22. On the use of levgousin with credal overtones see Skarsaune, 148: "The

The virginal birth

9. "Under pressure, they are forced to agree that some of the passages we cited—passages already quoted to you which clearly prove that Christ was to suffer, to be worshipped, and to be called God—were indeed spoken of Christ. They dare to deny that he whom we worship is the Christ, yet they confess that [another] will come and suffer and rule and be worshipped.

This opinion, too, I will prove to be absurd and senseless. But, as you have compelled me to ﬁrst answer what you have said in ridicule, I will do so, and then I will pass on to the proofs of the remaining subjects. c h a p t e r 69 "Rest assured, then, Trypho," I went on, "that my knowledge of the Scriptures and my faith in them have been well conﬁrmed by the things which he who is called the Devil counterfeited in the ﬁctions circulated among the Greeks (just as he accomplished them through the Egyptian magicians and the false prophets in the days of Elijah).21

2. "For, when they say22 that Dionysus was born of Zeus's union with Semele, and narrate that he was the discoverer of the vine, and that, after he was torn to pieces and died, he arose again and ascended into heaven, and when they use wine23 in his mysteries, is it not evident that the Devil has imitated the previously quoted prophecy of the patriarch Jacob, as recorded by Moses?

3. "And when it is asserted that Herakles,24 the son of Zeus and Alcmene, was strong and traversed the whole earth, and that, after death, he, too, ascended into heaven, ought I not 21. On Egyptian magicians see Ex 7.11–13. On Elijah see 1 Kgs 18.25–29.

22. On the use of levgousin with credal overtones see Skarsaune, 148: "The Greek poets have, so to speak, framed pseudo-creeds."

23. The ms. has o[non (ass) as a marginal note. Although the ass was sacred to Dionysus, it need not be accepted as the proper reading here, for the word vine [oi\non] agrees better with the context. There is a parallel in 1 Apol. 54, on which see Barnard, 164 n 330. For the opposite view see M. Fédou, "La vision de la Croix dans l'oeuvre de saint Justin, philosophe et martyr," Recherches Augustiniennes 19 (1994): 66 n 112.

24. Here, as already in 1 Apol. 21 and 54, Justin attacks the fable concerning Herakles. He answers Trypho more directly in the next chapter, when he treats of the myth of Perseus, as in 1 Apol. 54.

Justin, Martyr, Saint. Dialogue with Trypho (Selections from the Fathers of the Church, Volume 3), edited by Michael Slusser, Catholic University of America Press, 2003. ProQuest Ebook Central, http://ebookcentral.proquest.com/lib/nottingham/de

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st. justin martyr conclude that the Scriptural passage about Christ, strong as a giant to run his course,25 was similarly imitated? And when the Devil presents Asclepius as raising the dead to life and curing all diseases, has he not, in this regard, also emulated the prophecies about Christ?

4. "But, as I have not yet quoted a passage from Scripture to prove to you that Christ would do these things, I must now call one to your attention, from which you can easily perceive how the Scriptures foretold that those who were destitute of the knowledge of God (I allude to the Gentiles who had eyes and saw not, hearts, and understood not,26 but worshipped material idols) should abandon their idols and place their hope in Christ.

5. "Here is the quotation: Be glad, O thirsty wilderness, let the desert rejoice, and ﬂourish as the lily; and the deserts of the Jordan shall blossom abundantly and rejoice; and the glory of Libanus was given to it, and the honor of Carmel. And my people shall see the exaltation of the Lord and the glory of God. Be strong, ye feeble hands and weak knees. Be comforted you fearful in heart; be strong, fear not. Behold, our

God brings, and will bring, the revenge of recompense. He shall come and save us. Then shall the eyes of the blind be opened, and the ears of the deaf shall hear. Then shall the lame man leap as a hart, and the tongue of the stammerers shall be free: for water is broken out in the desert, and a stream in a thirsty land, and the dry land shall become swamps, and in the thirsty land there shall be a spring of water.27

6. "The fountain of living water 28 which gushed forth from God upon a land devoid of the knowledge of God (that is, the land of the Gentiles) was our Christ, who made his appearance on earth in the midst of your people, and healed those who from birth were blind and deaf and lame. He cured them by his word, causing them to walk, to hear, and to see. By restoring the dead to life, he compelled the men of that day to recognize him.

7. "Yet, though they witnessed these miraculous deeds with their own eyes, they attributed them to magical art; indeed,

25. Ps 18 (19).6. See Skarsaune, 58, 82.

26. See Is 6.10.

27. Is 35.1–7. See Skarsaune, 58.

28. Jer 2.13.

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The virginal birth

they dared to call him a magician who misled the people.29 But he performed these deeds to convince his future followers, that if anyone, even though his body were in any way maimed, should be faithful to his teaching, he would raise him up at his second coming entirely sound, and make him free forever from death, corruption, and pain. c h a p t e r 70 "Now, when those who transmit the mysteries of Mithras30 claim that he was born of a rock, and call the place where they initiate his believers a cave, am I not right in concluding that they have imitated that saying of Daniel, a stone was hewn without hands out of a great mountain? 31 In similar fashion, have they not attempted to imitate all the sayings of Isaiah? For the demons urged the priests of Mithras to exhort their followers to perform righteous acts.

2. "Here are the words of Isaiah which I have to quote that you may know from them that this is so: Hear, you who are far off, what I have done; and they who are near shall know my strength. The sinners in Zion have departed; trembling shall seize the impious. Who shall announce to you the everlasting place? He that walks righteously, and speaks truth, who hates iniquity and injustice, and keeps his hands clean from bribes; who stops his ears from hearing the unjust judgment of blood, who shuts his eyes from seeing evil.

3. "He shall dwell in the lofty cave of the strong rock. Bread shall be given to him, and his water shall be sure. You shall see the king in his

29. Laovplanon: Marcovich, 191, cites Jn 7.12 and Mt 27.63. This passage is the earliest record we have that the Jews attributed the miracles of Christ to magic. See H. Remus, "Magic or Miracle? Some Second Century Instances," Second Century 3.2 (1982): 127–56, esp. 137; D. E. Aune, "Justin Martyr's Use of the Old Testament," Bulletin of the Evangelical Theological Society 9 (1966):

179–97; idem, "Magic in Early Christianity," Aufstieg und Niedergang der römischen

Welt II.23.2 (Berlin: de Gruyter, 1980): 1507–57; also C. Setzer (cited above, Dial. 8.3 n 23).

30. Mithras was a Persian god, whose adherents closely linked his worship with that of the sun. In Justin's time, Mithraism had many followers and was

Christianity's strongest rival at Rome. See 1 Apol. 66 and notes in Barnard, 71 and 182 n 410; "Mithras," EECh, s.v.; U. Bianchi, ed., Mysteria Mithrae (Leiden:

Brill, 1979). See also Acta Iranica, 17, Ier ser., IV, 1978, 7–18 (a special issue on Mithraism).

31. Dn 2.34. See Trakatellis, 57–58; Skarsaune, 381 n 11, 382, 451.

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st. justin martyr glory, and your eyes shall look far off. Your soul shall meditate on the fear of the Lord. Where is the scribe? Where are the counselors? Where is he who counts those who are nourished, the small and the great people?

With whom they did not take counsel, nor know the depth of the voices, so that they did not hear? A shameless people, and there is no understanding in him who hears.32

4. "It is quite evident that this prophecy also alludes to the bread which our Christ gave us to offer in remembrance of the Body which he assumed for the sake of those who believe in him, for whom he also suffered, and also to the cup which he taught us to offer in the Eucharist, in commemoration of his

Blood.33 The prophecy also states that we shall see this same king in his glory. [5.] And that the people of which it was foreknown that it would believe in him would meditate on the fear of the Lord, these same prophetic texts proclaim. And that they who think they know the very letter of the Scriptures, and who listen to the prophecies, have no understanding of them, these

Scriptures likewise cry out.

"And, Trypho (I said), when I hear it asserted that Perseus was born of a virgin, I know that this is another forgery of that treacherous serpent."34

32. Is 33.13–19.

33. See 1 Cor 11.24; Lk 22.19. On Eucharist see 1 Apol. 65–66, Dial. 41, 117; A. Hamman, "Valeur et signiﬁcation des renseignements Liturgiques de

Justin," SP 13 (= TU 116; 1975): 364–75.

34. On Perseus see Dial. 67; 1 Apol. 21, 22, and 54.

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C O R R E C T I O N S T O T H E T E X T

O F S C R I P T U R E

c h a p t e r 71 "But I certainly do not trust your teachers when they refuse to admit that the translation of the Scriptures made by the seventy elders at the court of King Ptolemy of Egypt is a correct one, but attempt to make their own translation.1

2. "I would also have you know that from the version composed by those elders at the court of Ptolemy, they have deleted entire passages in which it is clearly indicated that the cruciﬁed one was foretold as God and man, and as about to suffer death on the cross. But, since I know that all you Jews deny the authenticity of these passages, I will not start a discussion about them, but I will limit the controversy to those passages which you admit as genuine.

3. "Thus far, you have admitted the authenticity of all my quotations, except this, Behold, a virgin shall conceive, which you claim should read, Behold, a young woman shall conceive.2 And I promised to show that this prophecy was not spoken of Hezekiah, as you were taught, but of my Christ. This I now intend to prove."

4. "Before you do," interrupted Trypho, "we would like you to quote some of the passages you claim were entirely omitted

[from the elders' translation]."

1. Perhaps the translations of Aquila, Theodotion, and Symmachus. See Dial. 68.7 n 20.

2. Is 7.14. See Skarsaune, 42.

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