Gilbert Génébrard (1535–1597) was a French Benedictine monk, theologian, Hebraist, and Archbishop of Aix. He is best known for his Chronographia (1580), a universal chronicle from the creation of the world to his own time, and his treatise De Sancta Trinitate (1569). Both works, steeped in patristic and Talmudic learning, contain numerous passages bearing on the theological condition of the Jewish people, their rejection of Christ, the divine punishment visited upon them, and the supersession of the Synagogue by the Church.
The passages below are drawn from these two works and presented in the original Latin with English translation.
I. The Synagogue Is Buried at the Passion of Christ
Source: Chronographia (1580), Liber Secundus
“Sequuntur principes à Christo passo ad captivitatem, quando sepulta Synagoga.”
Translation: “The [High] Priests follow from the Passion of Christ down to the Captivity — the time when the Synagogue was buried.”
II. The Book of Wisdom Rejected by the Jews Because It Exposes Their Wickedness Against the Son of God
Source: Chronographia (1580), Liber Secundus
“fortasse quia Hebraicè non fuit scriptus, item quoniam eorum improbitatem contra filium Dei detegit, cap. præsertim 2. At Christiani habent. Augustin. tribus superioribus locis. Ambrof. in Pf. 118. Lact. lib. 4. Institu. c. 16. Concil. Carthag. 3.”
Translation: “Perhaps because it was not written in Hebrew, and likewise because it lays bare their wickedness against the Son of God, especially in chapter 2. But Christians receive it: Augustine in the three places cited above, Ambrose on Psalm 118, Lactantius, Institutes Bk. 4, c. 16, and the Third Council of Carthage.”
III. The Talmud Lies About Christ: A Deliberate Falsification to Hide That His Death Caused Their Ruin
Source: Chronographia (1580), Liber Secundus
“Simeon Ben sata & Iosue filius Prahaiz. Posterioris discipulum fuisse Iesum conservatorem nostrum addita fabula ioculari mentiuntur in Talmud & Seder Olam. Addunt fuisse suspensum an. 51. regni Machabæorum & ætatis 36. Ad cuius confutationem temporum ratio satis est. Nam inter vtrumque est intervallum 100. annorum. Hoc autem aiunt vt indicat R. Abraham in sua Cabbala, ne ipsorum excidium & perpetua calamitas morti Christi tam vicina inde videatur causam trahere. Fabulas eorum de Christo habes Tractatu de Sabbato c. 12. & tract. Herubin cap. 2.”
Translation: “Simeon Ben Sata and Joshua son of Perahiah. They falsely claim in the Talmud and Seder Olam, with a ridiculous fable appended, that Jesus our Saviour was a disciple of the latter. They add that He was hanged in the 51st year of the Maccabean kingdom, aged 36. The chronological refutation of this is sufficient in itself: for between the two [Perahiah and Christ] there is an interval of a hundred years. They say this, as R. Abraham indicates in his Cabbala historica, so that their own ruin and perpetual calamity — so close in time to the death of Christ — should not appear to draw its cause therefrom. You will find their fables about Christ in the Tractate on the Sabbath, ch. 12, and in Tractate Erubin, ch. 2.”
IV. The Jews Compose a Daily Curse Against Christians in Their Synagogues
Source: Chronographia (1580), Liber Secundus
“De Gamaliele multa hîc Hebræi narrant. Eum contra hæreticos (nos Christianos intelligunt) condidisse benedictionem, quæ in solennibus precationibus recitaretur, cum alijs octodecim iam à temporibus Ezræ vsurpatis. In Talmud. cap. Tephillath Hassahar. Hanc hodie in suis Synagogis canunt, ter nobis sub Nazareorum nomine imprecantes.”
Translation: “The Hebrews here report many things about Gamaliel. They say he composed against the heretics — by whom they mean us, the Christians — a benediction to be recited in the solemn prayers, together with the other eighteen already in use since the times of Ezra. This is found in Talmud, chapter Tephillath Hassahar. They sing this today in their Synagogues, cursing us three times under the name of the Nazarenes.”
V. The Impious Cry “His Blood Be Upon Us” Begins to Return Upon Their Own Throats
Source: Chronographia (1580), Liber Secundus
“Annon sic illa impia vox, Sanguis eius fit super nos & super filios nostros, incipiebat vobis redire per iugulum. Sed multo plures querimonia apud Talmudicos & Rabbinos, qui istis vigebant temporibus.”
Translation: “Was not that impious cry — His blood be upon us and upon our children — thus beginning to return upon your own throats? But far more of these lamentations are found in the Talmudists and Rabbis who flourished in those very times.”
VI. Jerusalem Destroyed for Its Heresies and Sins
Source: Chronographia (1580), Liber Secundus
“Ex omnibus, quæ Romano imperio parent, solam Hierusalem contigit ad summum infoelicitatis gradum procedere. Hanc sub Sedechia rege, propter hæreses & peccata, Nabugdonozor penitus evertit, sed post 70. annos Cyrus restaurari iussit.”
Translation: “Of all [cities] subject to the Roman empire, Jerusalem alone reached the uttermost degree of misery. Under King Zedekiah, on account of its heresies and sins, Nebuchadnezzar utterly destroyed it — though Cyrus commanded it to be rebuilt seventy years later.”
VII. The Jews Suffer the Same Measure They Meted to Christ; They Are Dispersed Like Cain
Source: Chronographia (1580), Liber Secundus
“Singulare Dei iram in populum Iud. mirè ostendunt, & Christi religionem confirmant. Verbi gratia, quam mensuram mensi sunt Christo, eadem est eis repensŭm. In monte Oliveti Christum comprehenderant, in eodem primùm Titus castra fixit, vt Hierusalem caperet. Ioseph. lib. 5. de bello cap. 8. Secundo Paschate conclusi intra muros, lib. 6. cap. 25. & 45. Tertiò in Cedron cæsi. lib. 5. cap. 10. Quartò à Simone ad Ioanem, vt à Caipha ad Pilatum, qui Hierosolymis tyrannidem occupauerant, remittebantur, torquebantur, &c. Ibid. cap. 27. Quintò pro tribunali cæsi, clauis à militibus ira & odio abductis, & in ludibrium crucifigebantur. lib. 5. cap. 28. … Sextò, vt Christum gentibus tradiderunt, extra vrbem traxerunt cum probro, vt crucifigeretur… ita è patrijs locis eiecti, toto orbe signum divini in se judicij circumferunt, instar Cain vagi, profugi, exules, vbique, præter quam apud se, consistentes, gentibus venundati, sine regibus, sacerdotibus, sacrificijs.”
Translation: “They wondrously demonstrate God’s wrath upon the Jewish people, and confirm the religion of Christ. For example: the very measure they meted out to Christ was repaid to them. They had seized Christ on the Mount of Olives; it was there that Titus first pitched camp to take Jerusalem (Josephus, War, Bk. 5, ch. 8). Second: at Passover they were shut within the walls (Bk. 6, ch. 25 and 45). Third: they were cut down in the Kidron (Bk. 5, ch. 10). Fourth: they were handed from Simon to John, just as Christ was sent from Caiaphas to Pilate — those who had seized tyrannical power in Jerusalem — and were tormented, etc. (Ibid., ch. 27). Fifth: they were slaughtered before the tribunal, nailed by soldiers driven by fury and hatred, and were crucified in mockery (Bk. 5, ch. 28)… Sixth: just as they handed Christ over to the Gentiles and dragged Him outside the city with shame to be crucified, so they were cast out from their own ancestral places, and carry throughout the whole world the sign of divine judgment upon themselves — like Cain, wandering, fugitive, exiles, settled everywhere except in their own land, sold to the nations, without kings, priests, or sacrifices.”
VIII. Titus Is Not an Idumean — The Jews Lie to Twist Scripture
Source: Chronographia (1580), Liber Secundus
“Titus Sephtizonius, quod oppidum est Italiæ, non Idumeus (vt Iudæi mentiuntur, quò oracula Scripturæ contra Idumeos ad imperium Romanum torqueant)…”
Translation: “Titus [was from] Septizonium, which is a town of Italy — not an Idumean, as the Jews falsely claim, twisting the oracles of Scripture against the Edomites so as to apply them to the Roman Empire.”
IX. The Wretched Dispersion of the Jews, Shed Abroad for the Blood of the Just
Source: Chronographia (1580), Liber Quartus
“Tam dissecta est miserorum Iudæorum ob fusum piorum sanguinem dispertio. Hanc Deus fui cum Abrahamo, Isaaco, & Iacob fæderis memor, ad Christum Dominum nostrum perfidem & agnitionem Evangelij colligat, & ad Ecclesiam sanctum concilium misericordia suæ visceribus societ. Amen.”
Translation: “So utterly lacerated and scattered is the dispersion of the wretched Jews on account of the blood of the righteous that was shed. May God, mindful of His covenant with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, gather them through faith in and knowledge of the Gospel to Christ our Lord, and join them to the holy council of the Church in the deepest bowels of His mercy. Amen.”
X. Julian the Apostate Incites the Jews to Rebuild the Temple — God Prevents Them by Fire and Prodigies
Source: Chronographia (1580), Liber Tertius
“Iudæi à Iuliano Imp. persuasi templum Hierosolymis restaurare nituntur, sed igne & prodigiis inhibetur. Theod. lib. 3. cap. 20. Ammian. Ibid.”
Translation: “The Jews, persuaded by the Emperor Julian, strive to rebuild the Temple at Jerusalem, but are prevented by fire and prodigies. Theodoret, Bk. 3, ch. 20; Ammianus Marcellinus, same place.”
XI. A Jew Counsels the Caliph to Destroy Christian Images
Source: Chronographia (1580), Liber Quartus
“Anno post quarto Gizid Iudæi cuiusdem consilio, edicto imagines Christi & sanctorum, quæ in Ecclesiis passim in honore erant, propter doctrinæ Christianæ memoriam tolli iubet. Ibidem.”
Translation: “Four years later, Yazid, on the counsel of a certain Jew, issued an edict ordering the images of Christ and the saints, which were venerated throughout the churches as memorials of Christian doctrine, to be removed. Same source.”
XII. Christian Kings Compel the Jews to Accept Baptism or Go Into Exile
Source: Chronographia (1580), Liber Quartus
“Sifebutus rex Hisp. Iudæos coëgit Christum agnoscere ad 90. millia aut suo regno excedere, regni sui 4. & Heraclij quinto. Isido. In Etymolog. Ado.”
Translation: “Sisebut, king of Spain, compelled the Jews — up to 90,000 of them — to acknowledge Christ or leave his kingdom, in the fourth year of his reign and the fifth of Heraclius. Isidore, Etymologiae; Ado.”
“Heraclius Iudæos omnes baptizari iussit aut exulare: idèm in Hispania per Sisibodum fiue Sisebutum Reg. & in Gallia per Dagobertum Reg. fieri curavit.”
Translation: “Heraclius commanded all Jews to be baptized or go into exile; and he took care that the same was done in Spain through King Sisebut and in Gaul through King Dagobert.”
XIII. The Jews Expelled from France for Crucifying a Christian Child and for Usury
Source: Chronographia (1580), Liber Quartus
“Iudæi è Francia expulsi sunt, & eorum synagogæ eversæ vel mutatæ in Ecclesias, edicto Philippi Regis, quòd Christianum puerum in Christi ludibrium cruci affixissent, & gravissimis vsuris vexarent Franciam. Emil. lib. 5. Gagui. lib. 6.”
Translation: “The Jews were expelled from France and their Synagogues demolished or converted into churches, by edict of King Philip, because they had crucified a Christian boy in mockery of Christ and were vexing France with the most grievous usuries. Emilio, Bk. 5; Gaguin, Bk. 6.”
XIV. The Jews Are the First to Attack the Doctrine of the Holy Trinity
Source: De Sancta Trinitate (1569), Liber Primus
“In primis ne Apostolorum quidem conspectum atque præsentiam, qui adhuc in vivis supererant, veritus, suscitat Iudæos, in quibus Cherintus, Ebion, tribus deinceps seculis Ariani, vt dicerent hoc pronunciatum non modò falsum, sed de eorum etiam genere esse, quæ effici nequeunt. Quæ opinio toti stirpi tam altè inhafit, vt etiamnum recentiores Hebræi sint citius vadimoniuṁ suum deserturi, quàm vt eam non tueatur, contrariam, quæ Catholica est, non inuadant.”
Translation: “Satan, not even fearing the very presence and sight of the Apostles who were still alive, stirred up the Jews first — among whom were Cerinthus and Ebion — and then, for three successive centuries, the Arians, to say that this proposition [the Trinity] was not only false but belonged to the class of things that cannot be. This opinion took such deep root in the whole stock [of the Jews] that even today modern Hebrews would sooner forfeit their bail than fail to defend it, and never cease attacking the contrary position, which is the Catholic one.”
XV. Jews and Christians Agree on the Unity of the Divine Essence but Disagree on the Persons
Source: De Sancta Trinitate (1569), Liber Primus
“Nos, quod attinet ad vnitatem Essentiæ, minimè à Iudæis dissentimus, sed quod ad Personas attinet, de eo instituimus omnem dissentionem.”
Translation: “As regards the unity of the Essence, we differ not at all from the Jews; but as regards the Persons, thereon we base our entire disagreement with them.”
XVI. The Jews Understood Well That Christ Claimed to Be True God — And Yet Oppose Christianity More Than the Jews Themselves Do on This Point
Source: De Sancta Trinitate (1569), Liber Secundus
“Hoc vnum addo Iudæos non ita fuisse stupidos, quin satis intelligerent, hanc esse mentem Christi, vt se verum Deum, verèque Deo æqualem constitueret, ideóque Christianos, qui id non credunt, turpissimè, atque adeò sceleratissimè facere, cùm de Christi sententia humilius, quàm Iudæi, sentiant. Hoc ex Ioanne apparet, qui scribit Iudæos hostili sese gessisse animo erga Christum, quia Deum Patrem suum esse diceret, ac in eo se æqualem Deo faceret.”
Translation: “This one thing I add: the Jews were not so stupid as not to understand well enough that this was the mind of Christ — to constitute Himself true God and truly equal to God. And therefore Christians who do not believe this act most shamefully, and indeed most wickedly, since they hold a lower opinion of Christ’s own declared teaching than even the Jews do. This is plain from John, who writes that the Jews bore themselves with a hostile spirit toward Christ because He said that God was His Father and thereby made Himself equal to God.”
XVII. Mahomet Forged His Paradise from Jewish Fables
Source: De Sancta Trinitate (1569), Liber Tertius
“Nam si quis attendat ad doctrinam Alcoranicam, perspicue intelliget Maometem suam felicitatem conflaffe ex fabulis Iudeorum de paradiso voluptatis fiue horto Eden, ac tantum hoc interesse inter ipsorum Rabbinos & Maometanos, quòd illi in adventu sui Messizæ sibi promittant temporariam & carneam felicitatem per mille amplius annos, vt imperium, vt divitias, vt rerum omnium affluentiam, omnis generis fiue venerea fiue voluptaria.”
Translation: “For if anyone examines the teaching of the Koran, he will clearly perceive that Mahomet fashioned his [notion of] happiness out of the Jewish fables concerning the paradise of pleasure or the garden of Eden. The only difference between their own Rabbis and the Mahometans is this: the [Jews] promise themselves a temporal and carnal happiness lasting more than a thousand years at the coming of their Messiah — dominion, wealth, abundance of all things, pleasures of every kind, both sensual and voluptuous.”
Sources
- Gilbert Génébrard, Chronographia in omnes annos mundi (Paris, 1580): https://books.google.com/books?id=4xRCAAAAcAAJ
- Gilbert Génébrard, De Sancta Trinitate (Paris, 1569): https://books.google.com/books/about/De_Sancta_trinitate.html?id=Q-M7AAAAcAAJ