WOODBROOKE

VOL.
Ill

STUDIES

PUBLISHED FOR THE TRUSTEES OF

THE WOODBROOKE SETTLEMENT, SELLY OAK, BIRMINGHAM

BY

W. HEFFER & SONS LIMITED

CAMBRIDGE

WOODBROOKE STUDIES
CHRISTIAN DOCUMENTS IN SYRIAC, ARABIC,

AND GARSHUNI, EDITED AND TRANSLATED WITH A CRITICAL APPARATUS

BY

A.

MINGANA

VOLUME
1.

III

VISION OF THEOPHILUS

2.

APOCALYPSE OF PETER

" BULLETIN OF THE JOHN RYLANDS LIBRARY,' Reprinted from the

Volumes 13 and

14,

1929-1930

CAMBRIDGE
W. HEFFER & SONS LIMITED
1931

INTRODUCTORY NOTE.
The
Studies,
collection.

present volume the

is

the third of

my
is

series of

Woodbrooke

contents

of

which are drawn from

its

MSS.

in

my

The

delay in

appearance

mainly due

to the fact

was considered desirable to have the three parts of the of two. lengthy Apocalypse of Peter bound in one volume instead
that
it

As

the whole of the volume deals with Christian apocrypha,

in

Syriac and in Garshuni, are undoubtedly of Coptic- Ethiopic origin, the editor would consider himself repaid for the labour that the publication of such works entails

which, although preserved for us

were given in future generations to the history of these Christian productions, which seem to constitute a valuable storehouse
if

more

attention

of early Christian folk-lore.

I

noticed recently in the course of cataloguing the Syriac

collection,
is

MSS.

of

my

that the

volume
text.

also found in

Apocalypse of Peter as published in this Mingana Syr. 555 with an almost identical
in

F.

The Nau

interest

shown
J.

these

"

"
Studies
in

in

France,
in

P.

Margoliouth

by such scholars as England, Riicker and

in

Strothmann

Germany, and Montgomeiy

America

to

name
be.

only a few out of

many

is

a great encouragement for any editor

or author to proceed with his work, however arduous his task

may

Here I would take the liberty of renewing my sincerest thanks to Mr. Edward Cadbury, whose generosity has made possible the publication of these

"

Studies."

My
and

thanks are also due to

my

colleague Dr.

H. Guppy

for his

keen interest in the "Studies," and to the Aberdeen University Press

for the satisfactory
for the

which they have performed a difficult task, with which they have responded to my sugpromptness

way

in

gestion to acquire Syriac

and Arabic type

of the latest design.

A.
JOHN RYLANDS LIBRARY,
llth February, 1931.

MINGANA.

CONTENTS.
VISION OF THEOPHILUS
Prefatory Note
Translation
1-92
1-8

8-43

Text

44-92

APOCALYPSE OF PETER
[Part 1]:

93-450

Prefatory Note
Translation

93-100
100-152
.

Facsimile reproductions of Mingana Syr. 70

153-208

[Part 2]

Prefatory Note
Translation

....
.
.

209-215

215-282 283-348

Facsimile reproductions of Mingana Syr. 70

[Part 3]

Prefatory Note
Translation
Facsimile reproductions of Mingana Syr. 70
. . .

349-356
356-407

408-449

WOODBROOKE

STUDIES.

CHRISTIAN DOCUMENTS IN SYRIAC, ARABIC, AND GARSHUNI, EDITED AND TRANSLATED WITH A CRITICAL APPARATUS.

BY A. MINGANA.
FASCICULUS
5.

VISION OF THEOPHILUS.

Or the Book

of the Flight of the Holy Family into Egypt.

PREFATORY NOTE

GIVE

in the following

pages the text and the translation, acapparatus, of

I
life

companied

by a

critical

dealing with the

flight of the

an apocryphal story holy family into Egypt and the

story
is

which

it

led in that country.

The

cast in the

mould

of

a vision and entitled Vision of Theophilus, who was Patriarch of 1 Of all the Patriarchs of that great Alexandria in A.D. 385-4 12.
city

he

is

probably the one

who showed more

zeal in the destruction

of

pagan temples and monuments. Two I have edited the text from the three extant manuscripts. of them belong to my own collection of manuscripts and are numbered

Mingana
give
it

Syr. 5,

and Mingana Syr. 48 (henceforth

third manuscript
:

M.

5 and

M. 48

respectively).
its

The
title

is

the Borgian Syr. 128 or to

\

full

(henceforth V.).

Borgiano Siriaco 28, now in the Vatican M. 5 is dated 1790 of the Greeks (A.D. 1479),
is

and

M. 48
the

is

dated A.D. 1906, but

A.D. 1757.
all

As to
is

the Borgian manuscript

copied from a manuscript dated it is dated A.D. 1 720. Of

three manuscripts the only one that gives a complete

and

continuous text

M.

48, because

M.

is

incomplete

at the beginning

and

its

text begins after the

middle

of the story,

while V. has two

The sources for his life are well analysed in Smith and Wace's Dictionary of Christian Biography, iv. pp. 999- 008, and in Dictionnaire d'histoire et de geographic ecde'siastiques, ii. pp. 3 9-323.
1 1

WOODBROOKE
I

STUDIES
text of

lacunae towards the end.

have placed the

M. 48

in

the

body

of the story

footnotes.

and relegated the variants of V. and M. 5 to the M. 5 and M. 48 do not exhibit many important variants

when compared with each

manuscript, while

V.

28

other and seem to emanate from a single in which textual discrepancies are deeper in

quality and more numerous in quantity seems to have been copied from a manuscript that had undergone more changes at the hand of

the copyists.
In the three manuscripts the story
is

entitled the

Third Book
Books

and forms part

of

work divided

into five (in reality six)

The containing the apocryphal history of the Virgin and her Son. first Book deals with the Annunciation of the second with the Mary,
Nativity of

our
;

Lord

*
;

the third contains the present the Gospel of the Infancy

;

Vision of
fifth

Theophilus

the fourth

is

the

and

the sixth deal with the death and the Assumption of the Virgin. I shall presently point out, all these texts, with the exception

As
of

the third
published.
If

Book

or

the Vision of

Theophilus,
of the story

have already been

is

we

assume that

this division

original

we

shall

have no

difficulty in

maintaining that from relatively ancient times the

Vision of Theophilus constituted an integral part of the apocryphal life of Christ and His mother in some communities belonging to the

Monophysite West Syrian Church. The East Syrian Church being mainly Nestorian knows nothing of the Vision of Theophilus in any
shape or form.

My

collection of manuscripts contains also

is

two Garshuni
1

texts of

MinganaSyr. 39, The second is numbered Mingana Syr. (A.D. 1462). much later date. I have, however, made no use either
in the translation of text of

the story, one of which,

dated

773

of the
1

Greeks
is

14 and

of

in the text or

I had a any of these Garshuni texts. glance at the 14 and I am under the impression that it is a Mingana Syr. translation of the Syriac text that I am editing and translating in the
1

following pages.

The
1

text that

that edited
It is
2

immediately follows the Vision of Theophilus is 2 8 With by Wright in 1865 and by Mrs. Lewis in 1902.
"
the brother of our Lord."
;

attributed to James,

Journal of Sacred Literature, 1865, ri. 41 7-448 3 Apocrypha Syriaca (Studia Sinaitica, xi.).

vii.

110-160.

VISION
this text

OF THEOPHILUS

of the Virgin,

should be compared Budge's text and translation of the life 1 For the Greek which covers a more extensive ground.
texts of the tradition
2

and Latin

we

refer the reader to

M. R.

James'

well-known book.

As Nau
embodied
in

has pointed out in a short analysis that he gave of the

story according to the imperfect Borgian manuscript

some

traditions
3

the narrative are attested by Rufinus

and Sozomen.
I

These

historians will

be quoted

in the footnotes that

have added to

the translation.

probably a reference to our document in an Arabic Jaco6 bite Synaxarium of Coptic origin, which under the 6th of Hatur

There

is

(2 November) reads and our Lord Jesus

:

"

day the Saviour our God, our King, Christ was united to His pure disciples at
this
It is
:

On

Kuskam, which
I

is

al-Muharraq.

there that the

first

Mass was

said, as testify St. Philotheus (read

Theophilus) and St. Cyril." above reference is to the present document, which informs us that the first Mass was said at Kuskam, and which,
believe that the
as

we

shall presently see,

is

attributed at the

end

to St. Cyril of
it

Alexandria.

The document
was

bears out also the fact that

was

at

Kuskam
early

that Jesus

united to

His
it

disciples.

As

to the copyist's

error of Philotheus for Theophilus

and undotted

can easily be explained through Arabic characters. Other references will be

found

in the footnotes.

The

some events
but as the
the
first

author makes the mistake of mentioning in connection with "

of his story the
of

name

of

Theodosius

the Younger,"

John the Baptist which I edited and translated in 7 of my Woodbrooke Studies shows it is under Theodosius the Great (376-395) that those events, including the
life

volume

destruction

temple of Serapis in 391, took place. historical inaccuracies will be corrected in the footnotes.
It

of

the

Other

wrote the

does not seem probable that either Theophilus or St. Cyril I incline to the view that the work is story. by a late

Coptic Bishop, such as Cyriacus, Bishop of Oxyrhynchus whose

1

The History of the Blessed Virgin Mary, 1899. The Apocryphal New Testament, 924.
\
'

*R.p.C.,*r. 126-127.
Eccl., ^Hist. 7
v.

*Pat. Lot.,
*

kxiii.
iii

21.

Pat. Orient.,

1155. 255.

Woodbrooke Studies, L 255.

WOODBROOKE
I

STUDIES
Lament of the Virgin
translated in

edition of the apocryphal Gamaliel's work, the

and the Martyrdom of Pilate Indeed the mise en scene and many
the present

edited

and

1928.

stylistic

expressions that characterise

of the

Vision of Theophilus point to the author

two

above works.
In a note that
I

added

to
I

my

edition

and

translation of the
3

above
4

Lament of

the Virgin?

followed Schermann

and Cheikho

in

From the fact, placing Bishop Cyriacus in the fifteenth century. that he is the of the author of St. Mary, it however, Ethiopic liturgy As the does seem probable that he flourished at an earlier date.
Rev. R.
liturgy of

M. Woolley

has pointed out to me, the threefold Coptic

Basil, Gregory, and Cyril was definitely fixed and stereobefore the twelfth century and it seems unlikely that a Coptic typed Bishop should have composed another as late as the fifteenth century.

Further, the Ethiopic liturgy

itself,

which has been ascribed

to the

above Bishop Cyriacus seems

the fifteenth century.
I

to postulate a much earlier date than cannot, therefore, find any strong reason

militating against the hypothesis that Cyriacus might

in the eleventh century of our era.

have

lived, say

opinion receives a striking demonstration from the fact that Arabic seems to be the original language in which this pseudo-

The above

Theophilus wrote

his treatise.
I

There

is

not the slightest doubt in

my

mind
tion

that the Syriac text that

am

editing

and

translating

is

a transla-

from Arabic.

The

proofs for this assertion are numerous and

:

undoubted.
1.

The

There

following will be deemed sufficient are in the narrative distinct Arabic words which could
:

not have crept into the Syriac text except through an Arabic original
(a)

alfa

V^*XLDO ojfli\. and rush-nut.

which

in

Arabic would be

AaJL-j

Ul>-

(b)

)i^

)^;/

^J^ JpUj ^o^o

the Arabic j^$2r
.

before

another Church
is

is

dedicated on the earth.

a transliteration of

This verb tithikraiz

here undoubtedly

which
is

in vulgar parlance of

Egypt stood
i

for

j*jfi

That the verb

pp. 178-332.

to be so considered

is

Woodbrooke Studies,

ii.

Ibid.,

ii.

p. 182.

He places him c. 1444 "nach mitteiAegypt. Abendmahlsliturgien. lung. ron H. Prof. Euringer." 4 Catalogue des manuscrits des auteurs arabes Chretiens, p. \ 70.
3

VISION
borne out by the fact that 1 Arabic documents.
(c] JJLpa_5

OF THEOPHILUS
it

occurs over and over again in Egyptian

jlfja

a virgin

girl.

The word bukhrtha

:

is

here

certainly translated

from an Arabic sentence

"

^C

(d) jt-o-/o jlo>-.p^a in

honour and majesty.

is

T\us azzizutha
:

used

in

the sense of

honour"

the Arabic 'izz in the sentence

oooi

^N \ o
is

they

had

little

pity.

The
sen-

word

kaltilin as used here

the Arabic

Kalilah

in

some such

tence as

\U ^,:rj

(/)

The names
in the three

of

the angels

always

manuscripts as

^^^sx
.

Gabriel and Michael appear and ^s .) i v> in the

Arabic fashion
2.

J-^jj>in

and

JJls*^*

There are

the treatise

many

purely Arabic expressions

:

which are foreign

(a)

to the genius of the Syriac language

the
I

I fled with you. y^t &*op> Arabic Jl c-y> Similarly

.

This expression
the

is

certainly

expression

ous J^J^o
the transla-

)K n v>\ and I entered

tion of

into the
.

town with

Him

is

an Arabic

A,

cJ^oj

Likewise the phrase ]L^Q-d

is

w^*9

they strove to kill

.

me

the translation of an Arabic

">o

Finally the sentence J3 J were amazed at the glory is the

-^>tJI
.

) ..

^.io 0001

v>;K^o they

translation of

an Arabic

^ O^f^.
by the

In

all

the above quotations the particles governed

different verbs in question are those

governed by the Arabic and not

the Syriac verbs used.

(b)

j^Diod

vocH_*X^

^9J
.

]J

they

had no opportunity.

This

denotes the Arabic

(c)
|..,.j t

<-y &$ U

j>o^ ^otcidj-d wUL^l/o

is

and he turned towards

.

the

east.

This

the Arabic JjyuJl Jl *+>-y. C**3\j

(d)

usx-.jov-/

^o

>j,*.,^>

yoow^/j

vpjot

who

are

more

wicked than Herod.

1

The

use of the comparative bisk in the mas,

See

my Woodbrooke

Studies, voL L, pp. 280, 281

282,

etc.,

and Pat.

Orient., x. 262, etc.

6
culine singular
is

WOODBROOKE
in plural

STUDIES
.

a translation of the Arabic y^\

The

Syria

would have been

(e)

.--"
is

oS^io

Q^CLOO
"

and

they began to speak.

the vulgar Arabic

The

verb Kar,
in sue!

used here to express

expression as

to begin
.

Kama
no

jj^

'_y^

(/) jJLio ^.io

This middaim
sentence.
(g)

mm

Vpo
is

K-*OJL/ JJo

0^
^

/ found

watei

a translation from a corresponding Arabi

JKsoj yooC^

JJ/

^-*

JJ

d<9

>#0zt> wz

which plac

they are.

The

Syriac construction of this sentence denotes sue

Arabic sentence as
3.

^j-\ U There are some words which are masculine

**)
.

y&

in Syriac, but ar

used

in the treatise in the feminine

corresponding words

in the

This anomaly can

easily

gender under the influence of th Arabic language in which they are feminin< be explained by the fact of an Arabic origin;
:

lying before the translator

(a)
(b)
).fr\
/

II^BO
In

and the

tree worshipped.
-/

oi^vjLOQ^o

Jpo/K^oo )j^

called

Mukantah.
^=*^ which
jVJtd

both of these

6i-k-/o and the tree we examples the Syriac liana

tt

masculine but has been used in feminine under the influence of

Arabic
(c)

is

feminine.

K-s>ouo )J^.\a 6us j^ojxn

K^ajo and

the sta

grew up
Shabbuka

in that
is

hour and gave fruits. Here also the Syri< masculine but has been used in feminine under the ii
Arabic Lac which
is

fluence of 'the

feminine.

In

my

opinion the above and

many

other similar sentences poii

decisively to

an Arabic

original for the narrative.

That Arabic

origin

seems to have been translated at a time prior to the fourteenth centui into the Syriac text which we have before us, and this Syriac text w;
re-translated into the
scripts
:

Arabic version exhibited

in the

Garshuni

mam
ha^

Mingana

Syr.

39 and Mingana Syr.

114, to which

we

referred above.

The
and

origin of the Vision

may be
in the

traced to the fact that

its

autho

noticing that there

in the

was a gap

apocryphal Gospels of the Infanc

flight of

Life of the Virgin in connection with the

Chri

VISION
into
to

OF THEOPHILUS
in that country,

7 he endeavoured

Egypt and the life of the holy family

it.

fill

The

relating to Christ

supplying of the deficiencies of the apocryphal stories and His mother gave him also the opportunity of

enhancing the value of the shrine of Kuskam for which he shows To avoid unnecessary references in the footspecial predilection. " this notes of the translation to this locality constantly spoken of as "this "this "this mountain," house," holy house," holy mountain,"
etc., I refer

the reader to

what

wrote elsewhere on the

subject.

The above
story

surmise does not imply that every historical detail in the

author,

was invented by the

it

whose only

task seems indeed to

have been

to take the material for his narrative

in the

from local tradition

and to put
history with

form

in

which

we

find

it

before us.

He made

use also of some apocryphal books and of some works on ecclesiastical

The
will

critical

which the Egyptian scholars of his rime were familiar. apparatus that I have ventured to add in the footnotes
and
antiquity of the sources that might have been

show

the nature

used by him.

We

may

infer

from the above considerations

that

like

the

Apocryphal Jeremiah and the Life of John the Baptist which I edited and translated in the first volume of my Woodbrooke
Studies, and like the

Lament of

of Pilate which
that connects
it

published in the

the Virgin and the Martyrdom second volume of the same series,

the present document

is thoroughly Coptic in origin. The only link with the Syrian Church is its translation into Syriac by

West Syrian Monophysite living in or near Egypt. The actual writer of the story is given at the end of

the narrative as
of his Father,

Cyril,

who avers

that he

had heard

it

from the holy mouth

the Patriarch Theophilus.

the great St.

For the

real

This Cyril appears to be, as I said above, 2 Cyril of Alexandria who succeeded Theophilus in 4 2. purpose of the present apocryphon both Theophilus and
1

Cyril remain, however, in the realm of

historical

fiction,

personages they seem

to

have been made use

because although great of by the un-

known

writer simply for the convenience of the cast of his

dramatis

Persona.
Finally,

from some phrases used

document,

in

the story

am

tempted to

believe that the present

1

like

some other Coptic- Arabic

for a possible attribution to

Woodbrooke Studies, ii. 263. See my note at the end of the Apocryphon

Cyril of Jerusalem.

8
lucubrations,
is
1

WOODBROOKE

STUDIES

a speech or a homily delivered on the day of the feast

of the Virgin.

TRANSLATION.
(containing) the flight (according to) the vision shown to Theophilus, Patriarch of the great city of Alexandria, concerning the arrival of our Lady Mary, Mother

Again

the third
2

Book

of God, in the land of Egypt, and concerning the house which she and her beloved Son Jesus Christ inhabited in the holy mountain

of Kuskam, on account of their great fear of King Herod.

The

reason for the journey of the Patriarch and his coming

was

to

see great and heavenly visions, and also Theodosius the younger, the orthodox Emperor, because this Emperor gave him the keys of the temples of the idols of all Egypt from Alexandria to Assuan, in order
that

he might take the wealth contained

in

them and spend

3

it

in erect-

ing buildings for the

Church

of our

Lord Jesus
4

Christ.

When

he reached Assuan from the eastern side of the mountain

in following the

and returned

western

side of the mountain, there

5 were with him ten Bishops of Upper Egypt, who spoke to him con6 cerning the honour due to this holy house, and he expressed the desire

to repair to the

Church
its

that

was

in

it

in order that
7

he might be blessed
falls

by

it

and obtain

benedictions.

They
8

reached the Church three

days before the festival of

the mother of God, which

9

on the

twenty-second of the Coptic month of Tubah, which is the six10 The Father- Bishops and all the monks who inteenth of January.
1
2

See

the keys of the pagan temples was Theodosius the Great (376-395) and not Theodosius whom the author calls " the Younger," who reigned from 408 to 450. See the same incident reported
in a correct
i.

V. " Again we write the Book of the 3 The Emperor who gave Theophilus

my

note in Woodbrooke Studies,

i.

252.

flight

which has been revealed

to."

way

in the

document which

published in the Woodbrooke Studies,

225. 345.
5

As

The same
i.

to Theophilus he was Patriarch of Alexandria from 385 to 412. error is found in an Arabic Jacobite Synaxarium in Pat. Orient.,

Arabic Sctid.

7 9

V. " he."" The Coptic month

V. omits "western." V. " this holy mountain." 8 V. omits " Coptic month."
6

of

Tubah

extends from the 27th of

December

to the

25th of January of our Calendar.

In a Coptic- Arabic Menologium printed by Nau in Pat. Orient., x. 1 75, the commemoration of the death of the Virgin is assigned to 1 6th January. The same may be said of the Coptic- Arabic Menologia printed on pp. 1 97
10

and 2 3
1

of the

same volume

of

Pat. Orient.

VISION

OF THEOPHILUS
who were
three

9
in

habited this holy mountain,

hundred

number,

besought him to remain with them till after the feast of Mary, the Amen mother of God, and then return in the peace of our Lord.
!

Now,
of

my

brethern and beloved in Christ,

in
this

shall begin to
It is

speak

what

saw and heard

give thanks to

the mountain which

God who God

kept me 1 chose to inhabit.

holy mountain. until I reached

imperative to

this

holy mountain,

Zion and hath made

His mother, the holy Virgin, as it is it His habitation."

And He dwelt there with " God hath chosen written

:
:

this holy mountain and the Lord shall dwell holy mountain, and dwelt in it with His holy and Virgin mother. He glorified it more than the towns of all the world, and He did not

in

The Lord dwelt in it. The Lord loved

this

wish to inhabit another house, nor did

He

choose the house of a rich

man
as
it

but

He

inhabited this forsaken mountain in which dwelt no

man

David

"
says
:

as a dwelling-place,"

Because the Lord was pleased with Zion and chose 3 and there He dwelt.

you holy mountain who became a dwelling-place to the Lord and a cause of joy and exultation to the angels and to all the inmates
of heaven,

who

praise

their creator

who dwelt
glorified

in

are you,

O holy mountain, which has been

because the Lord came
"

Blessed you more than all the

!

mountains of heaven, and which has been exalted above the mountains
of heaven,

down upon

this

holy mountain as

He came down once upon mount Sinai,' and there was joy, jubilation and dazzling light so that no one was able to go near the mountain and perceive except the prophet Moses and no one was able to see
;

the face of the

Lord and

live

and we saw

Him

on the holy

we saw Him in this holy mountain 9 Throne, and we saw Him in Bethlehem
;

but

when
and
in

He

became a man
of death,
10

for us of

the holy Virgin

Mary, mother
until

and put on a body from our Lady, God. were sitting in darkness

We

shadow

He

came and had mercy upon

us,

He He

who is good and

lover of men, and until

in

He repaired
all

to these countries

which were immersed

paganism more than

the world, and

illuminated us with the light of His divinity and His exalted glory.
'Cf. Ps. Ixxiv. 2.
3
5
7

Ps. cxxxiL 13.

Ps. cxxxii.
Cf.
Is.
ii.

3 (Peshitta).

4
6

M.

omits this sentence.

V. " serve." V. omits.

Exod.
Matt.
xxxiii.
IT.

Deut

xix.

20.

8 10

20.
cf. Is. ix.

M.

omits "holy throne."

16:

2.

10

WOODBROOKE

STUDIES

This holy mountain resembles the Mount of Olives which our 1 Lord and His holy disciples inhabited. And you, holy mountain, The prophour Lord and His mother for many days dwelt in you.

ecy of

Isaiah, the greatest of the prophets,

ing the glory of this house in which

who prophesied concernwe have assembled in this day

he prophesied about the

and

in this hour,

has been
five

fulfilled.

When

coming place he said

of our
:

Lord

hundred and sixty-seven years before it took " Behold a virgin shall be with child and shall bring
shall
call
2
;

forth (a son)

and they

interpreted

is,

God
3
:

"

His name Emmanuel which being

also prophesied concerning this
this

mountain
diction

in saying
4

with us "

he

God

hath inhabited

mountain, and bene-

and grace have inhabited it. Praises and canticles are in it Kingdoms shall cease and powers shall perish, always and for ever. and all the peoples shall change and pass away, and (we shall sit)
solidly

on

their thrones,

and our name and our memory

shall not

change nor pass away, except by death which (hangs) over

universally."

men

And
will
5

you,

O
;

of
all

God

holy mountain, your privileges shall be eternal by the and because of the blessings which He recited over

you,

the people shall

come
come

to you, receive

your blessings and ask

for forgiveness for their sins,

Isaiah

"
:

And

it

shall

according to the saying of the prophet to pass in the latter days that the
all

mountain of the Lord

shall
all

shall

be established above

the mountains
it,

and
and
;

be exalted above everything, and nations the multitudes shall rejoice at this mountain

shall flow into

of the

and
in
it,

He

will

for out

make the path straight of Zion shall go forth

7

for us in order that

God of Jacob we may walk

the law, and the words of the

8

Lord from Jerusalem." You are truly the mountain of the Lord, and the house of the God of Jacob, because the one who established
the law has dwelt in you with His mother, the holy Virgin

Mary

and the way

this derelict

to this place

is

by

faith,

mountain, from towns and

and everyone walks to-day to villages, and narrates the glory

this is the desert of life, this is
"

of this holy
1

and pure house.

Truly

Of Kuskam.
This prophecy "
Lit.
Is.
ii.

Matt,
is

i.

23
"

Is. vii.

4.

not in Isaiah.

M. adds M.
omits

of

God."

5 7
9

like the will."

8

See them towards the end.

"
truly."

2, with changes.

The

construction of these sentences denote a Coptic writer.

VISION
the stretch of land chosen

OF THEOPHILUS

by the holy Virgin, our Lady Mary, and

her Son, our Lord Jesus Christ.

St John
our Lord,

the evangelist, the son of

Zebedee and the beloved

said
:

of

testified in

the

Apocalypse and

"I saw a

woman

clothed with the sun, and the

moon under
I

a crown of twelve

stars.

And

her feet, and upon her head saw a serpent standing before her
him, (a child)
to
3

expecting her child that he might

kill

who

rules the

world with a rod

of iron,

and who went up

heaven unto God, and

:

And John said also "I saw a dragon unto His holy throne."' the that he might drown after woman out of his mouth water casting
her in water.

And

the earth

welcomed the woman, was

rent

and

swallowed the water which the serpent had cast out of his mouth after And there were given unto the woman wings of a bird and she her.
flew to the mountains, to a place prepared to her

by God, and she

4

inhabited

it

one thousand two hundred and three-score

days, which

makes three years five months and ten days. And the serpent waxed wrath with the woman and went away to her children to sow the seed
of

war between him and them.

And
c

they kept the

commandment

of

our Lord and the orders

of Jesus."

The woman whom we have mentioned above

of Jesus.

is

Mary, the mother

The sun in which Queen she is arrayed is our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ, who dwelt in her and illuminated all her body, and the moon is John the Baptist who was illuminated by the baptism of Christ, with which we clothed ourShe
is

truly the

of all

women.

selves for the forgiveness of sins.

And

the

crown

of

twelve

stars

over her head are our Fathers, the holy Apostles, through whom mankind entered into the path of truth. And the serpent is Satan,
'

and the water which he

out of

cast out of his

mouth

is

the anger

which went

Herod

against the children

(the birth of) our

ledges will
"
"

fight

Lord Jesus against the same (Satan)

whom he slew Christ, whom any

on the occasion of one

who acknowever.
8

for ever

and

This

V.

in the
xii.

Apoc.
*

M.

six,"
xii.

Apoc.
6

book of his." Apoc. xii. 1 3-5 (with changes). 15-16 (with changes). which is obviously incorrect 15-16, and 6, 7 (with changes and inversions of the order
, 1

of the verses).

V.

"

Our

sins."

V. adds

"

which followed her."

M.

omits this sentence.

12

WOODBROOKE

STUDIES

wilderness in which our Lord dwelt with His mother had been pre-

pared for them by God. And I will say with Jacob, the father of the tribes l house of God and the meeting-place of all the saints."
of the

"
:

This
the

is

the

As
I

name

Lord God
filled

liveth,

when

entered to-day into this house

;

my

soul

was

with joy, gladness and satisfaction

and

forgot all

my fatigue and the length of the journey which I had to endure and the exhaustion which had overtaken me ; and the cares of all the
world
left

me

because she

who

is

our Lady, mother of

all
all

light,

implored
enter into

her Son and her beloved, to the effect that

this

who would

house and pray

in

it

shall

be

free

from

the stratagems of Satan

and the

anxieties of this world.

shall
I

What
the
sinner

say and what shall

for the
!

utter to praise you,

our

Lord Jesus Christ

honour

You
gave

did to me,

me

the wretched and

Theophilus
I

You

me

your holy body and your

innocent blood which

their sins.

distribute to

You
it,

gave

me

your people for the forgiveness of a throne on which to sit while I am not
to shepherd your people.

worthy

of

and You elected me

You gave
of

me

a happy time, and fear forsook

me

and you shut the mouth

disturbed the peace of your people, the dragons that 3 are the community of the impure Heretics. You gave us praise-

the dragons

who

worthy Emperors, like Theodosius the Younger, who love your truth and enjoin it on the churches of Christ, and the fear of Arius and all
his soldiers ceased
;

(that Arius) on account of

whom the holy Apostle,

Emperor was
seeking

my

father Athanasius, suffered persecution to the extent of going from

place to place for twenty-seven years, while the

him on account
in

of the lies of the

wicked Heretics.

God

willed this

order that in suffering the persecution of the Apostles he might have their reward in the Kingdom of our Lord Jesus Christ. It was

a barbarous people (which he

was appointed
to
it

to shepherd) until our

(of

Lord Jesus Christ revealed Himself

Father Athanasius).

after the persecution

And

became worthy

(Athanasius) repaired to the great city of Rome where he of the benediction of the bodies of the holy and sweettheir

tongued Apostles Peter and Paul, and where he saw

1

faces

Gen.
"
i.e.

xxviii.

7.

By

the

life

of the

name

of the

Lord God."

The

Arians.

VISION
suffused with joy,
this

OF THEOPHILUS
to

13
1

and where they spoke

him

real words. of

After

he desired

to build a

church under the

name

John the Baptist,

but he did not succeed, because he

fear

of

the Heretics.

It

was unable to erect anything from happened to him what happened to the
to build a of the fear

prophet David at the time when he wished Lord and he was not able to do so because
situdes that befell him.
2

temple to the

and the

vicis-

And when
shall not

(the

him he
after

said to

him

"
:

Thou

do

Lord) wished to comfort this, but the one who comes

This happened
4

"

thee

shall

build a house for me.

to

me,

because

after the

death of

my

Father Theodosius
also died
I

his

throne was

occupied by by my Father

his father Peter,

and when he

he was succeeded
after

Demetrius,

whose
I

office

assumed

him

the

throne of the one of

whom

am

not worthy.
will of

When
under the

was ready according to the name of John the Baptist.

God, I built a church When I had finished it, I

I then erected at the back placed in it all the vessels of the Church. 6 of it a church to the Three Children,' and in it I placed also all its 8 were full of joy and vessels, while their bodies were in Babylon.

We

gladness,
its

consecration,
1

and the (three) saints appeared in the church on the day of 9 and all the congregation saw them. All this
word
for

Lit

"

word."

The
of

author probably refers to Athanasius*

visit

to

Rome
'

in the early

summer
in

340.

See

his

Apol.

ad

Cons.,

7,

and

Fest. Ep., 13.

2

All

this is

found
I

more or

less similar terms in

1

New

Life of John

the Baptist which

i.

edited and translated in

256

(g.v.).

Alexandria See also the Arabic Jacobite Synaxarium in Pat. Orient., i. 345-347. 3 Chron. xxviii. 3, 6, etc. 4 The same succession of the Surely a copyist's error for Athanasius. Patriarchs of Alexandria is in the above life of John the Baptist, Woodbrooke Studies, i. 255. 5 Peter was succeeded in the see of Alexandria by Timothy in 380 and not by Demetrius. The error is possibly due to the copyist or rather to the translator who was rendering an Arabic In an and original into Syriac.
early

also ibid., p. 257, in honour of the Baptist

See

my

Studies, note on the erection of a church in

927

in

my Woodbrooke

undotted Arabic text such a mistake

may
"
;

easily occur.

of

^Or, ""after it" Lit. companions Dan. i., li.

8

of

Hananiah
;

i.e.

Hananiah, Mishael and Azariah

M. " their vessels M. adds here " of

"

" " or their relics." garments the Church." The Church of the Three Children
Le.

"

their

is

also

mentioned in the Arabic Jacobite Synaxarium as having been

built

by

14

WOODBROOKE

STUDIES

happened through the God.

intercession of the saints according to the will of

And

the God-loving

Emperor Theodosius came

to Alexandria,

the City of the Christians.

Emperor reached

the city,

the Christ-loving and believing Theophilus went out (to meet him) with

When

(banners of) crosses, accompanied by my suite and the notables of the " knelt before him and said to him city. Hail, believing 1 2 lover of and of Christ His Emperor, holy cross, like the Emperor

We

Constantine in his time

Hail,

Hail,

O
all

you who

truly

honour Christ

O you who love Christ with

whom He

loved and on
the doors of
time.

your heart, you whom Christ bestowed peace and majesty You opened the Church, and the (faithful) had joy and honour in your
!

May God
"

open before you the door

footstool
3
!

of

His
the

grace,

and may

He
in

make your enemies your

!

May

Lord who weaved

a crown for you in this world, weave a crown for you with the saints

His heaven

4 Emperor) answered and said to me several times in saint. These things have been granted to us by Hail, humility God through your prayers." And " you uphold me in the righteous5 ness of your words," as David said.

And

(the

"

We
of

Mark

led then (the Emperor) and brought him to the holy church 6 After he had taken the benediction of the the evangelist.

saint, the

the churches which had been

we led him again and proceeded to renovated in our time. He was very " Blessed be the compleased with them, and said to me in smiling God who does Lord to His elect and beloved good things passionate
owner
of the church,
7
:

ones,
'

and

'

exalts

them

that are of

low

degree,'

as the

Book

says

shall, praise those

semble our Father

Theophilus.

who praise me.' 9 You, O my Father, reAbraham who received God with His angels
i.

See Pat. Orient.,

353-354.

Some

incidents alluded to here

are amplified in the Synaxarium. This is especially the case with a St. Yabannes whom a cloud took to Babylon in order to transfer the bodies of the saints, but
unsuccessfully because they did not wish to *V. omits "believing Emperor."
2

come

to Alexandria.

V. adds here

after in
5

M.

" 7

V.

Ps. cxix. 1 1 6 " of the holy Apostle "

Hail, you who honour Jesus Christ" This comes 3 4 Ps. ex., 1 . M. " to you." cf Ps. xxxiii. (with changes ; 4).
.

"

and evangelist."
ii.

M.

Church which has been."

i.

Luke

52.

9
1

Kings

30.

VISION
because of his
faith,

OF THEOPHILUS

15
1

was counted unto him for righteousness, for ever and ever. You, O my Lord and my brother, became a friend to God and to His angels, and this is the .reason why God exalted you and honoured you more than the Fathers, your Fathers
and
this
(I

mean) who held the same

all

office

before you.
2

give you, therefore,

of

for

time, the keys of the temples

in order that

from the land

take from

Alexandria

Assuan, you may which you will find in them and spend it in the erection of churches and monasteries, in the duration of my reign." In that very moment he
to that of

them any wealth

Then the inhabitants of the city ordered the keys to be given to me. led him away in great honour on account of the fatigue of the journey.
Three days
after the

stood before him.

We

with the notables of

(temple of the)

Emperor summoned me, and I went to him and then went out, and I walked with him, along the city and all the priests, until we reached the
of

Camp

Alexander

in

which (the Great Macedonian

Conqueror) had stored treasures, and the door of which he had locked 3 We found the door 4 sealed with three seals so that no and sealed.

one should be able

from the day of

open it. Indeed it had never been opened Alexander down to this day in which God who
to

opened the eyes

of the blind

from

their mothers'

womb

opened

it.

And God
three

opened the eyes

letters

of

my

mind,

and

saw on

three doors

three letters referred the

to

These Theos which means God, the second Tkeodostns, the believing Emperor, and the third to my name
of the
first

thetas

alphabet

inscribed on them.

to

Theophtlus. nor by my

did not

know

this

with

power, but by the power of 6 eyes of the heart of the divine Theophilus.
1

own

my own earthly knowledge God who opened the

Rom.
Lit.

ir.

3.

"

is reported also in the life of Studies, i. 255. 3 The author possibly refers to the great temple of Serapis which was destroyed in 391. Serapion, the avowed author of the life of John the " and especially the great temple of Baptist, simply writes in this connection

of these localities." in

This incident

John the Baptist

my Woodbrooke

Alexandria" (Woodbrooke Studies,

arium
4
D

i.

255).

The Arabic

Jacobite Synax-

Lit. heart which in Arabic means also mind." This incident of the three thetas is found also in the Arabic Jacobite Synaxarium printed in Pat. Orient., L 346-347. It may be presumed that the author of the Synaxarium took his information from our present document.
6

Pat. Orient., i. 347, refers also the treasures to the time of Alexander. M. omits " the door." " " "
in

16

WOODBROOKE
was thrown open, and
it-

STUDIES

In that hour the door, at the inner side of which

wealth,

the

the quantity of

They
1

rejoiced

was the great Emperor saw it and was amazed at and glorified our Lord Jesus Christ,
2

And the Emperor said our powerful God. 3 this favour and the gift of this wealth." us granted
:

"
It is
4

God

that has

In that very

hour

he gave a portion of
5

it

to the inmates of the prison, to the churches

and monasteries, and to the poor, the orphans and the widows, and no one was left in want in those days, because he satisfied the wants He ordered what was left to be carried on a ship as far as of all.
the Capital.

Afterwards

walked with him along with

and

we

said to

him
!

help be with you

and grant you happy fear, anxiety, and apprehension

!

Go in the peace of the Lord, and may His May He make your enemies your footstool, times the years of your life be without May "
!

"

my

suite,

And he my holy

answered and said

Father
!

to

me

"
:

May God

be with you,

For God's sake do not deprive

me

of

your
7

prayers and supplications that are accepted by God whom you serve. 8 May He deliver you and me in the day of trial from the demons and from the wicked wars the waves of which are rising against us like the

waves of the sea

passing
grants

May He
of
sins

also give us
it

His grace

in the

day
and

of our

away
!

to

Him, because

is

He who
and

possesses grace and

for

forgiveness

now, always,

ever

ever.

he had boarded the ship that was bound for the City of 10 9 Constantinople, we returned to the city of Alexandria in great joy,

Amen When

and praised

God

for having given us in our later

days a good and

just

Emperor. ordered by the Emperor,

few days

we wished to accomplish what was and we went up to Egypt by the will of

God, and we went round all the temples of idols, and discovered in them a considerable quantity of wealth. I distributed all this wealth to the poor and the needy, and to all the churches and monasteries
found on the holy mountain.
1

gave orders concerning the churches

omits
"

V.

omits

"

God."

M. 5 M.

"

me."

M. M.

Emperor."
this sentence.

omits

omits "churches and monasteries," and for

7
1
.

"

"poor" he

substitutes

the weak."
6 8

Ps. ex.

V. "fear." 10 M. omits "

V. adds " who V. "Capital."

:

is

our Lord Jesus Christ."

in great joy."

VISION
that

OF THEOPHILUS
to

17

were to be
After

built,

and they were erected according

my

instructions.

by the will of God to this holy, honourable and pure mountain, and informed myself concerning the honour due to it. I was accompanied by some Father- Bishops, and I wished In this to go to it and be blessed by it before returning to my town. way I attained what was in my mind, namely, to be worthy of praying 1 in this holy house which was the dwelling-place of God, of His
all this
I

returned

you holy house which angels and of His holy Virgin mother. As God liveth,' I was astonished resembles the heavenly Jerusalem at this desolate house more than all the corners of the earth, because
!

it

was worthy of the fact that the Son of God and His mother lived in it, and did not wish to abandon this place which He had chosen in conjunction with His good Father and the Holy Spirit, to whom Amen be glory for ever and ever. O my brethren and my beloved, lo I have truthfully narrated to
!

you what happened

to

me and

to the

good Emperor Theodosius the

till,

divine, your Father Theophilus ; and also what took place 3 the will of God, I reached this place. After this, listen

me

by

my

brethren, to
fear of

what
i.e.

am

going to say to you in good faith and in the

4

God,
of

to

the vision which the holy

for

Virgin Mary, the

of

mother

God, revealed
:

your

sake, the

knowledge

which

shall

now

impart to you

It

happened
in

that after

we had
of

finished

our nocturns and

I

my

brother- Bishops

had

slept in

a place by themselves,

went up

to the

upper chamber

which the mother

this

God had

sat in the

days which

When I rose (to pray) I stretched my God and my Saviour Jesus Christ and said Hear me as you heard my Father Alexander he upheld the orthodox faith hear me as you heard my Father Athanasius the holy Apostle, whom you helped in all his trials. Hear me in this
she had spent in

mountain.

my

hands, prayed and implored "

:
;

till

way, who
1

am unworthy

of

your service, because

2

am
life

a sinner.
of

V.

V.

" holy and sanctified." " has twice by the will of

God
of

"
at the
*

Le,

by the

God.

the sentence.
3

beginning and at the end of M. omits " holy."

1

Alexander became Patriarch

xlii.

Alexandria

Gr.,

193-196) informs us

that before

deacon, Athanasius, as his successor.

in 3 3. Epiphanius (Pat. dying he appointed the young " 6

M.

the service."

18

WOODBROOKE
that

STUDIES

you hear me always, because you are near to all those who love your holy and pure name. " my Lord and my God, have mercy upon me, and do not let me return empty handed, me who have fixed my mind on you from

know

your mountain which you visited together with your holy Virgin mother, and to this desolate house in which you established your habitation. I pray you to help me to build a big

my

childhood to

my

old age.

beseech you to reveal to

me

coming into the world and

to this

church,

and

we

will glorify, exalt

are the one to

whom

and honour your holy name. You are due power and glory with your Father and
at all times

your Holy

Spirit,

now

and

for ever.

Amen."

When my
dazzling that

prayer was
I

finished, a light shone on me, which was so believed that the sun itself was shining on me. And

a throne of
all

light

appeared

to

women, the holy virgin, was illuminated like the sun from the light with which she was invested, and she was covered with a majestic brightness, and with her were many myriads of angels. I was so bewildered that I said "Is
face
:

me, on which was sitting the Queen of our Lady Mary, mother of God. Her

there in
I

all

the world one

who is able to contemplate this great majesty

"

1 saw Gabriel and Michael, and a great multitude of other angels with them. When I looked and saw them, I fell on my face to the became like a dead mar, and Michael raised me and and ground

removed

fear

and dread from me.

And
me who
:

the holy Virgin

Mary, mother

of

God, spoke and

'

said to

"

Arise and fear not,

for

fights

the

Christians.

O Theophilus, our servant and the athlete Hail, O Theophilus Arise, be

2
!

strengthened, look

and see

that

am

the mother of

Jesus Christ, the

heaven and earth, the mother of the one whom neither heaven nor earth are able to comprehend, the one who was nine months

Lord

of

my womb by His Will. I am His mother and I gave milk from my breast to the one who feeds the world by His will. I am Mary, the daughter of Yonakhir, and my mother is Hannah of the tribe of
in
4

Judah and
the will of

of the

house of David.
:

have revealed myself to you by

the

my

beloved Son

shall

show you
6

One who was with

face as
all

me,

who
M. M.

grasped at

my

knees and looked

2

at

my
"

other

4
8

M. omits our servant." omits these names. " our Lord Jesus Christ." 5 V. " through His goodness." M. " on me." The manuscripts use here the present tense under the influence of an
original.

Arabic

VISION
children

OF THEOPHILUS
their

19
they are carried

do when they weep before

that

mothers

until

by them.

was carrying Him under my arm-pit, holding Him and kissing Him, while I was happy at my being able to walk with Him. I was cursing Herod and all his kingdom for the wickedness which he perpetrated against those holy and innocent children

At

moment

whom

he

killed

and the hearts

l

And Salome Him and the blessed old Joseph used to carry the dresses in which my Son was clad and what was necessary for our food. Any time my father Joseph saw me handing the child to Salome he would take Him from me to carry Him on his shoulders and play
pain and
grief.

whose parents he filled with great used to take my Son at all times, caress
of

Him

and smile

at

with Him.
Theophilus,
of Egypt. a tree because

endured great hardship before reaching this land While we were in the east side of the town we sat under
I

it

was the time

month
;

of the first

Summer, which
Joseph
fell
;

falls

on the

twenty-sixth day of the

of

May.

asleep from the

exhaustion of the journey

likewise
breasts

Salome

slept

and

was

left

under the tree feeding from

my

my Son

on

whom was a garment

After
I

of the colour of a grape, a colour similar to that of the garment with

which

my
I

parents clothed

me

in the

Temple.
I

wore
I

that

garment
wearing.

never put

it

off again,

nor did

put

off

the veil which

am

And

the colour of the sandals of

feet."

my Son

resembled the

colour of gold and silver on His

were journeying we met two brigands, one of whom was an Egyptian from Egypt and the other a Syrian from Syria, a Hebrew

When we

And the Syrian brigand said to the Egyptian brigand from our land. " I should have liked to plunder the garments that are on this woman
1

In all the Coptic- Arabic documents Salome is a cousin of the Virgin and often accompanies Mary and Jesus. She is with them at the burial of Elizabeth (Woodbrooke Studies, i. 243). It is she who brings to Mary the sad news of the crucifixion of Jesus, walks with her to the Golgotha and

her to the sepulchre (Woodbrooke Studies, ii. 184, 188, 245). to some Coptic sources she is the daughter of Abimelech and sister of the priest Simeon, who took her after she had fallen into sin to See Journal Asiatique, 1905 Jericho in order that she might repent there.
follows

According

In an Arabic Jacobite Synax430, and Nau in R.O.C., 1910, 187-188. arium of Coptic origin (Pat. Orient., iii. 278) she is a midwife and helps the
v.

birth of the Virgin. "

and there was a shoe on His

feet."

20

WOODBROOKE

STUDIES
of
I

and her Son, because they resemble the garments had encountered them in a place other than this
those garments from them, but
I

Kings, and

if

would have taken

have no opportunity of doing it now l because they are near the town." And the Egyptian brigand said to " him Let us proceed on our way. I never saw a child like this since
:

way while uttering such words and conversing on this theme. 2 Then my Son relinquished my breast 3 that was in His mouth and asked for water and said to me "I am
I
:

was born."

And

they went their

thirsty, give

me

little

water."

And

looked round
for.

me and
Then

did not
I

find the

water that

my

beloved Son was asking

arose,

took

my

women

beloved Son and brought Him to the town and asked the 4 (I met there) for water to give Him, but none of them wished
5

to give us anything,

as the inhabitants of that

town had very

little

compassion.

went
the

When the brigands saw me entering the town, they came back and to my father Joseph and while he was asleep they abducted sandals of my Son and fled. When returned awakened them
;

and

said to

them

"

people with less faith asked water from them and no one gave me any. accrued to me from this town is that the sandals of
stolen!"

I never saw Arise, and let us leave this town. and compassion than its inhabitants, because I

The

only gain that

my Son

have been

And wept and was distressed. When my beloved Son noticed that was
I

my

tears with

made

the sign

I weeping, He wiped off His holy hands, and stretched His small finger and of the cross on the earth, and instantly a spring of water
it,

was opened
ground. 7 snow.
1 2

in

And we
omits

from which water jetted forth and flowed on the drank water as sweet as honey and as white as
the sign of the cross on the water

Then my Son made

all this

and

V.
For

sentence.

similar

details

concerning not the nationality but

the

incidents

attaching to the account given here of the good malefactor, cf. Aelredus Rhivallensis, De vita eremetica, 48, in the works of St. Augustin, Pat. Lat., xxxii. 1 466. Likewise in Budge's History of the Virgin, p. 59, the robbers

are given their traditional names of Titus and Dumachus, but nothing is said In other documents they are called Demas or Dysmas as to their nationality.

and Gesmas, or Genas and Gestas. pp. 103-104, 161.

4

Cf. James'
3

Apocryphal New Testament,

V.

omits this sentence.

The original repeats here " my " 5 V. " water for " anything."
8

beloved Son."
7

Or

"

'

made

a sign."

V.

"

as milk."

VISION OF THEOPHILUS
said

21

"
:

Let

this

of all those

who
of

water help, make whole and heal the souls and bodies shall drink of it, with the exception of the inhabitants

of this

town

whom
ate a

none
little

shall

be healed by
I

it."

Then we
arms and
idols

food and

lifted

my

beloved Son on

my
and

we

set off

on our journey.

In that hour the temples of the

which were

in the
fell

town

fell

and were smashed

to pieces,

likewise the idols

And we
walked with

one upon another and were smashed. repaired to the land of Egypt, and the mountains, the

animals and the stones honoured

us.

my
laid

Son, and

when we walked
hand on the

they

And my
1
;

Son turned

to those mountains, stones

and

animals and spoke

and

He

His

right

eastern
said
:

mountain and His

;

left

hand on the northern mountain and

traces of
if

"Stop" and they stopped. And the impressed and seen in the mountains as
lo they are seen

His two hands were

2

in

dough

and

in
:

down

to this day.

And He
weak

said to

them

wax, and "

Be

as

a sign and a

mark

to all

who

are

in the faith concerning

;

my

but let the coming and do not believe that I came into the world accursed unbelieving Jews and Herod be anathemas, together with
those

who do

not believe in
said to the

my

And He
and believed

Mountains

holy name." "

:

You have acknowledged me

while you have neither soul nor body, and those who have a soul and a body did not believe in me. And the kings whom I created 4 in my likeness and in my image did not believe in
in

me

me.

Those

for

whom

came

into the

world did not believe

in

me,

did not receive

me

till

nor did they honour me, but endeavoured to kill reached this place. After this let my name and the name of
in
5 power and honour

me

my

holy mother remain

for ever

and ever from

generation to generation."

We

reached afterwards a town called Eshmunain.

first

When we

approached the

we found images of towards the town. In that very hour they fell and were broken up. My beloved Son spoke to them and said to them " You shall be
:

gate through which we wished to enter the town, horses on all the four corners of the gate, looking

M. adds here to them." The Apocryphal literature

:

"

V.

omits

"

in

dough."
of miracles

of the

New

Testament

is

full

See Budge's History of the Virgin, pp. performed by Jesus in Egypt. 44-47, and James' Apocryphal New Testament, pp. 74-75, 83. The miracles found in our document are in some respects more original.
4

M.

"

Which

are creatures."

M.

omits

"

honour."

22
a sign to
1

WOODBROOKE
this

STUDIES
and ever."

town and
became

to

its

inhabitants for ever

said.

And

in

that hour they

as

He

Further, there

was
2

in that

place a tree which worshipped below

:

the traces of the steps

of

Lord Jesus your coming, beloved Son spoke to it and

ever, but

my

"Blessed be Son, and cried saying the true Son of God." And my Christ, "
said
:

Let no

worm be found

in

you
4

for

be you a remembrance to touched

it.

all

of

my

entry to-day into this town."

And He

It
it

is

the tree called

5

Mukantah? and

it

shall

stand for ever.

From

we

entered the market of the town of

at

Eshmunain and we saw that all its adults and children were amazed my beloved Son and admired the glory which was dwelling in Him, and they spoke and said "We have never met with another
:

child like this."

After

this,

while

we were
in

still

in the
;

town,

five

camels

came near

us and began to

walk

the market

they rendered the road too

narrow

for us,

and

my Son
God

became

stones

down

to this day.

looked at them, and in that hour they Afterwards a believing man in whom
7

was found
1
2

the grace of

received us in his house.

And all the idols

Lit "in." " Lit. below the

feet of the

steps,"

and V.

"

below

my

steps

and the

feet."
3

This tree

is

Byzantine people can see at Hermopolis (Eshmunain), a town in the Thebaid, a tree called Persea the shoots, the leaf and the bark of which when applied to the sick,
' '

historian

the one called Persea in the tradition reported by the Sozomen (Hist. Eccl., v. 21) as follows: "It is said that

heal them of their diseases.

The
when

Egyptians report that

Jesus

when Joseph
to

fled

from Herod he went with

mopolis, and that at the rime
tree

the Christ

and Mary, His holy mother,

was nearing

the gate of the

Hertown the

which was high was

I

worship the Saviour.

siderable

by the arrival of Christ that it bent itself to have heard what I am saying of this tree from a conso struck
I

number

of people.

believe that

order to announce the coming of Christ.

Egyptians confirm
this

God performed this miracle ... A considerable number

is

in

of

miracle that took place near them."

The ivisit
Monach.
in

of the holy family to

Eshmunain
:

also attested

man
with
5

Pat. Lat., Ixxiii. 1 155) saw in the Thebaid another holy called Apollo, from the country of Hermopolis, where our Saviour went

"We

by Rufinus (Hist.

Mary and

Joseph."
is

V.

"

I."

This sentence

placed in the

MSS.

it was misplaced I put it consider to be more natural to the sequence of the narrative. " 6 Or " camel-riders if we read gammatt for gamti.

Finding that

beginning of the story. in the translation in a place which I

at the

V. "with

him."

VISION
which were
in that

OF THEOPHILUS
and were broken up, and
all

23
the priests of
In the

town

fefl

the idols took fright

and hid

in their

houses in a secluded place.

morning all the people assembled in the place in which we were, and lo with them were great multitudes of persons who were sick and
stricken

with different diseases, and also

all

all

those

who were

deaf and

dumb and
from

those

who were

suffering

from any

kind of pain.

My

beloved Son laid His hand on each one of them and healed them
their complaints.
1

In that

town were seen many miracles and

wonders,

and
this

if I

were
it

to reveal to

you

all that

happened there a

book could not contain

After
their

way

a great throng of people crowded on us, and they pushed to me on account of the great number of miracles which my
in that day.

Son
and

'

performed

We left

the

town from
4

its

northern part,

we walked a

short while

and reached a

locality called

AV*s.s

The

town were very charitable, and I remained with them several days in the place in which we (first) went May blessing be on that place in the name of my Son and in my own till
inhabitants of this

the last

And my Son wrought innumerable miracles in that day place, and all those who had diseases or afflictions came to Him with faith, and He healed them in His abundant grace.
!

After this a carpenter heard of the numerous miracles which my Son was performing, and he knew Joseph before that day, because he had come to Jerusalem and Joseph had given him hospitality. When he saw us he received us and conducted us * to his house. He had a son who was possessed with devils from his birth, and he had in him
a powerful,
pitiless,

and
"
:

cruel

demon.
have

And when we
to

entered that

town the demon took

shouted from him

the boy

and dashed him

I

to the ground,

and

What

do with you,

Jesus of
'

Nazareth.
left

Have you come

to torment us before the time ?

We

Jerusalem to you and fled and came to this town and you followed us here in order to torment us. Verily you are the Son of God." When he had uttered this my beloved Son said to him : " accursed

*V. omits "wonders." Vowels uncertain. V. has " Ntkyas." 4

M.

omits

"

my

Son."

"

have you come ?

5 Lit "lovers of men." V. omits "till the last day." T *V. "recehred me and conducted me," V. only "great demon." " *Ct Matt. riiL 29. V has "to torment me and "that you came " for "

24

WOODBROOKE
healed in that very hour. "
:

STUDIEb
of him."

demon, shut up your mouth and come out

And

the child

was

And
all

his father

and mother arose and

that

worshipped us and said

l

Blessed are

we

we were

found
2

And they received us in their house And when we entered their house, the us a and gave great hospitality. And many people of those benediction of the Lord entered into them. localities seeing the miracles which my Son wrought believed in Him.
sinners."
3

worthy of this gift house while we were

more than

the world, because

you entered our

After

this

the notables of the town asked the priests of the idols

did you not come to the temples ? were you not seen in the town, and why did you not leave your " And they answered and said " From the day that houses ? woman who has with her a child entered the town, the idols were

and said

to

them

"

Why

Why

When we do our best for them in broken up and their temples fell. the night we find them broken up and smashed to pieces in the morn-

When the they sent for us requesting us to go to them. 6 messengers arrived they found us in an upper room of the house. Then they seized the man who had invited us to his house and coning."

And

ducted him to the notables of the town,

are those travellers

who

who
"

said to "

him

"Where
I

halted in your house ?

And

he answered

and said

to

them

They

know where
did not
tell

they went."

left my house three days ago, and And they tormented him greatly,

do not
but he

them more than

the

"
I

do

not

know where

they went."
of

When

owner

of the

house came to

us and informed us

what

had happened to him from the chiefs and the priests, we rose up in the morning and left them and went up to the land of Egypt and reached a town called Kuskam in which there was a temple of idols surmounted
by an
idol

on which there were seven

veils.

performed the service and did not allow apart from the chiefs of the town ; and after these had worshipped,
7

The priests of the temple any man to worship there

they would present to the idols the necessary offerings^ When we reached the gate of the town the seven veils were torn
1

V. "grace."

M. 48
"

omits

"

in their

house."

M.

4 5

V. adds

omits "of those localities." " "

and were broken

up.
6

M. 7 Or
8

V. omits requesting us." " " to the veils." to the priests," or

"

found me."

Lit.

"they gave them the useful wealth."

VISION
asunder, and the idol
fell

OF THEOPHILUS
in

25

to the

And

the
:

demons who were

ground and was smashed to pieces. the idols cried out and said to the

"If you do not pursue that woman and the child who is with priests l her, and the old man who is with them and the other woman," and

them away, and if you end to your service, and we

drive
3

let

town, they will put an will leave the town. Lo, we have inthis

them enter

formed you before they enter the town." And they scoured the (other) towns of the land of Egyyt and said (to their inhabitants)
:

"
If

this

woman

enters your

town

all

the temples that are in

it

will

fall,

the religion of the

town

will cease, our enemies will rise against us,

all this

our town will perish and

great honour

which you see

it

will pass

away.
the idols

Lo,
4

we have

informed you of

this before

happens."

After

had

said this they

became

quiet.

When
heard
this

the priests of the idols,

who were

a hundred in number,

speech of the idols, they

pursued us with rods and axes in

order to strike at us. They bore evil faces and shouted after us and " said Where are you going, and what is it you want from us, and
:

what

is Lo, our gods have informed us of the way you your aim ? have damaged them. Go out of this town lest the children should come out and kill you, since you wish to enter the town in order to

destroy

it."

And
carried

they uttered to us these and similar words, while

children

they, their

women and

and

their adults,

And

my

Son on
in

my

breast

chased us away. and walked away weeping.

pain and trouble because they did not 6 receive us nor did they want us to stay with them, but insulted us and drove us away. When we went a little distance from their
heart

My

was heavy and

town,

my

beloved Son turned and cursed the town which

is

is

called

Kuskam, which

situated on the east side of the northern

mountain

of the country of

Eshmunain, and said thus

all

"
:

Let

its

people be in

an estate lower than that of

other people,

and

let

them be more

lowly and subdued than all the inhabitants of the land of Egypt. Let its earth be cursed so that nothing shall grow in it except alfa and rush-nut, and let its soil lie uncultivated and remain as it was before
'

cursed
1

it.

Let

its

chiefs not multiply,

but

let

them succeed one

who accompanies her." Salome, who according to the story accompanied the holy family. 3 4 V. adds here: "three days." V. in singular "the idol." ' 5 " 6 " " : V. they will hurt you." V. me." Lit. He."
-'Le.
:

V.

"

26

WOODBROOKE
Let
it

STUDIES
all

another, one at a time.

be more lowly than

the land of
fall

Egypt, and

let

the blessing of

my

holy virgin mother not

on the

inhabitants of the town."

After

He

had

said this

and cursed the town and and

its

inhabitants,

we
of

proceeded a short distance south of the town, and

sat in

a place there

on account
a
little

of the weariness

fatigue of the journey,

and partook
Joseph a

food.

Now
my

there

was

in the

hand
it

of the old

staff of

with His blessed and holy hand and planted it in that place and said " Let it be as a benediction of the Lord in this place for ever, and a perpetual memorial of
:

olive-wood, and

beloved Son seized

my

coming

to this place."

And

it

grew up

in that

hour and gave

fruits of olive-trees.

wished to proceed on our journey. There were many round that place, and Joseph used to stretch his finger and villages " To which of these villages shall we point them out to us, and say
:

And we

go and
said to

halt ?

him

"
:

The day

has ended and the night has come."

I

And
any

O
this

my
he

father,

have no intention

of going

to

of

these villages, but take us to this mountain until

When

said

walked before us

we see what to do." and we went up to the

destination, lo the
at

mountain, and

it

was

the time of the setting of the sun.

4
5

two brigands
to us.

When we had a short distance left to reach our whom we had met before our arrival
They had

Bastah

came

followed us from place to place, and

when

they saw

and dry mountain they approached us with drawn " You have weapons, hidden faces, and unsheathed swords, and said
us in this deserted
:

exhausted us from fatigue, because we have pursued you for many days and have not found you and have had no opportunity of meeting with you in order to plunder you, except this moment in which you

To-day we will strip you of your garments and plunder you." And they dared to lay hands on my beloved Son and snatched Him from my hand and stripped Him of the garment
have
fallen into our hands.

which

He

even took the

1

was wearing. Then they took my garments also they Afterwards they dared to veil that was over my head.
:

spoke to you previously when we met them." probably to be identified with the town of Upper Egypt wrongly printed as Blska in Pat. Orient., i. 350. The right spelling of it as Basta is given by Wiistenfeld in his Synaxarium, das is Heiligen Kalender.
of
I

M. M. 4 V.
a 6

omits

"

the old."

V.

"

of passing by."

omits this sentence. "

whom

This Bastah

is

VISION
lay hands on

OF THEOPHILUS

27

Joseph and stripped him of his garments while As to Salome, when she he was standing speechless like a lamb. noticed what was taking place she threw her garments to them before

my

father

they

came

to her.

When
from
"
us,

they took our garments they went a short distance away and they began to talk to each other. When I saw them
I

standing and taking counsel,

was

greatly
kill

They

will perchance

come and
His

my

Son."

alarmed and said to myself And I took Him on

:

my

hands, laid

my

face on
in

face,
!

wept and

said

~
:

"

O my beloved
beloved Son,
I

Son,

Oh

that

were

Bethlehem
3

Woe

is

me, O

my

and where shall I flee ? shall I go in this place that Herod from might kill you, but Jerusalem fearing you 4 beloved of my soul, would to God I had remained in where

fled

with

my Son, my village
that
I

I and had not undergone all this fatigue in vain more wicked than Herod should take you from me
!

fear lest people

!

Would

were

who

Bethlehem, because they might have recognised the old Joseph Woe is me, would have implored them not to kill you my
in
!

beloved Son, because

am

a virgin

girl,

and

do not know anything

land and in
are those
!

about "

all this.

O light of my
let

eyes,
I

whom

do

know

in this foreign
3

this desert place ?

know no

village nor town.

Where

who know me,

beloved Son,
the anxieties of
fled

let all

them come and weep with me to-day the women who bore sons come and see my
heart,

my
I

affliction,

my

and what

befell

me

to-day

my
but

Son,
I

with you from place to place and endured

fatigue,

was

rejoicing that

no harm had come

to

you

these wicked brigands,

6

however, were pursuing What shall I do, me.

kill

me and

scouring countries and towns

if
I

to find to

my

beloved Son,

see

them wishing

you

in this place ?
I

you
kill

in order that

may

Would that they would kill not see your great affliction
myself with

me
If

before killing

they were to

you here
!

would

kill

my own
shall
I I

hands,

my

beloved

Son

O my beloved Son,'
me
! !

spoke to

every day health of my limbs

1

how much What shall

miss the sweet

do,

light of

words you my eyes and

V. " His father." M. 48 adds " while weeping bitterly." V. "hour." Woe is me." ^/M." 5 * V. " villages nor towns." M. adds here " from place to place." 7 V. "O light of my eyes."
:
:

28
*

WOODBROOKE
Woe
l

STUDIES
see other

shall

come on me, when

I

children

from their breasts.

shall

seek those
in

women feeding their women whose children

may come
in in

have been

killed by the cruel Herod and weep with me to-day. Would

order that they

I

that

were

Jerusalem or
to

Bethlehem, because there

could have found

many women

come

and the prophets implore to-day my to weep with I implore the angel Gabriel who announced to me your conception and your birth 2 to look at my lamentation over 3 And would that I were also with Elizabeth my kinswoman you and her son John, so that they might see my affliction my Lord,
!

and wail with

me me

holy fathers

have mercy upon

plication

and
I

me and upon my "

!

exile,

and do not neglect

my

sup-

affliction

While
tears

was

uttering such
to

words

and lamenting and weeping,

7 my my cheeks," and to the cheeks of my Son. One of the brigands looked and saw me weeping, and his nerves shook, and he spoke with his companion who was a Jew and said to

came down

him

"

my
all

companion,

ments

of these strangers, because

beseech you to-day not to take the garI notice on their faces a light greater

than that of
the like of

the faces of mankind.

I

This child resembles a Prince

whom
"I

have never seen."

And
:

the Jewish brigand said to the Egyptian brigand, his

will not listen to
this

com-

panion you garments because they are royal garments which will bring us much wealth for our living." When he noticed that he was determined to " do his wicked will and take the garments, he said to him my
I
'

time as

wish

to

take their

brother,
portions,

we

shall steal in the

coming

night,

and you know that

but give
return

mine and yours. I had a good part

Last night

we
of

and you will take the two 10 also had a good haul,
Let
all

it.

this

be yours,

me

the garments of these strangers as

to their owners, because their

my

portion,

and

will

them
"

nakedness has much disturbed

the Jewish brigand said to

me, specially that of this Child."

And n

him

Take them as part of your portion." And the Egyptian took them as part of his portion and gave them back to us. brigand
:
1

M.

omits this sentence.

3 5

V. adds

"to-day."

M. 7 M.
V.

"thinking of such things." "of the Child." "

V. " Conception and birth." V. omits all this sentence. 6 V. omits "my cheeks." 8 V. omits.
"

10

Lit

We shall steal in Bethlehem." " We stole great stealings."

u V. adds

"
:

on saying

this."

VISION
When we
Son on Him, made the sign
ceeded on
"

OF THEOPHILUS
x

29

wore our garments

He

looked at

and put the garments of my beloved the brigand and stretched His finger and

of the cross

on Him.

their

way.

And my

two (brigands) probeloved Son turned and said to me

the

And

Mary, my holy and virgin mother, the Jews will crucify with me in Jerusalem these two brigands whom you see, and one of them will The Egyptian will be be on my right hand and the other on my left.
crucified

on

my

right hand,

and the Jew on

my

left,

who

returned our garments will confess

first

me and

believe in

and the brigand me on the

all

Cross, and will

children.

enter Paradise before

Adam

and

his other

You

see also this spot

where they have stripped me

tears over
in future in

of
all

my
the

garments and you have shed your sweet

sick persons

who

shall

come

to

it

my body and who shall be

I

stripped
3

on

it

of their

garments and be bathed

it,'

shall

heal

them

as an

honour and (commemoration) of the fact that I had been stripped there of my garments, and your tears had fallen on my body. They
will

be made whole, and they will return

home

with joy and glad-

ness."

When He
that

said this the night

4

became

slightly darker,

and the
told

blessed old Joseph

quarrelled with

me and

said to

me

"
:

we ought

to

go to one of these villages before the night came,

you and
and
not

you did not

listen to

me
I

now we have

reached

this desert place,

If

the night came, and

do not know where

to go.
killed

God had

kept us by His grace

we would have

been

by these brigands."
:

And my
"

beloved Son smiled in the face of Joseph and said to him It is the father, do not speak harshly to my holy virgin mother.

will of

my

good Father

that

should perform
it

all
is

things dealing with

I

humanity.

It is not you who direct me, world and conduct you wherever I wish." After He had said this we came up to

who

direct all the

this

mountain and

to this
it

forsaken house into which

put

we

entered.

I it

stood in the middle of

and

down my Son from my

feet

breast,

and

was very

dark.

When my
His hands

Son stood on His holy

1

on the ground,

He

stretched

When he gave us our garments." Evidently a spring of water had miraculously appeared on the spot where the Virgin's tears had fallen.. The incident is not mentioned, but may be 3 M. omits the reference to healing. presumed. 5 *V. omits "Joseph." V. omits "holy."
M.
-

"

30

WOODBROOKE

STUDIES

(and they emitted beams of light) like the sun when it rises, and we thanked God and expressed gratitude to Him for the fact that He had l helped us to reach this place, safe from unjust men. spent the

We
my

night in the house in great

joy,

and blessed

God

all

the night.

At daybreak we
also for drinking.

discovered a well of water to bath

so pleased that

Son, and
!

We were

we had

found water

When
His

carried

finger

my Son and brought Him to the well, He stretched and blessed it, and it became full, and water surged up
:

And He opened His holy mouth and immediately to its mouth. " blessed the water saying Let it be sweet in the mouth of everyone,
like the

water of the
those

river
in

is
it

to the inhabitants of Egypt,

in true faith."

and

let it

heal

all

who

bathe

When we
and Salome.

went

into the house

And

we sat down, I, my Son, Joseph Salome walked about and found a wash-basin
It

and a water-jug as if they had been placed there for us. 8 Salome who always bathed my Son, and I gave milk
while

was

to

Him

God. were in the mouth

standing before
5

He was feeding all the world but our On many occasions while was quiet
;

food used to
4

come from

and while
at the

my
6

breasts

of

my

Son,

used to see angels and heavenly beings

us, genuflecting

and worshipping
"
:

holy

feet of

my Son while
who
chose

crying out

and saying

Blessed are you,

God,
first
!

this humility

for the salvation of

Adam
!

and

his children

whom

you have fashioned with your hands

Blessed be the

At the end of all this we sat and rested from the your holy birth 7 weariness that overtook us and the angels used to come constantly
!

word that came out of the mouth of the Father, the Lord of all Honour is due to your virgin mother who endured pain with you at "

and comfort

us.

him
of

After "
:

this

What
s

Satan appeared to Herod, spoke to him and said to You slew the innocent children gain was it to you ?
in

Bethlehem
I

order to find

9 Mary and

her Son, and you did not

in

find them.

the

woman
1

they are and her Son are hidden in a desert place of the southern
shall tell
locality
:

you now where and

what

V. omits " that He had helped Here begins Mingana Syr. 5. 5 V. " near." 7 V. " me." 9 V. " the woman."
:

us."

V. omits " great." V. omits all this sentence. 6 V. omits " holy." * V. omits " of Bethlehem."
2

VISION
side of the land of Egypt.

OF THEOPHILUS
They
live in
1

31

a forsaken house in which

no other besides themselves, in the direction which I men" Arise and dispatch ten soldiers of yours to repair tioned to you.
there
is

to

that

place and
If

kill

them, and you will be confirmed in your

listen to

kingdom. to-morrow

you do not

me and do what

am

telling

you,

grow up and go to Jerusalem, He and His The He will and mother, perform numerous and great miracles. will whose cult cease. He children of Israel will then reject the idols,
this child will

will also put to

shame the

priests

and the heads

of the people, will

take your Kingdom from you and will dominate have told you what will happen to you. I
s

all

the people.

Lo,

When

your

soldiers

depart

to inquire after them, let

known

as

Kuskam and then

mountain,
until

let

them proceed as far as the town them travel to the west side of it as

far as the

they have found them in the place where they are living alone, because they have scoured all the land of Egypt and have not found anybody who would give them hospitality."
'

When

Satan finished

his story

incensed with rage, and he assembled

he disappeared, and Herod became all the chiefs and elders, and

And spoke to them and narrated to them what had taken place. " it be as our let and said answered wish." And lord, you they 6 Son persisted till they crucified Him. their anger against my beloved
:

And Herod made

and
to

inquiries concerning

the majority of the soldiers

selected

information about the place in which "

them

order that

men from amongst them, and gave them we were to be found, and he said When you shall have found them bring them to me in I may kill them with my own hands. If you do what I
ten valiant
'

have ordered you I will give each one of you ten talents of gold, and you will be great in all my kingdom." When they heard these words from the king they left him in haste and went to do what he

had ordered them, and then take the gold which he had promised them. And they mounted their steeds in order to pursue us.

to

And
of

there

was a man from

the children of Israel, of the tribe

Judah and
1

of the family of the Kings,

who was

related to Joseph.

2 V. adds here " only." V. " men." V. adds " to the land of Egypt." 4 V. adds here " Lo I came and told you what has taken place." 6 V. " his chiefs." M. 48 omits " beloved." I V. " minas."
:
1

32

WOODBROOKE
from
his

STUDIES
a giant, and
:

He was
Moses.

childhood a valiant

man and

was

called

"I shall rise l His father and him of what took place. Joseph apprise take them out of also the in which they are from fear I shall place lest these cruel men should discover their whereabouts and kill them.
this

When

he heard

news he

said to himself

and go

to

shall tell

them
of

that

have arrived before these men by the power

and the help

God."

granted him great speed and Divine power, and he came to us in three days, because he travelled in the night more than
in the day.

And God

He made
until

inquiries

and went
this

to all the places in

in

which
are.
3

we had

walked,

he reached
this desert
this

mountain
to

which
"
:

we

And

Satan met him in

and said
"

him

Moses,

where are you going alone in 4 him all that had taken place.

desert ?

And Moses
like

narrated to

man and
because
5

said to

him

"
:

a frightened Moses, you toiled and laboured in vain

And

Satan answered

lo the soldiers
If

are preceding you

you.

you
to

will listen

yourself in vain."
to

And

and are hastening before to me do not go further and toil and exhaust " Moses 6 answered the demon 7 Allow me
:

go

now

come and
return to
at the

see

my country lest the troops of whom you spoke should me here and kill me I have nothing left now but to
;

my house."

Moses

said all this with the intention of laughing

demon and making fun of him. And after Satan had heard these things from Moses he disappeared from his sight. And Moses directed his course to us in fear, and he came 8 to us in the morning while Salome was bathing my Son in this house. When the old Joseph saw him he recognised him and rose up to greet him. And Moses answered and said to Joseph " What are you
:

doing in

this locality in
10

and of what Herod and Jerusalem and how he searched

1

ignorance of what took place in these regions, n of Bethlehem did and how he killed the children
for this child

and did not

find

speak to him." " 3 Both M. omit Moses." Both M. omit he made inquiries." " 4 wicked the Herod." V. adds from 5 and inform your people V. adds here " Proceed on your journey " 6 V. omits " the demon." V. the " demon." quickly." 8 V. adds here " And Satan did this in order to frighten Moses so that And when Moses heard this from the demon he he should not inform us.
:

V. adds here
:

"

"

came."
10

V. adds here

"
:

because

of this child."
all

V. adds

"
:

the wicked."

V.

"

the children."

VISION
Him.
this
It

OF THEOPHILUS

33

has been revealed to him by the demon that you were in mountain, and thereupon he has dispatched ten of his soldiers to
kill

come and
time ago.

you

here,
I

and

lo they
I

have arrived
to

in this locality

a long

When
facts."
:

heard

this

came

you

in order to acquaint

you

with the

When

heard

this

my

knees shook and

took

my Son

from

Salome and climbed

sat in the northern

to the

window which

I upper chamber which had windows. looks upon the road and I wailed and

said

"
:

Woe

is

me,

O
I

my
is

beloved Son

If

they came and killed

you

the fatigue which

in vain.

have endured with you

me,

down

to this

day

will

have been

Woe

O
me

my

beloved Son, because the one

3

who brought who came to

died.'
4

this intelligence to

to-day resembles the messenger

Job
is

in his time

and

said to

him

'

Your

ten sons have

Woe

possession of

my

Woe is me, have no strength to rise up beloved Son, because of this evil news which has reached me
I
!

me, me, and

me,

my

beloved Son, because fear has taken

O
see

;<

Woe
?

is

light of

my
do,

eyes

What

shall

do when

the soldiers of the wicked

Herod coming
I

here and snatching you from

my

hands

What
6
!

shall

O
let

in their hands,

my

and they will not beloved Son If I had

have

my beloved Son, when I see you me come near you ? Woe is me,
this

known

before

would have
I

fled

to dry mountains from these persecutors so that perchance

been saved.

left

come

to this place.

my country and all my beloved Son, lift up

might have other countries and have

your eyes and look at

your lonely and wretched mother, and see the anguish that is in my heart.' I have no power of thought, and lo I became to-day like the
other "

women whose

sons have been killed

by Herod.
exile.

nay

Son

Let sun, moon and

stars

weep with me
I

to-day.

Let them weep over

my

wretchedness and

prophet David to come and weep with me because I some one to lament with me 9 and have not found any. Father Jacob, who wept over Joseph, 10 to come and witness

implore the have looked for

I

pray

my
I

my

anguish

and
3

the sadness of
1

my

11

heart,

because

my Son
2

is

an only
"

child,

and

Both M. I Mary." " Both M. omit messenger." J " Both M. omit from my hands." 7 V. adds here " my Son."
'

"

9
iu

M. 48
V.

omits this sentence, but " adds his son."

V. adds unjustly." V. omits all this sentence. 6 V. omits this sentence. 8 V. adds here " the accursed." V. and M. 5 have it. n Both M. " omit of my heart"
:

34

WOODBROOKE

STUDIES
to
kill

have no other one besides Him, and cruel men wish

implore Jeremiah to-day to come, wail, lament
because
I
1

Him.

am

in

a strange country and

and weep with do not know what to do.

me
I

have no knowledge of any town or any had left me alone in this loneliness
!

village.

Would
'

to

God

they
eyes

The

tears that are in

my

have dried up and

do not know what

to do."

was lamenting in this way and contemplating the pure He said to me " my holy mother, receive power Son, my body You have wept and lamented enough, from me and be not afraid. for your weeping, your lamentation and your wailing have reached my
While
of
I
:

heart.

May

the will of

my

Father be done
see

Let us go

down

to

the old Joseph

and

to

Salome and
words

He

uttered to
a
;

me

these

my

heart

what we ought to do." When was strengthened and we came

said
4

down

and

cheer."
said to

He spoke to Joseph and And He turned to the man

"
:

O father, be of good whose name was Moses and

:

"

him

You came

to us in order to inform us.

Your coming

and your

trouble will be rewarded, but because of the fear which has

been caused by you to my mother, take hold of this stone on which I 5 was bathed and put it under your head, sleep, and rest a short while, and I shall place your soul with Abraham, Isaac and Jacob until I have
delivered

Adam and his posterity and then Kingdom." And he took the stone and placed
;

shall bring
it

you

to

my
and

under

his head,
7

The old turning his head towards the east he gave up the ghost. Joseph buried his body and interred it in this house under the threshold
towards the
After
8

interior.

And

his

memory

survives

down

to this day.

this

we
it.

lived several

six

months

in

Barmudah 9 and
1

the

days in this house, until we completed The first day we came to it was the sixth of 10 And the day we left it was the sixth of Babah.

V. omits " wail and lament." There are many points of resemblance between the lamentations of the in the Lament of the Virgin used in the present apocryphon and those used Virgin which I edited and translated in Woodbrooke Studies, ii. 84- 86, 3 V. omits "and we came down." 196-199, etc. " 5 " 4 V. omits sleep." M. 48 omits to the man." " 7 " 6 Both M. add here and he died." V. all his."
2
1 1
i

8 9

Both

M. have

"

two."

V. and M. 48 add here on the margin: "i.e. April." The Coptic month of Barmudah corresponds with 27th March to 25th April of our " V. omits here the words the sixth of." Calendar. 10 The Coptic month of Babah corresponds with 28th Sept. to 27th Oct.
of our Calendar.

VISION
number
of all the

OF THEOPHILUS
we were we went
day
in

35
fleeing

days which we spent in it while from the day in which from the accursed Herod

out of

Bethlehem and came

to this

mountain
is

of

Kuskam
is

to the

which
six

we

returned to our town which

Nazareth

three years

and

months.

While the old Joseph was asleep, lo the angel of the Lord appeared " O Joseph, son of David, arise to him in a dream and said to him and take the Child and His mother, because Herod has died a grievous
:

The Arise thou and go into the land of Israel. soldiers which he had despatched after the Child have all died on the
and
painful death.

way and gone

night dream,

with you." In the morning (Joseph) narrated to us what he had seen in his
to hell.
is

Be

not afraid, the Lord

and
2

And O my
I

: spoke to beloved Son, to grant honour and esteem to

we were greatly pleased and we prepared to set out. " I beseech you, my beloved Son and said to Him
this

house which

gave us shelter in our exile and

of

in

which we
house

lived."

And He

His holy mouth and blessed the house and

said

"
:

opened

Let the benediction

My

good Father remain

in this

for ever.
it

This house which

you see, my 3 God, and people will offer sacrifices and those who will offer them will be the
4

holy mother, will have in

a sanctuary dedicated to and ex-votos in it to the Lord,

faithful of the
It

orthodox

faith

till

the

day

of

my

(second) coming.
it

will

have a lamp which

will

burn in the middle of

for ever.

"All those who come

to this house

with

faith

and worship and

if

pray therein shall be blessed,

(intend not to) revert to them,
If

and
and

will forgive all their sins, will count

they

them among the

8

saints.

any

of those

who

are in distress, trouble or loss

come

to this holy
things,
I

place and worship and pray in it, and demand congruous will grant their requests and all their demands.

"
If

the one

who comes
I

be a husbandman,

will bless his crops,

if

and

if

he be a shepherd
If

will bless his flocks,

of those

and

he be a clerk
craft

will bless his pen.

any
'

and pray

in this

house

will bless their craft.

are affected with a disease of

1

any any of those who any kind whatsoever come and pray in
If
-

who

are versed in

come

Cf. Matt.

ii.

3 5
'

Both Both

M. omit sacrifices." M. "always."

:

19-20. "

Both

M.

omit

"

And

spoke."

The author was a Monophysite. 6 V. omits "trouble or loss."

M.

"in

this

holy house."

36
1

WOODBROOKE

STUDIES
If

this
in

holy house, I will heal all their bodies. trouble or anguish on account of children

any of those who are who have died, or on

this
2

account of beasts or of robbers or of kings, remember

in

holy

house

which we

are,
is

Father

who

in

and pray to me and to my good and compassionate Heaven, I will deliver them from all their trials and

troubles.

Mary, my mother, this house in which we are will contain monks on whom no ruler of this world shall be able to inflict any holy And any barren woman injury, because it became a refuge to us.

"O

who
I

with a pure heart and remembers this house, All the people who come to this place with will give her sons.
beseeches
I

me

ex-votos and offerings for your holy name,

will inscribe

4 my name

on

their offerings

and on

their sacrifices as

it

days when he
that surround
habitants,

offered a sacrifice before me.

happened to Abel in his have anathematised this

all

town which did not

it.

receive us in our exile

and blessed

the villages
inall

Let

my

blessing

and

on

their children,

on

their

my protection be on their property, on their land and

hates

that which they possess.

Let no one

who

my name

ever inhabit

them, because you dwelt in this place. 6 "There will be in this place a blessed

congregation

who

will

remember and
shall

bless

my
all

name, and pray

their adversaries.
it

to

gain strength against

me As

at all times,

and so

to this house nothing

be demolished from

you now on it, I

inhabited

I tell nor shall any thing be added to it. that if any chief or ruler should from this time inflict any harm will put him to shame and confusion for all time, because I

it

and the angels provided

in
it.

for us in

it,

since

did not find

any earthly food

"
I

will place in

for ever

and

ever.

my blessing and the protection of my Father Any one who comes to this place and honours my
it

name and your name,

Those full of all good things. the remember and me remember fatigue women in travail who will that you endured with me, I will hear their prayers and they shall be
his

house will be

relieved.

my

under your name

1

holy virgin mother, there will be sanctuaries built and my name in those places in which you have
sentence.
2

M. 5 omits all this 3 M. 48 " this holy

:

V.

omits
:

" "
holy."

house."

4 6 8

V.
"

"

the blessing of

my

Father."

M. 48 Or " let

your name."
first

there be."

joyful."

Here

begins a

lacuna in

V.

VISION
halted.
in this

OF THEOPHILUS
of

37
Father will dwell "
:

And my

blessing

and the protection

my

house for ever and ever,

Amen."

And we

said

Amen."

After

my Son had

the mountain.
tants received us
I

We

spoken thus we rose up and descended from reached the town of Eshmunain and its inhabi-

with great joy and jubilation.

When

carried

my

Son on

my

arms, and we came

to the sea,

morning came where we

looked for a ship but found none ready. the sign of the Cross on the water and
us.

Then my beloved Son made

it

became

like

a ship before

We
1

then went on board and

we

arrived at Nazareth

and gave
to

thanks to God.

He
was

appeared

also several times after

His ascent

Heaven.

One day

in the

afterwards called

Mark

house of Mary, mother of John, who was 2 It is he who came to the the Evangelist.
of

land of Egypt, the inhabitants of which believed through him,

announced

to

them the Kingdom

God.

It is

the

when he one whose inheri-

Apostles were also Theophilus. there, and they alluded to the wickedness done by Judas to my beloved And I answered and said to them while Son, the true Son of God. " my brethren and beloved of my Son, I testify weeping bitterly
tance and office you took,
:

The

to

day of my annunciation by the angel Gabriel down to this hour, I have wept because of the cruel thing that the Jews did to me and to my Son when they slapped my face on account of my conception and the birth of my Child."
you
that from the

And
so that

Peter answered and said to

to reveal to us your
trials,

me

"

Lady

of all of us,

we

implore you

so that

we may

hear them, and

when we go and preach the Kingdom of Heaven to mankind we may remember you and narrate all that happened to you." And
began to narrate to them what happened went to Elizabeth, and how my Son was born
I 3

to
in

me

a place

from the day I 4 while I was

5

alone,

and what happened

in

my

journey to the land of Egypt, and

injustice

my

coming accursed Herod.

to this desert place,

and the

done

to us

by the
all

When

narrated this while weeping to

the

Apostles, there were present with

me Mary Magdalene, Hannah and

Salome.
1

Something seems

to

be missing here, as the sequence

3
5

of

the story

appears to be broken. 2 M. 5 omits " the evangelist." 4 M. 5 omits "in a place."

M. 48 omits all M. 5 "to me"

this sentence.

38
In that hour
sitting posture,

WOODBROOKE
my Lord
and

STUDIES
revealed Himself to

my Son

me

in a

while the Seraphim, Gabriel and Michael and innumerwere And He 2 stood in the middle and glorifying Him. angels " Peace be with all of you." And we rose up immedisaid to us 3 And my Son turned to me and and worshipped at His feet. ately
able
l
:

said to

are you in tears and heaven you anguish joy and gladness 5 Do not weep and lament because of (my) death which have no end. rather should rejoice at my resurrection from the dead because I you
:

me
?

"

O my holy virgin
I

mother,

why

Lo

have prepared

for

in

have saved the world

you who walked with

7

me

in foreign countries

and
with

in

a forsaken desert, as far as

this forsaken place

is

which

will bless

my

holy hands before any other Church

dedicated to

my name."
down 8

In that

hour

He commanded
and placed us

a luminous cloud which came

in this

holy house, Theophilus, and it was the third hour of the day, which was the sixth of the month of 9 Hatur, which corresponds with the second day of October.

and

carried us all

When the Apostles were ready for the consecration (of the Church), Gabriel and Michael carried the vessel containing the water which my
beloved Son sprinkled on the Church.
I

and the twelve Apostles

;

were present at the consecration of this house and Mary Magdalene and there was no church built in the and Salome were also present
;

world before

Church was consecrated by our Saviour Jesus Christ before the Apostles went out to preach the Gospel of the Kingdom of God. At the time of the consecration He uttered the
it.

And

this

following words

"

The hands
11

that

have consecrated

this house,

and the hands

12

have fashioned you, Adam, 10 in which nails have been

this

driven on the Golgotha,

have blessed
"
:

house.

Amen. Amen."
M.
"

And we
i

all

answered and said

the
first

Amen."
2

Here ends
Both Both
"

lacuna of

V.
Son."

Both

3
5
7

M. at the feet of my M. add "for ever."

forsaken deserts."
of

V.
of

"

V. omits " virgin." 6 V. "In a foreign country." 8 V. adds " over all of us."
4
,

and they."

Hatur corresponds with the 28th Oct. to 26th Abu'l Barakat (in Pat. Orient. x. 258) the sixth of Hatur is marked as the commemoration of the day of the This is also found in the Arabic reunion of the Apostles with the Lord. See the Prefatory Jacobite Synaxarium printed in Pat. Orient., iii. 255.
Nov.
our Calendar.
In the Calendar of

The Coptic month

Note.
10 12

V.

omits

all this

sentence.

Both

M.

"

have consecrated."

13

" V. omits Golgotha. " Both M. omit Amen."

VISION
Afterwards
used

OF THEOPHILUS

39
1

found vestments ready along with the ritual 2 When everything was ready 3 He ordered the Church. by

we

Peter to celebrate the Mass, and then the

Holy

Spirit
their

came down.
parents

He

then

commanded

the Apostles to

remember

who

had passed away, and He ordered also in that hour the souls of their and they parents who had departed to come and enter the sanctuary came at that moment in the form in which they were with us in the
;

flesh,

and

He

baptised them with the water that

;

had remained from

the consecration of the Church

and
to

He gave
6

(His) holy
at the

ordered them to say the

offering of the sacrifice
7

Mass and

remember

Body and moment of the

passed away.
In that very

And

upon the holy altars their parents who had our Lord fortified them, comforted them, and
large bird flew from heaven

gave them peace.

moment a
all

and came down

carrying with
it

it
8

good

things in matter of wines

and

delicacies.
it

And
what

came down
wanted.

in the centre of the

Church and we took from

we

The
apostles

angels stood then above our heads like deacons, and the

and glad because they had seen their parents and because of the glory and majesty of that hour. And our Saviour spoke " with them and said to them Let this day be a remembrance to you
were
joyful
:

for ever.

And
this

will

command

that a church be built

under your

name on

mountain."
to

And
;

the Apostles answered

and

said to

and honour, worship, power and omto because nipotence belong you you have exalted us above all the creation." And a cloud took us again 10 and placed us at sunset in the
:

Him

"

Glory be

you

house

which we were previously Jerusalem on the same day we had

in

in Jerusalem.
left
tell
it.

We came
Theophilus.
"
canonicals."

back to

This
1

is

what you asked me

to

you,

On
to

told

The Greek word rat9, which may also refer V. " That we may use them in the Church."
Lit.

3
5 7

"

V.

"

they were ready." from the holy."

When

4 6

Both

M. omit all this sentence. M. 48 omits " altars."

See

in the

Prefatory Note the quotation from the Arabic Jacobite

to

Synaxarium printed in Pat. Orient., iii. 255, to the effect that the first Mass be celebrated was at Kuskam where also, according to our document, the
church was consecrated in the world.
8

first

V.

"
fell

down."
omit
"
again."

10

Both

M.

u Both M. add here " holy."

V. " that they should

build a Church."

40
you
all

WOODBROOKE
at
this

STUDIES
the world

what I have narwhat has happened to us, and write it down to us as a memorial for ever and ever. Arise now and offer sacrifice for the monks and for all the people who have congregated here
all

moment.

Tell to

rated to you and

to-day, because

will bless

them before

go, as this
1

day

is

the day of

my Commemoration
of

and of my leaving of the body. As to you be 2 cheer in because no harm and no good your remaining days
this

anguish will befall you, and no evil of any kind will affect
in

church

your time."

This story was told to

me and

Theophilus the servant of Christ

these words were and your servant,

to

uttered to

me

my

brethren

and

my

beloved.

have narrated to-day

3

Virgin
in

Mary mother of God God knows that Christ.

away
it

your love what the holy narrated to me, you all who believe

taken

anything from,

I have not added anything to, nor what our Lady Mary, mother of God, 4

said to me,

and what

heard from her.

As

to

you

listen

to

5
it,

your heart be not in doubt. And Theophilus answered and said to our Lady " Blessed are 6 our Lady Mary, mother of God. came you among women,
believe in
let
I
:

and

We

to-day

and

rejoiced at the. sweetness of your

like the

words which are

like

wine that maketh glad the heart of man." 8 9 have acknowledged the honour and glory of this holy house from the fact that the Lord of this world and His holy virgin mother dwelt

honeycomb and

We

in

it.

who intend to go back to their sins because our Lord Jesus Christ and His should holy house, holy virgin mother dwelt in it, and because all the hierarchies of the No holy angels observe this day as a feast in purity and holiness.

my

beloved, none of those

10

enter this

thief

and no one

who

is

under the influence of

"
:

sin

should enter this

sins,

house, because Paul says

Neither those

who commit

nor

the fornicators, nor the publicans, nor the idolaters, nor those
"

who

Le.

of

3 5

Both

my death." M. omit all this

"

Both

M.

sentence.

4 6

V.
Cf.

omits

omit this sentence. "

i.

mother of God."
42.

V. " to what I told your lore." 7 V. omits " to-day." 9 V. adds here " O my beloved."
"

Luke
1

Ps- civ.

5.

this

Both M. holy house."

10

We ought to cleanse our

bodies of

all sins

before entering

VISION

OF THEOPHILUS
God."
and go
to

41

of perpetrate other crimes shall inherit the Kingdom bodies our shall leave we to remember that also ought

We
God
where

our Lord, and that

we

shall rise again in that place of truth,"

we

shall

answer

for all that

we have done whether

evil
sights,

it

We

should also refrain our souls from theft,

be good or bad. our bodies from

passion
all

fornication,

and our eyes from

4

diabolical

and

covetousness.

We

should also refrain our tongues from

bad

and impure curses, from oath and from all evil things which bring no honour but dishonour. We should also refrain our soul from hatred and false witness. Let us extirpate from our hearts these and similar
things,

because

quenched. body of our Lord Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of our sins, and be worthy of the blessings of our holy Lady Mary, the mother of God,

they that lead men to hell, the fire of which is not Let us purify our bodies from sin and then partake of the
it is

and observe her

feast to-day.
'

What
him
if

good can a fornicator derive and what gain can accrue to he comes to the holy Mary, the mother of the King of Kings,

and enters her holy house, while he does not repent of his iniquity ? And what utility can an adulteress derive from entering this holy house
in order to

be worthy of the one

who

she confesses her sins ?

She

will then

brought forth the Christ, unless pray and implore her Son and
of

her Lord on our behalf, because she

to carry our offerings

is full

mercy.

We ought

also

then stretch

and bring our ex-votos with a pure heart, and our hands to her holy Son and ask for His body and His

innocent blood.

Blessed be he

who comes
of

to this house, because

he will meet with

good
will

things in this world,

and when he leaves

this earthly

body he

go to the

Kingdom

sin in this

house because
Blessed be

with Herod.
entertain

Woe to the one who commits God will be angry with him as He was he who hears and believes and does not
Heaven
!

any doubt concerning you,

our Lord

Jesus
the
will

Christ

Blessed be the one

place him
1
1

who

sees this holy house, because

Lord

will
his

in the

bosom

of our father

Abraham, and

answer

Cor.

vi.

9-10 (with changes).

Jehoshaphat
?
5

Both

M.
3

omit

this
v.

Pauline quotation.
1

The

valley of
iii.

2 Cor.

0.
cf.
1

*Cf. Col. " 6

7

5.

Both M. omit "all,"

it

Pet

iiL

10.

V. and of her feast to-day." Here begins a second lacuna in V. and

continues

till

the end.

42

WOODBROOKE
one

STUDIES
!

prayers in this world through the good works that he will do

to the
his

Woe

who vows something to this house and refuses to acknowledge vow and does not fulfil it. The Holy Spirit will be far from such

a one.
I see the greatness of the number of the people and their (assembled here) joy on the occasion of this high feast, have told I would many more miracles in order to exalt this holy

Were

it

not that

house.

This house
is all

is

the beginning of the forgiveness of

sins.

This

house

of

it

blessed
is

by

God

benediction, and anyone who enters into it shall be and by His mother, the holy Virgin. This (house)

the tryst of the Lord, of

hierarchies,

His
it

angels, of

heavenly with the care of the diocese and the congregation of Orthodoxy, till the I would not have left this place, day of my death God,
;

and were

His Apostles, and of the not for the fact that I am entrusted

however,

will count to

me what

had intended

to do.

May God

bless the

young and the old (among you), and may

He grant to you the good reward of your labours in coming to this place from far and near May He bless your fields and hold your believing His in May He lay your enemies under your feet, kings keeping
!
!

and sow peace and concord

the days of your
life,

in the

churches and in the monasteries

all

and partake

He
that

forgive

you may body and blood of our Lord Jesus Christ your old sins and place His fear in your hearts,
of the

in order that

observe this day with joy

!

May
in

in order

you may be consecrated to-day you may

to

Him

May

you be

His
2

keeping in order that

reach your homes in the peace

of

God

Amen.
grant the blessings of this holy house to you and to

May He

anyone who sets foot in this place, which is the place in which dwelt And as He granted our Lord Jesus Christ and His holy mother
!

you

to

assemble and congregate in

of

this
3

holy house,
in

He

is

able to

make
His

you worthy
saints.

assembling
4

together

His

Kingdom

with

And
1

Cyril

was with

my

Father, the Patriarch

Theophilus,

and heard from

Lit.

his holy

mouth

this story
2

which
:

have written down.

"

will do."

M.

"in the name."

M.

5 omits this sentence.

From

iii.

255), and from the

a reference found in an Arabic Jacobite Synaxarium (Pat. Orient., " I fact that the author uses the expression Cyril was

VISION

OF THEOPHILUS
God
with a high and loud voice.
Spirit,

43

When

the people heard this discourse they rejoiced greatly and

raised their voices

and

glorified

Glory be to the Holy Trinity, Father, Son and Holy Amen. always and for ever and ever.

now,

Here ends
1

the third book of

(i.e.

containing) the vision of the

Holy
with
with
I

Theophilus,

Patriarch of Alexandria.

May

his

prayer be

us.

Amen.

my Father the Patriarch Theophilus and heard from his holy mouth," have conjectured that this Cyril is St Cyril of Alexandria who succeeded See the Prefatory Note. I do not believe that this Theophilus in 412. is of Jerusalem, in spite of the fact that he is given in Coptic Cyril Cyril literature as the author of a discourse on the Assumption of the Virgin (in Budge's Misc. Copt. Texts). My collection of MSS. contains also Garshuni discourses on this subject by Cyril of Jerusalem.
1

M.

5 omits

"

holy."

44

WOODBROOKE
p^?

STUDIES
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ool

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n ffo

09]

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VISION

OF THEOPHILUS
var.
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45

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46
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WOODBROOKE
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VISION
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OF THEOPHILUS
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48
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WOODBROOKE

STUDIES
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VISION
o-^i/
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OF THEOPHILUS
1

49
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50

WOODBROOKE

STUDIES

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51

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52

WOODBROOKE

STUDIES

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VISION
|
1

OF THEOPHILUS

53

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54
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WOODBROOKE
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STUDIES
po/o
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17

14

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18

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Inverts

the order.

_*Joi

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JJLDOIO

Omits.

VISION

OF THEOPHILUS

55

vDO^OD090/l

)^

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8

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the dalath

stat. const.

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WOODBROOKE
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6

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VISION

OF THEOPHILUS

57

of
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58

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STUDIES
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59

Ji\ v>v>

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60
JJ/

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STUDIES

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61

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WOODBROOKE
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63

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64

WOODBROOKE

STUDIES

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8

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Inverts the order.

18

Adds

39

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VISION

OF THEOPHILUS

65

MLO^DOA
foot
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STUDIES
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fl

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Inverts the order.

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13

ii..i^\^<x
14

12

s-Jo^o x-^^ oSa^/j*

15

Adds
16

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^ >nmo

VISION
Jooilo

OF THEOPHILUS
2

67
JJ

.yooou

*~ ;K_s

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68

WOODBROOKE

STUDIES

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STUDIES

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V. )ip^ yooio >^t,**Kj; LCJX^O

-a.3o
jl/

010
17

l^o; r--t-o(o

JLH^-"?

v. adds

VISION

OF THEOPHILUS

87

iliOj

I 1

^1

*s

OJl

k^CLbk/O

t JL

x.

^^V OOOt
r
r
5

iVki

*'t

NV

^^ik

)K^^

K^^a1

J9oi

)K\ t ^

04^0

j^c^xjtl

I2

10

iK-*Jo]
oooi

^cflOO
>
I

)-S4]
>;

J^G

>p
.

^M^o
'V

.)lt>Ot.V>
) .1

io^O^ V" *

^OJI

Oj0

)jO|

vOO^ pO/0

VOOUKJ 7^*?_

)io^_XL^O

JJL

oot

JJ^OLd

>s^OCLflDo

oot

^
;oJI
I

^JUl/o] ^JAdOl

Ool 01^

V.

omits.
6

V. GL^^i/o
N OJ/.
9
6

g....jjjj;

V. o;JL- ?
7
.

V.

adds^o.
8

V.

V. and M. add

jLiSoi
10

V
,

omits.
11

V.

omits.

V.

inverts the order.

V. jjxxm_so
.

M.

omits.
16

12

V.

^j

J^sStJo
16

V.

omits.

M. ^>o V. adds ooi

. .

13

^o^

14

" V.

omits.

88

WOODBROOKE
3

STUDIES
l

JLiot

*[

)?

Jot

"o
i
|

JJ]

JJ;
JJ

ool
jioto

MO
.

JJ

Jt\V>V>

JJOJ

J0t

JJo]

KL&O{
[

|l

^.j-*

l$

u
JJo

oa^cuoto
[

a\ vui

,^cupo

*y^
i

\^?

)i

-^
Z

M.V'

V.

omits.
6

V. oi^o
.

3
.

V.
V.
JJ

inverts the order.

)jioi

V. adds

V. and M. ojj>
JJ

OJLLD!/ j
?

M.

V. )Kjucd ^o>

s>/o )ir>f>>\
10

^
JJ ?

^o
9

U^M^

V.
001

inverts the order.

,o/
Jo,

V.

^p
13

U V.
V.

12

V.

I; ^> JJLs/

omits.
16

14

V. J^jo/

)oio

V.
17

omits.

V.

inverts the order.

V. adds

18

V.

VISION
),t , t

OF THEOPHILUS
V-IA-^
>k

89

Jjot
2

JN-^s
01^

oii-o-./

ooi]

pobw

j-*v^s.\;

oipoj

).t

,D

Jjoi

001

JJOI

)^

^^>

;j

JJo

[
JJo

U^->X

JJ

yjo

OL^J

yj

N
y^lf

>

)ioo^-

^eo]
n
)j.y^tv)o

u
(sic)
>
\

V. adds

^V^
5

o/

V.

omits.
)joi

V.

omits.

V.

inverts the order.

V.

001

U-.^o

)K

>

^\ ^oiuj
Oj

sojj Jlo

^\ ^

JJo

)iot

"">

*>?>

o{

U^oo^

>

^,^^o
)

'

V. adds

Lij^o
JJ

Jfc^^

puao? |ju/9

...At

V.

^.;

^o*j yKvt.ftN ^/

V.

K_^j ,
.

U
12

V.

omits.

10

V. adds ^J> .

n V.

)AsVin>o )iy>tv>

V.

90

WOODBROOKE

STUDIES

^O-QJU
Kjuo
6i;

^-00
>

ot^~

\\

n^o

^ol
)J^

oC^O^.

^0
.

OoKj
)iKjjJ

JJO

->\

-^oiJU
)J{
I

)i^-*Jj

Sj;lo_.

yo^oo

oC^ loop

jjiicu.

jjoijj

.>n\

1^.?

^.CX

y*+\

joKjlio

j-lL-t-D

JJ01

>\.

oipoo
fJO
>

ot^^X <.,>>tr>Uo
I

^VO^

>

\^J

^>9JO

j^CU^V

i\

^xjjj
)tv t >.^
i

(Lioi

)v

)K^Cd )JO|^ 0|^

^^'9

V>\

>

V>\

9jJ9

>

Vl\

Here

begins a second lacuna in V., and

its

text

is

missing

till

the end.
1

V.

x-J-v-fc

M.
.

omits the sentence.

4

V. adds y\ iv>v>o
6

So V., but M.

vju/

V. ^OOJLJO
.

V. adds

V.

oi

o ^.l-ao ,.\ Jjjo^ojt

8

V. jKji^a

M. yoio.

M. )oi.

10

M.

puts

vpo

first.

VISION

OF THEOPHILUS

91

JIJo
jjcx

.JJL-J^

)K^3 fjo^ omN ro\o

)K^cd
)jot
.

po)j>c^

^A

foot

oot oiKsja-a

)6i^

n->oti;

j^a*

Q-.OOI

)os

")joi

^bo]

K^.ooi

saaj

JJ

)&> t

f>

(var.

Ji5u,o(

FVvar.
00(9
..

>-o<cv

v>\
vJ-^? 01^090
01

i,v> s^aju. >

^.ioa-.
8

^e

yCi^j-.Uo yODlo

^\

oi^X

^n

>

m lo
JO1\]J

Q|.N!^kt,,^

yQJliK-X^

yCL^Oolo

vOdloV^U OoKjXJO

>

vISno

OOf

M.
4

^ao
.

w^o;

M.

omits.
.

M.
6

M.

inverts the order.

s

M.
.

also )ivL*;

M.

M. UiOOu.

M.

0<V>t ^

92

WOODBROOKE
L

STUDIES
&l

yot nJUU

XL^

K-.OCX

^K^t/1

wcpaS^ijaQ

Jj/

M^n

>

>
4

vDQ^Ado}l

jllL-j^j]

^boj
1 4

> v>,\

M.

omits.

M.

omits.

M.

M.

WOODBROOKE

STUDIES.

CHRISTIAN DOCUMENTS IN SYRIAC, ARABIC, AND GARSHUNI EDITED AND TRANSLATED WITH A CRITICAL APPARATUS.

BY A. MINGANA.
FASCICULUS
6.

APOCALYPSE OF PETER.
PREFATORY NOTE.
the following pages
I

give the text

and the

translation,

accom-

IN panied
known

by

a critical apparatus, of a rather strange

apocryphon,

Apocalypse of Peter, although its more Book of the Rolls. The former title the to be genuine title appears is the one that is commonly used by modern scholars while the latter
generally as the
is

sanctioned by the

work

itself.

Fifty-six pages of the first part of the Arabic text of the Book of the Rolls were published in 90 by Mrs. Gibson, from an undated
1 1

On palaeomanuscript preserved in the monastery of Mount Sinai. MS. this Sinai be ascribed to about the middle may graphic grounds
of the ninth century.
It

deals with the creation

and the

history of the

Jewish people from the beginning

down

to the birth of the Virgin

with

which

it

ends.
all

contains
I

the

The MS. of which I am giving the text and translation Book of the Rolls, including the part already published.

did not consider

section edited

it necessary, however, to include in my edition the Mrs. Gibson, although the MS. which she used and by

the one

I am editing and translating exhibit important variants the both general meaning and the linguistic peculiarities of affecting

which

the sentences.
1

See below,

p.

92, and Kitab al-Majall, or the

Book of

the Rolls

(Studio. Sinaitica, No. viii.), and Baron de Slane's Catalogue des scrits arabes de la Bibliotheque Nationale, pp. 18-19.
93

manu-

94

WOODBROOKE
The
title

STUDIES
much
"
Peter."
ff.

Apocalypse of Peter
title

has, however,

to

commend

it.

In

my

collection of manuscripts there are five

Garshuni texts that

give to the
of

book the express

106,

of

Iktishaf Shim'un,

Simon," or Jalayan Butrus,

Syr.
ff. ff.

Mingana

32b-35a
30-31
;

"Apocalypse Mingana Syr. 225,

of

Apocalypse See

63a-75a

Mingana Syr. 41 1, ff. 17a-32b ; and 84a1 ff. 03a. In spite of the authority of these Mingana Syr. 446, five MSS. I am inclined to believe that the title Book of the Rolls Mingana Syr. 369,
as applied to the present

work

is

more

original than

Apocalypse of

Peter, because the narrative does not contain those parts of the Apoca1 lypse of Peter known to us through Greek and Ethiopic sources.

The

five

MSS.
I

of

my

collection referred to

above contain a much

shorter text than the one exhibited

by Mingana Syr. 70 (henceforth

M. 70) which

have followed

for

my

edition.

Most

of the points

discussed in the latter are completely missing in the former,

textual comparison

and the
between

between the

six

MSS.

is

not that found between

three recensions of the same narrative, but rather that found

Let us only consider the deep divergences contained works within the limits of 94 leaves, characterise must that
three totally different works.
1

leaves,

5 leaves,
six

2
in

leaves, 3 leaves,

and 2 leaves

of the

same
Syr.

size.

The above
(ff.
1

MSS. and
call

the one numbered

Mingana

138

72- 1 82) are

all

exhibit

what

would

Garshuni (Arabic in Syriac characters) and a Syrian recension of the Apocryphon.

The style of the text which they contain is here and there saturated with sentences the construction of which denotes an Arabic speaking Further, I shall point out in the footnotes that M. 70 and Syrian.

225 contain

formulae that are wholly Syriac.

2

Europe contain an Arabic work which embodies points that are more or less similar to those exhibited in the That Arabic work is divided into chapters that vary present work.

Some

public libraries of

from 88 to 99
heterogeneous in
in the

in

number.

The

subjects dealt with in

them are

character and

often totally different from those found

MSS.

of

my

collection.

M. 70

is

divided into

parts (juz's)

James, Apocryphal New Testament, pp. 505-521. See the Bodleian Catalogue by Nicoll, No. xlviii. pp. 49-54; the Paris Catalogue by Baron de Slane, Nos. 76-79, pp. 18-19; the Vatican Catalogue by Ang. Mai., No. clxv. p. 304, in Script. Vet. Nova Collectio, See also Assemani, Bibl. Orient., ii. 508. vol. iv.
1

APOCALYPSE OF PETER

95

with occasional sub-divisions into fasls., while M. 106, M. 138, M. 225, M. 369, M. 41 1, and M. 446 have no divisions of any
kind and only contain that part of the

work which

is

more pertinent

to

an apocalyptic atmosphere.

It

is

this striking

difference of subjects

apart from the baffling divergence in phraseology that

has induced
to distinguish

me
it

to characterise the recension of

M. 70

as Syrian

and

from the Arabic

title
I

MSS.

mentioned above, which

for lack of an ade-

quate

would

provisionally characterise as Egyptian.

Of

all

the Arabic

MSS.

containing the Apocalypse of Peter the

to the

one with a text most similar

MSS.

of

my

collection

seems to be
1

that preserved in the Library of the University of

Cambridge.

As

it

frequently happens in the case of books written

by Copts

in

that Christian

Arabic which

is

often peculiar to themselves, the present

into Ethiopic,

work has passed from Arabic

the literature of that language, which has always evinced a

and has acquired in marked

predilection for the strange type of the apocryphal literature, the rather

Kalementos, "Clement." In 1911 M. Sylvain Grebaut began a French translation of this Ethiopic Apocryphon in 2 and 2 of 1928, R.O.C. and the last number of the Revue (Nos.
appropriate
title

of

pp. 22-3

breaks

off at

Book

iii.

pages to
garb.

come

before the end of the

There are evidently many more work is reached in its Ethiopic

From

the middle of the

work

the Ethiopic version differs considertexts,

ably from the existing Arabic

ecclesiastical

because
in

it

mostly deals with

Canons which have not much

common
is

lyptic literature.

So

far as the title

Kalementos

with Apocaconcerned the

Ethiopic tradition finds strong support ;in

M.

which

precisely

states

"
:

70, the colophon of

Here ends

the blessed

book known as
almost an

Clement"

To

edit all the

above

MSS.

in

a single publication

is

impossibility, because their texts are often as divergent and remote from

each other

as,

say,

the

two
I

texts
tried to

of

the ecclesiastical histories of

texts of
I

Sozomen and Theodoret.

only, but after

combine the

two

of

them

many days

of labour, to

my

great regret

found myself

^o. 915 in E. G. Browne's Hand-List of Muhammadan MSS. Mrs. Gibson gave some extracts of it in Studio, Sinaitica, No. viii. pp. xxxxxi of the introduction.
-

Litterature ethiopienne pseudo-Clementine, p. 72 sqq.

96

WOODBROOKE

STUDIES

beaten by the joined forces of reckless copyists and careless authors who, conscious that they were not dealing with any scriptural and inspired matter, vied with each other in their attempts to add to, or to
subtract from, the

book which they were transcribing or composing. Under these circumstances I felt compelled to confine myself to one
only in

series of texts

my

edition of the

attention

on

M. 70

as the one likely to

Apocryphon, and I fixed my give a more ancient version of

the story.
subject
1.
:

Three considerations helped

embodies

me

to

form an opinion on the

Apocryphon which in Syriac passes under the name of Testament of Adam, and as such has been edited and translated by Kmosko in the second volume of Portions of this Testament are found in Greek, and the Pat. Syr.
in its text another

M. 70

have been edited and translated by M. R. James in vol. ii. of Texts and Studies under the title of Fragment of the Apocalypse of

Adam^
stituted

Whether
an

this

integral part

Testament or Apocalypse of Adam conof the Apocalypse of Peter which I am

cannot decide with certainty, although the hypothesis that the Apocalypse of Adam might have been embodied in the Apocalypse of Peter by a copyist or by the author of the
editing
translating
I

and

second composition
probable.
2.

is

the one that

would appeal

to

me

as

more

M. 70

contains passages
to

which seem

to possess

an archaic

savour, and appear

versies of the fourth
lines
:

precede the time of the Christological controfifth centuries.

I

and

will here quote the following

and the angels worshipped Him in the Pavilion of the Father, and He spoke to them and answered them. He was on the arms of Mary and I made Him put on humanity in

"

He

became a

child

did my prescriptions. will finish Him and perfect Him in this world. Him. ... It is who lifted Him on the wood of the Cross, and it is did not place Him on who raised Him from the accursed earth. am always in it except for the purpose of showing Him in creatures." above all Him shall raise and Him, my
I

the robes of Baptism and in the fulfilment of

not wish to place

it.

It is

very seldom indeed that one meets with such passages in

West

Syrian or Monophysite
1

MSS.
made

The words which remind one

in the footnotes to these

of the

Fuller reference will be

two

publications.

APOCALYPSE OF PETER

97

Odes of Solomon are placed in the mouth of Christ who is repeating them to Peter, but as it is impossible to believe that Christ Himself
hold them to be part of a much older 1 composition that has been embodied by the author in his narrative.
could have pronounced them,
I

Our Apocryphon
3.

M.

some other passages of this kind. 70 contains Syriac words and Syriac expressions which
contains

generally stamp a Christian Arabic composition with a

mark

of age

and

originality that

is

missing in compositions of a later date.

Christian

Arabic began mostly

school of thought,
influence

in Christian circles belonging to Syrian Churches,

either of the Nestorian or of the

Monophysite or of the Melchite and early Copts seem to have exercised but slight on Christian Arabic lexicography.
have by necessity followed one
in facsimile.

As
give
it

MS.
1

for

my

edition

shall

all

In the footnotes

have corrected the gram-

matical and lexicographical mistakes of the author or the copyist which

are likely
errors are
in the first

to affect the

meaning
of

of the sentences.
I

Other

linguistic

more or

less similar to

those to which

often

drew

attention

and second volumes

my Woodbrooke

Studies.
"

has already drawn our attention to the fact that Clement of Alexandria mentions in his so-called Prophetical Ex" " " tracts an Wherefore also Peter in the Apocalypse of Peter

Dr.

M. R. James

And a lightning of fire leaping from the children Apocalypse saith had been (who exposed by their parents) and smiting the eyes of the
' :

"

women.'
'

And

"

again

For example Peter

in

the
"

Apocalypse
been saved
if
:

saith

The

children born abortively,

will

who would have

they had lived, " But the milk

shall

be delivered to a caretaking angel.' And again of the mothers saith Peter in the Apocalypse
.
.

engender small beasts." The next Father who mentions by name the Apocalypse of Peter is, according to James, Macarius Magnes (fourth century) who writes " And by way of superfluity let this also be cited which
:

Apocalypse of Peter" Our next authority which refers by name to the Apocalypse of Peter is an old Latin homily on the Ten Virgins published by Dom
is

said in the

See

my

note on these lines on p. 112.

Apocryph.

Apocryphal Nov.

New

Testament, pp. 506-507.

See

also Fabricius, Cod.

Test., 1703, p.

940

sqq.

98
Wilmart.
shall
1

WOODBROOKE
In
it is

STUDIES
by which the ungodly written in Daniel and

written

"
:

The

river of fire
is

be kept out of the Kingdom of God, as

in Peter, in his

Apocalypse"
his ecclesiastical history
2

mentions among books of 3 of Peter, while Sozomen asserts that an Apocalypse by Peter was in his days read in some churches
Eusebius
in

doubtful authority an Apocalypse

of Palestine.
I

will here quote in full a passage from the letter of sent

to

which James de
III.

Acres, Bishop "Praesenti anno Suriani, A.D. 1219

Vitry,
:

the

Pope Honorius qui nobiscum erant

:

about

in exercitu,

librum alium antiquissimum, lingua Saracenica scriptum, de antiquis armariis suis nobis ostenderunt, cujus erat superscriptio Revelationes

B. Petri Apostoli, a discipulo ejus Clemente in uno volumine redacts. Quicunque autem hujus libri auctor extiterit, ita aperte et
expresse de statu Ecclesiae
Christi et finem

Dei a

principio usque at

tempora Antipraeteri-

mundi
facit

praenuntiavit,

quod ex completione
4

torum indubitatam

fidem fiturorum."

That an Apocalypse of Peter was

centuries of the Christian era
believe that that
is,

in existence

from the
it is

first

therefore, certain, but

difficult to

referred to
it

" Revelations of the B. Apostle seems fairly probable that the " Peter spoken of by James de Vitry, refers to a document similar to As the work stands in that preserved in one of the above MSS.
these

Apocalypse is the one preserved in the Arabic MSS. above and in the Garshuni MSS. of my collection, although

appears to me to be a genuine but composite Arabic lucubration with different layers of antiquity, a true mixum composition.

MSS.

it

The

first

and the most ancient

of these

Arabic

layers

ascribe to about A.D. 800.

To

this ancient layer

am tempted many authors

I

to

or

copyists have at various times added here and there passages

likely to

render the original composition more

hearers.

interesting to their readers or

This process of adding to and subtracting from the original composition seems to have lasted down to the fourteenth century. To the
eleventh, twelfth or thirteenth centuries
1

would

ascribe the

rhymed part

Bulletin d'an.

lift,

et (larch. Chr^t. ,
3

quoted by James

(ibid.').

Hist. Eccl., Book viii. c. 19. 4 i. 76-77, and Nicoll in a note to his Catalogue Grabius, Spicilegium, of the Arabic MSS. of the Bodleian, pp. 49-50.

Book

vi.

c. 14.

APOCALYPSE OF PETER
of the text to

99
some other

which

call attention in

the footnotes, and

sentences

which appear
difficult

to

be a digression from the main theme.

A more
the
first
l

question concerns the degree of originality that In reviewing Bezold's layer of about A.D. 800 may command.

edition of the Syriac

book

entitled

Cave of Treasures, De Lagarde

state that the

speaks

of our

Apocalypse, and taking into consideration the colophons

78,

of the Paris

MSS. 77 and
crusades.

which

Apocalypse of
is

Peter was
with the
apart from

found in Nicosia, thinks that the book has some relation

first

So

far as the

Book of the Rolls

later

concerned,

the intrinsic improbability of this surmise, the date of the

Sinai MS., which cannot be

much

than the ninth Christian

militat-

century, will always constitute an irrefutable external evidence ing against it

author utilised parts of a version of an Apocalypse of Peter current in his day, or some other
It is

possible to believe that the

first

similar works,

and

that in editing

them

in

Arabic, added to them

allude to Islam

those sections of the

Apocryphon that clearly

It

and the first

may possibly be surmised that he could not have been in a position to produce from his own head a complete book and attribute it to Peter, if such a book had no relation whatever with the
Muslim Caliphs.
Apocalypse of Peter that was known number of his contemporaries and readers.
at
least

to a

considerable

That the work

as presented to us in the

MSS.

alluded to above

is

an original Arabic composition and not a mere translation from another language, be it Coptic, Syriac or Greek, will be readily admitted

by

all

Semitic scholars.

reasons for believing that

the other hand there are very strong many sentences and whole passages in it are

On

under the influence of a language alien to Arabic, and have a strong savour of a free translation or a close imitation of other works that the
author
I

may have
its

utilised.

have often drawn attention

relation to the

in the footnotes to the

Ethiopic

translation in
In

Arabic

original represented in

M.

70.

some places the Ethiopic

have been

translator seems to

text identical

with that of our

MS. and

in

have been rendering a some others his original

about two-

appears to

totally different to the extent that

thirds of the text

in it

and
1

translation of

my
iii.

present edition are missing

Mittheilungen,

50-51.

100

WOODBROOKE
observations that
I

STUDIES
to

From
it

have ventured

add

in the footnotes

will

be

seen that

believe that

many

passages of

M. 70 which

are

now
It
is

in

Garshuni were transcribed from a

MS.

written in Arabic

characters.
useful here to

remark that a Georgian

MS.

described in

R.O.C. by Avalichvili contains the translation of the well-known Syriac work entitled Cave of Treasures with the addition of the '* Horarium" of the Testament of Adam as in our present MS. 1

The

the heavenly Jerusalem, seems to be, as

source of a large section of the Vision of Peter dealing with my footnotes will indicate, the

canonical

Book of

the Revelation from which the author borrows

freely, but curiously enough with many modifications. The headings and some other passages that I have considered to

be

editorial additions

by

the

unknown author

will

be given

in italics.

TRANSLATION.

And

Clement

said

to

my

teacher

Peter,

the head

of

the
:

eminent teacher, you have made me your son, your disciple and 2 vizier your you have taught me the history of the Old Testament, and instructed me in the genealogies found in it down to the birth of
;

Apostles, the vizier of mercy, and the keeper of the keys of heaven "

the
in

Lady Mary,

the daughter of Joachim, to such an extent that

3

am
:

a position to refute the Jews in my discussions with them, since by disclosing to me their secrets you have made me versed in their history
implore you and beseech you to crown your kindness to me by disclosing to me all the secrets which the Christ has revealed to you

now

on the part of the one and eternal God in order that I may commit them to writing. Begin by telling me why God created Adam knowing in His prescience that he would undoubtedly break His command-

ment

why

Christ
is

became incarnate
death
;

why

there

is

life

and death
;

what there

after

what

is

the meaning of soul

and why

(God) promised
and on the day
1R.O.C.,
2

resurrection.

Impart also to
;

me
will

the knowledge of

the hierarchies of the heavenly beings

of

what

of the resurrection to those

who

believe in

happen in heaven and follow

Lit.

"

xxvi. 1928, pp.

381-405.
author refers here to the preceding part of his
3

The Torah."

The

book

in

which the Jewish

history is dealt

to the birth of the Virgin.

Remove

with and the narrative brought the waw before/?.

down

APOCALYPSE OF PETER
Christ
;

101

of

what

will take place at the

end
of

of the

world

and

of the

state of Paradise

and

of the

Kingdom

Heaven.
all

"

eminent teacher, confide to

me

the secret of

these since

have a

right to ask

them

of you, because
fulfil

my

request to you.
of

Keep and

what the Son

God

promised to

you have promised to grant your promise to me, and tell me His disciples."

And
question
:

the teacher Peter replied and said to

l

him

in

answer

to his

"

O my
it
I

child,

shall grant
all

have so desired

shall

answer

you your wish, and since you your questions and impart to you

the knowledge of their solution in order that you

may

understand

and

believe.

Let

it

be known to you that you will not die before

of
if

you have witnessed many miracles the working

the

which Jesus Christ

Son

of the Eternal

God

will grant

to

you

believing in

Him,

in following

Him

and

in

you are steadfast in keeping His command-

I shall now bestow many favours on you. begin to disclose the secrets for which you have asked by the help of the Lord Redeemer, the Christ Jesus of Nazareth."

ments.

He will

also

This

is

the beginning of

the

secrets

which

Peter revealed

to

Clement
the hidden secrets of

God and our Saviour shall write God which no creature knew but which our Lord revealed and disclosed to Peter His elect What is the " Son God of of and the God, meaning of from Spirit of God?"* of God the tongue of Peter had already confessed By the assistance the truth when our Lord had asked him who He was. Indeed Peter
In the

name

of our Lord, our

had previously confessed

of the Apostles
"
:

when

about the Light before the company " our Lord had asked them What do men say
this truth
:

about me, and what say ye

"

And by the help of the Holy Spirit Peter

Son
of

had

said

Thou
"

art the Christ, the

God."

Peter had not

This pronoun

"
his

suggests that

all
-

these sentences are to be attributed

to the editor of the

3

work.

The

copyist adds here in

Read wa-yuwallika. " Garshuni Here it ends by the

:

Most High God," and then proceeds

in

Syriac

"O

help of the brother readers pray for

my

father
4

is missing in the Ethiopic Qalementos translated by S. Grebaut in R.O.C., 1912, 244 sqq. Was the passage missing in the Arabic original lying before the Ethiopian translator, or was it simply overlooked by him ? The Ethiopic version begins with the following sentence.
5

and mother." All the above section

Matt. xvi. 14-16.

102
answered Christ

WOODBROOKE
in this his science

STUDIES
from
his flesh

way through knowledge emanating

and the

and blood, nor from

greatness of his intelligence,

nor from his asceticism, his austere living and his fasting, but it was God who had seen the purity of his conscience and revealed the truth

Apostles had also laid in their memory the utterance of " It is not our Lord, on this occasion, to Peter through flesh and
to him.
:

The

blood that you

knew

that

was from my Father but

it is

the one

who

has inspired you to believe in me and to confess speaks through me." Through these words of our Lord a reverential fear had entered into the heart of Peter for the Divine Majesty, and he had not understood then what our ask

me who

Lord had

precisely meant, nor

all

had he dared

to

Him
The

about that concise saying during

the

the time

He
his

was with

them

in Jerusalem.

great

Father,
that

Apostle
forty

Peter,

said

to

days after His resurrection from the dead our Lord desired to go up and ascend to heaven and to His Kingdom in which He had never ceased to be, and to return to His

Clement

"

disciple

Know

when

resplendent glory
the

and majesty,

He took the eleven

chieftains

and

also

Lady and the seventy followers, to the Mount of Olives. Then our Lord separated Himself from all the disciples and took up with Him to the holy mountain of Sinai me Peter, the beloved John and
3

James, sons of Zebedee, and Mart Mary the pure Lady, the mother of good hope and the mother of the Resurrection and Resuscitation,
the pure mother through
sinners, the

whom God
'

one

who

is

called

forgave the trespasses of all the the mistress of the women and the lady

of the nobles,'

through her benedictions, increase for us the scent of the perfume of her prayers, and sanctify all the children of Baptism by the sweetness of her asceticism

Mart Mary

may God remember us

and holiness and

God

have no one besides

of the

Him

heard His son for us through her, because we 4 to save us from the wrongs of this world

world to come.
left,

"

He
'

therefore, the rest of the disciples at the foot of the

in our face the breath of the
silver
is

mountain and breathed

said
1
:

Holy

Spirit

and
will

Get no gold nor

is

nor wallet

for the route

which you

The word subh which

Read al-ahad for

constantly used

by
"

the author in the sense of

"glory"
'

derived from the Syriac shubha. "

al-hadi.

The

chieftains

3 4

A
Or

Syriac

title

of

"

honour meaning

possibly

her."

Read

our Lady." siwahu or siwaha.

"

are the Apostles.

APOCALYPSE OF PETER
follow
;

103

you

shall

and make provision of no brass, and have no staff, because 1 Know that I have given you be in no need of all that.

that when you lay your hands on the sick they will be healed and made whole, on the cripples and they will stand up, on the dead 2 In what I have bestowed upon you from the Holy and they will rise.

power

Spirit

you have power over

Freely

all
I

the earth.

am now

going where

my

gave you the high gifts, freely give them. Wherever you assemble and mention my name there I shall be with
Father ordered me.
"
3

you.
the great teacher Peter said to me while he was about to " disclose the secrets to me : my son Clement the secret which you

Then

have asked

me

to disclose to
its

you

is

of great

moment and
It is

ought not

to divulge anything of

nature to the worlds.

to us before

a thing that the

Christ our

Lord confided
minds
;

He

ascended to heaven.
I

He

ordered us to keep
divulge
it

all of it

concealed from notice, and

ought not to

as the

of
if

transcends them
it, it

and

men are not able to comprehend it because it human intelligence were able to comprehend
'

to
I

And I Clement did not cease would have been circumscribed." beseech the teacher Peter and to implore him to favour me with what
of

had asked

him

until

the rolls and write

down

he granted my request and said Prepare 5 on them what I shall dictate to you. Make
:

"

the present writing follow

the genealogy of Mary, the mother of

what we have already told you concerning light, and make one book of the

whole."

This

is

the reason

why

I
I

Clement have
began

entitled this

book

The Book of
and

the Rolls?

And

to write

on the

rolls

what

the holy teacher dictated to me, while

my

eyes were shedding tears

the teacher Peter noticed this from me he caught me with hand and took me up to the Mount of Olives, to the spot from "8 " which our Lord Jesus the Saviour the Son of the Living God
his

my When

hands were trembling.

^att
3 5
'

x.

Cf.

Matt xviii. Read flha.

10 (with changes). 20.

Cf. Matt x. 8. Read mahdudan. * Read wasuff.

*

work

This sentence which is missing in Ethiopia (ibid. 245) brings the present into relation with the Book of the Rolls edited by Mrs. Gibson in Studio. Sinaitica (No. viii.). That book ends in effect with the genealogy of

Mary.
8

The

sentence

"

The Son

of the Living

God

"
is

always given

in Syriac

in the

document as

if it

was a sacred and mysterious

formula.

104

WOODBROOKE

STUDIES
his

eyes to heaven, wept " cross and said Jesus Christ strengthen me with power from you in order that through it this l son may be instructed in the secret which you have confided to me,
:

had ascended to heaven. Then he lifted bitterly and made on me the sign of the

because

have chosen him

and elected him by your power.

Make
to

me

understand

now

that part of the secrets taught

by you

me,

which had transcended

my

intelligence."
3

Then he
times,

prostrated himself
also

to the

and

worshipped
I

like his

ground and worshipped forty And he raised his worship.

of his forty genuflections,

head from
I

his prostration at the

end
that

and
it

looked at his face and

saw

it

was
;

illuminated

and

that

beamed and shone

out of him.
said to

like the

ray of the sun

and

looked at him and

fire

noticed that something resembling a flame of burning

A great fear and dread took hold of me.

"
:

was coming
the saint

And

my you saw coming out of me, and since I speak to you through the Holy Spirit, do not be terrified by it. If you had seen the miracles which I have witnessed from the Christ our Lord you would not have been able to live
not afraid,
son, of

me

Be

what

through them, and

this in spite of

the fact that

6

He

may His names

miracles."

be

sanctified

And

he said to
7

did not show us except a few of "

His Divine

me

dictation,

because

let

it

Keep what you will write down from my be known to you that after me will come

people

who

will not believe in

my words

nor in the preaching of the

holy disciples."

Then
had

the teacher sat in the place from which Jesus Christ

had

ascended to heaven, and showed to me the spot on which the Lady sat, and the spot on which James and John had also sat, and said " When Jesus Christ took us up and we came to this holy mountain
:

at the time in

when He wished

to

ascend to heaven,

He

'

said to me,

Be

no
'

fear,

and
said,

it is
I

Peter, because you are the foundation of my Church And I worshipped Him and on you that I will build it.* wish to ask you some questions and I also desire an answer to

3
5

Read Read

'ata.

sajada.
is

Read ikhtartuhu. Read mimma.

probably post-Islamic and refers to the "ninety-nine The expression is found in excellent names of God in Muslim theology. the Kurln, vii. 1 79. It is not found in the Ethiopia translation.

"

This sentence

Probably add min.

Read kaumun.

APOCALYPSE OF PETER
them,

105

O
is

you
:

Lord
which

'

said

who revived your creatures by your grace.* Ask what you wish,' and I said, O Son
'

And
of

our

God,

the same as breh

heaven, earth, angels

was

it

And

cC-Alaha hayya^ before you created and men where was your abode ? And how who glorified and magnified you, since you had not

created yet anyone to glorify ?

2

And

on what was

set the

throne of

your Kingdom, since there was no heaven and no earth and no space
to contain

And
to

me

' :

your essence ? the Saviour, who saves the heart from bad thoughts, said Peter, you have asked something which the minds of
it

And how

'

were you

in

men

do not reach, which your heart

to
bear, as the
it,

is

power
it

minds
3

of

men

unable to contain and your are unable to comprehend

it I

even a portion of
book.'

since,

however, you wish to learn

shall write

down and reveal it Then He said

to
' :

you

in order that

As

to your saying,

you may add it to the Where was my abode ?

My abode was in my Father before the created beings were created. As to the throne of my glory and majesty it was in the greatness of my grace. The Father was in me, glorifying me, and I in the Father, 4 glorifying the Spirit who proceeds from us, and who is eternally with The Father is in me and in the us, because we are three persons am in and the and the Spirit is in me and in the Father, Spirit,
:

Father.

one preceded us, no one is intermediary between us and " no one extends between us none of us can be called " the last one
;

No

because none of us

is

old and none of us

is

young, and
us,

neither beginning nor end.

1

Every being worships

and
it

we have and we are in 5

Whenit

This formula
is in

is

as usual in Syriac
characters.

is

missing in Ethiopia.

ever there
2

the text a translation of

into

Arabic,

will transliterate

from Syriac

into

Roman

The
it

"

since
3

Ethiopic version seems to contain a mistranslation as contained nothing." R.O.C., 1 9 1 2, 246.

for likai.

it

reads

Read lakin

This proves decisively

that the original

from

which the MS. is derived was written in undotted Arabic characters since it is only in Arabic that the letters ya and nun are identical and distinguishable only by extraneous dots placed over or under them. 4 Note that the author apparently believes in the procession of the Spirit from the Son also. This sentence is missing in Ethiopic.
this

to

The Ethiopian translator seems to have misunderstood Probably read fi. somewhat complicated Arabic sentence. He has even gone so far as " " " translate your power instead of in power."

106

WOODBROOKE

STUDIES
is

everything by our power, and what is under us And we have neither length nor breadth.
*

from our power.

We

contain everything and nothing contains us.

1

We

have

and we have no height because we are higher than height. We have no depth because we fathom the last extremity of depth, and we have no lowness because our power
neither elevation nor a summit,
2

encompasses

everything.

Know

that every depth, height, width,

and length are made and fashioned by us. nor left because we are the right and the left

We
in

have neither

right

a strength and power

exterior

which cannot be seen and comprehended. have neither nor interior because we are the exterior and the interior.
*

We

Our

glory,

our majesty and our grace are 'from

us,

to us,

us, and not from another being besides 3 us and no one understands us. We are three attributes and three the Father is grace, I am wisdom and the Spirit is life persons the Father is justice and righteousness, I am clemency and power,

between
;

us, in us,

and with

and the

Spirit

is

intelligence

and mercy.

No

heaven contains

us,

and

no earth encompasses us. Wherever we are, we are all of us, and we do not change from state to state nor do we move from place to

any change or separation, because all of us from eternity and we shall be to eternity. have no place in which we dwell and no spot to which to move. The minds do not reach us in our essence, nor do the eyes and sights
place.

None

of us has

are one.

We were
and

We

perceive us

see us in our substance.

I

"

'

The

Father,
us.

and the

Spirit are one.

There
are one.

is

no increase
Father
4

nor decrease in

We are not
The
Father

three but
of the

we

The

created the created things by

means
is

through the

Spirit.

Son, and their life came majesty and eternal power, I am

procession.
in us.

His word and the Spirit is action and 5 a company and there is no separation
not reach
us,

We

are not

The

definitions

do

because

we

are above

all

circumscribed things, and the

minds do not comprehend us. are not associates, nor is there The Father created all things by means of the disunion between us.
elevation of elevation." Evidently the Ethiopian translator did not understand this difficult sentence because he omitted it entirely.
Lit.
2 5
1

We

"

in the sense of

3 Read yahtawi. Read thalath. The Ethiopian translator (R. O.C. ,1912, p. 246) "

Read kanat.
this

understood

sentence

we

are not numerous."

APOCALYPSE OF PETER
Son and
to

107

their perfection was through the Spirit. There is no one be compared or likened to us. "' The Father is wisdom, I am its word, 1 and the Spirit is its life

and covenant.
because

The

reasonings and the definitions do not reach us

we

are above them.

We cannot
all

be compared

to the likeness

of anything,

because
us

we

are above

comparison.

Nothing can be

by analogy, because we are above all analogy. My am its light and the consuming Spirit is its heat. My Father is sun, I am its ray and the Spirit its light My Father is the its honour. am and I its eminence, Spirit My Father is glory Without me no gift, I am its mercy and the Spirit its perfection.

drawn from
Father

is fire, I

creature

came

into being, because

I

was always
Father,

in existence

from the

Father before the heaven.

am

in the

and the

Spirit is in

me.

We

Without me no created thing would have come into being. We are in all are inside all created things and outside them.

the recondite
things.
us,

and hidden
of us

things.

We

are inside

and outside the

of us goes out of
2

because
I
'

None we
its

comes

really into us

and none

are both the inside

and the
is its

outside.

My

Father

is

mind, "

am

Word and

the Spirit

voice.

We are everything, and we are the existing being. We are the We are above the beginning and beginning and we have no end.
above the
time.

There are no hidden

3

things to us,

and nothing

is

concealed from us
glorification

because

we

are above everything.

us, in us,

Since our

and magnification are from

with us and between

that love us without beginning and without end, our love is perfect which we have directed to the creation of the world, and which we

have ordered the inhabitants

that through
it

of the
4

world

to

acknowledge,

in

order

they

may know

"

'

At

the very beginning

our Kingdom and our supreme power. when we created all the created things

the Father said to

me and

to the Spirit

"
:

means

of a sign, the water, the spirit, the sky, the

Let us create divinely, by winds and the other

with water

things,"

and we created them.

The heaven was mingled

Everything was
in

and was not completely fashioned.

1

a confused and

Or

intelligence.

The
Lit
"

Ethiopian translator has omitted almost every

the hidden things

difficult

sentence

in

this section.
3

do not come near us and the concealed

4

things

do not reach us."

Read

liya'rifu.

108

WOODBROOKE
We

STUDIES

l created the clearest waters in order to promiscuous state. establish our throne on them, and where we were then we are now.

Your

intelligence,

Peter, will not understand

more than

have exto

plained to you, concerning the

mystery

of the Trinity

and the way

took parts of those clearest waters and from them we fashioned three heavens of light, and these stand high under the waters

demonstrate "
'

it.

Then we

on which our throne

while

is

situated.
it is

As

to the light

which

we were on

the water,

in these

heavens

we created and we are there

without ceasing, without changing and without moving from one thing to another, because all things move towards us and everything is in our

hand.

After

not with words,

placed our

we had created the seven firmaments with a sign and we created seven others with words. Then we
2
;

wisdom in all things and no one can number them and no one can except ourselves, comprehend them besides us. We
3

placed the waters in a vessel which surrounds the world, and which is small when compared with our power. created and fashioned

We

all

things in different qualities.

"

'

We created

the angels in ten hierarchies, constituting complete

orders by themselves.

We

brought

down

the highest hierarchy which

was
one

the tenth in the series, and

hierarchies.

We have made

confirmed the remaining nine them in different forms in order that each

we

of

them might

distinguish the nature of the others,

and

see

clearly

that they are different from,

and not

identical with, his

own

nature.

some who have many some eyes, and some others who are of a flaming and burning fire Their glorificaare of spirit only, and some others of fire and spirit.
All of them
glorify us.

Among

the angels are

tion

never

ceases,

and

it

is

composed
stir

of

different

melodies and
glorify,

harmonious modulations which

sing,

the heart.

They

chant,

"

magnify, exalt and praise. * Between one order of the angels and another there

is

a distance

similar to that
1

which

exists

between
"

this

heaven which you see and

Read al-miyah without

This sentence
is difficult.

dots.
' '

The

in them, from all things to all things." Lit. : hare difficulties the and translates : evades translator Ethiopian " established in them, by our wisdom, all the innumerable things (p. 247). 3 The Ethiopia text speaks here of a heaven called Falik which seems

We

to

me
*

to

be the Arabic word falak

"

firmament."

Read wa-ya'lam.

APOCALYPSE OF PETER
the earth.

109

The number

of the angels
is

glorifications never cease nor end

who have wings and whose thousands of thousands and

Among them are the Cherubim and Seraphim, myriads of myriads. All each one of whom never ceases from glorifying and praising us.
of

them are divided

into orders in three churches of light

and

fire.

And we
is
1

have placed the heavenly Jerusalem above the water which

"

above the third heaven.'

help of Christ we will describe the heavenly Jerusalem in the name of the Father, the Son and the Holy

With

the

Spirit.

The Church which was

Peter

beheld by the spiritual father, the Apostle

may the peace of the saints be on his soul in the Kingdom of the Lord, the Saviour of the world and the vivifier of the just men
and about which the Christ our Lord said
to Peter

"
:

And we
is

have

placed the heavenly Jerusalem above the water which It third heaven," overshadows the earthly Jerusalem.

above the
fixed

is

suspended above
its

it,

its

walls are of

light,

its

columns
its

of fire
is

and and

doors of light

It is set

up
is

in splendour,
is

and

altar

of light

of different colours,

and

its
it

sanctuary

of
in

a light that resembles the

brightness

colour of

fire.

All of
lustre
;

immersed

and

light,

and

crowned with

it

is

sanctified

by the lustre of our grace and

and perfumed with the scent

surrounded by the brightness of our of the odour of our divinity.

light

From

it

emanate the scents which

raise in
it

vivify

and

sanctify the souls

and the angels of light from their glorifications.

2

their voices,
altar
it.

From

its

and they never cease flow the sources of life, and

Glorifications are

the choicest of perfumes emanate from

due

to

it

from the Father, because it is fixed in our Kingdom and is called after our name, and because it surrounds our gates, those majestic gates
to
attain. At its eastern side we have placed our strength which knows no length, with which no breadth can be measured, which has no height and the immensity (depth ?) of which cannot be ascertained.

which no darkness can

This following heading has been omitted by the Ethiopian translator. The Ethiopian translator has omitted this and similar sentences which savour slightly of heterodoxy. He seems also to have neglected many phrases, the meaning of which is repeated in the lines that immediately
"

precede or follow.

110
I

WOODBROOKE
have revealed
to you,

STUDIES

Peter, what eye has not seen, what ear has not heard, and what has not entered into the heart of the sons of

men.

And

the
2

Lord from Nazareth

the high waters
;

said

"
:

We

have established our

throne above

we

have made

it

of light, fire, spirit

have chosen that place for it and and brightness. have placed

We

under

this

throne four creatures which have

many
of

eyes and from the

mouths

of

which come flames

of

fire.

One

them resembles the

figure of a lion,

and another the

figure of a

man.

These are placed

on the right side of the throne. The third animal resembles the figure 3 of an eagle, and the fourth animal has a figure that resembles that of
an ox.

These are placed on the

left

side of the throne.

fire,

of these four animals has four faces of

and each one

of

Each one them has

Under them is a wheel of fire laid on two seas one of wings of fire. which is of fire and the other of storm, the wind of which blows from
the

wind
"

of Paradise.

have places of delight from which emanate scents that Their scents excel also the surpass the scent of musk and ambergris.
scents of all the perfumery of the earth.

We

Above

the sea of storms

there

is

a river of
shall

light, to

the flowing of

and there
on earth

be no end.

None of

the created beings in heaven

5

which there was no beginning and

it

is

able to see the place from which

6

flows,

nor the place at

which
all

it

ends.

From
That

it

comes

to us a light that exceeds in brightness

its

other lights except our own, and

is

swiftness

and

its

attributes

have no equals.
brightness in
it

surrounded by darkness which has no light and which has no end. It has neither vertical nor
it

horizontal angles because

has no material body.

"

Everything that
the

we

created in heaven and earth glorifies us and

offers prayers to us."

In
Spirit,
1
1

name of the Father and of

2

the

Son and of

the

Holy

we
Cor.

will write the hours of the glorifications?

ii.

9.
"

Read fauk.
be those spoken Read nihayah, i. e.
to
its

Read kdannahu.
Book
of

4
5

These
Its

four creatures

seem

of in the

Rev.

iv. 7.

source.
this section of

mouth.

by M. R. James in Texts and Studies, vol. ii. No. 3 A Fragment of the In Syriac a similar Apocryphon has been Apocalypse of Adam in Greek.
:

the horarium is missing in Ethiopia The hours of the less similar to those which are in the work entitled more or are glorification Apocalypse of Adam, sections of which are found in Greek and published
7

All

APOCALYPSE OF PETER
Let
it

111

be known to you,

the hour of the glorifications

hour of the day is 1 of the children of Adam, and the second

Peter, that the
first

hour of the day

angels.

is

the hour of the prayers and the glorifications of the

The

third hour of the

day

is

the hour of the glorification of the

different kinds of birds.

The fourth hour of the day is the hour of the devotion of the spiritual 2 angels who have six wings because they then come near to our lights. The fifth hour of the day is that of the services of the rest of the
animal world.
3

The

sixth

hour

of the

day

is

that of the supplication

and prayer

of

the Cherubim.

The
Pavilion,

seventh hour of the day

the
5 I

is

the hour of the entry into the lofty

Pavilion of light which created the created beings.*

the

Before

my incarnation,

God- Word, and

Pavilion,
it

before

my taking human
of
it.

form, voices

were heard from the

into

which frightened, vexed

and harassed those who went

and those who came out

The
and

affairs

remained

in this state until the

God- Word became

flesh,

happened on the day on which the angel of secret came down 6 and spoke to a pure Lady, and a pious gem, Mary, the mother of
this

published by M. Kmosko under the tide of Testament of Adam in Pat. The present horarium appears to me to be a translaSyr., ii. 1 309- 1 360.

from Syriac. This is borne out by many stylistic peculiarities, one of " " which is the constant rendering of man, men," in general by son of man, son of men," etc. 1 In the Syriac Testament of Adam (ibid. col. 1 326) this hour is devoted " celestial beings." Another recension, however, of the to the prayer of the same Apocryphon (ibid. col. 1330) assigns this hour to the "prayers of the children of men." 2 The Syriac Testament of Adam (ibid?) gives this hour as that of the " of birds."
tion

"

thanksgiving 3 In the Testament of

super-celestial beings."

Adam

it

is

the hour of the thanksgivings of the

4 All the following passage is missing in the Syriac Testament of Adam " which reads The seventh hour is the hour of the ingoing and outgoing to and from God of the prayers of all the living things." The second recension of the same Testament (ibid. col. 33 ) has " on the seventh hour people 3 to and from God." come Read taannusi. go
:

Read khataba.

The pronoun
it

speaking Syrian, because precedes the noun.

is

attached to this verb denotes an Arabic only in Syriac that a pronoun of this kind

112
life

WOODBROOKE

STUDIES

and mercy, and announced my message to her. In that hour I poured out my eternal light which was with me, in me and on me, 1 and I filled with it the body of that treasure-keeper and devout

woman.
I,

And
I

fashioned

it

in her

womb

into the figure of a

man.
dwelt
it

the speaker, did not

it,

make

that light for the

before,

human

race,

and

in
all

as

was always dwelling

became
4

and by

my power showed

to

the created things.

He
He

a child,

Pavilion of the Father,

and

and the angels worshipped Him in the He spoke to them and answered them.
I

was

in the

arms

of

Mary and
in this

made Him

put on humanity in
prescriptions.
I

the robe of Baptism

and

in the fulfilment of
I

my

did

not wish to place

Him.

Him world. Through my knowledge have

I

will finish

Him
in
7

and

perfect

chosen you

preference to

the rest of
I

the world and

to the exclusion of the nations. of the Cross,

I
it.

And
who

it

is

who

lifted

Him

on the wood

and

it is I

raised

Him
raise

from the accursed earth.

did not place

the purpose of showing

Him in
Spirit.

Him

above
is

all

my

creatures.

Him on it except for I am always in Him and shall The Father is in Him along with
I

me, and so
worship

the

Holy
and

All the

spiritual

and corporeal beings

Him now

for ever.

Let

eighth hour of the day is categories of demons, who have the power to

The

be known to you. the hour at which the different

this
inflict injuries

on men

and other (material) beings, separate themselves from the animal (world) and pray to the Father, submit to Him and confess to Him
the prevarications they had (caused
give back
to

Him

men) to commit. And they His supreme command. So also do all those who
treasure,

Arab, mukhzinah.

and

it
2

Or

The word is certainly connected with " " may "also mean treasures," or giver of treasures," etc.
at the back, backwards." without emendations.
:

The meaning

of the sentence is unin-

telligible
a 4

"that light," according to the construction of the sentence. * "it was." Read /*/&*. 6 All this passage seems to savour of Nestorianism and even of gnosticism,
I.e.

Or:

Monophysite origin. Some sections of an older layer for the narrative. on also a the part of the writer. sentences Many digression represent 7 1 cannot understand what the author means by the last words, which I have translated literally. All the sentence seems to be a digression from the main subject.
in spite of the fact that the

MS.

is

of

the

work are archaic and appear

to postulate

APOCALYPSE OF PETER
follow them.

113

When

they

finish their
1

prayers each one of them goes

back to his appointed place. The ninth hour of the day

angels

is

the hour of the service of the

who

are singled out to stand near the throne of the Father in

it"

order to honour

In the tenth hour of the day occurs the calmness of the water

and

its

smoothness together with

.

its

glorification

and magnification
over
it

before the Omnipotent Lord

And

to

mark the honour in which God

flutters
;

holds water, His

is

Holy

Spirit

comes down and

and
it

it

thus purified from the act of the

of it

demons

in their

going into

and

coming out

And

if

the

Holy

Spirit did not flutter over the

it

water, the children of

men would

not be able to drink any of

3

without

If at immediately perishing, owing to its pollution by the demons. this hour a man takes water that has been sanctified and mixes with
it

taibilth

or

oil,

and anoints

sick

people with

it,

they will be healed

of the just of

by the permission of

God.

In the eleventh hour of the

day the prayers

men,

the prophets and of the Apostles are heard, and their hearts obtain

from
to

God a great joy which penetrates and pervades all their being." The twelfth hour of the day is the hour of the children of men
'

show obedience to the Most High God, to His Son and to His Even if they do not notice it we accept their prayers by Spirit
our grace and our mercy.
8

Mn the first recension of the Testament of Adam (Pat. Syr., H. col. 1326) the eighth hour is assigned to the "thanksgiving of the fire and the " water," and in the second recension (ibid. col. 33 1 ) to the thanksgiving of the heaven, earth and fiery beings" (i.e. angels). " Read wawtkariht. The ninth hour is assigned to the same service in
1

the
1

two recensions
4

of the Syriac
3

Testament of Adam

(ibid. col.

326 and

33 1 ).

A Syriac word
tenth hour

al-mufsidln. designating a mixture of sanctified

Read

of the relics of saints.

oil, water and earth Great healing properties were formerly attributed to

such a mixture.

The

is

assigned to the same object in

of the

slightly different

and

more concise terms in the two recensions coL 1327 and 1331).

Testament of Adam

(ibid.

assigned in different terms to the joy of men in Syriac Testament of Adam. " Lit. if they do not understand." 5 The same hour is devoted to the same object but in different terms in the two recensions of the Testament of (ibid. col. 1327 and 1334).
is

The

eleventh hour

the

two recensions
'

of the

Adam

14

WOODBROOKE
the

STUDIES

In
one

name of the Father, of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit\ God, we will write the glorifications of the hours of the night
merits.
first

and their
In the
us,

hour of the night occurs the service of the demons to hour of

their service

and

in this

they do not harm any

2

man

of this

world, because they are occupied with their service.

In the second hour of the night occurs the service of large fishes,

and

of all animals that live in water.

The
which
is

third

hour

of the night
4

is

the hour of the service of the

fire

at the interior.

In the fourth hour of the night occurs the sanctification of the

5

Seraphim.
In the fifth hour of the night occurs the service of the waters that

are above the heaven.

They have

a tumultuous uproar that pierces

the hearts, and are followed by the voices of the angels and the violent
agitation of the
6

waves bursting

into awe-inspiring glorifications

and

magnifications.
In the sixth

hour of the night the clouds and

'

their angels

and the

treasured waters

offer their supplications.

In the seventh hour of the night the waters rest from their labour

and cease from flowing and moving. All the powers of the earth rest " and the Lord of the Lords, and say also, glorify and magnify Glory
:

to our

God Ashar-ahiyah Sabaoth* who made

Himself manifest in

Read ahadan. The same thing is 3 The second hour

"

said in different terms in the

of the night
is

assigned to the

Testament of Adam. same object in the

(Pat.
Syr.,
ii.

second recension of the Syriac Testament of

334). 1319).
4
1

Adam

col.

The

first

recension assigns

it

to the thanksgiving of the

doves

(ibid.

found
6

Something similar but expressed differently and more extensively is in the two recensions of the Testament of Adam (ibid. col. 1319 and

1334).

The same hour is assigned to the the Syriac Testament of Adam. Something similar is found in the
''

same object

in the

two recensions

of

two recensions

of the

Testament of

Adam. 1 The two

8

recensions of the Testament of Adam mention the clouds but omit the waters.

Read

well-known

Sabdut for aswat. Hebrew words.

Both

are of

course

transliterations

of

APOCALYPSE OF PETER
the Person that
]

115

became incarnate

in order to vivify all the created

beings."
In the eighth

which having been pleased by

it

hour of the night the grass springs up from the earth, this growth glorifies the One who caused
of the night the service

to grow." In the ninth

hour
3

and the devotion

in

of the in the

angels take place,

and the prayers are brought

and placed

Pavilion of Bells.
In the tenth

hour of the night the doors of heaven are opened and

the prayers of the priests

and
D

of the faithful are answered,

and

their

needs attended

to.

And
hour

in this

In the eleventh

of the night joy

hour you hear the crow of the cock.* and gladness spread over

the earth, because the sun enters Paradise

and

its

rays shine on the

corners of the earth and illuminate

their lights trees

all

the created things, and through

and

fruits rejoice.

In the twelfth hour of the night,

which marks the end

of

of the night

the

and the beginning of the day, the children Lord frankincense and other perfumes.'

men pray and burn

you desired
to

to

Now
1

have disclosed to you,

O Peter, things

know,

The two

of the water, but they bring in the

recensions of the Testament of speak also of the rest element of priesthood in connection with
oil (Pat. Syr., ii. col. 1333 and 1335). recensions of the Testament of

Adam

the consecrated
-

The two

Adam

make mention

also of

the growth of the grass.

3

The

as

it is

written in the

phrase means "pavilion of bells" "

if

we

read the word as Jalajil

MS., and

word
the

thanksgiving of the Cherubim," and the second recension of the "thanksgiving of all the angels." may com" " bells mentioned here with those spoken of in Zee. xiv. 20, and pare the
first

as ghalaghil. recension of

The

pavilion of clamours, etc.," if we read the expression is not used in the Testament of Adam,
of the

which speaks

"

We

even those found

4

In the

in Exod. xxviii. 33-39. two recensions of the Testament of Adam the crow

of the

cock

is

referred to in connection with the ninth hour.

5
fl

recensions of the Testament of Adam with the exception that in the first recension (ibid. col. 1 333) the sun is said to rise from Paradise and not to enter Paradise as it is intimated here and in the second recension of the Testament.

Read al-kadiyah. The same thing occurs in the two

Mention is also made of the incense, but in different terms, in the first and second recensions of the Testament of Adam (ibid. 1336 and 1338). With this hour ends the Syriac Testament of Adam. What follows is only
'

found

in the

present

MS.

116

WOODBROOKE

STUDIES

and have taught you things you did not know. I shall presently teach you all that which you desire to know and shall not hide a secret from
you.

Let

it

be known to you that the created things belong to me, and

my power and in my possession. None of my creatures is able to revolt against me or to serve me except by my will. And the and to me in glorifications belong magnifications conjunction with my Father and my Holy Spirit. Do not be in trouble and do not fear the children of this earth, because am with you and with all those who will believe in me through you, now, for ever, and for ever and
are under
I

ever.

As
them

to the prayers

which you
(Let the
as

will offer for

three prayers.
is

first

be) in
it

the

first

your own soul make hour of the day,

because that hour

creatures
is

praiseworthy and in
it

our good- will towards the

made known,

is

in

it
*

that the doors of heaven are

to all the earth,

thrown open and our light is shown shut in, and joy and gladness come to

and darkness

is

all

the creatures of the earth.

2

(Let the second prayer be) in the third hour of the day, because in this hour you should offer (in sacrifice) my body and my blood which

have entrusted to you so that you might keep them and guard them. Let them be as leaven and as a trust committed by me to your charge, which you will deliver to me on the day of my second coming. You
I

will offer
3

altar.

them every day, and in this third hour of the day, on the pure Wherever that holy body is found I shall be present there, and
Spirit will

the

Holy

come down over

4
it.

Let

this
it.

be

known

to you,

and teach your (spiritual) children to act

upon

your third prayer be) in the last hour of the day, just before the doors of heaven are closed and darkness overcomes light,
(let

And

because a prayer

(in that

hour)

is

heard and accepted.

As to

the prayers that have been doubled in the case of the ascetics,

monks and solitaries who live in the mountains, hills, deserts and wastes, and in the case of all those who following their examples have separated
1

and

singled out themselves

2

from the world, that

l

is

to say people

3 4

Read yazhar. Read al-madhbah.

Read

as-sa at ath-thalithah.

Allusion to the epiclesis or the invocation of the Holy Spirit, which, according to the teaching of the eastern churches, consecrates the Eucharistic
elements.

APOCALYPSE OF PETER
whose food we have guaranteed and
1

117
have made our-

for

whom we
first

selves responsible

in respect of the evil of the worries of this

world-

let the prayers of such people be in the

hour

of the day, with

humility,

supplication and
it

petition to the Father not to let

them enter
2

into temptation, because from heaven.

was

at that

hour that the Archon'

fell

The number
They
to the

of the prayers

offer a prayer in

imposed on the above people is seven. the third hour, because it was at that hour that
perfected,

the creation of

Adam was

and he

lived, offered thanksgiving

mercy
3

of

God and was elevated

(Adam) was
his rebellion

to the highest order of the orders to the angels that are near

of Paradise,
to

which the Lord had devoted

created.

Him And

before he

in the sixth hour,

because in that hour

Adam rebelled

against

His Lord, and by

dise,
4

he deserved
that
if

to

be driven out of Para-

because

God had warned him

it

he rebelled he would surely

:

die.

As

to his death
his

he was stripped of

took place in two ways the first was that and driven out of the place of rest to kingdom

The second death was that God the place of wretchedness and toil. the Father decreed in full justice and deprived him of life, and his
spirit left his

body, and his corpse returned to the bosom of his mother

earth.

And

in the ninth hour,

because in that hour

that

became aware

of

the secret of

Adam

and noticed

on account
eyes shed

of the different kinds of

he was downcast and dejected remorse that had beset him. His
his sad plight.

tears,

when he pondered over

him

He

did not
to

see except wild animals in great numbers,

which did not draw near

him and show

fearful of

friendliness to
in flight

as heretofore, but rather

were they
on
his deI

him and

from

his sight.

Eve demanded food from

I

him, and his heart

jection, his
1

was broken on her

his complaint

account.

had

pity

weeping,

and

his supplication to

me, and

Read kafainahum.
the prince of the fallen angels. I shall keep in the translation this is used in the Arabic original. Arab, al-mukarrabin. Said of the angels this word recalls Kuran
I.e.
;

Greek word which

3

iv.

70
4

Ixxxiii.

1 ,

etc.

Read yamut.

present
is

MS.

is

This reading suggests that the original from which the derived was written in undotted Arabic characters because it

in Arabic only that the two letters ba and only distinguishable by extraneous dots.

ya have the same form and Read mustakarr.

:'

are

118
sent

WOODBROOKE
one of

STUDIES
and husbandry in order which he was
1

my angels

to teach

him

agriculture

that he might eat from the fruits of the earth from

driven out and to which he

rebelled he

would eventually return. If he had not would not have gone out 2 to the earth and he would not
3

have tasted death.

And
prayers of

in the eleventh

hour, because in that hour

his request.

heard the

Adam

and granted him

And

gave him

my

true promise that from his

5

body

will bring forth a

man 4 who would

bear his sin for him, and then

any more
promised

in

my

creation.

my wrath and anger would not dwell And I am the one who promised and was

to him.

And

a prayer at the hour of the coming of the night, because in

that hour the heavens resound with the voices of the glorifications
sanctifications of the

and

of those beings that are near (to

myriads of angels and the myriads of the squadrons God) and of the heads of the Cherubim,
tunes and modulations inspire with
If

who

in different musical

the corners of the abodes of the heavenly beings.

awe all man makes his

devotions in that

moment his prayers will be accepted by God. 6 a prayer at the time of rising, because it is in that hour that created light in all heaven in the circles of the full moons,' and the

And

higher
of

and lower heavens were illuminated together with the heights And the firmaments shone, and darkness 6 was the firmaments.

hidden in

my

knowledge.

will send (that light) in the

in the
hell.
1

day
10

of the
in the

Resurrection to those

who

dwell

torments of the abyss,

lowest depths of the torments of

Let

it

be known also to you that

of

have given freedom to

of

my
it,

believing peoples in
cision
it

and some
him not

what they desire. them dislike it.

to

Some
If

them

desire circum-

becomes forbidden
let

him

u
;

any

of

my

followers dislike

but

if

he desires

it, it is

not his creation.

12

And
1

fear sin

from an inward and outward purification by

2 5

4
f '
'

Read al-lati. Read basharan.

Lit.

Read yakhruj.
This sentence
is is

Read

al-hadiyat.

"

somewhat complicated.

of sitting."

The

Or

astronomical science of the author " " " were purified or appeared."

sometimes nebulous. " 9

Cod.

The Syr. tehbma. 12 Read 'amaluhu. The

10

n Read

days."

*alaiki.

author seems to imply that since circumcision

to practise it is at Christian writer.

was ordered by God and not by man, anyone who wishes This is a bold statement on the part of a liberty to do so.

APOCALYPSE OF PETER
the water of baptism.
1

119

Forbidden

are,

however, to

my

followers

all

the sacrifices offered by those

of

who

contradict
of

Kedar,

the pagans

and the haters

my my people, who
to

religion like the sons

have not

ceased to worship idols and offer sacrifices them, and like the The same applies also to the Samaritans and the ungodly Sabeans."

Jews, for which I substituted in exchange my flesh which I offered to the Father in expiation of your iniquities, prevarications and sins, and also my blood which I shed on your I gave them both to you in order that you might receive them behalf.

unholy

sacrifices of the

and remember me through them as long as this world lasts. And this holy sacrifice came down to you from heaven as grace and mercy
in order to deliver
sacrifice is
I

you from the wickedness

is

of the Rebel.

And

this

who am now

None
in
it,

of

my

followers
it,

speaking of it. allowed to observe the Sabbath or to

it.

fast

or to honour

or to exalt

Anyone who does

this rebels

against me.
all

Let him rather follow the Canons relating to Sunday and the prescriptions which I will enjoin on my peoples in respect of the
s

continuous prayers extending from the ninth hour of Saturday, which is the eve of Sunday, to the end of the sixth hour of Sunday, while
persevering in an unbroken prayer, in prostration, genuflexion, modesty,
humility,

and while attending

to the

needs of every one

who

is

in

want, or weak, or poor, or a stranger, or a prisoner, or old

or a

and

decrepit,

widow, or an orphan, or hungry, or thirsty, or naked, or shipwrecked, or in distress, or abandoned and known to nobody. If you do the things that I have ordered you to do I will prolong double lives, your multiply your provisions, your wealth, remove your
guard your souls from all the evil which had prevailed upon 4 enhance you, your prestige in the world, stand by you, care well for
troubles,

you

as long as

you

live,

lengthen the fixed time of your death and

fulfil
;

the desires of your hearts in respect of your daughters

and every good deed which you

double
it

will

perform
it

and your sons will increase it and

5

several times for you,

and cause
I

to possess high value.

Beware
1

of rebelling against

me, because

am

a jealous God.

I.e.
-

the Arabs, the Ishmaelites.

The
7.

allusion here is to

Muslim Arabs.
spoken of

The

followers of the
ii.

somewhat problematical
;

religious sect

in the
"

ur'an

50

v.

73
l

xxii.

Read as-sa'at at-tasi ah. The copyist adds here in Syriac

Read

"

'iriayah.

And

pray for me,

brothers."

120

WOODBROOKE

STUDIES

The Apostle Peter said to his disciple Clement : And when my Lord had finished what He had wished me
:

to learn

He reverted to the subject of the qualities of heaven, which He revealed And He said to me and taught me thoroughly.

We are from
tions

ourselves, in ourselves

and

to ourselves.

Magnifica-

and
and

glorifications are to us.

We lack nothing that may be added

caused the Cherubim to bear
feet,

to us,
1

us.

We

have nothing superfluous that needs to be removed from are the first and the last, and everything is contained in the
hand.
It is

we

palm

of our

we who have
2

our throne, and created the clouds under our

chariots in

and made them the

-of

which the Cherubim

fly

on the shoulders

the winds.

At

a sign from us the earth quakes, the mountains move and the

hills

shake.

The eyes
to

of the angels
it is

do not look

at us

because they are not able

4

do

so,

and so

with

all

the hierarchies of the angels.

Some

of the

orders of the angels praise and magnify and

glorify.

some others

sanctify

and

We

have created heads to the angels from the angels, and

these serve constantly round our awe-inspiring Pavilion.

of

The name
"

one of them

is

Gabriel,

and he

is

the messenger of good news, peace

and mystery.
one
of

The name
is

of another

one

is

Michael, and he

is

the

messenger of anger and war.

As
6

to the

remaining heads of angels,

them

called Rudael,

the messengers of good news.

of the angels
of our
is

and the other Raphael, and they are When we wish to do something, none
of their

aware

of

it,

and none

heads has any knowledge

movement.
their sights

Their minds do not comprehend us and

1

do not perceive

the Ethiopia version of Qalementos (in R.O.C., 1912, All the above section is missing in it. The precise phrase at 2 which it stopped has been noted above. Read al-Karubiyin. 8 The Ethiopian translator has misunderstood this sentence which he renders "to crush the wind with their shoulders."
p. 249).
'

Here begins again

this

"

and he is which he renders by " that Arabic pronoun may occasionally have.
6

The author uses often the word nurdni in the sense of angels. I take word to be the Syriac nurane which means " angels," but while the " Arabic word lexicographically means " luminous from nur the Syriac word " " means from num. better Arabic word to translate the Syriac fiery nurana would be nari. 5 The Ethiopian translator has twice misunderstood the Arabic wa-hua

"

is

to say," a

meaning which the

The

Ethiopia version calls him Uriyal, the traditional Uriel.

APOCALYPSE OF PETER
us.

12!

We

have no
J

first

and no

last

amongst

us,

and we have no

and no divisions. Neither the watchful angels fathom us nor the " " Our mercy ones are aware of what our minds contain. vigilant
averts our anger,
of

"

"

parts

and our clemency averts our punishment. do not create our creatures can comprehend us.

No

power

We
~

to the full

measure of our knowledge, nor do we work to the our power we rather work with mercy and love.
;

full

capacity of

We

produce

By our power everything without any fatigue affecting our persons. we render the distant object near, and the near object distant.

We

see everything and nothing

sees us in our essence.

Every one
3

of our

known
are in
place.

attributes
all places,

is

great, especially the attributes of our

is

power.

We

and no place

deprived of us,

and

we

are not that

We
all

are the cause of salvation and power.

Our power

extends to

that

we

have created.

We see everything and

4

we

hear everything.

We
is

are in no need of the glorification

of

any

of our creatures,

and

it

in order to

the creatures to glorify us.

enhance our grace and our power that we have caused All our works are executed by our ex3

tended motion, because

it is extended over everything. derived from our power, and our mercy is higher than our superiority extends over all our creation.

All power
all

is

mercy, and

Know,
assured,

O
I

Peter, that

none

of the fettered

r'

natures of this world

knows what

Peter, from

have explained to you concerning our power. Be Breh actions and 1 am works that my my

dAlaha hayya s
God."

which being interpreted means

"

Son

of the living

These words are evidently literal translations of two Syriac vocables The second Arabic word mutayakkizin seems to be referring to angels. " " the translation of the Syriac 'ire referring to in general and to the angels " " of in section them The vigilant particular. Ethiopian translator has omitted
both sentences apparently because of his inability to understand these two Read yadkhul. important words that they contained. 3 This sentence is difficult to understand. It is not found in the Ethiopic version. I read yu'raf with a yci instead of na'rtf'of the MS.

Remove the article from the Arabic word. Here occurs the word mujaljal for which I am meaning to suit the context The sentence is missing 7 Read tayakkan.
" 8

So

the

Text

not able to find a better

in the Ethiopic version.

formula,

Syriac sentence which the author evidently considers as a sacred it is of course See above, p. 103. missing in Ethiopic.

122

WOODBROOKE
And
I

STUDIES
my God, converse with me me the condition of

Peter said

"
:

O my Lord

and

fully.

will begin

by asking you

to reveal to

the heavenly angels, their different orders and forms, and the days in

which they were created and also the condition of the wind and the and also the condition of the waters and the way it is governed
; ;

different orders

and forms of (animals) found

in them, in order that

may

firmly ascertain that

said to

And He
summer.
is
I

you him
:

control all the created beings."

O
am

Peter, there

is

no winter and no

summer with me, because

the

God

of the winter

and

of the
It

am
send

with the Father and the Spirit without separation.

we who

down

the rains and distribute them to

all

the earth.
2

We

and we make dry lands into seas, and seas and rivers into dry lands. We send a wind from the sea of the storms and it goes out destroying and demolishing many countries

drown

countries with them,

and big

cities,

and breaking up

lofty

mountains,

and making
4

valleys

flow with water.

Consider,
sea of
fire

Peter, that
is

we are able

to send a small fire

it

from the
of the of

which
wish

above heaven, and destroy with

any part
full

earth

we

to destroy.
in

from which and

Under our power fire, which we have created an animal which neither
are islands
it,

perishes nor dies as long as he remains in

it

but any time he will leave

he will perish. By our power we perform many miracles, and bring up from the earth a small fire which consumes many countries.
It is

we,

Peter,

who

cause the water which

is

in the clouds to

freeze into

snow and ice. rain on perverse towns hail like stones. Consider, Peter, the different orders of animals which we have

We

created and their numbers, and also the trees and

all

the plants that

we have
us,

ordered the earth to produce.

are glorified
is

Peter,

all

(of

them)
is

glorify

and we

by

ourselves in ourselves.

There

no one
call

inside us

who

beside us, and no one of the type you

would

"
this,

then that."

And

by our power

we have

created, by a sign

and not by words, all that which is material and immaterial, and all that which is corporeal and spiritual, and all that which is corruptible and incorruptible, and all that which is perishable and imperishable,
ir

The Ethiopia

version begins here with this sentence (R.O.C.

3

1912,

250).
-

Read abharan.

Read

jibalan.

Read naran.

APOCALYPSE OF PETER
and
all

123

all

things that die

and things
lifted

that

do not

die.

None can number

these besides ourselves.

It is

up the heavens without columns and conIt is we who have caused the earth to structed them by our power. weigh more than other objects so that it does not move, and it neither

we who have

goes

up nor comes down.

it it

We have interspersed
of all

it

with large rivers

in order that

may produce com,

vegetation and trees, and

the birds.
incarnation
I

we

have

made

Know,

along with the sky the abode Peter, that were it not for

my

would not

have created Adam and Eve, and I would not have set up the earth nor created the world. Peter, were it not for my incarnation from

the pure

Mary would not have created Adam, nor heaven nor earth. Peter, if I had not created the created things my pre-existence
I

would not have been made

incarnation,

manifest.

Peter,

were

it

not for

my

my
it

majesty and

Peter,

were

not for

my

my glory would not have been known. incarnation you would not have known
I

that

my
3

Father created the heavens through me, and that

I

am

in

my

Father.

have become incarnate

in order to quicken

and

raise the
life.

bodies, resuscitate

them from

their graves
I

and

give

them

eternal

Know,
it

Peter, that
I

when

look into the heart of a

man and

see

firm in

my

faith,

manifest myself to him in a

is

human

covering, be-

cause

4 my Godhead

not seen nor perceived nor comprehended,

and
I

has neither quantity nor quality.

Because

of

my

love for this

world

appeared to

its

inhabitants

in the likeness of their covering in

order to

draw them

to myself,

the knowledge of the

and teach them the glorification of the Father, Son and the magnification of the Spirit, who
heaven and on earth.
I

creates, gives life to all living beings in

Know,
the world

Peter, that
I
I

have

secrets

which

have not revealed to

Peter,

and which
world
it

shall reveal to you.

were

it

not for

my

love for the

Peter,

were

would not have appeared to them in the flesh. 6 not for this chosen Virgin I would not have created
I

Eve.

Peter,
I

answered your question by revealing these

of
is

secrets

to you, because

was aware

your love (for me).

Peter,

none

of

those

whom
1

have created
-

able to see

me

in

my
3

substance and in

Lit "seas."

or

pre-eminence.
5

4 6

John

xiv. 10.

Read lianna
All

fahuti.

Read lahum.

this theological

passage

is

missing in Ethiopic.

124
the essence of

WOODBROOKE
my
I

STUDIES
who has
:

majesty except the one

I

the true faith in me.

When
our

look at such a one's true faith

l

make myself

manifest to him.

Then my

teacher Peter said to

me

O my

son Clement,
I

when

God

reached here with

His conversation,

noticed that

He

stretched

and
as

He

His hand and lengthened His arm to the height of heaven, folded the heaven and the earth as parchment is folded, and
a book.

one

folds the roll of

He

collected

them and placed them

in the

palm

of

His hand.
this

Any
2

one of the baptised Christians

is

who
do
it

does not believe in

and confesses that our Lord

able to

And my Lord said to me " Bring your ear heard in it brought my ear nearer to His hand and
:

may

the curse of

God

be on him.

nearer."

And

continuous voices,

resounding murmur, exquisite modulations, tumultuous uproar, shoutings, prayers and praises from many people, and a great glory that

impressed
the

my
of

soul with the superiority of

all

His might.
luminous

By His power
spot

palm

His Hand contained

the created things.

Then we proceeded

forthwith to a

which was

neither from heaven nor from earth.

Then

the Christ

my

answered

I Saviour said to me Where are you, " I do not know, Son of the living " Son of the living God 4 said to me Raise your head," and I lifted head and I saw a my upwards pavilion of light round which hung When I saw that a great fright curtains of light immersed in light.
: :

"

my" Lord and And Peter ? And the God."

J

and a
man.

fearful terror took

hold of me, and

I fell

on

my

face like a

dead
"

Then my Lord
:

took

my

hand, raised

me and

said to

me
"
:

you see and perceive anything resembling heaven or earth ? " " Look at I answered No, my Saviour." And He said to me what there is under you." And I looked and saw a bottomless pit,

Do And

Then the Son of the living God said to me dark and awful. " Open your mouth and speak, and your eye and see what there is in the palm of my hand." And I opened my eyes and saw heaven and
:

earth in
1

His hand, together with the sun and the moon.

begins again the Ethiopia version. is from the Kur'an ii. 1 56.

The

rivers

Here

2 8

This phrase

It is

not found in Ethiopia.

Here

4
5

also this sentence is in Syriac. This sentence is as usual in Syriac.

Again

in

Syriac and again missing in Ethiopia.

APOCALYPSE OF PETER
flowed
in
it,

125
All these,
Lord, and
not in

and the winds were

I

also assembled there. of the

O
all

my
of

son Clement,

saw
and

in the

palm

hand
I

of

my

them

glorified

sanctified openly.

saw
of

all this

my

dream and not

as

it

was a

jugglery but in true reality.

Then my Lord

uttered

everything should revert to

words the meaning its former place and

its

which was that

situation.

And my
I

Lord caused everything

to return to

place.

And

forthwith

Peter noticed that the earth became firm, that the waters flowed in
the rivers, that the overflown rivers emptied themselves into the seas,
that the heavens rose upwards, that the stars were on the face of the And firmament and the sun and the moon shone with their lights.

we

sat

as

we were
Olives.
2

previously

on the spot on which

we were on
I

the

Mount of Then
"

He

said to

me

"
:

wards and saw Jerusalem.

Look backwards." Then the only Son

And
of

looked backsaid to

God

me

Know,

O
I

Peter, that the heaven

and the earth and

3

all

that

which
hand.

the Father has created through

me do
are.

not cease to be in

my
I

Any
the

time

will

them

to be, they

(Know
is

also) that

it is

by

God

power my of Abraham, the God

of

divinity that everything

done, and that

of Isaac

and the

God

of

am the Jacob, who is

however,

Israel.

The

mysteries of

my

mercy are not known, and not compreI

hended, and no tongue

reveal to

is

able to speak of them.

that
I

shall,

you those

of

them

know your mind and

intelligence

can comprehend, because I have given you the keys of the heavens 4 and of the earth, and have shown you their doors so that you might

open them and

I

close

them

at

your will."

before

And prostrated myself before my Lord and my God, worshipped Him and said " O Son of the living God, do not hide from
:

me

anything that
I

do not know, and

to teach
I

that of

which

have no know-

want you ledge the beginning and

1

me."

And He
I

said to

me

"I

am

am

the end,

kill

and

make

alive,

wound

"

Read /#/#.$ The author writes zaita with an Aleph in the Syriac 3 Read fatakun for fayakun. This also proves that
this
it

fashion.

the original from

which

Garshuni
is

text

because

only in

derived was in undotted Arabic characters, Arabic characters that the letters ya and ta are
is

graphically similar

and distinguishable only by extraneous dots placed above

4 Read araituka. Peter are often missing in Ethiopia.

or under the
3

letters.

The

questions of

126

WOODBROOKE
I

STUDIES
in

and
Spirit

heal.

am

in

the
in

Father and

the

Spirit,

and the

and the Father are

me.

We are

oneness

in

Trinity,

and

Trinity in oneness.
is

Peter, the heaven is my throne and the earth who can stand against me ? and my footstool, " Adam in order to set him against the accursed Rebel I created

of this world.

From

the time Satan

fell

from

his

rank in heaven he

has not been able to perceive my glory as he used to do previously. It is for this Mary, the chosen one, that I have created the world,

fashioned
into
is

Adam
2

from earth and made him

of
life

ini

my

image.

breathed

him the breath

and fashioned
3

in

him a

spiritual soul

which

without body, of medium

its
I

size, simple,

incorruptible

and resembling

the angels in

essence.

"

O
7

Peter

have revealed
that
it
I

to

made you understand

days, and
I

you that I am the Son of am His only Son. I said

to Jacob, son of Isaac,
is
6

God and
in

former
is

believe that

was

that Israel

my

son.

did not say that Israel

;

my

son in the sense of the

son of

my

substance

said this simply because of his belief in

is

me.

And
the
of

also said that

he

the

'

first-born,* in the sense that

he was
term

first

of the descendants of his father to believe in

'

me.

The

son in a family implies that there are brothers that were born after him, and that he is the first of them in birth. If

'

first-born

no brothers are born

a
'first-born'

after him,

he
8

is

called

an

'

only son

and not
has

because

his father
'

and mother have no other son

Son,'

besides

him.

As
I

to the

Only
9

Peter,

the

Father

already shown you His

attributes.

"
1

Peter,

created the land of

Eden

at the time

created the

Deut.

xxxii. 39.

I strike which is by which means both "I strike" and "I wound." The Ethiopian translator " " " I render I strike gave no good meaning rendered it by finding that " This in order to answer the idea of healing that follows. people sick

"

"

The

" " is translated into Arabic I wound expression a literal translation of the Syriac mahe-na

proves that the Ethiopia

'

is

a translation from Arabic.

3

Read mutajassimah.
"

Read

All the above passage is missing here with the following sentence. "
5

in the

basltah. Ethiopic version which begins

The words

Son
'

of

God

are in Syriac.

Rather unseemly on the part of God to be in doubt 7 8 Exod. iv. 22. Read Itablhi. 9 All this theological passage which is missing in Ethiopic seems to be a digression from the main subject.

(ibid. p.

337)

APOCALYPSE OF PETER
angels.
I

127

placed

it

in the

land of the Tigris, which became afterwards

it

the land of the exile, and

I

is

the land of the

Kingdom

of

Heaven.

did this in order that

Eden might become

the house of

my mercy.

placed Paradise below my Kingdom, and in it is found my majesty. 2 I planted in it a spiritual tree which is higher than this visible earth

by

fifteen cubits of

the size of the cubit of the

Holy
"
:

Spirit"

And
Saviour,

the feeble Peter said to

my

Master

My God
Holy

and

my "

what are the dimensions

:

of the cubit of the

Spirit ?

And He answered "Its measure is like the measure of my hand and my arm which stretched on the wood of the Cross." And He " And the measure of that is like the distance that separates added
I
:

the east from the west.

"

Peter,
fruits

planted the spiritual tree in Paradise and caused

it

to

bear holy

copiously in order that

be completed. Peter, wonderful Church which

5

I
3

made
I

my praise might Paradise in the image of the 4 have prepared in heaven for the marked
this

my

glory and

virgins.

It is

from there that the

of this

Archon
I

has been driven out.

The

length and breadth

of the Paradise of
'

Church are

like

the length and breadth

for the spiritual

Eden,* which

have established
I

prisoners

of the children of

Adam.
its

malefactor

who was

crucified with

me.

gave precedence to the (good) He went to Paradise before

I had gone from the earth soon witness my Ascension

me

in order to

announce

to

inmates that
Peter, will

to the

Father.
I

And
I

you,

to heaven.

have revealed to you the

will reveal to

secrets for

which you have

asked me, and

because
I

you those for which you will ask me, have ordered you to ask me and I shall give you, to knock
'

and

shall

open

to you."

A Chapter on the subject of the Angels, who they are and what are their forms and their attributes. Then I prostrated myself before my Lord and said to Him You know the degree of my love to you and of my faith in you. You have made known to me your great glory and your sublime
: '

or

of heaven.
al-lati,

3 5
'

Read

Cf. Rev. xiv. 4. I.e. the good people of the

Read shajaratan. Read lil-abkar. " Lit Eden of Paradise." Old Testament who were imprisoned
4
''

in

Hades.
translator

The word
was not
it.

missing in the Ethiopic version presumably because the able to read it in undotted Arabic characters or to
is
8

translate

Matt.

vii.

7.

128

WOODBROOKE

STUDIES

You have majesty and have given me all that I had asked of you. shewn me the attributes of the angels with their different orders and their
Have they all of them a human form, or are they Have they length and breadth ? I canin the form of a shadow ? not understand how a being which has no body can speak. Where is
forms
;

tell

me now

also the place that

can contain them

Did you

create

them

at the

moment you
"

created the heaven and the earth ?

in

And
in

then in which
?

hour did you create them, and

Tell

which day and

which month

me also what is going to happen to them after the ResurrecHave they sinned and have they had a sinful thought since you tion. created them ? Have they the faculty of hearing and seeing ? Do Have they identical forms and a uniform glorifithey move about ?
cation or different glorifications ?

How
is

can voices come out of them

in

while they have no bodies ?

while they have no tongue
?

Where
"

them the

faculty of speech

And
Know
to

the

Son

of the living

God

said to

me

"
:

Simon, you

have asked
that

me about something which your mind cannot understand. I am going to dictate to you the things only which your
to the exclusion of

mind can grasp

comprehend. "

what (human)
is

intelligence

is

unable

The
is

first

month

that

created

April and the

it
I

created

Sunday, and
it

in the first

hour of
I

day that I created heaven and all

first

the angels that

contains.

Know that
I

have not imparted

to

Moses
and

in the matter of the history of the creation

what

am

imparting to you.
to stumble

In the second hour of Friday

caused the

Archon

made him fall from his heavenly order because I was aware of what he was thinking within himself to the effect that he desired to possess a
Kingdom
like

mine.

made him

a stranger to his glory and an alien

to his high order

because of the pride and arrogance in which he in-

dulged within himself."

And
you
to

Peter said to

Him

"
:

O
'*

my Lord and my God, why

did

create

him knowing previously

you
?
If I

that
*

Satan at

his rebellion against

you were going to make him And the Lord and Saviour said
examining through

me
1

"

had
is

to create people only after

my

"

Lit

This sentence "

like

my

king

as usual in Syriac and missing in Ethiopia. " " or like my Kingdom."

The

that

you would place Satan

Ethiopic translator renders this sentence erroneously: in his rebellion" (R.O.C., 1912, 338).

"knowing

APOCALYPSE OF PETER
prescience their future actions,
all.
I

129

Through

my

would not have created anybody at foreknowledge and prescience I knew that this

Archon was
inflicted

I created him, however, in going to rebel against me. order that other angels and other beings, seeing the kind of punishment

on him by me,

not rebel against

will in his action

me

in that

might think carefully within themselves and through which Satan fell He had free-

and was

induced him to
to

revolt,

If I had in no way compelled to revolt. he would not have deserved to be punished nor

be degraded from his rank.

With

his

own

freewill

he cherished

this sin

and thought

of establishing for himself

a throne, glory and

before

majesty.
"

What
I

he was going

to

do did not escape

me

created him,

and

created him with love

me

after

and mercy, but when he rebelled against had exalted him, I degraded him from his high rank and
a stranger on the earth and a despised person, banished

made him
from

my

grace.

Peter,

when

created

him

to

lif

created him

with mercy, and endowed him with freewill. I have not created any being without previously knowing what he will do after his creation.
Peter, after
1
I

had removed the Archon from

I

my

grace with which

had invested him,

fit
'

resolved to

fill

his

place with pure and pious be-

ings

to

be

spiritual

and (children)

of light.

remaining hierarchies of the angels still occupy the same to which I have assigned them. The creatures that in my position

The

foreknowledge I had resolved to create I created, and I was not precluded from creating them through ulterior motives, and was not
influenced in

my

actions

of another creature,

by the revolt of a creature and the obedience and so my first resolve was never affected and

there

was no

contradiction in

my

actions.

4 I

created everything with

knowledge and my love, and my creation was completed without any trammels, and in it were gathered my science and my love accord-

my

ing to
1

my

will.

The Ethiopian translator wrongly renders "in order that he corrected by the punishment that I would inflict on him."
:

may be

Read wa-fakkara.
3

Lit.

"from

the animals."

The

phrase which should possibly be read

lil-Jiayat is omitted in Ethiopic. 4 1 translated the above sentence

somewhat

freely.

It

is

missing

in

Ethiopic,

130
"
I

WOODBROOKE
created him with

STUDIES
through

my love knowing

my

prescience that

he would be a demon, but he was

according to
I

like the other angels

who

were,

my

will,

capable of obeying

me

or revolting against meof

had made him an Archon and the Chamberlain

1

my

dwelling in

the heights,

because

knew

that
;

angels will rebel against

me

no other angels of the hierarchies of and I had placed him in a rank higher

than that of the remaining angels, because knowing in my prescience that these will not revolt, he will have at his revolt no excuse and say :
'

rebelled against

you because you have placed some

of

my
I

colleagues
at

in

a rank higher than mine, and in

In this

my

revolt against

you

aimed

higher honour.'

he would have had some pretext which would

for his revolt.

have given him an excuse

"

He

was

nearer to

me

than
2

all

other hierarchies, because he

was

near to the Pavilion of Light, at the entrance of the Canopy, and he was holding the cords of the veils of my grace, and receiving (for the

purpose of presenting them to me) the glorifications of the hierarchies that were under him. As I have already told you I had created him
in the first

hour of Sunday, and he

Gabriel

fell

from

his

rank in the second

hour of Friday.
"
in

And

my prescience I did not make him their head

was the lowest of the hierarchies of knew that he would be the head of

the angels, but

the angels.

when

be ignorant of my will, and my 3 with my love and my justice. When the demon
place,

created him in order that he might will is that my works shall be done
I

fell

Gabriel took his

and

made him

the head of

all

the angels and placed him near

I

the Pavilion of Light

and the

veils of

mercy.

singled

him out

as

my
*

messenger, and

heavenly head and entrusted him with the and also the of the waters, armies,

made him

the revealer of

my

secrets to all

task of bringing
of

good news and peace. And I made Michael the head As to Rudael and and power might, and of anger and wrath. 5 Raphael I entrusted them with the task of announcing the resurrec1

translated in Ethiopia

(Arab. Kubbah) is generally " throne (in Arab. Kurst) and thus the translator " " misses entirely the idea of the in the seat of the Deity. holy of holies 3 This sentence is difficult to translate and my translation of it is not
"
light, etc.

Read al-ula. This sentence " The expression " pavilion of

by

is

missing in Ethiopia.

certain.

The

Ethiopia version reads

" because

all

my work

is justice,

up-

rightness and mercy." 4 Read as-samdwiyin.

Remove

the articles in the text.

APOCALYPSE OF PETER
tion.

131
is

As
"

to

Mary, the mother

of

mercy, her place in heaven

established before the eons

near

the Canopy.

O Peter, the Church which

my
I

and the
of

times near the door of

Pavilion,
it

and which

'

is

called

the Church

the faithful virgins,*

created

as a dwelling to those

who
I

believe in

me.

As

to you,
I

Peter, guard

my Church and what

confided to

Peter, gave you the keys of pardon and the keys of the you. Kingdom. Heaven and earth obey your command, and the angels

submit to your words and do not disobey you.

Peter, there

was

no beginning before
everything that
I

created everything in
is

heaven and on earth, and

created

liable to dissolution.

A
create

Chapter on the sin of

said

Adam and how

Son
of the living

he transgressed the
1

Commandment. Then I Peter

"
:

knowing that he would rebel you place him on the earth after he had transgressed your command" ment ?

Adam

God, why did you against you, and why did

And
answer
"
I

the Saviour said to

to

your question

in

"I have already given you the what has preceded." Then he added
:
:

me

will reveal everything to you.

in

was

able in

my

grace to create

Adam
I

a state that was angelic, simple, spiritual and immortal, but created in heaven what I wished to create, and then I assembled the

four elements and from

them

created
I

Adam
created

in

know
but
I

that

control
In

all

the elements.
I

Adam

order that he might as a ruler over

the earth.

my

prescience

knew

that

created him with love, as previously asserted, and

he would rebel against me, 1 caused him

to die

"

by my will. You know, O

Peter, that
lest

when
it

a husbandman casts his wheat

into the earth

he sorrows

grain yields fruits thirty-fold, sixty-fold,

at the yield of his crops

should perish there, but when his 3 or a hundred-fold, he rejoices

first

and

forgets his

sorrow over

his

wheat.

Likewise
but

mercifully saved

Adam

from death

when

created him,

when he

rebelled against me, his death did not cause

me any

trouble or sorrow, because from his posterity

4

would

rise,

good, pious,

righteous and upright people till the end of the world, in order that 3 from them I might fill the hierarchy from which Satan had fallen.
1

As

usual this sentence

xiii.

is

in Syriac.
4

"

Add
Read

kuntu.
sakata.

Matt.

8.

Read

wasitln.

132
"

WOODBROOKE
O
Peter,
l

STUDIES

him

freewill

rebellion,

Adam living and mortal, gave and enjoined obedience on him. I warned him against made him understand everything, and said to him I have
know
that
I

created

'

bestowed favours on you and made you a father. freewill and made you understand good from evil.
after the lordship that the

have given you

Do

not strive

Archon
and

sought,

and because
fruit

of that

he

fell.
if

Do
you

not eat from the tree which yields the

eat

of death, because

from

it

you

will die,

if

deprive you

of the

Eden

of delight,

you transgress my order I will and banish you. If you do not

I

contravene

my

orders and

do not

eat from that tree,

will not cause

you
and

to die,

"

and you will live for Peter, had I not known

ever.'

that Satan
2

wished to deceive

Adam

incite

him
I

to revolt,

rebellion

and
I

have warned him against would not have admonished him as I did. It is
I

would not

because
I

he would transgress my commandment that created him mortal and immortal, and I infused the earth from
that
I

knew

which

had created him with

it

fire

order to him and acted upon

he had kept my He was he would not have died.

and

spirit.

If

endowed with two natures one spiritual and the other earthly and mortal, but when he rebelled against me I ordered death for the
earthly

and mortal nature.

Peter,
I

"
I

created

Adam
Peter,

have already told you and I because of my incarnation, and

now
I

tell

you

that

will return

Adam

to Paradise in the

Know,

body which he had when he was driven out of it. that I have special secrets which minds cannot comI

prehend and which

do not wish

to reveal to

mankind."

When the Christ spoke to me implored Him and said to Him

me
to

thus

"
:

the different orders of the angels.

worshipped before Him and 4 of the living God, show You know that I have a desire
I

Son
"

know
1

this."

And He

said to

me

Yes

Peter.

Know

The

which
s

in the next text

Ethiopian translator often omits the translation of the word istifcfah " means free-will." He evidently did not understand its
2

meaning.

Read lam.

misunderstood this passage, because immediately after having spoken of the second nature of Adam which is " immortal ends by saying "I brought death against his spiritual nature (ibid. p. 341). 4 This sentence is as usual in Syriac and is omitted in the Ethiopia
Ethiopian
translator

The

has

version.

APOCALYPSE OF PETER
that the orders of the angels are

133

numerous and do not resemble one

another.
faces.

Some of them have four faces and some of them are all Some of them have many eyes, and some of them are all eyes.
;

them possess a light that is more dazzling than the light of some of them have the sun, and some of them have human faces four wings with which to fly, and some of them have six wings, and
of

Some

some
"

of

them are all wings. Each one of these orders has names by which
:

it is

known, and

they are

the Virtues, the

the Angels, the Archangels, the Thrones, the Princedoms, High Dominations, the awe-inspiring Powers, the

Cherubim who have many eyes and who bear the throne of my 1 honour, and the Seraphim who have six wings. They are nine 2 another is a distance and and between one hierarchy hierarchies
similar

to

that

which
2

exists

between you and heaven,

is

Peter.

Between one hierarchy

that through
glorify

and another

a sea of dazzling
at

light in

order

it the hierarchies may look name because my by my power I

one another.

All of them

created speech in their mouths,

forth.

and from

all

of

them magnifications come

Each one
of

of

them

has special magnifications and a special tongue in which to glorify.

Some
some
sing.

of
of

them

praise,

some

of

them

sanctify,

some

them magnify,

them give thanks, some of them glorify and some of them This is what they do and they will do till the end of the
did not create them because
to favour
I

world. "
I I
1

needed
4

their praises,
I

but because

wished

them with

my

grace.

Before

created the creatures

I

was being
to

glorified within

myself,

and when

created the angels

each one of their orders a praise of a particular kind, through gave which to glorify me in a way different from the others and I favoured
1
;

them with the

praise

glorification of

my

majesty in order that they

might

what

is

eternally with
spiritual,

me by means
exquisite,

of their sweet modulations

and

their

bright,

refined

and

delicate

voices,

because they are luminous and spiritual heads. " All the hierarchies are devoid of bodies and are simple and not
1

is the Syriac word tkara. Read taghmatuhum. 4 The text adds " to myself."

aukar

Lit.

"

town."

Lit.

"

because they are heads of illumination and

spirituality."

The

Ethiopic translator omits almost every difficult sentence in this section.

134
composite.
earth,

WOODBROOKE
When
a

STUDIES
to this

company

of

them descend from heaven

no corporeal being
is

feels

them, no

man

sees
;

them and no one

with material senses

conscious of their presence

perceived with the minds and the eyes of a seer, They are more agile than winds and flying is not heard by a hearer. Some of them do not leave my Pavilion, and swifter than the air.

and they are not and the sound of their

despatch to announce my mysteries, and some of them are charged with the care of those who are baptised in my name and

some

of

them

name of my persons who are Father, Son, and Holy The man who is baptised in my name I give to the charge
in the

Spirit.

of

two

angels,

one of

whom
all

is

on

his right

and the other on

his

left,

and they

guard him against

sons of perdition,

harm and preserve him from

Peter,
I

all evil.

As

to the

withdraw from them

my

grace and

my

pardon."

Chapter on the subject of Paradise, and the nature of the tree from which Adam ate.

When
"

Peter heard this

of

I 2

worshipped

Him
to the

and

said to
in

Him

you the only Son

its

God, who came

as has

world

order to

save
Is it

inhabitants, disclose to

your servant the subject of Paradise. been said or

in
it

situated

on the earth

in

heaven
evil

What

kind

of a tree

was

the one which

had

good and

and the

fruits of

which you forbade Adam 3 from which he wished to

the cause of

to eat ?

eat ?

What kind of What is the tree

a tree was the one

of
life ?

What

is

Adam

and Eve

desiring after their transgression to cover

themselves in Paradise with the leaves of fig-trees ?

the sun
or food

Does

the light of

and the moon penetrate into Paradise and drink ? Does it contain trees like the
?

Has it
it

night

and day,
world

trees of this

and

fruits

like

the fruits of this earth

Has

cold and heat, or

4 Are those who inhabit it in need of garments ? hunger and thirst ? Does it possess elevated and fortified buildings ? Whence flow the

four rivers of water

which flow

in this world,

and how do they come

out of Paradise
or

Which

is

the higher,

the

Kingdom
breadth
of

of

Heaven
?

Paradise
it

What
end

are the length "

and

Paradise

Will

end
1

at the

of this

world

This sentence is wholly in Syriac. This sentence is again in Syriac. 3 4 Read ahabba. Read 'atashun.

APOCALYPSE OF PETER
The Answer
to the

135

Question,

And
"
secrets
!

the Christ said to

*

me

"
:

How

careful

you are to learn

my

And

then the Saviour added

"
:

Know,

O
2

Peter, that
it

we

created Paradise from the

Eden
and

of delight,

and placed

in

Eden
is

after

we had

fixed the earth

lifted

up

the firmament.

There

no darkness
but
it is

in

bright

Eden, as there is in the firmament and on the earth, and shining. It is high above this earth like the distance
east

which separates the

three doors.
I

from the west.

first
I

It

has together with Paradise

placed the

of the sepulchre

from which

door, which is the highest, on the door rose, and it is called the burying-ground,

and

it is

the burying-ground of the

body which

put on from

Adam.

it I hear and answer the prayers that are addressed to me because did not become incarnate except to hear the prayers of those who are in need and to satisfy their wants.

From

The second door of Paradise looks upon and overshadows the Mountain of Zaite^ which is the Mount of Olives. O Peter, while 4 you are now sitting on this mountain, you are sitting under that door. The Third Door of Paradise looks upon Mount Sinai.
"

'

As

to Paradise

it

is

situated

under our Throne

of that

itself,

towards

the east,

and the

light that

comes out

door and out of Paradise

excels the light of the sun,

of

and

it

possesses exquisite perfumes the like

which the earth does not

"

possess.

And
glorify

the

Garden
5

of

Eden

is

the dwelling place of the angels

who

As

to the four rivers that

come out
is

of

and magnify. Paradise and flow on the

earth, they are

I

from the water which

made

this

water into four streams, which

under the throne of majesty. * after having been agitated

by the wind,' flow very rapidly and traverse the land of Eden, and exhale into it that sweet and exquisite scent which it possesses. From
the

Garden

of

Eden they

flow into this earth and irrigate

its soil.

any one whom I render worthy of perceiving the odour of Eden and of seeing its brightness is no more in need of food and his face shines drink, and becomes immune against cold and heat
Peter,
;

Lit.

"

keep."

The

to

fathom
2 4

Lit. Lit,

my mystery?" "
heaven."
:

Ethiopian translator renders (R.O.C., 1912, 343). 3 Written in Syriac.

:

"

Why

do you desire

"on which you

are

now

sitting

under it."

"

The
Read

Ethiopic version identifies here the trees with the angels.

This
?

identification is
6

found below in our

Is
it

MS.
"
sea of storm

biha.

the

"

spoken

of

above

136
also with

WOODBROOKE
its light,

STUDIES

and

his passion, that is to say the passion of the

pleasures of this world, dies out of him through the exquisiteness of

its

perfume, because he acquires some of the qualities of the Garden of

Eden. "

As

to the trees they are the angels

who

glorify but not like the

trees of

this

world, and never cease their

in the

glorifications.

As
1

to the

tree

which was

middle of Paradise and from which was com-

Peter, posed the knowledge of good and evil, I am that tree. Adam did not that tree Father seek from I had forbidden which your

him

to eat except to

become a

God

in his essence like

me.

Because

Then he did not keep my commandment his design was frustrated. I took from him the pleasure that I had given him, because he imitated
Satan and did the work
"
3

of that Rebel.

I had forbidden, and came to him, because the tree bore the fruits of death. He deserved death for two reasons, the first of which is that he desired to be a God, and this is a thing and the second is that he transgressed the which can never be done a commandment. After I had warned him he was no more an ignorant man, because an ignorant man who transgresses a commandment does

And

he ate
it

of the fruit of the tree

5

which

when he

tasted

the thought

of concupiscence

not deserve punishment.

on the contrary, an intelligent man and a wise man, and from the wisdom which I had created in him he had invented names to all created things.
"

He was,

Know,

O
I

Peter, that the trees

which are

in Paradise are the

angels

whom
it
I

have placed

there,

and
8

that the tree

which

is

in the

middle of

are

we

ourselves, because

we

and
of

evil.

am, O Peter,

the tree

of

life

are the knowers of good and mercy, and whoso eats

is

my
"

fruits shall live for ever.

The
is

Father

the tree of justice,

life.

am
nor

the tree of mercy and the Spirit

the tree of

As

to Paradise,

Peter, neither darkness can prevail against

it,

it

light
1

can penetrate into

because

its

land

is

luminous and arrayed

subject to which in Arabic, and in never method used belongs, according Syriac only 4 Read marid for madid. 5 The author erroneously uses the Arabic word fikr in feminine, under the influence of the Syriac mahshabtha. ~
it

The Ethiopic version has "1 myself know that tree." Read ilahan. 3 The author uses here the pronoun explen'vely before the
:

to the

fi

ReaAfdinnahu.

Read

al-ashjur.

Read

shajarat.

APOCALYPSE OF PETER
in

137

brightness
its
it is

while

its

perfumes

are

unequalled.

Anyone who
l
;

breathes

air shall

live

an eternal

life

and

shall not taste death,

because

sanctified

by the
it

glorifications of the spiritual beings

and

It is not meet with any harm. is Service and dwells in it. no unbeliever defiled by any defilement, never at an end either in it or in the heavenly Jerusalem which is

anyone who dwells

in

shall not

has neither night nor day. It is from the light and the brightness of Paradise that the sun has obtained its light, and the brightness which is caused by its light and its rays cannot be
it

above Paradise, and

paralleled in this world.

power and the into being and were planted

breeze of Paradise.

No created being of brightness my light surpass

in the

can describe
3

it,

but

"

my

it.

And

the trees
4

came

newly created earth

remain
it

through the

"
I
I

caused
it

my grace

to

descend upon

it,

in

it

and

fill

it,

and

prepared

for people

who would

inhabit

through the merits of

I

Peter, my grace is in Paradise, and good work. below my Kingdom, and I caused the light that is in it to
their

placed

it

stretch out
is

from the

light of

my Kingdom.
are worthy of

This Paradise,
it.

Peter,

for people

who

It

contains

neither winter
It

prepared nor

summer nor

the perishable concupiscence of this world.

its

has neither
dwellers
7

food nor drink, because

therein have
in
it

breeze
6

satisfies

the souls.

The

There is thought nor do they delight in sin. no hunger and no thirst, and its inmates are in no need of
sinful
is

no

garments since there

in

it

no shame

of nudity.

"As

to

your question,

Peter,

concerning the covering with

and your mother Eve covered themselves, it was their hands, because it is with them that they covered thems selves when they were stripped of light which was their garment in
which your father
consequence of
9

Adam

their disobedience.
full of

The

subject of Paradise,

O Peter,
is

is

marvellous and

high signs, but the

it.

greater, higher
of the
1

and more sublime than

of

Kingdom Anyone who

of

Heaven
is

worthy

Kingdom
"

Heaven

first

goes to the pleasures of the gardens

signifies

Lit.

winds."
"spirit."
:

This may denote a Syriac ruka which

3

both

"wind" and " Codex

4
5

because.
"
:

or

"
:

Sic. cod. or

in the

are above "

it

".

marshy places

of the earth

if

we

read ghadir.

Read
Read

al-ladhi.
:

Probably
9

sin of lust.

Read yufakkirun. 8 Read libasahuma.

kanat.

138
of Paradise,

WOODBROOKE

STUDIES

and afterwards is taken up and raised to the Kingdom of is near our abode and which is infused with our which Heaven, grace and this abode is the majestic Pavilion which overlooks all the
;

And the Kingdom of Heaven dwellings of the people of Paradise. has neither a limited length nor a circumscribed breadth, and it has
no end and no
"
dissolution.

Know,

Peter,

that

it

possesses

many

doors,

beautiful
just

mansions and delightful places, devoted to the prophets and the

men,

who

are in separate dwellings which are pure, holy, sublime

light.

and

arrayed in

When
I

pared those dwellings for the souls of the just men,

assigned to them.
l

came down from heaven to earth I preand they are now gave you the keys of all of them when I gave
I

you the keys of the heavens

all

and appointed you

your hands and made permission every one has to enter.

in

placed them you the master of the house by whose

vizier.
I

who follow me and are baptised in my who confess my faith before those who hate me and despise me who keep my praiseworthy commandment and well-defined orders who avoid sins and iniquities, and reject those crimes that I
to the believers

"As
;

name
;

have forbidden

at all times: their

abode

shall

be

in

the city of peace,

and

shower on them favours the pleasures and happiness of which have no end."
I

will

When my
I

Lord and Saviour reached

this point

in

Peter worshipped before

Him

and

said to

your servant "

and allow him

wish,

to speak."
I

Him And Christ

:

"

His speech, Have pity on

said to

me
:

Ask what you

O
:

Peter."

then asked about something and

then refrained, and said

shall

"

No,
;

my

Lord."

And He

said

"I

not refuse your

demand

say,

therefore,

what your wish,

believers,

Peter."

A
me

Chapter on the different ranks of the

I

of the just

men and of the prophets and others.

And

said to
in

Him

"

Son

of the living

God, you have helped

your servant
will

what

had asked.

Disclose to

me now

the state
;

of the just

what
1

men, the prophets and others who believe in you happen to them before your second coming at the end
2 4

and

of the

Read jamVaha. Read hadha.

Read al-imJmirinn.
This sentence
is

as usual in Syriac.

APOCALYPSE OF PETER
world."

139

And my

Saviour said to

me

"1

shall grant you,

Peter,

what you asked for, and disclose to you the ranks of the prophets, the will believe in me, after my ascension from the just men and others who
earth to the heavenly abode of
1

Here ends

the Speech of the

distinguished Father.

and my majesty." Lord of Lords to the pure and God suffices me, and I solicit the help of

my

glory

His Son who keeps His promises. In the name of the Father, of
proceeds, one

the

Son and of

the

One who

God in

three {persons}

will write the second Part,

full of meanings, in.which figures Simona, son of Jona.In the name of the Son of the Omnipotent God I will write
in this sublime book the

what

the glorious Peter narrated to us from

mouth of the Mighty God.

the great, honoured and holy chief, the Father, the 3 Disciple and the Apostle said to me Clement : " Peter, prepare labourers, dig (And the Lord said to me)
:

And

wells

and

fill

them

to the

brim with the

spiritual

water which

en-

trusted to you.

Strengthen towards the land and the other towards the water.

their foundations

and construct one wall

Open my

treasures

my granaries and sow wheat in all lands. Water it to the full, and I will make it grow, and will guard it, strengthen it and bless it in order that my sheep, my rams and my lambs may eat it and live
and
for ever."
1

My

sheep are waiting for

my

voice because they recognise

is

written in

All the following introductory passage has been added by a copyist and rhymed prose. All the passage is missing in Ethiopia.
the
"
:

'I.e. Simon son of Jonas. The copyist writes Simona for the sake of the rhyme with Jona (Jonas). " 2 4 Codex " Peter ex errore. Codex 5 Read liyd kuluha.
:

name
rivers."

of

Simon

as

6 All the following pages are written in a rhymed prose which points to an undoubted Arabic original for the narrative. As in a composition of this kind more importance is attached to the happy and elaborate choice of lexico-

graphical terms than to the general meaning of sentences, I will only give a rough translation of this section. I will point out below where this rhymed

prose ends.

It is

needless to add that

it is

version, the translator of

which has

satisfied

completely missing in the Ethiopic himself with about a third of

a page of the R.O.C., ibid. p. 345. I cannot decide whether such a section was found in the MS. lying before the Ethiopic translator. Cf. my note in I believe that this section is of a later date my Woodbrooke Stttdies, i. 1 01 than what has preceded, and that the original text was much shorter than the
.

one given here.

140
it,

WOODBROOKE
will

STUDIES
I

and they

answer
I

it

and follow me.

of

sent

you

to

be their
are

shepherd because
thirsty,

was aware

your pity for them.

are assembled

They
in

hungry and humble sheep, which

will

will follow the shepherds

that

choose for them.

They

now

my

fold

where they are worshipping and praying. If you mention my name to them they will come out forthwith to be branded with my mark, and I will protect them by my power, and no one will be able to take them
from me.
of
1

will give

them

eternal

life in

the

Kingdom

of the

Garden

Eden, and promise them that they will be on the Resurrection and that they will rejoice with

my day of me for ever and ever." Then Jesus Christ of Nazareth said to me " The abode of the pious people who are baptised in my name and who believe in me
right in the
:

and repent before

planted in the

their death,

will

be

in

Paradise which

have

Eden
to

of delight,

and they

will rejoice there for ever

and

ever.

As

you
your

my

disciples,

who

have

left

everything in the

world even your

fathers, mothers, brothers

life,
:

and

sisters

and followed

me

at the cost of

will

astound

men and Satan

will

bestow on you gifts which will appoint each one of you as head of
miracles,
If

a nation, grant you the

gift of

my

and

of

my

knowledge, and

send you to convert the world.

churches and shrines built

you do my will, I will have under your name, and your tombs will heal

people and comfort them in their troubles.

cession,

They

will seek

your

inter-

your sake. from After you have your graves in the day of the Resurrection you will judge the twelve tribes of the wicked and
I

and

will

answer

their prayers for

"

risen

accursed nation, and

will

place in your golden mouths words of

faithless

wisdom which
servants.
2

will

inflict

summary punishment on

and unjust

have peace and joy near me and in the you company of my angels in the land of light and might where you will magnify and glorify me for ever and ever. " As to my priests who sanctify my blood and my body who
will
;

And

offer their

prayers to
;

and

my Canons

me in the appointed who keep their hearts

hours

pure

who follow my law who love their fellow

:

men, avoid sin, and stand against evil and evildoers their abode shall be in places full of light which look up on flowering gardens with
flowing rivers, and clusters of trees and
1

fruits.

Cf.
3

John

It is

Cf. Matt. xix. 28-29. not to think of the heaven of the Kur'an. here impossible
x.

1-27.

APOCALYPSE OF PETER
"As
for their

141

to the scholars

and wise men who have

will
;

suffered persecution

who have demonstrated my faith my who have borne patiently the inpublicly upon the hills of the world who have refuted of the tares on the children them inflicted by juries who have kept my commandthe objections of the sons of the world
obedience to
;
;

I will bestow benefits ments and made gains with my talents upon them, forgive their sins, have mercy upon them, remove their sorrows from them and place them in mansions full of eternal joy and delight.
:

"

As

to the children of the

spiritual
1

Church and the heads

;

of the law,

who

handle the
the Lord's

mysteries

who

strive to increase for

;

themselves

gains

and serve the Lord's houses

who
I

avoid the sins of

priests

the

body and shine with the

I have and the deacons, who fear for them and and I will diadems, gorgeous garments place prepared them in the mansions of heaven which overlook the sufferings of the

mean the me and keep my commandments

qualities of the heart

abyss, in order to double in that

day

their joy

and

their pleasures.

As to the main body of the faithful who have suffered persecution for my sake and stood firm against the injustices of the children of the who have been baptised and have kept my commandments tares who have professed my faith in the tribunals of the pagans, who believe
;

"

themselves to be of noble extraction

will purify

them from

their sins

and place them on

my

right, in

order that the onlookers

3 may know

that they are not of the people with

whom God
will
I

is

angry nor of those

who

go astray.

And

they will be like the angels of heaven, deprived

of their base

and earthly body.

They

be swift in their movements,

charge some of them with

pure and endowed with knowledge.

will

my messages, and some others will be entrusted with the calamities which I will inflict on my earth, while some others will control the
clouds and some others the winds.

Everyone

of

them has a mansion

prepared for him before his creation, because he has kept my commandments and has not imitated Adam and the Archon in their
revolt against me, but has confessed

my

grace."

1
-

A transliteration of the Syriac mardnaya.

Read yauniaidhin. Read
liyaflamu.
i.

It is

rather cruel to experience especial joy at the

sight of other peoples' sufferings.

3

Kur'an

6.

This
"

the Kur'anic sentence

is against the Muslim commentators who hold that " those who go astray refers to Christians.

142

WOODBROOKE
Then
1

STUDIES

left, and He was transfigured and I saw thousands light beauty. and myriads of angels round Him and I was bewildered and awestruck by their majesty, but my Lord strengthened my heart after I

my Lord

turned right and

and His face became suffused with

He was my God and my Lord, and He said to do not be deceived by the image of these spirits. I wished to show them to you in order that you may know that I am their Lord and their God." Then I genuflected before Him, prostrated
had confessed
"
:

that

me

Peter,

myself before His feet and said

the hidden

Lord and
in glory

God, high
After

you and majesty."

that

are

"I have ascertained that you are God and the Omnipotent Son of
pure

had uttered

this confession before those

2

spirits

He

made

a sign to two angels to take charge of me,

3

me from His presence in order to One of them opened one of the

accumulation of cold, blood and
earth
its

and they removed show me the might of His power.

hell,

doors of

and

saw

in

it

an

fire.

Then

that angel looked at the

and a and

third of

it

was consumed

together with the third part of

trees

vegetation.

Then
fires

saw the

other angel opening a door

that

was

like

a large mountain, and he ordered

me

to observe

what
and

was

there.

And

saw

that

burned, bodies that shook, sighs

alternately diminishing

that mounted,
increasing.

and an uproar that kept

Then
at

(the

first)

angel under whose care

third

the sea, and

of

part

of
it

it

was placed looked became blood, and a third

I

part

the animals found in

perished,

and a third part

4

of the

vessels that

were moving on

it

sank in

its

depths.

And

the star

called
sea,

Akslmls appeared to me, and enlightened the third part of the and I saw many people rising on their feet from the fear (that
fall of that star.

overtook them) at the

opened a door which darkened a third part of the sun, a third part of the moon, a third part of the stars, After this he a third part of the day and a third part of the night. 8 opened the door of the abyss, which emitted a terrific heat and a
of the angels

Then one

vapour with a putrid odour, which obscured the

1

light of the sun.

From
I

prose, and
2
4

Read waja'alahuma.
See the Book
of

the following passage the text ceases gradually to be in rhymed will translate it in the usual way. " 3
Lit.

suffering."
It

Rev.

viii.

9.

Read tahum.

is

the Syriac tehoma.

APOCALYPSE OF PETER
Then
I

143
with

saw coming out

of there,

and

flying like birds, locusts

sky and the poisonous stings like those of deadly scorpions. atmosphere were filled with them and all the earth was darkened by Before they came out, however, they were ordered by the them.
angels not to go near and hurt the children of Baptism, but only to attack those who have no fear of God in them and are not prepared
to

The

meet His wrath.

In this
of

way

they were to avenge

to death,

God and

strike

for five

months the faces

His enemies not

on
trees

however, but as
l

a punishment only.

(The

angel) also ordered

fall

them not

to trespass

on

fruits, nor to display their grass strength against the believing children of men, but to come down on 2 barren mountains, wastes and stones.

and

vegetation, nor to

and

Then
there,

the angel under

whose care
and
:

was placed

called

me

to

the borders of the Euphrates,

I
3

saw
"

four angels that

were bound
"

and
:

said

to

the angel

Who

are these ?

And

he

These are angels entrusted with the counting of days, months, and years. They are expecting the end of eons and times 4 when their shackles will be broken and they will overcome all those
answered

"

who had
in

contradicted them.

They

casting

the

third
;

of

mankind

experience a great satisfaction into perdition by order of the

of fire drawing near to me, on which were with I saw other horses with riding people breast-plates of fire. heads of lions and with fire coming out of their mouths. I saw

Omnipotent God." Then I saw horses

innumerable people and races who felicitated and congratulated me on my headship and on my promotion to the position of precedence over all the believing nations. One of them handed me an oblong
rod of light and said to
because
altar."
it

me

"
:

Arise and measure

this sanctuary,

is

the sanctuary of the

Lord
in

and measure

also

the

which there was a red dragon which had seven heads and twenty horns, and a crown on each head. This dragon stretched its tail, and it destroyed the third of the stars
I

Then

saw

in

heaven a red door

of heaven.

Then
1

saw a woman running

in the deserts,
2

and she had much

of

3
5

Read yatajawazu. Read lil-malak (sing.).

See the Book
of

See the Book

Rev.

ix.

sq.

Read wayatasallatu.

Rev.

ix.

14.

144
influence

WOODBROOKE
l

STUDIES

on the Lord, and she remained there one thousand two

hundred

And

and threescore days. there were two elders on

favours and

whom He

whom God had showered His had invested with honour and glory, and they
whom He
two
2

were His intimate

friends to

And
as

(the angel) called these

as

elders,

who had

had redeemed His pledge. before their Lord

to their credit signs,

much honour

an angel, and

who had

wonders and miracles.

ing concerning them
sea
I

While I was standing with them and meditatsaw an animal coming out of the depth of the
itself

and which hurled

at them, attacked

them, fought against

3

them, overcame them and killed

outside the town,
it

them.

It

threw

their

corpses

which was

called Bllat.

And

it

did not occur to

was doing a wrong thing. I saw that the vineyards were stripped of their grapes in a which were thrown press situated outside the town, and their The wrath of God was upon that press juice pressed out of them. and the juice was transformed into frozen blood (as high as) a mounthat
it

Then

tain.

Then
I

it

melted and flowed on the surface of the earth to the

extent of one thousand

and

six

hundred parasangs.

saw an eagle sweeping on the first dragon, and it drowned it in the depth of the abyss, and it is the Devil who envies the 4 It closed the doors against him and it proclaimed children of men.
to the faithful that
it

Then

will not

come

out of that place until a thousand the place in which he had

years are finished.

And the angels sealed

6

been placed with the seals of the children of Baptism, and these seals

Holy Trinity and the signs of the Cross on crucified the Son of God who cannot be seen nor perwhich was ceived nor overcome. Then I saw that the (seals) were placed (in
are the names of the

the middle) and on them were laid the martyrs

who were

killed

with

the sword because of their love for the Messiah their Lord.
1

Rev.
2

xii.

one hundred," but as the author is probably quoting the Book of seems to be due to a copyist's error. Read/tfdtf'tf as-shaikhain. The author attaches the pronoun to the verb
6, the difference
it is

MS.

"

placed before the subject as

3

done

in Syriac but not in

Arabic.

Read wa-ratha. Read wa-bashsharu.

Here

as

above the author uses the pronoun

according to the Syriac and not the Arabic syntax. 5 See the Book of Rev. xx. 1 -3, which seems to be the source of the
author for this sentence.
6

The

Syriac

word

telithayutha.

APOCALYPSE OF PETER
Then
sitting
I

145
on which was

saw a

great throne, white with light,

;

a figure of light
;

and
I

saw
all

the heaven folded up and the the

first

earth standing firm

and

saw

and the

last of

the dead

believers rising from their

graves and

standing before that throne.

Books were then fetched and opened, and among them I saw the book of life open, and the people who had risen from the graves were
being judged by those books, and everyone to his works.
1

was

requited according

Then
in
it,

saw the
;

sea giving

up the dead
all

who were

in

it,

and

all

up I saw also in a pit the and they also stood for judgment. who were tormented with some frozen snow which of suffering people
occasioned shivering and gnashing of teeth.

stood for judgment

likewise hell gave

the creatures that were

After

this the angels

under whose care

I

"

Rise up with
to

me and

will

show you

the

was placed said to me places which you asked

:

me

show you."

And he forthwith

placed

higher than the highest peaks, and said to Look at the city of the heavenly Jerusalem your heart jubilate. which is holy, glorious, honourable and spiritual, and which the Lord
:

me on a high mountain, " me Rejoice, and let

of creation has prepared for the children

'

of

Baptism

in order that

they might pray in

Adamic
situated

it and worship with the angelic hierarchies and drew near to it and was awestruck by it. It is on the highest point of Paradise and it overlooks the lofty

races."

Garden
I

of

Eden.
light of the

first Kingdom of Heaven shining, a light that multiplies in the onlooker lights that enlighten his mind, intelli-

saw the

gence, knowledge, meekness, speech,

sight,

hearing,

and

smelling,

because
mercy.

it

proceeds from

It is

light

power, strength, wisdom, grace and that shines like the rays of the full moon, and
life,

like the flash of the swift lightning.

I

saw

that

it

was surrounded by

lofty walls

in

which were

twelve gates, three of which looked to the centre of the east, three to the middle of the west, three to the beginning of the south and three to the beginning of the north. I saw that the city had twelve
foundations
4

in

which were

also twelve gates,

on each one

of

which

All

this is

found in the Book

of
3

Rev. xx.

2.
4

Remove

the

waw.

Read aswar.
10

Lit.

"

walls."

146

WOODBROOKE
written the
1

STUDIES
his

was

name

of

one of the Apostles, while

image was

painted upon

it.
2

The
itself

street

of the city

was

of red gold

and pure
Its

silver.

The
built

city

was

four

square with exactitude.

5

wall

was

with

The first stone is called jasper, 4 and the second is called sapphire. The third stone is called chalcedony, and the fourth stone is called emerald. The fifth stone is sardonyx, and the sixth sardius. The seventh is chrysolyte, 6 and the eighth beryl. The ninth stone is a topaz, and the tenth chrysoprasus. The eleventh
twelve stones.
stone
of
7

is

jacinth,
is

and the twelfth stone

is

of different colours the

first

yellow and the second red, the third white and the fifth black, and it is called onyx.

which

blue, the fourth

After the angel had shown

me

all this

Church, he handed

me

rod of gold which he was carrying and said to Peter, and measure this Church with it."

me

"
:

And

Take this rod, did what the

measured twelve thousand parasangs Holy Spirit. And the angel measured the breadth of each wall, and it measured one hundred and forty cubits 9 by the cubit of the Holy Spirit which measures like the distance that
angel
;

had ordered me
8

and

it

by the measure

of the

separates the east from the west.

did not see any temple in the Church because its temple 10 Ahiyah Ashar-ahiyah Sabaoth who dwells in every part of
I

is
it.

The

Father has, indeed, established

it

in the

name
is

of the Christ our

Lord, the
1

Lamb

of the divine sacrifice

which

offered for the expia-

This
Lit.

is similar to

what

is

"
:

furniture," but see

Text

al-asfanos.

found in the Book Rev. xxi. 21. 5 Text

of

Rev.
3

xxi.

12-J4.
as-sur.
soft/a.

Read

asfila

from Syriac

Ut. "gold."

Rev.

description of the stones is similar to that found in the Book of 19-20, the nomenclature of which I have followed, although the nature of each stone is somewhat difficult to determine scientifically.
7

The

xxi.

8
9

Lit.

In the

This Apocalyptic measure is rendered in the English version " the word The Book of Rev. says further that the measure by furlongs." of the wall was 1 44 and not 1 40 cubits. This difference is probably due to
parasangs."

angel. "

kabdah the measure of the palm of the hand or of the upper arm. Book of Rev. xxi. 7, it is said that the measure was that of an Note how the author constantly uses here the Persian measure of
1

an error of a
10

copyist.

Hebrew names
xxi.

as above (p.

4).

All

this is imitated

of

Rev.

22,

where the Hebrew names

of

from the Book our document occur as the

"Lord God Almighty."

APOCALYPSE OF PETER
tion of the sins of

147

Adam

and

his posterity,
1

and the

Lamb which

taketh

away

the sin of the world.

To

that church go in the

day

of the Resurrection

and Resuscitation

the souls of the believers, the true prophets, the Apostles

;

who

are the

will flock their flocks

to them on that day heads of the shepherds of the sheep of God from the four corners of the earth, and they will

present

them before the judging Lord

in

order to exact
3

"

justice in their

favour from those with

whom God

is

angry.
I

And

the

pure and holy Father said :

did not see

in (that

Church) either sun or moon, because its light surpasses all other light and transcends every other brightness, as it is full of the light, brightness
it is

and splendour
from
it

of

God.

It

has neither night nor darkness, and

that the creatures of light

borrow

their light.

To

it

are

addressed the glorifications of the peoples, but none enters it except the souls which believe in the Son of God and in the Trinity, which are cleansed in the water of Baptism, which are marked with the sign
of the Cross,

and which

disbelieve in the treatise

of the son of the

wolf.

While the angel was showing me every place

I

in

that Church,
Its

noticed a river flowing from under the throne of might.

in colour

water

was white
souls.

and

it it

On

either side of

exhaled perfumes which quickened the were trees of life, which served as an

abode
one
I

for the rational birds.

Each
the

tree

bore twelve

fruits,

and each

of these fruits

had a

different colour, taste, scent

and

usefulness.'

asked

the

angel
that
its

concerning

name

of

that stream

and he
the great

answered

me
the

name was
to

the
:

"

Beautifier of Life."
to

And
1

angel said
sitting

me

"I wish

show you
with

whore who
John
3
5 i.

is

by the waters that

2

stink

iniquities,

and

29.

A Kur'anic sentence as above.

Or

Read liya'khudhu.

Add

ara.

is this "son of the wolf"? From possibly "opinion." many somewhat veiled expressions "found in the work I have come to the con" clusion that the son of the wolf is Muhammad, the Prophet of Islam, and

Who

wolf" are the Muslims, his followers. As the writing in Arabic, and Arabic was the language of the Muslims, some expressions had to be found which referred in a covert way to the new masters whom the Christian communities of the East often hated and
that the "children of the

author

was

always

feared more than respected. 7 This river and these

xxii.

ri

Read inauhu.
the

trees are those

found in

Book

of

Rev.

1-2.

148
with

WOODBROOKE
whom
all

STUDIES
J

the kings of the earth have committed fornication and

have been made drunk with her wine."

like lightning

At
on a

his

command

went
ten

and

saw a woman
full

sitting

scarlet coloured beast,

near waters that were

of fish.

She had seven heads and

horns, and was arrayed in 'purple and scarlet and decked with gold and with garments adorned with precious stones. She had a golden

cup

in her
:

hand

full of is

her abominations, and upon her garment

was

written

"This

the

whore who committed

fornication,

and con-

ceived from her iniquitous sin and brought forth the tares, the pagans who are the children of the wolf, 2 the Chosraus, the Pharaohs, the
giants

and the
is

tyrants,

who

contradict the truth and in

whose heart
She did not

there

neither pity nor fear,

and

who
3

worship

idols."

believe in the message of the angel,

and she

represents the city of

Babylon which overcame and overpowered all the countries, and became insolent and haughty throughout her dominions, which she
increased.

Each seven heads that she has represents seven kingdoms. kingdom will last for a time, and no one will be able to save them
from her hands, nor to overcome her
nations.
4

The

till

the end of time.

And

the ten horns which she has represent also kings

who

will rule over

And
perdition,
pit.-

the angel said to

me

"
:

Her end

will be desolation

and

and

all

her children will perish with her in the bottomless

And
to flee
5

the angel said to

from her
if

in

admonish your children order that she may not draw them to herself,
:

me

"

Peter,

she does they will undoubtedly fall down into the lowest 6 part of hell and they will abide there with her children for ever and

because

ever."

drew nearer to that woman and I noticed that she was drunk and had lost consciousness. And I looked at her wine

Then

Peter

This

is

surely the
I

same woman as
that

that

found
of

in the

Book
"
wolf

of

Rev.

xvii. 1-7.
2

Here

also

believe

these

"

children

the

are the

Muslims.
4

This sentence is difficult and This and similar incidents in

1

my

translation of
6

it

is

not certain.

this section

are not in harmony with Rev.

xvii.

2.

Read liyahrubu.

Read uiathwahum.

APOCALYPSE OF PETER
and saw that
of the elect of
it

149

was from the blood

of the faithful

of

the children of the Church, the children of Baptism,

God, of the saints and of the pious many kinds of deaths and torments
and be drunken and
intoxicated.
I

who are martyrs who

at the

endured the

sufferings of

hand

of her children,

who
it

shed the blood of the sons of faith in order that she might drink

sad plight of my " Do not fear, children from that whore, but the angel said to me overcome her, destroy her Peter, because the Lamb of God will
I

When

Peter saw this

was grieved

at the

throne, obliterate her

fire
is

name and her memory and

thrust her into the

of the lowest hell.

And

the

fire

that burns her

and her

children

eternal,

Then

does not perish and is not quenched." saw an animal coming from the direction of the sun, and
like

had two horns

hands, and
I

those of a lamb.

And

saw

that the earth

and

its

inhabitants

saw a dragon in his were worshipping

'

that beast because he

was performing wonderful deeds

one of which

was

that also

he was bringing

down

fire

from heaven on the earth.

He

was

earth.

He commanded
4

working miracles which astonished the inhabitants of the 3 them to fashion an image, and he imparted

a soul with which to speak. He ordered the people of the image in their houses and to proclaim to all " the countries and corners of the earth Anyone of the children of
to that

image

to write the

name

the world

who

will not

worship

this

image

shall

be

killed."

He

also ordered all the worshippers of that

image

to paint

it

on

they might be known as the followers of the beast which resembled a lamb and to which God
their bodies
their faces in order that

and on

He also ordered that houses of granted power, glory and honour. be built should for it and for its followers, in order that prayer they
might be recognised there and that
therein.
their

acclamations might be heard

15

The mark
crown
1

with which he ordered them to be marked

all
-

is

the
I

of

death with which

a

the believers in

him are crowned.

3

Add
Here

waw.

Read afalan.

Read

rasna,u.

also the author places the pronoun before the subject according to the genius of the Syriac and not the Arabic language.
to be that mentioned in the Book of Rev. xiii. 11-17. author as usual shortens or lengthens or changes the text of the Book of Rev. in some important details and comments upon it in some other details. Remove the nun from all the verbs followed by the particle 'an.

"This beast seems

The

150

WOODBROOKE
the sons of

STUDIES
Edom, Moab
and the and that

did not see anyone able to save himself from him except

and

'Emron.
face shone like the sun
feet

Then
moon.

saw a woman whose

I

And

saw

that she

had the moon under her

1

she clothed herself with the sun.

saw on her head a crown woven

with child and travailing in Then I saw that she brought forth a man child, and I saw birth. Then he was that after she brought him forth he ruled all nations. with twelve
stars.

And

the

woman was

caught up unto

on a great height where she remained 2 one thousand one hundred and sixty-six days. And I saw that the
I

Then

saw

God and sat the woman

in the

throne of His glory.

above-mentioned dragon was persecuting the woman to whom were given two wings of a great eagle with which she flew to a high peak And I saw that the dragon cast out of from fear of the big dragon.
his

mouth water

as a great river so that

he might cut

off

the

way

of

the

woman, but

the earth opened her

water which the dragon had cast

the

mouth and swallowed up the out of his mouth in order to harm

and saved.

woman, and

she

was

delivered

When

the dragon

noticed that the

woman was

saved from his evildoing, he

waxed very

angry and proceeded to make war with her people and her followers, and with those who keep her commandments and her laws, who are

martyred for her sake and

orders.

for the sake of

her son and

who submit

to her

These are the

the angel to

believers

who

have shunned the perfumes

of

the Rebel and rejoiced in their belief in the only Son of God.

Then Mount of
Lord
said to

whom

was confided took me back

before the

to the

said to

Olives and placed "

me

Lord

Christ. "
?

me
"

Peter, have

you seen wonders

4 I

And my And
I

Him

O Son of
said
:

the living "

God,

saw what
all

I
I

am
will

not able

to describe,

and even Lord

my memory

cannot reveal
Peter,

that

saw."

And my

how numerous
hand
of

be the

troubles that will befall

my

followers at the

my

enemies, the

children of the tares,

who

are the inhabitants of the South and the

The

to

be the one mentioned in the Book some differences in phraseology.

text of this sentence is corrupt. The woman spoken of here seems of Rev. xii. 1 -2, 5-6, etc., although with

^The Book
days."

of

Rev.

xii.

"

6, says
4

one thousand two hundred and

is

sixty

a mihi,

This sentence

as usual in Syriac.

APOCALYPSE OF PETER
followers of the Apostle of the

151

Archon!
when
mix

Indeed, they will suffer

innumerable torments from them, but blessed are those

hardships for

who

will

endure

and come
their

to

my me

sake at the time

!

their souls leave their bodies

Peter, there will be no limit to the increase of

I

reward with me, and

will

their souls

with

my

elect in

my

Kingdom, and I will gladden their hearts with the multitude of favours which I will shower on them in a way that neither their hearts nor Thus will I make them forget all the evil their minds can conceive.
things that they

and

will not withhold

had endured from the (children) of the tares and others, my Providence from them at the time of their

sojourn on the earth.

"

As
3

to the

woman whom you saw

with the

moon under

her

feet,

clothed with the sun, and possessed of that unique pearl which you

beheld,

she

is

and having on her head a crown woven with twelve stars, my glorious Church which shines with lights that surpass in which she was arrayed.
it

brightness the rays of the sun in

As

to the
I

moon which you saw under

will cause to shine
for

her feet,

represents the light which

my

sake.

My

on the believers and on the martyrs who are killed 4 Churches will be built under their names, and the

shrine of each one of

them

will shine like the bright

moon because

of

the injustices of the enemies which they had borne.

"As to the big crown which she was wearing and which was surmounted with a pearl and surrounded by twelve stars, one of which the crown represents my glory and my blood, and the fell down
:

pearl that surmounted the

light to shine

crown

is I,

the
to

Lord God, who causes

the twelve
fell

my

on

all

my

creatures.

As

stars,
5

they are

you the twelve Apostles.

it is

As

to the star that

Judas

Iscariot

strove to

inflict

who betrayed my signs and my on me the sufferings which have

I I

among you, favours to him and

endured.

from

Verily
I

say unto you that

1

will

make him

fall

from your company as

made

come from

believe that this sentence also clearly refers to the Muslim Arabs who " the South. The " Apostle of the Archon seems also to designate Muhammad, and means "Apostle of Satan" in contrast with " Apostle of
1

God

"

as the Prophet of Islam

is

called.

Remove the particle 't'/a. a The Book of Rer. xii. does not possibly referring to the woman spoken
1

of in

mention any pearl. The author is Rev. xvii. 4, who was decked

with gold and precious stones and pearls. " 4 5

See above.
'inhabala.

MS.

Church."

Read

152
the

WOODBROOKE
fall

STUDIES
He
merited

Archon
from
"

from the ten

hierarchies of the angels.

this fall

his glory

because of his revolt and his calumnies.

As

to you,
in

Apostles,

you

will increase,

and your memory

will
2

be honoured

the countries of the earth.

You

will beget spiritually

over the whole surface of the earth, and you will have sons and
daughters, and your posterity will be
filled

with

love, purity,

know-

ledge, meekness, chastity, asceticism, mercy, grace, sweetness and faith, and you will have through your children superiority over all nations.

They
will

will listen to

my

keep my " Blessed are you and your hallowed progeny who will endure for sake the hardships which the children of the earth will inflict on
!

which you will confide to them, and commandments which you will recite to them.

my

mysteries

them

Their blood will be shed

I

like flowing

water in order that the

commands with which

I

sent

you

into the

world

may be

safeguarded.

will

redeem

my

promise

in all things told

by you concerning

me
is

in

my

holy Gospel. " As to the woman

of
life,

who

brought forth the

of

man

child, she

the

mother

the mother
the

grace,

and

the mother of the good

is

shepherd.

And

man

child

whom

she brought forth

the one to

whom
"

you are speaking. that I have shown you the things that were at the very beginning and the things that will be at the very end, because all

Know

things are present in the

to

palm

of

my

hand, and any time

will

them

be they are." Here ends the second part full of meanings in which figures Simon son of Jonas may perfect peace be upon him from all of

'

Sic. cod.

Read miladan.
and are not germane
to the

All these headings are due

to the copyist

narrative.

APOCALYPSE OF PETER

153

154

WOODBROOKE

STUDIES

APOCALYPSE OF PETER

155

fort> iV S>

tfiJK

ft I

'cZlia

h^ A

o>L
.ivS

WOODBROOKE

STUDIES

APOCALYPSE OF PETER

158

WOODBROOKE

STUDIES

APOCALYPSE OF PETER

159

160

WOODBROOKE

STUDIES

APOCALYPSE OF PETER

161

90-*

09

I _\i.

-i'

ii

162

WOODBROOKE

STUDIES

APOCALYPSE OF PETER

164

WOODBROOKE

STUDIES

APOCALYPSE OF PETER

165

^V

166

WOODBROOKE

STUDIES

APOCALYPSE OF PETER

>**/',
v

^2

<^***01&^c

168

WOODBROOKE

STUDIES

/!?/. .n.-*

AT&k^cXj ALp l&b.

APOCALYPSE OF PETER

169

170

WOODBROOKE

STUDIES

APOCALYPSE OF PETER

171

172

WOODBROOJCE STUDIES

-^kOffJ

^r*

^m
^~
m

^* ^

-.'

^,

APOCALYPSE OF PETER

173

174

WOODBROOKE

STUDIES

APOCALYPSE OF PETER

175

176

WOODBROOKE

STUDIES

APOCALYPSE OF PETER

177

tfi&tf&c

<g^/6a*;^y
|

/x

^4&L 'u*J^*OtoL

jaafl^iba^/^aa/^^

12

178

WOODBROOKE

STUDIES

APOCALYPSE OF PETER

179

WOODBROOKE

STUDIES

APOCALYPSE OF PETER

181

OJAJO

43^ v Jwis# bcu;

182

WOODBROOKE

STUDIES

APOCALYPSE OF PETER

183

184

WOODBROOKE

STUDIES

.^

'l

0)^^>**&4lt

APOCALYPSE OF PETER

185

186

WOODBROOKE

STUDIES

APOCALYPSE OF PETER

188

WOODBROOKE

STUDIES

^^^7 ?* o> ft^<*-^ &1

APOCALYPSE OF PETER

189

190

WOODBROOKE

STUDIES

APOCALYPSE OF PETER

191

192

WOODBROOKE

STUDIES

APOCALYPSE OF PETER

193

194

WOODBROOKE

STUDIES

APOCALYPSE OF PETER

195

1%

WOODBROOKE

STUDIES

&*

to^ *

APOCALYPSE OF PETER

WOODBROOKE

STUDIES

APOCALYPSE OF PETER

199

200

WOODBROOKE

STUDIES

APOCALYPSE OF PETER

201

WOODBROOKE

STUDIES

APOCALYPSE OF PETER

204

WOODBROOKE

STUDIES

APOCALYPSE OF PETER

205

206

WOODBROOKE

STUDIES

APOCALYPSE OF PETER

207

^**<f{v&:i>^*9;W^

208

WOODBROOKE

STUDIES

^/ ZLS> f

L)^L>&> >*a>Z^

WOODBROOKE
CHRISTIAN DOCUMENTS
IN SYRIAC,

STUDIES.
ARABIC,

AND GARSHUNI,

EDITED AND TRANSLATED WITH A CRITICAL APPARATUS.

BY A. MINGANA.
FASCICULUS
7.

THE APOCALYPSE OF PETER

PREFATORY NOTE.
following pages contain the continuation of the ApocaAs lypse of Peter in its Arabic garb and Garshuni form.
the section deals with signs denoting the end of the world
of

THE
is

and with the appearance

task of translating
it

unknown kingdoms and

difficult.

dynasties, the

proved to be unusually

This
is

difficulty

aggravated by the fact that the style of the author

singularly

obscure in this part of the document, and also by the fact that sometimes the copyist does not seem to have understood what he was
transcribing,

and

at

other times he appears to have

been

unable

even to decipher the undotted Arabic text that was lying before him. The combination of these two factors has given birth to scores
of unintelligible

and

linguistically
I

meaningless phrases, for which without

violent emendations

had

to find a sense

from the context.

must

also state in this connection that there are in the

work a few apparently

genuine Arabic words that are not fully registered in any Arabic dictionary, but we must bear in mind that all Arabic lexicographers

were Muslims who would have hardly read Christian Arabic comThere is, positions to extract from them fresh matter for their books.
therefore,

every possibility that some of these words were Arabic vocables used by Arabs of early times in the sense given to them in our document, but since they were not found in that sense in works
written

by Muslims, they are not

209

sufficiently

explained in Arabic

dictionaries.

210

WOODBROOKE

STUDIES

to

some

After an account of the description of the torments of hell reserved specified classes of men, the author proceeds to describe the

signs of the
its

end of time.

His

text for this section

is fairly

easy,

and

translation, except

when

otherwise stated in the footnotes, tolerably

certain.

The

arduous work begins with the history of the kingdoms

will govern this world, in the author's

and the crowned monarchs who

geographical sense,
till

the second coming of the

Lord and the appearend

of

ance of the Antichrist.

From

different groups of signs that the author gives for the

the world one feels tempted to believe that he

ferent sources or transcribing

was drawing upon

dif-

from different authors

who had

treated

the subject from different angles.

Indeed, no sooner does the reader

all

get the impression that the writer has once for

series of his signs indicating the

end

of time than

he

put an end to the is confronted with

new

section containing fresh sets of such signs.

We must, however,
new

admit that often the author's end of time seems to imply simply the end of the tribulations of the special period which he is describing.

So

far as the section of the

new kingdoms and

the

kings

is

concerned the author counts

fifst letters

of their names.
in

and writing

dramatis persona by means For one speaking in enigmas and riddles, an apocalyptic and veiled style, this method of composall his
is

of the

ing a deliberately abstruse lucubration

Did

not open to too much criticism. not the author of the canonical Book of the Revelation and many

other writers of antiquity resort to the alphabet or to the numerical

value of letters for the conveyance of ideas which they were either unwilling or afraid to reveal in clear language ? Half of the subtlety of the science of the Cabbala and of white

magic
letters.

is

based on a

combination of alphabetical special section of Arabic literature is devoted to what is

felicitous or fantastic

called

'Urn al-huruf, "Science of Letters," and the works that I have consulted on this subject confirm me
that

thirty or so
in the belief
it

some

of the writers

who were

interested in

it,

believed

to

be

true science.

The

author

is

unusually skilled in the choice of his kings, and

it is

often difficult to follow

a long time in the historical ground round which the threads of his drama are woven. For instance, when
for
feel sure that

him

a particular section deals with the Arab Empire, we immediately begin to count the Arab Caliphs who rose after the Prophet

we

APOCALYPSE OF PETER
down
their
'

21

to the

Abbasid

period,

and

for purposes of identification

first

apply

names, which are only referred to by their scription given by the author in his narrative.

letter, to

the deof our

One

or

two

guesses may hit the mark, but a third or a fourth guess will prove to be unwarranted, and thus throw our calculations in disorder. The same thing might happen if an attempt were made to identify the kings
of the

Roman, Byzantine,
it

or Persian Empires.

tried this process of

identification,

abandon

but owing to some unsuccessful guesses I was obliged to the copyist of the MS. has also tried a similar process,

If we could read but in the majority of cases has failed lamentably. the mind of the author, we might probably glean a few historical facts

of

some

interest

handling, and
scholar

will certainly

and importance, but the subject requires very skilful make great inroads on the time of any

wishes to grapple with it. " to the first part of the Apocalypse of Prefatory Note Peter\ mention was made of the different MSS. which contain the
In the

who

"

present work.

preserved at Cambridge seemed to exhibit more points of resemblance with the MS. that I am
I

stated therein that the

MS.

editing

and

translating than that preserved in the Bodleian, or in the

About two months ago, Bibliotheqite Nationale, or in the Vatican. in the course of cataloguing the MSS. of my collection, I discovered
another

MS.

of the
It

Cambridge.

is
is

work which may be counted as a rival to that numbered Mingana Syriac 44 has 24 leaves
1 , 1

of of

two columns, and

I

thus nearer to the present MS. than all those that " have described in the above This statement Prefatory Note."

should not be interpreted to

the

mean

that the variants that characterise

characterise

two MSS. under consideration are simply those that two MSS. containing the same work, but it

generally
is

to

be

understood solely in the sense that the two MSS. offer more points of resemblance than those that I had previously described.

Apart from verbal divergencies and many other important discrepancies that differentiate the two MSS., M. 441 exhibits a different
divisional order.

So while M. 70

the story of Clement of

Rome

towards the end

places the long section containing of the narrative,

M.

441 places

it

towards the middle of the work.

So

also

is

the

case with the section dealing with the preaching of Peter and Paul in

Antioch, Laodicea, and Rome.

There

is

no need

to repeat here the

remarks upon the Apocalypse

212
of Peter found
nor
is

WOODBROOKE
in

STUDIES
"
to the part already published,

my

"

Prefatory Note

there any need to direct the reader's attention to all the textual

and

historical difficulties

which

have indicated
I

in the footnotes to the

part edited in the ensuing pages.

especial

will,
:

however, venture to lay

emphasis on the following points

dom, possibly that of the Arabs, the author writes thus chariots which carry both the Deceiver and the Error."
:

(1) In narrating the evil effects of the appearance of a "

new

king-

Pharaonic

The

position of the terms

"

"

Deceiver
it

but an exact parallel to

in

is
:

Ode

xxxviii.

0,

we

read

very uncommon, found in the Odes of Solomon, where " And I asked the Truth, Who are
is

and

"

"

juxta-

Error

these ?

And

he said
is

to

me

This

is

the Deceiver and the

Error?

The comparison

rendered even more forceful by the introduction of the element of the "chariot," because this very Ode begins with the

mention of a chariot
I

Light of Truth as into a chariot." upon a very uncommon of the author of the Apocalypse denotes on the part ground borrowing Peter Odes from the of the Solomon? author of of " " In Note to the (2) my Prefatory previous part of the work I drew
:

"I went

into the

believe that this striking similarity

attention to

some archaic

Christological statements that

its

seemed to point

to a time preceding the

Nicene Council and

The
I

present part also contains statements of a

well-defined Christology more or less similar kind.

will quote the following sentences : " the rebellious King has repented

When

and turned away from

I

his

rebellion,

and when our Lord has become a Saviour,

six

as the

King with

names.

will bring salvation

He

is

the Saviour adorned with

Him up Him because through many names. With Him have

will set
I

placed Michael the

spear.

man

of the golden

sword and the holder

of the
will

At His

right will

be the Cherubim and Seraphim who

fight before

Him
:

with twelve myriads of angels."

And
"

again

The one

to

whom

(the

contradict

cease so be with
I

with
1

my commandments Him always, Him and to Him."

Jerusalem) was entrusted did not because I was with Him, and I shall not

new

and

He will

be with

me and

to

me and

Is it possible to believe that the author of the Odes of Solomon and the author of the first layer of the Apocalypse of Peter were drawing upon a common and still earlier source ?

APOCALYPSE OF PETER
It is difficult

213

to believe that these

in the

mouth

of the

Christ

who

is

words which are here placed repeating them to Peter, could

have been written by an author living after the Council of Nicea, them were of a Monophysite especially if the MS. which contained
origin.

Apocalypse of Peter enters into the domain of This fact, to mystery, the more difficult becomes its phraseology. which I referred above, explains why the Ethiopic version is of so little
(3)

The more

the

use in this section of the book.

If

the Ethiopic translator

had before

him an Arabic

text nearly as long as that preserved in our

it

MS., he

must, indeed, have shortened and condensed

all

very severely, because

the sixty-six pages of the Garshuni text reproduced in the present fasciculus of the Woodbrooke Studies are represented in the Ethiopic

version

by about two pages

of the

Revue de

Orient Chre'tien.

It is

possible to believe that in

one important passage the Ethiopian

In

translator has fallen into a rather unfortunate error.

of the to

many

sentences

Arabic

text here edited, the author refers to a persecuting nation

children of the wolf." I which he applies the grim expression have elsewhere conjectured that this nation in the mind of our author
personifies the Islamic "nation."

"

In

Arabic the word

for

"wolf"

in

undotted characters is ^-jJl. " " mean the wolf (el-dhib\

the article.

Now

this

word can

easily

be read to

or, the meaningless El-diyon, el being

The Ethiopian translator, unaware of the fact that the " " author had a special purpose in using the word wolf in connection with a hated and despised people, thought that it represented a proper
Eldiyon, and thus gave birth to an imaginary name of a people that has never existed and should never have existed. See further my note on this point in the present edition.
it

name, and transcribed

as

similar

and probably worse blunder

is

committed

by the

The Arabic taiman from the Syriac taimna means the " South." The Ethiopian translator evidently did not understand this substantive but made of it
Ethiopian translator in his rendering of the

word Teman.

a proper name and wrote

"the King

of

Teman,"

instead of

"

the

King

of the South."

(4)

The

part of the
of

some proper names

Apocalypse of Peter here given contains persons and localities of a rather uncommon
1

R.O.C., 1913, P 72. 14

.

214
occurrence.

WOODBROOKE
As
such

STUDIES
l

Yuklyah (name of a country), Mitaltyah (name of a town), Satafan (name of a town), Katlu (possibly name of a man), Rawadif (possibly name of a town),

should

be counted

Sarh (name of an idol), Solon idol), Besalya* (name of a man), Kolon (name of an (name Allnan (name of a mountain or a locality), Hofan (name of idol), an idol), Tibarus (name of a man not Tiberius), Yanshur (name of a man), Layos (name of a town or a locality), Kusln (name of a town or a locality), Ablabun (name of a town). 2
Phallklyah (name
of

of a country),

an

It

would be

useful here to

remark that the

copyist, in the divisions

that

he has assigned
iii.

to the different parts

vi.,

from part

to part

thus omitting parts iv.-v.

this

(Juzs) of the work, jumps have no means

We

for ascertaining

whether

omission

is

to be attributed to a

mere

slip

on the part of the

the present

scribe or

whether the Arabic

original from which

MS.

is

derived really lacked two important parts of the

I

Apocalypse.
that since the
in the

In a footnote to the point in question

have conjectured

MS.

number

of the headings

appears to be complete in every detail this difference may be considered to be due to an error

This conjecture, however, is open to serious criticism from an unexpected quarter. The Ethiopic version of the Apocalypse 3 Is it not possible to contains a special section dealing with heresies.
of the scribe.

believe that parts iv.-v. which are completely missing in our text contained in a

much more
its

detailed

form

this

section of the heresies,

of the

shortened in
Chre'tien ?

Ethiopic garb into

two pages

Revue de F Orient
the

There

is

hardly any need here to emphasise the fact that

is

country in which the present Apocalypse of Peter was first written It is also certain that the work itself is thoroughly Coptic Egypt. in origin. I have often drawn attention in my Woodbrooke Studies

to the fact that all these apocryphal

documents have nothing in common with the doctrines of the Syrian Church be they of the Nestorian, or the Monophysite, or the Melchite school of thought, and that the only
connected them with any important branch of that Church
is

link that

the fact that they have been preserved for us by

1

West

Syrian

Mono-

The Towels

of

been made to identify these and means of textual emendations. R.O.C, 1913, pp. 70 and 73-74.
attempt

many

of these

names are uncertain.

similar

No

has

names by

APOCALYPSE OF PETER

215

This statement does not exphysite scribes living in or near Egypt. clude the hypothesis that in handling these documents the said Syrian scribes did effect some changes in their phraseology to make them
better understood

by

their Syrian readers, or

added

to

them or sub-

tracted from
posterity.

them passages which they did not

desire to

hand down

to

For the convenience

of the reader the proper

names found

in the

document

will

be given

in italics.

TRANSLATION.
the only Son of the third the discourse God, part of of our Master. The Master of all, who favoured me with His grace said " Peter, when ye shall see the sign of abomination which dwells in the

In the name of our Master and our Lord,

I will write

desert standing near the holy place

*

let

those

who

are in the inhabited

regions

flee

to the summits of the mountains.

Woe

unto them that

are with child

and

to

them

that give suck in those days.

~

For then

shall

be great tribulation and injustice such as was not the world, and if I do not shorten those days for
believers

since the beginning of

the,

sake of the pious

the signs are
is

no one

will

be

left alive

on the

earth.

When
enemies

completed,

know
hour

that the

end

of the time of the

at

hand.
:

As

on the second day coming He will come out of His chamber as the quick lightning cometh from 4 the direction of the east and shineth even unto the west Wherever
of the of
I

to the

of the

Son

Man

5 am, there the nations will assemble.

"

At

that time

will send

my

angels,
6

who

will gather together

my

nation from the four corners of the earth.

Now, Peter, guard your children till the end of the time in which the kings of anger and wrath shall have passed. When I am come in my name, men will rise from the depths of the earth and will
inherit the eternal

"

grievous torment.
first
I

but a great number of them will go to the Know that the dew that will fall in that day will
life,

quicken

my

people and after them the Gentiles.

Know
their

that

when

am come

the heavens will be folded

up

for

me and

doors will
different

be thrown open before me.

-

And

the angels with

3 6

their

Ibid., 27.

Read zulm. Read tajtami'u.

Matt. xxiv. 16-22. Matt. xxir. 3 1

.

216
categories will

WOODBROOKE
come down, category
1

STUDIES
Some
of

after category.

them

will send the stormy winds and will uproot the mountains, which will

men who have remained on the face of the earth. no living man remains on the earth, the various spiritual squadrons will come down, and the earth will shake and the graves
kill

those
"

When

will open.

waters.

And 1 will send to the seas And will send to the earth
I

the winds that desiccate the

the angels whose task

violent dins

is

to

blow the

terrifying

trumpets, and cause the

and tumultuous
2

cries, shouts,

and sounds.
and with them
angels

And
I

will
fill

their armies,

will

send the Archangels with the countries of the earth.

3

all

By

my
will

order

my

who blow

the trumpets

will

come out

of

my

eternal Pavilion.

When
throw up

they shall blow their instruments, the earth

travail

be affected with the pangs of

from the terror of

their
its

voices,

and

will
I

to

its

surface that

which

is

found in

deep.

Then

will

send the

human

souls with the angels to

whom

they are entrusted, in order that they

spective dwellings
"

When

all

that

and quicken their I had intended

may place them dead bodies.

do
is

in their re-

down

my

stand over Jerusalem.

with myriads of myriads of All the peoples of the earth will then

come Seraphim and Cherubim and make

to

accomplished,

will

gather together to me, and

my

angels will go in

and out

of

them and
wicked

separate the good from the bad.

They

will single out the

and the

unbelievers,

and they

will

assemble people of

injustice, iniquity,

and oppression, and also people of tares, fornication, and adultery, and those who have committed great or small sins of this category.

They

will

gather them together in the valley of Tartarus,

in the

lowest pit/ so that they should be requited according to their past deeds on the earth and so that they should receive a just punishment

without favour.

"

As

to the sinners of
8

my own
In

peoples,

will

be

their

judge to

punish them

or forgive them.

them and with them are reasons

to

which

will divert

my
;

wrath from them, bring them nearer

these reasons are
2

me and
and

intercede for
1

them

my

promises to them,
8

my

Read wa-yanzilu. Read wa-tulki. 6 Read tartarus.

8

Jaml' is better. Read wa-yadkhul.

Syr. shiphora.

The

This meaning
.

is

doubtful.

Literally

Syr. tehoma. " if I take :

them

"
or
:

"

whether

take them or.

APOCALYPSE OF PETER

217

compact with them, and my body and my blood which will bear witness on their behalf and from the light of which they will shine in
the

day

of Resurrection, as a star shines in a dark night.

will have also one who will plead for them, and this is the pious woman, the precious pearl, who reared the and the pure 1 And they will have also you, the of the Son of God. clothing

"They

disciples,

to
to

message

whose care they were entrusted. Bring therefore this them from me, that any one of them who would cleave to
this

me
day

in his life in

world

will forgive all his past iniquity in the

of

Resurrection.

This

is

my bond

to

them and you are

my
2

witnesses thereon.

"

As

to the holy prophets

first

they will be the

to rise

and the company of the Apostles, from the earth on Thursday, Friday, and

Saturday, and they will ascend to heaven.

So

also will be the case

with

all

the believers. the fourth day, which

rise,

"

On

peoples of the earth will

a Sunday, the inhabitants and the 3 because all the worlds worship me and
is

implore me, and

it is

from

me

They
"

will

know

then that

mercy and forgiveness. the Rebel had led them astray from the
that they solicit
I

right path.

As

to those

who

believe in me,

will single

them out

and

separate them from all the other peoples of the world, because they have confessed me and acknowledged me. On my part, I will

acknowledge their acknowledgment of me and will not send tion any one of them, however great are his sins. "

to perdi-

Know,

disciple Peter, that the

worm

of those

who disown
and the

me

will not die

from

their bodies/

On
will

the contrary, the flesh of

those

who do

not acknowledge
it

me

be rejuvenated
will

worms
perish.

that are in

will increase

and multiply, and

never die or

"

As
is

which

There

is

to the torments, they are found in many places, one of a place called tehim; and it is the lowest part of hell. found in it a fire which consumes the unbelievers, the

Magians and the

1 2

idolaters

who knew

that

was

their creator,

but

This sentence strongly savours of Nestorianism. I.e., The body. 3 4 The Syr. shltka. Read kdna. Read a'zilihum. 5 c Read ahadan minhum. Mark xix. 48. Cf. 7 Here again the Syriac word tehoma " abyss."

218

WOODBROOKE
Buddhas,
"

STUDIES
cows, and other

nevertheless worshipped

stones, images,

animals.

The

and

frost.

torment of other people will be by means of cold, snow, 1 This torment impairs the strength, enervates the bodies,
blurs the

diminishes the brightness of the colours, hardens the hearts, increases

the sorrows,
sight,

extinguishes

brilliancy,

and atrophies

humours.

man and mars its beauty ; it malaise and a it daunts the imparts general sadly glib tongue giants, the shakes limbs and desiccates the joints it causes the tongues to vibrate and cold to penetrate into the bones with re-doubled strength
It

contracts the face of a

so that
shiver.

the

teeth

begin to gnash and grind, and the sufferers to

"

As

to those

who

worship the

stars,

the sun, and the moon, and

offer sacrifices to
2

them

to the exclusion of the Father, the Son,

and the

Holy Ghost,
imparted
life

the one
into

(God) who

created the created beings, and

will consist of the

them and caused them to die their punishment second torment, that of darkness, which is situated

above the abyss.

that

That darkness

is

very thick and contains the smoke

of the abyss.
It

comes out

of the excruciating torments

lowers

vitality, inflicts sufferings,

atrophies the heart, weakens the soul, vexes,

mortifies, harasses, causes difficulty of breathing,

and

gives

rise to

coughs and constriction in the chest.

tongues as their only

They

will continually bite their

answer

to the benefits

Father while they swore allegiance to

services of their
things,

showered on them by the the Rebel and rejected the

kills,

God who

provides, vivifies,

and promises good

and threatens with the torments

of the abyss those

who deny

Him.

As to the torment of those who acted like Pharaoh the insolent people who compelled others to worship them, and made themselves gods to the exclusion of God it will be in Tartarus and in Hell
which
is

"

full

of

the wrath,

anger,
of

abundantly supplied with the

bite,

worms

and vengeance of God, and the earth, which devour, sting,

of poisons.

and pinch, and are provided with various kinds

Those

localities

are frequented by demons who are of different forces which bewilder the minds and weaken the hearts.

This sentence is wholly Syriac, as contained a mysterious power.

if

it

involved a sacred formula or

APOCALYPSE OF PETER
"

219

As

to the torment of the law-givers,

it

will

be more severe than

their

that of the people of infidelity, because they

knew

Lord with

certainty, and were aware of what was preached by His disciples in the matter of lawful and unlawful things, and knew the roads and safe

paths in which there

was no
If

fear,

nor dread, nor trouble, nor danger,

l

the good works enjoined in the of kindles the wrath and what and walk on them by God, path anger of God, they deserve through their bad actions what befell Satan in his rebellion and Adam in his sin.

nor utter destruction.

the lawgivers reject

"

When man

abundant happiness that comes to him world and in the world to come and
pleased his creator.

does what pleases God, he benefits himself in the a happiness that lasts in this in the satisfaction that he has

When, however, he walks

in the

path of
false

evil,

envy,

malice,

calumny, slander, detraction,

untruth,

witness,
riot,

fornication,

adultery, lewdness, theft, robbery,

hatred, enmity,

wanton disturbance, murder, injustice, iniquity, ignorance, diligence in he brings on wickedness, and desire of other people's possessions
himself
will

what

is

detrimental to him, and he

is

is

certain that his

reward

no escape, because he has forsaken the praiseworthy commandments of God and pandered to the desires of his heart, and in so doing has deserved the tortures

be torments from which there

of Hell.

"Man
of the fire

should

know
fire.

that there are angels entrusted to take charge

its

and

of the

people that are in

lowest extremity.

These

angels are

made

of

The

bodies

of the

human

beings

suffer,

and

them possesses any resting place or lying position, but they continually and at all times wade through that fire which, however,
none
of

does not penetrate into them, because it is its heat only that torments them and makes them move from place to place. If the body and the soul of a man falling into the fire of hell or into one of the abodes
of torments,

were
3

to perish quickly,

it

would have been more adsuffering, anxieties,

vantageous

for

him than the continuous

of the souls at all hours

and excru-

ciating pains

and moments

of eternity.

God

curbs the destructive power of the fire so that it does not destroy those who dwell in it but only inflicts torments on them. This will last all
1

Read taraka.
3

Read fal-ajsad.

Remove

the article.

220
the time in which

WOODBROOKE
God
wills to spread

STUDIES
;

His wrath on them

and

God

has power over everything."

THE STORY OF THE PAGAN

And
from
said
2
:

KINGS.

his

The first (King) is one, and emanate Kingdom many Kingdoms." And our Lord "On account of my wrath with my people I will cause (this
Peter, the master of
will
all,

said

"

King) to prevail upon them,

will

victory over the majority of them.

prolong his life and give him His nature is that of the desert
like those of

from which he comes forth and

ass.

his

manners are
will help
'

a wild
*

His

relatives will rally to

him and

him

in the

abomin-

ation in

which he
is

will indulge.
'

These are

called

Children of Vipers
as the

and he

called
3 4

Rebellious Child.'

He

will strike at the children

of the water.

(His people) are

full of iniquity

and are known

second nation.

to injustices, displeases

This nation compels men to embrace its faith, cleaves God, is bent on high living and boasts of her

drinks, orders evil, indulges in iniquities, forbids gratitude, worships

the demons, turns people to the love of

my

disciples

and
In

at all
its

who
it

believe in

women, mocks at me, at me, and loves God with

it

all
its

tongue only.

words

shows that
It

believes in

God, but

in its

works

it

disbelieves in

Him.

holds

fast to lies

and

utters falsehood

concerning God.

an ignorant nation that bellows like camels and that speaks It worships in with its lips words that are not found in its heart. Sodom and Gomorrah, temples of idols, and it resembles the people of
"It
is

the children of Hell.

It

practises favouritism

and usurps honour,

it is I,

glory,

majesty, power, and might.

"
I

did not order this nation to

it

halt,

and

Peter,

bestow on

dignity,

power, and victory over

all

those

who will who believe

This

or disbelieve in me, and

whom

wish

to punish

and

chastise.

Kur'an,
above.
2

ii.

9, etc.

in the eternity of the torments of

In this passage the author does not seem to believe This is contrary to what is stated Hell.
is

This beginning

is

abrupt and there

not

much

connection between the

two

sentences.
3 4

Probably the water of baptism. The meaning of these sentences

is

not certain.

APOCALYPSE OF PETER
nation will compel other people to embrace
attain
its
its

221
and
it

religion,

will

aim with the sword.

days of

"

In the

this nation that

comes from the desert there

and dread.
Its

will

be

earthquakes and great and fight all other nations, and

in

persistent fear

(its soldiers) will

wear mantles,

will

King walk

will

a naked

state

and will shave the

It is I

hair of their heads like

men

resembling demons.

who

will send forth this nation

which has

no equal among other nations. Its King will fight against the four corners of the earth, and will go from east to west and from west to
east.

His Kingdom
,

will reach (the country of) the idols

will

'

and the

end of
without

Khurasan and he
pity,

destroy the palaces of the Kings

and he

will legalise wars.

His young men and

will sanction

his

children will

inflict injuries

on mankind, and he
will confide

murder.

"

At

that time

no man

any

secret to his neighbour,

because
people

all

men

will

become

treacherous.

People
all

who

are vain and

who

bear false witness will multiply in

the earth.

The

mendacious people will be in high esteem, and the fornicators and adulterers will show themselves openly and will take pride in filth and
abomination without fear of

God and

without shame.

At

that time

the iniquitous people will despise those who obey God, and the rich The anger of the people 3 of tares will be on the will need the poor.
increase against the people of the faith, and they will tread
their feet.

them under
nation will

detract the old

pity,

'The young men and men of the

the

young children

of

that

and the child among among them will murder his

without hindrance.
lay
its

believing community without restraint or them will abuse the grown up. son

father,

and they will

kill

one another

That nation
in

hands on the sanctuaries

will, in conjunction with its King, order to strip them of their gold, and

will destroy the religious edifices

(Its

and churches

built

under

my

name.
the

King)

will

hands, the feet

chop and the

off

the noses, cut out the eyes,

ears.

and cut

off

He
and

will establish
in his cruelty

himself and he will be

cruel,

an iniquitous law to he will kill people,

*
:

destroy towns, and rob and murder without pity while saying ordered me to do this.*
1

God
Arab

It is

impossible not to think here that the author had in mind the
religion. India, the country of the

invasion
2

and the Muslim

it

Is

Buddhas ?
4

Add

ahl.

Read wa-yakun.

222

WOODBROOKE
that
1

STUDIES

"At
people,

time nation will rise against nation, people against

2

wars against wars, and King against King, and love will The believers will then pray 3 (to me) concerncease between them.
ing the intended fight (of that
victory over them.

King) against them, but

will give

him

They

will call

upon me, but

and
I

will not

answer
full

them on account
"

of their abominations,

will render his

name 4

of terror for them.

The men

of that nation will stretch also their

graves and

will dig out the bones of the

dead who believed

hands against the in me from

the days of

Noah

to their time.

They

will pierce the hearts of the

living with spears, and in their wars human bones will be sown in The land towns and the seaports will fear them, their days like seed.

and that

fear will cause the travellers

on land and sea to put an end

their feet

to their travels.

"They
all

will tread

on the people with

will

and

will

consume

the green plants with their mouths.

They
be able

will seize other people's

possessions

by

force,

and no one

to stand against them,

nor to thwart their desires.

They

will cut roads

and paths

in places in

which people were unable to walk previously, and they will destroy the inhabited places and build up the places that were not previously As a distinctive mark they will shave their hair, and wear inhabited.
the mantle and the short garment. "6 In their days there will be great famine,
increasing mortality.
5

little

abundance, and

All

this will take

place as a

punishment to those
'

who
and

display their arrogance before me.

"

Peter,

when you

see the lion's

8

a secluded place, you will destruction of this nation is at hand, and that
resting in

whelp lurking on one side know and ascertain that the

its

end

is

near.

When

you see that fear has become general, and that death and famine are 9 on the increase when you notice two kings of the same race, of the 10 n same country and of the same locality beginning to fight against each
;

other,
1

you

will

know that the land

2
5

will

be subjected to severe afflictions.

3

4
15

Cf. Matt. xxiv. 7, etc. 1 read 'isma/tu.

Sic. codex.

Read yatadarrct
Arabs.

All

this surely refers to the

7

Here begins

the Ethiopia version (R.O.C.,

1913, p. 70), with

many

discrepancies.
8

The

Ethiopia version reads

"
:

When

Readjdnifcn. the lion's whelp comes back and

9

returns to the
10

same

locality."

Read malikain.

Read

baladin.

u Read yatakdtalan.

APOCALYPSE OF PETER
"

223
signs will

At

that time there will be fearful visions,

and

be seen

on the earth and wonderful happenings will be renewed in heaven. The stars will fall, and there will be fear and fright. At that time
wars and raids will multiply, and I will cause destruction to prevail upon men, and will deliver them to the sword. They will offer to me prayers and supplications, but I will not listen to them, nor will
I

have pity on them, because of the great number of

In those

their

sins

and
1

iniquities.

days the nation of that King will prevail upon

in

my

nation,
11

and those who believe

the believers in

me

will suffer

many

tribulations.

Then

faith will repent before

me

the world prayers the like

like

me will pray to me, and the people of my There will be in with a true repentance. If something of which did not exist before.

them

existed in the days of

;

Adam,

he would not have gone out

of

Paradise

if

the like of

them

existed in the time of

;

Noah,
if

the

deluge would not have

like

come on

the rebellious nations

something
it

them existed
;

in

Sodom, God would

not have sent on

fire

and

brimstone

the Father
if

if something like them existed in the time of Pharaoh, God would not have drowned him (and his people) in the sea something like them existed with the children of Israel, Nebuchad;

nezzar would not have prevailed upon them, and I would have ~ 3 If the believers delivered them from his hand. had implored me and addressed to me similar prayers in their days and in their times,
I

would have accepted

listened to them.
If

their prayers
I

them and
have
"

reign over them, and

and not allowed anyone to rule would have heard them always and

prayers such as those were addressed to

all

me by
all

them,
fear

would
all

have removed from them

calamities,

injustices,

all

harm,

and

and no creature

of

God would have

and

been able to

inflict

any
ears

injury

on them.

My
to

eyes would have guarded them and

my

would have heard

I

their supplications

listened to their prayers as

had promised
good

them, because

am

a truthful Lord, possessing

4

exclusively

attributes.

"O
1

Peter, the people of the desert,

whom

have 'described

to

you, will surely trample on the

Holy House, and lengthen

their

The majority of the above sentences are missing in the Ethiopia version. 3 Read al-muminun. Read da'ani. * The Ethiopia version omits every allusion to this people of the desert,
2

probably symbolised in the Arabs.

224

WOODBROOKE

STUDIES

speech and their stories in order to deceive and circumvent the believers with their lying utterances ; but you, Peter, tell your them not to to avoid and their follow false doctrine about people

God, a doctrine that will be delivered with a diabolical cunning and which there is no foundation. They are the roots of of thistles which will be gathered in order to kindle with them thorns
assertions to

the

fire

of Hell.
kill

Order (your people)

if

to

endure

and not

to fear
I

those

who

the body, because

they endure
of

their tribulations

will

cause them to inherit the

Kingdom

Heaven.

Anyone who

will

not follow those people, I will forgive his trespasses and overlook his prevarications, because he has kept his baptism and met the Father with an unsullied faith and I will make him inherit the pleasures
;

which the eye saw

into the heart of

not,

and the ear heard

2

not,

and which entered not

man, and was not perceived by the awe-inspiring

unto them that are with child and unto them that

Powers. "

Peter,
4

woe

give suck

in

those days of the people

nations of

whom
be

have mentioned.

In

those days

many

my

people will

killed
fear.

with the sword,

I

and the pregnant women will miscarry from winds to lift skywards the soil and the ashes
the faces of those
falling will

will order the

of the earth,
strike

and

will

shower that earth and those ashes from the sky and

with them

who contradict

the truth.

The quantity

of the earth

All this will take place be as high as the mountains. And because of the suffering inflicted on those who believe in me. my churches and my houses of prayer will be re-built, and my altars
re-erected. "
5

The

springs

and the

rivers will

sun will
will

suffer eclipse for three days,

dry up, the time will change, the and the days and the months

be altered, because computation by the sun, by the moon, and by

the rest of the stars will cease to be accurate.

Anger

will increase will cease to

and wrath

will multiply

on the earth, and good things

come
'

to

mankind.
of the people

The King

whom
6

have described to you and

all

who

will hate
1

my

followers, will reign in

the land of Jerusalem, and

*
1

Read yasbiru.

Cor.

ii.

9.

3 5

Matt. xxiv. 1 9. Presumably the angels. These sentences are missing in the Ethiopia version (ft. O.C.,
6

1913,

p. 71).

Lit.

"from."

APOCALYPSE OF PETER
whenever
will also
injustice,

225
and
his

power increases, his increase and his needs,

his
;

anger, his tyranny,

his extortions,

enmity
his

his oppression,

and

his sinfulness will

grow.

"

In the days of that people the soldiers of Satan

and

his evil

so that the earth will be filled with them. spirits will multiply,
will claim prophecy,

They
days

and

will

become

false prophets.

In

their

the beast of the desert will rule over mankind, and his people will
divide the earth into parts for
selves.

which they

will cast lots

among themthem
*

In their last

days other nations will

come out

of

and

the countries (of the earth) will be destroyed. They will seize the land of the remotest inhabitants of the earth, and they will make men dwell in the deserts of the surface of the globe.

a rod will spring up in the country of the South from my anger and my wrath, in the same way as the rod of salvation who is At that the Son of Man sprang up for the salvation of the world. time the mountains, seized with fear of the aforesaid people, will tremble. They will arm themselves with weapons destructive of life and make
others

*'

Then

do

likewise,

and they
;

will gird themselves

with iron.

While
;

wars are being waged while the phalanxes struggle with one another while men are under the sway of tribulations, fear, pains, famine and
death
earth
; ;

while blood
3

is

being shed and flows on the surface of the

their barriers:
in its

and while swollen waters burst through

will

the ox

with the two horns

East.

make

its

The winds

will increase in

appearance might from the the countries of the earth, one after

another,

and the struggle

will

be intensified and embittered, and the

nations will perish, and blood will flow in the mountains

plains like water.
4

and

in

the

know

his father,

The inhabitants the women will be

will

be deported, a son

will not
5

ravished,

and

their children

will

be sold to slavery.
will not

know

his

People will be scattered in all lands, and a son father nor a father his son, nor a slave his master.

On account
1

of the great conquests of this

murderous

nation, the

towns

uncommon and modern verb is not certain. " is taiman from south." The Syriac taimna translator understood this word as a name and rendered it by Ethiopian proper Teman. Further, he understood the sentence to mean " the rod of salvation " and of life will come from Tcman instead of from Jerusalem.
translation of this
-

My

The Arabic word

used

The

Ethiopic version (R.O.C.,

4

the East"
i

Read abahu.

1913, p. 71) reads only "the King of

~

Read awladahunna.

Katul

is

a participle imitated from Syriac.

226
and the

WOODBROOKE
rivers will submit to
it,

STUDIES
souls of

and the

men

will perish like

the souls of lambs,

and

iniquity will increase.

all

The
and the
will

masters will be like slaves, and

of

them

will

sit

together

as equals.

The

slave girl will

be

mistress will grind the corn

sitting down and be honoured, with the hand-mill. The young

1

before them, precedence over the old, and will drink while the slaves will be given power to rule over the masters.
take

Because

of

this

men

will

and

will

be considered
2

like dogs,

be shaken.

The

kings of

sword and the powers of heaven will the earth will fight one another, and all
at

be delivered

that time to the

the kings will flee from the

will

King

of the South,
*

and

all

the nations

be seized with fear of him.

He will fight

against the four corners

of the earth, will will uproot the

overpower the kings, will rule over all the world, and 4 towns of idols. There will be but little peace and

security in his time, because of the actions of the preceding kings.

The

calamities that will befall

sins

them

will primarily

be

on account

of their

and
"

iniquities.

At

the

end

of the trials

and
I

tribulations that

men

will endure,

and
in

at the

end

of everything that

peace and

security,

and the
quiet,

have described, the earth will rest there sufferings and pains will vanish
;

will

be

tranquillity

and

and the nations

will befriend

one another

shadow of the grace of God. This peace, however, will affect mankind for a short time only, but men will believe that there will be no more wars
on the
earth.
6

the wars will cease, and the nations will rejoice under the

"After

that there will be fear, dread,

before.

and

fright the like of

fright,

which

had not been seen

Men

will die

from that

and kings

will rise against kings.

The
"

birds of

be waged, and blood will flow. heaven and the beasts of the earth will be satiated with
will

Wars

the flesh of the corpses of the slain.

After that the earth will again experience peace and security,
will rejoice

and the nations

1

and

forget the past.

'

Justice, peace,

and

Read wa-yashrab. Read kdna yuharib and

sing.

likewise
4

Matt. xxiv. 29. read the following two verbs

in

masc.
5

missing or differently translated in the Ethiopic version (R.O.C., 1913, p. 72).

7

The sentence is complicated and 6 Many of the above sentences are

Lit.

al-yasir. the translation is not certain.

Read

"

What had happened was

to the

good."

APOCALYPSE OF PETER
security will affect all

227

mankind

for a short while, then

men

will be

plundered and earth will be deported.

father his son.

the inhabitants of the majority of the countries of the

The

son will not

Man will

say to

know his father man and woman to woman

nor the
' :

From

which country have you been deported and from which country are you ? Who was your king and what was your condition ? How were you able to save yourself, and how did you come here ? They
'

will not

know one

another,

and one

will

kill

the other.

days one will not have pity on another, be he old or a be he boy or a girl. The greatest calamities will fall on the young, believers, who will be bound with chains and fetters and cast and
In those

"

drowned

in rivers.

Their hands will be tied to

their hair,

and those

who
will

victorious enemies

When their bind them will impede them from drinking water. have dealt with them according to their wishes, there
l

be a great earthquake
will

the like of which

had not previously oc-

shake three times a day. Then the greatest, the most powerful, the most awe-inspiring King of the South will come forth. He is a terrible and fearful King, and possesses many armies
curred, and the earth

and numerous troops and

three horns.'
will

nations,

and he

is

the powerful ox with the

He

will

reign,

he

will destroy,

he

will burn,

and he

shed blood.
all
4

He

will rob,

anger on

the ends of the earth.

he will plunder, and he will cast his He will demolish and uproot 3

the central

his anger, wrath,

columns, will indulge in dishonourable things, and cast and rancour on the town of Baalbeck 5 which he

will destroy to its foundations.

After he has entered

to

done

in

it

what he had intended

in

designs, he will not return to his

will die

this town and do and shed on it all his evil country and to his relations, but he

and perish

it,

and

its

soul will leave (its

in so

body) because he

has

set himself as

high as

God and

doing has deserved torments

and

perdition.

pour on him my anger and my wrath through the King of the East. This King will destroy his pillar and his kingdom, defeat his troops, bring low his majesty, rule over his countries, uproot his
I

"

will

residences,
1

overpower
Fright"

his followers

and

his children

whom

he

will kill

Lit

"

the Ethiopia version (R. O.C., 1 91 3, p. 72) has also " the ox with s three the horns." The Syr. verb 'akar. 4 5 Read al-wusta. well-known town in Syria.
-

Here

228

WOODBROOKE
1

STUDIES
and the world
all

with horrible tortures.

stable,

Then
fair

the earth will be steady

and

justice

and

play will be on the increase for

the

subject peoples.

"

After

this kings will rise against kings,

and wars
2

will

be waged
3

The ramparts by them, which will cause the destruction of cities. of the large city of the Hijaz which has many inhabitants will be
destroyed, and
all

the gold, the

it

silver,

the vessels, the beauty, and

the majesty that are found in

and

in

Babylon. and the ramparts

been dismantled,
will
this

A week

Egypt
is

will

be carried to

and a

half after the cities

of the fortified city

which

have been destroyed 4 in the Hijaz have

my
fire

sanctuaries will be destroyed,

and

their

wood

be burnt with

and

will

and naphtha. My opponent will take pride in endeavour to kill my followers and to inflict on them
to

what he had intended

do

against

them

he will commit

injustices

against them, ravish their

women, rob them, plunder them, deport

them, and murder them

he will also demolish and burn

my churches, my

because (my followers) will not do the things that he will do. " Then the above wars will cease and men will breathe, but
followers will have

no peace

in all the

days

of that

king, but their

time
dies.

will

At

be spent in tribulations, injustices, and in his enmity till he 6 the end of the days decreed for them, signs will appear in
is

heaven, in the sea, and on the land, and frightful happenings will be
intensified in the higher sea (that
in heavens).

The

kings

who

will

oppose

my

followers will arrive

and

repair to the countries of Persia,

door will open for them in the sea, and which they will besiege. And they will the hostile sword will reach the region of Cyprus. destroy my churches, trample on my buildings, and tear up the sacred

Books and the Gospels which they will contain. They will take possession of my horses and my valiant horsemen and they will kill them

and plunder them, and they

of the country
8

will hold in

bondage

all

the inhabitants

of

Cyprus.

1 -

All

this is

missing in Ethiopia.
3

Read al-amsar.
In this sentence
to

Read aswdr.
it

and

in the

one

that

precedes
6

the text

is

badly worded

and seems
5

make

of the

Hijaz a town

instead of a country.

1 7

read

zamanuhum.

Read tatimmu.
it

done

author uses here the objective pronoun before the subject as " 8 in Syriac and not in Arabic. Lit. town."

The

is

APOCALYPSE OF PETER
"
l

229
go forth and will
;

In those

days the inhabitants of

Egypt

will

and they conquer the town of my holiness, which they will occupy 2 Visions will had the earth as on will spread spread previously. they increase at the time when this takes place, and fear and dread will be
rampant
of
in the other countries

men

will

but know,

and regions of the earth. The hatred be continually poured on my followers who believe in me, Peter, that I am the Lord under whose power they are.

These

calamities will befall

them

solely

on account of
in

their sins

and

prevarications,
3

and

will

have them continually

my
it,

hands and

under the care of

king

my

Providence.
I

In every country in

which a wicked
and he
will

rules over them,

pity,

will raise the best

have
I

compassion, and affection for

man found in all those who

believe in me.

help them and to listen to their prayers in those harassing days which will come on them, because they have been steadfast in their faith in me and have endured with patience the inwill not cease also to

justices of

my enemies.

will not turn

my

face from them, but

all

will
for

be continually with them and help them always, at

ever and ever. " At the end of those days the sun and the

times

and

moon

will

suffer

eclipse, the stars will fall, and the King of the East will come forth war will then be waged to the west with numerous troops.

between the King of the East and the King of the West, and killing and destruction will increase among (their soldiers). Stormy winds
from heaven
fear will

sweep the earth, and calamities, dearth, famine, and 4 be renewed for mankind, and deportation and death will be
will

the lot of the children of

will succeed

Ham.
all

Signs will be seen in heaven, cries

the paraphernalia of wars will shine

one another, and

from heaven to such an extent that the souls of the inhabitants of the
earth will be terrified.

After this a king will come from the east to Egypt, which he will All occupy, and he will also occupy the other countries of the west
the earth and
will lead a great

"

sea to sea.
1

him and obey him. He and army conquer big cities, and he will rule from rob armies will spread out, and there will be Then the
all

the nations will submit to

Apparently the author

is

using here the

word Misr

in its literal sense of

"Egypt."
-

3 All the above sentences are missing in Ethiopia " Or famine," etc, if we read ghala as above for Jala.

Read malikun.

15

230
great fear

WOODBROOKE
on the earth because
l

STUDIES
and the lands
that are near to

of them,

them

will submit

to them.

When

their armies

come near a country,

people will hear voices like voices of angels coming out of them, and an uproar similar to that of the heavenly hosts, and the hearts of the There will be no earthly children of men will be filled with fear.
king
will
left

without fearing them and dreading them in his soul.

in the

There

be

world

tribulations the like of

which had not been seen

its

previously.

The mountains

will crumble,

and heaven with

powers

Fear will also penetrate will be agitated. from east to west.

"

into the hearts of animals

At
to
I

that time

will

send

my

grace and
3

my mercy upon
answer
all

all

the

inhabitants of the earth

who

believe

in

me,

will

those

who
and

pray

me, and

will

which

will cause

open them to
I

to

them the doors

I

of

my

pleasure, through

enter.

will give joy to their hearts

peace to their souls.

will comfort

them and enhance

all

their prestige,

and
me.

will

make my
will be

kings prevail upon

those

who had

contradicted

Wars
will

waged, nations will be terrified, fear will spread,

towns

be

agitated,

and hearts

will

ache.

Famine

will

last

together with death and the shedding of blood, countries will perish and regions will be trodden under feet. Men will perish, and the condition of women will grow worse. anger will come down and

My

will destroy all those

who

contradict

my

kings,

and the army

(of the

said

King) "
I

will

be defeated, and he himself will lose his throne.

will bring salvation to the earth openly,

and

joy, happiness,

and

satisfaction will

be seen

in the hearts of

my

kings,

and

in those of all

my

flocks.

Any
and
to

one of them

who had

been expatriated will return to

his country

will

be reunited to

his family

and

his relations,

and

my

and return

appear on the spear-heads. The tribes will come back one another, and every hidden thing will be made manifest, and the humble will be separated from the insolent. glory will be enhanced among the believers in me, and joy and jubilafaith will

My

tion will increase in all the countries of the earth.

4

The

lion's

the children of
l

whelp will arise from his slumber and he will uproot Seba on account of their bad deeds, and he will put
This sentence
is

read tutVuhum.

complicated and
3

its

translation is

not certain.
4

"Read yasma'.

Read yumin.
many

Here

begins the Ethiopia version (ibid., p. 73) after having omitted

of the

above passages.

APOCALYPSE OF PETER
to flight

231

and defeat

all

the kings, because

will rule over

have given him

my

power.

And
it

the lion's

if its

inhabitants
is

whelp do not

Damascus, and he

will destroy

repent.

The

cause of the onslaught of the

lion's

whelp
is

which

bring his

enemy will conquer a town of his Kingdom situated in the west, and his zeal will be roused and he will armies to the east, and he will defeat the one who had conthat his

They will ask pardon, quered his town that was situated in the west. which he will not grant, and he will display his armies in the east and
in the west,
all

which he

will conquer,

and he

will reach the borders of will enter

*

the Kingdoms, and will

jubilation.
it

march on Jerusalem, which he

with joy and "

He

will rebuild in

the places that had been demolished, and

2

he

will reconstruct the

rampart

of his capital,

and he

will rebuild the

it

rampart of the city of Phoenicia, because he will find Peter, all the believers in together with its towers.

demolished
will

me

be

at

that

time in great joy and jubilation.

Then

return to his Capital, radiating with great joy

majesty,

the lion's whelp will and followed by honour,

of his

and

grace.

Then he

will

mount the throne

Kingdom

and

of his glory for

will follow

my

many years and multitudinous days, because he commandments, judge in justice, and not spare those

who
King

disbelieve in me.

The Kingdom

of those

who
4

believe in

me on

the surface of the earth will last seventy weeks,

will exact justice

and

that believing

each injustice
religion.

from the children of the wolf forty fold for they had inflicted on the believers, because justice means

"

That

the wolf

blessed King will also impose full tribute on the children of and exact from them forty fold the tribute that they had

taken from the believers.

He

will not

have pity on them nor

will

he

listen to their
liars.

prayers, because they are detractors of their creator

will be astonished at the zeal

and

Men

and the

actions of

that lion's whelp,

who

will

indeed be zealous towards those

that

who
to

believe in me.
rise

And

they had believed

he was dead never

again "

From

that time

none

of the children of the

justice, equity,

wolf will ever be

allowed to bear arms, and

1

and
-

security will increase,

Read yadkhuluha.
Lit.

Read

sur.
ix.

"town."

r
.

Dan.

24.

232
and abundance

WOODBROOKE
will
affect
all

STUDIES
And
he
will rebuild all

creatures.

towns that were destroyed, and opulence will be as profuse as the sand of the sea shore, and all the believers will live in an undescribable affluence.

Know,

Peter, that

all

these events will

the second

take

place twenty two and a half long weeks before to the world. coming of the Son of Man who is I

"

Know,

O
I

Peter, that the

Kingdom

of the lion's

whelp
this

will

be

a good one.

have already revealed and disclosed

mystery to

my

elect,

my
of

him some
1

pious and pure one, my prophet Daniel, and shown I have revealed to him the these facts. Kingdoms and
in

symbolised them for him

water.

four beasts
like

which came up from the

2

The

first

beast

was
3

lion,

the second beast like a wolf,

like

the third beast like a

tiger,

and the fourth beast

a lion's whelp,

and

it is

the greatest and most formidable of the beasts.

first

"
of the

The

beast that resembled the lion represented the

Kingdom
is

Babylonians, the second beast which resembled the wolf are

is

the children of the 'Abus? the third beast which

the tiger
like

the

Kingdom
whelp
2

of the Greeks,

and the fourth beast which was

of the

lion's

is

the
.

Kingdom
1-9.

Romans, and
wolf.

it is

higher and greater

vii.

Ibid., 5, has a
p.

"

bear

"

and not a

The

Ethiopia version (R. O. C.,

1913, "

77) has
I

Eldiyon"

serpent," and identifies the Kingdom with that of the believe that this strange word Eldiyon may be explained

"a

The word appears through a blunder on the part of the Ethiopian translator. " In early and the wolf," el being the article. to be the Arabic el-dhfb
undotted Arabic characters the letters dal (d) and dhcil (dh) are graphically identical and distinguishable only by an extraneous dot placed over the So also is the case with the letters nun (n) and ba (b) which are latter.

So the above word over or under them. by a dot " placed " means wolf may easily have given birth to the meaningless Eldiyon found in the Ethiopic version. The undotted Arabic form would be
distinguished only
really

which

^.jJI
3 4

which may be read as el-dhfb the "wolf" or the meaningless

Ibid., 7-8,

Eldiyon.

does not give the name of the beast. " " and is lion 'a&us used here means primarily " to be stern and austere in derived from the verb 'abasa which means countenance." As this verb is also the root of the Arabic proper name Abbas from whom comes the 'Abbasid dynasty of Baghdad it is just

The Arabic word

'

possible that the author was playing on the identical root of these two words and thus wishing to kill two birds with one stone. For this reason I will
retain the

word

in the translation in

order to avoid
to this fact.

possible ambiguities.

Further reference will be

made below

APOCALYPSE OF PETER
than the

233
of

Kingdom

of the other kings.

The Kingdom

Babylon

will last five

hundred years, and the Kingdom

of the children of the

'Abus
an

will last as the prophet Isaiah said, according to the years of

1

hireling.

As

to the

Kingdom

of the Greeks,

it

will last three

fifths

and a

half of the duration of the

of the

the

'Abus? and the Kingdom

Kingdom Romans will

of the children of
last
till

my

second

coming.

And
to the

I,

Peter, will then take over the

Kingdom from

them.

As
will

Kingdom
of
it,

of the children of the

'Abus, twelve kings

kings.

come out

followed by nine

mutawafir*

The

said

twelve kings will show justice on the earth, will be great and powerThe reference to them will be ful, and will protect their Kingdom.

by the
will

brief length of their reign,

and

their

days will be short.

Two
them

of those kings will perish in the centre of the earth,

and

four of

guard their
"

Kingdom which
till

will

be with them and in their

successive generations

the end.

Out

of

them
3

will

come
first

three Kings in the three

fifths

of the

aforesaid period.

The

of

them

will

be

killed

in his bed,
6

and

the second of the three will reign five and a half years,

and many

men
his

will

own
will

be murdered and will perish by his hand. He will follow He will opinions, and he himself will prepare for wars.

repair to

me

Mesopotamia with a great army, and make a pact with him and will not
will travel
it

those

who

believe in

forsake him.
its

From
will

Mesopotamia he
acknowledge him.

to

Syria, and
to

inhabitants

From

he
it

will repair to the

but he will turn his face from

1

and return

of Phcenicia? and Syria, many men

town

Is.

xxi.

16.

"

according

to the

So I understand the sentence which number of the year of the greatest."

literally

means

The

Ethiopic

version makes mention here of the problematic Eldiyon as above. -The Ethiopic version (R.O.C., 1913, p. 77), reads: "five times as " long as the half of the reign of the children of Eldiyon" 3 1 do not know the precise meaning in the context of this Arabic word, " the literal meaning of which is The abundant, numerous, copious." " " " version has little or Mention is Ethiopic (ibid.) Kings Kinglets." made below of seven Kinglets. 4 " This translation is not certain. Their Literally the sentence reads relation is the law of the end." It is omitted in the Ethiopic version.
:

5 b

The

translation
:

is

uncertain.

The
half."

sentence

is

missing in Ethiopic.

Ethiopic
7

"one year and a

"

Ethiopic

Phrygia

".

234
will perish there
deserts.

WOODBROOKE
"

STUDIES
1

between the two mountains, and he

Kings that
first

will scour the

As

to

the twelve
of the

will

reign

from the barbaric

them begins with the letter Ha? nation, the His reign will be a short one, and it is he who will precede the other kings in persecuting the children of (my) nation who will dis3 He will be the beginning of trouble. There will, obey his orders.

name

of

however, be a

little

justice in

his time, but

woe

to the

man who

follows his orders. " After him will reign a

towns by means of his secure, and he will grant them charters to grant them more than he will promise.
villages, and corn
fields.

King called (...).* He will conquer priests, and those who believe in me will feel
this effect,

but he will not

destroy towns,

He

will

He

will pass through countries,

and

will

be

the

first

King

of the barbaric nation

who

will

impose tribute on those

a

who who

believe in me.

"

After him will come from

will usurp the throne.
his

this nation

man

called

(...),
and
fight

He
their

will conquer countries

against

people and make

murder

lawful.

There

will

be

justice in the beginning of his reign. " After him will reign a man called

(.

.).

He will

be a mighty

man who
and he

will reap

not belong to
will

where he has not sown, and hoard what does him. His religion will be hypocrisy and iniquity,

preceded him. He will be the fourth King of that nation, and his Kingdom will be in the seventh millenium of the creation, and his power will be from
me, and in the year nine hundred and twenty third of Alexander?
1

be much more wicked than the one

who

In

the

Ethiopia version

it

is

the

King

that

will die

between two

mountains.

The copyist identifies him as Herod. All these identifications are additions to the original text, and are by late copyists who wished to make a display of their skill in guessing the identity of the persons spoken of
enigmatically by the
first

narrator,

shall relegate the

names

guessed by them

in this

way

to the foot-notes.

They

of the persons are mostly missing in

the Ethiopic version (R.O.C., 1913, p. 74). 3 All this sentence is complicated, and
uncertain.
It

my

translation

of

it

is

very

is

of course missing in Ethiopic, as are also all the following

pages.
4

The

missing

names

of

Kings

will

be marked with three dots between

brackets.

A.D. 612 according to the ordinary computation.

APOCALYPSE OF PETER
By my
1

235
which
I

will he will repair to the land of the holy light,

2

had

promised to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob.

its

He will enter it and conquer

hundred and

inhabitants

who

believe

in

me
is

in the year nine

thirty fifth of the era of

Alexander.
four long weeks, six

"

All the time of that nation

length,
I

weeks

of

medium

and three and a

will

half short weeks.

(its

At

the end of
I

these weeks

throw confusion among

Kings) and

will

destroy their
will be just

Kingdom. The interval of time in which their Kingdom and full of equity will be one hundred and nine years.
be a powerful man, with long stature and have created him in my wrath and made him love to
will

At

the end of this period of security the twelfth of the aforesaid

die.
I

Kings will
sharp eyes.

He

erect land-borders,

rebuild devastated places

and plant

trees.
3

He

He will will have a long life and he will build towns and dig wells. be so keen in exacting tribute from men that he will demand it even
from people "

who have

died.
silver in

He

will

amass gold and

kings.

a quantity larger than that

amassed by the previous

to

He will

have also numerous

gifts sent

all nations, tribes and peoples, who will thus seek to He will travel with him at every opportunity. themselves ingratiate in the deserts and the wastes, will cause rivers to flow in them, and

him by

will taste of the fruit of all the trees that he will plant.

When

the

time of his death

all

is

near,

he

will receive

countries,

and

will die in his

bed

in

messages of condolence from peace and without the troubles

experienced by other kings who die a violent death of various kinds.'' " After the death of the aforesaid King another man will reign
half a half a year.

week, and he will be followed by another man who will reign After this period, tribulations will increase against the

believers in me, especially against those of

in

them who

will

be dwelling

towns

at the time of the dissolution of the

Kingdom

of the aforesaid

nation.

As

to those

believers

who

at that time will

be dwelling in

the three mountains or in their summits, they will be saved, because those mountains are difficult of access.

'ala after the verb and eliminate the lam. read al-miitadayin, for al-maddyin. " 3 4 Lit rivers." Read dana. 5 All this sentence is badly worded, but its meaning
:

Add
1

is clear.

Read min

for

makan.

236
"

WOODBROOKE
Then
eight small kings will rise,

STUDIES
followed by three others of

own opinions man and his own will rise from them who will be a mendacious and a deceitful person who will wish to possess the Kingdom and for this purpose he will make promises to people
different nationality.

One

of these three will follow his

desires.

After him another

concerning various things which he will not

fulfil.

He

will kindle

wars

in

the centre of the earth and will overcome those

who do
will

not

acknowledge him.
a lover of
strangers he
will not
2

He
fail

fornication

many (women) and he and homicide. To his relatives and

will

ravish

be

to the of his

to

be a

sign of the nearness of the

end

people in the world. " At that time there will be in the world a peace that will

last

less than half a week, and after that peace Egypt will be ruined and It will be surrounded on all sides there will be much slaughter in it.

by

wars,

its

inhabitants will be seized with fear

and

fright inside

and

outside,

brothers will

and they will have no rest. After this three men who are rise, and one of them will reside in the east, in the centre

of the world.

When
3

these three brothers have risen,

it

will

be the

time of the departure of the people whom I have described. " Then the servitude of those who believe in me will be intensified,

because the aforesaid people in conjunction with other peoples will The towns will be ruined, and the earth will shake on enslave them.
account of the injustice done to those who believe in me. Peter, 4 when (you see ) that the land is seized with fear, let any of its
inhabitants

who
let

is sinful

be steadfast

in fasting,

praying,

and

giving

him not come near any sin. Peter, admonish those who believe in me to beware of all men, and inform them that their children and their parents may be their enemies.
alms,

and

Know, O wolf will come

shake.
will

"

Peter, that at the time in

which the children

all that is
it,

of the
it

out of Jerusalem, the earth with

on

will

The

earth will darken, mendacity will increase in

and

truth

vanish

from

it.

preaching of the priests will cease,

1

Visions and earthquakes will multiply, the and vain people with empty pride

Lit.

"

and there

2 3

This sentence

4
5

Possibly in This or a similar verb

be nothing left of them." badly worded and my translation of it " the end." Read dhahab. the sense of
will
is

is

very uncertain.

is

The word ajnahat seems

missing in the sentence. to be a translation of the Syriac gunh/.

APOCALYPSE OF PETER
will prevail.

237

holy priesthood will be sold for money, and bribes The wise men will be disregarded, and the will be accepted for it.
Injustices will

The

ignorant will rule.

will

be committed openly, and suspicion

with
their lands

be "

rife in all

countries.

The

kings of the east together

*

and the lands

of

the west will perish, and the kings of the west will rule over the

country of Phallkiyah and over the deserts, and will put to the inhabitants of the town of Rawadif? who believe in me.
children of

shame

The

Katlu*
lands.

Peter, will

be given

(or, will give) the tablets

on

my

behalf in order to conquer your holy city, and they will impose
its

tithes

on

Then

the children of the

'A bus
of

of the desert

and

the people

who

say that the tablets are like the tree the leaves of
all

which

fall in

the winter time, will depart and

them

will perish

by themselves, but the children of the just will have no fear. 4 the towns of Mitaliyah and Satdfan their inhabitants will be
into captivity

As

to

carried

and

perish, because

will look

upon them with anger

and wrath.
"
the

Law

After that there will be a short peace on the earth, and then Men will be neglectful and afraid (of it), and will appear.
it

they will read

my

from Jerusalem, but they will twist the meaning of commandments which I have enjoined upon them, and they will

not honour

my

martyrs nor love

my

sacrifices

and

fear will spread

over your lands. "

Know,
I

Peter, that the sign of the iniquitous

and

unjust people

have mentioned as coming from the desert of the south is that will ride on camels and will hold in their hands the rule of the they carpenter with which they will mark, and will shave the hair (of their
heads)
1
"

whom

like

mendicants.
country

Woe

to the island (sic) of

Haran

at that

Which

is this ?

not be a proper name but a derivative of the verb " radafa in the sense of followers." 3 This word may be a derivative of the verb katala " to kill," and in that

This word

may

who

the children of those who will be killed (or, be given (or, will give) the tablets from me." In this sense we ought to add an alif after the verb and the pronoun al-ladfan before it. The meaning of all the sentence is problematical. 4 Which towns or countries are these ? 5 The meaning of all the above sentence is uncertain. 6 All this seems to refer to the Arabs. As to the rule (lit. " rod ") of

case the sentence would

mean

"

have

killed) will

the carpenter

we may compare

Is. xliv.

3.

238
time, because
its

WOODBROOKE
and deportation.
is

STUDIES
fire,

inhabitants will die of starvation,

sword, destruc-

tion

O Peter, Haran the town of idols will be like

led astray and like leaven that
is

a congregation that

immersed

into

dough. a King
pained

Woe at
1

that time to Palestine

it

and

to

its

inhabitants, because

will repair to
in joys.

from the west,

who

will joy in pains

and be

go afterwards to the east and perish there, and woes will be doubled for Haran, and gloom will be in the saddle
will
in the east

He

and

in the west.

"

Know,

O
O

Peter, that the people

whom

have described

will

be in permanent action from the beginning of their reign to its end. This people, Peter, is the scourge of my wrath on the earth, and men of all tongues will flee from them, because they will consider as
lawful the deportation of their sons and daughters.
will

O
to

Peter, there

be no

justice in the time of this

I

people for one hundred and sixty

nine years as
intensify

told you,

and

at the

end

of

these years they will

their raids
it

on the

earth.

Peter,

woe

Armenia,

because
I

will perish seven times,

and

at the

end

of the seventh time,

will

be reconciled

to

its

inhabitants

completion (of the time) of the twelve Kings

considerable
nation.
4

and give them victory, at the 3 and they will kill a

;

number
a

of the

wicked men, the children

call

of the barbaric

"Then
soldiers will

man

will

appear and will

people to
soldiers

his side.

His

be from the

Sudan 5 and

short of stature, the like of

will

whom
6

men had

numerous than

not seen previously. their horsemen.

Their foot

be more
will

At

their first onslaught

no one

be able to oppose them nor

their leader will

to stand against them.

Their devotion to

me,
their

Peter.

be greater than yours and that of your colleagues to At the end of their Kingdom they will repair with
will be
in a state of

King

for the time being to the land of fear,

three towns.

Egypt
that

and they will destroy commotion, and blood will

be

shed

before

King and

his
its

generals.

The

treasures

of

Damascus, which

are the glory of

inhabitants, will

be thrown open,

'

Read malikun.

Read wa-yahzan.

Lit.

"

heads."

On
i.

Islam,
5

the vicissitudes of Armenia caused by wars, see Encyclopedia of 437 sq. The meaning of some words in this sentence is prob"
:

lematical.

Or

blacks."

fi

Read ahadun.

APOCALYPSE OF PETER
the kings of the
littoral will reign,

239
of

and the mountains

Allnan

will

be conquered.

"

When

"

you
;

see

that the east

becomes dark and

;

is

covered with

that armies move that stormy winds begin to blow a black cloud from one country to another and from one place to another that many mountains are engulfed that wars rage in Damascus, and
; ;

there

is

no one

left to

dwell in

it

as well as in

Baalbeck
;

that armies

that earthquakes pour into Egypt in order to destroy it and burn it that the occur in towns, and piercing noises are heard in them 3 Kingdom of the seven kinglets whom I have mentioned, is at an end
; ;

and when you

see that the seat of the

Kingdom

of the people that

have described changes from their first house to their second house, and that the seat of the Kingdom of the first King changes from the
direction of their
rising in

Kiblah *
:

to the east

and when you

of) truth
is

see three kings

one year

know

that (the

day

at

hand, and that

the

last

Kingdom will " Know, O Peter,

l

devastate the earth and the world.

that at that time
all

those

who

believe in

me
of

will be smitten with great grief.

Divisions will occur in the

kinglets will rise

camp

the children of the

Abus, and seven

from them, and

6

a considerable number of them will congregate near waters. sign will be seen in Edessa and the inhabitants of Haran will rise against There will be ruin, slaughter, grief and fear near those of Edessa.
the small winding river.
to
7

Woe,

O Peter, to Antioch, your town, woe

towns and
to

Baalbeck, and woe

to the remaining

Syria, because

they will be affected by

to

many

tribulations at that time.

its
s
it.

Woe,
soil

O Peter,
with

Samosata
"

as

it

will

be ruined, burned and

tilled

plough, because an iniquitous

man

will rise

from
I

and

my

your people accept wrath from them. Know,

Peter,

if

my

words

will

remove

my

anger
9

O Peter, that the temple of 'Irkak

it

is

towels uncertain. Which mountains are they? Is a scribe's error for Lubnan, the mountains of Lebanon ? I read nazartum.
3

possible that

it

is made above of nine and eight and not seven kinglets. known the under name of They mutawiifir kings. See pp. 447 and 450. 4 Direction of prayer among the Muslims.

Mention
are

'

Or: "King." The river Daisan

Read miyah.
Is it
It

of

Edessa ?

A town situated

Paul of Samosata ?

east of Tripoli, in Syria.

was

fortified

in ancient

times.

240
and the town
of
of

WOODBROOKE
Seba
will will

STUDIES
Seven years will come
perish.

be burned, and the inhabitants of the town

hill

Seba

be reduced to a

(of ashes).

upon

my

people, in

which many

of

them

will

Signs will be
filled

seen in these seven years, and in them the earth will be

partisans of hell.

with the

"
fall

Signs will be seen in heaven, the sun will darken and

soil

will

from heaven on the earth, which will cover

will immediately perish,

men
will
in

be destroyed. 2 it and waters

Manih

its inhabitants. Mighty and the temple of the lion at Baalbeck will be rebuilt and buildings will increase
it,

will flow into

which
to

will divide themselves into

different streams.

Woe to

Paran

be ploughed
half.

in conjunction

because they will with the preceding towns in a week and a

and

Ara'man 3

"

After that a King will reign whose name

(.
.

is (.

.),

and

after

him

another King called

.).

Woe

to towns, villages,

and sown

fields

The three mountains will then At that time when the fourth Nubian King has passed away, bend. four Kings will rise from the people whom I have described. The first
under the reign of these two Kings.
of

them

will live

reigns.

The

a short time only, but the three others will have long first King whose life will be short will be from the first six

and two
"
filled

of the remaining three will

be of the same family, and they

4

will perish before the

When
At

days of the fourth King. wars and murder increase in this nation, and the earth
fifty

end

of the

is

with tribulations,
their

nations will

come out

against

it

and tread

on

it.

they will fight

full

be a King leading many other kings, and on sea and land, and the seas will be strewn with ships

head
one
6

will

of warriors,

of

whom

will chase

a thousand and two put ten

thousand to
for

flight.

Then

the aforesaid people will prepare to depart

Nisibin, and afterwards they will flee one and all into the deserts whence they came out. Then the Christian King residing in the city of Antioch will repair to Rome^ and there he and the Kings of India
1

Is

it

possible

that this

Damascus?
2

(Yakut,

Manih refers to Manihah, Mu'jam al- Buldan, iv, 673).

locality

near

Read miydh.
in the province

of

Possibly 'Arraman, a town near the district of Hauran Damascus (Yakut, Mu'jam al- Buldan, iii, 655).
4 5

The translation of Read mukatilin.

all this

sentence

is
"

uncertain.
xxxii.

Deut.

30.

APOCALYPSE OF PETER
and Cyrus
1

241
will

will unite
"

with

Sind and China.

They

make a

mutual compact
so that one of

to

fulfil

the wishes of those

who
I

believe in

me and

(to punish) those

who

hate them, and they will be given great power

them

will defeat a thousand.

This

will grant to those

who
will will

follow

me and

believe in

me

as

God.
will

"

Peter, in that time

Jerusalem

be

rebuilt

and

its

rampart

be reconstructed.
be

My

temple will be re-erected, and Jerusalem

age,

rejuvenated after her old

and

will shine like the rays of

the sun and like the flames of a burning

the lion's whelp,
will

fire.

Know,

Peter, that

who
in

is

entrusted with the task of helping the believers,

show

his

head
in

order to fight his enemies.

When he has finished

4

thirty- one years

power, he
all

will have, with the assistance of fifty

Kings, gained possession of

the earth.

When

he has reigned

fifty-

one years, your Kingdom,

in glory.

O Peter, will be great

and you

will increase

O Peter, when the nations intensify their

will

hatred against your

let

people
"
his

it

be a message of salvation to them, and

them take

refuge from place to place.

Peter, have
in

Psalms

you not heard the words of my beloved David in I will lift up my eyes to see from which he says
'
:

whence cometh my O and earth ?

'
s

salvation,

and

it

cometh from the creator

of

heaven

Peter, blessed are those

who

dwell in the four

surrounding mountains which you will encompass rill the end of the I will make them world. dwellings of salvation, and all who go and
'

repair to
"

them

will prosper.

Woe

to treasures

and towns
9

in the

time preceding
1
'

the rising of

the lion's whelp, because religion

virgins will

will vanish in east

faithful,

and west,

The

be deflowered and the

over the world
villages will
;

especially the priests, will

be

killed all

the water- pools of the earth will cease to

exist
1

and the

be destroyed with a lightning speed.

The

"

author seems to refer by this word to Persia in general. 3 Read suruka. Probably read yatctahaduna. " If we read Khamsin in the accusative, the meaning would be he
fifty
1

will

have defeated
Ps. cxxi.
7

Kings and gained possession of

6

all

the earth."

-2. From the Syriac krakh. Probably read kullu man. 8 Read Kabl. This proves that the text from which the present Garshuni MS. is derived was in early and undotted Arabic characters, because it is in

Arabic only that the letters ba and ya are graphically similar and able by extraneous dots placed above or below the letters.
9
1

distinguish-

read ad-din.

10

Read al-muminun.

242
"

WOODBROOKE
You
will

STUDIES

will see that the kings will assemble near

Kings
place

be established.
rises to

one King, and three Divisions will occur between them from the

where the sun

from the south

nation will

King ?) will appear and majesty, and the heart of the iniquitous l be seized with fear, and they will return to the country
in glory
first

the sea.

(And

that one

from which they came.

man from
man.
"

the

(That one King ?) will be accompanied by a house, and their discomfiture will be due to this
will see
city in

Peter,
it

you

your great

a state of commotion,

and from
the earth.

will

And
will

go out a considerable number of people, who will fill you will see the standard bearer coming out of the

CapttoKttm*

of the great city of

Rome.

When

you see

all

these

know that a complete salvation has come to those who things you The name of the standard bearer who will come out believe in me. of the Capitolium is derived from my name, and my name will be
inscribed

on the standard.
shake with
fear.

earth will

He is the lion's whelp from whom When he appears he will repair to

islands of

the
the
full

country of
*'

Yukiyah?
and the

The

Cyprus and Sicily

will

will

be

of his troops,

cities will rejoice.

Peter, your great city of

Rome
India

awake out

of her sleep,
4

and

the armies of

Cyrus and

of

will assemble at that time in

Jerusalem and worship my cross. My right hand will be over the city of Rome, and I will order the heavenly hosts to come to its assist5 The land and the sea will be filled with the inhabitants of ance.

Maurikiyah, and
the blood shed on

there will be an uproar in the earth on account of

it.

The enemy,
be
in the

however,

will

Rome
Kings
sixths
7

because of

its

being your seat,

Peter.

At

never prevail upon " that time all the

of the earth will of

power

of the lion's

whelp, and

five-

the (inhabitants of the) world will believe in me.

of the lion's
1

The
till

Kingdom
1
'

whelp

will

be immune from

vicissitudes

the

This proves decisively that the text from which the present copied was in undotted Arabic characters, because it is only in Arabic that the letters ba and yd' are written in the same way and them. distinguished only by extraneous dots placed above or below " " 3 ? The mistake Is it possible to read here Thrace Tarakiyah could easily have arisen in undotted Arabic characters. 4 5 Add al-wakt. Read takun. Read bi-mu'adhadatiha. 7 1 read asdas for asdad, which "barriers." means generally
Kabitolion.

Read Read

tarji

and

al-lati.

MS. was

fi

APOCALYPSE OF PETER
time in which the sign of

243

my

rain-bow

is

seen on the clouds of heaven,

and

that sign will herald the time of

my

second coming into the world.

of Perdition perishes, sins

"
will

Know,
1

Peter, that

when

the

Son

increase

prophets described above.

their time,
I

Tell your people, Peter, that false among men. will rise, and warn your nation to beware of the nation

Inform them that any of them

who

denies

me

in

will

throw him

into the eternal torment.

Proclaim to

them
Peter,

that that nation will hate

me and

all

who

believe in me.

who

who deny me, and blessed are, O Peter, those Those who endure the tribulations till the end and those who die in my love will be will live for ever and ever and those who endure tribulations and afflictions counted as martyrs
woe
to those

believe in me.

for

my
"

sake

will forgive their sins,

double their reward, and make

not end nor perish

them
and

inherit the

Kingdom

of

Heaven which does

the pleasures of

going to

which no created being has ever known.' Peter, keep what I have taught you, and know that I am not time will forsake my people nor ever to abandon them.

come when the

rendered, and

children of the wolf will seemingly triumph

tribulations
s
;

and

inflict

numerous and severe

its

when your
;

inhabitants

will suffer all

noble city will be surkinds of torments and

city's

intense pains from their (enemies') priests

when your

sons will

be deported and their daughters deflowered by the children of the Blessed will be those wolf, for the duration of a week and a half.

who
fall

at that time

go out of the

city

and

flee

from

it,

because

woe

will

on
"

it

and

will not save

it

in

it.

Blessed will then be those

When

those

who

believe

my [will; may who dwell in the mountains. in me in the city have been killed and

in order that

be done

have become therein martyrs for my sake, then will I show my salvation in a way in which my right hand will be over the sea and my
left

over the land.

At

that time the children of the wolf will be

cursed by their wives.

in

Peter,

when twelve
it

signs

have appeared
the believers

your

city tell its

it.

inhabitants to flee from

before the remaining signs

it,

take place in

(Those

signs) will occur in

and

all

found
1

in

it

will perish.

When
*

false intelligence increases

among

the

Read kadhaba. Read sakinuha. 5 The verb of the

the meaning of
all

Add wamd

before the verb.

Read al-muminum.
of this sentence is omitted
is

first

member

by the copyist,

and

the sentence

thus rendered obscure.

244

WOODBROOKE
and
;

STUDIES
and
fornication

children of the wolf,

lies

spread,

and adultery
false witness

and when awe-inspiring visions, multiply among them and bad thoughts concerning the honour of my people, those who are able to flee do so.
"
In that

occur, let all

day many men

if

will

deny me, and

will taunt

one another.

and waxes angry on Know, account of disappointment, I will send Michael, the angel of war, to the vanguard of his army, with the sword of anger and wrath, as I did
Peter, that

the lion's whelp roars

in the times of yore with the

Kings of Babylon, and as

in

it

Moses my
happened
with

elect

when he drowned Pharaoh

In front of

the sea,

happened to and as it

also

in the case of

my

people.

King Asa. In this way will I act x them will be the lion's whelp, who
with
his

will strike all the unbelievers

their hearts.

sword and bring

terror

into

"When
his rebellion

the rebellious King has repented and turned away from and when our Lord has become a saviour, I will set (Him)
six

up

(as) the

King with
is

names.
4

will bring salvation

through him,

adorned with many names. With him I have placed Michael the man of the golden sword and the holder of At his right will be the Cherubim and Seraphim who will the spear.
because he
the saviour
fight before

occasions

will

him with twelve myriads of angels. On two memorable fill all mankind with tremour and fear.
unto them that are with child and to them that give when the children of Ishmael shall come forth from

"
suck
5

And woe

at the rime

the country of Persia.

When
;

you have seen the dead

its

rising

those

immersed

in sleep

awaking

the world excited by the instructions of the

supplications to

Guide

the lion roaring and in

;

me

its

roar heard

in all regions

the Rebel repenting and the Insurgent making penitence ; 6 those going astray coming to the right path ; rout spreading ; the fallen rising ; the old things renovated ; the waves of the sea stilled ;

the aged becoming young

know
7

that the time

is

at

hand.

Peter,

when murder and death

increase

in the regions (of the earth),

and the

chiefs rise capriciously against

1

your people and your

2

flocks, for

two

Read mukaddamatihim.

Read wa-idh.

3 4

Or

"
:

the sixth

King

in the

The Syriac/am&z.

order of names." 5 Matt. xxiv. 19.

which

Or we

" " waterless cloud," twang of the bow," according to the 7 read the word. Read kathura.

way

in

APOCALYPSE OF PETER
weeks
a
half.

245

of

middle length, woe will

fall

on them for a short week and

Peter, when you see the inhabitants of the desert taking refuge l between the two mountains, tell your people to flee in haste from the

"

When you see women seized with the pangs of travail every and father and son having intercourse with one woman in one day,
towns.

When you see that Peter, with your people. house, wake up, that those who abomination and fornication are practised openly 8 of the believers blacken deny me are on the increase, that the wives
;

their

hands with the leaves of the tree which

all

have cursed from

all

among

the trees created on the earth

woe, again woe, and

woe

them who dye themselves with (these leaves) after they 3 have received the baptism, because their lot will be with those who
to those of
'

shed the blood of the prophets, with those who cried out before Pilate, 4 Good were it for the woman who dyes Crucify Him.' saying
:

herself with the leaves of this tree

if

she had not been bora.

"

Peter,

vice versa,

judgment

is

when you see women dressed in men's dresses 8 and know that the time is at hand, and that the hour of O Peter, blessed is the man who is not bora in come.
Jerusalem.

the time in which the wolf comes out of

that at that time
will

Know,

Peter,

be ruined.

my churches will be divided and that the sea ports Calamities will befall my people some of them will
:

be driven out

of their places,

some

of

them

will

be driven out

of their

homes, and some of them

will

be burned with

fire.

Blessed are those

who

sanctuary which is in the new Jerusalem, which has no abomination nor iniquity, and on which no one has trodden except my people, from the time in which they
flee to

me and

take refuge near

my

believed in me.

The one

to
I

whom
will

my commandment because
him and
because
I

it was entrusted did not contradict was with him, and I shall not cease to

be with him always, and he

to him.

to me, and I with Through him I will conquer all the fortified cities, have made him my elect, and I have chosen him and was

be with

me and

pleased with him.

3 5 6

Remove the wdw. Read hadhdhahunna. Cf. Matt xxvi. 24. The sentence is badly worded

Read yusawwidna. Mark xv. 13-1 4, etc,

but the sense seems to be clear.

16

246
"

WOODBROOKE
O
Peter, the city in

STUDIES
will

which your body

I

be

placed,

is

the

great city

which has no blemish.

just

and they will enjoy what is show my miracles in it, and I

and priesthood, the sceptre
this will

make its inhabitants and forbid what is wrong. 2

will
it

pure,
I

will

will establish in

the pillars of prophecy

of

of

power and the throne

It is

David ; and
I

remain in

it

for ever.

Jerusalem

the great, and

will

honour

it

with the aforesaid mercies solely because of

my

love for you,

O
all

Peter.

Make

your mind

clear, listen to

my

words, and

know
and

that

the books will undoubtedly perish

in their contents,

and people

will not believe in

false-

them nor
hood.

which they

will ascribe to lies

Peter, woe to those who gave the lie to my signs. when you see the priests despising and scorning them, 3 while wallowing in sins, and the common people railing at them and contradicting my commandments found in them, know that

Peter,

these are
"

some

of the signs of the

end

of the eon.
fallen victims to torments,

When you see the

heads of Jerusalem

destruction,

and much sorrow, know that your noble

city

and the

rest

of the cities will be affected

by

similar calamities.

When

the sun

has risen from the city of

Rome
all
;

and shone on a desert

of the west,

and

its

rays have

embraced

the earth and burned the trees of the

fire
4

wild and elevated cypresses when you see that the land of fear (which is the land) of Egypt ;
;

has consumed
its

that

running

that the powerful water has dried up ; that its laurel has died out King has gone to the lion's whelp carrying great and costly gifts to

him
wolf
that

that the wealth of

that fear has affected

Egypt has been carried to the west and the sea know that at that time the son of the
;

who
he

devastates

and

lays waste will

come

out.

When

you

see

inflicts

on (the inhabitants

(punishment with the) sword ; perishing of murder and death

those
is

of) Egypt dispersion, divisions and when you see that its inhabitants are when you see that the community of

who deny me
it

in

it

are perishing with the sword, and that famine

:

creeping into
its

together with grievous and incurable diseases

know
will

that

ruin

is

at

hand and

that the wolf will trample

on the country
his

of the east

where he

will muster a great army.

There
3

power
biha.

4
5

Or

The

100, etc. " "of the countries (of the earth) in general. author uses the Syriac form of the participle.
.

Kur'an

iii.

Read

APOCALYPSE OF PETER
1

247

be brought to an end and his wives will be deported, and he will change his sins with them to simple apparel. " Woe to Egypt because of the calamities that will befall her from
sea, land,

and

all sides.

All men

will strive to

plunder
wealth.'

its

wealth,
'

and the children

us go to
ruin
it

of the wolf will cry to

rich in
it

one another and say

its

Let
will
it.

Egypt, wax

and plunder
it,

They

and be proud

of (their deeds) in

but they will perish in

fulfilled

Peter,
2

know

that all

my

words

will

be

and

my

wish

realised."

Here ends

the fifth part of the

Book of Clement.

Again
The
not deny

the sixth part of the

Book of Clement.
sure that your people

Saviour said

"
:

Peter,

make

do

me

in the time of the

coming

of the trials,

which

will be

doubled
those of

in the case of those

who

believe in me.
in their

Inform them that

obedience to

them who

will

endure the sword

me

will live with

me

in the last day,

and

will

make them
will

inherit the

Kingdom
exist.

of

Heaven which has no end and which

tell

never cease to
' :

"

Peter,

those

who

believe in

me

the following

When
4

you

see

towns

tottering, the earth shaking, armies constantly mustering

filling

in the
1

world, and fear and trepidation

I

the hearts, girdle yourtranslated in different

So

translate the

word al-wadan which may be

:

ways.

precise meaning in this sentence is obscure. " " Here the copyist adds in Syriac brother-readers, pray for the wretched and the weak man who wrote, and for his father and mother. And recite a Pater Noster for the soul of the author and of the hearers."
Its

As

the

"

third part

According does not seem to be the case because the MS. is complete and its text Either two parts are combined someappears to be continuous throughout where into one or this false division is due to an error on the part of the Because of uncertainties see what I wrote on this subject in the copyist.
Prefatory Note.
*

of the Apocalypse of Peter was called the " the present part should have been named the fourth part." to this heading two parts are missing in the book. This, however,

" preceding part

Read

wal-izdihcif.

248
selves,

WOODBROOKE

STUDIES

Know that I will keep prepare for war, and be in readiness. kill and drive will alive those who you you away, in order that they may receive the torments prepared for them in the last day, because if
I

do not keep them none

Peter, keep the secrets
will

of

them
I

will

be able

to live

on the

earth.'

which

have disclosed

to you, because their

knowledge

be required

at the

end

of the time,

and

it

will only

be

found with few people. " Any one with whom these words of mine are found harm will
befall

him.

antiquity.

The
'

did not deliver them to any of the pious men of priest Phinehas, the great Father Jacob, the aged
2

Abraham, asked me to
to you,

the friend,'
disclose to
I

and Isaac

who was

offered to

me in

sacrifice,

but

them something of that which I have unveiled did not answer their prayers. In the same manner

Moses prayed
something of
to

before

me
3

forty days,

and asked me
;

to reveal to

him

this secret,

but

did not do
secret) will
to

him the place where (that closed what I had revealed

it I did, however, disclose be kept. And Moses dishim from this secret to his disciple

Joshua, son of Nun, and Joshua disclosed it to the priest Phinehas. Peter, the priest Phinehas carried the book, which contains And,

the secrets which

your great city, where (The book) will not be known for they will be made manifest. a long time, but when faith is made known it will be made known,
I

had revealed
5

to him, to

and

it

will

be found

in the

hands

of

men.
there will be a

"

Know,
origin

Peter, that amongst the children of the wolf

city,

the appointed time will go out of the holy

who at man

whose

and beginnings

will

be unknown.

He

will

be the cause

of many wars, will shed much blood, and will proclaim himself a King. After his death one of his relatives who will have a large head, blue

and much cunning will appear after him. He will amass much He will reign in the east, and wealth and his name will be (...). His end will come at he others. will himself being perverse, pervert
eyes,

the hand of the tormentor

who

has no

pity.

to show." yuzarr, title of Abraham in Arabic from Kur'an iv. 1 24, etc. 3 4 Or possibly "mystery." Antioch or Rome. 5 Read the verb in the feminine singular. 6 So I translate the word munawwil which is difficult to understand " the context. Generally it means a giver."
2

We

may

possibly read

yazhar

for

"

in

APOCALYPSE OF PETER
"Know,
to wars,

249
will be delivered

Peter, that the country of

of

Persia

and that
1

Armenia

to destruction.

When

the said

man
2

of the barbarous

language inhabits the inner part of the town

flock to
it.

of
of
in

Jerusalem, the nations will Persia will come and dwell in

it,

He

him, and the inhabitants will kill the believers found

and war will be waged "

therein.
:

Peter, take note of this

when you

see that the east

is

over-

spread with the Persian language which my curse had kept hidden, and which I did not permit the prophet Moses to enumerate among
speak it) hate him and all those who believe in me I will lay waste the country of this language, will scatter its inhabitants to the mountains, will uproot
the written
3

languages of mankind, because

:

(those

who

the foundations of

its

Kingdom,
anger

will

redden

my

sword with

its

blood,

and

will intensify
;<

my

against it

you see signs in the east and in the west, earthquakes the whole earth, fear entering the hearts and trepidation over spreading
filling

When

the chests

know

that at that time the son of the wolf will appear.

His wrath and

happen with

his anger will spread over

my

churches, and (his

followers) will satisfy their grudge against

my

people.

All

this will

my permission on account of the great number of the sins of my people and of my commandments which they have broken. The torments inflicted at that time on those who believe in me by the
son of the wolf will
last
6

one short week and a

shall

half,

(and he

who

en-

dures them

till

the end)

be saved.

O
7

Peter, blessed are those

who

are not heavily laden, and blessed are those

who have no
:

burden

to carry, because they will be the winners."

Then
them
to

the

Son

of the living
I

God 8

said to

me

"There

are

still

many wonders which

you has not
I

wish to reveal to you, but the time to reveal

yet."

come

worshipped before the Christ the Redeemer, my son " and said to Him tell servant the time Clement, Saviour, your in which your servants will be delivered from the servitude of the
:

And

The word used

3 5

Remove the wdw. very uncommon. 4 Read fali-dhalika. Sifr is probably the Syriac word sifra. Lit. : "will fill the sword of my wrath with it." Cf. Matt. xxiv. 1 3. I added Something seems to be missing in the text.
here
is

the

words between parentheses

7

Lit.

"

to give

the pious ones."

meaning to the sentence. 8 This sentence is as usual

in Syriac.

250

WOODBROOKE
;

STUDIES
power on the earth
;

children of the wolf

the duration of their

and

Will any of them the period of their departure from the holy city. remain in it, and what will be the condition of those of them who "
remain in
it

Since you have wished it I will you happen through the children' of the wolf, from the beginning of their kingdom till its end. I will disclose to you the names of their Kings, what will befall them, and who will be

And my

Saviour said to
that will

me

"

reveal to

all

their leader.

will tell

you the reason why

;

will grant to

them

power over the earth and over the believers

in

which the

believers
will
is

will

remain
;

in

and the length of time servitude and the time in

;

which power
place
will
;

son of perdition
;

be given to them and going to be

and how the beginning

of the

and how the

HOUR

how my second coming will take ; will come and what will be the sign that
2

accompany it, and the calamities that will befall my people in it and what will happen to them after the Resurrection. What I am revealing to you I have not disclosed to any of the ancients, and
I

will not reveal to

And
which he

the Saviour said to

any one beside you." "

me

Peter,

know

that

when

the

leader of the children of the wolf appears, he will be taught the

faith,

my

will learn from the straying sheep who will be banished by 3 church to the deserts, on account of his teaching about me the

beliefs

held by the Jews

who

hate

me and my

people.

He

will

be

a devouring wolf in sheep's

"

skin.

The

apparition of that leader will take place in the year nine

hundred

of the era of

leader will be like

That Alexander, the king of the mighty. a devastating wild ass on account of (the help)
from the children of Kedar.

which he

will receive

He

will

abhor

peace, and will be like a violent camel.

forty heads, twelve of

He

will

be the dragon with

which lurk

in

wait and twenty eight sting to

death.

"
1

He

will

be profligate and

fearful

he
Lit.

will agitate the seas, excite

Read al-mu 'minun.

Possible allusion to the

"
:

the sins."
to the

tradition,
4

was

the mentor of

monk Sergius Muhammad.

Behira who, according

The
1

year

900

of the Seleucids corresponds with A.D. 589.

All

this

seems
5

to refer to

read

Muhammad. " mutakdminah for mutakamilah, which means " perfect and

is

meaningless in the sentence.

APOCALYPSE OF PETER
to rebellion,
will

251
*

and put enmity (even

in the

household) of Solomon

he
;

oppose the
is

power

of truth, destroy

he

the ear of tares, the fruit of

;

my law, and ruin the world wormwood, and the mountain of

;

he is the sign of death, the river with brackish and salt water, poison and the sea of anger and wrath against mankind he is the father of
abomination, and the tempest of swift lightnings he whispers his words, deceitful and fraudulent
;

he

is

the

man who
and

is

addicted to sexual
of good,

intercourse

and a lover
;

of discord

he

is

neglectful

diligent in evil

he

is

keen that

his prescriptions

should be observed,

aad a hater of the children of

the second
of

my

grace
3

he

is

the secret offspring of

Sodom, which
is

is

worse than the

first,

and the

evil

progeny

Gomorrah ; he
;

the embodiment

of falsehood,

and the habitahis followers to

tion of sin

he

is

the one

who

brings himself

and

destruction,

and the murderer

the disciple of the

of his

own

household.

"

He

is

Archon,

the head of iniquities

and the

mentioned to you at the beginning of the and he is the prophet of falsehood my 4 whose name I have disclosed to you he is the keeper of the standard
son of perdition,
I

whom

revelation of

secrets to you,

of the

ungodly

he
;

is

the temple of the demons,

and the rendezvous

he is the plate-armour of malediction, the sword of a greater murderer than all the other kings. and extermination, " he will be dark-complexioned, His description is as follows 5 slender and tall in stature, one-eyed, irascible, and rancorous he will have the tongue of a savage, will be quick in his gait, and drawlof the evil spirits
: ;

ing in his speech.

He

will be a

man

of false promises

through which

he

will induce

men

to surrender to him.
this

He will

be a lover of women,

a giver of assurances concerning a habitual liar. "

world and the world to come, and

to

Peter,

now

that

have disclosed
to

you

his

name and

his

description,

warn your people

be on

their guard.

which he himself
1

will establish will

be small, but the kings

3

The kingdom who will

Lit.

"
:

a spoiler between Solomon."

*Lit: "joke."
4

Lit: "table."

In the text
is

Mughammid.

The

author has very cleverly used a vocable

which

graphically similar to

Muhammad,

which word he apparently

intended to convey to his readers.

in

Read ghadhub. This proves that the original MS. was in Arabic which the letters "ain and ghain are written in the same way and are only distinguishable by an extraneous dot placed over the letter.

252
rise after his

WOODBROOKE
death from
his

STUDIES
enhance
ihis

own

relatives, will

kingdom

and consolidate

his faith

and

his power.

They

will bless his

name

every day, will glorify him, magnify him and perpetuate his memory among them. They will inscribe his name on the walls of their
houses, and they will go on pilgrimage to the place of his tomb, and Inside the afterwards to the temple of the great idol called Sarh. l temple of this idol there are three other idols, one of which is called

Sofan, another Kolon, and the third

3

Hotan?

The

helpers of the

wild ass before his death, will be in them, and the members of his

Council will stand on them. " Against my wish his followers will build houses for their devotions and their worship near my houses. good number of Jews

will follow the wild ass, thus increasing his wickedness and imparting 4 After the death of the sheep who strayed erroneous doctrines to him.

from

my

fold

and became

his

mentor

in his early days,

two men from

the

the Jewish people will befriend him.

The

first

letter of

name

of

the first one of Keif? After his death the people will bless his name and will relate false traditions from him. The first letter of
is

them

the

name

of the

second one

is

Sm, and

he

will

be by

origin

from the
7

comThese two Jews will believe in me in some Like me that man will points and deny me in some other points. O Peter, woe to these two ungodly Jews after elect twelve disciples.
east.

The above two men

all

will write for the wild ass a

book

piled from

books.

him,
the
is

because they will be the

men
the

that will lead people astray from

faith.

The

first

letter of

name

of (a third ?) teacher of his

Dal.

"The
They
1

above three men are the root of ungodliness and

iniquity.

will pervert

what was

right in the teaching of their master,

and

Read ahaduka.
of them,

Two
3

Without emendations I am unable to Solon and Colon, seem to be

identify these idols in of Greek origin.

Arabic.

An

So the MS., but if we read anjal the meaning would be "his children." extraneous dot only distinguishes the two words in Arabic characters.
*
5

Read wa-yu^allimunahu.

Possible allusion to Sergius Behira as above. 6 Read Kafior Kan. No attempt has been made to identify the names the first letters of which are given in the text. The names identified by the
copyist will as above be placed in the foot-notes.
7

The Kur'an?

8
I.

e. after his

death.

APOCALYPSE OF PETER
add wickedness
to

253

what was already wicked

I

in

it.

Woe

to them.

Woe will undoubtedly betide them. Verily say unto you, Peter, that it will be more tolerable in the day of Resurrection and Judgment
His twelve disciples betrayed me than for them. will wish after his death to trample on the land of Jerusalem and penetrate into it but I will frustrate their design. "
for

Judas who

Remember,
left in

Peter,

what

said to

you before

this

day when

was

teaching the Jews in the

2

not be

the holy house one stone

thrown down.

Know,
I

Temple upon another that shall not be I will make the Temple which that Peter,
3

to the effect that there shall

Solomon

built for

me, as an habitation
will destroy it

for

the opponents of the wild

Peter, reveal that
ass to those

asses, but after that

I

which

have revealed

to

you concerning the wild

who

believe in
steadfast

me

in order that they

may

verify

it

for themselves

and remain

in their faith

not pass away.

and not deny it. My words are indeed true and shall 4 Hide, however, the words which I uttered concerntill

ing the wild ass

the time of his apparition.

against
all

Rest assured that the

those

son of sin will

come and wage war

nor take
I

who

believe in

me, but
of them.

will not leave,

my hand away

from, a single one

This

have promised

to them.

Peter, blessed will

be

those

who

are steadfast in the faith

and who love me and do not

deny me, because they will be counted among the saints. " Peter, that the son of perdition will order frequent Know, and will make shedding of blood and deportations lawful. marriages

man

will

marry the wife

of his brother,

and

also

two

sisters

one

after another.

Near
law
of

relatives will intermarry.

5

man

will

many

a woman, and his father

one.
In his
children, because
in this

marry her daughter in case she has inheritance he will commit injustices towards the
will

way

he will give more to a son than to a daughter, and the majority of mankind will withhold justice from their

endures their subjection till the end shall live. The followers of that man will wish to harm my people, and if of them kills a believer (in me) he will think 6 that he was offering any 7 a sacrifice to God. He will pretend that those who kill and are
offspring.
'

He who

killed
1

among them
Cf. Matt. x.
1

will
5, etc.
etc.

go to Paradise and to pleasures that have no

2
5

Cf. Matt. xxiv. 2, etc.

Or

4
6

against.

Luke,

xxi.

33,

Read wa-abuhu.
"

Remove

the

waw

before the verb.

John

xvi.

2 (Peshitta).

254

WOODBROOKE

STUDIES
among them.
His
have ordered, and their any of the prophets which
I
l

end, and he will glorify the young and the old

followers will abolish the Baptism

which

prayers will not resemble the prayers of

I

have sent

to the

Israel.

They

people of the children of will construct high buildings from which they will call

world and

to the unjust

people to their prescribed prayers,

actions of the children of the blessed

and

this will

have the

effect of

quickening their steps to attend them, and thus they will imitate the

Ishmael?
first

"

Peter,

were

it

not for two reasons, the

of

which

is

promise to
people,

Abraham and
utter to

the second the multiplicity of the sins of

belief

my my
in

who

one another words that discourage

3

me,

would have

sent to the holy land the swift Pharaonic chariots

which carry both the Deceiver and the Error. Peter, feed my lambs, feed my sheep, feed every straying lamb and bring it back to the faith. Do not lose anything from what I have delivered to you.

Know

that the son of

perdition about

whom
4

spoke to you will

befriend the sorcerers of

their deceitfulness.
his three teachers

Egypt and

learn

their art, their

Indeed, the

first

as the

first letter

mentioned above, of his name, will be

man who the one who

5

cunning and will befriend him from

has the

letter

Kaf
They

the disciple of sorcerers.

will strive to deceive those

who

believe in me.

"

Peter, verily
I

of perdition
his flesh,

say unto you that after the death of the son will send the savage beast to dig him out and devour
I

and before
letter

his

death he will

kill

his teacher

whose name
will prohibit

begins with the

Sin.

Because

of this

murder he

and render unlawful

to himself a large variety of food will

and

drink.

Among
"

the

women whom he
"
6

knows and she fears.

sorcery will

marry one will be called 7 She will be one of those from

"She

whom

be

learnt.

After the death of the son of perdition in the dark and dry town, a man will rise after him, and the first letter of his name is 'Ain.

His outlook will be more human than that of his master who preceded him and than that of the kings who will follow him from that people.
1

Remove

the wciw.

This sentence

is difficult to

understand.
1

About Deceiver and Error second member of the sentence is 4 Read wa-yata 'allam.
6

see

Ode of Solomon,
understand.
5

xxxviii.

0.

The

difficult to

In

Arab,

ta'rij

wa-takhaf.

Remove the Read ihda.

first

waw.

APOCALYPSE OF PETER
He He
will not will

255

be better

wish to shed blood, and he will be inclined to peace. brown His description is than his people.
: ;

coloured with red hue

full

sized in height
will

well balanced in body,

and dark-blue-eyed.
imposed (by

He

his predecessor),

modify some of the prescriptions and no one will be in a position to

take objection to his actions.

he

will die in

His reign will be of short duration, and the dark town in which there is no shade, but he will
After
his

die (peacefully) in his bed.

death his people will be in

a position to "

add

to or to subtract
his place will

from

his prescriptions.

After him

be

filled

by a

tall

man

with a brown

He patch in the eye, and the first letter of whose name is Kaf.~ will be a shedder of blood, a fighter, and a mighty man. He will
conquer

many

towns, and will be addicted to deceit and wickedness

true son of his people.

Peter,
will

many

objectionable things will

3

be done

in his days,

and no one

be able to take him to

task,

and

his

decisions could

not be over-ruled.
of his master

He

will

add

to,

and

subtract from, the

book

three wicked

men mentioned

above.
will

which was composed by the Through him many men will

be

killed,

and with him there

be no authoritative interpretation of

the book.

He
I

will not cease to meditate

will

harm

against all those

4

who

believe in me,
vain, because

and he

endeavour to enslave

all

of them, but in

"
I
I

will thwart his designs.

will kindle

wars

in his days,

with seditions and

divisions,

and

will not allow

them

any of his children to reign after him. I will deliver into the hands of their adversaries and their enemies. This will

towns

be the second iniquitous king after the son of perdition. Woe to the of the south because of the wars, murders, and arson that they

will experience in his days.

of his adversaries, but

he

will

This King will grant amnesty to some go back on his word, because of his love
obliterate his

of superiority.

The
I

days of his reign will be short, and he will die

will speedily

a grievous
earth,

death.
will

memory from

the

and he

are prepared for

1

men who

go to the excruciating and eternal torments which resemble him.

Here

is

a sentence which
to

literally

means
to

"

am

unable

give

better

meaning

these

and he will call a pigeon." words without textual

uncertain.
b

emendations.
3

The copyist identifies him as Kasira. Vowels * Read ya'taridh. Read jami'ihim.

Read sawda.

256
"

WOODBROOKE
1

STUDIES

Ta.
his

After him will reign a King the first letter of whose name is He will be an insolent, a despotic and a loquacious man. In
2

days he will conquer the cities of the holy land, and his troops will surround all those who believe in me. He will, however, be
just than the King who preceded him, although inclined to shed the blood of believers and prone to cast aspersions upon them. His

more

he will be of a swarthy complexion with reddish hue, an hypocrite with a double face which will show poverty and asceticism.
description
is
:

He
who

will conquer

Damascus* and
will flee

destroy the greater part of

it,

it.

A considerable number of people will perish in

believe in

me

from

their places,

and many of those and some of them will

be murdered.

"With him
will

there will be

two cunning and

5

deceitful

men who

induce people not to surrender (the town). The first letter of the name of one of them is Mtm? and the first letter of the name of the

who will act for (the King) in his dealings with the and people give them amnesty, is Alif? They will be like the two wings of the wicked eagle, but I will tolerate with patience
other one,
their treatment of
sins.

my

people because of the great number of their

"And
with
err
is

the

two

will

conquer your noble

city,

Peter, together

many

other

cities,

by

their multifarious stratagems,

which

will not

on the

side of humility.
8

The one

the

first letter

of

whose name
is

Alifis

better

than the one the

first letter

of

whose name
he
will

Mlm,
to

because the latter will delight in burning and destroying churches, and
in killing

and murdering

all believers in

me whom

happen

subjugate.

He will be appointed to Mesopotamia the towns of which

kill,

he will destroy, and the inhabitants of which he will

1

and no one

Lit. copyist identifies him as Taha. " : will be Damascus conquered." Possibly tuftah

The

"house."

4
5

Sha'm means
Lit.

also

"

will delay people determine with certitude.

:

"

Syria."

from entering," the meaning of which

cannot

The copyist identifies him here as Muhammad. The copyist's identifications are mostly erroneous. If one had here to name a man the caliph Mu'awiah and not the prophet Muhammad would be the appropriate King.
6

It is

who made Damascus his capital. The copyist identifies him as Ahmad. 8 Read khairun. The sentence is badly worded.
indeed Mu'awiah
7

APOCALYPSE OF PETER
will

257

He will repair to Cilicia which be able to stand against him. he will conquer, but the hostility existing between him and those
who
'*

believe in

me

will deter
so.

him from going beyond

it,

and

will

impede him from doing

Woe

to

Damascus

because of him, as he will make

it.

it

his capital

and gather

me

to the

who betrayed his treasures in Judas Jews, and woe to Judas the Damascene who will betray
to

Woe

Iscariot

people to the pagans so that they should be murdered by them Woe to the traitoress, because the boulders through his machinations.

my

of her

mountains will be tinged with the blood of those who believe in Woe to the betrayer of me, a blood that the plains will absorb.
the son of the tares, the
to the

trust,

wormwood me

of the beginning of blindness.

Woe
"

two accursed Armenians.

will

(At

that time) the believers in

be

killed

in great

numbers

such as never before and never

littoral of

after,

and they
in the

will take refuge in the

days of the King who does not love me, who gnashes his teeth at me, and the first letter of 2 It is from him that the power in the whose name is Ha. holy land
the sea.

All

this will

happen

be taken and given to the King whom we have mentioned above, and who has the two wicked men with him. He will raise the tribute
will

to be paid

by my

people,

and the two men who are with him

mountains, raze high

will

harass the world.

The majority
lofty

of the believers will be killed through

hills,

them, and they will storm

"

demolish

elevated pillars and ruin large

cities.

The sea will lose its stormy character in their days, and sea and land will become smooth for them. They will subjugate the countries
of Persia, in the east, together with

Abirom
site of

the place of the giants,

Nineveh 3 to which the Those two men will have as prophet Jonah brought his message. much mercy as that of Besalya' 4 and as much artfulness as that found
and along with the town
built

on the

All the inhabited lands will tremble before them, 6 especially before the one the first letter of whose name is Mim? because he will be zealous in behalf of his people.
in

a brigand.

have
is

slightly modified in the translation the

wording

of this sentence

which
-

3
5

very complicated. The author identifies him as Herod. "

Lit.
:

Is it

Heraclius ?
*
6

the second Nineveh."

to

Vowels

uncertain.

1
'

prefer ndhib
copyist

The

nahb "brigandage." identifies him on the margins

Read minhuma.
(sic).

as

Muhammad

258
"

WOODBROOKE

STUDIES
is

A man the
2

first letter

of

whose name

'A in

will

be the third

leader

of his people,

and the beginning

of trouble

and

of cruel deeds.

Ten

signs will
3

mark

the

sum

total of the

days of

his reign

with the

addition of three others as a complement of his hostile deeds against

my

children.

He

will erect

a house for their prayers, and in con-

junction with his two companions, will conquer Jerusalem and a great part of the holy land together with the house which Solomon built for

me.
"

shall,
it

order that

however, cast the fear of this house in their hearts, in may be made a place for their own prayers.
I

Peter,
4 1

told

you previously about

of this

this,

and

let it

be known to

you
of

that

will

make

wild beasts, and

my

house a place of hunted game and of flesh name will never be mentioned in it. When
will demolish that

the days of the lion's

whelp are over he

5

house and

one stone upon another. He will make it also a refuge for the sick and the cripples, and the blasphemy coming out of the mouth of this people will be heard in it. And this people will kindle
not leave in
it

my people in the west and in Jarba because from there will call my people and they will sweep with anger and wrath over all the inhabitants of the earth, as my chosen prophet has prophesied. " And that King will despatch his soldiers to the new Jerusalem, which will be near (to him), and they will surround my kingdom that
the zeal of
I 7

fl

is

there.

will not grant

him

victory,

however, over
as 'Alt.

it,

and

will

copyist identifies

him on the margin

2

'Umar would
translation

be
is

more appropriate.
3

Imam.

This sentence

is

difficult

to

understand and
5

my

of

it

uncertain.
4 6

Read

anni.

Cf. Matt. xxiv. 2, etc.

This phrase is very difficult and my translation of it is very uncertain. shall see below that this incomprehensible Jazzi or Jaza (vowels unFrom certain) is found five times in our MS. of the Apocalypse of Peter.

We

a comparison with Mingana, Syr. 44 1 (fol. 76a), we learn that it is a copyist's error for Jarba which may denote the small town about which see Yakut's

Mu'jam al- Buldan, ii, 46-48 (edit. Roman road from Bosra to the Red
Adhruh.
the
size
Its

name
"

is

It Wiistenfeld). lay near the ancient Sea, about an hour's journey north of often found in Muslim tradition in connection with

" which extended from Adhruh to 1 Hanbal's 2 It was inhabited almost Musnad, ii, Jarba (Ibn (edit. Cairo)). it refer to the same Jarba as that mentioned Christians. Can exclusively by b by Ya'kubi in his general history (see fol. 4 1 of the Arabic MS. No. 801
"
of

"
,

the

Prophet's cistern

in

Rylands Library) as having possessed mamdlik (kingdoms)

7

/.*.

Isaiah.

Cf.ls.

xlix.

12.

APOCALYPSE OF PETER
other plagues
discomfited

259

destroy his troops with death, intense cold and hunger, and with my and those that remain alive I will drive out of there ;

and

routed.
first

And

that

King

will imitate in all his actions

the days of the

people.

After the death of that King another King will be elected from 1 the children of the 'A&us, as I promised to them; and at the death of
the fourth of these Kings, one of the

"

two

of the said

wicked men
2
;
'

who
be
only

acted as viziers to some of the four Kings, will reign

the one the
first

and

it

will

letter

of
I

whose name
will destroy

is

Mtm?

He

will

reign a few days, and

him and not leave him any

4

power. "

At

the death of those four Kings, a

first

King

will rise

from that

people, the
cousins
his

letter

of

whose name

is

Ha ^ He

will fight his

and take the power from them. Many of the learned men of nation will die through him, and he will be a murderer and

a shedder of blood, a lover of iniquity and fornication.

He

will not

resemble in his actions any

tioned,

of his predecessors
in his decisions.
8

whom we

have men-

and he

will

be hasty

He
I

will contradict his

own

words, and

in his religion

he will follow iniquitous rules that are

will not
lift

more perverse than those of his predecessors. to prevent him and his people from acting
children, because
I

as they

wish towards

my hand my
s

have established those

'

men

as a rod of correction

to the children of inheritance.

"
of his

And

that

man
will

will reign

from east to west, but the greater part

kingdom be Damascus where

1

be

in the centre of the earth,

and

his capital will

also will be found his glory.

His birthplace

will

" " lion the author generally uses the word 'abus. express the word " this word is derived from the verb 'abasa which means to be stern, " and which in countenance forms also the root of austere the proper name

To

Now

'Abbas, the son of 'Abd al-Muttalib the paternal uncle of the Prophet, who his name to the 'Abbasid dynasty of the Caliphs of Is it Baghdad. possible that the author is cleverly playing on the root 'abasa and alluding to the 'Abbasid dynasty and thus killing two birds with one stone ? " 2 will perish." Cod. All this sentence is badly worded and difficult to

gave

'

understand.
3

4
6
7

The copyist identifies him Read malikun.

Lit.

again as
5

Muhammad.
him again
1

The

"
:

copyist identifies
8

as Herod.

He

will

fall

before him."
Cf. Prov.
xxiii.

Delete the lam.

3- 1 4.

260
be the town of

WOODBROOKE
Kaf^ and
in
it

STUDIES
and
utter

he

will display his insolence

littoral

his blasphemies.

He

will

go forth to the

with spears, and

much blood
countries.

will also

be shed from the inhabitants

under
his rule,

of

Persia and other

will despatch will deport

Egypt

will be brought

and he

his soldiers against the children of

Ham,

from

whom

he

and he
those

He and enslave many people. will amass great booty.

who
believe in me,

will

He

be the owner of a great arsenal, will impose a double tribute on

of

and a considerable number

my

people

will perish

by

his

hand.

The

inhabitants of

Persia

will submit to

him and
"
tinge

will bring gifts to

him together with

is
:

their tribute.

The
;
;

description of this king

full size in

height

big
in

tawny complexion with a ruddy head small eyes cunning and sly
;

mouth

deceitful

handsome

body

of a jealous disposition

in-

exorable to his enemies and to those

who

seek his hospitality and the

asylum
the

of his kingdom.

He

will

the one-eyed son of perdition.

be the fourth King of the kings of He will endeavour to kill the sons of
is

man

the

first letter

of

whose name

'A in? but

it

will frustrate his

design and his evil thought concerning them, and

of) their

will

be (the inmates

house and

his

own house
kill

that will

kill

them, because they

will seek the

kingdom
3

to themselves as their rightful inheritance.

They

will multiply

wars and
I

will not obtain,

because

men, in search of power, which they will not be pleased to see them reign till
will reign,

the end of time. " At the end of time a

to Persia,

man from them

who
to

will repair

and

his cousins will consolidate his

kingdom.

the lion's
first

whelp will take the kingdom and deliver it This man will letter of whose name is Mlm?

From them a man the

the comof

fulfil

mandments.

At
is

that time another king will

rise,

the

first letter

whose name
will kill

Ya?

He

will attain the

kingdom by

force,

and he

my

The
name.
1

fifth

He
is

people along with a man from king will have the letter Jim at the beginning of his will be the cause of deportations and iniquitous actions,
the children of the wolf.

It

possible that the author

is

means here a town the

'Alt.
3

first letter

of the

name
2

of

which

Kaf.
him again as him again as

4
5 6

The The
The

copyist identifies
copyist identifies

Read yanalunaha.

Muhammad.

Add yakum

or

copyist identifies

ydti or a similar verb. him as Yasin.

APOCALYPSE OF PETER
and he
will build

261

many towns and demolish

1

others.

He

will not

be

loved at the palace nor thanked, because of his selfishness, his family for pride, his warlike disposition, his tampering with justice, his love of children and his head the because of the being amassing wealth,
of the

'A bus.

Wars

will not cease in his time,

and

in

them men
will frus-

will not refrain

from shedding blood.

"

He

will entertain evil designs against

my

people, but

trate his plans,

till

because

am

with you,

Peter,

and with

my

people

the end.
I

will not leave

grace, but

will
I

ing them, that

them orphans of me, nor bereaved of my 2 and not contradict my word concernthem shepherd 3 4 I will will be with them for ever. stay with you in
holder of the keys of heaven.

Jerusalem,

O you

Do

not grieve,

Peter, on account of the insolent nation

which

will cause to subjugate

the world in order to chastise

my

people.

Indeed that nation will be

dyed with (the blood)

"
of

Know,
father
5

my

people whom it will harass. Peter, that were it not for the sake of the supplication Abraham in the dark country, I would not have multiof

my

plied the posterity of

Ishmael.

caused

Abraham

to love (Ishmael)
6

because

was aware
over
all.

of the (future) actions (of his children)

I

whom

would

set

the offspring of

Abraham

gave the kingdom to the Children of Ishmael in order to chastise through them all the

nations that rebel against me. " Peter, woe to the land of 'Ir'ak on account of the

O
I

King

whom

have mentioned, because in his days murder, pestilence, and This King will also have iniquitous decisions will be on the increase.
his seat in

Damascus, but
will defeat the

his

wars

will

of the four rivers that flow out of

Paradise.

be in Mesopotamia, the land His kingdom will be

inn,

and he
will

men

of his

and he
" In his

demolish the

pillars of their might, but

house together with his cousins, 8 with him divisions

will begin in his nation.

Woe to
words

them because

of that

which

will befall
lie

to his friends

he will give the

2

them through me. openly to his master and

remoYe."
20, etc.
is

Delete the

final ha,'.

Lit.

"
I

will not
xxviii.

Read minhum. 5 Read obi. About

6

all this cf.

Cf. Matt, Gen. XXL 9-2

1 .

This sentence

is difficult to

understand, and
is

my

translation of
8
I

it

not

certain.
7

The

copyist adds here

"

and he

Ydsin."

read al-firak.

17

262
to his

WOODBROOKE
imam
will

STUDIES

a thing that was not done by any of his predecessors.

be hated and cursed by some of his followers and men of his From the party of his master a party, but loved by some others. l man will appear (to thwart him). He will be in a position to do
this

He

of the great

because of the fear with which he will inspire others, and because number of murders that will be committed among the

people.

wealth.

He will kindle war among He will seek the treasures

to sting.
is

the tribes, and will amass

of the earth like

much

a biting dragon

which seeks "

Peter, he

the accursed (dragon) with seven heads

3

which

Daniel saw by
Daniel
spoke

revelation in his vision.

in

Indeed the one about

4

whom

his

prophecy

is

this king.

He

is

the devouring

crocodile that rises from the Nile of

Terah.

Woe
full

to the land
is

on which he
5

Egypt^ and he is the second treads, and blessed be the

is

land from which he

vipers,

driven out, because he

of the children of the

of wrath

and anger.

He

will,

however, refrain from

doing anything before taking the advice of his friends, and he will at all events act more kindly towards those who believe in me than the
rest of

them, and he will amass great wealth from the earth.

"
letter

After his death he will be succeeded by another King the first of whose name is He will be a shedder of blood, a lover

Waw?

of

women, and a

degenerate.
friends,

He
and

will hate those

who

believe in me,

will

be jealous of his

will be

prone to bribery.
fit

He

will

see that a

company

(of his friends) are not

to govern.
first letter

After his death he will be succeeded by a man the whose name is Sin!" His reign will be of short duration

"

of

in the world,

and
be

his affairs will

be

in great disorder.

He will

endeavour to enhance
his wishes will not

his prestige
fulfilled.

and

to imitate the wise

Solomon, but

"
1

After his death he will be succeeded by another King, the

'

first

Read jam'. Probably delete the final hd\ In Dan. vii. 7 the beast had ten horns. The author is probably wishing to quote the Book of RCY. xii. 3, where mention is made of a dragon with seven heads. Such a dragon does not occur in Daniel. 4 The sentence is badly worded. 5 Read rujzan from Syriac rughza. 'There is here a sentence which is unintelligible without textual 7 emendations. The copyist identifies him as Walid (sic).
3
8

The

copyist identifies

him as Sutba

(sic).

APOCALYPSE OF PETER
letter of

263

whose name

is
is

Ain. 1

letter of

whose name

also

He 'Am?

will be the son of a

man

the

first

His

reign in the
of

world

will also

be of short duration, and he will make show

with
justice.

He

will hate the believers in

his

governing and acting me and kill them, and his

Capital will

be the holy land, and in

3

days there will be earthquakes

first letter

and
"

signs.

After
is

his
',*

name name

is

Yd 'Am?

death a King will rise after him the and he will be the son of a man the

of
of

whose

first letter

whose

He

will

have a short
first

reign,

and

after his

death he
is

will be succeeded

by a King the

letter of

whose name
of

Ha. 6
is

The
l

latter will

be the son of a

man

the

first letter

whose name

He will be more generous than the Kings who preceded him, he will be an iniquitous man and a lover of divisions. He will (but) amass wealth, and will be bent on building palaces and shedding blood,
Ain.'
especially the blood of those

who

believe in me.

"

After

his
is

whose name

death he will be succeeded by a King the first letter of Ya? He will have a short reign, and he will perish

quickly in a sea after having promulgated laws that

of his predecessors.

had not been

promulgated by any " After him will reign a King the first letter of whose name is Ya? He will be the son of a man the first letter of whose name
is

about half a year and then he will perish on account of the evil designs that he will entertain against those who believe in me. He will undertake the
task of harassing them, but
I

Waw

He

will reign a

few months only

will

do away with him before he does

Kingdom.

away
"

with them, and

will destroy his

name name

After him will reign one of his brothers the first letter of whose 11 is Alif. He will be the son of a man the first letter of whose
is

Waw

His government

will

be of short duration, because

3

The copyist identifies him as 'Ali. The copyist identifies him as 'Umar. The copyist identifies him as Ydsin. The copyist identifies him as Uthman. The copyist identifies him again as Herod. The copyist identifies him as 'AH. The copyist identifies him again as Yasln. 9 The copyist identifies him again as Ydstn. The copyist identifies him again as Walid. 1 The copyist identifies him as Ahmad. The copyist identifies him as Wawir (sic].
'

Read

nialikun.

()

'-

264
a company of
shall

WOODBROOKE
men from
his

STUDIES

own

endeavour to snatch the

I

reins

of

household will revolt against him and power from him. At that time

some
done.

of

sow the seed of wars between them, and take the power from them and give it to some others in order that my will may be
l

death he will be succeeded by a King the first letter of whose name is Mim? He will be the son of a man the first

"

After

his

letter of

whose name

is

also

Mint?

He

will

be an ungodly

and

iniquitous

man, and the devotion

of the people to

him

will gradually

wax weak, because of his overbearing. He will kill many men from his own community and from others, will muster many troops, and
will perish
"

with the sword.

reason

The

why

the majority of the Kings of this people will

die an ignominious and violent death, and the reason

will

why
like

their lives

be so
I

short, so contemptible,
it

and so ephemeral

a dream,

is
I

that

will

to

be so

for the sake of

5

my

beloved ones.

Peter,

will shorten their

and cause them

for the sake of

to

days and then quickly fold them like parchment, 6 evanesce like smoke as if they had never existed,

your lambs. After his death he will be succeeded by another King who will The first letter of his name will be not be from his royal house.
"

Mim?
is

and he
8
9

will

be the son of a

man

the

first letter

of

whose name

'A-in.

of a knot.

He will also count (or, be counted) by a knot and a third He will seize the reins of government through his
10

victory in the middle day,

of that people shall will
I
'

at the time

have ceased to
in

when the The exist.

kings

and governors
kingdom
11

rest of his

be counted from the day

which

that vigilant king will reign.

will speak to him in Greek, and the interpretation (of his name) 12 the last things!
I

is

3 4
7

2 The copyist identifies him P^Afdidha. The copyist identifies him again as Muhammad. 5 Read ayyamahum. Read munafikan.

as
6

Mahmud.
Cf. Ps.
Ixviii. 2.

The copyist identifies him again as Muhammad. 8 The copyist identifies him as Umar. 9 1 do not understand this sentence which seems to refer to a duration of time. It given to according to the meaning " may be translated differently 10 Which day is this " middle day ? the word 'ukdah. II Here are two words that I cannot understand without textual
'

emendations.
12

This sentence

is

badly worded, and

my

translation of

it is

not certain.

APOCALYPSE OF PETER
"

265

This King

will

become

insolent

and

will not

remember

my name.

be favourably disposed He will hate those who love me and towards the Jewish people. He will endeavour to harm those who believe in me, and will impose double tribute on them, and will act
will

unjustly in his days.

his time

When

notice this from him,

will raise in
will

man

the

first

letter of

whose name

is

Szn, and

make

him prevail upon him. Then I will raise a man the first letter of whose name is A/if* and he will be the son of a man the first letter He will be known as a good man, but he of whose name is Kaf*
will

be
"

killed.

After him will rise a man the first letter of whose name is 'Ain* and he will be the son of a man the first letter of whose name 5 is also 'Am. He will be a leper and will seize power by force,

and

his

victory will

be in the middle day.

He

'

will give

the

kingdom
masterful

to his children, but all of

them who would be

stern,

elegible will

die a violent death.

He

will

be

among the people. He valiant men, in order that no the destroy

acquire dignity "
;

dominating, imperious, and will love to shed blood and to

8

man may

rise

up and

and he

will

amass much wealth.

After his death he will be succeeded by a man the first letter of whose name is Mim, son of a man the first letter of whose name is
'Ain.

He

will be from the descendants of the second

Kingdom

of

this people.

He

will be

him, and a lover of

more righteous than those who preceded He will goodness, generosity and benevolence.
justice,

govern his kingdom with

and he

will

be endowed with a noble

character, but his reign will be of short duration.

"
of

After his death he will be succeeded by a

is

man

the

first

letter

whose name

Mim.

His

reign will be short but his

power

will

be great.

amass much wealth, and will impose double tax and tribute upon the people. He will extort money from those who believe in me by taxing even their dead, and he will interfere with
will

He

the graves of people

who had

died a long time previously.

At

that

The copyist identifies him as Sineras (sic). The copyist identifies him again as Ahmad. The copyist identifies him as Kafih (sic}. 4 The copyist identifies him again as Uthmdn. The copyist identifies again as 'AH. " 6 Which day is again this " middle day ?
'

Possibly read iva-yu'ti.

Add

Id.

266

WOODBROOKE
me
will

STUDIES
l

time and in the days of this King

believe in

many people

from those

who
and

the hardships inflicted on

deny me on account of them by him.

his oppressive measures

Touched with
of

pity for the

sufferings of the believers, the angels

and the martyrs together with

saints will burst into

the walls of the churches

tears.

and the images

"

number
them
to

will cry to

lived

down

in his days, and they and say Blessed are you because you have not this time and seen what we have seen, and suffered the

of people will
' :

envy the dead

In that hardship hardships and the privations which we have suffered. * the heaven will drizzle ashes and my churches will weep.' Peter, dead out of see the believers their when you dug graves and the living

believers sold like slaves,

and a

great affliction penetrating into the

hearts of

men, know

that

woes have

befallen those believers in

5

me who

had been expatriated. I will reward them, however, a thousand fold, and I will fill the eyes of men with tears to be shed over them. Know that the believing maidens will learn how to lament from the
6

intensity of their

weeping

due

to the severity of their suffering,

which
wish

will shake the earth (with horror).

number

of people will

they had not been born. "After the death of the

said

King, he will be succeeded by

another King the first letter of whose name is Kafl son of a man the first letter of whose name is MTm.

He will be the He will be less

week.

harmful
will

to his people than his predecessors.

little

The

period of his reign

be three complete short weeks and a will possess an amiable disposition, and
days.

of a fourth

He

injustice will decrease in his

"
letter

After his death he will be succeeded by another King the He will be the son of a man the of whose name is Mtm.

first
first

letter of

whose name
be young.

is

and he

will

Ha. His reign will last three short weeks, He will be pusillanimous and stubborn, and
of his

he will introduce innovations out

of his

own head

for the betterment

Kingdom.

6
7 9

3 2 Read lahum. Delete the wdw. Read khalkun kathirun. 6 read ramadan. Read 'njazihtm. Possibly Read bukftihinna, and put all the other nouns in fern. plur. s Read khairun. The copyist identifies him as Khattab. Read muddatuhu.

APOCALYPSE OF PETER
After his death he will be succeeded by a King the of whose name is Ha\ and he will reign three short weeks.
govern with justice and
will love those

267
first letter

"

He will
Know,

who
no

believe in me.
better

Peter, that in this nation there will be

He will love me in secret, me from fear of his subjects no better man than he in this nation.
King.
love for

King than this and will not be able to show his and his relatives. There will be
I

wisdom, most be the so that he should and high knowledge, understanding in all The most versed affairs. the nation and his learned man of my
will
fill

his heart with

believers

in

me

will hold
'

many

high
will

offices

under him, and

all of

them will be loved

by him.

He

spend happy and quiet days

be the
J

and
to

will continually protect him.

He will
and

last of this

people

hold power.

He

will be a great deceiver

his

and the end

of his

day
will

he will deceive even

downfall.

own

brother,

this will

be the cause of his

He will
destroy

die a violent death outside his

Kingdom, and

be succeeded by a Pharaonic
in

me and

He
will

will oppress

many many countries and

towns.

man who will harass those who believe The first letter of his name is Mztn*
deport their inhabitants.

He

do wonderful things

in the provinces (of his

dominion) and he will

be a great lover of his co-religionists and a hater of those in me. " After his death he will be succeeded by a man the

who

believe

first letter

of

whose name is Ha. He will hate those who believe impede them from reconstructing my churches which he
together with those

in

me and
abhor
be
will

will

who
and

frequent them.

Many

wonders
be

noticed in his days,

his

power

will

be strong both

in the east

and
he

the west.

He

will designate the places that are to

built but

will not finish his

work

of building them.

An

ungodly company (of

will die

lieutenants) will govern his kingdom,

and when he perishes he

a grievous death, and many men from his nation will perish through him. " He will be succeeded by an insolent man the first letter of whose
1

other slight changes the sentence may give some other meanings* 3 This statement seems to be irreconcilable with what has preceded. It is possible that there is a short lacuna in the text although the MS. does not
1

Read al-muminun. read yakun. With

show
4

it.

copyist identifies him again as Muhammad. There is here a sentence which I do not understand, and which " means from eternity and similar things."

The

literally

268
name
is

WOODBROOKE
Jim.

STUDIES

He
will

Syria} and he

He

will spend some days of his reign in the centre of have an intense hatred of those who believe in me,

will harass

them as no one
them

else

had done before him.

In

He
will

will kill a

number

of

at the instigation of their enemies, but (in

their advice.

that)

he will not be following

his garments,

day time he

change towards them, and not knowing that he will adorn them with his 2 He will deride their faith, impose double tribute on them, garments. and envy their possessions. He will destroy my churches in Syria

thinking that in this he will act avariciously

and carry the brass which they contain, and with

palaces.

it

he will erect

"

He

will

indulge in innovations previously unknown, and he

own opinions in the government of his have with him, however, a man of Jewish exKingdom. 3 traction whose advice he will follow in the doors of evil and in the
will cleave stubbornly to his

He

will

hardships that he will

inflict

on

my people.

The

teaching of this

King

concerning his religion will contravene the teaching of the majority of He will be a lover of women and inclined to fornihis co-religionists.
cation.

He will erect very many buildings

will die

in

Damascus^

his Capital,

and he

a grievous and ignominious death. " After his death he will be succeeded by a man the

first letter

of

whose name is Alif. He will have a short reign and he will be benevolent and generous, but he will not enjoy the throne for a long
time as he will be murdered.
letter of

whose

He will be succeeded by a man the first name is Mim. He will be young and generous and
His
reign will also be short,

will act

with a sense of responsibility.

and he
the
the

will die a violent death. of

of

first letter

whose name
in the

is

be succeeded by a King Alif, and he will be the son of a man

will
is

He

first letter

whose name

Mlm.

He

will

show

zeal in his
will

religion

and ardour
5

government of

his realm.

He

have

a reign shorter a violent death. "

than that of his

predecessor, and he will also die

6

After his death he will be succeeded by a King

:

the

first letter

of

Or
1

Damascus.

This sentence

is

badly worded, and

my

translation of

it is

uncertain.
2

translate this sentence literally as

4

Sic. codex.

Read

I cannot follow the author's meaning. 5 abniatan. Read aksar.

'

Read always malikun.

APOCALYPSE OF PETER
whose name
is

269
and

Jim.

He

will set himself the task of governing

zeal, because he will be a responsible Kingdom reforming * man who will take the business of government to heart. Since he
his

with

is

endowed with such

till

qualities

he will be allowed to remain on the

throne

he reaches an old age.

will slip
3

There
from
his

will

be

2 many wars

in his
4

days, and Egypt

away

the affairs of Persia.

countries,
restless

He

will covet,

hand, and he will neglect 5 however, these and other

and

in his

days there will be constant friction between this

children of

and envious King and his people. Ishmael will be killed under his

Many men

from the

reign, because they will

oppose him, but nevertheless he will have a long reign. " After the said children of Ishmael shall have been
powerful and imperious King
defeat
all

killed

through

him, he will die a memorable death and he will be succeeded by a

who will govern

resist

his

realm well.

He will
him
6

those who oppose and

him.

He

will entice to

chieftains from the children of

Ishmael from

his fear of their

power,

many countries, and through him many men will perish. As to those who believe in me they will live in happiThe majority of his prefects and his ness, prosperity and security. government officials will be from them. The people of the land and
and he himself
will ravage
'

of the sea will flee from him,

and the inhabitants

of the earth will

8

submit to him.
decessors

He
His

will

amass wealth such as none

of his pre-

was able
of his

to amass,

and he

will truly

govern the

Kingdom
long.

in

his generation.
first letter

reign will, however, be short

will

and not

The
death

name

be Alif, and he
a King the

will die a natural

peacefully in his bed.

He will be succeeded by 'Am. He will be a lover of

1

"

first letter

of

whose name

is

games and peace, but frequent disturb"

me

has here the negative will not take to contradict the previous statement.
2

The MS.

"
but this appeared to

Read hurubun.
Probably

Read
is

Add

'an.

All

this

sentence

takhruju. badly worded, and

my

trans-

lation of
5

it is

not certain.

The

author uses here the pronoun ahl for hadhihi to express "these."

As
the

the pronoun ahl is mostly used in this sense in North Mesopotamia, the last editor of the work must have lived in that Ahl itself seems in country.
last analysis to
6

be derived from the Syriac halain "these."

7

Read satwatihim. 8 Read liahadin.

Read 'ummal.

270

WOODBROOKE

STUDIES
1

Khawarij will multiply in his generation, and a considerable number of men from the progeny of Ishmael will perish through them. Among those who will come forth against him will be a powerful man the first letter of whose name
is

ances will beset him in his days, because the

Alif.

He

will

shed the blood of

2 many men, and he

will prevail

against him.

Another shedder

of blood will

come

forth against

him

from the Khawarij.

their inhabitants.

He
this

will

And

conquer some towns and murder all man, Peter, will have the wings of the

young
a

eagle (spoken of by)

man
"

your brother Daniel? because he will be on whose word and promise no reliance could be placed.
the throne although having no right to
sign
it.

He will claim
man
4

He will
had not

be the

of the

first

which the master

that

of that people
will

rule in Khariji people at the hand of the young of the Phoenicia, and his which is in the the town of Kurmah? because in deserts, large eagle it will at that time conquer Egypt and kill the King. At his death the number forty, which we mentioned at the beginning in connection

noticed.

And

(the

King of) end will come

Among the happenis that the last of their his under kings reigning dynasty will come ings 6 to an end in his days through him. " At that time (his people) will be deported three times, then (his kingdom) will perish. After its downfall three kings will appear, the
with the kings of that nation, will be completed.

be from the south, the second from the east, and the third from the west. And the son of the others will remain refirst

of

whom

will

This word which literally means the Revolters is generally applied to a sect of Muslims who affirm that any man may be promoted to the The dignity of a Caliph, and reject salvation by faith only without works. term is more especially used to designate the 2,000 men who revolted from 'Ali after the battle of Siffin in A.D. 657. The word in a more general " " " See Taj heretics." sense indicates any schismatics," or revolters," al-'Arus (s.v.) and Encyclopedia of Islam, ii. 906-908.
1
'

"

"

Read dimSi khalkin.

See Dan.
vii.

4 which seems

to

fit

more

the context than

Dan.

iv.

33,

although both verses are rather inadequate to explain the author's references. Perhaps he wishes to refer to the eagle spoken of in the Book of Rev.
iv.,

and elsewhere
4
6

in the

Old Testament.
.

Probably read yatta/i'

in

Yakut (Mu'jam al-bulddn, iv. 367) mentions a locality near Yamamah Arabia of the name of Kurmah. 6 This sentence is badly worded but its meaning seems to be clear.

APOCALYPSE OF PETER
membered
1

271
be

in the centre of the earth.

first

The
to

said three kings will

from the posterity of the king the

letter of

whose name

'

is

Am.'
and

They
for

will

fill

the role which

3

was assigned

them from

eternity,

which they were created.

"

Peter,

when you

see that

Egypt has been

devastated and

that twelve earthquakes have taken place in your town, know that the lion's whelp and the lion's brother the first letter of whose name is

Alif?

will leave their respective places

and

repair to the west,

which

When you see wild beasts sitting at one table, they will conquer. and when you see the star of my Incarnation when I took body from know that I am the pure and virgin Mary, rising from the west
:

about to send locusts and death against the children of Ishmael in

I will also fill the hearts of other men the days of the lion's whelp. with fear and fright to such an extent that they will pray for death.

They

will

will flee to the west,

move from country to country the inhabitants of the east and the inhabitants of the west to the east, and
;

the earth will be seized with great fear.

"

At

that time
will

one

of

whom

show my signs in heaven, and raise four be the atn, and two others the 'am.* As
I

will

kings,

to the

fourth he will not be of royal blood.

Two of

them

will

be

killed,

and

the third will seize

to the time in

power openly. As to the fourth, I which I will show to the public the King
it is

will hide

him

of those

who

believe in me.

"

Peter,
of

that none

imperative that you should pray and ask earnestly 6 your children shall be deceived concerning the time
'

when

the children

be great because I

Ishmael come forth. 8 famine and extreme hunger, and men

of
shall place

In that time there will

will attack

one another,

such enmity amongst them that none of them will

Peter,

have any peace.

1

when you

see that people of

all

tongues

What does all this sentence mean ? " The text adds here and he will follow it" 3 The sentence is badly worded, and my translation
3

is

not certain.
t

Delete the wa-w and read huma. 5 1 do not understand what the author means by the word ain which among many other meanings that it possesses are "the eye" and "the All the sentence is very obscure. letter ain" 6 The translation of this verb is doubtful.
l

Read banu.

All

this

sentence

is

badly worded.

272
have assembled
in

WOODBROOKE
Jarba^ and
3
;

STUDIES
2

that faith

and

belief in

me

are one

when you
*

see the mountains of

call

thejauf,' shaking

Jarbd, which the inhabitants of Syria wars being waged the eagle spreading its
;

feathers to all places

;

and

to all localities

intense divisions occurring

:

among men and people fleeing from you, O Peter let know that the time of her wailing over those who believe
hand.
"

the maiden
in

me

is

at

Then

the priests will be killed and the deacons burned.

flood
is
4

The

river of

Persia will move vehemently and

5

Jerusalem.

O Peter,
you see

the

Kingdom

of the children of

Ishmael,
its

firm, well established and

solid.

Its affairs

are glorious but

glory

is

earthly.

When

the children of

Ishmael mixing with

Jews learning the

the children of Persia, and

when
calling

you see
of

the

art of warfare,
fight,

and a child

another child of the same age to

and the

know, gave you appearing 7 Ishmael of is at hand." Kingdom

I
:

which

signs the description Peter, that the end of the

CHAPTER ON THE
"

"

SIGNS,"

FROM THE (THE BOOK OF THE)

SECRETS.

At

the end

when

people begin to recognise one another, parents

8

their children

and children

their parents

\f\\enjarba
9
;

is

in ruin

and

men
one

of different tongues (understand one another) when men from 10 has become remote countries have assembled together, and heaven
:

Know,

Peter, that salvation

is

at

hand.

When

you see the

four
1

Kings from the progeny of the 'abus

See

wolf

whose appearance
literal translation of

my note above,
tahtazz.

p.

258.

The Arabic majd

Read

in the sense of

"

"
faith
is

the

Syriac Shubha.
3

See

my

note on a similar sentence below, p. 280.

is

The 5 The
6 7

translation of this

verb

doubtful.
it

belongs.

author uses here the objective pronoun before the noun to which This is done only in Syriac and not in Arabic.
raaita.
the copyist adds in Syriac
this

Read Here

"
:

brother- readers pray for the

wretched copyist who wrote."

8 9

About

or similar sense had been omitted, and I supplied it. The author, curiously enough, uses here the Persian word dsmdn. 11 Here the word 'abus seems to be used as an adjective, and to mean " " " stern, austere and by extension tyrannical," and not as a substantive in " the sense of lion."
this

A verb with

word

see

my

note above.

APOCALYPSE OF PETER
1

273

had postponed till the end of time and until the wild ass was set free making their appearance and inducing those who believe in me not to be steadfast in praying and fasting and not to repent nor to
:

climb the mountains of salvation:

know that wars will increase during a short week and a half and then salvation will come. " At 2 that time many of my people will deny me on account of the 3 and of It will be a time of trial tribulations that will befall them.
to those who deny me, the separation of tares from the wheat. and blessed are those wlio endure tribulations for my sake. At that

Woe

time a considerable number of just

sinners.

men

will join

the ranks of the

He who

will

be frequent
4

an eagle and flees shall be saved. There earthquakes, awful terrors, locusts, diseases and
flies like

grievous death. give suck.

Woe unto
will

them

that are with child

and

to

them

that

People

be delivered to tribulations the

like of

which

had not been seen

will not

before,

and the

believers will

undergo severe trials

5

such as had not been witnessed since the beginning of the world, and

be witnessed

till

the appearance of the false preacher.

I

"

Know,

Peter, that

will cast terror into the heart of the

terrifying

children of the

'A fills,

will

make them hear a

sound

in the

heavens, which will overwhelm them, and will send on them a fearful

tremor which will rob them of strength. "

Peter, after

the elect,

you I will grant my peace to the Apostle Paul, because you and he will fight for my people in the forefront
and through you there
will

of the battle,

be victory

for those

who

believe in me.

When
me

you appear
I

all

the earth will rejoice

and those

who
and

believe in

will joy after their tribulations,

and

their hearts will

gladden and enjoy peace.

will

will
s

make

salvation manifest to them,

show openly my
Peter,

glory

and

my

majesty to men.
in

"

O
;

when you

see signs of

wars appearing

heaven from

the west to the east, and quickly spreading over the countries of the

earth

the sun losing

its light

and becoming dark

gloom taking hold

;

of the

world

a father hating his son and a brother his brother

Possibly reads

zaharH

in plural.

Add
The

the particle
1

3 6

fi.

The

Syriac buhrana.

* 6

Matt. xxiv.

9.

Possibly the Antichrist. It is the first time that the

Syriac sktlha.
in this

name

of

Paul appears

eminently

Petrine document.
8

The

Syriac shubha.

274

WOODBROOKE

STUDIES

a son hating his father, and mothers hating their children and children their mothers, and a daughter-in-law her mother-in-law and a mother-

in-law her idaughter-in-law

driving

when you

see the children of

refusing to

Ishmael

away

those
1

who
them

believe in
:

me and
fall

acknowledge
I

their submission

to

at that time there will

be a severe famine,
will

and the
the

rains will

be scarce and will

out of season.

change

dew
'

olive trees

deadly poison, from bearing fruits. When I have sent blighting winds on the olive
that at that time

that falls

on the earth

into a

and

will stop the

trees

and

fig

trees,

know

men

will die of
I

hunger and

thirst,
I

with

the exception of

my
is

people

whom
is

love
is

and
he

whom

will save.

Peter, blessed

he

who

flies,

blessed

who

saves himself

by

leaving (the country), blessed

Peter,

those

woe who live

with a leap crosses the ford. to the dwellers in the land of Syria, but blessed are
in the expectation of the calamities that will befall
trials,

he

who

them
the

and
life

exercise patience in the face of

of the

because they will

live in

world to come.
I

"

O
of

Peter, keep all that

have revealed
it

to you, inscribe

it

on the
that

pages
it is

your heart and guard

in

your

chest.

Peter,

know

on you that I will build my church, and it shall not cease and perish and the gates of hell shall not be able to demolish it and destroy
2

it.

It
I

will

have no end with

it

me
and

because
ever.
'

it is

in the

palm
'

of

my
the
*

hand,

and

will

be with
the

for ever

"

When

King

that

is

called

the lion's whelp

rises

King

who

will

be the son
of the lion

of the

nephew

King who bears the two names of the and when the dead man reappears, who was
bore two names the
first

dethroned and
with (the

who

like his father

beginning

letter)

Kaf
is

and the other with

by

(the letter)

Alif ; and

when Tibarus who

origin of the west appears, peace will reign,

salvation.

because that time will mark the beginning of

O
in

Peter,

when earthquakes become

1

violent (on the

is
I

day

of) the

month

which

was born in the flesh and it and also on the day in which
Friday of the
the second sign

the twenty-fifth day of

December
the night of

was

crucified

and

it is

middle of the known month

know

that this will be

which

will follow the

first

sign that will be signalled

by the destruction of
1

my
2

churches.

The
1

latter sign will

indeed take
bfiismai.

Sic codex.

Cf. Matt. xvi.

8.

Read

APOCALYPSE OF PETER
place

275
and
the
severe

before

the

great

and

violent

earthquakes

famine.

"

O
see

Peter,

when you

see

divisions

between the children of

Ishmael
you

bringing to the top the strongest

among them, and when

that

the eagle waxing insolent,

know

the

time

is

near.
;

heaven pouring forth fine ashes on men Peter, the rivers drying up so that no water is left in them, and no trees are when you see arts and crafts ceasing, trade found in the mountains

when you

see

brought to a
regard to

standstill,
"
;

and minds

of

men

in

a confused

state

with

them

when you

see deceit increasing

among men and

his neighbour

falsehood laying strong roots in them so that every one strives to deceive when you see trade being undertaken for the sole ;

purpose of eating and drinking, and every

his

own

self

to the exclusion of others

man seeking prosperity for when you see jealousy rife

his neighbour's secret,

among men,
and
deceit

so that

no one

is

found to keep

fear entering the hearts of all

and

false witness increasing

when you

see that

fame

is

when you see people of lies, and people of truth decreasing being built up on lies and falsehood, that
;
;

men

the people of doubtful character

are rejoicing, that the children of

vipers are merry-making with their equals, that

my

people are

ill-

treated, denounced, thrown out of the way and impeded from washing themselves with water on account of the filth that men will attribute

to

4
it,

and

that slanderous

believers in

me

calling

words are heaped on them when you see themselves by names given to the children of
;

the
see

'A bus
all this,

to the exclusion of the

names

of

my

baptism
Peter.

when you

awaken your

flock to repentance,

"

O
5

Peter,

woe

to the believers in

me who

give to themselves

names used by the children of the 'Abus. Woe to those who intermarry with them, and have intercourse with them and wear the same
apparel
like

them.

If

those

who

believe in

me

neglect

my

churches
fulfil

and do not
1

visit

them, and lose

sight of their priests

and do not

This sentence

is

badly worded and

3

its

Read minha.

Lit.

"

meaning
people

is

doubtful.

of doubt."

The reference seems to be here to the waters of baptism. 5 Read shi'ar for si'dr. This proves decisively that the original from which the present MS. is derived was written in undotted Arabic characters,
because
identical
it

is in Arabic only that the letters Sin and Shin are graphically and distinguishable only by extraneous dots.

276
their obligations
*

WOODBROOKE
towards them,

STUDIES
them who
in those

woe

will betide those of

act in this

way.

Know

that

any one who

days

offers to

my

churches one single penny, he will receive in reward myriads of Blessed are those who repent of their sins, because I will pennies.

open
"
seize

to

them the doors

Peter,

of

my

mercy.

when
2

the children of

upon the possessions of those

sons,
is

who

Ishmael begin on a large believe in me, and to

scale to

enslave

their wives,

believers

at

hand.

the children of

and daughters, know that the salvation of the Peter, know that wars will multiply among Ishmael together with murder and hatred, because

every one of them will seek power for himself. "

Peter,

when

the

habitants live in the old

among
ing of
letter

the dwellers in

city of Babylon is ruined and its inand the source of the Tigris is divided city, 3 the proud city and when Wakid? the mean;
'

new

whose name is of whose name is

is

burning,'

and

who

is

the son of one the

first

first

Fa

and

of the

one the

letter of

whose
that

name

'Ain, makes

his appearance,

know

that the

King

of

period will be the last of the descendants of

(of

my

people) and the progeny

of

Kedar who Sodom and Gomorrah.

are haters

Peter,

when you see the ruined know that

buildings

large cities of the sea- shore being demolished

and
ye

famine will overtake

my

people.

Egypt,

fall

in ruins because of the

wrath that

will

come down on you and on the

which Yanshur, Jambres, and Hermes have erected in you, but know that after your weeping has reached its height your 6 will flourish with redoubled vigour, and your joy and civilisation
jubilation will increase.

"O
them

Peter,

know

that the children of

Kedar
I

will believe that

victory will be from their

own

effort,

and when
the son of

will deliver

my

people into their hands, they will humiliate them, ruin them,
*
:

to
'

the

Son

of

your

God 7

is

and say a bondmaid,' and

deliver

let

the Nazarene slave

1

who was

crucified

come and
2

you from

Read yattfahaduhum. The text adds here "which does

:

Read banihim.

not say at that time," a sentence

which
4

is to me problematical. The word is the present common Arabic name.

5

participle of the verb

of the text.

wakada, and

is

a fairly

So

translate

mughir

It

may be rendered
7

differently ac-

cording
6

to the
:

meaning

we

give to the

verb ghdra.

Or

the buildings in you.

Read ilahikum.

APOCALYPSE OF PETER
our hands.*
I

277
over everything.

They

will not

know

that

my hand

is

will,

however, order
cry,
all

Muhael
will

the head of the heavenly hosts to

utter

one

and they
of them.

cower, and fear and

will

awe
I

will

fill

the

hearts of

They
will

be bewildered, and
1

will confuse

the
that

news

that reaches them,

to them.
I

comes

and they will rejoice at any intelligence deliver them to the demons to be directed
to the

by them, as
mentors.

delivered

Saul

demons and they became

his

At
will
in

that time the

demons

will take the

forms of men, a fact which

be proclaimed by their sons and daughters," and men will not be doubt that the demons are true men. At that time the people of
its

Persia and
will dwell,

mountains will come

will inhabit

to the holy land in

which they
will

and they

my

holy temples, which

the children of

be

ruined.

They

will ally themselves with

Kedar and
command

they will intermarry

the soldiers and

with them.

The

people of Persia will

direct the battles of the children of

will teach the art of warfare to those of

Kedar, and they them who do not know it

;

but

will destroy all of

them with the sword.

"O
let

Peter, inform those

who

believe in

me

that

if

they are told

that peace

cometh

from this or that place let

them not take heed, and

them not accompany those who utter such things to them, because 4 indeed I everything they will tell them will be groundless and false will not sow peace and reconciliation between them and I will not
;

bless their lands

with riches from that time

1

for ever.

All of them will

of gold

seek power, and

will place in their hearts the love

and

silver, so that they shall have no other care but that of amassing wealth

and

son her daughter

marry a woman, and his two sisters, and men will marry marry men as if they were women. Males will debase themselves with males and females with females, and they will own one another/ The them will not honour the old, and none of them will be young among
of clinging to
;

women.
a

father will

man

will

ashamed
to

of another.
*

All

will

be wicked, and will believe themselves

be pure

but with
1

me

they will be defiled.

You

will recall

my

Read u'c-usallimuhum. The meaning of this sentence 3 Read yasir.

J

is
4
fi

doubtful.

Read yad* linahu m.

Delete the

article.
l

As

concubines
'.

Read al-jaml

8
.

Read ankia

18

278
saying that no
unless
l

WOODBROOKE
one
will

STUDIES
into the

be able to enter

Kingdom

of

Heaven

the

he be baptised in the name of the Father, of the Son, and of 2 Holy Ghost the pure, and my names which I have hidden from

the rest of mankind with the exception of your lambs are

Ahtyah, Sabaoth? Adonai, Ilskadai, Askar-ahlyah, " Know, Peter, that it is to you and to the rest of the disciples and to those who follow you that I have prepared the Kingdom of

Heaven.

Know,
will

Peter, that of the descendants of

Kedar many
They
will

people will believe in me, and will join your fold.

be

pure and they

inscribed

fulfil

your orders.
the

The names
of

of all of
4

them are
is

with

me
in

in

Church
which
I

the

Virgins,

which

in

Jerusalem and
"

my town

behold

at every

moment.

Peter,

woe

will betide those

who

are not baptised and do

not believe in me, because they will inherit the uttermost darkness and
the flaming
dissolution
fire

which

is

and no end.

Woe

not quenched and to which there is no to those who will mix with them, as
as these will their lot

they will err with the

Magians and with such

be

in hell.

when the men with the yellow standards have conquered Egypt ; when A rmenia is destroyed by thunderbolts when 5 Jazlrah is in ruin together with many fortresses on the littoral of the 6 sea when Egypt is depopulated 'and encircled and the (water of
Peter,
;
;

"O

the) Nile

is

held up

of the people of the yellow standards

and the sovereignty has passed into the hands 7 and the land has become
;

yellow and in a state of ruin through the hoofs of horses, and the 8 wheat has been hoarded for the years (to come) when you see
;

peace established between warring generals

1

9
;

when you

see the

King

Add
The

Id.

in feminine as it is done in for a to This seems postulate relatively ancient layer early Syriac the original source of the author in connection with the point under considera-

author uses the

literature.

" word " Holy Ghost

tion.
3

Well-known Hebrew words.

p.

See above
5 7

in

the

first

part

of

the

Apocalypse of Peter,
4

146.

Cf.
8

The Book
stnin.

of Rev. xiv. 14.

North Mesopotamia.
Lit.
:

Doubtful translation.

desert.

This also proves that the original from which the present MS. is derived was in undotted Arabic characters, because it is in Arabic only that the letters nun and td' are graphically identical. 9 So I translate tawakid, for which I cannot find a more suitable meaning.

Read

My

translation

is,

however, doubtful.

APOCALYPSE OF PETER
bringing out the

279

Children of
2

young man who Ishmael, and when

is

a scion of the mighty Kings of the

(this

becomes one of
city

my

lambs and enters

young man) believes in me and 1 my fold and goes to my holy

it is

he

is

one of the descendants of Ishmael, and

he

who

will

induce the

lion's

whelp
3

to cause the

when
them

all this

takes place,

two Kings to appear on the earth; woe unto them that are with child and to
*

that give suck,

because their husbands

will die

and they

will

you see that armies do not stop in one locality, but move from town to town and from place to place that their chieftains
;

be widows. "

And when

do not
and

see eye to eye with

one another, that

is

their leaders
:

are traitors
that

their love (for

one another)

turned into hatred

know

woe
let

has fallen on the world.

it

Peter, keep that

which

told you,

and

be to you

like

the message of the Gospel, and

know

that all these

signs will take place in a short

week and a
from

half.

"

Peter,

when men
;

flee

women

because of the intensity of

6

famine and tribulations

ears of

when

plains suffer from drought

7

and the

wheat do not display

increase

their natural
;

beauty

when gloom and

is set up in my and the inhabitants of broken, your city rise against my Temple when my people till they are overwhelmed by many afflictions churches are ruined and ravaged by the calamities that will befall

weeping

among men

when

the rod that

is

them

and

light

and

glory are

removed from them

8

when peace

is

restored between warring generals

for a

week, which means a long

the children of baptism are
;

period for the children of baptism

when

saved from the children of the wolf by stratagem

children of baptism take possession of

and when the

overcome the
again

the fort and

enmity of the wolf

when

all

this
live

happens,
till

woe and

woe

to

those with encumbrances

who

that time, but blessed are those

who
1

have no encumbrances and

who have no

brothers nor

sisters.

Blessed will be those

who
is

are single.

The
Lit.
:

original
city of

suyuti

incomprehensible without emendations.

3
5

my

holiness.

Matt

xiv.

9.

Read 6 Read
"

rijcilahunna.

Read wakddatahum,

ajdabat.

Arabic characters, because ba\ and ta are graphically

I

This proves that the original it is only in Arabic that the

identical.
is,

M&

was

in

undotted

letters

jlm and ha\

read

ruwaha
also
is

Here

dawaha. The translation the above word tawakid.

for

however, doubtful.

280
"

WOODBROOKE
O
Peter,
of the

STUDIES

King
1

warn your people against the Jews, and know that the children of the 'Abus will be executed in the fulness of
with easy
life

time,

and

in this fulness the nation

will perish

from the

earth together with the children of the wolf.

Many

sheep will

become
will

wolves.

Peter,

warn your people not

to take refuge

from anything
of time
I

under the mantle of Moses."

Know

that at the

end
3

place between the eyes of the children of baptism a sign resembling a

bright star

which

will protect

them from

destruction.

"

Peter, the

King

of the children of the 'Abils will perish

I

when
of

forty Kings from them have reigned, as

told you,

and the name

the

with a

man at whose hand their Kingdom will come to an end will begin Mim, and their discomfiture will take place in his days. Know,
all

Peter, that

of
till

them

will not perish but a considerable

number

of

them

will remain

the end of the world,

and
of

their sins will multiply

seven fold. "

Peter, the

first

sign will

be the ruin

and famine on the

habitants of the east

coast,

the destruction of
of Syria call the
6

Egypt\ scarcity Jarba^ which

5

of food

the inof

and

/0/

and the coming

the winds

will occur

When this happens divisions of the highest mountain. between the children of the wolf through their malice and When you see fear and trepidation penetrating into the treachery. heart of the children of the wolf, causing them to lose control of affairs
and
through the calamities that will befall them, know that after their sions they will meet with famine and destruction.
divi-

confusion reigns in the honourable place, and when the 8 of the stars becomes dim, and peace is secured between the two light new Kings, the victorious will become the vanquished. When the

"

When

nobles of Syria are captured

1

when
is

the learned

men have

fled

and
"

the

Lit
3 5

"
:

of the sea,"

but this
*
4

possibly a mistake for

is

ayydm

of the

days."
Lit.
:

This

translation

not certain.

fight.

See above.

This emendation is from Mingana Syr. 441 that the original from which the present MS. is This also (fol. 76a). proves derived was in undotted Arabic characters, because it is in Arabic only that the letters Jim and KhS are written in the same way and distinguished only by an extraneous dot placed over or under the letter. 6 Which mountain ? If we read tour for fur we can obtain many other 7 Read al-musharraf Which honourable place ? meanings.

Read jauf

for

khauf.

The

translation is not certain.

APOCALYPSE OF PETER
wise

281

men have

perished

when

those

who

believe in

me

are in a state
;

of subjection, are called unbelievers

when

the love of the children of

and and are hated and despised the wolf turns towards the Jews and not
of the beginning (of the

towards
end).
like

my

people

Peter,

know that it is the time when this happens fly like a

:

pigeon, soar in the air

an eagle and hide yourself like the setting sun. Peter, woe to the man who neglects my words. " Peter, when you see these signs, know that the great city of the interior will be conquered, and one year after its conquest, the new city

will

be conquered, and

after

it

the city concerning which

lies

were

uttered,

and
*

then the city of

Alexandria.

And

it

will

side

together with Paradise to Pkcenicia.

2

down

Harmdnlyah and the

river

be turned upthat flows from

together with
that

And

the region of
of idols
,

Baalbeck

Layos and Kusln

are in the east and

and the town

in

Mesopotamia

will

and the two holy houses be conquered.

"

Know,

Peter, that at that time

woe

will betide those

;

who

and blessed will be inhabiting your city, because they will be killed will be those who shall flee from it, because tribulations will befall it
as never before,

and the believers

it is

in

me who

are in

it

will

be exposed to

public scorn
will

when

have

fled to the three

this

conquered with the sword those of them who mountains that surround it shall be saved.
3

"When
and
of

happens the inhabitants of Armenia^ of Haurdn 4 Persia will resent it and will help my people, and all those

who

disbelieve in

me

will turn to

me.

Then
at the

the towns of Ablabiin

of the) coast of the lion's

and Beirut

will rejoice

but

woe

to the

(towns
sea.
it.

because

of the calamities that will befall

them

hand

whelp,

whose roaring
killed in
is

will

be heard on land and

7

Woe

to

Lao dieea

because of the calamities that will befall

The

believers will be

Mount

Sinai, and

Mood,

Amman
it

and Damascus which

the city of perdition, will be in ruins."

1

Doubtful turned over.

j
-

translation.

Lit.

"
:

and
1

will

be reversed against being

near Kufah, but

3
4

Yakut (Mu'jam al-Buldan, IT, 00), mentions a locality called Kusstn this can hardly be identified with this Kusln.

Mingana Syr. 441 (fol. 76b) \&sfaradan. Read nafarH as in Mingana Syr. 441 (fol. 76b). 5 Mingana Syr. 441 (fol. 76b) has Ilun. 6 The wfofarakat is supplied from Mingana Syr. 441 7 M. 441 (ibid.) has 'Amur.

(ibid.).

282

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STUDIES

CHAPTER ON THE SALVATION OF THE BELIEVERS AT THE HAND OF THE HONOURABLE KING, THE LION'S WHELP, OF THE LORD. IN THE DAY
1

"

Know,

Peter, that the lion's

whelp

will

come out

of his place

and

repair to the holy city.

He

will fix his spear in the place of the

remain there one day. He will open the then he of on a and will enter therein, and Jerusalem Friday, gates 2 at be which enter three o'clock on a Saturday. he will will the time
Crucifixion,

and he

will

And
it

on a Sunday,

third of April,

he

will enter the

Church and

fix in

the

wood

(of the Cross) of Golgotha where the

and

will lay his

all

diadem on that wood.

be

Lord, and

the nations will rejoice

will
;

Jews crucified me, That day is the day of the and dance, and the Kings of the
in
all

earth will assemble there,

jubilate

great

astonishment and will

and clap

their

hands

and

the nations will

know one

another.

On

that

of angels will

day heaven and earth will rejoice, and the voices 3 be heard in them, singing and praising, and their
be mingled with the
glorifications of those

glorifications will

who

believe

in

me."
1

Delete the

article.

Lit.

"
:

day."

Read/i/w.

APOCALYPSE OF PETER

283

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STUDIES

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-i.

WOODBROOKE
CHRISTIAN

STUDIES.

DOCUMENTS IN SYRIAC, ARABIC, AND GARSHONI, EDITED AND TRANSLATED WITH A CRITICAL APPARATUS.
BY A.

MINGANA.
8.

FASCICULUS

THE APOCALYPSE OF PETER

PREFATORY NOTE.
following pages give the edition and translation of the
section of the

THE
"

final

work
"

that passes

under the name of

the Rolls," or simply Apocalypse " The contents of this part of the work are generally not Clement."
of Peter," of

Book

apocalyptic in character but historical, and the task of translating their

Garshuni text proved to be relatively easy. After a few pages dealing with the history, the name and the
description of the Antichrist

who

will herald the

end

of the world,
is

the seventh part of the Clementine literature ends, and

immediately followed by the eighth part which contains the history of the Apostles and of their evangelisation of the various countries of the earth.

The Special emphasis is naturally laid on the preaching of Peter. of the whose is not connected ministry Apostles preaching intimately with that of Peter is dismissed with a short reference which can hardly
do
justice to their spiritual labours

and

their high

rank as disciples of
fasciculi of

the Lord.

As

have pointed out

in the

two preceding
is

my Woodbrooke Studies,
character,
of the
to the

the present

document

highly Petrine in

and anyone or anything not connected with the inner circle narrow Petrine orbit, either assumes insignificance or is relegated

background of history. most extraordinary thing that I ever saw in any Christian document is the fact that this marked predilection of the author for St.

The

349

23

350

WOODBROOKE
by the unanimity

STUDIES
"The
"

Peter has led him to adopt a rather indifferent attitude towards Paul,
called
of Christian writers

Apostle

par
it is

excellence.

In a passage found towards the

end

of the narrative

said that Peter ordered

Clement

to put

down

in writing all that

he

had taught him and revealed to him. He further commanded him When the to deposit the book thus written in the archives at Rome. book was finished Peter and Clement sealed it with their seals and
Peter said
to

"
:

As God
who

liveth

no one ought to divulge these mysteries

not

Paul or those

resemble him."
I

In this connection

shall

draw

especial attention to the fact

to Peter the epithets of

that in the " "

document Paul always applies

and
of

cannot pass without some comment the unusual process whereby Paul is sent out by Peter on all his missionary journeys, and has to report to him concerning his doings in
master
teacher," but
I

"

each of these journeys.

town which
"

is

a having evangelised al-Adiyoka, in darkness," Paul comes back to Peter who was in
after
his mission

So

"

Carthage and presents him with a report of

which begins

spiritual father,

my

chief

and

my

master."

Following the strain of his anti- Pauline tendency, the author often assigns to Paul a r6le which is, to say the least, too ingenuous and undignified.

So he

is

once given the

the

r61e of a

worship and

praise the idols before the

pagan and made to Emperor and all the members

of his court, but

when

the deceitfulness of which he

his hypocritical

same Emperor became Christian and noticed was the victim he complained to Paul of
latter

conduct and the

answered

"
:

meant

in

what

did to use a stratagem with you in order that by my soft advice to you " the hardness of your nature may be mollified to your advantage
!

The outcome
against him
"
!

of

the strange scene

at

amused, and smiling

was that him, thanked him for the

the

Emperor "was
had
practised

ruse he

As
to

some

"
.

pointed out in a foot-note, this subtle conduct of Paul may, extent, be explained by the words used in 1 Cor. ix. 20-23.

And unto Jews I To them that

.
.

became

as a

Jew

that

might gain the Jews.

are without law,

as without

law

that

The Arabic
to

sentence

may

possibly

mean

"
:

As God

liveth

no one

ought divulge these mysteries (or secrets) be he Paul or any of those who resemble him ( = his followers)." The anti-Pauline tendency remains in the sentence whatever meaning we give to it.

APOCALYPSE OF PETER

351

might gain them." These sentences cannot, however, remove all the sting from the author's marked anti-Paulinism, and a better explana-

phenomenon may perhaps be sought in the opinion first enunciated by some scholars of the last century who distinguished two social and theological tendencies among the Christian members of
tion of this curious

the early

Church

a tendency towards the teaching of Paul called

PauKmsm
called

and another tendency towards the teaching of Peter, % Petrinism. Traces of these two distinct Christian parties can
1

From passages in be discerned in the present Petrine Apocryphon. the canonical Book of the Acts, dealing with the Judaizers, we
know
This
"
that everything did not always go smoothly in the early Church.
1 ,
:

where Paul writes is confirmed by a reference to Galat. ii. 1 But when Peter was come to Antioch I withstood him to the face
Harder even than
the anti-Pauline sentences referred to above

because he was to be blamed."

all

by the author against the Apostle of the with books," with special reference to the "tampering separate books which contained the profession of faith of each of the When these twelve books were finished the text twelve Apostles. " adds that they were sealed with the seal of each Apostle, beginning with the seal of my teacher Peter, then with that of Mary the mother
is

the accusation brought

Gentiles of

of light,

and with that

of

Paul

who had tampered with

the language

of the books."
not in a position to offer a better explanation than the one gave above for these unusual attacks upon St. Paul.
I
I

am

have referred

in

my

foot-notes to

some

of the sources of the

author.

So far as the life of Clement, his conversion and his meeting with his brothers and parents are concerned, our thought naturally
goes to the well-known

Clementine Recognitions
is

and Homilies.
Mitradora and
I

From

the fact that the mother of our hero

called

not Mattidta, as in the Greek recension of these two works,

have

conjectured that our text as well as

its

Ethiopic counterpart are under

the influence of an ancient Syriac recension of the story

which

in

1 See on this subject Hans Lietzmann in Sitzungsb. d. Berliner Akademie der Wissenschaften (10, iv., 1930), and Emanuel Hirsch in Zeitschr. fur die Neut. Wissens., 1930, pp. 63-76, with the suggestive tide of "Petrus

und Paulus."

352
1917
I

WOODBROOKE
edited

STUDIES
Judceo-Christian
"

and

translated

in

my Early

Documents.

A recension of the " Preaching of Peter in

Petri, found in an Arabic

Rome

or Pradicatio

MS.

(dated A.D. 799) in the Library of

Sinai, was published by Mrs. Gibson in No. 5 of Studia Sinaitica. For some anecdotes of Peter's adventures in the

Mount

Metropolis
recension.
It

the

text

of

our

MS.

is

closely

akin

to that

of

this

is

interesting to note that the text of our present apocryphal

Clement has been translated in extenso by some Ethiopian writer, and placed towards the end of that strange work which passes under the
title

of

Gadla Hawdriyat
translation of

or

"

Contendings of the Apostles," the

in

text

and
1

190 1.

which were published by Budge The linguistic originality of the Arabic text

1899 and
not be

will

questioned by any Semitic scholar who compares it with its Ethiopic What seems to clench the argument against a possible equivalent.
originality of the Ethiopic translation
is

the fact that in the narrative

Clement
all

is

given as the author of

all

the text on pp. 466-526.

Indeed

these pages deal with the preaching of Peter, the history of the

conversion of Clement and his relatives, and narrate the story of how Clement wrote his book, exactly as it is done in the present Garshuni
text.

Further, in

all this

long narrative Clement

is

is

more or

less

always

speaking in the

first

person as this person

better suited to the re-

quirements of a writer in search of historical data.

Ethiopian translator of this part of Pseudo-Clement's book On the does not seem to have been over scrupulous in his work. exceeded his limits of he to sometimes have literary contrary appears
a mere translator, because,

The

among
first

other things, he has completely

excluded from

his

book the

of the

two above

passages,

which are
;

detrimental to the prestige of Paul, and changed the second into a " for he (Paul) was the eye {sic) of all the books." phrase meaning :

Evidently these passages shocked him as they would indeed shock

points out (ibid., p. vi.) the oldest MS. of this Ethiopic work Bibliotheque Nationale and is dated in "the 39th year of See also Zotenberg, Catalogue des manuscrits Mercy," i.e., 1379 A.D. Ethiopiens de la Bibliotheque Nationale, \ 877, No. 52, p. 53 sq. 2 In undotted Arabic characters the change of Contendings, p. 521.
is
1

As Budge

that of the

ghayyara

into 'ain is not wholly impossible. The Ethiopian translator has, " " however, omitted the word lisan language altogether.

APOCALYPSE OF PETER
any Christian reader, and
servility

353

we only owe their

to

existence to the well-known

original.

of

the

Syrian copyists

their

Syrian copyists

are in this respect the best copyists, because they adhere faithfully to
their original
for

them we

and leave any other consideration to their readers. But would have missed passages which seem to possess an

archaic savour.
striking illustration of this servility of Syrian copyists may also be gathered from the author's theological view of the Incarnation and

the

way

in

which, according to him, the

"Word

became

flesh."

will quote here the following strange sentence

which seems

to contain

traces of a mild

form of Docetism.

"

And

the jealous
to

came down
to

His Son, the mighty Teacher, who the earth and appeared in a covering which He chose

Lord

sent

Himself from

light,

which

He

materialised

and from which

to

He
His

spoke and performed the things which world."

He

wished

perform

in

That the body of the Christ was a simple covering which He Himself materialised from light is hardly the orthodox doctrine of the Church after the Council of Nicea, but it is certainly a doctrine
which has
St.
in
it

germs

of

an archaic savour.

There are
1 .

further points

which deserve some attention

is

Stephen Protomartyr
I

given in the

document as a nephew

of St. Paul.

could not trace the source of this remarkable statement

translator of the

which has been struck out by the Ethiopian

ings.
It is is

Contend2

also missing in the

to
it

Synaxarium

of the Ethiopic

Church, and
in

there

no reference

in the

Coptic Jacobite Synaxarium printed

the Patrologia Orientalist

2.

Among

the disciples of Paul the author mentions a

man

called

Zerosus, about

whom

could find no definite information.

He

is

coupled in the document with Dionysius whom I tentatively identified with Pseudo- Dionysius the Areopagite. As I have remarked in a " foot-note Zerosus" appears in the Ethiopic Contendings (ibid., p.

520) as "Protheus". The variant undotted Arabic characters.

3.
1

is

probably due to early and

Nnael

as the

name

of the angel

who

served Christ

rill

His

Precisely,
2

Book of

Budge).

the son of the sister." the Saints of the Ethiopian Church, ii, pp. 434-435 (edit. 3 Pat. Orient., i., 268-270.

"

354

WOODBROOKE
:

STUDIES

Ascension to Heaven should be noted, as also the names of the two Akrabil and Falwabll. I do angels to whom Peter was entrusted
not

remember having seen

4.
I

these

names elsewhere.

In the Ethiopic

Contendings^ they are the

traditional

Uriel and Raphael.

which
if

will quote here the following important passage

not

interpolated

testimony that

by a Roman Catholic hand is certainly the most I have found in any eastern book in favour
:

striking

of the

Church
'

of

Rome

for

(God) up Rome holiness, and the faith of its

will set
it is

'

as splendour, light

and the

right place

inhabitants will not change nor suffer

modification, as
'

the true

faith.'

And
he

the pure father Peter said

Whichever nation which does not

profess the

same
:

faith as the faith

'

of

Rome

is

remote from God.'

And

also said

Any

Christian
is

whose

faith is not identical

with that of the inhabitants of Rome,

remote from God, and will have no share with me.'

informed
angels,
into
it

And

(Christ)

me

that

He
2

will establish this city as a dwelling-place for

and

holiness
it

will not cease in

it.

Tares

will not penetrate

nor will
' :

This passage
terms
the right
shall
faith.'

be conquered by the Kings of Tares." 3 is found in the Ethiopic version in the following
'

(Peter told me) that the faith of the people (of Rome) is And he said unto me Every Christian whose faith

not be like unto the faith of the

men

of

Rome

at the time

when

the disciples were gathered together therein shall be remote from God,

and he
formed

shall

me

have no portion with me.' that our Lord had made this

And my
city to

master Peter in-

be the habitation of

angels, and that hymns of consecration should never cease therefrom, and that no heathen rulers should enter therein for this city was
;

intended to be the abode of the saints and the habitation of the bodies
of the holy fathers."

reader can easily notice that the Ethiopic version lacks two " God will set up Rome as splendour, light important sentences
:

The

and the

right place for holiness,

and the faith of

"
:

its

inhabitants

will not change nor Whichever nation suffer modification" and which does not profess the same faith as the faith of Rome is remote from God.\' may also remark that the Ethiopian trans-

We

Contendings,

p.

700.
.

Or

"
possibly

the mass."

*/&*, PP 522-523.

APOCALYPSE OF PETER
later has qualified

355

Christian whose faith is not identical with that of the inhabitants of Rome is remote from
the sentence
:

"Any

God" by adding

to

it

the clause

"at the time when the

(i.e., in

disciples

Rome). Further, he has changed the expression Kings of Tares, which generally designates heretics, to heathen riders.

were gathered together therein"

It

seems clear to
is

me

that the original passage,

whether interpolated

or not,

that represented in the

MS.

of

my

collection,

and

that the

changes
felt it

Ethiopic version are due to the Ethiopian translator who necessary, as in the instance of the two anti- Pauline sentences
in the
I

to

which

have referred above,

to omit or qualify

the compromising
I

words.

Neither copyist was a

Roman

Catholic but, as

have already

remarked, the Syrian was more conscientious and servile in his work than the Ethiopian. An edition with complete fascimile reproduction and full translation
of the

whole
to

of the

second part of the Apocalypse of Peter did not

appear

me

to

Apocryphon.

be indispensable for the right understanding of the So I contented myself with the translation of the more
ff.

important section which embraces

the text written on
analysis
of
it
;

154 b -173 a
1 1

of the
,

MS.
of

As
all

to

ff.

11

6 b - 54 a and
1
,

73 b - 85 b
full

will only give

an
the

will,

however, give a

translation
to

sentences that appeared to

course.

So

far as

ff.

testament of Peter to
discipline

important enough 185 b -194 a are concerned, they contain the Clement and deal exclusively with early Church

me

warrant such a

and

practices.
I

As

they deserve a special study and a more

detailed

commentary
hope

have

left

them completely

for fuller investigation,

which

to undertake in the near future.

The

facsimile repro-

ductions of the present fasciculus of the

Woodbrooke Studies extend

only to that part of the text of which a full translation is given, with the exception of ff. 184 a -185 b which contain the two anti-Pauline
sentences referred to above, and also the aforesaid passage dealing faith of the inhabitants of Rome.

with the

As
1

it

is

my

intention to cease for a

1

moment

the publication of

apocryphal lucubrations
Since 1927
I

will

quote here two passages from two

published

the
; 2.

works of Ignatius of Antioch

following

Apocrypha: 1. Apocryphal Jeremiah Apocryphon ; 3. A new

Life ofJohn the Baptist ; 4. Some Uncanonical Psalms ; 5. The Lament of the Virgin; 6. The Martyrdom of Pilate ; 7. Vision of Theophilus ; 8. The voluminous Apocalypse of Peter.

356
critics of

WOODBROOKE
the nineteenth
:

STUDIES
who have
specialised

and twentieth

centuries,

in this field of research

'*

Schon im zweitem Jahrhundert waren zahlreiche Sagen

Apostel,

iiber die

Schicksale der

zum Theil

sehr

abenteuerlicher

Art, im

Umlauf.

Bei der Dunkelheit, welche uber der Wirksamkeit und

dem

die

Lebensausgange der meisten Apostel schwebte, zeigte sich fruhzeitig fromme Phantasie geschafbg, die Liicken auszufiillen, welche die

geschichtliche Erinnerung der Kirche, gelassen hatte.

Manche

dieser

Sagen verdanken ihren Ursprung lediglich dem Streben, die fromme Wissbegierde und die Wundersucht der Glaubigen zu befriedigen
;

andere dienen

dem

Lokalinteresse verschiedener Landschaften und

Stadte, welche ihr Christenthum gern der unmittelbaren

Wirksamkeit

eines Apostels verdanken, oder ihre Bisthiimer auf unmittelbar apostolische stiftung zuriickfuhren wollten."
3

"There
done that

is

no

question

of

anyone's

having

excluded
:

(the

apocryphal Gospels and Acts) from the

for themselves.

they have do as not achieve are, Interesting they they

New

Testament

either of the
instilling of

two

principal purposes for

which they were

written, the
''

to this verdict

will wholly subscribe That it will be slightly modified in favour cannot say. of some Apocrypha seems to me just possible. Our main task for the
I

new religion and the conveyance of Whether the critics of the year, say, 2500,

true history."

present
as

is

to edit

and

translate as

many

of these uncanonical

documents

and leave the duty of studying them more elaborately and comparing them more fully with what we term canonical Books, to future generations. In the year 2500 scholars may possibly be in a
can,
position to study both the canonical

we

and uncanonical scripture with a

more detached

spirit

and better equipped minds.

TRANSLATION.
[Analysis and Translation of the Important Passages of the Text

on
"
in

ff.

116-124.]

O Peter, in that day

1

will

show you my power

before

all

nations
s

order that they may know that I am the Son of the Living God." In that day the heads of men will bow down and worship towards
Lipsius,
'"'

Die Apocryphen Apostelgeschichten, Bd.

1,

s.

1 .

James, The Apocryphal New Testament, pp. This sentence is as usual in Syriac.

xi-xii.

APOCALYPSE OF PETER
the East

357

and the sun

will

dance with

joy.

In that

day

my

angels will

The mingle with the children of men in Jerusalem. desert will be glad and will rejoice and glorify with the voice of
tree of life in the

wisdom.

powerful arm over my people, and it will cover them as an eagle covers its young with its wings, and all of " them will cry aloud with one voice Glory be to Jesus of Nazareth,
I

will stretch

my

our Lord and our Saviour."

the Master, the Christ, our Lord, said to the pure and great " father Peter Know that creation took place in the month of April,

Then

and

in that

month
and

raised
it

up the temple

of

my body

on the wood

of

the Cross,
those

raised

who
men

believe in

me

The deliverance of again from the grave. in that take will month, and in it they place
City.
In
it I

will enter into the

in
it

Holy

will display

my

wonders and

will

rise

from the dead, and the general resurrection will

of

take place.

"

In that

believed in
believe in

day I will show the me, and the fruits of

contradicted

fruits

my

grace to those

who

my

wrath

to those

who

did not

me and

me and worshipped

the idols,

whose

names are Barakuyar, Salah, and Falah^ These idols are set up in the South and were erected \yyjannes w\&Jambres. My followers
will then dwell in
of the

Syria and
faith

in the

Holy Land which

the children

wolf had wrested from them.

In that
will

"

day the

of all believers in

me

will

be one. and the

little

dough
leaven.

be leavened

in the short

time of three hours and with

My people will
them no more
;

live in perfect
is

happiness and prosperity, and

the children of the 'Abus, that

rail at

to say the children of the wolf, will

but

my

followers will taunt the children of the

wolf and point out my miracles to them." And Simon Peter said also (as from Christ) "In the days to come in which I will deliver my people from the servitude of the son
:

of the wolf

and

of the wild ass,

its

will spread
fill

peace and security over

the earth, pour rain on

dry lands and

hearts with joy.

At

that

time there will be so

much

no more.
1

When
last

the

gold and silver that men will care for them Greeks s have gone back the Romans s will take
to possess

The

two names seem

an Arabic termination or

to

be

under Arabic influence.

2 3

Yaunariiyah may mean also the Greek language. Rumlyah may also refer to the language of the Rum.

358
their place.

WOODBROOKE
O
Peter,

STUDIES
names belonging has become
to the four

when
the

the four

thrones have been completed and

will set

their faith

one,

Venus

and the

light of

moon
it
1

will suffer eclipse, but the sun will

shine

much more

brilliantly that

did aforetime.
1

8 b) that he has found the preced[The copyist adds here (fol. ing pages written somewhat differently in another MS. and that he was going to transcribe them afresh according to this new evidence.
I

will omit in this analysis all the text

:

found on

ff.

18M 19b
words

.]

Then
I,

Peter proceeds "

When my
'

Master and

my God

finished these
for a

of His,

Peter, prostrated myself before

Him, wept

long time and said to

Him

O my
he

Lord and

my

Saviour, hearken to the supplication of

your servant and reveal to

christ will appear,

me

the day on which the accursed Antiof his father

and the name

and

which

tribe

will spring,

how

long his

and mother, and from kingdom will endure, and and what are the
signs
I

where he

will

be born and where he will

reign,

heralding his appearance.

Reveal

to
:

me

these things in order that

may warn

the faithful against him."

Here ends

the sixth part of the

Book of Clement.

The seventh part of the Book of Clement.

And
said

Jesus Christ the Master, the

Redeemer and the Living One

all

"
:

Yes,

Peter, the Antichrist will reign over

the peoples

of the

will last thirty-five years,

light

His reign world and no one will be able to stand against him. and towards its end the sun will lose its
will

and the moon

darken

winds

will increase

and calamities

will terrifying sounds will be heard from his soldiers. When the day of his death arrives a fiery cloud will rise from hell and burst over his armies composed of Sabeans, Magtans,

multiply while piercing and

children of

Kedar and

children of the wolf.

Afterwards a second

cloud will rise and burst over the Jews and over the idolaters who believed in him. third and intensely dark cloud will then rise from

the depth of hell,

of

full

of thunderbolts, of fires

and

of terrifying cries

demons.
torture

It
it

will

burst over the Antichrist, take his wretched soul

it

and

and burn

in the lowest pit.

At

that time,

rise,

Peter,

and watch over your children.

the copyist adds in Syriac: wretched and weak scribe who wrote these

"O

brother-readers pray for the

lines

and

for his fathers."

APOCALYPSE OF PETER
"

359

This lying servant, the Antichrist, will appear in Caparnaum and sit in Jerusalem in the house of David. The name of his father
is

Wailah and

that of his mother

will

Lakwd.

He

will

be of the
in

tribe

of

Dan ;

and he

be bora

in

Ckorazin and brought up

Sidon:

The
will

majority of his followers will be of the Jewish people,

I will avenge themselves on my followers. allowed the children of the wolf before them.

and they them to do so allow

I

as

will

enhance the

prestige of the Antichrist,

the Sabeans, the

to

and the Jews, together with the Samaritans Magians, and the children of the wolf will submit
the following miracles
rain
;

him and love him.

"

He

will

work

he

will gather clouds to-

gether

and bid them send down

he
;

will

command dry

trees,

he will gather grapes of and they will put forth leaves and fruit 3 he will order the seed of crops to grow thorns and figs of thistles
;

and

it

will

grow, the mountains to be

;

flat

and they

will

be

flat,

the

rivers to dry up and they will dry up he will heal the sea will obey him
;

the animals of land, air

and

blind, the lepers

will

and the para-

lytics

he

will

walk on the waters, and

from rocks.
will herald his

cause springs of sweet

water
'

to jet forth

The

sign

which

coming

will

be the same as that

which

foretold the flood in the time of

Noah.

Bows

of

fire

braced

with strings
earth.

and arrows

of fire will

The

sun and the

moon

will

pearance, and the mountains will and the rivers will become dry. One thousand, one hundred and thirty-eight days before his appearance I will send two venerable men

appear in the four corners of the darken three days before his apbe levelled up, the stones will crack,

Enoch and Elijah

is

so that they

people not to believe in him.

the zealous old
I

may annouce his coming and warn One of them already you know, for he
the mountain of salvation
4

man whom you saw on

you
if

when
"

showed

to

my Godhead.
is

In those days

any one says that the Christ

here or there do

not believe him.

1

The

Antichrist will reign over the earth the half

This name is from Mingana Syr. 225. M. 70 has Wailah. These names do not seem to me to be original, as they appear to denote the first " " woe the Arabic word wailah, and the second the Arabic word lahu, " I believe that they may be a literal translation from another destruction." 2 Saida. M. 225 has Saidaniyah. language. 3 4 Matt. vii. 6. Arab, furkdn from Syr. purkuna.
!
'

Cf. Matt. xxiv. 26.

360
of

WOODBROOKE

STUDIES
his days, full of all kinds of

one long week, and if I do not shorten 1 no flesh saved. iniquities, there will be
that to
if

Peter,
'

tell

your people
in

they shall say

2

unto them,
is

'

lo

he

is

inside

let

them not go
to him.

him

and

'

lo,

he

outside,' let
I

them not go out

Blessed

are you,

Peter, because to you

gave the secrets of

my Kingdom.
Secrets.

A
which
1

Chapter on the Revelation of the Heavenly

[Here the author gives as from a different version the vision of 3 I will omit all this section Peter found in the first part of the work.
is

given on

ff.

24 b - 30 b
1

of the manuscript.

On

ff.

30 b -

34 b the manuscript
I

contains another version of the appearance of

the Antichrist

will also omit all this part in the present analysis.

The above
Ff.

folios are

followed by another version of the different kinds

of torments inflicted

on

different types of

sinners

(ff.

135 b -137 a ).

137-145 b contain prophetical announcements, by Jesus to Peter, on the state of Christians, on the end of the world and on the punish-

ment

of sinners,

somewhat

similar to those already reported.

On
day
"

Fol. 141 a occurs the following passage

which

refers to the
:

of the Resurrection

when mankind has

is
.

risen

from the dead

Know

that as the protection of

of

first letter

whose name
them)
.

my people began with a king the Kaf and he is (. .) so also the last king
be a

who
is

(will protect

will

man

the

first letter

of

whose name
the world,

Kaf and
is

he

is (.

.).

This king will reign over

all

and he
he

the faithful and upright king

who

will spread

peace through-

out the countries of the earth.

will take the

He
off

will repair to

crown from

his

Golgotha and there head and place it on the spot

where

my body was
Then
will
I

crucified for the salvation of the children of

lift

up on high my cross and the crown of my kingdom together with the crown of the king who shall have acted in 4 this way." In the Ethiopic version a king whose name begins with

Adam.

the letter
Ff.
sins of
1

Ka
46 a -

is
1

identified

with Constantine.
short speech

47 a contain a

by the Lord on the seven

an

blasphemy,

marriage of a Christian with

faith,

idolatry,

communion without
After
this

infidel, Sodomy, and doubt concerning the Divine

commandments.
1

speech come good advices dealing with

2

Matt. xxir. 22.

Matt. xxiv. 26.

See above,

pp. 139-152.

R.O.C., 1913,

p. 74.

APOCALYPSE OF PETER
the Eucharist and the

361
(fol.
1

Mass
of

at the

end

of

which the Christ

50 a )

promises to seal the book with the seal of the

it

Holy

Spirit

and

to write

with the pen of

light

which

He

made

use in writing the tablets

of the ten

commandments promulgated by Moses.

fol.
1

Then

follow some

general advices to Peter, after which on

5 1 b begins the section

which

translate

below and
1

of

which

give facsimile reproductions.

From
of

this section

omit the

first

three leaves

which
it,

treat of

a vision
all
full

heaven and

of the

Ascension of our Lord into

(ff.

witnessed by

the Apostles and the Disciples

151 b -154 b )
1

and

will begin

my

translation immediately after this vision (fol.

54 b ).]

TRANSLATION.

And when
Mount
the places from

the doors of heaven were closed

we

all

awoke on

the

of Olives.

We remained
we had
to

there

and

at sunset

we prayed

in all

which

seen the

Lord ascending

to heaven.

We
it

directed our prayers towards the chariot with the pavilion in

which our Lord drove up

heaven to the glory of His majesty, and

1

was

in the

East, the actual direction of our prayer.

of Olives
light,

Then we

descended from the Mount

and went

to the dwelling of the

Lady Mary,
had
seen.

the mother of

and we narrated

to her all that

we

The Lady

used to vie with us in her revelations to us as

from the Lord concerning all things that gladdened us. were pleased with her words to us upon the happenings which we had Our witnessed, and our joy increased and our hearts took courage.
souls

We

were
;

also illumined,

and around us were divine

her.

gifts

and

spiritual

favours

and we dwelt with

I

Every day

gathered together the Disciples and ascended the

morning and evening to pray thereon. Three days after the Ascension of our Lord into heaven we came together and erected an altar, and on that day James; whom our Lord the Saviour
of Olives

Mount

called his brother, offered the sacrifice for us,

of it

and

all

of us partook

On

the tenth

day we

assembled in the holy

Chamber

of

Zion

and stood up
1

at the time of the mass,

and

all of

us prayed to the

Lord

On the East as
"

my

edition of the
1

the direction of prayer for the Christians of the East, see "
of

Apology

Timothy

in

my Woodbrooke Studies,
"

ToL

ii

p. 30.

The

sentence used

may mean

in the ecclesiastical

language

he said

the mass for us."

362
and implored
voking the
tongues of
fire

WOODBROOKE
Him
to

STUDIES
While James was
sacrifices
l

hear our supplications.

in-

Holy

Spirit to

come down on the

we

beheld

shining from heaven

fell

tongue from them

our

and coming down on us. One on each one of us, and each of us spoke a and
of the

strange tongue, the tongue of the country

town

to

which

God
Each

wished to send us with His help.

of us spoke, therefore, the language of the country assigned
lot.

to

him by

Then
and

Peter rose up

of the brethren

said to

Lord promised
of our strange

to send."

and

foreign

company "These are the tongues which the Our news reached everywhere on account pronunciation, and angels in form of men
them
:

in the

middle

of the

appeared

to the inhabitants

and said to them people, fear not the strange words these men are uttering and saying ; that which emanates from them is a gift
:

"

of Jerusalem in order to allay their fears,

from

God

to them,

and His grace that

'

He has conferred
were men
of

Among

the inhabitants of Jerusalem

said
:

upon them." knowledge and

We also saw signs from the Most High God down on these men when they were 5 assembled in the coming Chamber of Zion. We knew them before because they are from us and related to us, and we know that they knew no other language save Hebrew, but when the grace of God came down on them lo
wisdom who
4

they
'

speak Latin,

Syriac,

Greek,

Palestinian

and various other

languages."

Seven thousand men subscribed

like

to these

words and

said

We saw these signs Chamber of Zion."

unto tongues of

fire

coming down on the

7 Groups of Jews, however, contradicted this saying and denied that which had been uttered by the aforesaid men and strongly con8 tended with them. Serious conflicts were about to break out in because men bore arms one against another, and divisions Jerusalem,

occurred

among them

those

who had

not witnessed the favours of

denied them, and gave the lie to them, while those who had seen and witnessed these happenings testified one and all to their

God

truth,

and

since they

had seen our Lord being

2

crucified,

their faith

The

Allusion to the Epiclesis. Read al-lati. author uses here the verb waka'a, "to fall," which
* 6
8

is

rather

curious.
5
7

Read sukkan.
Arab. bir-Rumiyah.
Syr. nesa.

Read kana. Read khulafa.

APOCALYPSE OF PETER
was renewed by the spread of such therefore, and embraced our faith.
l

363
to us,

tidings.

They came

When
ginning,
I

noticed this discord that

implored

my

Lord and
of

had occurred from the very bemy God to grant His peace,
to quell their contentions.

harmony and unity to all Lord and my God heard

they were following.
said to
2

them and

My

my

prayers, and they

desisted from the path

Then

the angel of the

Lord came

to

me and
Mount

me

"
:

Arise,

Peter, and go up by yourself

to the

of Olives,

and open the leaves (of the book) given to you by your Lord and meditate upon their contents." And I went up to the Mount of Olives on the Monday after Pentecost, and I was overshadowed

by a cloud the brightness of which was like unto that which had overshadowed us at the time when our Lord ascended into heaven.
I

to

found there the angel "

whom
*

had seen the

first

time,

and he
I

said

me

Peter,
I

lift

up

your head to heaven."

And

lifted

my

head and

saw a cloud moving

as quickly as the lightning

up and
4

spreading a dew that exhaled a perfume similar to that of the Tibetan musk. And the gentle rain (that came out of the cloud) resembled dew which spread itself upon the dwellers of the graves. I saw also
all

the spirits (of the dead), which moved by the grace " Blessed are we because our God, rejoiced and said :

and favour

of

God

delivered

us

and saved us by His grace from the snares

of the cunning

and

accursed

Arckon" Then the angel

ordered

to

whom

God had
that

this

angel to

my Lord and my accompany me and to teach me all

entrusted
5

was

had happened from the beginning

with accuracy
said to

in

order that

might write
of

it

down
I,

me

"
:

Since the Archangel Gabriel

announced our Lord the Christ

to the

Lady, the mother

life,

together with another angel, was entrusted with the task of serving
1

Read the verb in masc. sing. The feminine form used here may be under the influence of a language (Syriac or Greek, etc.) in which the word " "
faith
2

is

feminine.

All the above narrative dealing with Peter and the rest of the Apostles on the Mount of Olives, the descent of the Holy Spirit and the disturbance that occurred in Jerusalem, etc., is found in more or less similar terms in
the Ethiopic
3 4

work Contendings of the Apostles, pp. 475-477 (edit Budge).

irfa\
in the author's
*

Read

Tunbuti. Evidently commercial value.

time the Tibetan

musk had a

great

Read mulazimuhu.

24

364
the

WOODBROOKE

STUDIES

body of our Lord during the time He would live on the earth. That body which He took for His eternal covering holds in its hand all that there is in heaven and on earth and will, in the day of judgAnd he added "The ment, judge all the children of Adam." It is we angel who is with me in all my service is called Nuael.
:

who appeared to Joseph (and told him) to take (Jesus) to Egypt, and it is we who ordered him to come back to Jerusalem. We ceased not to serve Him till He was lifted up on the wood of the It is I and cross. my companion who kept watch over the tomb,
*

rolled the stone

linen clothes
~

away from it, wrapped together the napkin and the and placed them near the sepulchre. We did not
ascended into heaven." "

leave

Him

till

He

Then
I

the angel said to

first

me

Peter, open the book."

And

opened the
its

book, and
I

with

light

while

from heaven calling

entrusted to
in
its

all the town of Jerusalem was illuminated was standing and reading it. 3 I heard a voice me " O Peter, understand that which we have
:

you and
4

seventh

part,

upon all our secrets hidden in which we have confided to you.

act

this

book, and
are the

You

repository of

my

secret,

and
built.

my

churches should be
I

have called you the stone upon which stone is a solid foundation, and that

which

built

no one

is

able to demolish,
5

and
faith

if

it

is

affected

by any

damage, I will promptly repair it. " Let your preaching, your call to
be
first

and your

evangelisation

in

Jerusalem,
I

in

My

name, and

also throughout all the coast

and

show you what to do, and will disclose to you the laws and prescriptions which you will enact in order that all who believe in me may know them and act upon them. Know that
foreign lands.
will
I

have revealed
that
is

in
;

the eight books

which
their

all

necessary
hafidain.
is

make, therefore,

have confided to you contents known and let

I

Read

This sentence 4 Add minhu.

badly worded, but

its

John xx. 7. meaning seems

to

be

clear.

Something resembling the above narrative is also found work, Contendings of the Apostles (ibid., pp. 477-479). " 6 written." Lit
7

in the

Ethiopia

The

author

is

The Apocalypse of Rook of Clement is

ff.
1
,

evidently referring to the present book of Clement or The Syriac Peter, which is divided into eight parts. also divided into eight parts. See Mingana Syr. 12,

-73 b described on pp. 45-46 of

my

forthcoming catalogue.

APOCALYPSE OF PETER
them be near
at

365

hand.

Judge

all

those

who

deserve judgment, but

Promulgate the judgment which you judge with justice and equity. will deliver with strict orders, and all those who will obey you will
obey me, and all those who will disobey you will disobey me. 2 Whatsoever you shall bind on earth shall be bound in heaven.

Through you
will

will

show wonderful
I

signs

and miracles which no one

your hands death, life and the mere motion of your lips
will forthwith

be able to describe.

will place in

the

power of healing from all diseases. At demons will take flight, and all that which you ask me

be granted. "
that

Know,
will

Peter, that

you will repair

to the city of

Antiock and

you
its

preach the Gospel therein.

You will
;

out
I

lands the baptism for the forgiveness of sins

proclaim throughand from thence

As to these eight send you to wheresoever it pleases me. contents. hide them and do not disclose their books, Keep their
will

purity

and allow nobody

to read

them save those who have been

chosen and found worthy of the service of my holiness, and those who have followed you and whose faith and belief are similar to
yours,
fasting,

and those who are

and those

steadfast in pious

works and
before
in

in

prayer and

who
till

are worthy to
to

come
have
the

my body

and

my

blood

which

commanded you

membrance 3
satisfied

of

me

the
I

day

of

your midst as a reIf Resurrection. you are with them and will
will not cease

with their conduct

also will

be
4

satisfied

continually help them,

to

and the mantle

till

of

my

secret

day Chapter on the preaching of the holy Gospel by the twelve Apostles, on the miracles that they will perform, on what will happen to them and the way in which they will be murdered and in which they will die. 6

be continually about them

the

of the Resurrection."

Lord finished these words and the cloud moved away, and the two angels who accompanied me wheresoever I went descended from the Mount of Olives and came to Jerusalem. I hid
I
1

When my

Lit

"
"

put them in your hands."

Matt, xvi

9.

a *

Read tidhkaran.
5 Lit cloud," if we read ghamamaJi. This chapter seems to be misplaced, because there

Or
:

"
mystery."

no mention of any miracles performed by the Apostles nor of the countries which they This evangelised, with the exception of a few towns near the coast. evangelisation will occur in the section that follows this chapter.
is

it

366
the
eight

WOODBROOKE
books as
thereof.

STUDIES
my
Lord who granted
us to

my Lord had

ordered me, and apprised

the

brethren

We

all
all

praised

preach His message in

coast

towns, and

we

repaired forthwith to the

and called men

in

to the faith.

First

we

proclaimed

the holy
call

Gospel
people
entered

to
is

Jerusalem and then we went to the sea shore to the faith. The first town of the sea shore which
called

we

Ba-Joppa^
that

then

Amus

the people
in

who embraced who

the faith to

and Lydda. I forbade eat anything that was prohibited

the

Torah and
those

was made unclean by the venerable Moses.

3
it.

And
I

entered into the water of baptism did that which

prescribed to

them and did not contradict

the

After

this

Lord revealed

to

me

and renew your new Law," and while I was one day praying alone and away from the sight of men a cloud of light overshadowed me, and from it came a sheet like
I

"

through his angel

Uriel :

will abrogate the old

Law

a net stretching from heaven to earth.

the sea and the fowls of the

That

net contained

all

the

four-footed beasts of the earth, the clean

air.

and the unclean, the

fish of

On
And
I

the table inside the sheet

was
:

something "

like

pig.

voice

called

me

from heaven saying

Peter, arise, slay

and

down from heaven and

I saw a finger of light coming the towards place where was stretching

eat."

found the image of the pig. or eat an unclean animal."

'

And said And the

"
:

Lord,
called

will not slay

voice

me

saying

What God
was

hath cleansed no one can make common."

Then

the

finger

lifted

same words

up and the same voice was heard again with the while the finger was rising and falling on the pig.
words three
times,

Then

the finger rose and the voice repeated the

finger did not cease
5

and the luminous

on the body
vigil

to

come down from heaven

of the pig

and cover
in the

it

completely.
pig,

When

at the third

the finger rose from the

body of the

the sheet also rose up to

it.

heaven while the table was

I

middle of

remained then in
After that

my
I

bewildered.
1

place pondering over this event and spoke to my brethren of what I had seen,
2

the prefix All this narrative

is

Why

ba before Joppa ? is found in more or

(p.

Is

it

Emmaus ?

work Contendings of the Apostles vision of Peter which follows.

*

Ethiopia 479), and so also in the case with the

xi.
a

less similar

terms

in the

This vision
the

of

Peter seems
in the

to

why

deep discrepancies

be inspired from Acts two narratives ?

5- 1 0.

But

Read yazal.

APOCALYPSE OF PETER

367

and proclaimed the faith as written in the eight books. I baptised men who had turned from idolatory in the water of baptism and in
the
I

name of the Father, of the Son and commanded them to fast, to pray and to
them
all

of the

give

l Holy Ghost and I made lawful alms.

to

kinds
those
I

of

food

as

the

Lord had ordered me, and

their real property

commanded
follow me.
estates
:

who were

willing to give
sell

allowed them to

all

up (the old custom) to and their

and

to bring the
I

the community.

Peter

(money thus realised) to me in the midst of was the one who was entrusted with the
and with
their distribution

management
3

of

their possessions

among

those believers and those children of

baptism

who were

poor and
4

needy.
I

went then

to

Tyre and Sidon where

preached the message,

faith

and (the inhabitants) agreed to purify religion through the Christian and were baptised in the water of baptism. They received the

knowledge
the Spirit.
I

of the

Lord

and were imbued with the

spiritual

grace of

enjoined
I

They were strengthened by the wisdom of the laws which on them, and they accepted the ecclesiastical prayers
'

which

and they did not thing because our Lord, our God and our hope 8 the world to come was dwelling in them.
prescribed
for them,

infringe
in this

anyworld and in

them

in

The eighth part of

the

Book of Clement

in

which he will

narrate his story, that is to say the story of this disciple 9 of Clement, the pupil of the great master, the shining, weight
bright, pure

and spiritual star,

the

owner of the great

our
best

secret, the

faithful Peter, the rock, on

whom

be

greetings^

While our venerable

father Peter

was walking one day on the

is

The names of the Trinity are in Syriac. The last sentence is badly worded and its meaning *
All
this is also
.

doubtful

found

in the

Ethiopia book, Contending? of the Apostles

5

(ibid.,
6

pp 480-481).

Prefix the article.

A Syriac word.
Or
"
of tables," sic codex.

' Read fawwadhtu. Read faradhtu. "Here the copyist adds in Syriac: "O brother-readers pray for the wretched and weak (man) who wrote these lines and for his father and mother."

Syr. shefiha.
1

10

This story of Clement is also found in more or less similar terms in the Ethiopic work, Contendings of the Apostles (ibid., pp. 481-490) where it immediately follows the above narrabTe,

368

WOODBROOKE

STUDIES
company
of the Apostles

shore of the sea of Antiock, together with a

of our

Lord, John, Philip and others and also with some of the seventy disciples, he saw me Clement, standing near the sea and weeping and wailing, because of the calamities that had befallen me
since

the

day

had

left

Rome.
I

nakedness with the water, because

I was naked and covering my was shipwrecked and the waves

and the winds had

brethren said

cast

me on

that part of the coast.

And

the

"
:

Peter, you must

know

the history of this young

man."
to

And my
"
:

master, the great father Peter,

came
?

to

me and
are

said
?

me

Who
in

you weeping, are your father and mother

I

Why

are

O
?

young man
Tell me, he spoke

Who

you

O
to

order that

may know
to

it."

And

my son, your story me in Latin and in

the dialect used by the inhabitants (of Rome).

And
master
?

said

him

"

And who

are you,

my

lord

and

by what you have said to me. and no one has spoken to me in my language save you, and since I left Rome I have not met with anyone speaking its language except you, and during these three days in which I have stood here in this place no one has asked me
soul has truly revived
I

My

Three days have

been standing

in this place

my

story except you,

and no one can understand

that

which
head

say to
of the

him."

And

the master said to

me

"
:

disciples of Christ."

And

he narrated

to

am me

Peter, the
his story

concerning the

message of the Christ our Lord, that is to say the Gospel. And God inspired my heart with the knowledge that his words were true and

my soul glowed with the And believed in Him

I

strengthening contact of the

3 Holy Ghost.

and

baptised
of the
1

by

father Peter in

His miracles and was immediately the name of the Father, of the Son, and
in

4 Holy Ghost, and was marked with

the taibuth,

that

is

to say

Add min

before
is

Rome.

badly worded, but its meaning is clear. following story of Clement and of his meeting with his parents and his brothers is mainly based on the well-known Clementine Homilies and
sentence

The 3 The

Recognitions,
especially in
of

various versions of which are found in many languages, In 1917 I published an Greek, Latin, Syriac and Arabic. " New Life of Clement text of the story under the title independent Syriac "

Rome

in

my Early Judao-Christian Documents.

It is

not

my

intention

to discuss here the merits or the demerits of the story. For some conclusions that appeared to me at least possible the reader is referred to this publication. 4 The names of the Trinity are as usual in Syriac.
6

The

Syriac taibutha.

APOCALYPSE OF PETER
which he kept.

369

to him and holy Chrism, which our Lord had confided and given

He
who to me

was very pleased with me, and

so

also

were those

who

accompanied him.

He

taught

me

the prescriptions enjoined on those

his secretary.

believe in Christ and he

made me

He
I

disclosed

the secrets which have been described above, and

wrote them

from his dictation

books, that
is

to

He also confided to me the and kept them with me. say all the leaves which were with him and which
of Christ,

had been written by the hand

and he made me

his

con-

fidential secretary to the exclusion of the rest of the disciples,

among
I

whom were my
was not aware.
same way

brothers

Faustus and Faustinus, 1 a

fact of

which

And

he made

me

acquainted

with his secrets

in the

as the Christ

had done with him

to the exclusion of others

when

He

had noticed the purity

therefore, this father

(of his conscience).

When,
I

saw

the purity of

my

conscience he
to

delivered to

me

all

that the

Lord Christ had confided

him

alone.

became,

therefore, his scribe in Latin

to

and

in

Greek.

My
till

Lord Christ
I

had not yet revealed

him

my

story nor

from whence
this affair

had come.
a long time

He
and

did not ask

me any

questions concerning

after,

when he was on
this

the point of repairing to the

town

of

Laodicea^
called
to the

happened

after the

Paul
city of

the Apostle.

On

Lord had chosen Saul, who is certain day Paul was proceeding
Churches

Damascus

for the

purpose of destroying the

of

God

and driving away the believers found in it, and the Lord appeared to " him on his way and blinded him. Thereupon Paul said Who are
:

you

Tell me."

And

Paul repeated

his question

"

Who
"
?

"

are
:

you
"

a second
Saul,

and a
"

third time.

And

the Christ said to

him

Saul,

why do you

persecute
"
:

me and
I

contradict
I

me

And

Saul
5

said to

Him

Who are you, O my Lord, that

am

may

believe in you."

And
1

the Christ answered

Jesus of Nazareth

whom
Jesus

you are
Christ

persecuting."^

And when

Paul believed, our Lord

The text has Kaustus and Konstantin, but the variant may be explained through undotted Arabic characters where the letters fa (f) and kaf (K, C)
are graphically similar and distinguished only by extraneous dots placed above them. Below the name written here as Kostantin (Constantine) appears as

Kustlna
2

(Faustinus).
this is naturally
is

Read khazinan.

All

Here

a question

taken from Acts ix. 1-10. " And then Paul said," the answer to which seems

to

have been omitted by the copyist

370

WOODBROOKE
Damascus
restore his sight for him.
this
I

STUDIES
Ananias who
and
I

ordered him to go to

to a disciple called

would

After

told

him

my

story

and

all that

had

befallen me,

revealed also to him the story of

my

mother and of

my

brothers.

must

now

narrate faithfully
l

faithful

may know

my (subsequent) story in order that the the abundance of the grace of God to us, because
:

His power and His might assembled us and brought us together, and revealed us one to another after a long and protracted separation

My

teacher and spiritual father

of

Aradus? one
in

walking door of a house

one of

was one day in the town of the dependencies of Laodicea, and while he was its streets he saw a modest woman standing near the
soliciting alms.

The

teacher said
I

to

her

"
:

woman, why

are you soliciting alms ?

see

that

enough and strong enough to work for your living, able to serve and earn what is sufficient for your livelihood."
said to
in

you are young and that you are

She

him
I

"
:

teacher and venerable man,

which

am and were
so that
I

acquainted with
to take

would have implored the Lord

my body
her tears

might

find rest

through the death of from the wretchedness, fatigue,

my my soul

you knew the state story and my affairs, you

if

poverty, need, tribulations, and misery that have beset me."

fell

And

on her cheeks.
:

And
woman

" And what the teacher said to her " " ? And she said venerable man, I
:

is

am

your story, a woman from

I

the great city of

Rome and

from the daughters of Kings.

had a

husband

of noble descent called

5

three sons,

the eldest of

Costomus* by whom God gave me whom was named Faustus? the middle one

Faustinas? and the youngest Clement. In my sleep I dreamed a dream, the interpretation of which necessitated my going to sea in a
boat in order to repair to the island (sic) of Athens where I could 8 and the eldest son Faustus study philosophy and wisdom.

My

middle son Faustinus

1

accompanied me.

While we were

travelling

Read

liytfrifu.

The name is correctly spelt below as Arwad, about (sic). a which see Yakut (Mu'jam al-Buldan, i., 224). Read 'aiyatuha. 4 This is possibly a copyist's error for Faustinianus. The mistake could hare easily arisen through undotted Arabic characters. See what has been said above about Faustus. ~ 5 6 Read bamn. Text Kaustina. Text Kaustus. * 9 Text gaustus. Text Kaustina.

Ar*awad

APOCALYPSE OF PETER
on the sea winds blew on us from
of the sea
all directions,

371
stirred the

and

waves
which

and caused the captain to lose control was driven by the winds in a direction other than
intended to pursue.

cf the boat,

that
I

which

we had
I

Then
to

the boat broke

up and
on
for

found myself on

a floating plank, which after a time cast

me

this coast.
I

do not

know what happened

sitting

my

children,

and

two years

have been

by this door, in a bewildered state, begging my venerable man, for the state not blame me, therefore,

bread.
in

Do
which

am."

And
story

the teacher stood before her for an hour pondering over her
at her affair.

and amazed
disciples to

Now
to

the teacher

had previously

sent

two

Laodicea

to transact urgent business that

he had
they sat

there.

When

they came back

the

town

of

Aradus

down on their way near the gate of the town, and they rested their backs against the wall and began to talk in such a way that the woman who solicited alms was able to hear them. Their conversation
was
to the effect that

one

of

them

said to the other

"
:

brother." And very strange but I will tell it to you, brother we have been the disciples of this saint for many years, and we do not know each other's story nor in which town each one of us was born." And Faustus ~ said " I am one of the inhabitants
:

story " he said :

My

is

of

Rome and

related

Christoniws* and
of

my

Emperor. mother Mitradora.*

*

to

the

My
\

father

was
was
of

called

had two brothers one

called

whom was

Faustinus

and the

other, the youngest,

Clement.

"My
and
and

mother

dreamt a

dream
of

the

interpretation
in

which
mother

necessitated our going to the

town

Athens

order that there she

I

might learn

wisdom.

We

put to sea,

therefore,

and

my

my my
1

brother,

and we

left

Rome

because of her.

She took me

brother with her, and she

left

the youngest brother with

my

father.

When we

put to sea fierce winds blew on us and our boat

Here Arwad,
Text Kaustus.

the correct form of the

a

word
is

in

Arabic.

given above as Costonius. This name brings the narrative into harmony with the early Syriac recension of the life of Clement which I edited and translated in my Early Judao-Christian Documents, 1917, pp. 6 and 10 sqq. The Greek and Latin recensions call her Mattidia. See the Clementine literature in Pat. Graco-Latina, L, 359 and il, 33. In the Ethiopic Contending* (p. 486) 5 she is also called tnatradora. Text Kaustina.
4
1

The name

372
broke up.
I

WOODBROOKE
was
cast

STUDIES
floating plank,

on a coast from a

and

do not

know what happened

to

my

mother and
"
:

to

my

brother after me."

Were it not for my fear that companion said to him I would have said that you were my brother you might deny it, because I also am from the inhabitants of Rome and my story is
his
;

And

identical with yours

till

the time

When

the

woman
l

our boat broke up on the sea." heard their conversation she recognised from
that they

when

what had happened

:

to them,

were her

children.
2

She

sprang up from her place and threw herself on them weeping and " As the Lord liveth both of you are my sons, and I am saying your mother Mitradora" She narrated to them her story and gave

them proofs by means

cease to cling
cheeks.

which they recognised with affection one to another and

of
I

her.

They

did not

to kiss

one another's

And

Clement was

at that time in

Laodicea.

And
Peter,

they

became possessed with an indescribable joy, gladness and Then they arose all of them and went to our teacher
their

exultation.

and

mother

said to

him

"
:

By

the truth of the

One whom you

worship,
sons,

O
I

venerable and blessed man, these two disciples are

their

my
had

and

am

mother."

And

she narrated to him

all

that

And the teacher was very pleased with her story and happened. "I implore the Lord who showed you your two sons and said
:

caused you to meet them to grant that you meet also with your beloved ones who still remain absent, namely their father and
brother."

As
finished

for

me

my

business

had gone to the town of Laodicea where I had In the meantime and come back to Aradus.
4

the

Holy

Spirit

had

story and my country. you have been with me

inspired the teacher Peter to ask "

me

about

my

And

he

said to

me

O my

son Clement,

for two years in the service of Christ, and I The Holy Spirit did not ask you about your country and your story. has inspired me to ask you concerning all this. By the truth of Christ
tell

me, therefore, your story and narrate

it

to

me

in full

from be-

ginning to end."

And
1

said to

him

'*
:

am from
2

the city of
'

Rome.

My

father

Lit.

"
signs."

Read alaihima.
it

Read ummukuma. The author uses " Holy

"
Spirit
in

feminine as

is

done

in early Syriac

literature.

APOCALYPSE OF PETER
was
one
of noble descent of

373

and related

to the
l

whom was

called

Faustus

Emperor. I had two brothers 2 and the other Faustinus and we

with wisdom, sound

had

a noble

born mother

who was endowed

She dreamed a dream which necessitated her chastity. going to sea in order to repair to Athens and there learn wisdom. My two brothers Faustus* and Faustinus^ accompanied her in order to look after her. This happened twenty years ago, and we
judgment and

have not had any news from them since they went to sea. At that time I was a child, and when I reached the age of puberty I went also to sea in order to proceed to Athens and there hear some news
about them.
the coast on

Our

boat, however, broke

which you saw

me and

noticed that

up and the sea cast me on I had been shipbusiness,

wrecked."

My
my
mother."

two brothers had then gone

to

town on

and when
:

mother heard

the truth of the

my story she threw herself on me and God you worship you are my son and
she said to the holy teacher "
:

said
I

"By
your

am

Then

This

is

my

youngest

The son Clement mentioned by the two brothers in their narrative." teacher Peter himself went then to town in order to seek my brothers

whom

he brought back. When they saw me speaking to my mother they were displeased because since we had been fellow disciples I had
not spoken to a

woman.

And

they said to the teacher

"
?

"
:

Do
all

you
and

not see Clement speaking to our mother

When
wept

their

mother heard

their

words she embraced them

bitterly

and with great emotion.

When my brothers recognised

:

me

they threw themselves upon me, embraced me and held me fast, " This is and my mother did likewise. Then they said (to Peter)

our brother and

this

is

our mother

God

brought us together through

your invocations and your prayers, because Christian philosophy from you, spiritual

He

wished us

to

learn

father.

Christ answers your prayers and grants your J you now to bring us and our father together.
'

We know that We beseech requests.

Ask Him
to reveal to

you whether he

is

dead or

alive,

because
"

if

you pray the Christ our

Lord

for us

He

will

answer your prayers."

:

And
1

the teacher Peter said

-

shall

pray the Christ our Lord

*

Kaustus. Kaustina.

Kaustina.

Kaustus.

Read

ablna.

374
Jesus of

WOODBROOKE
Nazareth
I

STUDIES

to send your father to

will implore Him to raise And the teacher arose, straightened his feet, here near me." together looked towards the east, uncovered his head before heaven and recited

dead)

you dead or alive. (If him from his grave and bring you

the prayer which he used to recite in secret and said " I implore you, my Lord Jesus Christ, and

l
:

magnanimous, mighty and

powerful, gracious, kind, merciful

living

I beseech you and generous Master,

;

Lord who created the created beings

;

who

who brings scattered friends fathoms the innermost part of the hearts together who delivers whom He wishes from the pangs of separation ;
;

who

joins lovers together after their long loneliness.

and master Jesus Christ who came down of His holiness, and became incarnate from the elect Virgin Mary in 8 order to save the sinners who gave me the keys of heaven and

my Lord

pray you, from the heaven

O
2

earth so that
if

should absolve, loose or bind the sins

4
;

who

said that

we

believed in

Him we would
the Jews
;

do greater miracles than those which

5
;

He

performed among

who

raised

Lazarus from
6

his

grave after four days

the daughter of the

who quickened the daughter of fairus and widow who is worshipped as one, and is the good hope of all those who are lost (to their friends). Hear my Do not refuse me but hearken supplications and answer my prayer. to me. Help me and have pity on these my disciples and bring them
;

together.

Send

their father to join

them dead or
Answer,

alive,

because you

are their

other

Lord and you alone are (God) to have pity on them.

their

Master, and they have no

therefore,

Lord,

my
to

prayer, my supplications and my earnest me and listen to my demand."

request,

and be gracious

We were at that
had

time in Laodicea, and before the teacher Peter

finished his conversation with the Lord, lo a thick, awe-inspiring

and luminous cloud appeared. It moved towards us in a very short time and came down until it reached the earth then it lifted up
;

again,

and immediately

after

the cloud
1

a venerable old

we saw a man walking towards us from man and we heard distinctly a voice

The

been written
2 4

It has beginning of the prayer is in rhymed prose. apparently in such a high style in order to produce a better effect.

Remove

the article.

* 5

Lit.

"

the

worn
1

out."
2.

Cf. Matth. xvi. 19. 6 The Syriac form of the word

is

Cf. John xiy. used.

APOCALYPSE OF PETER
"
saying
:

375

Get out
out of

to your children."

We

beheld the venerable

looking bright but

man coming
wearing

the valley that

was

there,

He had hair high quality. which was as white as the pure hair of a lamb, and his head was " Are bare. The teacher Peter looked at him and said to him " Indeed he thought you one of us (men) or from other beings ?
clothes
that

were not

of

and believed that he was a demon, or that he was one

spirits.

of the evil

And

the old

man

said in Latin

"
:

am

a rational

human
:

being."

And
who
Tell
valley of

the teacher said to

him

"
:

Give an account

of yourself

are you

and what made you fall into this valley which is the demons and rebellious (spirits) in which no man dwells.

your story and give me your tidings without fear." " the old man answered I will narrate to you my story

me

And
'

had
third

a wife of princely descent by

of

whom
1

had

three male children one

2

whom was

called

Faustus

the other Faustinus

and the

Clement.

She dreamed a dream which

necessitated her learning

philosophy, and she took her elder children and she sailed on the sea in order to go to the island (sic) of Athens and learn

She left with me the youngest child called philosophy therein. Clement. After she sailed I did not hear any news either about herself or about her children.
'

Twenty
I

years
3

later

the

youngest

child

said

Assuredly

intend to go

to sea in order to obtain

my

mother and
since

my
left

brothers.'

some information concerning To-day it is two years and five

all

months
of him.

he

me, and during

this

time

have had no news

wife and of

From

the time of the departure of

my

my

children to this

day

went every morning

to give

to the sea shore

and asked

every

man coming from

the regions (of Athens) concerning them,

and no one was able

me any

information.

To-day

was

standing about an hour ago near the quay of Rome as was my wont, and demanding information from all who were coming, when I noticed
the cloud that has just passed coming

down

to

A man whom
full

I
'

saw

sitting

on

it

and whose

face

where was

was

standing.

like the bright

moon,
1

said,

Go down

and take

this old

man with you

to the

Kaustus. This sentence

is

Kaustina.
its

badly worded but

meaning

is clear.

376
town
of

WOODBROOKE
Aradus, which
Simon,
in
is

STUDIES
to his

one of the dependencies of Laodicea,

my

disciple

order that he

may

join

his wife

and

children

who

are in the town of Laodicea'

The
]

cloud came
'

down

to the surface of the earth, lifted

me up

quickly

from the ground,

brought

me

here, placed
I

me

in this valley

and

said to me,

Go

to

your This

children.'
is

then went out of the valley and

came

to you.

my story." When and my

I

brothers heard the words of the old

this is

man

said

to the teacher

"

We have no doubt that

"
:

our father and that

Jesus Christ has heard your prayer for the return of our father to us."

And
old

he

said to us

Yes,

this is

These are your children." And he threw himself on us and embraced us and shed tears and we showed him our immense joy and embraced him affectionately. And I Clement, his
:

man

"

your father."

And

he said to the

son, told

him the

stories of all of us.

And
this

the teacher
is

Peter said to him

"
:

above the cloud

very hour
I

our Lord the Christ whose servants

The one you beheld we are. In

implored Him to send you to us for the sake of my sons whom I inherited from you, in order that you might join them. I am His servant Simon. Would you wish me to explain to you the
of heaven whom you saw, the religion " have which your children And the old man already embraced ? "I confess and believe, and I will do all that you will answered
religion of the

Lord God

order

me

to do."

Now

there

was no water

in that
4

place,

and the

holy father, the teacher Peter, struck with his rod

the valley which

was dry and

and mother
Christ willed

in

jetted forth from

it,

which there was no water, and flowing water as sweet as julep. And he baptised 6 my father
and

in that spring,
it.

we

all

followed him as our Lord

for ever

To Him
is

be praise and thanks

"

and ever

And
that
1

that spring
is

called to this day,

The

Spring of

Sim 'an,"
of the

to say
"

Simon Cephas.

He

baptised them in the

2

name

Delete the article. me." Dhalika is somewhat redundant. 4 Read 'ukkazatahu. This proves decisively that the MS. from which the present one is derived was in undotted Arabic characters, because it is in Arabic only that the letters ra and za are written in the same way and Lit
stole
3

distinguished only by an extraneous dot. 5 The author uses here the objective pronoun before done in Syriac but never in Arabic.

its

subject as

it

is

APOCALYPSE OF PETER
Father, of the Son, and of the

377

Holy Ghost

and he anointed him

with the holy Chrism which the Nazarene Christ had given to him, and he became purified in his baptism."

Then we
us.

left

that place for Laodicea,

and we preached

in

it

the eternal message for

After

this

years, and many people believed through we returned to Jerusalem and we assembled there

two

with the

rest of

the Apostles.

And
Chamber
and
it

Clement said
in

"
:

When

father

Peter entered the

rest of the

Upper

which he used

to live

with the
in

Apostles

is

that

Upper Chamber
:

descended upon them

which the Holy Spirit had he dreamed a dream in which a spiritual

"
it

tongue spoke to him and said

the

Go

the city of Antioch, preach in

you with the beloved John to and proclaim in it the message of

"
:

Lord Christ."

And
this

you had told me

Peter said to the angel while I was in Laodicea as

Would

that

this

would have

shortened my way, because I am an old man and weak in strength." And the angel disappeared and spoke to him 3 no more, and sleep

overcame
sunrise.

father Peter

and master

Mar

John son

of

Zebedee
5

till

When
a desert
to

awoke from their sleep they found themselves 5 which they had never before seen. And father Peter
they "

in

said

John

O
:

Chamber
are

of

John replied

we not asleep both of us in the " Zion ? And did we not eat and sleep in it ? And " You are right" And Peter said " Where then

my

brother were

we now ?

"

Is it

not through hallucination by the

Archon'

that

we

find ourselves in this place

of

and

"

in this locality ?

While they

were both
Greek.
woodcutters
1 -

them

talking woodcutters

And
b

Peter said to
the

Mar John
y

passed them speaking in "Go and ask of these

of this country."

name

of this place

and

And

The names
With

slight variations the

of the Trinity are as usual in Syriac. above story of Clement is also told in the

Ethiopia Contendings of the Apostles, pp. 481-490.

3
*

Read muhadathatihi. The construction of this sentence Read wajada anfusahunia.

'

denotes an Arabic speaking Syrian.

All this incident concerning the reluctance of Peter to go to Antioch from Jerusalem is narrated in more or less similar terms in the Ethiopic work, : The head of the demons, Contendings of the Apostles, p. 491
.

Read

hattabin.

A badly worded sentence.

378

WOODBROOKE

STUDIES
"
:

John proceeded towards them and said to them By the "truth of And the Christ our Lord, Son of God, in what place are we ? " This is the city of Antioch. Were it the woodcutters answered
:

not for our pity on your youth we would have murdered you because of your oath in the name of a strange God."

Then John amazed

to Peter

at the

words

of the woodcutters,

came back

and informed him

"
:

of

what had taken

place.

And

Peter

said to

The
of

Let no thought from Satan enter into your heart. Christ will not abandon us." Then they entered into the city

him

Antioch and preached in Christ the only Son of God.

all

of

it

the

name

of our

Lord Jesus
of

And

there great
2

crowds
as

people

gathered round them,

could.

who

seized

them and beat them

"
:

hard as they

Peter (narrated and) said They made (lit. hang) scoffed on our at us and anointed the middle heads, special signs 3 as a distinctive beards mark. Then they pulled us part of our
against our will, imprisoned us in

And

one of the towers on the wall, and

it.
I

closed the door against us and bolted

"

When we

found ourselves in prison

and we

implored the

Lord Christ not

to

and John began to pray, remove His grace and His

eyes became heavy and we were overwe were overshadowed by a luminous come by sleep. cloud and the great and pure father Peter who was strengthened by the grace of God saw the Christ our Lord surrounded by Cherubim and
favours from us.

Then our

In the night

He spoke to us" in by Seraphim. in low spirits because and afraid Peter, be not Do not be astonished the end of the eon.
glorified

vision
I

and

said

"O
till

will

be with you

at the fact that these

(people) have
7

their

heads shaved and that they have shaved yours

to resemble you through this sign, and this should a sublime remembrance to you from now till and honour be a great
also.

They meant

the day of Resurrection.

1

None

of

my

priests should call

a layman

This story

of the

woodcutters

is

also

found in the Ethiopia Contending*

of the Apostles, p. 492. The narrative is put here in the mouth of Peter.
nection:
5

Ethiopia work Contending* (ibid., p. 493) writes in this conAnd the priests ordered (the people of the city) to shave off one * Read as-sur (with a sin). half of the hair of our heads."

The

"

Clement seems

6 7

The

to be speaking here. conversation reverts inconsistently to Peter or to Clement.

8

An

astonishing origin of the clerical tonsure.

Read yukaddim.

APOCALYPSE OF PETER
to the service of

379

my

altar, as

cut in a similar

way.

No

no layman is allowed to wear this tonsure one is permitted to take priesthood from you
his

without wearing
it
this

head and shaving the middle part of Any priest who has not this mark or has not his head shaven in wise is not worthy of priesthood, his lot is not with me and he
this sign

on

will not enter into the

Kingdom
head
1

of

Heaven.

Any

priest

who
will

dies

with

this sign

on

his

will forgive all his sins

and

wipe

away his prevarications. Then the Christ my Lord

because
I
I

said
is

"Be

not afraid,
for you,"

Peter,

have chosen Saul,

who

called

Paul,

and that
in

will send

him
I

to

you
:

as a

companion who
is

will help

you

your

the one previously called Saul And replied task." who persecuted us wheresoever we went. He is our bitterest enemy." And the Christ our Lord said to him " He was so formerly, but

"

This Paul

now he

is

a disciple."

And
now

Christ the

Lord disappeared from

my

sight after

He

had uttered these words

to me.

We

will

tell the story

of Paul.

Paul showed greater enmity against the Christian religion than all the creatures of God, hated the disciples more than anybody else and
sought them wherever they went and carried the orders of the Sultan and of the governors to harm those who believed in Christ. He

obtained judicial sanctions against them from every tribunal, and accompanied by a considerable number of soldiers, he used to search

every

town and every village which he knew had received the 3 message of Christ, had accepted His faith, had been baptised in the water of baptism and had rejected the religion of the unbelievers or
the religion of

Judaism.

For fourteen years he did not cease

to

All these incidents of the apparition of our Lord to Peter and His assurances to him concerning the shaving of his head are found in the Ethiopia work Contendings (ibid., pp. 493-494) with the exception that there is nothing in the Ethiopic text to insinuate that the people of the town themselves had
Indeed the Arabic text that I am translating is so strikone feels tempted to believe that the angels ingly I had even to do themselves had a tonsure slight violence to the text to avoid such an idea which, however, may possibly have been in the author's mind. 2 The reader will notice how in this eminently Petrine document Paul is 3 Read muntadibin. relegated to a second rank.
their

heads shaved.

worded

in mis place that

!

380
persecute, rob
of Christ

WOODBROOKE
and
first
1

STUDIES
disciples

and murder the prominent followers and the

to

shed their blood.

his

The

one he murdered was

lied

own nephew,

man

called

against Stephen. the Christ our Lord into heaven and assembled a company of the Jews who bore false witness against him and condemned him to

He

him from

(the date) of the ascension of

death.

Before embracing the Christian faith

all

Paul was
2

called Saul.
his

When

the Jews yielded to his desire he brought

to

nephew
prayed

Stephen out of town

for

a hole which he had dug and in which he

(Stephen) was stoned to death. "

so

And

that blessed disciple

them saying intense that he

:

Lord

forgive them."
4

The

zeal

of

Saul was
of the

collected all the clothes of those

who
lest
5

participated

in the

murder

of his

nephew Stephen

from fear

some

blood of Stephen should fall on them and defile them. Paul persisted in his hatred (of Christians) during

all

the above-

mentioned years.

The manner

in

which he was converted from

is

Judaism to the faith of the Christ our Lord with him signed letters horn Jerusalem to

as follows

He

took

Damascus

in order that

he might go there and persecute the disciples of Christ and demolish the churches which the faithful had built in it. While Saul was
proceeding together with his men and his horses, and when it was midday, a door from heaven was opened before them and the place in which they were was illuminated with a light resembling that of

and the earth shook and quaked from the majesty of that Kght. Paul and all those who were present with him were bewildered and agitated at the awe-inspiring things which they saw, and (they
the sun
;

thought that) the earth was going to swallow them, and they were 6 certain that it was the power of God that had manifested itself upon them and that His wrath had fallen upon them.

While they were

1

all

awe-struck and bewildered not knowing what

That Stephen was

Yiii.

Who
"
2

nephew

of

Paul

is

not found in Acts

vi. vii.

and
text

is

the

first

authority for this remarkable statement ?

The

has

the son of his sister."

also the author places the objective pronoun before the subject to belongs as it is done in Syriac but never in Arabic. 4 Or " the hatred." Cf. Acts rii. 58.
it

Here

which
3
4

From whence

ments concerning
Ethiopia

St.

did the author get these additional and remarkable stateStephen Proto-martyr ? They are not found in the
(ibid., pp.

Contending

532, 537).

"Read tayakkanu.

APOCALYPSE OF PETER
God wished them
inspiring
to do,
lo

381

they heard

all

of
:

them a most awel

and

terrifying voice from heaven saying

"
Saul, Saul,

how

long will you persecute

parry the sharp edge of a blade with the

Immediately

after

Can you ? " ? hand your palm the earth became dark and the sun was obscured.

me

and

strive to contradict

me

of

Then Saul

said

"
:

Who

are you,

Lord
God."

"
?

am
this

the

Nazarene
I

Christ, the son of

And He replied And Saul said " From

:

*'

moment
God."

will believe that

you are the

Christ, the

Son

of the

living

And
fell

overwhelmed by the awe-inspiring things that he

his face to the

witnessed he

on

soul immediately,

ground, and the angels took his and in a vision he saw our Lord in the majesty of

His glory saying

me.
it,

to

him

"I have chosen you

Go now
I

to

Damascus and

be an Apostle to proceed to the great church found in

to

because

whole."

And

have there a disciple called Ananias who will make you immediately after the soul of Saul came back to him,
of the

and he found only a few

companions that were with him.

then, while blind, proceeded to Damascus and asked about the great church. When the priest of the church who was named Ananias found him he said to him " Come, my brother Saul, in
:

He

the love of Christ our Lord, because our

His
his

Lord has chosen you to be 4 and His Ananias placed And the ascetic disciple preacher." 5 "In the name of our pure hands on the eyes of Saul and said
:

Lord Jesus
to

Christ, son of the living God,

state."

open ye

eyes and return

Saul opened forthwith, and from them, and the ascetic asked for water with which he ordered him to wash his eyes. 8 After having
your normal
the eyes of
thin scales like small husks fell

And

washed
said to

his face

and

his

eyes he received sight forthwith.

In that very night

him
I

PAUL.

Saul saw in a vision the Christ our Lord who From this moment you will not be called Saul but have made you my preacher before the kings and a com"
:

panion to Peter

my

And
1

the Christ our

disciple, the chief and the chairman Lord ordered Paul to go to Antioch.

of

my elect. And when

All

this narrative
ix.

2 3
4

Acts Acts

"
: :

(ibid.)

Rahib means

to be taken from Acts ix. 1 -22. " persecutest thou me ? It is hard for thee to kick against the pricks." generally a monk, but what kind of Christian monks

seems

Why "

were

there in the time of Ananias ?

'"_

'

Read Read

'ainai.
in the

All the sentence

is

in Syriac.

dual form.

Read

'ainaihi.

382

WOODBROOKE

STUDIES

he went there he met the great and the presiding teacher Peter and also John while both were in prison.

And
"

the Great

Father said ;
the elect knocking at the door of the

At

daybreak
I

we saw Paul
"

him to us." And he called him. John ; When Paul saw Jokn having the middle of his head shaven he said " " to him What is this thing you have innovated in this town ?
prison,

and

said to

Call

And John
that

said to

him
in

"Do
"

not be amazed,

disciple

Paul,

at

which you see

to

me
me,

prison, entered, greeted

not be grieved at what you have suffered from John the inhabitants of Antioch. By the truth of Christ the Lord who

and

"

And Paul opened received my benediction

the door of the

and

said to

me

Do

appeared to

me on
left

the way,

He

sent

me

to

you

in order that

may

preach in His

name with

you."
*

And we
city of

our place, and he

to
2

went and met the heads

of the
dis-

Antioch and spoke

them what he wished.

Then he

The messenger patched a messenger to us and called us to him. ushered us into the temple of the idols, and we entered and found

Paul praying and worshipping

into our

before the idols, and suspicion entered

3

mind concerning his faith. he turned towards me and said

:

When

he finished
is

his

worship

"O

man, what
"
:

And
I

answered
"
:

"
:

Peter"

And

he said

Who

your name?" " is your God ?

God, one in nature and three in attributes, wor5 4 shipped and glorified by His creatures and praised by His myriads.
answered

He

is

the creator of

all

rational

and

irrational beings.

He

is

the

Feeder, the Giver, and the Provider.

He created

the created beings,

He perfected them and endowed them with wisdom and might. enjoined His worship upon them, but they disbelieved in Him and
worshipped the Rebel and injured themselves
rebellious
'

in their services

to the

And He showed
1

Arckon, because they were all the time worshipping idols. forbearance to them generation after generation, but

/.^.,
2

Paul.

The

following story
of

is

very strange and original.

Read rasulan.
This hypocritical act
p.

Paul
4

is

also

mentioned

in the Ethiopia
6

Contend-

495.

Add min

or/.

Sic codex.

6 7

The following sentences are in rhymed prose. The Arab, bi-a? abihim "in their fatigues" seems

to

be a

literal

translation of the Syriac band " in their services."

amlaihon which means both " in

"

their fatigues

APOCALYPSE OF PETER
they did not fear God, the avenging Lord
the hearts.

383

who

fathoms the secrets of

When, however, many

to himself all

generations passed in this

this displeased the jealous

way

and Satan drew

and

mankind,

Lord,

His Son, the mighty Teacher, who came down to the earth and appeared in a covering which He chose to Himself from
sent

He

spoke and performed the things which He wished to perform in His world. Then He ascended into heaven by His power and sent us His disciples, 2 to
light,

which

He

materialised

and from which

He

all

creatures

by His

will."
'

And
of

Paul said
"

When

your master came

"

down from His

heaven what pious works did

?

He
:

do which would make

Him worthy
:

sins of the ignorant." And he said " And what did this great and ancient Master of yours give you ? And replied He granted each one of us to perform the wonders which He performed and to cure every man from his diseases and his ailments." And he said " Show us something from this (power) in order that we may believe in your God Jesus Christ." And replied " And he Bring to us a man blind and dumb from his birth."

headship replied cend the minds, and forgave the

"

And

He

performed miracles that trans-

me immediately a man who was blind from his birth and who prayed God at that moment to give him joy and remove his ailbrought to

ment from him.

And
"

took

the

man and
'

brought him before

me and
5

said to

John man."

of this blind Pray the Lord Jesus Christ to open the eyes And John said The power has been given to you and
:

Pray you and I will help you in your prayer." And I implored the Lord Jesus Christ of Nazareth the Son of God and
not to me.
said

"
:

sightless eyes so

shape yourselves that the

light of vision

may

And (in saying so) I placed my hand on penetrate into you." the eyes of the blind man and said : "In the name of the Father, of
the Son, and of the
of

Holy
in

Spirit

who

is

glorified

by

all

the creatures

God

on earth and

heaven."

were opened
1 -

for the blind

Immediately man, and he saw with them

after a pair of eyes

all

those

who

Hardly orthodox

doctrine of the Incarnation.

3

Read talamidhahu. * Here again the author

in

Lit.

"

from his mother's womb."

its

uses the objective pronoun before

5

subject as

it

is

done

Syrian but not in Arabic.

Read

'atnai.

384
were
1

WOODBROOKE
present,

STUDIES

and they believed and glorified the Lord Jesus Christ Voices were raised and all the town was in a state of with a hymn. commotion because of the miracles wrought before all those that were
present.

And
besought

people prostrated themselves before

me

to forgive

them the
"
:

injustices

ground and that they had done to me.

to the
J

me

not be too ready to believe in the God of this man who is possibly a medical man who has specialised in Indian drugs, similar to those I have now with me, through which
said to

And Paul

them

Do

he opens the eyes of men. The people listened to him and believed him and the (story of the) drugs. So the King assigned to us a house 3 in which we lived, I and John, in the way we wished.
After three days Paul called us to him while he was in the temple of the idols and surrounded by a great number of Magians.* Before

him were madmen,

affected

paralytics, lepers, deaf

and dumb, lame, and men

Paul
Lord

said

with rigidity in their wrists and with skin diseases. And " these are so ask Peter, your guests to-day, your
:

them healing." And I said I will do willingly and with pleasure what you have asked me to do, in this very house." And I did not cease laying my hands upon each one of them till all
to give
:

"

were cured.
blessed
filled
5

Every one

of

those that were cured of

his diseases

the Christ
cries

my

Lord.

The

place in which

we were was

then

shouts, and the majority of the people who were present put on the garment of baptism, and many words of thanks were addressed to us. And Paul said " Peter, if your words concerning your God are true you will raise a dead man for us. If you work such a miracle

with

and continuous

the
said

first
:

one to believe

in

your Master would be

6
I.

And
first

the

King

"If he raises
This miracle

my

son

who

is

dead

shall

be the

to believe

is

also found in the Ethiopia Contendings, pp. 496-497.

Read

tasta

'j'ilu.

This story about the evangelisation of Peter, John and Paul is strange and appears to be exclusively of Coptic- Ethiopic origin. See Contending*
(ibid).
4
5

by Peter in
Lit.
(!

reader has doubtless noticed the important role played always eminently Petrine document. " Evidently the author uses this word in the general sense of pagans."
this

The

"mentioned."
this narrative is

ingenious and rather subtle role given to Paul in very original.

The

APOCALYPSE OF PETER
in

385

Him, and

so also will

all

the inmates of
all

my

house."

And
I

the inall
:

habitants of the city said

*'

"

And we

will believe

and perform

the obligations of his faith which he will teach us."

And

replied

Yes,

will teach

you these obligations

when

have raised the dead

And ought to serve the God of heaven and earth." " " Paul so." And said do answered will we Yes, Bring they
man.

You

a dead man."

One

of the prefects of the city

had an only son who was dead,

relatives did not

but the father being away on a journey the

bury the

son until the father's arrival. "

Now

they brought and presented this

dead man, and /W/said

O aged

man,
1

if

you

raise this

dead man

we

all will

believe in your

God."

And

prostrated myself before the

Lord Jesus Christ and wept before Him. I was in great fear at that " time and said in my prayer My God and my Lord do not forsake
:

Confirm your according to your habit with me. true promise to me, and raise this dead man in order that I may teach 2 these people that you are the living God beside whom there is no
but
listen to

me

me

other

God."
I

And
of the

rose from
I

Cross
"
:

said

and signing myself with the sign with a loud voice that could be heard by all those

my

prostration

present

dead man,

arise in the

name
the

of Jesus Christ

whom

the

Jews

crucified in Jerusalem."

And

dead man rose forthwith.

And
name

the shouts of the people increased in their glorifications to the 3 of Christ. And Paul said " If you raise also the son of the

King we will believe in your God, I, the King, and all his kingdom." And I Peter answered " Any time you choose to have this done,
:

will

perform

to

you such a miracle in the

name

of the Christ

my

Lord,

you

inhabitants of

Antiock"

After the above words were uttered

the crowds.

we

separated ourselves from

and

said to

Three days later Paul went to the house of the King " him These men have said that they were able to raise
:

the dead in the

name

of their

the prefect, and have also

1

God, and they have raised the son 4 said that they will do the same thing
-

of
to

Lit.

"
I

will

do

so."

Read

al-ilah.

Curiously enough this miracle is not found in the Ethiopia work, Contendings, pp. 497-498, in which the narrative goes from the blind man to the son of the Emperor or the King. On pp. 668-672, however, of the same

Contendings Peter

raises another

man from

the dead.

386

WOODBROOKE
As
to the gods

STUDIES
whom we
serve they are not nor to open the eyes of the

the son of the King.

able to heal the sick, nor to

blind, nor to cure diseases

show a

sign,

nor to make lepers whole, as these men l have asked them to do a great did in the name of their God. has far no one so heard that a created being has ever which thing

We

done.
their

If

these
5

men do
said

it

we
"

must

all

of us believe

immediately
3

in

God."

And

the

King

My

buried in a mausoleum.

know

son died three years ago and he is that he has become a handful of
If
I

bones with no soul whatsoever in them.

life I

these

men
all

raise

him

to

shall

be the

first

to

embrace

their faith,

my
to

friends

and the inhabitants

will destroy
if

of

follow

me
"
:

him with

him

And

these
:

men

are not able

my relatives, my city, and if any one does not this my sword." And Paul said "
4

with

to raise

your son to

life ?

The King answered

remove them from
condition."

"I

will torment

this

world."

And

them with every torment and Paul said "I agree with this
:

Then

I,

Peter, was

summoned along with John

"
'

to the house of the

King, and

we were
5

honoured, treated with deference,

:

and given the

have made a pact first seats. And 1 Paul began to speak And I Peter said : with you by which you ought to stand." " " And the King answered " I What pact have you with us ? You shall raise him and bring have a son who died three years ago. " If I do him to life in the name of your God." And I answered
: :

We

what you wish,

you
the
will

King, and bring your son to life in a state which " And know, what will you do, as part of your bargain ?
"
:

I King replied hold," and signalling

will believe in
to

your
:

God
"

with

all

my
I

house-

Paul he added

together with this

my

vizier

and with
"
:

replied

And

my kingdom." Let us then proceed to where the youth lies." the King rose along with all those who were present, and
all

the inhabitants of

And

Peter

they walked towards the door of the corridor which led to the place Behind me and before me in which the son of the King was buried.
1

Read _/#'#/#.

Lit

"

Return one word

"
(p.

to their

God."

The

Ethiopia work, Contendings

500), says

three months ago,"

instead of three years ago. 4 Delete the nun from the verb.
5

See again how the speakers change

Delete the nun.

roles in the narrative.

APOCALYPSE OF PETER
were innumerable crowds.
opened, and
it
I

387

ordered the door of the vault to be

I

was opened, and then

of the King's retinue

intimated to the King, to

relatives to

Paul and

to

some

and

descend into

the mausoleum and to verify the condition of the dead son of the "

King and then to report to me. We have only found some

to pray

When

all of

them saw him they said

;

of his large limbs

all

the rest has

perished and suffered dissolution.

Then

I,

Peter, uncovered

my

head and began

before

towards the East, and stretched

my

hands

my

Creator,

and

said before all those present in a loud voice

:

that could "

I

be heard by

all

know,

my

Lord and

my God,
and

you you are

that

are present here with me,

also present in every part of

God, you are here present the heavens and of the earth.
that as

Jesus Christ, son of

No
do

Do not forsake me and height and no depth are without you. Providence but let leave not me, encompass me wherever I your
be dwelling.
in

may

You have
the

ordered

me

to

preach the Gospel to

snare, the ropes

mankind

your name and

of

to deliver

them from the

and the nets

you

are the only

Archon, in order that they may know that Son of God and that the Spirit of God is in the

essence of

God, and that He is not three, as it is said, but one God, one Lord, the first and eternal God with His Word through whom He speaks and through whom He created all created beings, and with His spirit who proceeds from Him," and imparts life to all beings-

He
to

is

one God, rational and

living,

and there

is

no

God and

no being

be worshipped beside Him. By Your Grace you have shown us who you are, and we have known you. You have ordered us to preach in your name, and

we have obeyed
in us

your order, and so

we are
to us

now

before

you and you are

believe in

and with
us.

us.

Do

not forsake us and

those

who

you through

Confirm your true saying

before these multitudes

who

are assembled here before

you

in order that

they

3 may know

that

you are their God, and their true Lord.

in the time of

We

implore you your great name, our supplications and grant us that which

in

our need, to answer

you are our

1

God and we

have no other

we expect from you, because God beside you. Make our

Read 'an. The author does

not

seem here

to believe in the procession of the Spirit

.

from the Son. See, however, above, p. 1 05 3 Delete the final nun from the verb.

388

WOODBROOKE
*

STUDIES

Do to us what you have path easy and render our effort successful. to from expect you, that you will listen to our prayers in taught us
our arduous tasks.
ask, so that

We only
these

ask you
2

what you have ordered

3

us to

works

pagan multitudes have seen your wonderful which you by your power perform through us who are your

when

lowly disciples, they might know that you are all-powerful in your beseech you according to your order to us, and you, name. to us, hear us, and make haste to answer our prayers listen my God,

We

because you are near to

us, present

with

us,

and dwelling

in us.

It is

you who

strengthens us,

who

brings us together,

with our food,

who
us."

dwells in our hearts,

life

who
us

causes us to die and gives us

who provides us who fathoms our secrets, again, who brings illness upon
all
all

and then heals

When my
was
were
present,

supplication to

God

reached these words,

also reflected

illuminated with lights,

which were

on

those

my body who

and a gentle wind blew on us which emitted scents sweeter than all perfumes, which extended to those that were far and
near.

Then
I

the

Holy

Spirit

appeared and
I

fortified

me and

assured

me

that

would perform
raised

that miracle.

drew, therefore, near the

sepulchre and

my

voice

and

said
6

has perished, arise from your sleep Christ, Son of the living God, and hasten to come to
his

dead man, whose body by the power of our Lord Jesus

:

"

me

here."
I

Im-

mediately after the son of the King came out to me, and

seized

him

hand and presented him to his father, who instantly believed by in God and in our Lord Jesus Christ, Son of the living God, as also
did
all his relatives

and

all

the inhabitants of the

city.

people hastened to the temples which they demolished, and to the idols of which they broke up. In their places they laid

After

this

foundations for churches, and

all

the people worshipped the Cross.

The Son

of the

death and what his

died and his soul
hell

King was then asked about his condition after his soul had seen, and he replied that since he had
left

had

his

down

to that hour.

body, he was thrown to the torments of " And the angel to (He then added)
:
'

whom I was
1

entrusted said to me,

Be

of

good cheer, because de2

Lit

"

Stretch between our hands."

Lit.

"
foreign.'

Read skdhada. Here again the

in early

Read

author uses the

literature.

word " Holy

"

"

Spirit

af'alaka. in feminine as
rest."

it

is

done

Syriac

Or

"

your

APOCALYPSE OF PETER
liver ance

389

has come to you from God.'

Then he
and
this

raised

me from

that

torment and brought

standing
this

me
is

before

trie

Lord Christ with

whom
is

saw

man, The three of them this other man, that is to say Paul. and John, Lord and the before were worshipping imploring Him to restore me The Lord Christ granted their request in the to this life again.
matter of bringing
returned to

that

to say Peter,

youth, that

to say

me

to

life

again,

and immediately
this
*

after

my
I

soul

my body

alive.

And when
me
to

venerable man. Peter the

out of

disciple of the Christ called

come
"

my

grave
2

obeyed

him and came out"

And
said said to

the

King

said to

Paul

about you

him
you

And he answered, Yes." ? " And Paul answered "And how is that ?
my

"

Did you hear

"

what my son And the King

"
:

will

relate to

all

story dealing with the religion of Christ."

When
:

he had

above the King said to him ** And what induced you after you had believed in this powerful, ancient and mighty Lord, the master and the maker of the times, to
told all his story as narrated

deny
"
I
I

Him and

"

to return to the

worship
I

of idols ?
I

And

Paul said
in

did not worship idols nor did

deny God.

meant

what

did to use a stratagem with you in order that by my soft advice to you the hardness of your nature may be mollified to your advantage.
In this the

Most High God gave me

victory over

you as

He

brought

you

to the right path."

The King was amused and

ruse he

smiling at

him thanked him

for the

had practised against them, and for the fact that he had converted them from error and the worship of idols to the obedience
to

God and to the knowledge of His persons, and to the belief in the Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, who is endowed with eternal life and who delivers from all sorrow. When our joy was finished we

3 helped in the task of baptising them, and I ordained men from them as priests for them, and after having remained two years in

all

Antioch we left them, and Tarsus in order to convert its

After our
believers in

despatched

Paul

to

the

town

of

inhabitants to the faith.

separation
in

from

Paul

received

letters

from the

Laodicea

which they informed

2

me

that their river

Read bfan.
*

Lit.

"

The

Syriac word

"

do you

see."

sam."

390

WOODBROOKE
as

STUDIES

known

Kisaris

in flood in a

way
great

waters immeasurably and was that had never occurred before, and that it had

had increased
of

its

drowned a
beloved and

I sent to them John the people. " ordered him saying : Proceed to Laodicea and quell

number

for its inhabitants the

and say to it river, 2 you have no power to rise more than your normal rate, by the word of God who created the heavens and the earth. You, river, will be cursed if you do not go back to your former place from now to
river,
:

vehemence of the

'

"

eternity/

And
people.

John went

to

Laodicea and

persistent

news reached him

to

the effect that the high floods of the river had killed innumerable

Among

those
social

who came
standing.
of

to bring this

news

to

men
was

of different

In

the

route which

John were John was

a

following

was a herd

sheep, and

John drew near

ram

that

in that

herd and said to

people
it

as
:

thus

messenger "John the disciple of Christ has sent

3

my

go with these to the river called Kisaris and inform

it
:

"

O irrational animal,
me

to

you

in order

to inform

God, the

you that you are forbidden by the Word of the living eternal and the creator of all the created beings, to

overflow your natural banks. Go now back to your natural banks and do not go beyond them any more from now till the day of the Resurrection."
4

The ram went

"

then to the river and said to

it

in clear

language
sent

Mar John

the disciple of our

Lord Jesus Christ has

of

me

to

you. go back to your natural banks." And the water ran immediately back and decreased in volume from its swollen state until it reached its normal condition.
orders you by the
to

He

Word

God

The crowds were amazed

inhabitants of

at this miracle
in

and many pagans

Christ.

of the

Laodicea believed

the religion of

The

numbers
Apostle

of the of the

pagans of Laodicea

who

Lord Saviour, was eighteen thousand. 6

believed through John, the All these

believed through John,

1

may

our best peace be with him.

And

he

Is

it

the

also this miracle

2 8

Lycos ? The Ethiopia work, Contendings and calls the river Kesaros.
the habit."

(p. 503), mentions

Lit

"
:

more than

The verb marbftt

Delete lam.

"
(lit.
:

bound ")
4

is

generally used in magical foris

mulae.
5

The sentence Read alf.

badly worded.

APOCALYPSE OF PETER
ordained
left
l

391

from amongst them

to

priests

and deacons, and afterwards he

them and went

Ephesus, and I repaired to Jerusalem? Says father Clement, may his prayers be with us. Amen ; And when the great teacher and the spiritual father, Peter,
the

reached

town

of

Jerusalem,

he called

me Clement
:

to

his

service, and he ordered me along with advance of him to the city of Rome.

my

He

brothers to repair in " said to us Go you

before

me

because

shall soon

go there myself."
order to go to "
also

had indeed ordered him

to travel in that
in

The Lord Christ direction, so we obeyed his

command and
with you."

put to sea
us
;

Rome
Take

as our teacher
3

Peter had ordered

And

he

added

also your father

we had left he summoned to him and informed them that he would soon a company of the disciples All of them were grieved at his separation, be proceeding to Rome.
Several days after

and did not

disguise from
left

him

their sorrow.

Then he

them and on

his

way

passed

through

Cyprus

informed me Clement where he stayed twenty-three days. "At the end of a stay of twenty-three days of this and said to me O Peter, let in Cyprus an angel appeared to me and said to me
: '
:

He

not this town,

haste to

mean

this island, please

is

Rome
I

because there
' :

more need

you (too much), but go in " of you there than here/

And
said
:

(Clement) said
'

The

great father Peter spoke to

me and
Cyprus

did immediately next morning what the angel had ordered

me

to do.

And

spoke

my

farewells to the inhabitants of

their hearts
itself

and separated myself from them, and

this separation.

ached because of

And
a book
I

the earth folded

is

under

my

feet as the

parchment
\

of
it

entered

while

few days I reached Rome. folded, was naked and had not a garment to wear.
in a

and

was

in a

bewildered state
entrance
I

when

entered

it

and

also
*

thirsty.

On my
sat

came upon a dung heap

that

hungry and was near

I

the house of a nobleman, one of the notables of the city.

climbed

up and
1

on

it

tired,

hungry, heavy-hearted, stricken with grief and

Here

again the Syriac verb sam.

(p. 504), erroneously states that

The Ethiopia work, Contendings went to Rome instead of to Jerusalem.

3

Peter

Read abakuma. The Ethiopic narrative

calls

"
it

little hill,"

Contending*,

p.

505.

392

WOODBROOKE
2

STUDIES
1

sorrow, without the strength of even one day,

deep

in

thought and

not knowing where to go.

near whose door the dung heap was found was a pious man, a great almsgiver, and a man of pure heart and a lover of

The man

His daughter came out at that time and saw me, and she 8 There is on the dung heap entered again and said to her father a stranger who is in a nude state and naked, and who does not
strangers.
' :

I resemble the poor and the strangers of our town. have never 4 known a man in greater poverty." And her father said to her " daughter take a ewer of gold, fill it with water, and carry a basin of gold and a towel, and go to this poor man, peradventure
:

My

Perhaps also he is a messenger a god or the messenger of the God of heaven who appeared vt\Judcea in the town of Jerusalem, because I have heard this from one of the

you

will

be cured from your ailment.

of

Nero, who was the Governor of Judcea, and also that He has ordered His disciples to hate gold and not to possess silver, that they
relatives of

should be poor, humble, and wear tatters. They show heavenly signs and spiritual power, because their God, the Lord Christ, has given them

power
ailment

to

work miracles and wonders.

hope that

this

stranger

is

a disciple of the
;

God

of

and

wash

his feet

hope and not recoil from

also,

heaven so that he should cure you of your my daughter, that if you go to him and
his poverty,

he

will cure

you

of the

leprosy with which you are afflicted." And the maiden came out to me with a covered face from which

only her eyes were seen, as she was a chaste girl with a pure heart. She came to me with a ewer and a basin in her hands while 1 was " venerable man, moaning and weeping. And she said to me The hearted. time for your rest do not weep and do not be heavy
:

has come

with
1

this

and your sorrows have passed wash, therefore, your face 9 Be of good cheer water and also your hands and your feet.
;

of the text in genitive. of the following story is found in an Arabic manuscript of Mount Sinai, dated 183 of the Hijrah (A.D. 799), and has been edited and translated by Mrs. Gibson, in Studio. Sinaitica, No. 5, under the title of
2

Put the words

A recension

Prcedicatio Petri> pp. 56-58 of the

3 5

text.
4

Read IVatiha.

Read

'abuha.
article.

We
Lit.

shall presently see that she

had

6 8 9

leprosy. "

Read
"

khiraq.
case.

Delete the

Your soul has reached." Put both words in the dual accus.

APOCALYPSE OF PETER
because good
is

393
house
of

going to

come

to you,

and you

will enter the

l

for your servants in order that you may eat of our food and pray feet water on hands and And she came and poured us." my my

while her hands and arms were covered.

The maiden
until
1

did not cease

rested

pour water, and I strength came back to me.

to

did not cease to

wash,
"
:

was

and

my
I

Then

the
:

Holy
"

Spirit said to

me
are

She has

leprosy."

And
"

said to her

O
:

maiden,
I

why
I

you hiding your face and your

hands from
she
of

me while am " Because answered me

a poor old
feel

man advanced

in years ?

And

my

regard for your age and respect

ashamed before you, and because for your asceticism, and also be-

cause of a long story of mine, the upshot of which is that I am affected with a great ailment and a complaint which I do not desire to display
before any one in this world." And 1 said to her : " And
story,
'

what

is this

ailment
:

Tell

me

your

O maiden."
I

When

she heard this she said

"By

the truth of

was one day invited to the wedding of one of the notables of this city, and I went to it together When they saw me they began to speak with a company of women.
will not hide anything

God

from you.

of
I

me among

themselves with admiration, and

is
3

evil

eye struck
I

me and
saw her
I

became

affected with this ailment, that

to say leprosy."
like rain,

tears falling

to her
ful

"
:

down from her eyes on her cheeks Be of good cheer and rejoice." And I,
water with which she had washed

and

said

Peter, took a hand-

of the

my

hands and

my

feet,

made
it

the sign of the cross

her,

on

it

in the

name

of Jesus Christ

and threw

on

and she was cleansed

she went to her father

of her leprosy
4

and her ailment."

And

the favours of

God

with joy and gladness on account of to her, and apprised him of her cure through me.
;

She showed him her hands, and he saw that they were healed and he sprang from his seat with joy and happiness and came out to me
and kissed

my

hands and embraced

my

chest

and took me with him

into his house.

He
the

then ordered his slaves to carry me, and they

:

carried

me and

brought

the grace and

1

me to his place, and he said to me "This day mercy of the Lord came down upon us and life
"In both abodes
abiha.
of the

Probably read afamina. To lay emphasis on the fact, the text says world," i.e., here and in the next world.
-

Read

'ainaiha.

Read

394

WOODBROOKE
And
he added
:

STUDIES
"

entered our house."

blessed old

Tell us

from you."
in the
their

man, and whence you came, because And I replied to him " I am one
:

who you are, O we have seen light

of the servants of

Jesus Christ, the

Son

of the living

God,

whom the

Jews have

crucified

Jerusalem, and who rose alive from His grave before and ascended to heaven whence He had come, and sat on eyes,

town

of

the majestic throne of His glory.

The

angels glorify
all

Him and worship

believe in

Him

in heaven, as also

do on the earth

those

who

Him.
on

He

chose us from the world, and ordered us to labour before

Him
to

the earth, to

preach

to

mankind

resurrection after death,

and

work

miracles in all the regions of the earth.

My

Lord Jesus Christ has

sent you and I came to this city at His bidding in order to call its inhabitants to His service, to baptise them with His baptism which
to
all

me

those

who

believe in

Him

receive,

and

to sign

them with the name

Holy Trinity which is His Word, and the name of His holy 3 Wisdom, that is to say in the name of the Father, of the Son, and of
of the

the

Holy

Ghost, one true God.*

5

If

they believe in

this faith,

He

will

forgive their sins,

terrors of (the

of joy,

wipe day of the) Resurrection, and bring them pleasures and peace."
the old

off

their prevarications,

remove them from the

to the height

And

man

said

"I and

all

my

household believe in your

And I immediately generous Lord your God." c struck the floor of the room in which we were sitting with my staff 7 "In the name of the Christ our Lord let a spring of water and said
works and
in the
:

appear on
relatives

this floor."
I

And

the room, and

baptised the old

immediately after a spring welled up in man with his children and all his

then abroad in
story.
I

and marked them with the holy chrism. all the city, and all the inhabitants of

My

name went
heard

Rome

my

was

visited

by crowds

of people affected with all sorts of

;

complaints, such as itch, elephantiasis and leprosy

and those
;

of

them
and

who were mad and

paralytics
;

insane

and those
;

affected with dropsy

and the
;

and the
sentence

sick of the palsy

and the deaf and dumb

'

All

this

is in

J
J
'

'

Syriac.
4

Read yakbaluha.
All
this

The sentence is Read mahhasa

badly worded. or maha.

sentence

is

in Syriac.

the present MS. is derived " 7 Lit. By the truth."

Here again read 'ukkazah, which proves that the original from which was written in undotted Arabic characters.

APOCALYPSE OF PETER
those affected with a withered

395
affected
1

arm

and the blind

and those

with

and with external and internal complaints. Innumerable crowds thus sat near the door of that rich man
all sorts of fevers

like

bellowing camels that had

lost their
~

shepherd.

With them were many

I

people

who came

to witness

the favour of

through the testimony of their

own

eyes.

I preached to them in the name of saved the (inhabitants of the) world from the noose of the demons,

them

God and to believe in Him When Peter went out to my Lord Jesus Christ who

and warned them against

sin,

among

them.

When

they saw the blind

and performed miracles and wonders 3 and people whose seeing

;

bodies were affected with elephantiasis shedding their scales and replacing them with a new and smooth skin, while overjoyed at the
favours of

God who had

delivered
;

them from

their

ailment which

and the paralytics leaping with segregated them from other creatures the and dumb talking 4 and the lame and the deaf hearing joy
; ; ;

and people with withered arms stretching their hands in a walking and the mad and the insane healed and the sick cured normal way
; ;
;

and the people affected with dropsy made whole they were drawn to the faith and they one and all rejected idolatry for the grace of God
:

which

He so freely gave them, and they rejoiced, and praised and thanked the Most High God. Then I baptised a considerable number of them and absolved
J
;

their sins

and

caused a Church to be

built in the

house

of the old

man who was

its

called

Euphraxus?
I

My
me

inhabitants ascertained that

was Peter

fame spread in the city and the head of the disciples of

Christ.

Then

I
'

Peter
to
in

summoned my
assist

pupil
in the

Clement along with

his

brothers to
that
all

come

me and

task of baptising those

had believed

the water of baptism.

They came
message

to

me

with

speed and helped

in the furtherance of the

of the

Lord
and

Christ in the City of

Rome.
reached
is

The above news

1

Paul and Barnabas,

more or
less similar

Titus

All the above story

told in

terms in the Ethiopia

following verb.

Contending*, pp. 505-509.

-

Read liyabsuru, and also remove the nun from the " Codex ex errore the lepers." 4 Codex has here ex errore " and the dumb seeing."
a J

Lit.
'

"

justified

them."

Codex Ophrax. Read vtitu.

The

Ethiopia text has Euphrikos.

26

396
Timothy,
with

WOODBROOKE
1

STUDIES

his disciples,

their proximity to us

and some
the city of

of

and they came to us, and I was very pleased and their arrival amongst us. Then John the other Apostles came, and we proclaimed the faith in
until

Rome

summoned
the Christ
city.

us to him.

our news reached the Emperor of Rome, who I went to him together with the brethren whom
sent to

my Lord

had

me

in

order to

finish

His work

in the

Paul, however, separated himself from us, but he told us nothing He preceded us and entered the palace of the about his separation.

Emperor who honoured him and enhanced his prestige and caused him to sit next to him. And Paul ceased not to speak well to him of Then he said paganism and idolatry until he gained his confidence.
2

Who are these men who are causing disturbance in all Rome ? Lo they show signs in it and proclaim the strange name of a God about whom no one knew anything in the world, especially in these regions." And the Emperor answered " have sent my friends And Paul said to here immediately." after them to bring them
to

him

"

mighty and powerful Emperor, do not Leave all this speak to them and do not answer any of their questions. to me and I will speak to them and answer them." And the

him

"

When

they come,

Emperor
you see
u

said to

him

"I

entrust

you with

this

duty

discharge

it

as

fit."

When we
charge

we

reached the gates of the palace the men under whose were said to us: "Wait here until we have obtained

And permission for you to have an audience with the Emperor." when we entered the chamber in which the Emperor was sitting, we
found

Paul

sitting

with the Emperor

in the first place of the

audience

And I said to the room, speaking to him and consulting with him. is the one who with me "Is not brethren who were speaking to the
:

Emperor,
1

Paul?"
text

The company
"
is

(of the brethren)

answered

"It

The
"

probably ex errore has

word "Clement" used here

And Clement and Ethiopia The sentence may have been thus truncated by the copyist.
"

Possibly the disciples of Clement." the last of the following sentence found in his brothers my disciples," Contending* p. 509.
role given to Paul throughout the

The
is

strategic

and somewhat crooked

narrative

rather undignified.

The

idea
*
'

is

possibly inspired from

Cor.

ix.

20-23. 4 Delete the nun. "This sentence is worded

another language.

Lit.

"

taught." Put the word in the nominative.

in

a style which denotes a translation from

APOCALYPSE OF PETER
is

397

as

you say."
at the

And

together with

all

those

who were with me were

1

courage of Paul, and each one of us thought evil of him, which, however, our tongues did not put into words. The Emperor did not pay any attention to us nor did he ask us " aged man, by what power have you any questions, but Paul said

amazed

been able to enter into our

God
of

city and to preach therein the name of your without previously having obtained for the purpose the permission is this God whom the Emperor, or of one of his prefects ?

Who

you are mentioning

that

and whose name you are spreading abroad saying

of heaven.

He

is

the

God

You

are divorcing

men from

the faith

that they have inherited from their fathers

and

in

brought up from the beginning."

enter a

And

said to

which they were " him If I do not

:

town

or preach the message of the Christ

the permission

and favour

of

Kings and

prefects,

my Lord except by my Master would be

But since

like the earthly

Kings who
all

are in fear of one another.

the created beings
to

my
to

Master

is

the creator of

and the administrator

of the affairs of this

world according
of

His

will, I
I

have no need

ask permission from any

His servants when

It is

enter into a

town or
whatso-

go about on important business.

exalted

indeed
I

He
it

may His name be

who

advises

me

as to

what

need, and helps

me

in

ever

He

wishes, in things far and near.

Were
of

not for His mercy

towards His world, and the abundance

He

loves to save
to

His servants from

in

error

His grace through which and to lead them to the right

path and

be believed

by them,

He

would have wiped out

their

memory with
in the fire,"

the passing ages, in order that their punishment might be in the company of those who have committed injustices and

soiled their hearts

exclusion of

God

the
:

which they gave to the worship Lord of the worlds/

"

(of idols) to the

And
1

Paul said
:

replied

"Of
who

all

Of whom do you speak, O aged man ? And those who worship demons that enter into idols
them and worship them
to

"

and images,
exclusion of

offer sacrifices to

the

God, the

creator

and

God

of

all

gods, the
4

One and

Omnipotent
1

God who
is

created the created beings,

who

fashioned the

This sentence

ambiguous.
for

-Read
Garshuni
characters.
s

as-sa'ir
is

ask-shctir.

This also proves

original
4

that

the

MS.

present

derived

from

an

written

in

undotted
in

Arabic
prose.

Kur'anic expression.

These sentences are

rhymed

398
heavens,

WOODBROOKE
who made
the angels,
circles about.

STUDIES
1

ment which
King,

who lifted the wheels of the firmaThe mighty Lord and the Omnipotent

who

ordered His rational world to praise Him, glorify

Him

and magnify Him." And Paul said

might show us and
'

What power did He give you, which you " which we do not possess ? And replied
I
:
:

"

showing signs and working miracles which no created And Paul said " Could you show us being can work besides us." " And I replied "I something from them that we may know them ?
of
:

The power

can go near your god

Satan,

whom
of

who
flee

disobeyed the order of

you have fashioned and into whom His maker, has entered, and I will
to

adjure him by the

name

my

Master

show you

his real

image and

from his abode never again to return to it. This will 2 show to you that you are in great error." And Paul said "Can " And I replied " And you then speak to the god of the Emperor ? in the name of my God, I will also uproot him from these regions and
then to
:
:

you overcome the god of the Emperor in the name of your Master, we will agree with what you say, and will follow your Master who sent
:

banish him from them."

And

Paul said

"If you do

this

and

if

you

to us."

And

"
I

replied

Let us go then to the temple

of the

idols."

The Emperor was amazed

to

at

my

words, and Paul persuaded him

come out with

us to the temple of the idols,

and

all the inhabitants

of the city of

Rome

gathered

together at the
I

time

when we went
of gold

out

of the palace to repair to the temple.

went

to the places

where the
and

idols

were found
and the

standing,

and

the majority of

them were

silver,
all

idol

and

of pure gold.

which the Emperor worshipped was the biggest of On its chest was (the figure of) a man dressed

in the finest apparel,

and on

its

head was a crown

inlaid

stones

and rubies

of the highest quality.

Satan spoke through

in

with precious it con-

tinually with the

Emperor, and since he revealed

his conversation

with him what he held as secret he worshipped him and offered sacrifices before him, and so also did all his relatives and friends. And Paul said " aged man, worship the god 3 of the Emperor and do not go against me. Unless you do this the god of the
:

Read

dulab.

original written in undotted Delete the nun.

This also proves that the present MS. is derived from an Arabic characters. 3 Delete the article.

APOCALYPSE OF PETER
you instantly." one and the Omnipotent worship

399

Emperor

will kill

And
God
fate

"
I

replied

of heaven.

As to me I only As to the god of

become
"
:

the

Emperor you
I

will soon see

its

and what

will

of him."
I

And
will

Peter

lifted

my

hands towards heaven and said

mighty, Omnipotent and His creatures on His earth and

speak

my

words,

To you Wise God who

in

administers the affairs of

who

is

true words,

present in the midst of us and in us, Whenever 1 two or three of you pray to
'

His heaven, who uttered to us His

me
'

in

my

name,

whether on land or on
that
in

sea,

shall

be present with them.'

We

know

we

are your disciples and that

order to preach to them in

you have sent us to the Gentiles your name and convert them from their

idolatry to the belief in your omnipotence.

You

have ordered us to
in

perform wonders and miracles and drive out demons

also to bring to the right path the insolent nations."

your name, and

of

Then
these idols

said in a loud voice

"

O
3

rebellious
in

demons come out

which you are hiding, and who have worshipped show yourselves in your true colours 4 of that know the our God, the God of in order they may power you of who created you. myriads, you who speak myriads and myriads
which are
sheltering

you and

to those

ill

of your

scient

God, who mislead the servants of the generous and omniGod, come out of these idols, in which you dwell, to the curse of
of the

God, by the power

everything found
in

Lord God, the

eternal
;

heaven and on earth

;

Word who who came down

created
to us in

His power, might and omnipotence who in His mercy appeared in our clothing and became incarnate in our image in order to gain our confidence in our speaking and conversing with Him who chose us
;

as

His

disciples

and

sent us to the Gentiles

by His

will

and His

love.

You have no
God,

right,

rebellious

demons who mislead the

servants of

to remain in these idols

which hide you from the

sight of

men.

Come
At

and power which God

that

out of them immediately by the omnipotence, might, majesty exercises over you."

loud cries

demons who were in those idols emitted which shook and terrified all those who were present, and

moment

the

they appeared in different forms which

terrified the hearts of

men, and

Cf. Matth. xviii. 20.

s
5

Lit

"

Read ma'a/ium.
Delete the nun.

in the ugliest

show."

4
6

Probably read safaUtidkin.

Read

al-Iadhrn.

400
all

WOODBROOKE
them
!

STUDIES
our hearts rejoiced
in

of

said in

one voice

1
:

"How
and

our

dwellings

We were honoured
trouble of
for

glorified

by

all

the people,

and

we had no
places.

any

kind, but to-day our peace has been

changed

into sorrow,

the Apostle of our

God

has driven us out of our

His

God

Him

because

He

has power over us and we can do nothing against is the Son of God, our creator, and His spirit and

His eternal Word."

Immediately after this the idols fell down to the ground and were broken to pieces, and a foul and stinking smell came out of the ugly
figures

of the Rebels.

When

the

Emperor who was a man

of dis-

cernment and honesty and endowed with high qualities, heard the voice of Satan he was terrified and fell to the ground on his face in his
fear.

The demons went

of

out in the direction of the inhabitants of

Rome (who
men
faith

were present) and at their departure killed a hundred them. Then the crowds shouted their acceptance of the true
raised their voices saying
in
:

and

"The

true faith in

God

is in

the

His grace sent to us His disciples in order to lead us to His worship and to the confession of His might and power. We all believe in God and acknowledge these messengers who led us
from unbelief to
faith

Lord Christ who

and saved us from

perdition."

We
faith
2

in

were very pleased at the conversion of the Emperor to the God and in Christ through the pure father the Apostle 3
also at the conversion of his viziers, his household, his
his lieutenants.

Peter,

and

relatives

and

No

one was

left

in

town without beIn a

lieving

to us with humility asking to be baptised. time their unbelief and error were changed into belief. very short

and coming

Then

we enjoined on them the (Christian) obligations which they accepted with thanksgivings to the Most High God, and we ordained for them bishops, priests, deacons and monks (sic\ and we were pleased with
their faith

and with the welcome

I

that

we had

received from them.

Then
for

Peter, after having despatched the brethren along with

his brothers
I

Clement and
a month.

who were
of

at

my

service,

remained

in

Rome

despatched

India ; Philip

to the

town

Mark to Alexandria; Thomas to Nubia ; Addai to Abgar, King of the

town
of

Syrians, in Babylon,
1

and

in the

Edessa, and
in

to the other

The

following sentences of the

demons are
:!

rhymed

prose.

There

is

no need
"

to translate

them

literally.

Read bil-lman.

From

the Syriac sheliha.

APOCALYPSE OF PETER
towns
1

401
Peter and

of

Jazirak

John
for the
1

to

Ephesus; and
the brethren.
to

Paul

remained in

Rome
I

with the

rest of

Afterwards
it

left

town

is

known

as
to

Carthage:

which Philip had repaired, and The demon appeared to me on the way

impede me from proceeding any further. He appeared but with the with great power and strove to thwart and oppose me the army which he had mustered help of my Lord Christ I defeated I took some of the oil which my Lord Christ had given against me.
and wished
;

me and
face.

put
at

it

All

mouth, and made the sign of the Cross on once great power emanated from the omnipotence of
in

my

my my
I

Lord

Christ,

and

it

overshadowed me and encompassed

all

my

limbs.

From

the inside of
filled,

my
and
I

body came out a violent wind with which

blew
fire

found myself

that

wind on the demon.

fierce

wind resembling burning

the road

emanated then from

my

mouth, ac-

companied by a hurricane which blew away Satan and

his hosts,

and

was

left

open

for

me.

[Analysis of the text

on

ff.

173-l85 b and
it]
:

full

translation of all

the important passages found in

Then

Satan bemoaned his

to harass

fate,

lamented over
his

his fallen

power
Christ,
it

and threatened
temptations.
1

Peter and

followers with all sorts of

in the

Peter, however, rebuked

him

name

of
calls

Upper Mesopotamia.

The

Ethiopia text (ibid., p. 510)

"the

land of the two rivers."

-

The
is

reader has doubtless noticed

how

in

this

eminently Petrine work

rest of the

Peter

given an abnormally prominent position.

The

Apostles

play an unusually secondary role. 3 Evidently the author understands the Ethiopia of

Acts viii. 27, to mean That Philip went to Carthage is also explicitly stated in Acta Carthage. See Tischendorf, Acta Apost. Apocr., 75-104; Lipsius, Apocr. Philippi. Gesch. And compare Batiffol's text in Analecta Bollandiana, il, I -53. Ap. 1890, 204-249, and Wright's Apocryphal Acts of the Apostles, pp. 69-92.
,

See

also James,
is

Apocryphal
in

New

Testament,

documents

copyist writes the word as Fartagina for Kartagina and this again proves decisively that the present MS. is derived from an original in early and undotted Arabic characters, because it is only in Arabic that the letters fa and tf/"have an identical form and are distinguished

"

p.

450.

Carthage

in these

placed

Azotus."

The

exclusively
4

by extraneous

dots.

Cf. about this story of Peter and Satan the Ethopic

Contending,

pp.

510-514.
5

From
I
it.

this
will,

sentence to the end of the work

will only give the analysis of

the text.

however, give a regular

translation of all the important passages

found

in

402

WOODBROOKE

STUDIES

and he disappeared. Then Peter narrates that he and Paul pro* ceeded to the town of Philippi along with Timothy\ the disciple of the latter, and evangelised it. From there Paul went to al-Adiyoka?
the town which
of
is

in darkness
3

and which

is

separated from the town

is

Afdar
him

by the lake
4

Gurgu,

the breadth of which

a hundred

parasangs.
take

On

reaching the shores of the lake Paul found no one to

across

it,

but he prayed the Lord and an angel carried him

in

He then entered the town and preached while asleep to the other side. it the name of the Lord, and all its inhabitants believed in Christ.
He
remained in
it

twenty months,

after

which he returned

to

Carthage

and joined me

there.

He

presented to
:

me
I
'

a report on his journey to

al-Adiyoka
"

in

which he

said

spiritual father,

our Chief, after

said to me,

left

you

saw

in

a vision

the angel of the

Lord who
in

Go

to the

town
I

of the

Candude 5 and preach

said that
it

it

the Gospel of Christ.'

hesitated

King and

but he intimated to
stay at

would be more advantageous if you Peter were to go there, me that I had to obey his orders and that your
the time being be
it is

our Lord loves

Carthage would for this town and

more

helpful,
6

because
In conis

His second
I

'

storehouse.'
into the

sequence of these words of the angel a large city, as large as Rome, and

went
is

town, which

it

the capital of

Candude.

The

lake

which surrounds
miles.
I

it

has a width of one hundred parasangs

it

or three
1

hundred
:

entered

on the twelfth

of the

month

of

Text Philibus. It is not explained how from Ethiopia the Apostle 2 Or Alidiyoka. went so quickly to Philippi in Macedonia. " 3 In some Coptic Arabic documents the word nahr, river," refers also to "a lake" or "a sea." See my Woodbrooke Studies, vol. i., pp. 156, 168, etc. shall see below that the author uses also in this connection the

We

word
4

bahr,

"

sea."

in the Ethiopic work, Contending* of the Apostles in forms due to erroneous transcriptions by 5 1 3-5 1 different (pp. 4), slightly " And when we had entered therein Paul left me and went to the copyists
:

These names are found

al-Adiyoka of our MS.), the country of darkness, and between it and the country of Akrad (= Afdar of our MS.) is a lake the name of which is Gurgnor (= Gurgu of our MS.), the breadth of which is three hundred stadia." 5 This is evidently Candace, King of Ethiopia, mentioned in Acts viii.
city of

WanKon (=

27.

Sentences like these bring the present Apocryphon in direct relation with Ethiopia, and its author seems to have had especial interest in that : Lit. "river." country.

APOCALYPSE OF PETER
May.

403

On

the ramparts of the city there

the role of a

watchman, and when

which acted

a stranger

was a talisman which played came near the city it

uttered loud cries

I

as a warning to the inhabitants.

When

drew near the inhabitants armed themselves, took to the boats and

pursued me.

And
lake,

hid in a cave near that lake," and

thirst, but in the night
I

was much

harassed by hunger and

went out and drank

water from the

and

in the

talisman emitted a fearful

agitated like those of the

morning I prayed my Lord, and the sound, and the waters of the lake became
Sea.

Red
I

The men came

out again in their

boats against

me and

took refuge in the cave.

fled,

The same

thing
light,

happened

the next day,

and

but the Virgin, the mother of

stood before

me and
all

ordered

me

not to

flee,

and assured me

that

would
lake.

baptise

the inhabitants of the city in the water of that very

I

On
it

the advice of the Virgin

took a handful of water and

threw

and
of

oncoming men who numbered one hundred and their fifty thousand, rage abated because they saw the doors heaven open and a hand of fire stretched along with my hand over
in the face of the

them.

They would have been overwhelmed by

it

the heat of that

fire,

were

not for the handful of water that

threw towards them."

"
"

Then Paul proceeds to

that eventually after he
all

inform his master

the great teacher Peter

had performed some other miracles he baptised

the inhabitants of the town.

Thereupon the King

were
all

of the

country
of

sent additional troops against Paul, but

by the great number

the

miracles that he wrought they

King.

Among

his

converted together with the miracles Paul had dried up a place in the lake,

and

in

that place eighteen thousand

of the Virgin, the

men helped

to build a

church

under the name

dimensions of which are given at

some

length.

Then

the Apostle ordained for

them bishops,

priests

and deacons, and ordered the waters of the lake to surround the town before he came back to give an account of his mission to Peter."

Then

Peter goes on to narrate that after he had listened to Paul

speaking of the

town which he had evangelised,

his soul longed to see

he implored the Christ to grant him his wish, and while he it, and was standing on the quay of Carthage he was overshadowed by a
1

The

author uses here the Persian

the author uses the

Here

word didaban. word bahr " sea."

t

story of the evangelisation of Paul is different form in the Ethiopia Contending*, pp. 691-699.

"

The above

found

in

a slightly

404

WOODBROOKE
called

STUDIES
he was entrusted, one
of

white cloud, and the two angels to

whom

Falwabll? came out of it and commanded him to ride on it and go to the town he wished to There he was given a kindly see, and it was called al-Adiyoka. reception, and he rode a white elephant that was placed at his disthe other
posal.

whom was

Akrabll and

He
in

welcome

was also presented by the inhabitants with an address of which he was informed that the day of his visit will be
;

commemorated for ever in their land, and in which he was asked to " sacrifice." plant for them some olive trees as they needed their oil for
During the night Peter prayed the Lord, and next morning the inhabitants of the town saw full-grown olive trees to the length of ten
parasaiigs planted in gardens interspersed with springs of water.

After

having healed people affected with seven months in the town he asked the Lord to remove from
all

sorts of diseases

and remained
it

all

devouring beasts and damaging

insects.

Then

a cloud carried

him

Carthage. brethren were very pleased when he narrated had happened to him. After having lived some days

back

to

The

to
in

them what

Carthage

they repaired to

Philippi and thence to Rome where the jealousy and hatred of Simon Magus were roused against them. Some of
the inhabitants of

Rome

followed

Simon Peter and

for three

and some others Simon Afagus who

magic
all

companions months performed by

his

the miracles that the Apostles wrought

God.
told

One day Simon Magus

that he could

brought an ox to

by the power of the Emperor and

its

him

make

it

die by breathing into

ears

on conto
it.

dition that the

Apostles of Christ should afterwards give

to

life

Emperor summoned Peter recited a prayer over it and life came back ceeded then by itself to summon Simon Magus
duly died and the

The ox

the Apostles/ and

it.

The ox

pro-

before the Emperor,

who
was

able to

remonstrated with him, but the magician answered him that he do a greater miracle, such as that of ascending to heaven.

Then

a great multitude of evil

spirits

assembled there and

lifted

up

Simon Magus
1

to such a height

that he

was no more

seen by the

do not remember having seen these two names elsewhere. In the Ethiopia Con tendings (ibid., p. 700), their names are given as Uriel and Raphael. J Kurban. Possibly the holy chrism.
1

In the text

Peter

is

speaking

in the first person.

APOCALYPSE OF PETER
people.
fell

405

Peter, however, recited another prayer

to the

ground, and his body was cut to

and the magician As an outcome pieces.

and were
to baptise

of this miracle a considerable

number

of people believed

baptised,

them. took the Apostles thirty-eight days Afterwards Peter, together with Timothy and Titus the disciples of

and

it

Paul,
,

and Barnabas the

elder,

and A'amus~ one

in

of the seventy,

repaired to the house of

The number

of people

Rome and there offered sacrifices. who believed in Rome down to the time in
Clement

which the Apostles went to the House of Clement was two hundred and twelve myriads. church was eventually erected in the house

of

Clement.

all

After these events Peter ordered Clement to put down in writing He further that he had taught him and revealed to him.
to deposit the

commanded him
Rome.

book thus witten

finished

in

the archives at
it

When
seals,

the book

was

Peter and Clement sealed

liveth

with their

and Peter

said

"
:

As God
who

no one ought
4

to

divulge these mysteries to

Paul

or those

resemble him.
J

This

can only be done by the pure servants of holiness who are justified by the grace of God." After this Peter added to the two above seals " " the seal of the Virgin the mother of light," and Paul said May my curse dwell also on those who contradict the order of Peter, the
:

head of the Apostles and

1

my

teacher."

They
,

recited then a formula "

Al-kab'ir.

The

Ethiopic text (Contending*

for
(p.

p.

517) has here

This name

Thomas
correctly

the elder."

This
written in

is

probably a copyist's error

Agafus.

is

The error is due to early 517). and undotted Arabic characters, and constitutes another proof in favour of the opinion that the present Gar shun text is transcribed from an Arabic original. * The speaker is here Clement.
the Ethiopic

Contending
i

cannot help remarking that Paul is very much ill treated in this All this sentence, which appears to be hostile to eminently Petrine work. Paul, has been omitted by the Ethiopian translator of the Contending*
(ibid., p.

We

5 1 8),

who was
Apostle
oijot

used

against

the

>i. v

evidently shocked by the severity of the language of the Gentiles. The original sentence is
:

),

Ji

jjbo

<*J/

waS,
mean
"
:

ooj

)-*

o/
liveth

-floa\a3 which may

possibly also

As God
who
worded

no one ought

to divulge these mysteries

be he Paul or any
is,

of those

resemble
5

his followers)." but the general meaning seems to

him(=

The
be

sentence

as usual, badly

clear.

Or: "of

the mass".

406
of curse to

WOODBROOKE
which the
evangelist

STUDIES
Titus and Timothy and
his in a

Luke and

John

the evangelist subscribed.

Clement goes on to relate that he divided parts and that he deposited its leaves in Rome

book
cave
1

into eight

which he

named

the

"

Cave

of Life."

In

it

were

also placed the records of

Stephen and Sifoanus, and the secrets revealed by Paul to his 2 and Dionysius? and those revealed by John disciples Zerosus (?)
Clement had deposited his book, all the Apostles gathered together in the Metropolis where John preached his Gospel. There each one of the Apostles presented the book of
the
evangelist.

After

his profession of faith to Peter

who approved
seal of

of

it

and sanctioned

it.

Clement sealed the books with the

with the seal of Peter, then with that of

each Apostle, beginning Mary the mother of light,

and with that

"

books

of Paul "who had tampered with the language of the and with that of John, and added curses to anyone who

would reveal any of its secrets. Then Clement narrates that he fetched a chest which he
the

called

"

Ark

of the

New

"

Testament

and

in

which he

laid the follow-

He first rolled all the books up in the towel ing sacred objects. with which the Christ had wiped the feet of the Apostles after He
had washed them, as that towel had been kept by Peter, and then he placed them in the chest and covered them with the face-cloth which was
on our Lord's head when

He was

in the grave.

some

of

the Apostles he placed in

Afterwards aided by the chest the linen cloth with

which the body of our Lord was wrapped, and the coat without seam which He wore, and the crown of thorns with which He was
crowned, and the apparel of purple
the vessel
in

which

He

was

arrayed, and

which contained the

gall

and the vinegar which

He

was
and

given to drink,
1

and the spear with which His side was

pierced,

St.

Cf. here the Syriac work Cave of Treasures. Neither the records of Stephen and Silvanus nor Zerosus, the name of Paul's disciple, are found in the Ethiopic work Contendings, pp. 5192 3

520.

Mention, however, is made of a Protheus Probably the Areopagite.

St.

(ibid., pp.

517 and 520).

'l-kutubi. This strange sentence likewise omitted in the Ethiopic Contendings (ibid., 5 1 8). the contrary Paul is called therein (p. 521): "For he (Paul) was the The verb ghayyara literally means " to change, to eye of all the books."

^fdinnahu kana ghayyara lisana

Paul
is

about

On

modify."

APOCALYPSE OF PETER
the rope with

407

which His body was tied to the wood of the Cross, and the reed with which He was struck on the head. All these

Clement placed along with his book in the Ark of the Covenant of the New Testament" and they will protect Rome from all harm
l ;

"

till

the

day
3
it.

of

the Resurrection,'

and no enemy

will ever prevail

against

[Here begins

(ff.

185M943 )

the section

which contains what

It

we

may

call

the testament of Peter to Clement.

mostly deals with

early church discipline and practices, and deserves to be published separately with a more detailed explanation and a more extensive
this I hope to do in the near future. I will, apparatus ever, give a full translation of the following passage found on fol.
critical
;

how1

85 b

as

it

appears to
'

me

to

be of some importance.]

'

for holiness,

(God) will set up Rome as splendour, light and the right place and the faith of its inhabitants will not change nor suffer
it is

modification, as
'

the true faith/

And

the pure father Peter said

Whichever nation which does not

profess the

same
:

faith as the faith

'

of

Rome

is

remote from God.'

is

And

he also said

Any

Christian

whose

faith

not identical with that of the inhabitants of

Rome,

is

remote from God, and will have no share with me,'

informed
angels,
into
1

And

(Christ)

me

that

He
4

will establish this city as a dwelling-place for

will not cease in
it.

and holiness
nor will
it

Tares

will not penetrate

it

be conquered by the Kings of Tares."

An attempt to introduce into Christianity the idea of the Jewish Tabernacle. Cf. the veronica which in the legend had to protect the town of Edessa. 1 All the above narrative is found in the Ethiopia Contendings, pp. 5 81

523, but

in a slightly different form.

Or

"

possibly

the mass."

408

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APOCALYPSE OF PETER

409

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410

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APOCALYPSE OF PETER

413

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423

4 *to J2S&,c*

a\>

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APOCALYPSE OF PETER

425

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wo <*
-IK
f

^?

APOCALYPSE OF PETER

427

28

428

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APOCALYPSE OF PETER

429

-4 viOX

-^'ouA>>N. ^f..4

>K

?*.

V*.

430

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.i'iss&w^''*'

1*

APOCALYPSE OF PETER

432

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APOCALYPSE OF PETER

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^s. ^.r.

J$^*w^ ^L,*'^ ^VJ

'Presented

by

the

trustees

and Governors
%Lanchester.

of

the

John Rylands Library,

Acknowledgment, and publications

addressed
:

in

Exchange should

be

The Librarian,
The John Rylands Library,
Manchester.

435

436

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437

iL*

A^&V ;f C9 009 k>

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