Here Trypho remarked, " We ask you first of all to tell us some of the Scriptures which you allege have been completely cancelled."
CHAP, 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 refer- ence 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 ref- uge. And if you have understood, and your heart has taken it in, that we shall humble Him on a standard, and^ thereafter hope in Him, then this place shall not be forsaken for ever, says the God of hosts. But if you will not be- lieve Him, and will not listen to His declaration, you shall be a laughing-stock to the nations.' '' 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.' '° And since this passage from the sayings of Jeremiah is still written in some copies 7 Or, "profess." ' Or, " even if we."
9 It is not known where this passage comes from. '° Jer. xi. 19.
DIALOGUE WITH TRYPHO.
235 [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 demon- strated 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 them- selves 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 salva- tion.' ' CHAP. 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.' ^ For when the passage said, ' Tell ye among the na- tions, 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], declar- ing 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. Con- fession 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 tem- ple. Let the whole earth be moved before Him: tell ye among the nations, the Lord hath reigned.^ 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 ' 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. — Maramus.
^ These words were not taken away by the Jews, but added by some Christian. — Otto. [A statement not proved.]
3 It is strange that " from the wood " is not added; but the auda- city of the copyi-sts in such matters is well known. — M aranus.
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 Scrip- tures 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,* and shall yet be brought forward."
CHAP. LXXrV. — THE BEGINNING OF PS. XCVI. IS ATTRIBUTED TO THE FATHER [bV 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 5 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 hu- man 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 ^] also by the land into which [He said] He would * Many think, " you."
5 In text, " you." Maranus suggests, as far better, " we."
6 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.]
236 DIALOGUE WITH TRYPHO.
bring [your fathers]; [for He thus speaks]: ' '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,^ 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 misfor- tunes 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 commit- ted, in that they have turned to other gods.' ^ CHAP. 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 mysteri- ously 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.' ■♦ Now understand that He who led your fathers into the land is called by this name Jesus, and first called Auses 5 (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.' ^ 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 ^ Scriptures, from which it can be plainly perceived that He became so according to the will of the Father?
CHAP. LXXVI. FROM OTHER PASSAGES THE SAME MAJESTY AND GOVERNMENT OF CHRIST ARE PROVED.
" For when Daniel speaks of * one like unto ■ Deut. xxxi. 16-18.
2 Literally, " for food."
s The first conference seems to have ended hereabout. [It occu- pied two days. But the student must consult the learned note of K»yc (yustin Afartyr, p. 20. Rivingtons, London. 1853).]
* Isa. vi. 8.
7 Or. " so many."
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 de- scent 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.\ngel of mighty counsel,*^ 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 9], 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.' '° And, ' Many shall say to Me in that day. Lord, Lord, have we not eaten, and drunk, and prophe- sied, and cast out demons in Thy name? And I will say to them. Depart from Me.' " 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.' '^ And again, in other words. He said, ' I give unto you power to tread on serpents, and on scorpions, and on scolopcndras, and on all the might of the enemy.' '^ 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 8 [Is. ix. 6, according to LXX.]
9 Not in all edd. '0 Matt. viii. ii. " Matt. vii. 22. '2 Matt. xxv. 41.
>3 Luke X. 19. ["And on scolopendras" (i.e. centipedes) not in the original.]
DIALOGUE WITH TRYPHO.
237 things, and be rejected by the Scribes and Phari- sees, and be crucified, and on the third day rise again.' ■ And David predicted that He would be born from the womb before sun and moon,^ according to the Father's will, and made Him known, being Christ, as God strong and to be worshipped."
CHAP. LXXVII. HE RETURNS TO EXPLAIN THE PROPHECY OF ISAIAH.
Then Trypho said, " I admit that such and so great argiunents 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 [pas- sage] refers to this Christ of yours. For we as- sert 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 Sa- maria in presence of the king of Assyria.' For if the Spirit of prophecy had not made the state- ment 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 fore- knew 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 simili- tudes; just as He did towards all the people in ' Luke ix. 22.
^ Justin puts " sun and moon" instead of" Lucifer." [Ps. ex. 3, Sept, compounded with Prov. viii. 27.] Maranus says, David did predict, not that Christ would be bom of Mary before sun and moon, but that it would happen before sun and moon that He would be born of a virgin.
Jerusalem, frequently saying to them, 'Thy father is an Amorite, and thy mother a Hittite.' ^ CHAP. 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.' •♦ 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 wor- shipping 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 Judaea, 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 Judaea. But when the Child was born in Beth- lehem, 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 re- peated 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.s " So Herod, when the Magi 3 Ezek. xvi. 3.
* Mic. V. 2.
5 Text has, by " them; " but Maranus says the artifice lay in tlie priest's compelling the initiated to say that Mithras himself was the initiator in the cave.
-38 DIALOGUE WITH TRYPHO.
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 com- mands 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 Jere- miah prophesied that this would happen, speak- ing 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.' ' 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 ^ 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. ^ 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 per- ceived, from those who have received grace from God, namely, from us Christians; and not to strive in every way to maintain your own doc- trines, 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 ■♦ 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.' " s CHAP. 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 utter- ances 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 auda- city 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 "^ 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 ^ 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].'** 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 ^ Jerusa- lem, rebuke thee.' '° And again, it is written in Job," as you said yourself, how that the angels came to stand before the Lord, and the devii came with them. And we have it recorded by Moses in the beginning of Genesis, that the ser- pent beguiled Eve, and was cursed. And we know that in Egypt there were magicians who emulated '^ 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.' " '^ ' Jer. xxxi. 15.
2 Literally, " spoiled."
3 Justin thinks the "spoils of Samaria" denot* spoils of Satan; Tertull. thinks that they are spoils of Christ.
* LXX. " who walk," Tropeudfiwoi for jroyijpevo^ei/ot.
7 In E. v. "Zoan."
8 Isa. XXX. 1-5.
9 eicSef dficvo?; in chap. cxv. inf. it is eicAefo^eyos. '" Zech. iii. i.
11 Job i. 6.
12 Maranus suggests the insertion of kvQii\<ja.v or irreipatrav before efi<roi)<r9ai.
'3 Ps. xcvi. S- DIALOGUE WITH TRYPHO.
239 CHAP. 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,' that I and many others are of this opinion, and [be- lieve] that such will take place, as you assuredly are aware; ^ 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 be- tween us; in which I shall record myself as ad- mitting the very same things which I admit to you.3 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],'* 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 con- sider it, would not admit that the Sadducees, or similar sects of Genista, Meristse,^ Galilseans, Hellenists,^ Pharisees, Baptists, are Jews (do not