istians who, according
to Dial. 48, denied the pre-existence of Christ and held him to be a
man, are described as Jewish Christians. We should read in the passage
in question, as my recent comparison of the Parisian codex shews,
[Greek: apo tou umeterou genous]. Yet Justin did not make this a
controversial point of great moment.]

[Footnote 419: The so-called Barnabas is considerably older than Justin.
In his Epistle (4. 6) he has in view Gentile Christians who have been
converted by Jewish Christians, when he utters a warning against those
who say [Greek: hoti a diatheke ekeinon] (the Jews) [Greek: kai hemon
(estin)]. But how great the actual danger was cannot be gathered from
the Epistle. Ignatius in two Epistles (ad Magn. 8-10, ad Philad. 6. 9)
opposes Jewish Christian intrigues, and characterises them solely from
the point of view that they mean to introduce the Jewish observance of
the law. He opposes them with a Pauline idea (Magn. 8 1: [Greek: ei gar
mechri nun kata nomon. Ioudaismon zomen homologoumen charin me
eilephenai]), as well as with the common Gentile Christian assumption
that the prophets themselves had already lived [Greek: kata Christon].
These Judaists must be strictly distinguished from the Gnostics whom
Ignatius elsewhere opposes (against Zahn, Ignat. v. Ant. p. 356 f.). The
dangers from this Jewish Christianity cannot have been very serious,
even if we take Magn. 11. 1, as a phrase. There was an active Jewish
community in Philadelphia (Rev. III. 9), and so Jewish Christian plots
may have continued longer there. At the first look it seems very
promising that in the old dialogue of Aristo of Pella, a Hebrew
Christian, Jason, is put in opposition to the Alexandrian Jew, Papiscus.
But as the history of the little book proves, this Jason must have
essentially represented the common Christian and not the Ebionite
conception of the Old Testament and its relation to the Gospel, etc; see
my Texte u. Unters. I. 1 2. p. 115 ff.; I. 3 p. 115-130. Testimony as to
an apostasy to Judaism is occasionally though rarely given; see Serapion
in Euseb., H. E. VI. 12, who addresses a book to one Domninus, [Greek:
ekpeptokota para ton tou diogmou kairon apo tes eis Christon pisteos epi
ten Ioudaiken ethelothreskeian]; see also Acta Pionii, 13. 14. According
to Epiphanius, de mens. et pond. 14, 15, Acquila, the translator of the
Bible, was first a Christian and then a Jew. This account is perhaps
derived from Origen, and