THE GOSPEL CALLED THE PROTEVANGELION

FORBIDDEN BOOKS OF THE NEW TESTAMENT.

Or, an Historical Account of the BIRTH of CHRIST, and the perpetual
VIRGIN MARY, his Mother, by JAMES THE LESSER, Cousin and Brother
of the Lord Jesus, chief Apostle and first Bishop of the Christians in
Jerusalem.
 

REFERENCES TO THE PROTEVANGELION.

THE PROTEVANGELION.
Note on the death of Zacharias in, Chap. 16.

There is a story both in the Jerusalem and Babylonish Talmud very similar
to this. It is cited by Dr. Lightfoot, Talmud, Hierosol, in Taanith, fol.
69; and Talmud. Babyl. in Sanhedr., fol. 96. "O Rabbi Jochanan said,
Eighty thousand priests were slain for the blood of Zacharias. Rabbi
Judas asked Rabbi Achan, Where did they kill Zacharias? Was it in the
woman's court, or in the court of Israel? He answered, Neither in the
court of Israel, nor in the court of women, but in the court of the
priests; and they did not treat his blood in the same manner as they were
wont to treat the blood of a ram or young goat. For of these it is
written, He shall pour out his blood, and cover it with dust. But it is
written here, The blood is in the midst of her: she set it upon the top
of a rock; she poured it not upon the ground. (Ezek. xxiv. 7.) But why
was this? That it might cause fury to come up to take vengeance: I have
set his blood upon the top of a rock, that it should not be covered.
They committed seven evils that day: they murdered a priest, a prophet,
and a king; they shed the blood of the innocent they polluted the court:
that day was the Sabbath: and the day of expiation. When therefore
Nebuzaradan came there (viz. to Jerusalem,) he saw his blood bubbling,
and said to them, What meaneth this? They answered, It is the blood of
calves, lambs, and rams, which we have offered upon the altar. He
commanded then, that they should bring calves, and lambs, and rams, and
said I will try whether this be their blood: accordingly they brought
and slew them, but the blood of Zacharias still bubbled, but the blood of
these did not bubble. Then he said, Declare to me the truth of this
matter, or else I will comb your flesh with iron combs. Then said they to
him, He was a priest, prophet, and judge, who prophesied to Israel all
these calamities which we have suffered from you; but we arose against
him, and slew him. Then, said he, I will appease him then he took the
rabbins and slew them upon his (viz. Zacharias's) blood, and he was not
yet appeased. Next he took the young boys from the schools, and slew them
upon his blood; and yet it bubbled. Then he brought the young priests and
slew them in the-same place, and yet it still bubbled. So he slew at
length ninety-four thousand persons upon his blood, and it did not as yet
cease bubbling, then he drew near to it, and said, O Zacharias,
Zacharias, thou halt occasioned the death of the chief of thy
countrymen, shall I slay them all? then the blood ceased, and did bubble
no more."




REFERENCES TO THE PROTEVANGELION.

[This Gospel is ascribed to James. The allusions to it in the ancient
Fathers are frequent, and their expressions indicate that it had
obtained a very general credit in the Christian world. The controversies
founded upon it chiefly relate to the age of Joseph at the birth of
Christ, and to his being a widower with children, before his marriage
with the Virgin. It seems material to remark, that the legends of the
latter ages affirm the virginity of Joseph, notwithstanding Epiphanius,
Hilary, Chrysostom, Cyril, Euthymius, Thephylaet, Occumenius, and indeed
all the Latin Fathers till Ambrose, and the Greek Fathers afterwards,
maintain the opinions of Joseph's age and family, founded upon their
belief in the authenticity of this book. It is supposed to have been
originally composed in Hebrew. Postellus brought the MS. of this Gospel
from the Levant, translated it into Latin, and sent it to Oporimus,
a printer at Basil, where Bibliander, a Protestant Divine, and the
Professor of Divinity at Zurich, caused it to be printed in 1552.
Postellus asserts that it was publicly read as canonical in the eastern
churches they making no doubt that James was the author, of it. It is,
nevertheless considered apocryphal by some of the most learned divines in
the Protestant and Catholic churches.]

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