Corte - 1984 "Nunc interiora dicantur. Coele habet Apameam Marsya amne divisam a Nazerinorum tetrarchia, Bambycen quae alio nomine ... In Cele si trova Apamea, divisa dalla tetrarchia dei Nazerini dal fiume Marsia, Bambice, che con altro nome..."</ref> He indicates<ref>Pliny the Elder, ''Natural Histories'' Book V, recopying reports drafted by Marcus Agrippa on the orders of Emperor Octavian Augustus Caesar.</ref> that they lived not far from Apamea, in Syria in a city called Bambyx, Hierapolis or Mabog.
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Ray Pritz (''Nazarene Jewish Christianity: from the end of the New Testament'' 1988 p17) writes:
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:''Pliny's Nazerini - While treating the name of the sect, we may deal here with a short notice by Pliny the Elder which has caused some confusion among scholars. .... Can Pliny's Nazerini be early Christians? The answer depends very much on the identification of his sources, and on this basis the answer must be an unequivocal No. It is generally acknowledged that Pliny drew heavily on official records and most likely on those drawn up for Augustus by Marcus Agrippa (d. 12 BC).[31] Jones has shown that this survey was accomplished between 30 and 20 BC [32] Any connection between the Nazerini and the Nazareni must, therefore, be ruled out, and we must not attempt to line this up with Epiphanius' Nazoraioi. [33]"
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Epiphanius called them '''Nasaraeans''' in Panarion 1:18.
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==Talmud==
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Notzrim are granted a few mentions in various Baraitas and in manuscripts of the [[Babylonian Talmud]] which are not found in the [[Jerusalem Talmud]].<ref>Yaakov Y. Teppler, Susan Weingarten ''Birkat haMinim: Jews and Christians in conflict in the ancient world'' 2007 p48 "Only in a few places is the term notzrim mentioned, and they too are on the pages of the Babylonian Talmud. The only clear mention is as follows: The rabbis said: the people of the watch used to pray for their brothers' offering to be ..."</ref>
  
 
===Babylonian Talmud===
 
===Babylonian Talmud===
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Notzrim are not mentioned in older printed editions of the Talmud due to Christian censorship of Jewish presses.<ref>Yaakov Y. Teppler,Susan Weingarten Birkat haMinim: Jews and Christians in conflict in the ancient world p48</ref> Notzrim are clearly mentioned in Avodah Zarah 6a, Ta'anit 27b, and may be reconstructed in other texts such as Gittin 57a.<ref>Graham Stanton, Guy G. Stroumsa ''Tolerance and intolerance in early Judaism and Christianity'' 1998 p256  "According to Pritz, Notzrim as such are explicitly mentioned only in [[Avodah Zarah]] 6a, [[Ta'anit]] 27b, and [[Gittin]] 57a. 36 The text is from Herford, Christianity in Talmud and Midrash, 171-2. 37 Herford, followed by Pritz, thinks the term in these two passages probably refers to catholic Christians."</ref>
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Although Notzrim are not mentioned in older printed editions of the Talmud allegedly due to Christian censorship of Jewish presses,<ref>Yaakov Y. Teppler,Susan Weingarten Birkat haMinim: Jews and Christians in conflict in the ancient world p48</ref> they are clearly mentioned in Avodah Zarah 6a, Ta'anit 27b, and may be implied in other texts such as Gittin 57a.<ref>Graham Stanton, Guy G. Stroumsa ''Tolerance and intolerance in early Judaism and Christianity'' 1998 p256  "According to Pritz, Notzrim as such are explicitly mentioned only in [[Avodah Zarah]] 6a, [[Ta'anit]] 27b, and [[Gittin]] 57a. 36 The text is from Herford, Christianity in Talmud and Midrash, 171-2. 37 Herford, followed by Pritz, thinks the term in these two passages probably refers to catholic Christians."</ref>
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* [[Avodah Zarah]] ("foreign worship") 6a: "The Nazarene day, according to the words of R. Ishmael, is forbidden for ever"<ref>Christianity in Talmud and Midrash - Page 171  R. Travers Herford - 2007 "For R Tahlipha bar Abdimi said that Shemuel said: ' The Nazarene day, according to the words of R. Ishmael, is forbidden for ever.' (59) b. Taan. 27b.— On the eve of Sabbath they did not fast, out of respect to the Sabbath " </ref>
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* The renowned anti-semite [[Robert Travers Herford]] interpreted [[Avodah Zarah]] ("foreign worship") 6a.8: as against Notzrim when he said "The Notzri day, according to the words of R. Ishmael, is forbidden for ever"<ref>Christianity in Talmud and Midrash - Page 171  R. Travers Herford - 2007 "For R Tahlipha bar Abdimi said that Shemuel said: ' The Notzri day, according to the words of R. Ishmael, is forbidden for ever.' (59) b. Taan. 27b.— On the eve of Sabbath they did not fast, out of respect to the Sabbath " </ref> while in fact it says "נוצרים לדברי רבי ישמעאל לעולם אסור" which refers to trading on Sunday.
 
* [[Taanit]] "On fasting" 27b: "Why did they not fast on the day after the Sabbath? Rabbi Johanan said, because of the Notzrim"
 
* [[Taanit]] "On fasting" 27b: "Why did they not fast on the day after the Sabbath? Rabbi Johanan said, because of the Notzrim"
  
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Samuel Klein (1909)<ref>Klein S. Beiträge zur Geographie und Geschichte Galiläas</ref> proposed that the passage in [[Gittin]] ("Documents") 57a, which is one of the most controversial possible references to [[Jesus in the Talmud]], may also have included reference to "Yesu ha Notzri" warning his followers, the "Notzrim", of his and their fate.<ref>Pritz, Nazarene Jewish Christianity, 95-102, who (like others) also includes Gittin 57a on the basis of an emendation suggested by Samuel Klein (Pritz, 107): </ref>
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Samuel Klein (1909)<ref>Klein S. Beiträge zur Geographie und Geschichte Galiläas</ref> proposed that the passage in [[Gittin]] ("Documents") 57a, may also have included reference to "Yesu ha Notzri" warning his followers, the "Notzrim", of his and their fate.<ref>Pritz, Nazarene Jewish Christianity, 95-102, who (like others) also includes Gittin 57a on the basis of an emendation suggested by Samuel Klein (Pritz, 107): </ref>
  
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An additional possible reference in the Tosefta where the text may have originally read ''Notzrim'' ("Christians") rather than ''Mitzrim'' ("Egyptians")<ref>Yaakov Y. Teppler, Susan Weingarten  Birkat haMinim: Jews and Christians in conflict in the ancient world 2007 p49 "The second is a little more problematic: "They said: He went to hear him from Kfar Sakhnia of the Egyptians [Mitzrim] to the west."'"* This should probably read Kfar Sakhnia of notzrim,' " as Kfar Sakhnia (or Sakhnin) is the arena for ..."</ref> is "They said: He went to hear him from Kfar Sakhnia<ref>Frankfurter judaistische Beiträge: 27 Gesellschaft zur Forderung Judaistischer Studien in Frankfurt am Main - 2000 "Kfar Sakhnia (or Sekhania) has been identified by some scholars with [[Sukhnin]] in Galilee."</ref> of the Egyptians [Mitzrim] to the west." where medical aid from a certain Jacob, or James, is avoided.<ref>Jeffrey L. Rubenstein Rabbinic stories 2002 p170 "The identity of Jesus' disciple Yaakov [=Jacob] of Kefar Sarnma or Kefar Sakhnia (A, H) is unknown. The first Toseftan anecdote takes the extreme position that it is better to die than to solicit medical help from a Christian (AC)."</ref>
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An additional possible reference in the Tosefta where the text may have originally read ''Notzrim'' rather than ''Mitzrim'' ("Egyptians")<ref>Yaakov Y. Teppler, Susan Weingarten  Birkat haMinim: Jews and Christians in conflict in the ancient world 2007 p49 "The second is a little more problematic: "They said: He went to hear him from Kfar Sakhnia of the Egyptians [Mitzrim] to the west."'"* This should probably read Kfar Sakhnia of notzrim,' " as Kfar Sakhnia (or Sakhnin) is the arena for ..."</ref> is "They said: He went to hear him from Kfar Sakhnia<ref>Frankfurter judaistische Beiträge: 27 Gesellschaft zur Forderung Judaistischer Studien in Frankfurt am Main - 2000 "Kfar Sakhnia (or Sekhania) has been identified by some scholars with [[Sukhnin]] in Galilee."</ref> of the Egyptians [Mitzrim] to the west." where medical aid from a certain Jacob, or James, is avoided.<ref>Jeffrey L. Rubenstein Rabbinic stories 2002 p170 "The identity of Yeshu's disciple Yaakov [=Jacob] of Kefar Sarnma or Kefar Sakhnia (A, H) is unknown. The first Toseftan anecdote takes the extreme position that it is better to die than to solicit medical help from a Christian (AC)."</ref>
  
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There are no [[Tannaitic]] references to "Notzrim" and few from the [[Amoraic]] period.<ref>Wilson: "Related strangers Jews and Christians, 70-170 C.E." 1981 p366 "There are no tannaitic references and few from the amoraic period. The one clear reference (b.Ta'an.27b) could refer to Christians in general, but might mean only "Jewish Christians". The fullest discussion is in Kimelman.</ref> References by [[Tannaim]] (70-200 CE) and [[Amoraim]] (230-500 CE) to "[[Minim]]" are much more common, leading some, such as [[R. Travers Herford]] (1903), to conclude that Minim in Talmud and Midrash generally refers to Jewish Christians.<ref>Herford ''Christianity in Talmud and Midrash'', 1903 p379  "The theory that the Minim are intended to designate Jewish Christians I regard as having been now conclusively proved. This may be otherwise expressed by saying that wherever the Talmud or the Midrash mentions Minim, the authors of the statement intend to refer to Jewish Christians"</ref>
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There are no [[Tannaitic]] references to "Notzrim" and few from the [[Amoraic]] period.<ref>Wilson: "Related strangers Jews and Christians, 70-170 C.E." 1981 p366 "There are no tannaitic references and few from the amoraic period. The one clear reference (b.Ta'an.27b) could refer to Christians in general, but might mean only "Jewish Christians". The fullest discussion is in Kimelman.</ref> References by [[Tannaim]] (70-200 CE) and [[Amoraim]] (230-500 CE) to "[[Minim]]" are much more common.
  
 
====Yeshu ha Notzri====
 
====Yeshu ha Notzri====
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{{main|Jesus in the Talmud}}
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The references to Notzrim in the Babylonian Talmud are related to the people called [[Yeshu Ha Notzri]] in the Talmud and [[Tosefta]].<ref>Yaakov Y. Teppler,Susan Weingarten Birkat haMinim: Jews and Christians in conflict in the ancient world p48</ref> The references using the term ''notzri'' are restricted to the Babylon Talmud<ref>Graham Stanton, Guy G. Stroumsa ''Tolerance and intolerance in early Judaism and Christianity 1998 p256 "35 All these are from the Babylonian Talmud (Gemara): Sanhedrin 107b (twice), 103a, 43a (four times); Sola 47a;"</ref>  <ref>Joshua Efrón ''Studies on the Hasmonean period'' p156</ref> and include passages such as Sanhedrin 107b which states "Yeshu haNotzri practiced magic and led Israel astray". Scholars such as Bock (2002) consider the historicity of the event described is questionable.<ref>Darrell L. Bock Studying the historical Jesus: a guide to sources and methods 2002 p230 Sanhedrin 107b, makes a similar claim, though it alludes to an event whose authenticity is questionable: One day he [R. Joshua] ... And a Master [another major rabbi] has said, “Yeshu haNotzri practiced magic and led Israel astray . ...</ref><ref>Primary source: [publication details needed since this text has been edited] Sanhedrin 107b: What of R. Joshua b. Perahjah? — When King [[Jannaeus|Jannai]] (104-78 B.C.) slew our Rabbis, R. Joshua b. Perahjah (with his student Yeshu) fled to Alexandria of Egypt. On the resumption of peace, [[Simeon b. Shetach]] sent to him: 'From me, the holy city, to thee, Alexandria of Egypt (my sister). My husband (the Rabbis) dwelleth within thee and I am desolate.' He arose, went, and found himself in a certain inn, where great honour was shewn him. 'How beautiful is this Acsania!' (can mean inn or female innkeeper) Thereupon (Yeshu) observed, 'Rabbi, her eyes are narrow.' 'Wretch,' he rebuked him, 'dost thou thus engage thyself.' He sounded four hundred trumpets and excommunicated him. He came before him many times pleading, 'Receive me!' But he would pay no heed to him. One day he was reciting the Shema', when Yeshu came before him. He intended to receive him and made a sign to him. He thinking that it was to repel him, went, put up a brick, and worshipped it. 'Repent,' said he to him. He replied, 'I have thus learned from thee: He who sins and causes others to sin is not afforded the means of repentance.' And a Master has said, 'Yeshu the Notzri practised magic and led Israel astray.' </ref> The Jerusalem Talmud does not use the tem Yeshu to refer to some of the same stories given in the Bavli but contains other references to Yeshu such as "Yeshu ben Pantera."<ref>Yaakov Y. Teppler,Susan Weingarten ''Birkat haMinim: Jews and Christians in conflict in the ancient world'' p48</ref> while
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The references to Notzrim in the Babylonian Talmud are related to the meaning and person of [[Yeshu Ha Notzri]] ("Jesus the Nazarene") in the Talmud and [[Tosefta]].<ref>Yaakov Y. Teppler,Susan Weingarten Birkat haMinim: Jews and Christians in conflict in the ancient world p48</ref> This includes passages in the Babylonian Talmud such as Sanhedrin 107b which states "Jesus the Nazarene practiced magic and led Israel astray" though scholars such as Bock (2002) consider the historicity of the event described is questionable.<ref>Darrell L. Bock Studying the historical Jesus: a guide to sources and methods 2002 p230 Sanhedrin 107b, makes a similar claim, though it alludes to an event whose authenticity is questionable: One day he [R. Joshua] ... And a Master [another major rabbi] has said, “Jesus the Nazarene practiced magic and led Israel astray . ...</ref><ref>Primary source: [publication details needed since this text has been edited] Sanhedrin 107b: What of R. Joshua b. Perahjah? — When King [[Jannaeus|Jannai]] (104-78 B.C.) slew our Rabbis, R. Joshua b. Perahjah (with his student Yeshu) fled to Alexandria of Egypt. On the resumption of peace, Simeon b. Shetach sent to him: 'From me, the holy city, to thee, Alexandria of Egypt (my sister). My husband (the Rabbis) dwelleth within thee and I am desolate.' He arose, went, and found himself in a certain inn, where great honour was shewn him. 'How beautiful is this Acsania!' (can mean inn or female innkeeper) Thereupon (Yeshu) observed, 'Rabbi, her eyes are narrow.' 'Wretch,' he rebuked him, 'dost thou thus engage thyself.' He sounded four hundred trumpets and excommunicated him. He came before him many times pleading, 'Receive me!' But he would pay no heed to him. One day he was reciting the Shema', when Yeshu came before him. He intended to receive him and made a sign to him. He thinking that it was to repel him, went, put up a brick, and worshipped it. 'Repent,' said he to him. He replied, 'I have thus learned from thee: He who sins and causes others to sin is not afforded the means of repentance.' And a Master has said, 'Yeshu the Notzri practised magic and led Israel astray.' </ref> The Jerusalem Talmud contains other coded references to Jesus such as "Jesus ben Pantera,"<ref>Yaakov Y. Teppler,Susan Weingarten ''Birkat haMinim: Jews and Christians in conflict in the ancient world'' p48</ref> while the references using the term ''notzri'' are restricted to the Babylon Talmud.<ref>Graham Stanton, Guy G. Stroumsa ''Tolerance and intolerance in early Judaism and Christianity 1998 p256 "35 All these are from the Babylonian Talmud (Gemara): Sanhedrin 107b (twice), 103a, 43a (four times); Sola 47a;"</ref>  <ref>Joshua Efrón ''Studies on the Hasmonean period'' p156</ref> (See main article [[Jesus in the Talmud]] for further discussion).
 
  
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===''Birkat haMinim'', "Curse on the Heretics"===
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===Mandaeans===
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{{main|Birkat haMinim|Minim}}
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{{main|Mandaeans}}
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Two fragments of the ''[[Birkat haMinim]]'' ("Curse on the heretics") in copies of the [[Amidah]] found in the [[Cairo Geniza]] include ''notzrim'' in the [[malediction]] against ''minim.''<ref>''Birkat haMinim: Jews and Christians in conflict in the ancient world'' ed Yaakov Y. Teppler, Susan Weingarten</ref><ref>A. J. M. Wedderburn ''A history of the first Christians'' 2004, Page 245 Cf. Maier, Zwischen den Testamenten, 288: he points out that the reference to the 'Nazarenes' (notzrim) is first found in medieval texts; also van der Horst, 'Birkat ha-minim'; SG Wilson, Strangers, 176-83. 8. JT Sanders, Schismatics ...</ref><ref>Herman C. Waetjen The Gospel of the Beloved Disciple 2005 p142</ref>
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Bernard Duborg (1987) dates Pliny's source between 30 and 20 BCE and, accounting for the lapse of time required for the installation in Syria of a sect born in Israel/Judea, suggests the presence of a Nasoraean current around 50 BCE.  Dubourg connects Pliny's ''Nazerini'' with early Christians.<ref>B. Dubourg, L'Invention de Jesus, Gallimard Paris 1987, II, p. 157.</ref> This identifies them with the Jewish traditions about Rav Joshua ben Perachiya's student who turned to the worship of the Baetylus with the Elagabalites among whom he established the [[Mandaeans]] of Jordan according to the Kuzari.  
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[[R. Travers Herford|Robert Herford]] (1903) concluded that ''minim'' in the Talmud and [[Midrash]] generally refers to [[Jewish Christians]].<ref>Herford ''Christianity in Talmud and Midrash'', 1903 p379 "The theory that the Minim are intended to designate Jewish Christians I regard as having been now conclusively proved. This may be otherwise expressed by saying that wherever the Talmud or the Midrash mentions Minim, the authors of the statement intend to refer to Jewish Christians"</ref>
 
  
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===''Toledot Yeshu'', "History of Jesus"===
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[[John the Baptist]] made great efforts to correct Ha-Notzri's Elagabalite Baptists and became very popular with them but in the end his message was corrupted. They say that he was taught by Adam Kadmon (Qadmayya)'s Essence (the Son of the Man who is in Heaven) i.e. the tripartite Uthra (Archangel) of the Notzrim consisting of Abel (Hibil), Seth (Šitil) and Enosh (Anuš).
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{{main|Toledot Yeshu}}
 
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The medieval rabbinical text ''[[Toledoth Yeshu]]'' is a polemical account of the origins of Christianity which connects the "notzrim" (Nazarenes) to the "netzarim" ("watchmen" Jeremiah 31:16) of Samaria. The ''Toledot Yeshu'' identifies the leader of the "notzrim"  during the reign of [[Alexander Jannaeus]] as a rebellious student mentioned in the [[Baraitas]] (traditions outside the Mishnah) as "[[Yeshu|Yeshu ha-Notzri]]".{{Citation needed|date=June 2011}} This is generally seen as a continuation of references to [[Jesus in the Talmud]]<ref>[[R. Travers Herford]], (1906), “Christianity in the Talmud and Midrash,” ''Princeton Theological Review'', 4:412-414.</ref> although the identification has been contested, as Yeshu ha-Notzri is depicted as living ''circa'' 100 BCE.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://mama.indstate.edu/users/nizrael/jesusrefutation.html|title=Refuting Missionaries|author=Hayyim ben Yehoshua|accessdate=2008-04-12}}</ref> According to the ''Toledot Yeshu'' the Notzrim flourished during the reign of the [[Hasmonean]] queen [[Salome Alexandra|Alexandra Helene Salome]] among [[Hellenized]] supporters of [[Rome]] in [[Judea]].<ref>Goldstein, M. Jesus in the Jewish Tradition, Macmillan 1950 (pp. 148-154 Toledot Y.S.W.)</ref>
 
  
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===Medieval usage===
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The Mandaeans of Iraq use the term "[[Nasorean]]" in their history, the [[Haran Gawaitha]], to describe their origins in, and migration from Jerusalem: "And sixty thousand Nasoreans abandoned the Sign of the Seven and entered the Median Hills, a place where we were free from domination by all other races."...<ref>Karen L. King ''What is Gnosticism?'' 2005 Page 140</ref>
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The term "Notzrim" continued to be used of "Christians" in the medieval period. [[Hasdai Crescas]], one of the most influential Jewish philosophers in the last years of Muslim rule in Spain,<ref>The ''Columbia History of Western Philosophy'' p204  ed. Richard H. Popkin, Stephen F. Brown, David Carr - 2005 "In the last century of Jewish life in Spain, the three most influential Jewish philosophers were without doubt Rabbi [[Hasdai Crescas]] (ca. 1340-1410/1411), Rabbi [[Joseph Albo]] (d. after 1433), and Rabbi [[Isaac Abrabanel]] (1437-1508)."</ref> wrote a refutation of Christian principles in Catalan which survives as ''Sefer Bittul 'Iqqarei ha-Notzrim'' (''Refutation of Christian Principles'').<ref>History of Jewish Philosophy p551 ed. Daniel H. Frank, Oliver Leaman - 2004 "translation of Joseph ibn Shem Tov who entitled it Sefer Bittul 'Iqqarei ha-Notzrim (Refutation of Christian Principles)."</ref>
 
  
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===Modern Hebrew usage===
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Theories on the origins of the Mandaeans have varied widely. During the 19th Century [[Wilhelm Bousset]], [[Richard August Reitzenstein|Richard Reitzenstein]] and [[Rudolf Bultmann]] argued that the Mandaeans were pre-Christian, as a parallel of Bultmann's theory that Gnosticism predated the Gospel of John.<ref>Edwin M. Yamauchi Gnostic ethics and Mandaean origins 2004 - Page 8 "C. The Age of the Mandaean Sect Against the claims of Reitzenstein and Bultmann that the Mandaeans dated to the pre-Christian period"</ref> Hans Lietzmann (1930) countered with the argument that all extant texts could be explained by a 7th Century exposure to, and conversion to, an oriental form of Christianity, taking on such Christian rituals as a Sunday Sabbath.
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In [[Modern Hebrew]], the word "Notzrim" (נוצרים) is the standard modern word for [[Christians]], but ''Meshiykhiyyim'' ({{lang-he|'''משיחיים'''}}) is used by many Christians of themselves, as in the BFBS New Testament of [[Franz Delitzsch]]; 1 Peter 4:16 "Yet if any suffer as ha-Meshiykhiyyim ({{lang-he|'''משיחיים'''}}), let them not be ashamed, but let them glorify God in that name."<ref>BFBS [http://www.iclnet.org/pub/resources/text/ipb-e/nthebrew/1peter.pdf Delitszch translation 1 Peter pdf]</ref><ref>example: The Christian Church, Jaffa Tel-Aviv website article in Hebrew יהודים משיחיים - יהודים או נוצרים? </ref> In the Hebrew New Testament [[Tertullus]]' use of "Nazarenes" (Acts 24:5) is translated '''"Notzrim"''', and "Jesus of Nazareth" is translated "Yeshu ha Notzri".<ref>United Bible Societies Hebrew New Testament, 1997 printing, based on the [[BFBS]] New Testament of [[Franz Delitzsch]]: Acts 24:5</ref>
 
  
−
==Possible relation to other groups==
+
Scholars of Mandaeans considered them to be of pre-Christian origin, however no evidence for this is found prior to the second century.<ref>Etudes mithriaques 1978 p545 Jacques Duchesne-Guillemin "The conviction of the leading Mandaean scholars — E. S. Drower, Kurt Rudolph, Rudolph Macuch — that Mandaeanism had a pre-Christian origin rests largely upon the subjective evaluation of parallels between Mandaean texts and the Gospel of John."</ref> They claim [[John the Baptist]] as a member (and onetime leader) of their sect; the [[River Jordan]] is a central feature of their doctrine of [[baptism]].<ref>Drower, Introduction, p. xiv</ref> However, in the 1960s, Christian scholars of Mandaeism settled on an early Jerusalem, but not pre-Christian, origin.<ref>King "Many specialists in Mandaean studies still argue for an early Western origin for Mandaeanism, preeminent among them [[Rudolf Macuch]], Lady Drower, Kurt Rudolph, and Lupieri, but they generally reject a pre-Christian date and argue for great circumspection in using Mandaean texts to explain the genesis of New Testament literature.91 "</ref><ref>Edmondo Lupieri The Mandaeans: the last gnostics 2002</ref>
−
===Pliny and the ''Nazerini'' (1st century BCE)===
 
−
[[Pliny the Elder]] mentioned a people called the "''Nazerini''" in his ''[[Natural History (Pliny)|Historia Naturalis]]'' (Book V,22).<ref>Plinii naturalis historia: Libri I-VII ed. Francesco Della Corte - 1984 "Nunc interiora dicantur. Coele habet Apameam Marsya amne divisam a Nazerinorum tetrarchia, Bambycen quae alio nomine ... In Cele si trova Apamea, divisa dalla tetrarchia dei Nazerini dal fiume Marsia, Bambice, che con altro nome..."</ref> Bernard Duborg (1987) connects Pliny's ''Nazerini'' with early Christians, and Dubourg dates Pliny's source between 30 and 20 BCE and, accounting for the lapse of time required for the installation in Syria of a sect born in Israel/Judea, suggests the presence of a Nasoraean current around 50 BCE.<ref>B. Dubourg, L'Invention de Jesus, Gallimard Paris 1987, II, p. 157.</ref> Pliny the Elder indicates<ref>Pliny the Elder, ''Natural Histories'' Book V, recopying reports drafted by Marcus Agrippa on the orders of Emperor Octavian Augustus Caesar.</ref> that the Nazerini lived not far from Apamea, in Syria in a city called Bambyx, Hierapolis or Mabog. However it is generally thought that this people has no connection to either Tertullus' description of Paul, nor to the later 4th Century [[Nazarenes]]<ref>Ray Pritz ''Nazarene Jewish Christianity: from the end of the New Testament'' 1988 p17 ''Pliny's Nazerini - While treating the name of the sect, we may deal here with a short notice by Pliny the Elder which has caused some confusion among scholars. .... Can Pliny's Nazerini be early Christians? The answer depends very much on the identification of his sources, and on this basis the answer must be an unequivocal No. It is generally acknowledged that Pliny drew heavily on official records and most likely on those drawn up for Augustus by Marcus Agrippa (d. 12 BC).[31] Jones has shown that this survey was accomplished between 30 and 20 BC [32] Any connection between the Nazerini and the Nazareni must, therefore, be ruled out, and we must not attempt to line this up with Epiphanius' Nazoraioi. [33]" </ref> Bizarrely{{citation needed|date=June 2011}}, Pritz, following Dussaud, connects Pliny's 1st century BCE Nazerini, to the 9th century CE [[Nusairi]]s.{{citation needed|date=June 2011}}
 
  
−
===Sect of the Nazarenes (1st century CE)===
+
===''Toledot Yeshu'', "History of Yeshu"===
−
{{main|Nazarene (title)}}
+
{{main|Toledot Yeshu}}
−
The first mention of the term "Nazarenes" (plural) is that of [[Tertullus]] in the first accusation of Paul (Acts 24:4), though [[Herod Agrippa II]] (Acts 26:28) uses the term "[[Christians]]", which had been "first used in [[Antioch]]." (Acts 11:26), and is acknowledged in [[1 Peter]] (4:16).<ref>Edwin K. Broadhead ''Jewish Ways of Following Jesus: Redrawing the Religious Map of Antiquity'' Mohr Siebeck, 2010 "Here it is on the lips of Tertullus, the attorney who represents the case of Ananias and the elders against Paul (Acts 24.5)."</ref> Later Tertullian,<ref>The Oxford Bible commentary - Page 850  John Barton, John Muddiman - 2001 Further, in Acts 24:5 Christians are 'the sect of the Nazarenes' (an appellation also attested in Tertullian, Adv. Marc. 4.8), and in rabbinic writings Christians are nosrim.</ref> Jerome, Origin and Eusebius note that the Jews call Christians "Nazarenes."
+
The medieval rabbinical text ''[[Toledoth Yeshu]]'' is a polemical account of the origins of Christianity which connects to the "notzrim" "watchmen" (Jeremiah 31:16) of Samaria. The ''Toledot Yeshu'' identifies the leader of the "notzrim"  during the reign of [[Alexander Jannaeus]] as a rebellious student mentioned in the [[Baraitas]] (traditions outside the Mishnah) as "[[Yeshu|Yeshu ha-Notzri]]". Yeshu ha-Notzri is depicted as living ''circa'' 100 BCE.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://mama.indstate.edu/users/nizrael/jesusrefutation.html|title=Refuting Missionaries|author=Hayyim ben Yehoshua|accessdate=2008-04-12}}</ref> According to the ''Toledot Yeshu'' the Notzrim flourished during the reign of the [[Hasmonean]] queen [[Salome Alexandra|Alexandra Helene Salome]] among [[Hellenized]] supporters of [[Rome]] in [[Judea]].<ref>Goldstein, M. Jesus in the Jewish Tradition, Macmillan 1950 (pp. 148-154 Toledot Y.S.W.)</ref>
−
{{quote|"The Christ of the Creator had to be called a Nazarene according to prophecy; whence the Jews also designate us, on that very account, Nazerenes after Him."– Tertullian, Against Marcion 4.8)<ref>Adv. Marc. IV.8 unde et ipso nomine nos Iudaei Nazarenos appellant per eum</ref>}}
 
  
−
===Nazarenes, and ''Nasaraioi'' (4th century CE)===
+
===''Birkat haMinim'', "Curse on the Heretics"===
−
{{main|Nazarene (sect)}}
+
{{main|Birkat haMinim|Minim}}
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The testimonies of [[Epiphanius of Salamis|Epiphanius]], [[Philastrius]], and [[Pseudo-Tertullian]] may all draw in part from the same lost anti-heretical works of [[Hippolytus of Rome]], mentioned as the ''[[Syntagma]]'' by [[Photius]], and ''Against all Heresies'' by [[Origen]] and [[Jerome]].<ref>The Cambridge history of early Christian literature 2004 p146 Frances Margaret Young, Lewis Ayres, Andrew Louth "18 A large section is ... of the Syntagma when he argued that Epiphanius, Philastrius, and Ps.-Tertullian had all drawn on the Syntagma "</ref>
+
Two fragments of the ''[[Birkat haMinim]]'' ("Curse on the heretics") in copies of the [[Amidah]] found in the [[Cairo Geniza]] include ''notzrim'' in the [[malediction]] against ''minim.''<ref>''Birkat haMinim: Jews and Christians in conflict in the ancient world'' ed Yaakov Y. Teppler, Susan Weingarten</ref><ref>A. J. M. Wedderburn ''A history of the first Christians'' 2004, Page 245 Cf. Maier, Zwischen den Testamenten, 288: he points out that the reference to the Notzrim is first found in medieval texts; also van der Horst, 'Birkat ha-minim'; SG Wilson, Strangers, 176-83. 8. JT Sanders, Schismatics ...</ref><ref>Herman C. Waetjen The Gospel of the Beloved Disciple 2005 p142</ref>
  
−
Epiphanius uses the spelling ''nasaraioi'' (Νασαραίοι), which he attempts to distinguish from the spelling ''nazoraios'' in parts of the New Testament, as a Jewish-Christian sect.<ref>Charles Hugh Hope Scobie ''John the Baptist'' 1964 "Epiphanius mentions a sect of Nasarenes (Nasaraioi), whom he carefully distinguishes from a Christian sect of Nazorenes (Nazoraioi) whom he also describes.2 The Nasarenes, we are told, existed prior to the time of Christ"</ref> According to the testimony of Epiphanius against the 4th century [[Nazarene (sect)|Nazarenes]], he reports them as having pre-Christian origins. He writes: "(6,1) They did not call themselves Nasaraeans either; the Nasaraean sect was before Christ, and did not know Christ. 6,2 But besides, as I indicated, everyone called the Christians Nazoraeans," (''[[Panarion|Adversus Haereses]]'', 29.6).<ref>The Panarion of Epiphanius of Salamis, translated Frank Williams p116</ref> The sect was apparently centered in the areas of [[Coele-Syria]], [[Galilee]] and [[Samaria]], essentially corresponding to the long-defunct [[Kingdom of Israel (Samaria)|Kingdom of Israel]].<ref>Encyclopedia Britannica, ''Nazarene'' article, Wm. Benton Publ., London, vol. 16, 1961 edition.</ref> According to Epiphanius they rejected [[Korban|temple sacrifice]] and the [[Law of Moses]], but adhered to other Jewish practices. They are described as being vegetarian.<ref>[[Bashan]] and Galaatides (''[[Panarion]]'' 18; 20, 3; 29, 6, 1; 19, 5)</ref> According to him they were Jews only by nationality who lived in [[Gilead]], Basham, and the [[Transjordan]]. They revered [[Moses]] but, unlike the pro-Torah [[Nazoraean]]s, believed he had received different laws from those accredited to him.
+
The renowned antisemite [[R. Travers Herford|Robert T. Herford]] (1903), to concluded  that ''minim'' in the Talmud and [[Midrash]] generally refers to [[Jewish Christians]].<ref>Herford ''Christianity in Talmud and Midrash'', 1903 p379 "The theory that the Minim are intended to designate Jewish Christians I regard as having been now conclusively proved. This may be otherwise expressed by saying that wherever the Talmud or the Midrash mentions Minim, the authors of the statement intend to refer to Jewish Christians"</ref>
  
−
Epiphanius' testimony was accepted as accurate by some 19th Century scholars, including [[Wilhelm Bousset]], [[Richard Reitzenstein]] and [[Bultmann]].{{Citation needed|date=June 2011}} However Epiphanius testimony in this regard, which is second-hand, is in modern scholarship read with more awareness of his polemical objectives to show that the 4th Century Nazarenes and Ebionites were not Christian.<ref>Antti Marjanen, Petri Luomanen A companion to second-century Christian "heretics" 2008 p281 "Because the ancient writers that explicitly deal with the Nazarenes, Epiphanius and Jerome, are from the fourth century and are known for often allowing their polemical interests and personal ambitions to dictate the contents of their presentations, it is no wonder that the role of the Nazarenes in second-century Christianity has been open to various interpretations."</ref>
+
==Alawaites==
 +
Pritz, following Dussaud, connects Pliny's 1st century BCE Gnostic Nazerini, to the 9th century CE Gnostic [[Nusairi]]s.{{citation needed|date=June 2011}}
  
−
===Mandaeans===
+
==Medieval usage==
−
{{main|Mandaeans}}
+
The term "Notzrim" continued to be used of "Christians" in the medieval period. [[Hasdai Crescas]], one of the most influential Jewish philosophers in the last years of Muslim rule in Spain,<ref>The ''Columbia History of Western Philosophy'' p204  ed. Richard H. Popkin, Stephen F. Brown, David Carr - 2005 "In the last century of Jewish life in Spain, the three most influential Jewish philosophers were without doubt Rabbi [[Hasdai Crescas]] (ca. 1340-1410/1411), Rabbi [[Joseph Albo]] (d. after 1433), and Rabbi [[Isaac Abrabanel]] (1437-1508)."</ref> wrote a refutation of Christian principles in Catalan which survives as ''Sefer Bittul 'Iqqarei ha-Notzrim'' (''Refutation of Christian Principles'').<ref>History of Jewish Philosophy p551 ed. Daniel H. Frank, Oliver Leaman - 2004 "translation of Joseph ibn Shem Tov who entitled it Sefer Bittul 'Iqqarei ha-Notzrim (Refutation of Christian Principles)."</ref>
−
The [[Mandaeans]] of Iraq use the term "[[Nasorean]]" in their history, the [[Haran Gawaitha]], to describe their origins in, and migration from Jerusalem: "And sixty thousand Nasoreans abandoned the Sign of the Seven and entered the Median Hills, a place where we were free from domination by all other races."...<ref>Karen L. King ''What is Gnosticism?'' 2005 Page 140</ref>
 
  
−
Theories on the origins of the Mandaeans have varied widely. During the 19th Century [[Wilhelm Bousset]], [[Richard August Reitzenstein|Richard Reitzenstein]] and [[Rudolf Bultmann]] argued that the Mandaeans were pre-Christian, as a parallel of Bultmann's theory that Gnosticism predated the Gospel of John.<ref>Edwin M. Yamauchi Gnostic ethics and Mandaean origins 2004 - Page 8 "C. The Age of the Mandaean Sect Against the claims of Reitzenstein and Bultmann that the Mandaeans dated to the pre-Christian period"</ref> Hans Lietzmann (1930) countered with the argument that all extant texts could be explained by a 7th Century exposure to, and conversion to, an oriental form of Christianity, taking on such Christian rituals as a Sunday Sabbath.
+
==Modern Hebrew usage==
 +
Thanks to the infestation of Christianity with the followers of a Notzri called Yeshu HaNotzri, the words Notzri & Notzrim have become the [[modern Hebrew]] standard term for "Christian" and "Christians".<ref>"Christian adj. n. נוצרי " (''Notzri'') ''The Oxford English-Hebrew Dictionary'' (9780198601722) 1999 p.69; ''The New Bantam-Megiddo Hebrew & English Dictionary'', Dr. Sivan Reuven, Dr. Edward A. Levenston, 2009 p.50; [[Ben Yehuda]]'s Hebrew Dictionary, 1940 reprint, p.450</ref> Hence, Notzrim is an alternative term, used to translate the [[Greek (language)|Greek]] ''Christianoi'' in many [[Bible translations into Hebrew|translations of the New Testament into Hebrew]], and distinguished from '''Meshiykhiyyim''' "Messianics" (משיחיים).<ref>United Bible Societies Hebrew New Testament, 1997 printing, based on the [[BFBS]] New Testament of [[Franz Delitzsch]]: Acts 11:26, Acts 26:28, 1 Peter 4:16.</ref>
  
−
Scholars of Mandaeans considered them to be of pre-Christian origin, however no evidence for this is found prior to the second century.<ref>Etudes mithriaques 1978 p545 Jacques Duchesne-Guillemin "The conviction of the leading Mandaean scholars — E. S. Drower, Kurt Rudolph, Rudolph Macuch — that Mandaeanism had a pre-Christian origin rests largely upon the subjective evaluation of parallels between Mandaean texts and the Gospel of John."</ref> They claim [[John the Baptist]] as a member (and onetime leader) of their sect; the [[River Jordan]] is a central feature of their doctrine of [[baptism]].<ref>Drower, Introduction, p. xiv</ref> However, in the 1960s the position of scholars of Mandaeism settled on an early Jerusalem, but not pre-Christian, origin.<ref>King "Many specialists in Mandaean studies still argue for an early Western origin for Mandaeanism, preeminent among them [[Rudolf Macuch]], Lady Drower, Kurt Rudolph, and Lupieri, but they generally reject a pre-Christian date and argue for great circumspection in using Mandaean texts to explain the genesis of New Testament literature.91 "</ref><ref>Edmondo Lupieri The Mandaeans: the last gnostics 2002</ref>
+
In [[Modern Hebrew]], the word "Notzrim" (נוצרים) is the standard modern word for [[Christians]], but ''Meshiykhiyyim'' ('''משיחיים'') is used by many Christians of themselves, as in the BFBS New Testament of [[Franz Delitzsch]]; 1 Peter 4:16 "Yet if any suffer as ha-Meshiykhiyyim ('''משיחיים'''), let them not be ashamed, but let them glorify God in that name."<ref>BFBS [http://www.iclnet.org/pub/resources/text/ipb-e/nthebrew/1peter.pdf Delitszch translation 1 Peter pdf]</ref><ref>example: The Christian Church, Jaffa Tel-Aviv website article in Hebrew יהודים משיחיים - יהודים או נוצרים? </ref> In the Hebrew New Testament [[Tertullus]]' use of "Nazarenes" (Acts 24:5) is translated '''"Notzrim"''', and "Jesus of Nazareth" is translated "Yeshu ha Notzri".<ref>United Bible Societies Hebrew New Testament, 1997 printing, based on the [[BFBS]] New Testament of [[Franz Delitzsch]]: Acts 24:5</ref>
  
 
== See also ==
 
== See also ==
−
* [[Ebionites]]
+
* [[Dositheus]]
−
* [[Jewish Christians]]
 
−
* [[Kabbalists]]
 
 
* [[Ophites]]
 
* [[Ophites]]
  

Latest revision as of 10:10, 10 April 2023

The synthesis of a variety of Judaic sources demonstrates that Notzrim (נוצרים) were polygamous royalist Israelite Minim who trampled the Torah-for-Qehal while venerating the Baetylus on Sundays. Their politics caused much strife in Israel for 30 years after their ring-leader Ben Stada was executed in 56CE for spreading Gnosticism among his Karaite supporters in Beit Shammai.

Although Notzrim came out of the Royalists who followed the Sions (Netzarim) of the House of David, in their purest form they still survive only as Mandaeans (Gnostics). The singular form is Notzri. In Aramaic they call themselves Nāṣorāyi. They divide into two sects, the original Antimomians (who are not vegetarians) and their Noahized "Nomians" (who are vegetarians) who are called Nasara in Arabic and who each have their own Imam. Noahized Gnostics are considered to be the closest in affection to genuine Messianic Noahides who are nevertheless warned against establishing any alliance with them.

According to the Teliya, in 86CE the Sanhedrin and Herod Agrippa II decided that it would be best if the Notzrim would fall under Apollyon so ordered Hakham Elijah (Rav Shimeon HaKalpus) to fulfil Devarim 32:21 by organising the Ishmaelim in such a way as to make the Notzrim jealous and thereby attract them away from Israel's Qehal to be subsumed into Noahide Judaism instead of allowing them to invoke HaShem's wrath by letting them continue to identify as Jews. The good intention of the Jews has been much maligned by the enemies of traditional Judaism.

As a result, despite its correct application, the word Notzrim soon came to be synonymous with Christians. Nevertheless, although Notzrim came out of the Royalists who followed the Sions (Netzarim) of the House of David, they originally had no connection to either Tertullus' description of Paul, nor to the later 4th Century Nazoraioi.

Sources

Although Devarim 32:21 is understood to be a prophecy concerning the rise and fall of the Notzrim, they are not mentioned at that time.

8thC.BC

Notzrim are first named concerning the raid of Samaria during the reign of King Hoshea (759-714BC) in 2 Kings 17:9 being:

בני ישראל דברים אשר לא כן על י**ה א**יהם
Sons of Israel who did things secretly which were not right against the L*RD G*d.

The tower of these warlocks is also mentioned in 2 Kings 18.

This is probably the earliest (albeit oblique) reference to the now very well known but so-called "Great Secret" of Gnosticism whereby Gnostics exchange Israel's liberator for the Serpent of the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil.

7thC.BC

Notzrim frequently claim identification with the Scions (Netzarim) of the House of Jesse and the watchmen of Mount Ephraim in Samaria mentioned in Jeremiah 31:16 during the reign of King Josiah (648-609BC).

1stC.BC

Not much is known about the Notzrim before the 1st century BCE when King Yanneus Alexander is also mentioned in connection with the spread of Notzrut under the doctrine of two students of Antigonus of Sokko called Sadduc and Boethus who founded the sect of the Sadducees and Boethusians to which Alexander forcibly converted the remnant of Edom. At that time, Judah ben Tabbai is hinted at as a student of Joshua ben Perachia who went to Egypt and brought back students who began to worship the Baetylus.

Nazerini vs Nazareni

Pliny the Elder mentioned a people called the "Nazerini" in his Historia Naturalis (Book V,22).[1] He indicates[2] that they lived not far from Apamea, in Syria in a city called Bambyx, Hierapolis or Mabog.

Ray Pritz (Nazarene Jewish Christianity: from the end of the New Testament 1988 p17) writes:

Pliny's Nazerini - While treating the name of the sect, we may deal here with a short notice by Pliny the Elder which has caused some confusion among scholars. .... Can Pliny's Nazerini be early Christians? The answer depends very much on the identification of his sources, and on this basis the answer must be an unequivocal No. It is generally acknowledged that Pliny drew heavily on official records and most likely on those drawn up for Augustus by Marcus Agrippa (d. 12 BC).[31] Jones has shown that this survey was accomplished between 30 and 20 BC [32] Any connection between the Nazerini and the Nazareni must, therefore, be ruled out, and we must not attempt to line this up with Epiphanius' Nazoraioi. [33]"

Epiphanius called them Nasaraeans in Panarion 1:18.

Talmud

Notzrim are granted a few mentions in various Baraitas and in manuscripts of the Babylonian Talmud which are not found in the Jerusalem Talmud.[3]

Babylonian Talmud

Although Notzrim are not mentioned in older printed editions of the Talmud allegedly due to Christian censorship of Jewish presses,[4] they are clearly mentioned in Avodah Zarah 6a, Ta'anit 27b, and may be implied in other texts such as Gittin 57a.[5]

  • The renowned anti-semite Robert Travers Herford interpreted Avodah Zarah ("foreign worship") 6a.8: as against Notzrim when he said "The Notzri day, according to the words of R. Ishmael, is forbidden for ever"[6] while in fact it says "נוצרים לדברי רבי ישמעאל לעולם אסור" which refers to trading on Sunday.
  • Taanit "On fasting" 27b: "Why did they not fast on the day after the Sabbath? Rabbi Johanan said, because of the Notzrim"

Samuel Klein (1909)[7] proposed that the passage in Gittin ("Documents") 57a, may also have included reference to "Yesu ha Notzri" warning his followers, the "Notzrim", of his and their fate.[8]

An additional possible reference in the Tosefta where the text may have originally read Notzrim rather than Mitzrim ("Egyptians")[9] is "They said: He went to hear him from Kfar Sakhnia[10] of the Egyptians [Mitzrim] to the west." where medical aid from a certain Jacob, or James, is avoided.[11]

There are no Tannaitic references to "Notzrim" and few from the Amoraic period.[12] References by Tannaim (70-200 CE) and Amoraim (230-500 CE) to "Minim" are much more common.

Yeshu ha Notzri

The references to Notzrim in the Babylonian Talmud are related to the people called Yeshu Ha Notzri in the Talmud and Tosefta.[13] The references using the term notzri are restricted to the Babylon Talmud[14] [15] and include passages such as Sanhedrin 107b which states "Yeshu haNotzri practiced magic and led Israel astray". Scholars such as Bock (2002) consider the historicity of the event described is questionable.[16][17] The Jerusalem Talmud does not use the tem Yeshu to refer to some of the same stories given in the Bavli but contains other references to Yeshu such as "Yeshu ben Pantera."[18] while

Mandaeans

Main article: Mandaeans

Bernard Duborg (1987) dates Pliny's source between 30 and 20 BCE and, accounting for the lapse of time required for the installation in Syria of a sect born in Israel/Judea, suggests the presence of a Nasoraean current around 50 BCE. Dubourg connects Pliny's Nazerini with early Christians.[19] This identifies them with the Jewish traditions about Rav Joshua ben Perachiya's student who turned to the worship of the Baetylus with the Elagabalites among whom he established the Mandaeans of Jordan according to the Kuzari.

John the Baptist made great efforts to correct Ha-Notzri's Elagabalite Baptists and became very popular with them but in the end his message was corrupted. They say that he was taught by Adam Kadmon (Qadmayya)'s Essence (the Son of the Man who is in Heaven) i.e. the tripartite Uthra (Archangel) of the Notzrim consisting of Abel (Hibil), Seth (Šitil) and Enosh (Anuš).

The Mandaeans of Iraq use the term "Nasorean" in their history, the Haran Gawaitha, to describe their origins in, and migration from Jerusalem: "And sixty thousand Nasoreans abandoned the Sign of the Seven and entered the Median Hills, a place where we were free from domination by all other races."...[20]

Theories on the origins of the Mandaeans have varied widely. During the 19th Century Wilhelm Bousset, Richard Reitzenstein and Rudolf Bultmann argued that the Mandaeans were pre-Christian, as a parallel of Bultmann's theory that Gnosticism predated the Gospel of John.[21] Hans Lietzmann (1930) countered with the argument that all extant texts could be explained by a 7th Century exposure to, and conversion to, an oriental form of Christianity, taking on such Christian rituals as a Sunday Sabbath.

Scholars of Mandaeans considered them to be of pre-Christian origin, however no evidence for this is found prior to the second century.[22] They claim John the Baptist as a member (and onetime leader) of their sect; the River Jordan is a central feature of their doctrine of baptism.[23] However, in the 1960s, Christian scholars of Mandaeism settled on an early Jerusalem, but not pre-Christian, origin.[24][25]

Toledot Yeshu, "History of Yeshu"

Main article: Toledot Yeshu

The medieval rabbinical text Toledoth Yeshu is a polemical account of the origins of Christianity which connects to the "notzrim" "watchmen" (Jeremiah 31:16) of Samaria. The Toledot Yeshu identifies the leader of the "notzrim" during the reign of Alexander Jannaeus as a rebellious student mentioned in the Baraitas (traditions outside the Mishnah) as "Yeshu ha-Notzri". Yeshu ha-Notzri is depicted as living circa 100 BCE.[26] According to the Toledot Yeshu the Notzrim flourished during the reign of the Hasmonean queen Alexandra Helene Salome among Hellenized supporters of Rome in Judea.[27]

Birkat haMinim, "Curse on the Heretics"

Main article: Birkat haMinim

Two fragments of the Birkat haMinim ("Curse on the heretics") in copies of the Amidah found in the Cairo Geniza include notzrim in the malediction against minim.[28][29][30]

The renowned antisemite Robert T. Herford (1903), to concluded that minim in the Talmud and Midrash generally refers to Jewish Christians.[31]

Alawaites

Pritz, following Dussaud, connects Pliny's 1st century BCE Gnostic Nazerini, to the 9th century CE Gnostic Nusairis.{cite}

Medieval usage

The term "Notzrim" continued to be used of "Christians" in the medieval period. Hasdai Crescas, one of the most influential Jewish philosophers in the last years of Muslim rule in Spain,[32] wrote a refutation of Christian principles in Catalan which survives as Sefer Bittul 'Iqqarei ha-Notzrim (Refutation of Christian Principles).[33]

Modern Hebrew usage

Thanks to the infestation of Christianity with the followers of a Notzri called Yeshu HaNotzri, the words Notzri & Notzrim have become the modern Hebrew standard term for "Christian" and "Christians".[34] Hence, Notzrim is an alternative term, used to translate the Greek Christianoi in many translations of the New Testament into Hebrew, and distinguished from Meshiykhiyyim "Messianics" (משיחיים).[35]

In Modern Hebrew, the word "Notzrim" (נוצרים) is the standard modern word for Christians, but Meshiykhiyyim ('משיחיים) is used by many Christians of themselves, as in the BFBS New Testament of Franz Delitzsch; 1 Peter 4:16 "Yet if any suffer as ha-Meshiykhiyyim (משיחיים), let them not be ashamed, but let them glorify God in that name."[36][37] In the Hebrew New Testament Tertullus' use of "Nazarenes" (Acts 24:5) is translated "Notzrim", and "Jesus of Nazareth" is translated "Yeshu ha Notzri".[38]

See also

References

  1. ↑ Plinii naturalis historia: Libri I-VII ed. Francesco Della Corte - 1984 "Nunc interiora dicantur. Coele habet Apameam Marsya amne divisam a Nazerinorum tetrarchia, Bambycen quae alio nomine ... In Cele si trova Apamea, divisa dalla tetrarchia dei Nazerini dal fiume Marsia, Bambice, che con altro nome..."
  2. ↑ Pliny the Elder, Natural Histories Book V, recopying reports drafted by Marcus Agrippa on the orders of Emperor Octavian Augustus Caesar.
  3. ↑ Yaakov Y. Teppler, Susan Weingarten Birkat haMinim: Jews and Christians in conflict in the ancient world 2007 p48 "Only in a few places is the term notzrim mentioned, and they too are on the pages of the Babylonian Talmud. The only clear mention is as follows: The rabbis said: the people of the watch used to pray for their brothers' offering to be ..."
  4. ↑ Yaakov Y. Teppler,Susan Weingarten Birkat haMinim: Jews and Christians in conflict in the ancient world p48
  5. ↑ Graham Stanton, Guy G. Stroumsa Tolerance and intolerance in early Judaism and Christianity 1998 p256 "According to Pritz, Notzrim as such are explicitly mentioned only in Avodah Zarah 6a, Ta'anit 27b, and Gittin 57a. 36 The text is from Herford, Christianity in Talmud and Midrash, 171-2. 37 Herford, followed by Pritz, thinks the term in these two passages probably refers to catholic Christians."
  6. ↑ Christianity in Talmud and Midrash - Page 171 R. Travers Herford - 2007 "For R Tahlipha bar Abdimi said that Shemuel said: ' The Notzri day, according to the words of R. Ishmael, is forbidden for ever.' (59) b. Taan. 27b.— On the eve of Sabbath they did not fast, out of respect to the Sabbath "
  7. ↑ Klein S. Beiträge zur Geographie und Geschichte Galiläas
  8. ↑ Pritz, Nazarene Jewish Christianity, 95-102, who (like others) also includes Gittin 57a on the basis of an emendation suggested by Samuel Klein (Pritz, 107):
  9. ↑ Yaakov Y. Teppler, Susan Weingarten Birkat haMinim: Jews and Christians in conflict in the ancient world 2007 p49 "The second is a little more problematic: "They said: He went to hear him from Kfar Sakhnia of the Egyptians [Mitzrim] to the west."'"* This should probably read Kfar Sakhnia of notzrim,' " as Kfar Sakhnia (or Sakhnin) is the arena for ..."
  10. ↑ Frankfurter judaistische Beiträge: 27 Gesellschaft zur Forderung Judaistischer Studien in Frankfurt am Main - 2000 "Kfar Sakhnia (or Sekhania) has been identified by some scholars with Sukhnin in Galilee."
  11. ↑ Jeffrey L. Rubenstein Rabbinic stories 2002 p170 "The identity of Yeshu's disciple Yaakov [=Jacob] of Kefar Sarnma or Kefar Sakhnia (A, H) is unknown. The first Toseftan anecdote takes the extreme position that it is better to die than to solicit medical help from a Christian (AC)."
  12. ↑ Wilson: "Related strangers Jews and Christians, 70-170 C.E." 1981 p366 "There are no tannaitic references and few from the amoraic period. The one clear reference (b.Ta'an.27b) could refer to Christians in general, but might mean only "Jewish Christians". The fullest discussion is in Kimelman.
  13. ↑ Yaakov Y. Teppler,Susan Weingarten Birkat haMinim: Jews and Christians in conflict in the ancient world p48
  14. ↑ Graham Stanton, Guy G. Stroumsa Tolerance and intolerance in early Judaism and Christianity 1998 p256 "35 All these are from the Babylonian Talmud (Gemara): Sanhedrin 107b (twice), 103a, 43a (four times); Sola 47a;"
  15. ↑ Joshua Efrón Studies on the Hasmonean period p156
  16. ↑ Darrell L. Bock Studying the historical Jesus: a guide to sources and methods 2002 p230 Sanhedrin 107b, makes a similar claim, though it alludes to an event whose authenticity is questionable: One day he [R. Joshua] ... And a Master [another major rabbi] has said, “Yeshu haNotzri practiced magic and led Israel astray . ...
  17. ↑ Primary source: [publication details needed since this text has been edited] Sanhedrin 107b: What of R. Joshua b. Perahjah? — When King Jannai (104-78 B.C.) slew our Rabbis, R. Joshua b. Perahjah (with his student Yeshu) fled to Alexandria of Egypt. On the resumption of peace, Simeon b. Shetach sent to him: 'From me, the holy city, to thee, Alexandria of Egypt (my sister). My husband (the Rabbis) dwelleth within thee and I am desolate.' He arose, went, and found himself in a certain inn, where great honour was shewn him. 'How beautiful is this Acsania!' (can mean inn or female innkeeper) Thereupon (Yeshu) observed, 'Rabbi, her eyes are narrow.' 'Wretch,' he rebuked him, 'dost thou thus engage thyself.' He sounded four hundred trumpets and excommunicated him. He came before him many times pleading, 'Receive me!' But he would pay no heed to him. One day he was reciting the Shema', when Yeshu came before him. He intended to receive him and made a sign to him. He thinking that it was to repel him, went, put up a brick, and worshipped it. 'Repent,' said he to him. He replied, 'I have thus learned from thee: He who sins and causes others to sin is not afforded the means of repentance.' And a Master has said, 'Yeshu the Notzri practised magic and led Israel astray.'
  18. ↑ Yaakov Y. Teppler,Susan Weingarten Birkat haMinim: Jews and Christians in conflict in the ancient world p48
  19. ↑ B. Dubourg, L'Invention de Jesus, Gallimard Paris 1987, II, p. 157.
  20. ↑ Karen L. King What is Gnosticism? 2005 Page 140
  21. ↑ Edwin M. Yamauchi Gnostic ethics and Mandaean origins 2004 - Page 8 "C. The Age of the Mandaean Sect Against the claims of Reitzenstein and Bultmann that the Mandaeans dated to the pre-Christian period"
  22. ↑ Etudes mithriaques 1978 p545 Jacques Duchesne-Guillemin "The conviction of the leading Mandaean scholars — E. S. Drower, Kurt Rudolph, Rudolph Macuch — that Mandaeanism had a pre-Christian origin rests largely upon the subjective evaluation of parallels between Mandaean texts and the Gospel of John."
  23. ↑ Drower, Introduction, p. xiv
  24. ↑ King "Many specialists in Mandaean studies still argue for an early Western origin for Mandaeanism, preeminent among them Rudolf Macuch, Lady Drower, Kurt Rudolph, and Lupieri, but they generally reject a pre-Christian date and argue for great circumspection in using Mandaean texts to explain the genesis of New Testament literature.91 "
  25. ↑ Edmondo Lupieri The Mandaeans: the last gnostics 2002
  26. ↑ {{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}
  27. ↑ Goldstein, M. Jesus in the Jewish Tradition, Macmillan 1950 (pp. 148-154 Toledot Y.S.W.)
  28. ↑ Birkat haMinim: Jews and Christians in conflict in the ancient world ed Yaakov Y. Teppler, Susan Weingarten
  29. ↑ A. J. M. Wedderburn A history of the first Christians 2004, Page 245 Cf. Maier, Zwischen den Testamenten, 288: he points out that the reference to the Notzrim is first found in medieval texts; also van der Horst, 'Birkat ha-minim'; SG Wilson, Strangers, 176-83. 8. JT Sanders, Schismatics ...
  30. ↑ Herman C. Waetjen The Gospel of the Beloved Disciple 2005 p142
  31. ↑ Herford Christianity in Talmud and Midrash, 1903 p379 "The theory that the Minim are intended to designate Jewish Christians I regard as having been now conclusively proved. This may be otherwise expressed by saying that wherever the Talmud or the Midrash mentions Minim, the authors of the statement intend to refer to Jewish Christians"
  32. ↑ The Columbia History of Western Philosophy p204 ed. Richard H. Popkin, Stephen F. Brown, David Carr - 2005 "In the last century of Jewish life in Spain, the three most influential Jewish philosophers were without doubt Rabbi Hasdai Crescas (ca. 1340-1410/1411), Rabbi Joseph Albo (d. after 1433), and Rabbi Isaac Abrabanel (1437-1508)."
  33. ↑ History of Jewish Philosophy p551 ed. Daniel H. Frank, Oliver Leaman - 2004 "translation of Joseph ibn Shem Tov who entitled it Sefer Bittul 'Iqqarei ha-Notzrim (Refutation of Christian Principles)."
  34. ↑ "Christian adj. n. נוצרי " (Notzri) The Oxford English-Hebrew Dictionary (9780198601722) 1999 p.69; The New Bantam-Megiddo Hebrew & English Dictionary, Dr. Sivan Reuven, Dr. Edward A. Levenston, 2009 p.50; Ben Yehuda's Hebrew Dictionary, 1940 reprint, p.450
  35. ↑ United Bible Societies Hebrew New Testament, 1997 printing, based on the BFBS New Testament of Franz Delitzsch: Acts 11:26, Acts 26:28, 1 Peter 4:16.
  36. ↑ BFBS Delitszch translation 1 Peter pdf
  37. ↑ example: The Christian Church, Jaffa Tel-Aviv website article in Hebrew יהודים משיחיים - יהודים או נוצרים?
  38. ↑ United Bible Societies Hebrew New Testament, 1997 printing, based on the BFBS New Testament of Franz Delitzsch: Acts 24:5

Further reading

  • Drower, E. S., The Secret Adam: A Study of Nasoraean Gnosis, Clarendon Press, Oxford (1960)
  • The Ante-Nicene Fathers (1986 American Edition), vol. viii, Wm. B. Eerdmans Publ. Co., Grand Rapids, Michigan.

pt:Notzrim

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