The Passion Narrative in the Sibylline Oracles



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sus’ silence, the four Gospels mention it (Matt 26:63; 27:13; Mark 14:61; 

15:4; Luke 23:9; John 19:9) twice in both Matthew and Mark, first in front 

of the Sanhedrin, and second before Pilate. In Luke and John, only Jesus’ 

refusal to answer to Pilate is mentioned. The Gospels never use the verb 

for silence, siga,w, which the Sibylline Oracles might be using for metric 

reasons. The Sibylline Oracles do not mention any specific interrogation, 

while the canonical Gospels relate several. But the expression ti,j ti,noj w;n 

in the Oracles could well echo a question about Jesus’ messianic mandate 

and divine filiation, as is read in Matt 26:63, Mark 14:61, and Luke 22:67. 

Furthermore, Lactantius and those who rely on him present a variant: “… 

                                                 

tos sputus; dabit uero ad uerbera simpliciter sanctum dorsum.” “et colaphos accipiens ta-

cebit, ne quis agnoscat, quod uerbum uel unde uenit, ut inferis loquatur et corona spinea 

coronetur.” “ad cibum autem fel et ad sitim acetum dederunt; inhospitalitatis hanc mon-

strabunt mensam.” “ipsa enim insipiens tuum deum non intellexisti, ludentem mortalium 

mentibus, sed et spinis coronasti et horridum fel miscuisti.” “templi uero uelum scin-

detur; et medio die nox erit tenebrosa nimis in tribus horis.” “et morte morietur tribus 

diebus somno suscepto; et tunc ab inferis regressus ad lucem ueniet primus resurrectionis 

principio reuocatis ostenso.” Translated by G.G. Walsh, and D.J. Honan, Writings of 



Saint Augustine (vol. 8, in: The Fathers of the Church. A New Translation; vol. 24; New 

York 1954), 117. On this topic, see J.-M. Roessli, “Augustin, les sibylles, et les Oracles 



sibyllins,” in: Augustinus afer. Saint Augustin: africanité et universalité. Actes du collo-

que international, Alger-Annaba, 1–7 avril 2001 (ed. by P.-Y. Fux, J.-M. Roessli and O. 

Wermelinger; Paradosis 45/1; Fribourg 2003), 263–286, here 275–276. I corrected the 

mistranslated “so that none may know the source or the meaning of the word he ad-

dresses to hell” with “so that none may know what word, or whence, He comes to speak 

to hell.” 


Jean-Michel Roessli 

310 


so that no one may know / that he is the Word, and whence he comes,

19

 



which tends to confirm this interpretation. 

Sib Or 1 

 

Sib Or 8:292–293 

kai. kolafizo,menoj sigh,sei( mh, tij evpignw|/( 

Beaten, he will be silent, lest anyone 

recognize 

ti,j ti,noj w;n po,qen h=lqen( i[na fqime,noisi 

lalh,sei( 

who he is, whose son, and whence he came, 

so that he may speak to the dead; 

The subsequent question, po,qen h=lqen, used indirectly in the Oracles

might also well echo Pilate’s question about Jesus’ kingship in Jn 19:9: 

po,qen ei= su,

; “Where are you from?” 

There is some doubt about the subordinate clause: i[na fqime,noisi 

lalh,sei

. Should it be interpreted in connection with these three indirect 

questions: “… who he is, whose son, and whence he came”? If this is the 

case, the Sibyl certainly wants to emphasize that the Word can speak to the 

dead because of his filiation and his divine identity: “lest anyone recognize 

who he is, whose son, and whence he came to speak to the dead.” There is 

another possible reading. Nothing prevents this subordinate clause, intro-

duced by i[na, from being connected to the main verb of the sentence. 

Thus, if the Word chooses to keep silent and refuses to reveal his identity, 

it is in order to speak to the dead: “he will be silent, lest anyone recognize 

who he is, whose son, and whence he came, so that he may speak to the 

dead.” I do not think it is grammatically and syntactically possible or even 

necessary to choose between these two readings, which corresponds very 

well to the multiple meanings inherent to the Sibylline Oracles. Whatever 

the case, this subordinate clause anticipates the ultimate goal of the Word’s 

Passion, which is not only to redeem the dead, but also to speak to them (v. 

293). 


A more direct source for the Word’s silence at this instance may not be 

found in the Synoptic Gospels but in the Book of Isaiah. Isaiah writes 

about the suffering Servant in 53:7: “He was oppressed, and he was af-

flicted, yet he did not open his mouth; like a lamb that is led to the slaugh-

ter, and like a sheep that before its shearers is silent, so he did not open 

                                                 

19

 Lactantius (Div. Inst., 4:18:17), Augustine (City of God, 18:23:2), and the author of 



the  Tübingen Theosophy (Beatrice [n. 5], 55,230 = Erbse [n. 5], 10,281): ti,j lo,goj h'; 

quod uerbum uel unde uenit. 



The Passion Narrative in the Sibylline Oracles 

311 


his mouth.” (NRSV)

20

 Lactantius notes it and connects it to the Sibylline 



verses.

21

 



The Gospel of Peter also presents Jesus’ silence, but it is the Lord’s si-

lence on the Cross, and with a totally different meaning from the one in the 



Sibylline Oracles. The apocryphal gospel (v. 10) adds: “But he was silent, 

as if he felt no pain.

22

 Leaving aside the question of whether any docetism 



is present in this assertion,

23

 it is certain that Jesus, the Lord (ku,rioj), is 



silent to hide his sufferings and not to keep a secret. 

In Book 8 of the Sibylline Oracles, the Word’s silence has a totally 

different function; its role precisely is to conceal, at least for a while, the 

meaning of his suffering in salvation history. Jesus, portrayed earlier as the 

creative Word of all things and the Saviour of the dead (vv. 285–286), is 

actually going to become the one who speaks to the dead (v. 293). The 

contrast between Jesus’ silence in front of the living during his Passion and 

his willingness to speak to the dead after his own death, is very striking. 

Everything unfolds as if the Word wanted somehow to save his word for 

those who had lost it. This contrast furthermore reveals a very interesting 

rhetorical structure. At the beginning of creation the Word is (v. 285). At 

the end of times, that is to say, at the Last Judgement, he speaks with the 

dead. In the meantime, during his trial, the Word is silent, because he must 

not be recognized as such by the living, as the variant transmitted by 

Lactantius and his successors stresses: “so that no one may know / that he 

is the Word, and whence he comes.” Nowhere to my knowledge, even in 

the canonical Gospels, has the Passion such a strategic position between 

creation and eschatology.

24

 



                                                 

20

 Isa 53:7 LXX: kai. auvto.j dia. to. kekakw/sqai ouvk avnoi,gei to. sto,ma\ w`j pro,baton 



evpi. sfagh.n h;cqh kai. w`j avmno.j evnanti,on tou/ kei,rontoj auvto.n a;fwnoj ou[twj ouvk  

avnoi,gei to. sto,ma auvtou/) 

21

 Lactantius,  Div. Inst., 4:18:16–17: “Likewise of His Silence, which He kept tena-



ciously even unto death, Isaiah spoke again thus: “He was led as a sheep to the slaugh-

ter, and he was as a lamb before his shearers, without a word, and thus he did not open 

his mouth.” (Isa 53:7) And the above-mentioned Sibyl: “And receiving the blows he will 

be silent, so that no one may know what the word is or whence he comes, in order that he 

might address the lowly and wear a crown of thorns.” [Sib Or 8:292–294a] (Translated 

by M.F. McDonald, in: The Fathers of the Church. A New Translation [vol. 49; New 

York 1964]), 293. 

22

 Ehrman, Lost Scriptures (n. 7), 32. See Mara, Évangile de Pierre (n. 9), 106–111. 



23

 See, e.g., G.W. McCant, “The Gospel of Peter: Docetism Reconsidered,” NTS 30 

(1984), 258–273; P.M. Head, “On the Christology of the Gospel of Peter,” VigChr 46 

(1992), 209–224. 

24

 As Nicklas, “Apokryphe Passionstraditionen” (n. 3), 272 rightly emphasized it. 



Jean-Michel Roessli 

312 


Sib Or 8:294–298 and Sib Or 1:373–374a 

Book 8 (vv. 294–296) of the Sibylline Oracles continues to narrate Jesus’ 

crowning with thorns and the piercing of his sides. In so doing, the Sibyl 

combines two separate episodes of the New Testament: the mockery of Je-

sus with a crown of thorns and a reed before his crucifixion (Matt 27:29 

and Mark 15:17), and the piercing of his side with a spear when he is on 

the Cross (John 19:34). The language used by the Sibyl leaves no doubt. 

The expression ste,fanon avka,nqinon is directly borrowed from Matt and 

Mark, while pleura.j nu,xousin (“they pierced his sides”) is an almost exact 

copy of the Johannine phrase: th.n pleura.n evnu,xen (“[one of the soldiers] 



pierced his side with a spear”), except that Sib Or 8:296 uses the plural 

while John and Sib Or 1:373 maintain the singular. As for the spear 

(lo,gch) in John, it is replaced by the reed (ka,lamoj) of Mark and Matt. By 

the choice of the verb nu,ssw,  “to pierce,” the Sibyl may well have in-

tended to imply the realization of Zechariah’s prophecy (12:10b): “When 

they look on the one whom they have pierced, they shall mourn for him, as 

one mourns for an only child, and weep bitterly over him, as one weeps 

over a first-born” (NRSV).

25

 



 

Sib Or 1:372–374a 

avll v o[tan evkpeta,sh| cei/raj kai. pa,nta 

metrh,sh| 

But when he will stretch out his hands and 

measure all, 

kai. ste,fanon fore,sh| to.n avka,nqinon hvde, 

te pleura,n 

and bear the crown of thorns − and they 

will stab 

 

 



 

 

 



nu,xwsin kala,moisi no,mou ca,rin ))) 

his side with reeds according to the law... 

 

Sib Or 8:[302] 294–296 

[evkpeta,sei cei/raj kai. ko,smon a[panta 

metrh,sei( 

He will stretch out his hands and measure 

the entire world.] 

kai. ste,fanon fore,sei to.n avka,nqinon evk 

ga.r avkanqw/n 

and he will wear the crown of thorns. For, 

made of thorns, 

to. ste,foj evklektw/n aivw,niw,n evstin 

a;galma( 

the crown is the eternal array of chosen 

men. 

pleura.j nu,xousin kala,mw| dia. to.n no,mon 



auvtw/n 

They will stab his sides with a reed on 

account of their law. 

evk kala,mwn ga.r seiome,nwn u`po. pneu,matoj 

a;llou 

For by reeds shaken by another wind 



                                                 

25

 Zech  12,10b  LXX:  a;nq v w-n katwrch,santo kai. ko,yontai evp v auvto.n kopeto.n w`j  



evp v avgaphto.n kai. ovdunhqh,sontai ovdu,nhn w`j evpi. prwtoto,kw|

. As Nicklas, “Apokryphe 

Passionstraditionen” (n. 3), 273, n. 48 noticed, this prophet’s quotation was widespread 

in the early Christian literature: Barn. 7:8–9; Proto-Gospel of James, 24:3; Justin, Dial. 

32:2; Apol. 52:11; Irenaeus, haer. 4:33:11, etc. 


The Passion Narrative in the Sibylline Oracles 

313 


proskli,mata yuch/j evstra,fh ovrgh/j kai. 

avmoibh/j 

the inclinations of the soul are turned from 

the wrath and change. 

In order to illuminate this theological “midrash,” which borrows much 

from both the canonical Gospels and the Prophets, Book 8 proposes two 

interesting new exegeses: one about the crown of thorns, the other about 

the reed. 

In the first, the Sibyl explains (vv. 295–296), rather surprisingly, that, 

thanks to its thorns, the crown becomes “the eternal array of the elected 



ones.

26

 In so doing, she distances herself from the canonical Gospels (and 



from the Gospel of Peter 8, which is very close to the canonical Gospels 

on this matter), for whom the crown is the emblem of a humiliated King 

stripped of his kingdom (Spottkönig in German). She transforms the crown 

into an eternal “array” (a;galma), a symbol par excellence of election. With 

this exegesis, which Lactantius might allude to in his Divine Institutes 

4:26:21,


27

 the Sibyl emphasizes once again the close link between the Pas-

sion and eschatological redemption. 

In the second exegesis, that of the reed, the text of vv. 297–298 is unfor-

tunately unclear. I translate it so: “For by reeds shaken by another wind / 

                                                 

26

 My translation. Collins translates it in the following manner: “For, made of thorns, 



the crown of chosen men is an eternal delight.” Compare with J.-M. Roessli, “Les Ora-

cles sibyllins: Livre 6, 7 et 8 (vv. 217–428),” in: Écrits apocryphes chrétiens, (ed. by P. 

Geoltrain and J.-D. Kaestli, Index established by J.-M. Roessli and S. Voicu; Biblio-

thèque de la Pléiade 516, t. 2; Paris 2005), 1045–1083 (reprint 2006), here 1076: “Car 

c’est en raison de ses épines que la couronne des élus est une parure éternelle.” The 

Tübingen Theosophy has the same text as the classes of manuscripts F and Y: “to. ste,foj 

evklektw/n a`gi,wn aivw,nion h[xei

,” “For out of thorns shall ever come the crown of holy 

ones elect,” translated by M.S. Terry, The Sibylline Oracles Translated from the Greek 

Into English Blank Verse (New York and Cincinnati 1890), 189; see also id., The Sibyl-

line Oracles. Translated from The Greek into English Blank Verse, New Edition Revised 

After the Text of Rzach (New York and Cincinnati 1899 [reprint New York 1973]), 60: 

For of thorns is the crown an ornament / Elect, eternal.” 

27

 Lactantius, Div. Inst., 4:26:21: “Nam corona spinea capiti eius imposita id declara-



bat fore ut diuinam sibi plebem de nocentibus congregaret. Corona enim dicitur circum-

stans in orbem populus.” “For the placing of a crown of thorns upon His head, declared 



that it would come to pass that He would gather to Himself a holy people from those who 

were guilty. For people standing around in a circle are called a corona.” (Translated by 

W. Fletcher, The Ante-Nicene Fathers, edited by A. Roberts, J. Donaldson, and A. Cleve-

land Coxe [vol. VII; Buffalo, N.Y. 1886], 128). See also Clement of Alexandria, Paeda-

gogue, 2:8:74:1–3. This exegesis (Sib Or 8:295–296) anticipates the interpretation of Sib 

Or 8:302, which Lactantius clearly alludes to later in the same chapter of Divine Insti-

tutes, 4:26:36); cf. below the discussion on Sib Or 8:302. 


Jean-Michel Roessli 

314 


the inclinations of the soul are turned from wrath and change.

28

 We can 



certainly recognize an allusion to John the Baptist. First Jesus asks (Matt 

11:7 and Luke 7:24): “What did you go out into the wilderness to look at? 



A reed shaken by the wind?” Secondly, there is a reminder of the Baptist’s 

preaching (Matt and Luke 3:7): “You brood of vipers! Who warned you to 



flee from the wrath to come?” The link with the Passion is hard to estab-

lish, but it is possible that the reed with which Jesus was beaten reminds 

the readers of the imminence of Judgment, which John the Baptist an-

nounced.


29

 In this case, the Sibyl of Book 8 intends to connect the Word’s 

passion with the Last Judgment, as Nicklas inclines to think on the basis of 

the passion narrative’s position after the parousia’s acrostic in Book 

8:217–250.

30

 



The juxtaposition of the verb nu,ssw and the substantive ka,lamoj can 

also be found in the Gospel of Peter 9, quoted above. Peter also makes the 

reed stroke an act of derision preceding the Crucifixion, just as in Sib Or 

8:296, without saying that the reed pierces Jesus’ side. The same can be 

found in the Gnostic and docetic section of Acts of John 97 (“…‛John, for 

the people below in Jerusalem I am being crucified and pierced with 

lances and reeds and given vinegar and gall to drink. But to you I am 

speaking, and listen to what I speak.’ Jesus then goes on to reveal to John 

the true meaning of the crucifixion, concluding, ‛So then, I have suffered 

                                                 

28

 I slightly corrected the first hemistich of Collins’ translation: “For by winds [sic!] 



shaken by another wind…” Instead of the verb “to turn from” (evstra,fh) of Y, one could 

also chose the variant “to nourish” (evtra,fh) of F. In that case, these verses would be 

translated as follows: “For from reeds shaken by another wind the inclinations of the soul 

were nourished of wrath and change.” Most scholars do not translate these lines, as they 

are considered to be corrupted. See nevertheless Terry, Sibylline Oracles (1890, n. 26), 

189: “For from the reeds by another spirit moved / Was he brought up for judgments of 

the soul, / And wrath and recompense,” id., Sibylline Oracles (1899, n. 26), 60: “For of 

reeds shaken by another spirit / Were nourished inclinations of the soul, / Of anger and 

revenge”) or E. Massaux, Influence de l’évangile selon saint Matthieu sur la littérature 

chrétienne avant Irénée (Universitas Catholica Lovaniensis II.42; Louvain/Gembloux 

1950), 235: “Car par un autre des roseaux qui vacillaient au vent, l’âme a été amenée au 



jugement de la colère et de la rétribution,” Roessli, “Les Oracles  sibyllins” (n. 26), 

1076–77: “Car c’est des roseaux secoués par un autre vent / que les inclinations de 



l’âme se sont détournées de la colère et du châtiment,” and Monaca, Oracoli Sibillini (n. 

1), 176: “Dalle canne agitate dal vento, poi, un altro si alimentò / guardando al giudizio 



della passione dell’anima e alla redenzione.” 

29

 John the Baptist is alluded to in Sib Or 1:336–343, but nowhere else in Book 8, so 



that Waßmuth, Sibyllinische Orakel (n. 1) considers that Sib Or 8, with its highly devel-

oped christology, was no longer interested in the figure of the Baptist. On Matt 11:7, see 

Hilary of Poitiers, In Matt., 11:4 and Ambrose of Milan, In Lucam,  5:104–106; in the 

latter, the reed becomes the very flesh of Christ. I thank Agnès Bastit for these refer-

ences.  

30

 Nicklas, “Apokryphe Passionstraditionen” (n. 3), but see also below note 34. 



The Passion Narrative in the Sibylline Oracles 

315 


none of those things which they will say of me,”)

31

 which dates back to the 



second century Syria, and is found the Oracle of Baalbek, lines 74–75 

(“And they will pierce his side with a reed (stake) and will not harm 



him,”)

32

 except that in these texts the stroke is given during the Crucifixion 



itself, as in the first Book of the Sibylline Oracles.

33

 No direct borrowing 



can be established between the Gospel of Peter, the Acts of John, and the 

Sibylline Oracles, but it is likely that the Oracle of Baalbek follows the 

Sibylline Oracles on this point. 

Book 1 of the Sibylline Oracles also presents the crown of thorns and 

the piercing of the Lord’s side with reeds, but it happens during the Cruci-

fixion, and only one side of the Lord is pierced, as in the Gospel of John. 

Unlike in Book 8, no exegesis is given. In Book 1 the scene is presented as 

follows: after a violent accusation against Israel and its people (vv. 369b–

371), the Sibyl narrates Jesus’ crucifixion itself. She does it in an extraor-

dinary manner. Isolated from its context, the language the Sibyl uses could 

                                                 

31

 Translated by R.E. Van Voorst, “Extracanonical Passion Narratives,” in: The Death 



of Jesus in Early Christianity (ed. by J.T. Carroll and J.B. Green; Peabody, Mass. 1995), 

151, n. 6 (Curiously, this author does not mention the Sibylline Oracles at all.) On this 

text, see Acta Iohannis. Textus alii, commentarius, indices, (ed. by E. Junod and J.-D. 

Kaestli; CC.SA 2; Turnhout 1983), 581–677; id., “Les Actes de Jean,” in Écrits apocry-



phes chrétiens (ed. by F. Bovon and P. Geoltrain; Bibliothèque de la Pléiade; t. 1; Paris 

1997), 973–1037, here 979–981. Let us note that the Acts of John combine the plural of 

John 19:34 (lo,gch, “spear” or “lance”) and the plural of Matt 11:7 and 27:29 (ka,lamoj, 

“reeds”). On Matt 27:29, see Hilary of Poitiers, In Matt., 33:3 and Ambrose of Milan, In 



Lucam, 10:105–106; in the latter, the reed represents Christ’s humanity. I thank Agnès 

Bastit for these references.  

32

 P.J. Alexander, The Oracle of Baalbek. The Tiburtine Sibyl in Greek Dress (Dum-



barton Oaks Studies; Washington 1967), 13: kai. ka,lamw| nu,xousin auvtou/ th.n pleura.n 

kai. ouvde.n avdikh,sousin auvto,n

. The Oracle of Baalbek is not the original version of the 


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