Epiphanius: where does he describe Indians as the descendants of Abraham and Keturah?
score:5
The idea that Epiphanius claimed the people of India were descendant from Abraham and Keturah appears to be derived from a conflation of two passages.
In De Fide, 12.5 he writes:
But again, I omit the names of many other mysteries, heresiarches and fomenters of schism whose leaders are called Magusaeans by the Persias but prophets by the Egyptians, and who preside over their shrines and temples. And those Babyloanian magi who are called Gazarenes, sages and enchanters, and the Indians' Evilei so-called, and Brahmans, and the Greek's heirophants and temple custodians, and a throng of Cynics, and the leaders of countless other philosophers.
This is actually a list of mystics of which the Brahmans are one. However, it would easy to misread the passage as equating the magi with the Indians. (The Greek of the passage is difficult to understand, I'm told.)
In De Fide, 7.6, 8.1 Epiphanius writes:
But Abraham's gifts to Keturah's children were wealth - gold, silver, clothing, and whatever Abraham secretly hid in their wallets, the "frankincense, myrrh and gold" ... The children of Abraham by Keturah were cast out by Abraham, and settled in Magodia in Arabia. The same gifts were offered to Christ in Bethlehem by the magi who came from their land and, when they seen the star and come, offered presents and gifts in order to share in the same hope.
Epiphanius has tied the magi of Matthew 2 to the descendants of Abraham through Keturah. However, he has not said they came from India, but rather "Magodia" in Arabia. As near as I can tell, this term does not occur outside of Epiphanius in extant works, and in any case its identity has been lost. However, it is clearly not in India.
In conclusion, Epiphanius does not say the Brahmans descended from Keturah. It was apparently via a misunderstanding of De Fide 12.5, combined with what Epiphanius actually writes in 8.1, that Paulinus got the idea.
More post
- 📝 What do Chinese Catholics call their priests?
- 📝 Do any major Christian traditions have documented ways of dealing with religious doubt?
- 📝 How can Saint Thomas Christians who are Catholic have confidence that St. Thomas sailed to Muziris?
- 📝 I've heard it said that Pope St. John Paul II wrote in front of the blessed sacrament. Is this true?
- 📝 History of the "three" wise men
- 📝 Does transcendental meditation conflict with any Christian beliefs?
- 📝 What is the difference between Docetism and Manichaenism concerning the Incarnation?
- 📝 What paths exist in the Catholic Church for a certain theological position to become recognized as dogma?
- 📝 Refute perceived differences in the Gospel between Peter and Paul from Sola Scriptura perspective
- 📝 Is the Patriarch of Alexandria an Eastern Orthodox or an Oriental Orthodox?
- 📝 What is the origin of the Orthodox belief that Sts. Joseph and Mary were betrothed but not married?
- 📝 What is the basis for the idea that the Song of Solomon is about the relationship between God and the church?
- 📝 Did St. Nicholas punch Arius at the Council of Nicaea?
- 📝 How did Baptists in the southern US justify slavery as compatible with Christianity?
- 📝 Was the 1914 prophecy (derived from the book of Daniel) ever mentioned in any newspapers before World War I?
- 📝 Some questions concerning Aramaic in the Old Testament
- 📝 Catholic response to Luke 11:27-28
- 📝 How do Protestants interpret Malachi 1:11 and Isaiah 66:20-21?
- 📝 What do the Catholic officials intend to do for unity with the Orthodox Church? [2017]
- 📝 Why are Catholics singled out from "Christians"?
- 📝 Did Moses see the face of God?
- 📝 Does Catholic and Orthodox belief say 'antichrist' has already come and gone?
- 📝 What Conservative Catholic publication am I looking for?
- 📝 According to Catholicism what does it mean for every relationship in heaven to be perfect and fulfilling?
- 📝 Which of these interpretations of Malachi 3:1 can be eliminated?
- 📝 Would the Christians Luke was writing for know who Phanuel was?
- 📝 How common were blasphemy accusations and trials among the Jews during the time of Jesus?
- 📝 In Catholicism, do scripted and unscripted prayers have equal importance to one's spiritual identity and development?
- 📝 How did Thomas Aquinas view grace as opposed to the church fathers?
- 📝 How do Protestants deal with pre-Reformation heresies?
Source: stackoverflow.com
Search Posts
Related post
- 📝 Epiphanius: where does he describe Indians as the descendants of Abraham and Keturah?
- 📝 When and where does the statement, "Christ paid the penalty for our sins" first appear?
- 📝 What does the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints teach about who Jesus is and where He came from?
- 📝 From where did the Book of Abraham come and how did it become part of LDS Scripture?
- 📝 Where in the Biblical narrative does God first reveal himself as the only living and true god?
- 📝 Where does the Body, Soul and Spirit of man go after Death?
- 📝 Where does the communication between God and Satan take place?
- 📝 Where is the italicization in the King James translation of the Bible from and what does it mean?
- 📝 Where does one draw the line between spritiual attack and spiritual defense?
- 📝 Where does the concept of a "God-shaped hole" originate?
- 📝 How does Matthew 25:31-46 ("The Sheep and the Goats") reconcile with salvation by faith?
- 📝 From where does the doctrine that there is no time in heaven originate?
- 📝 Why does the (N)KJV put Jesus' name in all caps in Matthew 1:21 and Luke 1:31?
- 📝 Why does the Salvation Army not administer the sacraments of baptism and the Lord's Supper?
- 📝 Does the Bible itself give us clues about which parts to interpret literally and which figuratively?
- 📝 Where does the Bible stand on vegetarianism?
- 📝 What does the LDS Church (Mormon) teach about marriage and polygamy in the afterlife?
- 📝 When does the bread and wine become Body and Blood?
- 📝 Where does prevenient grace originate in the Bible?
- 📝 Where did the notion that Adam and Eve ate an APPLE come from?
- 📝 Does Christianity allow eating pork and horse meat, which even though it is prohibited by the Jewish Law?
- 📝 Was the marriage between Abraham and Sarah incestuous?
- 📝 Does Acts 15:21 assume new believers would learn and follow the law from synagogues on sabbath?
- 📝 From where do Jehovah's Witnesses derive the doctrine that Jesus was and now is Michael the Archangel?
- 📝 Where does the Catholic church procure most of its Bibles?
- 📝 What does the abbreviation "RNIO" mean in a painting of the Virgin and Child?
- 📝 According to Jehovah's Witnesses, does Jesus make the same claim as God, that he is the "first and the last,"?
- 📝 Was 'Jesus and the woman taken in adultery' in St. John a later addition, and does this invalidate infallibility?
- 📝 Does God lie? And does the devil tell the truth?
- 📝 Does the Bible make a distinction between Christian and secular love?
