Form of Scripture They Used

Justin: Observe, too, how the same promises are made to Isaac and to Jacob. For thus He speaks to Isaac: 'And in your seed shall all the nations of the earth be blessed.' Genesis 26:4 And to Jacob: 'And in you and in your seed shall all families of the earth be blessed.' Genesis 28:14 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.' Genesis 49:10 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, 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 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 when I saw that they were perturbed because I said that we are the sons of God , I anticipated their questioning: Justin: 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 stands in the congregation of gods; He judges among the gods. How long do you 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, You are gods, and are all children of the Most High. But you die like men, and fall like one of the princes. Arise, O God! judge the earth, for You shall inherit all nations.' But in the version of the Seventy it is written, 'Behold, you die like men, and fall like one of the princes,' 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.

Justin: But I shall quote the passage by which it is made known that God divided all the nations. It is as follows: 'Ask your father, and he will show you; your elders, and they will tell you; 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.' 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…

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 grew not old, and your garments wore not away, but even those of the children grew along with them.

Justin: 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 Zechariah 2:8 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. For, mentioning the Scripture which says, 'Woe unto them! For they have devised evil counsel against themselves, saying' Isaiah 3:9 (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…

138. Noah is a figure of Christ, who has regenerated us by water, and faith, and wood: [i.e., the cross .] Justin: You know , then, sirs, that God has said in Isaiah to Jerusalem: 'I saved you in the deluge of Noah .' 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 you 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…

Justin: 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 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 . Trypho: We ask you first of all to tell us some of the Scriptures which you allege have been completely cancelled.

1. The Apostolic Fathers with Justin Martyr and Irenaeus - Christian Classics Ethereal Library Contents loading… ANF01. The Apostolic Fathers with Justin Martyr and Irenaeus Theme Font Aa Aa Text Size A A Bible Version Disable scripture popups King James Version American Standard Version World English Bible Show footnotes When clicked On the bottom On the side Reader Width Tags: « Prev Chapter LXXII.—Passages have been removed by the… Next » 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 2218 Or, “even if we.” 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 2219 It is not known where this passage comes from. 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 2220 Jer. xi. 19 .

And since this passage from the sayings of Jeremiah is still written in some copies 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 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 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 . 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 . « Prev Chapter LXXII.—Passages have been removed by the… Next » Please login or register to save highlights and make annotations. VIEWNAME is workSection

1. The Apostolic Fathers with Justin Martyr and Irenaeus - Christian Classics Ethereal Library Contents loading… ANF01. The Apostolic Fathers with Justin Martyr and Irenaeus Theme Font Aa Aa Text Size A A Bible Version Disable scripture popups King James Version American Standard Version World English Bible Show footnotes When clicked On the bottom On the side Reader Width Tags: « Prev Chapter LXXIII.—[The words] “From the wood” have… Next » 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 2222 These words were not taken away by the Jews, but added by some Christian.— Otto .

[A statement not proved.] 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 2223 It is strange that “from the wood” is not added; but the audacity of the copyists in such matters is well known.— Maranus . 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.

There were, then, among the Jews certain men who were prophets of God , through whom the prophetic Spirit published beforehand things that were to come to pass, ere ever they happened. And their prophecies, as they were spoken and when they were uttered, the kings who happened to be reigning among the Jews at the several times carefully preserved in their possession, when they had been arranged in books by the prophets themselves in their own Hebrew language. And when Ptolemy king of Egypt formed a library , and endeavoured to collect the writings of all men , he heard also of these prophets , and sent to Herod , who was at that time king of the Jews , requesting that the books of the prophets be sent to him. And Herod the king did indeed send them, written, as they were, in the foresaid Hebrew language.

And when their were found to be unintelligible to the Egyptians , he again sent and requested that men be commissioned to translate them into the Greek language. And when this was done, the books remained with the Egyptians , where they are until now. They are also in the possession of all Jews throughout the world; but they, though they read, do not understand what is said, but count us foes and enemies; and, like yourselves, they kill and punish us whenever they have the power, as you can well believe . For in the Jewish war which lately raged, Barchochebas, the leader of the revolt of the Jews , gave orders that Christians alone should be led to cruel punishments, unless they would deny Jesus Christ and utter blasphemy .

In these books, then, of the prophets we found Jesus our Christ foretold as coming, born of a virgin , growing up to man's estate, and healing every disease and every sickness, and raising the dead, and being hated , and unrecognised, and crucified, and dying, and rising again, and ascending into heaven, and being, and being called, the Son of God . We find it also predicted that certain persons should be sent by Him into every nation to publish these things, and that rather among the Gentiles [than among the Jews ] men should believe in Him. And He was predicted before He appeared, first 5000 years before, and again 3000, then 2000, then 1000, and yet again 800; for in the succession of generations prophets after prophets arose.

Of this six days' work no man can give a worthy explanation and description of all its parts, not though he had ten thousand tongues and ten thousand mouths; nay, though he were to live ten thousand years, sojourning in this life, not even so could he utter anything worthy of these things, on account of the exceeding greatness and riches of the wisdom of God which there is in the six days' work above narrated. Many writers indeed have imitated [the narration], and essayed to give an explanation of these things; yet, though they thence derived some suggestions, both concerning the creation of the world and the nature of man , they have emitted no slightest spark of truth .

And the utterances of the philosophers , and writers, and poets have an appearance of trustworthiness, on account of the beauty of their diction; but their discourse is proved to be foolish and idle, because the multitude of their nonsensical frivolities is very great; and not a stray morsel of truth is found in them. For even if any truth seems to have been uttered by them, it has a mixture of error . And as a deleterious drug, when mixed with honey or wine, or some other thing, makes the whole [mixture] hurtful and profitless; so also eloquence is in their case found to be labour in vain; yea, rather an injurious thing to those who credit it.

Moreover, [they spoke] concerning the seventh day, which all men acknowledge; but the most know not that what among the Hebrews is called the Sabbath , is translated into Greek the Seventh ( ἑβδομάς ), a name which is adopted by every nation, although they know not the reason of the appellation. And as for what the poet Hesiod says of Erebus being produced from chaos, as well as the earth and love which lords it over his [Hesiod's] gods and men, his dictum is shown to be idle and frigid, and quite foreign to the truth . For it is not meet that God be conquered by pleasure; since even men of temperance abstain from all base pleasure and wicked lust .

But men of God carrying in them a holy spirit and becoming prophets , being inspired and made wise by God , became God-taught, and holy , and righteous. Wherefore they were also deemed worthy of receiving this reward, that they should become instruments of God , and contain the wisdom that is from Him, through which wisdom they uttered both what regarded the creation of the world and all other things. For they predicted also pestilences, and famines, and wars .

And there was not one or two, but many, at various times and seasons among the Hebrews; and also among the Greeks there was the Sibyl; and they all have spoken things consistent and harmonious with each other, both what happened before them and what happened in their own time, and what things are now being fulfilled in our own day: wherefore we are persuaded also concerning the future things that they will fall out, as also the first have been accomplished.

On the plagiarizing of the dogmas of the philosophers from the Hebrews, we shall treat a little afterwards. But first, as due order demands, we must now speak of the epoch of Moses , by which the philosophy of the Hebrews will be demonstrated beyond all contradiction to be the most ancient of all wisdom. This has been discussed with accuracy by Tatian in his book To the Greeks , and by Cassian in the first book of his Exegetics . Nevertheless our commentary demands that we too should run over what has been said on the point.

Apion, then, the grammarian, surnamed Pleistonices, in the fourth book of The Egyptian Histories , although of so hostile a disposition towards the Hebrews, being by race an Egyptian , as to compose a work against the Jews , when referring to Amosis king of the Egyptians , and his exploits, adduces, as a witness , Ptolemy of Mendes. And his remarks are to the following effect: Amosis, who lived in the time of the Argive Inachus, overthrew Athyria, as Ptolemy of Mendes relates in his Chronology . Now this Ptolemy was a priest ; and setting forth the deeds of the Egyptian kings in three entire books, he says, that the exodus of the Jews from Egypt , under the conduct of Moses , took place while Amosis was king of Egypt . Whence it is seen that Moses flourished in the time of Inachus.

And of the Hellenic states, the most ancient is the Argolic, I mean that which took its rise from Inachus, as Dionysius of Halicarnassus teaches in his Times . And younger by forty generations than it was Attica, founded by Cecrops, who was an aboriginal of double race, as Tatian expressly says; and Arcadia, founded by Pelasgus, younger too by nine generations; and he, too, is said to have been an aboriginal. And more recent than this last by fifty-two generations, was Pthiotis, founded by Deucalion. And from the time of Inachus to the Trojan War twenty generations or more are reckoned; let us say, four hundred years and more.

And if Ctesias says that the Assyrian power is many years older than the Greek, the exodus of Moses from Egypt will appear to have taken place in the forty-second year of the Assyrian empire, in the thirty-second year of the reign of Belochus, in the time of Amosis the Egyptian , and of Inachus the Argive. And in Greece, in the time of Phoroneus, who succeeded Inachus, the flood of Ogyges occurred; and monarchy subsisted in Sicyon first in the person of Ægialeus, then of Europs, then of Telches; in Crete, in the person of Cres. For Acusilaus says that Phoroneus was the first man. Whence, too, the author of Phoronis said that he was the father of mortal men.

So much for the details respecting dates, as stated variously by many, and as set down by us. It is said that the Scriptures both of the law and of the prophets were translated from the dialect of the Hebrews into the Greek language in the reign of Ptolemy the son of Lagos, or, according to others, of Ptolemy surnamed Philadelphus; Demetrius Phalereus bringing to this task the greatest earnestness, and employing painstaking accuracy on the materials for the translation. For the Macedonians being still in possession of Asia, and the king being ambitious of adorning the library he had at Alexandria with all writings, desired the people of Jerusalem to translate the prophecies they possessed into the Greek dialect.

And they being the subjects of the Macedonians, selected from those of highest character among them seventy elders, versed in the Scriptures , and skilled in the Greek dialect, and sent them to him with the divine books. And each having severally translated each prophetic book, and all the translations being compared together, they agreed both in meaning and expression. For it was the counsel of God carried out for the benefit of Grecian ears. It was not alien to the inspiration of God , who gave the prophecy , also to produce the translation, and make it as it were Greek prophecy . Since the Scriptures having perished in the captivity of Nebuchadnezzar , Esdras the Levite, the priest , in the time of Artaxerxes king of the Persians , having become inspired in the exercise of prophecy restored again the whole of the ancient Scriptures.

And Aristobulus, in his first book addressed to Philometor, writes in these words: And Plato followed the laws given to us, and had manifestly studied all that is said in them. And before Demetrius there had been translated by another, previous to the dominion of Alexander and of the Persians , the account of the departure of our countrymen the Hebrews from Egypt , and the fame of all that happened to them, and their taking possession of the land, and the account of the whole code of laws ; so that it is perfectly clear that the above-mentioned philosopher derived a great deal from this source, for he was very learned, as also Pythagoras, who transferred many things from our books to his own system of doctrines. And Numenius, the Pythagorean philosopher , expressly writes: For what is Plato , but Moses speaking in Attic Greek?

This Moses was a theologian and prophet , and as some say, an interpreter of sacred laws . His family , his deeds , and life, are related by the Scriptures themselves, which are worthy of all credit; but have nevertheless to be stated by us also as well as we can.

Moses , originally of a Chaldean family , was born in Egypt , his ancestors having migrated from Babylon into Egypt on account of a protracted famine. Born in the seventh generation, and having received a royal education, the following are the circumstances of his history. The Hebrews having increased in Egypt to a great multitude, and the king of the country being afraid of insurrection in consequence of their numbers, he ordered all the female children born to the Hebrews to be reared ( woman being unfit for war ), but the male to be destroyed, being suspicious of stalwart youth. But the child being goodly, his parents nursed him secretly three months, natural affection being too strong for the monarch's cruelty.

But at last, dreading lest they should be destroyed along with the child, they made a basket of the papyrus that grew there, put the child in it, and laid it on the banks of the marshy river. The child's sister stood at a distance, and watched what would happen. In this emergency, the king's daughter, who for a long time had not been pregnant, and who longed for a child, came that day to the river to bathe and wash herself; and hearing the child cry, she ordered it to be brought to her; and touched with pity, sought a nurse. At that moment the child's sister ran up, and said that, if she wished, she could procure for her as nurse one of the Hebrew women who had recently had a child. And on her consenting and desiring her to do so, she brought the child's mother to be nurse for a stipulated fee, as if she had been some other person.

Thereupon the queen gave the babe the name of Moses , with etymological propriety, from his being drawn out of the water, — for the Egyptians call water mou, — in which he had been exposed to die. For they call Moses one who who breathed [on being taken] from the water. It is clear that previously the parents gave a name to the child on his circumcision ; and he was called Joachim. And he had a third name in heaven, after his ascension, as the mystics say — Melchi. Having reached the proper age, he was taught arithmetic, geometry, poetry, harmony, and besides, medicine and music, by those that excelled in these arts among the Egyptians ; and besides, the philosophy which is conveyed by symbols , which they point out in the hieroglyphical inscriptions.

The rest of the usual course of instruction, Greeks taught him in Egypt as a royal child, as Philo says in his life of Moses . He learned, besides, the literature of the Egyptians , and the knowledge of the heavenly bodies from the Chaldeans and the Egyptians ; whence in the Acts Acts 7:22 he is said to have been instructed in all the wisdom of the Egyptians . And Eupolemus, in his book On the Kings in Judea , says that Moses was the first wise man, and the first that imparted grammar to the Jews , that the Phœnicians received it from the Jews , and the Greeks from the Phœnicians. And betaking himself to their philosophy , he increased his wisdom, being ardently attached to the training received from his kindred and ancestors, till he struck and slew the Egyptian who wrongfully attacked the Hebrew.

In reference to these commentaries, which contain as the exigencies of the case demand, the Hellenic opinions, I say thus much to those who are fond of finding fault. First, even if philosophy were useless, if the demonstration of its uselessness does good, it is yet useful. Then those cannot condemn the Greeks, who have only a mere hearsay knowledge of their opinions, and have not entered into a minute investigation in each department, in order to acquaintance with them. For the refutation, which is based on experience, is entirely trustworthy. For the knowledge of what is condemned is found the most complete demonstration. Many things, then, though not contributing to the final result, equip the artist.

And otherwise erudition commends him, who sets forth the most essential doctrines so as to produce persuasion in his hearers, engendering admiration in those who are taught, and leads them to the truth . And such persuasion is convincing, by which those that love learning admit the truth ; so that philosophy does not ruin life by being the originator of false practices and base deeds , although some have calumniated it, though it be the clear image of truth , a divine gift to the Greeks; nor does it drag us away from the faith , as if we were bewitched by some delusive art, but rather, so to speak, by the use of an ampler circuit, obtains a common exercise demonstrative of the faith . Further, the juxtaposition of doctrines, by comparison, saves the truth , from which follows knowledge .

Philosophy came into existence , not on its own account, but for the advantages reaped by us from knowledge , we receiving a firm persuasion of true perception, through the knowledge of things comprehended by the mind. For I do not mention that the Stromata , forming a body of varied erudition, wish artfully to conceal the seeds of knowledge . As, then, he who is fond of hunting captures the game after seeking, tracking, scenting, hunting it down with dogs; so truth , when sought and got with toil, appears a delicious thing. Why, then, you will ask, did you think it fit that such an arrangement should be adopted in your memoranda?

Because there is great danger in divulging the secret of the true philosophy to those, whose delight it is unsparingly to speak against everything, not justly ; and who shout forth all kinds of names and words indecorously, deceiving themselves and beguiling those who adhere to them. For the Hebrews seek signs, as the apostle says, and the Greeks seek after wisdom. 1 Corinthians 1:22

For Paul too, in the Epistles, plainly does not disparage philosophy ; but deems it unworthy of the man who has attained to the elevation of the Gnostic , any more to go back to the Hellenic philosophy , figuratively calling it the rudiments of this world, as being most rudimentary, and a preparatory training for the truth . Wherefore also, writing to the Hebrews, who were declining again from faith to the law, he says, Have you not need again of one to teach you which are the first principles of the oracles of God , and have become such as have need of milk, and not of strong meat?

Hebrews 5:12 So also to the Colossians, who were Greek converts, Beware lest any man spoil you by philosophy and vain deceit, after the tradition of men , after the rudiments of this world, and not after Christ, Colossians 2:8 — enticing them again to return to philosophy , the elementary doctrine. And should one say that it was through human understanding that philosophy was discovered by the Greeks, still I find the Scriptures saying that understanding is sent by God . The psalmist, accordingly, considers understanding as the greatest free gift, and beseeches, saying, I am Your servant; give me understanding. And does not David, while asking the abundant experience of knowledge , write, Teach me gentleness, and discipline, and knowledge : for I have believed in Your commandments?

He confessed the covenants to be of the highest authority, and that they were given to the more excellent. Accordingly the psalm again says of God , He has not done thus to any nation; and He has not shown His judgments to them. The expression He has not done so shows that He has done , but not thus. The thus, then, is put comparatively, with reference to pre-eminence, which obtains in our case. The prophet might have said simply, He has not done, without the thus. Further, Peter in the Acts says, Of a truth , I perceive that God is no respecter of persons ; but in every nation he that fears Him, and works righteousness, is accepted by Him. Acts 10:34-35 The absence of respect of persons in God is not then in time, but from eternity . Nor had His beneficence a beginning; nor any more is it limited to places or persons .

For His beneficence is not confined to parts. Open the gates of righteousness, it is said; entering into them, I will confess to the Lord . This is the gate of the Lord . The righteous shall enter by it. Explaining the prophet's saying, Barnabas adds, There being many gates open, that which is in righteousness is the gate which is in Christ , by which all who enter are blessed. Bordering on the same meaning is also the following prophetic utterance: The Lord is on many waters; not the different covenants alone, but the modes of teaching, those among the Greek and those among the Barbarians, conducing to righteousness. And already clearly David, bearing testimony to the truth , sings, Let sinners be turned into Hades, and all the nations that forget God.

But these saucy cuttles (of heretics ) under the figure of whom the law about things to be eaten Deuteronomy 14 prohibited this very kind of piscatory aliment, as soon as they find themselves confuted, eject the black venom of their blasphemy , and so spread about in all directions the object which (as is now plain) they severally have in view, when they put forth such assertions and protestations as shall obscure and tarnish the rekindled light of the Creator's bounty. We will, however, follow their wicked design, even through these black clouds, and drag to light their tricks of dark calumny , laying to the Creator's charge with special emphasis the fraud and theft of gold and silver which the Hebrews were commanded by Him to practise against the Egyptians .

Come, unhappy heretic , I cite even you as a witness ; first look at the case of the two nations, and then you will form a judgment of the Author of the command. The Egyptians put in a claim on the Hebrews for these gold and silver vessels. The Hebrews assert a counter claim, alleging that by the bond of their respective fathers, attested by the written engagement of both parties, there were due to them the arrears of that laborious slavery of theirs, for the bricks they had so painfully made, and the cities and palaces which they had built. What shall be your verdict, you discoverer of the most good God? That the Hebrews must admit the fraud, or the Egyptians the compensation?

For they maintain that thus has the question been settled by the advocates on both sides, of the Egyptians demanding their vessels, and the Hebrews claiming the requital of their labours. But for all they say, the Egyptians justly renounced their restitution-claim then and there; while the Hebrews to this day, in spite of the Marcionites, re-assert their demand for even greater damages, insisting that, however large was their loan of the gold and silver, it would not be compensation enough, even if the labour of six hundred thousand men should be valued at only a farthing a day a piece. Which, however, were the more in number — those who claimed the vessel, or those who dwelt in the palaces and cities? Which, too, the greater — the grievance of the Egyptians against the Hebrews, or the favour which they displayed towards them?

Were free men reduced to servile labour, in order that the Hebrews might simply proceed against the Egyptians by action at law for injuries; or in order that their officers might on their benches sit and exhibit their backs and shoulders shamefully mangled by the fierce application of the scourge? It was not by a few plates and cup — in all cases the property, no doubt , of still fewer rich men — that any one would pronounce that compensation should have been awarded to the Hebrews, but both by all the resources of these and by the contributions of all the people.

He chose also seventy other missionaries besides the twelve. Now why, if the twelve followed the number of the twelve fountains of Elim, should not the seventy correspond to the like number of the palms of that place? Whatever be the Antitheses of the comparison, it is a diversity in the causes, not in the powers, which has mainly produced them. But if one does not keep in view the diversity of the causes , he is very apt to infer a difference of powers . When the children of Israel went out of Egypt , the Creator brought them forth laden with their spoils of gold and silver vessels, and with loads besides of raiment and unleavened dough; whereas Christ commanded His disciples not to carry even a staff for their journey. The former were thrust forth into a desert, but the latter were sent into cities.

Consider the difference presented in the occasions, and you will understand how it was one and the same power which arranged the mission of His people according to their poverty in the one case, and their plenty in the other. He cut down their supplies when they could be replenished through the cities, just as He had accumulated them when exposed to the scantiness of the desert . Even shoes He forbade them to carry. For it was He under whose very protection the people wore not out a shoe, Deuteronomy 29:5 even in the wilderness for the space of so many years. No one, says He, shall you salute by the way. Luke 10:4 What a destroyer of the prophets , forsooth, is Christ, seeing it is from them that He received his precept also!

When Elisha sent on his servant Gehazi before him to raise the Shunammite's son from death, I rather think he gave him these instructions: Gird up your loins, and take my staff in your hand, and go your way: if you meet any man, salute him not; and if any salute you, answer him not again. For what is a wayside blessing but a mutual salutation as men meet? So also the Lord commands: Into whatsoever house they enter, let them say, Peace be to it. Luke 10:5 Herein He follows the very same example. For Elisha enjoined upon his servant the same salutation when he met the Shunammite; he was to say to her: Peace to your husband, peace to your child. Such will be rather our Antitheses ; they compare Christ with, instead of sundering Him from, the Creator. The labourer is worthy of his hire.

Luke 10:7 Who could better pronounce such a sentence than the Judge? For to decide that the workman deserves his wages, is in itself a judicial act. There is no award which consists not in a process of judgment. The law of the Creator on this point also presents us with a corroboration, for He judges that labouring oxen are as labourers worthy of their hire: You shall not muzzle, says He, the ox when he treads out the grain. Deuteronomy 25:4 Now, who is so good to man as He who is also merciful to cattle? Now, when Christ pronounced labourers to be worthy of their hire, He, in fact, exonerated from blame that precept of the Creator about depriving the Egyptians of their gold and silver vessels.

1. But as it is not sufficient, in the discussion of matters of such importance, to entrust the decision to the human senses and to the human understanding, and to pronounce on things invisible as if they were seen by us, we must, in order to establish the positions which we have laid down, adduce the testimony of Holy Scripture . And that this testimony may produce a sure and unhesitating belief, either with regard to what we have still to advance, or to what has been already stated, it seems necessary to show, in the first place, that the Scriptures themselves are divine, i.e., were inspired by the Spirit of God . We shall therefore with all possible brevity draw forth from the Holy Scriptures themselves, such evidence on this point as may produce upon us a suitable impression, (making our quotations) from Moses , the first legislator of the Hebrew nation, and from the words of Jesus Christ , the Author and Chief of the Christian religious system. For although there have been numerous legislators among the Greeks and Barbarians, and also countless teachers and philosophers who professed to declare the truth , we do not remember any legislator who was able to produce in the minds of foreign nations an affection and a zeal (for him) such as led them either voluntarily to adopt his laws , or to defend them with all the efforts of their mind. No one, then, has been able to introduce and make known what seemed to himself the truth , among, I do not say many foreign nations, but…

2. And we may see, moreover, how that religion itself grew up in a short time, making progress by the punishment and death of its worshippers, by the plundering of their goods, and by the tortures of every kind which they endured; and this result is the more surprising, that even the teachers of it themselves neither were men of skill, nor very numerous; and yet these words are preached throughout the whole world, so that Greeks and Barbarians, wise and foolish, adopt the doctrines of the Christian religion . From which it is no doubtful inference, that it is not by human power or might that the words of Jesus Christ come to prevail with all faith and power over the understandings and souls of all men . For, that these results were both predicted by Him, and established by divine answers proceeding from Him, is clear from His own words: You shall be brought before governors and kings for My sake, for a testimony against them and the Gentiles . And again: This Gospel of the kingdom shall be preached among all nations. And again: Many shall say to Me in that day, Lord, Lord, have we not eaten and drunk in Your name, and in Your name cast out devils? And I will say unto them, Depart from Me, you workers of iniquity, I never knew you. If these sayings, indeed, had been so uttered by Him, and yet if these predictions had not been fulfilled, they might perhaps appear to be untrue, and not to possess any authority. But now, when His declarations do pass into fulfilment, seeing they…

3. What, then, are we to say of this, which the prophets had beforehand foretold of Him, that princes would not cease from Judah, nor leaders from be­tween his thighs, until He should come for whom it has been reserved (viz., the kingdom), and until the expectation of the Gentiles should come? For it is most distinctly evident from the history itself, from what is clearly seen at the present day, that from the times of Christ onwards there were no kings among the Jews . Nay, even all those objects of Jewish pride , of which they vaunted so much, and in which they exulted, whether regarding the beauty of the temple or the ornaments of the altar, and all those sacerdotal fillets and robes of the high priests , were all destroyed together. For the proph­ecy was fulfilled which had declared, For the chil­dren of Israel shall abide many days without king and prince: there shall be no victim, nor altar, nor priesthood , nor answers. These testimonies, ac­cordingly, we employ against those who seem to assert that what is spoken in Genesis by Jacob refers to Judah; and who say that there still remains a prince of the race of Judah — he, viz., who is the prince of their nation, whom they style Patriarch — and that there cannot fail (a ruler) of his seed, who will re­main until the advent of that Christ whom they pic­ture to themselves. But if the prophet's words be true , when he says, The children of Israel shall abide many days without king, without prince; and there shall be no…

4. In the song of Deuteronomy, also, it is pro­phetically declared that, on account of the sins of the former people, there was to be an election of a fool­ish nation — no other, certainly, than that which was brought about by Christ; for thus the words run: They have moved Me to anger with their images, and I will stir them up to jealousy; I will arouse them to anger against a foolish nation. We may therefore evidently see how the Hebrews, who are said to have excited God's anger by means of those ( idols ), which are no gods, and to have aroused His wrath by their images, were themselves also excited to jealousy by means of a foolish nation, which God has chosen by the advent of Jesus Christ and His disciples . For the following is the language of the apostle: For you see your calling, brethren, how that not many wise men among you after the flesh, not many mighty, not many noble (are called): but God has chosen the foolish things of the world, and the things which are not, to destroy the things which formerly existed . Carnal Israel , therefore, should not boast; for such is the term used by the apostle: No flesh, I say, should glory in the presence of God .

Celsus, therefore, not investigating in a spirit of impartiality the facts, which are related by the Egyptians in one way, and by the Hebrews in another, but being bewitched, as it were, in favour of the former, accepted as true the statements of those who had oppressed the strangers, and declared that the Hebrews, who had been unjustly treated, had departed from Egypt after revolting against the Egyptians, — not observing how impossible it was for so great a multitude of rebellious Egyptians to become a nation, which, dating its origin from the said revolt, should change its language at the time of its rebellion, so that those who up to that time made use of the Egyptian tongue, should completely adopt, all at once, the language of the Hebrews!

Let it be granted, however, according to his supposition, that on abandoning Egypt they did conceive a hatred also of their mother tongue, how did it happen that after so doing they did not rather adopt the Syrian or Phœnician language, instead of preferring the Hebrew, which is different from both? But reason seems to me to demonstrate that the statement is false, which makes those who were Egyptians by race to have revolted against Egyptians , and to have left the country, and to have proceeded to Palestine, and occupied the land now called Judea . For Hebrew was the language of their fathers before their descent into Egypt ; and the Hebrew letters, employed by Moses in writing those five books which are deemed sacred by the Jews , were different from those of the Egyptians .

Preface In the name of the Father , and the Son , and the Holy Spirit , one God. This is a transcript of the excellent law. But before beginning to give the transcript of the book of the law, it will be worth while to instruct you, O brother, as to its excellence, and the dignity of its disposition. Its first excellence is, that God delivered it by the hand of our most blessed ruler, the chief of the prophets , and first of the apostles , or those who were sent to the children of Israel , viz. Moses the son of Amram, the son of Kohath, of the sons of Levi. Now he was adorned with all manner of wisdom, and endowed with the best genius. Illustrious in dignity, remarkable for the integrity of his disposition, distinguished for power of reason, he talked with God . And He chose him as an instrument of value. By His leader and prophet , God Most High sent it clown to us, and committed it to us (blessed be His name) in the Syriac tongue of the Targum, which the Seventy translated into the Hebrew tongue, to wit, into the tongue of the nation, and the idiom of the common people. Moses . therefore, received it from the eternal Lord, and was the first to whom it was entrusted, and who obeyed its rules and ordinances. Then he taught it to the children of Israel , who also embraced it. And he explained to them its profound mysteries and dark places. And he expounded to them those things which were less easy, as God permitted him, and concealed from them those secrets of the law, as God…

6. Hippolytus, the Syrian expositor of the Targum, has said: We find in an ancient Hebrew copy that God commanded Noah to range the wild beasts in order in the lower floor or storey, and to separate the males from the females by putting wooden stakes between them. And thus, too, he did with all the cattle, and also with the birds in the middle storey. And God ordered the males thus to be separated from the females for the sake of decency and purity, lest they should perchance get intermingled with each other. Moreover, God said to Moses : Provide victuals for yourself and your children. And let them be of wheat, ground, pounded, kneaded with water, and dried. And Noah there and then bade his wife, and his sons' wives, diligently attend to kneading dough and laying it in the oven. They kneaded dough accordingly, and prepared just about as much as might be sufficient for them, so that nothing should remain over but the very least. And God charged Noah , saying to him: Whosoever shall first announce to you the approach of the deluge, him you shall destroy that very moment. In the meantime, moreover, the wife of Cham was standing by, about to put a large piece of bread into the oven. And suddenly, according to the word of the Lord, water rushed forth from the oven, and the flow of water penetrated and destroyed the bread. Therefore the wife of Cham exclaimed, addressing herself to Noah : Oh, sir, the word of God has come good: that which God foretold has come to pass; execute,…

Genesis 1:5 And it was evening, and it was morning, one day. HIPPOLYTUS: He did not say night and day, but one day, with reference to the name of the light. He did not say the first day; for if he had said the first day, he would also have had to say that the second day was made. But it was right to speak not of the first day, but of one day, in order that by saying one, he might show that it returns on its orbit and, while it remains one, makes up the week. Genesis 1:6 And God said, Let there be a firmament in the midst of the water. HIPPOLYTUS: On the first day God made what He made out of nothing. But on the other days He did not make out of nothing, but out of what He had made on the first day, by moulding it according to His pleasure. Genesis 1:6-7 And let it divide between water and water: and it was so.

And God made the firmament; and God divided between the water which was under the firmament, and the water above the firmament: and it was so. HIPPOLYTUS: As the excessive volume of water bore along over the face of the earth, the earth was by reason thereof invisible and formless. When the Lord of all designed to make the invisible visible, He fixed then a third part of the waters in the midst; and another third part He set by itself on high, raising it together with the firmament by His own power; and the remaining third He left beneath, for the use and benefit of men. Now at this point we have an asterisk. The words are found in the Hebrew, but do not occur in the Septuagint . Genesis 3:8 And they heard the voice of the Lord God walking in the garden at even.

HIPPOLYTUS: Rather they discerned the approach of the Lord by a certain breeze. As soon, therefore, as they had sinned , God appeared to them, producing consciousness of their sin , and calling them to repentance. Genesis 49:3 Reuben, my first-born , you are my strength, and the first of my children; hard to bear with, and hard and self-willed: you have grown wanton as water; boil not over. AQUILA: Reuben, my first-born , you are my strength, and the sum of my sorrow: excelling in dignity and excelling in might: you have been insensate as water; excel not. SYMMACHUS: Reuben, my first-born , and beginning of my pain: above measure grasping, and above measure hot as water, you shall not more excel. HIPPOLYTUS: For there was a great display of strength made by God in behalf of His first-born people from Egypt .

For in very many ways was the land of the Egyptians chastised. That first people of the circumcision is meant by my strength, and the first of my children: even as God gave the promise to Abraham and to his seed. But hard to bear with, because the people hardened itself against the obedience of God . And hard, self-willed, because it was not only hard against the obedience of God , but also self-willed so as to set upon the Lord. You have grown wanton, because in the instance of our Lord Jesus Christ the people grew wanton against the Father. But boil not over, says the Spirit , by way of comfort, that it might not, by boiling utterly over, be spilled abroad — giving it hope of salvation . For what has boiled over and been spilled is lost. Genesis 49:4 For you went up to your father's bed.

1. The book of Psalms contains new doctrine after the law which was given by Moses ; and thus it is the second book of doctrine after the Scripture of Moses . After the death, then of Moses and Joshua, and after the judges, David arose, one deemed worthy to be called the father of the Saviour , and he was the first to give the Hebrews a new style of psalmody, by which he did away with the ordinances established by Moses with respect to sacrifice , and introduced a new mode of the worship of God by hymns and acclamations; and many other things also beyond the law of Moses he taught through his whole ministry. And this is the sacredness of the book, and its utility. And the account to be given of its inscription is this: (for) as most of the brethren who believe in Christ think that this hook is David's, and inscribe it Psalms of David, we must state what has reached us with respect to it. The Hebrews give the book the title Sephra Thelim, and in the Acts of the Apostles it is called the Book of Psalms (the words are these, as it is written in the Book of Psalms ), but the name (of the author) in the inscription of the book is not found there. And the reason of that is, that the words written there are not the words of one man, but those of several together; Esdra, as tradition says, having collected in one volume, after the captivity, the psalms of several, or rather their words, as they are not all psalms. Thus the name of David is prefixed in the case of some, and that of…

2. As regards those which have no inscription, we must also inquire to whom we ought to ascribe them. For why is it that even the simplest inscription is wanting in them — such as the one which runs thus, A psalm of David, or Of David, without any addition? Now, my idea is, that wherever this inscription occurs alone, what is written is neither a psalm nor a song, but some sort of utterance under guidance of the Holy Spirit , recorded for the benefit of him who is able to understand it. But the opinion of a certain Hebrew on these last matters has reached me, who held that, when there were many without any inscription, but preceded by one with the inscription Of David, all these should be reckoned also to be by David. And if this be the case, it follows that those without any inscription are by those (writers) who are rightly reckoned, according to the titles, to be the authors of the psalms preceding these. This book of Psalms before us has also been called by the prophet the Psalter, because, as they say, the psaltery alone among musical instruments gives back the sound from above when the brass is struck, and not from beneath, after the manner of others. In order, therefore, that those who understand it may be zealous to carry out the analogy of such an appellation, and may also look above, from which direction its melody comes — for this reason he has styled it the Psalter. For it is entirely the voice and utterance of the most Holy Spirit .

3. Let us inquire, further, why there are one hundred and fifty psalms. That the number fifty is sacred, is manifest from the days of the celebrated festival of Pentecost, which indicates release from labours, and (the possession of) joy . For which reason neither fasting nor bending the knee is decreed for those days. For this is a symbol of the great assembly that is reserved for future times. Of which times there was a shadow in the land of Israel in the year called among the Hebrews Jobel (Jubilee). which is the fiftieth year in number, and brings with it liberty for the slave, and release from debt, and the like. And the holy Gospel knows also the remission of the number fifty, and of that number which is cognate with it, and stands by it, viz., five hundred; for it is not without a purpose that we have given us there the remission of fifty pence and of five hundred. Thus, then, it was also meet that the hymns to God on account of the destruction of enemies, and in thanksgiving for the goodness of God , should contain not simply one set of fifty, but three such, for the name of Father, and Son, and Holy Spirit .

4. The number fifty, moreover, contains seven sevens, or a Sabbath of Sabbaths ; and also over and above these full Sabbaths , a new beginning, in the eight, of a really new rest that remains above the Sabbaths . And let any one who is able, observe this (as it is carried out) in the Psalms with more, indeed, than human accuracy, so as to find out the reasons in each case, as we shall set them forth. Thus, for instance, it is not without a purpose that the eighth psalm has the inscription, On the wine-presses, as it comprehends the perfection of fruits in the eight; for the time for the enjoyment of the fruits of the true vine could not be before the eight. And again, the second psalm inscribed On the wine-presses, is the eightieth, containing another eighth number, viz., in the tenth multiple. The eighty-third, again, is made up by the union of two holy numbers, viz., the eight in the tenth multiple, and the three in the first multiple. And the fiftieth psalm is a prayer for the remission of sins , and a confession. For as, according to the Gospel , the fiftieth obtained remission, confirming thereby that understanding of the jubilee, so he who offers up such petitions in full confession hopes to gain remission in no other number than the fiftieth. And again, there are also certain others which are called Songs of degrees, in number fifteen, as was also the number of the steps of the temple, and which show thereby, perhaps, that the steps (or degrees ) are comprehended…