‘I Have Come to Abolish Sacrifices’ (Epiphanius,Pan.30.16.5): Re-examining a Jewish Christian Text and Tradition

Abstract

The Gospel of the Ebionites is a 'text' that only exists as fragments cited in and extrapolated from the heresiological writings of Epiphanius (Pan. ). Like Recognitions .-, the Gospel of the Ebionites is one of a number of secondand third-century Jewish Christian sources, texts and traditions alleging that Jesus rejected animal sacrifice. In this article, I seek to review the history of research on this particular text and tradition and explore its significance as a case study in the use of non-canonical gospel traditions in New Testament studies.