Sophia Scriptura

Church History 4.6.2

Eusebius of Caesarea · Church History · ca. 300–325 · Caesarea · Read in context

Summary: The revolt was led by Bar Kokhba (“son of the star”), who claimed to be a heavenly light for his people.

Greek text · Dindorf 4:140

ἐστρατήγει δὲ Ἰουδαίων τηνικαῦτα Βαρχωχέβας ὄνομα, (ἀστέρα δηλοῖ τοῦτο), τὰ μὲν ἄλλα λῃστρικὸς καὶ φονικός τις ἀνὴρ, ἐπὶ δὲ τῇ προσηγορία, οἷα ἐπʼ ἀνδραπόδων, ὡς δὴ ἐξ οὐρανοῦ φωστὴρ αὐτοῖς κατεληλυθὼς, κακουμένοις τε ἐπιλάμψαι τερατεύομενος.

English · Claude translation

The Jews were at that time led by a man named Bar Kokhba (which means ‘star’), in other respects a brigand and murderous man, but who, relying on his name, as with slaves, claimed to be a luminary come down to them from heaven, to shine on them in their misery, working marvels.

About this passage

Source
Dindorf 4:140 · Wilhelm Dindorf, ed., Eusebii Caesariensis Opera, vol. 4: Historiae ecclesiasticae libri I–X (Leipzig: Teubner, 1871) · Greek text: W. Dindorf, Eusebii Caesariensis Opera 4 (Leipzig: Teubner, 1871), digitized by the First Thousand Years of Greek project (Open Greek and Latin), CC BY-SA 4.0
Text
As printed in Dindorf, Eusebii Opera 4. Manuscript variants and the editor's apparatus are not reproduced; no textual problem is noted in this passage.
Translation
Claude translation (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-09-27 · Translated by Claude from the Greek text of Dindorf, Eusebii Caesariensis Opera 4 (Teubner, 1871); made independently of existing English translations.
Compare
Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers, series 2, vol. 1 (1890) (an older public-domain English translation, whole volume at CCEL; checked against ours only after ours was made)
Scripture

Notes

Translation notes

  • Bar Kokhba's title alludes to Num 24:17; Eusebius's hostile description follows Christian sources.

Cite this passage

Eusebius, Hist. eccl. 4.6.2 (trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/eusebius-historia/4/6/2/).

Plain text
Eusebius, Hist. eccl. 4.6.2 (trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/eusebius-historia/4/6/2/).

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