Wikipedia's first sentence called it “ancient jewish-christian sect”. Today it says “ancient jewish christian sect in lower mesopotamia”.
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Machine-checked against the full current article on 2026-08-03.
We saved snapshots of this article over twenty years; you are reading the October 6, 2023 one. Red dashes: removed from Wikipedia since.Pale dots: rewritten; the numbered note shows what it says now.Red text: written in or rewritten since the previous snapshot.1 tap a number or a side note to jump between them
The opening as it read in October 6, 2023
Ancient Jewish Christian sect in Sassanid southern Mesopotamia The Elcesaites , Elkasaites , Elkesaites or Elchasaites were an ancient Jewish Christian sect in Lower Mesopotamia , then the province of Asoristan in the Sasanian Empire that was active between 100 and 400 CE. The members of this sect, which originated in the Transjordan , performed frequent baptisms for purification and had a Gnostic orientation. The name of the sect derives from the alleged founder, Elkhasaí ( in Hippolytus), Elksai ( Ἠλξαί in Epiphanius), or Elkesai ( Ελκεσαΐ in Eusebius, and Theodoret). The Mandaeans of Iraq and Iran .
This is Wikipedia's own text, saved in our repository. Their copy of it is revision 1142457195.
The opening as it stood in 2010
The Elcesaites , Elkasaites , Helkesaites , or Elchasaites were an ancient Jewish-Christian sect, a subgroup of the Ebionites , in Sassanid southern Mesopotamia . Some early scholars differentiate Ebionites from Essenic Ebionite-Elchasites. They are discussed by Epiphanius and in pseudo-Clementine literature.
Red text was written in or rewritten since the previous snapshot. Their copy is revision 343640620.
The opening as it stood in 2015 2 passages from the previous snapshot no longer appear
The Elcesaites , Elkasaites , Elkesaites , or Elchasaites were an ancient Jewish-Christian sect in Sassanid southern Mesopotamia .The sect may be related to the Ebionites .Some early scholars distinguish Ebionites from Essenic Ebionite-Elchasites.The Elcesaites are discussed by Epiphanius and in pseudo-Clementine literature.
Red text was written in or rewritten since the previous snapshot. Their copy is revision 668026439.
The opening as it stood in 2020 3 passages from the previous snapshot no longer appear
Ancient Jewish Christian sect in Sassanid southern Mesopotamia The Elcesaites , Elkasaites , Elkesaites or Elchasaites were an ancient Jewish Christian sect in Lower Mesopotamia , then the province of Asoristan in the Sasanian Empire .The name of the sect derives from the alleged founder: Elkhasaí ( in Hippolytus), Elksai ( Ἠλξαί ) in Epiphanius), or Elkesai ( Ελκεσαΐ in Eusebius, and Theodoret).The sect is believed to be a faction of the Ebionites and was identified by early writers with the Sabians .
Red text was written in or rewritten since the previous snapshot. Their copy is revision 960919354.
The opening as it stood in 2025
Ancient Jewish Christian sect in Sassanid southern Mesopotamia The Elcesaites , Elkasaites , Elkesaites or Elchasaites were an ancient Jewish Christian sect in Lower Mesopotamia , then the province of Asoristan in the Sasanian Empire that was active between 100 and 400 CE. The members of this sect, which originated in the Transjordan , performed frequent baptisms for purification and had a Gnostic orientation. The name of the sect derives from the alleged founder, Elkhasaí ( Koine Greek : Ἠλχασαΐ in Hippolytus), Elksai ( Ἠλξαί in Epiphanius), or Elkesai ( Ελκεσαΐ in Eusebius, and Theodoret). The Mandaeans of Iraq and Iran .
Red text was written in or rewritten since the previous snapshot. Their copy is revision 1283689662. This is our newest snapshot; the live article may have moved again since.
Today
Wikipedia's first sentence called it “ancient jewish-christian sect”. Today it says “ancient jewish christian sect in lower mesopotamia”. Read the current article and compare.
2010
2015
2020
Oct '23
2025
Counts in the opening at each snapshot. Green: the word gained ground. Red: it was cut. Grey: no change.
What Wikipedia says this is
Every article opens by defining its subject. This one was redefined since 2010, and today's defining sentence is their current revision.
Then
ancient jewish-christian sect
Now
ancient jewish christian sect in lower mesopotamia
Struck red text is no longer in the article; dotted amber text was rewritten. Every revision id links to Wikipedia's copy; the text shown is our own saved copy. Data: /data. Wikipedia text is CC BY-SA; quoted for the record; not affiliated with Wikipedia.
