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In 4 Ezra, Ezra complains that God made the world for Israel, yet other nations rule over Israel. In the Shepherd of Hermas, an elderly woman representing “the Church” is also described as created before all things, with the world formed for her sake.
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2500 BCE
1000+ CE
4 Ezra 6:55
2 Esdras
Pseudepigrapha, Apocalypses
53 “But on the sixth day, you commanded the earth to produce before you cattle, animals, and creeping things. 54 Over these, you ordained Adam as ruler over all the works that you have made. Of him came all of us, the people whom you have chosen. 55 “All this have I spoken before you, O Lord, because you have said that for our sakes you made this world. 56 As for the other nations, which also come from Adam, you have said that they are nothing, and are like spittle. You have likened the abundance of them to a drop that falls from a bucket. 57 Now, O Lord, behold these nations, which are reputed as nothing, being rulers over us and devouring us. 58 But we your people, whom you have called your firstborn, your only children, and your fervent lover, are given into their hands. 59 Now if the world is made for our sakes, why don’t we possess our world for an inheritance? How long will this endure?”
Shepherd of Hermas 8:1
Early Christian
1 Then, brothers, a revelation was given to me in my sleep by a very handsome young man, who said to me, “Who do you think the elderly woman you received the book from is?” I said, “The Sibyl.” “You are wrong,” he said, “she is not.” “Then who is she?” I said. “The Church,” he said. I said to him, “Then why is she old?” “Because,” he said, “she was created before all things; that is why she is old; and for her sake the world was formed.” 2 And afterwards I saw a vision in my house. The elderly woman came, and asked me if I had already given the book to the elders. I said that I had not given it. “You have done well,” she said, “for I have words to add. When I have finished all the words, you will make it known to all the chosen. 3 You shall therefore write two little books, and shall send one to Clement, and one to Grapte. Clement will send it to the cities abroad, for this is his duty, and Grapte will instruct the widows and the orphans. But you shall read the book to this city along with the elders who preside over the Church.
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Notes and References
“... Here she deflects it into a wider vision of God's greatness, using familiar biblical language. That creation was made for the sake of the church, a teleology reserved in the NT for Christ (Col 1:16), is probably a Christian adaptation of the Jewish motif that the world was created for Israel. [...] Cf. 4 Ezra 6.55, 59; 7.11. [...] But Hermas is told by his interpreting vision that she is rather the church, created before everything else, and therefore elderly. Her primeval creation as end of all other creation is a wisdom motif already adapted to Jewish purposes, and the personification of Israel, Jerusalem, or the church as a woman was already established. ...”
* 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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