Texts in Conversation
1 Clement quotes an unknown scripture warning the double-minded who doubt God's promises, followed by a proverb about a vine ripening slowly. 2 Clement quotes the same language, calling it "the prophetic word" instead of naming a source.
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2500 BCE
1000+ CE
1 Clement 23:3
First Epistle of Clement to the Corinthians
Early Christian
2 Therefore let us not be double-minded, neither let our soul indulge in idle humors respecting His exceeding and glorious gifts. 3 Let this scripture be far from us where He says “Wretched are the double-minded, Which doubt in their soul and say, ‘These things we did hear in the days of our fathers also, and behold we have grown old, and none of these things has befallen us.’” 4 “You fools, compare yourselves to a tree; take a vine. First it sheds its leaves, then a shoot comes, then a leaf, then a flower, and after these a sour berry, then a full ripe grape. You see that in a little time the fruit of the tree attains to mellowness.”
2 Clement 11:2
Early Christian
1 Let us therefore serve God with a pure heart, and we shall be righteous; but if we do not serve Him, because we do not believe the promise of God, we shall be miserable. 2 For the word of prophecy also says: “Miserable are the double-minded, who doubt in their hearts and say, ‘We heard these things long ago in our fathers’ time, yet day after day we have waited and seen none of them.’” 3 You fools! Compare yourselves to a tree; take a vine. First it sheds its leaves, then a shoot appears, after this a sour berry, then a fully ripe grape. 4 So likewise My people had turmoil and afflictions, but afterward they shall receive good things.
Date: 130-160 C.E. (based on scholarly estimates)
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Notes and References
“... Other Quotations: 1 Clem. 23:3-4 and 2 Clem. 11:2-4? It is clear that these are independent quotations from the same apocryphal source, called "Scripture" in 1 Clement and "the prophetic word" in 2 Clement. Lightfoot may have been the first to suggest that this was Eldad and Modad, and several other scholars have followed him. In favour of this identification is the association of Hermas and 1 Clement (and perhaps 2 Clement also) with the church in Rome, as well as the term "prophetic word," used in 2 Clement, which would well suit prophecies attributed to Eldad and Modad. [...] Of special interest is the fact that this quotation, in 1 Clement and 2 Clement, uses the word "double-minded" (dipsychos). Curiously, this word and its cognates, the verb dipsychein ("to be in two minds") and the noun dipsychia ("double-mindedness"), are almost confined to the four early Christian writings we have been considering: James, Hermas, 1 and 2 Clement. ...”
Bauckham, Richard, James R. Davila, and Alexander Panayotov
Old Testament Pseudepigrapha: More Noncanonical Scriptures, Volume One
(pp. 250-251) Eerdmans, 2013
* The use of references are not endorsements of their contents. Please read the entirety of the provided reference(s) to understand the author's full intentions regarding the use of these texts.
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