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1
1,1 As I begin my account ano oiscussion ol laith ano unbeliel, ol correct
views ano oivergent views, I am going to start by mentioning the worlo`s
creation ano what lolloweo it
2
though I am not beginning by my own
power or with my own reasoning but as Goo, the Loro ol all, the Mercilul,
has vouchsaleo to reveal the knowleoge ol everything to his prophets ano
through them, as lar as human nature allows, to us.
1,2 Ano I leel quite anxious at the outset, as soon as I begin to consioer
the subject. Inoeeo I am extremely lrighteneo at unoertaking a task ol no
small oil!culty, ano I call on the holy Goo himsell, on his only-begotten
Son Jesus Christ, ano on his Holy Spirit, to give light to my poor mino,
lor its illumination with the knowleoge ol these things.
1,3 Ior the Greek authors, poets ano chroniclers woulo invoke a Muse
when they unoertook some work ol mythology. A Muse, not Gootheir
wisoom was oevilish, earthly, ano not oescenoeo lrom above,
3
as scripture
says. ,!, I, however, am calling upon the holy Loro ol all to come to the aio
ol my poverty ano inspire me with his Holy Spirit, so that I may incluoe
nothing spurious in my treatment ol the subject. ,, Ano having maoe this
very petitionlor accoroing to the measure ol laith ano in proportion,
!

I know my inaoequacyI beseech him to grant it.
2,1 To a person reaoing a work on any question the aim ol the trea-
tise ~ ought to be clear ~the oiscoveries which training enables my small
mino to grasp lie in the temporal realm, ano I certainly oo not promise to
impart the knowleoge ~ ol everything in the worlo. ,2, There are things
which cannot be uttereo, ano things which can. There are things untolo,
beyono counting, inaccessible so lar as man is concerneo, ano known only
to the Loro ol all. ,3, But we are oealing with variance ol opinions ano
kinos ol knowleoge, with laith in Goo ano unbeliel, with sects, ano with
heretical human opinion which misguioeo persons have been sowing in the
worlo lrom man`s lormation on earth till our own oay, the eleventh year ol
the reigns ol Valentinian ano Valens ano the seventh ol Gratian`s.

1
Epiph consioers his account ol the lour mothers ol the sects to be part ol this Froem,
as he shows by his woroing ol 2,13. Ior convenience we title 1,1-3,9 Froem II.
2
At 1,1 below. Epiph`s account begins with Aoam.
3
Jas 3:1
!
Cl. Rom 12:o.

37 C.E.
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3,! Thus, oearest, my work too has been compileo ~ as a oelense
against them ano lor your salety ~, to reveal the appearance ol the
oreaolul serpents ano beasts, ano their poisons ano oeaoly bites. ,, Ano to
correspono with these I shall give as many arguments, like antiootes, as I
can in short compassone or two at mostto counteract their poison ano,
alter the Loro, cure anyone who wants to be cureo ~, il he has lallen,
willingly or inaovertently, into these snake-like teachings ol the sects.
1.
!"#$"#%&' )
1,1 Ior at the beginning Aoam was brought to lile on the sixth oay, alter
being lormeo lrom earth ano inluseo with ,Goo`s breath,. He was not begun
on the !lth oay, as some think, ano !nisheo on the sixth, the ioea ol those
who say this is a mistaken one. He was unspoileo ano innocent ol evil ano
hao no other name, lor he hao no aooitional name ol an opinion, a beliel,
or a oistinctive way ol lile. He was simply calleo Aoam, which means
man. ,2, A wile like himsell was lormeo lor him out ol himsellout ol
the same booy, by ~ the same inlusion ol breath. Aoam hao male ano
lemale chiloren, ano alter 930 years ol lile he oieo.
1,3 The chilo ol Aoam was Seth, the son ol Seth was Enosh, ano his
oescenoants were Cainan, Mahalaleel ano Jareo. Ano the traoition which
I have learneo says that wickeoness !rst appeareo in the worlo at this
point.
1
It hao also appeareo at the beginning through Aoam`s oisobeoience,
ano then through Cain`s lratricioe. But now, in the liletime ol Jareo ano
alterwaro, came sorcery, witchcralt, licentiousness, aoultery ano injustice.
,!, However ~ there was no oivergent opinion, no changeo beliel, there
was one language, ano one stock which hao been planteo on earth at that
time. ,, This Jareo hao a son nameo Enoch, who pleaseo Goo ano was
not, lor goo took him away ano he oio not see oeath.
2
Enoch was the
lather ol Methuselah, Methuselah ol Lamech, ano Lamech ol Noah
1,o Goo`s righteous juogment brought a "ooo on the worlo ano wipeo
all humanity out, ano all other living things ~. But by his oecree he pre-
serveo Noah in the ark, since he hao pleaseo Goo ano louno lavorNoah
himsell, his three sons, Shem, Ham ano Japheth, Noah`s own wile, ano his
three sons` wives. ,7, So eight human beings were preserveo lrom the water
1
Ferhaps cl. Jub. !.1, which says that the Watchers came to earth in the oays ol Jareo.
2
Gen :2!, Heb 11:
!"#!"#$%& 1
1o !"#$%&' %
ol the !ooo in the ark ol those oays. Ano some ol every kino ol animal
ano living thing, cattle ano everything else on earth, were preserveopairs
in some cases, sevens in othersto renew the existence ol every kino ol
thing in the worlo. ,8, Ano thus a tenth generation hao passeo making
22o2 years.
3
Ano the !ooo came to an eno, ano Noah ano his householo
serveo as a surviving stock in the worlo.
1,9 But there was no oillerence ol opinion yet, no people that was at
all oillerent, no name lor a sect, ano no ioolatry either. Since everyone lol-
loweo his own opinion, however, the name, Barbarism, was given to the
era then, ouring the ten generations. ,Ior there was not one law. Everyone
serveo as a law to himsell ano conlormeo to his own opinion. Hence the
apostle`s usage, not only ol Barbarism but ol the other terms as well,
lor he says, In Christ Jesus there is neither Barbarian, Scythian, Hellene
nor Jew.,
!
2.
!"#$%&'(&)* ,
2,1 Alter the !ooo, since Noah`s ark hao come to rest in the highlanos
ol Ararat between Armenia ano Caroyaei on the mountain calleo Lubar,
1

the "rst human settlement lollowing the !ooo was maoe there. Ano there
the prophet Noah planteo a vineyaro ano became the original settler ol the
site. ,2, His chilorenthere is no inoication that he hao morehao chiloren
ano chiloren`s chiloren oown to a "lth generation, o9 years in all, omitting
Shem. But I shall list the oescenoants ol the one son in succession. Shem,
then, was the lather ol Arphachshao, Arphachshao, ol Kenah, Kenah, ol
Shelah. Shelah was the lather ol Eber, the pious ano goolearing. Eber was
the lather ol Feleg.
2
2,3 Ano there was nothing on earth, no sect, no opinion clashing with
another one, but only men were spoken ol, ol one speech ano one lan-
guage.
3
There were only ungooliness ano gooliness, the natural law ano
the natural error ol each inoivioual`s will, not learneo lrom teaching or
writings. There was no Juoaism, no Hellenism, no other sect at all. But in
3
Cl. Jer. Ep. ,EpiphJohn ol Jerusalem, 1.o.7.
!
Col 3:11, Gal 3:28
1
Jub. .28, 7.1, 17, ano 10.1. In this last, Lubar is saio to be Noah`s burial place.
2
Gen 11:10-17
3
Gen 11:1
a sense there was the laith which is now native to Goo`s present oay holy
catholic church, a laith which was in existence lrom the beginning ano was
revealeo again later. ,!, Anyone who is willing to make an ~ impartial
investigation can ~ see, lrom the very object ol it, that ~ the holy catholic
church is the beginning ol everything. Aoam, the ~ man who was lormeo
at the !rst, was not lormeo with a booy circumciseo, but uncircumciseo.
He was no ioolater, ano he knew the Iather as Goo, ano the Son ano Holy
Spirit, lor he was a prophet.
2, Without circumcision he was no Jew ano since he oio not worship
carveo images or anything else, he was no ioolater. Ior Aoam was ~ a
prophet, ano knew that the Iather hao saio, Let us make man,
!
to the
Son. What was he, then, since he was neither circumciseo nor an ioola-
terexcept that he exhibiteo the character ol Christianity? ,o, Ano we
must take this to be the case ol Abel, Seth, Enosh, Enoch, Methuselah,
Noah ano Eber, oown to Abraham.
2,7 Gooliness ano ungooliness, laith ano unbeliel, were operative
thena laith which exhibiteo the image ol Christianity ano an unbeliel
which exhibiteo the character ol ungooliness ano transgression, contrary
to the natural law, until the time I have just mentioneo.
2,8 In the !lth generation alter the "ooo, now when humanity was
multiplying lrom Noah`s three sons, through the succession ol chiloren`s
chiloren ano their chiloren a total ol 72 lounoing lathers ano chieltains hao
arisen in the worlo. ,9, Ano in going on ano aovancing lrom Mt. Lubar
ano the boroers ol Armenia, that is, lrom the lano ol Ararat, they arriveo
at the plain ol Shinar where, we suppose, they chose to settle ~. Shinar
is now in Fersia but anciently it belongeo to the Assyrians.
2,10 Consulting together there they took counsel with each other to
builo a tower ano a city. Because they hao migrateo to Asia lrom the
region next to Europe they were all calleo Scythians in the parlance ol
the time.
2,11 They laio the lounoations ol the tower ano built Babylon. Ano Goo
was not pleaseo with their loolish work, lor he conlounoeo their languages
ano oivioeo them lrom one to 72, to correspono with the number ol the
men who were then alive. Thus they have been calleo Meropes because ol
the oivioeo speech.

A blast ol wino blew the tower over.

!
Gen 1:2o

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1,1 Ano Goo chose Abraham whoagain, characteristically ol the holy
catholic churchwas laithlul in uncircumcision, ano was perlection itsell
in gooliness, a prophet in knowleoge, ano in lile, conlormeo to the Gospel.
,2, Ior he hao liveo at home to honor his lather but ~, like Feter, Anorew,
James ano John, he baoe larewell to his lamily when he was calleo by Goo`s
biooing, in obeoience to the One who was calling him.
1,3 Ano to avoio prolonging the account again, I am going to summa-
rize. On reaching the age ol 99 this patriarch was given the commanoment
ol circumcision by Goo, ano the character ol Juoaism originateo lrom
this, alter Hellenism. Ano it was the twenty-!rst generation, 3!31 years,
alter ~ the lounoation ol the worlo. ,!, Ior lrom the "ooo till the tower
ano Serug there was Scythianism, ano there was Hellenism lrom Serug till
Abrahamano until now. But there was no name ol a sect oeriveo lrom
Abraham, other than simply the name ol his gooly sell, ano so those who
were oeriveo lrom Abraham were calleo Abramians.
1, Ior Abraham hao eight sons, but Isaac was the sole heir. This was
both because, as his lather wisheo, he was living as an aoherent ol the true
religion, ano because he hao been given to his lather by Goo`s promise. ,o,
Belore him Abraham hao Ishmael by the maioservant Hagar, ano Khetura
bore him six chiloren. These were oisperseo over the lano calleo Arabia
IelixZimram, Jokshan, Ishbak, Shuah, Meoan ano Mioian. Ano the
son ol the bonomaio
1
as I saio, his name was Ishmaelalso took up
resioence in the wiloerness ~ ano lounoeo the city calleo Faran in the
wiloerness. He hao twelve chiloren altogether, these were the ancestors ol
the tribes ol the Hagarenes, or Ishmaelites, though tooay they are calleo
Saracens.
1,8 Isaac hao two sons, Esau ano Jacob, ano then the nation ol the
gooly were calleo both Abramians ano Isaacites. When Esau hao gone oll
to Ioumaea, the territory lying to the southeast ol Canaan, he became the
original settler ol Mount Seir, ano in his turn lounoeo Eoom, known as
Rekem ano Fetra. ,9, He hao sons who were also calleo the princes ol
Eoom,
2
ano they ruleo, each in turn, in Ioumaea. The !lth in succession
lrom him, leaving Abraham out ol this number but counting lrom Isaac,
1
Gal !:30
2
Cl. Exoo 1:1.
was Job. ,10, Ior Isaac was the lather ol Esau, Esau ol Raguel, Raguel ol
Zara, ano Zara ol Job, who was calleo Jobab earlier, but was later nameo
Job, shortly belore the trial that came upon him. Circumcision was the
custom ,ol all these persons,.
1,11 By his lather`s ano mother`s aovice Jacob !eo lrom his brother
Esau because ol Esau`s anger, to Faoan in Mesopotamia beyono Souba
in Mesopotamia. Irom there he took lour wives in all ol his own kin, ano
they bore him twelve chiloren, also calleo the patriarchs. ,12, During his
return to Canaan, to his lather, Isaac, ano his mother, Rebecca, he hao
a vision lrom Goo near the sources ol the Joroanthe stream is calleo
the Jabbokperhaps where he hao seen hosts ol angels. ,13, Ano lo,
we are tolo, ,there appeareo, a manby which the scripture meant an
angelat even, ano wrestleo with him until the breaking ol the oay.
3

As a blessing he gave Jacob a title ol honor, Israel. ,1!, When he lelt
there Jacob nameo the place, Sight ol Goo. Now ~ since the One who
tolo him, Thy name shall be calleo no more Jacob, but Israel shall it be
calleo,
!
hao nameo him Israel ~, ano hao oistinguisheo him by saying,
Thou hast hao power with Goo, ano with men thou shalt be mighty,

they have been calleo Israelites lrom that time on.
2,1 Israel too went oown to Egypt alter Joseph`s oescenthe too, with
his whole householo ol sons ano granosons, the wives we have spoken ol
ano others, 70 souls in all. ,2, The people ol Israel liveo in Egypt lor "ve
generations. Ior Jacob was the lather ol Levi ano Juoah ano the other ten
patriarchs, Levi was the lather ol Kohath, Juoah ol Fharez. Kohath was
the lather ol Amram, Amram was the lather ol Moses. Fharez was the
lather ol Esrom, Esrom was the lather ol Aram, Aram was the lather ol
Aminaoab, ano Aminaoab was the lather ol Nahshon.
2,3 During the liletime ol Moses ano Nahshon, in the "lth generation
reckoneo lrom Levi, Israel oeparteo miraculously lrom Egypt through the
Reo Sea, ano encampeo in the wiloerness ol Sinai. ,!, Ano when Goo
oirecteo his servant Moses to make a count ol men between 20 ano 0
who coulo oraw a sworo ano bear arms, he louno as many as o28,00.
2, Inachus
o
was well known among the Greeks at that perioo. His
oaughter was Io, also calleo Atthis, lor whom the present oay Attica
7
is
3
Cl. Gen 32:30.
!
Gen 32:28

Gen 32:28
o
Clem. Alex. Strom. 1.102.!, Eus. Fraep. Ev. 10.10, Jer. Chron. 7,20
7
Jer. Chron. !!,1
!"#$%&' 21
22 !"#$%&' %
nameo. Bosporus,
8
lor whom the city ol Bosporus on the Black Sea is nameo,
was her son as well. The Egyptians call her Isis,
9
ano also worship her as a
goooess. Also with the same name as his is a river calleo Inachus.
2,o It was then that the Greeks` mysteries ano rites began. They hao
unlortunately been inventeo previously among the Egyptians, Fhrygians,
Fhoenicians ano Babylonians, but they were brought to the Greeks lrom
Egypt by Caomus,
10
ano by Inachus himsellwho hao previously been
nameo Apis, ano hao built Memphis.
11
They also originateo with Orpheus
ano certain others ,7, ano were lormeo into heresies later, ouring the
liletimes ol Epicurus, Zeno the Stoic, Fythagoras ano Flato. These were
in vogue lrom this time until the perioo ol the Maceoonians ano Xerxes,
king ol Fersia, alter the !rst lall ol Jerusalem ano the captivity unoer
Nebuchaonezzar ano Darius, ano the time ol Alexanoer ol Maceoon`s
contemporaries. ,8, Ior Flato was noteo at that perioo, ano his preoecessors,
Fythagoras ano the later Epicurus. Irom this, as I saio, the Greek writings
got their impetus ano reacheo their establisheo lorm, ano the philosophers`
celebrateo sects alterwaros. These agree among themselves in error ano
proouce a concoroant science ol ioolatry, impiety ano goolessness, but
within the same error they clash with each other.
.
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1,1 Ano the Stoic notion ol oeity is as lollows. They claim that Goo is
mino, or the mino ol the whole visible vaultI mean ol heaven, earth ano
the restlike a soul in a booy. ,2, But they also oivioe the one Gooheao
into many inoivioual beings: sun, moon ano stars, soul, air ano the others.
,3, Ano they teach ~ the reincarnations ol souls ano their transmigrations
lrom booy to booy, with souls ~ being removeo lrom ~ booies, enter-
ing others in turn ano being born once morealong with much oeceit ol
theirs they cap it all with this impiety. Ano they think that the soul is a
part ol Goo, ano immortal.
1,! Zeno was the lounoer ol their Stoa, ano there is much conluseo
chatter about him. Some have saio that he was the son ~ ol one Clean-
8
Jer. Chron. !2,1
9
Jer. Chron. 27,1!
10
Jer. Chron. !o,23
11
Jer. Chron. 32,9
8.
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1,1 Next alter them, Epicurus introouceo the worlo to the ooctrine that
there is no provioence. He saio that all things arise lrom atoms ano revert
back to atoms. All things, even the worlo, exist by chance, since nature is
constantly generating, being useo up again, ano once more reneweo out
ol itsellbut it never ceases to be, since it arises out ol itsell ano is worn
oown into itsell.
1,2 Originally the entire universe was like an egg ano the spirit was
then coileo snakewise rouno the egg, ano bouno nature tightly like a wreath
or girole. ,3, At one time it wanteo to squeeze the entire matter, or nature,
ol all things more lorcibly, ano so oivioeo all that existeo into the two
hemispheres ano then, as the result ol this, the atoms were separateo. ,!,
Ior the light, !ner parts ol all naturelight, aether ano the !nest parts ol
the spirit"oateo up on top. But the parts which were heaviest ano like
oregs have sunk oownwaros. This means earththat is, anything oryano
the moist substance ol the waters. ,, The whole moves ol itsell ano by its
own momentum with the revolution ol the pole ano stars, as though all
things were still being oriven by the snakelike spirit.
!
I have spoken ol these things il only in part, ano in the same way these
lour sects ought to be reluteo. But this has been loregone ~ lor the sake
ol shortness in reaoing.
8 9%:(#*2+ $1).#)%':;
2,1 Ano then as I have saio alreaoy,
1
poets, prose authors, historians,
astronomers, ano the ones who introouceo the other kinos ol error maoe
men`s opinion giooy ano conluseo by accustoming their minos to any num-
ber ol bao cases ano arguments. Ano this !rst mistake ano mislortune
ol ooctrine, the invention ol iools,
2
came into being.

2,2 Everything was oivioeo into Hellenism ano Juoaism. However, it
was not calleo Juoaism yet, but until !ve ~ persons hao been born in
succession it hao the ancestral name ol the true religion through Israel.
,3, Ior Nahshon, who was born in the wiloerness as heao ol the tribe ol
!
Cl. Ascl. 17.
1
At 3,11
2
Cl. Wiso Sol 1!:12.
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2o !"#$%&' %
Juoah, was the lather ol Salmon. Salmon was the lather ol Boaz, Boaz,
ol Obeo, Obeo ol Jessewhile the gooly were still being calleo Israelites.
Jesse was the lather ol King Davio, the !rst ol the tribe ol Juoah to reign
as king. Irom him there then arose the successive kings ol his line, one
alter another, with son succeeoing lather.
2,! The actual !rst king in Israel belore Davio himsell, was Saul the
son ol Kish, ol the tribe ol Benjamin. But he was rejecteo ~, ano no son
succeeoeo him, his kingship passeo to Davio ano through Davio, the !rst,
to the tribe ol Juoah. ,, Ior as a !rst chilo, Reuben was born to Jacob
himsell, as a secono, Simeon, as a thiro, Levi, ano as a lourth, Juoah, ano
thus they are calleo Jews because ol the tribe ol Juoah, with the name
ol the gooly people changeo in this way. Hence they were calleo ,both,
Israelites ano Jews.
3,1 The lour breeos on earth lolloweo each other in succession until
this time, with these lour oivisions oistinguisheo lrom the earliest times
until this one which I have mentioneo here, ano beyono. ,2, That is: lrom
Aoam until Noah, Barbarism. Irom Noah until the tower, ano until Serug
two generations alter the tower, the Scythian superstition. Alter that, lrom
the tower, Serug ano Terah ~ until Abraham, Hellenism. Irom Abraham
on, the true religion which is associateo with this same AbrahamJuoa-
ism, ,nameo, lor his lineal oescenoant Juoah. ,3, Goo`s Spirit-inspireo, holy
apostle Faul bears me out in this with some such woros as, In Christ Jesus
there is neither barbarian, Scythian, Hellene nor Jew but a new creation.
3

,Ior at !rst, when creation hao been maoe, it was new ano hao not been
given any oillerent name., ,!, Ano again, Faul says in agreement with this
in another passage: I am oebtor both to the Hellenes ano to the barbar-
ians, both to the wise ano to the unwise
!
,meaning the Jews by wise but
the Scythians by unwise. Ano he says, I am oebtor, meaning that
salvation is ol the Jews. ~,

3, Ano so the entire nation ol Israel were calleo Jews lrom the time
ol Davio. Ano all Israel continueo to be calleo by their ancestral name ol
Israelites, ano to have the aooitional oesignation, Jews, lrom the time
ol Davio, ol his son Solomon, ano ol Solomon`s sonI mean Rehoboam,
who ruleo in Jerusalem alter Solomon.
3
Col 3:11, Gal o:1
!
Rom 1:1!

John !:22. Epiph gives these explanations to harmonize his two quotations, since Faul
has mentioneo only Hellenes ano Barbarians.