Dialogue with Trypho (chapters 35–64)
Dialogue with Trypho
continued
Chapter 35
Heretics Confirm the Catholics in the Faith.
1 Trypho said, “And yet I hear that many of those who say they confess Jesus, and who are called Christians, eat food offered to idols, and say that they are not harmed by it.” 2 I answered, “The very fact that there are such men, who say they are Christians and confess the crucified Jesus as Lord and Christ, yet teach not his teachings but those of the spirits of error, makes us more faithful and more firm in the hope he announced. We are disciples of the true and pure teaching of Jesus Christ. For the things he said beforehand would happen in his name, we now see being fulfilled before our eyes, in actual fact.[123] 3 For he said, ‘Many will come in my name, clothed outwardly in sheep’s skins, but inwardly they are ravenous wolves.’ And, ‘There will be divisions and factions.’ And, ‘Beware of the false prophets who will come to you clothed outwardly in sheep’s skins, but inwardly they are ravenous wolves.’ And, ‘Many false christs and false apostles will rise up, and they will lead many of the faithful astray.’[124] [Matthew 24:5; Matthew 7:15; 1 Corinthians 11:18-19; Matthew 24:24]
4 So there are, and there have been, my friends, many who came in the name of Jesus and taught people to say and do godless and blasphemous things. And they are called by us after the name of the man from whom each teaching and opinion began. [Matthew 24:5] 5 For different teachers, each in his own way, teach people to blaspheme the Maker of all things, and the Christ whom He foretold would come, and the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. We have no fellowship with any of them. We know that they are godless, irreverent, unrighteous and lawless, and that instead of worshiping Jesus they only confess Him in name. 6 They call themselves Christians, just as people among the nations write the name of God on their man-made idols and take part in lawless and godless rites. Some of them are called Marcionites, others Valentinians, others Basilidians, others Saturnilians, and others by other names. Each is named after the founder of his school of thought, just as each of those who think they are practicing philosophy, as I said at the beginning, believes he should carry the name of his philosophy from the father of that teaching.[125]
7 So from these things, as I said, we know that Jesus foreknew what would happen after Him. We know it also from many other things He foretold would happen to those who believe in Him and confess Him as Christ. For all that we suffer, even being put to death by our own people, He told us beforehand would happen. So no word or act of His can in any way be found open to blame.[126] 8 For this reason we pray for you and for all other people who are hostile to us. We pray that you may repent along with us and not blaspheme Christ Jesus. He is blameless and beyond reproach in every respect, as shown by His works, by the mighty works done even now through His name, by the words of His teaching, and by the prophecies spoken about Him. We pray instead that you may believe in Him and be saved at His glorious second coming, and not be condemned by Him to the fire. [Matthew 5:44]
Chapter 36
He Proves that Christ is Called Lord of Hosts.
1 Trypho answered, “Let it be as you say about these matters: that it was prophesied the Christ would suffer, and that He is called a stone. Let it also be so that, after His first coming, in which it was proclaimed He would appear as a sufferer, He will come in glory, and will then be judge of all, and eternal king and priest. But prove that this man is the one about whom these things were prophesied.” 2 I said, “As you wish, Trypho. I will come to the proofs you ask for at the proper place. For now, allow me first to recall the prophecies I want to cite. I want to show that the Christ is called both God and Lord of hosts, and is also called Jacob in a parable by the Holy Spirit. I also want to show that your interpreters, as God cries out, are senseless when they say these words were spoken not about the Christ but about Solomon, when he brought the tent of testimony into the temple he had built.[127]
3 “This is the psalm of David: ‘The earth is the Lord’s and the fullness of it, the world and all who live in it. He Himself founded it upon the seas and established it upon the rivers. Who will go up to the mountain of the Lord? Or who will stand in His holy place? The one who is innocent in his hands and clean in his heart, who has not given his soul to what is empty and has not sworn deceitfully to his neighbor.[128] 4 “He will receive a blessing from the Lord and mercy from God his Savior. This is the generation of those who seek the Lord, who seek the face of the God of Jacob. Lift up your gates, you rulers, and be lifted up, you everlasting gates, and the King of glory will come in. Who is this King of glory? The Lord, strong and mighty in battle. Lift up your gates, you rulers, and be lifted up, you everlasting gates, and the King of glory will come in. Who is this King of glory? The Lord of hosts, He is the King of glory.’[129]
5 “It has therefore been shown that Solomon is not the Lord of hosts. It is our Christ. When He rose from the dead and was going up into heaven, the rulers stationed in the heavens by God were commanded to open the gates of heaven. They were to let Him in, He who is the King of glory, so that He might go up and sit at the right hand of the Father until He makes His enemies a footstool for His feet, as has been made clear through another psalm.”[130] [Psalm 110:1] 6 For when the rulers in heaven saw that he had a form that was unsightly, dishonored and without glory, they did not recognize him and asked, “Who is this King of glory?” And the Holy Spirit answers them, speaking either in the person of the Father or in his own: “The Lord of hosts, he himself is this King of glory.” For everyone will admit that none of those who stood at the gates of the temple in Jerusalem would have dared to ask, “Who is this King of glory?”, either about Solomon, glorious king though he was, or about the tent of testimony.[131] [Isaiah 53:2-3]
Chapter 37
The Same is Proved from Other Psalms.
1 “And in the interlude of the forty-sixth Psalm,” I said, “it is said of Christ: ‘God went up with a shout, the Lord with the sound of a trumpet. Sing to our God, sing; sing to our King, sing. For God is king of all the earth; sing with understanding. God has reigned over the nations; God sits on his holy throne. The rulers of the peoples were gathered together with the God of Abraham, for the mighty ones of the earth belong to God; they have been greatly exalted.’”[132] 2 And in the ninety-eighth Psalm the Holy Spirit reproaches you. He declares that the very one whom you refuse to have as king is king and Lord of Samuel, of Aaron, of Moses, and, in short, of all the others.[133] [Psalm 99:6] 3 These are the words of the Psalm: “The Lord has reigned; let the peoples be angry. He who sits on the cherubim, let the earth be shaken. The Lord is great in Zion, and he is high above all the peoples. Let them give thanks to your great name, for it is fearful and holy; and the king’s honor loves justice. You have prepared uprightness; you have worked justice and righteousness in Jacob. Exalt the Lord our God, and worship at the footstool of his feet, for he is holy.
4 Moses and Aaron were among his priests, and Samuel among those who call on his name. They called on the Lord, the Scripture says, and he answered them. He spoke to them in a pillar of cloud. They kept his testimonies and the commandment he gave them. O Lord our God, you answered them; O God, you were gracious to them, though you took vengeance on all their practices. Exalt the Lord our God, and worship on his holy mountain, for the Lord our God is holy.”
Chapter 38
It is an Annoyance to the Jew that Christ is Said to Be Adored. Justin Confirms It, However, from Ps. XLV.
1 Trypho said, “Sir, it would have been good for us to listen to our teachers, who made a rule that we should not talk with any of you, and that we should not share in these discussions with you. For you say many blasphemous things. You think you can persuade us that this crucified man was with Moses and Aaron and spoke to them in the pillar of cloud, and then became man, was crucified, went up into heaven, and comes again to earth, and is to be worshiped.” 2 I answered, “I know that, as the word of God says, this great wisdom of the Maker of all things, the almighty God, is hidden from you. So out of sympathy for you I am working hard to help you understand these strange teachings of ours. If you will not, then at least I myself will be innocent on the day of judgment. For you will still hear other words that seem even stranger. Do not be disturbed. Instead, become more eager as hearers and keep on examining what you hear. Despise the tradition of your teachers, since the prophetic Spirit proves them unable to understand what comes from God, and shows that they would rather teach their own ideas.”[134]
3 “So in the forty-fourth Psalm these words are likewise said of Christ: ‘My heart has poured out a good word; I speak my works to the king. My tongue is the pen of a swift scribe. You are fairer in beauty than the sons of men; grace is poured out on your lips; therefore God has blessed you forever. Gird your sword on your thigh, mighty one. In your splendor and your beauty, stretch your bow, prosper, and reign, for the sake of truth and meekness and righteousness; and your right hand will guide you marvelously. Your arrows are sharpened, mighty one (peoples will fall under you), sharpened for the heart of the king’s enemies.’”[135] 4 “Your throne, O God, is forever and ever. The rod of your kingdom is a rod of uprightness. You have loved righteousness and hated lawlessness. Therefore God, your God, has anointed you with the oil of gladness beyond your companions. Myrrh and drops of perfume and cassia come from your garments, from ivory palaces, from which they have made you glad. Daughters of kings are among your honored ones. The queen stood at your right hand, clothed in garments woven with gold, richly embroidered. Listen, daughter, and see, and bend your ear. Forget your people and your father’s house, and the king will desire your beauty, because he is your lord. And they will worship him.”[136]
5 “And a daughter of Tyre will come with gifts. The rich among the people will seek your favor. All the glory of the king’s daughter is within, clothed in garments with golden fringes, richly embroidered. Virgins will be brought to the king behind him. Those near her will be brought to you. They will be brought with gladness and rejoicing. They will be led into the king’s temple. In place of your fathers, your sons have been born. You will appoint them rulers over all the earth. I will remember your name in every generation. Therefore peoples will give thanks to you forever, and forever and ever.”[137]
Chapter 39
The Jews Hate the Christians Who Believe This. How Great the Distinction is Between Both!
1 “It is no surprise,” I added, “that you hate us too, because we understand these things and expose your heart, which is always hard. Elijah, pleading with God about you, says: ‘Lord, they have killed your prophets and torn down your altars. I alone was left, and they are seeking my life.’ And God answers him: ‘I still have seven thousand men who have not bent the knee to Baal.’”[138] [Romans 11:3-4] 2 “In the same way, then, that God did not bring his anger at that time because of those seven thousand, so he has not yet brought judgment, and is not bringing it now. He knows that every day some are becoming disciples in the name of his Christ and leaving the way of error. These also receive gifts, each as they are worthy, as they are enlightened through the name of this Christ. One receives a spirit of understanding, another of counsel, another of strength, another of healing, another of foreknowledge, another of teaching, and another of the fear of God.”[139] [Isaiah 11:2]
3 At this Trypho said to me, “I want you to know that you are out of your mind to say these things.” 4 I answered him, “Listen, my friend. I am not raving, and I am not out of my mind. It was prophesied that after Christ went up into heaven he would take us captive away from error and would give us gifts. These are the words: ‘He went up on high, he led captivity captive, he gave gifts to men.’”[140] [Ephesians 4:8] 5 “So we have received gifts from Christ, who went up on high. From the words of the prophets we show that you, who are wise in your own eyes and clever in your own sight, are senseless, and that you honor God and his Christ with your lips only. But we have been taught from the whole truth, and we honor them in deeds, in knowledge, and in heart, even to death.”[141] [Isaiah 5:21; Isaiah 29:13]
6 “But perhaps another reason you hesitate to confess that this man is the Christ, as the Scriptures and the things seen and done in his name prove, is to avoid being persecuted by the rulers. Under the working of the evil and deceiving spirit, the serpent, they will not stop killing and persecuting those who confess the name of Christ. This will go on until he comes again, destroys them all, and gives to each what he deserves.” 7 Trypho said, “Then give us the proof now that this man, whom you say was crucified and went up into heaven, is the Christ of God. The Scriptures you have already gone through show well enough that the Christ is proclaimed as one who suffers, that he will come again with glory, and that he will receive the eternal kingdom of all the nations, with every kingdom made subject to him. But show us that this man is the one.”[142]
8 I replied, “It has already been proved, gentlemen, to those who have ears, even from what you yourselves admit. But I do not want you to think I am at a loss, or unable to give proofs for what you ask. So I will give them, as I promised, in the proper place. For now I go back to the thread of what I was saying.”
Chapter 40
He Returns to the Mosaic Laws, and Proves that They Were Figures of the Things Which Pertain to Christ.
1 So the mystery of the lamb, which God commanded to be sacrificed as the Passover, was a type of Christ. Those who believe in him anoint their houses, that is, themselves, with his blood, in keeping with their faith in him. All of you can understand that the creature God formed, Adam, became a house for the breath that God breathed into him. And I will show you that this commandment too was only temporary.[143] [Exodus 12:7; Genesis 2:7] 2 God does not allow the Passover lamb to be sacrificed anywhere except in the place where his name has been called upon. He knew that days would come, after Christ suffered, when the place at Jerusalem would be handed over to your enemies, and all offerings without exception would stop.[144] [Deuteronomy 16:5-6] 3 That lamb, which was commanded to be roasted whole, was a symbol of the suffering of the cross that Christ was going to undergo. For when the lamb is roasted, it is arranged in the shape of a cross. One spit is run straight up through it from the lowest parts to the head, and another goes across the back, and the lamb’s forelegs are fastened to it.[145] [Exodus 12:9]
4 The two goats that were commanded to be alike and to be offered at the fast were also a proclamation of the two comings of Christ. One goat was sent away, and the other was offered. The first coming is the one in which the elders of your people and the priests laid their hands on him, put him to death, and sent him away like the goat sent off into the wilderness. The second coming is the one in which you will recognize, in that same place, Jerusalem, the one you dishonored. He was an offering for all sinners who are willing to repent and who keep the fast that Isaiah describes, tearing apart the knots of violent contracts and keeping the other things he lists, which I have already quoted. These are the things that those who believe in Jesus do.[146] [Leviticus 16:7-10; Isaiah 58:6] 5 And you know that the offering of the two goats, commanded at the fast, was likewise permitted nowhere else but in Jerusalem.
Chapter 41
The Oblation of Fine Flour Was a Figure of the Eucharist.
1 “And the offering of fine flour, sirs,” I said, “which was handed down to be offered for those cleansed from leprosy, was a type of the bread of the Eucharist. Jesus Christ our Lord commanded us to do this in remembrance of the suffering he endured for people whose souls are cleansed from all wickedness. He did this so that we might give thanks to God for creating the world with everything in it for the sake of mankind. We also thank God for freeing us from the evil in which we were, and for completely destroying the rulers and authorities through the one who became capable of suffering according to his will.[147] [Leviticus 14:10; Luke 22:19] 2 So God speaks through Malachi, one of the twelve prophets, as I said before, about the sacrifices you offered at that time: “I have no desire for you, says the Lord, and I will not accept your sacrifices from your hands. For from the rising of the sun to its setting my name has been glorified among the nations, and in every place incense is offered to my name, and a pure sacrifice. For my name is great among the nations, says the Lord, but you profane it.”[148] [Malachi 1:10-12]
3 But about the sacrifices that we Gentiles offer to him in every place, that is, the bread of the Eucharist and likewise the cup of the Eucharist, he spoke in advance at that time. He said that we glorify his name, and that you profane it. [Malachi 1:11-12] 4 The commandment of circumcision, which ordered that those born be circumcised without fail on the eighth day, was a type of the true circumcision. By this we have been circumcised from error and wickedness through Jesus Christ our Lord, who rose from the dead on the first day of the week. For the first day of the week is the first of all the days. Yet when the days of the cycle are counted again, it is called the eighth, and it still remains the first.[149] [Genesis 17:12; Leviticus 12:3]
Chapter 42
The Bells on the Priest's Robe Were a Figure of the Apostles.
1 Moreover, the instruction handed down that twelve bells be hung from the full-length robe of the high priest was a symbol of the twelve apostles, who hang on the power of Christ, the eternal Priest. Through their voice the whole earth has been filled with the glory and grace of God and of his Christ. That is why David says, “Their sound has gone out into all the earth, and their words to the ends of the world.”[150] [Exodus 28:33-34] 2 Isaiah speaks as if in the person of the apostles. They tell Christ that people believe not because of their message but because of the power of the one who sent them. So he says: “Lord, who has believed our report? And to whom has the arm of the Lord been revealed? We announced before him as a child, as a root in thirsty ground.” The rest of the prophecy follows, as I quoted it earlier.[151] [Isaiah 53:1-2]
3 When the text speaks as if in the person of many (“We announced before him”) and then adds “as a child,” it shows that the wicked will become his subjects and serve his command, and that all will become as one child. You can see the same thing in a body. Many members are counted, yet all together are called one and are one body. In the same way a people or a church is made up of many individuals, yet they are called and addressed by a single name, as one thing.[152] [Isaiah 53:2; 1 Corinthians 12:12] 4 “In short, gentlemen,” I said, “I could go through all the other things Moses commanded and show that they were types, symbols and announcements. They pointed to what would happen to Christ, to those who were foreknown to believe in him, and likewise to what Christ himself would do. But what I have listed so far seems to me enough, so I return to my argument in its proper order.”
Chapter 43
He Concludes that the Law Had an End in Christ, Who Was Born of the Virgin.
1 “Circumcision began with Abraham. The Sabbath, sacrifices, offerings and feasts began with Moses. I have shown that these were commanded because of the hardness of your people’s hearts. In the same way, according to the Father’s will, they had to come to an end in Christ, the Son of God. He was born of a virgin who came from the family of Abraham, from the tribe of Judah, and from David. He was proclaimed as the one who would come forth to the whole world as an eternal law and a new covenant, as the prophecies I quoted show.”[153] 2 “We, who have come to God through him, have not received this circumcision of the flesh. We have received a spiritual circumcision, which Enoch and others like him kept. We received it through baptism, because we had become sinners, and we received it by God’s mercy. It is open to everyone to receive it in the same way.”[154] [Colossians 2:11-12]
3 “Since it is now urgent to speak about the mystery of his birth, I will do so. Isaiah said that the origin of Christ cannot be told by human beings, in the words I quoted earlier: ‘Who will declare his generation? For his life is taken from the earth; because of the lawless deeds of my people he was led to death.’ He was going to die so that we sinful people might be healed by his wound. The Spirit of prophecy said these things because the generation of such a one cannot be told.”[155] [Isaiah 53:8; Isaiah 53:5] 4 “Furthermore, so that people who believe in him might know how he came to be born into the world, the Spirit of prophecy, through the same Isaiah, foretold how it would happen. He said:” 5 “‘And the Lord went on to speak to Ahaz, saying: Ask for yourself a sign from the Lord your God, in the depth or in the height. And Ahaz said: I will not ask, and I will not put the Lord to the test. And Isaiah said: Listen now, house of David. Is it a small thing for you to make trouble for men? And how do you make trouble for the Lord? Therefore the Lord himself will give you a sign: Behold, the virgin will conceive in the womb and will bear a son, and his name will be called Emmanuel. Butter and honey he will eat.’”[156] [Isaiah 7:10-15]
6 “‘Before he knows or prefers evil, he will choose the good. For before the child knows good or evil, he refuses evil so as to choose the good. For before the child knows how to call father or mother, he will take the power of Damascus and the spoils of Samaria before the king of the Assyrians. And the land will be seized, which you will bear heavily because of the two kings. But God will bring upon you, and upon your people, and upon your father’s house, days such as have not yet come upon you since the day Ephraim took away from Judah the king of the Assyrians.’”[157] [Isaiah 7:15-16; Isaiah 8:4; Isaiah 7:16-17] 7 “Now it is plain to everyone that no one in the fleshly descent of Abraham has ever been born of a virgin, or is said to have been, except this Christ of ours.” 8 “But you and your teachers dare to say that Isaiah’s prophecy does not say, ‘Look, the virgin will have a child in her womb,’ but, ‘Look, the young woman will conceive and bear a son.’ You explain the prophecy as being about Hezekiah, who was your king. On this point too I will try to answer you briefly. I will show that the prophecy was spoken about the one we acknowledge as Christ.[158] [Isaiah 7:14]
Chapter 44
The Jews in Vain Promise Themselves Salvation, Which Cannot Be Obtained Except Through Christ.
1 “In this way, as far as you are concerned, I will be found completely free of blame, if I do my best to persuade you by giving proofs. But suppose you stay hard-hearted, or weak in resolve because of the death decreed for Christians, and refuse to agree with the truth. Then you will have only yourselves to blame. You are deceiving yourselves. You suppose that, because you are Abraham’s descendants by physical descent, you will surely inherit the good things God announced he would give through Christ. 2 No one can receive any of those things from anywhere, except those whose way of thinking has been made like the faith of Abraham and who have understood all the mysteries. I mean this: some commandments were laid down for reverence toward God and right living. Other commandments and practices were likewise given, either with a view to the mystery of Christ or because of the hardness of heart of your people. And that this is so, God declared in Ezekiel, speaking about this very thing: “If Noah and Jacob and Daniel ask for sons or daughters, it will not be given to them.”[159]
3 And in Isaiah God spoke on this same point: “The Lord God said: And they will go out and see the bodies of the men who transgressed. For their worm will not die, and their fire will not be quenched, and they will be a sight for all flesh.”[160] [Isaiah 66:24] 4 So you must cut this hope out of your souls. Be eager instead to learn by what way you can receive forgiveness of sins and hope of inheriting the good things that were promised. There is no other way than this: to come to know this Christ, to wash in the washing that Isaiah proclaimed for the forgiveness of sins, and from then on to live without sin.[161] [Isaiah 1:16]
Chapter 45
Those Who Were Righteous Before and Under the Law Shall Be Saved by Christ.
1 Trypho said, “I may seem to be interrupting these matters you are discussing, which do need to be examined. But the question I want to raise is urgent, so please bear with me first.” I said, “Examine whatever you like, as it comes to you. After the questions and answers, I will try to take up the discussion again and finish it.” 2 He said, “Then tell me: will those who lived by the law given through Moses live in the resurrection of the dead in the same way as Jacob, Enoch and Noah, or not?” 3 I answered him, “Sir, when I quoted what Ezekiel said, ‘Even if Noah and Daniel and Jacob ask for sons and daughters, it will not be given to them,’ but each will clearly be saved by his own righteousness, I was also saying that those who lived by the law of Moses will be saved in the same way. For in the law of Moses, those who obey it are commanded to do what is good, godly and just by nature. It is also written that other things were commanded because of the hardness of the people’s heart, and those under the law did these things as well.”
4 Those who did what is universally, naturally and eternally good are pleasing to God. So they too will be saved through this Christ in the resurrection, just like the righteous who lived before them: Noah, Enoch, Jacob, and any others. They will be saved together with those who have come to know this Christ, the Son of God. He existed before the morning star and the moon. He became flesh and submitted to being born of this virgin from the family of David. By this plan, the serpent who did evil from the beginning, and the angels who became like him, would be destroyed. Death would be despised, and at the second coming of Christ himself it would cease completely for those who believe in him and live in a way that pleases him, and afterward it would be no more. Then some will be sent to judgment and to condemnation in fire, to be punished without end. Others will live together in freedom from suffering, incorruption, freedom from grief, and immortality.[162]
Chapter 46
Trypho Asks Whether a Man Who Keeps the Law Even Now Will Be Saved. Justin Proves that It Contributes Nothing to Righteousness.
1 “But suppose some people even now want to live keeping the commands given through Moses, and they also believe in this Jesus who was crucified. They recognize that he is the Christ of God, that he has been given the right to judge everyone without exception, and that the eternal kingdom is his. Can they too be saved?” he asked me. 2 And I said again, “Let us also consider this together: whether it is possible to keep everything that was commanded through Moses now.” He answered, “No. We know that, as you said, it is impossible to sacrifice the Passover lamb anywhere else, or to offer the goats ordered for the fast, or, in short, any of the other offerings.” I said, “Then tell me yourself, please, what can be kept. You will be convinced that a person who does not keep these things, but has done what is eternally right, can certainly be saved.” He said, “I mean keeping the Sabbath, being circumcised, observing the rules about monthly periods, and being washed if one has touched any of the things Moses forbade, or after sexual intercourse.”[163]
3 I said, “What about Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Noah and Job, and any others who were equally righteous before or after them? I include Sarah, the wife of Abraham, Rebekah, the wife of Isaac, Rachel, the wife of Jacob, and Leah, and all the other such women down to the mother of Moses, the faithful servant. None of them kept any of these things. Do you think they will be saved?” Trypho answered, “Were not Abraham and those after him circumcised?”[164] [Numbers 12:7; Hebrews 3:5] 4 I said, “I know that Abraham and those after him were circumcised. I explained at length in my earlier remarks why circumcision was given to them. If what I said does not convince you, let us examine the matter again. But you know that until Moses no righteous person at all kept any of the things we are asking about, or received a commandment to keep them, except for circumcision, which began with Abraham.” He said, “We know that, and we agree that those people are saved.”
5 I went on, “You understand that God commanded all such ordinances through Moses because of the hardness of your people’s hearts. By means of these many commands you were to keep God before your eyes in every action, and never begin to do wrong or to act impiously. He commanded you to wear a scarlet thread, so that you would not forget God. He also told you to wear a phylactery, made of very thin skins on which certain characters were written, which we agree are certainly holy. By these means he pressed you always to remember God, and at the same time to carry a rebuke in your hearts.”[165] [Deuteronomy 6:8] 6 Yet you do not keep even a small remembrance of the worship of God, and even with all these reminders you were not persuaded to give up idolatry. In the time of Elijah, when God named the number of those who had not bent the knee to Baal, he said there were seven thousand. And in Isaiah he accuses you of making your own children a sacrifice to idols.[166] [Isaiah 57:5]
7 But we endure the most severe punishments rather than sacrifice to the gods to whom we once sacrificed. We rejoice even when we are put to death, believing that God will raise us up through his Christ and make us incorruptible, free from suffering, and immortal. And we know that the commands given because of the hardness of your people’s hearts contribute nothing to doing what is right and to godliness.
Chapter 47
Justin Communicates with Christians Who Observe the Law. Not a Few Catholics Do Otherwise.
1 Trypho asked again, “But suppose someone knows that all this is so, and, besides knowing that this man is the Christ, has believed in him and obeys him, yet wants to keep these things as well. Will he be saved?” I said, “In my opinion, Trypho, such a person will be saved, as long as he does not try by every means to persuade other people to keep the same things. I mean the Gentiles who have been circumcised from error through Christ. He must not tell them that they will not be saved unless they keep these things, as you yourself did at the beginning of our talk, when you declared that I would not be saved unless I kept them.”[167] 2 He said, “Then why did you say, ‘In my opinion such a person will be saved’? Are there some who say that such people will not be saved?” “There are, Trypho,” I answered. “They do not even dare to share conversation or a meal with such people. I do not agree with them. But suppose some, because of weakness of mind, want to keep now whatever they can of the commands of Moses, which we understand were given because of the hardness of the people’s hearts. Suppose they also hope in this Christ and want to keep the eternal and natural acts of righteousness and godliness. And suppose they choose to live together with the Christians and the faithful, as I said before, without trying to persuade them either to be circumcised as they are, or to keep the Sabbath, or to observe other such things. Then I declare that we must welcome them and share everything with them, as people of the same heart and as brothers.”[168]
3 But Trypho, suppose some from your own people who say they believe in this Christ try to force Gentile believers in this Christ to live in every respect by the law given through Moses. Or suppose they choose not to share their daily life with them. I do not accept these people either.[169] 4 But those who are persuaded by them to take up life under the law, while still holding to their confession of God’s Christ, I suppose may perhaps be saved. But some have confessed and recognized that this man is the Christ, and then for whatever reason have gone over to life under the law, denying that he is the Christ, and have not repented before death. I declare that these will not be saved at all. In the same way, I declare that those of Abraham’s seed who live by the law and do not believe in this Christ before the end of their life will not be saved. This applies especially to those who in the synagogues have cursed, and still curse, those who believe in this very Christ so that they may obtain salvation and escape the punishment of fire.[170]
5 For God’s kindness and love for humanity, and the boundless measure of his riches, count the one who repents of his sins as righteous and sinless, as he declares through Ezekiel. And he regards the one who turns from godliness and righteous living to injustice and godlessness as a sinner, unjust and ungodly. So our Lord Jesus Christ also said, “In whatever state I find you, in that I will also judge you.”[171] [Ezekiel 18:21-24]
Chapter 48
Before the Divinity of Christ is Proved, He [Trypho] Demands that It Be Settled that He is Christ.
1 Trypho said, “We have heard what you think about these matters. So take up your argument again where you stopped, and finish it. For the claim seems to me strange and quite impossible to prove. You say that this Christ existed beforehand as God before the ages, and then submitted to be born and become a man, and yet that he is not a man born of men. That seems to me not only strange but foolish.” 2 To this I said, “I know that the statement seems strange, especially to those of your people. You have never been willing to understand or do what belongs to God, only what belongs to your teachers, as God himself cries out. Even so, Trypho,” I said, “the case that this man is God’s Christ does not fall apart if I cannot show that he also existed beforehand as Son of the Maker of all things, being God, and was born a man through the virgin.[172] [Isaiah 29:13]
3 “Since it has been fully proved that this man is the Christ of God, whoever he may be, suppose I do not prove that he existed beforehand and that, by the Father’s will, he submitted to be born a man with the same nature as ours, having flesh. Then it is right to say only that I have made a mistake on that point. It would not be right to deny that he is the Christ, even if he appears to have been born a man from men and is shown to have become the Christ by being chosen. 4 “For there are some, my friends,” I said, “from your own people who confess that he is the Christ but declare that he was a man born of men. I do not agree with them, and I would not, even if most of those who share my views said the same. For Christ himself commanded us to obey not human teachings but what was proclaimed by the blessed prophets and taught by him.”[173] [Matthew 15:9; Mark 7:7]
Chapter 49
To Those Who Object that Elijah Has Not Yet Come, He Replies that He is the Precursor of the First Advent.
1 Trypho said, “Those who say that he was a man, was anointed by choice, and so became Christ seem to me more persuasive than you who say what you are saying. For all of us expect the Christ to be a man born of men, and that Elijah will come and anoint him. But if this man appears to be the Christ, he must by all means be recognized as a man born of men. Yet since Elijah has not come, I declare that this man is not the Christ either.” 2 I asked him in turn, “Does not the word say through Zechariah that Elijah will come before this great and fearful day of the Lord?” He answered, “Certainly.” I said, “Then suppose the word compels us to admit that two comings of the Christ were prophesied. In one he would appear suffering, dishonored, and without beauty. In the other he would come glorious and as judge of all, as has been shown in many of the passages already cited. Shall we not understand that the word of God announced Elijah as the forerunner of the fearful and great day, that is, of his second coming?” “Certainly,” he answered.[174] [Malachi 4:5; Isaiah 53:2-3]
3 “And so our Lord,” I said, “handed this very thing down in his teaching as something that would happen, when he said that Elijah would also come. We know this will happen when our Lord Jesus Christ comes from heaven in glory. Before his first appearing, the Spirit of God who was in Elijah went ahead as a herald, in John, a prophet who arose among your people. After him no other prophet appeared among you. Sitting by the river Jordan, John cried out: ‘I baptize you with water for repentance. But one stronger than I is coming, whose sandals I am not fit to carry. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire. His winnowing shovel is in his hand, and he will thoroughly clear his threshing floor. He will gather the wheat into the barn, but the chaff he will burn up with unquenchable fire.’”[175] [Matthew 17:11; Luke 1:17; Matthew 3:11-12; Luke 3:16-17] 4 “Your king Herod had shut this same prophet up in prison. When his birthday was being celebrated, his niece danced in a way that pleased him, and he told her to ask for whatever she wanted. The girl’s mother prompted her to ask for the head of John, who was in the prison. When she asked, Herod sent and ordered John’s head to be brought on a platter.”[176]
5 “So our Christ, while he was on earth, spoke to those who said that Elijah must come before the Christ: ‘Elijah will indeed come and restore all things. But I tell you that Elijah has already come, and they did not recognize him, but did to him whatever they wanted.’ And it is written: ‘Then the disciples understood that he was speaking to them about John the Baptist.’”[177] [Matthew 17:11-13] 6 Trypho said, “This also seems to me a strange thing to say: that the prophetic Spirit of God who was in Elijah was also in John.” I answered, “Don’t you think the same thing happened with Joshua son of Nun, who took over the leadership of the people after Moses? Moses was told to lay his hands on Joshua, and God himself said, ‘I will take some of the spirit that is in you and put it on him.’”[178] [Numbers 27:18; Numbers 11:17] 7 He said, “Certainly.” “Then,” I said, “while Moses was still living among men, God took some of the spirit in Moses and put it on Joshua. In the same way God was able to make the Spirit pass from Elijah to John. The purpose was this: Christ appeared without glory at his first coming. In the same way, the first coming of the Spirit that was in Elijah, a Spirit that always remains pure, as Christ’s does, would be understood as without glory.”[179]
8 “For it is said that the Lord fights against Amalek with a hidden hand, and you will not deny that Amalek fell. But suppose it is said that Amalek will be fought only at the glorious coming of Christ. Then what fruit would there be in the word that says, ‘God fights against Amalek with a hidden hand’? You can understand that the hidden power of God was in the crucified Christ. Demons shudder before him, and so do all the rulers and authorities of the earth, without exception.”[180] [Exodus 17:16; James 2:19]
Chapter 50
It is Proved from Isaiah that John is the Precursor of Christ.
1 Trypho said, “You seem to me to have had a great deal of practice arguing with many people about all the questions under discussion. That is why you are ready to answer anything you are asked. Then answer me this first: how can you show that there is another God besides the Maker of all things? After that you will show that he also submitted to being born through the virgin.” 2 I said, “First allow me to quote some words from the prophecy of Isaiah. They speak about the forerunner’s work: how John, the Baptist and a prophet, went ahead of this Jesus Christ, our Lord.” He said, “I allow it.” 3 I said, “Isaiah spoke beforehand about John as forerunner like this: ‘And Hezekiah said to Isaiah, The word of the Lord that he spoke is good. Let there be peace and righteousness in my days.’ And: ‘Comfort the people. Priests, speak to the heart of Jerusalem and comfort her, because her humiliation is fulfilled. Her sin has been pardoned, for she has received from the Lord’s hand double for her sins. A voice of one crying in the wilderness: Prepare the ways of the Lord; make straight the paths of our God. Every ravine will be filled, and every mountain and hill will be brought low. All that is crooked will become straight, and the rough ground will become smooth roads. The glory of the Lord will be seen, and all flesh will see the salvation of God, for the Lord has spoken.[181] [Isaiah 39:8; Isaiah 40:1-5]
4 A voice says, “Cry out.” And I said, “What shall I cry?” “All flesh is grass, and all the glory of man is like the flower of grass. The grass has withered, and its flower has fallen away, but the word of the Lord remains forever.” You who bring good news to Zion, go up on a high mountain. You who bring good news to Jerusalem, lift up your voice with strength. Lift it up; do not be afraid. Say to the cities of Judah, “Behold, your God!” Behold, the Lord comes with strength, and his arm comes with authority. Behold, his reward is with him, and his work is before him. Like a shepherd he will tend his flock, and with his arm he will gather the lambs, and he will comfort her who is with young. [Isaiah 40:6-11] 5 Who has measured the water in his hand, and the heaven with a span, and all the earth in his fist? Who has set the mountains on a scale and the valleys on a balance? Who has known the mind of the Lord, and who has been his counselor, to instruct him? Or with whom did he take counsel, so that he taught him? Or who showed him justice? Or who made known to him the way of understanding? All the nations are reckoned like a drop from a bucket, like the tipping of a balance, and they will be counted like spittle. Lebanon is not enough for the fire, nor are the four-footed beasts enough for a whole burnt offering. All the nations are nothing, and they have been counted as nothing.’”[182] [Isaiah 40:12-17]
Chapter 51
It is Proved that This Prophecy Has Been Fulfilled.
1 When I had finished, Trypho said, “All the words of this prophecy you recite, sir, are ambiguous, and they contain nothing decisive to prove what you want to prove.” I answered, “Trypho, if the prophets had not ceased, and there had still been prophets in your nation after this John, perhaps you might think what is said was ambiguous.[183] 2 John came first, crying out to people to repent. While he was still sitting by the river Jordan, Christ came and put an end to his prophesying and baptizing. Christ himself also preached the good news. He said that the kingdom of heaven is at hand, and that he must suffer many things from the scribes and Pharisees, be crucified, and rise on the third day. He said that he would appear again in Jerusalem and would then eat and drink with his disciples again. He also foretold that in the time before his coming, as I said before, there would be sects and false prophets in his name, and this is plainly what we see. If all this is so, how can anyone still doubt, when the facts themselves can convince you?[184] [Matthew 3:1-2; Matthew 16:21; Matthew 24:11; Matthew 26:29]
3 He had also spoken about how there would no longer be any prophet in your nation. He spoke too of recognizing that the new covenant, which God had long ago announced he would establish, was already present, that is, Christ himself. He said it like this: “The law and the prophets were until John the Baptist. From then on the kingdom of heaven is taken by force, and violent men seize it. And if you are willing to accept it, he is Elijah who is to come. Let anyone who has ears to hear, hear.”[185] [Matthew 11:12-15; Luke 16:16]
Chapter 52
Jacob Predicted Two Advents of Christ.
1 Through the patriarch Jacob it was also prophesied that there would be two comings of Christ, and that in the first he would suffer. I went on to say that after he came there would be neither prophet nor king in your nation, and that the Gentiles, believing in the suffering Christ, would look forward to his coming again. “And for this reason,” I said, “the Holy Spirit spoke these things in a parable and in veiled language.” 2 I added that he had spoken like this: “Judah, your brothers have praised you. Your hands will be on the back of your enemies; the sons of your father will worship you. Judah is a lion’s cub. From a shoot, my son, you have come up. Lying down, he slept like a lion and like a cub. Who will raise him up? A ruler will not fail from Judah, nor a leader from his thighs, until the things stored up for him come. And he will be the expectation of the nations, binding his foal to the vine, and the foal of his donkey to the tendril. He will wash his robe in wine and his garment in the blood of the grape. His eyes are bright with wine, and his teeth are white as milk.”[186] [Genesis 49:8-12]
3 You will not dare, however shameless you are, to say that your nation ever lacked a prophet or a ruler from the time it began until this Jesus Christ was born and suffered. Nor can you prove it. You say that Herod, under whom he suffered, was from Ascalon. Even so, you say that there was a high priest in your nation. So at that time you had a high priest who, according to the law of Moses, presented offerings and kept the other legal requirements. You also had prophets in succession down to John. Even when your people were carried off to Babylon, when the land was ravaged by war and the sacred vessels were taken away, a prophet never ceased to be among you, one who was lord, leader and ruler of your people. For the Spirit in the prophets anointed your kings and set them in place.[187]
4 After the appearing and death of Jesus, our Christ, in your nation, there has been no prophet anywhere, and there is none now. Rather, you have ceased to live under a king of your own. On top of this, your land has been laid waste and left like a watchman’s hut in an orchard. When the word was spoken through Jacob, “And he will be the expectation of the nations,” it pointed in symbol to his two comings, and to the fact that the nations would believe in him. You can see this at last, late as it is. For we, from all the nations, who through faith in Christ have become devout and righteous, are waiting for him to come again.[188] [Isaiah 1:8; Genesis 49:10]
Chapter 53
Jacob Predicted that Christ Would Ride on an Ass, and Zechariah Confirms It.
1 The words “binding his foal to the vine, and the donkey’s foal to the tendril” were an advance announcement both of the works he did at his first coming and of the nations who would believe in him. For these nations were like an unharnessed foal with no yoke on its neck, until this Christ came and, by sending his disciples, made disciples of them. Then they took up the yoke of his word and bent their backs to endure everything, for the sake of the good things they expected and he had announced.[189] [Genesis 49:11] 2 Our Lord Jesus Christ was about to enter Jerusalem. At the entrance of a village called Bethphage there was in fact a donkey tied up with her foal. He told His disciples to bring them to Him, and He mounted and rode into Jerusalem. It had been plainly prophesied beforehand that the Christ would do this. When He did it and people recognized what it meant, it made plain that He was the Christ. Yet although all this has happened and is proved from the Scriptures, you are still hard-hearted.[190]
3 Zechariah, one of the twelve prophets, foretold that this would happen, saying: “Rejoice greatly, daughter of Zion; shout aloud, proclaim it, daughter of Jerusalem. Look, your king will come to you, righteous and bringing salvation, gentle and poor, riding on a beast of burden and on a donkey’s foal.”[191] [Zechariah 9:9] 4 The Spirit of prophecy, together with the patriarch Jacob, names a donkey that was already a beast of burden, along with her foal, as belonging to Him. As I said before, He Himself also told His disciples to bring both animals. All this was an announcement ahead of time that people from your synagogue, together with people from the nations, would believe in Him. For just as the foal that had never carried a load was a symbol of those from the nations, so the donkey that carried a load was a symbol of those from your people. For you have the law laid on you through the prophets.[192] [Genesis 49:11; Matthew 21:2]
5 Zechariah the prophet also foretold that this same Christ would be struck and His disciples scattered, and that is just what happened. After He was crucified, the disciples who had been with Him were scattered, until He rose from the dead and convinced them that it had been prophesied that He would suffer in this way. Convinced, they went out into the whole world and taught these things. [Zechariah 13:7; Luke 24:25-27] 6 So we also are firm in our faith in Him and in being His disciples. We have our conviction from the prophets, and from those throughout the world who are seen to have become devout worshippers of God in the name of that crucified One. These are the words Zechariah spoke: “Sword, awake against my shepherd and against the man of my people, says the Lord of hosts. Strike the shepherd, and his sheep will be scattered.”[193] [Zechariah 13:7]
Chapter 54
What the Blood of the Grape Signifies.
1 Moses also recorded, and the patriarch Jacob prophesied, these words: “He will wash his robe in wine, and his garment in the blood of the grape.” This showed that Christ would wash those who believe in Him with His own blood. For the Holy Spirit called “His robe” those who have received forgiveness of sins through Him. He is always present among them in power, and He will be plainly present at His second coming.[194] [Genesis 49:11] 2 When the Word spoke of “the blood of the grape,” it showed by this skilful figure that Christ does have blood, but not from human seed. His blood comes from the power of God. Just as it was God and not man who produced the blood of the vine, so the prophecy foretold that the blood of Christ would come from the power of God and not from the human race. This prophecy that I quoted, gentlemen, shows that Christ is not a man born of men in the ordinary way that people are born.[195] [Genesis 49:11]
Chapter 55
Trypho Asks that Christ Be Proved God, But Without Metaphor. Justin Promises to Do So.
1 Trypho answered, “We will remember this explanation of yours, if you also back up this difficult point with other arguments. But for now, take up your argument again and prove to us that the Spirit of prophecy acknowledges another God besides the Maker of all things. Be careful not to bring up the sun and the moon, which, it is written, God allowed the nations to worship as gods. The prophets, using the word in this loose way, often say, ‘Your God is God of gods and Lord of lords,’ and often add ‘the great and mighty and terrible.’[196] [Deuteronomy 4:19; Deuteronomy 10:17] 2 “These words are not said as though there really were other gods. The saying is teaching us that, among those thought to be gods and lords, the one who truly is God, who made all things, is the only Lord. To expose this too, the Holy Spirit said through the holy David, ‘The gods of the nations, who are thought to be gods, are idols of demons and not gods.’ And He pronounces a curse on those who make them and worship them.”[197]
3 I said, “Trypho, I was not going to bring those proofs, which I know condemn people who worship such idols and things like them. I will give proofs that no one will be able to speak against. They will seem strange to you, even though you read them every day. From this you may understand that, because of your wickedness, God has hidden from you the ability to grasp the wisdom in his words. There are a few exceptions, to whom, by the grace of his great compassion, as Isaiah said, he has left a seed for salvation, so that your race should not be utterly destroyed like the people of Sodom and Gomorrah. So pay attention to what I am going to recall from the holy Scriptures. They do not need to be explained, only heard.”[198] [Isaiah 1:9]
Chapter 56
God Who Appeared to Moses is Distinguished from God the Father.
1 “Moses, then, the blessed and faithful servant of God, shows that the God who appeared to Abraham by the oak of Mamre was sent, together with the two angels who were with him to judge Sodom, by Another. That Other always remains in the regions above the heavens. He has never appeared to anyone or spoken with anyone in person, and he is the one we understand to be Maker and Father of all things.”[199] [Numbers 12:7; Genesis 18:1] 2 “For this is what he says: ‘God appeared to him by the oak of Mamre, as he sat at the door of his tent at midday. And he looked up and saw, and there were three men standing above him. When he saw them, he ran from the door of his tent to meet them, and bowed down to the ground and said...’” and so on, down to: “‘Abraham rose early in the morning to the place where he had stood before the Lord. And he looked toward Sodom and Gomorrah and toward the surrounding land, and he saw, and a flame was going up from the earth like the smoke of a furnace.’” When I stopped speaking, I asked them whether they had understood what was said.[200] [Genesis 18:1-2; Genesis 19:27-28]
3 They said they had understood it, but that the words quoted gave no proof that there is any other God or Lord besides the Maker of all things, or that the Holy Spirit speaks of one. 4 Then I answered again, “Since you have understood the Scriptures, I will try to persuade you of what I say: that there is, and is said to be, another God and Lord under the Maker of all things. He is also called an Angel, because he announces to people whatever the Maker of all things, above whom there is no other God, wants to announce to them.” Then I went back over the passage I had quoted and asked Trypho, “Do you think God appeared to Abraham under the oak of Mamre, as the text says?” He said, “Certainly.” 5 “Was he one of those three,” I asked, “whom the Holy Spirit of prophecy says Abraham saw as men?” Trypho answered, “No. God appeared to him before the vision of the three. Those three, whom the text calls men, were angels. Two of them were sent to destroy Sodom. The third was sent to announce to Sarah that she would have a child. When he had finished that task, he left.”
6 “Then how is it,” I said, “that the one of the three who was in the tent, who also said, ‘I will come back to you at this time, and Sarah will have a son,’ is shown coming back when Sarah’s son was born? And how does the prophetic word there also indicate that he is God? To make what I am saying clear to you, listen to what Moses expressly says.” [Genesis 18:10; Genesis 18:14] 7 These are his words: “When Sarah saw the son of Hagar the Egyptian slave girl, who had been born to Abraham, playing with Isaac her son, she said to Abraham, ‘Cast out this slave girl and her son. For the son of this slave girl will not inherit with my son Isaac.’ But this word seemed very hard in Abraham’s eyes, because of his son. And God said to Abraham, ‘Do not let it seem hard in your eyes because of the boy and because of the slave girl. In everything Sarah tells you, listen to her voice, for it is through Isaac that your seed will be named.’”[201] [Genesis 21:9-12]
8 “Have you understood, then, that the one who said under the oak that he would return did come back, as it is written? He knew beforehand that it would be necessary to advise Abraham to do what Sarah wanted. And he is God, as the words show when they say, ‘God said to Abraham, Do not let it seem hard in your eyes because of the boy and because of the slave girl.’” That is what I asked. [Genesis 21:12] 9 Trypho said, “Certainly. But you have not shown from this that there is a God other than the one who appeared to Abraham, and who also appeared to the other patriarchs and prophets. What you have shown is that we were wrong to think that the three who came to Abraham in the tent were all angels.” 10 I answered again, “Suppose I could not prove to you from the Scriptures that one of those three is God, and is also called an Angel because, as I said before, he brings messages from God, the Maker of all things, to whomever God wishes. Then it would be reasonable for you to think that the one who appeared to Abraham on earth, in the form of a man like the two angels who came with him, was the God who existed even before the world was made. That is how your whole nation understands him.” “Quite so,” he said, “for that is what we have believed until now.”
11 Then I said, “I will go back to the Scriptures and try to persuade you that this one, who is said and written to have appeared to Abraham, to Jacob, and to Moses, and who is called God, is other than the God who made all things. I mean other in number, not in purpose. For I say he has never done or said anything except what the Maker of the world, above whom there is no other God, wanted him to do and to say.”[202] 12 Trypho said, “Then prove that this is so, so that we can agree with you on this point too. For we take it that you are not saying he has done or spoken anything against the purpose of the Maker of all things.” I answered, “The passage I quoted earlier will make this plain to you. It says: ‘The sun rose over the earth, and Lot entered Zoar. And the Lord rained sulfur and fire on Sodom from the Lord out of heaven, and overthrew these cities and all the surrounding region.’”[203] [Genesis 19:23-25]
13 Then the fourth of those who had stayed with Trypho said, “So one of the two angels who went down to Sodom is the one whom the Scripture, speaking through Moses, calls Lord. That means we must speak of God himself, who appeared to Abraham, as someone besides him.”[204] 14 “It is not for this reason alone,” I said, “that we must fully admit that the Holy Spirit calls someone else Lord besides the one understood as Maker of all things. It is so not only through Moses but also through David. For through David it is said, ‘The Lord says to my Lord, Sit at my right hand, until I make your enemies a footstool for your feet,’ as I said before. And again in other words: ‘Your throne, O God, is forever and ever. The rod of your kingdom is a rod of uprightness. You have loved righteousness and hated lawlessness. Therefore God, your God, has anointed you with the oil of gladness above your companions.’”[205] [Psalm 110:1]
15 “So if you say that the Holy Spirit speaks of someone else as God and Lord besides the Father of all and his Christ, then answer me. For I promise to prove to you from the Scriptures themselves that the one the Scripture calls Lord is not one of the two angels who went down to Sodom. He is the one who was with them, who is also called God, and who appeared to Abraham.” 16 Trypho said, “Prove it. As you see, the day is passing, and we are not ready to give answers on such dangerous ground, since we have never heard anyone examine, inquire into, or demonstrate these things. We would not have put up with you as you spoke, if you were not bringing everything back to the Scriptures. For you are eager to make your proofs from them, and you declare that there is no one who is God above the Maker of all things.”
17 I said, “You know, then, that the Scripture says, ‘And the Lord said to Abraham, Why did Sarah laugh, saying, Shall I truly give birth, now that I am old? Is any word impossible with God? At this time I will return to you, in due season, and Sarah will have a son.’ And a little later: ‘The men rose up from there and looked down toward Sodom and Gomorrah. And Abraham went with them, seeing them on their way. And the Lord said, I will not hide from Abraham my servant what I am about to do.’”[206] [Genesis 18:13-14; Genesis 18:16-17] 18 “And a little later it says again: ‘The Lord said, The cry of Sodom and Gomorrah has grown loud, and their sins are very great. So I will go down and see whether they are doing everything according to the cry that has come to me, and if not, that I may know. And the men turned away from there and went to Sodom. But Abraham was standing before the Lord. And Abraham came near and said, Will you destroy the righteous along with the ungodly?’” And so on. I do not think it necessary to write out the same words again, since they have all been written above. I need only give those passages by which I made the proof to Trypho and his companions.[207] [Genesis 18:20-23]
19 So I went on to the passages that follow, where these words are written: “‘And the Lord went away, when he had finished speaking to Abraham, and Abraham went to his place. And the two angels came to Sodom in the evening. Lot was sitting by the gate of Sodom.’” I continued likewise as far as: “‘The men stretched out their hands and pulled Lot into the house to them, and shut the door of the house.’” And what follows, down to: “‘And the angels took hold of his hand, and the hand of his wife, and the hands of his daughters, because the Lord was sparing him.’”[208] [Genesis 18:33; Genesis 19:1; Genesis 19:10; Genesis 19:16] 20 “‘And it came about, when they had brought them outside, that they said, Save, save your own life. Do not look behind you, and do not stop anywhere in the surrounding region. Escape to the mountain, or you will be swept away with them. And Lot said to them, I beg you, Lord, since your servant has found mercy before you, and you have magnified your righteousness, which you show to me by keeping my soul alive. But I cannot escape to the mountain, or the evil will overtake me and I will die.’”[209] [Genesis 19:17-19]
21 “‘Look, this city is near enough to flee to, and it is small. I will be saved there, since it is small, and my life will be spared.’ And he said to him, ‘See, I have shown you favor in this matter also, and I will not overthrow the city you spoke about. Hurry, and be saved there, for I cannot do anything until you have gone in.’ For this reason he named the city Zoar. The sun had risen over the earth, and Lot entered Zoar. And the Lord rained sulphur and fire on Sodom and Gomorrah from the Lord out of heaven, and he overthrew these cities and all the surrounding region.’”[210] [Genesis 19:20-25] 22 I paused again, and then went on: “Now do you not understand, my friends, that one of the three, who is both God and Lord and serves the One who is in the heavens, is Lord of the two angels? When the angels went on to Sodom, he stayed behind and spoke with Abraham, as Moses recorded. When he had finished speaking and left, Abraham returned to his place. [Genesis 18:33]
23 When he came to Sodom, it was no longer two angels who spoke with Lot, but he himself, as the account makes clear. He is Lord, and he received from the Lord in heaven, that is, the Maker of all things, the commission to bring on Sodom and Gomorrah the things the account lists. It says: ‘The Lord rained sulphur and fire on Sodom and Gomorrah from the Lord out of heaven.’”[211] [Genesis 19:24]
Chapter 57
The Jew Objects, Why is He Said to Have Eaten, If He Be God? Answer of Justin.
1 When I fell silent, Trypho said, “The Scripture clearly forces us to admit this. But there is a point that deserves to be puzzled over, and you would agree: it says that he ate what Abraham prepared and set before him.” [Genesis 18:8] 2 I answered, “It is written that they ate. But suppose we take it that all three are said to have eaten, and not only the two. Those two were truly angels, and it is plain to us that they are nourished in heaven, even if not with the same food we humans use. (Scripture says of the manna that fed your fathers in the desert that they ate ‘bread of angels.’) In that case I would say that the text, in saying they ate, speaks as we ourselves might say of fire that it consumed everything. We would not necessarily understand that they ate by chewing with teeth and jaws. So here too we need not be perplexed about anything, if we have even a little skill in figurative language.”[212]
3 Trypho said, “That point too, about the manner of eating, can be settled in this way: the text says they ate in the sense that they consumed what Abraham had prepared. So now come and give us your explanation of how this God who appeared to Abraham, and who is a servant of God the Maker of all things, was born of the virgin and became a man subject to the same weaknesses as all people, as you said before.” 4 I said, “Allow me first, Trypho, to bring together at some length some other proofs on this main point, so that you may be convinced about this as well. After that I will give the explanation you ask for.” He said, “Do as you see fit. You will be doing what I very much want.”
Chapter 58
The Same is Proved from the Visions Which Appeared to Jacob.
1 I said, “I am going to go through Scriptures for you. I am not eager to put on a display of words by skill alone. I have no such ability. God’s grace alone has been given to me to understand his Scriptures. I urge everyone to share in that grace freely and generously, so that I am not condemned for failing in this at the judgment that God, the Maker of all things, will carry out through my Lord Jesus Christ.”[213] 2 Trypho said, “In this too you act in a way worthy of reverence for God. But you seem to me to be falsely modest when you say you have no skill in crafted argument.” I answered again, “Since that is how it seems to you, so be it. But I am convinced that what I said is true. Now, so that I may go on to present the rest of the proofs, pay attention.” He said, “Go on.”
3 I said, “Again it is written by Moses, my brothers, that the one who appeared to the patriarchs, who is called God, is also called Angel and Lord. I say this so that from these passages too you may recognize that he serves the Father of all things, as you have already agreed, and that, convinced by more evidence, you may stand firm.” 4 So the word of God, speaking through Moses about Jacob, the grandson of Abraham, says this: “And it happened, when the sheep were in heat and conceiving, that I saw them with my eyes in a dream. And look, the male goats and the rams that were mounting the sheep and the she-goats were white-streaked, spotted, and speckled with ash-colored flecks. And the angel of God said to me in the dream, ‘Jacob, Jacob.’”[214] [Genesis 31:10-11] 5 “And I said, ‘What is it, Lord?’ And he said, ‘Lift up your eyes and look at the male goats and the rams mounting the sheep and the she-goats, white-streaked, spotted, and speckled with ash-colored flecks. For I have seen everything that Laban is doing to you. I am the God who appeared to you in the place of God, where you anointed a pillar for me and made a vow there. Now then, get up and leave this land, and go to the land of your birth, and I will be with you.’”[215] [Genesis 31:12-13]
6 And again, in another passage about this same Jacob, it says: “And he got up that night and took his two wives, his two female servants, and his eleven children, and crossed the ford of the Jabbok. He took them and crossed the stream, and he brought across everything that was his. But Jacob was left alone, and a man wrestled with him until dawn. When he saw that he could not overcome him, he touched the broad part of his thigh, and the broad part of Jacob’s thigh went numb while he wrestled with him. And he said to him, ‘Let me go, for the day has broken.’”[216] [Genesis 32:22-26] 7 “But he said, ‘I will not let you go unless you bless me.’ And he said to him, ‘What is your name?’ He said, ‘Jacob.’ And he said to him, ‘Your name will no longer be called Jacob. Your name will be Israel, because you have prevailed with God, and you will be strong among men.’ Then Jacob asked him, ‘Tell me your name.’ And he said, ‘Why do you ask my name?’ And he blessed him there. And Jacob named that place ‘Form of God,’ for ‘I have seen God face to face, and my soul rejoiced.’”[217] [Genesis 32:26-30]
8 And again, in another place, it reports these things about the same Jacob: “Jacob came to Luza, which is in the land of Canaan, which is Bethel, he and all the people who were with him. And he built an altar there, and called the name of that place Bethel, because God appeared to him there when he was running away from his brother Esau. And Deborah, Rebekah’s nurse, died, and was buried below Bethel under the oak, and Jacob called its name ‘Oak of Mourning.’ And God appeared to Jacob again in Luza, when he came from Mesopotamia of Syria, and he blessed him. And God said to him, ‘Your name will no longer be called Jacob, but Israel will be your name.’”[218] [Genesis 35:6-10] 9 He is called God, and he is God, and he will be God. 10 When they all nodded their heads in agreement, I said: “I think it is necessary to go on and tell you also the words that report how he was seen by Jacob when he was fleeing from his brother Esau. This is the one who is angel and God and Lord, who appeared to Abraham in the form of a man, and wrestled with Jacob in the form of a human being.”
11 “These are the words: ‘And Jacob left the well of the oath and went to Haran. And he came upon a certain place and slept there, for the sun had set. He took some of the stones of the place and put them at his head, and he slept in that place and had a dream. And look, a ladder was set firmly on the earth, with its top reaching to heaven, and the angels of God were going up and coming down on it, and the Lord stood firmly upon it.’”[219] [Genesis 28:10-13] 12 And he said, “I am the Lord, the God of Abraham your father, and of Isaac. Do not be afraid. The land on which you are sleeping, I will give it to you and to your seed. Your seed will be like the sand of the earth, and it will spread out toward the sea, the south, the north and the east. In you and in your seed all the tribes of the earth will be blessed. And look, I am with you, guarding you on every road you travel, and I will bring you back to this land. For I will not leave you until I have done everything I have told you.”[220] [Genesis 28:13-15]
13 Then Jacob woke up from his sleep and said, “The Lord is in this place, and I did not know it.” He was afraid and said, “How fearful this place is! This is nothing other than the house of God, and this is the gate of heaven.” Jacob got up in the morning and took the stone he had put under his head. He set it up as a pillar and poured oil on top of it. Jacob called the name of the place “House of God.” The name of the city had formerly been Oulammaous.[221] [Genesis 28:16-19]
Chapter 59
God Distinct from the Father Conversed with Moses.
1 When I had said this, I went on: “Bear with me while I also show you from the book of Exodus how this same one, who is angel and God and Lord, a man and a human being, and who appeared to Abraham and Jacob, appeared in a flame of fire out of a bush and spoke with Moses.” They said they would listen gladly, tirelessly and eagerly, and I continued:[222] [Exodus 3:2] 2 “These things are in the book titled Exodus: ‘After those many days the king of Egypt died, and the sons of Israel groaned because of their labors.’ And so on, down to this: ‘Go and gather the council of elders of Israel and say to them, “The Lord, the God of your fathers, appeared to me, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac and the God of Jacob. He said, ‘I am surely watching over you and over all that has happened to you in Egypt.’”’”[223] [Exodus 2:23; Exodus 3:16]
3 And I went on to add: “Men, have you understood that the one whom Moses calls an angel speaking to him in a flame of fire is himself God, and makes known to Moses that he is the God of Abraham and Isaac and Jacob?” [Exodus 3:2; Exodus 3:6]
Chapter 60
Opinions of the Jews with Regard to Him Who Appeared in the Bush.
1 Trypho said, “We do not understand that from the words quoted earlier. What we understand is that the one who appeared in the flame of fire was an angel, but the one who spoke with Moses was God. So both an angel and God, two together, were present in that vision.” [Exodus 3:2] 2 I answered again: “Even if it happened that way, my friends, so that both an angel and God were together in the vision given to Moses, still, as has been shown to you from the passages quoted above, the God who told Moses he was the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac and the God of Jacob will not be the Maker of all things. He will be the one who was shown to you to have appeared to Abraham and Jacob, who serves the will of the Maker of all things, and who likewise served his purpose in the judgment of Sodom. So even if it is as you say, that there were two, an angel and God, no one with even a little sense will dare to say that the Maker and Father of all things left everything above the heavens and appeared in one small corner of the earth.” [Exodus 3:6]
3 Trypho said, “It has already been shown that the one who appeared to Abraham, called God and Lord, received from the Lord in the heavens the judgment that he brought on the land of Sodom. So now too, even if an angel was present with the God who appeared to Moses, we will understand that the God who spoke to Moses from the bush was not the Maker of all things. He was the one shown to have appeared to Abraham and Jacob. He is also called an angel of God the Maker of all things, and is understood to be one, because he announces to people what comes from the Father and Maker of all.” [Genesis 19:24] 4 I answered, “Now, Trypho, I will show that in the vision of Moses it was this same One alone, who is called an angel and who is God, who appeared to Moses and spoke with him. For the Scripture says: ‘The angel of the Lord appeared to him in a flame of fire out of a bush. And he sees that the bush is burning with fire, yet the bush was not being burned up. And Moses said, “I will go over and see this great sight, why the bush is not burned up.” And when the Lord saw that he was coming over to look, the Lord called to him out of the bush.’[224] [Exodus 3:2-4]
5 “Scripture calls the one who appeared to Jacob in his sleep an angel. Then it says that this same angel who appeared in his sleep said to him, ‘I am the God who appeared to you when you were running away from your brother Esau.’ In the case of Abraham, at the judgment of Sodom, it said that a Lord brought the judgment from the Lord who is in the heavens. In the same way, Scripture says here that an angel of the Lord appeared to Moses, and then shows that he is Lord and God. It is speaking of the same one it points to in many of the passages already cited: one who serves the God who is above the world, above whom there is no other.”[225] [Genesis 31:13; Genesis 35:1; Genesis 19:24; Exodus 3:2]
Chapter 61
Wisdom is Begotten of the Father, as Fire from Fire.
1 “I will give you another testimony from the Scriptures, my friends,” I said. “Before all creatures, God begot from himself a certain rational power as a beginning. The Holy Spirit calls this power the Glory of the Lord, and at other times Son, at other times Wisdom, at other times Angel, at other times God, at other times Lord and Word. At another time he calls himself Commander-in-chief, when he appeared in human form to Joshua the son of Nun. He can be given all these names because he serves the Father’s will, and because he was begotten from the Father by the Father’s will.”[226] [Proverbs 8:22; Joshua 5:14] 2 “Do we not see something like this happening among ourselves? When we put forth a word, we beget a word, but not by cutting anything off, as if the word within us were made smaller when we put it forth. We also see something like it with fire. Another fire is kindled, yet the fire from which it was lit is not diminished but stays the same. And what was lit from it is plainly a fire in its own right, without making smaller the fire from which it was lit.”
3 “The Word of Wisdom will testify for me. He is himself this God, begotten from the Father of all things. He is Word, Wisdom, Power and Glory of the one who begot him. He says through Solomon: ‘If I tell you what happens day by day, I will remember to recount what has been from eternity. The Lord created me as the beginning of his ways, for his works. Before the age he established me, in the beginning, before he made the earth, before he made the depths, before the springs of water came forth, before the mountains were set in place. Before all the hills he begets me.’[227] [Proverbs 8:21-25] 4 “‘God made the land, both the uninhabited and the highest inhabited places under heaven. When he was preparing the heaven, I was there with him. When he marked out his throne upon the winds, when he made the clouds above strong, and made the springs of the deep secure, when he made the foundations of the earth strong, I was beside him, fitting things together. I was the one in whom he delighted. Day by day I rejoiced in his presence, at every moment, because he rejoiced when he finished the inhabited world, and he rejoiced in the sons of men.’” [Proverbs 8:26-31]
5 “‘Now then, son, listen to me. Blessed is the man who will listen to me, and the person who will keep my ways, watching at my doors every day, guarding the posts of my entrances. For my goings out are goings out of life, and favor from the Lord has been prepared. But those who sin against me act wickedly against their own souls, and those who hate me love death.’”[228] [Proverbs 8:32-36]
Chapter 62
The Words "Let Us Make Man" Agree with the Testimony of Proverbs.
1 My friends, the word of God said this very same thing through Moses too. It made known to us that, when man was made, God spoke with this same meaning about the one it has pointed out. These are the words: “Let us make man in our image and likeness. And let them rule over the fish of the sea, the birds of heaven, the cattle, all the earth, and all the creeping things that creep on the earth.” And God made man; in the image of God he made him; male and female he made them. And God blessed them, saying, “Increase and multiply, fill the earth, and have dominion over it.”[229] [Genesis 1:26-28] 2 Now you must not twist the words I have just quoted and say what your teachers say. They claim either that God was speaking to himself when he said “Let us make,” just as we often say “Let us make” to ourselves when we are about to do something. Or they claim that God said “Let us make” to the elements, that is, the earth and the other things from which we understand man was formed. So I will quote again the words Moses himself recorded. From them we can know beyond dispute that God was speaking with someone who was numerically distinct from himself and who was also rational.
3 These are the words: “And God said, Behold, Adam has become as one of us, to know good and evil.” So when he says “as one of us,” he points to a number of persons who are together, and at the very least two. For I would not say that the teaching of the sect among you is true. Nor would I say that its teachers can prove that God was speaking to angels, or that the human body was made by angels.[230] [Genesis 3:22] 4 No, this offspring, truly brought forth from the Father, was with the Father before all created things, and the Father speaks to him. The word of Scripture made this plain through Solomon: the one whom Solomon calls Wisdom was begotten by God as a beginning before all created things, and as his offspring. The same thing was also stated in the revelation given to Joshua the son of Nun. So that what I say may be clear to you from this too, listen to the words from the book of Joshua.[231]
5 They are these: “And it happened, when Joshua was at Jericho, that he looked up and saw a man standing opposite him. Joshua went up to him and said, ‘Are you on our side or on our enemies’ side?’ And he said to him, ‘I am the commander of the army of the Lord. I have come now.’ Joshua fell on his face to the ground and said to him, ‘Master, what do you command your servant?’ And the commander of the Lord’s army said to Joshua, ‘Take the sandals off your feet, for the place where you are standing is holy ground.’ Now Jericho was shut up and fortified, and no one went out of it. And the Lord said to Joshua, ‘Look, I am handing Jericho over to you, and its king who is in it, men mighty in strength.’”[232] [Joshua 5:13-15; Joshua 6:1-2]
Chapter 63
It is Proved that This God Was Incarnate.
1 Trypho said, “You have proved this strongly and with many arguments, my friend. What remains is for you to prove that he submitted to being born a man through the virgin, according to the will of his Father, and to being crucified and dying. Show also that after this he rose again and went up into heaven.”[233] 2 I answered, “This too, gentlemen, has already been proved by me in the prophecies I recounted earlier. For your sake I will recall them and explain them again, and try to bring you to agree with me on this matter as well. Take the word Isaiah spoke: ‘Who will declare his generation? For his life is taken away from the earth.’ Does it not seem to you that this was said of one whose origin was not from men, the one whom God said was handed over to death for the lawless deeds of the people? Moses also spoke of his blood, as I said before. Speaking in a parable, he said that he would wash his robe in the blood of the grape. He meant that his blood was not born of human seed but of the will of God.”[234] [Isaiah 53:8; Genesis 49:11; John 1:13]
3 Consider also what David said: “In the splendors of your holy ones, from the womb before the morning star I have begotten you. The Lord has sworn and will not change his mind: You are a priest forever, after the order of Melchizedek.” Does this not show you that God, the Father of all things, intended him to be born from above, and through a human womb?[235] 4 And in other words, which I have also quoted already, David says: “Your throne, O God, is for ever and ever; the rod of your kingdom is a rod of uprightness. You have loved righteousness and hated lawlessness; therefore God, your God, has anointed you with the oil of gladness beyond your companions. Myrrh, sweet resin and cassia come from your garments, from ivory palaces, by which they made you glad. Daughters of kings are in your honor. The queen stood at your right hand, clothed in a garment woven with gold, in many colors. Hear, O daughter, and see, and incline your ear, and forget your people and your father’s house; and the King will desire your beauty, for he is your Lord, and you will worship him.”[236]
5 These words also state plainly that he is to be worshiped, and that he is God and Christ, as the one who made these things bears witness. The same words also announce, just as clearly, that the word of God speaks as to a daughter to those who believe in him, since they are one soul, one assembly and one church. This is the church that came into being through his name and shares his name (for we are all called Christians). The words teach us also to forget our old ancestral customs, and they read: “Hear, O daughter, and see, and incline your ear, and forget your people and your father’s house; and the King will desire your beauty, for he is your Lord, and you will worship him.”[237]
Chapter 64
Justin Adduces Other Proofs to the Jew, Who Denies that He Needs This Christ.
1 Then Trypho said: “Let him be acknowledged as Lord and Christ and God, as the Scriptures indicate, by you who are from the Gentiles, all of you who have come to be called Christians after his name. But we are worshipers of the God who made even this man himself, and we have no need to confess him or to worship him.” 2 I answered: “Trypho, if I were as fond of quarreling and as empty-headed as you are, I would no longer stay to share these discussions with you. You do not set yourselves to understand what is said. You only sharpen yourselves to say something back. But as it is, I fear the judgment of God, and so I do not rush to declare of anyone from your people that he cannot be among those who can be saved by the grace of the Lord of hosts. So even if you act wickedly, I will stay and answer whatever you put forward and whatever objection you raise. I do the same for all people, of every nation, who want to discuss or ask me about these things.”[238]
3 “If you had paid attention to the Scriptures I have already quoted, you would have understood by now that those from your people who are saved are saved through him and have their share in him. You would not have needed to ask me about this. So I will say again what I quoted earlier from David. I ask you to take it in so that you understand, and not to stir yourselves up only to act wickedly and contradict.” 4 “These, then, are the words that David speaks: ‘The Lord has become king; let the peoples be angry. He who sits upon the cherubim, let the earth be shaken. The Lord is great in Zion, and high above all the peoples. Let them give thanks to your great name, for it is fearful and holy; and the honor of the king loves justice. You have prepared uprightness; you have done justice and righteousness in Jacob. Exalt the Lord our God, and worship at the footstool of his feet, for he is holy. Moses and Aaron were among his priests, and Samuel among those who call on his name. They called on the Lord, and he answered them. He spoke to them in a pillar of cloud, because they kept his testimonies and the commands he gave them.’”[239]
5 “There are also other words spoken through David, which I have set out before as well. You foolishly say they were spoken about Solomon, because they carry the heading ‘for Solomon.’ Yet these words show that they were not spoken about Solomon. They show that he existed even before the sun, and that those from your people who are saved will be saved through him.”[240] 6 The words are these: “O God, give your judgment to the king, and your righteousness to the king’s son. He will judge your people in righteousness, and your poor in judgment. Let the mountains take up peace for the people, and the hills righteousness. He will judge the poor of the people and save the children of the needy, and he will humble the slanderer. He will remain alongside the sun, and before the moon, to generations of generations.” The passage goes on like this until: “Before the sun his name endures. And in him all the tribes of the earth will be blessed; all nations will call him blessed. Blessed be the Lord, the God of Israel, who alone does wonders. Blessed be the name of his glory forever and ever, and the whole earth will be filled with his glory. So be it, so be it.”[241]
7 Remember also the other words I quoted earlier, spoken in the same way through David. They revealed that he was going to come forth from the ends of the heavens and go up again to the same places. This is so that you may recognize him as God who came forth from above and became a man among men. It is also so that you may recognize that he will come again, and that those who pierced him will see him and mourn.[242] [Zechariah 12:10] 8 The words are these: “The heavens declare the glory of God, and the firmament proclaims the work of his hands. Day pours out speech to day, and night announces knowledge to night. There are no speeches or words whose voices are not heard. Their sound has gone out into all the earth, and their words to the ends of the world. In the sun he has set his tent. And he, like a bridegroom coming out of his chamber, will rejoice, strong as a giant, to run his course. His going out is from the end of heaven, and his circuit reaches to the end of heaven, and there is no one who will be hidden from his heat.”[243]
Notes
[123] Compare 1 Timothy 4:1 (“deceiving spirits”) and 1 John 4:6 (“the spirit of error”).
[124] Justin gives these as sayings of Jesus. The first joins “Many will come in my name” (Matthew 24:5) to the wording of Matthew 7:15. The third is close to Matthew 7:15. The last echoes Matthew 24:11, 24, though “false apostles” is Paul’s phrase (2 Corinthians 11:13), not a Gospel one. The saying about “divisions and factions” is not found in the Gospels in that form (compare 1 Corinthians 11:18–19, which uses the same two Greek words).
[125] “As I said at the beginning” refers back to Justin’s remarks on the philosophical schools in chapter 2.
[126] Compare Matthew 10:21 and Luke 21:16, where Jesus warns that believers will be handed over and put to death by family members and friends.
[127] The Greek says “tent of testimony” (the tabernacle), not “ark of testimony” as in the older English. 1 Kings 8:4 records that the tent of meeting was brought up into the temple along with the ark.
[128] Psalm 24 (Psalm 23 in the Greek numbering), quoted in full from the Septuagint across 36.3–4.
[129] Justin follows the Septuagint, “Lift up your gates, you rulers.” The Hebrew reads “Lift up your heads, O gates.” His argument in 36.5 about heavenly rulers depends on the Greek wording.
[130] The “other psalm” is Psalm 110:1 (109:1 in the Greek numbering).
[131] The Greek says “the tent (tabernacle) of testimony” (skēnē tou martyriou), not the ark.
[132] “Interlude” translates diapsalma. This is the Greek Psalms’ word for the Hebrew “Selah.” Its exact meaning is uncertain, but it probably marks a pause or a musical break.
[133] This is Psalm 99 in English Bibles (Psalm 98 in the Greek Septuagint numbering).
[134] The Greek says “by the prophetic Spirit,” meaning the Holy Spirit speaking through the prophets.
[135] The Greek verb (enteinō) means to stretch or bend tight, as with a bow; the word “bow” is supplied in the English.
[136] The Greek word staktē means fragrant drops, probably the oil that oozes from myrrh.
[137] Justin’s Greek says the virgins are brought “behind him” (the king), whereas the Septuagint Psalm has “behind her”; the Greek also has “temple” (naos) and “golden fringes.”
[138] See 1 Kings 19:10, 18. Justin’s wording is very close to Paul’s quotation of the same exchange in Romans 11:3–4.
[139] The list of gifts echoes Isaiah 11:2–3 (in the Greek Old Testament: a spirit of wisdom and understanding, counsel and strength, knowledge and godliness, and, in verse 3, the fear of God). Healing and teaching recall Paul’s list of gifts in 1 Corinthians 12:9, 28.
[140] This is Psalm 68:18 (67:19 in the Greek Old Testament). The Psalm itself says “you received gifts among men.” Justin, like Paul in Ephesians 4:8, has “he gave gifts to men.”
[141] “Wise in yourselves” and “honoring with the lips only” recall Isaiah 5:21 and 29:13. In the last clause (“we honor them”) the Greek gives no object. It is understood from the earlier phrase “God and his Christ.”
[142] “One who suffers” translates a Greek word meaning “capable of suffering” or “subject to suffering.”
[143] Justin is thinking of Genesis 2:7, where God forms man from the dust and breathes into him the breath of life.
[144] See Deuteronomy 16:5–6, which forbids sacrificing the Passover in any town except the place the Lord chooses as a dwelling for his name.
[145] The command to roast the lamb whole, head and legs included, is in Exodus 12:8–9. The cross-shaped arrangement of spits is Justin’s description and is not in Scripture.
[146] The fast Isaiah describes is in Isaiah 58:6, which in the Greek Old Testament speaks of loosening “the knots of violent contracts.”
[147] Justin’s word for the one who “became capable of suffering” (παθητός) stresses that Christ took on a nature able to suffer. “His will” in the Greek could mean either God’s will or Christ’s own.
[148] This quotes Malachi 1:10–12 in Justin’s own wording, which differs slightly from the usual Greek Old Testament text. For example, the Greek Old Testament has “the Lord Almighty.”
[149] The Greek says “the one of the sabbaths.” This is a Jewish way of saying the first day of the week, that is, Sunday, and the same phrase is used in the Gospels (for example, Matthew 28:1). The older translation’s “after the Sabbath” gives the sense. The eighth-day command is in Genesis 17:12.
[150] The quotation is Psalm 19:4 (Psalm 18:5 in the Greek Old Testament). Paul applies the same verse to the spread of the gospel in Romans 10:18.
[151] The Greek is ambiguous about who “believes.” It could also mean that the apostles themselves trust not in their own message but in the power of the one who sent them, which is how the older translation takes it.
[152] For the picture of many members making one body, compare 1 Corinthians 12:12.
[153] The older translation has “everlasting covenant.” The Greek says “new covenant” (καινὴ διαθήκη).
[154] Compare Colossians 2:11–12, where Paul links a circumcision “not made with hands” to being buried with Christ in baptism.
[155] The quotation is Isaiah 53:8 in its Greek form, and “healed by his wound” echoes Isaiah 53:5. Justin takes “generation” to mean Christ’s birth and origin. Modern readers often understand the verse differently.
[156] The quotation is Isaiah 7:10–15 in its Greek form. Its wording sometimes differs from English Bibles, which are translated from the Hebrew.
[157] The last clause is obscure in the Greek and is kept literal. In the Hebrew of Isaiah 7:17, “the king of Assyria” stands as a separate phrase naming the coming disaster.
[158] Here Justin quotes the verse as “will have in the womb,” the wording found in Matthew 1:23 and in many copies of the Greek Isaiah. In 43.5 he quotes it as “will conceive.” The older English made both read “conceive.” The rendering “young woman” (Greek neanis) is the one found in later Greek translations used by Jews, such as those of Aquila and Theodotion.
[159] Justin is loosely recalling Ezekiel 14:14–20, which names Noah, Daniel and Job and says they could save neither sons nor daughters, only themselves; Justin (or the copyist of the one surviving manuscript) has Jacob in place of Job.
[160] The quotation is from Isaiah 66:24. The Greek word translated “bodies” literally means “limbs”; in the Greek Old Testament it is used for dead bodies.
[161] The Greek says “washing” (or “bath”), not “fountain” as in the older English; Justin probably has in mind Isaiah 1:16 (“Wash yourselves, make yourselves clean”), which he quotes about baptism in First Apology 61.
[162] “Plan” translates the Greek word oikonomia, often rendered “dispensation” (the older English). It means God’s arrangement for saving humanity through the incarnation.
[163] “Monthly periods” translates a Greek word normally meaning menstruation, so Trypho probably means the purity laws of Leviticus 15:19–24. The older English “observe months” is a less likely reading.
[164] “The faithful servant” echoes what is said of Moses in Numbers 12:7 and Hebrews 3:5.
[165] Justin says “scarlet thread.” The older English has “a fringe of purple dye.” Numbers 15:38–39 commands tassels with a blue cord so that Israel would remember God’s commands, so Justin’s color differs from Scripture. The phylactery comes from Deuteronomy 6:8 and 11:18.
[166] The seven thousand who had not bowed to Baal are from 1 Kings 19:18 (quoted by Paul in Romans 11:4). The charge of sacrificing children is probably from Isaiah 57:5.
[167] “Circumcised from error” is Justin’s figure for Gentiles who have been cut free from error through Christ, a spiritual circumcision.
[168] The older English says these people “expect some virtue” from the observances, which is not in the Greek. The Greek says they act out of weakness of judgment.
[169] Compare Galatians 2:12–14, where Paul rebukes Peter for withdrawing from table fellowship with Gentiles and for compelling Gentiles to live like Jews.
[170] The older English says the synagogues curse “this very Christ, and everything by which they might obtain salvation.” The Greek says they curse those who believe in Christ, and the people who believe do so in order to obtain salvation.
[171] Justin gives this saying of Jesus as a quotation, but it is not found in our Gospels. The Ezekiel reference is to Ezekiel 18:21–24 and 33:12–16.
[172] “As God himself cries out” probably refers to Isaiah 29:13, where God complains that the people honor him with their lips while teaching human commandments.
[173] The Greek text followed here reads “your race” (that is, Jewish people). The older translation has “our race,” which reflects a different reading of the text.
[174] The promise that Elijah will come before the great and fearful day of the Lord is found in Malachi 4:5 (3:23 in Hebrew), not in Zechariah. The Greek text does name Zechariah, which is either Justin’s slip or a copyist’s error.
[175] John’s words follow Matthew 3:11–12 (compare Luke 3:16–17). The Lord’s saying that Elijah would come is in Matthew 17:11.
[176] The Greek exadelphē usually means “cousin,” though here it is rendered “niece.” According to Matthew 14:6 the girl was the daughter of Herodias, which made her Herod’s stepdaughter and grandniece, and Herodias herself was Herod’s niece. Justin is summarizing the Gospel story (Matthew 14:3–11; Mark 6:17–28) and does not name the women.
[177] Both quotations come from Matthew 17:11–13.
[178] The laying of hands on Joshua is in Numbers 27:18–23 (compare Deuteronomy 34:9). The words “I will take some of the spirit that is in you and put it on...” come from Numbers 11:17, where God says them about the seventy elders, not about Joshua. Justin joins the two passages.
[179] The last sentence is compressed in the Greek. The sense seems to be that the Spirit’s first coming, in John, was without glory, matching Christ’s first coming. Justin has just argued that Elijah himself will come before Christ’s second, glorious coming.
[180] “Demons shudder” echoes James 2:19.
[181] Justin quotes the Greek Septuagint, which differs in places from English Bibles based on the Hebrew. For example, “priests” and “humiliation” in Isaiah 40:2 appear where the Hebrew has no “priests” and reads “warfare” or “hard service.”
[182] “Spittle” follows the Greek Septuagint of Isaiah 40:15. Hebrew-based English Bibles read “fine dust.”
[183] The older translation reverses the condition (“If the prophets had not ceased, so that there were no more…”) and adds “in reference to Jesus Christ.” Neither is in the Greek. Justin’s point is that prophecy stopped with John, which shows that John and Jesus fulfilled it.
[184] The Greek word haireseis means “sects” or “factions.” Later it came to mean “heresies.”
[185] The Greek word diatheke can mean both “covenant” and “testament” (a will). Here it means the new covenant, not the book.
[186] The quotation is Genesis 49:8–12, in the Greek Septuagint form. At points this differs from the Hebrew. For example, “until the things stored up for him come” stands where the Hebrew has a hard phrase often rendered “until Shiloh comes,” and “expectation of the nations” stands where the Hebrew has “the obedience of the peoples.”
[187] The Herod sentence is compressed, and its sense is uncertain. The words rendered “under whom he suffered” could also mean “from the time he suffered,” and the older English has “after whose [reign].” The point seems to be that even if the ruler, Herod, was of foreign descent, there was still a lawful high priest, so the line of leadership had not yet failed. A tradition that Herod’s family came from Ascalon is also preserved by the later writer Julius Africanus.
[188] “Left like a watchman’s hut in an orchard” echoes Isaiah 1:8 in the Greek Septuagint, where the same word (oporophylakion) is used.
[189] The Greek says literally that they placed their “back” (noton) under the yoke.
[190] The Greek says only that He “sat on” and does not say on what. Of the four Gospels, only Matthew (21:1–7) mentions both a donkey and her foal. Mark, Luke and John speak of a single young animal.
[191] “The twelve” means the twelve shorter prophetic books at the end of the Old Testament, not the apostles. The quotation is Zechariah 9:9.
[192] The reference to Jacob is to Genesis 49:11, where Jacob speaks of the ruler from Judah tying his foal to the vine and his donkey’s colt to the choice vine, a verse Justin discussed just before this.
[193] The quotation is Zechariah 13:7. Jesus applies the same verse to Himself and His disciples in Matthew 26:31 and Mark 14:27.
[194] The quotation is from Genesis 49:11.
[195] “The Word” (Greek logos) may mean the prophetic word of Scripture, or Christ the Word, who Justin believed spoke through the prophets; the Greek says the point was made “through art” or “skill,” meaning a deliberate figure of speech.
[196] The idea that God allotted the sun, moon and stars to the nations recalls Deuteronomy 4:19, and “God of gods and Lord of lords … the great, the mighty and the terrible” echoes Deuteronomy 10:17; the Greek verb here means God “allowed” or “conceded” this.
[197] Trypho is still speaking here; the quotation is a loose form of Psalm 96:5 (Psalm 95:5 in the Greek Old Testament), which in the Greek reads “all the gods of the nations are demons.”
[198] The reference to Isaiah’s “seed” left for salvation is to Isaiah 1:9, as Paul also quotes it in Romans 9:29.
[199] In the Greek this sentence is grammatically unfinished. It has no main verb, and it runs straight into the quotation in the next section. It has been completed here so that it reads clearly.
[200] The quotation is from Genesis 18:1–2 and 19:27–28; one word in the Greek text (the verb “stood”) is garbled in the source edition.
[201] The quotation is from Genesis 21:9–12. Paul quotes the last line (“through Isaac your seed will be named”) in Romans 9:7, and it also appears in Hebrews 11:18.
[202] “In number, not in purpose”: the Greek word for purpose (gnōmē) can also mean mind or will. Justin means they are two, not one, and yet they never differ in what they intend.
[203] Genesis 19:23–25. Justin’s point is the double “Lord”: the Lord rains fire “from the Lord” out of heaven.
[204] “The Scripture” translates the Greek ho logos, “the word.” Here it means the words of the account given through Moses, not Christ the Word.
[205] The quotations are Psalm 110:1 and Psalm 45:6–7. Both are applied to Christ in the New Testament (for example, Matthew 22:44 and Hebrews 1:8–9).
[206] Genesis 18:13–14 and 18:16–17, quoted from the Greek Old Testament.
[207] Genesis 18:20–23. In this aside Justin steps out of the conversation and speaks as the writer of the account.
[208] The Greek here says only “and he went to his place,” with no name given, but Genesis 18:33 names Abraham, so the translation supplies “Abraham.”
[209] Lot speaks “to them,” which is plural, but he addresses them with the singular “Lord.” In 56.23 Justin argues that the one speaking with Lot is the Lord himself, not the two angels.
[210] The Greek literally says “I have marveled at your face,” a Septuagint rendering of the Hebrew idiom “to lift up someone’s face,” meaning to show favor or grant a request.
[211] This is Genesis 19:24. Justin takes the two mentions of “the Lord” in this verse as two distinct persons: the Lord on earth, and the Lord in heaven who is the Maker of all things.
[212] The older translation ends with “and able to rise above them.” Nothing in the Greek corresponds to these words.
[213] The older translation says that “they” (the others) might incur condemnation. In the Greek the subject is “I.” Justin fears that he himself will be judged if he does not share freely what God has given him.
[214] “The word of God” (ὁ λόγος τοῦ θεοῦ) could mean Scripture or Christ the Word speaking through the prophet; Justin elsewhere says the prophets spoke as the divine Word moved them (1 Apology 36).
[215] This is Genesis 31:12–13 (see 31:3 for “I will be with you”); Justin’s Greek, like the Septuagint at Genesis 31:13, reads “in the place of God” (ἐν τόπῳ θεοῦ) where the Hebrew has “Bethel.”
[216] The quotation is from Genesis 32:22–26; the Greek says “a man” (ἄνθρωπος), and Justin later identifies him as the one who is called angel, God, and Lord.
[217] This is Genesis 32:26–30. Where the older translation gives the place name as “Peniel” (Hebrew, “face of God”), Justin’s Greek has “Eidos Theou” (“Form of God”), which is how the Greek Old Testament translates the name.
[218] The quotation is from Genesis 35:6–10.
[219] The quotation is from Genesis 28:10–13.
[220] Justin is quoting Genesis 28:13–15 from the Greek Old Testament, which has “sand” where the Hebrew has “dust,” and “toward the sea” where English Bibles have “west”; in Hebrew idiom “the sea” (the Mediterranean) stands for the west.
[221] Genesis 28:16-19. The printed Greek reads ἔλαθε (“escaped notice”), which is an obvious slip for ἔλαβε (“took”), and we translate it as “took.” “House of God” is Bethel. The name Oulammaous comes from the Greek Old Testament, which ran together the Hebrew words “but Luz” as if they were one name. The Hebrew text says the city was formerly called Luz.
[222] Justin uses two Greek words here, ἀνήρ (“man”) and ἄνθρωπος (“human being”). The Greek Old Testament uses the first for the “men” who visited Abraham (Genesis 18:2) and the second for the “man” who wrestled with Jacob (Genesis 32:24). Justin may be echoing both stories.
[223] The quotation runs from Exodus 2:23 to 3:16. “I am surely watching over” translates a Greek phrase that is literally “I am visiting you with a visitation.” It copies a Hebrew way of stressing a verb by repeating it.
[224] The quotation is Exodus 3:2-4.
[225] The Sodom passage is Genesis 19:24: “the Lord rained … brimstone and fire from the Lord out of heaven.” The appearance to Moses is Exodus 3:2–6.
[226] “Commander-in-chief” (archistratēgos) is the title in the Greek Old Testament at Joshua 5:14, where the figure says he is “commander of the army of the Lord.” The older translation has “Captain.” It also calls Joshua “the son of Nave,” which is the Greek spelling of Nun.
[227] Justin quotes Proverbs 8:21–36 in the Greek (Septuagint) form. The opening line (“If I tell you what happens day by day…”) is found in the Greek but not in the Hebrew. The Greek reads “created me” in 8:22, where the meaning of the Hebrew verb is disputed (“acquired,” “possessed,” or “created”). It also reads “begets me” in 8:25.
[228] The Greek of Proverbs 8:35 reads literally “favor (thelēsis) from the Lord has been prepared”; here the word means God’s goodwill toward the one who finds Wisdom.
[229] Justin quotes Genesis 1:26–28.
[230] Genesis 3:22. “Sect” translates the Greek “hairesis,” which can also mean a school of thought or party.
[231] Justin is thinking of Proverbs 8:22–25, part of the passage from Proverbs 8 that he quoted in chapter 61.
[232] Joshua 5:13–6:2.
[233] The older translation reads “proved to me,” but the Greek “soi” here means “by you”: Trypho grants that Justin has proved his point.
[234] The phrase “not of human seed but of the will of God” may echo John 1:13.
[235] Psalm 110:3–4 in the Greek (Septuagint) version. “From above” can also mean “from of old”; the older translation chose “from of old.”
[236] “Sweet resin” translates the Greek “staktē,” a fragrant resin (oil of myrrh).
[237] “Assembly” translates the Greek “synagogue,” which here simply means a gathering.
[238] “Lord of hosts” translates the Greek “Lord Sabaoth” (the Hebrew title). The older translation has “Lord of Sabaoth.”
[239] The quotation is Psalm 99:1–7 (Psalm 98 in the Greek Old Testament).
[240] The psalm in question is Psalm 72 (71 in the Greek Old Testament), whose heading reads “for Solomon.” Justin quoted it in full and argued that it is not about Solomon earlier in the Dialogue, in chapter 34.
[241] “So be it, so be it” translates the Greek “genoito, genoito,” which is how the Greek Old Testament renders the Hebrew “Amen, Amen” at Psalm 72:19.
[242] “Those who pierced him will see him and mourn” echoes Zechariah 12:10. John 19:37 and Revelation 1:7 also apply this verse to Christ.
[243] The quotation is Psalm 19:1–6 (Psalm 18 in the Greek Old Testament). The Greek reads “in the sun he has set his tent,” while the Hebrew says God set a tent for the sun in the heavens.