Dialogue of Justin, Philosopher and Martyr, with Trypho, a Jew
Chapter I.--Introduction.
While I was going about one morning in the walks of the Xystus, [1948] a certain man, with others in his company, having met me, and said, "Hail, O philosopher!" And immediately after saying this, he turned round and walked along with me; his friends likewise followed him. And I in turn having addressed him, said, "What is there important?"
And he replied, "I was instructed," says he "by Corinthus the Socratic in Argos, that I ought not to despise or treat with indifference those who array themselves in this dress [1949] but to show them all kindness, and to associate with them, as perhaps some advantage would spring from the intercourse either to some such man or to myself. It is good, moreover, for both, if either the one or the other be benefited. On this account, therefore, whenever I see any one in such costume, I gladly approach him, and now, for the same reason, have I willingly accosted you; and these accompany me, in the expectation of hearing for themselves something profitable from you."
"But who are you, most excellent man?" So I replied to him in jest. [1950]
Then he told me frankly both his name and his family. "Trypho," says he, "I am called; and I am a Hebrew of the circumcision, [1951] and having escaped from the war [1952] lately carried on there I am spending my days in Greece, and chiefly at Corinth."
"And in what," said I, "would you be profited by philosophy so much as by your own lawgiver and the prophets?"
"Why not?" he replied. "Do not the philosophers turn every discourse on God? and do not questions continually arise to them about His unity and providence? Is not this truly the duty of philosophy, to investigate the Deity?"
"Assuredly," said I, "so we too have believed. But the most [1953] have not taken thought of this, whether there be one or more gods, and whether they have a regard for each one of us or no, as if this knowledge contributed nothing to our happiness; nay, they moreover attempt to persuade us that God takes care of the universe with its genera and species, but not of me and you, and each individually, since otherwise we would surely not need to pray to Him night and day. But it is not difficult to understand the upshot of this; for fearlessness and license in speaking result to such as maintain these opinions, doing and saying whatever they choose, neither dreading punishment nor hoping for any benefit from God. For how could they? They affirm that the same things shall always happen; and, further, that I and you shall again live in like manner, having become neither better men nor worse. But there are some others, [1954] who, having supposed the soul to be immortal and immaterial, believe that though they have committed evil they will not suffer punishment (for that which is immaterial is insensible), and that the soul, in consequence of its immortality, needs nothing from God."
And he, smiling gently, said, "Tell us your opinion of these matters, and what idea you entertain respecting God, and what your philosophy is."
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[1948] This Xystus, on the authority of Euseb. (iv. 18), was at Ephesus. There, Philostratus mentions, Appolonius was won't to have disputations.--Otto.
[1949] Euseb. (iv. 11): "Justin, in philosopher's garb, preached the word of God."
[1950] In jest, no doubt, because quoting a line from Homer, Il., vi. 123. tis de su essi, pheriste, katathneton anthropon.
[1951] [i.e., "A Hebrew of the Hebrews" (Phil. iii. 5).]
[1952] The war instigated by Bar Cochba.
[1953] The opinions of Stoics.--Otto.
[1954] The Platonists.
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Chapter II.--Justin describes his studies in philosophy.
"I will tell you," said I, "what seems to me; for philosophy is, in fact, the greatest possession, and most honourable before God, [1955] to whom it leads us and alone commends us; and these are truly holy men who have bestowed attention on philosophy. What philosophy is, however, and the reason why it has been sent down to men, have escaped the observation of most; for there would be neither Platonists, nor Stoics, nor Peripatetics, nor Theoretics, [1956] nor Pythagoreans, this knowledge being one. [1957] I wish to tell you why it has become many-headed. It has happened that those who first handled it [i.e., philosophy], and who were therefore esteemed illustrious men, were succeeded by those who made no investigations concerning truth, but only admired the perseverance and self-discipline of the former, as well as the novelty of the doctrines; and each thought that to be true which he learned from his teacher: then, moreover, those latter persons handed down to their successors such things, and others similar to them; and this system was called by the name of him who was styled the father of the doctrine. Being at first desirous of personally conversing with one of these men, I surrendered myself to a certain Stoic; and having spent a considerable time with him, when I had not acquired any further knowledge of God (for he did not know himself, and said such instruction was unnecessary), I left him and betook myself to another, who was called a Peripatetic, and as he fancied, shrewd. And this man, after having entertained me for the first few days, requested me to settle the fee, in order that our intercourse might not be unprofitable. Him, too, for this reason I abandoned, believing him to be no philosopher at all. But when my soul was eagerly desirous to hear the peculiar and choice philosophy, I came to a Pythagorean, very celebrated--a man who thought much of his own wisdom. And then, when I had an interview with him, willing to become his hearer and disciple, he said, What then? Are you acquainted with music, astronomy, and geometry? Do you expect to perceive any of those things which conduce to a happy life, if you have not been first informed on those points which wean the soul from sensible objects, and render it fitted for objects which appertain to the mind, so that it can contemplate that which is honourable in its essence and that which is good in its essence?' Having commended many of these branches of learning, and telling me that they were necessary, he dismissed me when I confessed to him my ignorance. Accordingly I took it rather impatiently, as was to be expected when I failed in my hope, the more so because I deemed the man had some knowledge; but reflecting again on the space of time
during which I would have to linger over those branches of learning, I was not able to endure longer procrastination. In my helpless condition it occurred to me to have a meeting with the Platonists, for their fame was great. I thereupon spent as much of my time as possible with one who had lately settled in our city, [1958] --a sagacious man, holding a high position among the Platonists,--and I progressed, and made the greatest improvements daily. And the perception of immaterial things
quite overpowered me, and the contemplation of ideas furnished my mind with wings, [1959] so that in a little while I supposed that I had become wise; and such was my stupidity, I expected forthwith to look upon God, for this is the end of Plato's philosophy.
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[1955] ho some omit, and put theo of prev. cl. in this cl., reading so: "Philosophy is the greatest possession, and most honourable, and introduces us to God," etc.
[1956] Maranus thinks that those who are different from the masters of practical philosophy are called Theoretics. I do not know whether theymay be better designated Sceptics or Pyrrhonists.--Otto.
[1957] Julian, Orat., vi., says: "Let no one divide our philosophy into many parts, or cut it into many parts, and especially let him not make many out of one: for as truth is one, so also is philosophy."
[1958] Either Flavia Neapolis is indicated, or Ephesus.--Otto.
[1959] Narrating his progress in the study of Platonic philosophy, he elegantly employs this trite phrase of Plato's.--Otto.
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Chapter III.--Justin narrates the manner of his conversion.
"And while I was thus disposed, when I wished at one period to be filled with great quietness, and to shun the path of men, I used to go into a certain field not far from the sea. And when I was near that spot one day, which having reached I purposed to be by myself, a certain old man, by no means contemptible in appearance, exhibiting meek and venerable manners, followed me at a little distance. And when I turned round to him, having halted, I fixed my eyes rather keenly on him.
"And he said, Do you know me?'
"I replied in the negative.
" Why, then,' said he to me, do you so look at me?'
" I am astonished,' I said, because you have chanced to be in my company in the same place; for I had not expected to see any man here.'
"And he says to me, I am concerned about some of my household. These are gone away from me; and therefore have I come to make personal search for them, if, perhaps, they shall make their appearance somewhere. But why are you here?' said he to me.
" I delight,' said I, in such walks, where my attention is not distracted, for converse with myself is uninterrupted; and such places are most fit for philology.' [1960]
"Are you, then, a philologian,' [1961] said he, but no lover of deeds or of truth? and do you not aim at being a practical man so much as being a sophist?'
"What greater work,' said I, could one accomplish than this, to show the reason which governs all, and having laid hold of it, and being mounted upon it, to look down on the errors of others, and their pursuits? But without philosophy and right reason, prudence would not be present to any man. Wherefore it is necessary for every man to philosophize, and to esteem this the greatest and most honourable work; but other things only of second-rate or third-rate importance, though, indeed, if they be made to depend on philosophy, they are of moderate value, and worthy of acceptance; but deprived of it, and not accompanying it, they are vulgar and coarse to those who pursue them.'
"Does philosophy, then, make happiness?' said he, interrupting.
"Assuredly,' I said, and it alone.'
"What, then, is philosophy?' he says; and what is happiness? Pray tell me, unless something hinders you from saying.'
"Philosophy, then,' said I, is the knowledge of that which really exists, and a clear perception of the truth; and happiness is the reward of such knowledge and wisdom.'
"But what do you call God?' said he.
"That which always maintains the same nature, and in the same manner, and is the cause of all other things --that, indeed, is God.' So I answered him; and he listened to me with pleasure, and thus again interrogated me:--
"Is not knowledge a term common to different matters? For in arts of all kinds, he who knows any one of them is called a skilful man in the art of generalship, or of ruling, or of healing equally. But in divine and human affairs it is not so. Is there a knowledge which affords understanding of human and divine things, and then a thorough acquaintance with the divinity and the righteousness of them?'
"Assuredly,' I replied.
"What, then? Is it in the same way we know man and God, as we know music, and arithmetic, and astronomy, or any other similar branch?'
"By no means,' I replied.
"You have not answered me correctly, then,' he said; for some [branches of knowledge] come to us by learning, or by some employment, while of others we have knowledge by sight. Now, if one were to tell you that there exists in India an animal with a nature unlike all others, but of such and such a kind, multiform and various, you would not know it before you saw it; but neither would you be competent to give any account of it, unless you should hear from one who had seen it.'
"Certainly not,' I said.
"How then,' he said, should the philosophers judge correctly about God, or speak any truth, when they have no knowledge of Him, having neither seen Him at any time, nor heard Him?'
"But, father,' said I, the Deity cannot be seen merely by the eyes, as other living beings can, but is discernible to the mind alone, as Plato says; and I believe him.'
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[1960] Philology, used here to denote the exercise of reason.
[1961] Philology, used here to denote the exercise of speech. The two-fold use of logos-- oratio and ratio--ought to be kept in view. The old man uses it in the former, Justin in the latter, sense.
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Chapter IV.--The soul of itself cannot see God.
"Is there then,' says he, such and so great power in our mind? Or can a man not perceive by sense sooner? Will the mind of man see God at any time, if it is uninstructed by the Holy Spirit?'
"Plato indeed says,' replied I, that the mind's eye is of such a nature, and has been given for this end, that we may see that very Being when the mind is pure itself, who is the cause of all discerned by the mind, having no colour, no form, no greatness--nothing, indeed, which the bodily eye looks upon; but It is something of this sort, he goes on to say, that is beyond all essence, unutterable and inexplicable, but alone honourable and good, coming suddenly into souls well-dispositioned, on account of their affinity to and desire of seeing Him.'
"What affinity, then,' replied he, is there between us and God? Is the soul also divine and immortal, and a part of that very regal mind? And even as that sees God, so also is it attainable by us to conceive of the Deity in our mind, and thence to become happy?'
"Assuredly,' I said.
"And do all the souls of all living beings comprehend Him?' he asked; or are the souls of men of one kind and the souls of horses and of asses of another kind?'
"No; but the souls which are in all are similar,' I answered.
"Then,' says he, shall both horses and asses see, or have they seen at some time or other, God?'
"No,' I said; for the majority of men will not, saving such as shall live justly, purified by righteousness, and by every other virtue.'
"It is not, therefore,' said he, on account of his affinity, that a man sees God, nor because he has a mind, but because he is temperate and righteous?'
"Yes,' said I; and because he has that whereby he perceives God.'
"What then? Do goats or sheep injure any one?'
"No one in any respect,' I said.
"Therefore these animals will see [God] according to your account,' says he.
"No; for their body being of such a nature, is an obstacle to them.'
"He rejoined, If these animals could assume speech, be well assured that they would with greater reason ridicule our body; but let us now dismiss this subject, and let it be conceded to you as you say. Tell me, however, this: Does the soul see [God] so long as it is in the body, or after it has been removed from it?'
"So long as it is in the form of a man, it is possible for it,' I continue, to attain to this by means of the mind; but especially when it has been set free from the body, and being apart by itself, it gets possession of that which it was won't continually and wholly to love.'
"Does it remember this, then [the sight of God], when it is again in the man?'
"It does not appear to me so,' I said.
"What, then, is the advantage to those who have seen [God]? or what has he who has seen more than he who has not seen, unless he remember this fact, that he has seen?'
"I cannot tell,' I answered.
"And what do those suffer who are judged to be unworthy of this spectacle?' said he.
"They are imprisoned in the bodies of certain wild beasts, and this is their punishment.'
"Do they know, then, that it is for this reason they are in such forms, and that they have committed some sin?'
"I do not think so.'
"Then these reap no advantage from their punishment, as it seems: moreover, I would say that they are not punished unless they are conscious of the punishment.'
"No indeed.'
"Therefore souls neither see God nor transmigrate into other bodies; for they would know that so they are punished, and they would be afraid to commit even the most trivial sin afterwards. But that they can perceive that God exists, and that righteousness and piety are honourable, I also quite agree with you,' said he.
"You are right,' I replied.
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Chapter V.--The soul is not in its own nature immortal.
"These philosophers know nothing, then, about these things; for they cannot tell what a soul is.'
"It does not appear so.'
"Nor ought it to be called immortal; for if it is immortal, it is plainly unbegotten.'
"It is both unbegotten and immortal, according to some who are styled Platonists.'
"Do you say that the world is also unbegotten?'
"Some say so. I do not, however, agree with them.'
"You are right; for what reason has one for supposing that a body so solid, possessing resistance, composite, changeable, decaying, and renewed every day, has not arisen from some cause? But if the world is begotten, souls also are necessarily begotten; and perhaps at one time they were not in existence, for they were made on account of men and other living creatures, if you will say that they have been begotten wholly apart, and not along with their respective bodies.'
"This seems to be correct.'
"They are not, then, immortal?'
"No; since the world has appeared to us to be begotten.'
"But I do not say, indeed, that all souls die; for that were truly a piece of good fortune to the evil. What then? The souls of the pious remain in a better place, while those of the unjust and wicked are in a worse, waiting for the time of judgment. Thus some which have appeared worthy of God never die; but others are punished so long as God wills them to exist and to be punished.'
"Is what you say, then, of a like nature with that which Plato in Timæus hints about the world, when he says that it is indeed subject to decay, inasmuch as it has been created, but that it will neither be dissolved nor meet with the fate of death on account of the will of God? Does it seem to you the very same can be said of the soul, and generally of all things? For those things which exist after [1962] God, or shall at any time exist, [1963] these have the nature of decay, and are such as may be blotted out and cease to exist; for God alone is unbegotten and incorruptible, and therefore He is God, but all other things after Him are created and corruptible. For this reason souls both die and are punished: since, if they were unbegotten, they would neither sin, nor be filled with folly, nor be cowardly, and again ferocious; nor would they willingly transform into swine, and serpents, and dogs; and it would not indeed be just to compel them, if they be unbegotten. For that which is unbegotten is similar to, equal to, and the same with that which is unbegotten; and neither in power nor in honour should the one be preferred to the other, and hence there are not many things which are unbegotten: for if there were some difference between them, you would not discover the cause of the difference, though you searched for it; but after letting the mind ever wander to infinity, you would at length, wearied out, take your stand on one Unbegotten, and say that this is the Cause of all. Did such escape the observation of Plato and Pythagoras, those wise men,' I said, who have been as a wall and fortress of philosophy to us?'
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[1962] "Beside."
[1963] Otto says: If the old man begins to speak here, then echei must be read for echein. The received text makes it appear that Justin continues a quotation, or the substance of it, from Plato.
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Chapter VI.--These things were unknown to Plato and other philosophers.
" It makes no matter to me,' said he, whether Plato or Pythagoras, or, in short, any other man held such opinions. For the truth is so; and you would perceive it from this. The soul assuredly is or has life. If, then, it is life, it would cause something else, and not itself, to live, even as motion would move something else than itself. Now, that the soul lives, no one would deny. But if it lives, it lives not as being life, but as the partaker of life; but that which partakes of anything, is different from that of which it does partake. Now the soul partakes of life, since God wills it to live. Thus, then, it will not even partake [of life] when God does not will it to live. For to live is not its attribute, as it is God's; but as a man does not live always, and the soul is not for ever conjoined with the body, since, whenever this harmony must be broken up, the soul leaves the body, and the man exists no longer; even so, whenever the soul must cease to exist, the spirit of life is removed from it, and there is no more soul, but it goes back to the place from whence it was taken.'
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Chapter VII.--The knowledge of truth to be sought from the prophets alone.
"Should any one, then, employ a teacher?' I say, or whence may any one be helped, if not even in them there is truth?'
"There existed, long before this time, certain men more ancient than all those who are esteemed philosophers, both righteous and beloved by God, who spoke by the Divine Spirit, and foretold events which would take place, and which are now taking place. They are called prophets. These alone both saw and announced the truth to men, neither reverencing nor fearing any man, not influenced by a desire for glory, but speaking those things alone which they saw and which they heard, being filled with the Holy Spirit. Their writings are still extant, and he who has read them is very much helped in his knowledge of the beginning and end of things, and of those matters which the philosopher ought to know, provided he has believed them. For they did not use demonstration in their treatises, seeing that they were witnesses to the truth above all demonstration, and worthy of belief; and those events which have happened, and those which are happening, compel you to assent to the utterances made by them, although, indeed, they were entitled to credit on account of the miracles which they performed, since they both glorified the Creator, the God and Father of all things, and proclaimed His Son, the Christ [sent] by Him: which, indeed, the false prophets, who are filled with the lying unclean spirit, neither have done nor do, but venture to work certain wonderful deeds for the purpose of astonishing men, and glorify the spirits and demons of error. But pray that, above all things, the gates of light may be opened to you; for these things cannot be perceived or understood by all, but only by the man to whom God and His Christ have imparted wisdom.'
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Chapter VIII.--Justin by his colloquy is kindled with love to Christ.
"When he had spoken these and many other things, which there is no time for mentioning at present, he went away, bidding me attend to them; and I have not seen him since. But straightway a flame was kindled in my soul; and a love of the prophets, and of those men who are friends of Christ, possessed me; and whilst revolving his words in my mind, I found this philosophy alone to be safe and profitable. Thus, and for this reason, I am a philosopher. Moreover, I would wish that all, making a resolution similar to my own, do not keep themselves away from the words of the Saviour. For they possess a terrible power in themselves, and are sufficient to inspire those who turn aside from the path of rectitude with awe; while the sweetest rest is afforded those who make a diligent practice of them. If, then, you have any concern for yourself, and if you are eagerly looking for salvation, and if you believe in God, you may--since you are not indifferent to the matter [1964] --become acquainted with the Christ of God, and, after being initiated, [1965] live a happy life."
When I had said this, my beloved friends [1966] those who were with Trypho laughed; but he, smiling, says, "I approve of your other remarks, and admire the eagerness with which you study divine things; but it were better for you still to abide in the philosophy of Plato, or of some other man, cultivating endurance, self-control, and moderation, rather than be deceived by false words, and follow the opinions of men of no reputation. For if you remain in that mode of philosophy, and live blamelessly, a hope of a better destiny were left to you; but when you have forsaken God, and reposed confidence in man, what safety still awaits you? If, then, you are willing to listen to me (for I have already considered you a friend), first be circumcised, then observe what ordinances have been enacted with respect to the Sabbath, and the feasts, and the new moons of God; and, in a word, do all things which have been written in the law: and then perhaps you shall obtain mercy from God. But Christ --if He has indeed been born, and exists anywhere--is unknown, and does not even know Himself, and has no power until Elias come to anoint Him, and make Him manifest to all. And you, having accepted a groundless report, invent a Christ for yourselves, and for his sake are inconsiderately perishing."
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[1964] According to one interpretation, this clause is applied to God: "If you believe in God, seeing He is not indifferent to the matter," etc. Maranus says that it means: A Jew who reads so much of Christ in the Old Testament, cannot be indifferent to the things which pertain to Him.
[1965] Literally: having become perfect. Some refer the words to perfection of character; some initiation by baptism.
[1966] Latin version, "beloved Pompeius."
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Chapter IX.--The Christians have not believed groundless stories.
"I excuse and forgive you, my friend," I said. "For you know not what you say, but have been persuaded by teachers who do not understand the Scriptures; and you speak, like a diviner, whatever comes into your mind. But if you are willing to listen to an account of Him, how we have not been deceived, and shall not cease to confess Him,--although men's reproaches be heaped upon us, although the most terrible tyrant compel us to deny Him,--I shall prove to you as you stand here that we have not believed empty fables, or words without any foundation but words filled with the Spirit of God, and big with power, and flourishing with grace."
Then again those who were in his company laughed, and shouted in an unseemly manner. Then I rose up and was about to leave; but he, taking hold of my garment, said I should not accomplish that [1967] until I had performed what I promised. "Let not, then, your companions be so tumultuous, or behave so disgracefully," I said. "But if they wish, let them listen in silence; or, if some better occupation prevent them, let them go away; while we, having retired to some spot, and resting there, may finish the discourse." It seemed good to Trypho that we should do so; and accordingly, having agreed upon it, we retired to the middle space of the Xystus. Two of his friends, when they had ridiculed and made game of our zeal, went off. And when we were come to that place, where there are stone seats on both sides, those with Trypho, having seated themselves on the one side, conversed with each other, some one of them having thrown in a remark about the war waged in Judæa.
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[1967] According to another reading, "I did not leave."
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Chapter X.--Trypho blames the Christians for this alone--the non-observance of the law.
And when they ceased, I again addressed them thus:--
"Is there any other matter, my friends, in which we are blamed, than this, that we live not after the law, and are not circumcised in the flesh as your forefathers were, and do not observe sabbaths as you do? Are our lives and customs also slandered among you? And I ask this: have you also believed concerning us, that we eat men; and that after the feast, having extinguished the lights, we engage in promiscuous concubinage? Or do you condemn us in this alone, that we adhere to such tenets, and believe in an opinion, untrue, as you think?"
"This is what we are amazed at," said Trypho, "but those things about which the multitude speak are not worthy of belief; for they are most repugnant to human nature. Moreover, I am aware that your precepts in the so-called Gospel are so wonderful and so great, that I suspect no one can keep them; for I have carefully read them. But this is what we are most at a loss about: that you, professing to be pious, and supposing yourselves better than others, are not in any particular separated from them, and do not alter your mode of living from the nations, in that you observe no festivals or sabbaths, and do not have the rite of circumcision; and further, resting your hopes on a man that was crucified, you yet expect to obtain some good thing from God, while you do not obey His commandments. Have you not read, that that soul shall be cut off from his people who shall not have been circumcised on the eighth day? And this has been ordained for strangers and for slaves equally. But you, despising this covenant rashly, reject the consequent duties, and attempt to persuade yourselves that you know God, when, however, you perform none of those things which they do who fear God. If, therefore, you can defend yourself on these points, and make it manifest in what way you hope for anything whatsoever, even though you do not observe the law, this we would very gladly hear from you, and we shall make other similar investigations."
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Chapter XI.--The law abrogated; the New Testament promised and given by God.
"There will be no other God, O Trypho, nor was there from eternity any other existing" (I thus addressed him), "but He who made and disposed all this universe. Nor do we think that there is one God for us, another for you, but that He alone is God who led your fathers out from Egypt with a strong hand and a high arm. Nor have we trusted in any other (for there is no other), but in Him in whom you also have trusted, the God of Abraham, and of Isaac, and of Jacob. But we do not trust through Moses or through the law; for then we would do the same as yourselves. But now [1968] --(for I have read that there shall be a final law, and a covenant, the chiefest of all, which it is now incumbent on all men to observe, as many as are seeking after the inheritance of God. For the law promulgated on Horeb is now old, and belongs to yourselves alone; but this is for all universally. Now, law placed against law has abrogated that which is before it, and a covenant which comes after in like manner has put an end to the previous one; and an eternal and final law--namely, Christ --has been given to us, and the covenant is trustworthy, after which there shall be no law, no commandment, no ordinance. Have you not read this which Isaiah says: Hearken unto Me, hearken unto Me, my people; and, ye kings, give ear unto Me: for a law shall go forth from Me, and My judgment shall be for a light to the nations. My righteousness approaches swiftly, and My salvation shall go forth, and nations shall trust in Mine arm?' [1969] And by Jeremiah, concerning this same new covenant, He thus speaks: Behold, the days come, saith the Lord, that I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and with the house of Judah; not according to the covenant which I made with their fathers, in the day that I took them by the hand, to bring them out of the land of Egypt' [1970] ). If, therefore, God proclaimed a new covenant which was to be instituted, and this for a light of the nations, we see and are persuaded that men approach God, leaving their idols and other unrighteousness, through the name of Him who was crucified, Jesus Christ, and abide by their confession even unto death, and maintain piety. Moreover, by the works and by the attendant miracles, it is possible for all to understand that He is the new law, and the new covenant, and the expectation of those who out of every people wait for the good things of God. For the true spiritual Israel, and descendants of Judah, Jacob, Isaac, and Abraham (who in uncircumcision was approved of and blessed by God on account of his faith, and called the father of many nations), are we who have been led to God through this crucified Christ, as shall be demonstrated while we proceed.
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[1968] Editors suppose that Justin inserts a long parenthesis here, from "for" to "Egypt." It is more natural to take this as an anacoluthon. Justin was going to say, "But now we trust through Christ," but feels that such a statement requires preliminary explanation.
[1969] According to the LXX, Isa. li. 4, 5.
[1970] Jer. xxxi. 31, 32.
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Chapter XII.--The Jews violate the eternal law, and interpret ill that of Moses.
I also adduced another passage in which Isaiah exclaims: " Hear My words, and your soul shall live; and I will make an everlasting covenant with you, even the sure mercies of David. Behold, I have given Him for a witness to the people: nations which know not Thee shall call on Thee; peoples who know not Thee shall escape to Thee, because of thy God, the Holy One of Israel; for He has glorified Thee.' [1971] This same law you have despised, and His new holy covenant you have slighted; and now you neither receive it, nor repent of your evil deeds. For your ears are closed, your eyes are blinded, and the heart is hardened,' Jeremiah [1972] has cried; yet not even then do you listen. The Lawgiver is present, yet you do not see Him; to the poor the Gospel is preached, the blind see, yet you do not understand. You have now need of a second circumcision, though you glory greatly in the flesh. The new law requires you to keep perpetual sabbath, and you, because you are idle for one day, suppose you are pious, not discerning why this has been commanded you: and if you eat unleavened bread, you say the will of God has been fulfilled. The Lord our God does not take pleasure in such observances: if there is any perjured person or a thief among you, let him cease to be so; if any adulterer, let him repent; then he has kept the sweet and true sabbaths of God. If any one has impure hands, let him wash and be pure.
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[1971] Isa. lv. 3 ff. according to LXX.
[1972] Not in Jeremiah; some would insert, in place of Jeremiah, Isaiah or John. [St. John xii. 40; Isa. vi. 10; where see full references in the English margin. But comp. Jer. vii. 24, 26, Jer. xi. 8, and Jer. xvii. 23.]
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Chapter XIII.--Isaiah teaches that sins are forgiven through Christ's blood.
"For Isaiah did not send you to a bath, there to wash away murder and other sins, which not even all the water of the sea were sufficient to purge; but, as might have been expected, this was that saving bath of the olden time which followed [1973] those who repented, and who no longer were purified by the blood of goats and of sheep, or by the ashes of an heifer, or by the offerings of fine flour, but by faith through the blood of Christ, and through His death, who died for this very reason, as Isaiah himself said, when he spake thus: The Lord shall make bare His holy arm in the eyes of all the nations, and all the nations and the ends of the earth shall see the salvation of God. Depart ye, depart ye, depart ye, [1974] go ye out from thence, and touch no unclean thing; go ye out of the midst of her, be ye clean that bear the vessels of the Lord, for [1975] ye go not with haste. For the Lord shall go before you; and the Lord, the God of Israel, shall gather you together. Behold, my servant shall deal prudently; and He shall be exalted, and be greatly glorified. As many were astonished at Thee, so Thy form and Thy glory shall be marred more than men. So shall many nations be astonished at Him, and the kings shall shut their mouths; for that which had not been told them concerning Him shall they see, and that which they had not heard shall they consider. Lord, who hath believed our report? and to whom is the arm of the Lord revealed? We have announced Him as a child before Him, as a root in a dry ground. He hath no form or comeliness, and when we saw Him He had no form or beauty; but His form is dishonoured, and fails more than the sons of men. He is a man in affliction, and acquainted with bearing sickness, because His face has been turned away; He was despised, and we esteemed Him not. He bears our sins, and is distressed for us; and we esteemed Him to be in toil and in affliction, and in evil treatment. But He was wounded for our transgressions, He was bruised for our iniquities; the chastisement of our peace was upon Him. With His stripes we are healed. All we, like sheep, have gone astray. Every man has turned to his own way; and the Lord laid on Him our iniquities, and by reason of His oppression He opens not His mouth. He was brought as a sheep to the slaughter; and as a lamb before her shearer is dumb, so He openeth not His mouth. In His humiliation His judgment was taken away. And who shall declare His generation? For His life is taken from the earth. Because of the transgressions of my people He came unto death. And I will give the wicked for His grave, and the rich for His death, because He committed no iniquity, and deceit was not found in His mouth. And the Lord wills to purify Him from affliction. If he has been given for sin, your soul shall see a long-lived seed. And the Lord wills to take His soul away from trouble, to show Him light, and to form Him in understanding, to justify the righteous One who serves many well. And He shall bear our sins; therefore He shall inherit many, and shall divide the spoil of the strong, because His soul was delivered to death; and He was numbered with the transgressors, and He bare the sins of many, and was delivered for their transgression. Sing, O barren, who bearest not; break forth and cry aloud, thou who dost not travail in pain: for more are the children of the desolate than the children of the married wife. For the Lord said, Enlarge the place of thy tent and
of thy curtains; fix them, spare not, lengthen thy cords, and strengthen thy stakes; stretch forth to thy right and thy left; and thy seed shall inherit the Gentiles, and thou shalt make the desolate cities to be inherited. Fear not because thou art ashamed, neither be thou confounded because thou hast been reproached; for thou shalt forget everlasting shame, and shalt not remember the reproach of thy widowhood, because the Lord has made a name for Himself, and He who has redeemed thee shall be called through the whole earth the God of Israel. The Lord has called thee as [1976] a woman forsaken and grieved in spirit, as [1977] a woman hated from her youth.' [1978]
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[1973] 1 Cor. x. 4. Otto reads: which he mentioned and which was for those who repented.
[1974] Three times in Justin, not in LXX.
[1975] Deviating slightly from LXX., omitting a clause.
[1976] LXX. "not as," etc.
[1977] LXX. "not as," etc.
[1978] Isa. lii. 10 ff. following LXX. on to liv. 6.
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Chapter XIV.--Righteousness is not placed in Jewish rites, but in the conversion of the heart given in baptism by Christ.
"By reason, therefore, of this laver of repentance and knowledge of God, which has been ordained on account of the transgression of God's people, as Isaiah cries, we have believed, and testify that that very baptism which he announced is alone able to purify those who have repented; and this is the water of life. But the cisterns which you have dug for yourselves are broken and profitless to you. For what is the use of that baptism which cleanses the flesh and body alone? Baptize the soul from wrath and from covetousness, from envy, and from hatred; and, lo! the body is pure. For this is the symbolic significance of unleavened bread, that you do not commit the old deeds of wicked leaven. But you have understood all things in a carnal sense, and you suppose it to be piety if you do such things, while your souls are filled with deceit, and, in short, with every wickedness. Accordingly, also, after the seven days of eating unleavened bread, God commanded them to mingle new leaven, that is, the performance of other works, and not the imitation of the old and evil works. And because this is what this new Lawgiver demands of you, I shall again refer to the words which have been quoted by me, and to others also which have been passed over. They are related by Isaiah to the following effect: Hearken to me, and your soul shall live; and I will make with you an everlasting covenant, even the sure mercies of David. Behold, I have given Him for a witness to the people, a leader and commander to the nations. Nations which know not Thee shall call on Thee; and peoples who know not Thee shall escape unto Thee, because of Thy God, the Holy One of Israel, for He has glorified Thee. Seek ye God; and when you find Him, call on Him, so long as He may be nigh you. Let the wicked forsake his ways, and the unrighteous man his thoughts; and let him return unto the Lord, and he will obtain mercy, because He will abundantly pardon your sins. For my thoughts are not as your thoughts, neither are my ways as your ways; but as far removed as the heavens are from the earth, so far is my way removed from your way, and your thoughts from my thoughts. For as the snow or the rain descends from heaven, and shall not return till it waters the earth, and makes it bring forth and bud, and gives seed to the sower and bread for food, so shall My word be that goeth forth out of My mouth: it shall not return until it shall have accomplished all that I desired, and I shall make My commandments prosperous. For ye shall go out with joy, and be taught with gladness. For the mountains and the hills shall leap while they expect you, and all the trees of the fields shall applaud with their branches: and instead of the thorn shall come up the cypress, and instead of the brier shall come up the myrtle. And the Lord shall be for a name, and for an everlasting sign, and He shall not fail!' [1979] Of these and such like words written by the prophets, O Trypho," said I, "some have reference to the first advent of Christ, in which He is preached as inglorious, obscure, and of mortal appearance: but others had reference to His second advent, when He shall appear in glory and above the clouds; and your nation shall see and know Him whom they have pierced, as Hosea, one of the twelve prophets, and Daniel, foretold.
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[1979] Isa. lv. 3 to end.
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Chapter XV.--In what the true fasting consists.
"Learn, therefore, to keep the true fast of God, as Isaiah says, that you may please God. Isaiah has cried thus: Shout vehemently, and do not spare: lift up thy voice as with a trumpet, and show My people their transgressions, and the house of Jacob their sins. They seek Me from day to day, and desire to know My ways, as a nation that did righteousness, and forsook not the judgment of God. They ask of Me now righteous judgment, and desire to draw near to God, saying, Wherefore have we fasted, and Thou seest not? and afflicted our souls, and Thou hast not known? Because in the days of your fasting you find your own pleasure, and oppress all those who are subject to you. Behold, ye fast for strifes and debates, and smite the humble with your fists. Why do ye fast for Me, as to-day, so that your voice is heard aloud? This is not the fast which I have chosen, the day in which a man shall afflict his soul. And not even if you bend your neck like a ring, or clothe yourself in sackcloth and ashes, shall you call this a fast, and a day acceptable to the Lord. This is not the fast which I have chosen, saith the Lord; but loose every unrighteous bond, dissolve the terms of wrongous covenants, let the oppressed go free, and avoid every iniquitous contract. Deal thy bread to the hungry, and lead the homeless poor under thy dwelling; if thou seest the naked, clothe him; and do not hide thyself from thine own flesh. Then shall thy light break forth as the morning, and thy garments [1980] shall rise up quickly: and thy righteousness shall go before thee, and the glory of God shall envelope thee. Then shalt thou cry, and the Lord shall hear thee: while thou art speaking, He will say, Behold, I am here. And if thou take away from thee the yoke, and the stretching out of the hand, and the word of murmuring; and shalt give heartily thy bread to the hungry, and shalt satisfy the afflicted soul; then shall thy light arise in the darkness, and thy darkness shall be as the noon-day: and thy God shall be with thee continually, and thou shalt be satisfied according as thy soul desireth, and thy bones shall become fat, and shall be as a watered garden, and as a fountain of water, or as a land where water fails not.' [1981] Circumcise, therefore, the foreskin of your heart,' as the words of God in all these passages demand."
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[1980] himatia; some read iamata, as in LXX., "thy health," the better reading probably.
[1981] Isa. lviii. 1-12.
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Chapter XVI.--Circumcision given as a sign, that the Jews might be driven away for their evil deeds done to Christ and the Christians.
"And God himself proclaimed by Moses, speaking thus: And circumcise the hardness of your hearts, and no longer stiffen the neck. For the Lord your God is both Lord of lords, and a great, mighty, and terrible God, who regardeth not persons, and taketh not rewards.' [1982] And in Leviticus: Because they have transgressed against Me, and despised Me, and because they have walked contrary to Me, I also walked contrary to them, and I shall cut them off in the land of their enemies. Then shall their uncircumcised heart be turned. [1983] For the circumcision according to the flesh, which is from Abraham, was given for a sign; that you may be separated from other nations, and from us; and that you alone may suffer that which you now justly suffer; and that your land may be desolate, and your cities burned with fire; and that strangers may eat your fruit in your presence, and not one of you may go up to Jerusalem.' [1984] For you are not recognised among the rest of men by any other mark than your fleshly circumcision. For none of you, I suppose, will venture to say that God neither did nor does foresee the events, which are future, nor foreordained his deserts for each one. Accordingly, these things have happened to you in fairness and justice, for you have slain the Just One, and His prophets before Him; and now you reject those who hope in Him, and in Him who sent Him--God the Almighty and Maker of all things --cursing in your synagogues those that believe on Christ. For you have not the power to lay hands upon us, on account of those who now have the mastery. But as often as you could, you did so. Wherefore God, by Isaiah, calls to you, saying, Behold how the righteous man perished, and no one regards it. For the righteous man is taken away from before iniquity. His grave shall be in peace, he is taken away from the midst. Draw near hither, ye lawless children, seed of the adulterers, and children of the whore. Against whom have you sported yourselves, and against whom have you opened the mouth, and against whom have you loosened the tongue?' [1985]
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[1982] Deut. x. 16 f.
[1983] Lev. xxvi. 40, 41.
[1984] See Apol., i. 47. The Jews [By Hadrian's recent edict] were prohibited by law from entering Jerusalem on pain of death. And so Justin sees in circumcision their own punishment.
[1985] Isa. lvii. 1-4.
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Chapter XVII.--The Jews sent persons through the whole earth to spread calumnies on Christians.
"For other nations have not inflicted on us and on Christ this wrong to such an extent as you have, who in very deed are the authors of the wicked prejudice against the Just One, and us who hold by Him. For after that you had crucified Him, the only blameless and righteous Man,-- through whose stripes those who approach the Father by Him are healed, --when you knew that He had risen from the dead and ascended to heaven, as the prophets foretold He would, you not only did not repent of the wickedness which you had committed, but at that time you selected and sent out from Jerusalem chosen men through all the land to tell that the godless heresy of the Christians had sprung up, and to publish those things which all they who knew us not speak against us. So that you are the cause not only of your own unrighteousness, but in fact of that of all other men. And Isaiah cries justly: By reason of you, My name is blasphemed among the Gentiles.' [1986] And: Woe unto their soul! because they have devised an evil device against themselves, saying, Let us bind the righteous, for he is distasteful to us. Therefore they shall eat the fruit of their doings. Woe unto the wicked! evil shall be rendered to him according to the works of his hands.' And again, in other words: [1987] Woe unto them that draw their iniquity as with a long cord, and their transgressions as with the harness of a heifer's yoke: who say, Let his speed come near; and let the counsel of the Holy One of Israel come, that we may know it. Woe unto them that call evil good, and good evil; that put light for darkness, and darkness for light; that put bitter for sweet, and sweet for bitter!' [1988] Accordingly, you displayed great zeal in publishing throughout all the land bitter and dark and unjust things against the only blameless and righteous Light sent by God.
For He appeared distasteful to you when He cried among you, It is written, My house is the house of prayer; but ye have made it a den of thieves!' [1989] He overthrew also the tables of the money-changers in the temple, and exclaimed, Woe unto you, Scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! because ye pay tithe of mint and rue, but do not observe the love of God and justice. Ye whited sepulchres! appearing beautiful outward, but are within full of dead men's bones.' [1990] And to the Scribes, Woe unto you, Scribes! for ye have the keys, and ye do not enter in yourselves, and them that are entering in ye hinder; ye blind guides!'
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[1986] Isa. lii. 5.
[1987] Isa. iii. 9 ff.
[1988] Isa. v. 18, 20.
[1989] Matt. xxi. 13.
[1990] This and following quotation taken promiscuously from Matt. xxiii. and Luke xi.
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Chapter XVIII.--Christians would observe the law, if they did not know why it was instituted.
"For since you have read, O Trypho, as you yourself admitted, the doctrines taught by our Saviour, I do not think that I have done foolishly in adding some short utterances of His to the prophetic statements. Wash therefore, and be now clean, and put away iniquity from your souls, as God bids you be washed in this laver, and be circumcised with the true circumcision. For we too would observe the fleshly circumcision, and the Sabbaths, and in short all the feasts, if we did not know for what reason they were enjoined you,--namely, on account of your transgressions and the hardness of your hearts. For if we patiently endure all things contrived against us by wicked men and demons, so that even amid cruelties unutterable, death and torments, we pray for mercy to those who inflict such things upon us, and do not wish to give the least retort to any one, even as the new Lawgiver commanded us: how is it, Trypho, that we would not observe those rites which do not harm us, --I speak of fleshly circumcision, and Sabbaths, and feasts?
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Chapter XIX.--Circumcision unknown before Abraham. The law was given by Moses on account of the hardness of their hearts.
"It is this about which we are at a loss, and with reason, because, while you endure such things, you do not observe all the other customs which we are now discussing."
"This circumcision is not, however, necessary for all men, but for you alone, in order that, as I have already said, you may suffer these things which you now justly suffer. Nor do we receive that useless baptism of cisterns, for it has nothing to do with this baptism of life. Wherefore also God has announced that you have forsaken Him, the living fountain, and digged for yourselves broken cisterns which can hold no water. Even you, who are the circumcised according to the flesh, have need of our circumcision; but we, having the latter, do not require the former. For if it were necessary, as you suppose, God would not have made Adam uncircumcised; would not have had respect to the gifts of Abel when, being uncircumcised, he offered sacrifice, and would not have been pleased with the uncircumcision of Enoch, who was not found, because God had translated him. Lot, being uncircumcised, was saved from Sodom, the angels themselves and the Lord sending him out. Noah was the beginning of our race; yet, uncircumcised, along with his children he went into the ark. Melchizedek, the priest of the Most High, was uncircumcised; to whom also Abraham the first who received circumcision after the flesh, gave tithes, and he blessed him: after whose order God declared, by the mouth of David, that He would establish the everlasting priest. Therefore to you alone this circumcision was necessary, in order that the people may be no people, and the nation no nation; as also Hosea, [1991] one of the twelve prophets, declares. Moreover, all those righteous men already mentioned, though they kept no Sabbaths, [1992] were pleasing to God; and after them Abraham with all his descendants until Moses, under whom your nation appeared unrighteous and ungrateful to God, making a calf in the wilderness: wherefore God, accommodating Himself to that nation, enjoined them also to offer sacrifices, as if to His name, in order that you might not serve idols. Which precept, however, you have not observed; nay, you sacrificed your children to demons. And you were commanded to keep Sabbaths, that you might retain the memorial of God. For His word makes this announcement, saying, That ye may know that I am God who redeemed you.' [1993]
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[1991] Hos. i. and Hos. ii.
[1992] [They did not Sabbatize; but Justin does not deny what is implied in many Scriptures, that they marked the week, and noted the seventh day. Gen. ii. 3, Gen. viii. 10, 12.]
[1993] Ezek. xx. 12.
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Chapter XX.--Why choice of meats was prescribed.
"Moreover, you were commanded to abstain from certain kinds of food, in order that you might keep God before your eyes while you ate and drank, seeing that you were prone and very ready to depart from His knowledge, as Moses also affirms: The people ate and drank, and rose up to play.' [1994] And again: Jacob ate, and was satisfied, and waxed fat; and he who was beloved kicked: he waxed fat, he grew thick, he was enlarged, and he forsook God who had made him.' [1995] For it was told you by Moses in the book of Genesis, that God granted to Noah, being a just man, to eat of every animal, but not of flesh with the blood, which is dead." [1996] And as he was ready to say, "as the green herbs," I anticipated him: "Why do you not receive this statement, as the green herbs,' in the sense in which it was given by God, to wit, that just as God has granted the herbs for sustenance to man, even so has He given the animals for the diet of flesh? But, you say, a distinction was laid down thereafter to Noah, because we do not eat certain herbs. As you interpret it, the thing is incredible. And first I shall not occupy myself with this, though able to say and to hold that every vegetable is food, and fit to be eaten. But although we discriminate between green herbs, not eating all, we refrain from eating some, not because they are common or unclean, but because they are bitter, or deadly, or thorny. But we lay hands on and take of all herbs which are sweet, very nourishing and good, whether they are marine or land plants. Thus also God by the mouth of Moses commanded you to abstain from unclean and improper [1997] and violent animals: when, moreover, though you were eating manna in the desert, and were seeing all those wondrous acts wrought for you by God, you made and worshipped the golden calf. [1998] Hence he cries continually, and justly, They are foolish children, in whom is no faith.' [1999]
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[1994] Ex. xxxii. 6.
[1995] Deut. xxxii. 15.
[1996] nekrimaion, or "dieth of itself;" com. reading was ekrimaion, which was supposed to be derived from ekripto, and to mean "which ought to be cast out:" the above was suggested by H. Stephanus.
[1997] aoikos kai paranomos.
[1998] "The reasoning of St. Justin is not quite clear to interpreters. As we abstain from some herbs, not because they are forbidden by law, but because they are deadly; so the law of abstinence from improper and violent animals was imposed not on Noah, but on you as a yoke on account of your sins."--Maranus.
[1999] Deut. xxxii. 6, 20.
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Chapter XXI.--Sabbaths were instituted on account of the people's sins, and not for a work of righteousness.
"Moreover, that God enjoined you to keep the Sabbath, and impose on you
other precepts for a sign, as I have already said, on account of your
unrighteousness, and that of your fathers,--as He declares that for the
sake of the nations, lest His name be profaned among them, therefore He
permitted some of you to remain alive,--these words of His can prove to
you: they are narrated by Ezekiel thus: I am the Lord your God; walk in
My statutes, and keep My judgments, and take no part in the customs of
Egypt; and hallow My Sabbaths; and they shall be a sign between Me and
you, that ye may know that I am the Lord your God. Notwithstanding ye
rebelled against Me, and your children walked not in My statutes,
neither kept My judgments to do them: which if a man do, he shall live
in them. But they polluted My Sabbaths. And I said that I would pour
out My fury upon them in the wilderness, to accomplish My anger upon
them; yet I did it not; that My name might not be altogether profaned
in the sight of the heathen. I led them out before their eyes, and I
lifted up Mine hand unto them in the wilderness, that I would scatter
them among the heathen, and disperse them through the countries;
because they had not executed My judgments, but had despised My
statutes, and polluted My Sabbaths, and their eyes were after the
devices of their fathers. Wherefore I gave them also statutes which
were not good, and judgments whereby they shall not live. And I shall
pollute them in their own gifts, that I may destroy all that openeth
the womb, when I pass through them.' [2000]
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[2000] Ezek. xx. 19-26.
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Chapter XXII.--So also were sacrifices and oblations.
"And that you may learn that it was for the sins of your own nation,
and for their idolatries and not because there was any necessity for
such sacrifices, that they were likewise enjoined, listen to the manner
in which He speaks of these by Amos, one of the twelve, saying: Woe
unto you that desire the day of the Lord! to what end is this day of
the Lord for you? It is darkness and not light, as when a man flees
from the face of a lion, and a bear meets him; and he goes into his
house, and leans his hands against the wall, and the serpent bites him.
Shall not the day of the Lord be darkness and not light, even very
dark, and no brightness in it? I have hated, I have despised your
feast-days, and I will not smell in your solemn assemblies: wherefore,
though ye offer Me your burnt-offerings and sacrifices, I will not
accept them; neither will I regard the peace-offerings of your
presence. Take thou away from Me the multitude of thy songs and psalms;
I will not hear thine instruments. But let judgment be rolled down as
water, and righteousness as an impassable torrent. Have ye offered unto
Me victims and sacrifices in the wilderness, O house of Israel? saith
the Lord. And have ye taken up the tabernacle of Moloch, and the star
of your god Raphan, the figures which ye made for yourselves? And I
will carry you away beyond Damascus, saith the Lord, whose name is the
Almighty God. Woe to them that are at ease in Zion, and trust in the
mountain of Samaria: those who are named among the chiefs have plucked
away the first-fruits of the nations: the house of Israel have entered
for themselves. Pass all of you unto Calneh, and see; and from thence
go ye unto Hamath the great, and go down thence to Gath of the
strangers, the noblest of all these kingdoms, if their boundaries are
greater than your boundaries. Ye who come to the evil day, who are
approaching, and who hold to false Sabbaths; who lie on beds of ivory,
and are at ease upon their couches; who eat the lambs out of the flock,
and the sucking calves out of the midst of the herd; who applaud at the
sound of the musical instruments; they reckon them as stable, and not
as fleeting, who drink wine in bowls, and anoint themselves with the
chief ointments, but they are not grieved for the affliction of Joseph.
Wherefore now they shall be captives, among the first of the nobles who
are carried away; and the house of evil-doers shall be removed, and the
neighing of horses shall be taken away from Ephraim.' [2001] And again
by Jeremiah: Collect your flesh, and sacrifices, and eat: for
concerning neither sacrifices nor libations did I command your fathers
in the day in which I took them by the hand to lead them out of Egypt.'
[2002] And again by David, in the forty-ninth Psalm, He thus said: The
God of gods, the Lord hath spoken, and called the earth, from the
rising of the sun unto the going down thereof. Out of Zion is the
perfection of His beauty. God, even our God, shall come openly, and
shall not keep silence. Fire shall burn before Him, and it shall be
very tempestuous round about Him. He shall call to the heavens above,
and to the earth, that He may judge His people. Assemble to Him His
saints; those that have made a covenant with Him by sacrifices. And the
heavens shall declare His righteousness, for God is judge. Hear, O My
people, and I will speak to thee; O Israel, and I will testify to thee,
I am God, even thy God. I will not reprove thee for thy sacrifices; thy
burnt-offerings are continually before me. I will take no bullocks out
of thy house, nor he-goats out of thy folds: for all the beasts of the
field are Mine, the herds and the oxen on the mountains. I know all the
fowls of the heavens, and the beauty of the field is Mine. If I were
hungry, I would not tell thee; for the world is Mine, and the fulness
thereof. Will I eat the flesh of bulls, or drink the blood of goats?
Offer unto God the sacrifice of praise, and pay thy vows unto the Most
High, and call upon Me in the day of trouble, and I will deliver thee,
and thou shalt glorify Me. But unto the wicked God saith, What hast
thou to do to declare My statutes, and to take My covenant into thy
mouth? But thou hast hated instruction, and cast My words behind thee.
When thou sawest a thief, thou consentedst with him; and hast been
partaker with the adulterer. Thy mouth has framed evil, and thy tongue
has enfolded deceit. Thou sittest and speakest against thy brother;
thou slanderest thine own mother's son. These things hast thou done,
and I kept silence; thou thoughtest that I would be like thyself in
wickedness. I will reprove thee, and set thy sins in order before thine
eyes. Now consider this, ye that forget God, lest He tear you in
pieces, and there be none to deliver. The sacrifice of praise shall
glorify Me; and there is the way in which I shall show him My
salvation.' [2003] Accordingly He neither takes sacrifices from you nor
commanded them at first to be offered because they are needful to Him,
but because of your sins. For indeed the temple, which is called the
temple in Jerusalem, He admitted to be His house or court, not as
though He needed it, but in order that you, in this view of it, giving
yourselves to Him, might not worship idols. And that this is so, Isaiah
says: What house have ye built Me? saith the Lord. Heaven is My throne,
and earth is My footstool.' [2004]
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[2001] Amos v. 18 to end, Amos vi. 1-7.
[2002] Jer. vii. 21 f.
[2003] Ps. l. (in E. V.).
[2004] Isa. lxvi. 1.
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Chapter XXIII.--The opinion of the Jews regarding the law does an injury to
God.
"But if we do not admit this, we shall be liable to fall into foolish
opinions, as if it were not the same God who existed in the times of
Enoch and all the rest, who neither were circumcised after the flesh,
nor observed Sabbaths, nor any other rites, seeing that Moses enjoined
such observances; or that God has not wished each race of mankind
continually to perform the same righteous actions: to admit which,
seems to be ridiculous and absurd. Therefore we must confess that He,
who is ever the same, has commanded these and such like institutions on
account of sinful men, and we must declare Him to be benevolent,
foreknowing, needing nothing, righteous and good. But if this be not
so, tell me, sir, what you think of those matters which we are
investigating." And when no one responded: "Wherefore, Trypho, I will
proclaim to you, and to those who wish to become proselytes, the divine
message which I heard from that man. [2005] Do you see that the
elements are not idle, and keep no Sabbaths? Remain as you were born.
For if there was no need of circumcision before Abraham, or of the
observance of Sabbaths, of feasts and sacrifices, before Moses; no more
need is there of them now, after that, according to the will of God,
Jesus Christ the Son of God has been born without sin, of a virgin
sprung from the stock of Abraham. For when Abraham himself was in
uncircumcision, he was justified and blessed by reason of the faith
which he reposed in God, as the Scripture tells. Moreover, the
Scriptures and the facts themselves compel us to admit that He received
circumcision for a sign, and not for righteousness. So that it was
justly recorded concerning the people, that the soul which shall not be
circumcised on the eighth day shall be cut off from his family. And,
furthermore, the inability of the female sex to receive fleshly
circumcision, proves that this circumcision has been given for a sign,
and not for a work of righteousness. For God has given likewise to
women the ability to observe all things which are righteous and
virtuous; but we see that the bodily form of the male has been made
different from the bodily form of the female; yet we know that neither
of them is righteous or unrighteous merely for this cause, but [is
considered righteous] by reason of piety and righteousness.
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[2005] The man he met by the sea-shore.
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Chapter XXIV.--The Christians' circumcision far more excellent.
"Now, sirs," I said, "it is possible for us to show how the eighth day
possessed a certain mysterious import, which the seventh day did not
possess, and which was promulgated by God through these rites. But lest
I appear now to diverge to other subjects, understand what I say: the
blood of that circumcision is obsolete, and we trust in the blood of
salvation; there is now another covenant, and another law has gone
forth from Zion. Jesus Christ circumcises all who will--as was declared
above --with knives of stone; [2006] that they may be a righteous
nation, a people keeping faith, holding to the truth, and maintaining
peace. Come then with me, all who fear God, who wish to see the good of
Jerusalem. Come, let us go to the light of the Lord; for He has
liberated His people, the house of Jacob. Come, all nations; let us
gather ourselves together at Jerusalem, no longer plagued by war for
the sins of her people. For I was manifest to them that sought Me not;
I was found of them that asked not for Me;' [2007] He exclaims by
Isaiah: I said, Behold Me, unto nations which were not called by My
name. I have spread out My hands all the day unto a disobedient and
gainsaying people, which walked in a way that was not good, but after
their own sins. It is a people that provoketh Me to my face.' [2008]
__________________________________________________________________
[2006] Josh. v. 2; Isa. xxvi. 2, 3.
[2007] Isa. lxv. 1-3.
[2008] Isa. lxv. 1-3.
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Chapter XXV.--The Jews boast in vain that they are sons of Abraham.
"Those who justify themselves, and say they are sons of Abraham, shall
be desirous even in a small degree to receive the inheritance along
with you; [2009] as the Holy Spirit, by the mouth of Isaiah, cries,
speaking thus while he personates them: Return from heaven, and behold
from the habitation of Thy holiness and glory. Where is Thy zeal and
strength? Where is the multitude of Thy mercy? for Thou hast sustained
us, O Lord. For Thou art our Father, because Abraham is ignorant of us,
and Israel has not recognised us. But Thou, O Lord, our Father, deliver
us: from the beginning Thy name is upon us. O Lord, why hast Thou made
us to err from Thy way? and hardened our hearts, so that we do not fear
Thee? Return for Thy servants' sake, the tribes of Thine inheritance,
that we may inherit for a little Thy holy mountain. We were as from the
beginning, when Thou didst not bear rule over us, and when Thy name was
not called upon us. If Thou wilt open the heavens, trembling shall
seize the mountains before Thee: and they shall be melted, as wax melts
before the fire; and fire shall consume the adversaries, and Thy name
shall be manifest among the adversaries; the nations shall be put into
disorder before Thy face. When Thou shalt do glorious things, trembling
shall seize the mountains before Thee. From the beginning we have not
heard, nor have our eyes seen a God besides Thee: and Thy works, [2010]
the mercy which Thou shall show to those who repent. He shall meet
those who do righteousness, and they shall remember Thy ways. Behold,
Thou art wroth, and we were sinning. Therefore we have erred and become
all unclean, and all our righteousness is as the rags of a woman set
apart: and we have faded away like leaves by reason of our iniquities;
thus the wind will take us away. And there is none that calleth upon
Thy name, or remembers to take hold of Thee; for Thou hast turned away
Thy face from us, and hast given us up on account of our sins. And now
return, O Lord, for we are all Thy people. The city of Thy holiness has
become desolate. Zion has become as a wilderness, Jerusalem a curse;
the house, our holiness, and the glory which our fathers blessed, has
been burned with fire; and all the glorious nations [2011] have fallen
along with it. And in addition to these [misfortunes], O Lord, Thou
hast refrained Thyself, and art silent, and hast humbled us very much.'
" [2012]
And Trypho remarked, "What is this you say? that none of us shall
inherit anything on the holy mountain of God?"
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[2009] Other edd. have, "with us."
[2010] Otto reads: "Thy works which Thou shalt do to those who wait for
mercy."
[2011] Some suppose the correct reading to be, "our glorious
institutions [manners, customs, or ordinances] have," etc., ethe for
ethne.
[2012] Isa. lxiii. 15 to end, and Isa. lxiv.
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Chapter XXVI.--No salvation to the Jews except through Christ.
And I replied, "I do not say so; but those who have persecuted and do
persecute Christ, if they do not repent, shall not inherit anything on
the holy mountain. But the Gentiles, who have believed on Him, and have
repented of the sins which they have committed, they shall receive the
inheritance along with the patriarchs and the prophets, and the just
men who are descended from Jacob, even although they neither keep the
Sabbath, nor are circumcised, nor observe the feasts. Assuredly they
shall receive the holy inheritance of God. For God speaks by Isaiah
thus: I, the Lord God, have called Thee in righteousness, and will hold
Thine hand, and will strengthen Thee; and I have given Thee for a
covenant of the people, for a light of the Gentiles, to open the eyes
of the blind, to bring out them that are bound from the chains, and
those who sit in darkness from the prison-house.' [2013] And again:
Lift up a standard [2014] for the people; for, lo, the Lord has made it
heard unto the end of the earth. Say ye to the daughters of Zion,
Behold, thy Saviour has come; having His reward, and His work before
His face: and He shall call it a holy nation, redeemed by the Lord. And
thou shalt be called a city sought out, and not forsaken. Who is this
that cometh from Edom? in red garments from Bosor? This that is
beautiful in apparel, going up with great strength? I speak
righteousness, and the judgment of salvation. Why are Thy garments red,
and Thine apparel as from the trodden wine-press? Thou art full of the
trodden grape. I have trodden the wine-press all alone, and of the
people there is no man with Me; and I have trampled them in fury, and
crushed them to the ground, and spilled their blood on the earth. For
the day of retribution has come upon them, and the year of redemption
is present. And I looked, and there was none to help; and I considered,
and none assisted: and My arm delivered; and My fury came on them, and
I trampled them in My fury, and spilled their blood on the earth.' "
[2015]
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[2013] Isa. xlii. 6, 7.
[2014] susseismon, "a shaking," is the original reading; but LXX has
sussemon, a standard or signal, and this most edd. adopt.
[2015] Isa. lxii. 10 to end, Isa. lxiii. 1-6.
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Chapter XXVII.--Why God taught the same things by the prophets as by Moses.
And Trypho said, "Why do you select and quote whatever you wish from
the prophetic writings, but do not refer to those which expressly
command the Sabbath to be observed? For Isaiah thus speaks: If thou
shalt turn away thy foot from the Sabbaths, so as not to do thy
pleasure on the holy day, and shalt call the Sabbaths the holy delights
of thy God; if thou shalt not lift thy foot to work, and shalt not
speak a word from thine own mouth; then thou shalt trust in the Lord,
and He shall cause thee to go up to the good things of the land; and He
shall feed thee with the inheritance of Jacob thy father: for the mouth
of the Lord hath spoken it.' " [2016]
And I replied, "I have passed them by, my friends, not because such
prophecies were contrary to me, but because you have understood, and do
understand, that although God commands you by all the prophets to do
the same things which He also commanded by Moses, it was on account of
the hardness of your hearts, and your ingratitude towards Him, that He
continually proclaims them, in order that, even in this way, if you
repented, you might please Him, and neither sacrifice your children to
demons, nor be partakers with thieves, nor lovers of gifts, nor hunters
after revenge, nor fail in doing judgment for orphans, nor be
inattentive to the justice due to the widow, nor have your hands full
of blood. For the daughters of Zion have walked with a high neck, both
sporting by winking with their eyes, and sweeping along their dresses.
[2017] For they are all gone aside,' He exclaims, they are all become
useless. There is none that understands, there is not so much as one.
With their tongues they have practised deceit, their throat is an open
sepulchre, the poison of asps is under their lips, destruction and
misery are in their paths, and the way of peace they have not known.'
[2018] So that, as in the beginning, these things were enjoined you
because of your wickedness, in like manner because of your stedfastness
in it, or rather your increased proneness to it, by means of the same
precepts He calls you to a remembrance or knowledge of it. But you are
a people hard-hearted and without understanding, both blind and lame,
children in whom is no faith, as He Himself says, honouring Him only
with your lips, far from Him in your hearts, teaching doctrines that
are your own and not His. For, tell me, did God wish the priests to sin
when they offer the sacrifices on the Sabbaths? or those to sin, who
are circumcised and do circumcise on the Sabbaths; since He commands
that on the eighth day--even though it happen to be a Sabbath-- those
who are born shall be always circumcised? or could not the infants be
operated upon one day previous or one day subsequent to the Sabbath, if
He knew that it is a sinful act upon the Sabbaths? Or why did He not
teach those--who are called righteous and pleasing to Him, who lived
before Moses and Abraham, who were not circumcised in their foreskin,
and observed no Sabbaths--to keep these institutions?"
__________________________________________________________________
[2016] Isa. lviii. 13, 14.
[2017] Isa. iii. 16.
[2018] Various passages strung together; comp. Rom. iii. 10, and foll.
verses.
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Chapter XXVIII.--True righteousness is obtained by Christ.
And Trypho replied, "We heard you adducing this consideration a little
ago, and we have given it attention: for, to tell the truth, it is
worthy of attention; and that answer which pleases most --namely, that
so it seemed good to Him--does not satisfy me. For this is ever the
shift to which those have recourse who are unable to answer the
question."
Then I said, "Since I bring from the Scriptures and the facts
themselves both the proofs and the inculcation of them, do not delay or
hesitate to put faith in me, although I am an uncircumcised man; so
short a time is left you in which to become proselytes. If Christ's
coming shall have anticipated you, in vain you will repent, in vain you
will weep; for He will not hear you. Break up your fallow ground,'
Jeremiah has cried to the people, and sow not among thorns. Circumcise
yourselves to the Lord, and circumcise the foreskin of your heart.'
[2019] Do not sow, therefore, among thorns, and in untilled ground,
whence you can have no fruit. Know Christ; and behold the fallow
ground, good, good and fat, is in your hearts. For, behold, the days
come, saith the Lord, that I will visit all them that are circumcised
in their foreskins; Egypt, and Judah, [2020] and Edom, and the sons of
Moab. For all the nations are uncircumcised, and all the house of
Israel are uncircumcised in their hearts.' [2021] Do you see how that
God does not mean this circumcision which is given for a sign? For it
is of no use to the Egyptians, or the sons of Moab, or the sons of
Edom. But though a man be a Scythian or a Persian, if he has the
knowledge of God and of His Christ, and keeps the everlasting righteous
decrees, he is circumcised with the good and useful circumcision, and
is a friend of God, and God rejoices in his gifts and offerings. But I
will lay before you, my friends, the very words of God, when He said to
the people by Malachi, one of the twelve prophets, I have no pleasure
in you, saith the Lord; and I shall not accept your sacrifices at your
hands: for from the rising of the sun unto its setting My name shall be
glorified among the Gentiles; and in every place a sacrifice is offered
unto My name, even a pure sacrifice: for My name is honoured among the
Gentiles, saith the Lord; but ye profane it.' [2022] And by David He
said, A people whom I have not known, served Me; at the hearing of the
ear they obeyed Me.' [2023]
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[2019] Jer. iv. 3.
[2020] So in A.V., but supposed to be Idumæa.
[2021] Jer. ix. 25 f.
[2022] Mal. i. 10, etc.
[2023] Ps. xviii. 43.
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Chapter XXIX.--Christ is useless to those who observe the law.
"Let us glorify God, all nations gathered together; for He has also
visited us. Let us glorify Him by the King of glory, by the Lord of
hosts. For He has been gracious towards the Gentiles also; and our
sacrifices He esteems more grateful than yours. What need, then, have I
of circumcision, who have been witnessed to by God? What need have I of
that other baptism, who have been baptized with the Holy Ghost? I think
that while I mention this, I would persuade even those who are
possessed of scanty intelligence. For these words have neither been
prepared by me, nor embellished by the art of man; but David sung them,
Isaiah preached them, Zechariah proclaimed them, and Moses wrote them.
Are you acquainted with them, Trypho? They are contained in your
Scriptures, or rather not yours, but ours. [2024] For we believe them;
but you, though you read them, do not catch the spirit that is in them.
Be not offended at, or reproach us with, the bodily uncircumcision with
which God has created us; and think it not strange that we drink hot
water on the Sabbaths, since God directs the government of the universe
on this day equally as on all others; and the priests, as on other
days, so on this, are ordered to offer sacrifices; and there are so
many righteous men who have performed none of these legal ceremonies,
and yet are witnessed to by God Himself.
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[2024] [This striking claim of the Old Testament Scriptures is
noteworthy.]
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Chapter XXX.--Christians possess the true righteousness.
"But impute it to your own wickedness, that God even can be accused by
those who have no understanding, of not having always instructed all in
the same righteous statutes. For such institutions seemed to be
unreasonable and unworthy of God to many men, who had not received
grace to know that your nation were called to conversion and repentance
of spirit, [2025] while they were in a sinful condition and labouring
under spiritual disease; and that the prophecy which was announced
subsequent to the death of Moses is everlasting. And this is mentioned
in the Psalm, my friends. [2026] And that we, who have been made wise
by them, confess that the statutes of the Lord are sweeter than honey
and the honey-comb, is manifest from the fact that, though threatened
with death, we do not deny His name. Moreover, it is also manifest to
all, that we who believe in Him pray to be kept by Him from strange,
i.e., from wicked and deceitful, spirits; as the word of prophecy,
personating one of those who believe in Him, figuratively declares. For
we do continually beseech God by Jesus Christ to preserve us from the
demons which are hostile to the worship of God, and whom we of old time
served, in order that, after our conversion by Him to God, we may be
blameless. For we call Him Helper and Redeemer, the power of whose name
even the demons do fear; and at this day, when they are exorcised in
the name of Jesus Christ, crucified under Pontius Pilate, governor of
Judæa, they are overcome. And thus it is manifest to all, that His
Father has given Him so great power, by virtue of which demons are
subdued to His name, and to the dispensation of His suffering.
__________________________________________________________________
[2025] Or, "repentance of the Father;" patros for pneumatos. Maranus
explains the confusion on the ground of the similarity between the
contractions for the words, prs and pns.
[2026] Ps. xix.
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Chapter XXXI.--If Christ's power be now so great, how much greater at the
second advent!
"But if so great a power is shown to have followed and to be still
following the dispensation of His suffering, how great shall that be
which shall follow His glorious advent! For He shall come on the clouds
as the Son of man, so Daniel foretold, and His angels shall come with
Him. These are the words: I beheld till the thrones were set; and the
Ancient of days did sit, whose garment was white as snow, and the hair
of His head like the pure wool. His throne was like a fiery flame, His
wheels as burning fire. A fiery stream issued and came forth from
before Him. Thousand thousands ministered unto Him, and ten thousand
times ten thousand stood before Him. The books were opened, and the
judgment was set. I beheld then the voice of the great words which the
horn speaks: and the beast was beat down, and his body destroyed, and
given to the burning flame. And the rest of the beasts were taken away
from their dominion, and a period of life was given to the beasts until
a season and time. I saw in the vision of the night, and, behold, one
like the Son of man coming with the clouds of heaven; and He came to
the Ancient of days, and stood before Him. And they who stood by
brought Him near; and there were given Him power and kingly honour, and
all nations of the earth by their families, and all glory, serve Him.
And His dominion is an everlasting dominion, which shall not be taken
away; and His kingdom shall not be destroyed. And my spirit was chilled
within my frame, and the visions of my head troubled me. I came near
unto one of them that stood by, and inquired the precise meaning of all
these things. In answer he speaks to me, and showed me the judgment of
the matters: These great beasts are four kingdoms, which shall perish
from the earth, and shall not receive dominion for ever, even for ever
and ever. Then I wished to know exactly about the fourth beast, which
destroyed all [the others] and was very terrible, its teeth of iron,
and its nails of brass; which devoured, made waste, and stamped the
residue with its feet: also about the ten horns upon its head, and of
the one which came up, by means of which three of the former fell. And
that horn had eyes, and a mouth speaking great things; and its
countenance excelled the rest. And I beheld that horn waging war
against the saints, and prevailing against them, until the Ancient of
days came; and He gave judgment for the saints of the Most High. And
the time came, and the saints of the Most High possessed the kingdom.
And it was told me concerning the fourth beast: There shall be a fourth
kingdom upon earth, which shall prevail over all these kingdoms, and
shall devour the whole earth, and shall destroy and make it thoroughly
waste. And the ten horns are ten kings that shall arise; and one shall
arise after them; [2027] and he shall surpass the first in evil deeds,
and he shall subdue three kings, and he shall speak words against the
Most High, and shall overthrow the rest of the saints of the Most High,
and shall expect to change the seasons and the times. And it shall be
delivered into his hands for a time, and times, and half a time. And
the judgment sat, and they shall take away his dominion, to consume and
to destroy it unto the end. And the kingdom, and the power, and the
great places of the kingdoms under the heavens, were given to the holy
people of the Most High, to reign in an everlasting kingdom: and all
powers shall be subject to Him, and shall obey Him. Hitherto is the end
of the matter. I, Daniel, was possessed with a very great astonishment,
and my speech was changed in me; yet I kept the matter in my heart.' "
[2028]
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[2027] Literally, "And the ten horns, ten kings shall arise after
them."
[2028] Dan. vii. 9-28.
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Chapter XXXII.--Trypho objecting that Christ is described as glorious by
Daniel, Justin distinguishes two advents.
And when I had ceased, Trypho said, "These and such like Scriptures,
sir, compel us to wait for Him who, as Son of man, receives from the
Ancient of days the everlasting kingdom. But this so-called Christ of
yours was dishonourable and inglorious, so much so that the last curse
contained in the law of God fell on him, for he was crucified."
Then I replied to him, "If, sirs, it were not said by the Scriptures
which I have already quoted, that His form was inglorious, and His
generation not declared, and that for His death the rich would suffer
death, and with His stripes we should be healed, and that He would be
led away like a sheep; and if I had not explained that there would be
two advents of His,--one in which He was pierced by you; a second, when
you shall know Him whom you have pierced, and your tribes shall mourn,
each tribe by itself, the women apart, and the men apart,--then I must
have been speaking dubious and obscure things. But now, by means of the
contents of those Scriptures esteemed holy and prophetic amongst you, I
attempt to prove all [that I have adduced], in the hope that some one
of you may be found to be of that remnant which has been left by the
grace of the Lord of Sabaoth for the eternal salvation. In order,
therefore, that the matter inquired into may be plainer to you, I will
mention to you other words also spoken by the blessed David, from which
you will perceive that the Lord is called the Christ by the Holy Spirit
of prophecy; and that the Lord, the Father of all, has brought Him
again from the earth, setting Him at His own right hand, until He makes
His enemies His footstool; which indeed happens from the time that our
Lord Jesus Christ ascended to heaven, after He rose again from the
dead, the times now running on to their consummation; and he whom
Daniel foretells would have dominion for a time, and times, and an
half, is even already at the door, about to speak blasphemous and
daring things against the Most High. But you, being ignorant of how
long he will have dominion, hold another opinion. For you interpret the
time' as being a hundred years. But if this is so, the man of sin must,
at the shortest, reign three hundred and fifty years, in order that we
may compute that which is said by the holy Daniel-- and times'--to be
two times only. All this I have said to you in digression, in order
that you at length may be persuaded of what has been declared against
you by God, that you are foolish sons; and of this, Therefore, behold,
I will proceed to take away this people, and shall take them away; and
I will strip the wise of their wisdom, and will hide the understanding
of their prudent men;' [2029] and may cease to deceive yourselves and
those who hear you, and may learn of us, who have been taught wisdom by
the grace of Christ. The words, then, which were spoken by David, are
these: [2030] The Lord said unto My Lord, Sit Thou at My right hand,
until I make Thine enemies Thy footstool. The Lord shall send the rod
of Thy strength out of Sion: rule Thou also in the midst of Thine
enemies. With Thee shall be, in the day, the chief of Thy power, in the
beauties of Thy saints. From the womb, before the morning star, have I
begotten Thee. The Lord hath sworn, and will not repent: Thou art a
priest for ever after the order of Melchizedek. The Lord is at Thy
right hand: He has crushed kings in the day of His wrath: He shall
judge among the heathen, He shall fill [with] the dead bodies. [2031]
He shall drink of the brook in the way; therefore shall He lift up the
head.'
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[2029] Isa. xxix. 14.
[2030] Ps. cx.
[2031] plerosei ptomata; Lat. version, implebit ruinas. Thirlby
suggested that an omission has taken place in the mss. by the
transcriber's fault.
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Chapter XXXIII.--Ps. cx. is not spoken of Hezekiah. He proves that Christ was
first humble, then shall be glorious.
"And," I continued, "I am not ignorant that you venture to expound this
psalm as if it referred to king Hezekiah; but that you are mistaken, I
shall prove to you from these very words forthwith. The Lord hath
sworn, and will not repent,' it is said; and, Thou art a priest
forever, after the order of Melchizedek,' with what follows and
precedes. Not even you will venture to object that Hezekiah was either
a priest, or is the everlasting priest of God; but that this is spoken
of our Jesus, these expressions show. But your ears are shut up, and
your hearts are made dull. [2032] For by this statement, The Lord hath
sworn, and will not repent: Thou art a priest for ever, after the order
of Melchizedek,' with an oath God has shown Him (on account of your
unbelief) to be the High Priest after the order of Melchizedek; i.e.,
as Melchizedek was described by Moses as the priest of the Most High,
and he was a priest of those who were in uncircumcision, and blessed
the circumcised Abraham who brought him tithes, so God has shown that
His everlasting Priest, called also by the Holy Spirit Lord, would be
Priest of those in uncircumcision. Those too in circumcision who
approach Him, that is, believing Him and seeking blessings from Him, He
will both receive and bless. And that He shall be first humble as a
man, and then exalted, these words at the end of the Psalm show: He
shall drink of the brook in the way,' and then, Therefore shall He lift
up the head.'
__________________________________________________________________
[2032] peperontai. Maranus thinks peporontai more probable, "hardened."
__________________________________________________________________
Chapter XXXIV.--Nor does Ps. lxxii. apply to Solomon, whose faults Christians
shudder at.
"Further, to persuade you that you have not understood anything of the
Scriptures, I will remind you of another psalm, dictated to David by
the Holy Spirit, which you say refers to Solomon, who was also your
king. But it refers also to our Christ. But you deceive yourselves by
the ambiguous forms of speech. For where it is said, The law of the
Lord is perfect,' you do not understand it of the law which was to be
after Moses, but of the law which was given by Moses, although God
declared that He would establish a new law and a new covenant. And
where it has been said, O God, give Thy judgment to the king,' since
Solomon was king, you say that the Psalm refers to him, although the
words of the Psalm expressly proclaim that reference is made to the
everlasting King, i.e., to Christ. For Christ is King, and Priest, and
God, and Lord, and angel, and man, and captain, and stone, and a Son
born, and first made subject to suffering, then returning to heaven,
and again coming with glory, and He is preached as having the
everlasting kingdom: so I prove from all the Scriptures. But that you
may perceive what I have said, I quote the words of the Psalm; they are
these: O God, give Thy judgment to the king, and Thy righteousness unto
the king's son, to judge Thy people with righteousness, and Thy poor
with judgment. The mountains shall take up peace to the people, and the
little hills righteousness. He shall judge the poor of the people, and
shall save the children of the needy, and shall abase the slanderer. He
shall co-endure with the sun, and before the moon unto all generations.
He shall come down like rain upon the fleece, as drops falling on the
earth. In His days shall righteousness flourish, and abundance of peace
until the moon be taken away. And He shall have dominion from sea to
sea, and from the rivers unto the ends of the earth. Ethiopians shall
fall down before Him, and His enemies shall lick the dust. The kings of
Tarshish and the isles shall offer gifts; the kings of Arabia and Seba
shall offer gifts; and all the kings of the earth shall worship Him,
and all the nations shall serve Him: for He has delivered the poor from
the man of power, and the needy that hath no helper. He shall spare the
poor and needy, and shall save the souls of the needy: He shall redeem
their souls from usury and injustice, and His name shall be honourable
before them. And He shall live, and to Him shall be given of the gold
of Arabia, and they shall pray continually for Him: they shall bless
Him all the day. And there shall be a foundation on the earth, it shall
be exalted on the tops of the mountains: His fruit shall be on Lebanon,
and they of the city shall flourish like grass of the earth. His name
shalt be blessed for ever. His name shall endure before the sun; and
all tribes of the earth shall be blessed in Him, all nations shall call
Him blessed. Blessed be the Lord, the God of Israel, who only doeth
wondrous things; and blessed be His glorious name for ever, and for
ever and ever; and the whole earth shall be filled with His glory.
Amen, amen.' [2033] And at the close of this Psalm which I have quoted,
it is written, The hymns of David the son of Jesse are ended.' [2034]
Moreover, that Solomon was a renowned and great king, by whom the
temple called that at Jerusalem was built, I know; but that none of
those things mentioned in the Psalm happened to him, is evident. For
neither did all kings worship him; nor did he reign to the ends of the
earth; nor did his enemies, falling before him, lick the dust. Nay,
also, I venture to repeat what is written in the book of Kings as
committed by him, how through a woman's influence he worshipped the
idols of Sidon, which those of the Gentiles who know God, the Maker of
all things through Jesus the crucified, do not venture to do, but abide
every torture and vengeance even to the extremity of death, rather than
worship idols, or eat meat offered to idols."
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[2033] Ps. lxxii.
[2034] [A striking passage in De Maistre (OEuvres, vol. vi. p. 275) is
worthy of comparison.]
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Chapter XXXV.--Heretics confirm the Catholics in the faith.
And Trypho said, "I believe, however, that many of those who say that
they confess Jesus, and are called Christians, eat meats offered to
idols, and declare that they are by no means injured in consequence."
And I replied, "The fact that there are such men confessing themselves
to be Christians, and admitting the crucified Jesus to be both Lord and
Christ, yet not teaching His doctrines, but those of the spirits of
error, causes us who are disciples of the true and pure doctrine of
Jesus Christ, to be more faithful and stedfast in the hope announced by
Him. For what things He predicted would take place in His name, these
we do see being actually accomplished in our sight. For he said, Many
shall come in My name, clothed outwardly in sheep's clothing, but
inwardly they are ravening wolves.' " [2035] And, There shall be
schisms and heresies.' [2036] And, Beware of false prophets, who shall
come to you clothed outwardly in sheep's clothing, but inwardly they
are ravening wolves.' [2037] And, Many false Christs and false apostles
shall arise, and shall deceive many of the faithful.' [2038] There are,
therefore, and there were many, my friends, who, coming forward in the
name of Jesus, taught both to speak and act impious and blasphemous
things; and these are called by us after the name of the men from whom
each doctrine and opinion had its origin. (For some in one way, others
in another, teach to blaspheme the Maker of all things, and Christ, who
was foretold by Him as coming, and the God of Abraham, and of Isaac,
and of Jacob, with whom we have nothing in common, since we know them
to be atheists, impious, unrighteous, and sinful, and confessors of
Jesus in name only, instead of worshippers of Him. Yet they style
themselves Christians, just as certain among the Gentiles inscribe the
name of God upon the works of their own hands, and partake in nefarious
and impious rites.) Some are called Marcians, and some Valentinians,
and some Basilidians, and some Saturnilians, and others by other names;
each called after the originator of the individual opinion, just as
each one of those who consider themselves philosophers, as I said
before, thinks he must bear the name of the philosophy which he
follows, from the name of the father of the particular doctrine. So
that, in consequence of these events, we know that Jesus foreknew what
would happen after Him, as well as in consequence of many other events
which He foretold would befall those who believed on and confessed Him,
the Christ. For all that we suffer, even when killed by friends, He
foretold would take place; so that it is manifest no word or act of His
can be found fault with. Wherefore we pray for you and for all other
men who hate us; in order that you, having repented along with us, may
not blaspheme Him who, by His works, by the mighty deeds even now
wrought through His name, by the words He taught, by the prophecies
announced concerning Him, is the blameless, and in all things
irreproachable, Christ Jesus; but, believing on Him, may be saved in
His second glorious advent, and may not be condemned to fire by Him."
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[2035] Matt. vii. 15.
[2036] 1 Cor. xi. 19.
[2037] Matt. vii. 15.
[2038] Matt. xxiv. 11.
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Chapter XXXVI.--He proves that Christ is called Lord of Hosts.
Then he replied, "Let these things be so as you say--namely, that it
was foretold Christ would suffer, and be called a stone; and after His
first appearance, in which it had been announced He would suffer, would
come in glory, and be Judge finally of all, and eternal King and
Priest. Now show if this man be He of whom these prophecies were made."
And I said, "As you wish, Trypho, I shall come to these proofs which
you seek in the fitting place; but now you will permit me first to
recount the prophecies, which I wish to do in order to prove that
Christ is called both God and Lord of hosts, and Jacob, in parable by
the Holy Spirit; and your interpreters, as God says, are foolish, since
they say that reference is made to Solomon and not to Christ, when he
bore the ark of testimony into the temple which he built. The Psalm of
David is this: The earth is the Lord's, and the fulness thereof; the
world, and all that dwell therein. He hath founded it upon the seas,
and prepared it upon the floods. Who shall ascend into the hill of the
Lord? or who shall stand in His holy place? He that is clean of hands
and pure of heart: who has not received his soul in vain, and has not
sworn guilefully to his neighbour: he shall receive blessing from the
Lord, and mercy from God his Saviour. This is the generation of them
that seek the Lord, that seek the face of the God of Jacob. [2039] Lift
up your gates, ye rulers; and be ye lift up, ye everlasting doors; and
the King of glory shall come in. Who is this King of glory? The Lord
strong and mighty in battle. Lift up your gates, ye rulers; and be ye
lift up, ye everlasting doors; and the King of glory shall come in. Who
is this King of glory? The Lord of hosts, He is the King of glory.'
[2040] Accordingly, it is shown that Solomon is not the Lord of hosts;
but when our Christ rose from the dead and ascended to heaven, the
rulers in heaven, under appointment of God, are commanded to open the
gates of heaven, that He who is King of glory may enter in, and having
ascended, may sit on the right hand of the Father until He make the
enemies His footstool, as has been made manifest by another Psalm. For
when the rulers of heaven saw Him of uncomely and dishonoured
appearance, and inglorious, not recognising Him, they inquired, Who is
this King of glory?' And the Holy Spirit, either from the person of His
Father, or from His own person, answers them, The Lord of hosts, He is
this King of glory.' For every one will confess that not one of those
who presided over the gates of the temple at Jerusalem would venture to
say concerning Solomon, though he was so glorious a king, or concerning
the ark of testimony, Who is this King of glory?'
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[2039] Maranus remarks from Thirlby: "As Justin wrote a little before,
and is called Jacob in parable,' it seems to convince us that Justin
wrote, thy face, O Jacob.' " [The meaning in this latter case becomes
plain, if we observe that "O Israel" is equivalent to, and means, "O
house of Jacob:" an apostrophe to the Church of the ancient people.]
[2040] Ps. xxiv.
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Chapter XXXVII.--The same is proved from other Psalms.
"Moreover, in the diapsalm of the forty-sixth Psalm, reference is thus
made to Christ: God went up with a shout, the Lord with the sound of a
trumpet. Sing ye to our God, sing ye: sing to our King, sing ye; for
God is King of all the earth: sing with understanding. God has ruled
over the nations. God sits upon His holy throne. The rulers of the
nations were assembled along with the God of Abraham, for the strong
ones of God are greatly exalted on the earth.' [2041] And in the
ninety-eighth Psalm, the Holy Spirit reproaches you, and predicts Him
whom you do not wish to be king to be King and Lord, both of Samuel,
and of Aaron, and of Moses, and, in short, of all the others. And the
words of the Psalm are these: The Lord has reigned, let the nations be
angry: [it is] He who sits upon the cherubim, let the earth be shaken.
The Lord is great in Zion, and He is high above all the nations. Let
them confess Thy great name, for it is fearful and holy, and the honour
of the King loves judgment. Thou hast prepared equity; judgment and
righteousness hast Thou performed in Jacob. Exalt the Lord our God, and
worship the footstool of His feet; for He is holy. Moses and Aaron
among His priests, and Samuel among those who call upon His name. They
called (says the Scripture) on the Lord, and He heard them. In the
pillar of the cloud He spake to them; for [2042] they kept His
testimonies, and the commandment which he gave them. O Lord our God,
Thou heardest them: O God, Thou wert propitious to them, and [yet]
taking vengeance on all their inventions. Exalt the Lord our God, and
worship at His holy hill; for the Lord our God is holy.' " [2043]
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[2041] Ps. xlvii. 5-9. [The diapsalm is here used for what follows the
"Selah."]
[2042] "For" wanting in both Codd.
[2043] Ps. xcix.
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Chapter XXXVIII.--It is an annoyance to the Jew that Christ is said to be
adored. Justin confirms it, however, from Ps. xlv.
And Trypho said, "Sir, it were good for us if we obeyed our teachers,
who laid down a law that we should have no intercourse with any of you,
and that we should not have even any communication with you on these
questions. For you utter many blasphemies, in that you seek to persuade
us that this crucified man was with Moses and Aaron, and spoke to them
in the pillar of the cloud; then that he became man, was crucified, and
ascended up to heaven, and comes again to earth, and ought to be
worshipped."
Then I answered, "I know that, as the word of God says, this great
wisdom of God, the Maker of all things, and the Almighty, is hid from
you. Wherefore, in sympathy with you, I am striving to the utmost that
you may understand these matters which to you are paradoxical; but if
not, that I myself may be innocent in the day of judgment. For you
shall hear other words which appear still more paradoxical; but be not
confounded, nay, rather remain still more zealous hearers and
investigators, despising the tradition of your teachers, since they are
convicted by the Holy Spirit of inability to perceive the truths taught
by God, and of preferring to teach their own doctrines. Accordingly, in
the forty-fourth [forty-fifth] Psalm, these words are in like manner
referred to Christ: My heart has brought forth a good matter; [2044] I
tell my works to the King. My tongue is the pen of a ready writer.
Fairer in beauty than the sons of men: grace is poured forth into Thy
lips: therefore hath God blessed Thee for ever. Gird Thy sword upon Thy
thigh, O mighty One. Press on in Thy fairness and in Thy beauty, and
prosper and reign, because of truth, and of meekness, and of
righteousness: and Thy right hand shall instruct Thee marvellously.
Thine arrows are sharpened, O mighty One; the people shall fall under
Thee; in the heart of the enemies of the King [the arrows are fixed].
Thy throne, O God, is for ever and ever: a sceptre of equity is the
sceptre of Thy kingdom. Thou hast loved righteousness, and hast hated
iniquity; therefore thy God [2045] hath anointed Thee with the oil of
gladness above Thy fellows. [He hath anointed Thee] with myrrh, [2046]
and oil, and cassia, from Thy garments; from the ivory palaces, whereby
they made Thee glad. Kings' daughters are in Thy honour. The queen
stood at Thy right hand, clad in garments [2047] embroidered with gold.
Hearken, O daughter, and behold, and incline thine ear, and forget thy
people and the house of thy father: and the King shall desire thy
beauty; because He is thy Lord, they shall worship Him also. And the
daughter of Tyre [shall be there] with gifts. The rich of the people
shall entreat Thy face. All the glory of the King's daughter [is]
within, clad in embroidered garments of needlework. The virgins that
follow her shall be brought to the King; her neighbours shall be
brought unto Thee: they shall be brought with joy and gladness: they
shall be led into the King's shrine. Instead of thy fathers, thy sons
have been born: Thou shalt appoint them rulers over all the earth. I
shall remember Thy name in every generation: therefore the people shall
confess Thee for ever, and for ever and ever.'
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[2044] [Hebrew and Greek, "a good word," i.e., the Logos.]
[2045] Or, "God, thy God."
[2046] stakte.
[2047] Literally, "garments of gold, variegated."
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Chapter XXXIX.--The Jews hate the Christians who believe this. How great the
distinction is between both!
"Now it is not surprising," I continued, "that you hate us who hold
these opinions, and convict you of a continual hardness of heart.
[2048] For indeed Elijah, conversing with God concerning you, speaks
thus: Lord, they have slain Thy prophets, and digged down Thine altars:
and I am left alone, and they seek my life.' And He answers him: I have
still seven thousand men who have not bowed the knee to Baal.' [2049]
Therefore, just as God did not inflict His anger on account of those
seven thousand men, even so He has now neither yet inflicted judgment,
nor does inflict it, knowing that daily some [of you] are becoming
disciples in the name of Christ, and quitting the path of error; who
are also receiving gifts, each as he is worthy, illumined through the
name of this Christ. For one receives the 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."
To this Trypho said to me, "I wish you knew that you are beside
yourself, talking these sentiments."
And I said to him, "Listen, O friend, [2050] for I am not mad or beside
myself; but it was prophesied that, after the ascent of Christ to
heaven, He would deliver [2051] us from error and give us gifts. The
words are these: He ascended up on high; He led captivity captive; He
gave gifts to men.' [2052] Accordingly, we who have received gifts from
Christ, who has ascended up on high, prove from the words of prophecy
that you, the wise in yourselves, and the men of understanding in your
own eyes,' [2053] are foolish, and honour God and His Christ by lip
only. But we, who are instructed in the whole truth, [2054] honour Them
both in acts, and in knowledge, and in heart, even unto death. But you
hesitate to confess that He is Christ, as the Scriptures and the events
witnessed and done in His name prove, perhaps for this reason, lest you
be persecuted by the rulers, who, under the influence of the wicked and
deceitful spirit, the serpent, will not cease putting to death and
persecuting those who confess the name of Christ until He come again,
and destroy them all, and render to each his deserts."
And Trypho replied, "Now, then, render us the proof that this man who
you say was crucified and ascended into heaven is the Christ of God.
For you have sufficiently proved by means of the Scriptures previously
quoted by you, that it is declared in the Scriptures that Christ must
suffer, and come again with glory, and receive the eternal kingdom over
all the nations, every kingdom being made subject to Him: now show us
that this man is He."
And I replied, "It has been already proved, sirs, to those who have
ears, even from the facts which have been conceded by you; but that you
may not think me at a loss, and unable to give proof of what you ask,
as I promised, I shall do so at a fitting place. At present, I resume
the consideration of the subject which I was discussing.
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[2048] Literally, "of a hard-hearted opinion."
[2049] 1 Kings xix. 14, 18.
[2050] o houtos. [Or, Look you, listen!]
[2051] Literally, "carry us captive."
[2052] Ps. lxviii. 19.
[2053] Isa. v. 21.
[2054] Contrasting either Catholics with heretics, or Christians with
Jews. [Note this word Catholic, as here used in its legitimate
primitive sense.]
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Chapter XL.--He returns to the Mosaic laws, and proves that they were figures
of the things which pertain to Christ.
"The mystery, then, of the lamb which God enjoined to be sacrificed as
the passover, was a type of Christ; with whose blood, in proportion to
their faith in Him, they anoint their houses, i.e., themselves, who
believe on Him. For that the creation which God created--to wit,
Adam--was a house for the spirit which proceeded from God, you all can
understand. And that this injunction was temporary, I prove thus. God
does not permit the lamb of the passover to be sacrificed in any other
place than where His name was named; knowing that the days will come,
after the suffering of Christ, when even the place in Jerusalem shall
be given over to your enemies, and all the offerings, in short, shall
cease; and that lamb which was commanded to be wholly roasted was a
symbol of the suffering of the cross which Christ would undergo. For
the lamb, [2055] which is roasted, is roasted and dressed up in the
form of the cross. For one spit is transfixed right through from the
lower parts up to the head, and one across the back, to which are
attached the legs of the lamb. And the two goats which were ordered to
be offered during the fast, of which one was sent away as the scape
[goat], and the other sacrificed, were similarly declarative of the two
appearances of Christ: the first, in which the elders of your people,
and the priests, having laid hands on Him and put Him to death, sent
Him away as the scape [goat]; and His second appearance, because in the
same place in Jerusalem you shall recognise Him whom you have
dishonoured, and who was an offering for all sinners willing to repent,
and keeping the fast which Isaiah speaks of, loosening the terms [2056]
of the violent contracts, and keeping the other precepts, likewise
enumerated by him, and which I have quoted, [2057] which those
believing in Jesus do. And further, you are aware that the offering of
the two goats, which were enjoined to be sacrificed at the fast, was
not permitted to take place similarly anywhere else, but only in
Jerusalem.
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[2055] Some think this particularly refers to the paschal lamb, others
to any lamb which is roasted.
[2056] Literally, "cords."
[2057] Chap. xv.
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Chapter XLI.--The oblation of fine flour was a figure of the Eucharist.
"And the offering of fine flour, sirs," I said, "which was prescribed
to be presented on behalf of those purified from leprosy, was a type of
the bread of the Eucharist, the celebration of which our Lord Jesus
Christ prescribed, in remembrance of the suffering which He endured on
behalf of those who are purified in soul from all iniquity, in order
that we may at the same time thank God for having created the world,
with all things therein, for the sake of man, and for delivering us
from the evil in which we were, and for utterly overthrowing [2058]
principalities and powers by Him who suffered according to His will.
Hence God speaks by the mouth of Malachi, one of the twelve [prophets],
as I said before, [2059] about the sacrifices at that time presented by
you: I have no pleasure in you, saith the Lord; and I will not accept
your sacrifices at your hands: for, from the rising of the sun unto the
going down of the same, My name has been glorified among the Gentiles,
and in every place incense is offered to My name, and a pure offering:
for My name is great among the Gentiles, saith the Lord: but ye profane
it.' [2060] [So] He then speaks of those Gentiles, namely us, who in
every place offer sacrifices to Him, i.e., the bread of the Eucharist,
and also the cup of the Eucharist, affirming both that we glorify His
name, and that you profane [it]. The command of circumcision, again,
bidding [them] always circumcise the children on the eighth day, was a
type of the true circumcision, by which we are circumcised from deceit
and iniquity through Him who rose from the dead on the first day after
the Sabbath, [namely through] our Lord Jesus Christ. For the first day
after the Sabbath, remaining the first [2061] of all the days, is
called, however, the eighth, according to the number of all the days of
the cycle, and [yet] remains the first.
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[2058] Literally, "overthrowing with a perfect overthrow."
[2059] Chap. xxviii.
[2060] Mal. i. 10-12.
[2061] Or, "being the first."
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Chapter XLII.--The bells on the priest's robe were a figure of the apostles.
"Moreover, the prescription that twelve bells [2062] be attached to the
[robe] of the high priest, which hung down to the feet, was a symbol of
the twelve apostles, who depend on the power of Christ, the eternal
Priest; and through their voice it is that all the earth has been
filled with the glory and grace of God and of His Christ. Wherefore
David also says: Their sound has gone forth into all the earth, and
their words to the ends of the world.' [2063] And Isaiah speaks as if
he were personating the apostles, when they say to Christ that they
believe not in their own report, but in the power of Him who sent them.
And so he says: Lord, who hath believed our report? and to whom is the
arm of the Lord revealed? We have preached before Him as if [He were] a
child, as if a root in a dry ground.' [2064] (And what follows in order
of the prophecy already quoted. [2065] ) But when the passage speaks as
from the lips of many, We have preached before Him,' and adds, as if a
child,' it signifies that the wicked shall become subject to Him, and
shall obey His command, and that all shall become as one child. Such a
thing as you may witness in the body: although the members are
enumerated as many, all are called one, and are a body. For, indeed, a
commonwealth and a church, [2066] though many individuals in number,
are in fact as one, called and addressed by one appellation. And in
short, sirs," said I, "by enumerating all the other appointments of
Moses, I can demonstrate that they were types, and symbols, and
declarations of those things which would happen to Christ, of those who
it was foreknown were to believe in Him, and of those things which
would also be done by Christ Himself. But since what I have now
enumerated appears to me to be sufficient, I revert again to the order
of the discourse. [2067]
__________________________________________________________________
[2062] Ex. xxviii. 33 gives no definite number of bells. Otto presumes
Justin to have confounded the bells and gems, which were twelve in
number.
[2063] Ps. xix. 4.
[2064] Isa. liii. 1, 2.
[2065] Chap. xiii.
[2066] ekklesia Lat. vers. has conventus.
[2067] Literally, "to the discourse in order."
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Chapter XLIII.--He concludes that the law had an end in Christ, who was born
of the Virgin.
"As, then, circumcision began with Abraham, and the Sabbath and
sacrifices and offerings and feasts with Moses, and it has been proved
they were enjoined on account of the hardness of your people's heart,
so it was necessary, in accordance with the Father's will, that they
should have an end in Him who was born of a virgin, of the family of
Abraham and tribe of Judah, and of David; in Christ the Son of God, who
was proclaimed as about to come to all the world, to be the everlasting
law and the everlasting covenant, even as the forementioned prophecies
show. And we, who have approached God through Him, have received not
carnal, but spiritual circumcision, which Enoch and those like him
observed. And we have received it through baptism, since we were
sinners, by God's mercy; and all men may equally obtain it. But since
the mystery of His birth now demands our attention I shall speak of it.
Isaiah then asserted in regard to the generation of Christ, that it
could not be declared by man, in words already quoted: [2068] Who shall
declare His generation? for His life is taken from the earth: for the
transgressions of my people was He led [2069] to death.' [2070] The
Spirit of prophecy thus affirmed that the generation of Him who was to
die, that we sinful men might be healed by His stripes, was such as
could not be declared. Furthermore, that the men who believe in Him may
possess the knowledge of the manner in which He came into the world,
[2071] the Spirit of prophecy by the same Isaiah foretold how it would
happen thus: And the Lord spoke again to Ahaz, saying, Ask for thyself
a sign from the Lord thy God, in the depth, or in the height. And Ahaz
said, I will not ask, neither will I tempt the Lord. And Isaiah said,
Hear then, O house of David; Is it a small thing for you to contend
with men, and how do you contend with the Lord? Therefore the Lord
Himself will give you a sign. Behold, the virgin shall conceive, and
shall bear a son, and his name shall be called Immanuel. Butter and
honey shall he eat, before he knows or prefers the evil, and chooses
out the good; [2072] for before the child knows good or ill, he rejects
evil [2073] by choosing out the good. For before the child knows how to
call father or mother, he shall receive the power of Damascus and the
spoil of Samaria in presence of the king of Assyria. And the land shall
be forsaken, [2074] which thou shalt with difficulty endure in
consequence of the presence of its two kings. [2075] But God shall
bring on thee, and on thy people, and on the house of thy father, days
which have not yet come upon thee since the day in which Ephraim took
away from Judah the king of Assyria.' [2076] Now it is evident to all,
that in the race of Abraham according to the flesh no one has been born
of a virgin, or is said to have been born [of a virgin], save this our
Christ. But since you and your teachers venture to affirm that in the
prophecy of Isaiah it is not said, Behold, the virgin shall conceive,'
but, Behold, the young woman shall conceive, and bear a son;' and
[since] you explain the prophecy as if [it referred] to Hezekiah, who
was your king, I shall endeavour to discuss shortly this point in
opposition to you, and to show that reference is made to Him who is
acknowledged by us as Christ.
__________________________________________________________________
[2068] Chap. xiii.
[2069] Or, "was I led."
[2070] Isa. liii. 8.
[2071] Literally, "He was in the world, being born."
[2072] See Chap. lxvi.
[2073] Literally, "disobeys evil" (apeithei ponera). Conjectured:
apothei, and apeithei poneria.
[2074] The mss. of Justin read, "shall be taken:" katalephthesetai.
This is plainly a mistake for kataleiphthesetai; but whether the
mistake is Justin's or the transcribers', it would be difficult to say,
as Thirlby remarks.
[2075] The rendering of this doubtful: literally, "from the face of the
two kings," and the words might go with "shall be forsaken."
[2076] Isa. vii. 10-17 with Isa. viii. 4 inserted. The last clause may
also be translated, "in which He took away from Judah Ephraim, even the
king of Assyria."
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Chapter XLIV.--The Jews in vain promise themselves salvation, which cannot be
obtained except through Christ.
"For thus, so far as you are concerned, I shall be found in all
respects innocent, if I strive earnestly to persuade you by bringing
forward demonstrations. But if you remain hard-hearted, or weak in
[forming] a resolution, on account of death, which is the lot of the
Christians, and are unwilling to assent to the truth, you shall appear
as the authors of your own [evils]. And you deceive yourselves while
you fancy that, because you are the seed of Abraham after the flesh,
therefore you shall fully inherit the good things announced to be
bestowed by God through Christ. For no one, not even of them, [2077]
has anything to look for, but only those who in mind are assimilated to
the faith of Abraham, and who have recognised all the mysteries: for I
say, [2078] that some injunctions were laid on you in reference to the
worship of God and practice of righteousness; but some injunctions and
acts were likewise mentioned in reference to the mystery of Christ, on
account of [2079] the hardness of your people's hearts. And that this
is so, God makes known in Ezekiel, [when] He said concerning it: If
Noah and Jacob [2080] and Daniel should beg either sons or daughters,
the request would not be granted them.' [2081] And in Isaiah, of the
very same matter He spake thus: The Lord God said, they shall both go
forth and look on the members [of the bodies] of the men that have
transgressed. For their worm shall not die, and their fire shall not be
quenched, and they shall be a gazing-stock to all flesh.' [2082] So
that it becomes you to eradicate this hope from your souls, and hasten
to know in what way forgiveness of sins, and a hope of inheriting the
promised good things, shall be yours. But there is no other [way] than
this, --to become acquainted with this Christ, to be washed in the
fountain [2083] spoken of by Isaiah for the remission of sins; and for
the rest, to live sinless lives."
__________________________________________________________________
[2077] i.e., of Abraham's seed.
[2078] Justin distinguishes between such essential acts as related to
God's worship and the establishment of righteousness, and such
ceremonial observances as had a mere temporary significance. The
recognition of this distinction he alleges to be necessary to
salvation: necessary in this sense, that justification must be placed
not on the latter, but on the former; and without such recognition, a
Jew would, as Justin says, rest his hopes on his noble descent from
Abraham.
[2079] More probably, "or on account of," etc.
[2080] In Bible, "Job;" Maranus prefers "Jacob," and thinks the mention
of his name very suitable to disprove the arrogant claims of Jacob's
posterity.
[2081] Ezek. xiv. 20.
[2082] Isa. lxvi. 24.
[2083] Some refer this to Christ's baptism. See Cyprian, Adv. Jud. i.
24.-- Otto.
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Chapter XLV.--Those who were righteous before and under the law shall be saved
by Christ.
And Trypho said, "If I seem to interrupt these matters, which you say
must be investigated, yet the question which I mean to put is urgent.
Suffer me first."
And I replied, "Ask whatever you please, as it occurs to you; and I
shall endeavour, after questions and answers, to resume and complete
the discourse."
Then he said, "Tell me, then, shall those who lived according to the
law given by Moses, live in the same manner with Jacob, Enoch, and
Noah, in the resurrection of the dead, or not?"
I replied to him, "When I quoted, sir, the words spoken by Ezekiel,
that even if Noah and Daniel and Jacob were to beg sons and daughters,
the request would not be granted them,' but that each one, that is to
say, shall be saved by his own righteousness, I said also, that those
who regulated their lives by the law of Moses would in like manner be
saved. For what in the law of Moses is naturally good, and pious, and
righteous, and has been prescribed to be done by those who obey it;
[2084] and what was appointed to be performed by reason of the hardness
of the people's hearts; was similarly recorded, and done also by those
who were under the law. Since those who did that which is universally,
naturally, and eternally good are pleasing to God, they shall be saved
through this Christ in the resurrection equally with those righteous
men who were before them, namely Noah, and Enoch, and Jacob, and
whoever else there be, along with those who have known [2085] this
Christ, Son of God, who was before the morning star and the moon, and
submitted to become incarnate, and be born of this virgin of the family
of David, in order that, by this dispensation, the serpent that sinned
from the beginning, and the angels like him, may be destroyed, and that
death may be contemned, and for ever quit, at the second coming of the
Christ Himself, those who believe in Him and live acceptably,--and be
no more: when some are sent to be punished unceasingly into judgment
and condemnation of fire; but others shall exist in freedom from
suffering, from corruption, and from grief, and in immortality."
__________________________________________________________________
[2084] It, i.e., the law, or "what in the law," etc.
[2085] Those who live after Christ.
__________________________________________________________________
Chapter XLVI.--Trypho asks whether a man who keeps the law even now will be
saved. Justin proves that it contributes nothing to righteousness.
"But if some, even now, wish to live in the observance of the
institutions given by Moses, and yet believe in this Jesus who was
crucified, recognising Him to be the Christ of God, and that it is
given to Him to be absolute Judge of all, and that His is the
everlasting kingdom, can they also be saved?" he inquired of me.
And I replied, "Let us consider that also together, whether one may now
observe all the Mosaic institutions."
And he answered, "No. For we know that, as you said, it is not possible
either anywhere to sacrifice the lamb of the passover, or to offer the
goats ordered for the fast; or, in short, [to present] all the other
offerings."
And I said, "Tell [me] then yourself, I pray, some things which can be
observed; for you will be persuaded that, though a man does not keep or
has not performed the eternal [2086] decrees, he may assuredly be
saved."
Then he replied, "To keep the Sabbath, to be circumcised, to observe
months, and to be washed if you touch anything prohibited by Moses, or
after sexual intercourse."
And I said, "Do you think that Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Noah, and Job,
and all the rest before or after them equally righteous, also Sarah the
wife of Abraham, Rebekah the wife of Isaac, Rachel the wife of Jacob,
and Leah, and all the rest of them, until the mother of Moses the
faithful servant, who observed none of these [statutes], will be
saved?"
And Trypho answered, "Were not Abraham and his descendants
circumcised?"
And I said, "I know that Abraham and his descendants were circumcised.
The reason why circumcision was given to them I stated at length in
what has gone before; and if what has been said does not convince you,
[2087] let us again search into the matter. But you are aware that, up
to Moses, no one in fact who was righteous observed any of these rites
at all of which we are talking, or received one commandment to observe,
except that of circumcision, which began from Abraham."
And he replied, "We know it, and admit that they are saved."
Then I returned answer, "You perceive that God by Moses laid all such
ordinances upon you on account of the hardness of your people's hearts,
in order that, by the large number of them, you might keep God
continually, and in every action, before your eyes, and never begin to
act unjustly or impiously. For He enjoined you to place around you [a
fringe] of purple dye, [2088] in order that you might not forget God;
and He commanded you to wear a phylactery, [2089] certain characters,
which indeed we consider holy, being engraved on very thin parchment;
and by these means stirring you up [2090] to retain a constant
remembrance of God: at the same time, however, convincing you, that in
your hearts you have not even a faint remembrance of God's worship. Yet
not even so were you dissuaded from idolatry: for in the times of
Elijah, when [God] recounted the number of those who had not bowed the
knee to Baal, He said the number was seven thousand; and in Isaiah He
rebukes you for having sacrificed your children to idols. But we,
because we refuse to sacrifice to those to whom we were of old
accustomed to sacrifice, undergo extreme penalties, and rejoice in
death,--believing that God will raise us up by His Christ, and will
make us incorruptible, and undisturbed, and immortal; and we know that
the ordinances imposed by reason of the hardness of your people's
hearts, contribute nothing to the performance of righteousness and of
piety."
__________________________________________________________________
[2086] "Eternal," i.e., as the Jew thinks.
[2087] Literally, "put you out of countenance."
[2088] Num. xv. 38.
[2089] Deut. vi. 6.
[2090] Literally, "importuning."
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Chapter XLVII.--Justin communicates with Christians who observe the law. Not a
few Catholics do otherwise.
And Trypho again inquired, "But if some one, knowing that this is so,
after he recognises that this man is Christ, and has believed in and
obeys Him, wishes, however, to observe these [institutions], will he be
saved?"
I said, "In my opinion, Trypho, such an one will be saved, if he does
not strive in every way to persuade other men, --I mean those Gentiles
who have been circumcised from error by Christ, to observe the same
things as himself, telling them that they will not be saved unless they
do so. This you did yourself at the commencement of the discourse, when
you declared that I would not be saved unless I observe these
institutions."
Then he replied, "Why then have you said, In my opinion, such an one
will be saved,' unless there are some [2091] who affirm that such will
not be saved?"
"There are such people, Trypho," I answered; "and these do not venture
to have any intercourse with or to extend hospitality to such persons;
but I do not agree with them. But if some, through weak-mindedness,
wish to observe such institutions as were given by Moses, from which
they expect some virtue, but which we believe were appointed by reason
of the hardness of the people's hearts, along with their hope in this
Christ, and [wish to perform] the eternal and natural acts of
righteousness and piety, yet choose to live with the Christians and the
faithful, as I said before, not inducing them either to be circumcised
like themselves, or to keep the Sabbath, or to observe any other such
ceremonies, then I hold that we ought to join ourselves to such, and
associate with them in all things as kinsmen and brethren. But if,
Trypho," I continued, "some of your race, who say they believe in this
Christ, compel those Gentiles who believe in this Christ to live in all
respects according to the law given by Moses, or choose not to
associate so intimately with them, I in like manner do not approve of
them. But I believe that even those, who have been persuaded by them to
observe the legal dispensation along with their confession of God in
Christ, shall probably be saved. And I hold, further, that such as have
confessed and known this man to be Christ, yet who have gone back from
some cause to the legal dispensation, and have denied that this man is
Christ, and have repented not before death, shall by no means be saved.
Further, I hold that those of the seed of Abraham who live according to
the law, and do not believe in this Christ before death, shall likewise
not be saved, and especially those who have anathematized and do
anathematize this very Christ in the synagogues, and everything by
which they might obtain salvation and escape the vengeance of fire.
[2092] For the goodness and the loving-kindness of God, and His
boundless riches, hold righteous and sinless the man who, as Ezekiel
[2093] tells, repents of sins; and reckons sinful, unrighteous, and
impious the man who fails away from piety and righteousness to
unrighteousness and ungodliness. Wherefore also our Lord Jesus Christ
said, In whatsoever things I shall take you, in these I shall judge
you.' " [2094]
__________________________________________________________________
[2091] "Or, Are there not some," etc.
[2092] The text seems to be corrupt. Otto reads: "Do anathematize those
who put their trust in this very Christ so as to obtain salvation,"
etc.
[2093] Ezek. xxxiii. 11-20.
[2094] [Comp. St. John xii. 47, 48.] Grabius thinks this taken from the
[apocryphal] Gospel according to the Hebrews. It is not in the New or
Old Testament. [Query. Is it not, rather, one of the traditional
sayings preserved among early Christians?]
__________________________________________________________________
Chapter XLVIII.--Before the divinity of Christ is proved, he [Trypho] demands
that it be settled that He is Christ.
And Trypho said, "We have heard what you think of these matters. Resume
the discourse where you left off, and bring it to an end. For some of
it appears to me to be paradoxical, and wholly incapable of proof. For
when you say that this Christ existed as God before the ages, then that
He submitted to be born and become man, yet that He is not man of man,
this [assertion] appears to me to be not merely paradoxical, but also
foolish."
And I replied to this, "I know that the statement does appear to be
paradoxical, especially to those of your race, who are ever unwilling
to understand or to perform the [requirements] of God, but [ready to
perform] those of your teachers, as God Himself declares. [2095] Now
assuredly, Trypho,"I continued,"[the proof] that this man [2096] is the
Christ of God does not fail, though I be unable to prove that He
existed formerly as Son of the Maker of all things, being God, and was
born a man by the Virgin. But since I have certainly proved that this
man is the Christ of God, whoever He be, even if I do not prove that He
pre-existed, and submitted to be born a man of like passions with us,
having a body, according to the Father's will; in this last matter
alone is it just to say that I have erred, and not to deny that He is
the Christ, though it should appear that He was born man of men, and
[nothing more] is proved [than this], that He has become Christ by
election. For there are some, my friends," I said, "of our race, [2097]
who admit that He is Christ, while holding Him to be man of men; with
whom I do not agree, nor would I, [2098] even though most of those who
have [now] the same opinions as myself should say so; since we were
enjoined by Christ Himself to put no faith in human doctrines, [2099]
but in those proclaimed by the blessed prophets and taught by Himself."
__________________________________________________________________
[2095] Comp. Isa. xxix. 13.
[2096] Or, "such a man."
[2097] Some read, "of your race," referring to the Ebionites. Maranus
believes the reference is to the Ebionites, and supports in a long note
the reading "our," inasmuch as Justin would be more likely to associate
these Ebionites with Christians than with Jews, even though they were
heretics.
[2098] Langus translates: "Nor would, indeed, many who are of the same
opinion as myself say so."
[2099] [Note this emphatic testimony of primitive faith.]
__________________________________________________________________
Chapter XLIX.--To those who object that Elijah has not yet come, he replies
that he is the precursor of the first advent.
And Trypho said, "Those who affirm him to have been a man, and to have
been anointed by election, and then to have become Christ, appear to me
to speak more plausibly than you who hold those opinions which you
express. For we all expect that Christ will be a man [born] of men, and
that Elijah when he comes will anoint him. But if this man appear to be
Christ, he must certainly be known as man [born] of men; but from the
circumstance that Elijah has not yet come, I infer that this man is not
He [the Christ]."
Then I inquired of him, "Does not Scripture, in the book of Zechariah,
[2100] say that Elijah shall come before the great and terrible day of
the Lord?"
And he answered, "Certainly."
"If therefore Scripture compels you to admit that two advents of Christ
were predicted to take place,--one in which He would appear suffering,
and dishonoured, and without comeliness; but the other in which He
would come glorious and Judge of all, as has been made manifest in many
of the fore-cited passages,--shall we not suppose that the word of God
has proclaimed that Elijah shall be the precursor of the great and
terrible day, that is, of His second advent?"
"Certainly," he answered.
"And, accordingly, our Lord in His teaching," I continued, "proclaimed
that this very thing would take place, saying that Elijah would also
come. And we know that this shall take place when our Lord Jesus Christ
shall come in glory from heaven; whose first manifestation the Spirit
of God who was in Elijah preceded as herald in [the person of] John, a
prophet among your nation; after whom no other prophet appeared among
you. He cried, as he sat by the river Jordan: I baptize you with water
to repentance; but He that is stronger than I shall come, whose shoes I
am not worthy to bear: He shall baptize you with the Holy Ghost and
with fire: whose fan is in His hand, and He will thoroughly purge His
floor, and will gather the wheat into the barn; but the chaff He will
burn up with unquenchable fire.' [2101] And this very prophet your king
Herod had shut up in prison; and when his birthday was celebrated, and
the niece [2102] of the same Herod by her dancing had pleased him, he
told her to ask whatever she pleased. Then the mother of the maiden
instigated her to ask the head of John, who was in prison; and having
asked it, [Herod] sent and ordered the head of John to be brought in on
a charger. Wherefore also our Christ said, [when He was] on earth, to
those who were affirming that Elijah must come before Christ: Elijah
shall come, and restore all things; but I say unto you, that Elijah has
already come, and they knew him not, but have done to him whatsoever
they chose.' [2103] And it is written, Then the disciples understood
that He spake to them about John the Baptist.' "
And Trypho said, "This statement also seems to me paradoxical; namely,
that the prophetic Spirit of God, who was in Elijah, was also in John."
To this I replied, "Do you not think that the same thing happened in
the case of Joshua the son of Nave (Nun), who succeeded to the command
of the people after Moses, when Moses was commanded to lay his hands on
Joshua, and God said to him, I will take of the spirit which is in
thee, and put it on him?' " [2104]
And he said, "Certainly."
"As therefore," I say, "while Moses was still among men, God took of
the spirit which was in Moses and put it on Joshua, even so God was
able to cause [the spirit] of Elijah to come upon John; in order that,
as Christ at His first coming appeared inglorious, even so the first
coming of the spirit, which remained always pure in Elijah [2105] like
that of Christ, might be perceived to be inglorious. For the Lord said
He would wage war against Amalek with concealed hand; and you will not
deny that Amalek fell. But if it is said that only in the glorious
advent of Christ war will be waged with Amalek, how great will the
fulfilment [2106] of Scripture be which says, God will wage war against
Amalek with concealed hand!' You can perceive that the concealed power
of God was in Christ the crucified, before whom demons, and all the
principalities and powers of the earth, tremble."
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[2100] Mal. iv. 5.
[2101] Matt. iii. 11, 12.
[2102] Literally, "cousin."
[2103] Matt. xvii. 12.
[2104] Num. xi. 17, spoken of the seventy elders. Justin confuses what
is said here with Num. xxvii. 18 and Deut. xxxiv. 9.
[2105] The meaning is, that no division of person took place. Elijah
remained the same after as before his spirit was shed on John.
[2106] Literally, "fruit."
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Chapter L.--It is proved from Isaiah that John is the precursor of Christ.
And Trypho said, "You seem to me to have come out of a great conflict
with many persons about all the points we have been searching into, and
therefore quite ready to return answers to all questions put to you.
Answer me then, first, how you can show that there is another God
besides the Maker of all things; and then you will show, [further],
that He submitted to be born of the Virgin."
I replied, "Give me permission first of all to quote certain passages
from the prophecy of Isaiah, which refer to the office of forerunner
discharged by John the Baptist and prophet before this our Lord Jesus
Christ."
"I grant it," said he.
Then I said, "Isaiah thus foretold John's forerunning: And Hezekiah
said to Isaiah, Good is the word of the Lord which He spake: Let there
be peace and righteousness in my days.' [2107] And, Encourage the
people; ye priests, speak to the heart of Jerusalem, and encourage her,
because her humiliation is accomplished. Her sin is annulled; for she
has received of 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 valley shall be filled up, and every
mountain and hill shall be brought low: and the crooked shall be made
straight, and the rough way shall be plain ways; and the glory of the
Lord shall be seen, and all flesh shall see the salvation of God: for
the Lord hath spoken it. A voice of one saying, Cry; and I said, What
shall I cry? All flesh is grass, and all the glory of man as the flower
of grass. The grass has withered, and the flower of it has fallen away;
but the word of the Lord endureth for ever. Thou that bringest good
tidings to Zion, go up to the high mountain; thou that bringest good
tidings to Jerusalem, lift up thy voice with strength. Lift ye up, be
not afraid; tell 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 before Him. As a shepherd He will tend
His flock, and will gather the lambs with [His] arm, and cheer on her
that is with young. Who has measured the water with [his] hand, and the
heaven with a span, and all the earth with [his] fist? Who has weighed
the mountains, and [put] the valleys into a balance? Who has known the
mind of the Lord? And who has been His counsellor, and who shall advise
Him? Or with whom did He take counsel, and he instructed Him? Or who
showed Him judgment? Or who made Him to know the way of understanding?
All the nations are reckoned as a drop of a bucket, and as a turning of
a balance, and shall be reckoned as spittle. But Lebanon is not
sufficient to burn, nor the beasts sufficient for a burnt-offering; and
all the nations are considered nothing, and for nothing.' " [2108]
__________________________________________________________________
[2107] Isa. xxxix. 8.
[2108] Isa. xl. 1-17.
__________________________________________________________________
Chapter LI.--It is proved that this prophecy has been fulfilled.
And when I ceased, Trypho said, "All the words of the prophecy you
repeat, sir, are ambiguous, and have no force in proving what you wish
to prove." Then I answered, "If the prophets had not ceased, so that
there were no more in your nation, Trypho, after this John, it is
evident that what I say in reference to Jesus Christ might be regarded
perhaps as ambiguous. But if John came first calling on men to repent,
and Christ, while [John] still sat by the river Jordan, having come,
put an end to his prophesying and baptizing, and preached also Himself,
saying that the kingdom of heaven is at hand, and that He must suffer
many things from the Scribes and Pharisees, and be crucified, and on
the third day rise again, and would appear again in Jerusalem, and
would again eat and drink with His disciples; and foretold that in the
interval between His [first and second] advent, as I previously said,
[2109] priests and false prophets would arise in His name, which things
do actually appear; then how can they be ambiguous, when you may be
persuaded by the facts? Moreover, He referred to the fact that there
would be no longer in your nation any prophet, and to the fact that men
recognised how that the New Testament, which God formerly announced
[His intention of] promulgating, was then present, i.e., Christ
Himself; and in the following terms: The law and the prophets were
until John the Baptist; from that time the kingdom of heaven suffereth
violence, and the violent take it by force. And if you can [2110]
receive it, he is Elijah, who was to come. He that hath ears to hear,
let him hear.' [2111]
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[2109] Chap. xxv.
[2110] "Are willing."
[2111] Matt. xi. 12-15.
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Chapter LII.--Jacob predicted two advents of Christ.
"And it was prophesied by Jacob the patriarch [2112] that there would
be two advents of Christ, and that in the first He would suffer, and
that after He came there would be neither prophet nor king in your
nation (I proceeded), and that the nations who believed in the
suffering Christ would look for His future appearance. And for this
reason the Holy Spirit had uttered these truths in a parable, and
obscurely: for," I added, "it is said, Judah, thy brethren have praised
thee: thy hands [shall be] on the neck of thine enemies; the sons of
thy father shall worship thee. Judah is a lion's whelp; from the germ,
my son, thou art sprung up. Reclining, he lay down like a lion, and
like [a lion's] whelp: who shall raise him up? A ruler shall not depart
from Judah, or a leader from his thighs, until that which is laid up in
store for him shall come; and he shall be the desire of nations,
binding his foal to the vine, and the foal of his ass to the tendril of
the vine. He shall wash his garments in wine, and his vesture in the
blood of the grape. His eyes shall be bright with [2113] wine, and his
teeth white like milk.' [2114] Moreover, that in your nation there
never failed either prophet or ruler, from the time when they began
until the time when this Jesus Christ appeared and suffered, you will
not venture shamelessly to assert, nor can you prove it. For though you
affirm that Herod, after [2115] whose [reign] He suffered, was an
Ashkelonite, nevertheless you admit that there was a high priest in
your nation; so that you then had one who presented offerings according
to the law of Moses, and observed the other legal ceremonies; also [you
had] prophets in succession until John, (even then, too, when your
nation was carried captive to Babylon, when your land was ravaged by
war, and the sacred vessels carried off); there never failed to be a
prophet among you, who was lord, and leader, and ruler of your nation.
For the Spirit which was in the prophets anointed your kings, and
established them. But after the manifestation and death of our Jesus
Christ in your nation, there was and is nowhere any prophet: nay,
further, you ceased to exist under your own king, your land was laid
waste, and forsaken like a lodge in a vineyard; and the statement of
Scripture, in the mouth of Jacob, And He shall be the desire of
nations,' meant symbolically His two advents, and that the nations
would believe in Him; which facts you may now at length discern. For
those out of all the nations who are pious and righteous through the
faith of Christ, look for His future appearance.
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[2112] [Gen. xlix. 5, 8, 9, 10, 11, 18, 24. These texts are frequently
referred to by Justin.]
[2113] Or, "in comparison of."
[2114] Gen. xlix. 8-12.
[2115] aph' hou; many translated "under whom," as if eph' hou. This
would be erroneous. Conjectured also ephuge for epathen.
__________________________________________________________________
Chapter LIII.--Jacob predicted that Christ would ride on an ass, and Zechariah
confirms it.
"And that expression, binding his foal to the vine, and the ass's foal
to the vine tendril,' was a declaring beforehand both of the works
wrought by Him at His first advent, and also of that belief in Him
which the nations would repose. For they were like an unharnessed foal,
which was not bearing a yoke on its neck, until this Christ came, and
sent His disciples to instruct them; and they bore the yoke of His
word, and yielded the neck to endure all [hardships], for the sake of
the good things promised by Himself, and expected by them. And truly
our Lord Jesus Christ, when He intended to go into Jerusalem, requested
His disciples to bring Him a certain ass, along with its foal, which
was bound in an entrance of a village called Bethphage; and having
seated Himself on it, He entered into Jerusalem. And as this was done
by Him in the manner in which it was prophesied in precise terms that
it would be done by the Christ, and as the fulfilment was recognised,
it became a clear proof that He was the Christ. And though all this
happened and is proved from Scripture, you are still hard-hearted. Nay,
it was prophesied by Zechariah, one of the twelve [prophets], that such
would take place, in the following words: Rejoice greatly, daughter of
Zion; shout, and declare, daughter of Jerusalem; behold, thy King shall
come to thee, righteous, bringing salvation, meek, and lowly, riding on
an ass, and the foal of an ass.' [2116] Now, that the Spirit of
prophecy, as well as the patriarch Jacob, mentioned both an ass and its
foal, which would be used by Him; and, further, that He, as I
previously said, requested His disciples to bring both beasts; [this
fact] was a prediction that you of the synagogue, along with the
Gentiles, would believe in Him. For as the unharnessed colt was a
symbol of the Gentiles even so the harnessed ass was a symbol of your
nation. For you possess the law which was imposed [upon you] by the
prophets. Moreover, the prophet Zechariah foretold that this same
Christ would be smitten, and His disciples scattered: which also took
place. For after His crucifixion, the disciples that accompanied Him
were dispersed, until He rose from the dead, and persuaded them that so
it had been prophesied concerning Him, that He would suffer; and being
thus persuaded, they went into all the world, and taught these truths.
Hence also we are strong in His faith and doctrine, since we have [this
our] persuasion both from the prophets, and from those who throughout
the world are seen to be worshippers of God in the name of that
crucified One. The following is said, too, by Zechariah: O sword, rise
up against My Shepherd, and against the man of My people, saith the
Lord of hosts. Smite the Shepherd, and His flock shall be scattered.'
[2117]
__________________________________________________________________
[2116] Zech. ix. 9.
[2117] Zech. xiii. 7.
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Chapter LIV.--What the blood of the grape signifies.
"And that expression which was committed to writing [2118] by Moses,
and prophesied by the patriarch Jacob, namely, He shall wash His
garments with wine, and His vesture with the blood of the grape,'
signified that He would wash those that believe in Him with His own
blood. For the Holy Spirit called those who receive remission of sins
through Him, His garments; amongst whom He is always present in power,
but will be manifestly present at His second coming. That the Scripture
mentions the blood of the grape has been evidently designed, because
Christ derives blood not from the seed of man, but from the power of
God. For as God, and not man, has produced the blood of the vine, so
also [the Scripture] has predicted that the blood of Christ would be
not of the seed of man, but of the power of God. But this prophecy,
sirs, which I repeated, proves that Christ is not man of men, begotten
in the ordinary course of humanity."
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[2118] Literally, "inquired into."
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Chapter LV.--Trypho asks that Christ be proved God, but without metaphor.
Justin promises to do so.
And Trypho answered, "We shall remember this your exposition, if you
strengthen [your solution of] this difficulty by other arguments: but
now resume the discourse, and show us that the Spirit of prophecy
admits another God besides the Maker of all things, taking care not to
speak of the sun and moon, which, it is written, [2119] God has given
to the nations to worship as gods; and oftentimes the prophets,
employing [2120] this manner of speech, say that thy God is a God of
gods, and a Lord of lords,' adding frequently, the great and strong and
terrible [God].' For such expressions are used, not as if they really
were gods, but because the Scripture is teaching us that the true God,
who made all things, is Lord alone of those who are reputed gods and
lords. And in order that the Holy Spirit may convince [us] of this, He
said by the holy David, The gods of the nations, reputed gods, are
idols of demons, and not gods;' [2121] and He denounces a curse on
those who worship them."
And I replied, "I would not bring forward these proofs, Trypho, by
which I am aware those who worship these [idols] and such like are
condemned, but such [proofs] as no one could find any objection to.
They will appear strange to you, although you read them every day; so
that even from this fact we [2122] understand that, because of your
wickedness, God has withheld from you the ability to discern the wisdom
of His Scriptures; yet [there are] some exceptions, to whom, according
to the grace of His long-suffering, as Isaiah said, He has left a seed
of [2123] salvation, lest your race be utterly destroyed, like Sodom
and Gomorrah. Pay attention, therefore, to what I shall record out of
the holy Scriptures, which [2124] do not need to be expounded, but only
listened to.
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[2119] Deut. iv. 19, an apparent [i.e., evident] misinterpretation of
the passage. [But see St. John x. 33-36.]
[2120] Or, "misusing."
[2121] Ps. xcvi. 5.
[2122] Com. reading, "you;" evidently wrong.
[2123] Literally, "for."
[2124] Two constructions, "which" referring either to Scriptures as
whole, or to what he records from them. Last more probable.
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Chapter LVI.--God who appeared to Moses is distinguished from God the Father.
"Moses, then, the blessed and faithful servant of God, declares that He
who appeared to Abraham under the oak in Mamre is God, sent with the
two angels in His company to judge Sodom by Another who remains ever in
the supercelestial places, invisible to all men, holding personal
intercourse with none, whom we believe to be Maker and Father of all
things; for he speaks thus: God appeared to him under the oak in Mamre,
as he sat at his tent-door at noontide. And lifting up his eyes, he
saw, and behold, three men stood before him; and when he saw them, he
ran to meet them from the door of his tent; and he bowed himself toward
the ground, and said;' " [2125] (and so on;) [2126] " Abraham gat up
early in the morning to the place where he stood before the Lord: and
he looked toward Sodom and Gomorrah, and toward the adjacent country,
and beheld, and, lo, a flame went up from the earth, like the smoke of
a furnace.' " And when I had made an end of quoting these words, I
asked them if they had understood them.
And they said they had understood them, but that the passages adduced
brought forward no proof that there is any other God or Lord, or that
the Holy Spirit says so, besides the Maker of all things.
Then I replied, "I shall attempt to persuade you, since you have
understood the Scriptures, [of the truth] of what I say, that there is,
and that there is said to be, another God and Lord subject to [2127]
the Maker of all things; who is also called an Angel, because He
announces to men whatsoever the Maker of all things--above whom there
is no other God--wishes to announce to them." And quoting once more the
previous passage, I asked Trypho, "Do you think that God appeared to
Abraham under the oak in Mamre, as the Scripture asserts?"
He said, "Assuredly."
"Was He one of those three," I said, "whom Abraham saw, and whom the
Holy Spirit of prophecy describes as men?"
He said, "No; but God appeared to him, before the vision of the three.
Then those three whom the Scripture calls men, were angels; two of them
sent to destroy Sodom, and one to announce the joyful tidings to Sarah,
that she would bear a son; for which cause he was sent, and having
accomplished his errand, went away." [2128]
"How then," said I, "does the one of the three, who was in the tent,
and who said, I shall return to thee hereafter, and Sarah shall have a
son,' [2129] appear to have returned when Sarah had begotten a son, and
to be there declared, by the prophetic word, God? But that you may
clearly discern what I say, listen to the words expressly employed by
Moses; they are these: And Sarah saw the son of Hagar the Egyptian
bond-woman, whom she bore to Abraham, sporting with Isaac her son, and
said to Abraham, Cast out this bond-woman and her son; for the son of
this bond-woman shall not share the inheritance of my son Isaac. And
the matter seemed very grievous in Abraham's sight, because of his son.
But God said to Abraham, Let it not be grievous in thy sight because of
the son, and because of the bond-woman. In all that Sarah hath said
unto thee, hearken to her voice; for in Isaac shall thy seed be
called.' [2130] Have you perceived, then, that He who said under the
oak that He would return, since He knew it would be necessary to advise
Abraham to do what Sarah wished him, came back as it is written; and is
God, as the words declare, when they so speak: God said to Abraham, Let
it not be grievous in thy sight because of the son, and because of the
bond-woman?' " I inquired. And Trypho said, "Certainly; but you have
not proved from this that there is another God besides Him who appeared
to Abraham, and who also appeared to the other patriarchs and prophets.
You have proved, however, that we were wrong in believing that the
three who were in the tent with Abraham were all angels."
I replied again, "If I could not have proved to you from the Scriptures
that one of those three is God, and is called Angel, [2131] because, as
I already said, He brings messages to those to whom God the Maker of
all things wishes [messages to be brought], then in regard to Him who
appeared to Abraham on earth in human form in like manner as the two
angels who came with Him, and who was God even before the creation of
the world, it were reasonable for you to entertain the same belief as
is entertained by the whole of your nation."
"Assuredly," he said, "for up to this moment this has been our belief."
Then I replied, "Reverting to the Scriptures, I shall endeavour to
persuade you, that He who is said to have appeared to Abraham, and to
Jacob, and to Moses, and who is called God, is distinct from Him who
made all things,--numerically, I mean, not [distinct] in will. For I
affirm that He has never at any time done [2132] anything which He who
made the world--above whom there is no other God--has not wished Him
both to do and to engage Himself with."
And Trypho said, "Prove now that this is the case, that we also may
agree with you. For we do not understand you to affirm that He has done
or said anything contrary to the will of the Maker of all things."
Then I said, "The Scripture just quoted by me will make this plain to
you. It is thus: The sun was risen on the earth, and Lot entered into
Segor (Zoar); and the Lord rained on Sodom sulphur and fire from the
Lord out of heaven, and overthrew these cities and all the
neighbourhood.' " [2133]
Then the fourth of those who had remained with Trypho said, "It [2134]
must therefore necessarily be said that one of the two angels who went
to Sodom, and is named by Moses in the Scripture Lord, is different
from Him who also is God, and appeared to Abraham." [2135]
"It is not on this ground solely," I said, "that it must be admitted
absolutely that some other one is called Lord by the Holy Spirit
besides Him who is considered Maker of all things; not solely [for what
is said] by Moses, but also [for what is said] by David. For there is
written by him: The Lord says to my Lord, Sit on My right hand, until I
make Thine enemies Thy footstool,' [2136] as I have already quoted. And
again, in other words: Thy throne, O God, is for ever and ever. A
sceptre of equity is the sceptre of Thy kingdom: Thou hast loved
righteousness and hated iniquity: therefore God, even Thy God, hath
anointed Thee with the oil of gladness above Thy fellows.' [2137] If,
therefore, you assert that the Holy Spirit calls some other one God and
Lord, besides the Father of all things and His Christ, answer me; for I
undertake to prove to you from Scriptures themselves, that He whom the
Scripture calls Lord is not one of the two angels that went to Sodom,
but He who was with them, and is called God, that appeared to Abraham."
And Trypho said, "Prove this; for, as you see, the day advances, and we
are not prepared for such perilous replies; since never yet have we
heard any man investigating, or searching into, or proving these
matters; nor would we have tolerated your conversation, had you not
referred everything to the Scriptures: [2138] for you are very zealous
in adducing proofs from them; and you are of opinion that there is no
God above the Maker of all things."
Then I replied, "You are aware, then, that the Scripture says, And the
Lord said to Abraham, Why did Sarah laugh, saying, Shall I truly
conceive? for I am old. Is anything impossible with God? At the time
appointed shall I return to thee according to the time of life, and
Sarah shall have a son.' [2139] And after a little interval: And the
men rose up from thence, and looked towards Sodom and Gomorrah; and
Abraham went with them, to bring them on the way. And the Lord said, I
will not conceal from Abraham, my servant, what I do.' [2140] And
again, after a little, it thus says: The Lord said, The cry of Sodom
and Gomorrah is great, [2141] and their sins are very grievous. I will
go down now, and see whether they have done altogether according to
their cry which has come unto me; and if not, that I may know. And the
men turned away thence, and went to Sodom. But Abraham was standing
before the Lord; and Abraham drew near, and said, Wilt Thou destroy the
righteous with the wicked?' " [2142] (and so on, [2143] for I do not
think fit to write over again the same words, having written them all
before, but shall of necessity give those by which I established the
proof to Trypho and his companions. Then I proceeded to what follows,
in which these words are recorded:) " And the Lord went His way as soon
as He had left communing with Abraham; and [Abraham] went to his place.
And there came two angels to Sodom at even. And Lot sat in the gate of
Sodom;' [2144] and what follows until, But the men put forth their
hands, and pulled Lot into the house to them, and shut to the door of
the house;' [2145] and what follows till, And the angels laid hold on
his hand, and on the hand of his wife, and on the hands of his
daughters, the Lord being merciful to him. And it came to pass, when
they had brought them forth abroad, that they said, Save, save thy
life. Look not behind thee, nor stay in all the neighbourhood; escape
to the mountain, lest thou be taken along with [them]. And Lot said to
them, I beseech [Thee], O Lord, since Thy servant hath found grace in
Thy sight, and Thou hast magnified Thy righteousness, which Thou
showest towards me in saving my life; but I cannot escape to the
mountain, lest evil overtake me, and I die. Behold, this city is near
to flee unto, and it is small: there I shall be safe, since it is
small; and any soul shall live. And He said to him, Behold, I have
accepted thee [2146] also in this matter, so as not to destroy the city
for which thou hast spoken. Make haste to save thyself there; for I
shall not do anything till thou be come thither. Therefore he called
the name of the city Segor (Zoar). The sun was risen upon the earth;
and Lot entered into Segor (Zoar). And the Lord rained on Sodom and
Gomorrah sulphur and fire from the Lord out of heaven; and He overthrew
these cities, and all the neighbourhood.' " [2147] And after another
pause I added: "And now have you not perceived, my friends, that one of
the three, who is both God and Lord, and ministers to Him who is in the
heavens, is Lord of the two angels? For when [the angels] proceeded to
Sodom, He remained behind, and communed with Abraham in the words
recorded by Moses; and when He departed after the conversation, Abraham
went back to his place. And when he came [to Sodom], the two angels no
longer conversed with Lot, but Himself, as the Scripture makes evident;
and He is the Lord who received commission from the Lord who [remains]
in the heavens, i.e., the Maker of all things, to inflict upon Sodom
and Gomorrah the [judgments] which the Scripture describes in these
terms: The Lord rained down upon Sodom and Gomorrah sulphur and fire
from the Lord out of heaven.' "
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[2125] Gen. xviii. 1, 2.
[2126] Gen. xix. 27, 28; "and so on" inserted probably not by Justin,
but by some copyist, as is evident from succeeding words.
[2127] Some, "besides;" but probably as above.
[2128] Or, "going away, departed."
[2129] Gen. xviii. 10.
[2130] Gen. xxi. 9-12.
[2131] Or, "Messenger." [The "Jehovah-angel" of the Pentateuch,
passim.] In the various passages in which Justin assigns the reason for
Christ being called angel or messenger, Justin uses also the verb
angello, to convey messages, to announce. The similarity between
angelos and angello cannot be retained in English, and therefore the
point of Justin's remarks is lost to the English reader.
[2132] Some supply, "or said."
[2133] Gen. xix. 23.
[2134] Or, "We must of necessity think, that besides the one of the two
angels who came down to Sodom, and whom the Scripture by Moses calls
Lord, God Himself appeared to Abraham."
[2135] This passage is rather confused: the translation is necessarily
free, but, it is believed, correct. Justin's friend wishes to make out
that two distinct individuals are called Lord or God in the narrative.
[2136] Ps. cx. 1.
[2137] Ps. xlv. 6, 7.
[2138] [Note again the fidelity of Justin to this principle, and the
fact that in no other way could a Jew be persuaded to listen to a
Christian. Acts xvii. 11.]
[2139] Gen. xviii. 13, 14.
[2140] Gen. xviii. 16, 17.
[2141] Literally, "is multiplied."
[2142] Gen. xviii. 20-23.
[2143] Comp. Note 2, p. 223.
[2144] Gen. xviii. 33, Gen. xix. 1.
[2145] Gen. xix. 10.
[2146] Literally, "I have admired thy face."
[2147] Gen. xix. 16-25.
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Chapter LVII.--The Jew objects, why is He said to have eaten, if He be God?
Answer of Justin.
Then Trypho said when I was silent, "That Scripture compels us to admit
this, is manifest; but there is a matter about which we are deservedly
at a loss --namely, about what was said to the effect that [the Lord]
ate what was prepared and placed before him by Abraham; and you would
admit this."
I answered, "It is written that they ate; and if we believe [2148] that
it is said the three ate, and not the two alone--who were really
angels, and are nourished in the heavens, as is evident to us, even
though they are not nourished by food similar to that which mortals
use--(for, concerning the sustenance of manna which supported your
fathers in the desert, Scripture speaks thus, that they ate angels'
food): [if we believe that three ate], then I would say that the
Scripture which affirms they ate bears the same meaning as when we
would say about fire that it has devoured all things; yet it is not
certainly understood that they ate, masticating with teeth and jaws. So
that not even here should we be at a loss about anything, if we are
acquainted even slightly with figurative modes of expression, and able
to rise above them."
And Trypho said, "It is possible that [the question] about the mode of
eating may be thus explained: [the mode, that is to say,] in which it
is written, they took and ate what had been prepared by Abraham: so
that you may now proceed to explain to us how this God who appeared to
Abraham, and is minister to God the Maker of all things, being born of
the Virgin, became man, of like passions with all, as you said
previously."
Then I replied, "Permit me first, Trypho, to collect some other proofs
on this head, so that you, by the large number of them, may be
persuaded of [the truth of] it, and thereafter I shall explain what you
ask."
And he said, "Do as seems good to you; for I shall be thoroughly
pleased."
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[2148] Literally, "hear."
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Chapter LVIII.--The same is proved from the visions which appeared to Jacob.
Then I continued, "I purpose to quote to you Scriptures, not that I am
anxious to make merely an artful display of words; for I possess no
such faculty, but God's grace alone has been granted to me to the
understanding of His Scriptures, of which grace I exhort all to become
partakers freely and bounteously, in order that they may not, through
want of it, [2149] incur condemnation in the judgment which God the
Maker of all things shall hold through my Lord Jesus Christ."
And Trypho said, "What you do is worthy of the worship of God; but you
appear to me to feign ignorance when you say that you do not possess a
store of artful words."
I again replied, "Be it so, since you think so; yet I am persuaded that
I speak the truth. [2150] But give me your attention, that I may now
rather adduce the remaining proofs."
"Proceed," said he.
And I continued: "It is again written by Moses, my brethren, that He
who is called God and appeared to the patriarchs is called both Angel
and Lord, in order that from this you may understand Him to be minister
to the Father of all things, as you have already admitted, and may
remain firm, persuaded by additional arguments. The word of God,
therefore, [recorded] by Moses, when referring to Jacob the grandson of
Abraham, speaks thus: And it came to pass, when the sheep conceived,
that I saw them with my eyes in the dream: And, behold, the he-goats
and the rams which leaped upon the sheep and she-goats were spotted
with white, and speckled and sprinkled with a dun colour. And the Angel
of God said to me in the dream, Jacob, Jacob. And I said, What is it,
Lord? And He said, Lift up thine eyes, and see that the he-goats and
rams leaping on the sheep and she-goats are spotted with white,
speckled, and sprinkled with a dun colour. For I have seen what Laban
doeth unto thee. I am the God who appeared to thee in Bethel, [2151]
where thou anointedst a pillar and vowedst a vow unto Me. Now therefore
arise, and get thee out of this land, and depart to the land of thy
birth, and I shall be with thee.' [2152] And again, in other words,
speaking of the same Jacob, it thus says: And having risen up that
night, he took the two wives, and the two women-servants, and his
eleven children, and passed over the ford Jabbok; and he took them and
went over the brook, and sent over all his belongings. But Jacob was
left behind alone, and an Angel [2153] wrestled with him until morning.
And He saw that He is not prevailing against him, and He touched the
broad part of his thigh; and the broad part of Jacob's thigh grew stiff
while he wrestled with Him. And He said, Let Me go, for the day
breaketh. But he said, I will not let Thee go, except Thou bless me.
And He said to him, What is thy name? And he said, Jacob. And He said,
Thy name shall be called no more Jacob, but Israel shall be thy name;
for thou hast prevailed with God, and with men shalt be powerful. And
Jacob asked Him, and said, Tell me Thy name. But he said, Why dost thou
ask after My name? And He blessed him there. And Jacob called the name
of that place Peniel, [2154] for I saw God face to face, and my soul
rejoiced.' [2155] And again, in other terms, referring to the same
Jacob, it says the following: And Jacob came to Luz, in the land of
Canaan, which is Bethel, he and all the people that were with him. And
there he built an altar, and called the name of that place Bethel; for
there God appeared to him when he fled from the face of his brother
Esau. And Deborah, Rebekah's nurse, died, and was buried beneath Bethel
under an oak: and Jacob called the name of it The Oak of Sorrow. And
God appeared again to Jacob in Luz, when he came out from Mesopotamia
in Syria, and He blessed him. And God said to him, Thy name shall be no
more called Jacob, but Israel shall be thy name.' [2156] He is called
God, and He is and shall be God." And when all had agreed on these
grounds, I continued: "Moreover, I consider it necessary to repeat to
you the words which narrate how He who is both Angel and God and Lord,
and who appeared as a man to Abraham, and who wrestled in human form
with Jacob, was seen by him when he fled from his brother Esau. They
are as follows: And Jacob went out from the well of the oath, [2157]
and went toward Charran. [2158] And he lighted on a spot, and slept
there, for the sun was set; and he gathered of the stones of the place,
and put them under his head. And he slept in that place; and he
dreamed, and, behold, a ladder was set up on the earth, whose top
reached to heaven; and the angels of God ascended and descended upon
it. And the Lord stood [2159] above it, and He said, I am the Lord, the
God of Abraham thy father, and of Isaac; be not afraid: the land
whereon thou liest, to thee will I give it, and to thy seed; and thy
seed shall be as the dust of the earth, and shall be extended to the
west, and south, and north, and east: and in thee, and in thy seed,
shall all families of the earth be blessed. And, behold, I am with
thee, keeping thee in every way wherein thou goest, and will bring thee
again into this land; for I will not leave thee, until I have done all
that I have spoken to thee of. And Jacob awaked out of his sleep, and
said, Surely the Lord is in this place, and I knew it not. And he was
afraid, and said, How dreadful is this place! this is none other than
the house of God, and this is the gate of heaven. And Jacob rose up in
the morning, and took the stone which he had placed under his head, and
he set it up for a pillar, and poured oil upon the top of it; and Jacob
called the name of the place The House of God, and the name of the city
formerly was Ulammaus.' " [2160]
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[2149] Literally, "for this sake." [Note here and elsewhere the
primitive rule as to the duty of all men to search the Scriptures.]
[2150] Or, "speak otherwise."
[2151] Literally, "in the place of God."
[2152] Gen. xxxi. 10-13.
[2153] Some read, "a man."
[2154] Literally, "the face of God."
[2155] Gen. xxxii. 22-30.
[2156] Gen. xxxv. 6-10.
[2157] Or, "Beersheba."
[2158] So, LXX. and N.T.; Heb. "Haran."
[2159] Literally, "was set up."
[2160] Gen. xxviii. 10-19. [Oulamlouz. Sept. Luz Eng.]
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Chapter LIX.--God distinct from the Father conversed with Moses.
When I had spoken these words, I continued: "Permit me, further, to
show you from the book of Exodus how this same One, who is both Angel,
and God, and Lord, and man, and who appeared in human form to Abraham
and Isaac, [2161] appeared in a flame of fire from the bush, and
conversed with Moses." And after they said they would listen
cheerfully, patiently, and eagerly, I went on: "These words are in the
book which bears the title of Exodus: And after many days the king of
Egypt died, and the children of Israel groaned by reason of the works;'
[2162] and so on until, Go and gather the elders of Israel, and thou
shalt say unto them, The Lord God of your fathers, the God of Abraham,
the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob, hath appeared to me, saying, I
am surely beholding you, and the things which have befallen you in
Egypt.' " [2163] In addition to these words, I went on: "Have you
perceived, sirs, that this very God whom Moses speaks of as an Angel
that talked to him in the flame of fire, declares to Moses that He is
the God of Abraham, of Isaac, and of Jacob?"
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[2161] Some conjecture "Jacob," others insert "Jacob" after "Isaac."
[Gen. xxii. The Jehovah-angel was seen no doubt by Isaac, as well as by
his father.]
[2162] Ex. ii. 23.
[2163] Ex. iii. 16.
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Chapter LX.--Opinions of the Jews with regard to Him who appeared in the bush.
Then Trypho said, "We do not perceive this from the passage quoted by
you, but [only this], that it was an angel who appeared in the flame of
fire, but God who conversed with Moses; so that there were really two
persons in company with each other, an angel and God, that appeared in
that vision."
I again replied, "Even if this were so, my friends, that an angel and
God were together in the vision seen by Moses, yet, as has already been
proved to you by the passages previously quoted, it will not be the
Creator of all things that is the God that said to Moses that He was
the God of Abraham, and the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob, but it
will be He who has been proved to you to have appeared to Abraham,
ministering to the will of the Maker of all things, and likewise
carrying into execution His counsel in the judgment of Sodom; so that,
even though it be as you say, that there were two--an angel and God--he
who has but the smallest intelligence will not venture to assert that
the Maker and Father of all things, having left all supercelestial
matters, was visible on a little portion of the earth."
And Trypho said, "Since it has been previously proved that He who is
called God and Lord, and appeared to Abraham, received from the Lord,
who is in the heavens, that which He inflicted on the land of Sodom,
even although an angel had accompanied the God who appeared to Moses,
we shall perceive that the God who communed with Moses from the bush
was not the Maker of all things, but He who has been shown to have
manifested Himself to Abraham and to Isaac and to Jacob; who also is
called and is perceived to be the Angel of God the Maker of all things,
because He publishes to men the commands of the Father and Maker of all
things."
And I replied, "Now assuredly, Trypho, I shall show that, in the vision
of Moses, this same One alone who is called an Angel, and who is God,
appeared to and communed with Moses. For the Scripture says thus: The
Angel of the Lord appeared to him in a flame of fire from the bush; and
he sees that the bush burns with fire, but the bush was not consumed.
And Moses said, I will turn aside and see this great sight, for the
bush is not burnt. And when the Lord saw that he is turning aside to
behold, the Lord called to him out of the bush.' [2164] In the same
manner, therefore, in which the Scripture calls Him who appeared to
Jacob in the dream an Angel, then [says] that the same Angel who
appeared in the dream spoke to him, [2165] saying, I am the God that
appeared to thee when thou didst flee from the face of Esau thy
brother;' and [again] says that, in the judgment which befell Sodom in
the days of Abraham, the Lord had inflicted the punishment [2166] of
the Lord who [dwells] in the heavens;--even so here, the Scripture, in
announcing that the Angel of the Lord appeared to Moses, and in
afterwards declaring him to be Lord and God, speaks of the same One,
whom it declares by the many testimonies already quoted to be minister
to God, who is above the world, above whom there is no other [God].
__________________________________________________________________
[2164] Ex. iii. 2-4.
[2165] Gen. xxxv. 7.
[2166] Literally, "judgment."
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Chapter LXI--Wisdom is begotten of the Father, as fire from fire.
"I shall give you another testimony, my friends," said I, "from the
Scriptures, that God begat before all creatures a Beginning, [2167]
[who was] a certain rational power [proceeding] from Himself, who is
called by the Holy Spirit, now the Glory of the Lord, now the Son,
again Wisdom, again an Angel, then God, and then Lord and Logos; and on
another occasion He calls Himself Captain, when He appeared in human
form to Joshua the son of Nave (Nun). For He can be called by all those
names, since He ministers to the Father's will, and since He was
begotten of the Father by an act of will; [2168] just as we see [2169]
happening among ourselves: for when we give out some word, we beget the
word; yet not by abscission, so as to lessen the word [2170] [which
remains] in us, when we give it out: and just as we see also happening
in the case of a fire, which is not lessened when it has kindled
[another], but remains the same; and that which has been kindled by it
likewise appears to exist by itself, not diminishing that from which it
was kindled. The Word of Wisdom, who is Himself this God begotten of
the Father of all things, and Word, and Wisdom, and Power, and the
Glory of the Begetter, will bear evidence to me, when He speaks by
Solomon the following: If I shall declare to you what happens daily, I
shall call to mind events from everlasting, and review them. The Lord
made me the beginning of His ways for His works. From everlasting He
established me in the beginning, before He had made the earth, and
before He had made the deeps, before the springs of the waters had
issued forth, before the mountains had been established. Before all the
hills He begets me. God made the country, and the desert, and the
highest inhabited places under the sky. When He made ready the heavens,
I was along with Him, and when He set up His throne on the winds: when
He made the high clouds strong, and the springs of the deep safe, when
He made the foundations of the earth, I was with Him arranging. I was
that in which He rejoiced; daily and at all times I delighted in His
countenance, because He delighted in the finishing of the habitable
world, and delighted in the sons of men. Now, therefore, O son, hear
me. Blessed is the man who shall listen to me, and the mortal who shall
keep my ways, watching [2171] daily at my doors, observing the posts of
my ingoings. For my outgoings are the outgoings of life, and [my] will
has been prepared by the Lord. But they who sin against me, trespass
against their own souls; and they who hate me love death.' [2172]
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[2167] Or, "in the beginning, before all creatures." [Justin's
reference to Josh. i. 13-15 deserves special consideration; for he
supposes that the true Joshua (Jesus) was the substance, and the true
"captain of salvation," of whom this one was but a shadow (Heb. iv. 8,
margin), type, and pledge. See cap. lxii.]
[2168] The act of will or volition is on the part of the Father.
[2169] Or, "Do we not see," etc.
[2170] The word, logos translated "word," means both the thinking power
or reason which produces ideas and the expression of these ideas. And
Justin passes here from the one meaning to the other. When we utter a
thought, the utterance of it does not diminish the power of thought in
us, though in one sense the thought has gone away from us.
[2171] The mss. of Justin read "sleeping," but this is regarded as the
mistake of some careless transcriber.
[2172] Prov. viii. 21 ff.
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Chapter LXII.--The words "Let Us make man" agree with the testimony of
Proverbs.
"And the same sentiment was expressed, my friends, by the word of God
[written] by Moses, when it indicated to us, with regard to Him whom it
has pointed out, [2173] that God speaks in the creation of man with the
very same design, in the following words: Let Us make man after our
image and likeness. And let them have dominion over the fish of the
sea, and over the fowl of the heaven, and over the cattle, and over all
the earth, and over all the creeping things that creep on the earth.
And God created man: after the image of God did He create him; male and
female created He them. And God blessed them, and said, Increase and
multiply, and fill the earth, and have power over it.' [2174] And that
you may not change the [force of the] words just quoted, and repeat
what your teachers assert,--either that God said to Himself, Let Us
make,' just as we, when about to do something, oftentimes say to
ourselves, Let us make;' or that God spoke to the elements, to wit, the
earth and other similar substances of which we believe man was formed,
Let Us make,'--I shall quote again the words narrated by Moses himself,
from which we can indisputably learn that [God] conversed with some one
who was numerically distinct from Himself, and also a rational Being.
These are the words: And God said, Behold, Adam has become as one of
us, to know good and evil.' [2175] In saying, therefore, as one of us,'
[Moses] has declared that [there is a certain] number of persons
associated with one another, and that they are at least two. For I
would not say that the dogma of that heresy [2176] which is said to be
among you [2177] is true, or that the teachers of it can prove that
[God] spoke to angels, or that the human frame was the workmanship of
angels. But this Offspring, which was truly brought forth from the
Father, was with the Father before all the creatures, and the Father
communed with Him; even as the Scripture by Solomon has made clear,
that He whom Solomon calls Wisdom, was begotten as a Beginning before
all His creatures and as Offspring by God, who has also declared this
same thing in the revelation made by Joshua the son of Nave (Nun).
Listen, therefore, to the following from the book of Joshua, that what
I say may become manifest to you; it is this: And it came to pass, when
Joshua was near Jericho, he lifted up his eyes, and sees a man standing
over against him. And Joshua approached to Him, and said, Art thou for
us, or for our adversaries? And He said to him, I am Captain of the
Lord's host: now have I come. And Joshua fell on his face on the
ground, and said to Him, Lord, what commandest Thou Thy servant? And
the Lord's Captain says to Joshua, Loose the shoes off thy feet; for
the place whereon thou standest is holy ground. And Jericho was shut up
and fortified, and no one went out of it. And the Lord said to Joshua,
Behold, I give into thine hand Jericho, and its king, [and] its mighty
men.' " [2178]
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[2173] Justin, since he is of opinion that the Word is the beginning of
the universe, thinks that by these words, "in the beginning," Moses
indicated the Word, like many other writers. Hence also he says in Ap.
i. 23, that Moses declares the Word "to be begotten first by God." If
this explanation does not satisfy, read, "with regard to Him whom I
have pointed out" (Maranus).
[2174] Gen. i. 26, 28.
[2175] Gen. iii. 22.
[2176] Heresy or sect.
[2177] Or, "among us." Maranus pronounces against this latter reading
for the following reasons: (1.) The Jews had their own heresies which
supplied many things to the Christian heresies, especially to Menander
and Saturninus. (2.) The sect which Justin here refutes was of opinion
that God spoke to angels. But those angels, as Menander and Saturninus
invented, "exhorted themselves, saying, Let us make," etc. (3.) The
expression didaskaloi suits the rabbins well. So Justin frequently
calls them. (4.) Those teachers seem for no other cause to have put the
words in the angels' mouths than to eradicate the testimony by which
they proved divine persons.
[2178] Josh. v. 13 ad fin., and Josh.vi. 1, 2.
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Chapter LXIII.--It is proved that this God was incarnate.
And Trypho said, "This point has been proved to me forcibly, and by
many arguments, my friend. It remains, then, to prove that He submitted
to become man by the Virgin, according to the will of His Father; and
to be crucified, and to die. Prove also clearly, that after this He
rose again and ascended to heaven."
I answered, "This, too, has been already demonstrated by me in the
previously quoted words of the prophecies, my friends; which, by
recalling and expounding for your sakes, I shall endeavour to lead you
to agree with me also about this matter. The passage, then, which
Isaiah records, Who shall declare His generation? for His life is taken
away from the earth,' [2179] --does it not appear to you to refer to
One who, not having descent from men, was said to be delivered over to
death by God for the transgressions of the people?--of whose blood,
Moses (as I mentioned before), when speaking in parable, said, that He
would wash His garments in the blood of the grape; since His blood did
not spring from the seed of man, but from the will of God. And then,
what is said by David, In the splendours of Thy holiness have I
begotten Thee from the womb, before the morning star. [2180] The Lord
hath sworn, and will not repent, Thou art a priest for ever, after the
order of Melchizedek,' [2181] --does this not declare to you [2182]
that [He was] from of old, [2183] and that the God and Father of all
things intended Him to be begotten by a human womb? And speaking in
other words, which also have been already quoted, [he says]: Thy
throne, O God, is for ever and ever: a sceptre of rectitude is the
sceptre of Thy kingdom. Thou hast loved righteousness, and hast hated
iniquity: therefore God, even thy God, hath anointed Thee with the oil
of gladness above Thy fellows. [He hath anointed Thee] with myrrh, and
oil, and cassia from Thy garments, from the ivory palaces, whereby they
made Thee glad. Kings' daughters are in Thy honour. The queen stood at
Thy right hand, clad in garments embroidered with gold. [2184] Hearken,
O daughter, and behold, and incline thine ear, and forget thy people
and the house of thy father; and the King shall desire thy beauty:
because he is thy Lord, and thou shalt worship Him.' [2185] Therefore
these words testify explicitly that He is witnessed to by Him who
established these things, [2186] as deserving to be worshipped, as God
and as Christ. Moreover, that the word of God speaks to those who
believe in Him as being one soul, and one synagogue, and one church, as
to a daughter; that it thus addresses the church which has sprung from
His name and partakes of His name (for we are all called Christians),
is distinctly proclaimed in like manner in the following words, which
teach us also to forget [our] old ancestral customs, when they speak
thus: [2187] Hearken, O daughter, and behold, and incline thine ear;
forget thy people and the house of thy father, and the King shall
desire thy beauty: because He is thy Lord, and thou shalt worship Him.'
"
__________________________________________________________________
[2179] Isa. liii. 8.
[2180] Note this beautiful rendering, Ps. cx. 3.
[2181] Ps. cx. 4.
[2182] Or, "to us."
[2183] anothen; in Lat. vers. antiquitus, which Maranus prefers.
[2184] Literally, "garments of gold, variegated."
[2185] Ps. xlv. 6-11.
[2186] The incarnation, etc.
[2187] "Being so," literally.
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Chapter LXIV.--Justin adduces other proofs to the Jew, who denies that he
needs this Christ.
Here Trypho said, "Let Him be recognised as Lord and Christ and God, as
the Scriptures declare, by you of the Gentiles, who have from His name
been all called Christians; but we who are servants of God that made
this same [Christ], do not require to confess or worship Him."
To this I replied, "If I were to be quarrelsome and light-minded like
you, Trypho, I would no longer continue to converse with you, since you
are prepared not to understand what has been said, but only to return
some captious answer; [2188] but now, since I fear the judgment of God,
I do not state an untimely opinion concerning any one of your nation,
as to whether or not some of them may be saved by the grace of the Lord
of Sabaoth. Therefore, although you act wrongfully, I shall continue to
reply to any proposition you shall bring forward, and to any
contradiction which you make; and, in fact, I do the very same to all
men of every nation, who wish to examine along with me, or make inquiry
at me, regarding this subject. Accordingly, if you had bestowed
attention on the Scriptures previously quoted by me, you would already
have understood, that those who are saved of your own nation are saved
through this [2189] [man], and partake of His lot; and you would not
certainly have asked me about this matter. I shall again repeat the
words of David previously quoted by me, and beg of you to comprehend
them, and not to act wrongfully, and stir each other up to give merely
some contradiction. The words which David speaks, then, are these: The
Lord has reigned; let the nations be angry: [it is] He who sits upon
the cherubim; let the earth be shaken. The Lord is great in Zion; and
He is high above all the nations. Let them confess Thy great name, for
it is fearful and holy; and the honour of the king loves judgment. Thou
hast prepared equity; judgment and righteousness hast Thou performed in
Jacob. Exalt the Lord our God, and worship the footstool of His feet;
for He is holy. Moses and Aaron among His priests, and Samuel among
them that call upon His name; they called on the Lord, and He heard
them. In the pillar of the cloud He spake to them; for they kept His
testimonies and His commandments which He gave them.' [2190] And from
the other words of David, also previously quoted, which you foolishly
affirm refer to Solomon, [because] inscribed for Solomon, it can be
proved that they do not refer to Solomon, and that this [Christ]
existed before the sun, and that those of your nation who are saved
shall be saved through Him. [The words] are these: O God, give Thy
judgment to the king, and Thy righteousness unto the king's son. He
shall judge [2191] Thy people with righteousness, and Thy poor with
judgment. The mountains shall take up peace to the people, and the
little hills righteousness. He shall judge the poor of the people, and
shall save the children of the needy, and shall abase the slanderer:
and He shall co-endure with the sun, and before the moon unto all
generations;' and so on until, His name endureth before the sun, and
all tribes of the earth shalt be blessed in Him. All nations shall call
Him blessed. Blessed be the Lord, the God of Israel, who only doeth
wondrous things: and blessed be His glorious name for ever and ever:
and the whole earth shall be filled with His glory. Amen, Amen.' [2192]
And you remember from other words also spoken by David, and which I
have mentioned before, how it is declared that He would come forth from
the highest heavens, and again return to the same places, in order that
you may recognise Him as God coming forth from above, and man living
among men; and [how it is declared] that He will again appear, and they
who pierced Him shall see Him, and shall bewail Him. [The words] are
these: The heavens declare the glory of God, and the firmament showeth
His handiwork. Day unto day uttereth speech, and night unto night
showeth knowledge: They are not speeches or words whose voices are
heard. Their sound has gone out through all the earth, and their words
to the ends of the world. In the sun has he set his habitation; and he,
like a bridegroom going forth from his chamber, will rejoice as a giant
to run his race: from the highest heaven is his going forth, and he
returns to the highest heaven, and there is not one who shall be hidden
from his heat.' " [2193]
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[2188] Literally, "but only sharpen yourselves to say something."
[2189] [Or, "this one."]
[2190] Ps. xcix. 1-7.
[2191] Or, "to judge," as in chap. xxxiv.
[2192] Ps. lxxii. 1, etc.
[2193] Ps. xix. 1-6.
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Chapter LXV.--The Jew objects that God does not give His glory to another.
Justin explains the passage.
And Trypho said, "Being shaken [2194] by so many Scriptures, I know not
what to say about the Scripture which Isaiah writes, in which God says
that He gives not His glory to another, speaking thus I am the Lord
God; this is my name; my glory will I not give to another, nor my
virtues.' " [2195]
And I answered, "If you spoke these words, Trypho, and then kept
silence in simplicity and with no ill intent, neither repeating what
goes before nor adding what comes after, you must be forgiven; but if
[you have done so] because you imagined that you could throw doubt on
the passage, in order that I might say the Scriptures contradicted each
other, you have erred. But I shall not venture to suppose or to say
such a thing; and if a Scripture which appears to be of such a kind be
brought forward, and if there be a pretext [for saying] that it is
contrary [to some other], since I am entirely convinced that no
Scripture contradicts another, I shall admit rather that I do not
understand what is recorded, and shall strive to persuade those who
imagine that the Scriptures are contradictory, to be rather of the same
opinion as myself. With what intent, then, you have brought forward the
difficulty, God knows. But I shall remind you of what the passage says,
in order that you may recognise even from this very [place] that God
gives glory to His Christ alone. And I shall take up some short
passages, sirs, those which are in connection with what has been said
by Trypho, and those which are also joined on in consecutive order. For
I will not repeat those of another section, but those which are joined
together in one. Do you also give me your attention. [The words] are
these: Thus saith the Lord, the God that created the heavens, and made
[2196] them fast, that established the earth, and that which is in it;
and gave breath to the people upon it, and spirit to them who walk
therein: I the Lord God have called Thee in righteousness, and will
hold Thine hand, and will strengthen Thee; and I have given Thee for a
covenant of the people, for a light of the Gentiles, to open the eyes
of the blind, to bring out them that are bound from the chains, and
those who sit in darkness from the prison-house. I am the Lord God;
this is my name: my glory will I not give to another, nor my virtues to
graven images. Behold, the former things are come to pass; new things
which I announce, and before they are announced they are made manifest
to you. Sing unto the Lord a new song: His sovereignty [is] from the
end of the earth. [Sing], ye who descend into the sea, and continually
sail [2197] [on it]; ye islands, and inhabitants thereof. Rejoice, O
wilderness, and the villages thereof, and the houses; and the
inhabitants of Cedar shall rejoice, and the inhabitants of the rock
shall cry aloud from the top of the mountains: they shall give glory to
God; they shall publish His virtues among the islands. The Lord God of
hosts shall go forth, He shall destroy war utterly, He shall stir up
zeal, and He shall cry aloud to the enemies with strength.' " [2198]
And when I repeated this, I said to them, "Have you perceived, my
friends, that God says He will give Him whom He has established as a
light of the Gentiles, glory, and to no other; and not, as Trypho said,
that God was retaining the glory to Himself?"
Then Trypho answered, "We have perceived this also; pass on therefore
to the remainder of the discourse."
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[2194] Literally, "importuned."
[2195] Isa. xlii. 8.
[2196] Literally, "fixed."
[2197] Or, "ye islands which sail on it;" or without "continually."
[2198] Isa. xlii. 5-13.
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Chapter LXVI.--He proves from Isaiah that God was born from a virgin.
And I, resuming the discourse where I had left off [2199] at a previous
stage, when proving that He was born of a virgin, and that His birth of
a virgin had been predicted by Isaiah, quoted again the same prophecy.
It is as follows And the Lord spoke again to Ahaz, saying, Ask for
thyself a sign from the Lord thy God, in the depth or in the height.
And Ahaz said I will not ask, neither will I tempt the Lord. And Isaiah
said, Hear then, O house of David; Is it no small thing for you to
contend with men? And how do you contend with the Lord? Therefore the
Lord Himself will give you a sign; Behold, the virgin shall conceive,
and shall bear a son, and they shall call his name Immanuel. Butter and
honey shall he eat; before he knows or prefers the evil he will choose
out the good. For before the child knows ill or good, he rejects evil
by choosing out the good. For before the child knows how to call father
or mother, he shall receive the power of Damascus, and the spoil of
Samaria, in presence of the king of Assyria. And the land shall be
forsaken, which [2200] thou shalt with difficulty endure in consequence
of the presence of its two kings. But God shall bring on thee, and on
thy people, and on the house of thy father, days which have not yet
come upon thee since the day in which Ephraim took away from Judah the
king of Assyria.' " [2201] And I continued: "Now it is evident to all,
that in the race of Abraham according to the flesh no one has been born
of a virgin, or is said to have been born [of a virgin], save this our
Christ."
__________________________________________________________________
[2199] Chap. xliii.
[2200] hen, which is in chap. xliii., is here omitted, but ought to be
inserted without doubt.
[2201] Isa. vii. 10-17, with Isa. viii. 4 inserted between vers. 16 and
17.
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Chapter LXVII.--Trypho compares Jesus with Perseus; and would prefer [to say]
that He was elected [to be Christ] on account of observance of the law. Justin
speaks of the law as formerly.
And Trypho answered, "The Scripture has not, Behold, the virgin shall
conceive, and bear a son,' but, Behold, the young woman shall conceive,
and bear a son,' and so on, as you quoted. But the whole prophecy
refers to Hezekiah, and it is proved that it was fulfilled in him,
according to the terms of this prophecy. Moreover, in the fables of
those who are called Greeks, it is written that Perseus was begotten of
Danae, who was a virgin; he who was called among them Zeus having
descended on her in the form of a golden shower. And you ought to feel
ashamed when you make assertions similar to theirs, and rather [should]
say that this Jesus was born man of men. And if you prove from the
Scriptures that He is the Christ, and that on account of having led a
life conformed to the law, and perfect, He deserved the honour of being
elected to be Christ, [it is well]; but do not venture to tell
monstrous phenomena, lest you be convicted of talking foolishly like
the Greeks."
Then I said to this, "Trypho, I wish to persuade you, and all men in
short, of this, that even though you talk worse things in ridicule and
in jest, you will not move me from my fixed design; but I shall always
adduce from the words which you think can be brought forward [by you]
as proof [of your own views], the demonstration of what I have stated
along with the testimony of the Scriptures. You are not, however,
acting fairly or truthfully in attempting to undo those things in which
there has been constantly agreement between us; namely, that certain
commands were instituted by Moses on account of the hardness of your
people's hearts. For you said that, by reason of His living conformably
to law, He was elected and became Christ, if indeed He were proved to
be so."
And Trypho said, "You admitted [2202] to us that He was both
circumcised, and observed the other legal ceremonies ordained by
Moses."
And I replied, "I have admitted it, and do admit it: yet I have
admitted that He endured all these not as if He were justified by them,
but completing the dispensation which His Father, the Maker of all
things, and Lord and God, wished Him [to complete]. For I admit that He
endured crucifixion and death, and the incarnation, and the suffering
of as many afflictions as your nation put upon Him. But since again you
dissent from that to which you but lately assented, Trypho, answer me:
Are those righteous patriarchs who lived before Moses, who observed
none of those [ordinances] which, the Scripture shows, received the
commencement of [their] institution from Moses, saved, [and have they
attained to] the inheritance of the blessed?"
And Trypho said, "The Scriptures compel me to admit it."
"Likewise I again ask you," said I, "did God enjoin your fathers to
present the offerings and sacrifices because He had need of them, or
because of the hardness of their hearts and tendency to idolatry?"
"The latter," said he, "the Scriptures in like manner compel us to
admit."
"Likewise," said I, "did not the Scriptures predict that God promised
to dispense a new covenant besides that which [was dispensed] in the
mountain Horeb?"
This, too, he replied, had been predicted.
Then I said again, "Was not the old covenant laid on your fathers with
fear and trembling, so that they could not give ear to God?"
He admitted it.
"What then?" said I: "God promised that there would be another
covenant, not like that old one, and said that it would be laid on them
without fear, and trembling, and lightnings, and that it would be such
as to show what kind of commands and deeds God knows to be eternal and
suited to every nation, and what commandments He has given, suiting
them to the hardness of your people's hearts, as He exclaims also by
the prophets."
"To this also," said he, "those who are lovers of truth and not lovers
of strife must assuredly assent."
Then I replied, "I know not how you speak of persons very fond of
strife, [since] you yourself oftentimes were plainly acting in this
very manner, frequently contradicting what you had agreed to."
__________________________________________________________________
[2202] We have not seen that Justin admitted this; but it is not to be
supposed that the passage where he did admit it has been lost, as
Perionius suspected; for sometimes Justin refers to passages at other
places, which he did not relate in their own place. --Maranus.
__________________________________________________________________
Chapter LXVIII.--He complains of the obstinacy of Trypho; he answers his
objection; he convicts the Jews of bad faith.
And Trypho said, "You endeavour to prove an incredible and well-nigh
impossible thing; [namely], that God endured to be born and become
man."
"If I undertook," said I, "to prove this by doctrines or arguments of
man, you should not bear with me. But if I quote frequently Scriptures,
and so many of them, referring to this point, and ask you to comprehend
them, you are hard-hearted in the recognition of the mind and will of
God. But if you wish to remain for ever so, I would not be injured at
all; and for ever retaining the same [opinions] which I had before I
met with you, I shall leave you."
And Trypho said, "Look, my friend, you made yourself master of these
[truths] with much labour and toil. [2203] And we accordingly must
diligently scrutinize all that we meet with, in order to give our
assent to those things which the Scriptures compel us [to believe]."
Then I said to this, "I do not ask you not to strive earnestly by all
means, in making an investigation of the matters inquired into; but [I
ask you], when you have nothing to say, not to contradict those things
which you said you had admitted."
And Trypho said, "So we shall endeavour to do."
I continued again: "In addition to the questions I have just now put to
you, I wish to put more: for by means of these questions I shall strive
to bring the discourse to a speedy termination."
And Trypho said, "Ask the questions."
Then I said, "Do you think that any other one is said to be worthy of
worship and called Lord and God in the Scriptures, except the Maker of
all, and Christ, who by so many Scriptures was proved to you to have
become man?"
And Trypho replied, "How can we admit this, when we have instituted so
great an inquiry as to whether there is any other than the Father
alone?"
Then I again said, "I must ask you this also, that I may know whether
or not you are of a different opinion from that which you admitted some
time ago." [2204]
He replied, "It is not, sir."
Then again I, "Since you certainly admit these things, and since
Scripture says, Who shall declare His generation?' ought you not now to
suppose that He is not the seed of a human race?"
And Trypho said, "How then does the Word say to David, that out of his
loins God shall take to Himself a Son, and shall establish His kingdom,
and shall set Him on the throne of His glory?"
And I said, "Trypho, if the prophecy which Isaiah uttered, Behold, the
virgin shall conceive,' is said not to the house of David, but to
another house of the twelve tribes, perhaps the matter would have some
difficulty; but since this prophecy refers to the house of David,
Isaiah has explained how that which was spoken by God to David in
mystery would take place. But perhaps you are not aware of this, my
friends, that there were many sayings written obscurely, or
parabolically, or mysteriously, and symbolical actions, which the
prophets who lived after the persons who said or did them expounded."
"Assuredly," said Trypho.
"If therefore, I shall show that this prophecy of Isaiah refers to our
Christ, and not to Hezekiah, as you say, shall I not in this matter,
too, compel you not to believe your teachers, who venture to assert
that the explanation which your seventy elders that were with Ptolemy
the king of the Egyptians gave, is untrue in certain respects? For some
statements in the Scriptures, which appear explicitly to convict them
of a foolish and vain opinion, these they venture to assert have not
been so written. But other statements, which they fancy they can
distort and harmonize with human actions, [2205] these, they say, refer
not to this Jesus Christ of ours, but to him of whom they are pleased
to explain them. Thus, for instance, they have taught you that this
Scripture which we are now discussing refers to Hezekiah, in which, as
I promised, I shall show they are wrong. And since they are compelled,
they agree that some Scriptures which we mention to them, and which
expressly prove that Christ was to suffer, to be worshipped, and [to be
called] God, and which I have already recited to you, do refer indeed
to Christ, but they venture to assert that this man is not Christ. But
they admit that He will come to suffer, and to reign, and to be
worshipped, and to be God; [2206] and this opinion I shall in like
manner show to be ridiculous and silly. But since I am pressed to
answer first to what was said by you in jest, I shall make answer to
it, and shall afterwards give replies to what follows.
__________________________________________________________________
[2203] [Note the courteous admission of Trypho, and the consent of both
parties to the duty of searching the Scriptures.]
[2204] teos: Vulg. para Theo, vitiose. --Otto.
[2205] The text is corrupt, and various emendations have been proposed.
[2206] Or, "and to be worshipped as God."
__________________________________________________________________
Chapter LXIX.--The devil, since he emulates the truth, has invented fables
about Bacchus, Hercules, and Æsculapius.
"Be well assured, then, Trypho," I continued, "that I am established in
the knowledge of and faith in the Scriptures by those counterfeits
which he who is called the devil is said to have performed among the
Greeks; just as some were wrought by the Magi in Egypt, and others by
the false prophets in Elijah's days. For when they tell that Bacchus,
son of Jupiter, was begotten by [Jupiter's] intercourse with Semele,
and that he was the discoverer of the vine; and when they relate, that
being torn in pieces, and having died, he rose again, and ascended to
heaven; and when they introduce wine [2207] into his mysteries, do I
not perceive that [the devil] has imitated the prophecy announced by
the patriarch Jacob, and recorded by Moses? And when they tell that
Hercules was strong, and travelled over all the world, and was begotten
by Jove of Alcmene, and ascended to heaven when he died, do I not
perceive that the Scripture which speaks of Christ, strong as a giant
to run his race,' [2208] has been in like manner imitated? And when he
[the devil] brings forward Æsculapius as the raiser of the dead and
healer of all diseases, may I not say that in this matter likewise he
has imitated the prophecies about Christ? But since I have not quoted
to you such Scripture as tells that Christ will do these things, I must
necessarily remind you of one such: from which you can understand, how
that to those destitute of a knowledge of God, I mean the Gentiles,
who, having eyes, saw not, and having a heart, understood not,'
worshipping the images of wood, [how even to them] Scripture prophesied
that they would renounce these [vanities], and hope in this Christ. It
is thus written: Rejoice, thirsty wilderness: let the wilderness be
glad, and blossom as the lily: the deserts of the Jordan shall both
blossom and be glad: and the glory of Lebanon was given to it, and the
honour of Carmel. And my people shall see the exaltation of the Lord,
and the glory of God. Be strong, ye careless hands and enfeebled knees.
Be comforted, ye faint in soul: be strong, fear not. Behold, our God
gives, and will give, retributive judgment. He shall come and save us.
Then the eyes of the blind shall be opened, and the ears of the deaf
shall hear. Then the lame shall leap as an hart, and the tongue of the
stammerers shall be distinct: for water has broken forth in the
wilderness, and a valley in the thirsty land; and the parched ground
shall become pools, and a spring of water shall [rise up] in the
thirsty land.' [2209] The spring of living water which gushed forth
from God in the land destitute of the knowledge of God, namely the land
of the Gentiles, was this Christ, who also appeared in your nation, and
healed those who were maimed, and deaf, and lame in body from their
birth, causing them to leap, to hear, and to see, by His word. And
having raised the dead, and causing them to live, by His deeds He
compelled the men who lived at that time to recognise Him. But though
they saw such works, they asserted it was magical art. For they dared
to call Him a magician, and a deceiver of the people. Yet He wrought
such works, and persuaded those who were [destined to] believe on Him;
for even if any one be labouring under a defect of body, yet be an
observer of the doctrines delivered by Him, He shall raise him up at
His second advent perfectly sound, after He has made him immortal, and
incorruptible, and free from grief.
__________________________________________________________________
[2207] Or, "an ass." The ass was sacred to Bacchus; and many fluctuate
between oinon and onon.
[2208] Ps. xix. 5.
[2209] Isa. xxxv. 1-7.
__________________________________________________________________
Chapter LXX.--So also the mysteries of Mithras are distorted from the
prophecies of Daniel and Isaiah.
"And when those who record the mysteries of Mithras say that he was
begotten of a rock, and call the place where those who believe in him
are initiated a cave, do I not perceive here that the utterance of
Daniel, that a stone without hands was cut out of a great mountain, has
been imitated by them, and that they have attempted likewise to imitate
the whole of Isaiah's [2210] words? [2211] For they [2212] contrived
that the words of righteousness be quoted also by them. [2213] But I
must repeat to you the words of Isaiah referred to, in order that from
them you may know that these things are so. They are these: Hear, ye
that are far off, what I have done; those that are near shall know my
might. The sinners in Zion are removed; trembling shall seize the
impious. Who shall announce to you the everlasting place? The man who
walks in righteousness, speaks in the right way, hates sin and
unrighteousness, and keeps his hands pure from bribes, stops the ears
from hearing the unjust judgment of blood closes the eyes from seeing
unrighteousness: he shall dwell in the lofty cave of the strong rock.
Bread shall be given to him, and his water [shall be] sure. Ye shall
see the King with glory, and your eyes shall look far off. Your soul
shall pursue diligently the fear of the Lord. Where is the scribe?
where are the counsellors? where is he that numbers those who are
nourished,--the small and great people? with whom they did not take
counsel, nor knew the depth of the voices, so that they heard not. The
people who are become depreciated, and there is no understanding in him
who hears.' [2214] Now it is evident, that in this prophecy [allusion
is made] to the bread which our Christ gave us to eat, [2215] in
remembrance of His being made flesh for the sake of His believers, for
whom also He suffered; and to the cup which He gave us to drink, [2216]
in remembrance of His own blood, with giving of thanks. And this
prophecy proves that we shall behold this very King with glory; and the
very terms of the prophecy declare loudly, that the people foreknown to
believe in Him were foreknown to pursue diligently the fear of the
Lord. Moreover, these Scriptures are equally explicit in saying, that
those who are reputed to know the writings of the Scriptures, and who
hear the prophecies, have no understanding. And when I hear, Trypho,"
said I, "that Perseus was begotten of a virgin, I understand that the
deceiving serpent counterfeited also this.
__________________________________________________________________
[2210] The text here has tauta poiesai homoios. Maranus suggests
'Esaiou for poiesai; and so we have translated.
[2211] Justin says that the priests of Mithras imitated all the words
of Isaiah about to be quoted; and to prove it, is content with a single
example, namely, the precepts of righteousness, which they were wont to
relate to him, as in these words of Isaiah: "He who walks in
righteousness," etc. Justin omitted many other passages, as easy and
obvious. For since Mithras is the same as fire, it manifestly answers
to the fire of which Isaiah speaks. And since Justin reminded them who
are initiated, that they are said to be initiated by Mithras himself,
it was not necessary to remind them that the words of Isaiah are
imitated in this: "You shall see the King with glory." Bread and water
are referred to by Isaiah: so also in these mysteries of Mithras,
Justin testifies that bread and a cup of water are placed before them
(Apol. i.).--Maranus.
[2212] i.e., the devils.
[2213] i.e., the priests of Mithras.
[2214] Isa. xxxiii. 13-19.
[2215] Literally, "to do," poiein. [The horrible charge of banqueting
on blood, etc., constantly repeated against Christians, was probably
based on the Eucharist. See Kaye's Illustrations from Tatian,
Athenagorus, and Theoph. Antioch., cap. ix. p. 153.]
[2216] Literally, "to do," poiein. [The horrible charge of banqueting
on blood, etc., constantly repeated against Christians, was probably
based on the Eucharist. See Kaye's Illustrations from Tatian,
Athenagorus, and Theoph. Antioch., cap. ix. p. 153.]
__________________________________________________________________
Chapter LXXI.--The Jews reject the interpretation of the LXX., from which,
moreover, they have taken away some passages.
"But I am far from putting reliance in your teachers, who refuse to
admit that the interpretation made by the seventy elders who were with
Ptolemy [king] of the Egyptians is a correct one; and they attempt to
frame another. And I wish you to observe, that they have altogether
taken away many Scriptures from the translations effected by those
seventy elders who were with Ptolemy, and by which this very man who
was crucified is proved to have been set forth expressly as God, and
man, and as being crucified, and as dying; but since I am aware that
this is denied by all of your nation, I do not address myself to these
points, but I proceed [2217] to carry on my discussions by means of
those passages which are still admitted by you. For you assent to those
which I have brought before your attention, except that you contradict
the statement, Behold, the virgin shall conceive,' and say it ought to
be read, Behold, the young woman shall conceive.' And I promised to
prove that the prophecy referred, not, as you were taught, to Hezekiah,
but to this Christ of mine: and now I shall go to the proof."
Here Trypho remarked, "We ask you first of all to tell us some of the
Scriptures which you allege have been completely cancelled."
__________________________________________________________________
[2217] Or, "profess."
__________________________________________________________________
Chapter LXXII.--Passages have been removed by the Jews from Esdras and
Jeremiah.
And I said, "I shall do as you please. From the statements, then, which
Esdras made in reference to the law of the passover, they have taken
away the following: And Esdras said to the people, This passover is our
Saviour and our refuge. And if you have understood, and your heart has
taken it in, that we shall humble Him on a standard, and [2218]
thereafter hope in Him, then this place shall not be forsaken for ever,
says the God of hosts. But if you will not believe Him, and will not
listen to His declaration, you shall be a laughing-stock to the
nations.' [2219] And from the sayings of Jeremiah they have cut out the
following: I [was] like a lamb that is brought to the slaughter: they
devised a device against me, saying, Come, let us lay on wood on His
bread, and let us blot Him out from the land of the living; and His
name shall no more be remembered.' [2220] And since this passage from
the sayings of Jeremiah is still written in some copies [of the
Scriptures] in the synagogues of the Jews (for it is only a short time
since they were cut out), and since from these words it is demonstrated
that the Jews deliberated about the Christ Himself, to crucify and put
Him to death, He Himself is both declared to be led as a sheep to the
slaughter, as was predicted by Isaiah, and is here represented as a
harmless lamb; but being in a difficulty about them, they give
themselves over to blasphemy. And again, from the sayings of the same
Jeremiah these have been cut out: The Lord God remembered His dead
people of Israel who lay in the graves; and He descended to preach to
them His own salvation.' [2221]
__________________________________________________________________
[2218] Or, "even if we."
[2219] It is not known where this passage comes from.
[2220] Jer. xi. 19.
[2221] This is wanting in our Scriptures: it is cited by Iren., iii.
20, under the name of Isaiah, and in iv. 22 under that of
Jeremiah.--Maranus.
__________________________________________________________________
Chapter LXXIII.--[The words] "From the wood" have been cut out of Ps. xcvi.
"And from the ninety-fifth (ninety-sixth) Psalm they have taken away
this short saying of the words of David: From the wood.' [2222] For
when the passage said, Tell ye among the nations, the Lord hath reigned
from the wood,' they have left, Tell ye among the nations, the Lord
hath reigned.' Now no one of your people has ever been said to have
reigned as God and Lord among the nations, with the exception of Him
only who was crucified, of whom also the Holy Spirit affirms in the
same Psalm that He was raised again, and freed from [the grave],
declaring that there is none like Him among the gods of the nations:
for they are idols of demons. But I shall repeat the whole Psalm to
you, that you may perceive what has been said. It is thus: Sing unto
the Lord a new song; sing unto the Lord, all the earth. Sing unto the
Lord, and bless His name; show forth His salvation from day to day.
Declare His glory among the nations, His wonders among all people. For
the Lord is great, and greatly to be praised: He is to be feared above
all the gods. For all the gods of the nations are demons but the Lord
made the heavens. Confession and beauty are in His presence; holiness
and magnificence are in His sanctuary. Bring to the Lord, O ye
countries of the nations, bring to the Lord glory and honour, bring to
the Lord glory in His name. Take sacrifices, and go into His courts;
worship the Lord in His holy temple. Let the whole earth be moved
before Him: tell ye among the nations, the Lord hath reigned. [2223]
For He hath established the world, which shall not be moved; He shall
judge the nations with equity. Let the heavens rejoice, and the earth
be glad; let the sea and its fulness shake. Let the fields and all
therein be joyful. Let all the trees of the wood be glad before the
Lord: for He comes, for He comes to judge the earth. He shall judge the
world with righteousness, and the people with His truth.' "
Here Trypho remarked, "Whether [or not] the rulers of the people have
erased any portion of the Scriptures, as you affirm, God knows; but it
seems incredible."
"Assuredly," said I, "it does seem incredible. For it is more horrible
than the calf which they made, when satisfied with manna on the earth;
or than the sacrifice of children to demons; or than the slaying of the
prophets. But," said I, "you appear to me not to have heard the
Scriptures which I said they had stolen away. For such as have been
quoted are more than enough to prove the points in dispute, besides
those which are retained by us, [2224] and shall yet be brought
forward."
__________________________________________________________________
[2222] These words were not taken away by the Jews, but added by some
Christian.--Otto. [A statement not proved.]
[2223] It is strange that "from the wood" is not added; but the
audacity of the copyists in such matters is well known.--Maranus.
[2224] Many think, "you."
__________________________________________________________________
Chapter LXXIV.--The beginning of Ps. xcvi. is attributed to the Father [by
Trypho]. But [it refers] to Christ by these words: "Tell ye among the nations
that the Lord," etc.
Then Trypho said, "We know that you quoted these because we asked you.
But it does not appear to me that this Psalm which you quoted last from
the words of David refers to any other than the Father and Maker of the
heavens and earth. You, however, asserted that it referred to Him who
suffered, whom you also are eagerly endeavouring to prove to be
Christ."
And I answered, "Attend to me, I beseech you, while I speak of the
statement which the Holy Spirit gave utterance to in this Psalm; and
you shall know that I speak not sinfully, and that we [2225] are not
really bewitched; for so you shall be enabled of yourselves to
understand many other statements made by the Holy Spirit. Sing unto the
Lord a new song; sing unto the Lord, all the earth: sing unto the Lord,
and bless His name; show forth His salvation from day to day, His
wonderful works among all people.' He bids the inhabitants of all the
earth, who have known the mystery of this salvation, i.e., the
suffering of Christ, by which He saved them, sing and give praises to
God the Father of all things, and recognise that He is to be praised
and feared, and that He is the Maker of heaven and earth, who effected
this salvation in behalf of the human race, who also was crucified and
was dead, and who was deemed worthy by Him (God) to reign over all the
earth. As [is clearly seen [2226] ] also by the land into which [He
said] He would bring [your fathers]; [for He thus speaks]: [2227] This
people [shall go a whoring after other gods], and shall forsake Me, and
shall break my covenant which I made with them in that day; and I will
forsake them, and will turn away My face from them; and they shall be
devoured, [2228] and many evils and afflictions shall find them out;
and they shall say in that day, Because the Lord my God is not amongst
us, these misfortunes have found us out. And I shall certainly turn
away My face from them in that day, on account of all the evils which
they have committed, in that they have turned to other gods.' [2229]
__________________________________________________________________
[2225] In text, "you." Maranus suggests, as far better, "we."
[2226] Something is here wanting; the suggested reading of Maranus has
been adopted. [As to omissions between this chapter and the next,
critics are not agreed. The Benedictine editors see no proofs of them.]
[2227] Deut. xxxi. 16-18.
[2228] Literally, "for food."
[2229] The first conference seems to have ended hereabout. [It occupied
two days. But the student must consult the learned note of Kaye (Justin
Martyr, p. 20. Rivingtons, London. 1853).]
__________________________________________________________________
Chapter LXXV.--It is proved that Jesus was the name of God in the book of
Exodus.
"Moreover, in the book of Exodus we have also perceived that the name
of God Himself which, He says, was not revealed to Abraham or to Jacob,
was Jesus, and was declared mysteriously through Moses. Thus it is
written: And the Lord spake to Moses, Say to this people, Behold, I
send My angel before thy face, to keep thee in the way, to bring thee
into the land which I have prepared for thee. Give heed to Him, and
obey Him; do not disobey Him. For He will not draw back from you; for
My name is in Him.' [2230] Now understand that He who led your fathers
into the land is called by this name Jesus, and first called Auses
[2231] (Oshea). For if you shall understand this, you shall likewise
perceive that the name of Him who said to Moses, for My name is in
Him,' was Jesus. For, indeed, He was also called Israel, and Jacob's
name was changed to this also. Now Isaiah shows that those prophets who
are sent to publish tidings from God are called His angels and
apostles. For Isaiah says in a certain place, Send me.' [2232] And that
the prophet whose name was changed, Jesus [Joshua], was strong and
great, is manifest to all. If, then, we know that God revealed Himself
in so many forms to Abraham, and to Jacob, and to Moses, how are we at
a loss, and do not believe that, according to the will of the Father of
all things, it was possible for Him to be born man of the Virgin,
especially after we have such [2233] Scriptures, from which it can be
plainly perceived that He became so according to the will of the
Father?
__________________________________________________________________
[2230] Ex. xxiii. 20, 21.
[2231] [Num. xiii. 16.]
[2232] Isa. vi. 8.
[2233] Or, "so many."
__________________________________________________________________
Chapter LXXVI.--From other passages the same majesty and government of Christ
are proved.
"For when Daniel speaks of one like unto the Son of man' who received
the everlasting kingdom, does he not hint at this very thing? For he
declares that, in saying like unto the Son of man,' He appeared, and
was man, but not of human seed. And the same thing he proclaimed in
mystery when he speaks of this stone which was cut out without hands.
For the expression it was cut out without hands' signified that it is
not a work of man, but [a work] of the will of the Father and God of
all things, who brought Him forth. And when Isaiah says, Who shall
declare His generation?' he meant that His descent could not be
declared. Now no one who is a man of men has a descent that cannot be
declared. And when Moses says that He will wash His garments in the
blood of the grape, does not this signify what I have now often told
you is an obscure prediction, namely, that He had blood, but not from
men; just as not man, but God, has begotten the blood of the vine? And
when Isaiah calls Him the Angel of mighty counsel, [2234] did he not
foretell Him to be the Teacher of those truths which He did teach when
He came [to earth]? For He alone taught openly those mighty counsels
which the Father designed both for all those who have been and shall be
well-pleasing to Him, and also for those who have rebelled against His
will, whether men or angels, when He said: They shall come from the
east [and from the west [2235] ], and shall sit down with Abraham, and
Isaac, and Jacob, in the kingdom of heaven: but the children of the
kingdom shall be cast out into outer darkness.' [2236] And, Many shall
say to Me in that day, Lord, Lord, have we not eaten, and drunk, and
prophesied, and cast out demons in Thy name? And I will say to them,
Depart from Me.' [2237] Again, in other words, by which He shall
condemn those who are unworthy of salvation, He said, Depart into outer
darkness, which the Father has prepared for Satan and his, angels.'
[2238] And again, in other words, He said, I give unto you power to
tread on serpents, and on scorpions, and on scolopendras, and on all
the might of the enemy.' [2239] And now we, who believe on our Lord
Jesus, who was crucified under Pontius Pilate, when we exorcise all
demons and evil spirits, have them subjected to us. For if the prophets
declared obscurely that Christ would suffer, and thereafter be Lord of
all, yet that [declaration] could not be understood by any man until He
Himself persuaded the apostles that such statements were expressly
related in the Scriptures. For He exclaimed before His crucifixion: The
Son of man must suffer many things, and be rejected by the Scribes and
Pharisees, and be crucified, and on the third day rise again.' [2240]
And David predicted that He would be born from the womb before sun and
moon, [2241] according to the Father's will, and made Him known, being
Christ, as God strong and to be worshipped."
__________________________________________________________________
[2234] [Isa. ix. 6, according to LXX.]
[2235] Not in all edd.
[2236] Matt. viii. 11.
[2237] Matt. vii. 22.
[2238] Matt. xxv. 41.
[2239] Luke x. 19. ["And on scolopendras" (i.e. centipedes) not in the
original.]
[2240] Luke ix. 22.
[2241] Justin puts "sun and moon" instead of "Lucifer." [Ps. cx. 3,
Sept, compounded with Prov. viii. 27.] Maranus says, David did predict,
not that Christ would be born of Mary before sun and moon, but that it
would happen before sun and moon that He would be born of a virgin.
__________________________________________________________________
Chapter LXXVII.--He returns to explain the prophecy of Isaiah.
Then Trypho said, "I admit that such and so great arguments are
sufficient to persuade one; but I wish [you] to know that I ask you for
the proof which you have frequently proposed to give me. Proceed then
to make this plain to us, that we may see how you prove that that
[passage] refers to this Christ of yours. For we assert that the
prophecy relates to Hezekiah." And I replied, "I shall do as you wish.
But show me yourselves first of all how it is said of Hezekiah, that
before he knew how to call father or mother, he received the power of
Damascus and the spoils of Samaria in the presence of the king of
Assyria. For it will not be conceded to you, as you wish to explain it,
that Hezekiah waged war with the inhabitants of Damascus and Samaria in
presence of the king of Assyria. For before the child knows how to call
father or mother,' the prophetic word said, He shall take the power of
Damascus and spoils of Samaria in presence of the king of Assyria.' For
if the Spirit of prophecy had not made the statement with an addition,
Before the child knows how to call father or mother, he shall take the
power of Damascus and spoils of Samaria,' but had only said, And shall
bear a son, and he shall take the power of Damascus and spoils of
Samaria,' then you might say that God foretold that he would take these
things, since He foreknew it. But now the prophecy has stated it with
this addition: Before the child knows how to call father or mother, he
shall take the power of Damascus and spoils of Samaria.' And you cannot
prove that such a thing ever happened to any one among the Jews. But we
are able to prove that it happened in the case of our Christ. For at
the time of His birth, Magi who came from Arabia worshipped Him, coming
first to Herod, who then was sovereign in your land, and whom the
Scripture calls king of Assyria on account of his ungodly and sinful
character. For you know," continued I, "that the Holy Spirit oftentimes
announces such events by parables and similitudes; just as He did
towards all the people in Jerusalem, frequently saying to them, Thy
father is an Amorite, and thy mother a Hittite.' [2242]
__________________________________________________________________
[2242] Ezek. xvi. 3.
__________________________________________________________________
Chapter LXXVIII.--He proves that this prophecy harmonizes with Christ alone,
from what is afterwards written.
"Now this king Herod, at the time when the Magi came to him from
Arabia, and said they knew from a star which appeared in the heavens
that a King had been born in your country, and that they had come to
worship Him, learned from the elders of your people that it was thus
written regarding Bethlehem in the prophet: And thou, Bethlehem, in the
land of Judah, art by no means least among the princes of Judah; for
out of thee shall go forth the leader who shall feed my people.' [2243]
Accordingly the Magi from Arabia came to Bethlehem and worshipped the
Child, and presented Him with gifts, gold and frankincense, and myrrh;
but returned not to Herod, being warned in a revelation after
worshipping the Child in Bethlehem. And Joseph, the spouse of Mary, who
wished at first to put away his betrothed Mary, supposing her to be
pregnant by intercourse with a man, i.e., from fornication, was
commanded in a vision not to put away his wife; and the angel who
appeared to him told him that what is in her womb is of the Holy Ghost.
Then he was afraid, and did not put her away; but on the occasion of
the first census which was taken in Judæa, under Cyrenius, he went up
from Nazareth, where he lived, to Bethlehem, to which he belonged, to
be enrolled; for his family was of the tribe of Judah, which then
inhabited that region. Then along with Mary he is ordered to proceed
into Egypt, and remain there with the Child until another revelation
warn them to return into Judæa. But when the Child was born in
Bethlehem, since Joseph could not find a lodging in that village, he
took up his quarters in a certain cave near the village; and while they
were there Mary brought forth the Christ and placed Him in a manger,
and here the Magi who came from Arabia found Him. I have repeated to
you," I continued, "what Isaiah foretold about the sign which
foreshadowed the cave; but for the sake of those who have come with us
to-day, I shall again remind you of the passage." Then I repeated the
passage from Isaiah which I have already written, adding that, by means
of those words, those who presided over the mysteries of Mithras were
stirred up by the devil to say that in a place, called among them a
cave, they were initiated by him. [2244] "So Herod, when the Magi from
Arabia did not return to him, as he had asked them to do, but had
departed by another way to their own country, according to the commands
laid on them; and when Joseph, with Mary and the Child, had now gone
into Egypt, as it was revealed to them to do; as he did not know the
Child whom the Magi had gone to worship, ordered simply the whole of
the children then in Bethlehem to be massacred. And Jeremiah prophesied
that this would happen, speaking by the Holy Ghost thus: A voice was
heard in Ramah, lamentation and much wailing, Rachel weeping for her
children; and she would not be comforted, because they are not.' [2245]
Therefore, on account of the voice which would be heard from Ramah,
i.e., from Arabia (for there is in Arabia at this very time a place
called Rama), wailing would come on the place where Rachel the wife of
Jacob called Israel, the holy patriarch, has been buried, i.e., on
Bethlehem; while the women weep for their own slaughtered children, and
have no consolation by reason of what has happened to them. For that
expression of Isaiah, He shall take the power of Damascus and spoils of
Samaria,' foretold that the power of the evil demon that dwelt in
Damascus should be overcome by Christ as soon as He was born; and this
is proved to have happened. For the Magi, who were held in bondage
[2246] for the commission of all evil deeds through the power of that
demon, by coming to worship Christ, shows that they have revolted from
that dominion which held them captive; and this [dominion] the
Scripture has showed us to reside in Damascus. Moreover, that sinful
and unjust power is termed well in parable, Samaria. [2247] And none of
you can deny that Damascus was, and is, in the region of Arabia,
although now it belongs to what is called Syrophoenicia. Hence it would
be becoming for you, sirs, to learn what you have not perceived, from
those who have received grace from God, namely, from us Christians; and
not to strive in every way to maintain your own doctrines, dishonouring
those of God. Therefore also this grace has been transferred to us, as
Isaiah says, speaking to the following effect: This people draws near
to Me, they honour Me with their lips, but their heart is far from Me;
but in vain they worship Me, teaching the commands and doctrines of
men. Therefore, behold, I will proceed [2248] to remove this people,
and I shall remove them; and I shall take away the wisdom of their wise
men, and bring to nothing the understanding of the prudent men.' "
[2249]
__________________________________________________________________
[2243] Mic. v. 2.
[2244] Text has, by "them;" but Maranus says the artifice lay in the
priest's compelling the initiated to say that Mithras himself was the
initiator in the cave.
[2245] Jer. xxxi. 15.
[2246] Literally, "spoiled."
[2247] Justin thinks the "spoils of Samaria" denote spoils of Satan;
Tertull. thinks that they are spoils of Christ.
[2248] Literally, "add."
[2249] Isa. xxix. 13, 14.
__________________________________________________________________
Chapter LXXIX.--He proves against Trypho that the wicked angels have revolted
from God.
On this, Trypho, who was somewhat angry, but respected the Scriptures,
as was manifest from his countenance, said to me, "The utterances of
God are holy, but your expositions are mere contrivances, as is plain
from what has been explained by you; nay, even blasphemies, for you
assert that angels sinned and revolted from God."
And I, wishing to get him to listen to me, answered in milder tones,
thus: "I admire, sir, this piety of yours; and I pray that you may
entertain the same disposition towards Him to whom angels are recorded
to minister, as Daniel says; for [one] like the Son of man is led to
the Ancient of days, and every kingdom is given to Him for ever and
ever. But that you may know, sir," continued I, "that it is not our
audacity which has induced us to adopt this exposition, which you
reprehend, I shall give you evidence from Isaiah himself; for he
affirms that evil angels have dwelt and do dwell in Tanis, in Egypt.
These are [his] words: Woe to the rebellious children! Thus saith the
Lord, You have taken counsel, but not through Me; and [made]
agreements, but not through My Spirit, to add sins to sins; who have
sinned [2250] in going down to Egypt (but they have not inquired at
Me), that they may be assisted by Pharaoh, and be covered with the
shadow of the Egyptians. For the shadow of Pharaoh shall be a disgrace
to you, and a reproach to those who trust in the Egyptians; for the
princes in Tanis [2251] are evil angels. In vain will they labour for a
people which will not profit them by assistance, but [will be] for a
disgrace and a reproach [to them].' [2252] And, further, Zechariah
tells, as you yourself have related, that the devil stood on the right
hand of Joshua the priest, to resist him; and [the Lord] said, The
Lord, who has taken [2253] Jerusalem, rebuke thee.' [2254] And again,
it is written in Job, [2255] as you said yourself, how that the angels
came to stand before the Lord, and the devil came with them. And we
have it recorded by Moses in the beginning of Genesis, that the serpent
beguiled Eve, and was cursed. And we know that in Egypt there were
magicians who emulated [2256] the mighty power displayed by God through
the faithful servant Moses. And you are aware that David said, The gods
of the nations are demons.' " [2257]
__________________________________________________________________
[2250] LXX. "who walk," poreuomenoi for ponereuomenoi.
[2251] In E. V. "Zoan."
[2252] Isa. xxx. 1-5.
[2253] ekdexamenos; in chap. cxv. inf. it is eklexamenos.
[2254] Zech. iii. 1.
[2255] Job i. 6.
[2256] Maranus suggests the insertion of epoiesan or epeirasan before
exisousthai.
[2257] Ps. xcvi. 5.
__________________________________________________________________
Chapter LXXX.--The opinion of Justin with regard to the reign of a thousand
years. Several Catholics reject it.
And Trypho to this replied, "I remarked to you sir, that you are very
anxious to be safe in all respects, since you cling to the Scriptures.
But tell me, do you really admit that this place, Jerusalem, shall be
rebuilt; and do you expect your people to be gathered together, and
made joyful with Christ and the patriarchs, and the prophets, both the
men of our nation, and other proselytes who joined them before your
Christ came? or have you given way, and admitted this in order to have
the appearance of worsting us in the controversies?"
Then I answered, "I am not so miserable a fellow, Trypho, as to say one
thing and think another. I admitted to you formerly, [2258] that I and
many others are of this opinion, and [believe] that such will take
place, as you assuredly are aware; [2259] but, on the other hand, I
signified to you that many who belong to the pure and pious faith, and
are true Christians, think otherwise. Moreover, I pointed out to you
that some who are called Christians, but are godless, impious heretics,
teach doctrines that are in every way blasphemous, atheistical, and
foolish. But that you may know that I do not say this before you alone,
I shall draw up a statement, so far as I can, of all the arguments
which have passed between us; in which I shall record myself as
admitting the very same things which I admit to you. [2260] For I
choose to follow not men or men's doctrines, but God and the doctrines
[delivered] by Him. For if you have fallen in with some who are called
Christians, but who do not admit this [truth], [2261] and venture to
blaspheme the God of Abraham, and the God of Isaac, and the God of
Jacob; who say there is no resurrection of the dead, and that their
souls, when they die, are taken to heaven; do not imagine that they are
Christians, even as one, if he would rightly consider it, would not
admit that the Sadducees, or similar sects of Genistæ, Meristæ, [2262]
Galilæans, Hellenists, [2263] Pharisees, Baptists, are Jews (do not
hear me impatiently when I tell you what I think), but are [only]
called Jews and children of Abraham, worshipping God with the lips, as
God Himself declared, but the heart was far from Him. But I and others,
who are right-minded Christians on all points, are assured that there
will be a resurrection of the dead, and a thousand years [2264] in
Jerusalem, which will then be built, adorned, and enlarged, [as] the
prophets Ezekiel and Isaiah and others declare.
__________________________________________________________________
[2258] Justin made no previous allusion to this point, so far as we
know from the writing preserved.
[2259] Or, "so as to believe thoroughly that such will take place"
(after "opinion").
[2260] [A hint of the origin of this work. See Kaye's Note, p. 18].
[2261] i.e., resurrection.
[2262] Maranus says, Hieron. thinks the Genistæ were so called because
they were sprung from Abraham (genos) the Meristæ so called because
they separated the Scriptures. Josephus bears testimony to the fact
that the sects of the Jews differed in regard to fate and providence;
the Pharisees submitting all things indeed to God, with the exception
of human will; the Essenes making no exceptions, and submitting all to
God. I believe therefore that the Genistæ were so called because they
believed the world to be in general governed by God; the Meristæ,
because they believed that a fate or providence belonged to each man.
[2263] Otto says, the author and chief of this sect of Galilæans was
Judas Galilæus, who, after the exile of king Archelaus, when the Romans
wished to raise a tax in Judæa, excited his countrymen to the retaining
of their former liberty.--The Hellenists, or rather Hellenæans. No one
mentions this sect but Justin; perhaps Herodians or Hillelæans (from R.
Hillel).
[2264] We have translated the text of Justin as it stands. Commentators
make the sense, "and that there will be a thousand years in Jerusalem,"
or "that the saints will live a thousand years in Jerusalem."
__________________________________________________________________
Chapter LXXXI.--He endeavours to prove this opinion from Isaiah and the
Apocalypse.
"For Isaiah spake thus concerning this space of a thousand years: For
there shall be the new heaven and the new earth, and the former shall
not be remembered, or come into their heart; but they shall find joy
and gladness in it, which things I create. For, Behold, I make
Jerusalem a rejoicing, and My people a joy; and I shall rejoice over
Jerusalem, and be glad over My people. And the voice of weeping shall
be no more heard in her, or the voice of crying. And there shall be no
more there a person of immature years, or an old man who shall not
fulfil his days. [2265] For the young man shall be an hundred years
old; [2266] but the sinner who dies an hundred years old, [2267] he
shall be accursed. And they shall build houses, and shall themselves
inhabit them; and they shall plant vines, and shall themselves eat the
produce of them, and drink the wine. They shall not build, and others
inhabit; they shall not plant, and others eat. For according to the
days of the tree of life shall be the days of my people; the works of
their toil shall abound. [2268] Mine elect shall not toil fruitlessly,
or beget children to be cursed; for they shall be a seed righteous and
blessed by the Lord, and their offspring with them. And it shall come
to pass, that before they call I will hear; while they are still
speaking, I shall say, What is it? Then shall the wolves and the lambs
feed together, and the lion shall eat straw like the ox; but the
serpent [shall eat] earth as bread. They shall not hurt or maltreat
each other on the holy mountain, saith the Lord.' [2269] Now we have
understood that the expression used among these words, According to the
days of the tree [of life [2270] ] shall be the days of my people; the
works of their toil shall abound' obscurely predicts a thousand years.
For as Adam was told that in the day he ate of the tree he would die,
we know that he did not complete a thousand years. We have perceived,
moreover, that the expression, The day of the Lord is as a thousand
years,' [2271] is connected with this subject. And further, there was a
certain man with us, whose name was John, one of the apostles of
Christ, who prophesied, by a revelation that was made to him, that
those who believed in our Christ would dwell [2272] a thousand years in
Jerusalem; and that thereafter the general, and, in short, the eternal
resurrection and judgment of all men would likewise take place. Just as
our Lord also said, They shall neither marry nor be given in marriage,
but shall be equal to the angels, the children of the God of the
resurrection.' [2273]
__________________________________________________________________
[2265] Literally, "time."
[2266] Literally, "the son of an hundred years."
[2267] Literally, "the son of an hundred years."
[2268] Or, as in margin of A. V., "they shall make the works of their
toil continue long," so reading palaiosousin for pleonasousin: thus
also LXX.
[2269] Isa. lxv. 17 to end.
[2270] These words are not found in the mss.
[2271] Ps. xc. 4; 2 Pet. iii. 8.
[2272] Literally, "make." [A very noteworthy passage, as a primitive
exposition of Rev. xx. 4-5. See Kaye, chap. v.]
[2273] Luke xx. 35f.
__________________________________________________________________
Chapter LXXXII.--The prophetical gifts of the Jews were transferred to the
Christians.
"For the prophetical gifts remain with us, even to the present time.
And hence you ought to understand that [the gifts] formerly among your
nation have been transferred to us. And just as there were false
prophets contemporaneous with your holy prophets, so are there now many
false teachers amongst us, of whom our Lord forewarned us to beware; so
that in no respect are we deficient, since we know that He foreknew all
that would happen to us after His resurrection from the dead and
ascension to heaven. For He said we would be put to death, and hated
for His name's sake; and that many false prophets and false Christs
would appear in His name, and deceive many: and so has it come about.
For many have taught godless, blasphemous, and unholy doctrines,
forging them in His name; have taught, too, and even yet are teaching,
those things which proceed from the unclean spirit of the devil, and
which were put into their hearts. Therefore we are most anxious that
you be persuaded not to be misled by such persons, since we know that
every one who can speak the truth, and yet speaks it not, shall be
judged by God, as God testified by Ezekiel, when He said, I have made
thee a watchman to the house of Judah. If the sinner sin, and thou warn
him not, he himself shall die in his sin; but his blood will I require
at thine hand. But if thou warn him, thou shalt be innocent.' [2274]
And on this account we are, through fear, very earnest in desiring to
converse [with men] according to the Scriptures, but not from love of
money, or of glory, or of pleasure. For no man can convict us of any of
these [vices]. No more do we wish to live like the rulers of your
people, whom God reproaches when He says, Your rulers are companions of
thieves, lovers of bribes, followers of the rewards.' [2275] Now, if
you know certain amongst us to be of this sort, do not for their sakes
blaspheme the Scriptures and Christ, and do not assiduously strive to
give falsified interpretations.
__________________________________________________________________
[2274] Ezek. iii. 17, 18, 19.
[2275] Isa. i. 23.
__________________________________________________________________
Chapter LXXXIII.--It is proved that the Psalm, "The Lord said to My Lord,"
etc., does not suit Hezekiah.
"For your teachers have ventured to refer the passage, The Lord says to
my Lord, Sit at my right hand, till I make Thine enemies Thy
footstool,' to Hezekiah; as if he were requested to sit on the right
side of the temple, when the king of Assyria sent to him and threatened
him; and he was told by Isaiah not to be afraid. Now we know and admit
that what Isaiah said took place; that the king of Assyria desisted
from waging war against Jerusalem in Hezekiah's days, and the angel of
the Lord slew about 185,000 of the host of the Assyrians. But it is
manifest that the Psalm does not refer to him. For thus it is written,
The Lord says to my Lord, Sit at My right hand, till I make Thine
enemies Thy footstool. He shall send forth a rod of power over [2276]
Jerusalem, and it shall rule in the midst of Thine [2277] enemies. In
the splendour of the saints before the morning star have I begotten
Thee. The Lord hath sworn, and will not repent, Thou art a priest for
ever after the order of Melchizedek.' Who does not admit, then, that
Hezekiah is no priest for ever after the order of Melchizedek? And who
does not know that he is not the redeemer of Jerusalem? And who does
not know that he neither sent a rod of power into Jerusalem, nor ruled
in the midst of his enemies; but that it was God who averted from him
the enemies, after he mourned and was afflicted? But our Jesus, who has
not yet come in glory, has sent into Jerusalem a rod of power, namely,
the word of calling and repentance [meant] for all nations over which
demons held sway, as David says, The gods of the nations are demons.'
And His strong word has prevailed on many to forsake the demons whom
they used to serve, and by means of it to believe in the Almighty God
because the gods of the nations are demons. [2278] And we mentioned
formerly that the statement, In the splendour of the saints before the
morning star have I begotten Thee from the womb,' is made to Christ.
__________________________________________________________________
[2276] epi, but afterwards eis. Maranus thinks that epi is the
insertion of some copyist.
[2277] Or better, "His." This quotation from Ps. cx. is put very
differently from the previous quotation of the same Psalm in chap.
xxxii. [Justin often quotes from memory. Kaye, cap. viii.]
[2278] This last clause is thought to be an interpolation.
__________________________________________________________________
Chapter LXXXIV.--That prophecy, "Behold, a virgin," etc., suits Christ alone.
"Moreover, the prophecy, Behold, the virgin shall conceive, and bear a
son,' was uttered respecting Him. For if He to whom Isaiah referred was
not to be begotten of a virgin, of whom [2279] did the Holy Spirit
declare, Behold, the Lord Himself shall give us a sign: behold, the
virgin shall conceive, and bear a son?' For if He also were to be
begotten of sexual intercourse, like all other first-born sons, why did
God say that He would give a sign which is not common to all the
first-born sons? But that which is truly a sign, and which was to be
made trustworthy to mankind,--namely, that the first-begotten of all
creation should become incarnate by the Virgin's womb, and be a
child,--this he anticipated by the Spirit of prophecy, and predicted
it, as I have repeated to you, in various ways; in order that, when the
event should take place, it might be known as the operation of the
power and will of the Maker of all things; just as Eve was made from
one of Adam's ribs, and as all living beings were created in the
beginning by the word of God. But you in these matters venture to
pervert the expositions which your elders that were with Ptolemy king
of Egypt gave forth, since you assert that the Scripture is not so as
they have expounded it, but says, Behold, the young woman shall
conceive,' as if great events were to be inferred if a woman should
beget from sexual intercourse: which indeed all young women, with the
exception of the barren, do; but even these, God, if He wills, is able
to cause [to bear]. For Samuel's mother, who was barren, brought forth
by the will of God; and so also the wife of the holy patriarch Abraham;
and Elisabeth, who bore John the Baptist, and other such. So that you
must not suppose that it is impossible for God to do anything He wills.
And especially when it was predicted that this would take place, do not
venture to pervert or misinterpret the prophecies, since you will
injure yourselves alone, and will not harm God.
__________________________________________________________________
[2279] Or, "why was it."
__________________________________________________________________
Chapter LXXXV.--He proves that Christ is the Lord of Hosts from Ps. xxiv., and
from his authority over demons.
"Moreover, some of you venture to expound the prophecy which runs, Lift
up your gates, ye rulers; and be ye lift up, ye everlasting doors, that
the King of glory may enter,' [2280] as if it referred likewise to
Hezekiah, and others of you [expound it] of Solomon; but neither to the
latter nor to the former, nor, in short, to any of your kings, can it
be proved to have reference, but to this our Christ alone, who appeared
without comeliness, and inglorious, as Isaiah and David and all the
Scriptures said; who is the Lord of hosts, by the will of the Father
who conferred on Him [the dignity]; who also rose from the dead, and
ascended to heaven, as the Psalm and the other Scriptures manifested
when they announced Him to be Lord of hosts; and of this you may, if
you will, easily be persuaded by the occurrences which take place
before your eyes. For every demon, when exorcised in the name of this
very Son of God --who is the First-born of every creature, who became
man by the Virgin, who suffered, and was crucified under Pontius Pilate
by your nation, who died, who rose from the dead, and ascended into
heaven --is overcome and subdued. But though you exorcise any demon in
the name of any of those who were amongst you--either kings, or
righteous men, or prophets, or patriarchs--it will not be subject to
you. But if any of you exorcise it in [the name of] the God of Abraham,
and the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob, it will perhaps be subject
to you. Now assuredly your exorcists, I have said, [2281] make use of
craft when they exorcise, even as the Gentiles do, and employ
fumigations and incantations. [2282] But that they are angels and
powers whom the word of prophecy by David [commands] to lift up the
gates, that He who rose from the dead, Jesus Christ, the Lord of hosts,
according to the will of the Father, might enter, the word of David has
likewise showed; which I shall again recall to your attention for the
sake of those who were not with us yesterday, for whose benefit,
moreover, I sum up many things I said yesterday. And now, if I say this
to you, although I have repeated it many times, I know that it is not
absurd so to do. For it is a ridiculous thing to see the sun, and the
moon, and the other stars, continually keeping the same course, and
bringing round the different seasons; and to see the computer who may
be asked how many are twice two, because he has frequently said that
they are four, not ceasing to say again that they are four; and equally
so other things, which are confidently admitted, to be continually
mentioned and admitted in like manner; yet that he who founds his
discourse on the prophetic Scriptures should leave them and abstain
from constantly referring to the same Scriptures, because it is thought
he can bring forth something better than Scripture. The passage, then,
by which I proved that God reveals that there are both angels and hosts
in heaven is this: Praise the Lord from the heavens: praise Him in the
highest. Praise Him, all His angels: praise Him, all His hosts.' "
[2283]
Then one of those who had come with them on the second day, whose name
was Mnaseas, said, "We are greatly pleased that you undertake to repeat
the same things on our account."
And I said, "Listen, my friends, to the Scripture which induces me to
act thus. Jesus commanded [us] to love even [our] enemies, as was
predicted by Isaiah in many passages, in which also is contained the
mystery of our own regeneration, as well, in fact, as the regeneration
of all who expect that Christ will appear in Jerusalem, and by their
works endeavour earnestly to please Him. These are the words spoken by
Isaiah: Hear the word of the Lord, ye that tremble at His word. Say,
our brethren, to them that hate you and detest you, that the name of
the Lord has been glorified. He has appeared to your joy, and they
shall be ashamed. A voice of noise from the city, a voice from the
temple, [2284] a voice of the Lord who rendereth recompense to the
proud. Before she that travailed brought forth, and before the pains of
labour came, she brought forth a male child. Who hath heard such a
thing? and who hath seen such a thing? has the earth brought forth in
one day? and has she produced a nation at once? for Zion has travailed
and borne her children. But I have given such an expectation even to
her that does not bring forth, said the Lord. Behold, I have made her
that begetteth, and her that is barren, saith the Lord. Rejoice, O
Jerusalem, and hold a joyous assembly, all ye that love her. Be glad,
all ye that mourn for her, that ye may suck and be filled with the
breast of her consolation, that having suck ye may be delighted with
the entrance of His glory.' " [2285]
__________________________________________________________________
[2280] Ps. xxiv. 7.
[2281] Chap. lxxvi.
[2282] katadesmoi, by some thought to be verses by which evil spirits,
once expelled, were kept from returning. Plato (Rep.) speaks of
incantations by which demons were summoned to the help of those who
practised such rites; but Justin refers to them only as being expelled.
Others regard them as drugs.
[2283] Ps. cxlviii. 1, 2. [Kaye's citations (chap. ix. p. 181) from
Tatian, concerning angels and demons, are valuable aids to the
understanding of Justin in his frequent references to this subject.]
[2284] In both mss. "people."
[2285] Isa. lxvi. 5-11.
__________________________________________________________________
Chapter LXXXVI.--There are various figures in the Old Testament of the wood of
the cross by which Christ reigned.
And when I had quoted this, I added, "Hear, then, how this Man, of whom
the Scriptures declare that He will come again in glory after His
crucifixion, was symbolized both by the tree of life, which was said to
have been planted in paradise, and by those events which should happen
to all the just. Moses was sent with a rod to effect the redemption of
the people; and with this in his hands at the head of the people, he
divided the sea. By this he saw the water gushing out of the rock; and
when he cast a tree into the waters of Marah, which were bitter, he
made them sweet. Jacob, by putting rods into the water-troughs, caused
the sheep of his uncle to conceive, so that he should obtain their
young. With his rod the same Jacob boasts that he had crossed the
river. He said he had seen a ladder, and the Scripture has declared
that God stood above it. But that this was not the Father, we have
proved from the Scriptures. And Jacob, having poured oil on a stone in
the same place, is testified to by the very God who appeared to him,
that he had anointed a pillar to the God who appeared to him. And that
the stone symbolically proclaimed Christ, we have also proved by many
Scriptures; and that the unguent, whether it was of oil, or of stacte,
[2286] or of any other compounded sweet balsams, had reference to Him,
we have also proved, [2287] inasmuch as the word says: Therefore God,
even Thy God, hath anointed Thee with the oil of gladness above Thy
fellows.' [2288] For indeed all kings and anointed persons obtained
from Him their share in the names of kings and anointed: just as He
Himself received from the Father the titles of King, and Christ, and
Priest, and Angel, and such like other titles which He bears or did
bear. Aaron's rod, which blossomed, declared him to be the high priest.
Isaiah prophesied that a rod would come forth from the root of Jesse,
[and this was] Christ. And David says that the righteous man is like
the tree that is planted by the channels of waters, which should yield
its fruit in its season, and whose leaf should not fade.' [2289] Again,
the righteous is said to flourish like the palm-tree. God appeared from
a tree to Abraham, as it is written, near the oak in Mamre. The people
found seventy willows and twelve springs after crossing the Jordan.
[2290] David affirms that God comforted him with a rod and staff.
Elisha, by casting a stick [2291] into the river Jordan, recovered the
iron part of the axe with which the sons of the prophets had gone to
cut down trees to build the house in which they wished to read and
study the law and commandments of God; even as our Christ, by being
crucified on the tree, and by purifying [us] with water, has redeemed
us, though plunged in the direst offences which we have committed, and
has made [us] a house of prayer and adoration. Moreover, it was a rod
that pointed out Judah to be the father of Tamar's sons by a great
mystery."
__________________________________________________________________
[2286] [Myrrh. Christ the (Anointed) Rock is also referred to by Jacob
(Gen. xlix. 24).]
[2287] In chap. lxiii. probably, where the same Psalm is quoted.
[2288] Ps. xlv. 7.
[2289] Ps. i. 3.
[2290] The Red Sea, not the Jordan. [Ex. xv. 27.]
[2291] Literally, "a tree."
__________________________________________________________________
Chapter LXXXVII.--Trypho maintains in objection these words: "And shall rest
on Him," etc. They are explained by Justin.
Hereupon Trypho, after I had spoken these words, said, "Do not now
suppose that I am endeavouring, by asking what I do ask, to overturn
the statements you have made; but I wish to receive information
respecting those very points about which I now inquire. Tell me, then,
how, when the Scripture asserts by Isaiah, There shall come forth a rod
from the root of Jesse; and a flower shall grow up from the root of
Jesse; and the Spirit of God shall rest upon Him, the spirit of wisdom
and understanding, the spirit of counsel and might, the spirit of
knowledge and piety: and the spirit of the fear of the Lord shall fill
Him:' [2292] (now you admitted to me," continued he, "that this
referred to Christ, and you maintain Him to be pre-existent God, and
having become incarnate by God's will, to be born man by the Virgin:)
how He can be demonstrated to have been pre-existent, who is filled
with the powers of the Holy Ghost, which the Scripture by Isaiah
enumerates, as if He were in lack of them?"
Then I replied, "You have inquired most discreetly and most prudently,
for truly there does seem to be a difficulty; but listen to what I say,
that you may perceive the reason of this also. The Scripture says that
these enumerated powers of the Spirit have come on Him, not because He
stood in need of them, but because they would rest in Him, i.e., would
find their accomplishment in Him, so that there would be no more
prophets in your nation after the ancient custom: and this fact you
plainly perceive. For after Him no prophet has arisen among you. Now,
that [you may know that] your prophets, each receiving some one or two
powers from God, did and spoke the things which we have learned from
the Scriptures, attend to the following remarks of mine. Solomon
possessed the spirit of wisdom, Daniel that of understanding and
counsel, Moses that of might and piety, Elijah that of fear, and Isaiah
that of knowledge; and so with the others: each possessed one power, or
one joined alternately with another; also Jeremiah, and the twelve
[prophets], and David, and, in short, the rest who existed amongst you.
Accordingly He [2293] rested, i.e., ceased, when He came, after whom,
in the times of this dispensation wrought out by Him amongst men,
[2294] it was requisite that such gifts should cease from you; and
having received their rest in Him, should again, as had been predicted,
become gifts which, from the grace of His Spirit's power, He imparts to
those who believe in Him, according as He deems each man worthy
thereof. I have already said, and do again say, that it had been
prophesied that this would be done by Him after His ascension to
heaven. It is accordingly said, [2295] He ascended on high, He led
captivity captive, He gave gifts unto the sons of men.' And again, in
another prophecy it is said: And it shall come to pass after this, I
will pour out My Spirit on all flesh, and on My servants, and on My
handmaids, and they shall prophesy.' [2296]
__________________________________________________________________
[2292] Isa. xi. 1 ff.
[2293] He, that is, the Spirit. The following "He" is Christ.
[2294] Or, "wrought out amongst His people." So Otto.
[2295] Literally, "He said accordingly." Ps. lxviii. 18.
[2296] Joel ii. 28 f.
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Chapter LXXXVIII.--Christ has not received the Holy Spirit on account of
poverty.
"Now, it is possible to see amongst us women and men who possess gifts
of the Spirit of God; so that it was prophesied that the powers
enumerated by Isaiah would come upon Him, not because He needed power,
but because these would not continue after Him. And let this be a proof
to you, namely, what I told you was done by the Magi from Arabia, who
as soon as the Child was born came to worship Him, for even at His
birth He was in possession of His power; and as He grew up like all
other men, by using the fitting means, He assigned its own
[requirements] to each development, and was sustained by all kinds of
nourishment, and waited for thirty years, more or less, until John
appeared before Him as the herald of His approach, and preceded Him in
the way of baptism, as I have already shown. And then, when Jesus had
gone to the river Jordan, where John was baptizing, and when He had
stepped into the water, a fire [2297] was kindled in the Jordan; and
when He came out of the water, the Holy Ghost lighted on Him like a
dove, [as] the apostles of this very Christ of ours wrote. Now, we know
that he did not go to the river because He stood in need of baptism, or
of the descent of the Spirit like a dove; even as He submitted to be
born and to be crucified, not because He needed such things, but
because of the human race, which from Adam had fallen under the power
of death and the guile of the serpent, and each one of which had
committed personal transgression. For God, wishing both angels and men,
who were endowed with free-will, and at their own disposal, to do
whatever He had strengthened each to do, made them so, that if they
chose the things acceptable to Himself, He would keep them free from
death and from punishment; but that if they did evil, He would punish
each as He sees fit. For it was not His entrance into Jerusalem sitting
on an ass, which we have showed was prophesied, that empowered Him to
be Christ, but it furnished men with a proof that He is the Christ;
just as it was necessary in the time of John that men have proof, that
they might know who is Christ. For when John remained [2298] by the
Jordan, and preached the baptism of repentance, wearing only a leathern
girdle and a vesture made of camels' hair, eating nothing but locusts
and wild honey, men supposed him to be Christ; but he cried to them, I
am not the Christ, but the voice of one crying; for He that is stronger
than I shall come, whose shoes I am not worthy to bear.' [2299] And
when Jesus came to the Jordan, He was considered to be the son of
Joseph the carpenter; and He appeared without comeliness, as the
Scriptures declared; and He was deemed a carpenter (for He was in the
habit of working as a carpenter when among men, making ploughs and
yokes; by which He taught the symbols of righteousness and an active
life); but then the Holy Ghost, and for man's sake, as I formerly
stated, lighted on Him in the form of a dove, and there came at the
same instant from the heavens a voice, which was uttered also by David
when he spoke, personating Christ, what the Father would say to Him:
Thou art My Son: this day have I begotten Thee;' [2300] [the Father]
saying that His generation would take place for men, at the time when
they would become acquainted with Him: Thou art My Son; this day have I
begotten thee.' " [2301]
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[2297] [The Shechinah probably attended the descent of the Holy Spirit,
and what follows in the note seems a gratuitous explanation. The
Ebionite corruption of a truth need not be resorted to. See chap.
cxxviii: The fire in the bush.] Justin learned this either from
tradition or from apocryphal books. Mention is made of a fire both in
the Ebionite Gospel and in another publication called Pauli prædicatio,
the readers and users of which denied that the rite of baptism had been
duly performed, unless quam mox in aquam descenderunt, statim super
aquam ignis appareat.
[2298] Literally, "sat."
[2299] Isa. i. 27.
[2300] Ps. ii. 7.
[2301] The repetition seems quite superfluous.
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Chapter LXXXIX.--The cross alone is offensive to Trypho on account of the
curse, yet it proves that Jesus is Christ.
Then Trypho remarked, "Be assured that all our nation waits for Christ;
and we admit that all the Scriptures which you have quoted refer to
Him. Moreover, I do also admit that the name of Jesus, by which the the
son of Nave (Nun) was called, has inclined me very strongly to adopt
this view. But whether Christ should be so shamefully crucified, this
we are in doubt about. For whosoever is crucified is said in the law to
be accursed, so that I am exceedingly incredulous on this point. It is
quite clear, indeed, that the Scriptures announce that Christ had to
suffer; but we wish to learn if you can prove it to us whether it was
by the suffering cursed in the law."
I replied to him, "If Christ was not to suffer, and the prophets had
not foretold that He would be led to death on account of the sins of
the people, and be dishonoured and scourged, and reckoned among the
transgressors, and as a sheep be led to the slaughter, whose
generation, the prophet says, no man can declare, then you would have
good cause to wonder. But if these are to be characteristic of Him and
mark Him out to all, how is it possible for us to do anything else than
believe in Him most confidently? And will not as many as have
understood the writings of the prophets, whenever they hear merely that
He was crucified, say that this is He and no other?"
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Chapter XC.--The stretched-out hands of Moses signified beforehand the cross.
"Bring us on, then," said [Trypho], "by the Scriptures, that we may
also be persuaded by you; for we know that He should suffer and be led
as a sheep. But prove to us whether He must be crucified and die so
disgracefully and so dishonourably by the death cursed in the law.
[2302] For we cannot bring ourselves even to think of this."
"You know," said I, "that what the prophets said and did they veiled by
parables and types, as you admitted to us; so that it was not easy for
all to understand the most [of what they said], since they concealed
the truth by these means, that those who are eager to find out and
learn it might do so with much labour."
They answered, "We admitted this."
"Listen, therefore," say I, "to what follows; for Moses first exhibited
this seeming curse of Christ's by the signs which he made."
"Of what [signs] do you speak?" said he.
"When the people," replied I, "waged war with Amalek, and the son of
Nave (Nun) by name Jesus (Joshua), led the fight, Moses himself prayed
to God, stretching out both hands, and Hur with Aaron supported them
during the whole day, so that they might not hang down when he got
wearied. For if he gave up any part of this sign, which was an
imitation of the cross, the people were beaten, as is recorded in the
writings of Moses; but if he remained in this form, Amalek was
proportionally defeated, and he who prevailed prevailed by the cross.
For it was not because Moses so prayed that the people were stronger,
but because, while one who bore the name of Jesus (Joshua) was in the
forefront of the battle, he himself made the sign of the cross. For who
of you knows not that the prayer of one who accompanies it with
lamentation and tears, with the body prostrate, or with bended knees,
propitiates God most of all? But in such a manner neither he nor any
other one, while sitting on a stone, prayed. Nor even the stone
symbolized Christ, as I have shown.
__________________________________________________________________
[2302] [This intense abhorrence of the cross made it worth while to
show that these similitudes existed under the law. They were ad hominem
appeals, and suited to Jewish modes of thought.]
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Chapter XCI.--The cross was foretold in the blessings of Joseph, and in the
serpent that was lifted up.
"And God by Moses shows in another way the force of the mystery of the
cross, when He said in the blessing wherewith Joseph was blessed, From
the blessing of the Lord is his land; for the seasons of heaven, and
for the dews, and for the deep springs from beneath, and for the
seasonable fruits of the sun, [2303] and for the coming together of the
months, and for the heights of the everlasting mountains, and for the
heights of the hills, and for the ever-flowing rivers, and for the
fruits of the fatness of the earth; and let the things accepted by Him
who appeared in the bush come on the head and crown of Joseph. Let him
be glorified among his brethren; [2304] his beauty is [like] the
firstling of a bullock; his horns the horns of an unicorn: with these
shall he push the nations from one end of the earth to another.' [2305]
Now, no one could say or prove that the horns of an unicorn represent
any other fact or figure than the type which portrays the cross. For
the one beam is placed upright, from which the highest extremity is
raised up into a horn, when the other beam is fitted on to it, and the
ends appear on both sides as horns joined on to the one horn. And the
part which is fixed in the centre, on which are suspended those who are
crucified, also stands out like a horn; and it also looks like a horn
conjoined and fixed with the other horns. And the expression, With
these shall he push as with horns the nations from one end of the earth
to another,' is indicative of what is now the fact among all the
nations. For some out of all the nations, through the power of this
mystery, having been so pushed, that is, pricked in their hearts, have
turned from vain idols and demons to serve God. But the same figure is
revealed for the destruction and condemnation of the unbelievers; even
as Amalek was defeated and Israel victorious when the people came out
of Egypt, by means of the type of the stretching out of Moses' hands,
and the name of Jesus (Joshua), by which the son of Nave (Nun) was
called. And it seems that the type and sign, which was erected to
counteract the serpents which bit Israel, was intended for the
salvation of those who believe that death was declared to come
thereafter on the serpent through Him that would be crucified, but
salvation to those who had been bitten by him and had betaken
themselves to Him that sent His Son into the world to be crucified.
[2306] For the Spirit of prophecy by Moses did not teach us to believe
in the serpent, since it shows us that he was cursed by God from the
beginning; and in Isaiah tells us that he shall be put to death as an
enemy by the mighty sword, which is Christ.
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[2303] There is a variety of reading here: either abussou pegon
katothen katharon: or, abussou pegon katothen, kai kath' horan
gennematon, k.t.l., which we prefer.
[2304] The translation in the text is a rendering of the Septuagint.
The mss. of Justin read: "Being glorified as the first-born among his
brethren."
[2305] Deut. xxxiii. 13-17.
[2306] [A clumsy exposition of St. John iii. 14.]
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Chapter XCII.--Unless the scriptures be understood through God's great grace,
God will not appear to have taught always the same righteousness.
"Unless, therefore, a man by God's great grace receives the power to
understand what has been said and done by the prophets, the appearance
of being able to repeat the words or the deeds will not profit him, if
he cannot explain the argument of them. And will they not assuredly
appear contemptible to many, since they are related by those who
understood them not? For if one should wish to ask you why, since
Enoch, Noah with his sons, and all others in similar circumstances, who
neither were circumcised nor kept the Sabbath, pleased God, God
demanded by other leaders, and by the giving of the law after the lapse
of so many generations, that those who lived between the times of
Abraham and of Moses be justified by circumcision, and that those who
lived after Moses be justified by circumcision and the other
ordinances--to wit, the Sabbath, and sacrifices, and libations, [2307]
and offerings; [God will be slandered] unless you show, as I have
already said, that God who foreknew was aware that your nation would
deserve expulsion from Jerusalem, and that none would be permitted to
enter into it. (For [2308] you are not distinguished in any other way
than by the fleshly circumcision, as I remarked previously. For Abraham
was declared by God to be righteous, not on account of circumcision,
but on account of faith. For before he was circumcised the following
statement was made regarding him: Abraham believed God, and it was
accounted unto him for righteousness.' [2309] And we, therefore, in the
uncircumcision of our flesh, believing God through Christ, and having
that circumcision which is of advantage to us who have acquired it
--namely, that of the heart--we hope to appear righteous before and
well-pleasing to God: since already we have received His testimony
through the words of the prophets.) [And, further, God will be
slandered unless you show] that you were commanded to observe the
Sabbath, and to present offerings, and that the Lord submitted to have
a place called by the name of God, in order that, as has been said, you
might not become impious and godless by worshipping idols and
forgetting God, as indeed you do always appear to have been. (Now, that
God enjoined the ordinances of Sabbaths and offerings for these
reasons, I have proved in what I previously remarked; but for the sake
of those who came to-day, I wish to repeat nearly the whole.) For if
this is not the case, God will be slandered, [2310] as having no
foreknowledge, and as not teaching all men to know and to do the same
acts of righteousness (for many generations of men appear to have
existed before Moses); and the Scripture is not true which affirms that
God is true and righteous, and all His ways are judgments, and there is
no unrighteousness in him.' But since the Scripture is true, God is
always willing that such even as you be neither foolish nor lovers of
yourselves, in order that you may obtain the salvation of Christ,
[2311] who pleased God, and received testimony from Him, as I have
already said, by alleging proof from the holy words of prophecy.
__________________________________________________________________
[2307] Or, "ashes," spodon for spondon.
[2308] We have adopted the parenthesis inserted by Maranus. Langus
would insert before it, ti hexete apokrinasthai; "What will you have to
answer?"
[2309] Gen. xv. 6.
[2310] We have supplied this phrase twice above.
[2311] Literally, salvation along with Christ, that is, salvation by
the aid of Christ.
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Chapter XCIII.--The same kind of righteousness is bestowed on all. Christ
comprehends it in two precepts.
"For [God] sets before every race of mankind that which is always and
universally just, as well as all righteousness; and every race knows
that adultery, and fornication, and homicide, [2312] and such like, are
sinful; and though they all commit such practices, yet they do not
escape from the knowledge that they act unrighteously whenever they so
do, with the exception of those who are possessed with an unclean
spirit, and who have been debased by education, by wicked customs, and
by sinful institutions, and who have lost, or rather quenched and put
under, their natural ideas. For we may see that such persons are
unwilling to submit to the same things which they inflict upon others,
and reproach each other with hostile consciences for the acts which
they perpetrate. And hence I think that our Lord and Saviour Jesus
Christ spoke well when He summed up all righteousness and piety in two
commandments. They are these: Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all
thy heart, and with all thy strength, and thy neighbour as thyself.'
[2313] For the man who loves God with all the heart, and with all the
strength, being filled with a God-fearing mind, will reverence no other
god; and since God wishes it, he would reverence that angel who is
beloved by the same Lord and God. And the man who loves his neighbour
as himself will wish for him the same good things that he wishes for
himself, and no man will wish evil things for himself. Accordingly, he
who loves his neighbour would pray and labour that his neighbour may be
possessed of the same benefits as himself. Now nothing else is
neighbour to man than that similarly-affectioned and reasonable
being--man. Therefore, since all righteousness is divided into two
branches, namely, in so far as it regards God and men, whoever, says
the Scripture, loves the Lord God with all the heart, and all the
strength, and his neighbour as himself, would be truly a righteous man.
But you were never shown to be possessed of friendship or love either
towards God, or towards the prophets, or towards yourselves, but, as is
evident, you are ever found to be idolaters and murderers of righteous
men, so that you laid hands even on Christ Himself; and to this very
day you abide in your wickedness, execrating those who prove that this
man who was crucified by you is the Christ. Nay, more than this, you
suppose that He was crucified as hostile to and cursed by God, which
supposition is the product of your most irrational mind. For though you
have the means of understanding that this man is Christ from the signs
given by Moses, yet you will not; but, in addition, fancying that we
can have no arguments, you put whatever question comes into your minds,
while you yourselves are at a loss for arguments whenever you meet with
some firmly established Christian.
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[2312] andromania is read in mss. for androphonia.
[2313] Matt. xxii. 37.
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Chapter XCIV.--In what sense he who hangs on a tree is cursed.
"For tell me, was it not God who commanded by Moses that no image or
likeness of anything which was in heaven above or which was on the
earth should be made, and yet who caused the brazen serpent to be made
by Moses in the wilderness, and set it up for a sign by which those
bitten by serpents were saved? Yet is He free from unrighteousness. For
by this, as I previously remarked, He proclaimed the mystery, by which
He declared that He would break the power of the serpent which
occasioned the transgression of Adam, and [would bring] to them that
believe on Him [who was foreshadowed] by this sign, i.e., Him who was
to be crucified, salvation from the fangs of the serpent, which are
wicked deeds, idolatries, and other unrighteous acts. Unless the matter
be so understood, give me a reason why Moses set up the brazen serpent
for a sign, and bade those that were bitten gaze at it, and the wounded
were healed; and this, too, when he had himself commanded that no
likeness of anything whatsoever should be made."
On this, another of those who came on the second day said, "You have
spoken truly: we cannot give a reason. For I have frequently
interrogated the teachers about this matter, and none of them gave me a
reason: therefore continue what you are speaking; for we are paying
attention while you unfold the mystery, on account of which the
doctrines of the prophets are falsely slandered."
Then I replied, "Just as God commanded the sign to be made by the
brazen serpent, and yet He is blameless; even so, though a curse lies
in the law against persons who are crucified, yet no curse lies on the
Christ of God, by whom all that have committed things worthy of a curse
are saved. [2314]
__________________________________________________________________
[2314] [Gal. iii. 13.]
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Chapter XCV.--Christ took upon Himself the curse due to us.
"For the whole human race will be found to be under a curse. For it is
written in the law of Moses, Cursed is every one that continueth not in
all things that are written in the book of the law to do them.' [2315]
And no one has accurately done all, nor will you venture to deny this;
but some more and some less than others have observed the ordinances
enjoined. But if those who are under this law appear to be under a
curse for not having observed all the requirements, how much more shall
all the nations appear to be under a curse who practise idolatry, who
seduce youths, and commit other crimes? If, then, the Father of all
wished His Christ for the whole human family to take upon Him the
curses of all, knowing that, after He had been crucified and was dead,
He would raise Him up, why do you argue about Him, who submitted to
suffer these things according to the Father's will, as if He were
accursed, and do not rather bewail yourselves? For although His Father
caused Him to suffer these things in behalf of the human family, yet
you did not commit the deed as in obedience to the will of God. For you
did not practise piety when you slew the prophets. And let none of you
say: If His Father wished Him to suffer this, in order that by His
stripes the human race might be healed, we have done no wrong. If,
indeed, you repent of your sins, and recognise Him to be Christ, and
observe His commandments, then you may assert this; for, as I have said
before, remission of sins shall be yours. But if you curse Him and them
that believe on Him, and, when you have the power, put them to death,
how is it possible that requisition shall not be made of you, as of
unrighteous and sinful men, altogether hard-hearted and without
understanding, because you laid your hands on Him?
__________________________________________________________________
[2315] Deut. xxvii. 26.
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Chapter XCVI.--That curse was a prediction of the things which the Jews would
do.
"For the statement in the law, Cursed is every one that hangeth on a
tree,' [2316] confirms our hope which depends on the crucified Christ,
not because He who has been crucified is cursed by God, but because God
foretold that which would be done by you all, and by those like to you,
who do not know [2317] that this is He who existed before all, who is
the eternal Priest of God, and King, and Christ. And you clearly see
that this has come to pass. For you curse in your synagogues all those
who are called [2318] from Him Christians; and other nations
effectively carry out the curse, putting to death those who simply
confess themselves to be Christians; to all of whom we say, You are our
brethren; rather recognise the truth of God. And while neither they nor
you are persuaded by us, but strive earnestly to cause us to deny the
name of Christ, we choose rather and submit to death, in the full
assurance that all the good which God has promised through Christ He
will reward us with. And in addition to all this we pray for you, that
Christ may have mercy upon you. For He taught us to pray for our
enemies also, saying, Love your enemies; be kind and merciful, as your
heavenly Father is.' [2319] For we see that the Almighty God is kind
and merciful, causing His sun to rise on the unthankful and on the
righteous, and sending rain on the holy and on the wicked; all of whom
He has taught us He will judge.
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[2316] Deut. xxi. 23.
[2317] We read epistamenon for epistamenon. Otherwise to be translated:
"God foretold that which you did not know," etc.
[2318] legomenon for genomenon.
[2319] Luke vi. 35.
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Chapter XCVII.--Other predictions of the cross of Christ.
"For it was not without design that the prophet Moses, when Hur and
Aaron upheld his hands, remained in this form until evening. For indeed
the Lord remained upon the tree almost until evening, and they buried
Him at eventide; then on the third day He rose again. This was declared
by David thus: With my voice I cried to the Lord, and He heard me out
of His holy hill. I laid me down, and slept; I awaked, for the Lord
sustained me.' [2320] And Isaiah likewise mentions concerning Him the
manner in which He would die, thus: I have spread out My hands unto a
people disobedient, and gainsaying, that walk in a way which is not
good.' [2321] And that He would rise again, Isaiah himself said: His
burial has been taken away from the midst, and I will give the rich for
His death.' [2322] And again, in other words, David in the twenty-first
[2323] Psalm thus refers to the suffering and to the cross in a parable
of mystery: They pierced my hands and my feet; they counted all my
bones. They considered and gazed on me; they parted my garments among
themselves, and cast lots upon my vesture.' For when they crucified
Him, driving in the nails, they pierced His hands and feet; and those
who crucified Him parted His garments among themselves, each casting
lots for what he chose to have, and receiving according to the decision
of the lot. And this very Psalm you maintain does not refer to Christ;
for you are in all respects blind, and do not understand that no one in
your nation who has been called King or Christ has ever had his hands
or feet pierced while alive, or has died in this mysterious fashion--to
wit, by the cross--save this Jesus alone.
__________________________________________________________________
[2320] Ps. iii. 4, 5.
[2321] Isa. lxv. 2; comp. also Rom. x. 21.
[2322] Isa. liii. 9.
[2323] That is, Ps. xxii. 16-18.
__________________________________________________________________
Chapter XCVIII.--Predictions of Christ in Ps. xxii.
"I shall repeat the whole Psalm, in order that you may hear His
reverence to the Father, and how He refers all things to Him, and prays
to be delivered by Him from this death; at the same time declaring in
the Psalm who they are that rise up against Him, and showing that He
has truly become man capable of suffering. It is as follows: O God, my
God, attend to me: why hast Thou forsaken me? The words of my
transgressions are far from my salvation. O my God, I will cry to Thee
in the day-time, and Thou wilt not hear; and in the night-season, and
it is not for want of understanding in me. But Thou, the Praise of
Israel, inhabitest the holy place. Our fathers trusted in Thee; they
trusted, and Thou didst deliver them. They cried unto Thee, and were
delivered: they trusted in Thee, and were not confounded. But I am a
worm, and no man; a reproach of men, and despised of the people. All
they that see me laughed me to scorn; they spake with the lips, they
shook the head: He trusted on the Lord: let Him deliver him, let Him
save him, since he desires Him. For Thou art He that took me out of the
womb; my hope from the breasts of my mother: I was cast upon Thee from
the womb. Thou art my God from my mother's belly: be not far from me,
for trouble is near; for there is none to help. Many calves have
compassed me; fat bulls have beset me round. They opened their mouth
upon me, as a ravening and roaring lion. All my bones are poured out
and dispersed like water. My heart has become like wax melting in the
midst of my belly. My strength is dried up like a potsherd; and my
tongue has cleaved to my throat; and Thou hast brought me into the dust
of death. For many dogs have surrounded me; the assembly of the wicked
have beset me round. They pierced my hands and my feet, they did tell
all my bones. They did look and stare upon me; they parted my garments
among them, and cast lots upon my vesture. But do not Thou remove Thine
assistance from me, O Lord: give heed to help me; deliver my soul from
the sword, and my [2324] only-begotten from the hand of the dog. Save
me from the lion's mouth, and my humility from the horns of the
unicorns. I will declare Thy name to my brethren; in the midst of the
Church will I praise Thee. Ye that fear the Lord, praise Him: all ye
the seed of Jacob, glorify Him. Let all the seed of Israel fear Him.' "
__________________________________________________________________
[2324] Probably should be "Thy."
__________________________________________________________________
Chapter XCIX.--In the commencement of the Psalm are Christ's dying words.
And when I had said these words, I continued: "Now I will demonstrate
to you that the whole Psalm refers thus to Christ, by the words which I
shall again explain. What is said at first--O God, my God, attend to
me: why hast Thou forsaken me?'--announced from the beginning that
which was to be said in the time of Christ. For when crucified, He
spake: O God, my God, why hast Thou forsaken me?' And what follows: The
words of my transgressions are far from my salvation. O my God, I will
cry to Thee in the day-time, and Thou wilt not hear; and in the
night-season, and it is not for want of understanding in me.' These, as
well as the things which He was to do, were spoken. For on the day on
which He was to be crucified, [2325] having taken three of His
disciples to the hill called Olivet, situated opposite to the temple in
Jerusalem, He prayed in these words: Father, if it be possible, let
this cup pass from me.' [2326] And again He prayed: Not as I will, but
as Thou wilt;' [2327] showing by this that He had become truly a
suffering man. But lest any one should say, He did not know then that
He had to suffer, He adds immediately in the Psalm: And it is not for
want of understanding in me.' Even as there was no ignorance on God's
part when He asked Adam where he was, or asked Cain where Abel was; but
[it was done] to convince each what kind of man he was, and in order
that through the record [of Scripture] we might have a knowledge of
all: so likewise Christ declared that ignorance was not on His side,
but on theirs, who thought that He was not the Christ, but fancied they
would put Him to death, and that He, like some common mortal, would
remain in Hades.
__________________________________________________________________
[2325] [Jewish computation of the evening as part of the succeeding
day.]
[2326] Matt. xxvi. 39.
[2327] Ibid.
__________________________________________________________________
Chapter C.--In what sense Christ is [called] Jacob, and Israel, and Son of
Man.
"Then what follows --But Thou, the praise of Israel, inhabitest the
holy place'--declared that He is to do something worthy of praise and
wonderment, being about to rise again from the dead on the third day
after the crucifixion; and this He has obtained from the Father. For I
have showed already that Christ is called both Jacob and Israel; and I
have proved that it is not in the blessing of Joseph and Judah alone
that what relates to Him was proclaimed mysteriously, but also in the
Gospel it is written that He said: All things are delivered unto me by
My Father;' and, No man knoweth the Father but the Son; nor the Son but
the Father, and they to whom the Son will reveal Him.' [2328]
Accordingly He revealed to us all that we have perceived by His grace
out of the Scriptures, so that we know Him to be the first-begotten of
God, and to be before all creatures; likewise to be the Son of the
patriarchs, since He assumed flesh by the Virgin of their family, and
submitted to become a man without comeliness, dishonoured, and subject
to suffering. Hence, also, among His words He said, when He was
discoursing about His future sufferings: The Son of man must suffer
many things, and be rejected by the Pharisees and Scribes, and be
crucified, and on the third day rise again.' [2329] He said then that
He was the Son of man, either because of His birth by the Virgin, who
was, as I said, of the family of David, [2330] and Jacob, and Isaac,
and Abraham; or because Adam [2331] was the father both of Himself and
of those who have been first enumerated from whom Mary derives her
descent. For we know that the fathers of women are the fathers likewise
of those children whom their daughters bear. For [Christ] called one of
His disciples-- previously known by the name of Simon--Peter; since he
recognised Him to be Christ the Son of God, by the revelation of His
Father: and since we find it recorded in the memoirs of His apostles
that He is the Son of God, and since we call Him the Son, we have
understood that He proceeded before all creatures from the Father by
His power and will (for He is addressed in the writings of the prophets
in one way or another as Wisdom, and the Day, [2332] and the East, and
a Sword, and a Stone, and a Rod, and Jacob, and Israel); and that He
became man by the Virgin, in order that the disobedience which
proceeded from the serpent might receive its destruction in the same
manner in which it derived its origin. For Eve, who was a virgin and
undefiled, having conceived the word of the serpent, brought forth
disobedience and death. But the Virgin Mary received faith and joy,
when the angel Gabriel announced the good tidings to her that the
Spirit of the Lord would come upon her, and the power of the Highest
would overshadow her: wherefore also the Holy Thing begotten of her is
the Son of God; [2333] and she replied, Be it unto me according to thy
word.' " [2334] And by her has He been born, to whom we have proved so
many Scriptures refer, and by whom God destroys both the serpent and
those angels and men who are like him; but works deliverance from death
to those who repent of their wickedness and believe upon Him.
__________________________________________________________________
[2328] Matt. xi. 27.
[2329] Matt. xvi. 21.
[2330] [Note this testimony to Mary's descent from David.]
[2331] The text is, auton ton 'Abraam patera. Thirlby proposed auton
tou 'Adam: Maranus changed this into autou ton 'Adam patera.
[2332] It is not easy, says Maranus, to say in what Scripture Christ is
so called. [Clearly he refers to the Dayspring (St. Luke i. 78) as the
LXX. render many texts of the O.T. See Zech. iii. 8.] Perhaps Justin
had in his mind the passage, "This the day which the Lord hath made"
(Ps. cxviii. 24). Clem. Alex. teaches that Christ is here referred to.
[2333] Luke i. 35. See Meyer in loc.
[2334] Luke i. 38.
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Chapter CI.--Christ refers all things to the Father
"Then what follows of the Psalm is this, in which He says: Our fathers
trusted in Thee; they trusted, and Thou didst deliver them. They cried
unto Thee, and were not confounded. But I am a worm, and no man; a
reproach of men, and despised of the people;' which show that He admits
them to be His fathers, who trusted in God and were saved by Him, who
also were the fathers of the Virgin, by whom He was born and became
man; and He foretells that He shall be saved by the same God, but
boasts not in accomplishing anything through His own will or might. For
when on earth He acted in the very same manner, and answered to one who
addressed Him as Good Master:' Why callest thou me good? One is good,
my Father who is in heaven.' [2335] But when He says, I am a worm, and
no man; a reproach of men, and despised of the people,' He prophesied
the things which do exist, and which happen to Him. For we who believe
on Him are everywhere a reproach, despised of the people;' for,
rejected and dishonoured by your nation, He suffered those indignities
which you planned against Him. And the following: All they that see me
laughed me to scorn; they spake with the lips, they shook the head: He
trusted in the Lord; let Him deliver him, since he desires Him;' this
likewise He foretold should happen to Him. For they that saw Him
crucified shook their heads each one of them, and distorted their lips,
and twisting their noses to each other, [2336] they spake in mockery
the words which are recorded in the memoirs of His apostles: He said he
was the Son of God: let him come down; let God save him.'
__________________________________________________________________
[2335] Luke xviii. 18 f.
[2336] The text is corrupt, and the meaning doubtful. Otto translates:
naribus inter se certantes.
__________________________________________________________________
Chapter CII.--The prediction of the events which happened to Christ when He
was born. Why God permitted it.
"And what follows --My hope from the breasts of my mother. On Thee have
I been cast from the womb; from my mother's belly Thou art my God: for
there is no helper. Many calves have compassed me; fat bulls have beset
me round. They opened their mouth upon me, as a ravening and a roaring
lion. All my bones are poured out and dispersed like water. My heart
has become like wax melting in the midst of my belly. My strength is
become dry like a potsherd; and my tongue has cleaved to my throat'
--foretold what would come to pass; for the statement, My hope from the
breasts of my mother,' [is thus explained]. As soon as He was born in
Bethlehem, as I previously remarked, king Herod, having learned from
the Arabian Magi about Him, made a plot to put Him to death, and by
God's command Joseph took Him with Mary and departed into Egypt. For
the Father had decreed that He whom He had begotten should be put to
death, but not before He had grown to manhood, and proclaimed the word
which proceeded from Him. But if any of you say to us, Could not God
rather have put Herod to death? I return answer by anticipation: Could
not God have cut off in the beginning the serpent, so that he exist
not, rather than have said, And I will put enmity between him and the
woman, and between his seed and her seed?' [2337] Could He not have at
once created a multitude of men? But yet, since He knew that it would
be good, He created both angels and men free to do that which is
righteous, and He appointed periods of time during which He knew it
would be good for them to have the exercise of free-will; and because
He likewise knew it would be good, He made general and particular
judgments; each one's freedom of will, however, being guarded. Hence
Scripture says the following, at the destruction of the tower, and
division and alteration of tongues: And the Lord said, Behold, the
people is one, and they have all one language; and this they have begun
to do: and now nothing will be restrained from them of all which they
have attempted to do.' [2338] And the statement, My strength is become
dry like a potsherd, and my tongue has cleaved to my throat,' was also
a prophecy of what would be done by Him according to the Father's will.
For the power of His strong word, by which He always confuted the
Pharisees and Scribes, and, in short, all your nation's teachers that
questioned Him, had a cessation like a plentiful and strong spring, the
waters of which have been turned off, when He kept silence, and chose
to return no answer to any one in the presence of Pilate; as has been
declared in the memoirs of His apostles, in order that what is recorded
by Isaiah might have efficacious fruit, where it is written, The Lord
gives me a tongue, that I may know when I ought to speak.' [2339]
Again, when He said, Thou art my God; be not far from me,' He taught
that all men ought to hope in God who created all things, and seek
salvation and help from Him alone; and not suppose, as the rest of men
do, that salvation can be obtained by birth, or wealth, or strength, or
wisdom. And such have ever been your practices: at one time you made a
calf, and always you have shown yourselves ungrateful, murderers of the
righteous, and proud of your descent. For if the Son of God evidently
states that He can be saved, [neither] [2340] because He is a son, nor
because He is strong or wise, but that without God He cannot be saved,
even though He be sinless, as Isaiah declares in words to the effect
that even in regard to His very language He committed no sin (for He
committed no iniquity or guile with His mouth), how do you or others
who expect to be saved without this hope, suppose that you are not
deceiving yourselves?
__________________________________________________________________
[2337] Gen. iii. 15.
[2338] Gen. xi. 6.
[2339] Isa. l. 4.
[2340] Not found in mss.
__________________________________________________________________
Chapter CIII.--The Pharisees are the bulls: the roaring lion is Herod or the
devil.
"Then what is next said in the Psalm--For trouble is near, for there is
none to help me. Many calves have compassed me; fat bulls have beset me
round. They opened their mouth upon me as a ravening and roaring lion.
All my bones are poured out and dispersed like water,'--was likewise a
prediction of the events which happened to Him. For on that night when
some of your nation, who had been sent by the Pharisees and Scribes,
and teachers, [2341] came upon Him from the Mount [2342] of Olives,
those whom Scripture called butting and prematurely destructive calves
surrounded Him. And the expression, Fat bulls have beset me round,' He
spoke beforehand of those who acted similarly to the calves, when He
was led before your teachers. And the Scripture described them as
bulls, since we know that bulls are authors of calves' existence. As
therefore the bulls are the begetters of the calves, so your teachers
were the cause why their children went out to the Mount of Olives to
take Him and bring Him to them. And the expression, For there is none
to help,' is also indicative of what took place. For there was not even
a single man to assist Him as an innocent person. And the expression,
They opened their mouth upon me like a roaring lion,' designates him
who was then king of the Jews, and was called Herod, a successor of the
Herod who, when Christ was born, slew all the infants in Bethlehem born
about the same time, because he imagined that amongst them He would
assuredly be of whom the Magi from Arabia had spoken; for he was
ignorant of the will of Him that is stronger than all, how He had
commanded Joseph and Mary to take the Child and depart into Egypt, and
there to remain until a revelation should again be made to them to
return into their own country. And there they did remain until Herod,
who slew the infants in Bethlehem, was dead, and Archelaus had
succeeded him. And he died before Christ came to the dispensation on
the cross which was given Him by His Father. And when Herod succeeded
Archelaus, having received the authority which had been allotted to
him, Pilate sent to him by way of compliment Jesus bound; and God
foreknowing that this would happen, had thus spoken: And they brought
Him to the Assyrian, a present to the king.' [2343] Or He meant the
devil by the lion roaring against Him: whom Moses calls the serpent,
but in Job and Zechariah he is called the devil, and by Jesus is
addressed as Satan, showing that a compounded name was acquired by him
from the deeds which he performed. For Sata' in the Jewish and Syrian
tongue means apostate; and Nas' is the word from which he is called by
interpretation the serpent, i.e., according to the interpretation of
the Hebrew term, from both of which there arises the single word
Satanas. For this devil, when [Jesus] went up from the river Jordan, at
the time when the voice spake to Him, Thou art my Son: this day have I
begotten Thee,' [2344] is recorded in the memoirs of the apostles to
have come to Him and tempted Him, even so far as to say to Him, Worship
me;' and Christ answered him, Get thee behind me, Satan: thou shalt
worship the Lord thy God, and Him only shalt thou serve.' [2345] For as
he had deceived Adam, so he hoped [2346] that he might contrive some
mischief against Christ also. Moreover, the statement, All my bones are
poured out [2347] and dispersed like water; my heart has become like
wax, melting in the midst of my belly,' was a prediction of that which
happened to Him on that night when men came out against Him to the
Mount of Olives to seize Him. For in the memoirs which I say were drawn
up by His apostles and those who followed them, [it is recorded] that
His sweat fell down like drops of blood while He was praying, and
saying, If it be possible, let this cup pass:' [2348] His heart and
also His bones trembling; His heart being like wax melting in His
belly: [2349] in order that we may perceive that the Father wished His
Son really [2350] to undergo such sufferings for our sakes, and may not
say that He, being the Son of God, did not feel what was happening to
Him and inflicted on Him. Further, the expression, My strength is dried
up like a potsherd, and my tongue has cleaved to my throat,' was a
prediction, as I previously remarked, of that silence, when He who
convicted all your teachers of being unwise returned no answer at all.
__________________________________________________________________
[2341] kai ton didaskalon, adopted instead of kata ten didaskalian,
"according to their instructions."
[2342] apo tou orous. Justin seems to have supposed that the Jews came
on Christ from some point of the hill while He was in the valley below.
'Epi tou orous and epi to oros have been suggested.
[2343] Hos. x. 6.
[2344] Ps. ii. 7; Matt. iii. 17.
[2345] Matt. iv. 9, 10.
[2346] Literally, "said."
[2347] Maranus says it is hardly to be doubted that Justin read, "I am
poured out like water," etc.
[2348] Luke xxii. 44, 42.
[2349] [Breast, rather. The (koile) cavity of the nobler viscera.]
[2350] Justin refers to the opinion of the Docetes, that Christ
suffered in appearance merely, and not in reality.
__________________________________________________________________
Chapter CIV.--Circumstances of Christ's death are predicted in this Psalm.
"And the statement, Thou hast brought me into the dust of death; for
many dogs have surrounded me: the assembly of the wicked have beset me
round. They pierced my hands and my feet. They did tell all my bones.
They did look and stare upon me. They parted my garments among them,
and cast lots upon my vesture,'--was a prediction, as I said before, of
the death to which the synagogue of the wicked would condemn Him, whom
He calls both dogs and hunters, declaring that those who hunted Him
were both gathered together and assiduously striving to condemn Him.
And this is recorded to have happened in the memoirs of His apostles.
And I have shown that, after His crucifixion, they who crucified Him
parted His garments among them.
__________________________________________________________________
Chapter CV.--The Psalm also predicts the crucifixion and the subject of the
last prayers of Christ on Earth.
"And what follows of the Psalm,--But Thou, Lord, do not remove Thine
assistance from me; give heed to help me. Deliver my soul from the
sword, and my [2351] only-begotten from the hand of the dog; save me
from the lion's mouth, and my humility from the horns of the
unicorns,'--was also information and prediction of the events which
should befall Him. For I have already proved that He was the
only-begotten of the Father of all things, being begotten in a peculiar
manner Word and Power by Him, and having afterwards become man through
the Virgin, as we have learned from the memoirs. Moreover, it is
similarly foretold that He would die by crucifixion. For the passage,
Deliver my soul from the sword, and my [2352] only-begotten from the
hand of the dog; save me from the lion's mouth, and my humility from
the horns of the unicorns,' is indicative of the suffering by which He
should die, i.e., by crucifixion. For the horns of the unicorns,' I
have already explained to you, are the figure of the cross only. And
the prayer that His soul should be saved from the sword, and lion's
mouth, and hand of the dog, was a prayer that no one should take
possession of His soul: so that, when we arrive at the end of life, we
may ask the same petition from God, who is able to turn away every
shameless evil angel from taking our souls. And that the souls survive,
I have shown [2353] to you from the fact that the soul of Samuel was
called up by the witch, as Saul demanded. And it appears also, that all
the souls of similar righteous men and prophets fell under the dominion
of such powers, as is indeed to be inferred from the very facts in the
case of that witch. Hence also God by His Son teaches [2354] us for
whose sake these things seem to have been done, always to strive
earnestly, and at death to pray that our souls may not fall into the
hands of any such power. For when Christ was giving up His spirit on
the cross, He said, Father, into Thy hands I commend my spirit,' [2355]
as I have learned also from the memoirs. For He exhorted His disciples
to surpass the pharisaic way of living, with the warning, that if they
did not, they might be sure they could not be saved; and these words
are recorded in the memoirs: Unless your righteousness exceed that of
the Scribes and Pharisees, ye shall not enter into the kingdom of
heaven.' [2356]
__________________________________________________________________
[2351] See note on chap. xcviii.
[2352] Ibid.
[2353] This demonstration is not given. [It could not be. The woman was
herself frightened by the direct interposition of God. 1 Sam. xxviii.
12, 13.]
[2354] Sylburg proposed dikaious ginesthai for di ous gin, "to strive
earnestly to become righteous, and at death to pray."
[2355] Luke xxiii. 46.
[2356] Matt. v. 20.
__________________________________________________________________
Chapter CVI.--Christ's resurrection is foretold in the conclusion of the
Psalm.
"The remainder of the Psalm makes it manifest that He knew His Father
would grant to Him all things which He asked, and would raise Him from
the dead; and that He urged all who fear God to praise Him because He
had compassion on all races of believing men, through the mystery of
Him who was crucified; and that He stood in the midst of His brethren
the apostles (who repented of their flight from Him when He was
crucified, after He rose from the dead, and after they were persuaded
by Himself that, before His passion He had mentioned to them that He
must suffer these things, and that they were announced beforehand by
the prophets), and when living with them sang praises to God, as is
made evident in the memoirs of the apostles. The words are the
following: I will declare Thy name to my brethren; in the midst of the
Church will I praise Thee. Ye that fear the Lord, praise Him; all ye,
the seed of Jacob, glorify Him. Let all the seed of Israel fear Him.'
And when it is said that He changed the name of one of the apostles to
Peter; and when it is written in the memoirs of Him that this so
happened, as well as that He changed the names of other two brothers,
the sons of Zebedee, to Boanerges, which means sons of thunder; this
was an announcement of the fact that it was He by whom Jacob was called
Israel, and Oshea called Jesus (Joshua), under whose name the people
who survived of those that came from Egypt were conducted into the land
promised to the patriarchs. And that He should arise like a star from
the seed of Abraham, Moses showed beforehand when he thus said, A star
shall arise from Jacob, and a leader from Israel;' [2357] and another
Scripture says, Behold a man; the East is His name.' [2358]
Accordingly, when a star rose in heaven at the time of His birth, as is
recorded in the memoirs of His apostles, the Magi from Arabia,
recognising the sign by this, came and worshipped Him.
__________________________________________________________________
[2357] Num. xxiv. 17.
[2358] [Or, "Dayspring."] Zech. vi. 12 (according to LXX.).
__________________________________________________________________
Chapter CVII.--The same is taught from the history of Jonah.
"And that He would rise again on the third day after the crucifixion,
it is written [2359] in the memoirs that some of your nation,
questioning Him, said, Show us a sign;' and He replied to them, An evil
and adulterous generation seeketh after a sign; and no sign shall be
given them, save the sign of Jonah.' And since He spoke this obscurely,
it was to be understood by the audience that after His crucifixion He
should rise again on the third day. And He showed that your generation
was more wicked and more adulterous than the city of Nineveh; for the
latter, when Jonah preached to them, after he had been cast up on the
third day from the belly of the great fish, that after three (in other
versions, forty) [2360] days they should all perish, proclaimed a fast
of all creatures, men and beasts, with sackcloth, and with earnest
lamentation, with true repentance from the heart, and turning away from
unrighteousness, in the belief that God is merciful and kind to all who
turn from wickedness; so that the king of that city himself, with his
nobles also, put on sackcloth and remained fasting and praying, and
obtained their request that the city should not be overthrown. But when
Jonah was grieved that on the (fortieth) third day, as he proclaimed,
the city was not overthrown, by the dispensation of a gourd [2361]
springing up from the earth for him, under which he sat and was shaded
from the heat (now the gourd had sprung up suddenly, and Jonah had
neither planted nor watered it, but it had come up all at once to
afford him shade), and by the other dispensation of its withering away,
for which Jonah grieved, [God] convicted him of being unjustly
displeased because the city of Nineveh had not been overthrown, and
said, Thou hast had pity on the gourd, for the which thou hast not
laboured, neither madest it grow; which came up in a night, and
perished in a night. And shall I not spare Nineveh, the great city,
wherein dwell more than six score thousand persons that cannot discern
between their right hand and their left hand; and also much cattle?'
[2362]
__________________________________________________________________
[2359] Matt. xii. 38 f.
[2360] In the LXX. only three days are recorded, though in the Hebrew
and other versions forty. The parenthetic clause is probably the work
of a transcriber.
[2361] Read kikuona for sikuona.
[2362] Jon. iv. 10 f.
__________________________________________________________________
Chapter CVIII.--The resurrection of Christ did not convert the Jews. But
through the whole world they have sent men to accuse Christ.
"And though all the men of your nation knew the incidents in the life
of Jonah, and though Christ said amongst you that He would give the
sign of Jonah, exhorting you to repent of your wicked deeds at least
after He rose again from the dead, and to mourn before God as did the
Ninevites, in order that your nation and city might not be taken and
destroyed, as they have been destroyed; yet you not only have not
repented, after you learned that He rose from the dead, but, as I said
before [2363] you have sent chosen and ordained men throughout all the
world to proclaim that a godless and lawless heresy had sprung from one
Jesus, a Galilæan deceiver, whom we crucified, but his disciples stole
him by night from the tomb, where he was laid when unfastened from the
cross, and now deceive men by asserting that he has risen from the dead
and ascended to heaven. Moreover, you accuse Him of having taught those
godless, lawless, and unholy doctrines which you mention to the
condemnation of those who confess Him to be Christ, and a Teacher from
and Son of God. Besides this, even when your city is captured, and your
land ravaged, you do not repent, but dare to utter imprecations on Him
and all who believe in Him. Yet we do not hate you or those who, by
your means, have conceived such prejudices against us; but we pray that
even now all of you may repent and obtain mercy from God, the
compassionate and long-suffering Father of all.
__________________________________________________________________
[2363] Chap. xvii.
__________________________________________________________________
Chapter CIX.--The conversion of the Gentiles has been predicted by Micah.
"But that the Gentiles would repent of the evil in which they led
erring lives, when they heard the doctrine preached by His apostles
from Jerusalem, and which they learned [2364] through them, suffer me
to show you by quoting a short statement from the prophecy of Micah,
one of the twelve [minor prophets]. This is as follows: And in the last
days the mountain of the Lord shall be manifest, established on the top
of the mountains; it shall be exalted above the hills, and people shall
flow unto it. [2365] And many nations shall go, and say, Come, let us
go up to the mountain of the Lord, and to the house of the God of
Jacob; and they shall enlighten us in His way, and we shall walk in His
paths: for out of Zion shall go forth the law, and the word of the Lord
from Jerusalem. And He shall judge among many peoples, and shall rebuke
strong nations afar off; and they shall beat their swords into
ploughshares, and their spears into sickles: nation shall not lift up a
sword against nation, neither shall they learn war any more. And each
man shall sit under his vine and under his fig tree; and there shall be
none to terrify: for the mouth of the Lord of hosts hath spoken it. For
all people will walk in the name of their gods; but we will walk in the
name of the Lord our God for ever. And it shall come to pass in that
day, that I will assemble her that is afflicted, and gather her that is
driven out, and whom I had plagued; and I shall make her that is
afflicted a remnant, and her that is oppressed a strong nation. And the
Lord shall reign over them in Mount Zion from henceforth, and even for
ever.' " [2366]
__________________________________________________________________
[2364] Read mathonta for pathonta.
[2365] Literally, "people shall place a river in it."
[2366] Mic. iv. 1 ff.
__________________________________________________________________
Chapter CX.--A portion of the prophecy already fulfilled in the Christians:
the rest shall be fulfilled at the second advent.
And when I had finished these words, I continued: "Now I am aware that
your teachers, sirs, admit the whole of the words of this passage to
refer to Christ; and I am likewise aware that they maintain He has not
yet come; or if they say that He has come, they assert that it is not
known who He is; but when He shall become manifest and glorious, then
it shall be known who He is. And then, they say, the events mentioned
in this passage shall happen, just as if there was no fruit as yet from
the words of the prophecy. O unreasoning men! understanding not what
has been proved by all these passages, that two advents of Christ have
been announced: the one, in which He is set forth as suffering,
inglorious, dishonoured, and crucified; but the other, in which He
shall come from heaven with glory, when the man of apostasy, [2367] who
speaks strange things against the Most High, shall venture to do
unlawful deeds on the earth against us the Christians, who, having
learned the true worship of God from the law, and the word which went
forth from Jerusalem by means of the apostles of Jesus, have fled for
safety to the God of Jacob and God of Israel; and we who were filled
with war, and mutual slaughter, and every wickedness, have each through
the whole earth changed our warlike weapons,-- our swords into
ploughshares, and our spears into implements of tillage, --and we
cultivate piety, righteousness, philanthropy, faith, and hope, which we
have from the Father Himself through Him who was crucified; and sitting
each under his vine, i.e., each man possessing his own married wife.
For you are aware that the prophetic word says, And his wife shall be
like a fruitful vine.' [2368] Now it is evident that no one can terrify
or subdue us who have believed in Jesus over all the world. For it is
plain that, though beheaded, and crucified, and thrown to wild beasts,
and chains, and fire, and all other kinds of torture, we do not give up
our confession; but the more such things happen, the more do others and
in larger numbers become faithful, and worshippers of God through the
name of Jesus. For just as if one should cut away the fruit-bearing
parts of a vine, it grows up again, and yields other branches
flourishing and fruitful; even so the same thing happens with us. For
the vine planted by God and Christ the Saviour is His people. But the
rest of the prophecy shall be fulfilled at His second coming. For the
expression, He that is afflicted [and driven out],' i.e., from the
world, [implies] that, so far as you and all other men have it in your
power, each Christian has been driven out not only from his own
property, but even from the whole world; for you permit no Christian to
live. But you say that the same fate has befallen your own nation. Now,
if you have been cast out after defeat in battle, you have suffered
such treatment justly indeed, as all the Scriptures bear witness; but
we, though we have done no such [evil acts] after we knew the truth of
God, are testified to by God, that, together with the most righteous,
and only spotless and sinless Christ, we are taken away out of the
earth. For Isaiah cries, Behold how the righteous perishes, and no man
lays it to heart; and righteous men are taken away, and no man
considers it.' [2369]
__________________________________________________________________
[2367] 2 Thess. ii. 3; and see chap. xxxii.
[2368] Ps. cxxviii. 3.
[2369] Isa. lvii. 1.
__________________________________________________________________
Chapter CXI.--The two advents were signified by the two goats. Other figures
of the first advent, in which the Gentiles are freed by the blood of Christ.
"And that it was declared by symbol, even in the time of Moses, that
there would be two advents of this Christ, as I have mentioned
previously, [is manifest] from the symbol of the goats presented for
sacrifice during the fast. And again, by what Moses and Joshua did, the
same thing was symbolically announced and told beforehand. For the one
of them, stretching out his hands, remained till evening on the hill,
his hands being supported; and this reveals a type of no other thing
than of the cross: and the other, whose name was altered to Jesus
(Joshua), led the fight, and Israel conquered. Now this took place in
the case of both those holy men and prophets of God, that you may
perceive how one of them could not bear up both the mysteries: I mean,
the type of the cross and the type of the name. For this is, was, and
shall be the strength of Him alone, whose name every power dreads,
being very much tormented because they shall be destroyed by Him.
Therefore our suffering and crucified Christ was not cursed by the law,
but made it manifest that He alone would save those who do not depart
from His faith. And the blood of the passover, sprinkled on each man's
door-posts and lintel, delivered those who were saved in Egypt, when
the first-born of the Egyptians were destroyed. For the passover was
Christ, who was afterwards sacrificed, as also Isaiah said, He was led
as a sheep to the slaughter.' [2370] And it is written, that on the day
of the passover you seized Him, and that also during the passover you
crucified Him. And as the blood of the passover saved those who were in
Egypt, so also the blood of Christ will deliver from death those who
have believed. Would God, then, have been deceived if this sign had not
been above the doors? I do not say that; but I affirm that He announced
beforehand the future salvation for the human race through the blood of
Christ. For the sign of the scarlet thread, which the spies, sent to
Jericho by Joshua, son of Nave (Nun), gave to Rahab the harlot, telling
her to bind it to the window through which she let them down to escape
from their enemies, also manifested the symbol of the blood of Christ,
by which those who were at one time harlots and unrighteous persons out
of all nations are saved, receiving remission of sins, and continuing
no longer in sin.
__________________________________________________________________
[2370] Isa. liii. 7.
__________________________________________________________________
Chapter CXII.--The Jews expound these signs jejunely and feebly, and take up
their attention only with insignificant matters.
"But you, expounding these things in a low [and earthly] manner, impute
much weakness to God, if you thus listen to them merely, and do not
investigate the force of the words spoken. Since even Moses would in
this way be considered a transgressor: for he enjoined that no likeness
of anything in heaven, or on earth, or in the sea, be made; and then he
himself made a brazen serpent and set it on a standard, and bade those
who were bitten look at it: and they were saved when they looked at it.
Will the serpent, then, which (I have already said) God had in the
beginning cursed and cut off by the great sword, as Isaiah says, [2371]
be understood as having preserved at that time the people? and shall we
receive these things in the foolish acceptation of your teachers, and
[regard] them not as signs? And shall we not rather refer the standard
to the resemblance of the crucified Jesus, since also Moses by his
outstretched hands, together with him who was named Jesus (Joshua),
achieved a victory for your people? For in this way we shall cease to
be at a loss about the things which the lawgiver did, when he, without
forsaking God, persuaded the people to hope in a beast through which
transgression and disobedience had their origin. And this was done and
said by the blessed prophet with much intelligence and mystery; and
there is nothing said or done by any one of the prophets, without
exception, which one can justly reprehend, if he possess the knowledge
which is in them. But if your teachers only expound to you why female
camels are spoken of in this passage, and are not in that; or why so
many measures of fine flour and so many measures of oil [are used] in
the offerings; and do so in a low and sordid manner, while they never
venture either to speak of or to expound the points which are great and
worthy of investigation, or command you to give no audience to us while
we expound them, and to come not into conversation with us; will they
not deserve to hear what our Lord Jesus Christ said to them: Whited
sepulchres, which appear beautiful outward, and within are full of dead
men's bones; which pay tithe of mint, and swallow a camel: ye blind
guides!' [2372] If, then, you will not despise the doctrines of those
who exalt themselves and wish to be called Rabbi, Rabbi, and come with
such earnestness and intelligence to the words of prophecy as to suffer
the same inflictions from your own people which the prophets themselves
did, you cannot receive any advantage whatsoever from the prophetic
writings.
__________________________________________________________________
[2371] Isa. xxvii. 1.
[2372] Matt. xxiii. 27, 23, 24. [Note the examples he gives of the
rabbinical expositions. He consents to their principle, but gives
nobler analogies.]
__________________________________________________________________
Chapter CXIII.--Joshua was a figure of Christ.
"What I mean is this. Jesus (Joshua), as I have now frequently
remarked, who was called Oshea, when he was sent to spy out the land of
Canaan, was named by Moses Jesus (Joshua). Why he did this you neither
ask, nor are at a loss about it, nor make strict inquiries. Therefore
Christ has escaped your notice; and though you read, you understand
not; and even now, though you hear that Jesus is our Christ, you
consider not that the name was bestowed on Him not purposelessly nor by
chance. But you make a theological discussion as to why one a' was
added to Abraham's first name; and as to why one r' was added to
Sarah's name, you use similar high-sounding disputations. [2373] But
why do you not similarly investigate the reason why the name of Oshea
the son of Nave (Nun), which his father gave him, was changed to Jesus
(Joshua)? But since not only was his name altered, but he was also
appointed successor to Moses, being the only one of his contemporaries
who came out from Egypt, he led the surviving people into the Holy
Land; and as he, not Moses, led the people into the Holy Land, and as
he distributed it by lot to those who entered along with him, so also
Jesus the Christ will turn again the dispersion of the people, and will
distribute the good land to each one, though not in the same manner.
For the former gave them a temporary inheritance, seeing he was neither
Christ who is God, nor the Son of God; but the latter, after the holy
resurrection, [2374] shall give us the eternal possession. The former,
after he had been named Jesus (Joshua), and after he had received
strength from His Spirit, caused the sun to stand still. For I have
proved that it was Jesus who appeared to and conversed with Moses, and
Abraham, and all the other patriarchs without exception, ministering to
the will of the Father; who also, I say, came to be born man by the
Virgin Mary, and I lives for ever. For the latter is He after [2375]
whom and by whom the Father will renew both the heaven and the earth;
this is He who shall shine an eternal light in Jerusalem; this is he
who is the king of Salem after the order of Melchizedek, and the
eternal Priest of the Most High. The former is said to have circumcised
the people a second time with knives of stone (which was a sign of this
circumcision with which Jesus Christ Himself has circumcised us from
the idols made of stone and of other materials), and to have collected
together those who were circumcised from the uncircumcision, i.e., from
the error of the world, in every place by the knives of stone, to wit,
the words of our Lord Jesus. For I have shown that Christ was
proclaimed by the prophets in parables a Stone and a Rock. Accordingly
the knives of stone we shall take to mean His words, by means of which
so many who were in error have been circumcised from uncircumcision
with the circumcision of the heart, with which God by Jesus commanded
those from that time to be circumcised who derived their circumcision
from Abraham, saying that Jesus (Joshua) would circumcise a second time
with knives of stone those who entered into that holy land.
__________________________________________________________________
[2373] According to the LXX., Sara was altered to Sarrha, and Abram to
Abraam.
[2374] Or, "resurrection of the saints."
[2375] Justin seems to mean that the renewal of heaven and earth dates
from the incarnation of Christ. [St. Matt. xix. 28.]
__________________________________________________________________
Chapter CXIV.--Some rules for discerning what is said about Christ. The
circumcision of the Jews is very different from that which Christians receive.
"For the Holy Spirit sometimes brought about that something, which was
the type of the future, should be done clearly; sometimes He uttered
words about what was to take place, as if it was then taking place, or
had taken place. And unless those who read perceive this art, they will
not be able to follow the words of the prophets as they ought. For
example's sake, I shall repeat some prophetic passages, that you may
understand what I say. When He speaks by Isaiah, He was led as a sheep
to the slaughter, and like a lamb before the shearer,' [2376] He speaks
as if the suffering had already taken place. And when He says again, I
have stretched out my hands to a disobedient and gainsaying people;'
[2377] and when He says, Lord, who hath believed our report?' [2378]
--the words are spoken as if announcing events which had already come
to pass. For I have shown that Christ is oftentimes called a Stone in
parable, and in figurative speech Jacob and Israel. And again, when He
says, I shall behold the heavens, the works of Thy fingers,' [2379]
unless I understand His method of using words, [2380] I shall not
understand intelligently, but just as your teachers suppose, fancying
that the Father of all, the unbegotten God, has hands and feet, and
fingers, and a soul, like a composite being; and they for this reason
teach that it was the Father Himself who appeared to Abraham and to
Jacob. Blessed therefore are we who have been circumcised the second
time with knives of stone. For your first circumcision was and is
performed by iron instruments, for you remain hard-hearted; but our
circumcision, which is the second, having been instituted after yours,
circumcises us from idolatry and from absolutely every kind of
wickedness by sharp stones, i.e., by the words [preached] by the
apostles of the corner-stone cut out without hands. And our hearts are
thus circumcised from evil, so that we are happy to die for the name of
the good Rock, which causes living water to burst forth for the hearts
of those who by Him have loved the Father of all, and which gives those
who are willing to drink of the water of life. But you do not
comprehend me when I speak these things; for you have not understood
what it has been prophesied that Christ would do, and you do not
believe us who draw your attention to what has been written. For
Jeremiah thus cries: Woe unto you! because you have forsaken the living
fountain, and have digged for yourselves broken cisterns that can hold
no water. Shall there be a wilderness where Mount Zion is, because I
gave Jerusalem a bill of divorce in your sight?' [2381]
__________________________________________________________________
[2376] Isa. liii. 7.
[2377] Isa. lxv. 2.
[2378] Isa. liii. 1.
[2379] Ps. viii. 3.
[2380] Literally, "the operation of His words." Editors have changed
ton logon into ton logon or tou logou: but there is no need of change.
[2381] Jer. ii. 13.
__________________________________________________________________
Chapter CXV.--Prediction about the Christians in Zechariah. The malignant way
which the Jews have in disputations.
"But you ought to believe Zechariah when he shows in parable the
mystery of Christ, and announces it obscurely. The following are his
words: Rejoice, and be glad, O daughter of Zion: for, lo, I come, and I
shall dwell in the midst of thee, saith the Lord. And many nations
shall be added to the Lord in that day. And they shall be my people,
and I will dwell in the midst of thee; and they shall know that the
Lord of hosts hath sent me unto thee. And the Lord shall inherit Judah
his portion in the holy land, and He shall choose Jerusalem again. Let
all flesh fear before the Lord, for He is raised up out of His holy
clouds. And He showed me Jesus (Joshua) the high priest standing before
the angel [of the Lord [2382] ]; and the devil stood at his right hand
to resist him. And the Lord said to the devil, The Lord who hath chosen
Jerusalem rebuke thee. Behold, is not this a brand plucked out of the
fire?' " [2383]
As Trypho was about to reply and contradict me, I said, "Wait and hear
what I say first: for I am not to give the explanation which you
suppose, as if there had been no priest of the name of Joshua (Jesus)
in the land of Babylon, where your nation were prisoners. But even if I
did, I have shown that if there [2384] was a priest named Joshua
(Jesus) in your nation, yet the prophet had not seen him in his
revelation, just as he had not seen either the devil or the angel of
the Lord by eyesight, and in his waking condition, but in a trance, at
the time when the revelation was made to him. [2385] But I now say,
that as [Scripture] said that the Son of Nave (Nun) by the name Jesus
(Joshua) wrought powerful works and exploits which proclaimed
beforehand what would be performed by our Lord; so I proceed now to
show that the revelation made among your people in Babylon in the days
of Jesus (Joshua) the priest, was an announcement of the things to be
accomplished by our Priest, who is God, and Christ the Son of God the
Father of all.
"Indeed, I wondered," continued I, "why a little ago you kept silence
while I was speaking, and why you did not interrupt me when I said that
the son of Nave (Nun) was the only one of contemporaries who came out
of Egypt that entered the Holy Land along with the men described as
younger than that generation. For you swarm and light on sores like
flies. For though one should speak ten thousand words well, if there
happen to be one little word displeasing to you, because not
sufficiently intelligible or accurate, you make no account of the many
good words, but lay hold of the little word, and are very zealous in
setting it up as something impious and guilty; in order that, when you
are judged with the very same judgment by God, you may have a much
heavier account to render for your great audacities, whether evil
actions, or bad interpretations which you obtain by falsifying the
truth. For with what judgment you judge, it is righteous that you be
judged withal.
__________________________________________________________________
[2382] Omitted by Justin in this place.
[2383] Zech. ii. 10-13, Zech. iii. 1, 2.
[2384] The reading suggested by Maranus, ei men en.
[2385] [Noteworthy as to prophetic vision.]
__________________________________________________________________
Chapter CXVI.--It is shown how this prophecy suits the Christians.
"But to give you the account of the revelation of the holy Jesus
Christ, I take up again my discourse, and I assert that even that
revelation was made for us who believe on Christ the High Priest,
namely this crucified One; and though we lived in fornication and all
kinds of filthy conversation, we have by the grace of our Jesus,
according to His Father's will, stripped ourselves of all those filthy
wickednesses with which we were imbued. And though the devil is ever at
hand to resist us, and anxious to seduce all to himself, yet the Angel
of God, i.e., the Power of God sent to us through Jesus Christ, rebukes
him, and he departs from us. And we are just as if drawn out from the
fire, when purified from our former sins, and [rescued] from the
affliction and the fiery trial by which the devil and all his
coadjutors try us; out of which Jesus the Son of God has promised again
to deliver us, [2386] and invest us with prepared garments, if we do
His commandments; and has undertaken to provide an eternal kingdom [for
us]. For just as that Jesus (Joshua), called by the prophet a priest,
evidently had on filthy garments because he is said to have taken a
harlot for a wife, [2387] and is called a brand plucked out of the
fire, because he had received remission of sins when the devil that
resisted him was rebuked; even so we, who through the name of Jesus
have believed as one man in God the Maker of all, have been stripped,
through the name of His first-begotten Son, of the filthy garments,
i.e., of our sins; and being vehemently inflamed by the word of His
calling, we are the true high priestly race of God, as even God Himself
bears witness, saying that in every place among the Gentiles sacrifices
are presented to Him well-pleasing and pure. Now God receives
sacrifices from no one, except through His priests. [2388]
__________________________________________________________________
[2386] Maranus changed apospa into apospan, an emendation adopted in
our translation. Otto retains the reading of the ms. "out of which
Jesus the Son of God again snatches us. He promised that He would
clothe us with," etc.
[2387] Justin either confuses Joshua son of Josedech with Hosea the
prophet, or he refers to the Jewish tradition that "filthy garments"
signified either an illicit marriage, or sins of the people, or the
squalor of captivity.
[2388] [Isa. lxvi. 21; Rom. xv. 15, 16, 17 (Greek); 1 Pet. ii. 9.]
__________________________________________________________________
Chapter CXVII.--Malachi's prophecy concerning the sacrifices of the
Christians. It cannot be taken as referring to the prayers of Jews of the
dispersion.
"Accordingly, God, anticipating all the sacrifices which we offer
through this name, and which Jesus the Christ enjoined us to offer,
i.e., in the Eucharist of the bread and the cup, and which are
presented by Christians in all places throughout the world, bears
witness that they are well-pleasing to Him. But He utterly rejects
those presented by you and by those priests of yours, saying, And I
will not accept your sacrifices at your hands; for from the rising of
the sun to its setting my name is glorified among the Gentiles (He
says); but ye profane it.' [2389] Yet even now, in your love of
contention, you assert that God does not accept the sacrifices of those
who dwelt then in Jerusalem, and were called Israelites; but says that
He is pleased with the prayers of the individuals of that nation then
dispersed, and calls their prayers sacrifices. Now, that prayers and
giving of thanks, when offered by worthy men, are the only perfect and
well-pleasing sacrifices to God, I also admit. For such alone
Christians have undertaken to offer, and in the remembrance effected by
their solid and liquid food, whereby the suffering of the Son of God
[2390] which He endured is brought to mind, whose name the high priests
of your nation and your teachers have caused to be profaned and
blasphemed over all the earth. But these filthy garments, which have
been put by you on all who have become Christians by the name of Jesus,
God shows shall be taken away from us, when He shall raise all men from
the dead, and appoint some to be incorruptible, immortal, and free from
sorrow in the everlasting and imperishable kingdom; but shall send
others away to the everlasting punishment of fire. But as to you and
your teachers deceiving yourselves when you interpret what the
Scripture says as referring to those of your nation then in dispersion,
and maintain that their prayers and sacrifices offered in every place
are pure and well-pleasing, learn that you are speaking falsely, and
trying by all means to cheat yourselves: for, first of all, not even
now does your nation extend from the rising to the setting of the sun,
but there are nations among which none of your race ever dwelt. For
there is not one single race of men, whether barbarians, or Greeks, or
whatever they may be called, nomads, or vagrants, or herdsmen living in
tents, among whom prayers and giving of thanks are not offered through
the name of the crucified Jesus. [2391] And then, [2392] as the
Scriptures show, at the time when Malachi wrote this, your dispersion
over all the earth, which now exists, had not taken place.
__________________________________________________________________
[2389] Mal. i. 10-12.
[2390] Or, "God of God."
[2391] [Note this testimony to the catholicity of the Church in the
second century. And see Kaye (compare with Gibbon), cap. vi. 112.]
[2392] eita de for eidotes.
__________________________________________________________________
Chapter CXVIII.--He exhorts to repentance before Christ comes; in whom
Christians, since they believe, are far more religious than Jews.
"So that you ought rather to desist from the love of strife, and repent
before the great day of judgment come, wherein all those of your tribes
who have pierced this Christ shall mourn, as I have shown has been
declared by the Scriptures. And I have explained that the Lord swore,
after the order of Melchizedek,' [2393] and what this prediction means;
and the prophecy of Isaiah which says, His burial is taken away from
the midst,' [2394] I have already said, referred to the future burying
and rising again of Christ; and I have frequently remarked that this
very Christ is the Judge of all the living and the dead. And Nathan
likewise, speaking to David about Him, thus continued: I will be His
Father, and He shall be my Son; and my mercy shall I not take away from
Him, as I did from them that went before Him; and I will establish Him
in my house, and in His kingdom for ever.' [2395] And Ezekiel says,
There shall be no other prince in the house but He.' [2396] For He is
the chosen Priest and eternal King, the Christ, inasmuch as He is the
Son of God; and do not suppose that Isaiah or the other prophets speak
of sacrifices of blood or libations being presented at the altar on His
second advent, but of true and spiritual praises and giving of thanks.
And we have not in vain believed in Him, and have not been led astray
by those who taught us such doctrines; but this has come to pass
through the wonderful foreknowledge of God, in order that we, through
the calling of the new and eternal covenant, that is, of Christ, might
be found more intelligent and God-fearing than yourselves, who are
considered to be lovers of God and men of understanding, but are not.
Isaiah, filled with admiration of this, said: And kings shall shut
their mouths: for those to whom no announcement has been made in regard
to Him [2397] shall see; and those who heard not shall understand.
Lord, who hath believed our report? and to whom is the arm of the Lord
revealed?' [2398]
"And in repeating this, [2399] Trypho," I continued, "as far as is
allowable, I endeavour to do so for the sake of those who came with you
to-day, yet briefly and concisely."
Then he replied, "You do well; and though you repeat the same things at
considerable length, be assured that I and my companions listen with
pleasure."
__________________________________________________________________
[2393] Ps. cx. 4.
[2394] Isa. liii. 8.
[2395] 2 Sam. vii. 14f.
[2396] Ezek. xliv. 3.
[2397] The mss. read "them." Otto has changed it to "Him."
[2398] Isa. lii. 15, Isa. liii. 1.
[2399] [Let this apology be noted.]
__________________________________________________________________
Chapter CXIX.--Christians are the holy people promised to Abraham. They have
been called like Abraham.
Then I said again, "Would you suppose, sirs, that we could ever have
understood these matters in the Scriptures, if we had not received
grace to discern by the will of Him whose pleasure it was? in order
that the saying of Moses [2400] might come to pass, They provoked me
with strange [gods], they provoked me to anger with their abominations.
They sacrificed to demons whom they knew not; new gods that came newly
up, whom their fathers knew not. Thou hast forsaken God that begat
thee, and forgotten God that brought thee up. And the Lord saw, and was
jealous, and was provoked to anger by reason of the rage of His sons
and daughters: and He said, I will turn My face away from them, and I
will show what shall come on them at the last; for it is a very froward
generation, children in whom is no faith. They have moved Me to
jealousy with that which is not God, they have provoked Me to anger
with their idols; and I will move them to jealousy with that which is
not a nation, I will provoke them to anger with a foolish people. For a
fire is kindled from Mine anger, and it shall burn to Hades. It shall
consume the earth and her increase, and set on fire the foundations of
the mountains; I will heap mischief on them.' [2401] And after that
Righteous One was put to death, we flourished as another people, and
shot forth as new and prosperous corn; as the prophets said, And many
nations shall betake themselves to the Lord in that day for a people:
and they shall dwell in the midst of all the earth.' [2402] But we are
not only a people, but also a holy people, as we have shown already.
[2403] And they shall call them the holy people, redeemed by the Lord.'
[2404] Therefore we are not a people to be despised, nor a barbarous
race, nor such as the Carian and Phrygian nations; but God has even
chosen us, and He has become manifest to those who asked not after Him.
Behold, I am God,' He says, to the nation which called not on My name.'
[2405] For this is that nation which God of old promised to Abraham,
when He declared that He would make him a father of many nations; not
meaning, however, the Arabians, or Egyptians, or Idumæans, since
Ishmael became the father of a mighty nation, and so did Esau; and
there is now a great multitude of Ammonites. Noah, moreover, was the
father of Abraham, and in fact of all men; and others were the
progenitors of others. What larger measure of grace, then, did Christ
bestow on Abraham? This, namely, that He called him with His voice by
the like calling, telling him to quit the land wherein he dwelt. And He
has called all of us by that voice, and we have left already the way of
living in which we used to spend our days, passing our time in evil
after the fashions of the other inhabitants of the earth; and along
with Abraham we shall inherit the holy land, when we shall receive the
inheritance for an endless eternity, being children of Abraham through
the like faith. For as he believed the voice of God, and it was imputed
to him for righteousness, in like manner we, having believed God's
voice spoken by the apostles of Christ, and promulgated to us by the
prophets, have renounced even to death all the things of the world.
Accordingly, He promises to him a nation of similar faith, God-fearing,
righteous, and delighting the Father; but it is not you, in whom is no
faith.'
__________________________________________________________________
[2400] Literally, "in the time of Moses."
[2401] Deut. xxxii. 16-23.
[2402] Zech. ii. 11.
[2403] See chap. cx.
[2404] Isa. lxii. 12.
[2405] Isa. lxv. 1.
__________________________________________________________________
Chapter CXX.--Christians were promised to Isaac, Jacob, and Judah.
"Observe, too, how the same promises are made to Isaac and to Jacob.
For thus He speaks to Isaac: And in thy seed shall all the nations of
the earth be blessed.' [2406] And to Jacob: And in thee and in thy seed
shall all families of the earth be blessed.' [2407] He says that
neither to Esau nor to Reuben, nor to any other; only to those of whom
the Christ should arise, according to the dispensation, through the
Virgin Mary. But if you would consider the blessing of Judah, you would
perceive what I say. For the seed is divided from Jacob, and comes down
through Judah, and Phares, and Jesse, and David. And this was a symbol
of the fact that some of your nation would be found children of
Abraham, and found, too, in the lot of Christ; but that others, who are
indeed children of Abraham, would be like the sand on the sea-shore,
barren and fruitless, much in quantity, and without number indeed, but
bearing no fruit whatever, and only drinking the water of the sea. And
a vast multitude in your nation are convicted of being of this kind,
imbibing doctrines of bitterness and godlessness, but spurning the word
of God. He speaks therefore in the passage relating to Judah: A prince
shall not fail from Judah, nor a ruler from his thighs, till that which
is laid up for him come; and He shall be the expectation of the
nations.' [2408] And it is plain that this was spoken not of Judah, but
of Christ. For all we out of all nations do expect not Judah, but
Jesus, who led your fathers out of Egypt. For the prophecy referred
even to the advent of Christ: Till He come for whom this is laid up,
and He shall be the expectation of nations.' Jesus came, therefore, as
we have shown at length, and is expected again to appear above the
clouds; whose name you profane, and labour hard to get it profaned over
all the earth. It were possible for me, sirs," I continued, "to contend
against you about the reading which you so interpret, saying it is
written, Till the things laid up for Him come;' though the Seventy have
not so explained it, but thus, Till He comes for whom this is laid up.'
But since what follows indicates that the reference is to Christ (for
it is, and He shall be the expectation of nations'), I do not proceed
to have a mere verbal controversy with you, as I have not attempted to
establish proof about Christ from the passages of Scripture which are
not admitted by you, [2409] which I quoted from the words of Jeremiah
the prophet, and Esdras, and David; but from those which are even now
admitted by you, which had your teachers comprehended, be well assured
they would have deleted them, as they did those about the death of
Isaiah, whom you sawed asunder with a wooden saw. And this was a
mysterious type of Christ being about to cut your nation in two, and to
raise those worthy of the honour to the everlasting kingdom along with
the holy patriarchs and prophets; but He has said that He will send
others to the condemnation of the unquenchable fire along with similar
disobedient and impenitent men from all the nations. For they shall
come,' He said, from the west and from the east, and shall sit down
with Abraham, and Isaac, and Jacob in the kingdom of heaven; but the
children of the kingdom shall be cast out into outer darkness.' [2410]
And I have mentioned these things, taking nothing whatever into
consideration, except the speaking of the truth, and refusing to be
coerced by any one, even though I should be forthwith torn in pieces by
you. For I gave no thought to any of my people, that is, the
Samaritans, when I had a communication in writing with Cæsar, [2411]
but stated that they were wrong in trusting to the magician Simon of
their own nation, who, they say, is God above all power, and authority,
and might."
__________________________________________________________________
[2406] Gen. xxvi. 4.
[2407] Gen. xxviii. 14.
[2408] Gen. xlix. 10.
[2409] [Note this important point. He forbears to cite the New
Testament.]
[2410] Matt. viii. 11 f.
[2411] The Apology, i. chap. xxvi.; ii. chap. xv.
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Chapter CXXI.--From the fact that the Gentiles believe in Jesus, it is evident
that He is Christ.
And as they kept silence, I went on: "[The Scripture], speaking by
David about this Christ, my friends, said no longer that in His seed'
the nations should be blessed, but in Him.' So it is here: His name
shall rise up for ever above the sun; and in Him shall all nations be
blessed.' [2412] But if all nations are blessed in Christ, and we of
all nations believe in Him, then He is indeed the Christ, and we are
those blessed by Him. God formerly gave the sun as an object of
worship, [2413] as it is written, but no one ever was seen to endure
death on account of his faith in the sun; but for the name of Jesus you
may see men of every nation who have endured and do endure all
sufferings, rather than deny Him. For the word of His truth and wisdom
is more ardent and more light-giving than the rays of the sun, and
sinks down into the depths of heart and mind. Hence also the Scripture
said, His name shall rise up above the sun.' And again, Zechariah says,
His name is the East.' [2414] And speaking of the same, he says that
each tribe shall mourn.' [2415] But if He so shone forth and was so
mighty in His first advent (which was without honour and comeliness,
and very contemptible), that in no nation He is unknown, and everywhere
men have repented of the old wickedness in each nation's way of living,
so that even demons were subject to His name, and all powers and
kingdoms feared His name more than they feared all the dead, shall He
not on His glorious advent destroy by all means all those who hated
Him, and who unrighteously departed from Him, but give rest to His own,
rewarding them with all they have looked for? To us, therefore, it has
been granted to hear, and to understand, and to be saved by this
Christ, and to recognise all the [truths revealed] by the Father.
Wherefore He said to Him: It is a great thing for Thee to be called my
servant, to raise up the tribes of Jacob, and turn again the dispersed
of Israel. I have appointed Thee for a light to the Gentiles, that Thou
mayest be their salvation unto the end of the earth.' [2416]
__________________________________________________________________
[2412] Ps. lxxii. 17.
[2413] So Justin concludes from Deut. iv. 19; comp. chap. lv. [The
explanation is not very difficult (see Rom. i. 28), but the language of
Justin is unguarded.]
[2414] Zech. vi. 12.
[2415] Zech. xii. 12.
[2416] Isa. xlix. 6.
__________________________________________________________________
Chapter CXXII.--The Jews understand this of the proselytes without reason.
"You think that these words refer to the stranger [2417] and the
proselytes, but in fact they refer to us who have been illumined by
Jesus. For Christ would have borne witness even to them; but now you
are become twofold more the children of hell, as He said Himself.
[2418] Therefore what was written by the prophets was spoken not of
those persons, but of us, concerning whom the Scripture speaks: I will
lead the blind by a way which they knew not; and they shall walk in
paths which they have not known. And I am witness, saith the Lord God,
and my servant whom I have chosen.' [2419] To whom, then, does Christ
bear witness? Manifestly to those who have believed. But the proselytes
not only do not believe, but twofold more than yourselves blaspheme His
name, and wish to torture and put to death us who believe in Him; for
in all points they strive to be like you. And again in other words He
cries: I the Lord have called Thee in righteousness, and will hold
Thine hand, and will strengthen Thee, and will give Thee for a covenant
of the people, for a light of the Gentiles, to open the eyes of the
blind, to bring out the prisoners from their bonds.' [2420] These
words, indeed, sirs, refer also to Christ, and concern the enlightened
nations; or will you say again, He speaks to them of the law and the
proselytes?"
Then some of those who had come on the second day cried out as if they
had been in a theatre, "But what? does He not refer to the law, and to
those illumined by it? Now these are proselytes."
"No," I said, looking towards Trypho, "since, if the law were able to
enlighten the nations and those who possess it, what need is there of a
new covenant? But since God announced beforehand that He would send a
new covenant, and an everlasting law and commandment, we will not
understand this of the old law and its proselytes, but of Christ and
His proselytes, namely us Gentiles, whom He has illumined, as He says
somewhere: Thus saith the Lord, In an acceptable time have I heard
Thee, and in a day of salvation have I helped Thee, and I have given
Thee for a covenant of the people, to establish the earth, and to
inherit the deserted.' [2421] What, then, is Christ's inheritance? Is
it not the nations? What is the covenant of God? Is it not Christ? As
He says in another place: Thou art my Son; this day have I begotten
Thee. Ask of Me, and I shall give Thee the nations for Thine
inheritance, and the uttermost parts of the earth for Thy possession.'
[2422]
__________________________________________________________________
[2417] Geora or Geiora. Found in LXX., Ex. xii. 19 and Isa. xiv. 1.
[2418] Matt. xxiii. 15.
[2419] Isa. xlii. 16, Isa. xliii. 10.
[2420] Isa. xlii. 6.
[2421] Isa. xlix. 8.
[2422] Ps. ii. 7 f.
__________________________________________________________________
Chapter CXXIII.--Ridiculous interpretations of the Jews. Christians are the
true Israel.
"As, therefore, all these latter prophecies refer to Christ and the
nations, you should believe that the former refer to Him and them in
like manner. For the proselytes have no need of a covenant, if, since
there is one and the same law imposed on all that are circumcised, the
Scripture speaks about them thus: And the stranger shall also be joined
with them, and shall be joined to the house of Jacob;' [2423] and
because the proselyte, who is circumcised that he may have access to
the people, becomes like one of themselves, [2424] while we who have
been deemed worthy to be called a people are yet Gentiles, because we
have not been circumcised. Besides, it is ridiculous for you to imagine
that the eyes of the proselytes are to be opened while your own are
not, and that you be understood as blind and deaf while they are
enlightened. And it will be still more ridiculous for you, if you say
that the law has been given to the nations, but you have not known it.
For you would have stood in awe of God's wrath, and would not have been
lawless, wandering sons; being much afraid of hearing God always say,
Children in whom is no faith. And who are blind, but my servants? and
deaf, but they that rule over them? And the servants of God have been
made blind. You see often, but have not observed; your ears have been
opened, and you have not heard.' [2425] Is God's commendation of you
honourable? and is God's testimony seemly for His servants? You are not
ashamed though you often hear these words. You do not tremble at God's
threats, for you are a people foolish and hard-hearted. Therefore,
behold, I will proceed to remove this people,' saith the Lord; and I
will remove them, and destroy the wisdom of the wise, and hide the
understanding of the prudent.' [2426] Deservedly too: for you are
neither wise nor prudent, but crafty and unscrupulous; wise only to do
evil, but utterly incompetent to know the hidden counsel of God, or the
faithful covenant of the Lord, or to find out the everlasting paths.
Therefore, saith the Lord, I will raise up to Israel and to Judah the
seed of men and the seed of beasts.' [2427] And by Isaiah He speaks
thus concerning another Israel: In that day shall there be a third
Israel among the Assyrians and the Egyptians, blessed in the land which
the Lord of Sabaoth hath blessed, saying, blessed shall my people in
Egypt and in Assyria be, and Israel mine inheritance.' [2428] Since
then God blesses this people, and calls them Israel, and declares them
to be His inheritance, how is it that you repent not of the deception
you practise on yourselves, as if you alone were the Israel, and of
execrating the people whom God has blessed? For when He speaks to
Jerusalem and its environs, He thus added: And I will beget men upon
you, even my people Israel; and they shall inherit you, and you shall
be a possession for them; and you shall be no longer bereaved of them.'
" [2429]
"What, then?" says Trypho; "are you Israel? and speaks He such things
of you?"
"If, indeed," I replied to him, "we had not entered into a lengthy
[2430] discussion on these topics, I might have doubted whether you ask
this question in ignorance; but since we have brought the matter to a
conclusion by demonstration and with your assent, I do not believe that
you are ignorant of what I have just said, or desire again mere
contention, but that you are urging me to exhibit the same proof to
these men." And in compliance with the assent expressed in his eyes, I
continued: "Again in Isaiah, if you have ears to hear it, God, speaking
of Christ in parable, calls Him Jacob and Israel. He speaks thus: Jacob
is my servant, I will uphold Him; Israel is mine elect, I will put my
Spirit upon Him, and He shall bring forth judgment to the Gentiles. He
shall not strive, nor cry, neither shall any one hear His voice in the
street: a bruised reed He shall not break, and smoking flax He shall
not quench; but He shall bring forth judgment to truth: He shall shine,
[2431] and shall not be broken till He have set judgment on the earth.
And in His name shall the Gentiles trust.' [2432] As therefore from the
one man Jacob, who was surnamed Israel, all your nation has been called
Jacob and Israel; so we from Christ, who begat us unto God, like Jacob,
and Israel, and Judah, and Joseph, and David, are called and are the
true sons of God, and keep the commandments of Christ."
__________________________________________________________________
[2423] Isa. xiv. 1.
[2424] Literally, "a native of the land."
[2425] Deut. xxxii. 20; Isa. xlii. 19 f.
[2426] Isa. xxix. 14.
[2427] Jer. xxxi. 27.
[2428] Isa. xix. 24 f.
[2429] Ezek. xxxvi. 12.
[2430] [I cannot forbear to note this "Americanism" in the text.]
[2431] LXX. analampsei, as above. The reading of the text is analepsei.
[2432] Isa. xlii. 1-4.
__________________________________________________________________
Chapter CXXIV.--Christians are the sons of God.
And when I saw that they were perturbed because I said that we are the
sons of God, I anticipated their questioning, and said, "Listen, sirs,
how the Holy Ghost speaks of this people, saying that they are all sons
of the Highest; and how this very Christ will be present in their
assembly, rendering judgment to all men. The words are spoken by David,
and are, according to your version of them, thus: God standeth in the
congregation of gods; He judgeth among the gods. How long do ye judge
unjustly, and accept the persons of the wicked? Judge for the orphan
and the poor, and do justice to the humble and needy. Deliver the
needy, and save the poor out of the hand of the wicked. They know not,
neither have they understood; they walk on in darkness: all the
foundations of the earth shall be shaken. I said, Ye are gods, and are
all children of the Most High. But ye die like men, and fall like one
of the princes. Arise, O God! judge the earth, for Thou shalt inherit
all nations.' [2433] But in the version of the Seventy it is written,
Behold, ye die like men, and fall like one of the princes,' [2434] in
order to manifest the disobedience of men,--I mean of Adam and
Eve,--and the fall of one of the princes, i.e., of him who was called
the serpent, who fell with a great overthrow, because he deceived Eve.
But as my discourse is not intended to touch on this point, but to
prove to you that the Holy Ghost reproaches men because they were made
like God, free from suffering and death, provided that they kept His
commandments, and were deemed deserving of the name of His sons, and
yet they, becoming like Adam and Eve, work out death for themselves;
let the interpretation of the Psalm be held just as you wish, yet
thereby it is demonstrated that all men are deemed worthy of becoming
"gods," and of having power to become sons of the Highest; and shall be
each by himself judged and condemned like Adam and Eve. Now I have
proved at length that Christ is called God.
__________________________________________________________________
[2433] Ps. lxxxii.
[2434] In the text there is certainly no distinction given. But if we
read hos anthropos (k'dm), "as a man," in the first quotation we shall
be able to follow Justin's argument.
__________________________________________________________________
Chapter CXXV.--He explains what force the word Israel has, and how it suits
Christ.
"I wish, sirs," I said, "to learn from you what is the force of the
name Israel." And as they were silent, I continued: "I shall tell you
what I know: for I do not think it right, when I know, not to speak;
or, suspecting that you do know, and yet from envy or from voluntary
ignorance deceive yourselves, [2435] to be continually solicitous; but
I speak all things simply and candidly, as my Lord said: A sower went
forth to sow the seed; and some fell by the wayside; and some among
thorns, and some on stony ground, and some on good ground.' [2436] I
must speak, then, in the hope of finding good ground somewhere; since
that Lord of mine, as One strong and powerful, comes to demand back His
own from all, and will not condemn His steward if He recognises that
he, by the knowledge that the Lord is powerful and has come to demand
His own, has given it to every bank, and has not digged for any cause
whatsoever. Accordingly the name Israel signifies this, A man who
overcomes power; for Isra is a man overcoming, and El is power. [2437]
And that Christ would act so when He became man was foretold by the
mystery of Jacob's wrestling with Him who appeared to him, in that He
ministered to the will of the Father, yet nevertheless is God, in that
He is the first-begotten of all creatures. For when He became man, as I
previously remarked, the devil came to Him--i.e., that power which is
called the serpent and Satan--tempting Him, and striving to effect His
downfall by asking Him to worship him. But He destroyed and overthrew
the devil, having proved him to be wicked, in that he asked to be
worshipped as God, contrary to the Scripture; who is an apostate from
the will of God. For He answers him, It is written, Thou shalt worship
the Lord thy God, and Him only shall thou serve.' [2438] Then, overcome
and convicted, the devil departed at that time. But since our Christ
was to be numbed, i.e., by pain and experience of suffering, He made a
previous intimation of this by touching Jacob's thigh, and causing it
to shrink. But Israel was His name from the beginning, to which He
altered the name of the blessed Jacob when He blessed him with His own
name, proclaiming thereby that all who through Him have fled for refuge
to the Father, constitute the blessed Israel. But you, having
understood none of this, and not being prepared to understand, since
you are the children of Jacob after the fleshly seed, expect that you
shall be assuredly saved. But that you deceive yourselves in such
matters, I have proved by many words.
__________________________________________________________________
[2435] The reading here is epistamai autos, which is generally
abandoned for apatan heautous.
[2436] Matt. xiii. 3.
[2437] [On Justin's Hebrew, see Kaye, p. 19.]
[2438] Matt. iv. 10.
__________________________________________________________________
Chapter CXXVI.--The various names of Christ according to both natures. It is
shown that He is God, and appeared to the patriarchs.
"But if you knew, Trypho," continued I, "who He is that is called at
one time the Angel of great counsel, [2439] and a Man by Ezekiel, and
like the Son of man by Daniel, and a Child by Isaiah, and Christ and
God to be worshipped by David, and Christ and a Stone by many, and
Wisdom by Solomon, and Joseph and Judah and a Star by Moses, and the
East by Zechariah, and the Suffering One and Jacob and Israel by Isaiah
again, and a Rod, and Flower, and Corner-Stone, and Son of God, you
would not have blasphemed Him who has now come, and been born, and
suffered, and ascended to heaven; who shall also come again, and then
your twelve tribes shall mourn. For if you had understood what has been
written by the prophets, you would not have denied that He was God, Son
of the only, unbegotten, unutterable God. For Moses says somewhere in
Exodus the following: The Lord spoke to Moses, and said to him, I am
the Lord, and I appeared to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob, being
their God; and my name I revealed not to them, and I established my
covenant with them.' [2440] And thus again he says, A man wrestled with
Jacob,' [2441] and asserts it was God; narrating that Jacob said, I
have seen God face to face, and my life is preserved.' And it is
recorded that he called the place where He wrestled with him, appeared
to and blessed him, the Face of God (Peniel). And Moses says that God
appeared also to Abraham near the oak in Mamre, when he was sitting at
the door of his tent at mid-day. Then he goes on to say: And he lifted
up his eyes and looked, and, behold, three men stood before him; and
when he saw them, he ran to meet them.' [2442] After a little, one of
them promises a son to Abraham: Wherefore did Sarah laugh, saying,
Shall I of a surety bear a child, and I am old? Is anything impossible
with God? At the time appointed I will return, according to the time of
life, and Sarah shall have a son. And they went away from Abraham.'
[2443] Again he speaks of them thus: And the men rose up from thence,
and looked toward Sodom.' [2444] Then to Abraham He who was and is
again speaks: I will not hide from Abraham, my servant, what I intend
to do.' " [2445] And what follows in the writings of Moses I quoted and
explained; "from which I have demonstrated," I said, "that He who is
described as God appeared to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob, and the
other patriarchs, was appointed under the authority of the Father and
Lord, and ministers to His will." Then I went on to say what I had not
said before: "And so, when the people desired to eat flesh, and Moses
had lost faith in Him, who also there is called the Angel, and who
promised that God would give them to satiety, He who is both God and
the Angel, sent by the Father, is described as saying and doing these
things. For thus the Scripture says: And the Lord said to Moses, Will
the Lord's hand not be sufficient? thou shalt know now whether my word
shall conceal thee or not.' [2446] And again, in other words, it thus
says: But the Lord spake unto me, Thou shalt not go over this Jordan:
the Lord thy God, who goeth before thy face, He shall cut off the
nations.' [2447]
__________________________________________________________________
[2439] [By Isaiah. "Counsellor" in English version.]
[2440] Ex. vi. 2 ff.
[2441] Gen. xxxii. 24, 30.
[2442] Gen. xviii. 2.
[2443] Gen. xviii. 13 f.
[2444] Gen. xviii. 16.
[2445] Gen. xviii. 17.
[2446] Num. xi. 23.
[2447] Deut. xxxi. 2 f.
__________________________________________________________________
Chapter CXXVII.--These passages of Scripture do not apply to the Father, but
to the Word.
"These and other such sayings are recorded by the lawgiver and by the
prophets; and I suppose that I have stated sufficiently, that wherever
[2448] God says, God went up from Abraham,' [2449] or, The Lord spake
to Moses,' [2450] and The Lord came down to behold the tower which the
sons of men had built,' [2451] or when God shut Noah into the ark,'
[2452] you must not imagine that the unbegotten God Himself came down
or went up from any place. For the ineffable Father and Lord of all
neither has come to any place, nor walks, nor sleeps, nor rises up, but
remains in His own place, wherever that is, quick to behold and quick
to hear, having neither eyes nor ears, but being of indescribable
might; and He sees all things, and knows all things, and none of us
escapes His observation; and He is not moved or confined to a spot in
the whole world, for He existed before the world was made. How, then,
could He talk with any one, or be seen by any one, or appear on the
smallest portion of the earth, when the people at Sinai were not able
to look even on the glory of Him who was sent from Him; and Moses
himself could not enter into the tabernacle which he had erected, when
it was filled with the glory of God; and the priest could not endure to
stand before the temple when Solomon conveyed the ark into the house in
Jerusalem which he had built for it? Therefore neither Abraham, nor
Isaac, nor Jacob, nor any other man, saw the Father and ineffable Lord
of all, and also of Christ, but [saw] Him who was according to His will
His Son, being God, and the Angel because He ministered to His will;
whom also it pleased Him to be born man by the Virgin; who also was
fire when He conversed with Moses from the bush. Since, unless we thus
comprehend the Scriptures, it must follow that the Father and Lord of
all had not been in heaven when what Moses wrote took place: And the
Lord rained upon Sodom fire and brimstone from the Lord out of heaven;'
[2453] and again, when it is thus said by David: Lift up your gates, ye
rulers; and be ye lift up, ye everlasting gates; and the King of glory
shall enter;' [2454] and again, when He says: The Lord says to my Lord,
Sit at My right hand, till I make Thine enemies Thy footstool.' [2455]
__________________________________________________________________
[2448] hotau pon instead of hotan mou.
[2449] Gen. xviii. 22.
[2450] Ex. vi. 29.
[2451] Gen. xi. 5.
[2452] Gen. vii. 16.
[2453] Gen. xix. 24.
[2454] Ps. xxiv. 7.
[2455] Ps. cx. 1.
__________________________________________________________________
Chapter CXXVIII.--The Word is sent not as an inanimate power, but as a person
begotten of the Father's substance.
"And that Christ being Lord, and God the Son of God, and appearing
formerly in power as Man, and Angel, and in the glory of fire as at the
bush, so also was manifested at the judgment executed on Sodom, has
been demonstrated fully by what has been said." Then I repeated once
more all that I had previously quoted from Exodus, about the vision in
the bush, and the naming of Joshua (Jesus), and continued: "And do not
suppose, sirs, that I am speaking superfluously when I repeat these
words frequently: but it is because I know that some wish to anticipate
these remarks, and to say that the power sent from the Father of all
which appeared to Moses, or to Abraham, or to Jacob, is called an Angel
because He came to men (for by Him the commands of the Father have been
proclaimed to men); is called Glory, because He appears in a vision
sometimes that cannot be borne; is called a Man, and a human being,
because He appears arrayed in such forms as the Father pleases; and
they call Him the Word, because He carries tidings from the Father to
men: but maintain that this power is indivisible and inseparable from
the Father, just as they say that the light of the sun on earth is
indivisible and inseparable from the sun in the heavens; as when it
sinks, the light sinks along with it; so the Father, when He chooses,
say they, causes His power to spring forth, and when He chooses, He
makes it return to Himself. In this way, they teach, He made the
angels. But it is proved that there are angels who always exist, and
are never reduced to that form out of which they sprang. And that this
power which the prophetic word calls God, as has been also amply
demonstrated, and Angel, is not numbered [as different] in name only
like the light of the sun, but is indeed something numerically
distinct, I have discussed briefly in what has gone before; when I
asserted that this power was begotten from the Father, by His power and
will, but not by abscission, as if the essence of the Father were
divided; as all other things partitioned and divided are not the same
after as before they were divided: and, for the sake of example, I took
the case of fires kindled from a fire, which we see to be distinct from
it, and yet that from which many can be kindled is by no means made
less, but remains the same.
__________________________________________________________________
Chapter CXXIX.--That is confirmed from other passages of Scripture.
"And now I shall again recite the words which I have spoken in proof of
this point. When Scripture says, The Lord rained fire from the Lord out
of heaven,' the prophetic word indicates that there were two in number:
One upon the earth, who, it says, descended to behold the cry of Sodom;
Another in heaven, who also is Lord of the Lord on earth, as He is
Father and God; the cause of His power and of His being Lord and God.
Again, when the Scripture records that God said in the beginning,
Behold, Adam has become like one of Us,' [2456] this phrase, like one
of Us,' is also indicative of number; and the words do not admit of a
figurative meaning, as the sophists endeavour to affix on them, who are
able neither to tell nor to understand the truth. And it is written in
the book of Wisdom: If I should tell you daily events, I would be
mindful to enumerate them from the beginning. The Lord created me the
beginning of His ways for His works. From everlasting He established me
in the beginning, before He formed the earth, and before He made the
depths, and before the springs of waters came forth, before the
mountains were settled; He begets me before all the hills.' " [2457]
When I repeated these words, I added: "You perceive, my hearers, if you
bestow attention, that the Scripture has declared that this Offspring
was begotten by the Father before all things created; and that which is
begotten is numerically distinct from that which begets, any one will
admit."
__________________________________________________________________
[2456] Gen. iii. 22.
[2457] Prov. viii. 22 ff.
__________________________________________________________________
Chapter CXXX.--He returns to the conversion of the Gentiles, and shows that it
was foretold.
And when all had given assent, I said: "I would now adduce some
passages which I had not recounted before. They are recorded by the
faithful servant Moses in parable, and are as follows: Rejoice, O ye
heavens, with Him, and let all the angels of God worship Him;' " [2458]
and I added what follows of the passage: " Rejoice, O ye nations, with
His people, and let all the angels of God be strengthened in Him: for
the blood of His sons He avenges, and will avenge, and will recompense
His enemies with vengeance, and will recompense those that hate Him;
and the Lord will purify the land of His people.' And by these words He
declares that we, the nations, rejoice with His people, --to wit,
Abraham, and Isaac, and Jacob, and the prophets, and, in short, all of
that people who are well-pleasing to God, according to what has been
already agreed on between us. But we will not receive it of all your
nation; since we know from Isaiah [2459] that the members of those who
have transgressed shall be consumed by the worm and unquenchable fire,
remaining immortal; so that they become a spectacle to all flesh. But
in addition to these, I wish, sirs," said I, "to add some other
passages from the very words of Moses, from which you may understand
that God has from of old dispersed all men according to their kindreds
and tongues; and out of all kindreds has taken to Himself your kindred,
a useless, disobedient, and faithless generation; and has shown that
those who were selected out of every nation have obeyed His will
through Christ,--whom He calls also Jacob, and names Israel, --and
these, then, as I mentioned fully previously, must be Jacob and Israel.
For when He says, Rejoice, O ye nations, with His people,' He allots
the same inheritance to them, and does not call them by the same name;
[2460] but when He says that they as Gentiles rejoice with His people,
He calls them Gentiles to reproach you. For even as you provoked Him to
anger by your idolatry, so also He has deemed those who were idolaters
worthy of knowing His will, and of inheriting His inheritance.
__________________________________________________________________
[2458] Deut. xxxii. 43.
[2459] Isa. lxvi. 24.
[2460] The reading is, "and calls them by the same name." But the whole
argument shows that the Jews and Gentiles are distinguished by name.
[But that Gentiles are also called (Israel) by the same name is the
point here.]
__________________________________________________________________
Chapter CXXXI.--How much more faithful to God the Gentiles are who are
converted to Christ than the Jews.
"But I shall quote the passage by which it is made known that God
divided all the nations. It is as follows: Ask thy father, and he will
show thee; thine elders, and they will tell thee; when the Most High
divided the nations, as He dispersed the sons of Adam. He set the
bounds of the nations according to the numbers of the children of
Israel; and the Lord's portion became His people Jacob, and Israel was
the lot of His inheritance.' " [2461] And having said this, I added:
"The Seventy have translated it, He set the bounds of the nations
according to the number of the angels of God.' But because my argument
is again in nowise weakened by this, I have adopted your exposition.
And you yourselves, if you will confess the truth, must acknowledge
that we, who have been called by God through the despised and shameful
mystery of the cross (for the confession of which, and obedience to
which, and for our piety, punishments even to death have been inflicted
on us by demons, and by the host of the devil, through the aid
ministered to them by you), and endure all torments rather than deny
Christ even by word, through whom we are called to the salvation
prepared beforehand by the Father, are more faithful to God than you,
who were redeemed from Egypt with a high hand and a visitation of great
glory, when the sea was parted for you, and a passage left dry, in
which [God] slew those who pursued you with a very great equipment, and
splendid chariots, bringing back upon them the sea which had been made
a way for your sakes; on whom also a pillar of light shone, in order
that you, more than any other nation in the world, might possess a
peculiar light, never-failing and never-setting; for whom He rained
manna as nourishment, fit for the heavenly angels, in order that you
might have no need to prepare your food; and the water at Marah was
made sweet; and a sign of Him that was to be crucified was made, both
in the matter of the serpents which bit you, as I already mentioned
(God anticipating before the proper times these mysteries, in order to
confer grace upon you, to whom you are always convicted of being
thankless), as well as in the type of the extending of the hands of
Moses, and of Oshea being named Jesus (Joshua); when you fought against
Amalek: concerning which God enjoined that the incident be recorded,
and the name of Jesus laid up in your understandings; saying that this
is He who would blot out the memorial of Amalek from under heaven. Now
it is clear that the memorial of Amalek remained after the son of Nave
(Nun): but He makes it manifest through Jesus, who was crucified, of
whom also those symbols were fore-announcements of all that would
happen to Him, the demons would be destroyed, and would dread His name,
and that all principalities and kingdoms would fear Him; and that they
who believe in Him out of all nations would be shown as God-fearing and
peaceful men; and the facts already quoted by me, Trypho, indicate
this. Again, when you desired flesh, so vast a quantity of quails was
given you, that they could not be told; for whom also water gushed from
the rock; and a cloud followed you for a shade from heat, and covering
from cold, declaring the manner and signification of another and new
heaven; the latchets of your shoes did not break, and your shoes waxed
not old, and your garments wore not away, but even those of the
children grew along with them.
__________________________________________________________________
[2461] Deut. xxxii. 7 ff.
__________________________________________________________________
Chapter CXXXII.--How great the power was of the name of Jesus in the Old
Testament.
"Yet after this you made a calf, and were very zealous in committing
fornication with the daughters of strangers, and in serving idols. And
again, when the land was given up to you with so great a display of
power, that you witnessed [2462] the sun stand still in the heavens by
the order of that man whose name was Jesus (Joshua), and not go down
for thirty-six hours, as well as all the other miracles which were
wrought for you as time served; [2463] and of these it seems good to me
now to speak of another, for it conduces to your hereby knowing Jesus,
whom we also know to have been Christ the Son of God, who was
crucified, and rose again, and ascended to heaven, and will come again
to judge all men, even up to Adam himself. You are aware, then," I
continued, "that when the ark of the testimony was seized by the
enemies of Ashdod, [2464] and a terrible and incurable malady had
broken out among them, they resolved to place it on a cart to which
they yoked cows that had recently calved, for the purpose of
ascertaining by trial whether or not they had been plagued by God's
power on account of the ark, and if God wished it to be taken back to
the place from which it had been carried away. And when they had done
this, the cows, led by no man, went not to the place whence the ark had
been taken, but to the fields of a certain man whose name was Oshea,
the same as his whose name was altered to Jesus (Joshua), as has been
previously mentioned, who also led the people into the land and meted
it out to them: and when the cows had come into these fields they
remained there, showing to you thereby that they were guided by the
name of power; [2465] just as formerly the people who survived of those
that came out of Egypt, were guided into the land by him who had
received the name Jesus (Joshua), who before was called Oshea.
__________________________________________________________________
[2462] [Another Americanism. Greek, theasasthai.]
[2463] The anacoluthon is in the original.
[2464] See 1 Sam. v.
[2465] Or, "by the power of the name." [1 Sam. vi. 14. Joshua in
English version.]
__________________________________________________________________
Chapter CXXXIII.--The hard-heartedness of the Jews, for whom the Christians
pray.
"Now, although these and all other such unexpected and marvellous works
were wrought amongst and seen by you at different times, yet you are
convicted by the prophets of having gone to such a length as offering
your own children to demons; and besides all this, of having dared to
do such things against Christ; and you still dare to do them: for all
which may it be granted to you to obtain mercy and salvation from God
and His Christ. For God, knowing before that you would do such things,
pronounced this curse upon you by the prophet Isaiah: Woe unto their
soul! they have devised evil counsel against themselves, saying, Let us
bind the righteous man, for he is distasteful to us. Therefore they
shall eat the fruit of their own doings. Woe to the wicked! evil,
according to the works of his hands, shall befall him. O my people,
your exactors glean you, and those who extort from you shall rule over
you. O my people, they who call you blessed cause you to err, and
disorder the way of your paths. But now the Lord shall assist His
people to judgment, and He shall enter into judgment with the elders of
the people and the princes thereof. But why have you burnt up my
vineyard? and why is the spoil of the poor found in your houses? Why do
you wrong my people, and put to shame the countenance of the humble?'
[2466] Again, in other words, the same prophet spake to the same
effect: Woe unto them that draw their iniquity as with a long cord, and
their transgressions as with the harness of an heifer's yoke: who say,
Let His speed come near, and let the counsel of the Holy One of Israel
come, that we may know it. Woe unto them that call evil good, and good
evil! that put light for darkness, and darkness for light! that put
bitter for sweet, and sweet for bitter! Woe unto them that are wise in
their own eyes, and prudent in their own sight! Woe unto those that are
mighty among you, who drink wine, who are men of strength, who mingle
strong drink! who justify the wicked for a reward, and take away
justice from the righteous! Therefore, as the stubble shall be burnt by
the coal of fire, and utterly consumed by the burning flame, their root
shall be as wool, and their flower shall go up like dust. For they
would not have the law of the Lord of Sabaoth, but despised [2467] the
word of the Lord, the Holy One of Israel. And the Lord of Sabaoth was
very angry, and laid His hands upon them, and smote them; and He was
provoked against the mountains, and their carcases were in the midst
like dung on the road. And for all this they have not repented, [2468]
but their hand is still high.' [2469] For verily your hand is high to
commit evil, because ye slew the Christ, and do not repent of it; but
so far from that, ye hate and murder us who have believed through Him
in the God and Father of all, as often as ye can; and ye curse Him
without ceasing, as well as those who side with Him; while all of us
pray for you, and for all men, as our Christ and Lord taught us to do,
when He enjoined us to pray even for our enemies, and to love them that
hate us, and to bless them that curse us.
__________________________________________________________________
[2466] Isa. iii. 9-15.
[2467] Literally, "provoked."
[2468] Literally, "turned away."
[2469] Isa. v. 18-25.
__________________________________________________________________
Chapter CXXXIV.--The marriages of Jacob are a figure of the Church.
"If, then, the teaching of the prophets and of Himself moves you, it is
better for you to follow God than your imprudent and blind masters, who
even till this time permit each man to have four or five wives; and if
any one see a beautiful woman and desire to have her, they quote the
doings of Jacob [called] Israel, and of the other patriarchs, and
maintain that it is not wrong to do such things; for they are miserably
ignorant in this matter. For, as I before said, certain dispensations
of weighty mysteries were accomplished in each act of this sort. For in
the marriages of Jacob I shall mention what dispensation and prophecy
were accomplished, in order that you may thereby know that your
teachers never looked at the divine motive which prompted each act, but
only at the grovelling and corrupting passions. Attend therefore to
what I say. The marriages of Jacob were types of that which Christ was
about to accomplish. For it was not lawful for Jacob to marry two
sisters at once. And he serves Laban for [one of] the daughters; and
being deceived in [the obtaining of] the younger, he again served seven
years. Now Leah is your people and synagogue; but Rachel is our Church.
And for these, and for the servants in both, Christ even now serves.
For while Noah gave to the two sons the seed of the third as servants,
now on the other hand Christ has come to restore both the free sons and
the servants amongst them, conferring the same honour on all of them
who keep His commandments; even as the children of the free women and
the children of the bond women born to Jacob were all sons, and equal
in dignity. And it was foretold what each should be according to rank
and according to fore-knowledge. Jacob served Laban for speckled and
many-spotted sheep; and Christ served, even to the slavery of the
cross, for the various and many-formed races of mankind, acquiring them
by the blood and mystery of the cross. Leah was weak-eyed; for the eyes
of your souls are excessively weak. Rachel stole the gods of Laban, and
has hid them to this day; and we have lost our paternal and material
gods. Jacob was hated for all time by his brother; and we now, and our
Lord Himself, are hated by you and by all men, though we are brothers
by nature. Jacob was called Israel; and Israel has been demonstrated to
be the Christ, who is, and is called, Jesus.
__________________________________________________________________
Chapter CXXXV.--Christ is king of Israel, and Christians are the Israelitic
race.
"And when Scripture says, I am the Lord God, the Holy One of Israel,
who have made known Israel your King,' [2470] will you not understand
that truly Christ is the everlasting King? For you are aware that Jacob
the son of Isaac was never a king. And therefore Scripture again,
explaining to us, says what king is meant by Jacob and Israel: Jacob is
my Servant, I will uphold Him; and Israel is mine Elect, my soul shall
receive Him. I have given Him my Spirit; and He shall bring forth
judgment to the Gentiles. He shall not cry, and His voice shall not be
heard without. The bruised reed He shall not break, and the smoking
flax He shall not quench, until He shall bring forth judgment to
victory. He shall shine, and shall not be broken, until He set judgment
on the earth. And in His name shall the Gentiles trust.' [2471] Then is
it Jacob the patriarch in whom the Gentiles and yourselves shall trust?
or is it not Christ? As, therefore, Christ is the Israel and the Jacob,
even so we, who have been quarried out from the bowels of Christ, are
the true Israelitic race. But let us attend rather to the very word:
And I will bring forth,' He says, the seed out of Jacob, and out of
Judah: and it shall inherit My holy mountain; and Mine Elect and My
servants shall possess the inheritance, and shall dwell there; and
there shall be folds of flocks in the thicket, and the valley of Achor
shall be a resting-place of cattle for the people who have sought Me.
But as for you, who forsake Me, and forget My holy mountain, and
prepare a table for demons, and fill out drink for the demon, I shall
give you to the sword. You shall all fall with a slaughter; for I
called you, and you hearkened not, and did evil before me, and did
choose that wherein I delighted not.' [2472] Such are the words of
Scripture; understand, therefore, that the seed of Jacob now referred
to is something else, and not, as may be supposed, spoken of your
people. For it is not possible for the seed of Jacob to leave an
entrance for the descendants of Jacob, or for [God] to have accepted
the very same persons whom He had reproached with unfitness for the
inheritance, and promise it to them again; but as there the prophet
says, And now, O house of Jacob, come and let us walk in the light of
the Lord; for He has sent away His people, the house of Jacob, because
their land was full, as at the first, of soothsayers and divinations;'
[2473] even so it is necessary for us here to observe that there are
two seeds of Judah, and two races, as there are two houses of Jacob:
the one begotten by blood and flesh, the other by faith and the Spirit.
__________________________________________________________________
[2470] Isa. xliii. 15.
[2471] Isa. xlii. 1-4.
[2472] Isa. lxv. 9-12.
[2473] Isa. ii. 5 f.
__________________________________________________________________
Chapter CXXXVI.--The Jews, in rejecting Christ, rejected God who sent him.
"For you see how He now addresses the people, saying a little before:
As the grape shall be found in the cluster, and they will say, Destroy
it not, for a blessing is in it; so will I do for My servant's sake:
for His sake I will not destroy them all.' [2474] And thereafter He
adds: And I shall bring forth the seed out of Jacob, and out of Judah.'
It is plain then that if He thus be angry with them, and threaten to
leave very few of them, He promises to bring forth certain others, who
shall dwell in His mountain. But these are the persons whom He said He
would sow and beget. For you neither suffer Him when He calls you, nor
hear Him when He speaks to you, but have done evil in the presence of
the Lord. But the highest pitch of your wickedness lies in this, that
you hate the Righteous One, and slew Him; and so treat those who have
received from Him all that they are and have, and who are pious,
righteous, and humane. Therefore woe unto their soul,' says the Lord,
[2475] for they have devised an evil counsel against themselves,
saying, Let us take away the righteous, for he is distasteful to us.'
For indeed you are not in the habit of sacrificing to Baal, as were
your fathers, or of placing cakes in groves and on high places for the
host of heaven: but you have not accepted God's Christ. For he who
knows not Him, knows not the will of God; and he who insults and hates
Him, insults and hates Him that sent Him. And whoever believes not in
Him, believes not the declarations of the prophets, who preached and
proclaimed Him to all.
__________________________________________________________________
[2474] Isa. lxv. 8 f.
[2475] Isa. iii. 9.
__________________________________________________________________
Chapter CXXXVII.--He exhorts the Jews to be converted.
"Say no evil thing, my brothers, against Him that was crucified, and
treat not scornfully the stripes wherewith all may be healed, even as
we are healed. For it will be well if, persuaded by the Scriptures, you
are circumcised from hard-heartedness: not that circumcision which you
have from the tenets that are put into you; for that was given for a
sign, and not for a work of righteousness, as the Scriptures compel you
[to admit]. Assent, therefore, and pour no ridicule on the Son of God;
obey not the Pharisaic teachers, and scoff not at the King of Israel,
as the rulers of your synagogues teach you to do after your prayers:
for if he that touches those who are not pleasing [2476] to God, is as
one that touches the apple of God's eye, how much more so is he that
touches His beloved! And that this is He, has been sufficiently
demonstrated."
And as they kept silence, I continued: "My friends, I now refer to the
Scriptures as the Seventy have interpreted them; for when I quoted them
formerly as you possess them, I made proof of you [to ascertain] how
you were disposed. [2477] For, mentioning the Scripture which says, Woe
unto them! for they have devised evil counsel against themselves,
saying' [2478] (as the Seventy have translated, I continued): Let us
take away the righteous, for he is distasteful to us;' whereas at the
commencement of the discussion I added what your version has: Let us
bind the righteous, for he is distasteful to us.' But you had been busy
about some other matter, and seem to have listened to the words without
attending to them. But now, since the day is drawing to a close, for
the sun is about to set, I shall add one remark to what I have said,
and conclude. I have indeed made the very same remark already, but I
think it would be right to bestow some consideration on it again.
__________________________________________________________________
[2476] Zech. ii. 8.
[2477] [Justin's varied quotations of the same text seem to have been
of purpose. But consult Kaye's most useful note as to the text of the
LXX., in answer to objections of Wetstein, p. 20. ff.]
[2478] Isa. iii. 9.
__________________________________________________________________
Chapter CXXXVIII.--Noah is a figure of Christ, who has regenerated us by
water, and faith, and wood: [i.e., the cross.]
"You know, then, sirs," I said, "that God has said in Isaiah to
Jerusalem: I saved thee in the deluge of Noah.' [2479] By this which
God said was meant that the mystery of saved men appeared in the
deluge. For righteous Noah, along with the other mortals at the deluge,
i.e., with his own wife, his three sons and their wives, being eight in
number, were a symbol of the eighth day, wherein Christ appeared when
He rose from the dead, for ever the first in power. For Christ, being
the first-born of every creature, became again the chief of another
race regenerated by Himself through water, and faith, and wood,
containing the mystery of the cross; even as Noah was saved by wood
when he rode over the waters with his household. Accordingly, when the
prophet says, I saved thee in the times of Noah,' as I have already
remarked, he addresses the people who are equally faithful to God, and
possess the same signs. For when Moses had the rod in his hands, he led
your nation through the sea. And you believe that this was spoken to
your nation only, or to the land. But the whole earth, as the Scripture
says, was inundated, and the water rose in height fifteen cubits above
all the mountains: so that it is evident this was not spoken to the
land, but to the people who obeyed Him: for whom also He had before
prepared a resting-place in Jerusalem, as was previously demonstrated
by all the symbols of the deluge; I mean, that by water, faith, and
wood, those who are afore-prepared, and who repent of the sins which
they have committed, shall escape from the impending judgment of God.
__________________________________________________________________
[2479] Isa. liv. 9 comes nearer to these words than any other passage;
but still the exact quotation is not in Isaiah, or in any other part of
Scripture. [It is quite probable that Isa. liv. 9 was thus
misunderstood by the Jews, as Trypho seems to acquiesce.]
__________________________________________________________________
Chapter CXXXIX.--The blessings, and also the curse, pronounced by Noah were
prophecies of the future.
"For another mystery was accomplished and predicted in the days of
Noah, of which you are not aware. It is this: in the blessings
wherewith Noah blessed his two sons, and in the curse pronounced on his
son's son. For the Spirit of prophecy would not curse the son that had
been by God blessed along with [his brothers]. But since the punishment
of the sin would cleave to the whole descent of the son that mocked at
his father's nakedness, he made the curse originate with his son.
[2480] Now, in what he said, he foretold that the descendants of Shem
would keep in retention the property and dwellings of Canaan: and again
that the descendants of Japheth would take possession of the property
of which Shem's descendants had dispossessed Canaan's descendants; and
spoil the descendants of Shem, even as they plundered the sons of
Canaan. And listen to the way in which it has so come to pass. For you,
who have derived your lineage from Shem, invaded the territory of the
sons of Canaan by the will of God; and you possessed it. And it is
manifest that the sons of Japheth, having invaded you in turn by the
judgment of God, have taken your land from you, and have possessed it.
Thus it is written: And Noah awoke from the wine, and knew what his
younger son had done unto him; and he said, Cursed be Canaan, the
servant; a servant shall he be unto his brethren. And he said, Blessed
be the Lord God of Shem; and Canaan shall be his servant. May the Lord
enlarge Japheth, and let him dwell in the houses of Shem; and let
Canaan be his servant.' [2481] Accordingly, as two peoples were
blessed,--those from Shem, and those from Japheth,--and as the
offspring of Shem were decreed first to possess the dwellings of
Canaan, and the offspring of Japheth were predicted as in turn
receiving the same possessions, and to the two peoples there was the
one people of Canaan handed over for servants; so Christ has come
according to the power given Him from the Almighty Father, and
summoning men to friendship, and blessing, and repentance, and dwelling
together, has promised, as has already been proved, that there shall be
a future possession for all the saints in this same land. And hence all
men everywhere, whether bond or free, who believe in Christ, and
recognise the truth in His own words and those of His prophets, know
that they shall be with Him in that land, and inherit everlasting and
incorruptible good.
__________________________________________________________________
[2480] [But Justin goes on to show that it was prophetic foresight
only: the curse cleaves only to wicked descendants, the authors of
idolatry. It was removed by Christ. St. Matt. xv. 22-28.]
[2481] Gen. ix. 24-27.
__________________________________________________________________
Chapter CXL.--In Christ all are free. The Jews hope for salvation in vain
because they are sons of Abraham.
"Hence also Jacob, as I remarked before, being himself a type of
Christ, had married the two handmaids of his two free wives, and of
them begat sons, for the purpose of indicating beforehand that Christ
would receive even all those who amongst Japheth's race are descendants
of Canaan, equally with the free, and would have the children
fellow-heirs. And we are such; but you cannot comprehend this, because
you cannot drink of the living fountain of God, but of broken cisterns
which can hold no water, as the Scripture says. [2482] But they are
cisterns broken, and holding no water, which your own teachers have
digged, as the Scripture also expressly asserts, teaching for doctrines
the commandments of men.' [2483] And besides, they beguile themselves
and you, supposing that the everlasting kingdom will be assuredly given
to those of the dispersion who are of Abraham, after the flesh,
although they be sinners, and faithless, and disobedient towards God,
which the Scriptures have proved is not the case. For if so, Isaiah
would never have said this: And unless the Lord of Sabaoth had left us
a seed, we would have been like Sodom and Gomorrah.' [2484] And
Ezekiel: Even if Noah, and Jacob, and Daniel were to pray for sons or
daughters, their request should not be granted.' [2485] But neither
shall the father perish for the son, nor the son for the father; but
every one for his own sin, and each shall be saved for his own
righteousness.' [2486] And again Isaiah says: They shall look on the
carcases [2487] of them that have transgressed: their worm shall not
cease, and their fire shall not be quenched; and they shall be a
spectacle to all flesh.' [2488] And our Lord, according to the will of
Him that sent Him, who is the Father and Lord of all, would not have
said, They shall come from the east, and from the west, and shall sit
down with Abraham, and Isaac, and Jacob in the kingdom of heaven. But
the children of the kingdom shall be cast out into outer darkness.'
[2489] Furthermore, I have proved in what has preceded, [2490] that
those who were foreknown to be unrighteous, whether men or angels, are
not made wicked by God's fault, but each man by his own fault is what
he will appear to be.
__________________________________________________________________
[2482] Jer. ii. 13.
[2483] Isa. xxix. 13.
[2484] Isa. i. 9.
[2485] Ezek. xiv. 18, 20.
[2486] Ezek. xviii. 20.
[2487] Literally, "limbs."
[2488] Isa. lxvi. 24.
[2489] Matt. viii. 11 f.
[2490] Chap. lxxxviii, cii.
__________________________________________________________________
Chapter CXLI.--Free-will in men and angels.
"But that you may not have a pretext for saying that Christ must have
been crucified, and that those who transgressed must have been among
your nation, and that the matter could not have been otherwise, I said
briefly by anticipation, that God, wishing men and angels to follow His
will, resolved to create them free to do righteousness; possessing
reason, that they may know by whom they are created, and through whom
they, not existing formerly, do now exist; and with a law that they
should be judged by Him, if they do anything contrary to right reason:
and of ourselves we, men and angels, shall be convicted of having acted
sinfully, unless we repent beforehand. But if the word of God foretells
that some angels and men shall be certainly punished, it did so because
it foreknew that they would be unchangeably [wicked], but not because
God had created them so. So that if they repent, all who wish for it
can obtain mercy from God: and the Scripture foretells that they shall
be blessed, saying, Blessed is the man to whom the Lord imputeth not
sin;' [2491] that is, having repented of his sins, that he may receive
remission of them from God; and not as you deceive yourselves, and some
others who resemble you in this, who say, that even though they be
sinners, but know God, the Lord will not impute sin to them. We have as
proof of this the one fall of David, which happened through his
boasting, which was forgiven then when he so mourned and wept, as it is
written. But if even to such a man no remission was granted before
repentance, and only when this great king, and anointed one, and
prophet, mourned and conducted himself so, how can the impure and
utterly abandoned, if they weep not, and mourn not, and repent not,
entertain the hope that the Lord will not impute to them sin? And this
one fall of David, in the matter of Uriah's wife, proves, sirs," I
said, "that the patriarchs had many wives, not to commit fornication,
but that a certain dispensation and all mysteries might be accomplished
by them; since, if it were allowable to take any wife, or as many wives
as one chooses, and how he chooses, which the men of your nation do
over all the earth, wherever they sojourn, or wherever they have been
sent, taking women under the name of marriage, much more would David
have been permitted to do this."
When I had said this, dearest Marcus Pompeius, I came to an end.
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[2491] Ps. xxxii. 2.
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Chapter CXLII.--The Jews return thanks, and leave Justin.
Then Trypho, after a little delay, said, "You see that it was not
intentionally that we came to discuss these points. And I confess that
I have been particularly pleased with the conference; and I think that
these are of quite the same opinion as myself. For we have found more
than we expected, and more than it was possible to have expected. And
if we could do this more frequently, we should be much helped in the
searching of the Scriptures themselves. But since," he said, "you are
on the eve of departure, and expect daily to set sail, do not hesitate
to remember us as friends when you are gone."
"For my part," I replied, "if I had remained, I would have wished to do
the same thing daily. But now, since I expect, with God's will and aid,
to set sail, I exhort you to give all diligence in this very great
struggle for your own salvation, and to be earnest in setting a higher
value on the Christ of the Almighty God than on your own teachers."
After this they left me, wishing me safety in my voyage, and from every
misfortune. And I, praying for them, said, "I can wish no better thing
for you, sirs, than this, that, recognising in this way that
intelligence is given to every man, you may be of the same opinion as
ourselves, and believe that Jesus is the Christ of God." [2492]
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[2492] The last sentence is very dubious. For panti anthropinon noun
read panti anthropo ton noun. For poiesete read pisteusete. And lastly,
for to hemon read ton 'Iesoun. [But there is no doubt about the
touching beauty of this close; and truly Trypho seems "not far from the
kingdom of God." Note the marvellous knowledge of the Old Testament
Scriptures, which Justin had acquired, and which he could use in
conversation. His quotations from the Psalms, memoriter, are more
accurate than others. See Kaye, p. 141.]
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While I was going about one morning in the walks of the Xystus, [1948] a certain man, with others in his company, having met me, and said, "Hail, O philosopher!" And immediately after saying this, he turned round and walked along with me; his friends likewise followed him. And I in turn having addressed him, said, "What is there important?"
And he replied, "I was instructed," says he "by Corinthus the Socratic in Argos, that I ought not to despise or treat with indifference those who array themselves in this dress [1949] but to show them all kindness, and to associate with them, as perhaps some advantage would spring from the intercourse either to some such man or to myself. It is good, moreover, for both, if either the one or the other be benefited. On this account, therefore, whenever I see any one in such costume, I gladly approach him, and now, for the same reason, have I willingly accosted you; and these accompany me, in the expectation of hearing for themselves something profitable from you."
"But who are you, most excellent man?" So I replied to him in jest. [1950]
Then he told me frankly both his name and his family. "Trypho," says he, "I am called; and I am a Hebrew of the circumcision, [1951] and having escaped from the war [1952] lately carried on there I am spending my days in Greece, and chiefly at Corinth."
"And in what," said I, "would you be profited by philosophy so much as by your own lawgiver and the prophets?"
"Why not?" he replied. "Do not the philosophers turn every discourse on God? and do not questions continually arise to them about His unity and providence? Is not this truly the duty of philosophy, to investigate the Deity?"
"Assuredly," said I, "so we too have believed. But the most [1953] have not taken thought of this, whether there be one or more gods, and whether they have a regard for each one of us or no, as if this knowledge contributed nothing to our happiness; nay, they moreover attempt to persuade us that God takes care of the universe with its genera and species, but not of me and you, and each individually, since otherwise we would surely not need to pray to Him night and day. But it is not difficult to understand the upshot of this; for fearlessness and license in speaking result to such as maintain these opinions, doing and saying whatever they choose, neither dreading punishment nor hoping for any benefit from God. For how could they? They affirm that the same things shall always happen; and, further, that I and you shall again live in like manner, having become neither better men nor worse. But there are some others, [1954] who, having supposed the soul to be immortal and immaterial, believe that though they have committed evil they will not suffer punishment (for that which is immaterial is insensible), and that the soul, in consequence of its immortality, needs nothing from God."
And he, smiling gently, said, "Tell us your opinion of these matters, and what idea you entertain respecting God, and what your philosophy is."
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[1948] This Xystus, on the authority of Euseb. (iv. 18), was at Ephesus. There, Philostratus mentions, Appolonius was won't to have disputations.--Otto.
[1949] Euseb. (iv. 11): "Justin, in philosopher's garb, preached the word of God."
[1950] In jest, no doubt, because quoting a line from Homer, Il., vi. 123. tis de su essi, pheriste, katathneton anthropon.
[1951] [i.e., "A Hebrew of the Hebrews" (Phil. iii. 5).]
[1952] The war instigated by Bar Cochba.
[1953] The opinions of Stoics.--Otto.
[1954] The Platonists.
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Chapter II.--Justin describes his studies in philosophy.
"I will tell you," said I, "what seems to me; for philosophy is, in fact, the greatest possession, and most honourable before God, [1955] to whom it leads us and alone commends us; and these are truly holy men who have bestowed attention on philosophy. What philosophy is, however, and the reason why it has been sent down to men, have escaped the observation of most; for there would be neither Platonists, nor Stoics, nor Peripatetics, nor Theoretics, [1956] nor Pythagoreans, this knowledge being one. [1957] I wish to tell you why it has become many-headed. It has happened that those who first handled it [i.e., philosophy], and who were therefore esteemed illustrious men, were succeeded by those who made no investigations concerning truth, but only admired the perseverance and self-discipline of the former, as well as the novelty of the doctrines; and each thought that to be true which he learned from his teacher: then, moreover, those latter persons handed down to their successors such things, and others similar to them; and this system was called by the name of him who was styled the father of the doctrine. Being at first desirous of personally conversing with one of these men, I surrendered myself to a certain Stoic; and having spent a considerable time with him, when I had not acquired any further knowledge of God (for he did not know himself, and said such instruction was unnecessary), I left him and betook myself to another, who was called a Peripatetic, and as he fancied, shrewd. And this man, after having entertained me for the first few days, requested me to settle the fee, in order that our intercourse might not be unprofitable. Him, too, for this reason I abandoned, believing him to be no philosopher at all. But when my soul was eagerly desirous to hear the peculiar and choice philosophy, I came to a Pythagorean, very celebrated--a man who thought much of his own wisdom. And then, when I had an interview with him, willing to become his hearer and disciple, he said, What then? Are you acquainted with music, astronomy, and geometry? Do you expect to perceive any of those things which conduce to a happy life, if you have not been first informed on those points which wean the soul from sensible objects, and render it fitted for objects which appertain to the mind, so that it can contemplate that which is honourable in its essence and that which is good in its essence?' Having commended many of these branches of learning, and telling me that they were necessary, he dismissed me when I confessed to him my ignorance. Accordingly I took it rather impatiently, as was to be expected when I failed in my hope, the more so because I deemed the man had some knowledge; but reflecting again on the space of time
during which I would have to linger over those branches of learning, I was not able to endure longer procrastination. In my helpless condition it occurred to me to have a meeting with the Platonists, for their fame was great. I thereupon spent as much of my time as possible with one who had lately settled in our city, [1958] --a sagacious man, holding a high position among the Platonists,--and I progressed, and made the greatest improvements daily. And the perception of immaterial things
quite overpowered me, and the contemplation of ideas furnished my mind with wings, [1959] so that in a little while I supposed that I had become wise; and such was my stupidity, I expected forthwith to look upon God, for this is the end of Plato's philosophy.
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[1955] ho some omit, and put theo of prev. cl. in this cl., reading so: "Philosophy is the greatest possession, and most honourable, and introduces us to God," etc.
[1956] Maranus thinks that those who are different from the masters of practical philosophy are called Theoretics. I do not know whether theymay be better designated Sceptics or Pyrrhonists.--Otto.
[1957] Julian, Orat., vi., says: "Let no one divide our philosophy into many parts, or cut it into many parts, and especially let him not make many out of one: for as truth is one, so also is philosophy."
[1958] Either Flavia Neapolis is indicated, or Ephesus.--Otto.
[1959] Narrating his progress in the study of Platonic philosophy, he elegantly employs this trite phrase of Plato's.--Otto.
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Chapter III.--Justin narrates the manner of his conversion.
"And while I was thus disposed, when I wished at one period to be filled with great quietness, and to shun the path of men, I used to go into a certain field not far from the sea. And when I was near that spot one day, which having reached I purposed to be by myself, a certain old man, by no means contemptible in appearance, exhibiting meek and venerable manners, followed me at a little distance. And when I turned round to him, having halted, I fixed my eyes rather keenly on him.
"And he said, Do you know me?'
"I replied in the negative.
" Why, then,' said he to me, do you so look at me?'
" I am astonished,' I said, because you have chanced to be in my company in the same place; for I had not expected to see any man here.'
"And he says to me, I am concerned about some of my household. These are gone away from me; and therefore have I come to make personal search for them, if, perhaps, they shall make their appearance somewhere. But why are you here?' said he to me.
" I delight,' said I, in such walks, where my attention is not distracted, for converse with myself is uninterrupted; and such places are most fit for philology.' [1960]
"Are you, then, a philologian,' [1961] said he, but no lover of deeds or of truth? and do you not aim at being a practical man so much as being a sophist?'
"What greater work,' said I, could one accomplish than this, to show the reason which governs all, and having laid hold of it, and being mounted upon it, to look down on the errors of others, and their pursuits? But without philosophy and right reason, prudence would not be present to any man. Wherefore it is necessary for every man to philosophize, and to esteem this the greatest and most honourable work; but other things only of second-rate or third-rate importance, though, indeed, if they be made to depend on philosophy, they are of moderate value, and worthy of acceptance; but deprived of it, and not accompanying it, they are vulgar and coarse to those who pursue them.'
"Does philosophy, then, make happiness?' said he, interrupting.
"Assuredly,' I said, and it alone.'
"What, then, is philosophy?' he says; and what is happiness? Pray tell me, unless something hinders you from saying.'
"Philosophy, then,' said I, is the knowledge of that which really exists, and a clear perception of the truth; and happiness is the reward of such knowledge and wisdom.'
"But what do you call God?' said he.
"That which always maintains the same nature, and in the same manner, and is the cause of all other things --that, indeed, is God.' So I answered him; and he listened to me with pleasure, and thus again interrogated me:--
"Is not knowledge a term common to different matters? For in arts of all kinds, he who knows any one of them is called a skilful man in the art of generalship, or of ruling, or of healing equally. But in divine and human affairs it is not so. Is there a knowledge which affords understanding of human and divine things, and then a thorough acquaintance with the divinity and the righteousness of them?'
"Assuredly,' I replied.
"What, then? Is it in the same way we know man and God, as we know music, and arithmetic, and astronomy, or any other similar branch?'
"By no means,' I replied.
"You have not answered me correctly, then,' he said; for some [branches of knowledge] come to us by learning, or by some employment, while of others we have knowledge by sight. Now, if one were to tell you that there exists in India an animal with a nature unlike all others, but of such and such a kind, multiform and various, you would not know it before you saw it; but neither would you be competent to give any account of it, unless you should hear from one who had seen it.'
"Certainly not,' I said.
"How then,' he said, should the philosophers judge correctly about God, or speak any truth, when they have no knowledge of Him, having neither seen Him at any time, nor heard Him?'
"But, father,' said I, the Deity cannot be seen merely by the eyes, as other living beings can, but is discernible to the mind alone, as Plato says; and I believe him.'
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[1960] Philology, used here to denote the exercise of reason.
[1961] Philology, used here to denote the exercise of speech. The two-fold use of logos-- oratio and ratio--ought to be kept in view. The old man uses it in the former, Justin in the latter, sense.
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Chapter IV.--The soul of itself cannot see God.
"Is there then,' says he, such and so great power in our mind? Or can a man not perceive by sense sooner? Will the mind of man see God at any time, if it is uninstructed by the Holy Spirit?'
"Plato indeed says,' replied I, that the mind's eye is of such a nature, and has been given for this end, that we may see that very Being when the mind is pure itself, who is the cause of all discerned by the mind, having no colour, no form, no greatness--nothing, indeed, which the bodily eye looks upon; but It is something of this sort, he goes on to say, that is beyond all essence, unutterable and inexplicable, but alone honourable and good, coming suddenly into souls well-dispositioned, on account of their affinity to and desire of seeing Him.'
"What affinity, then,' replied he, is there between us and God? Is the soul also divine and immortal, and a part of that very regal mind? And even as that sees God, so also is it attainable by us to conceive of the Deity in our mind, and thence to become happy?'
"Assuredly,' I said.
"And do all the souls of all living beings comprehend Him?' he asked; or are the souls of men of one kind and the souls of horses and of asses of another kind?'
"No; but the souls which are in all are similar,' I answered.
"Then,' says he, shall both horses and asses see, or have they seen at some time or other, God?'
"No,' I said; for the majority of men will not, saving such as shall live justly, purified by righteousness, and by every other virtue.'
"It is not, therefore,' said he, on account of his affinity, that a man sees God, nor because he has a mind, but because he is temperate and righteous?'
"Yes,' said I; and because he has that whereby he perceives God.'
"What then? Do goats or sheep injure any one?'
"No one in any respect,' I said.
"Therefore these animals will see [God] according to your account,' says he.
"No; for their body being of such a nature, is an obstacle to them.'
"He rejoined, If these animals could assume speech, be well assured that they would with greater reason ridicule our body; but let us now dismiss this subject, and let it be conceded to you as you say. Tell me, however, this: Does the soul see [God] so long as it is in the body, or after it has been removed from it?'
"So long as it is in the form of a man, it is possible for it,' I continue, to attain to this by means of the mind; but especially when it has been set free from the body, and being apart by itself, it gets possession of that which it was won't continually and wholly to love.'
"Does it remember this, then [the sight of God], when it is again in the man?'
"It does not appear to me so,' I said.
"What, then, is the advantage to those who have seen [God]? or what has he who has seen more than he who has not seen, unless he remember this fact, that he has seen?'
"I cannot tell,' I answered.
"And what do those suffer who are judged to be unworthy of this spectacle?' said he.
"They are imprisoned in the bodies of certain wild beasts, and this is their punishment.'
"Do they know, then, that it is for this reason they are in such forms, and that they have committed some sin?'
"I do not think so.'
"Then these reap no advantage from their punishment, as it seems: moreover, I would say that they are not punished unless they are conscious of the punishment.'
"No indeed.'
"Therefore souls neither see God nor transmigrate into other bodies; for they would know that so they are punished, and they would be afraid to commit even the most trivial sin afterwards. But that they can perceive that God exists, and that righteousness and piety are honourable, I also quite agree with you,' said he.
"You are right,' I replied.
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Chapter V.--The soul is not in its own nature immortal.
"These philosophers know nothing, then, about these things; for they cannot tell what a soul is.'
"It does not appear so.'
"Nor ought it to be called immortal; for if it is immortal, it is plainly unbegotten.'
"It is both unbegotten and immortal, according to some who are styled Platonists.'
"Do you say that the world is also unbegotten?'
"Some say so. I do not, however, agree with them.'
"You are right; for what reason has one for supposing that a body so solid, possessing resistance, composite, changeable, decaying, and renewed every day, has not arisen from some cause? But if the world is begotten, souls also are necessarily begotten; and perhaps at one time they were not in existence, for they were made on account of men and other living creatures, if you will say that they have been begotten wholly apart, and not along with their respective bodies.'
"This seems to be correct.'
"They are not, then, immortal?'
"No; since the world has appeared to us to be begotten.'
"But I do not say, indeed, that all souls die; for that were truly a piece of good fortune to the evil. What then? The souls of the pious remain in a better place, while those of the unjust and wicked are in a worse, waiting for the time of judgment. Thus some which have appeared worthy of God never die; but others are punished so long as God wills them to exist and to be punished.'
"Is what you say, then, of a like nature with that which Plato in Timæus hints about the world, when he says that it is indeed subject to decay, inasmuch as it has been created, but that it will neither be dissolved nor meet with the fate of death on account of the will of God? Does it seem to you the very same can be said of the soul, and generally of all things? For those things which exist after [1962] God, or shall at any time exist, [1963] these have the nature of decay, and are such as may be blotted out and cease to exist; for God alone is unbegotten and incorruptible, and therefore He is God, but all other things after Him are created and corruptible. For this reason souls both die and are punished: since, if they were unbegotten, they would neither sin, nor be filled with folly, nor be cowardly, and again ferocious; nor would they willingly transform into swine, and serpents, and dogs; and it would not indeed be just to compel them, if they be unbegotten. For that which is unbegotten is similar to, equal to, and the same with that which is unbegotten; and neither in power nor in honour should the one be preferred to the other, and hence there are not many things which are unbegotten: for if there were some difference between them, you would not discover the cause of the difference, though you searched for it; but after letting the mind ever wander to infinity, you would at length, wearied out, take your stand on one Unbegotten, and say that this is the Cause of all. Did such escape the observation of Plato and Pythagoras, those wise men,' I said, who have been as a wall and fortress of philosophy to us?'
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[1962] "Beside."
[1963] Otto says: If the old man begins to speak here, then echei must be read for echein. The received text makes it appear that Justin continues a quotation, or the substance of it, from Plato.
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Chapter VI.--These things were unknown to Plato and other philosophers.
" It makes no matter to me,' said he, whether Plato or Pythagoras, or, in short, any other man held such opinions. For the truth is so; and you would perceive it from this. The soul assuredly is or has life. If, then, it is life, it would cause something else, and not itself, to live, even as motion would move something else than itself. Now, that the soul lives, no one would deny. But if it lives, it lives not as being life, but as the partaker of life; but that which partakes of anything, is different from that of which it does partake. Now the soul partakes of life, since God wills it to live. Thus, then, it will not even partake [of life] when God does not will it to live. For to live is not its attribute, as it is God's; but as a man does not live always, and the soul is not for ever conjoined with the body, since, whenever this harmony must be broken up, the soul leaves the body, and the man exists no longer; even so, whenever the soul must cease to exist, the spirit of life is removed from it, and there is no more soul, but it goes back to the place from whence it was taken.'
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Chapter VII.--The knowledge of truth to be sought from the prophets alone.
"Should any one, then, employ a teacher?' I say, or whence may any one be helped, if not even in them there is truth?'
"There existed, long before this time, certain men more ancient than all those who are esteemed philosophers, both righteous and beloved by God, who spoke by the Divine Spirit, and foretold events which would take place, and which are now taking place. They are called prophets. These alone both saw and announced the truth to men, neither reverencing nor fearing any man, not influenced by a desire for glory, but speaking those things alone which they saw and which they heard, being filled with the Holy Spirit. Their writings are still extant, and he who has read them is very much helped in his knowledge of the beginning and end of things, and of those matters which the philosopher ought to know, provided he has believed them. For they did not use demonstration in their treatises, seeing that they were witnesses to the truth above all demonstration, and worthy of belief; and those events which have happened, and those which are happening, compel you to assent to the utterances made by them, although, indeed, they were entitled to credit on account of the miracles which they performed, since they both glorified the Creator, the God and Father of all things, and proclaimed His Son, the Christ [sent] by Him: which, indeed, the false prophets, who are filled with the lying unclean spirit, neither have done nor do, but venture to work certain wonderful deeds for the purpose of astonishing men, and glorify the spirits and demons of error. But pray that, above all things, the gates of light may be opened to you; for these things cannot be perceived or understood by all, but only by the man to whom God and His Christ have imparted wisdom.'
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Chapter VIII.--Justin by his colloquy is kindled with love to Christ.
"When he had spoken these and many other things, which there is no time for mentioning at present, he went away, bidding me attend to them; and I have not seen him since. But straightway a flame was kindled in my soul; and a love of the prophets, and of those men who are friends of Christ, possessed me; and whilst revolving his words in my mind, I found this philosophy alone to be safe and profitable. Thus, and for this reason, I am a philosopher. Moreover, I would wish that all, making a resolution similar to my own, do not keep themselves away from the words of the Saviour. For they possess a terrible power in themselves, and are sufficient to inspire those who turn aside from the path of rectitude with awe; while the sweetest rest is afforded those who make a diligent practice of them. If, then, you have any concern for yourself, and if you are eagerly looking for salvation, and if you believe in God, you may--since you are not indifferent to the matter [1964] --become acquainted with the Christ of God, and, after being initiated, [1965] live a happy life."
When I had said this, my beloved friends [1966] those who were with Trypho laughed; but he, smiling, says, "I approve of your other remarks, and admire the eagerness with which you study divine things; but it were better for you still to abide in the philosophy of Plato, or of some other man, cultivating endurance, self-control, and moderation, rather than be deceived by false words, and follow the opinions of men of no reputation. For if you remain in that mode of philosophy, and live blamelessly, a hope of a better destiny were left to you; but when you have forsaken God, and reposed confidence in man, what safety still awaits you? If, then, you are willing to listen to me (for I have already considered you a friend), first be circumcised, then observe what ordinances have been enacted with respect to the Sabbath, and the feasts, and the new moons of God; and, in a word, do all things which have been written in the law: and then perhaps you shall obtain mercy from God. But Christ --if He has indeed been born, and exists anywhere--is unknown, and does not even know Himself, and has no power until Elias come to anoint Him, and make Him manifest to all. And you, having accepted a groundless report, invent a Christ for yourselves, and for his sake are inconsiderately perishing."
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[1964] According to one interpretation, this clause is applied to God: "If you believe in God, seeing He is not indifferent to the matter," etc. Maranus says that it means: A Jew who reads so much of Christ in the Old Testament, cannot be indifferent to the things which pertain to Him.
[1965] Literally: having become perfect. Some refer the words to perfection of character; some initiation by baptism.
[1966] Latin version, "beloved Pompeius."
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Chapter IX.--The Christians have not believed groundless stories.
"I excuse and forgive you, my friend," I said. "For you know not what you say, but have been persuaded by teachers who do not understand the Scriptures; and you speak, like a diviner, whatever comes into your mind. But if you are willing to listen to an account of Him, how we have not been deceived, and shall not cease to confess Him,--although men's reproaches be heaped upon us, although the most terrible tyrant compel us to deny Him,--I shall prove to you as you stand here that we have not believed empty fables, or words without any foundation but words filled with the Spirit of God, and big with power, and flourishing with grace."
Then again those who were in his company laughed, and shouted in an unseemly manner. Then I rose up and was about to leave; but he, taking hold of my garment, said I should not accomplish that [1967] until I had performed what I promised. "Let not, then, your companions be so tumultuous, or behave so disgracefully," I said. "But if they wish, let them listen in silence; or, if some better occupation prevent them, let them go away; while we, having retired to some spot, and resting there, may finish the discourse." It seemed good to Trypho that we should do so; and accordingly, having agreed upon it, we retired to the middle space of the Xystus. Two of his friends, when they had ridiculed and made game of our zeal, went off. And when we were come to that place, where there are stone seats on both sides, those with Trypho, having seated themselves on the one side, conversed with each other, some one of them having thrown in a remark about the war waged in Judæa.
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[1967] According to another reading, "I did not leave."
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Chapter X.--Trypho blames the Christians for this alone--the non-observance of the law.
And when they ceased, I again addressed them thus:--
"Is there any other matter, my friends, in which we are blamed, than this, that we live not after the law, and are not circumcised in the flesh as your forefathers were, and do not observe sabbaths as you do? Are our lives and customs also slandered among you? And I ask this: have you also believed concerning us, that we eat men; and that after the feast, having extinguished the lights, we engage in promiscuous concubinage? Or do you condemn us in this alone, that we adhere to such tenets, and believe in an opinion, untrue, as you think?"
"This is what we are amazed at," said Trypho, "but those things about which the multitude speak are not worthy of belief; for they are most repugnant to human nature. Moreover, I am aware that your precepts in the so-called Gospel are so wonderful and so great, that I suspect no one can keep them; for I have carefully read them. But this is what we are most at a loss about: that you, professing to be pious, and supposing yourselves better than others, are not in any particular separated from them, and do not alter your mode of living from the nations, in that you observe no festivals or sabbaths, and do not have the rite of circumcision; and further, resting your hopes on a man that was crucified, you yet expect to obtain some good thing from God, while you do not obey His commandments. Have you not read, that that soul shall be cut off from his people who shall not have been circumcised on the eighth day? And this has been ordained for strangers and for slaves equally. But you, despising this covenant rashly, reject the consequent duties, and attempt to persuade yourselves that you know God, when, however, you perform none of those things which they do who fear God. If, therefore, you can defend yourself on these points, and make it manifest in what way you hope for anything whatsoever, even though you do not observe the law, this we would very gladly hear from you, and we shall make other similar investigations."
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Chapter XI.--The law abrogated; the New Testament promised and given by God.
"There will be no other God, O Trypho, nor was there from eternity any other existing" (I thus addressed him), "but He who made and disposed all this universe. Nor do we think that there is one God for us, another for you, but that He alone is God who led your fathers out from Egypt with a strong hand and a high arm. Nor have we trusted in any other (for there is no other), but in Him in whom you also have trusted, the God of Abraham, and of Isaac, and of Jacob. But we do not trust through Moses or through the law; for then we would do the same as yourselves. But now [1968] --(for I have read that there shall be a final law, and a covenant, the chiefest of all, which it is now incumbent on all men to observe, as many as are seeking after the inheritance of God. For the law promulgated on Horeb is now old, and belongs to yourselves alone; but this is for all universally. Now, law placed against law has abrogated that which is before it, and a covenant which comes after in like manner has put an end to the previous one; and an eternal and final law--namely, Christ --has been given to us, and the covenant is trustworthy, after which there shall be no law, no commandment, no ordinance. Have you not read this which Isaiah says: Hearken unto Me, hearken unto Me, my people; and, ye kings, give ear unto Me: for a law shall go forth from Me, and My judgment shall be for a light to the nations. My righteousness approaches swiftly, and My salvation shall go forth, and nations shall trust in Mine arm?' [1969] And by Jeremiah, concerning this same new covenant, He thus speaks: Behold, the days come, saith the Lord, that I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and with the house of Judah; not according to the covenant which I made with their fathers, in the day that I took them by the hand, to bring them out of the land of Egypt' [1970] ). If, therefore, God proclaimed a new covenant which was to be instituted, and this for a light of the nations, we see and are persuaded that men approach God, leaving their idols and other unrighteousness, through the name of Him who was crucified, Jesus Christ, and abide by their confession even unto death, and maintain piety. Moreover, by the works and by the attendant miracles, it is possible for all to understand that He is the new law, and the new covenant, and the expectation of those who out of every people wait for the good things of God. For the true spiritual Israel, and descendants of Judah, Jacob, Isaac, and Abraham (who in uncircumcision was approved of and blessed by God on account of his faith, and called the father of many nations), are we who have been led to God through this crucified Christ, as shall be demonstrated while we proceed.
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[1968] Editors suppose that Justin inserts a long parenthesis here, from "for" to "Egypt." It is more natural to take this as an anacoluthon. Justin was going to say, "But now we trust through Christ," but feels that such a statement requires preliminary explanation.
[1969] According to the LXX, Isa. li. 4, 5.
[1970] Jer. xxxi. 31, 32.
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Chapter XII.--The Jews violate the eternal law, and interpret ill that of Moses.
I also adduced another passage in which Isaiah exclaims: " Hear My words, and your soul shall live; and I will make an everlasting covenant with you, even the sure mercies of David. Behold, I have given Him for a witness to the people: nations which know not Thee shall call on Thee; peoples who know not Thee shall escape to Thee, because of thy God, the Holy One of Israel; for He has glorified Thee.' [1971] This same law you have despised, and His new holy covenant you have slighted; and now you neither receive it, nor repent of your evil deeds. For your ears are closed, your eyes are blinded, and the heart is hardened,' Jeremiah [1972] has cried; yet not even then do you listen. The Lawgiver is present, yet you do not see Him; to the poor the Gospel is preached, the blind see, yet you do not understand. You have now need of a second circumcision, though you glory greatly in the flesh. The new law requires you to keep perpetual sabbath, and you, because you are idle for one day, suppose you are pious, not discerning why this has been commanded you: and if you eat unleavened bread, you say the will of God has been fulfilled. The Lord our God does not take pleasure in such observances: if there is any perjured person or a thief among you, let him cease to be so; if any adulterer, let him repent; then he has kept the sweet and true sabbaths of God. If any one has impure hands, let him wash and be pure.
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[1971] Isa. lv. 3 ff. according to LXX.
[1972] Not in Jeremiah; some would insert, in place of Jeremiah, Isaiah or John. [St. John xii. 40; Isa. vi. 10; where see full references in the English margin. But comp. Jer. vii. 24, 26, Jer. xi. 8, and Jer. xvii. 23.]
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Chapter XIII.--Isaiah teaches that sins are forgiven through Christ's blood.
"For Isaiah did not send you to a bath, there to wash away murder and other sins, which not even all the water of the sea were sufficient to purge; but, as might have been expected, this was that saving bath of the olden time which followed [1973] those who repented, and who no longer were purified by the blood of goats and of sheep, or by the ashes of an heifer, or by the offerings of fine flour, but by faith through the blood of Christ, and through His death, who died for this very reason, as Isaiah himself said, when he spake thus: The Lord shall make bare His holy arm in the eyes of all the nations, and all the nations and the ends of the earth shall see the salvation of God. Depart ye, depart ye, depart ye, [1974] go ye out from thence, and touch no unclean thing; go ye out of the midst of her, be ye clean that bear the vessels of the Lord, for [1975] ye go not with haste. For the Lord shall go before you; and the Lord, the God of Israel, shall gather you together. Behold, my servant shall deal prudently; and He shall be exalted, and be greatly glorified. As many were astonished at Thee, so Thy form and Thy glory shall be marred more than men. So shall many nations be astonished at Him, and the kings shall shut their mouths; for that which had not been told them concerning Him shall they see, and that which they had not heard shall they consider. Lord, who hath believed our report? and to whom is the arm of the Lord revealed? We have announced Him as a child before Him, as a root in a dry ground. He hath no form or comeliness, and when we saw Him He had no form or beauty; but His form is dishonoured, and fails more than the sons of men. He is a man in affliction, and acquainted with bearing sickness, because His face has been turned away; He was despised, and we esteemed Him not. He bears our sins, and is distressed for us; and we esteemed Him to be in toil and in affliction, and in evil treatment. But He was wounded for our transgressions, He was bruised for our iniquities; the chastisement of our peace was upon Him. With His stripes we are healed. All we, like sheep, have gone astray. Every man has turned to his own way; and the Lord laid on Him our iniquities, and by reason of His oppression He opens not His mouth. He was brought as a sheep to the slaughter; and as a lamb before her shearer is dumb, so He openeth not His mouth. In His humiliation His judgment was taken away. And who shall declare His generation? For His life is taken from the earth. Because of the transgressions of my people He came unto death. And I will give the wicked for His grave, and the rich for His death, because He committed no iniquity, and deceit was not found in His mouth. And the Lord wills to purify Him from affliction. If he has been given for sin, your soul shall see a long-lived seed. And the Lord wills to take His soul away from trouble, to show Him light, and to form Him in understanding, to justify the righteous One who serves many well. And He shall bear our sins; therefore He shall inherit many, and shall divide the spoil of the strong, because His soul was delivered to death; and He was numbered with the transgressors, and He bare the sins of many, and was delivered for their transgression. Sing, O barren, who bearest not; break forth and cry aloud, thou who dost not travail in pain: for more are the children of the desolate than the children of the married wife. For the Lord said, Enlarge the place of thy tent and
of thy curtains; fix them, spare not, lengthen thy cords, and strengthen thy stakes; stretch forth to thy right and thy left; and thy seed shall inherit the Gentiles, and thou shalt make the desolate cities to be inherited. Fear not because thou art ashamed, neither be thou confounded because thou hast been reproached; for thou shalt forget everlasting shame, and shalt not remember the reproach of thy widowhood, because the Lord has made a name for Himself, and He who has redeemed thee shall be called through the whole earth the God of Israel. The Lord has called thee as [1976] a woman forsaken and grieved in spirit, as [1977] a woman hated from her youth.' [1978]
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[1973] 1 Cor. x. 4. Otto reads: which he mentioned and which was for those who repented.
[1974] Three times in Justin, not in LXX.
[1975] Deviating slightly from LXX., omitting a clause.
[1976] LXX. "not as," etc.
[1977] LXX. "not as," etc.
[1978] Isa. lii. 10 ff. following LXX. on to liv. 6.
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Chapter XIV.--Righteousness is not placed in Jewish rites, but in the conversion of the heart given in baptism by Christ.
"By reason, therefore, of this laver of repentance and knowledge of God, which has been ordained on account of the transgression of God's people, as Isaiah cries, we have believed, and testify that that very baptism which he announced is alone able to purify those who have repented; and this is the water of life. But the cisterns which you have dug for yourselves are broken and profitless to you. For what is the use of that baptism which cleanses the flesh and body alone? Baptize the soul from wrath and from covetousness, from envy, and from hatred; and, lo! the body is pure. For this is the symbolic significance of unleavened bread, that you do not commit the old deeds of wicked leaven. But you have understood all things in a carnal sense, and you suppose it to be piety if you do such things, while your souls are filled with deceit, and, in short, with every wickedness. Accordingly, also, after the seven days of eating unleavened bread, God commanded them to mingle new leaven, that is, the performance of other works, and not the imitation of the old and evil works. And because this is what this new Lawgiver demands of you, I shall again refer to the words which have been quoted by me, and to others also which have been passed over. They are related by Isaiah to the following effect: Hearken to me, and your soul shall live; and I will make with you an everlasting covenant, even the sure mercies of David. Behold, I have given Him for a witness to the people, a leader and commander to the nations. Nations which know not Thee shall call on Thee; and peoples who know not Thee shall escape unto Thee, because of Thy God, the Holy One of Israel, for He has glorified Thee. Seek ye God; and when you find Him, call on Him, so long as He may be nigh you. Let the wicked forsake his ways, and the unrighteous man his thoughts; and let him return unto the Lord, and he will obtain mercy, because He will abundantly pardon your sins. For my thoughts are not as your thoughts, neither are my ways as your ways; but as far removed as the heavens are from the earth, so far is my way removed from your way, and your thoughts from my thoughts. For as the snow or the rain descends from heaven, and shall not return till it waters the earth, and makes it bring forth and bud, and gives seed to the sower and bread for food, so shall My word be that goeth forth out of My mouth: it shall not return until it shall have accomplished all that I desired, and I shall make My commandments prosperous. For ye shall go out with joy, and be taught with gladness. For the mountains and the hills shall leap while they expect you, and all the trees of the fields shall applaud with their branches: and instead of the thorn shall come up the cypress, and instead of the brier shall come up the myrtle. And the Lord shall be for a name, and for an everlasting sign, and He shall not fail!' [1979] Of these and such like words written by the prophets, O Trypho," said I, "some have reference to the first advent of Christ, in which He is preached as inglorious, obscure, and of mortal appearance: but others had reference to His second advent, when He shall appear in glory and above the clouds; and your nation shall see and know Him whom they have pierced, as Hosea, one of the twelve prophets, and Daniel, foretold.
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[1979] Isa. lv. 3 to end.
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Chapter XV.--In what the true fasting consists.
"Learn, therefore, to keep the true fast of God, as Isaiah says, that you may please God. Isaiah has cried thus: Shout vehemently, and do not spare: lift up thy voice as with a trumpet, and show My people their transgressions, and the house of Jacob their sins. They seek Me from day to day, and desire to know My ways, as a nation that did righteousness, and forsook not the judgment of God. They ask of Me now righteous judgment, and desire to draw near to God, saying, Wherefore have we fasted, and Thou seest not? and afflicted our souls, and Thou hast not known? Because in the days of your fasting you find your own pleasure, and oppress all those who are subject to you. Behold, ye fast for strifes and debates, and smite the humble with your fists. Why do ye fast for Me, as to-day, so that your voice is heard aloud? This is not the fast which I have chosen, the day in which a man shall afflict his soul. And not even if you bend your neck like a ring, or clothe yourself in sackcloth and ashes, shall you call this a fast, and a day acceptable to the Lord. This is not the fast which I have chosen, saith the Lord; but loose every unrighteous bond, dissolve the terms of wrongous covenants, let the oppressed go free, and avoid every iniquitous contract. Deal thy bread to the hungry, and lead the homeless poor under thy dwelling; if thou seest the naked, clothe him; and do not hide thyself from thine own flesh. Then shall thy light break forth as the morning, and thy garments [1980] shall rise up quickly: and thy righteousness shall go before thee, and the glory of God shall envelope thee. Then shalt thou cry, and the Lord shall hear thee: while thou art speaking, He will say, Behold, I am here. And if thou take away from thee the yoke, and the stretching out of the hand, and the word of murmuring; and shalt give heartily thy bread to the hungry, and shalt satisfy the afflicted soul; then shall thy light arise in the darkness, and thy darkness shall be as the noon-day: and thy God shall be with thee continually, and thou shalt be satisfied according as thy soul desireth, and thy bones shall become fat, and shall be as a watered garden, and as a fountain of water, or as a land where water fails not.' [1981] Circumcise, therefore, the foreskin of your heart,' as the words of God in all these passages demand."
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[1980] himatia; some read iamata, as in LXX., "thy health," the better reading probably.
[1981] Isa. lviii. 1-12.
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Chapter XVI.--Circumcision given as a sign, that the Jews might be driven away for their evil deeds done to Christ and the Christians.
"And God himself proclaimed by Moses, speaking thus: And circumcise the hardness of your hearts, and no longer stiffen the neck. For the Lord your God is both Lord of lords, and a great, mighty, and terrible God, who regardeth not persons, and taketh not rewards.' [1982] And in Leviticus: Because they have transgressed against Me, and despised Me, and because they have walked contrary to Me, I also walked contrary to them, and I shall cut them off in the land of their enemies. Then shall their uncircumcised heart be turned. [1983] For the circumcision according to the flesh, which is from Abraham, was given for a sign; that you may be separated from other nations, and from us; and that you alone may suffer that which you now justly suffer; and that your land may be desolate, and your cities burned with fire; and that strangers may eat your fruit in your presence, and not one of you may go up to Jerusalem.' [1984] For you are not recognised among the rest of men by any other mark than your fleshly circumcision. For none of you, I suppose, will venture to say that God neither did nor does foresee the events, which are future, nor foreordained his deserts for each one. Accordingly, these things have happened to you in fairness and justice, for you have slain the Just One, and His prophets before Him; and now you reject those who hope in Him, and in Him who sent Him--God the Almighty and Maker of all things --cursing in your synagogues those that believe on Christ. For you have not the power to lay hands upon us, on account of those who now have the mastery. But as often as you could, you did so. Wherefore God, by Isaiah, calls to you, saying, Behold how the righteous man perished, and no one regards it. For the righteous man is taken away from before iniquity. His grave shall be in peace, he is taken away from the midst. Draw near hither, ye lawless children, seed of the adulterers, and children of the whore. Against whom have you sported yourselves, and against whom have you opened the mouth, and against whom have you loosened the tongue?' [1985]
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[1982] Deut. x. 16 f.
[1983] Lev. xxvi. 40, 41.
[1984] See Apol., i. 47. The Jews [By Hadrian's recent edict] were prohibited by law from entering Jerusalem on pain of death. And so Justin sees in circumcision their own punishment.
[1985] Isa. lvii. 1-4.
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Chapter XVII.--The Jews sent persons through the whole earth to spread calumnies on Christians.
"For other nations have not inflicted on us and on Christ this wrong to such an extent as you have, who in very deed are the authors of the wicked prejudice against the Just One, and us who hold by Him. For after that you had crucified Him, the only blameless and righteous Man,-- through whose stripes those who approach the Father by Him are healed, --when you knew that He had risen from the dead and ascended to heaven, as the prophets foretold He would, you not only did not repent of the wickedness which you had committed, but at that time you selected and sent out from Jerusalem chosen men through all the land to tell that the godless heresy of the Christians had sprung up, and to publish those things which all they who knew us not speak against us. So that you are the cause not only of your own unrighteousness, but in fact of that of all other men. And Isaiah cries justly: By reason of you, My name is blasphemed among the Gentiles.' [1986] And: Woe unto their soul! because they have devised an evil device against themselves, saying, Let us bind the righteous, for he is distasteful to us. Therefore they shall eat the fruit of their doings. Woe unto the wicked! evil shall be rendered to him according to the works of his hands.' And again, in other words: [1987] Woe unto them that draw their iniquity as with a long cord, and their transgressions as with the harness of a heifer's yoke: who say, Let his speed come near; and let the counsel of the Holy One of Israel come, that we may know it. Woe unto them that call evil good, and good evil; that put light for darkness, and darkness for light; that put bitter for sweet, and sweet for bitter!' [1988] Accordingly, you displayed great zeal in publishing throughout all the land bitter and dark and unjust things against the only blameless and righteous Light sent by God.
For He appeared distasteful to you when He cried among you, It is written, My house is the house of prayer; but ye have made it a den of thieves!' [1989] He overthrew also the tables of the money-changers in the temple, and exclaimed, Woe unto you, Scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! because ye pay tithe of mint and rue, but do not observe the love of God and justice. Ye whited sepulchres! appearing beautiful outward, but are within full of dead men's bones.' [1990] And to the Scribes, Woe unto you, Scribes! for ye have the keys, and ye do not enter in yourselves, and them that are entering in ye hinder; ye blind guides!'
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[1986] Isa. lii. 5.
[1987] Isa. iii. 9 ff.
[1988] Isa. v. 18, 20.
[1989] Matt. xxi. 13.
[1990] This and following quotation taken promiscuously from Matt. xxiii. and Luke xi.
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Chapter XVIII.--Christians would observe the law, if they did not know why it was instituted.
"For since you have read, O Trypho, as you yourself admitted, the doctrines taught by our Saviour, I do not think that I have done foolishly in adding some short utterances of His to the prophetic statements. Wash therefore, and be now clean, and put away iniquity from your souls, as God bids you be washed in this laver, and be circumcised with the true circumcision. For we too would observe the fleshly circumcision, and the Sabbaths, and in short all the feasts, if we did not know for what reason they were enjoined you,--namely, on account of your transgressions and the hardness of your hearts. For if we patiently endure all things contrived against us by wicked men and demons, so that even amid cruelties unutterable, death and torments, we pray for mercy to those who inflict such things upon us, and do not wish to give the least retort to any one, even as the new Lawgiver commanded us: how is it, Trypho, that we would not observe those rites which do not harm us, --I speak of fleshly circumcision, and Sabbaths, and feasts?
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Chapter XIX.--Circumcision unknown before Abraham. The law was given by Moses on account of the hardness of their hearts.
"It is this about which we are at a loss, and with reason, because, while you endure such things, you do not observe all the other customs which we are now discussing."
"This circumcision is not, however, necessary for all men, but for you alone, in order that, as I have already said, you may suffer these things which you now justly suffer. Nor do we receive that useless baptism of cisterns, for it has nothing to do with this baptism of life. Wherefore also God has announced that you have forsaken Him, the living fountain, and digged for yourselves broken cisterns which can hold no water. Even you, who are the circumcised according to the flesh, have need of our circumcision; but we, having the latter, do not require the former. For if it were necessary, as you suppose, God would not have made Adam uncircumcised; would not have had respect to the gifts of Abel when, being uncircumcised, he offered sacrifice, and would not have been pleased with the uncircumcision of Enoch, who was not found, because God had translated him. Lot, being uncircumcised, was saved from Sodom, the angels themselves and the Lord sending him out. Noah was the beginning of our race; yet, uncircumcised, along with his children he went into the ark. Melchizedek, the priest of the Most High, was uncircumcised; to whom also Abraham the first who received circumcision after the flesh, gave tithes, and he blessed him: after whose order God declared, by the mouth of David, that He would establish the everlasting priest. Therefore to you alone this circumcision was necessary, in order that the people may be no people, and the nation no nation; as also Hosea, [1991] one of the twelve prophets, declares. Moreover, all those righteous men already mentioned, though they kept no Sabbaths, [1992] were pleasing to God; and after them Abraham with all his descendants until Moses, under whom your nation appeared unrighteous and ungrateful to God, making a calf in the wilderness: wherefore God, accommodating Himself to that nation, enjoined them also to offer sacrifices, as if to His name, in order that you might not serve idols. Which precept, however, you have not observed; nay, you sacrificed your children to demons. And you were commanded to keep Sabbaths, that you might retain the memorial of God. For His word makes this announcement, saying, That ye may know that I am God who redeemed you.' [1993]
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[1991] Hos. i. and Hos. ii.
[1992] [They did not Sabbatize; but Justin does not deny what is implied in many Scriptures, that they marked the week, and noted the seventh day. Gen. ii. 3, Gen. viii. 10, 12.]
[1993] Ezek. xx. 12.
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Chapter XX.--Why choice of meats was prescribed.
"Moreover, you were commanded to abstain from certain kinds of food, in order that you might keep God before your eyes while you ate and drank, seeing that you were prone and very ready to depart from His knowledge, as Moses also affirms: The people ate and drank, and rose up to play.' [1994] And again: Jacob ate, and was satisfied, and waxed fat; and he who was beloved kicked: he waxed fat, he grew thick, he was enlarged, and he forsook God who had made him.' [1995] For it was told you by Moses in the book of Genesis, that God granted to Noah, being a just man, to eat of every animal, but not of flesh with the blood, which is dead." [1996] And as he was ready to say, "as the green herbs," I anticipated him: "Why do you not receive this statement, as the green herbs,' in the sense in which it was given by God, to wit, that just as God has granted the herbs for sustenance to man, even so has He given the animals for the diet of flesh? But, you say, a distinction was laid down thereafter to Noah, because we do not eat certain herbs. As you interpret it, the thing is incredible. And first I shall not occupy myself with this, though able to say and to hold that every vegetable is food, and fit to be eaten. But although we discriminate between green herbs, not eating all, we refrain from eating some, not because they are common or unclean, but because they are bitter, or deadly, or thorny. But we lay hands on and take of all herbs which are sweet, very nourishing and good, whether they are marine or land plants. Thus also God by the mouth of Moses commanded you to abstain from unclean and improper [1997] and violent animals: when, moreover, though you were eating manna in the desert, and were seeing all those wondrous acts wrought for you by God, you made and worshipped the golden calf. [1998] Hence he cries continually, and justly, They are foolish children, in whom is no faith.' [1999]
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[1994] Ex. xxxii. 6.
[1995] Deut. xxxii. 15.
[1996] nekrimaion, or "dieth of itself;" com. reading was ekrimaion, which was supposed to be derived from ekripto, and to mean "which ought to be cast out:" the above was suggested by H. Stephanus.
[1997] aoikos kai paranomos.
[1998] "The reasoning of St. Justin is not quite clear to interpreters. As we abstain from some herbs, not because they are forbidden by law, but because they are deadly; so the law of abstinence from improper and violent animals was imposed not on Noah, but on you as a yoke on account of your sins."--Maranus.
[1999] Deut. xxxii. 6, 20.
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Chapter XXI.--Sabbaths were instituted on account of the people's sins, and not for a work of righteousness.
"Moreover, that God enjoined you to keep the Sabbath, and impose on you
other precepts for a sign, as I have already said, on account of your
unrighteousness, and that of your fathers,--as He declares that for the
sake of the nations, lest His name be profaned among them, therefore He
permitted some of you to remain alive,--these words of His can prove to
you: they are narrated by Ezekiel thus: I am the Lord your God; walk in
My statutes, and keep My judgments, and take no part in the customs of
Egypt; and hallow My Sabbaths; and they shall be a sign between Me and
you, that ye may know that I am the Lord your God. Notwithstanding ye
rebelled against Me, and your children walked not in My statutes,
neither kept My judgments to do them: which if a man do, he shall live
in them. But they polluted My Sabbaths. And I said that I would pour
out My fury upon them in the wilderness, to accomplish My anger upon
them; yet I did it not; that My name might not be altogether profaned
in the sight of the heathen. I led them out before their eyes, and I
lifted up Mine hand unto them in the wilderness, that I would scatter
them among the heathen, and disperse them through the countries;
because they had not executed My judgments, but had despised My
statutes, and polluted My Sabbaths, and their eyes were after the
devices of their fathers. Wherefore I gave them also statutes which
were not good, and judgments whereby they shall not live. And I shall
pollute them in their own gifts, that I may destroy all that openeth
the womb, when I pass through them.' [2000]
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[2000] Ezek. xx. 19-26.
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Chapter XXII.--So also were sacrifices and oblations.
"And that you may learn that it was for the sins of your own nation,
and for their idolatries and not because there was any necessity for
such sacrifices, that they were likewise enjoined, listen to the manner
in which He speaks of these by Amos, one of the twelve, saying: Woe
unto you that desire the day of the Lord! to what end is this day of
the Lord for you? It is darkness and not light, as when a man flees
from the face of a lion, and a bear meets him; and he goes into his
house, and leans his hands against the wall, and the serpent bites him.
Shall not the day of the Lord be darkness and not light, even very
dark, and no brightness in it? I have hated, I have despised your
feast-days, and I will not smell in your solemn assemblies: wherefore,
though ye offer Me your burnt-offerings and sacrifices, I will not
accept them; neither will I regard the peace-offerings of your
presence. Take thou away from Me the multitude of thy songs and psalms;
I will not hear thine instruments. But let judgment be rolled down as
water, and righteousness as an impassable torrent. Have ye offered unto
Me victims and sacrifices in the wilderness, O house of Israel? saith
the Lord. And have ye taken up the tabernacle of Moloch, and the star
of your god Raphan, the figures which ye made for yourselves? And I
will carry you away beyond Damascus, saith the Lord, whose name is the
Almighty God. Woe to them that are at ease in Zion, and trust in the
mountain of Samaria: those who are named among the chiefs have plucked
away the first-fruits of the nations: the house of Israel have entered
for themselves. Pass all of you unto Calneh, and see; and from thence
go ye unto Hamath the great, and go down thence to Gath of the
strangers, the noblest of all these kingdoms, if their boundaries are
greater than your boundaries. Ye who come to the evil day, who are
approaching, and who hold to false Sabbaths; who lie on beds of ivory,
and are at ease upon their couches; who eat the lambs out of the flock,
and the sucking calves out of the midst of the herd; who applaud at the
sound of the musical instruments; they reckon them as stable, and not
as fleeting, who drink wine in bowls, and anoint themselves with the
chief ointments, but they are not grieved for the affliction of Joseph.
Wherefore now they shall be captives, among the first of the nobles who
are carried away; and the house of evil-doers shall be removed, and the
neighing of horses shall be taken away from Ephraim.' [2001] And again
by Jeremiah: Collect your flesh, and sacrifices, and eat: for
concerning neither sacrifices nor libations did I command your fathers
in the day in which I took them by the hand to lead them out of Egypt.'
[2002] And again by David, in the forty-ninth Psalm, He thus said: The
God of gods, the Lord hath spoken, and called the earth, from the
rising of the sun unto the going down thereof. Out of Zion is the
perfection of His beauty. God, even our God, shall come openly, and
shall not keep silence. Fire shall burn before Him, and it shall be
very tempestuous round about Him. He shall call to the heavens above,
and to the earth, that He may judge His people. Assemble to Him His
saints; those that have made a covenant with Him by sacrifices. And the
heavens shall declare His righteousness, for God is judge. Hear, O My
people, and I will speak to thee; O Israel, and I will testify to thee,
I am God, even thy God. I will not reprove thee for thy sacrifices; thy
burnt-offerings are continually before me. I will take no bullocks out
of thy house, nor he-goats out of thy folds: for all the beasts of the
field are Mine, the herds and the oxen on the mountains. I know all the
fowls of the heavens, and the beauty of the field is Mine. If I were
hungry, I would not tell thee; for the world is Mine, and the fulness
thereof. Will I eat the flesh of bulls, or drink the blood of goats?
Offer unto God the sacrifice of praise, and pay thy vows unto the Most
High, and call upon Me in the day of trouble, and I will deliver thee,
and thou shalt glorify Me. But unto the wicked God saith, What hast
thou to do to declare My statutes, and to take My covenant into thy
mouth? But thou hast hated instruction, and cast My words behind thee.
When thou sawest a thief, thou consentedst with him; and hast been
partaker with the adulterer. Thy mouth has framed evil, and thy tongue
has enfolded deceit. Thou sittest and speakest against thy brother;
thou slanderest thine own mother's son. These things hast thou done,
and I kept silence; thou thoughtest that I would be like thyself in
wickedness. I will reprove thee, and set thy sins in order before thine
eyes. Now consider this, ye that forget God, lest He tear you in
pieces, and there be none to deliver. The sacrifice of praise shall
glorify Me; and there is the way in which I shall show him My
salvation.' [2003] Accordingly He neither takes sacrifices from you nor
commanded them at first to be offered because they are needful to Him,
but because of your sins. For indeed the temple, which is called the
temple in Jerusalem, He admitted to be His house or court, not as
though He needed it, but in order that you, in this view of it, giving
yourselves to Him, might not worship idols. And that this is so, Isaiah
says: What house have ye built Me? saith the Lord. Heaven is My throne,
and earth is My footstool.' [2004]
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[2001] Amos v. 18 to end, Amos vi. 1-7.
[2002] Jer. vii. 21 f.
[2003] Ps. l. (in E. V.).
[2004] Isa. lxvi. 1.
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Chapter XXIII.--The opinion of the Jews regarding the law does an injury to
God.
"But if we do not admit this, we shall be liable to fall into foolish
opinions, as if it were not the same God who existed in the times of
Enoch and all the rest, who neither were circumcised after the flesh,
nor observed Sabbaths, nor any other rites, seeing that Moses enjoined
such observances; or that God has not wished each race of mankind
continually to perform the same righteous actions: to admit which,
seems to be ridiculous and absurd. Therefore we must confess that He,
who is ever the same, has commanded these and such like institutions on
account of sinful men, and we must declare Him to be benevolent,
foreknowing, needing nothing, righteous and good. But if this be not
so, tell me, sir, what you think of those matters which we are
investigating." And when no one responded: "Wherefore, Trypho, I will
proclaim to you, and to those who wish to become proselytes, the divine
message which I heard from that man. [2005] Do you see that the
elements are not idle, and keep no Sabbaths? Remain as you were born.
For if there was no need of circumcision before Abraham, or of the
observance of Sabbaths, of feasts and sacrifices, before Moses; no more
need is there of them now, after that, according to the will of God,
Jesus Christ the Son of God has been born without sin, of a virgin
sprung from the stock of Abraham. For when Abraham himself was in
uncircumcision, he was justified and blessed by reason of the faith
which he reposed in God, as the Scripture tells. Moreover, the
Scriptures and the facts themselves compel us to admit that He received
circumcision for a sign, and not for righteousness. So that it was
justly recorded concerning the people, that the soul which shall not be
circumcised on the eighth day shall be cut off from his family. And,
furthermore, the inability of the female sex to receive fleshly
circumcision, proves that this circumcision has been given for a sign,
and not for a work of righteousness. For God has given likewise to
women the ability to observe all things which are righteous and
virtuous; but we see that the bodily form of the male has been made
different from the bodily form of the female; yet we know that neither
of them is righteous or unrighteous merely for this cause, but [is
considered righteous] by reason of piety and righteousness.
__________________________________________________________________
[2005] The man he met by the sea-shore.
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Chapter XXIV.--The Christians' circumcision far more excellent.
"Now, sirs," I said, "it is possible for us to show how the eighth day
possessed a certain mysterious import, which the seventh day did not
possess, and which was promulgated by God through these rites. But lest
I appear now to diverge to other subjects, understand what I say: the
blood of that circumcision is obsolete, and we trust in the blood of
salvation; there is now another covenant, and another law has gone
forth from Zion. Jesus Christ circumcises all who will--as was declared
above --with knives of stone; [2006] that they may be a righteous
nation, a people keeping faith, holding to the truth, and maintaining
peace. Come then with me, all who fear God, who wish to see the good of
Jerusalem. Come, let us go to the light of the Lord; for He has
liberated His people, the house of Jacob. Come, all nations; let us
gather ourselves together at Jerusalem, no longer plagued by war for
the sins of her people. For I was manifest to them that sought Me not;
I was found of them that asked not for Me;' [2007] He exclaims by
Isaiah: I said, Behold Me, unto nations which were not called by My
name. I have spread out My hands all the day unto a disobedient and
gainsaying people, which walked in a way that was not good, but after
their own sins. It is a people that provoketh Me to my face.' [2008]
__________________________________________________________________
[2006] Josh. v. 2; Isa. xxvi. 2, 3.
[2007] Isa. lxv. 1-3.
[2008] Isa. lxv. 1-3.
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Chapter XXV.--The Jews boast in vain that they are sons of Abraham.
"Those who justify themselves, and say they are sons of Abraham, shall
be desirous even in a small degree to receive the inheritance along
with you; [2009] as the Holy Spirit, by the mouth of Isaiah, cries,
speaking thus while he personates them: Return from heaven, and behold
from the habitation of Thy holiness and glory. Where is Thy zeal and
strength? Where is the multitude of Thy mercy? for Thou hast sustained
us, O Lord. For Thou art our Father, because Abraham is ignorant of us,
and Israel has not recognised us. But Thou, O Lord, our Father, deliver
us: from the beginning Thy name is upon us. O Lord, why hast Thou made
us to err from Thy way? and hardened our hearts, so that we do not fear
Thee? Return for Thy servants' sake, the tribes of Thine inheritance,
that we may inherit for a little Thy holy mountain. We were as from the
beginning, when Thou didst not bear rule over us, and when Thy name was
not called upon us. If Thou wilt open the heavens, trembling shall
seize the mountains before Thee: and they shall be melted, as wax melts
before the fire; and fire shall consume the adversaries, and Thy name
shall be manifest among the adversaries; the nations shall be put into
disorder before Thy face. When Thou shalt do glorious things, trembling
shall seize the mountains before Thee. From the beginning we have not
heard, nor have our eyes seen a God besides Thee: and Thy works, [2010]
the mercy which Thou shall show to those who repent. He shall meet
those who do righteousness, and they shall remember Thy ways. Behold,
Thou art wroth, and we were sinning. Therefore we have erred and become
all unclean, and all our righteousness is as the rags of a woman set
apart: and we have faded away like leaves by reason of our iniquities;
thus the wind will take us away. And there is none that calleth upon
Thy name, or remembers to take hold of Thee; for Thou hast turned away
Thy face from us, and hast given us up on account of our sins. And now
return, O Lord, for we are all Thy people. The city of Thy holiness has
become desolate. Zion has become as a wilderness, Jerusalem a curse;
the house, our holiness, and the glory which our fathers blessed, has
been burned with fire; and all the glorious nations [2011] have fallen
along with it. And in addition to these [misfortunes], O Lord, Thou
hast refrained Thyself, and art silent, and hast humbled us very much.'
" [2012]
And Trypho remarked, "What is this you say? that none of us shall
inherit anything on the holy mountain of God?"
__________________________________________________________________
[2009] Other edd. have, "with us."
[2010] Otto reads: "Thy works which Thou shalt do to those who wait for
mercy."
[2011] Some suppose the correct reading to be, "our glorious
institutions [manners, customs, or ordinances] have," etc., ethe for
ethne.
[2012] Isa. lxiii. 15 to end, and Isa. lxiv.
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Chapter XXVI.--No salvation to the Jews except through Christ.
And I replied, "I do not say so; but those who have persecuted and do
persecute Christ, if they do not repent, shall not inherit anything on
the holy mountain. But the Gentiles, who have believed on Him, and have
repented of the sins which they have committed, they shall receive the
inheritance along with the patriarchs and the prophets, and the just
men who are descended from Jacob, even although they neither keep the
Sabbath, nor are circumcised, nor observe the feasts. Assuredly they
shall receive the holy inheritance of God. For God speaks by Isaiah
thus: I, the Lord God, have called Thee in righteousness, and will hold
Thine hand, and will strengthen Thee; and I have given Thee for a
covenant of the people, for a light of the Gentiles, to open the eyes
of the blind, to bring out them that are bound from the chains, and
those who sit in darkness from the prison-house.' [2013] And again:
Lift up a standard [2014] for the people; for, lo, the Lord has made it
heard unto the end of the earth. Say ye to the daughters of Zion,
Behold, thy Saviour has come; having His reward, and His work before
His face: and He shall call it a holy nation, redeemed by the Lord. And
thou shalt be called a city sought out, and not forsaken. Who is this
that cometh from Edom? in red garments from Bosor? This that is
beautiful in apparel, going up with great strength? I speak
righteousness, and the judgment of salvation. Why are Thy garments red,
and Thine apparel as from the trodden wine-press? Thou art full of the
trodden grape. I have trodden the wine-press all alone, and of the
people there is no man with Me; and I have trampled them in fury, and
crushed them to the ground, and spilled their blood on the earth. For
the day of retribution has come upon them, and the year of redemption
is present. And I looked, and there was none to help; and I considered,
and none assisted: and My arm delivered; and My fury came on them, and
I trampled them in My fury, and spilled their blood on the earth.' "
[2015]
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[2013] Isa. xlii. 6, 7.
[2014] susseismon, "a shaking," is the original reading; but LXX has
sussemon, a standard or signal, and this most edd. adopt.
[2015] Isa. lxii. 10 to end, Isa. lxiii. 1-6.
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Chapter XXVII.--Why God taught the same things by the prophets as by Moses.
And Trypho said, "Why do you select and quote whatever you wish from
the prophetic writings, but do not refer to those which expressly
command the Sabbath to be observed? For Isaiah thus speaks: If thou
shalt turn away thy foot from the Sabbaths, so as not to do thy
pleasure on the holy day, and shalt call the Sabbaths the holy delights
of thy God; if thou shalt not lift thy foot to work, and shalt not
speak a word from thine own mouth; then thou shalt trust in the Lord,
and He shall cause thee to go up to the good things of the land; and He
shall feed thee with the inheritance of Jacob thy father: for the mouth
of the Lord hath spoken it.' " [2016]
And I replied, "I have passed them by, my friends, not because such
prophecies were contrary to me, but because you have understood, and do
understand, that although God commands you by all the prophets to do
the same things which He also commanded by Moses, it was on account of
the hardness of your hearts, and your ingratitude towards Him, that He
continually proclaims them, in order that, even in this way, if you
repented, you might please Him, and neither sacrifice your children to
demons, nor be partakers with thieves, nor lovers of gifts, nor hunters
after revenge, nor fail in doing judgment for orphans, nor be
inattentive to the justice due to the widow, nor have your hands full
of blood. For the daughters of Zion have walked with a high neck, both
sporting by winking with their eyes, and sweeping along their dresses.
[2017] For they are all gone aside,' He exclaims, they are all become
useless. There is none that understands, there is not so much as one.
With their tongues they have practised deceit, their throat is an open
sepulchre, the poison of asps is under their lips, destruction and
misery are in their paths, and the way of peace they have not known.'
[2018] So that, as in the beginning, these things were enjoined you
because of your wickedness, in like manner because of your stedfastness
in it, or rather your increased proneness to it, by means of the same
precepts He calls you to a remembrance or knowledge of it. But you are
a people hard-hearted and without understanding, both blind and lame,
children in whom is no faith, as He Himself says, honouring Him only
with your lips, far from Him in your hearts, teaching doctrines that
are your own and not His. For, tell me, did God wish the priests to sin
when they offer the sacrifices on the Sabbaths? or those to sin, who
are circumcised and do circumcise on the Sabbaths; since He commands
that on the eighth day--even though it happen to be a Sabbath-- those
who are born shall be always circumcised? or could not the infants be
operated upon one day previous or one day subsequent to the Sabbath, if
He knew that it is a sinful act upon the Sabbaths? Or why did He not
teach those--who are called righteous and pleasing to Him, who lived
before Moses and Abraham, who were not circumcised in their foreskin,
and observed no Sabbaths--to keep these institutions?"
__________________________________________________________________
[2016] Isa. lviii. 13, 14.
[2017] Isa. iii. 16.
[2018] Various passages strung together; comp. Rom. iii. 10, and foll.
verses.
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Chapter XXVIII.--True righteousness is obtained by Christ.
And Trypho replied, "We heard you adducing this consideration a little
ago, and we have given it attention: for, to tell the truth, it is
worthy of attention; and that answer which pleases most --namely, that
so it seemed good to Him--does not satisfy me. For this is ever the
shift to which those have recourse who are unable to answer the
question."
Then I said, "Since I bring from the Scriptures and the facts
themselves both the proofs and the inculcation of them, do not delay or
hesitate to put faith in me, although I am an uncircumcised man; so
short a time is left you in which to become proselytes. If Christ's
coming shall have anticipated you, in vain you will repent, in vain you
will weep; for He will not hear you. Break up your fallow ground,'
Jeremiah has cried to the people, and sow not among thorns. Circumcise
yourselves to the Lord, and circumcise the foreskin of your heart.'
[2019] Do not sow, therefore, among thorns, and in untilled ground,
whence you can have no fruit. Know Christ; and behold the fallow
ground, good, good and fat, is in your hearts. For, behold, the days
come, saith the Lord, that I will visit all them that are circumcised
in their foreskins; Egypt, and Judah, [2020] and Edom, and the sons of
Moab. For all the nations are uncircumcised, and all the house of
Israel are uncircumcised in their hearts.' [2021] Do you see how that
God does not mean this circumcision which is given for a sign? For it
is of no use to the Egyptians, or the sons of Moab, or the sons of
Edom. But though a man be a Scythian or a Persian, if he has the
knowledge of God and of His Christ, and keeps the everlasting righteous
decrees, he is circumcised with the good and useful circumcision, and
is a friend of God, and God rejoices in his gifts and offerings. But I
will lay before you, my friends, the very words of God, when He said to
the people by Malachi, one of the twelve prophets, I have no pleasure
in you, saith the Lord; and I shall not accept your sacrifices at your
hands: for from the rising of the sun unto its setting My name shall be
glorified among the Gentiles; and in every place a sacrifice is offered
unto My name, even a pure sacrifice: for My name is honoured among the
Gentiles, saith the Lord; but ye profane it.' [2022] And by David He
said, A people whom I have not known, served Me; at the hearing of the
ear they obeyed Me.' [2023]
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[2019] Jer. iv. 3.
[2020] So in A.V., but supposed to be Idumæa.
[2021] Jer. ix. 25 f.
[2022] Mal. i. 10, etc.
[2023] Ps. xviii. 43.
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Chapter XXIX.--Christ is useless to those who observe the law.
"Let us glorify God, all nations gathered together; for He has also
visited us. Let us glorify Him by the King of glory, by the Lord of
hosts. For He has been gracious towards the Gentiles also; and our
sacrifices He esteems more grateful than yours. What need, then, have I
of circumcision, who have been witnessed to by God? What need have I of
that other baptism, who have been baptized with the Holy Ghost? I think
that while I mention this, I would persuade even those who are
possessed of scanty intelligence. For these words have neither been
prepared by me, nor embellished by the art of man; but David sung them,
Isaiah preached them, Zechariah proclaimed them, and Moses wrote them.
Are you acquainted with them, Trypho? They are contained in your
Scriptures, or rather not yours, but ours. [2024] For we believe them;
but you, though you read them, do not catch the spirit that is in them.
Be not offended at, or reproach us with, the bodily uncircumcision with
which God has created us; and think it not strange that we drink hot
water on the Sabbaths, since God directs the government of the universe
on this day equally as on all others; and the priests, as on other
days, so on this, are ordered to offer sacrifices; and there are so
many righteous men who have performed none of these legal ceremonies,
and yet are witnessed to by God Himself.
__________________________________________________________________
[2024] [This striking claim of the Old Testament Scriptures is
noteworthy.]
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Chapter XXX.--Christians possess the true righteousness.
"But impute it to your own wickedness, that God even can be accused by
those who have no understanding, of not having always instructed all in
the same righteous statutes. For such institutions seemed to be
unreasonable and unworthy of God to many men, who had not received
grace to know that your nation were called to conversion and repentance
of spirit, [2025] while they were in a sinful condition and labouring
under spiritual disease; and that the prophecy which was announced
subsequent to the death of Moses is everlasting. And this is mentioned
in the Psalm, my friends. [2026] And that we, who have been made wise
by them, confess that the statutes of the Lord are sweeter than honey
and the honey-comb, is manifest from the fact that, though threatened
with death, we do not deny His name. Moreover, it is also manifest to
all, that we who believe in Him pray to be kept by Him from strange,
i.e., from wicked and deceitful, spirits; as the word of prophecy,
personating one of those who believe in Him, figuratively declares. For
we do continually beseech God by Jesus Christ to preserve us from the
demons which are hostile to the worship of God, and whom we of old time
served, in order that, after our conversion by Him to God, we may be
blameless. For we call Him Helper and Redeemer, the power of whose name
even the demons do fear; and at this day, when they are exorcised in
the name of Jesus Christ, crucified under Pontius Pilate, governor of
Judæa, they are overcome. And thus it is manifest to all, that His
Father has given Him so great power, by virtue of which demons are
subdued to His name, and to the dispensation of His suffering.
__________________________________________________________________
[2025] Or, "repentance of the Father;" patros for pneumatos. Maranus
explains the confusion on the ground of the similarity between the
contractions for the words, prs and pns.
[2026] Ps. xix.
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Chapter XXXI.--If Christ's power be now so great, how much greater at the
second advent!
"But if so great a power is shown to have followed and to be still
following the dispensation of His suffering, how great shall that be
which shall follow His glorious advent! For He shall come on the clouds
as the Son of man, so Daniel foretold, and His angels shall come with
Him. These are the words: I beheld till the thrones were set; and the
Ancient of days did sit, whose garment was white as snow, and the hair
of His head like the pure wool. His throne was like a fiery flame, His
wheels as burning fire. A fiery stream issued and came forth from
before Him. Thousand thousands ministered unto Him, and ten thousand
times ten thousand stood before Him. The books were opened, and the
judgment was set. I beheld then the voice of the great words which the
horn speaks: and the beast was beat down, and his body destroyed, and
given to the burning flame. And the rest of the beasts were taken away
from their dominion, and a period of life was given to the beasts until
a season and time. I saw in the vision of the night, and, behold, one
like the Son of man coming with the clouds of heaven; and He came to
the Ancient of days, and stood before Him. And they who stood by
brought Him near; and there were given Him power and kingly honour, and
all nations of the earth by their families, and all glory, serve Him.
And His dominion is an everlasting dominion, which shall not be taken
away; and His kingdom shall not be destroyed. And my spirit was chilled
within my frame, and the visions of my head troubled me. I came near
unto one of them that stood by, and inquired the precise meaning of all
these things. In answer he speaks to me, and showed me the judgment of
the matters: These great beasts are four kingdoms, which shall perish
from the earth, and shall not receive dominion for ever, even for ever
and ever. Then I wished to know exactly about the fourth beast, which
destroyed all [the others] and was very terrible, its teeth of iron,
and its nails of brass; which devoured, made waste, and stamped the
residue with its feet: also about the ten horns upon its head, and of
the one which came up, by means of which three of the former fell. And
that horn had eyes, and a mouth speaking great things; and its
countenance excelled the rest. And I beheld that horn waging war
against the saints, and prevailing against them, until the Ancient of
days came; and He gave judgment for the saints of the Most High. And
the time came, and the saints of the Most High possessed the kingdom.
And it was told me concerning the fourth beast: There shall be a fourth
kingdom upon earth, which shall prevail over all these kingdoms, and
shall devour the whole earth, and shall destroy and make it thoroughly
waste. And the ten horns are ten kings that shall arise; and one shall
arise after them; [2027] and he shall surpass the first in evil deeds,
and he shall subdue three kings, and he shall speak words against the
Most High, and shall overthrow the rest of the saints of the Most High,
and shall expect to change the seasons and the times. And it shall be
delivered into his hands for a time, and times, and half a time. And
the judgment sat, and they shall take away his dominion, to consume and
to destroy it unto the end. And the kingdom, and the power, and the
great places of the kingdoms under the heavens, were given to the holy
people of the Most High, to reign in an everlasting kingdom: and all
powers shall be subject to Him, and shall obey Him. Hitherto is the end
of the matter. I, Daniel, was possessed with a very great astonishment,
and my speech was changed in me; yet I kept the matter in my heart.' "
[2028]
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[2027] Literally, "And the ten horns, ten kings shall arise after
them."
[2028] Dan. vii. 9-28.
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Chapter XXXII.--Trypho objecting that Christ is described as glorious by
Daniel, Justin distinguishes two advents.
And when I had ceased, Trypho said, "These and such like Scriptures,
sir, compel us to wait for Him who, as Son of man, receives from the
Ancient of days the everlasting kingdom. But this so-called Christ of
yours was dishonourable and inglorious, so much so that the last curse
contained in the law of God fell on him, for he was crucified."
Then I replied to him, "If, sirs, it were not said by the Scriptures
which I have already quoted, that His form was inglorious, and His
generation not declared, and that for His death the rich would suffer
death, and with His stripes we should be healed, and that He would be
led away like a sheep; and if I had not explained that there would be
two advents of His,--one in which He was pierced by you; a second, when
you shall know Him whom you have pierced, and your tribes shall mourn,
each tribe by itself, the women apart, and the men apart,--then I must
have been speaking dubious and obscure things. But now, by means of the
contents of those Scriptures esteemed holy and prophetic amongst you, I
attempt to prove all [that I have adduced], in the hope that some one
of you may be found to be of that remnant which has been left by the
grace of the Lord of Sabaoth for the eternal salvation. In order,
therefore, that the matter inquired into may be plainer to you, I will
mention to you other words also spoken by the blessed David, from which
you will perceive that the Lord is called the Christ by the Holy Spirit
of prophecy; and that the Lord, the Father of all, has brought Him
again from the earth, setting Him at His own right hand, until He makes
His enemies His footstool; which indeed happens from the time that our
Lord Jesus Christ ascended to heaven, after He rose again from the
dead, the times now running on to their consummation; and he whom
Daniel foretells would have dominion for a time, and times, and an
half, is even already at the door, about to speak blasphemous and
daring things against the Most High. But you, being ignorant of how
long he will have dominion, hold another opinion. For you interpret the
time' as being a hundred years. But if this is so, the man of sin must,
at the shortest, reign three hundred and fifty years, in order that we
may compute that which is said by the holy Daniel-- and times'--to be
two times only. All this I have said to you in digression, in order
that you at length may be persuaded of what has been declared against
you by God, that you are foolish sons; and of this, Therefore, behold,
I will proceed to take away this people, and shall take them away; and
I will strip the wise of their wisdom, and will hide the understanding
of their prudent men;' [2029] and may cease to deceive yourselves and
those who hear you, and may learn of us, who have been taught wisdom by
the grace of Christ. The words, then, which were spoken by David, are
these: [2030] The Lord said unto My Lord, Sit Thou at My right hand,
until I make Thine enemies Thy footstool. The Lord shall send the rod
of Thy strength out of Sion: rule Thou also in the midst of Thine
enemies. With Thee shall be, in the day, the chief of Thy power, in the
beauties of Thy saints. From the womb, before the morning star, have I
begotten Thee. The Lord hath sworn, and will not repent: Thou art a
priest for ever after the order of Melchizedek. The Lord is at Thy
right hand: He has crushed kings in the day of His wrath: He shall
judge among the heathen, He shall fill [with] the dead bodies. [2031]
He shall drink of the brook in the way; therefore shall He lift up the
head.'
__________________________________________________________________
[2029] Isa. xxix. 14.
[2030] Ps. cx.
[2031] plerosei ptomata; Lat. version, implebit ruinas. Thirlby
suggested that an omission has taken place in the mss. by the
transcriber's fault.
__________________________________________________________________
Chapter XXXIII.--Ps. cx. is not spoken of Hezekiah. He proves that Christ was
first humble, then shall be glorious.
"And," I continued, "I am not ignorant that you venture to expound this
psalm as if it referred to king Hezekiah; but that you are mistaken, I
shall prove to you from these very words forthwith. The Lord hath
sworn, and will not repent,' it is said; and, Thou art a priest
forever, after the order of Melchizedek,' with what follows and
precedes. Not even you will venture to object that Hezekiah was either
a priest, or is the everlasting priest of God; but that this is spoken
of our Jesus, these expressions show. But your ears are shut up, and
your hearts are made dull. [2032] For by this statement, The Lord hath
sworn, and will not repent: Thou art a priest for ever, after the order
of Melchizedek,' with an oath God has shown Him (on account of your
unbelief) to be the High Priest after the order of Melchizedek; i.e.,
as Melchizedek was described by Moses as the priest of the Most High,
and he was a priest of those who were in uncircumcision, and blessed
the circumcised Abraham who brought him tithes, so God has shown that
His everlasting Priest, called also by the Holy Spirit Lord, would be
Priest of those in uncircumcision. Those too in circumcision who
approach Him, that is, believing Him and seeking blessings from Him, He
will both receive and bless. And that He shall be first humble as a
man, and then exalted, these words at the end of the Psalm show: He
shall drink of the brook in the way,' and then, Therefore shall He lift
up the head.'
__________________________________________________________________
[2032] peperontai. Maranus thinks peporontai more probable, "hardened."
__________________________________________________________________
Chapter XXXIV.--Nor does Ps. lxxii. apply to Solomon, whose faults Christians
shudder at.
"Further, to persuade you that you have not understood anything of the
Scriptures, I will remind you of another psalm, dictated to David by
the Holy Spirit, which you say refers to Solomon, who was also your
king. But it refers also to our Christ. But you deceive yourselves by
the ambiguous forms of speech. For where it is said, The law of the
Lord is perfect,' you do not understand it of the law which was to be
after Moses, but of the law which was given by Moses, although God
declared that He would establish a new law and a new covenant. And
where it has been said, O God, give Thy judgment to the king,' since
Solomon was king, you say that the Psalm refers to him, although the
words of the Psalm expressly proclaim that reference is made to the
everlasting King, i.e., to Christ. For Christ is King, and Priest, and
God, and Lord, and angel, and man, and captain, and stone, and a Son
born, and first made subject to suffering, then returning to heaven,
and again coming with glory, and He is preached as having the
everlasting kingdom: so I prove from all the Scriptures. But that you
may perceive what I have said, I quote the words of the Psalm; they are
these: O God, give Thy judgment to the king, and Thy righteousness unto
the king's son, to judge Thy people with righteousness, and Thy poor
with judgment. The mountains shall take up peace to the people, and the
little hills righteousness. He shall judge the poor of the people, and
shall save the children of the needy, and shall abase the slanderer. He
shall co-endure with the sun, and before the moon unto all generations.
He shall come down like rain upon the fleece, as drops falling on the
earth. In His days shall righteousness flourish, and abundance of peace
until the moon be taken away. And He shall have dominion from sea to
sea, and from the rivers unto the ends of the earth. Ethiopians shall
fall down before Him, and His enemies shall lick the dust. The kings of
Tarshish and the isles shall offer gifts; the kings of Arabia and Seba
shall offer gifts; and all the kings of the earth shall worship Him,
and all the nations shall serve Him: for He has delivered the poor from
the man of power, and the needy that hath no helper. He shall spare the
poor and needy, and shall save the souls of the needy: He shall redeem
their souls from usury and injustice, and His name shall be honourable
before them. And He shall live, and to Him shall be given of the gold
of Arabia, and they shall pray continually for Him: they shall bless
Him all the day. And there shall be a foundation on the earth, it shall
be exalted on the tops of the mountains: His fruit shall be on Lebanon,
and they of the city shall flourish like grass of the earth. His name
shalt be blessed for ever. His name shall endure before the sun; and
all tribes of the earth shall be blessed in Him, all nations shall call
Him blessed. Blessed be the Lord, the God of Israel, who only doeth
wondrous things; and blessed be His glorious name for ever, and for
ever and ever; and the whole earth shall be filled with His glory.
Amen, amen.' [2033] And at the close of this Psalm which I have quoted,
it is written, The hymns of David the son of Jesse are ended.' [2034]
Moreover, that Solomon was a renowned and great king, by whom the
temple called that at Jerusalem was built, I know; but that none of
those things mentioned in the Psalm happened to him, is evident. For
neither did all kings worship him; nor did he reign to the ends of the
earth; nor did his enemies, falling before him, lick the dust. Nay,
also, I venture to repeat what is written in the book of Kings as
committed by him, how through a woman's influence he worshipped the
idols of Sidon, which those of the Gentiles who know God, the Maker of
all things through Jesus the crucified, do not venture to do, but abide
every torture and vengeance even to the extremity of death, rather than
worship idols, or eat meat offered to idols."
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[2033] Ps. lxxii.
[2034] [A striking passage in De Maistre (OEuvres, vol. vi. p. 275) is
worthy of comparison.]
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Chapter XXXV.--Heretics confirm the Catholics in the faith.
And Trypho said, "I believe, however, that many of those who say that
they confess Jesus, and are called Christians, eat meats offered to
idols, and declare that they are by no means injured in consequence."
And I replied, "The fact that there are such men confessing themselves
to be Christians, and admitting the crucified Jesus to be both Lord and
Christ, yet not teaching His doctrines, but those of the spirits of
error, causes us who are disciples of the true and pure doctrine of
Jesus Christ, to be more faithful and stedfast in the hope announced by
Him. For what things He predicted would take place in His name, these
we do see being actually accomplished in our sight. For he said, Many
shall come in My name, clothed outwardly in sheep's clothing, but
inwardly they are ravening wolves.' " [2035] And, There shall be
schisms and heresies.' [2036] And, Beware of false prophets, who shall
come to you clothed outwardly in sheep's clothing, but inwardly they
are ravening wolves.' [2037] And, Many false Christs and false apostles
shall arise, and shall deceive many of the faithful.' [2038] There are,
therefore, and there were many, my friends, who, coming forward in the
name of Jesus, taught both to speak and act impious and blasphemous
things; and these are called by us after the name of the men from whom
each doctrine and opinion had its origin. (For some in one way, others
in another, teach to blaspheme the Maker of all things, and Christ, who
was foretold by Him as coming, and the God of Abraham, and of Isaac,
and of Jacob, with whom we have nothing in common, since we know them
to be atheists, impious, unrighteous, and sinful, and confessors of
Jesus in name only, instead of worshippers of Him. Yet they style
themselves Christians, just as certain among the Gentiles inscribe the
name of God upon the works of their own hands, and partake in nefarious
and impious rites.) Some are called Marcians, and some Valentinians,
and some Basilidians, and some Saturnilians, and others by other names;
each called after the originator of the individual opinion, just as
each one of those who consider themselves philosophers, as I said
before, thinks he must bear the name of the philosophy which he
follows, from the name of the father of the particular doctrine. So
that, in consequence of these events, we know that Jesus foreknew what
would happen after Him, as well as in consequence of many other events
which He foretold would befall those who believed on and confessed Him,
the Christ. For all that we suffer, even when killed by friends, He
foretold would take place; so that it is manifest no word or act of His
can be found fault with. Wherefore we pray for you and for all other
men who hate us; in order that you, having repented along with us, may
not blaspheme Him who, by His works, by the mighty deeds even now
wrought through His name, by the words He taught, by the prophecies
announced concerning Him, is the blameless, and in all things
irreproachable, Christ Jesus; but, believing on Him, may be saved in
His second glorious advent, and may not be condemned to fire by Him."
__________________________________________________________________
[2035] Matt. vii. 15.
[2036] 1 Cor. xi. 19.
[2037] Matt. vii. 15.
[2038] Matt. xxiv. 11.
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Chapter XXXVI.--He proves that Christ is called Lord of Hosts.
Then he replied, "Let these things be so as you say--namely, that it
was foretold Christ would suffer, and be called a stone; and after His
first appearance, in which it had been announced He would suffer, would
come in glory, and be Judge finally of all, and eternal King and
Priest. Now show if this man be He of whom these prophecies were made."
And I said, "As you wish, Trypho, I shall come to these proofs which
you seek in the fitting place; but now you will permit me first to
recount the prophecies, which I wish to do in order to prove that
Christ is called both God and Lord of hosts, and Jacob, in parable by
the Holy Spirit; and your interpreters, as God says, are foolish, since
they say that reference is made to Solomon and not to Christ, when he
bore the ark of testimony into the temple which he built. The Psalm of
David is this: The earth is the Lord's, and the fulness thereof; the
world, and all that dwell therein. He hath founded it upon the seas,
and prepared it upon the floods. Who shall ascend into the hill of the
Lord? or who shall stand in His holy place? He that is clean of hands
and pure of heart: who has not received his soul in vain, and has not
sworn guilefully to his neighbour: he shall receive blessing from the
Lord, and mercy from God his Saviour. This is the generation of them
that seek the Lord, that seek the face of the God of Jacob. [2039] Lift
up your gates, ye rulers; and be ye lift up, ye everlasting doors; and
the King of glory shall come in. Who is this King of glory? The Lord
strong and mighty in battle. Lift up your gates, ye rulers; and be ye
lift up, ye everlasting doors; and the King of glory shall come in. Who
is this King of glory? The Lord of hosts, He is the King of glory.'
[2040] Accordingly, it is shown that Solomon is not the Lord of hosts;
but when our Christ rose from the dead and ascended to heaven, the
rulers in heaven, under appointment of God, are commanded to open the
gates of heaven, that He who is King of glory may enter in, and having
ascended, may sit on the right hand of the Father until He make the
enemies His footstool, as has been made manifest by another Psalm. For
when the rulers of heaven saw Him of uncomely and dishonoured
appearance, and inglorious, not recognising Him, they inquired, Who is
this King of glory?' And the Holy Spirit, either from the person of His
Father, or from His own person, answers them, The Lord of hosts, He is
this King of glory.' For every one will confess that not one of those
who presided over the gates of the temple at Jerusalem would venture to
say concerning Solomon, though he was so glorious a king, or concerning
the ark of testimony, Who is this King of glory?'
__________________________________________________________________
[2039] Maranus remarks from Thirlby: "As Justin wrote a little before,
and is called Jacob in parable,' it seems to convince us that Justin
wrote, thy face, O Jacob.' " [The meaning in this latter case becomes
plain, if we observe that "O Israel" is equivalent to, and means, "O
house of Jacob:" an apostrophe to the Church of the ancient people.]
[2040] Ps. xxiv.
__________________________________________________________________
Chapter XXXVII.--The same is proved from other Psalms.
"Moreover, in the diapsalm of the forty-sixth Psalm, reference is thus
made to Christ: God went up with a shout, the Lord with the sound of a
trumpet. Sing ye to our God, sing ye: sing to our King, sing ye; for
God is King of all the earth: sing with understanding. God has ruled
over the nations. God sits upon His holy throne. The rulers of the
nations were assembled along with the God of Abraham, for the strong
ones of God are greatly exalted on the earth.' [2041] And in the
ninety-eighth Psalm, the Holy Spirit reproaches you, and predicts Him
whom you do not wish to be king to be King and Lord, both of Samuel,
and of Aaron, and of Moses, and, in short, of all the others. And the
words of the Psalm are these: The Lord has reigned, let the nations be
angry: [it is] He who sits upon the cherubim, let the earth be shaken.
The Lord is great in Zion, and He is high above all the nations. Let
them confess Thy great name, for it is fearful and holy, and the honour
of the King loves judgment. Thou hast prepared equity; judgment and
righteousness hast Thou performed in Jacob. Exalt the Lord our God, and
worship the footstool of His feet; for He is holy. Moses and Aaron
among His priests, and Samuel among those who call upon His name. They
called (says the Scripture) on the Lord, and He heard them. In the
pillar of the cloud He spake to them; for [2042] they kept His
testimonies, and the commandment which he gave them. O Lord our God,
Thou heardest them: O God, Thou wert propitious to them, and [yet]
taking vengeance on all their inventions. Exalt the Lord our God, and
worship at His holy hill; for the Lord our God is holy.' " [2043]
__________________________________________________________________
[2041] Ps. xlvii. 5-9. [The diapsalm is here used for what follows the
"Selah."]
[2042] "For" wanting in both Codd.
[2043] Ps. xcix.
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Chapter XXXVIII.--It is an annoyance to the Jew that Christ is said to be
adored. Justin confirms it, however, from Ps. xlv.
And Trypho said, "Sir, it were good for us if we obeyed our teachers,
who laid down a law that we should have no intercourse with any of you,
and that we should not have even any communication with you on these
questions. For you utter many blasphemies, in that you seek to persuade
us that this crucified man was with Moses and Aaron, and spoke to them
in the pillar of the cloud; then that he became man, was crucified, and
ascended up to heaven, and comes again to earth, and ought to be
worshipped."
Then I answered, "I know that, as the word of God says, this great
wisdom of God, the Maker of all things, and the Almighty, is hid from
you. Wherefore, in sympathy with you, I am striving to the utmost that
you may understand these matters which to you are paradoxical; but if
not, that I myself may be innocent in the day of judgment. For you
shall hear other words which appear still more paradoxical; but be not
confounded, nay, rather remain still more zealous hearers and
investigators, despising the tradition of your teachers, since they are
convicted by the Holy Spirit of inability to perceive the truths taught
by God, and of preferring to teach their own doctrines. Accordingly, in
the forty-fourth [forty-fifth] Psalm, these words are in like manner
referred to Christ: My heart has brought forth a good matter; [2044] I
tell my works to the King. My tongue is the pen of a ready writer.
Fairer in beauty than the sons of men: grace is poured forth into Thy
lips: therefore hath God blessed Thee for ever. Gird Thy sword upon Thy
thigh, O mighty One. Press on in Thy fairness and in Thy beauty, and
prosper and reign, because of truth, and of meekness, and of
righteousness: and Thy right hand shall instruct Thee marvellously.
Thine arrows are sharpened, O mighty One; the people shall fall under
Thee; in the heart of the enemies of the King [the arrows are fixed].
Thy throne, O God, is for ever and ever: a sceptre of equity is the
sceptre of Thy kingdom. Thou hast loved righteousness, and hast hated
iniquity; therefore thy God [2045] hath anointed Thee with the oil of
gladness above Thy fellows. [He hath anointed Thee] with myrrh, [2046]
and oil, and cassia, from Thy garments; from the ivory palaces, whereby
they made Thee glad. Kings' daughters are in Thy honour. The queen
stood at Thy right hand, clad in garments [2047] embroidered with gold.
Hearken, O daughter, and behold, and incline thine ear, and forget thy
people and the house of thy father: and the King shall desire thy
beauty; because He is thy Lord, they shall worship Him also. And the
daughter of Tyre [shall be there] with gifts. The rich of the people
shall entreat Thy face. All the glory of the King's daughter [is]
within, clad in embroidered garments of needlework. The virgins that
follow her shall be brought to the King; her neighbours shall be
brought unto Thee: they shall be brought with joy and gladness: they
shall be led into the King's shrine. Instead of thy fathers, thy sons
have been born: Thou shalt appoint them rulers over all the earth. I
shall remember Thy name in every generation: therefore the people shall
confess Thee for ever, and for ever and ever.'
__________________________________________________________________
[2044] [Hebrew and Greek, "a good word," i.e., the Logos.]
[2045] Or, "God, thy God."
[2046] stakte.
[2047] Literally, "garments of gold, variegated."
__________________________________________________________________
Chapter XXXIX.--The Jews hate the Christians who believe this. How great the
distinction is between both!
"Now it is not surprising," I continued, "that you hate us who hold
these opinions, and convict you of a continual hardness of heart.
[2048] For indeed Elijah, conversing with God concerning you, speaks
thus: Lord, they have slain Thy prophets, and digged down Thine altars:
and I am left alone, and they seek my life.' And He answers him: I have
still seven thousand men who have not bowed the knee to Baal.' [2049]
Therefore, just as God did not inflict His anger on account of those
seven thousand men, even so He has now neither yet inflicted judgment,
nor does inflict it, knowing that daily some [of you] are becoming
disciples in the name of Christ, and quitting the path of error; who
are also receiving gifts, each as he is worthy, illumined through the
name of this Christ. For one receives the 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."
To this Trypho said to me, "I wish you knew that you are beside
yourself, talking these sentiments."
And I said to him, "Listen, O friend, [2050] for I am not mad or beside
myself; but it was prophesied that, after the ascent of Christ to
heaven, He would deliver [2051] us from error and give us gifts. The
words are these: He ascended up on high; He led captivity captive; He
gave gifts to men.' [2052] Accordingly, we who have received gifts from
Christ, who has ascended up on high, prove from the words of prophecy
that you, the wise in yourselves, and the men of understanding in your
own eyes,' [2053] are foolish, and honour God and His Christ by lip
only. But we, who are instructed in the whole truth, [2054] honour Them
both in acts, and in knowledge, and in heart, even unto death. But you
hesitate to confess that He is Christ, as the Scriptures and the events
witnessed and done in His name prove, perhaps for this reason, lest you
be persecuted by the rulers, who, under the influence of the wicked and
deceitful spirit, the serpent, will not cease putting to death and
persecuting those who confess the name of Christ until He come again,
and destroy them all, and render to each his deserts."
And Trypho replied, "Now, then, render us the proof that this man who
you say was crucified and ascended into heaven is the Christ of God.
For you have sufficiently proved by means of the Scriptures previously
quoted by you, that it is declared in the Scriptures that Christ must
suffer, and come again with glory, and receive the eternal kingdom over
all the nations, every kingdom being made subject to Him: now show us
that this man is He."
And I replied, "It has been already proved, sirs, to those who have
ears, even from the facts which have been conceded by you; but that you
may not think me at a loss, and unable to give proof of what you ask,
as I promised, I shall do so at a fitting place. At present, I resume
the consideration of the subject which I was discussing.
__________________________________________________________________
[2048] Literally, "of a hard-hearted opinion."
[2049] 1 Kings xix. 14, 18.
[2050] o houtos. [Or, Look you, listen!]
[2051] Literally, "carry us captive."
[2052] Ps. lxviii. 19.
[2053] Isa. v. 21.
[2054] Contrasting either Catholics with heretics, or Christians with
Jews. [Note this word Catholic, as here used in its legitimate
primitive sense.]
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Chapter XL.--He returns to the Mosaic laws, and proves that they were figures
of the things which pertain to Christ.
"The mystery, then, of the lamb which God enjoined to be sacrificed as
the passover, was a type of Christ; with whose blood, in proportion to
their faith in Him, they anoint their houses, i.e., themselves, who
believe on Him. For that the creation which God created--to wit,
Adam--was a house for the spirit which proceeded from God, you all can
understand. And that this injunction was temporary, I prove thus. God
does not permit the lamb of the passover to be sacrificed in any other
place than where His name was named; knowing that the days will come,
after the suffering of Christ, when even the place in Jerusalem shall
be given over to your enemies, and all the offerings, in short, shall
cease; and that lamb which was commanded to be wholly roasted was a
symbol of the suffering of the cross which Christ would undergo. For
the lamb, [2055] which is roasted, is roasted and dressed up in the
form of the cross. For one spit is transfixed right through from the
lower parts up to the head, and one across the back, to which are
attached the legs of the lamb. And the two goats which were ordered to
be offered during the fast, of which one was sent away as the scape
[goat], and the other sacrificed, were similarly declarative of the two
appearances of Christ: the first, in which the elders of your people,
and the priests, having laid hands on Him and put Him to death, sent
Him away as the scape [goat]; and His second appearance, because in the
same place in Jerusalem you shall recognise Him whom you have
dishonoured, and who was an offering for all sinners willing to repent,
and keeping the fast which Isaiah speaks of, loosening the terms [2056]
of the violent contracts, and keeping the other precepts, likewise
enumerated by him, and which I have quoted, [2057] which those
believing in Jesus do. And further, you are aware that the offering of
the two goats, which were enjoined to be sacrificed at the fast, was
not permitted to take place similarly anywhere else, but only in
Jerusalem.
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[2055] Some think this particularly refers to the paschal lamb, others
to any lamb which is roasted.
[2056] Literally, "cords."
[2057] Chap. xv.
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Chapter XLI.--The oblation of fine flour was a figure of the Eucharist.
"And the offering of fine flour, sirs," I said, "which was prescribed
to be presented on behalf of those purified from leprosy, was a type of
the bread of the Eucharist, the celebration of which our Lord Jesus
Christ prescribed, in remembrance of the suffering which He endured on
behalf of those who are purified in soul from all iniquity, in order
that we may at the same time thank God for having created the world,
with all things therein, for the sake of man, and for delivering us
from the evil in which we were, and for utterly overthrowing [2058]
principalities and powers by Him who suffered according to His will.
Hence God speaks by the mouth of Malachi, one of the twelve [prophets],
as I said before, [2059] about the sacrifices at that time presented by
you: I have no pleasure in you, saith the Lord; and I will not accept
your sacrifices at your hands: for, from the rising of the sun unto the
going down of the same, My name has been glorified among the Gentiles,
and in every place incense is offered to My name, and a pure offering:
for My name is great among the Gentiles, saith the Lord: but ye profane
it.' [2060] [So] He then speaks of those Gentiles, namely us, who in
every place offer sacrifices to Him, i.e., the bread of the Eucharist,
and also the cup of the Eucharist, affirming both that we glorify His
name, and that you profane [it]. The command of circumcision, again,
bidding [them] always circumcise the children on the eighth day, was a
type of the true circumcision, by which we are circumcised from deceit
and iniquity through Him who rose from the dead on the first day after
the Sabbath, [namely through] our Lord Jesus Christ. For the first day
after the Sabbath, remaining the first [2061] of all the days, is
called, however, the eighth, according to the number of all the days of
the cycle, and [yet] remains the first.
__________________________________________________________________
[2058] Literally, "overthrowing with a perfect overthrow."
[2059] Chap. xxviii.
[2060] Mal. i. 10-12.
[2061] Or, "being the first."
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Chapter XLII.--The bells on the priest's robe were a figure of the apostles.
"Moreover, the prescription that twelve bells [2062] be attached to the
[robe] of the high priest, which hung down to the feet, was a symbol of
the twelve apostles, who depend on the power of Christ, the eternal
Priest; and through their voice it is that all the earth has been
filled with the glory and grace of God and of His Christ. Wherefore
David also says: Their sound has gone forth into all the earth, and
their words to the ends of the world.' [2063] And Isaiah speaks as if
he were personating the apostles, when they say to Christ that they
believe not in their own report, but in the power of Him who sent them.
And so he says: Lord, who hath believed our report? and to whom is the
arm of the Lord revealed? We have preached before Him as if [He were] a
child, as if a root in a dry ground.' [2064] (And what follows in order
of the prophecy already quoted. [2065] ) But when the passage speaks as
from the lips of many, We have preached before Him,' and adds, as if a
child,' it signifies that the wicked shall become subject to Him, and
shall obey His command, and that all shall become as one child. Such a
thing as you may witness in the body: although the members are
enumerated as many, all are called one, and are a body. For, indeed, a
commonwealth and a church, [2066] though many individuals in number,
are in fact as one, called and addressed by one appellation. And in
short, sirs," said I, "by enumerating all the other appointments of
Moses, I can demonstrate that they were types, and symbols, and
declarations of those things which would happen to Christ, of those who
it was foreknown were to believe in Him, and of those things which
would also be done by Christ Himself. But since what I have now
enumerated appears to me to be sufficient, I revert again to the order
of the discourse. [2067]
__________________________________________________________________
[2062] Ex. xxviii. 33 gives no definite number of bells. Otto presumes
Justin to have confounded the bells and gems, which were twelve in
number.
[2063] Ps. xix. 4.
[2064] Isa. liii. 1, 2.
[2065] Chap. xiii.
[2066] ekklesia Lat. vers. has conventus.
[2067] Literally, "to the discourse in order."
__________________________________________________________________
Chapter XLIII.--He concludes that the law had an end in Christ, who was born
of the Virgin.
"As, then, circumcision began with Abraham, and the Sabbath and
sacrifices and offerings and feasts with Moses, and it has been proved
they were enjoined on account of the hardness of your people's heart,
so it was necessary, in accordance with the Father's will, that they
should have an end in Him who was born of a virgin, of the family of
Abraham and tribe of Judah, and of David; in Christ the Son of God, who
was proclaimed as about to come to all the world, to be the everlasting
law and the everlasting covenant, even as the forementioned prophecies
show. And we, who have approached God through Him, have received not
carnal, but spiritual circumcision, which Enoch and those like him
observed. And we have received it through baptism, since we were
sinners, by God's mercy; and all men may equally obtain it. But since
the mystery of His birth now demands our attention I shall speak of it.
Isaiah then asserted in regard to the generation of Christ, that it
could not be declared by man, in words already quoted: [2068] Who shall
declare His generation? for His life is taken from the earth: for the
transgressions of my people was He led [2069] to death.' [2070] The
Spirit of prophecy thus affirmed that the generation of Him who was to
die, that we sinful men might be healed by His stripes, was such as
could not be declared. Furthermore, that the men who believe in Him may
possess the knowledge of the manner in which He came into the world,
[2071] the Spirit of prophecy by the same Isaiah foretold how it would
happen thus: And the Lord spoke again to Ahaz, saying, Ask for thyself
a sign from the Lord thy God, in the depth, or in the height. And Ahaz
said, I will not ask, neither will I tempt the Lord. And Isaiah said,
Hear then, O house of David; Is it a small thing for you to contend
with men, and how do you contend with the Lord? Therefore the Lord
Himself will give you a sign. Behold, the virgin shall conceive, and
shall bear a son, and his name shall be called Immanuel. Butter and
honey shall he eat, before he knows or prefers the evil, and chooses
out the good; [2072] for before the child knows good or ill, he rejects
evil [2073] by choosing out the good. For before the child knows how to
call father or mother, he shall receive the power of Damascus and the
spoil of Samaria in presence of the king of Assyria. And the land shall
be forsaken, [2074] which thou shalt with difficulty endure in
consequence of the presence of its two kings. [2075] But God shall
bring on thee, and on thy people, and on the house of thy father, days
which have not yet come upon thee since the day in which Ephraim took
away from Judah the king of Assyria.' [2076] Now it is evident to all,
that in the race of Abraham according to the flesh no one has been born
of a virgin, or is said to have been born [of a virgin], save this our
Christ. But since you and your teachers venture to affirm that in the
prophecy of Isaiah it is not said, Behold, the virgin shall conceive,'
but, Behold, the young woman shall conceive, and bear a son;' and
[since] you explain the prophecy as if [it referred] to Hezekiah, who
was your king, I shall endeavour to discuss shortly this point in
opposition to you, and to show that reference is made to Him who is
acknowledged by us as Christ.
__________________________________________________________________
[2068] Chap. xiii.
[2069] Or, "was I led."
[2070] Isa. liii. 8.
[2071] Literally, "He was in the world, being born."
[2072] See Chap. lxvi.
[2073] Literally, "disobeys evil" (apeithei ponera). Conjectured:
apothei, and apeithei poneria.
[2074] The mss. of Justin read, "shall be taken:" katalephthesetai.
This is plainly a mistake for kataleiphthesetai; but whether the
mistake is Justin's or the transcribers', it would be difficult to say,
as Thirlby remarks.
[2075] The rendering of this doubtful: literally, "from the face of the
two kings," and the words might go with "shall be forsaken."
[2076] Isa. vii. 10-17 with Isa. viii. 4 inserted. The last clause may
also be translated, "in which He took away from Judah Ephraim, even the
king of Assyria."
__________________________________________________________________
Chapter XLIV.--The Jews in vain promise themselves salvation, which cannot be
obtained except through Christ.
"For thus, so far as you are concerned, I shall be found in all
respects innocent, if I strive earnestly to persuade you by bringing
forward demonstrations. But if you remain hard-hearted, or weak in
[forming] a resolution, on account of death, which is the lot of the
Christians, and are unwilling to assent to the truth, you shall appear
as the authors of your own [evils]. And you deceive yourselves while
you fancy that, because you are the seed of Abraham after the flesh,
therefore you shall fully inherit the good things announced to be
bestowed by God through Christ. For no one, not even of them, [2077]
has anything to look for, but only those who in mind are assimilated to
the faith of Abraham, and who have recognised all the mysteries: for I
say, [2078] that some injunctions were laid on you in reference to the
worship of God and practice of righteousness; but some injunctions and
acts were likewise mentioned in reference to the mystery of Christ, on
account of [2079] the hardness of your people's hearts. And that this
is so, God makes known in Ezekiel, [when] He said concerning it: If
Noah and Jacob [2080] and Daniel should beg either sons or daughters,
the request would not be granted them.' [2081] And in Isaiah, of the
very same matter He spake thus: The Lord God said, they shall both go
forth and look on the members [of the bodies] of the men that have
transgressed. For their worm shall not die, and their fire shall not be
quenched, and they shall be a gazing-stock to all flesh.' [2082] So
that it becomes you to eradicate this hope from your souls, and hasten
to know in what way forgiveness of sins, and a hope of inheriting the
promised good things, shall be yours. But there is no other [way] than
this, --to become acquainted with this Christ, to be washed in the
fountain [2083] spoken of by Isaiah for the remission of sins; and for
the rest, to live sinless lives."
__________________________________________________________________
[2077] i.e., of Abraham's seed.
[2078] Justin distinguishes between such essential acts as related to
God's worship and the establishment of righteousness, and such
ceremonial observances as had a mere temporary significance. The
recognition of this distinction he alleges to be necessary to
salvation: necessary in this sense, that justification must be placed
not on the latter, but on the former; and without such recognition, a
Jew would, as Justin says, rest his hopes on his noble descent from
Abraham.
[2079] More probably, "or on account of," etc.
[2080] In Bible, "Job;" Maranus prefers "Jacob," and thinks the mention
of his name very suitable to disprove the arrogant claims of Jacob's
posterity.
[2081] Ezek. xiv. 20.
[2082] Isa. lxvi. 24.
[2083] Some refer this to Christ's baptism. See Cyprian, Adv. Jud. i.
24.-- Otto.
__________________________________________________________________
Chapter XLV.--Those who were righteous before and under the law shall be saved
by Christ.
And Trypho said, "If I seem to interrupt these matters, which you say
must be investigated, yet the question which I mean to put is urgent.
Suffer me first."
And I replied, "Ask whatever you please, as it occurs to you; and I
shall endeavour, after questions and answers, to resume and complete
the discourse."
Then he said, "Tell me, then, shall those who lived according to the
law given by Moses, live in the same manner with Jacob, Enoch, and
Noah, in the resurrection of the dead, or not?"
I replied to him, "When I quoted, sir, the words spoken by Ezekiel,
that even if Noah and Daniel and Jacob were to beg sons and daughters,
the request would not be granted them,' but that each one, that is to
say, shall be saved by his own righteousness, I said also, that those
who regulated their lives by the law of Moses would in like manner be
saved. For what in the law of Moses is naturally good, and pious, and
righteous, and has been prescribed to be done by those who obey it;
[2084] and what was appointed to be performed by reason of the hardness
of the people's hearts; was similarly recorded, and done also by those
who were under the law. Since those who did that which is universally,
naturally, and eternally good are pleasing to God, they shall be saved
through this Christ in the resurrection equally with those righteous
men who were before them, namely Noah, and Enoch, and Jacob, and
whoever else there be, along with those who have known [2085] this
Christ, Son of God, who was before the morning star and the moon, and
submitted to become incarnate, and be born of this virgin of the family
of David, in order that, by this dispensation, the serpent that sinned
from the beginning, and the angels like him, may be destroyed, and that
death may be contemned, and for ever quit, at the second coming of the
Christ Himself, those who believe in Him and live acceptably,--and be
no more: when some are sent to be punished unceasingly into judgment
and condemnation of fire; but others shall exist in freedom from
suffering, from corruption, and from grief, and in immortality."
__________________________________________________________________
[2084] It, i.e., the law, or "what in the law," etc.
[2085] Those who live after Christ.
__________________________________________________________________
Chapter XLVI.--Trypho asks whether a man who keeps the law even now will be
saved. Justin proves that it contributes nothing to righteousness.
"But if some, even now, wish to live in the observance of the
institutions given by Moses, and yet believe in this Jesus who was
crucified, recognising Him to be the Christ of God, and that it is
given to Him to be absolute Judge of all, and that His is the
everlasting kingdom, can they also be saved?" he inquired of me.
And I replied, "Let us consider that also together, whether one may now
observe all the Mosaic institutions."
And he answered, "No. For we know that, as you said, it is not possible
either anywhere to sacrifice the lamb of the passover, or to offer the
goats ordered for the fast; or, in short, [to present] all the other
offerings."
And I said, "Tell [me] then yourself, I pray, some things which can be
observed; for you will be persuaded that, though a man does not keep or
has not performed the eternal [2086] decrees, he may assuredly be
saved."
Then he replied, "To keep the Sabbath, to be circumcised, to observe
months, and to be washed if you touch anything prohibited by Moses, or
after sexual intercourse."
And I said, "Do you think that Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Noah, and Job,
and all the rest before or after them equally righteous, also Sarah the
wife of Abraham, Rebekah the wife of Isaac, Rachel the wife of Jacob,
and Leah, and all the rest of them, until the mother of Moses the
faithful servant, who observed none of these [statutes], will be
saved?"
And Trypho answered, "Were not Abraham and his descendants
circumcised?"
And I said, "I know that Abraham and his descendants were circumcised.
The reason why circumcision was given to them I stated at length in
what has gone before; and if what has been said does not convince you,
[2087] let us again search into the matter. But you are aware that, up
to Moses, no one in fact who was righteous observed any of these rites
at all of which we are talking, or received one commandment to observe,
except that of circumcision, which began from Abraham."
And he replied, "We know it, and admit that they are saved."
Then I returned answer, "You perceive that God by Moses laid all such
ordinances upon you on account of the hardness of your people's hearts,
in order that, by the large number of them, you might keep God
continually, and in every action, before your eyes, and never begin to
act unjustly or impiously. For He enjoined you to place around you [a
fringe] of purple dye, [2088] in order that you might not forget God;
and He commanded you to wear a phylactery, [2089] certain characters,
which indeed we consider holy, being engraved on very thin parchment;
and by these means stirring you up [2090] to retain a constant
remembrance of God: at the same time, however, convincing you, that in
your hearts you have not even a faint remembrance of God's worship. Yet
not even so were you dissuaded from idolatry: for in the times of
Elijah, when [God] recounted the number of those who had not bowed the
knee to Baal, He said the number was seven thousand; and in Isaiah He
rebukes you for having sacrificed your children to idols. But we,
because we refuse to sacrifice to those to whom we were of old
accustomed to sacrifice, undergo extreme penalties, and rejoice in
death,--believing that God will raise us up by His Christ, and will
make us incorruptible, and undisturbed, and immortal; and we know that
the ordinances imposed by reason of the hardness of your people's
hearts, contribute nothing to the performance of righteousness and of
piety."
__________________________________________________________________
[2086] "Eternal," i.e., as the Jew thinks.
[2087] Literally, "put you out of countenance."
[2088] Num. xv. 38.
[2089] Deut. vi. 6.
[2090] Literally, "importuning."
__________________________________________________________________
Chapter XLVII.--Justin communicates with Christians who observe the law. Not a
few Catholics do otherwise.
And Trypho again inquired, "But if some one, knowing that this is so,
after he recognises that this man is Christ, and has believed in and
obeys Him, wishes, however, to observe these [institutions], will he be
saved?"
I said, "In my opinion, Trypho, such an one will be saved, if he does
not strive in every way to persuade other men, --I mean those Gentiles
who have been circumcised from error by Christ, to observe the same
things as himself, telling them that they will not be saved unless they
do so. This you did yourself at the commencement of the discourse, when
you declared that I would not be saved unless I observe these
institutions."
Then he replied, "Why then have you said, In my opinion, such an one
will be saved,' unless there are some [2091] who affirm that such will
not be saved?"
"There are such people, Trypho," I answered; "and these do not venture
to have any intercourse with or to extend hospitality to such persons;
but I do not agree with them. But if some, through weak-mindedness,
wish to observe such institutions as were given by Moses, from which
they expect some virtue, but which we believe were appointed by reason
of the hardness of the people's hearts, along with their hope in this
Christ, and [wish to perform] the eternal and natural acts of
righteousness and piety, yet choose to live with the Christians and the
faithful, as I said before, not inducing them either to be circumcised
like themselves, or to keep the Sabbath, or to observe any other such
ceremonies, then I hold that we ought to join ourselves to such, and
associate with them in all things as kinsmen and brethren. But if,
Trypho," I continued, "some of your race, who say they believe in this
Christ, compel those Gentiles who believe in this Christ to live in all
respects according to the law given by Moses, or choose not to
associate so intimately with them, I in like manner do not approve of
them. But I believe that even those, who have been persuaded by them to
observe the legal dispensation along with their confession of God in
Christ, shall probably be saved. And I hold, further, that such as have
confessed and known this man to be Christ, yet who have gone back from
some cause to the legal dispensation, and have denied that this man is
Christ, and have repented not before death, shall by no means be saved.
Further, I hold that those of the seed of Abraham who live according to
the law, and do not believe in this Christ before death, shall likewise
not be saved, and especially those who have anathematized and do
anathematize this very Christ in the synagogues, and everything by
which they might obtain salvation and escape the vengeance of fire.
[2092] For the goodness and the loving-kindness of God, and His
boundless riches, hold righteous and sinless the man who, as Ezekiel
[2093] tells, repents of sins; and reckons sinful, unrighteous, and
impious the man who fails away from piety and righteousness to
unrighteousness and ungodliness. Wherefore also our Lord Jesus Christ
said, In whatsoever things I shall take you, in these I shall judge
you.' " [2094]
__________________________________________________________________
[2091] "Or, Are there not some," etc.
[2092] The text seems to be corrupt. Otto reads: "Do anathematize those
who put their trust in this very Christ so as to obtain salvation,"
etc.
[2093] Ezek. xxxiii. 11-20.
[2094] [Comp. St. John xii. 47, 48.] Grabius thinks this taken from the
[apocryphal] Gospel according to the Hebrews. It is not in the New or
Old Testament. [Query. Is it not, rather, one of the traditional
sayings preserved among early Christians?]
__________________________________________________________________
Chapter XLVIII.--Before the divinity of Christ is proved, he [Trypho] demands
that it be settled that He is Christ.
And Trypho said, "We have heard what you think of these matters. Resume
the discourse where you left off, and bring it to an end. For some of
it appears to me to be paradoxical, and wholly incapable of proof. For
when you say that this Christ existed as God before the ages, then that
He submitted to be born and become man, yet that He is not man of man,
this [assertion] appears to me to be not merely paradoxical, but also
foolish."
And I replied to this, "I know that the statement does appear to be
paradoxical, especially to those of your race, who are ever unwilling
to understand or to perform the [requirements] of God, but [ready to
perform] those of your teachers, as God Himself declares. [2095] Now
assuredly, Trypho,"I continued,"[the proof] that this man [2096] is the
Christ of God does not fail, though I be unable to prove that He
existed formerly as Son of the Maker of all things, being God, and was
born a man by the Virgin. But since I have certainly proved that this
man is the Christ of God, whoever He be, even if I do not prove that He
pre-existed, and submitted to be born a man of like passions with us,
having a body, according to the Father's will; in this last matter
alone is it just to say that I have erred, and not to deny that He is
the Christ, though it should appear that He was born man of men, and
[nothing more] is proved [than this], that He has become Christ by
election. For there are some, my friends," I said, "of our race, [2097]
who admit that He is Christ, while holding Him to be man of men; with
whom I do not agree, nor would I, [2098] even though most of those who
have [now] the same opinions as myself should say so; since we were
enjoined by Christ Himself to put no faith in human doctrines, [2099]
but in those proclaimed by the blessed prophets and taught by Himself."
__________________________________________________________________
[2095] Comp. Isa. xxix. 13.
[2096] Or, "such a man."
[2097] Some read, "of your race," referring to the Ebionites. Maranus
believes the reference is to the Ebionites, and supports in a long note
the reading "our," inasmuch as Justin would be more likely to associate
these Ebionites with Christians than with Jews, even though they were
heretics.
[2098] Langus translates: "Nor would, indeed, many who are of the same
opinion as myself say so."
[2099] [Note this emphatic testimony of primitive faith.]
__________________________________________________________________
Chapter XLIX.--To those who object that Elijah has not yet come, he replies
that he is the precursor of the first advent.
And Trypho said, "Those who affirm him to have been a man, and to have
been anointed by election, and then to have become Christ, appear to me
to speak more plausibly than you who hold those opinions which you
express. For we all expect that Christ will be a man [born] of men, and
that Elijah when he comes will anoint him. But if this man appear to be
Christ, he must certainly be known as man [born] of men; but from the
circumstance that Elijah has not yet come, I infer that this man is not
He [the Christ]."
Then I inquired of him, "Does not Scripture, in the book of Zechariah,
[2100] say that Elijah shall come before the great and terrible day of
the Lord?"
And he answered, "Certainly."
"If therefore Scripture compels you to admit that two advents of Christ
were predicted to take place,--one in which He would appear suffering,
and dishonoured, and without comeliness; but the other in which He
would come glorious and Judge of all, as has been made manifest in many
of the fore-cited passages,--shall we not suppose that the word of God
has proclaimed that Elijah shall be the precursor of the great and
terrible day, that is, of His second advent?"
"Certainly," he answered.
"And, accordingly, our Lord in His teaching," I continued, "proclaimed
that this very thing would take place, saying that Elijah would also
come. And we know that this shall take place when our Lord Jesus Christ
shall come in glory from heaven; whose first manifestation the Spirit
of God who was in Elijah preceded as herald in [the person of] John, a
prophet among your nation; after whom no other prophet appeared among
you. He cried, as he sat by the river Jordan: I baptize you with water
to repentance; but He that is stronger than I shall come, whose shoes I
am not worthy to bear: He shall baptize you with the Holy Ghost and
with fire: whose fan is in His hand, and He will thoroughly purge His
floor, and will gather the wheat into the barn; but the chaff He will
burn up with unquenchable fire.' [2101] And this very prophet your king
Herod had shut up in prison; and when his birthday was celebrated, and
the niece [2102] of the same Herod by her dancing had pleased him, he
told her to ask whatever she pleased. Then the mother of the maiden
instigated her to ask the head of John, who was in prison; and having
asked it, [Herod] sent and ordered the head of John to be brought in on
a charger. Wherefore also our Christ said, [when He was] on earth, to
those who were affirming that Elijah must come before Christ: Elijah
shall come, and restore all things; but I say unto you, that Elijah has
already come, and they knew him not, but have done to him whatsoever
they chose.' [2103] And it is written, Then the disciples understood
that He spake to them about John the Baptist.' "
And Trypho said, "This statement also seems to me paradoxical; namely,
that the prophetic Spirit of God, who was in Elijah, was also in John."
To this I replied, "Do you not think that the same thing happened in
the case of Joshua the son of Nave (Nun), who succeeded to the command
of the people after Moses, when Moses was commanded to lay his hands on
Joshua, and God said to him, I will take of the spirit which is in
thee, and put it on him?' " [2104]
And he said, "Certainly."
"As therefore," I say, "while Moses was still among men, God took of
the spirit which was in Moses and put it on Joshua, even so God was
able to cause [the spirit] of Elijah to come upon John; in order that,
as Christ at His first coming appeared inglorious, even so the first
coming of the spirit, which remained always pure in Elijah [2105] like
that of Christ, might be perceived to be inglorious. For the Lord said
He would wage war against Amalek with concealed hand; and you will not
deny that Amalek fell. But if it is said that only in the glorious
advent of Christ war will be waged with Amalek, how great will the
fulfilment [2106] of Scripture be which says, God will wage war against
Amalek with concealed hand!' You can perceive that the concealed power
of God was in Christ the crucified, before whom demons, and all the
principalities and powers of the earth, tremble."
__________________________________________________________________
[2100] Mal. iv. 5.
[2101] Matt. iii. 11, 12.
[2102] Literally, "cousin."
[2103] Matt. xvii. 12.
[2104] Num. xi. 17, spoken of the seventy elders. Justin confuses what
is said here with Num. xxvii. 18 and Deut. xxxiv. 9.
[2105] The meaning is, that no division of person took place. Elijah
remained the same after as before his spirit was shed on John.
[2106] Literally, "fruit."
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Chapter L.--It is proved from Isaiah that John is the precursor of Christ.
And Trypho said, "You seem to me to have come out of a great conflict
with many persons about all the points we have been searching into, and
therefore quite ready to return answers to all questions put to you.
Answer me then, first, how you can show that there is another God
besides the Maker of all things; and then you will show, [further],
that He submitted to be born of the Virgin."
I replied, "Give me permission first of all to quote certain passages
from the prophecy of Isaiah, which refer to the office of forerunner
discharged by John the Baptist and prophet before this our Lord Jesus
Christ."
"I grant it," said he.
Then I said, "Isaiah thus foretold John's forerunning: And Hezekiah
said to Isaiah, Good is the word of the Lord which He spake: Let there
be peace and righteousness in my days.' [2107] And, Encourage the
people; ye priests, speak to the heart of Jerusalem, and encourage her,
because her humiliation is accomplished. Her sin is annulled; for she
has received of 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 valley shall be filled up, and every
mountain and hill shall be brought low: and the crooked shall be made
straight, and the rough way shall be plain ways; and the glory of the
Lord shall be seen, and all flesh shall see the salvation of God: for
the Lord hath spoken it. A voice of one saying, Cry; and I said, What
shall I cry? All flesh is grass, and all the glory of man as the flower
of grass. The grass has withered, and the flower of it has fallen away;
but the word of the Lord endureth for ever. Thou that bringest good
tidings to Zion, go up to the high mountain; thou that bringest good
tidings to Jerusalem, lift up thy voice with strength. Lift ye up, be
not afraid; tell 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 before Him. As a shepherd He will tend
His flock, and will gather the lambs with [His] arm, and cheer on her
that is with young. Who has measured the water with [his] hand, and the
heaven with a span, and all the earth with [his] fist? Who has weighed
the mountains, and [put] the valleys into a balance? Who has known the
mind of the Lord? And who has been His counsellor, and who shall advise
Him? Or with whom did He take counsel, and he instructed Him? Or who
showed Him judgment? Or who made Him to know the way of understanding?
All the nations are reckoned as a drop of a bucket, and as a turning of
a balance, and shall be reckoned as spittle. But Lebanon is not
sufficient to burn, nor the beasts sufficient for a burnt-offering; and
all the nations are considered nothing, and for nothing.' " [2108]
__________________________________________________________________
[2107] Isa. xxxix. 8.
[2108] Isa. xl. 1-17.
__________________________________________________________________
Chapter LI.--It is proved that this prophecy has been fulfilled.
And when I ceased, Trypho said, "All the words of the prophecy you
repeat, sir, are ambiguous, and have no force in proving what you wish
to prove." Then I answered, "If the prophets had not ceased, so that
there were no more in your nation, Trypho, after this John, it is
evident that what I say in reference to Jesus Christ might be regarded
perhaps as ambiguous. But if John came first calling on men to repent,
and Christ, while [John] still sat by the river Jordan, having come,
put an end to his prophesying and baptizing, and preached also Himself,
saying that the kingdom of heaven is at hand, and that He must suffer
many things from the Scribes and Pharisees, and be crucified, and on
the third day rise again, and would appear again in Jerusalem, and
would again eat and drink with His disciples; and foretold that in the
interval between His [first and second] advent, as I previously said,
[2109] priests and false prophets would arise in His name, which things
do actually appear; then how can they be ambiguous, when you may be
persuaded by the facts? Moreover, He referred to the fact that there
would be no longer in your nation any prophet, and to the fact that men
recognised how that the New Testament, which God formerly announced
[His intention of] promulgating, was then present, i.e., Christ
Himself; and in the following terms: The law and the prophets were
until John the Baptist; from that time the kingdom of heaven suffereth
violence, and the violent take it by force. And if you can [2110]
receive it, he is Elijah, who was to come. He that hath ears to hear,
let him hear.' [2111]
__________________________________________________________________
[2109] Chap. xxv.
[2110] "Are willing."
[2111] Matt. xi. 12-15.
__________________________________________________________________
Chapter LII.--Jacob predicted two advents of Christ.
"And it was prophesied by Jacob the patriarch [2112] that there would
be two advents of Christ, and that in the first He would suffer, and
that after He came there would be neither prophet nor king in your
nation (I proceeded), and that the nations who believed in the
suffering Christ would look for His future appearance. And for this
reason the Holy Spirit had uttered these truths in a parable, and
obscurely: for," I added, "it is said, Judah, thy brethren have praised
thee: thy hands [shall be] on the neck of thine enemies; the sons of
thy father shall worship thee. Judah is a lion's whelp; from the germ,
my son, thou art sprung up. Reclining, he lay down like a lion, and
like [a lion's] whelp: who shall raise him up? A ruler shall not depart
from Judah, or a leader from his thighs, until that which is laid up in
store for him shall come; and he shall be the desire of nations,
binding his foal to the vine, and the foal of his ass to the tendril of
the vine. He shall wash his garments in wine, and his vesture in the
blood of the grape. His eyes shall be bright with [2113] wine, and his
teeth white like milk.' [2114] Moreover, that in your nation there
never failed either prophet or ruler, from the time when they began
until the time when this Jesus Christ appeared and suffered, you will
not venture shamelessly to assert, nor can you prove it. For though you
affirm that Herod, after [2115] whose [reign] He suffered, was an
Ashkelonite, nevertheless you admit that there was a high priest in
your nation; so that you then had one who presented offerings according
to the law of Moses, and observed the other legal ceremonies; also [you
had] prophets in succession until John, (even then, too, when your
nation was carried captive to Babylon, when your land was ravaged by
war, and the sacred vessels carried off); there never failed to be a
prophet among you, who was lord, and leader, and ruler of your nation.
For the Spirit which was in the prophets anointed your kings, and
established them. But after the manifestation and death of our Jesus
Christ in your nation, there was and is nowhere any prophet: nay,
further, you ceased to exist under your own king, your land was laid
waste, and forsaken like a lodge in a vineyard; and the statement of
Scripture, in the mouth of Jacob, And He shall be the desire of
nations,' meant symbolically His two advents, and that the nations
would believe in Him; which facts you may now at length discern. For
those out of all the nations who are pious and righteous through the
faith of Christ, look for His future appearance.
__________________________________________________________________
[2112] [Gen. xlix. 5, 8, 9, 10, 11, 18, 24. These texts are frequently
referred to by Justin.]
[2113] Or, "in comparison of."
[2114] Gen. xlix. 8-12.
[2115] aph' hou; many translated "under whom," as if eph' hou. This
would be erroneous. Conjectured also ephuge for epathen.
__________________________________________________________________
Chapter LIII.--Jacob predicted that Christ would ride on an ass, and Zechariah
confirms it.
"And that expression, binding his foal to the vine, and the ass's foal
to the vine tendril,' was a declaring beforehand both of the works
wrought by Him at His first advent, and also of that belief in Him
which the nations would repose. For they were like an unharnessed foal,
which was not bearing a yoke on its neck, until this Christ came, and
sent His disciples to instruct them; and they bore the yoke of His
word, and yielded the neck to endure all [hardships], for the sake of
the good things promised by Himself, and expected by them. And truly
our Lord Jesus Christ, when He intended to go into Jerusalem, requested
His disciples to bring Him a certain ass, along with its foal, which
was bound in an entrance of a village called Bethphage; and having
seated Himself on it, He entered into Jerusalem. And as this was done
by Him in the manner in which it was prophesied in precise terms that
it would be done by the Christ, and as the fulfilment was recognised,
it became a clear proof that He was the Christ. And though all this
happened and is proved from Scripture, you are still hard-hearted. Nay,
it was prophesied by Zechariah, one of the twelve [prophets], that such
would take place, in the following words: Rejoice greatly, daughter of
Zion; shout, and declare, daughter of Jerusalem; behold, thy King shall
come to thee, righteous, bringing salvation, meek, and lowly, riding on
an ass, and the foal of an ass.' [2116] Now, that the Spirit of
prophecy, as well as the patriarch Jacob, mentioned both an ass and its
foal, which would be used by Him; and, further, that He, as I
previously said, requested His disciples to bring both beasts; [this
fact] was a prediction that you of the synagogue, along with the
Gentiles, would believe in Him. For as the unharnessed colt was a
symbol of the Gentiles even so the harnessed ass was a symbol of your
nation. For you possess the law which was imposed [upon you] by the
prophets. Moreover, the prophet Zechariah foretold that this same
Christ would be smitten, and His disciples scattered: which also took
place. For after His crucifixion, the disciples that accompanied Him
were dispersed, until He rose from the dead, and persuaded them that so
it had been prophesied concerning Him, that He would suffer; and being
thus persuaded, they went into all the world, and taught these truths.
Hence also we are strong in His faith and doctrine, since we have [this
our] persuasion both from the prophets, and from those who throughout
the world are seen to be worshippers of God in the name of that
crucified One. The following is said, too, by Zechariah: O sword, rise
up against My Shepherd, and against the man of My people, saith the
Lord of hosts. Smite the Shepherd, and His flock shall be scattered.'
[2117]
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[2116] Zech. ix. 9.
[2117] Zech. xiii. 7.
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Chapter LIV.--What the blood of the grape signifies.
"And that expression which was committed to writing [2118] by Moses,
and prophesied by the patriarch Jacob, namely, He shall wash His
garments with wine, and His vesture with the blood of the grape,'
signified that He would wash those that believe in Him with His own
blood. For the Holy Spirit called those who receive remission of sins
through Him, His garments; amongst whom He is always present in power,
but will be manifestly present at His second coming. That the Scripture
mentions the blood of the grape has been evidently designed, because
Christ derives blood not from the seed of man, but from the power of
God. For as God, and not man, has produced the blood of the vine, so
also [the Scripture] has predicted that the blood of Christ would be
not of the seed of man, but of the power of God. But this prophecy,
sirs, which I repeated, proves that Christ is not man of men, begotten
in the ordinary course of humanity."
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[2118] Literally, "inquired into."
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Chapter LV.--Trypho asks that Christ be proved God, but without metaphor.
Justin promises to do so.
And Trypho answered, "We shall remember this your exposition, if you
strengthen [your solution of] this difficulty by other arguments: but
now resume the discourse, and show us that the Spirit of prophecy
admits another God besides the Maker of all things, taking care not to
speak of the sun and moon, which, it is written, [2119] God has given
to the nations to worship as gods; and oftentimes the prophets,
employing [2120] this manner of speech, say that thy God is a God of
gods, and a Lord of lords,' adding frequently, the great and strong and
terrible [God].' For such expressions are used, not as if they really
were gods, but because the Scripture is teaching us that the true God,
who made all things, is Lord alone of those who are reputed gods and
lords. And in order that the Holy Spirit may convince [us] of this, He
said by the holy David, The gods of the nations, reputed gods, are
idols of demons, and not gods;' [2121] and He denounces a curse on
those who worship them."
And I replied, "I would not bring forward these proofs, Trypho, by
which I am aware those who worship these [idols] and such like are
condemned, but such [proofs] as no one could find any objection to.
They will appear strange to you, although you read them every day; so
that even from this fact we [2122] understand that, because of your
wickedness, God has withheld from you the ability to discern the wisdom
of His Scriptures; yet [there are] some exceptions, to whom, according
to the grace of His long-suffering, as Isaiah said, He has left a seed
of [2123] salvation, lest your race be utterly destroyed, like Sodom
and Gomorrah. Pay attention, therefore, to what I shall record out of
the holy Scriptures, which [2124] do not need to be expounded, but only
listened to.
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[2119] Deut. iv. 19, an apparent [i.e., evident] misinterpretation of
the passage. [But see St. John x. 33-36.]
[2120] Or, "misusing."
[2121] Ps. xcvi. 5.
[2122] Com. reading, "you;" evidently wrong.
[2123] Literally, "for."
[2124] Two constructions, "which" referring either to Scriptures as
whole, or to what he records from them. Last more probable.
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Chapter LVI.--God who appeared to Moses is distinguished from God the Father.
"Moses, then, the blessed and faithful servant of God, declares that He
who appeared to Abraham under the oak in Mamre is God, sent with the
two angels in His company to judge Sodom by Another who remains ever in
the supercelestial places, invisible to all men, holding personal
intercourse with none, whom we believe to be Maker and Father of all
things; for he speaks thus: God appeared to him under the oak in Mamre,
as he sat at his tent-door at noontide. And lifting up his eyes, he
saw, and behold, three men stood before him; and when he saw them, he
ran to meet them from the door of his tent; and he bowed himself toward
the ground, and said;' " [2125] (and so on;) [2126] " Abraham gat up
early in the morning to the place where he stood before the Lord: and
he looked toward Sodom and Gomorrah, and toward the adjacent country,
and beheld, and, lo, a flame went up from the earth, like the smoke of
a furnace.' " And when I had made an end of quoting these words, I
asked them if they had understood them.
And they said they had understood them, but that the passages adduced
brought forward no proof that there is any other God or Lord, or that
the Holy Spirit says so, besides the Maker of all things.
Then I replied, "I shall attempt to persuade you, since you have
understood the Scriptures, [of the truth] of what I say, that there is,
and that there is said to be, another God and Lord subject to [2127]
the Maker of all things; who is also called an Angel, because He
announces to men whatsoever the Maker of all things--above whom there
is no other God--wishes to announce to them." And quoting once more the
previous passage, I asked Trypho, "Do you think that God appeared to
Abraham under the oak in Mamre, as the Scripture asserts?"
He said, "Assuredly."
"Was He one of those three," I said, "whom Abraham saw, and whom the
Holy Spirit of prophecy describes as men?"
He said, "No; but God appeared to him, before the vision of the three.
Then those three whom the Scripture calls men, were angels; two of them
sent to destroy Sodom, and one to announce the joyful tidings to Sarah,
that she would bear a son; for which cause he was sent, and having
accomplished his errand, went away." [2128]
"How then," said I, "does the one of the three, who was in the tent,
and who said, I shall return to thee hereafter, and Sarah shall have a
son,' [2129] appear to have returned when Sarah had begotten a son, and
to be there declared, by the prophetic word, God? But that you may
clearly discern what I say, listen to the words expressly employed by
Moses; they are these: And Sarah saw the son of Hagar the Egyptian
bond-woman, whom she bore to Abraham, sporting with Isaac her son, and
said to Abraham, Cast out this bond-woman and her son; for the son of
this bond-woman shall not share the inheritance of my son Isaac. And
the matter seemed very grievous in Abraham's sight, because of his son.
But God said to Abraham, Let it not be grievous in thy sight because of
the son, and because of the bond-woman. In all that Sarah hath said
unto thee, hearken to her voice; for in Isaac shall thy seed be
called.' [2130] Have you perceived, then, that He who said under the
oak that He would return, since He knew it would be necessary to advise
Abraham to do what Sarah wished him, came back as it is written; and is
God, as the words declare, when they so speak: God said to Abraham, Let
it not be grievous in thy sight because of the son, and because of the
bond-woman?' " I inquired. And Trypho said, "Certainly; but you have
not proved from this that there is another God besides Him who appeared
to Abraham, and who also appeared to the other patriarchs and prophets.
You have proved, however, that we were wrong in believing that the
three who were in the tent with Abraham were all angels."
I replied again, "If I could not have proved to you from the Scriptures
that one of those three is God, and is called Angel, [2131] because, as
I already said, He brings messages to those to whom God the Maker of
all things wishes [messages to be brought], then in regard to Him who
appeared to Abraham on earth in human form in like manner as the two
angels who came with Him, and who was God even before the creation of
the world, it were reasonable for you to entertain the same belief as
is entertained by the whole of your nation."
"Assuredly," he said, "for up to this moment this has been our belief."
Then I replied, "Reverting to the Scriptures, I shall endeavour to
persuade you, that He who is said to have appeared to Abraham, and to
Jacob, and to Moses, and who is called God, is distinct from Him who
made all things,--numerically, I mean, not [distinct] in will. For I
affirm that He has never at any time done [2132] anything which He who
made the world--above whom there is no other God--has not wished Him
both to do and to engage Himself with."
And Trypho said, "Prove now that this is the case, that we also may
agree with you. For we do not understand you to affirm that He has done
or said anything contrary to the will of the Maker of all things."
Then I said, "The Scripture just quoted by me will make this plain to
you. It is thus: The sun was risen on the earth, and Lot entered into
Segor (Zoar); and the Lord rained on Sodom sulphur and fire from the
Lord out of heaven, and overthrew these cities and all the
neighbourhood.' " [2133]
Then the fourth of those who had remained with Trypho said, "It [2134]
must therefore necessarily be said that one of the two angels who went
to Sodom, and is named by Moses in the Scripture Lord, is different
from Him who also is God, and appeared to Abraham." [2135]
"It is not on this ground solely," I said, "that it must be admitted
absolutely that some other one is called Lord by the Holy Spirit
besides Him who is considered Maker of all things; not solely [for what
is said] by Moses, but also [for what is said] by David. For there is
written by him: The Lord says to my Lord, Sit on My right hand, until I
make Thine enemies Thy footstool,' [2136] as I have already quoted. And
again, in other words: Thy throne, O God, is for ever and ever. A
sceptre of equity is the sceptre of Thy kingdom: Thou hast loved
righteousness and hated iniquity: therefore God, even Thy God, hath
anointed Thee with the oil of gladness above Thy fellows.' [2137] If,
therefore, you assert that the Holy Spirit calls some other one God and
Lord, besides the Father of all things and His Christ, answer me; for I
undertake to prove to you from Scriptures themselves, that He whom the
Scripture calls Lord is not one of the two angels that went to Sodom,
but He who was with them, and is called God, that appeared to Abraham."
And Trypho said, "Prove this; for, as you see, the day advances, and we
are not prepared for such perilous replies; since never yet have we
heard any man investigating, or searching into, or proving these
matters; nor would we have tolerated your conversation, had you not
referred everything to the Scriptures: [2138] for you are very zealous
in adducing proofs from them; and you are of opinion that there is no
God above the Maker of all things."
Then I replied, "You are aware, then, that the Scripture says, And the
Lord said to Abraham, Why did Sarah laugh, saying, Shall I truly
conceive? for I am old. Is anything impossible with God? At the time
appointed shall I return to thee according to the time of life, and
Sarah shall have a son.' [2139] And after a little interval: And the
men rose up from thence, and looked towards Sodom and Gomorrah; and
Abraham went with them, to bring them on the way. And the Lord said, I
will not conceal from Abraham, my servant, what I do.' [2140] And
again, after a little, it thus says: The Lord said, The cry of Sodom
and Gomorrah is great, [2141] and their sins are very grievous. I will
go down now, and see whether they have done altogether according to
their cry which has come unto me; and if not, that I may know. And the
men turned away thence, and went to Sodom. But Abraham was standing
before the Lord; and Abraham drew near, and said, Wilt Thou destroy the
righteous with the wicked?' " [2142] (and so on, [2143] for I do not
think fit to write over again the same words, having written them all
before, but shall of necessity give those by which I established the
proof to Trypho and his companions. Then I proceeded to what follows,
in which these words are recorded:) " And the Lord went His way as soon
as He had left communing with Abraham; and [Abraham] went to his place.
And there came two angels to Sodom at even. And Lot sat in the gate of
Sodom;' [2144] and what follows until, But the men put forth their
hands, and pulled Lot into the house to them, and shut to the door of
the house;' [2145] and what follows till, And the angels laid hold on
his hand, and on the hand of his wife, and on the hands of his
daughters, the Lord being merciful to him. And it came to pass, when
they had brought them forth abroad, that they said, Save, save thy
life. Look not behind thee, nor stay in all the neighbourhood; escape
to the mountain, lest thou be taken along with [them]. And Lot said to
them, I beseech [Thee], O Lord, since Thy servant hath found grace in
Thy sight, and Thou hast magnified Thy righteousness, which Thou
showest towards me in saving my life; but I cannot escape to the
mountain, lest evil overtake me, and I die. Behold, this city is near
to flee unto, and it is small: there I shall be safe, since it is
small; and any soul shall live. And He said to him, Behold, I have
accepted thee [2146] also in this matter, so as not to destroy the city
for which thou hast spoken. Make haste to save thyself there; for I
shall not do anything till thou be come thither. Therefore he called
the name of the city Segor (Zoar). The sun was risen upon the earth;
and Lot entered into Segor (Zoar). And the Lord rained on Sodom and
Gomorrah sulphur and fire from the Lord out of heaven; and He overthrew
these cities, and all the neighbourhood.' " [2147] And after another
pause I added: "And now have you not perceived, my friends, that one of
the three, who is both God and Lord, and ministers to Him who is in the
heavens, is Lord of the two angels? For when [the angels] proceeded to
Sodom, He remained behind, and communed with Abraham in the words
recorded by Moses; and when He departed after the conversation, Abraham
went back to his place. And when he came [to Sodom], the two angels no
longer conversed with Lot, but Himself, as the Scripture makes evident;
and He is the Lord who received commission from the Lord who [remains]
in the heavens, i.e., the Maker of all things, to inflict upon Sodom
and Gomorrah the [judgments] which the Scripture describes in these
terms: The Lord rained down upon Sodom and Gomorrah sulphur and fire
from the Lord out of heaven.' "
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[2125] Gen. xviii. 1, 2.
[2126] Gen. xix. 27, 28; "and so on" inserted probably not by Justin,
but by some copyist, as is evident from succeeding words.
[2127] Some, "besides;" but probably as above.
[2128] Or, "going away, departed."
[2129] Gen. xviii. 10.
[2130] Gen. xxi. 9-12.
[2131] Or, "Messenger." [The "Jehovah-angel" of the Pentateuch,
passim.] In the various passages in which Justin assigns the reason for
Christ being called angel or messenger, Justin uses also the verb
angello, to convey messages, to announce. The similarity between
angelos and angello cannot be retained in English, and therefore the
point of Justin's remarks is lost to the English reader.
[2132] Some supply, "or said."
[2133] Gen. xix. 23.
[2134] Or, "We must of necessity think, that besides the one of the two
angels who came down to Sodom, and whom the Scripture by Moses calls
Lord, God Himself appeared to Abraham."
[2135] This passage is rather confused: the translation is necessarily
free, but, it is believed, correct. Justin's friend wishes to make out
that two distinct individuals are called Lord or God in the narrative.
[2136] Ps. cx. 1.
[2137] Ps. xlv. 6, 7.
[2138] [Note again the fidelity of Justin to this principle, and the
fact that in no other way could a Jew be persuaded to listen to a
Christian. Acts xvii. 11.]
[2139] Gen. xviii. 13, 14.
[2140] Gen. xviii. 16, 17.
[2141] Literally, "is multiplied."
[2142] Gen. xviii. 20-23.
[2143] Comp. Note 2, p. 223.
[2144] Gen. xviii. 33, Gen. xix. 1.
[2145] Gen. xix. 10.
[2146] Literally, "I have admired thy face."
[2147] Gen. xix. 16-25.
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Chapter LVII.--The Jew objects, why is He said to have eaten, if He be God?
Answer of Justin.
Then Trypho said when I was silent, "That Scripture compels us to admit
this, is manifest; but there is a matter about which we are deservedly
at a loss --namely, about what was said to the effect that [the Lord]
ate what was prepared and placed before him by Abraham; and you would
admit this."
I answered, "It is written that they ate; and if we believe [2148] that
it is said the three ate, and not the two alone--who were really
angels, and are nourished in the heavens, as is evident to us, even
though they are not nourished by food similar to that which mortals
use--(for, concerning the sustenance of manna which supported your
fathers in the desert, Scripture speaks thus, that they ate angels'
food): [if we believe that three ate], then I would say that the
Scripture which affirms they ate bears the same meaning as when we
would say about fire that it has devoured all things; yet it is not
certainly understood that they ate, masticating with teeth and jaws. So
that not even here should we be at a loss about anything, if we are
acquainted even slightly with figurative modes of expression, and able
to rise above them."
And Trypho said, "It is possible that [the question] about the mode of
eating may be thus explained: [the mode, that is to say,] in which it
is written, they took and ate what had been prepared by Abraham: so
that you may now proceed to explain to us how this God who appeared to
Abraham, and is minister to God the Maker of all things, being born of
the Virgin, became man, of like passions with all, as you said
previously."
Then I replied, "Permit me first, Trypho, to collect some other proofs
on this head, so that you, by the large number of them, may be
persuaded of [the truth of] it, and thereafter I shall explain what you
ask."
And he said, "Do as seems good to you; for I shall be thoroughly
pleased."
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[2148] Literally, "hear."
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Chapter LVIII.--The same is proved from the visions which appeared to Jacob.
Then I continued, "I purpose to quote to you Scriptures, not that I am
anxious to make merely an artful display of words; for I possess no
such faculty, but God's grace alone has been granted to me to the
understanding of His Scriptures, of which grace I exhort all to become
partakers freely and bounteously, in order that they may not, through
want of it, [2149] incur condemnation in the judgment which God the
Maker of all things shall hold through my Lord Jesus Christ."
And Trypho said, "What you do is worthy of the worship of God; but you
appear to me to feign ignorance when you say that you do not possess a
store of artful words."
I again replied, "Be it so, since you think so; yet I am persuaded that
I speak the truth. [2150] But give me your attention, that I may now
rather adduce the remaining proofs."
"Proceed," said he.
And I continued: "It is again written by Moses, my brethren, that He
who is called God and appeared to the patriarchs is called both Angel
and Lord, in order that from this you may understand Him to be minister
to the Father of all things, as you have already admitted, and may
remain firm, persuaded by additional arguments. The word of God,
therefore, [recorded] by Moses, when referring to Jacob the grandson of
Abraham, speaks thus: And it came to pass, when the sheep conceived,
that I saw them with my eyes in the dream: And, behold, the he-goats
and the rams which leaped upon the sheep and she-goats were spotted
with white, and speckled and sprinkled with a dun colour. And the Angel
of God said to me in the dream, Jacob, Jacob. And I said, What is it,
Lord? And He said, Lift up thine eyes, and see that the he-goats and
rams leaping on the sheep and she-goats are spotted with white,
speckled, and sprinkled with a dun colour. For I have seen what Laban
doeth unto thee. I am the God who appeared to thee in Bethel, [2151]
where thou anointedst a pillar and vowedst a vow unto Me. Now therefore
arise, and get thee out of this land, and depart to the land of thy
birth, and I shall be with thee.' [2152] And again, in other words,
speaking of the same Jacob, it thus says: And having risen up that
night, he took the two wives, and the two women-servants, and his
eleven children, and passed over the ford Jabbok; and he took them and
went over the brook, and sent over all his belongings. But Jacob was
left behind alone, and an Angel [2153] wrestled with him until morning.
And He saw that He is not prevailing against him, and He touched the
broad part of his thigh; and the broad part of Jacob's thigh grew stiff
while he wrestled with Him. And He said, Let Me go, for the day
breaketh. But he said, I will not let Thee go, except Thou bless me.
And He said to him, What is thy name? And he said, Jacob. And He said,
Thy name shall be called no more Jacob, but Israel shall be thy name;
for thou hast prevailed with God, and with men shalt be powerful. And
Jacob asked Him, and said, Tell me Thy name. But he said, Why dost thou
ask after My name? And He blessed him there. And Jacob called the name
of that place Peniel, [2154] for I saw God face to face, and my soul
rejoiced.' [2155] And again, in other terms, referring to the same
Jacob, it says the following: And Jacob came to Luz, in the land of
Canaan, which is Bethel, he and all the people that were with him. And
there he built an altar, and called the name of that place Bethel; for
there God appeared to him when he fled from the face of his brother
Esau. And Deborah, Rebekah's nurse, died, and was buried beneath Bethel
under an oak: and Jacob called the name of it The Oak of Sorrow. And
God appeared again to Jacob in Luz, when he came out from Mesopotamia
in Syria, and He blessed him. And God said to him, Thy name shall be no
more called Jacob, but Israel shall be thy name.' [2156] He is called
God, and He is and shall be God." And when all had agreed on these
grounds, I continued: "Moreover, I consider it necessary to repeat to
you the words which narrate how He who is both Angel and God and Lord,
and who appeared as a man to Abraham, and who wrestled in human form
with Jacob, was seen by him when he fled from his brother Esau. They
are as follows: And Jacob went out from the well of the oath, [2157]
and went toward Charran. [2158] And he lighted on a spot, and slept
there, for the sun was set; and he gathered of the stones of the place,
and put them under his head. And he slept in that place; and he
dreamed, and, behold, a ladder was set up on the earth, whose top
reached to heaven; and the angels of God ascended and descended upon
it. And the Lord stood [2159] above it, and He said, I am the Lord, the
God of Abraham thy father, and of Isaac; be not afraid: the land
whereon thou liest, to thee will I give it, and to thy seed; and thy
seed shall be as the dust of the earth, and shall be extended to the
west, and south, and north, and east: and in thee, and in thy seed,
shall all families of the earth be blessed. And, behold, I am with
thee, keeping thee in every way wherein thou goest, and will bring thee
again into this land; for I will not leave thee, until I have done all
that I have spoken to thee of. And Jacob awaked out of his sleep, and
said, Surely the Lord is in this place, and I knew it not. And he was
afraid, and said, How dreadful is this place! this is none other than
the house of God, and this is the gate of heaven. And Jacob rose up in
the morning, and took the stone which he had placed under his head, and
he set it up for a pillar, and poured oil upon the top of it; and Jacob
called the name of the place The House of God, and the name of the city
formerly was Ulammaus.' " [2160]
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[2149] Literally, "for this sake." [Note here and elsewhere the
primitive rule as to the duty of all men to search the Scriptures.]
[2150] Or, "speak otherwise."
[2151] Literally, "in the place of God."
[2152] Gen. xxxi. 10-13.
[2153] Some read, "a man."
[2154] Literally, "the face of God."
[2155] Gen. xxxii. 22-30.
[2156] Gen. xxxv. 6-10.
[2157] Or, "Beersheba."
[2158] So, LXX. and N.T.; Heb. "Haran."
[2159] Literally, "was set up."
[2160] Gen. xxviii. 10-19. [Oulamlouz. Sept. Luz Eng.]
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Chapter LIX.--God distinct from the Father conversed with Moses.
When I had spoken these words, I continued: "Permit me, further, to
show you from the book of Exodus how this same One, who is both Angel,
and God, and Lord, and man, and who appeared in human form to Abraham
and Isaac, [2161] appeared in a flame of fire from the bush, and
conversed with Moses." And after they said they would listen
cheerfully, patiently, and eagerly, I went on: "These words are in the
book which bears the title of Exodus: And after many days the king of
Egypt died, and the children of Israel groaned by reason of the works;'
[2162] and so on until, Go and gather the elders of Israel, and thou
shalt say unto them, The Lord God of your fathers, the God of Abraham,
the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob, hath appeared to me, saying, I
am surely beholding you, and the things which have befallen you in
Egypt.' " [2163] In addition to these words, I went on: "Have you
perceived, sirs, that this very God whom Moses speaks of as an Angel
that talked to him in the flame of fire, declares to Moses that He is
the God of Abraham, of Isaac, and of Jacob?"
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[2161] Some conjecture "Jacob," others insert "Jacob" after "Isaac."
[Gen. xxii. The Jehovah-angel was seen no doubt by Isaac, as well as by
his father.]
[2162] Ex. ii. 23.
[2163] Ex. iii. 16.
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Chapter LX.--Opinions of the Jews with regard to Him who appeared in the bush.
Then Trypho said, "We do not perceive this from the passage quoted by
you, but [only this], that it was an angel who appeared in the flame of
fire, but God who conversed with Moses; so that there were really two
persons in company with each other, an angel and God, that appeared in
that vision."
I again replied, "Even if this were so, my friends, that an angel and
God were together in the vision seen by Moses, yet, as has already been
proved to you by the passages previously quoted, it will not be the
Creator of all things that is the God that said to Moses that He was
the God of Abraham, and the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob, but it
will be He who has been proved to you to have appeared to Abraham,
ministering to the will of the Maker of all things, and likewise
carrying into execution His counsel in the judgment of Sodom; so that,
even though it be as you say, that there were two--an angel and God--he
who has but the smallest intelligence will not venture to assert that
the Maker and Father of all things, having left all supercelestial
matters, was visible on a little portion of the earth."
And Trypho said, "Since it has been previously proved that He who is
called God and Lord, and appeared to Abraham, received from the Lord,
who is in the heavens, that which He inflicted on the land of Sodom,
even although an angel had accompanied the God who appeared to Moses,
we shall perceive that the God who communed with Moses from the bush
was not the Maker of all things, but He who has been shown to have
manifested Himself to Abraham and to Isaac and to Jacob; who also is
called and is perceived to be the Angel of God the Maker of all things,
because He publishes to men the commands of the Father and Maker of all
things."
And I replied, "Now assuredly, Trypho, I shall show that, in the vision
of Moses, this same One alone who is called an Angel, and who is God,
appeared to and communed with Moses. For the Scripture says thus: The
Angel of the Lord appeared to him in a flame of fire from the bush; and
he sees that the bush burns with fire, but the bush was not consumed.
And Moses said, I will turn aside and see this great sight, for the
bush is not burnt. And when the Lord saw that he is turning aside to
behold, the Lord called to him out of the bush.' [2164] In the same
manner, therefore, in which the Scripture calls Him who appeared to
Jacob in the dream an Angel, then [says] that the same Angel who
appeared in the dream spoke to him, [2165] saying, I am the God that
appeared to thee when thou didst flee from the face of Esau thy
brother;' and [again] says that, in the judgment which befell Sodom in
the days of Abraham, the Lord had inflicted the punishment [2166] of
the Lord who [dwells] in the heavens;--even so here, the Scripture, in
announcing that the Angel of the Lord appeared to Moses, and in
afterwards declaring him to be Lord and God, speaks of the same One,
whom it declares by the many testimonies already quoted to be minister
to God, who is above the world, above whom there is no other [God].
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[2164] Ex. iii. 2-4.
[2165] Gen. xxxv. 7.
[2166] Literally, "judgment."
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Chapter LXI--Wisdom is begotten of the Father, as fire from fire.
"I shall give you another testimony, my friends," said I, "from the
Scriptures, that God begat before all creatures a Beginning, [2167]
[who was] a certain rational power [proceeding] from Himself, who is
called by the Holy Spirit, now the Glory of the Lord, now the Son,
again Wisdom, again an Angel, then God, and then Lord and Logos; and on
another occasion He calls Himself Captain, when He appeared in human
form to Joshua the son of Nave (Nun). For He can be called by all those
names, since He ministers to the Father's will, and since He was
begotten of the Father by an act of will; [2168] just as we see [2169]
happening among ourselves: for when we give out some word, we beget the
word; yet not by abscission, so as to lessen the word [2170] [which
remains] in us, when we give it out: and just as we see also happening
in the case of a fire, which is not lessened when it has kindled
[another], but remains the same; and that which has been kindled by it
likewise appears to exist by itself, not diminishing that from which it
was kindled. The Word of Wisdom, who is Himself this God begotten of
the Father of all things, and Word, and Wisdom, and Power, and the
Glory of the Begetter, will bear evidence to me, when He speaks by
Solomon the following: If I shall declare to you what happens daily, I
shall call to mind events from everlasting, and review them. The Lord
made me the beginning of His ways for His works. From everlasting He
established me in the beginning, before He had made the earth, and
before He had made the deeps, before the springs of the waters had
issued forth, before the mountains had been established. Before all the
hills He begets me. God made the country, and the desert, and the
highest inhabited places under the sky. When He made ready the heavens,
I was along with Him, and when He set up His throne on the winds: when
He made the high clouds strong, and the springs of the deep safe, when
He made the foundations of the earth, I was with Him arranging. I was
that in which He rejoiced; daily and at all times I delighted in His
countenance, because He delighted in the finishing of the habitable
world, and delighted in the sons of men. Now, therefore, O son, hear
me. Blessed is the man who shall listen to me, and the mortal who shall
keep my ways, watching [2171] daily at my doors, observing the posts of
my ingoings. For my outgoings are the outgoings of life, and [my] will
has been prepared by the Lord. But they who sin against me, trespass
against their own souls; and they who hate me love death.' [2172]
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[2167] Or, "in the beginning, before all creatures." [Justin's
reference to Josh. i. 13-15 deserves special consideration; for he
supposes that the true Joshua (Jesus) was the substance, and the true
"captain of salvation," of whom this one was but a shadow (Heb. iv. 8,
margin), type, and pledge. See cap. lxii.]
[2168] The act of will or volition is on the part of the Father.
[2169] Or, "Do we not see," etc.
[2170] The word, logos translated "word," means both the thinking power
or reason which produces ideas and the expression of these ideas. And
Justin passes here from the one meaning to the other. When we utter a
thought, the utterance of it does not diminish the power of thought in
us, though in one sense the thought has gone away from us.
[2171] The mss. of Justin read "sleeping," but this is regarded as the
mistake of some careless transcriber.
[2172] Prov. viii. 21 ff.
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Chapter LXII.--The words "Let Us make man" agree with the testimony of
Proverbs.
"And the same sentiment was expressed, my friends, by the word of God
[written] by Moses, when it indicated to us, with regard to Him whom it
has pointed out, [2173] that God speaks in the creation of man with the
very same design, in the following words: Let Us make man after our
image and likeness. And let them have dominion over the fish of the
sea, and over the fowl of the heaven, and over the cattle, and over all
the earth, and over all the creeping things that creep on the earth.
And God created man: after the image of God did He create him; male and
female created He them. And God blessed them, and said, Increase and
multiply, and fill the earth, and have power over it.' [2174] And that
you may not change the [force of the] words just quoted, and repeat
what your teachers assert,--either that God said to Himself, Let Us
make,' just as we, when about to do something, oftentimes say to
ourselves, Let us make;' or that God spoke to the elements, to wit, the
earth and other similar substances of which we believe man was formed,
Let Us make,'--I shall quote again the words narrated by Moses himself,
from which we can indisputably learn that [God] conversed with some one
who was numerically distinct from Himself, and also a rational Being.
These are the words: And God said, Behold, Adam has become as one of
us, to know good and evil.' [2175] In saying, therefore, as one of us,'
[Moses] has declared that [there is a certain] number of persons
associated with one another, and that they are at least two. For I
would not say that the dogma of that heresy [2176] which is said to be
among you [2177] is true, or that the teachers of it can prove that
[God] spoke to angels, or that the human frame was the workmanship of
angels. But this Offspring, which was truly brought forth from the
Father, was with the Father before all the creatures, and the Father
communed with Him; even as the Scripture by Solomon has made clear,
that He whom Solomon calls Wisdom, was begotten as a Beginning before
all His creatures and as Offspring by God, who has also declared this
same thing in the revelation made by Joshua the son of Nave (Nun).
Listen, therefore, to the following from the book of Joshua, that what
I say may become manifest to you; it is this: And it came to pass, when
Joshua was near Jericho, he lifted up his eyes, and sees a man standing
over against him. And Joshua approached to Him, and said, Art thou for
us, or for our adversaries? And He said to him, I am Captain of the
Lord's host: now have I come. And Joshua fell on his face on the
ground, and said to Him, Lord, what commandest Thou Thy servant? And
the Lord's Captain says to Joshua, Loose the shoes off thy feet; for
the place whereon thou standest is holy ground. And Jericho was shut up
and fortified, and no one went out of it. And the Lord said to Joshua,
Behold, I give into thine hand Jericho, and its king, [and] its mighty
men.' " [2178]
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[2173] Justin, since he is of opinion that the Word is the beginning of
the universe, thinks that by these words, "in the beginning," Moses
indicated the Word, like many other writers. Hence also he says in Ap.
i. 23, that Moses declares the Word "to be begotten first by God." If
this explanation does not satisfy, read, "with regard to Him whom I
have pointed out" (Maranus).
[2174] Gen. i. 26, 28.
[2175] Gen. iii. 22.
[2176] Heresy or sect.
[2177] Or, "among us." Maranus pronounces against this latter reading
for the following reasons: (1.) The Jews had their own heresies which
supplied many things to the Christian heresies, especially to Menander
and Saturninus. (2.) The sect which Justin here refutes was of opinion
that God spoke to angels. But those angels, as Menander and Saturninus
invented, "exhorted themselves, saying, Let us make," etc. (3.) The
expression didaskaloi suits the rabbins well. So Justin frequently
calls them. (4.) Those teachers seem for no other cause to have put the
words in the angels' mouths than to eradicate the testimony by which
they proved divine persons.
[2178] Josh. v. 13 ad fin., and Josh.vi. 1, 2.
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Chapter LXIII.--It is proved that this God was incarnate.
And Trypho said, "This point has been proved to me forcibly, and by
many arguments, my friend. It remains, then, to prove that He submitted
to become man by the Virgin, according to the will of His Father; and
to be crucified, and to die. Prove also clearly, that after this He
rose again and ascended to heaven."
I answered, "This, too, has been already demonstrated by me in the
previously quoted words of the prophecies, my friends; which, by
recalling and expounding for your sakes, I shall endeavour to lead you
to agree with me also about this matter. The passage, then, which
Isaiah records, Who shall declare His generation? for His life is taken
away from the earth,' [2179] --does it not appear to you to refer to
One who, not having descent from men, was said to be delivered over to
death by God for the transgressions of the people?--of whose blood,
Moses (as I mentioned before), when speaking in parable, said, that He
would wash His garments in the blood of the grape; since His blood did
not spring from the seed of man, but from the will of God. And then,
what is said by David, In the splendours of Thy holiness have I
begotten Thee from the womb, before the morning star. [2180] The Lord
hath sworn, and will not repent, Thou art a priest for ever, after the
order of Melchizedek,' [2181] --does this not declare to you [2182]
that [He was] from of old, [2183] and that the God and Father of all
things intended Him to be begotten by a human womb? And speaking in
other words, which also have been already quoted, [he says]: Thy
throne, O God, is for ever and ever: a sceptre of rectitude is the
sceptre of Thy kingdom. Thou hast loved righteousness, and hast hated
iniquity: therefore God, even thy God, hath anointed Thee with the oil
of gladness above Thy fellows. [He hath anointed Thee] with myrrh, and
oil, and cassia from Thy garments, from the ivory palaces, whereby they
made Thee glad. Kings' daughters are in Thy honour. The queen stood at
Thy right hand, clad in garments embroidered with gold. [2184] Hearken,
O daughter, and behold, and incline thine ear, and forget thy people
and the house of thy father; and the King shall desire thy beauty:
because he is thy Lord, and thou shalt worship Him.' [2185] Therefore
these words testify explicitly that He is witnessed to by Him who
established these things, [2186] as deserving to be worshipped, as God
and as Christ. Moreover, that the word of God speaks to those who
believe in Him as being one soul, and one synagogue, and one church, as
to a daughter; that it thus addresses the church which has sprung from
His name and partakes of His name (for we are all called Christians),
is distinctly proclaimed in like manner in the following words, which
teach us also to forget [our] old ancestral customs, when they speak
thus: [2187] Hearken, O daughter, and behold, and incline thine ear;
forget thy people and the house of thy father, and the King shall
desire thy beauty: because He is thy Lord, and thou shalt worship Him.'
"
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[2179] Isa. liii. 8.
[2180] Note this beautiful rendering, Ps. cx. 3.
[2181] Ps. cx. 4.
[2182] Or, "to us."
[2183] anothen; in Lat. vers. antiquitus, which Maranus prefers.
[2184] Literally, "garments of gold, variegated."
[2185] Ps. xlv. 6-11.
[2186] The incarnation, etc.
[2187] "Being so," literally.
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Chapter LXIV.--Justin adduces other proofs to the Jew, who denies that he
needs this Christ.
Here Trypho said, "Let Him be recognised as Lord and Christ and God, as
the Scriptures declare, by you of the Gentiles, who have from His name
been all called Christians; but we who are servants of God that made
this same [Christ], do not require to confess or worship Him."
To this I replied, "If I were to be quarrelsome and light-minded like
you, Trypho, I would no longer continue to converse with you, since you
are prepared not to understand what has been said, but only to return
some captious answer; [2188] but now, since I fear the judgment of God,
I do not state an untimely opinion concerning any one of your nation,
as to whether or not some of them may be saved by the grace of the Lord
of Sabaoth. Therefore, although you act wrongfully, I shall continue to
reply to any proposition you shall bring forward, and to any
contradiction which you make; and, in fact, I do the very same to all
men of every nation, who wish to examine along with me, or make inquiry
at me, regarding this subject. Accordingly, if you had bestowed
attention on the Scriptures previously quoted by me, you would already
have understood, that those who are saved of your own nation are saved
through this [2189] [man], and partake of His lot; and you would not
certainly have asked me about this matter. I shall again repeat the
words of David previously quoted by me, and beg of you to comprehend
them, and not to act wrongfully, and stir each other up to give merely
some contradiction. The words which David speaks, then, are these: The
Lord has reigned; let the nations be angry: [it is] He who sits upon
the cherubim; let the earth be shaken. The Lord is great in Zion; and
He is high above all the nations. Let them confess Thy great name, for
it is fearful and holy; and the honour of the king loves judgment. Thou
hast prepared equity; judgment and righteousness hast Thou performed in
Jacob. Exalt the Lord our God, and worship the footstool of His feet;
for He is holy. Moses and Aaron among His priests, and Samuel among
them that call upon His name; they called on the Lord, and He heard
them. In the pillar of the cloud He spake to them; for they kept His
testimonies and His commandments which He gave them.' [2190] And from
the other words of David, also previously quoted, which you foolishly
affirm refer to Solomon, [because] inscribed for Solomon, it can be
proved that they do not refer to Solomon, and that this [Christ]
existed before the sun, and that those of your nation who are saved
shall be saved through Him. [The words] are these: O God, give Thy
judgment to the king, and Thy righteousness unto the king's son. He
shall judge [2191] Thy people with righteousness, and Thy poor with
judgment. The mountains shall take up peace to the people, and the
little hills righteousness. He shall judge the poor of the people, and
shall save the children of the needy, and shall abase the slanderer:
and He shall co-endure with the sun, and before the moon unto all
generations;' and so on until, His name endureth before the sun, and
all tribes of the earth shalt be blessed in Him. All nations shall call
Him blessed. Blessed be the Lord, the God of Israel, who only doeth
wondrous things: and blessed be His glorious name for ever and ever:
and the whole earth shall be filled with His glory. Amen, Amen.' [2192]
And you remember from other words also spoken by David, and which I
have mentioned before, how it is declared that He would come forth from
the highest heavens, and again return to the same places, in order that
you may recognise Him as God coming forth from above, and man living
among men; and [how it is declared] that He will again appear, and they
who pierced Him shall see Him, and shall bewail Him. [The words] are
these: The heavens declare the glory of God, and the firmament showeth
His handiwork. Day unto day uttereth speech, and night unto night
showeth knowledge: They are not speeches or words whose voices are
heard. Their sound has gone out through all the earth, and their words
to the ends of the world. In the sun has he set his habitation; and he,
like a bridegroom going forth from his chamber, will rejoice as a giant
to run his race: from the highest heaven is his going forth, and he
returns to the highest heaven, and there is not one who shall be hidden
from his heat.' " [2193]
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[2188] Literally, "but only sharpen yourselves to say something."
[2189] [Or, "this one."]
[2190] Ps. xcix. 1-7.
[2191] Or, "to judge," as in chap. xxxiv.
[2192] Ps. lxxii. 1, etc.
[2193] Ps. xix. 1-6.
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Chapter LXV.--The Jew objects that God does not give His glory to another.
Justin explains the passage.
And Trypho said, "Being shaken [2194] by so many Scriptures, I know not
what to say about the Scripture which Isaiah writes, in which God says
that He gives not His glory to another, speaking thus I am the Lord
God; this is my name; my glory will I not give to another, nor my
virtues.' " [2195]
And I answered, "If you spoke these words, Trypho, and then kept
silence in simplicity and with no ill intent, neither repeating what
goes before nor adding what comes after, you must be forgiven; but if
[you have done so] because you imagined that you could throw doubt on
the passage, in order that I might say the Scriptures contradicted each
other, you have erred. But I shall not venture to suppose or to say
such a thing; and if a Scripture which appears to be of such a kind be
brought forward, and if there be a pretext [for saying] that it is
contrary [to some other], since I am entirely convinced that no
Scripture contradicts another, I shall admit rather that I do not
understand what is recorded, and shall strive to persuade those who
imagine that the Scriptures are contradictory, to be rather of the same
opinion as myself. With what intent, then, you have brought forward the
difficulty, God knows. But I shall remind you of what the passage says,
in order that you may recognise even from this very [place] that God
gives glory to His Christ alone. And I shall take up some short
passages, sirs, those which are in connection with what has been said
by Trypho, and those which are also joined on in consecutive order. For
I will not repeat those of another section, but those which are joined
together in one. Do you also give me your attention. [The words] are
these: Thus saith the Lord, the God that created the heavens, and made
[2196] them fast, that established the earth, and that which is in it;
and gave breath to the people upon it, and spirit to them who walk
therein: I the Lord God have called Thee in righteousness, and will
hold Thine hand, and will strengthen Thee; and I have given Thee for a
covenant of the people, for a light of the Gentiles, to open the eyes
of the blind, to bring out them that are bound from the chains, and
those who sit in darkness from the prison-house. I am the Lord God;
this is my name: my glory will I not give to another, nor my virtues to
graven images. Behold, the former things are come to pass; new things
which I announce, and before they are announced they are made manifest
to you. Sing unto the Lord a new song: His sovereignty [is] from the
end of the earth. [Sing], ye who descend into the sea, and continually
sail [2197] [on it]; ye islands, and inhabitants thereof. Rejoice, O
wilderness, and the villages thereof, and the houses; and the
inhabitants of Cedar shall rejoice, and the inhabitants of the rock
shall cry aloud from the top of the mountains: they shall give glory to
God; they shall publish His virtues among the islands. The Lord God of
hosts shall go forth, He shall destroy war utterly, He shall stir up
zeal, and He shall cry aloud to the enemies with strength.' " [2198]
And when I repeated this, I said to them, "Have you perceived, my
friends, that God says He will give Him whom He has established as a
light of the Gentiles, glory, and to no other; and not, as Trypho said,
that God was retaining the glory to Himself?"
Then Trypho answered, "We have perceived this also; pass on therefore
to the remainder of the discourse."
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[2194] Literally, "importuned."
[2195] Isa. xlii. 8.
[2196] Literally, "fixed."
[2197] Or, "ye islands which sail on it;" or without "continually."
[2198] Isa. xlii. 5-13.
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Chapter LXVI.--He proves from Isaiah that God was born from a virgin.
And I, resuming the discourse where I had left off [2199] at a previous
stage, when proving that He was born of a virgin, and that His birth of
a virgin had been predicted by Isaiah, quoted again the same prophecy.
It is as follows And the Lord spoke again to Ahaz, saying, Ask for
thyself a sign from the Lord thy God, in the depth or in the height.
And Ahaz said I will not ask, neither will I tempt the Lord. And Isaiah
said, Hear then, O house of David; Is it no small thing for you to
contend with men? And how do you contend with the Lord? Therefore the
Lord Himself will give you a sign; Behold, the virgin shall conceive,
and shall bear a son, and they shall call his name Immanuel. Butter and
honey shall he eat; before he knows or prefers the evil he will choose
out the good. For before the child knows ill or good, he rejects evil
by choosing out the good. For before the child knows how to call father
or mother, he shall receive the power of Damascus, and the spoil of
Samaria, in presence of the king of Assyria. And the land shall be
forsaken, which [2200] thou shalt with difficulty endure in consequence
of the presence of its two kings. But God shall bring on thee, and on
thy people, and on the house of thy father, days which have not yet
come upon thee since the day in which Ephraim took away from Judah the
king of Assyria.' " [2201] And I continued: "Now it is evident to all,
that in the race of Abraham according to the flesh no one has been born
of a virgin, or is said to have been born [of a virgin], save this our
Christ."
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[2199] Chap. xliii.
[2200] hen, which is in chap. xliii., is here omitted, but ought to be
inserted without doubt.
[2201] Isa. vii. 10-17, with Isa. viii. 4 inserted between vers. 16 and
17.
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Chapter LXVII.--Trypho compares Jesus with Perseus; and would prefer [to say]
that He was elected [to be Christ] on account of observance of the law. Justin
speaks of the law as formerly.
And Trypho answered, "The Scripture has not, Behold, the virgin shall
conceive, and bear a son,' but, Behold, the young woman shall conceive,
and bear a son,' and so on, as you quoted. But the whole prophecy
refers to Hezekiah, and it is proved that it was fulfilled in him,
according to the terms of this prophecy. Moreover, in the fables of
those who are called Greeks, it is written that Perseus was begotten of
Danae, who was a virgin; he who was called among them Zeus having
descended on her in the form of a golden shower. And you ought to feel
ashamed when you make assertions similar to theirs, and rather [should]
say that this Jesus was born man of men. And if you prove from the
Scriptures that He is the Christ, and that on account of having led a
life conformed to the law, and perfect, He deserved the honour of being
elected to be Christ, [it is well]; but do not venture to tell
monstrous phenomena, lest you be convicted of talking foolishly like
the Greeks."
Then I said to this, "Trypho, I wish to persuade you, and all men in
short, of this, that even though you talk worse things in ridicule and
in jest, you will not move me from my fixed design; but I shall always
adduce from the words which you think can be brought forward [by you]
as proof [of your own views], the demonstration of what I have stated
along with the testimony of the Scriptures. You are not, however,
acting fairly or truthfully in attempting to undo those things in which
there has been constantly agreement between us; namely, that certain
commands were instituted by Moses on account of the hardness of your
people's hearts. For you said that, by reason of His living conformably
to law, He was elected and became Christ, if indeed He were proved to
be so."
And Trypho said, "You admitted [2202] to us that He was both
circumcised, and observed the other legal ceremonies ordained by
Moses."
And I replied, "I have admitted it, and do admit it: yet I have
admitted that He endured all these not as if He were justified by them,
but completing the dispensation which His Father, the Maker of all
things, and Lord and God, wished Him [to complete]. For I admit that He
endured crucifixion and death, and the incarnation, and the suffering
of as many afflictions as your nation put upon Him. But since again you
dissent from that to which you but lately assented, Trypho, answer me:
Are those righteous patriarchs who lived before Moses, who observed
none of those [ordinances] which, the Scripture shows, received the
commencement of [their] institution from Moses, saved, [and have they
attained to] the inheritance of the blessed?"
And Trypho said, "The Scriptures compel me to admit it."
"Likewise I again ask you," said I, "did God enjoin your fathers to
present the offerings and sacrifices because He had need of them, or
because of the hardness of their hearts and tendency to idolatry?"
"The latter," said he, "the Scriptures in like manner compel us to
admit."
"Likewise," said I, "did not the Scriptures predict that God promised
to dispense a new covenant besides that which [was dispensed] in the
mountain Horeb?"
This, too, he replied, had been predicted.
Then I said again, "Was not the old covenant laid on your fathers with
fear and trembling, so that they could not give ear to God?"
He admitted it.
"What then?" said I: "God promised that there would be another
covenant, not like that old one, and said that it would be laid on them
without fear, and trembling, and lightnings, and that it would be such
as to show what kind of commands and deeds God knows to be eternal and
suited to every nation, and what commandments He has given, suiting
them to the hardness of your people's hearts, as He exclaims also by
the prophets."
"To this also," said he, "those who are lovers of truth and not lovers
of strife must assuredly assent."
Then I replied, "I know not how you speak of persons very fond of
strife, [since] you yourself oftentimes were plainly acting in this
very manner, frequently contradicting what you had agreed to."
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[2202] We have not seen that Justin admitted this; but it is not to be
supposed that the passage where he did admit it has been lost, as
Perionius suspected; for sometimes Justin refers to passages at other
places, which he did not relate in their own place. --Maranus.
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Chapter LXVIII.--He complains of the obstinacy of Trypho; he answers his
objection; he convicts the Jews of bad faith.
And Trypho said, "You endeavour to prove an incredible and well-nigh
impossible thing; [namely], that God endured to be born and become
man."
"If I undertook," said I, "to prove this by doctrines or arguments of
man, you should not bear with me. But if I quote frequently Scriptures,
and so many of them, referring to this point, and ask you to comprehend
them, you are hard-hearted in the recognition of the mind and will of
God. But if you wish to remain for ever so, I would not be injured at
all; and for ever retaining the same [opinions] which I had before I
met with you, I shall leave you."
And Trypho said, "Look, my friend, you made yourself master of these
[truths] with much labour and toil. [2203] And we accordingly must
diligently scrutinize all that we meet with, in order to give our
assent to those things which the Scriptures compel us [to believe]."
Then I said to this, "I do not ask you not to strive earnestly by all
means, in making an investigation of the matters inquired into; but [I
ask you], when you have nothing to say, not to contradict those things
which you said you had admitted."
And Trypho said, "So we shall endeavour to do."
I continued again: "In addition to the questions I have just now put to
you, I wish to put more: for by means of these questions I shall strive
to bring the discourse to a speedy termination."
And Trypho said, "Ask the questions."
Then I said, "Do you think that any other one is said to be worthy of
worship and called Lord and God in the Scriptures, except the Maker of
all, and Christ, who by so many Scriptures was proved to you to have
become man?"
And Trypho replied, "How can we admit this, when we have instituted so
great an inquiry as to whether there is any other than the Father
alone?"
Then I again said, "I must ask you this also, that I may know whether
or not you are of a different opinion from that which you admitted some
time ago." [2204]
He replied, "It is not, sir."
Then again I, "Since you certainly admit these things, and since
Scripture says, Who shall declare His generation?' ought you not now to
suppose that He is not the seed of a human race?"
And Trypho said, "How then does the Word say to David, that out of his
loins God shall take to Himself a Son, and shall establish His kingdom,
and shall set Him on the throne of His glory?"
And I said, "Trypho, if the prophecy which Isaiah uttered, Behold, the
virgin shall conceive,' is said not to the house of David, but to
another house of the twelve tribes, perhaps the matter would have some
difficulty; but since this prophecy refers to the house of David,
Isaiah has explained how that which was spoken by God to David in
mystery would take place. But perhaps you are not aware of this, my
friends, that there were many sayings written obscurely, or
parabolically, or mysteriously, and symbolical actions, which the
prophets who lived after the persons who said or did them expounded."
"Assuredly," said Trypho.
"If therefore, I shall show that this prophecy of Isaiah refers to our
Christ, and not to Hezekiah, as you say, shall I not in this matter,
too, compel you not to believe your teachers, who venture to assert
that the explanation which your seventy elders that were with Ptolemy
the king of the Egyptians gave, is untrue in certain respects? For some
statements in the Scriptures, which appear explicitly to convict them
of a foolish and vain opinion, these they venture to assert have not
been so written. But other statements, which they fancy they can
distort and harmonize with human actions, [2205] these, they say, refer
not to this Jesus Christ of ours, but to him of whom they are pleased
to explain them. Thus, for instance, they have taught you that this
Scripture which we are now discussing refers to Hezekiah, in which, as
I promised, I shall show they are wrong. And since they are compelled,
they agree that some Scriptures which we mention to them, and which
expressly prove that Christ was to suffer, to be worshipped, and [to be
called] God, and which I have already recited to you, do refer indeed
to Christ, but they venture to assert that this man is not Christ. But
they admit that He will come to suffer, and to reign, and to be
worshipped, and to be God; [2206] and this opinion I shall in like
manner show to be ridiculous and silly. But since I am pressed to
answer first to what was said by you in jest, I shall make answer to
it, and shall afterwards give replies to what follows.
__________________________________________________________________
[2203] [Note the courteous admission of Trypho, and the consent of both
parties to the duty of searching the Scriptures.]
[2204] teos: Vulg. para Theo, vitiose. --Otto.
[2205] The text is corrupt, and various emendations have been proposed.
[2206] Or, "and to be worshipped as God."
__________________________________________________________________
Chapter LXIX.--The devil, since he emulates the truth, has invented fables
about Bacchus, Hercules, and Æsculapius.
"Be well assured, then, Trypho," I continued, "that I am established in
the knowledge of and faith in the Scriptures by those counterfeits
which he who is called the devil is said to have performed among the
Greeks; just as some were wrought by the Magi in Egypt, and others by
the false prophets in Elijah's days. For when they tell that Bacchus,
son of Jupiter, was begotten by [Jupiter's] intercourse with Semele,
and that he was the discoverer of the vine; and when they relate, that
being torn in pieces, and having died, he rose again, and ascended to
heaven; and when they introduce wine [2207] into his mysteries, do I
not perceive that [the devil] has imitated the prophecy announced by
the patriarch Jacob, and recorded by Moses? And when they tell that
Hercules was strong, and travelled over all the world, and was begotten
by Jove of Alcmene, and ascended to heaven when he died, do I not
perceive that the Scripture which speaks of Christ, strong as a giant
to run his race,' [2208] has been in like manner imitated? And when he
[the devil] brings forward Æsculapius as the raiser of the dead and
healer of all diseases, may I not say that in this matter likewise he
has imitated the prophecies about Christ? But since I have not quoted
to you such Scripture as tells that Christ will do these things, I must
necessarily remind you of one such: from which you can understand, how
that to those destitute of a knowledge of God, I mean the Gentiles,
who, having eyes, saw not, and having a heart, understood not,'
worshipping the images of wood, [how even to them] Scripture prophesied
that they would renounce these [vanities], and hope in this Christ. It
is thus written: Rejoice, thirsty wilderness: let the wilderness be
glad, and blossom as the lily: the deserts of the Jordan shall both
blossom and be glad: and the glory of Lebanon was given to it, and the
honour of Carmel. And my people shall see the exaltation of the Lord,
and the glory of God. Be strong, ye careless hands and enfeebled knees.
Be comforted, ye faint in soul: be strong, fear not. Behold, our God
gives, and will give, retributive judgment. He shall come and save us.
Then the eyes of the blind shall be opened, and the ears of the deaf
shall hear. Then the lame shall leap as an hart, and the tongue of the
stammerers shall be distinct: for water has broken forth in the
wilderness, and a valley in the thirsty land; and the parched ground
shall become pools, and a spring of water shall [rise up] in the
thirsty land.' [2209] The spring of living water which gushed forth
from God in the land destitute of the knowledge of God, namely the land
of the Gentiles, was this Christ, who also appeared in your nation, and
healed those who were maimed, and deaf, and lame in body from their
birth, causing them to leap, to hear, and to see, by His word. And
having raised the dead, and causing them to live, by His deeds He
compelled the men who lived at that time to recognise Him. But though
they saw such works, they asserted it was magical art. For they dared
to call Him a magician, and a deceiver of the people. Yet He wrought
such works, and persuaded those who were [destined to] believe on Him;
for even if any one be labouring under a defect of body, yet be an
observer of the doctrines delivered by Him, He shall raise him up at
His second advent perfectly sound, after He has made him immortal, and
incorruptible, and free from grief.
__________________________________________________________________
[2207] Or, "an ass." The ass was sacred to Bacchus; and many fluctuate
between oinon and onon.
[2208] Ps. xix. 5.
[2209] Isa. xxxv. 1-7.
__________________________________________________________________
Chapter LXX.--So also the mysteries of Mithras are distorted from the
prophecies of Daniel and Isaiah.
"And when those who record the mysteries of Mithras say that he was
begotten of a rock, and call the place where those who believe in him
are initiated a cave, do I not perceive here that the utterance of
Daniel, that a stone without hands was cut out of a great mountain, has
been imitated by them, and that they have attempted likewise to imitate
the whole of Isaiah's [2210] words? [2211] For they [2212] contrived
that the words of righteousness be quoted also by them. [2213] But I
must repeat to you the words of Isaiah referred to, in order that from
them you may know that these things are so. They are these: Hear, ye
that are far off, what I have done; those that are near shall know my
might. The sinners in Zion are removed; trembling shall seize the
impious. Who shall announce to you the everlasting place? The man who
walks in righteousness, speaks in the right way, hates sin and
unrighteousness, and keeps his hands pure from bribes, stops the ears
from hearing the unjust judgment of blood closes the eyes from seeing
unrighteousness: he shall dwell in the lofty cave of the strong rock.
Bread shall be given to him, and his water [shall be] sure. Ye shall
see the King with glory, and your eyes shall look far off. Your soul
shall pursue diligently the fear of the Lord. Where is the scribe?
where are the counsellors? where is he that numbers those who are
nourished,--the small and great people? with whom they did not take
counsel, nor knew the depth of the voices, so that they heard not. The
people who are become depreciated, and there is no understanding in him
who hears.' [2214] Now it is evident, that in this prophecy [allusion
is made] to the bread which our Christ gave us to eat, [2215] in
remembrance of His being made flesh for the sake of His believers, for
whom also He suffered; and to the cup which He gave us to drink, [2216]
in remembrance of His own blood, with giving of thanks. And this
prophecy proves that we shall behold this very King with glory; and the
very terms of the prophecy declare loudly, that the people foreknown to
believe in Him were foreknown to pursue diligently the fear of the
Lord. Moreover, these Scriptures are equally explicit in saying, that
those who are reputed to know the writings of the Scriptures, and who
hear the prophecies, have no understanding. And when I hear, Trypho,"
said I, "that Perseus was begotten of a virgin, I understand that the
deceiving serpent counterfeited also this.
__________________________________________________________________
[2210] The text here has tauta poiesai homoios. Maranus suggests
'Esaiou for poiesai; and so we have translated.
[2211] Justin says that the priests of Mithras imitated all the words
of Isaiah about to be quoted; and to prove it, is content with a single
example, namely, the precepts of righteousness, which they were wont to
relate to him, as in these words of Isaiah: "He who walks in
righteousness," etc. Justin omitted many other passages, as easy and
obvious. For since Mithras is the same as fire, it manifestly answers
to the fire of which Isaiah speaks. And since Justin reminded them who
are initiated, that they are said to be initiated by Mithras himself,
it was not necessary to remind them that the words of Isaiah are
imitated in this: "You shall see the King with glory." Bread and water
are referred to by Isaiah: so also in these mysteries of Mithras,
Justin testifies that bread and a cup of water are placed before them
(Apol. i.).--Maranus.
[2212] i.e., the devils.
[2213] i.e., the priests of Mithras.
[2214] Isa. xxxiii. 13-19.
[2215] Literally, "to do," poiein. [The horrible charge of banqueting
on blood, etc., constantly repeated against Christians, was probably
based on the Eucharist. See Kaye's Illustrations from Tatian,
Athenagorus, and Theoph. Antioch., cap. ix. p. 153.]
[2216] Literally, "to do," poiein. [The horrible charge of banqueting
on blood, etc., constantly repeated against Christians, was probably
based on the Eucharist. See Kaye's Illustrations from Tatian,
Athenagorus, and Theoph. Antioch., cap. ix. p. 153.]
__________________________________________________________________
Chapter LXXI.--The Jews reject the interpretation of the LXX., from which,
moreover, they have taken away some passages.
"But I am far from putting reliance in your teachers, who refuse to
admit that the interpretation made by the seventy elders who were with
Ptolemy [king] of the Egyptians is a correct one; and they attempt to
frame another. And I wish you to observe, that they have altogether
taken away many Scriptures from the translations effected by those
seventy elders who were with Ptolemy, and by which this very man who
was crucified is proved to have been set forth expressly as God, and
man, and as being crucified, and as dying; but since I am aware that
this is denied by all of your nation, I do not address myself to these
points, but I proceed [2217] to carry on my discussions by means of
those passages which are still admitted by you. For you assent to those
which I have brought before your attention, except that you contradict
the statement, Behold, the virgin shall conceive,' and say it ought to
be read, Behold, the young woman shall conceive.' And I promised to
prove that the prophecy referred, not, as you were taught, to Hezekiah,
but to this Christ of mine: and now I shall go to the proof."
Here Trypho remarked, "We ask you first of all to tell us some of the
Scriptures which you allege have been completely cancelled."
__________________________________________________________________
[2217] Or, "profess."
__________________________________________________________________
Chapter LXXII.--Passages have been removed by the Jews from Esdras and
Jeremiah.
And I said, "I shall do as you please. From the statements, then, which
Esdras made in reference to the law of the passover, they have taken
away the following: And Esdras said to the people, This passover is our
Saviour and our refuge. And if you have understood, and your heart has
taken it in, that we shall humble Him on a standard, and [2218]
thereafter hope in Him, then this place shall not be forsaken for ever,
says the God of hosts. But if you will not believe Him, and will not
listen to His declaration, you shall be a laughing-stock to the
nations.' [2219] And from the sayings of Jeremiah they have cut out the
following: I [was] like a lamb that is brought to the slaughter: they
devised a device against me, saying, Come, let us lay on wood on His
bread, and let us blot Him out from the land of the living; and His
name shall no more be remembered.' [2220] And since this passage from
the sayings of Jeremiah is still written in some copies [of the
Scriptures] in the synagogues of the Jews (for it is only a short time
since they were cut out), and since from these words it is demonstrated
that the Jews deliberated about the Christ Himself, to crucify and put
Him to death, He Himself is both declared to be led as a sheep to the
slaughter, as was predicted by Isaiah, and is here represented as a
harmless lamb; but being in a difficulty about them, they give
themselves over to blasphemy. And again, from the sayings of the same
Jeremiah these have been cut out: The Lord God remembered His dead
people of Israel who lay in the graves; and He descended to preach to
them His own salvation.' [2221]
__________________________________________________________________
[2218] Or, "even if we."
[2219] It is not known where this passage comes from.
[2220] Jer. xi. 19.
[2221] This is wanting in our Scriptures: it is cited by Iren., iii.
20, under the name of Isaiah, and in iv. 22 under that of
Jeremiah.--Maranus.
__________________________________________________________________
Chapter LXXIII.--[The words] "From the wood" have been cut out of Ps. xcvi.
"And from the ninety-fifth (ninety-sixth) Psalm they have taken away
this short saying of the words of David: From the wood.' [2222] For
when the passage said, Tell ye among the nations, the Lord hath reigned
from the wood,' they have left, Tell ye among the nations, the Lord
hath reigned.' Now no one of your people has ever been said to have
reigned as God and Lord among the nations, with the exception of Him
only who was crucified, of whom also the Holy Spirit affirms in the
same Psalm that He was raised again, and freed from [the grave],
declaring that there is none like Him among the gods of the nations:
for they are idols of demons. But I shall repeat the whole Psalm to
you, that you may perceive what has been said. It is thus: Sing unto
the Lord a new song; sing unto the Lord, all the earth. Sing unto the
Lord, and bless His name; show forth His salvation from day to day.
Declare His glory among the nations, His wonders among all people. For
the Lord is great, and greatly to be praised: He is to be feared above
all the gods. For all the gods of the nations are demons but the Lord
made the heavens. Confession and beauty are in His presence; holiness
and magnificence are in His sanctuary. Bring to the Lord, O ye
countries of the nations, bring to the Lord glory and honour, bring to
the Lord glory in His name. Take sacrifices, and go into His courts;
worship the Lord in His holy temple. Let the whole earth be moved
before Him: tell ye among the nations, the Lord hath reigned. [2223]
For He hath established the world, which shall not be moved; He shall
judge the nations with equity. Let the heavens rejoice, and the earth
be glad; let the sea and its fulness shake. Let the fields and all
therein be joyful. Let all the trees of the wood be glad before the
Lord: for He comes, for He comes to judge the earth. He shall judge the
world with righteousness, and the people with His truth.' "
Here Trypho remarked, "Whether [or not] the rulers of the people have
erased any portion of the Scriptures, as you affirm, God knows; but it
seems incredible."
"Assuredly," said I, "it does seem incredible. For it is more horrible
than the calf which they made, when satisfied with manna on the earth;
or than the sacrifice of children to demons; or than the slaying of the
prophets. But," said I, "you appear to me not to have heard the
Scriptures which I said they had stolen away. For such as have been
quoted are more than enough to prove the points in dispute, besides
those which are retained by us, [2224] and shall yet be brought
forward."
__________________________________________________________________
[2222] These words were not taken away by the Jews, but added by some
Christian.--Otto. [A statement not proved.]
[2223] It is strange that "from the wood" is not added; but the
audacity of the copyists in such matters is well known.--Maranus.
[2224] Many think, "you."
__________________________________________________________________
Chapter LXXIV.--The beginning of Ps. xcvi. is attributed to the Father [by
Trypho]. But [it refers] to Christ by these words: "Tell ye among the nations
that the Lord," etc.
Then Trypho said, "We know that you quoted these because we asked you.
But it does not appear to me that this Psalm which you quoted last from
the words of David refers to any other than the Father and Maker of the
heavens and earth. You, however, asserted that it referred to Him who
suffered, whom you also are eagerly endeavouring to prove to be
Christ."
And I answered, "Attend to me, I beseech you, while I speak of the
statement which the Holy Spirit gave utterance to in this Psalm; and
you shall know that I speak not sinfully, and that we [2225] are not
really bewitched; for so you shall be enabled of yourselves to
understand many other statements made by the Holy Spirit. Sing unto the
Lord a new song; sing unto the Lord, all the earth: sing unto the Lord,
and bless His name; show forth His salvation from day to day, His
wonderful works among all people.' He bids the inhabitants of all the
earth, who have known the mystery of this salvation, i.e., the
suffering of Christ, by which He saved them, sing and give praises to
God the Father of all things, and recognise that He is to be praised
and feared, and that He is the Maker of heaven and earth, who effected
this salvation in behalf of the human race, who also was crucified and
was dead, and who was deemed worthy by Him (God) to reign over all the
earth. As [is clearly seen [2226] ] also by the land into which [He
said] He would bring [your fathers]; [for He thus speaks]: [2227] This
people [shall go a whoring after other gods], and shall forsake Me, and
shall break my covenant which I made with them in that day; and I will
forsake them, and will turn away My face from them; and they shall be
devoured, [2228] and many evils and afflictions shall find them out;
and they shall say in that day, Because the Lord my God is not amongst
us, these misfortunes have found us out. And I shall certainly turn
away My face from them in that day, on account of all the evils which
they have committed, in that they have turned to other gods.' [2229]
__________________________________________________________________
[2225] In text, "you." Maranus suggests, as far better, "we."
[2226] Something is here wanting; the suggested reading of Maranus has
been adopted. [As to omissions between this chapter and the next,
critics are not agreed. The Benedictine editors see no proofs of them.]
[2227] Deut. xxxi. 16-18.
[2228] Literally, "for food."
[2229] The first conference seems to have ended hereabout. [It occupied
two days. But the student must consult the learned note of Kaye (Justin
Martyr, p. 20. Rivingtons, London. 1853).]
__________________________________________________________________
Chapter LXXV.--It is proved that Jesus was the name of God in the book of
Exodus.
"Moreover, in the book of Exodus we have also perceived that the name
of God Himself which, He says, was not revealed to Abraham or to Jacob,
was Jesus, and was declared mysteriously through Moses. Thus it is
written: And the Lord spake to Moses, Say to this people, Behold, I
send My angel before thy face, to keep thee in the way, to bring thee
into the land which I have prepared for thee. Give heed to Him, and
obey Him; do not disobey Him. For He will not draw back from you; for
My name is in Him.' [2230] Now understand that He who led your fathers
into the land is called by this name Jesus, and first called Auses
[2231] (Oshea). For if you shall understand this, you shall likewise
perceive that the name of Him who said to Moses, for My name is in
Him,' was Jesus. For, indeed, He was also called Israel, and Jacob's
name was changed to this also. Now Isaiah shows that those prophets who
are sent to publish tidings from God are called His angels and
apostles. For Isaiah says in a certain place, Send me.' [2232] And that
the prophet whose name was changed, Jesus [Joshua], was strong and
great, is manifest to all. If, then, we know that God revealed Himself
in so many forms to Abraham, and to Jacob, and to Moses, how are we at
a loss, and do not believe that, according to the will of the Father of
all things, it was possible for Him to be born man of the Virgin,
especially after we have such [2233] Scriptures, from which it can be
plainly perceived that He became so according to the will of the
Father?
__________________________________________________________________
[2230] Ex. xxiii. 20, 21.
[2231] [Num. xiii. 16.]
[2232] Isa. vi. 8.
[2233] Or, "so many."
__________________________________________________________________
Chapter LXXVI.--From other passages the same majesty and government of Christ
are proved.
"For when Daniel speaks of one like unto the Son of man' who received
the everlasting kingdom, does he not hint at this very thing? For he
declares that, in saying like unto the Son of man,' He appeared, and
was man, but not of human seed. And the same thing he proclaimed in
mystery when he speaks of this stone which was cut out without hands.
For the expression it was cut out without hands' signified that it is
not a work of man, but [a work] of the will of the Father and God of
all things, who brought Him forth. And when Isaiah says, Who shall
declare His generation?' he meant that His descent could not be
declared. Now no one who is a man of men has a descent that cannot be
declared. And when Moses says that He will wash His garments in the
blood of the grape, does not this signify what I have now often told
you is an obscure prediction, namely, that He had blood, but not from
men; just as not man, but God, has begotten the blood of the vine? And
when Isaiah calls Him the Angel of mighty counsel, [2234] did he not
foretell Him to be the Teacher of those truths which He did teach when
He came [to earth]? For He alone taught openly those mighty counsels
which the Father designed both for all those who have been and shall be
well-pleasing to Him, and also for those who have rebelled against His
will, whether men or angels, when He said: They shall come from the
east [and from the west [2235] ], and shall sit down with Abraham, and
Isaac, and Jacob, in the kingdom of heaven: but the children of the
kingdom shall be cast out into outer darkness.' [2236] And, Many shall
say to Me in that day, Lord, Lord, have we not eaten, and drunk, and
prophesied, and cast out demons in Thy name? And I will say to them,
Depart from Me.' [2237] Again, in other words, by which He shall
condemn those who are unworthy of salvation, He said, Depart into outer
darkness, which the Father has prepared for Satan and his, angels.'
[2238] And again, in other words, He said, I give unto you power to
tread on serpents, and on scorpions, and on scolopendras, and on all
the might of the enemy.' [2239] And now we, who believe on our Lord
Jesus, who was crucified under Pontius Pilate, when we exorcise all
demons and evil spirits, have them subjected to us. For if the prophets
declared obscurely that Christ would suffer, and thereafter be Lord of
all, yet that [declaration] could not be understood by any man until He
Himself persuaded the apostles that such statements were expressly
related in the Scriptures. For He exclaimed before His crucifixion: The
Son of man must suffer many things, and be rejected by the Scribes and
Pharisees, and be crucified, and on the third day rise again.' [2240]
And David predicted that He would be born from the womb before sun and
moon, [2241] according to the Father's will, and made Him known, being
Christ, as God strong and to be worshipped."
__________________________________________________________________
[2234] [Isa. ix. 6, according to LXX.]
[2235] Not in all edd.
[2236] Matt. viii. 11.
[2237] Matt. vii. 22.
[2238] Matt. xxv. 41.
[2239] Luke x. 19. ["And on scolopendras" (i.e. centipedes) not in the
original.]
[2240] Luke ix. 22.
[2241] Justin puts "sun and moon" instead of "Lucifer." [Ps. cx. 3,
Sept, compounded with Prov. viii. 27.] Maranus says, David did predict,
not that Christ would be born of Mary before sun and moon, but that it
would happen before sun and moon that He would be born of a virgin.
__________________________________________________________________
Chapter LXXVII.--He returns to explain the prophecy of Isaiah.
Then Trypho said, "I admit that such and so great arguments are
sufficient to persuade one; but I wish [you] to know that I ask you for
the proof which you have frequently proposed to give me. Proceed then
to make this plain to us, that we may see how you prove that that
[passage] refers to this Christ of yours. For we assert that the
prophecy relates to Hezekiah." And I replied, "I shall do as you wish.
But show me yourselves first of all how it is said of Hezekiah, that
before he knew how to call father or mother, he received the power of
Damascus and the spoils of Samaria in the presence of the king of
Assyria. For it will not be conceded to you, as you wish to explain it,
that Hezekiah waged war with the inhabitants of Damascus and Samaria in
presence of the king of Assyria. For before the child knows how to call
father or mother,' the prophetic word said, He shall take the power of
Damascus and spoils of Samaria in presence of the king of Assyria.' For
if the Spirit of prophecy had not made the statement with an addition,
Before the child knows how to call father or mother, he shall take the
power of Damascus and spoils of Samaria,' but had only said, And shall
bear a son, and he shall take the power of Damascus and spoils of
Samaria,' then you might say that God foretold that he would take these
things, since He foreknew it. But now the prophecy has stated it with
this addition: Before the child knows how to call father or mother, he
shall take the power of Damascus and spoils of Samaria.' And you cannot
prove that such a thing ever happened to any one among the Jews. But we
are able to prove that it happened in the case of our Christ. For at
the time of His birth, Magi who came from Arabia worshipped Him, coming
first to Herod, who then was sovereign in your land, and whom the
Scripture calls king of Assyria on account of his ungodly and sinful
character. For you know," continued I, "that the Holy Spirit oftentimes
announces such events by parables and similitudes; just as He did
towards all the people in Jerusalem, frequently saying to them, Thy
father is an Amorite, and thy mother a Hittite.' [2242]
__________________________________________________________________
[2242] Ezek. xvi. 3.
__________________________________________________________________
Chapter LXXVIII.--He proves that this prophecy harmonizes with Christ alone,
from what is afterwards written.
"Now this king Herod, at the time when the Magi came to him from
Arabia, and said they knew from a star which appeared in the heavens
that a King had been born in your country, and that they had come to
worship Him, learned from the elders of your people that it was thus
written regarding Bethlehem in the prophet: And thou, Bethlehem, in the
land of Judah, art by no means least among the princes of Judah; for
out of thee shall go forth the leader who shall feed my people.' [2243]
Accordingly the Magi from Arabia came to Bethlehem and worshipped the
Child, and presented Him with gifts, gold and frankincense, and myrrh;
but returned not to Herod, being warned in a revelation after
worshipping the Child in Bethlehem. And Joseph, the spouse of Mary, who
wished at first to put away his betrothed Mary, supposing her to be
pregnant by intercourse with a man, i.e., from fornication, was
commanded in a vision not to put away his wife; and the angel who
appeared to him told him that what is in her womb is of the Holy Ghost.
Then he was afraid, and did not put her away; but on the occasion of
the first census which was taken in Judæa, under Cyrenius, he went up
from Nazareth, where he lived, to Bethlehem, to which he belonged, to
be enrolled; for his family was of the tribe of Judah, which then
inhabited that region. Then along with Mary he is ordered to proceed
into Egypt, and remain there with the Child until another revelation
warn them to return into Judæa. But when the Child was born in
Bethlehem, since Joseph could not find a lodging in that village, he
took up his quarters in a certain cave near the village; and while they
were there Mary brought forth the Christ and placed Him in a manger,
and here the Magi who came from Arabia found Him. I have repeated to
you," I continued, "what Isaiah foretold about the sign which
foreshadowed the cave; but for the sake of those who have come with us
to-day, I shall again remind you of the passage." Then I repeated the
passage from Isaiah which I have already written, adding that, by means
of those words, those who presided over the mysteries of Mithras were
stirred up by the devil to say that in a place, called among them a
cave, they were initiated by him. [2244] "So Herod, when the Magi from
Arabia did not return to him, as he had asked them to do, but had
departed by another way to their own country, according to the commands
laid on them; and when Joseph, with Mary and the Child, had now gone
into Egypt, as it was revealed to them to do; as he did not know the
Child whom the Magi had gone to worship, ordered simply the whole of
the children then in Bethlehem to be massacred. And Jeremiah prophesied
that this would happen, speaking by the Holy Ghost thus: A voice was
heard in Ramah, lamentation and much wailing, Rachel weeping for her
children; and she would not be comforted, because they are not.' [2245]
Therefore, on account of the voice which would be heard from Ramah,
i.e., from Arabia (for there is in Arabia at this very time a place
called Rama), wailing would come on the place where Rachel the wife of
Jacob called Israel, the holy patriarch, has been buried, i.e., on
Bethlehem; while the women weep for their own slaughtered children, and
have no consolation by reason of what has happened to them. For that
expression of Isaiah, He shall take the power of Damascus and spoils of
Samaria,' foretold that the power of the evil demon that dwelt in
Damascus should be overcome by Christ as soon as He was born; and this
is proved to have happened. For the Magi, who were held in bondage
[2246] for the commission of all evil deeds through the power of that
demon, by coming to worship Christ, shows that they have revolted from
that dominion which held them captive; and this [dominion] the
Scripture has showed us to reside in Damascus. Moreover, that sinful
and unjust power is termed well in parable, Samaria. [2247] And none of
you can deny that Damascus was, and is, in the region of Arabia,
although now it belongs to what is called Syrophoenicia. Hence it would
be becoming for you, sirs, to learn what you have not perceived, from
those who have received grace from God, namely, from us Christians; and
not to strive in every way to maintain your own doctrines, dishonouring
those of God. Therefore also this grace has been transferred to us, as
Isaiah says, speaking to the following effect: This people draws near
to Me, they honour Me with their lips, but their heart is far from Me;
but in vain they worship Me, teaching the commands and doctrines of
men. Therefore, behold, I will proceed [2248] to remove this people,
and I shall remove them; and I shall take away the wisdom of their wise
men, and bring to nothing the understanding of the prudent men.' "
[2249]
__________________________________________________________________
[2243] Mic. v. 2.
[2244] Text has, by "them;" but Maranus says the artifice lay in the
priest's compelling the initiated to say that Mithras himself was the
initiator in the cave.
[2245] Jer. xxxi. 15.
[2246] Literally, "spoiled."
[2247] Justin thinks the "spoils of Samaria" denote spoils of Satan;
Tertull. thinks that they are spoils of Christ.
[2248] Literally, "add."
[2249] Isa. xxix. 13, 14.
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Chapter LXXIX.--He proves against Trypho that the wicked angels have revolted
from God.
On this, Trypho, who was somewhat angry, but respected the Scriptures,
as was manifest from his countenance, said to me, "The utterances of
God are holy, but your expositions are mere contrivances, as is plain
from what has been explained by you; nay, even blasphemies, for you
assert that angels sinned and revolted from God."
And I, wishing to get him to listen to me, answered in milder tones,
thus: "I admire, sir, this piety of yours; and I pray that you may
entertain the same disposition towards Him to whom angels are recorded
to minister, as Daniel says; for [one] like the Son of man is led to
the Ancient of days, and every kingdom is given to Him for ever and
ever. But that you may know, sir," continued I, "that it is not our
audacity which has induced us to adopt this exposition, which you
reprehend, I shall give you evidence from Isaiah himself; for he
affirms that evil angels have dwelt and do dwell in Tanis, in Egypt.
These are [his] words: Woe to the rebellious children! Thus saith the
Lord, You have taken counsel, but not through Me; and [made]
agreements, but not through My Spirit, to add sins to sins; who have
sinned [2250] in going down to Egypt (but they have not inquired at
Me), that they may be assisted by Pharaoh, and be covered with the
shadow of the Egyptians. For the shadow of Pharaoh shall be a disgrace
to you, and a reproach to those who trust in the Egyptians; for the
princes in Tanis [2251] are evil angels. In vain will they labour for a
people which will not profit them by assistance, but [will be] for a
disgrace and a reproach [to them].' [2252] And, further, Zechariah
tells, as you yourself have related, that the devil stood on the right
hand of Joshua the priest, to resist him; and [the Lord] said, The
Lord, who has taken [2253] Jerusalem, rebuke thee.' [2254] And again,
it is written in Job, [2255] as you said yourself, how that the angels
came to stand before the Lord, and the devil came with them. And we
have it recorded by Moses in the beginning of Genesis, that the serpent
beguiled Eve, and was cursed. And we know that in Egypt there were
magicians who emulated [2256] the mighty power displayed by God through
the faithful servant Moses. And you are aware that David said, The gods
of the nations are demons.' " [2257]
__________________________________________________________________
[2250] LXX. "who walk," poreuomenoi for ponereuomenoi.
[2251] In E. V. "Zoan."
[2252] Isa. xxx. 1-5.
[2253] ekdexamenos; in chap. cxv. inf. it is eklexamenos.
[2254] Zech. iii. 1.
[2255] Job i. 6.
[2256] Maranus suggests the insertion of epoiesan or epeirasan before
exisousthai.
[2257] Ps. xcvi. 5.
__________________________________________________________________
Chapter LXXX.--The opinion of Justin with regard to the reign of a thousand
years. Several Catholics reject it.
And Trypho to this replied, "I remarked to you sir, that you are very
anxious to be safe in all respects, since you cling to the Scriptures.
But tell me, do you really admit that this place, Jerusalem, shall be
rebuilt; and do you expect your people to be gathered together, and
made joyful with Christ and the patriarchs, and the prophets, both the
men of our nation, and other proselytes who joined them before your
Christ came? or have you given way, and admitted this in order to have
the appearance of worsting us in the controversies?"
Then I answered, "I am not so miserable a fellow, Trypho, as to say one
thing and think another. I admitted to you formerly, [2258] that I and
many others are of this opinion, and [believe] that such will take
place, as you assuredly are aware; [2259] but, on the other hand, I
signified to you that many who belong to the pure and pious faith, and
are true Christians, think otherwise. Moreover, I pointed out to you
that some who are called Christians, but are godless, impious heretics,
teach doctrines that are in every way blasphemous, atheistical, and
foolish. But that you may know that I do not say this before you alone,
I shall draw up a statement, so far as I can, of all the arguments
which have passed between us; in which I shall record myself as
admitting the very same things which I admit to you. [2260] For I
choose to follow not men or men's doctrines, but God and the doctrines
[delivered] by Him. For if you have fallen in with some who are called
Christians, but who do not admit this [truth], [2261] and venture to
blaspheme the God of Abraham, and the God of Isaac, and the God of
Jacob; who say there is no resurrection of the dead, and that their
souls, when they die, are taken to heaven; do not imagine that they are
Christians, even as one, if he would rightly consider it, would not
admit that the Sadducees, or similar sects of Genistæ, Meristæ, [2262]
Galilæans, Hellenists, [2263] Pharisees, Baptists, are Jews (do not
hear me impatiently when I tell you what I think), but are [only]
called Jews and children of Abraham, worshipping God with the lips, as
God Himself declared, but the heart was far from Him. But I and others,
who are right-minded Christians on all points, are assured that there
will be a resurrection of the dead, and a thousand years [2264] in
Jerusalem, which will then be built, adorned, and enlarged, [as] the
prophets Ezekiel and Isaiah and others declare.
__________________________________________________________________
[2258] Justin made no previous allusion to this point, so far as we
know from the writing preserved.
[2259] Or, "so as to believe thoroughly that such will take place"
(after "opinion").
[2260] [A hint of the origin of this work. See Kaye's Note, p. 18].
[2261] i.e., resurrection.
[2262] Maranus says, Hieron. thinks the Genistæ were so called because
they were sprung from Abraham (genos) the Meristæ so called because
they separated the Scriptures. Josephus bears testimony to the fact
that the sects of the Jews differed in regard to fate and providence;
the Pharisees submitting all things indeed to God, with the exception
of human will; the Essenes making no exceptions, and submitting all to
God. I believe therefore that the Genistæ were so called because they
believed the world to be in general governed by God; the Meristæ,
because they believed that a fate or providence belonged to each man.
[2263] Otto says, the author and chief of this sect of Galilæans was
Judas Galilæus, who, after the exile of king Archelaus, when the Romans
wished to raise a tax in Judæa, excited his countrymen to the retaining
of their former liberty.--The Hellenists, or rather Hellenæans. No one
mentions this sect but Justin; perhaps Herodians or Hillelæans (from R.
Hillel).
[2264] We have translated the text of Justin as it stands. Commentators
make the sense, "and that there will be a thousand years in Jerusalem,"
or "that the saints will live a thousand years in Jerusalem."
__________________________________________________________________
Chapter LXXXI.--He endeavours to prove this opinion from Isaiah and the
Apocalypse.
"For Isaiah spake thus concerning this space of a thousand years: For
there shall be the new heaven and the new earth, and the former shall
not be remembered, or come into their heart; but they shall find joy
and gladness in it, which things I create. For, Behold, I make
Jerusalem a rejoicing, and My people a joy; and I shall rejoice over
Jerusalem, and be glad over My people. And the voice of weeping shall
be no more heard in her, or the voice of crying. And there shall be no
more there a person of immature years, or an old man who shall not
fulfil his days. [2265] For the young man shall be an hundred years
old; [2266] but the sinner who dies an hundred years old, [2267] he
shall be accursed. And they shall build houses, and shall themselves
inhabit them; and they shall plant vines, and shall themselves eat the
produce of them, and drink the wine. They shall not build, and others
inhabit; they shall not plant, and others eat. For according to the
days of the tree of life shall be the days of my people; the works of
their toil shall abound. [2268] Mine elect shall not toil fruitlessly,
or beget children to be cursed; for they shall be a seed righteous and
blessed by the Lord, and their offspring with them. And it shall come
to pass, that before they call I will hear; while they are still
speaking, I shall say, What is it? Then shall the wolves and the lambs
feed together, and the lion shall eat straw like the ox; but the
serpent [shall eat] earth as bread. They shall not hurt or maltreat
each other on the holy mountain, saith the Lord.' [2269] Now we have
understood that the expression used among these words, According to the
days of the tree [of life [2270] ] shall be the days of my people; the
works of their toil shall abound' obscurely predicts a thousand years.
For as Adam was told that in the day he ate of the tree he would die,
we know that he did not complete a thousand years. We have perceived,
moreover, that the expression, The day of the Lord is as a thousand
years,' [2271] is connected with this subject. And further, there was a
certain man with us, whose name was John, one of the apostles of
Christ, who prophesied, by a revelation that was made to him, that
those who believed in our Christ would dwell [2272] a thousand years in
Jerusalem; and that thereafter the general, and, in short, the eternal
resurrection and judgment of all men would likewise take place. Just as
our Lord also said, They shall neither marry nor be given in marriage,
but shall be equal to the angels, the children of the God of the
resurrection.' [2273]
__________________________________________________________________
[2265] Literally, "time."
[2266] Literally, "the son of an hundred years."
[2267] Literally, "the son of an hundred years."
[2268] Or, as in margin of A. V., "they shall make the works of their
toil continue long," so reading palaiosousin for pleonasousin: thus
also LXX.
[2269] Isa. lxv. 17 to end.
[2270] These words are not found in the mss.
[2271] Ps. xc. 4; 2 Pet. iii. 8.
[2272] Literally, "make." [A very noteworthy passage, as a primitive
exposition of Rev. xx. 4-5. See Kaye, chap. v.]
[2273] Luke xx. 35f.
__________________________________________________________________
Chapter LXXXII.--The prophetical gifts of the Jews were transferred to the
Christians.
"For the prophetical gifts remain with us, even to the present time.
And hence you ought to understand that [the gifts] formerly among your
nation have been transferred to us. And just as there were false
prophets contemporaneous with your holy prophets, so are there now many
false teachers amongst us, of whom our Lord forewarned us to beware; so
that in no respect are we deficient, since we know that He foreknew all
that would happen to us after His resurrection from the dead and
ascension to heaven. For He said we would be put to death, and hated
for His name's sake; and that many false prophets and false Christs
would appear in His name, and deceive many: and so has it come about.
For many have taught godless, blasphemous, and unholy doctrines,
forging them in His name; have taught, too, and even yet are teaching,
those things which proceed from the unclean spirit of the devil, and
which were put into their hearts. Therefore we are most anxious that
you be persuaded not to be misled by such persons, since we know that
every one who can speak the truth, and yet speaks it not, shall be
judged by God, as God testified by Ezekiel, when He said, I have made
thee a watchman to the house of Judah. If the sinner sin, and thou warn
him not, he himself shall die in his sin; but his blood will I require
at thine hand. But if thou warn him, thou shalt be innocent.' [2274]
And on this account we are, through fear, very earnest in desiring to
converse [with men] according to the Scriptures, but not from love of
money, or of glory, or of pleasure. For no man can convict us of any of
these [vices]. No more do we wish to live like the rulers of your
people, whom God reproaches when He says, Your rulers are companions of
thieves, lovers of bribes, followers of the rewards.' [2275] Now, if
you know certain amongst us to be of this sort, do not for their sakes
blaspheme the Scriptures and Christ, and do not assiduously strive to
give falsified interpretations.
__________________________________________________________________
[2274] Ezek. iii. 17, 18, 19.
[2275] Isa. i. 23.
__________________________________________________________________
Chapter LXXXIII.--It is proved that the Psalm, "The Lord said to My Lord,"
etc., does not suit Hezekiah.
"For your teachers have ventured to refer the passage, The Lord says to
my Lord, Sit at my right hand, till I make Thine enemies Thy
footstool,' to Hezekiah; as if he were requested to sit on the right
side of the temple, when the king of Assyria sent to him and threatened
him; and he was told by Isaiah not to be afraid. Now we know and admit
that what Isaiah said took place; that the king of Assyria desisted
from waging war against Jerusalem in Hezekiah's days, and the angel of
the Lord slew about 185,000 of the host of the Assyrians. But it is
manifest that the Psalm does not refer to him. For thus it is written,
The Lord says to my Lord, Sit at My right hand, till I make Thine
enemies Thy footstool. He shall send forth a rod of power over [2276]
Jerusalem, and it shall rule in the midst of Thine [2277] enemies. In
the splendour of the saints before the morning star have I begotten
Thee. The Lord hath sworn, and will not repent, Thou art a priest for
ever after the order of Melchizedek.' Who does not admit, then, that
Hezekiah is no priest for ever after the order of Melchizedek? And who
does not know that he is not the redeemer of Jerusalem? And who does
not know that he neither sent a rod of power into Jerusalem, nor ruled
in the midst of his enemies; but that it was God who averted from him
the enemies, after he mourned and was afflicted? But our Jesus, who has
not yet come in glory, has sent into Jerusalem a rod of power, namely,
the word of calling and repentance [meant] for all nations over which
demons held sway, as David says, The gods of the nations are demons.'
And His strong word has prevailed on many to forsake the demons whom
they used to serve, and by means of it to believe in the Almighty God
because the gods of the nations are demons. [2278] And we mentioned
formerly that the statement, In the splendour of the saints before the
morning star have I begotten Thee from the womb,' is made to Christ.
__________________________________________________________________
[2276] epi, but afterwards eis. Maranus thinks that epi is the
insertion of some copyist.
[2277] Or better, "His." This quotation from Ps. cx. is put very
differently from the previous quotation of the same Psalm in chap.
xxxii. [Justin often quotes from memory. Kaye, cap. viii.]
[2278] This last clause is thought to be an interpolation.
__________________________________________________________________
Chapter LXXXIV.--That prophecy, "Behold, a virgin," etc., suits Christ alone.
"Moreover, the prophecy, Behold, the virgin shall conceive, and bear a
son,' was uttered respecting Him. For if He to whom Isaiah referred was
not to be begotten of a virgin, of whom [2279] did the Holy Spirit
declare, Behold, the Lord Himself shall give us a sign: behold, the
virgin shall conceive, and bear a son?' For if He also were to be
begotten of sexual intercourse, like all other first-born sons, why did
God say that He would give a sign which is not common to all the
first-born sons? But that which is truly a sign, and which was to be
made trustworthy to mankind,--namely, that the first-begotten of all
creation should become incarnate by the Virgin's womb, and be a
child,--this he anticipated by the Spirit of prophecy, and predicted
it, as I have repeated to you, in various ways; in order that, when the
event should take place, it might be known as the operation of the
power and will of the Maker of all things; just as Eve was made from
one of Adam's ribs, and as all living beings were created in the
beginning by the word of God. But you in these matters venture to
pervert the expositions which your elders that were with Ptolemy king
of Egypt gave forth, since you assert that the Scripture is not so as
they have expounded it, but says, Behold, the young woman shall
conceive,' as if great events were to be inferred if a woman should
beget from sexual intercourse: which indeed all young women, with the
exception of the barren, do; but even these, God, if He wills, is able
to cause [to bear]. For Samuel's mother, who was barren, brought forth
by the will of God; and so also the wife of the holy patriarch Abraham;
and Elisabeth, who bore John the Baptist, and other such. So that you
must not suppose that it is impossible for God to do anything He wills.
And especially when it was predicted that this would take place, do not
venture to pervert or misinterpret the prophecies, since you will
injure yourselves alone, and will not harm God.
__________________________________________________________________
[2279] Or, "why was it."
__________________________________________________________________
Chapter LXXXV.--He proves that Christ is the Lord of Hosts from Ps. xxiv., and
from his authority over demons.
"Moreover, some of you venture to expound the prophecy which runs, Lift
up your gates, ye rulers; and be ye lift up, ye everlasting doors, that
the King of glory may enter,' [2280] as if it referred likewise to
Hezekiah, and others of you [expound it] of Solomon; but neither to the
latter nor to the former, nor, in short, to any of your kings, can it
be proved to have reference, but to this our Christ alone, who appeared
without comeliness, and inglorious, as Isaiah and David and all the
Scriptures said; who is the Lord of hosts, by the will of the Father
who conferred on Him [the dignity]; who also rose from the dead, and
ascended to heaven, as the Psalm and the other Scriptures manifested
when they announced Him to be Lord of hosts; and of this you may, if
you will, easily be persuaded by the occurrences which take place
before your eyes. For every demon, when exorcised in the name of this
very Son of God --who is the First-born of every creature, who became
man by the Virgin, who suffered, and was crucified under Pontius Pilate
by your nation, who died, who rose from the dead, and ascended into
heaven --is overcome and subdued. But though you exorcise any demon in
the name of any of those who were amongst you--either kings, or
righteous men, or prophets, or patriarchs--it will not be subject to
you. But if any of you exorcise it in [the name of] the God of Abraham,
and the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob, it will perhaps be subject
to you. Now assuredly your exorcists, I have said, [2281] make use of
craft when they exorcise, even as the Gentiles do, and employ
fumigations and incantations. [2282] But that they are angels and
powers whom the word of prophecy by David [commands] to lift up the
gates, that He who rose from the dead, Jesus Christ, the Lord of hosts,
according to the will of the Father, might enter, the word of David has
likewise showed; which I shall again recall to your attention for the
sake of those who were not with us yesterday, for whose benefit,
moreover, I sum up many things I said yesterday. And now, if I say this
to you, although I have repeated it many times, I know that it is not
absurd so to do. For it is a ridiculous thing to see the sun, and the
moon, and the other stars, continually keeping the same course, and
bringing round the different seasons; and to see the computer who may
be asked how many are twice two, because he has frequently said that
they are four, not ceasing to say again that they are four; and equally
so other things, which are confidently admitted, to be continually
mentioned and admitted in like manner; yet that he who founds his
discourse on the prophetic Scriptures should leave them and abstain
from constantly referring to the same Scriptures, because it is thought
he can bring forth something better than Scripture. The passage, then,
by which I proved that God reveals that there are both angels and hosts
in heaven is this: Praise the Lord from the heavens: praise Him in the
highest. Praise Him, all His angels: praise Him, all His hosts.' "
[2283]
Then one of those who had come with them on the second day, whose name
was Mnaseas, said, "We are greatly pleased that you undertake to repeat
the same things on our account."
And I said, "Listen, my friends, to the Scripture which induces me to
act thus. Jesus commanded [us] to love even [our] enemies, as was
predicted by Isaiah in many passages, in which also is contained the
mystery of our own regeneration, as well, in fact, as the regeneration
of all who expect that Christ will appear in Jerusalem, and by their
works endeavour earnestly to please Him. These are the words spoken by
Isaiah: Hear the word of the Lord, ye that tremble at His word. Say,
our brethren, to them that hate you and detest you, that the name of
the Lord has been glorified. He has appeared to your joy, and they
shall be ashamed. A voice of noise from the city, a voice from the
temple, [2284] a voice of the Lord who rendereth recompense to the
proud. Before she that travailed brought forth, and before the pains of
labour came, she brought forth a male child. Who hath heard such a
thing? and who hath seen such a thing? has the earth brought forth in
one day? and has she produced a nation at once? for Zion has travailed
and borne her children. But I have given such an expectation even to
her that does not bring forth, said the Lord. Behold, I have made her
that begetteth, and her that is barren, saith the Lord. Rejoice, O
Jerusalem, and hold a joyous assembly, all ye that love her. Be glad,
all ye that mourn for her, that ye may suck and be filled with the
breast of her consolation, that having suck ye may be delighted with
the entrance of His glory.' " [2285]
__________________________________________________________________
[2280] Ps. xxiv. 7.
[2281] Chap. lxxvi.
[2282] katadesmoi, by some thought to be verses by which evil spirits,
once expelled, were kept from returning. Plato (Rep.) speaks of
incantations by which demons were summoned to the help of those who
practised such rites; but Justin refers to them only as being expelled.
Others regard them as drugs.
[2283] Ps. cxlviii. 1, 2. [Kaye's citations (chap. ix. p. 181) from
Tatian, concerning angels and demons, are valuable aids to the
understanding of Justin in his frequent references to this subject.]
[2284] In both mss. "people."
[2285] Isa. lxvi. 5-11.
__________________________________________________________________
Chapter LXXXVI.--There are various figures in the Old Testament of the wood of
the cross by which Christ reigned.
And when I had quoted this, I added, "Hear, then, how this Man, of whom
the Scriptures declare that He will come again in glory after His
crucifixion, was symbolized both by the tree of life, which was said to
have been planted in paradise, and by those events which should happen
to all the just. Moses was sent with a rod to effect the redemption of
the people; and with this in his hands at the head of the people, he
divided the sea. By this he saw the water gushing out of the rock; and
when he cast a tree into the waters of Marah, which were bitter, he
made them sweet. Jacob, by putting rods into the water-troughs, caused
the sheep of his uncle to conceive, so that he should obtain their
young. With his rod the same Jacob boasts that he had crossed the
river. He said he had seen a ladder, and the Scripture has declared
that God stood above it. But that this was not the Father, we have
proved from the Scriptures. And Jacob, having poured oil on a stone in
the same place, is testified to by the very God who appeared to him,
that he had anointed a pillar to the God who appeared to him. And that
the stone symbolically proclaimed Christ, we have also proved by many
Scriptures; and that the unguent, whether it was of oil, or of stacte,
[2286] or of any other compounded sweet balsams, had reference to Him,
we have also proved, [2287] inasmuch as the word says: Therefore God,
even Thy God, hath anointed Thee with the oil of gladness above Thy
fellows.' [2288] For indeed all kings and anointed persons obtained
from Him their share in the names of kings and anointed: just as He
Himself received from the Father the titles of King, and Christ, and
Priest, and Angel, and such like other titles which He bears or did
bear. Aaron's rod, which blossomed, declared him to be the high priest.
Isaiah prophesied that a rod would come forth from the root of Jesse,
[and this was] Christ. And David says that the righteous man is like
the tree that is planted by the channels of waters, which should yield
its fruit in its season, and whose leaf should not fade.' [2289] Again,
the righteous is said to flourish like the palm-tree. God appeared from
a tree to Abraham, as it is written, near the oak in Mamre. The people
found seventy willows and twelve springs after crossing the Jordan.
[2290] David affirms that God comforted him with a rod and staff.
Elisha, by casting a stick [2291] into the river Jordan, recovered the
iron part of the axe with which the sons of the prophets had gone to
cut down trees to build the house in which they wished to read and
study the law and commandments of God; even as our Christ, by being
crucified on the tree, and by purifying [us] with water, has redeemed
us, though plunged in the direst offences which we have committed, and
has made [us] a house of prayer and adoration. Moreover, it was a rod
that pointed out Judah to be the father of Tamar's sons by a great
mystery."
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[2286] [Myrrh. Christ the (Anointed) Rock is also referred to by Jacob
(Gen. xlix. 24).]
[2287] In chap. lxiii. probably, where the same Psalm is quoted.
[2288] Ps. xlv. 7.
[2289] Ps. i. 3.
[2290] The Red Sea, not the Jordan. [Ex. xv. 27.]
[2291] Literally, "a tree."
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Chapter LXXXVII.--Trypho maintains in objection these words: "And shall rest
on Him," etc. They are explained by Justin.
Hereupon Trypho, after I had spoken these words, said, "Do not now
suppose that I am endeavouring, by asking what I do ask, to overturn
the statements you have made; but I wish to receive information
respecting those very points about which I now inquire. Tell me, then,
how, when the Scripture asserts by Isaiah, There shall come forth a rod
from the root of Jesse; and a flower shall grow up from the root of
Jesse; and the Spirit of God shall rest upon Him, the spirit of wisdom
and understanding, the spirit of counsel and might, the spirit of
knowledge and piety: and the spirit of the fear of the Lord shall fill
Him:' [2292] (now you admitted to me," continued he, "that this
referred to Christ, and you maintain Him to be pre-existent God, and
having become incarnate by God's will, to be born man by the Virgin:)
how He can be demonstrated to have been pre-existent, who is filled
with the powers of the Holy Ghost, which the Scripture by Isaiah
enumerates, as if He were in lack of them?"
Then I replied, "You have inquired most discreetly and most prudently,
for truly there does seem to be a difficulty; but listen to what I say,
that you may perceive the reason of this also. The Scripture says that
these enumerated powers of the Spirit have come on Him, not because He
stood in need of them, but because they would rest in Him, i.e., would
find their accomplishment in Him, so that there would be no more
prophets in your nation after the ancient custom: and this fact you
plainly perceive. For after Him no prophet has arisen among you. Now,
that [you may know that] your prophets, each receiving some one or two
powers from God, did and spoke the things which we have learned from
the Scriptures, attend to the following remarks of mine. Solomon
possessed the spirit of wisdom, Daniel that of understanding and
counsel, Moses that of might and piety, Elijah that of fear, and Isaiah
that of knowledge; and so with the others: each possessed one power, or
one joined alternately with another; also Jeremiah, and the twelve
[prophets], and David, and, in short, the rest who existed amongst you.
Accordingly He [2293] rested, i.e., ceased, when He came, after whom,
in the times of this dispensation wrought out by Him amongst men,
[2294] it was requisite that such gifts should cease from you; and
having received their rest in Him, should again, as had been predicted,
become gifts which, from the grace of His Spirit's power, He imparts to
those who believe in Him, according as He deems each man worthy
thereof. I have already said, and do again say, that it had been
prophesied that this would be done by Him after His ascension to
heaven. It is accordingly said, [2295] He ascended on high, He led
captivity captive, He gave gifts unto the sons of men.' And again, in
another prophecy it is said: And it shall come to pass after this, I
will pour out My Spirit on all flesh, and on My servants, and on My
handmaids, and they shall prophesy.' [2296]
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[2292] Isa. xi. 1 ff.
[2293] He, that is, the Spirit. The following "He" is Christ.
[2294] Or, "wrought out amongst His people." So Otto.
[2295] Literally, "He said accordingly." Ps. lxviii. 18.
[2296] Joel ii. 28 f.
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Chapter LXXXVIII.--Christ has not received the Holy Spirit on account of
poverty.
"Now, it is possible to see amongst us women and men who possess gifts
of the Spirit of God; so that it was prophesied that the powers
enumerated by Isaiah would come upon Him, not because He needed power,
but because these would not continue after Him. And let this be a proof
to you, namely, what I told you was done by the Magi from Arabia, who
as soon as the Child was born came to worship Him, for even at His
birth He was in possession of His power; and as He grew up like all
other men, by using the fitting means, He assigned its own
[requirements] to each development, and was sustained by all kinds of
nourishment, and waited for thirty years, more or less, until John
appeared before Him as the herald of His approach, and preceded Him in
the way of baptism, as I have already shown. And then, when Jesus had
gone to the river Jordan, where John was baptizing, and when He had
stepped into the water, a fire [2297] was kindled in the Jordan; and
when He came out of the water, the Holy Ghost lighted on Him like a
dove, [as] the apostles of this very Christ of ours wrote. Now, we know
that he did not go to the river because He stood in need of baptism, or
of the descent of the Spirit like a dove; even as He submitted to be
born and to be crucified, not because He needed such things, but
because of the human race, which from Adam had fallen under the power
of death and the guile of the serpent, and each one of which had
committed personal transgression. For God, wishing both angels and men,
who were endowed with free-will, and at their own disposal, to do
whatever He had strengthened each to do, made them so, that if they
chose the things acceptable to Himself, He would keep them free from
death and from punishment; but that if they did evil, He would punish
each as He sees fit. For it was not His entrance into Jerusalem sitting
on an ass, which we have showed was prophesied, that empowered Him to
be Christ, but it furnished men with a proof that He is the Christ;
just as it was necessary in the time of John that men have proof, that
they might know who is Christ. For when John remained [2298] by the
Jordan, and preached the baptism of repentance, wearing only a leathern
girdle and a vesture made of camels' hair, eating nothing but locusts
and wild honey, men supposed him to be Christ; but he cried to them, I
am not the Christ, but the voice of one crying; for He that is stronger
than I shall come, whose shoes I am not worthy to bear.' [2299] And
when Jesus came to the Jordan, He was considered to be the son of
Joseph the carpenter; and He appeared without comeliness, as the
Scriptures declared; and He was deemed a carpenter (for He was in the
habit of working as a carpenter when among men, making ploughs and
yokes; by which He taught the symbols of righteousness and an active
life); but then the Holy Ghost, and for man's sake, as I formerly
stated, lighted on Him in the form of a dove, and there came at the
same instant from the heavens a voice, which was uttered also by David
when he spoke, personating Christ, what the Father would say to Him:
Thou art My Son: this day have I begotten Thee;' [2300] [the Father]
saying that His generation would take place for men, at the time when
they would become acquainted with Him: Thou art My Son; this day have I
begotten thee.' " [2301]
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[2297] [The Shechinah probably attended the descent of the Holy Spirit,
and what follows in the note seems a gratuitous explanation. The
Ebionite corruption of a truth need not be resorted to. See chap.
cxxviii: The fire in the bush.] Justin learned this either from
tradition or from apocryphal books. Mention is made of a fire both in
the Ebionite Gospel and in another publication called Pauli prædicatio,
the readers and users of which denied that the rite of baptism had been
duly performed, unless quam mox in aquam descenderunt, statim super
aquam ignis appareat.
[2298] Literally, "sat."
[2299] Isa. i. 27.
[2300] Ps. ii. 7.
[2301] The repetition seems quite superfluous.
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Chapter LXXXIX.--The cross alone is offensive to Trypho on account of the
curse, yet it proves that Jesus is Christ.
Then Trypho remarked, "Be assured that all our nation waits for Christ;
and we admit that all the Scriptures which you have quoted refer to
Him. Moreover, I do also admit that the name of Jesus, by which the the
son of Nave (Nun) was called, has inclined me very strongly to adopt
this view. But whether Christ should be so shamefully crucified, this
we are in doubt about. For whosoever is crucified is said in the law to
be accursed, so that I am exceedingly incredulous on this point. It is
quite clear, indeed, that the Scriptures announce that Christ had to
suffer; but we wish to learn if you can prove it to us whether it was
by the suffering cursed in the law."
I replied to him, "If Christ was not to suffer, and the prophets had
not foretold that He would be led to death on account of the sins of
the people, and be dishonoured and scourged, and reckoned among the
transgressors, and as a sheep be led to the slaughter, whose
generation, the prophet says, no man can declare, then you would have
good cause to wonder. But if these are to be characteristic of Him and
mark Him out to all, how is it possible for us to do anything else than
believe in Him most confidently? And will not as many as have
understood the writings of the prophets, whenever they hear merely that
He was crucified, say that this is He and no other?"
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Chapter XC.--The stretched-out hands of Moses signified beforehand the cross.
"Bring us on, then," said [Trypho], "by the Scriptures, that we may
also be persuaded by you; for we know that He should suffer and be led
as a sheep. But prove to us whether He must be crucified and die so
disgracefully and so dishonourably by the death cursed in the law.
[2302] For we cannot bring ourselves even to think of this."
"You know," said I, "that what the prophets said and did they veiled by
parables and types, as you admitted to us; so that it was not easy for
all to understand the most [of what they said], since they concealed
the truth by these means, that those who are eager to find out and
learn it might do so with much labour."
They answered, "We admitted this."
"Listen, therefore," say I, "to what follows; for Moses first exhibited
this seeming curse of Christ's by the signs which he made."
"Of what [signs] do you speak?" said he.
"When the people," replied I, "waged war with Amalek, and the son of
Nave (Nun) by name Jesus (Joshua), led the fight, Moses himself prayed
to God, stretching out both hands, and Hur with Aaron supported them
during the whole day, so that they might not hang down when he got
wearied. For if he gave up any part of this sign, which was an
imitation of the cross, the people were beaten, as is recorded in the
writings of Moses; but if he remained in this form, Amalek was
proportionally defeated, and he who prevailed prevailed by the cross.
For it was not because Moses so prayed that the people were stronger,
but because, while one who bore the name of Jesus (Joshua) was in the
forefront of the battle, he himself made the sign of the cross. For who
of you knows not that the prayer of one who accompanies it with
lamentation and tears, with the body prostrate, or with bended knees,
propitiates God most of all? But in such a manner neither he nor any
other one, while sitting on a stone, prayed. Nor even the stone
symbolized Christ, as I have shown.
__________________________________________________________________
[2302] [This intense abhorrence of the cross made it worth while to
show that these similitudes existed under the law. They were ad hominem
appeals, and suited to Jewish modes of thought.]
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Chapter XCI.--The cross was foretold in the blessings of Joseph, and in the
serpent that was lifted up.
"And God by Moses shows in another way the force of the mystery of the
cross, when He said in the blessing wherewith Joseph was blessed, From
the blessing of the Lord is his land; for the seasons of heaven, and
for the dews, and for the deep springs from beneath, and for the
seasonable fruits of the sun, [2303] and for the coming together of the
months, and for the heights of the everlasting mountains, and for the
heights of the hills, and for the ever-flowing rivers, and for the
fruits of the fatness of the earth; and let the things accepted by Him
who appeared in the bush come on the head and crown of Joseph. Let him
be glorified among his brethren; [2304] his beauty is [like] the
firstling of a bullock; his horns the horns of an unicorn: with these
shall he push the nations from one end of the earth to another.' [2305]
Now, no one could say or prove that the horns of an unicorn represent
any other fact or figure than the type which portrays the cross. For
the one beam is placed upright, from which the highest extremity is
raised up into a horn, when the other beam is fitted on to it, and the
ends appear on both sides as horns joined on to the one horn. And the
part which is fixed in the centre, on which are suspended those who are
crucified, also stands out like a horn; and it also looks like a horn
conjoined and fixed with the other horns. And the expression, With
these shall he push as with horns the nations from one end of the earth
to another,' is indicative of what is now the fact among all the
nations. For some out of all the nations, through the power of this
mystery, having been so pushed, that is, pricked in their hearts, have
turned from vain idols and demons to serve God. But the same figure is
revealed for the destruction and condemnation of the unbelievers; even
as Amalek was defeated and Israel victorious when the people came out
of Egypt, by means of the type of the stretching out of Moses' hands,
and the name of Jesus (Joshua), by which the son of Nave (Nun) was
called. And it seems that the type and sign, which was erected to
counteract the serpents which bit Israel, was intended for the
salvation of those who believe that death was declared to come
thereafter on the serpent through Him that would be crucified, but
salvation to those who had been bitten by him and had betaken
themselves to Him that sent His Son into the world to be crucified.
[2306] For the Spirit of prophecy by Moses did not teach us to believe
in the serpent, since it shows us that he was cursed by God from the
beginning; and in Isaiah tells us that he shall be put to death as an
enemy by the mighty sword, which is Christ.
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[2303] There is a variety of reading here: either abussou pegon
katothen katharon: or, abussou pegon katothen, kai kath' horan
gennematon, k.t.l., which we prefer.
[2304] The translation in the text is a rendering of the Septuagint.
The mss. of Justin read: "Being glorified as the first-born among his
brethren."
[2305] Deut. xxxiii. 13-17.
[2306] [A clumsy exposition of St. John iii. 14.]
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Chapter XCII.--Unless the scriptures be understood through God's great grace,
God will not appear to have taught always the same righteousness.
"Unless, therefore, a man by God's great grace receives the power to
understand what has been said and done by the prophets, the appearance
of being able to repeat the words or the deeds will not profit him, if
he cannot explain the argument of them. And will they not assuredly
appear contemptible to many, since they are related by those who
understood them not? For if one should wish to ask you why, since
Enoch, Noah with his sons, and all others in similar circumstances, who
neither were circumcised nor kept the Sabbath, pleased God, God
demanded by other leaders, and by the giving of the law after the lapse
of so many generations, that those who lived between the times of
Abraham and of Moses be justified by circumcision, and that those who
lived after Moses be justified by circumcision and the other
ordinances--to wit, the Sabbath, and sacrifices, and libations, [2307]
and offerings; [God will be slandered] unless you show, as I have
already said, that God who foreknew was aware that your nation would
deserve expulsion from Jerusalem, and that none would be permitted to
enter into it. (For [2308] you are not distinguished in any other way
than by the fleshly circumcision, as I remarked previously. For Abraham
was declared by God to be righteous, not on account of circumcision,
but on account of faith. For before he was circumcised the following
statement was made regarding him: Abraham believed God, and it was
accounted unto him for righteousness.' [2309] And we, therefore, in the
uncircumcision of our flesh, believing God through Christ, and having
that circumcision which is of advantage to us who have acquired it
--namely, that of the heart--we hope to appear righteous before and
well-pleasing to God: since already we have received His testimony
through the words of the prophets.) [And, further, God will be
slandered unless you show] that you were commanded to observe the
Sabbath, and to present offerings, and that the Lord submitted to have
a place called by the name of God, in order that, as has been said, you
might not become impious and godless by worshipping idols and
forgetting God, as indeed you do always appear to have been. (Now, that
God enjoined the ordinances of Sabbaths and offerings for these
reasons, I have proved in what I previously remarked; but for the sake
of those who came to-day, I wish to repeat nearly the whole.) For if
this is not the case, God will be slandered, [2310] as having no
foreknowledge, and as not teaching all men to know and to do the same
acts of righteousness (for many generations of men appear to have
existed before Moses); and the Scripture is not true which affirms that
God is true and righteous, and all His ways are judgments, and there is
no unrighteousness in him.' But since the Scripture is true, God is
always willing that such even as you be neither foolish nor lovers of
yourselves, in order that you may obtain the salvation of Christ,
[2311] who pleased God, and received testimony from Him, as I have
already said, by alleging proof from the holy words of prophecy.
__________________________________________________________________
[2307] Or, "ashes," spodon for spondon.
[2308] We have adopted the parenthesis inserted by Maranus. Langus
would insert before it, ti hexete apokrinasthai; "What will you have to
answer?"
[2309] Gen. xv. 6.
[2310] We have supplied this phrase twice above.
[2311] Literally, salvation along with Christ, that is, salvation by
the aid of Christ.
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Chapter XCIII.--The same kind of righteousness is bestowed on all. Christ
comprehends it in two precepts.
"For [God] sets before every race of mankind that which is always and
universally just, as well as all righteousness; and every race knows
that adultery, and fornication, and homicide, [2312] and such like, are
sinful; and though they all commit such practices, yet they do not
escape from the knowledge that they act unrighteously whenever they so
do, with the exception of those who are possessed with an unclean
spirit, and who have been debased by education, by wicked customs, and
by sinful institutions, and who have lost, or rather quenched and put
under, their natural ideas. For we may see that such persons are
unwilling to submit to the same things which they inflict upon others,
and reproach each other with hostile consciences for the acts which
they perpetrate. And hence I think that our Lord and Saviour Jesus
Christ spoke well when He summed up all righteousness and piety in two
commandments. They are these: Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all
thy heart, and with all thy strength, and thy neighbour as thyself.'
[2313] For the man who loves God with all the heart, and with all the
strength, being filled with a God-fearing mind, will reverence no other
god; and since God wishes it, he would reverence that angel who is
beloved by the same Lord and God. And the man who loves his neighbour
as himself will wish for him the same good things that he wishes for
himself, and no man will wish evil things for himself. Accordingly, he
who loves his neighbour would pray and labour that his neighbour may be
possessed of the same benefits as himself. Now nothing else is
neighbour to man than that similarly-affectioned and reasonable
being--man. Therefore, since all righteousness is divided into two
branches, namely, in so far as it regards God and men, whoever, says
the Scripture, loves the Lord God with all the heart, and all the
strength, and his neighbour as himself, would be truly a righteous man.
But you were never shown to be possessed of friendship or love either
towards God, or towards the prophets, or towards yourselves, but, as is
evident, you are ever found to be idolaters and murderers of righteous
men, so that you laid hands even on Christ Himself; and to this very
day you abide in your wickedness, execrating those who prove that this
man who was crucified by you is the Christ. Nay, more than this, you
suppose that He was crucified as hostile to and cursed by God, which
supposition is the product of your most irrational mind. For though you
have the means of understanding that this man is Christ from the signs
given by Moses, yet you will not; but, in addition, fancying that we
can have no arguments, you put whatever question comes into your minds,
while you yourselves are at a loss for arguments whenever you meet with
some firmly established Christian.
__________________________________________________________________
[2312] andromania is read in mss. for androphonia.
[2313] Matt. xxii. 37.
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Chapter XCIV.--In what sense he who hangs on a tree is cursed.
"For tell me, was it not God who commanded by Moses that no image or
likeness of anything which was in heaven above or which was on the
earth should be made, and yet who caused the brazen serpent to be made
by Moses in the wilderness, and set it up for a sign by which those
bitten by serpents were saved? Yet is He free from unrighteousness. For
by this, as I previously remarked, He proclaimed the mystery, by which
He declared that He would break the power of the serpent which
occasioned the transgression of Adam, and [would bring] to them that
believe on Him [who was foreshadowed] by this sign, i.e., Him who was
to be crucified, salvation from the fangs of the serpent, which are
wicked deeds, idolatries, and other unrighteous acts. Unless the matter
be so understood, give me a reason why Moses set up the brazen serpent
for a sign, and bade those that were bitten gaze at it, and the wounded
were healed; and this, too, when he had himself commanded that no
likeness of anything whatsoever should be made."
On this, another of those who came on the second day said, "You have
spoken truly: we cannot give a reason. For I have frequently
interrogated the teachers about this matter, and none of them gave me a
reason: therefore continue what you are speaking; for we are paying
attention while you unfold the mystery, on account of which the
doctrines of the prophets are falsely slandered."
Then I replied, "Just as God commanded the sign to be made by the
brazen serpent, and yet He is blameless; even so, though a curse lies
in the law against persons who are crucified, yet no curse lies on the
Christ of God, by whom all that have committed things worthy of a curse
are saved. [2314]
__________________________________________________________________
[2314] [Gal. iii. 13.]
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Chapter XCV.--Christ took upon Himself the curse due to us.
"For the whole human race will be found to be under a curse. For it is
written in the law of Moses, Cursed is every one that continueth not in
all things that are written in the book of the law to do them.' [2315]
And no one has accurately done all, nor will you venture to deny this;
but some more and some less than others have observed the ordinances
enjoined. But if those who are under this law appear to be under a
curse for not having observed all the requirements, how much more shall
all the nations appear to be under a curse who practise idolatry, who
seduce youths, and commit other crimes? If, then, the Father of all
wished His Christ for the whole human family to take upon Him the
curses of all, knowing that, after He had been crucified and was dead,
He would raise Him up, why do you argue about Him, who submitted to
suffer these things according to the Father's will, as if He were
accursed, and do not rather bewail yourselves? For although His Father
caused Him to suffer these things in behalf of the human family, yet
you did not commit the deed as in obedience to the will of God. For you
did not practise piety when you slew the prophets. And let none of you
say: If His Father wished Him to suffer this, in order that by His
stripes the human race might be healed, we have done no wrong. If,
indeed, you repent of your sins, and recognise Him to be Christ, and
observe His commandments, then you may assert this; for, as I have said
before, remission of sins shall be yours. But if you curse Him and them
that believe on Him, and, when you have the power, put them to death,
how is it possible that requisition shall not be made of you, as of
unrighteous and sinful men, altogether hard-hearted and without
understanding, because you laid your hands on Him?
__________________________________________________________________
[2315] Deut. xxvii. 26.
__________________________________________________________________
Chapter XCVI.--That curse was a prediction of the things which the Jews would
do.
"For the statement in the law, Cursed is every one that hangeth on a
tree,' [2316] confirms our hope which depends on the crucified Christ,
not because He who has been crucified is cursed by God, but because God
foretold that which would be done by you all, and by those like to you,
who do not know [2317] that this is He who existed before all, who is
the eternal Priest of God, and King, and Christ. And you clearly see
that this has come to pass. For you curse in your synagogues all those
who are called [2318] from Him Christians; and other nations
effectively carry out the curse, putting to death those who simply
confess themselves to be Christians; to all of whom we say, You are our
brethren; rather recognise the truth of God. And while neither they nor
you are persuaded by us, but strive earnestly to cause us to deny the
name of Christ, we choose rather and submit to death, in the full
assurance that all the good which God has promised through Christ He
will reward us with. And in addition to all this we pray for you, that
Christ may have mercy upon you. For He taught us to pray for our
enemies also, saying, Love your enemies; be kind and merciful, as your
heavenly Father is.' [2319] For we see that the Almighty God is kind
and merciful, causing His sun to rise on the unthankful and on the
righteous, and sending rain on the holy and on the wicked; all of whom
He has taught us He will judge.
__________________________________________________________________
[2316] Deut. xxi. 23.
[2317] We read epistamenon for epistamenon. Otherwise to be translated:
"God foretold that which you did not know," etc.
[2318] legomenon for genomenon.
[2319] Luke vi. 35.
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Chapter XCVII.--Other predictions of the cross of Christ.
"For it was not without design that the prophet Moses, when Hur and
Aaron upheld his hands, remained in this form until evening. For indeed
the Lord remained upon the tree almost until evening, and they buried
Him at eventide; then on the third day He rose again. This was declared
by David thus: With my voice I cried to the Lord, and He heard me out
of His holy hill. I laid me down, and slept; I awaked, for the Lord
sustained me.' [2320] And Isaiah likewise mentions concerning Him the
manner in which He would die, thus: I have spread out My hands unto a
people disobedient, and gainsaying, that walk in a way which is not
good.' [2321] And that He would rise again, Isaiah himself said: His
burial has been taken away from the midst, and I will give the rich for
His death.' [2322] And again, in other words, David in the twenty-first
[2323] Psalm thus refers to the suffering and to the cross in a parable
of mystery: They pierced my hands and my feet; they counted all my
bones. They considered and gazed on me; they parted my garments among
themselves, and cast lots upon my vesture.' For when they crucified
Him, driving in the nails, they pierced His hands and feet; and those
who crucified Him parted His garments among themselves, each casting
lots for what he chose to have, and receiving according to the decision
of the lot. And this very Psalm you maintain does not refer to Christ;
for you are in all respects blind, and do not understand that no one in
your nation who has been called King or Christ has ever had his hands
or feet pierced while alive, or has died in this mysterious fashion--to
wit, by the cross--save this Jesus alone.
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[2320] Ps. iii. 4, 5.
[2321] Isa. lxv. 2; comp. also Rom. x. 21.
[2322] Isa. liii. 9.
[2323] That is, Ps. xxii. 16-18.
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Chapter XCVIII.--Predictions of Christ in Ps. xxii.
"I shall repeat the whole Psalm, in order that you may hear His
reverence to the Father, and how He refers all things to Him, and prays
to be delivered by Him from this death; at the same time declaring in
the Psalm who they are that rise up against Him, and showing that He
has truly become man capable of suffering. It is as follows: O God, my
God, attend to me: why hast Thou forsaken me? The words of my
transgressions are far from my salvation. O my God, I will cry to Thee
in the day-time, and Thou wilt not hear; and in the night-season, and
it is not for want of understanding in me. But Thou, the Praise of
Israel, inhabitest the holy place. Our fathers trusted in Thee; they
trusted, and Thou didst deliver them. They cried unto Thee, and were
delivered: they trusted in Thee, and were not confounded. But I am a
worm, and no man; a reproach of men, and despised of the people. All
they that see me laughed me to scorn; they spake with the lips, they
shook the head: He trusted on the Lord: let Him deliver him, let Him
save him, since he desires Him. For Thou art He that took me out of the
womb; my hope from the breasts of my mother: I was cast upon Thee from
the womb. Thou art my God from my mother's belly: be not far from me,
for trouble is near; for there is none to help. Many calves have
compassed me; fat bulls have beset me round. They opened their mouth
upon me, as a ravening and roaring lion. All my bones are poured out
and dispersed like water. My heart has become like wax melting in the
midst of my belly. My strength is dried up like a potsherd; and my
tongue has cleaved to my throat; and Thou hast brought me into the dust
of death. For many dogs have surrounded me; the assembly of the wicked
have beset me round. They pierced my hands and my feet, they did tell
all my bones. They did look and stare upon me; they parted my garments
among them, and cast lots upon my vesture. But do not Thou remove Thine
assistance from me, O Lord: give heed to help me; deliver my soul from
the sword, and my [2324] only-begotten from the hand of the dog. Save
me from the lion's mouth, and my humility from the horns of the
unicorns. I will declare Thy name to my brethren; in the midst of the
Church will I praise Thee. Ye that fear the Lord, praise Him: all ye
the seed of Jacob, glorify Him. Let all the seed of Israel fear Him.' "
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[2324] Probably should be "Thy."
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Chapter XCIX.--In the commencement of the Psalm are Christ's dying words.
And when I had said these words, I continued: "Now I will demonstrate
to you that the whole Psalm refers thus to Christ, by the words which I
shall again explain. What is said at first--O God, my God, attend to
me: why hast Thou forsaken me?'--announced from the beginning that
which was to be said in the time of Christ. For when crucified, He
spake: O God, my God, why hast Thou forsaken me?' And what follows: The
words of my transgressions are far from my salvation. O my God, I will
cry to Thee in the day-time, and Thou wilt not hear; and in the
night-season, and it is not for want of understanding in me.' These, as
well as the things which He was to do, were spoken. For on the day on
which He was to be crucified, [2325] having taken three of His
disciples to the hill called Olivet, situated opposite to the temple in
Jerusalem, He prayed in these words: Father, if it be possible, let
this cup pass from me.' [2326] And again He prayed: Not as I will, but
as Thou wilt;' [2327] showing by this that He had become truly a
suffering man. But lest any one should say, He did not know then that
He had to suffer, He adds immediately in the Psalm: And it is not for
want of understanding in me.' Even as there was no ignorance on God's
part when He asked Adam where he was, or asked Cain where Abel was; but
[it was done] to convince each what kind of man he was, and in order
that through the record [of Scripture] we might have a knowledge of
all: so likewise Christ declared that ignorance was not on His side,
but on theirs, who thought that He was not the Christ, but fancied they
would put Him to death, and that He, like some common mortal, would
remain in Hades.
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[2325] [Jewish computation of the evening as part of the succeeding
day.]
[2326] Matt. xxvi. 39.
[2327] Ibid.
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Chapter C.--In what sense Christ is [called] Jacob, and Israel, and Son of
Man.
"Then what follows --But Thou, the praise of Israel, inhabitest the
holy place'--declared that He is to do something worthy of praise and
wonderment, being about to rise again from the dead on the third day
after the crucifixion; and this He has obtained from the Father. For I
have showed already that Christ is called both Jacob and Israel; and I
have proved that it is not in the blessing of Joseph and Judah alone
that what relates to Him was proclaimed mysteriously, but also in the
Gospel it is written that He said: All things are delivered unto me by
My Father;' and, No man knoweth the Father but the Son; nor the Son but
the Father, and they to whom the Son will reveal Him.' [2328]
Accordingly He revealed to us all that we have perceived by His grace
out of the Scriptures, so that we know Him to be the first-begotten of
God, and to be before all creatures; likewise to be the Son of the
patriarchs, since He assumed flesh by the Virgin of their family, and
submitted to become a man without comeliness, dishonoured, and subject
to suffering. Hence, also, among His words He said, when He was
discoursing about His future sufferings: The Son of man must suffer
many things, and be rejected by the Pharisees and Scribes, and be
crucified, and on the third day rise again.' [2329] He said then that
He was the Son of man, either because of His birth by the Virgin, who
was, as I said, of the family of David, [2330] and Jacob, and Isaac,
and Abraham; or because Adam [2331] was the father both of Himself and
of those who have been first enumerated from whom Mary derives her
descent. For we know that the fathers of women are the fathers likewise
of those children whom their daughters bear. For [Christ] called one of
His disciples-- previously known by the name of Simon--Peter; since he
recognised Him to be Christ the Son of God, by the revelation of His
Father: and since we find it recorded in the memoirs of His apostles
that He is the Son of God, and since we call Him the Son, we have
understood that He proceeded before all creatures from the Father by
His power and will (for He is addressed in the writings of the prophets
in one way or another as Wisdom, and the Day, [2332] and the East, and
a Sword, and a Stone, and a Rod, and Jacob, and Israel); and that He
became man by the Virgin, in order that the disobedience which
proceeded from the serpent might receive its destruction in the same
manner in which it derived its origin. For Eve, who was a virgin and
undefiled, having conceived the word of the serpent, brought forth
disobedience and death. But the Virgin Mary received faith and joy,
when the angel Gabriel announced the good tidings to her that the
Spirit of the Lord would come upon her, and the power of the Highest
would overshadow her: wherefore also the Holy Thing begotten of her is
the Son of God; [2333] and she replied, Be it unto me according to thy
word.' " [2334] And by her has He been born, to whom we have proved so
many Scriptures refer, and by whom God destroys both the serpent and
those angels and men who are like him; but works deliverance from death
to those who repent of their wickedness and believe upon Him.
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[2328] Matt. xi. 27.
[2329] Matt. xvi. 21.
[2330] [Note this testimony to Mary's descent from David.]
[2331] The text is, auton ton 'Abraam patera. Thirlby proposed auton
tou 'Adam: Maranus changed this into autou ton 'Adam patera.
[2332] It is not easy, says Maranus, to say in what Scripture Christ is
so called. [Clearly he refers to the Dayspring (St. Luke i. 78) as the
LXX. render many texts of the O.T. See Zech. iii. 8.] Perhaps Justin
had in his mind the passage, "This the day which the Lord hath made"
(Ps. cxviii. 24). Clem. Alex. teaches that Christ is here referred to.
[2333] Luke i. 35. See Meyer in loc.
[2334] Luke i. 38.
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Chapter CI.--Christ refers all things to the Father
"Then what follows of the Psalm is this, in which He says: Our fathers
trusted in Thee; they trusted, and Thou didst deliver them. They cried
unto Thee, and were not confounded. But I am a worm, and no man; a
reproach of men, and despised of the people;' which show that He admits
them to be His fathers, who trusted in God and were saved by Him, who
also were the fathers of the Virgin, by whom He was born and became
man; and He foretells that He shall be saved by the same God, but
boasts not in accomplishing anything through His own will or might. For
when on earth He acted in the very same manner, and answered to one who
addressed Him as Good Master:' Why callest thou me good? One is good,
my Father who is in heaven.' [2335] But when He says, I am a worm, and
no man; a reproach of men, and despised of the people,' He prophesied
the things which do exist, and which happen to Him. For we who believe
on Him are everywhere a reproach, despised of the people;' for,
rejected and dishonoured by your nation, He suffered those indignities
which you planned against Him. And the following: All they that see me
laughed me to scorn; they spake with the lips, they shook the head: He
trusted in the Lord; let Him deliver him, since he desires Him;' this
likewise He foretold should happen to Him. For they that saw Him
crucified shook their heads each one of them, and distorted their lips,
and twisting their noses to each other, [2336] they spake in mockery
the words which are recorded in the memoirs of His apostles: He said he
was the Son of God: let him come down; let God save him.'
__________________________________________________________________
[2335] Luke xviii. 18 f.
[2336] The text is corrupt, and the meaning doubtful. Otto translates:
naribus inter se certantes.
__________________________________________________________________
Chapter CII.--The prediction of the events which happened to Christ when He
was born. Why God permitted it.
"And what follows --My hope from the breasts of my mother. On Thee have
I been cast from the womb; from my mother's belly Thou art my God: for
there is no helper. Many calves have compassed me; fat bulls have beset
me round. They opened their mouth upon me, as a ravening and a roaring
lion. All my bones are poured out and dispersed like water. My heart
has become like wax melting in the midst of my belly. My strength is
become dry like a potsherd; and my tongue has cleaved to my throat'
--foretold what would come to pass; for the statement, My hope from the
breasts of my mother,' [is thus explained]. As soon as He was born in
Bethlehem, as I previously remarked, king Herod, having learned from
the Arabian Magi about Him, made a plot to put Him to death, and by
God's command Joseph took Him with Mary and departed into Egypt. For
the Father had decreed that He whom He had begotten should be put to
death, but not before He had grown to manhood, and proclaimed the word
which proceeded from Him. But if any of you say to us, Could not God
rather have put Herod to death? I return answer by anticipation: Could
not God have cut off in the beginning the serpent, so that he exist
not, rather than have said, And I will put enmity between him and the
woman, and between his seed and her seed?' [2337] Could He not have at
once created a multitude of men? But yet, since He knew that it would
be good, He created both angels and men free to do that which is
righteous, and He appointed periods of time during which He knew it
would be good for them to have the exercise of free-will; and because
He likewise knew it would be good, He made general and particular
judgments; each one's freedom of will, however, being guarded. Hence
Scripture says the following, at the destruction of the tower, and
division and alteration of tongues: And the Lord said, Behold, the
people is one, and they have all one language; and this they have begun
to do: and now nothing will be restrained from them of all which they
have attempted to do.' [2338] And the statement, My strength is become
dry like a potsherd, and my tongue has cleaved to my throat,' was also
a prophecy of what would be done by Him according to the Father's will.
For the power of His strong word, by which He always confuted the
Pharisees and Scribes, and, in short, all your nation's teachers that
questioned Him, had a cessation like a plentiful and strong spring, the
waters of which have been turned off, when He kept silence, and chose
to return no answer to any one in the presence of Pilate; as has been
declared in the memoirs of His apostles, in order that what is recorded
by Isaiah might have efficacious fruit, where it is written, The Lord
gives me a tongue, that I may know when I ought to speak.' [2339]
Again, when He said, Thou art my God; be not far from me,' He taught
that all men ought to hope in God who created all things, and seek
salvation and help from Him alone; and not suppose, as the rest of men
do, that salvation can be obtained by birth, or wealth, or strength, or
wisdom. And such have ever been your practices: at one time you made a
calf, and always you have shown yourselves ungrateful, murderers of the
righteous, and proud of your descent. For if the Son of God evidently
states that He can be saved, [neither] [2340] because He is a son, nor
because He is strong or wise, but that without God He cannot be saved,
even though He be sinless, as Isaiah declares in words to the effect
that even in regard to His very language He committed no sin (for He
committed no iniquity or guile with His mouth), how do you or others
who expect to be saved without this hope, suppose that you are not
deceiving yourselves?
__________________________________________________________________
[2337] Gen. iii. 15.
[2338] Gen. xi. 6.
[2339] Isa. l. 4.
[2340] Not found in mss.
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Chapter CIII.--The Pharisees are the bulls: the roaring lion is Herod or the
devil.
"Then what is next said in the Psalm--For trouble is near, for there is
none to help me. Many calves have compassed me; fat bulls have beset me
round. They opened their mouth upon me as a ravening and roaring lion.
All my bones are poured out and dispersed like water,'--was likewise a
prediction of the events which happened to Him. For on that night when
some of your nation, who had been sent by the Pharisees and Scribes,
and teachers, [2341] came upon Him from the Mount [2342] of Olives,
those whom Scripture called butting and prematurely destructive calves
surrounded Him. And the expression, Fat bulls have beset me round,' He
spoke beforehand of those who acted similarly to the calves, when He
was led before your teachers. And the Scripture described them as
bulls, since we know that bulls are authors of calves' existence. As
therefore the bulls are the begetters of the calves, so your teachers
were the cause why their children went out to the Mount of Olives to
take Him and bring Him to them. And the expression, For there is none
to help,' is also indicative of what took place. For there was not even
a single man to assist Him as an innocent person. And the expression,
They opened their mouth upon me like a roaring lion,' designates him
who was then king of the Jews, and was called Herod, a successor of the
Herod who, when Christ was born, slew all the infants in Bethlehem born
about the same time, because he imagined that amongst them He would
assuredly be of whom the Magi from Arabia had spoken; for he was
ignorant of the will of Him that is stronger than all, how He had
commanded Joseph and Mary to take the Child and depart into Egypt, and
there to remain until a revelation should again be made to them to
return into their own country. And there they did remain until Herod,
who slew the infants in Bethlehem, was dead, and Archelaus had
succeeded him. And he died before Christ came to the dispensation on
the cross which was given Him by His Father. And when Herod succeeded
Archelaus, having received the authority which had been allotted to
him, Pilate sent to him by way of compliment Jesus bound; and God
foreknowing that this would happen, had thus spoken: And they brought
Him to the Assyrian, a present to the king.' [2343] Or He meant the
devil by the lion roaring against Him: whom Moses calls the serpent,
but in Job and Zechariah he is called the devil, and by Jesus is
addressed as Satan, showing that a compounded name was acquired by him
from the deeds which he performed. For Sata' in the Jewish and Syrian
tongue means apostate; and Nas' is the word from which he is called by
interpretation the serpent, i.e., according to the interpretation of
the Hebrew term, from both of which there arises the single word
Satanas. For this devil, when [Jesus] went up from the river Jordan, at
the time when the voice spake to Him, Thou art my Son: this day have I
begotten Thee,' [2344] is recorded in the memoirs of the apostles to
have come to Him and tempted Him, even so far as to say to Him, Worship
me;' and Christ answered him, Get thee behind me, Satan: thou shalt
worship the Lord thy God, and Him only shalt thou serve.' [2345] For as
he had deceived Adam, so he hoped [2346] that he might contrive some
mischief against Christ also. Moreover, the statement, All my bones are
poured out [2347] and dispersed like water; my heart has become like
wax, melting in the midst of my belly,' was a prediction of that which
happened to Him on that night when men came out against Him to the
Mount of Olives to seize Him. For in the memoirs which I say were drawn
up by His apostles and those who followed them, [it is recorded] that
His sweat fell down like drops of blood while He was praying, and
saying, If it be possible, let this cup pass:' [2348] His heart and
also His bones trembling; His heart being like wax melting in His
belly: [2349] in order that we may perceive that the Father wished His
Son really [2350] to undergo such sufferings for our sakes, and may not
say that He, being the Son of God, did not feel what was happening to
Him and inflicted on Him. Further, the expression, My strength is dried
up like a potsherd, and my tongue has cleaved to my throat,' was a
prediction, as I previously remarked, of that silence, when He who
convicted all your teachers of being unwise returned no answer at all.
__________________________________________________________________
[2341] kai ton didaskalon, adopted instead of kata ten didaskalian,
"according to their instructions."
[2342] apo tou orous. Justin seems to have supposed that the Jews came
on Christ from some point of the hill while He was in the valley below.
'Epi tou orous and epi to oros have been suggested.
[2343] Hos. x. 6.
[2344] Ps. ii. 7; Matt. iii. 17.
[2345] Matt. iv. 9, 10.
[2346] Literally, "said."
[2347] Maranus says it is hardly to be doubted that Justin read, "I am
poured out like water," etc.
[2348] Luke xxii. 44, 42.
[2349] [Breast, rather. The (koile) cavity of the nobler viscera.]
[2350] Justin refers to the opinion of the Docetes, that Christ
suffered in appearance merely, and not in reality.
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Chapter CIV.--Circumstances of Christ's death are predicted in this Psalm.
"And the statement, Thou hast brought me into the dust of death; for
many dogs have surrounded me: the assembly of the wicked have beset me
round. They pierced my hands and my feet. They did tell all my bones.
They did look and stare upon me. They parted my garments among them,
and cast lots upon my vesture,'--was a prediction, as I said before, of
the death to which the synagogue of the wicked would condemn Him, whom
He calls both dogs and hunters, declaring that those who hunted Him
were both gathered together and assiduously striving to condemn Him.
And this is recorded to have happened in the memoirs of His apostles.
And I have shown that, after His crucifixion, they who crucified Him
parted His garments among them.
__________________________________________________________________
Chapter CV.--The Psalm also predicts the crucifixion and the subject of the
last prayers of Christ on Earth.
"And what follows of the Psalm,--But Thou, Lord, do not remove Thine
assistance from me; give heed to help me. Deliver my soul from the
sword, and my [2351] only-begotten from the hand of the dog; save me
from the lion's mouth, and my humility from the horns of the
unicorns,'--was also information and prediction of the events which
should befall Him. For I have already proved that He was the
only-begotten of the Father of all things, being begotten in a peculiar
manner Word and Power by Him, and having afterwards become man through
the Virgin, as we have learned from the memoirs. Moreover, it is
similarly foretold that He would die by crucifixion. For the passage,
Deliver my soul from the sword, and my [2352] only-begotten from the
hand of the dog; save me from the lion's mouth, and my humility from
the horns of the unicorns,' is indicative of the suffering by which He
should die, i.e., by crucifixion. For the horns of the unicorns,' I
have already explained to you, are the figure of the cross only. And
the prayer that His soul should be saved from the sword, and lion's
mouth, and hand of the dog, was a prayer that no one should take
possession of His soul: so that, when we arrive at the end of life, we
may ask the same petition from God, who is able to turn away every
shameless evil angel from taking our souls. And that the souls survive,
I have shown [2353] to you from the fact that the soul of Samuel was
called up by the witch, as Saul demanded. And it appears also, that all
the souls of similar righteous men and prophets fell under the dominion
of such powers, as is indeed to be inferred from the very facts in the
case of that witch. Hence also God by His Son teaches [2354] us for
whose sake these things seem to have been done, always to strive
earnestly, and at death to pray that our souls may not fall into the
hands of any such power. For when Christ was giving up His spirit on
the cross, He said, Father, into Thy hands I commend my spirit,' [2355]
as I have learned also from the memoirs. For He exhorted His disciples
to surpass the pharisaic way of living, with the warning, that if they
did not, they might be sure they could not be saved; and these words
are recorded in the memoirs: Unless your righteousness exceed that of
the Scribes and Pharisees, ye shall not enter into the kingdom of
heaven.' [2356]
__________________________________________________________________
[2351] See note on chap. xcviii.
[2352] Ibid.
[2353] This demonstration is not given. [It could not be. The woman was
herself frightened by the direct interposition of God. 1 Sam. xxviii.
12, 13.]
[2354] Sylburg proposed dikaious ginesthai for di ous gin, "to strive
earnestly to become righteous, and at death to pray."
[2355] Luke xxiii. 46.
[2356] Matt. v. 20.
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Chapter CVI.--Christ's resurrection is foretold in the conclusion of the
Psalm.
"The remainder of the Psalm makes it manifest that He knew His Father
would grant to Him all things which He asked, and would raise Him from
the dead; and that He urged all who fear God to praise Him because He
had compassion on all races of believing men, through the mystery of
Him who was crucified; and that He stood in the midst of His brethren
the apostles (who repented of their flight from Him when He was
crucified, after He rose from the dead, and after they were persuaded
by Himself that, before His passion He had mentioned to them that He
must suffer these things, and that they were announced beforehand by
the prophets), and when living with them sang praises to God, as is
made evident in the memoirs of the apostles. The words are the
following: I will declare Thy name to my brethren; in the midst of the
Church will I praise Thee. Ye that fear the Lord, praise Him; all ye,
the seed of Jacob, glorify Him. Let all the seed of Israel fear Him.'
And when it is said that He changed the name of one of the apostles to
Peter; and when it is written in the memoirs of Him that this so
happened, as well as that He changed the names of other two brothers,
the sons of Zebedee, to Boanerges, which means sons of thunder; this
was an announcement of the fact that it was He by whom Jacob was called
Israel, and Oshea called Jesus (Joshua), under whose name the people
who survived of those that came from Egypt were conducted into the land
promised to the patriarchs. And that He should arise like a star from
the seed of Abraham, Moses showed beforehand when he thus said, A star
shall arise from Jacob, and a leader from Israel;' [2357] and another
Scripture says, Behold a man; the East is His name.' [2358]
Accordingly, when a star rose in heaven at the time of His birth, as is
recorded in the memoirs of His apostles, the Magi from Arabia,
recognising the sign by this, came and worshipped Him.
__________________________________________________________________
[2357] Num. xxiv. 17.
[2358] [Or, "Dayspring."] Zech. vi. 12 (according to LXX.).
__________________________________________________________________
Chapter CVII.--The same is taught from the history of Jonah.
"And that He would rise again on the third day after the crucifixion,
it is written [2359] in the memoirs that some of your nation,
questioning Him, said, Show us a sign;' and He replied to them, An evil
and adulterous generation seeketh after a sign; and no sign shall be
given them, save the sign of Jonah.' And since He spoke this obscurely,
it was to be understood by the audience that after His crucifixion He
should rise again on the third day. And He showed that your generation
was more wicked and more adulterous than the city of Nineveh; for the
latter, when Jonah preached to them, after he had been cast up on the
third day from the belly of the great fish, that after three (in other
versions, forty) [2360] days they should all perish, proclaimed a fast
of all creatures, men and beasts, with sackcloth, and with earnest
lamentation, with true repentance from the heart, and turning away from
unrighteousness, in the belief that God is merciful and kind to all who
turn from wickedness; so that the king of that city himself, with his
nobles also, put on sackcloth and remained fasting and praying, and
obtained their request that the city should not be overthrown. But when
Jonah was grieved that on the (fortieth) third day, as he proclaimed,
the city was not overthrown, by the dispensation of a gourd [2361]
springing up from the earth for him, under which he sat and was shaded
from the heat (now the gourd had sprung up suddenly, and Jonah had
neither planted nor watered it, but it had come up all at once to
afford him shade), and by the other dispensation of its withering away,
for which Jonah grieved, [God] convicted him of being unjustly
displeased because the city of Nineveh had not been overthrown, and
said, Thou hast had pity on the gourd, for the which thou hast not
laboured, neither madest it grow; which came up in a night, and
perished in a night. And shall I not spare Nineveh, the great city,
wherein dwell more than six score thousand persons that cannot discern
between their right hand and their left hand; and also much cattle?'
[2362]
__________________________________________________________________
[2359] Matt. xii. 38 f.
[2360] In the LXX. only three days are recorded, though in the Hebrew
and other versions forty. The parenthetic clause is probably the work
of a transcriber.
[2361] Read kikuona for sikuona.
[2362] Jon. iv. 10 f.
__________________________________________________________________
Chapter CVIII.--The resurrection of Christ did not convert the Jews. But
through the whole world they have sent men to accuse Christ.
"And though all the men of your nation knew the incidents in the life
of Jonah, and though Christ said amongst you that He would give the
sign of Jonah, exhorting you to repent of your wicked deeds at least
after He rose again from the dead, and to mourn before God as did the
Ninevites, in order that your nation and city might not be taken and
destroyed, as they have been destroyed; yet you not only have not
repented, after you learned that He rose from the dead, but, as I said
before [2363] you have sent chosen and ordained men throughout all the
world to proclaim that a godless and lawless heresy had sprung from one
Jesus, a Galilæan deceiver, whom we crucified, but his disciples stole
him by night from the tomb, where he was laid when unfastened from the
cross, and now deceive men by asserting that he has risen from the dead
and ascended to heaven. Moreover, you accuse Him of having taught those
godless, lawless, and unholy doctrines which you mention to the
condemnation of those who confess Him to be Christ, and a Teacher from
and Son of God. Besides this, even when your city is captured, and your
land ravaged, you do not repent, but dare to utter imprecations on Him
and all who believe in Him. Yet we do not hate you or those who, by
your means, have conceived such prejudices against us; but we pray that
even now all of you may repent and obtain mercy from God, the
compassionate and long-suffering Father of all.
__________________________________________________________________
[2363] Chap. xvii.
__________________________________________________________________
Chapter CIX.--The conversion of the Gentiles has been predicted by Micah.
"But that the Gentiles would repent of the evil in which they led
erring lives, when they heard the doctrine preached by His apostles
from Jerusalem, and which they learned [2364] through them, suffer me
to show you by quoting a short statement from the prophecy of Micah,
one of the twelve [minor prophets]. This is as follows: And in the last
days the mountain of the Lord shall be manifest, established on the top
of the mountains; it shall be exalted above the hills, and people shall
flow unto it. [2365] And many nations shall go, and say, Come, let us
go up to the mountain of the Lord, and to the house of the God of
Jacob; and they shall enlighten us in His way, and we shall walk in His
paths: for out of Zion shall go forth the law, and the word of the Lord
from Jerusalem. And He shall judge among many peoples, and shall rebuke
strong nations afar off; and they shall beat their swords into
ploughshares, and their spears into sickles: nation shall not lift up a
sword against nation, neither shall they learn war any more. And each
man shall sit under his vine and under his fig tree; and there shall be
none to terrify: for the mouth of the Lord of hosts hath spoken it. For
all people will walk in the name of their gods; but we will walk in the
name of the Lord our God for ever. And it shall come to pass in that
day, that I will assemble her that is afflicted, and gather her that is
driven out, and whom I had plagued; and I shall make her that is
afflicted a remnant, and her that is oppressed a strong nation. And the
Lord shall reign over them in Mount Zion from henceforth, and even for
ever.' " [2366]
__________________________________________________________________
[2364] Read mathonta for pathonta.
[2365] Literally, "people shall place a river in it."
[2366] Mic. iv. 1 ff.
__________________________________________________________________
Chapter CX.--A portion of the prophecy already fulfilled in the Christians:
the rest shall be fulfilled at the second advent.
And when I had finished these words, I continued: "Now I am aware that
your teachers, sirs, admit the whole of the words of this passage to
refer to Christ; and I am likewise aware that they maintain He has not
yet come; or if they say that He has come, they assert that it is not
known who He is; but when He shall become manifest and glorious, then
it shall be known who He is. And then, they say, the events mentioned
in this passage shall happen, just as if there was no fruit as yet from
the words of the prophecy. O unreasoning men! understanding not what
has been proved by all these passages, that two advents of Christ have
been announced: the one, in which He is set forth as suffering,
inglorious, dishonoured, and crucified; but the other, in which He
shall come from heaven with glory, when the man of apostasy, [2367] who
speaks strange things against the Most High, shall venture to do
unlawful deeds on the earth against us the Christians, who, having
learned the true worship of God from the law, and the word which went
forth from Jerusalem by means of the apostles of Jesus, have fled for
safety to the God of Jacob and God of Israel; and we who were filled
with war, and mutual slaughter, and every wickedness, have each through
the whole earth changed our warlike weapons,-- our swords into
ploughshares, and our spears into implements of tillage, --and we
cultivate piety, righteousness, philanthropy, faith, and hope, which we
have from the Father Himself through Him who was crucified; and sitting
each under his vine, i.e., each man possessing his own married wife.
For you are aware that the prophetic word says, And his wife shall be
like a fruitful vine.' [2368] Now it is evident that no one can terrify
or subdue us who have believed in Jesus over all the world. For it is
plain that, though beheaded, and crucified, and thrown to wild beasts,
and chains, and fire, and all other kinds of torture, we do not give up
our confession; but the more such things happen, the more do others and
in larger numbers become faithful, and worshippers of God through the
name of Jesus. For just as if one should cut away the fruit-bearing
parts of a vine, it grows up again, and yields other branches
flourishing and fruitful; even so the same thing happens with us. For
the vine planted by God and Christ the Saviour is His people. But the
rest of the prophecy shall be fulfilled at His second coming. For the
expression, He that is afflicted [and driven out],' i.e., from the
world, [implies] that, so far as you and all other men have it in your
power, each Christian has been driven out not only from his own
property, but even from the whole world; for you permit no Christian to
live. But you say that the same fate has befallen your own nation. Now,
if you have been cast out after defeat in battle, you have suffered
such treatment justly indeed, as all the Scriptures bear witness; but
we, though we have done no such [evil acts] after we knew the truth of
God, are testified to by God, that, together with the most righteous,
and only spotless and sinless Christ, we are taken away out of the
earth. For Isaiah cries, Behold how the righteous perishes, and no man
lays it to heart; and righteous men are taken away, and no man
considers it.' [2369]
__________________________________________________________________
[2367] 2 Thess. ii. 3; and see chap. xxxii.
[2368] Ps. cxxviii. 3.
[2369] Isa. lvii. 1.
__________________________________________________________________
Chapter CXI.--The two advents were signified by the two goats. Other figures
of the first advent, in which the Gentiles are freed by the blood of Christ.
"And that it was declared by symbol, even in the time of Moses, that
there would be two advents of this Christ, as I have mentioned
previously, [is manifest] from the symbol of the goats presented for
sacrifice during the fast. And again, by what Moses and Joshua did, the
same thing was symbolically announced and told beforehand. For the one
of them, stretching out his hands, remained till evening on the hill,
his hands being supported; and this reveals a type of no other thing
than of the cross: and the other, whose name was altered to Jesus
(Joshua), led the fight, and Israel conquered. Now this took place in
the case of both those holy men and prophets of God, that you may
perceive how one of them could not bear up both the mysteries: I mean,
the type of the cross and the type of the name. For this is, was, and
shall be the strength of Him alone, whose name every power dreads,
being very much tormented because they shall be destroyed by Him.
Therefore our suffering and crucified Christ was not cursed by the law,
but made it manifest that He alone would save those who do not depart
from His faith. And the blood of the passover, sprinkled on each man's
door-posts and lintel, delivered those who were saved in Egypt, when
the first-born of the Egyptians were destroyed. For the passover was
Christ, who was afterwards sacrificed, as also Isaiah said, He was led
as a sheep to the slaughter.' [2370] And it is written, that on the day
of the passover you seized Him, and that also during the passover you
crucified Him. And as the blood of the passover saved those who were in
Egypt, so also the blood of Christ will deliver from death those who
have believed. Would God, then, have been deceived if this sign had not
been above the doors? I do not say that; but I affirm that He announced
beforehand the future salvation for the human race through the blood of
Christ. For the sign of the scarlet thread, which the spies, sent to
Jericho by Joshua, son of Nave (Nun), gave to Rahab the harlot, telling
her to bind it to the window through which she let them down to escape
from their enemies, also manifested the symbol of the blood of Christ,
by which those who were at one time harlots and unrighteous persons out
of all nations are saved, receiving remission of sins, and continuing
no longer in sin.
__________________________________________________________________
[2370] Isa. liii. 7.
__________________________________________________________________
Chapter CXII.--The Jews expound these signs jejunely and feebly, and take up
their attention only with insignificant matters.
"But you, expounding these things in a low [and earthly] manner, impute
much weakness to God, if you thus listen to them merely, and do not
investigate the force of the words spoken. Since even Moses would in
this way be considered a transgressor: for he enjoined that no likeness
of anything in heaven, or on earth, or in the sea, be made; and then he
himself made a brazen serpent and set it on a standard, and bade those
who were bitten look at it: and they were saved when they looked at it.
Will the serpent, then, which (I have already said) God had in the
beginning cursed and cut off by the great sword, as Isaiah says, [2371]
be understood as having preserved at that time the people? and shall we
receive these things in the foolish acceptation of your teachers, and
[regard] them not as signs? And shall we not rather refer the standard
to the resemblance of the crucified Jesus, since also Moses by his
outstretched hands, together with him who was named Jesus (Joshua),
achieved a victory for your people? For in this way we shall cease to
be at a loss about the things which the lawgiver did, when he, without
forsaking God, persuaded the people to hope in a beast through which
transgression and disobedience had their origin. And this was done and
said by the blessed prophet with much intelligence and mystery; and
there is nothing said or done by any one of the prophets, without
exception, which one can justly reprehend, if he possess the knowledge
which is in them. But if your teachers only expound to you why female
camels are spoken of in this passage, and are not in that; or why so
many measures of fine flour and so many measures of oil [are used] in
the offerings; and do so in a low and sordid manner, while they never
venture either to speak of or to expound the points which are great and
worthy of investigation, or command you to give no audience to us while
we expound them, and to come not into conversation with us; will they
not deserve to hear what our Lord Jesus Christ said to them: Whited
sepulchres, which appear beautiful outward, and within are full of dead
men's bones; which pay tithe of mint, and swallow a camel: ye blind
guides!' [2372] If, then, you will not despise the doctrines of those
who exalt themselves and wish to be called Rabbi, Rabbi, and come with
such earnestness and intelligence to the words of prophecy as to suffer
the same inflictions from your own people which the prophets themselves
did, you cannot receive any advantage whatsoever from the prophetic
writings.
__________________________________________________________________
[2371] Isa. xxvii. 1.
[2372] Matt. xxiii. 27, 23, 24. [Note the examples he gives of the
rabbinical expositions. He consents to their principle, but gives
nobler analogies.]
__________________________________________________________________
Chapter CXIII.--Joshua was a figure of Christ.
"What I mean is this. Jesus (Joshua), as I have now frequently
remarked, who was called Oshea, when he was sent to spy out the land of
Canaan, was named by Moses Jesus (Joshua). Why he did this you neither
ask, nor are at a loss about it, nor make strict inquiries. Therefore
Christ has escaped your notice; and though you read, you understand
not; and even now, though you hear that Jesus is our Christ, you
consider not that the name was bestowed on Him not purposelessly nor by
chance. But you make a theological discussion as to why one a' was
added to Abraham's first name; and as to why one r' was added to
Sarah's name, you use similar high-sounding disputations. [2373] But
why do you not similarly investigate the reason why the name of Oshea
the son of Nave (Nun), which his father gave him, was changed to Jesus
(Joshua)? But since not only was his name altered, but he was also
appointed successor to Moses, being the only one of his contemporaries
who came out from Egypt, he led the surviving people into the Holy
Land; and as he, not Moses, led the people into the Holy Land, and as
he distributed it by lot to those who entered along with him, so also
Jesus the Christ will turn again the dispersion of the people, and will
distribute the good land to each one, though not in the same manner.
For the former gave them a temporary inheritance, seeing he was neither
Christ who is God, nor the Son of God; but the latter, after the holy
resurrection, [2374] shall give us the eternal possession. The former,
after he had been named Jesus (Joshua), and after he had received
strength from His Spirit, caused the sun to stand still. For I have
proved that it was Jesus who appeared to and conversed with Moses, and
Abraham, and all the other patriarchs without exception, ministering to
the will of the Father; who also, I say, came to be born man by the
Virgin Mary, and I lives for ever. For the latter is He after [2375]
whom and by whom the Father will renew both the heaven and the earth;
this is He who shall shine an eternal light in Jerusalem; this is he
who is the king of Salem after the order of Melchizedek, and the
eternal Priest of the Most High. The former is said to have circumcised
the people a second time with knives of stone (which was a sign of this
circumcision with which Jesus Christ Himself has circumcised us from
the idols made of stone and of other materials), and to have collected
together those who were circumcised from the uncircumcision, i.e., from
the error of the world, in every place by the knives of stone, to wit,
the words of our Lord Jesus. For I have shown that Christ was
proclaimed by the prophets in parables a Stone and a Rock. Accordingly
the knives of stone we shall take to mean His words, by means of which
so many who were in error have been circumcised from uncircumcision
with the circumcision of the heart, with which God by Jesus commanded
those from that time to be circumcised who derived their circumcision
from Abraham, saying that Jesus (Joshua) would circumcise a second time
with knives of stone those who entered into that holy land.
__________________________________________________________________
[2373] According to the LXX., Sara was altered to Sarrha, and Abram to
Abraam.
[2374] Or, "resurrection of the saints."
[2375] Justin seems to mean that the renewal of heaven and earth dates
from the incarnation of Christ. [St. Matt. xix. 28.]
__________________________________________________________________
Chapter CXIV.--Some rules for discerning what is said about Christ. The
circumcision of the Jews is very different from that which Christians receive.
"For the Holy Spirit sometimes brought about that something, which was
the type of the future, should be done clearly; sometimes He uttered
words about what was to take place, as if it was then taking place, or
had taken place. And unless those who read perceive this art, they will
not be able to follow the words of the prophets as they ought. For
example's sake, I shall repeat some prophetic passages, that you may
understand what I say. When He speaks by Isaiah, He was led as a sheep
to the slaughter, and like a lamb before the shearer,' [2376] He speaks
as if the suffering had already taken place. And when He says again, I
have stretched out my hands to a disobedient and gainsaying people;'
[2377] and when He says, Lord, who hath believed our report?' [2378]
--the words are spoken as if announcing events which had already come
to pass. For I have shown that Christ is oftentimes called a Stone in
parable, and in figurative speech Jacob and Israel. And again, when He
says, I shall behold the heavens, the works of Thy fingers,' [2379]
unless I understand His method of using words, [2380] I shall not
understand intelligently, but just as your teachers suppose, fancying
that the Father of all, the unbegotten God, has hands and feet, and
fingers, and a soul, like a composite being; and they for this reason
teach that it was the Father Himself who appeared to Abraham and to
Jacob. Blessed therefore are we who have been circumcised the second
time with knives of stone. For your first circumcision was and is
performed by iron instruments, for you remain hard-hearted; but our
circumcision, which is the second, having been instituted after yours,
circumcises us from idolatry and from absolutely every kind of
wickedness by sharp stones, i.e., by the words [preached] by the
apostles of the corner-stone cut out without hands. And our hearts are
thus circumcised from evil, so that we are happy to die for the name of
the good Rock, which causes living water to burst forth for the hearts
of those who by Him have loved the Father of all, and which gives those
who are willing to drink of the water of life. But you do not
comprehend me when I speak these things; for you have not understood
what it has been prophesied that Christ would do, and you do not
believe us who draw your attention to what has been written. For
Jeremiah thus cries: Woe unto you! because you have forsaken the living
fountain, and have digged for yourselves broken cisterns that can hold
no water. Shall there be a wilderness where Mount Zion is, because I
gave Jerusalem a bill of divorce in your sight?' [2381]
__________________________________________________________________
[2376] Isa. liii. 7.
[2377] Isa. lxv. 2.
[2378] Isa. liii. 1.
[2379] Ps. viii. 3.
[2380] Literally, "the operation of His words." Editors have changed
ton logon into ton logon or tou logou: but there is no need of change.
[2381] Jer. ii. 13.
__________________________________________________________________
Chapter CXV.--Prediction about the Christians in Zechariah. The malignant way
which the Jews have in disputations.
"But you ought to believe Zechariah when he shows in parable the
mystery of Christ, and announces it obscurely. The following are his
words: Rejoice, and be glad, O daughter of Zion: for, lo, I come, and I
shall dwell in the midst of thee, saith the Lord. And many nations
shall be added to the Lord in that day. And they shall be my people,
and I will dwell in the midst of thee; and they shall know that the
Lord of hosts hath sent me unto thee. And the Lord shall inherit Judah
his portion in the holy land, and He shall choose Jerusalem again. Let
all flesh fear before the Lord, for He is raised up out of His holy
clouds. And He showed me Jesus (Joshua) the high priest standing before
the angel [of the Lord [2382] ]; and the devil stood at his right hand
to resist him. And the Lord said to the devil, The Lord who hath chosen
Jerusalem rebuke thee. Behold, is not this a brand plucked out of the
fire?' " [2383]
As Trypho was about to reply and contradict me, I said, "Wait and hear
what I say first: for I am not to give the explanation which you
suppose, as if there had been no priest of the name of Joshua (Jesus)
in the land of Babylon, where your nation were prisoners. But even if I
did, I have shown that if there [2384] was a priest named Joshua
(Jesus) in your nation, yet the prophet had not seen him in his
revelation, just as he had not seen either the devil or the angel of
the Lord by eyesight, and in his waking condition, but in a trance, at
the time when the revelation was made to him. [2385] But I now say,
that as [Scripture] said that the Son of Nave (Nun) by the name Jesus
(Joshua) wrought powerful works and exploits which proclaimed
beforehand what would be performed by our Lord; so I proceed now to
show that the revelation made among your people in Babylon in the days
of Jesus (Joshua) the priest, was an announcement of the things to be
accomplished by our Priest, who is God, and Christ the Son of God the
Father of all.
"Indeed, I wondered," continued I, "why a little ago you kept silence
while I was speaking, and why you did not interrupt me when I said that
the son of Nave (Nun) was the only one of contemporaries who came out
of Egypt that entered the Holy Land along with the men described as
younger than that generation. For you swarm and light on sores like
flies. For though one should speak ten thousand words well, if there
happen to be one little word displeasing to you, because not
sufficiently intelligible or accurate, you make no account of the many
good words, but lay hold of the little word, and are very zealous in
setting it up as something impious and guilty; in order that, when you
are judged with the very same judgment by God, you may have a much
heavier account to render for your great audacities, whether evil
actions, or bad interpretations which you obtain by falsifying the
truth. For with what judgment you judge, it is righteous that you be
judged withal.
__________________________________________________________________
[2382] Omitted by Justin in this place.
[2383] Zech. ii. 10-13, Zech. iii. 1, 2.
[2384] The reading suggested by Maranus, ei men en.
[2385] [Noteworthy as to prophetic vision.]
__________________________________________________________________
Chapter CXVI.--It is shown how this prophecy suits the Christians.
"But to give you the account of the revelation of the holy Jesus
Christ, I take up again my discourse, and I assert that even that
revelation was made for us who believe on Christ the High Priest,
namely this crucified One; and though we lived in fornication and all
kinds of filthy conversation, we have by the grace of our Jesus,
according to His Father's will, stripped ourselves of all those filthy
wickednesses with which we were imbued. And though the devil is ever at
hand to resist us, and anxious to seduce all to himself, yet the Angel
of God, i.e., the Power of God sent to us through Jesus Christ, rebukes
him, and he departs from us. And we are just as if drawn out from the
fire, when purified from our former sins, and [rescued] from the
affliction and the fiery trial by which the devil and all his
coadjutors try us; out of which Jesus the Son of God has promised again
to deliver us, [2386] and invest us with prepared garments, if we do
His commandments; and has undertaken to provide an eternal kingdom [for
us]. For just as that Jesus (Joshua), called by the prophet a priest,
evidently had on filthy garments because he is said to have taken a
harlot for a wife, [2387] and is called a brand plucked out of the
fire, because he had received remission of sins when the devil that
resisted him was rebuked; even so we, who through the name of Jesus
have believed as one man in God the Maker of all, have been stripped,
through the name of His first-begotten Son, of the filthy garments,
i.e., of our sins; and being vehemently inflamed by the word of His
calling, we are the true high priestly race of God, as even God Himself
bears witness, saying that in every place among the Gentiles sacrifices
are presented to Him well-pleasing and pure. Now God receives
sacrifices from no one, except through His priests. [2388]
__________________________________________________________________
[2386] Maranus changed apospa into apospan, an emendation adopted in
our translation. Otto retains the reading of the ms. "out of which
Jesus the Son of God again snatches us. He promised that He would
clothe us with," etc.
[2387] Justin either confuses Joshua son of Josedech with Hosea the
prophet, or he refers to the Jewish tradition that "filthy garments"
signified either an illicit marriage, or sins of the people, or the
squalor of captivity.
[2388] [Isa. lxvi. 21; Rom. xv. 15, 16, 17 (Greek); 1 Pet. ii. 9.]
__________________________________________________________________
Chapter CXVII.--Malachi's prophecy concerning the sacrifices of the
Christians. It cannot be taken as referring to the prayers of Jews of the
dispersion.
"Accordingly, God, anticipating all the sacrifices which we offer
through this name, and which Jesus the Christ enjoined us to offer,
i.e., in the Eucharist of the bread and the cup, and which are
presented by Christians in all places throughout the world, bears
witness that they are well-pleasing to Him. But He utterly rejects
those presented by you and by those priests of yours, saying, And I
will not accept your sacrifices at your hands; for from the rising of
the sun to its setting my name is glorified among the Gentiles (He
says); but ye profane it.' [2389] Yet even now, in your love of
contention, you assert that God does not accept the sacrifices of those
who dwelt then in Jerusalem, and were called Israelites; but says that
He is pleased with the prayers of the individuals of that nation then
dispersed, and calls their prayers sacrifices. Now, that prayers and
giving of thanks, when offered by worthy men, are the only perfect and
well-pleasing sacrifices to God, I also admit. For such alone
Christians have undertaken to offer, and in the remembrance effected by
their solid and liquid food, whereby the suffering of the Son of God
[2390] which He endured is brought to mind, whose name the high priests
of your nation and your teachers have caused to be profaned and
blasphemed over all the earth. But these filthy garments, which have
been put by you on all who have become Christians by the name of Jesus,
God shows shall be taken away from us, when He shall raise all men from
the dead, and appoint some to be incorruptible, immortal, and free from
sorrow in the everlasting and imperishable kingdom; but shall send
others away to the everlasting punishment of fire. But as to you and
your teachers deceiving yourselves when you interpret what the
Scripture says as referring to those of your nation then in dispersion,
and maintain that their prayers and sacrifices offered in every place
are pure and well-pleasing, learn that you are speaking falsely, and
trying by all means to cheat yourselves: for, first of all, not even
now does your nation extend from the rising to the setting of the sun,
but there are nations among which none of your race ever dwelt. For
there is not one single race of men, whether barbarians, or Greeks, or
whatever they may be called, nomads, or vagrants, or herdsmen living in
tents, among whom prayers and giving of thanks are not offered through
the name of the crucified Jesus. [2391] And then, [2392] as the
Scriptures show, at the time when Malachi wrote this, your dispersion
over all the earth, which now exists, had not taken place.
__________________________________________________________________
[2389] Mal. i. 10-12.
[2390] Or, "God of God."
[2391] [Note this testimony to the catholicity of the Church in the
second century. And see Kaye (compare with Gibbon), cap. vi. 112.]
[2392] eita de for eidotes.
__________________________________________________________________
Chapter CXVIII.--He exhorts to repentance before Christ comes; in whom
Christians, since they believe, are far more religious than Jews.
"So that you ought rather to desist from the love of strife, and repent
before the great day of judgment come, wherein all those of your tribes
who have pierced this Christ shall mourn, as I have shown has been
declared by the Scriptures. And I have explained that the Lord swore,
after the order of Melchizedek,' [2393] and what this prediction means;
and the prophecy of Isaiah which says, His burial is taken away from
the midst,' [2394] I have already said, referred to the future burying
and rising again of Christ; and I have frequently remarked that this
very Christ is the Judge of all the living and the dead. And Nathan
likewise, speaking to David about Him, thus continued: I will be His
Father, and He shall be my Son; and my mercy shall I not take away from
Him, as I did from them that went before Him; and I will establish Him
in my house, and in His kingdom for ever.' [2395] And Ezekiel says,
There shall be no other prince in the house but He.' [2396] For He is
the chosen Priest and eternal King, the Christ, inasmuch as He is the
Son of God; and do not suppose that Isaiah or the other prophets speak
of sacrifices of blood or libations being presented at the altar on His
second advent, but of true and spiritual praises and giving of thanks.
And we have not in vain believed in Him, and have not been led astray
by those who taught us such doctrines; but this has come to pass
through the wonderful foreknowledge of God, in order that we, through
the calling of the new and eternal covenant, that is, of Christ, might
be found more intelligent and God-fearing than yourselves, who are
considered to be lovers of God and men of understanding, but are not.
Isaiah, filled with admiration of this, said: And kings shall shut
their mouths: for those to whom no announcement has been made in regard
to Him [2397] shall see; and those who heard not shall understand.
Lord, who hath believed our report? and to whom is the arm of the Lord
revealed?' [2398]
"And in repeating this, [2399] Trypho," I continued, "as far as is
allowable, I endeavour to do so for the sake of those who came with you
to-day, yet briefly and concisely."
Then he replied, "You do well; and though you repeat the same things at
considerable length, be assured that I and my companions listen with
pleasure."
__________________________________________________________________
[2393] Ps. cx. 4.
[2394] Isa. liii. 8.
[2395] 2 Sam. vii. 14f.
[2396] Ezek. xliv. 3.
[2397] The mss. read "them." Otto has changed it to "Him."
[2398] Isa. lii. 15, Isa. liii. 1.
[2399] [Let this apology be noted.]
__________________________________________________________________
Chapter CXIX.--Christians are the holy people promised to Abraham. They have
been called like Abraham.
Then I said again, "Would you suppose, sirs, that we could ever have
understood these matters in the Scriptures, if we had not received
grace to discern by the will of Him whose pleasure it was? in order
that the saying of Moses [2400] might come to pass, They provoked me
with strange [gods], they provoked me to anger with their abominations.
They sacrificed to demons whom they knew not; new gods that came newly
up, whom their fathers knew not. Thou hast forsaken God that begat
thee, and forgotten God that brought thee up. And the Lord saw, and was
jealous, and was provoked to anger by reason of the rage of His sons
and daughters: and He said, I will turn My face away from them, and I
will show what shall come on them at the last; for it is a very froward
generation, children in whom is no faith. They have moved Me to
jealousy with that which is not God, they have provoked Me to anger
with their idols; and I will move them to jealousy with that which is
not a nation, I will provoke them to anger with a foolish people. For a
fire is kindled from Mine anger, and it shall burn to Hades. It shall
consume the earth and her increase, and set on fire the foundations of
the mountains; I will heap mischief on them.' [2401] And after that
Righteous One was put to death, we flourished as another people, and
shot forth as new and prosperous corn; as the prophets said, And many
nations shall betake themselves to the Lord in that day for a people:
and they shall dwell in the midst of all the earth.' [2402] But we are
not only a people, but also a holy people, as we have shown already.
[2403] And they shall call them the holy people, redeemed by the Lord.'
[2404] Therefore we are not a people to be despised, nor a barbarous
race, nor such as the Carian and Phrygian nations; but God has even
chosen us, and He has become manifest to those who asked not after Him.
Behold, I am God,' He says, to the nation which called not on My name.'
[2405] For this is that nation which God of old promised to Abraham,
when He declared that He would make him a father of many nations; not
meaning, however, the Arabians, or Egyptians, or Idumæans, since
Ishmael became the father of a mighty nation, and so did Esau; and
there is now a great multitude of Ammonites. Noah, moreover, was the
father of Abraham, and in fact of all men; and others were the
progenitors of others. What larger measure of grace, then, did Christ
bestow on Abraham? This, namely, that He called him with His voice by
the like calling, telling him to quit the land wherein he dwelt. And He
has called all of us by that voice, and we have left already the way of
living in which we used to spend our days, passing our time in evil
after the fashions of the other inhabitants of the earth; and along
with Abraham we shall inherit the holy land, when we shall receive the
inheritance for an endless eternity, being children of Abraham through
the like faith. For as he believed the voice of God, and it was imputed
to him for righteousness, in like manner we, having believed God's
voice spoken by the apostles of Christ, and promulgated to us by the
prophets, have renounced even to death all the things of the world.
Accordingly, He promises to him a nation of similar faith, God-fearing,
righteous, and delighting the Father; but it is not you, in whom is no
faith.'
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[2400] Literally, "in the time of Moses."
[2401] Deut. xxxii. 16-23.
[2402] Zech. ii. 11.
[2403] See chap. cx.
[2404] Isa. lxii. 12.
[2405] Isa. lxv. 1.
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Chapter CXX.--Christians were promised to Isaac, Jacob, and Judah.
"Observe, too, how the same promises are made to Isaac and to Jacob.
For thus He speaks to Isaac: And in thy seed shall all the nations of
the earth be blessed.' [2406] And to Jacob: And in thee and in thy seed
shall all families of the earth be blessed.' [2407] He says that
neither to Esau nor to Reuben, nor to any other; only to those of whom
the Christ should arise, according to the dispensation, through the
Virgin Mary. But if you would consider the blessing of Judah, you would
perceive what I say. For the seed is divided from Jacob, and comes down
through Judah, and Phares, and Jesse, and David. And this was a symbol
of the fact that some of your nation would be found children of
Abraham, and found, too, in the lot of Christ; but that others, who are
indeed children of Abraham, would be like the sand on the sea-shore,
barren and fruitless, much in quantity, and without number indeed, but
bearing no fruit whatever, and only drinking the water of the sea. And
a vast multitude in your nation are convicted of being of this kind,
imbibing doctrines of bitterness and godlessness, but spurning the word
of God. He speaks therefore in the passage relating to Judah: A prince
shall not fail from Judah, nor a ruler from his thighs, till that which
is laid up for him come; and He shall be the expectation of the
nations.' [2408] And it is plain that this was spoken not of Judah, but
of Christ. For all we out of all nations do expect not Judah, but
Jesus, who led your fathers out of Egypt. For the prophecy referred
even to the advent of Christ: Till He come for whom this is laid up,
and He shall be the expectation of nations.' Jesus came, therefore, as
we have shown at length, and is expected again to appear above the
clouds; whose name you profane, and labour hard to get it profaned over
all the earth. It were possible for me, sirs," I continued, "to contend
against you about the reading which you so interpret, saying it is
written, Till the things laid up for Him come;' though the Seventy have
not so explained it, but thus, Till He comes for whom this is laid up.'
But since what follows indicates that the reference is to Christ (for
it is, and He shall be the expectation of nations'), I do not proceed
to have a mere verbal controversy with you, as I have not attempted to
establish proof about Christ from the passages of Scripture which are
not admitted by you, [2409] which I quoted from the words of Jeremiah
the prophet, and Esdras, and David; but from those which are even now
admitted by you, which had your teachers comprehended, be well assured
they would have deleted them, as they did those about the death of
Isaiah, whom you sawed asunder with a wooden saw. And this was a
mysterious type of Christ being about to cut your nation in two, and to
raise those worthy of the honour to the everlasting kingdom along with
the holy patriarchs and prophets; but He has said that He will send
others to the condemnation of the unquenchable fire along with similar
disobedient and impenitent men from all the nations. For they shall
come,' He said, from the west and from the east, and shall sit down
with Abraham, and Isaac, and Jacob in the kingdom of heaven; but the
children of the kingdom shall be cast out into outer darkness.' [2410]
And I have mentioned these things, taking nothing whatever into
consideration, except the speaking of the truth, and refusing to be
coerced by any one, even though I should be forthwith torn in pieces by
you. For I gave no thought to any of my people, that is, the
Samaritans, when I had a communication in writing with Cæsar, [2411]
but stated that they were wrong in trusting to the magician Simon of
their own nation, who, they say, is God above all power, and authority,
and might."
__________________________________________________________________
[2406] Gen. xxvi. 4.
[2407] Gen. xxviii. 14.
[2408] Gen. xlix. 10.
[2409] [Note this important point. He forbears to cite the New
Testament.]
[2410] Matt. viii. 11 f.
[2411] The Apology, i. chap. xxvi.; ii. chap. xv.
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Chapter CXXI.--From the fact that the Gentiles believe in Jesus, it is evident
that He is Christ.
And as they kept silence, I went on: "[The Scripture], speaking by
David about this Christ, my friends, said no longer that in His seed'
the nations should be blessed, but in Him.' So it is here: His name
shall rise up for ever above the sun; and in Him shall all nations be
blessed.' [2412] But if all nations are blessed in Christ, and we of
all nations believe in Him, then He is indeed the Christ, and we are
those blessed by Him. God formerly gave the sun as an object of
worship, [2413] as it is written, but no one ever was seen to endure
death on account of his faith in the sun; but for the name of Jesus you
may see men of every nation who have endured and do endure all
sufferings, rather than deny Him. For the word of His truth and wisdom
is more ardent and more light-giving than the rays of the sun, and
sinks down into the depths of heart and mind. Hence also the Scripture
said, His name shall rise up above the sun.' And again, Zechariah says,
His name is the East.' [2414] And speaking of the same, he says that
each tribe shall mourn.' [2415] But if He so shone forth and was so
mighty in His first advent (which was without honour and comeliness,
and very contemptible), that in no nation He is unknown, and everywhere
men have repented of the old wickedness in each nation's way of living,
so that even demons were subject to His name, and all powers and
kingdoms feared His name more than they feared all the dead, shall He
not on His glorious advent destroy by all means all those who hated
Him, and who unrighteously departed from Him, but give rest to His own,
rewarding them with all they have looked for? To us, therefore, it has
been granted to hear, and to understand, and to be saved by this
Christ, and to recognise all the [truths revealed] by the Father.
Wherefore He said to Him: It is a great thing for Thee to be called my
servant, to raise up the tribes of Jacob, and turn again the dispersed
of Israel. I have appointed Thee for a light to the Gentiles, that Thou
mayest be their salvation unto the end of the earth.' [2416]
__________________________________________________________________
[2412] Ps. lxxii. 17.
[2413] So Justin concludes from Deut. iv. 19; comp. chap. lv. [The
explanation is not very difficult (see Rom. i. 28), but the language of
Justin is unguarded.]
[2414] Zech. vi. 12.
[2415] Zech. xii. 12.
[2416] Isa. xlix. 6.
__________________________________________________________________
Chapter CXXII.--The Jews understand this of the proselytes without reason.
"You think that these words refer to the stranger [2417] and the
proselytes, but in fact they refer to us who have been illumined by
Jesus. For Christ would have borne witness even to them; but now you
are become twofold more the children of hell, as He said Himself.
[2418] Therefore what was written by the prophets was spoken not of
those persons, but of us, concerning whom the Scripture speaks: I will
lead the blind by a way which they knew not; and they shall walk in
paths which they have not known. And I am witness, saith the Lord God,
and my servant whom I have chosen.' [2419] To whom, then, does Christ
bear witness? Manifestly to those who have believed. But the proselytes
not only do not believe, but twofold more than yourselves blaspheme His
name, and wish to torture and put to death us who believe in Him; for
in all points they strive to be like you. And again in other words He
cries: I the Lord have called Thee in righteousness, and will hold
Thine hand, and will strengthen Thee, and will give Thee for a covenant
of the people, for a light of the Gentiles, to open the eyes of the
blind, to bring out the prisoners from their bonds.' [2420] These
words, indeed, sirs, refer also to Christ, and concern the enlightened
nations; or will you say again, He speaks to them of the law and the
proselytes?"
Then some of those who had come on the second day cried out as if they
had been in a theatre, "But what? does He not refer to the law, and to
those illumined by it? Now these are proselytes."
"No," I said, looking towards Trypho, "since, if the law were able to
enlighten the nations and those who possess it, what need is there of a
new covenant? But since God announced beforehand that He would send a
new covenant, and an everlasting law and commandment, we will not
understand this of the old law and its proselytes, but of Christ and
His proselytes, namely us Gentiles, whom He has illumined, as He says
somewhere: Thus saith the Lord, In an acceptable time have I heard
Thee, and in a day of salvation have I helped Thee, and I have given
Thee for a covenant of the people, to establish the earth, and to
inherit the deserted.' [2421] What, then, is Christ's inheritance? Is
it not the nations? What is the covenant of God? Is it not Christ? As
He says in another place: Thou art my Son; this day have I begotten
Thee. Ask of Me, and I shall give Thee the nations for Thine
inheritance, and the uttermost parts of the earth for Thy possession.'
[2422]
__________________________________________________________________
[2417] Geora or Geiora. Found in LXX., Ex. xii. 19 and Isa. xiv. 1.
[2418] Matt. xxiii. 15.
[2419] Isa. xlii. 16, Isa. xliii. 10.
[2420] Isa. xlii. 6.
[2421] Isa. xlix. 8.
[2422] Ps. ii. 7 f.
__________________________________________________________________
Chapter CXXIII.--Ridiculous interpretations of the Jews. Christians are the
true Israel.
"As, therefore, all these latter prophecies refer to Christ and the
nations, you should believe that the former refer to Him and them in
like manner. For the proselytes have no need of a covenant, if, since
there is one and the same law imposed on all that are circumcised, the
Scripture speaks about them thus: And the stranger shall also be joined
with them, and shall be joined to the house of Jacob;' [2423] and
because the proselyte, who is circumcised that he may have access to
the people, becomes like one of themselves, [2424] while we who have
been deemed worthy to be called a people are yet Gentiles, because we
have not been circumcised. Besides, it is ridiculous for you to imagine
that the eyes of the proselytes are to be opened while your own are
not, and that you be understood as blind and deaf while they are
enlightened. And it will be still more ridiculous for you, if you say
that the law has been given to the nations, but you have not known it.
For you would have stood in awe of God's wrath, and would not have been
lawless, wandering sons; being much afraid of hearing God always say,
Children in whom is no faith. And who are blind, but my servants? and
deaf, but they that rule over them? And the servants of God have been
made blind. You see often, but have not observed; your ears have been
opened, and you have not heard.' [2425] Is God's commendation of you
honourable? and is God's testimony seemly for His servants? You are not
ashamed though you often hear these words. You do not tremble at God's
threats, for you are a people foolish and hard-hearted. Therefore,
behold, I will proceed to remove this people,' saith the Lord; and I
will remove them, and destroy the wisdom of the wise, and hide the
understanding of the prudent.' [2426] Deservedly too: for you are
neither wise nor prudent, but crafty and unscrupulous; wise only to do
evil, but utterly incompetent to know the hidden counsel of God, or the
faithful covenant of the Lord, or to find out the everlasting paths.
Therefore, saith the Lord, I will raise up to Israel and to Judah the
seed of men and the seed of beasts.' [2427] And by Isaiah He speaks
thus concerning another Israel: In that day shall there be a third
Israel among the Assyrians and the Egyptians, blessed in the land which
the Lord of Sabaoth hath blessed, saying, blessed shall my people in
Egypt and in Assyria be, and Israel mine inheritance.' [2428] Since
then God blesses this people, and calls them Israel, and declares them
to be His inheritance, how is it that you repent not of the deception
you practise on yourselves, as if you alone were the Israel, and of
execrating the people whom God has blessed? For when He speaks to
Jerusalem and its environs, He thus added: And I will beget men upon
you, even my people Israel; and they shall inherit you, and you shall
be a possession for them; and you shall be no longer bereaved of them.'
" [2429]
"What, then?" says Trypho; "are you Israel? and speaks He such things
of you?"
"If, indeed," I replied to him, "we had not entered into a lengthy
[2430] discussion on these topics, I might have doubted whether you ask
this question in ignorance; but since we have brought the matter to a
conclusion by demonstration and with your assent, I do not believe that
you are ignorant of what I have just said, or desire again mere
contention, but that you are urging me to exhibit the same proof to
these men." And in compliance with the assent expressed in his eyes, I
continued: "Again in Isaiah, if you have ears to hear it, God, speaking
of Christ in parable, calls Him Jacob and Israel. He speaks thus: Jacob
is my servant, I will uphold Him; Israel is mine elect, I will put my
Spirit upon Him, and He shall bring forth judgment to the Gentiles. He
shall not strive, nor cry, neither shall any one hear His voice in the
street: a bruised reed He shall not break, and smoking flax He shall
not quench; but He shall bring forth judgment to truth: He shall shine,
[2431] and shall not be broken till He have set judgment on the earth.
And in His name shall the Gentiles trust.' [2432] As therefore from the
one man Jacob, who was surnamed Israel, all your nation has been called
Jacob and Israel; so we from Christ, who begat us unto God, like Jacob,
and Israel, and Judah, and Joseph, and David, are called and are the
true sons of God, and keep the commandments of Christ."
__________________________________________________________________
[2423] Isa. xiv. 1.
[2424] Literally, "a native of the land."
[2425] Deut. xxxii. 20; Isa. xlii. 19 f.
[2426] Isa. xxix. 14.
[2427] Jer. xxxi. 27.
[2428] Isa. xix. 24 f.
[2429] Ezek. xxxvi. 12.
[2430] [I cannot forbear to note this "Americanism" in the text.]
[2431] LXX. analampsei, as above. The reading of the text is analepsei.
[2432] Isa. xlii. 1-4.
__________________________________________________________________
Chapter CXXIV.--Christians are the sons of God.
And when I saw that they were perturbed because I said that we are the
sons of God, I anticipated their questioning, and said, "Listen, sirs,
how the Holy Ghost speaks of this people, saying that they are all sons
of the Highest; and how this very Christ will be present in their
assembly, rendering judgment to all men. The words are spoken by David,
and are, according to your version of them, thus: God standeth in the
congregation of gods; He judgeth among the gods. How long do ye judge
unjustly, and accept the persons of the wicked? Judge for the orphan
and the poor, and do justice to the humble and needy. Deliver the
needy, and save the poor out of the hand of the wicked. They know not,
neither have they understood; they walk on in darkness: all the
foundations of the earth shall be shaken. I said, Ye are gods, and are
all children of the Most High. But ye die like men, and fall like one
of the princes. Arise, O God! judge the earth, for Thou shalt inherit
all nations.' [2433] But in the version of the Seventy it is written,
Behold, ye die like men, and fall like one of the princes,' [2434] in
order to manifest the disobedience of men,--I mean of Adam and
Eve,--and the fall of one of the princes, i.e., of him who was called
the serpent, who fell with a great overthrow, because he deceived Eve.
But as my discourse is not intended to touch on this point, but to
prove to you that the Holy Ghost reproaches men because they were made
like God, free from suffering and death, provided that they kept His
commandments, and were deemed deserving of the name of His sons, and
yet they, becoming like Adam and Eve, work out death for themselves;
let the interpretation of the Psalm be held just as you wish, yet
thereby it is demonstrated that all men are deemed worthy of becoming
"gods," and of having power to become sons of the Highest; and shall be
each by himself judged and condemned like Adam and Eve. Now I have
proved at length that Christ is called God.
__________________________________________________________________
[2433] Ps. lxxxii.
[2434] In the text there is certainly no distinction given. But if we
read hos anthropos (k'dm), "as a man," in the first quotation we shall
be able to follow Justin's argument.
__________________________________________________________________
Chapter CXXV.--He explains what force the word Israel has, and how it suits
Christ.
"I wish, sirs," I said, "to learn from you what is the force of the
name Israel." And as they were silent, I continued: "I shall tell you
what I know: for I do not think it right, when I know, not to speak;
or, suspecting that you do know, and yet from envy or from voluntary
ignorance deceive yourselves, [2435] to be continually solicitous; but
I speak all things simply and candidly, as my Lord said: A sower went
forth to sow the seed; and some fell by the wayside; and some among
thorns, and some on stony ground, and some on good ground.' [2436] I
must speak, then, in the hope of finding good ground somewhere; since
that Lord of mine, as One strong and powerful, comes to demand back His
own from all, and will not condemn His steward if He recognises that
he, by the knowledge that the Lord is powerful and has come to demand
His own, has given it to every bank, and has not digged for any cause
whatsoever. Accordingly the name Israel signifies this, A man who
overcomes power; for Isra is a man overcoming, and El is power. [2437]
And that Christ would act so when He became man was foretold by the
mystery of Jacob's wrestling with Him who appeared to him, in that He
ministered to the will of the Father, yet nevertheless is God, in that
He is the first-begotten of all creatures. For when He became man, as I
previously remarked, the devil came to Him--i.e., that power which is
called the serpent and Satan--tempting Him, and striving to effect His
downfall by asking Him to worship him. But He destroyed and overthrew
the devil, having proved him to be wicked, in that he asked to be
worshipped as God, contrary to the Scripture; who is an apostate from
the will of God. For He answers him, It is written, Thou shalt worship
the Lord thy God, and Him only shall thou serve.' [2438] Then, overcome
and convicted, the devil departed at that time. But since our Christ
was to be numbed, i.e., by pain and experience of suffering, He made a
previous intimation of this by touching Jacob's thigh, and causing it
to shrink. But Israel was His name from the beginning, to which He
altered the name of the blessed Jacob when He blessed him with His own
name, proclaiming thereby that all who through Him have fled for refuge
to the Father, constitute the blessed Israel. But you, having
understood none of this, and not being prepared to understand, since
you are the children of Jacob after the fleshly seed, expect that you
shall be assuredly saved. But that you deceive yourselves in such
matters, I have proved by many words.
__________________________________________________________________
[2435] The reading here is epistamai autos, which is generally
abandoned for apatan heautous.
[2436] Matt. xiii. 3.
[2437] [On Justin's Hebrew, see Kaye, p. 19.]
[2438] Matt. iv. 10.
__________________________________________________________________
Chapter CXXVI.--The various names of Christ according to both natures. It is
shown that He is God, and appeared to the patriarchs.
"But if you knew, Trypho," continued I, "who He is that is called at
one time the Angel of great counsel, [2439] and a Man by Ezekiel, and
like the Son of man by Daniel, and a Child by Isaiah, and Christ and
God to be worshipped by David, and Christ and a Stone by many, and
Wisdom by Solomon, and Joseph and Judah and a Star by Moses, and the
East by Zechariah, and the Suffering One and Jacob and Israel by Isaiah
again, and a Rod, and Flower, and Corner-Stone, and Son of God, you
would not have blasphemed Him who has now come, and been born, and
suffered, and ascended to heaven; who shall also come again, and then
your twelve tribes shall mourn. For if you had understood what has been
written by the prophets, you would not have denied that He was God, Son
of the only, unbegotten, unutterable God. For Moses says somewhere in
Exodus the following: The Lord spoke to Moses, and said to him, I am
the Lord, and I appeared to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob, being
their God; and my name I revealed not to them, and I established my
covenant with them.' [2440] And thus again he says, A man wrestled with
Jacob,' [2441] and asserts it was God; narrating that Jacob said, I
have seen God face to face, and my life is preserved.' And it is
recorded that he called the place where He wrestled with him, appeared
to and blessed him, the Face of God (Peniel). And Moses says that God
appeared also to Abraham near the oak in Mamre, when he was sitting at
the door of his tent at mid-day. Then he goes on to say: And he lifted
up his eyes and looked, and, behold, three men stood before him; and
when he saw them, he ran to meet them.' [2442] After a little, one of
them promises a son to Abraham: Wherefore did Sarah laugh, saying,
Shall I of a surety bear a child, and I am old? Is anything impossible
with God? At the time appointed I will return, according to the time of
life, and Sarah shall have a son. And they went away from Abraham.'
[2443] Again he speaks of them thus: And the men rose up from thence,
and looked toward Sodom.' [2444] Then to Abraham He who was and is
again speaks: I will not hide from Abraham, my servant, what I intend
to do.' " [2445] And what follows in the writings of Moses I quoted and
explained; "from which I have demonstrated," I said, "that He who is
described as God appeared to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob, and the
other patriarchs, was appointed under the authority of the Father and
Lord, and ministers to His will." Then I went on to say what I had not
said before: "And so, when the people desired to eat flesh, and Moses
had lost faith in Him, who also there is called the Angel, and who
promised that God would give them to satiety, He who is both God and
the Angel, sent by the Father, is described as saying and doing these
things. For thus the Scripture says: And the Lord said to Moses, Will
the Lord's hand not be sufficient? thou shalt know now whether my word
shall conceal thee or not.' [2446] And again, in other words, it thus
says: But the Lord spake unto me, Thou shalt not go over this Jordan:
the Lord thy God, who goeth before thy face, He shall cut off the
nations.' [2447]
__________________________________________________________________
[2439] [By Isaiah. "Counsellor" in English version.]
[2440] Ex. vi. 2 ff.
[2441] Gen. xxxii. 24, 30.
[2442] Gen. xviii. 2.
[2443] Gen. xviii. 13 f.
[2444] Gen. xviii. 16.
[2445] Gen. xviii. 17.
[2446] Num. xi. 23.
[2447] Deut. xxxi. 2 f.
__________________________________________________________________
Chapter CXXVII.--These passages of Scripture do not apply to the Father, but
to the Word.
"These and other such sayings are recorded by the lawgiver and by the
prophets; and I suppose that I have stated sufficiently, that wherever
[2448] God says, God went up from Abraham,' [2449] or, The Lord spake
to Moses,' [2450] and The Lord came down to behold the tower which the
sons of men had built,' [2451] or when God shut Noah into the ark,'
[2452] you must not imagine that the unbegotten God Himself came down
or went up from any place. For the ineffable Father and Lord of all
neither has come to any place, nor walks, nor sleeps, nor rises up, but
remains in His own place, wherever that is, quick to behold and quick
to hear, having neither eyes nor ears, but being of indescribable
might; and He sees all things, and knows all things, and none of us
escapes His observation; and He is not moved or confined to a spot in
the whole world, for He existed before the world was made. How, then,
could He talk with any one, or be seen by any one, or appear on the
smallest portion of the earth, when the people at Sinai were not able
to look even on the glory of Him who was sent from Him; and Moses
himself could not enter into the tabernacle which he had erected, when
it was filled with the glory of God; and the priest could not endure to
stand before the temple when Solomon conveyed the ark into the house in
Jerusalem which he had built for it? Therefore neither Abraham, nor
Isaac, nor Jacob, nor any other man, saw the Father and ineffable Lord
of all, and also of Christ, but [saw] Him who was according to His will
His Son, being God, and the Angel because He ministered to His will;
whom also it pleased Him to be born man by the Virgin; who also was
fire when He conversed with Moses from the bush. Since, unless we thus
comprehend the Scriptures, it must follow that the Father and Lord of
all had not been in heaven when what Moses wrote took place: And the
Lord rained upon Sodom fire and brimstone from the Lord out of heaven;'
[2453] and again, when it is thus said by David: Lift up your gates, ye
rulers; and be ye lift up, ye everlasting gates; and the King of glory
shall enter;' [2454] and again, when He says: The Lord says to my Lord,
Sit at My right hand, till I make Thine enemies Thy footstool.' [2455]
__________________________________________________________________
[2448] hotau pon instead of hotan mou.
[2449] Gen. xviii. 22.
[2450] Ex. vi. 29.
[2451] Gen. xi. 5.
[2452] Gen. vii. 16.
[2453] Gen. xix. 24.
[2454] Ps. xxiv. 7.
[2455] Ps. cx. 1.
__________________________________________________________________
Chapter CXXVIII.--The Word is sent not as an inanimate power, but as a person
begotten of the Father's substance.
"And that Christ being Lord, and God the Son of God, and appearing
formerly in power as Man, and Angel, and in the glory of fire as at the
bush, so also was manifested at the judgment executed on Sodom, has
been demonstrated fully by what has been said." Then I repeated once
more all that I had previously quoted from Exodus, about the vision in
the bush, and the naming of Joshua (Jesus), and continued: "And do not
suppose, sirs, that I am speaking superfluously when I repeat these
words frequently: but it is because I know that some wish to anticipate
these remarks, and to say that the power sent from the Father of all
which appeared to Moses, or to Abraham, or to Jacob, is called an Angel
because He came to men (for by Him the commands of the Father have been
proclaimed to men); is called Glory, because He appears in a vision
sometimes that cannot be borne; is called a Man, and a human being,
because He appears arrayed in such forms as the Father pleases; and
they call Him the Word, because He carries tidings from the Father to
men: but maintain that this power is indivisible and inseparable from
the Father, just as they say that the light of the sun on earth is
indivisible and inseparable from the sun in the heavens; as when it
sinks, the light sinks along with it; so the Father, when He chooses,
say they, causes His power to spring forth, and when He chooses, He
makes it return to Himself. In this way, they teach, He made the
angels. But it is proved that there are angels who always exist, and
are never reduced to that form out of which they sprang. And that this
power which the prophetic word calls God, as has been also amply
demonstrated, and Angel, is not numbered [as different] in name only
like the light of the sun, but is indeed something numerically
distinct, I have discussed briefly in what has gone before; when I
asserted that this power was begotten from the Father, by His power and
will, but not by abscission, as if the essence of the Father were
divided; as all other things partitioned and divided are not the same
after as before they were divided: and, for the sake of example, I took
the case of fires kindled from a fire, which we see to be distinct from
it, and yet that from which many can be kindled is by no means made
less, but remains the same.
__________________________________________________________________
Chapter CXXIX.--That is confirmed from other passages of Scripture.
"And now I shall again recite the words which I have spoken in proof of
this point. When Scripture says, The Lord rained fire from the Lord out
of heaven,' the prophetic word indicates that there were two in number:
One upon the earth, who, it says, descended to behold the cry of Sodom;
Another in heaven, who also is Lord of the Lord on earth, as He is
Father and God; the cause of His power and of His being Lord and God.
Again, when the Scripture records that God said in the beginning,
Behold, Adam has become like one of Us,' [2456] this phrase, like one
of Us,' is also indicative of number; and the words do not admit of a
figurative meaning, as the sophists endeavour to affix on them, who are
able neither to tell nor to understand the truth. And it is written in
the book of Wisdom: If I should tell you daily events, I would be
mindful to enumerate them from the beginning. The Lord created me the
beginning of His ways for His works. From everlasting He established me
in the beginning, before He formed the earth, and before He made the
depths, and before the springs of waters came forth, before the
mountains were settled; He begets me before all the hills.' " [2457]
When I repeated these words, I added: "You perceive, my hearers, if you
bestow attention, that the Scripture has declared that this Offspring
was begotten by the Father before all things created; and that which is
begotten is numerically distinct from that which begets, any one will
admit."
__________________________________________________________________
[2456] Gen. iii. 22.
[2457] Prov. viii. 22 ff.
__________________________________________________________________
Chapter CXXX.--He returns to the conversion of the Gentiles, and shows that it
was foretold.
And when all had given assent, I said: "I would now adduce some
passages which I had not recounted before. They are recorded by the
faithful servant Moses in parable, and are as follows: Rejoice, O ye
heavens, with Him, and let all the angels of God worship Him;' " [2458]
and I added what follows of the passage: " Rejoice, O ye nations, with
His people, and let all the angels of God be strengthened in Him: for
the blood of His sons He avenges, and will avenge, and will recompense
His enemies with vengeance, and will recompense those that hate Him;
and the Lord will purify the land of His people.' And by these words He
declares that we, the nations, rejoice with His people, --to wit,
Abraham, and Isaac, and Jacob, and the prophets, and, in short, all of
that people who are well-pleasing to God, according to what has been
already agreed on between us. But we will not receive it of all your
nation; since we know from Isaiah [2459] that the members of those who
have transgressed shall be consumed by the worm and unquenchable fire,
remaining immortal; so that they become a spectacle to all flesh. But
in addition to these, I wish, sirs," said I, "to add some other
passages from the very words of Moses, from which you may understand
that God has from of old dispersed all men according to their kindreds
and tongues; and out of all kindreds has taken to Himself your kindred,
a useless, disobedient, and faithless generation; and has shown that
those who were selected out of every nation have obeyed His will
through Christ,--whom He calls also Jacob, and names Israel, --and
these, then, as I mentioned fully previously, must be Jacob and Israel.
For when He says, Rejoice, O ye nations, with His people,' He allots
the same inheritance to them, and does not call them by the same name;
[2460] but when He says that they as Gentiles rejoice with His people,
He calls them Gentiles to reproach you. For even as you provoked Him to
anger by your idolatry, so also He has deemed those who were idolaters
worthy of knowing His will, and of inheriting His inheritance.
__________________________________________________________________
[2458] Deut. xxxii. 43.
[2459] Isa. lxvi. 24.
[2460] The reading is, "and calls them by the same name." But the whole
argument shows that the Jews and Gentiles are distinguished by name.
[But that Gentiles are also called (Israel) by the same name is the
point here.]
__________________________________________________________________
Chapter CXXXI.--How much more faithful to God the Gentiles are who are
converted to Christ than the Jews.
"But I shall quote the passage by which it is made known that God
divided all the nations. It is as follows: Ask thy father, and he will
show thee; thine elders, and they will tell thee; when the Most High
divided the nations, as He dispersed the sons of Adam. He set the
bounds of the nations according to the numbers of the children of
Israel; and the Lord's portion became His people Jacob, and Israel was
the lot of His inheritance.' " [2461] And having said this, I added:
"The Seventy have translated it, He set the bounds of the nations
according to the number of the angels of God.' But because my argument
is again in nowise weakened by this, I have adopted your exposition.
And you yourselves, if you will confess the truth, must acknowledge
that we, who have been called by God through the despised and shameful
mystery of the cross (for the confession of which, and obedience to
which, and for our piety, punishments even to death have been inflicted
on us by demons, and by the host of the devil, through the aid
ministered to them by you), and endure all torments rather than deny
Christ even by word, through whom we are called to the salvation
prepared beforehand by the Father, are more faithful to God than you,
who were redeemed from Egypt with a high hand and a visitation of great
glory, when the sea was parted for you, and a passage left dry, in
which [God] slew those who pursued you with a very great equipment, and
splendid chariots, bringing back upon them the sea which had been made
a way for your sakes; on whom also a pillar of light shone, in order
that you, more than any other nation in the world, might possess a
peculiar light, never-failing and never-setting; for whom He rained
manna as nourishment, fit for the heavenly angels, in order that you
might have no need to prepare your food; and the water at Marah was
made sweet; and a sign of Him that was to be crucified was made, both
in the matter of the serpents which bit you, as I already mentioned
(God anticipating before the proper times these mysteries, in order to
confer grace upon you, to whom you are always convicted of being
thankless), as well as in the type of the extending of the hands of
Moses, and of Oshea being named Jesus (Joshua); when you fought against
Amalek: concerning which God enjoined that the incident be recorded,
and the name of Jesus laid up in your understandings; saying that this
is He who would blot out the memorial of Amalek from under heaven. Now
it is clear that the memorial of Amalek remained after the son of Nave
(Nun): but He makes it manifest through Jesus, who was crucified, of
whom also those symbols were fore-announcements of all that would
happen to Him, the demons would be destroyed, and would dread His name,
and that all principalities and kingdoms would fear Him; and that they
who believe in Him out of all nations would be shown as God-fearing and
peaceful men; and the facts already quoted by me, Trypho, indicate
this. Again, when you desired flesh, so vast a quantity of quails was
given you, that they could not be told; for whom also water gushed from
the rock; and a cloud followed you for a shade from heat, and covering
from cold, declaring the manner and signification of another and new
heaven; the latchets of your shoes did not break, and your shoes waxed
not old, and your garments wore not away, but even those of the
children grew along with them.
__________________________________________________________________
[2461] Deut. xxxii. 7 ff.
__________________________________________________________________
Chapter CXXXII.--How great the power was of the name of Jesus in the Old
Testament.
"Yet after this you made a calf, and were very zealous in committing
fornication with the daughters of strangers, and in serving idols. And
again, when the land was given up to you with so great a display of
power, that you witnessed [2462] the sun stand still in the heavens by
the order of that man whose name was Jesus (Joshua), and not go down
for thirty-six hours, as well as all the other miracles which were
wrought for you as time served; [2463] and of these it seems good to me
now to speak of another, for it conduces to your hereby knowing Jesus,
whom we also know to have been Christ the Son of God, who was
crucified, and rose again, and ascended to heaven, and will come again
to judge all men, even up to Adam himself. You are aware, then," I
continued, "that when the ark of the testimony was seized by the
enemies of Ashdod, [2464] and a terrible and incurable malady had
broken out among them, they resolved to place it on a cart to which
they yoked cows that had recently calved, for the purpose of
ascertaining by trial whether or not they had been plagued by God's
power on account of the ark, and if God wished it to be taken back to
the place from which it had been carried away. And when they had done
this, the cows, led by no man, went not to the place whence the ark had
been taken, but to the fields of a certain man whose name was Oshea,
the same as his whose name was altered to Jesus (Joshua), as has been
previously mentioned, who also led the people into the land and meted
it out to them: and when the cows had come into these fields they
remained there, showing to you thereby that they were guided by the
name of power; [2465] just as formerly the people who survived of those
that came out of Egypt, were guided into the land by him who had
received the name Jesus (Joshua), who before was called Oshea.
__________________________________________________________________
[2462] [Another Americanism. Greek, theasasthai.]
[2463] The anacoluthon is in the original.
[2464] See 1 Sam. v.
[2465] Or, "by the power of the name." [1 Sam. vi. 14. Joshua in
English version.]
__________________________________________________________________
Chapter CXXXIII.--The hard-heartedness of the Jews, for whom the Christians
pray.
"Now, although these and all other such unexpected and marvellous works
were wrought amongst and seen by you at different times, yet you are
convicted by the prophets of having gone to such a length as offering
your own children to demons; and besides all this, of having dared to
do such things against Christ; and you still dare to do them: for all
which may it be granted to you to obtain mercy and salvation from God
and His Christ. For God, knowing before that you would do such things,
pronounced this curse upon you by the prophet Isaiah: Woe unto their
soul! they have devised evil counsel against themselves, saying, Let us
bind the righteous man, for he is distasteful to us. Therefore they
shall eat the fruit of their own doings. Woe to the wicked! evil,
according to the works of his hands, shall befall him. O my people,
your exactors glean you, and those who extort from you shall rule over
you. O my people, they who call you blessed cause you to err, and
disorder the way of your paths. But now the Lord shall assist His
people to judgment, and He shall enter into judgment with the elders of
the people and the princes thereof. But why have you burnt up my
vineyard? and why is the spoil of the poor found in your houses? Why do
you wrong my people, and put to shame the countenance of the humble?'
[2466] Again, in other words, the same prophet spake to the same
effect: Woe unto them that draw their iniquity as with a long cord, and
their transgressions as with the harness of an heifer's yoke: who say,
Let His speed come near, and let the counsel of the Holy One of Israel
come, that we may know it. Woe unto them that call evil good, and good
evil! that put light for darkness, and darkness for light! that put
bitter for sweet, and sweet for bitter! Woe unto them that are wise in
their own eyes, and prudent in their own sight! Woe unto those that are
mighty among you, who drink wine, who are men of strength, who mingle
strong drink! who justify the wicked for a reward, and take away
justice from the righteous! Therefore, as the stubble shall be burnt by
the coal of fire, and utterly consumed by the burning flame, their root
shall be as wool, and their flower shall go up like dust. For they
would not have the law of the Lord of Sabaoth, but despised [2467] the
word of the Lord, the Holy One of Israel. And the Lord of Sabaoth was
very angry, and laid His hands upon them, and smote them; and He was
provoked against the mountains, and their carcases were in the midst
like dung on the road. And for all this they have not repented, [2468]
but their hand is still high.' [2469] For verily your hand is high to
commit evil, because ye slew the Christ, and do not repent of it; but
so far from that, ye hate and murder us who have believed through Him
in the God and Father of all, as often as ye can; and ye curse Him
without ceasing, as well as those who side with Him; while all of us
pray for you, and for all men, as our Christ and Lord taught us to do,
when He enjoined us to pray even for our enemies, and to love them that
hate us, and to bless them that curse us.
__________________________________________________________________
[2466] Isa. iii. 9-15.
[2467] Literally, "provoked."
[2468] Literally, "turned away."
[2469] Isa. v. 18-25.
__________________________________________________________________
Chapter CXXXIV.--The marriages of Jacob are a figure of the Church.
"If, then, the teaching of the prophets and of Himself moves you, it is
better for you to follow God than your imprudent and blind masters, who
even till this time permit each man to have four or five wives; and if
any one see a beautiful woman and desire to have her, they quote the
doings of Jacob [called] Israel, and of the other patriarchs, and
maintain that it is not wrong to do such things; for they are miserably
ignorant in this matter. For, as I before said, certain dispensations
of weighty mysteries were accomplished in each act of this sort. For in
the marriages of Jacob I shall mention what dispensation and prophecy
were accomplished, in order that you may thereby know that your
teachers never looked at the divine motive which prompted each act, but
only at the grovelling and corrupting passions. Attend therefore to
what I say. The marriages of Jacob were types of that which Christ was
about to accomplish. For it was not lawful for Jacob to marry two
sisters at once. And he serves Laban for [one of] the daughters; and
being deceived in [the obtaining of] the younger, he again served seven
years. Now Leah is your people and synagogue; but Rachel is our Church.
And for these, and for the servants in both, Christ even now serves.
For while Noah gave to the two sons the seed of the third as servants,
now on the other hand Christ has come to restore both the free sons and
the servants amongst them, conferring the same honour on all of them
who keep His commandments; even as the children of the free women and
the children of the bond women born to Jacob were all sons, and equal
in dignity. And it was foretold what each should be according to rank
and according to fore-knowledge. Jacob served Laban for speckled and
many-spotted sheep; and Christ served, even to the slavery of the
cross, for the various and many-formed races of mankind, acquiring them
by the blood and mystery of the cross. Leah was weak-eyed; for the eyes
of your souls are excessively weak. Rachel stole the gods of Laban, and
has hid them to this day; and we have lost our paternal and material
gods. Jacob was hated for all time by his brother; and we now, and our
Lord Himself, are hated by you and by all men, though we are brothers
by nature. Jacob was called Israel; and Israel has been demonstrated to
be the Christ, who is, and is called, Jesus.
__________________________________________________________________
Chapter CXXXV.--Christ is king of Israel, and Christians are the Israelitic
race.
"And when Scripture says, I am the Lord God, the Holy One of Israel,
who have made known Israel your King,' [2470] will you not understand
that truly Christ is the everlasting King? For you are aware that Jacob
the son of Isaac was never a king. And therefore Scripture again,
explaining to us, says what king is meant by Jacob and Israel: Jacob is
my Servant, I will uphold Him; and Israel is mine Elect, my soul shall
receive Him. I have given Him my Spirit; and He shall bring forth
judgment to the Gentiles. He shall not cry, and His voice shall not be
heard without. The bruised reed He shall not break, and the smoking
flax He shall not quench, until He shall bring forth judgment to
victory. He shall shine, and shall not be broken, until He set judgment
on the earth. And in His name shall the Gentiles trust.' [2471] Then is
it Jacob the patriarch in whom the Gentiles and yourselves shall trust?
or is it not Christ? As, therefore, Christ is the Israel and the Jacob,
even so we, who have been quarried out from the bowels of Christ, are
the true Israelitic race. But let us attend rather to the very word:
And I will bring forth,' He says, the seed out of Jacob, and out of
Judah: and it shall inherit My holy mountain; and Mine Elect and My
servants shall possess the inheritance, and shall dwell there; and
there shall be folds of flocks in the thicket, and the valley of Achor
shall be a resting-place of cattle for the people who have sought Me.
But as for you, who forsake Me, and forget My holy mountain, and
prepare a table for demons, and fill out drink for the demon, I shall
give you to the sword. You shall all fall with a slaughter; for I
called you, and you hearkened not, and did evil before me, and did
choose that wherein I delighted not.' [2472] Such are the words of
Scripture; understand, therefore, that the seed of Jacob now referred
to is something else, and not, as may be supposed, spoken of your
people. For it is not possible for the seed of Jacob to leave an
entrance for the descendants of Jacob, or for [God] to have accepted
the very same persons whom He had reproached with unfitness for the
inheritance, and promise it to them again; but as there the prophet
says, And now, O house of Jacob, come and let us walk in the light of
the Lord; for He has sent away His people, the house of Jacob, because
their land was full, as at the first, of soothsayers and divinations;'
[2473] even so it is necessary for us here to observe that there are
two seeds of Judah, and two races, as there are two houses of Jacob:
the one begotten by blood and flesh, the other by faith and the Spirit.
__________________________________________________________________
[2470] Isa. xliii. 15.
[2471] Isa. xlii. 1-4.
[2472] Isa. lxv. 9-12.
[2473] Isa. ii. 5 f.
__________________________________________________________________
Chapter CXXXVI.--The Jews, in rejecting Christ, rejected God who sent him.
"For you see how He now addresses the people, saying a little before:
As the grape shall be found in the cluster, and they will say, Destroy
it not, for a blessing is in it; so will I do for My servant's sake:
for His sake I will not destroy them all.' [2474] And thereafter He
adds: And I shall bring forth the seed out of Jacob, and out of Judah.'
It is plain then that if He thus be angry with them, and threaten to
leave very few of them, He promises to bring forth certain others, who
shall dwell in His mountain. But these are the persons whom He said He
would sow and beget. For you neither suffer Him when He calls you, nor
hear Him when He speaks to you, but have done evil in the presence of
the Lord. But the highest pitch of your wickedness lies in this, that
you hate the Righteous One, and slew Him; and so treat those who have
received from Him all that they are and have, and who are pious,
righteous, and humane. Therefore woe unto their soul,' says the Lord,
[2475] for they have devised an evil counsel against themselves,
saying, Let us take away the righteous, for he is distasteful to us.'
For indeed you are not in the habit of sacrificing to Baal, as were
your fathers, or of placing cakes in groves and on high places for the
host of heaven: but you have not accepted God's Christ. For he who
knows not Him, knows not the will of God; and he who insults and hates
Him, insults and hates Him that sent Him. And whoever believes not in
Him, believes not the declarations of the prophets, who preached and
proclaimed Him to all.
__________________________________________________________________
[2474] Isa. lxv. 8 f.
[2475] Isa. iii. 9.
__________________________________________________________________
Chapter CXXXVII.--He exhorts the Jews to be converted.
"Say no evil thing, my brothers, against Him that was crucified, and
treat not scornfully the stripes wherewith all may be healed, even as
we are healed. For it will be well if, persuaded by the Scriptures, you
are circumcised from hard-heartedness: not that circumcision which you
have from the tenets that are put into you; for that was given for a
sign, and not for a work of righteousness, as the Scriptures compel you
[to admit]. Assent, therefore, and pour no ridicule on the Son of God;
obey not the Pharisaic teachers, and scoff not at the King of Israel,
as the rulers of your synagogues teach you to do after your prayers:
for if he that touches those who are not pleasing [2476] to God, is as
one that touches the apple of God's eye, how much more so is he that
touches His beloved! And that this is He, has been sufficiently
demonstrated."
And as they kept silence, I continued: "My friends, I now refer to the
Scriptures as the Seventy have interpreted them; for when I quoted them
formerly as you possess them, I made proof of you [to ascertain] how
you were disposed. [2477] For, mentioning the Scripture which says, Woe
unto them! for they have devised evil counsel against themselves,
saying' [2478] (as the Seventy have translated, I continued): Let us
take away the righteous, for he is distasteful to us;' whereas at the
commencement of the discussion I added what your version has: Let us
bind the righteous, for he is distasteful to us.' But you had been busy
about some other matter, and seem to have listened to the words without
attending to them. But now, since the day is drawing to a close, for
the sun is about to set, I shall add one remark to what I have said,
and conclude. I have indeed made the very same remark already, but I
think it would be right to bestow some consideration on it again.
__________________________________________________________________
[2476] Zech. ii. 8.
[2477] [Justin's varied quotations of the same text seem to have been
of purpose. But consult Kaye's most useful note as to the text of the
LXX., in answer to objections of Wetstein, p. 20. ff.]
[2478] Isa. iii. 9.
__________________________________________________________________
Chapter CXXXVIII.--Noah is a figure of Christ, who has regenerated us by
water, and faith, and wood: [i.e., the cross.]
"You know, then, sirs," I said, "that God has said in Isaiah to
Jerusalem: I saved thee in the deluge of Noah.' [2479] By this which
God said was meant that the mystery of saved men appeared in the
deluge. For righteous Noah, along with the other mortals at the deluge,
i.e., with his own wife, his three sons and their wives, being eight in
number, were a symbol of the eighth day, wherein Christ appeared when
He rose from the dead, for ever the first in power. For Christ, being
the first-born of every creature, became again the chief of another
race regenerated by Himself through water, and faith, and wood,
containing the mystery of the cross; even as Noah was saved by wood
when he rode over the waters with his household. Accordingly, when the
prophet says, I saved thee in the times of Noah,' as I have already
remarked, he addresses the people who are equally faithful to God, and
possess the same signs. For when Moses had the rod in his hands, he led
your nation through the sea. And you believe that this was spoken to
your nation only, or to the land. But the whole earth, as the Scripture
says, was inundated, and the water rose in height fifteen cubits above
all the mountains: so that it is evident this was not spoken to the
land, but to the people who obeyed Him: for whom also He had before
prepared a resting-place in Jerusalem, as was previously demonstrated
by all the symbols of the deluge; I mean, that by water, faith, and
wood, those who are afore-prepared, and who repent of the sins which
they have committed, shall escape from the impending judgment of God.
__________________________________________________________________
[2479] Isa. liv. 9 comes nearer to these words than any other passage;
but still the exact quotation is not in Isaiah, or in any other part of
Scripture. [It is quite probable that Isa. liv. 9 was thus
misunderstood by the Jews, as Trypho seems to acquiesce.]
__________________________________________________________________
Chapter CXXXIX.--The blessings, and also the curse, pronounced by Noah were
prophecies of the future.
"For another mystery was accomplished and predicted in the days of
Noah, of which you are not aware. It is this: in the blessings
wherewith Noah blessed his two sons, and in the curse pronounced on his
son's son. For the Spirit of prophecy would not curse the son that had
been by God blessed along with [his brothers]. But since the punishment
of the sin would cleave to the whole descent of the son that mocked at
his father's nakedness, he made the curse originate with his son.
[2480] Now, in what he said, he foretold that the descendants of Shem
would keep in retention the property and dwellings of Canaan: and again
that the descendants of Japheth would take possession of the property
of which Shem's descendants had dispossessed Canaan's descendants; and
spoil the descendants of Shem, even as they plundered the sons of
Canaan. And listen to the way in which it has so come to pass. For you,
who have derived your lineage from Shem, invaded the territory of the
sons of Canaan by the will of God; and you possessed it. And it is
manifest that the sons of Japheth, having invaded you in turn by the
judgment of God, have taken your land from you, and have possessed it.
Thus it is written: And Noah awoke from the wine, and knew what his
younger son had done unto him; and he said, Cursed be Canaan, the
servant; a servant shall he be unto his brethren. And he said, Blessed
be the Lord God of Shem; and Canaan shall be his servant. May the Lord
enlarge Japheth, and let him dwell in the houses of Shem; and let
Canaan be his servant.' [2481] Accordingly, as two peoples were
blessed,--those from Shem, and those from Japheth,--and as the
offspring of Shem were decreed first to possess the dwellings of
Canaan, and the offspring of Japheth were predicted as in turn
receiving the same possessions, and to the two peoples there was the
one people of Canaan handed over for servants; so Christ has come
according to the power given Him from the Almighty Father, and
summoning men to friendship, and blessing, and repentance, and dwelling
together, has promised, as has already been proved, that there shall be
a future possession for all the saints in this same land. And hence all
men everywhere, whether bond or free, who believe in Christ, and
recognise the truth in His own words and those of His prophets, know
that they shall be with Him in that land, and inherit everlasting and
incorruptible good.
__________________________________________________________________
[2480] [But Justin goes on to show that it was prophetic foresight
only: the curse cleaves only to wicked descendants, the authors of
idolatry. It was removed by Christ. St. Matt. xv. 22-28.]
[2481] Gen. ix. 24-27.
__________________________________________________________________
Chapter CXL.--In Christ all are free. The Jews hope for salvation in vain
because they are sons of Abraham.
"Hence also Jacob, as I remarked before, being himself a type of
Christ, had married the two handmaids of his two free wives, and of
them begat sons, for the purpose of indicating beforehand that Christ
would receive even all those who amongst Japheth's race are descendants
of Canaan, equally with the free, and would have the children
fellow-heirs. And we are such; but you cannot comprehend this, because
you cannot drink of the living fountain of God, but of broken cisterns
which can hold no water, as the Scripture says. [2482] But they are
cisterns broken, and holding no water, which your own teachers have
digged, as the Scripture also expressly asserts, teaching for doctrines
the commandments of men.' [2483] And besides, they beguile themselves
and you, supposing that the everlasting kingdom will be assuredly given
to those of the dispersion who are of Abraham, after the flesh,
although they be sinners, and faithless, and disobedient towards God,
which the Scriptures have proved is not the case. For if so, Isaiah
would never have said this: And unless the Lord of Sabaoth had left us
a seed, we would have been like Sodom and Gomorrah.' [2484] And
Ezekiel: Even if Noah, and Jacob, and Daniel were to pray for sons or
daughters, their request should not be granted.' [2485] But neither
shall the father perish for the son, nor the son for the father; but
every one for his own sin, and each shall be saved for his own
righteousness.' [2486] And again Isaiah says: They shall look on the
carcases [2487] of them that have transgressed: their worm shall not
cease, and their fire shall not be quenched; and they shall be a
spectacle to all flesh.' [2488] And our Lord, according to the will of
Him that sent Him, who is the Father and Lord of all, would not have
said, They shall come from the east, and from the west, and shall sit
down with Abraham, and Isaac, and Jacob in the kingdom of heaven. But
the children of the kingdom shall be cast out into outer darkness.'
[2489] Furthermore, I have proved in what has preceded, [2490] that
those who were foreknown to be unrighteous, whether men or angels, are
not made wicked by God's fault, but each man by his own fault is what
he will appear to be.
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[2482] Jer. ii. 13.
[2483] Isa. xxix. 13.
[2484] Isa. i. 9.
[2485] Ezek. xiv. 18, 20.
[2486] Ezek. xviii. 20.
[2487] Literally, "limbs."
[2488] Isa. lxvi. 24.
[2489] Matt. viii. 11 f.
[2490] Chap. lxxxviii, cii.
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Chapter CXLI.--Free-will in men and angels.
"But that you may not have a pretext for saying that Christ must have
been crucified, and that those who transgressed must have been among
your nation, and that the matter could not have been otherwise, I said
briefly by anticipation, that God, wishing men and angels to follow His
will, resolved to create them free to do righteousness; possessing
reason, that they may know by whom they are created, and through whom
they, not existing formerly, do now exist; and with a law that they
should be judged by Him, if they do anything contrary to right reason:
and of ourselves we, men and angels, shall be convicted of having acted
sinfully, unless we repent beforehand. But if the word of God foretells
that some angels and men shall be certainly punished, it did so because
it foreknew that they would be unchangeably [wicked], but not because
God had created them so. So that if they repent, all who wish for it
can obtain mercy from God: and the Scripture foretells that they shall
be blessed, saying, Blessed is the man to whom the Lord imputeth not
sin;' [2491] that is, having repented of his sins, that he may receive
remission of them from God; and not as you deceive yourselves, and some
others who resemble you in this, who say, that even though they be
sinners, but know God, the Lord will not impute sin to them. We have as
proof of this the one fall of David, which happened through his
boasting, which was forgiven then when he so mourned and wept, as it is
written. But if even to such a man no remission was granted before
repentance, and only when this great king, and anointed one, and
prophet, mourned and conducted himself so, how can the impure and
utterly abandoned, if they weep not, and mourn not, and repent not,
entertain the hope that the Lord will not impute to them sin? And this
one fall of David, in the matter of Uriah's wife, proves, sirs," I
said, "that the patriarchs had many wives, not to commit fornication,
but that a certain dispensation and all mysteries might be accomplished
by them; since, if it were allowable to take any wife, or as many wives
as one chooses, and how he chooses, which the men of your nation do
over all the earth, wherever they sojourn, or wherever they have been
sent, taking women under the name of marriage, much more would David
have been permitted to do this."
When I had said this, dearest Marcus Pompeius, I came to an end.
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[2491] Ps. xxxii. 2.
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Chapter CXLII.--The Jews return thanks, and leave Justin.
Then Trypho, after a little delay, said, "You see that it was not
intentionally that we came to discuss these points. And I confess that
I have been particularly pleased with the conference; and I think that
these are of quite the same opinion as myself. For we have found more
than we expected, and more than it was possible to have expected. And
if we could do this more frequently, we should be much helped in the
searching of the Scriptures themselves. But since," he said, "you are
on the eve of departure, and expect daily to set sail, do not hesitate
to remember us as friends when you are gone."
"For my part," I replied, "if I had remained, I would have wished to do
the same thing daily. But now, since I expect, with God's will and aid,
to set sail, I exhort you to give all diligence in this very great
struggle for your own salvation, and to be earnest in setting a higher
value on the Christ of the Almighty God than on your own teachers."
After this they left me, wishing me safety in my voyage, and from every
misfortune. And I, praying for them, said, "I can wish no better thing
for you, sirs, than this, that, recognising in this way that
intelligence is given to every man, you may be of the same opinion as
ourselves, and believe that Jesus is the Christ of God." [2492]
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[2492] The last sentence is very dubious. For panti anthropinon noun
read panti anthropo ton noun. For poiesete read pisteusete. And lastly,
for to hemon read ton 'Iesoun. [But there is no doubt about the
touching beauty of this close; and truly Trypho seems "not far from the
kingdom of God." Note the marvellous knowledge of the Old Testament
Scriptures, which Justin had acquired, and which he could use in
conversation. His quotations from the Psalms, memoriter, are more
accurate than others. See Kaye, p. 141.]
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