Dialogue with Trypho

Translator’s note. The Xystus was a covered walkway, typically part of a gymnasium. The man greets Justin as “philosopher” because Justin wore the philosopher’s cloak (see the next section).

Translator’s note. Justin’s question echoes Homer’s Iliad (6.123), where Diomedes asks Glaucus, “Who are you, best of men?” Using a line of epic poetry in casual conversation is the playful touch. The “war” is commonly taken to be the Bar Kokhba revolt (about AD 132–135); the Greek says only “the war that has now happened.”

Translator’s note. The belief that the same things recur forever is a Greek (especially Stoic) idea of endless cycles. The Greek does not name the school.

Translator’s note. No ancient school called the “Theoretics” is otherwise well known, and scholars are unsure whom Justin means.

Translator’s note. “Peripatetic” means a follower of Aristotle’s school. The Greek word for “shrewd” is damaged in the manuscript, so the reading is uncertain.

Translator’s note. The older translation puts the next sentence, in which the Pythagorean praises these studies and sends Justin away, at the end of this section. In the Greek it begins section 2.5.

Translator’s note. “Ideas” are what Plato called the eternal, unchanging realities behind the things we see. They are also called “Forms.”

Translator’s note. The Greek word for “love of discourse” is philologia. The old man takes it up in the next section as “lover of words.”

Translator’s note. The older translation ends this section with the old man’s question, “Does philosophy, then, make happiness?” In the Greek that question begins section 3.4.

Translator’s note. The older translation ends this section with the old man’s next question, “But what do you call God?” In the Greek that question begins section 3.5.

Translator’s note. The older translation renders the Greek word for steering a ship (kybernetike) as “ruling.” The Greek names the pilot’s art alongside the general’s and the physician’s.

Translator’s note. The older translation ends this section with “Certainly not, I said”; that reply belongs to the start of the next section in the Greek, so it is placed there.

Translator’s note. Justin probably has in mind Plato’s Phaedrus (247c), which describes true reality as visible only to the mind. The older translation adds “merely” (“cannot be seen merely by the eyes”), but the Greek says plainly that the divine is not visible to the eyes.

Translator’s note. Justin, still speaking as a Platonist, strings together phrases from Plato. “The eye of the mind/soul” is from Republic 533d, “beyond all essence” from Republic 509b, “no color, no shape” from Phaedrus 247c, and “unspeakable” and “suddenly” from the Seventh Letter 341c–d.

Translator’s note. “Royal mind” echoes Plato, Philebus 30d, which speaks of a “royal soul” and “royal mind” in the nature of Zeus.

Translator’s note. The Greek of “perhaps there is a time when they do not exist” is uncertain, and editors usually correct one word to read “at some time.” It could mean that souls once did not exist, or that they may someday cease to exist. The older translation takes it the first way.

Translator’s note. Justin is probably thinking of Timaeus 41a–b, where the Maker tells the gods he has made that, because they came into being, they are not immortal or indissoluble in themselves, yet they will not be dissolved, because his will is a stronger bond.

Translator’s note. “Pass into pigs, snakes and dogs” refers to the Pythagorean and Platonic teaching that souls are reborn in animal bodies. The two speakers discussed this earlier (chapter 4).

Scripture: Genesis 3:19

Translator’s note. “Become complete” translates a Greek word (teleios) meaning “perfect,” “mature” or “complete.” In the language of the pagan mystery cults the same word could mean “fully initiated,” which is how the older translation took it (“after being initiated”).

Translator’s note. “My dear friend” translates a singular Greek word (philtate). Justin is addressing the person for whom he is writing up the conversation, not Trypho’s companions. Later in the work he addresses a “Marcus Pompeius.”

Translator’s note. The expectation that Elijah would come before the day of the Lord rests on Malachi 4:5. The further idea that the Messiah would stay hidden, unaware of himself, until Elijah anointed him is not found in the Old Testament. It reflects Jewish tradition of Justin’s time.

Translator’s note. The “war in Judaea” is probably the Bar Kokhba revolt (AD 132–135). In chapter 1 Trypho says he fled the recent war, though neither he nor Justin names it.

Translator’s note. Charges of cannibalism and of incestuous orgies after the lamps were put out were common rumors about Christians in this period. Justin mentions them also in his First Apology (chapter 26).

Translator’s note. Trypho quotes Genesis 17:14 as it stands in the Greek Old Testament (Septuagint), which includes “on the eighth day”; the Hebrew text lacks these words in that verse. The rule for foreigners and bought slaves comes from Genesis 17:12–13.

Scripture: Genesis 17:14; Genesis 17:12-13

Translator’s note. The older translation has “persuade yourselves”; the Greek says they try to persuade “us” (Trypho and his companions).

Translator’s note. Horeb is another name for Mount Sinai. The Greek sentence beginning “But now” breaks off. Here it is given as a plain statement for readability.

Translator’s note. The quotations are Isaiah 51:4–5 and Jeremiah 31:31–32, following the Greek Old Testament (the Septuagint). Justin stops the Jeremiah passage before its end.

Scripture: Isaiah 51:4-5; Jeremiah 31:31-32

Translator’s note. The older English has “attendant miracles.” The Greek word (dynamis) means “power,” and it can refer to miraculous power, so “miracles” is a possible reading. Here the more general “power” is kept.

Translator’s note. On Abraham, see Genesis 15:6 and 17:5. Paul makes the same point, that Abraham was counted righteous before he was circumcised and is father of many nations, in Romans 4:9–17.

Scripture: Genesis 17:5; Romans 4:11

Translator’s note. The quotation is Isaiah 55:3–5 in the Greek Old Testament. Where the older English has “the people,” the Greek has “nations.” Where it has “mercies,” the Greek has “holy things” (ta hosia), the same phrase quoted in Acts 13:34. The older English runs on into what is here 12.2.

Scripture: Isaiah 55:3-5

Translator’s note. The words about ears, eyes and heart echo Isaiah 6:10 (compare Jeremiah 5:21). For the last sentence compare Matthew 11:5 and Luke 7:22, which echo Isaiah 61:1.

Scripture: Isaiah 6:10; Matthew 11:5

Translator’s note. “Delightful” echoes Isaiah 58:13, where the Greek Old Testament uses the same word for the sabbath. “Let him wash, and he is clean” echoes Isaiah 1:16.

Scripture: Joshua 5:2; Isaiah 1:16

Translator’s note. The older English says the bath “followed” those who repented. The Greek says it was “for” them. The older English also places the first words of the Isaiah quotation in this section. In the Greek used here, the quotation begins in the next section.

Scripture: Hebrews 9:13

Translator’s note. The older English has “deal prudently” and “be ye clean,” following the Hebrew as the King James Version renders it. Justin’s Greek says “will understand” (synēsei) and “be set apart.”

Scripture: Isaiah 52:10-13

Scripture: Isaiah 52:14-15; Isaiah 53:1-2

Translator’s note. “Struck down” and “under a blow” render the same Greek word (plēgē), which means a blow or wound and can also mean a plague.

Scripture: Isaiah 53:2-4

Translator’s note. The older English “the Lord laid on Him our iniquities” follows the Hebrew as rendered in the King James Version. Justin’s Greek says the Lord “handed him over” for our sins.

Scripture: Isaiah 53:5-7

Translator’s note. The older translation reads “If he has been given for sin.” The Greek has a plural “you” (dōte), “if you give.”

Scripture: Isaiah 53:8-10

Scripture: Isaiah 53:10-12

Translator’s note. The Greek verb (katoikieis) means “you will cause to be inhabited,” that is, “you will populate.” The older translation’s “make the desolate cities to be inherited” is probably a slip for “inhabited,” as in the King James Version of Isaiah 54:3.

Scripture: Isaiah 54:1-3

Scripture: Isaiah 54:4-6

Translator’s note. The older translation says the washing “has been ordained”; the Greek says only that it “has come about” (gegonen). The Greek also has “peoples” (plural) of God. Both “water of life” and “cisterns you dug for yourselves... broken” echo Jeremiah 2:13. There God’s people forsake him, “the fountain of the water of life” in the Greek version, and dig broken cisterns.

Scripture: Isaiah 53:8; Jeremiah 2:13

Scripture: 1 Corinthians 5:7-8

Translator’s note. No passage of the Law spells out a command to make new leaven after the seven days. Justin is drawing a lesson from the fact that leavened bread was used again once the feast was over.

Translator’s note. Justin is quoting Isaiah 55:3–5. The shift from “him” to “you” is in Isaiah itself.

Scripture: Isaiah 55:3-5

Translator’s note. Justin continues with Isaiah 55:6–9 in its Greek (Septuagint) form.

Scripture: Isaiah 55:6-9

Scripture: Isaiah 55:10-11

Translator’s note. Justin’s quotation ends here with Isaiah 55:12–13 in its Greek (Septuagint) form.

Scripture: Isaiah 55:12-13

Translator’s note. The words about seeing “the one whom they pierced” come from Zechariah 12:10, not Hosea. Zechariah is also one of the twelve minor prophets, so Justin, or a later copyist, has named the wrong book. Coming “above the clouds” points to Daniel 7:13.

Scripture: Isaiah 53:2-3; Zechariah 12:10; Daniel 7:13

Scripture: Isaiah 58:1-2

Scripture: Isaiah 58:2-4

Scripture: Isaiah 58:5-6

Translator’s note. Justin’s Greek here reads “your garments” (himatia). The Septuagint and the Hebrew of Isaiah 58:8 both have “your healing” (in Greek, iamata). The two Greek words look alike, so this may be a copying error.

Scripture: Isaiah 58:7-9

Translator’s note. Isaiah 58:9–11, quoted from the Greek Old Testament (the Septuagint). The Greek word for “the raised hand” means a stretching out or lifting of the hand, probably a gesture of threat or accusation. The Hebrew behind most modern Bibles has “the pointing of the finger.”

Scripture: Isaiah 58:9-11

Translator’s note. This is Justin’s own appeal, not part of the quotation; it echoes Deuteronomy 10:16 and Jeremiah 4:4.

Scripture: Deuteronomy 10:16; Jeremiah 4:4

Translator’s note. Deuteronomy 10:16–17 and Leviticus 26:40–41, quoted freely from the Greek Old Testament, so the wording differs from common Bible versions; the final Greek verb here means “be put to shame.”

Scripture: Deuteronomy 10:16-17; Leviticus 26:40-41

Translator’s note. The words about desolate lands, burned cities and strangers eating the crops echo Isaiah 1:7. After the Bar Kokhba revolt (AD 132–135), the emperor Hadrian banned Jews from entering Jerusalem, and Justin is referring to that ban.

Scripture: Isaiah 1:7

Translator’s note. “The Righteous One” is a title for Christ, as in Acts 7:52, where Stephen also links the killing of the prophets with the killing of “the Righteous One.” “Those who now hold power” are the Roman authorities.

Scripture: 1 Thessalonians 2:15

Translator’s note. Isaiah 57:1–4, quoted from the Greek Old Testament; the Greek words can also be punctuated “His burial will be in peace; he has been taken from the midst,” as in the Septuagint.

Scripture: Isaiah 57:1-4

Translator’s note. “Through whose wounds there is healing” echoes Isaiah 53:5. The Greek word (μώλωψ) means a wound, bruise or stripe.

Scripture: Isaiah 53:5

Translator’s note. Isaiah 52:5 (also quoted in Romans 2:24), Isaiah 3:9–11 and Isaiah 5:18–20, quoted from the Greek Old Testament. “Let us bind the righteous man” is the Septuagint reading of Isaiah 3:10, which differs from the Hebrew.

Scripture: Isaiah 52:5; Isaiah 3:9-11; Isaiah 5:18-20

Translator’s note. Jesus’ words, as in Matthew 21:13, combine Isaiah 56:7 and Jeremiah 7:11.

Scripture: Matthew 21:12-13; Isaiah 56:7; Jeremiah 7:11

Translator’s note. Justin blends sayings found in Matthew 23 and Luke 11. “Mint and rue” and “the love of God” match Luke 11:42. The “whitewashed tombs” match Matthew 23:27. The “keys” and “you do not go in yourselves” are close to Luke 11:52. “Blind guides” is from Matthew 23:16 and 23:24.

Scripture: Luke 11:42; Matthew 23:27; Luke 11:52; Matthew 23:24

Translator’s note. The older translation says “I do not think that I have done foolishly.” The Greek (οὐκ ἄτοπον) means “not out of place” or “not unreasonable.”

Translator’s note. The opening words echo Isaiah 1:16 (“Wash yourselves, make yourselves clean; remove the evil of your deeds”). Justin’s wording is close to the Greek Old Testament.

Scripture: Isaiah 1:16

Translator’s note. The quotation is Jeremiah 2:13. Justin’s text reads “him,” where the Hebrew and the Greek Old Testament read “me.”

Scripture: Jeremiah 2:13

Translator’s note. The Greek says Enoch pleased God while uncircumcised, following Genesis 5:24 in the Greek Old Testament (“Enoch pleased God, and he was not found, because God took him”); compare Hebrews 11:5, and for Abel, see Genesis 4:4.

Scripture: Genesis 4:4; Genesis 5:24; Hebrews 11:5

Translator’s note. For Melchizedek and Abraham, see Genesis 14:18–20. The promise “through David” is Psalm 110:4: “You are a priest forever after the order of Melchizedek.”

Scripture: Genesis 14:18-20

Translator’s note. Justin seems to have in mind Hosea 1:9 (“you are not my people”). His wording is a loose recollection rather than an exact quotation. The calf is the golden calf of Exodus 32.

Scripture: Hosea 1:9

Translator’s note. On sacrificing children to demons, compare Psalm 106:37. The closing quotation resembles Ezekiel 20:12 and 20:20, where the Sabbath is given “that they may know that I am the LORD.” Justin’s wording does not match any single verse exactly.

Scripture: Ezekiel 20:12

Translator’s note. The quotations are Exodus 32:6 and Deuteronomy 32:15. “The beloved one” follows the Greek Old Testament, where the Hebrew has “Jeshurun.” The permission given to Noah is in Genesis 9:3–4.

Scripture: Exodus 32:6; Deuteronomy 32:15; Genesis 9:3-4

Translator’s note. “As the green herbs” is from Genesis 9:3 (“as the green herbs, I have given you all things”). Justin takes it to mean that Noah was given animals for food just as freely as plants.

Scripture: Genesis 9:3

Scripture: Acts 10:14

Translator’s note. The quotation is close to Deuteronomy 32:20, “sons in whom there is no faith.” The word “foolish” may come from a similar phrase in Jeremiah 4:22.

Scripture: Deuteronomy 32:20

Translator’s note. This quotation, continued through 21.4, is drawn freely from Ezekiel 20:19–26.

Scripture: Ezekiel 20:19-21

Translator’s note. In Ezekiel, “lifting up the hand” is the gesture of taking an oath, so the sense is that God swore he would scatter them.

Scripture: Ezekiel 20:21-24

Translator’s note. In the Hebrew of Ezekiel 20:26, it is the people who “cause to pass through” all that opens the womb. This means offering firstborn children in sacrifice (compare 20:31, “through the fire”).

Scripture: Ezekiel 20:25-26

Translator’s note. “The twelve” are the twelve shorter prophetic books at the end of the Old Testament (the Minor Prophets), of which Amos is one.

Translator’s note. This quotation, continued in 22.3, is from Amos 5:18–26.

Scripture: Amos 5:18-21

Translator’s note. Stephen quotes a closely similar Greek form of Amos 5:25–27 in Acts 7:42–43. “Moloch” and “Raphan” are the Septuagint’s renderings. The Hebrew of Amos 5:26 reads differently, and its meaning is uncertain.

Scripture: Amos 5:22-26

Translator’s note. “Calneh” is spelled “Chalanē” in the Greek. “Gath of the foreigners” means Gath of the Philistines. The Greek word is allophyloi, “people of another tribe,” which the Septuagint regularly uses for the Philistines.

Scripture: Amos 5:27; Amos 6:1-2

Translator’s note. Justin is quoting Amos 6:3–7 from the Greek Old Testament (Septuagint). Where Justin’s Greek has “false sabbaths,” the Hebrew text (followed by most English Bibles) speaks of bringing near “the seat of violence.”

Scripture: Amos 6:3-7

Translator’s note. Jeremiah 7:21–22.

Scripture: Jeremiah 7:21-22

Translator’s note. The “forty-ninth psalm” follows the Greek (Septuagint) numbering. In most English Bibles it is Psalm 50.

Translator’s note. Isaiah 66:1.

Scripture: Isaiah 66:1

Translator’s note. The Greek “ō andres” (“gentlemen”) is plural: Justin is addressing Trypho and his companions together.

Translator’s note. “The elements” (στοιχεῖα) probably refers to the heavenly bodies and the natural order, which keep working on the Sabbath.

Translator’s note. Justin is drawing on Genesis 15:6 (“Abraham believed God, and it was counted to him as righteousness”) and Genesis 17:14, which the last sentence quotes from the Greek Old Testament. His argument closely follows Paul in Romans 4:10–11, where Abraham receives circumcision as a sign after being counted righteous by faith while uncircumcised.

Scripture: Genesis 15:6; Romans 4:10-11; Genesis 17:14

Translator’s note. “A law has gone out from Zion” echoes Isaiah 2:3 and Micah 4:2.

Scripture: Isaiah 2:3

Translator’s note. “Long ago” could also be translated “earlier,” meaning earlier in this conversation. The older translation takes it that way (“as was declared above”).

Scripture: Joshua 5:2; Isaiah 26:2-3

Translator’s note. “I became visible to those who did not seek me” begins a quotation of Isaiah 65:1, which Paul also quotes in Romans 10:20.

Scripture: Isaiah 2:5-6; Isaiah 65:1

Scripture: Isaiah 65:1-3

Translator’s note. Justin now quotes Isaiah 63:15–64:12 at length, following the Greek Old Testament.

Scripture: Isaiah 63:15-17

Scripture: Isaiah 63:17-19; Isaiah 64:1-2

Translator’s note. “A woman who sits apart” refers to a woman during her monthly period, when she was ritually unclean under the Law (Leviticus 15:19–24).

Scripture: Isaiah 64:3-6

Translator’s note. “All the glorious nations” is how the Greek reads here. The Greek Old Testament of Isaiah 64:11 has “all our glorious things,” so “nations” may be a copyist’s slip.

Scripture: Isaiah 64:7-12

Translator’s note. Isaiah 42:6–7, quoted from the Greek Old Testament.

Scripture: Isaiah 42:6-7

Translator’s note. Isaiah 62:10–12 and 63:1, quoted from the Greek Old Testament. “Bosor” is the Greek form of Bozrah.

Scripture: Isaiah 62:10-12; Isaiah 63:1

Translator’s note. Isaiah 63:2–6, quoted from the Greek Old Testament. The words “full of trampled grapes” can be read as the end of the question or as the beginning of the answer. This version takes them as the speaker describing himself.

Scripture: Isaiah 63:2-6

Translator’s note. Isaiah 58:13–14, quoted from the Greek Old Testament.

Scripture: Isaiah 58:13-14

Translator’s note. “Sacrifice your children to demons” echoes Psalm 106:37 (105:37 in the Greek Old Testament). The rest draws on Isaiah 1:23 and 1:15.

Scripture: Isaiah 1:23; Isaiah 1:15

Translator’s note. The first sentence is Isaiah 3:16. The lines after “all have turned aside” come from the chain of Psalm and Isaiah verses (Psalms 14, 5, and 140, and Isaiah 59:7–8) that Paul also strings together in Romans 3:10–18.

Scripture: Isaiah 3:16; Romans 3:12-17; Isaiah 59:7-8

Translator’s note. The Greek pronoun (autou) can mean “him” (God) or “it.” This translation takes it as referring to God.

Scripture: Deuteronomy 32:20; Isaiah 29:13; Matthew 15:8-9

Translator’s note. The Greek word is “high priests” (archiereis), though here it may be used loosely for the priests who served in the temple.

Scripture: Matthew 12:5; John 7:22-23; Leviticus 12:3

Translator’s note. Jeremiah 4:3–4.

Scripture: Jeremiah 4:3-4

Translator’s note. Jeremiah 9:25–26.

Scripture: Jeremiah 9:25-26

Translator’s note. The Greek of the last clause does not name its subject. It is usually read, as here, to mean that God rejoices in the man’s gifts and offerings (compare 29.1). It could also be read to mean that the man himself rejoices in God’s gifts and offerings.

Translator’s note. Malachi 1:10–12, quoted in shortened form. Justin’s Greek “has been glorified” follows the Septuagint; the Hebrew has no verb here, and English versions often render it as future (KJV: “shall be great”).

Scripture: Malachi 1:10-12

Translator’s note. Psalm 18:43–44 (compare 2 Samuel 22:44–45).

Translator’s note. “That baptism” probably means the Jewish ritual washings. Earlier in the Dialogue (chapter 14), Justin contrasts them with Christian baptism as a washing that cleanses only the flesh and body.

Translator’s note. Justin seems to be speaking broadly of the witness of Scripture. The passages he has just quoted come from Jeremiah, Malachi, and the Psalms, not from Isaiah or Zechariah.

Translator’s note. On the Sabbath offerings, see Numbers 28:9–10. Jesus makes a similar argument about the priests in Matthew 12:5.

Translator’s note. “Strangers” follows the Greek Old Testament of Psalm 19:13 (“spare your servant from strangers”). The Hebrew text, followed by most English Bibles, reads “presumptuous sins” or “the arrogant.”

Scripture: Luke 10:17

Scripture: Daniel 7:13

Translator’s note. Justin quotes Daniel 7:9–10 as he knew it in Greek, so the wording may differ slightly from your Bible.

Scripture: Daniel 7:9-10

Translator’s note. Continuing Daniel 7, here verses 11–13, in Justin’s Greek wording.

Scripture: Daniel 7:11-13

Translator’s note. The last sentence follows Justin’s Greek as it has come down to us. In Daniel 7:18 it is “the saints of the Most High” who receive the kingdom forever. Justin’s text seems to have lost that clause, perhaps through a copying slip.

Scripture: Daniel 7:14-18

Translator’s note. Continuing Daniel 7, here verses 19–22.

Scripture: Daniel 7:19-22

Translator’s note. The Greek verb for “handed over” is singular and has no stated subject. In Daniel 7:25 it is the saints who are given into his hand.

Scripture: Daniel 7:23-25

Translator’s note. This is Daniel 7:26–28. The Greek word hexis means a person’s state or condition; the Aramaic of Daniel 7:28 speaks of his color or countenance changing.

Scripture: Daniel 7:26-28

Translator’s note. The curse is Deuteronomy 21:23, “anyone hanged on a tree is under God’s curse.” Paul applies this verse to Christ in Galatians 3:13.

Scripture: Daniel 7:13-14; Deuteronomy 21:23

Translator’s note. Justin is drawing on Isaiah 53 (vv. 2, 8, 9, 5, 7 in the Greek Old Testament) and on Zechariah 12:10–12 for the two comings.

Scripture: Isaiah 53:2; Isaiah 53:5-9; Zechariah 12:10-12

Translator’s note. The older translation says the Father brought him “again” from the earth. The Greek has no “again”; it says he brings him up from the earth.

Scripture: Psalm 110:1; Daniel 7:25

Translator’s note. The older translation puts “the man of sin”; the Greek says “the man of lawlessness.” The same variation is found in the manuscripts of 2 Thessalonians 2:3.

Scripture: Daniel 7:25; 2 Thessalonians 2:3

Translator’s note. The second quotation is Isaiah 29:14, close to the Greek Old Testament wording. Paul quotes the last part of the same verse, in a slightly different form, in 1 Corinthians 1:19.

Scripture: Jeremiah 4:22; Isaiah 29:14

Translator’s note. “The land” is supplied for sense; the Greek says only “he will fill corpses,” that is, he will fill places with the dead.

Translator’s note. Hebrews 7 also argues from Melchizedek and Psalm 110:4 that Christ’s priesthood is greater than the Levitical priesthood.

Scripture: Genesis 14:18-20

Translator’s note. For God’s promise of a new covenant, see Jeremiah 31:31.

Scripture: Psalm 19:7; Jeremiah 31:31

Translator’s note. “Commander-in-chief” (archistratēgos) is the title of the figure who appears to Joshua in the Greek of Joshua 5:14, “commander of the army of the Lord.” Justin later applies that passage to Christ.

Scripture: Psalm 72:1

Translator’s note. Justin quotes Psalm 72 from the Greek version, which sometimes differs from the Hebrew. In verse 5, for example, the Hebrew has “They will fear you as long as the sun endures,” where the Greek has “He will endure as long as the sun.”

Translator’s note. “Will rise” translates anatellō, used of the sun rising and of plants springing up; the Hebrew of Psalm 72:7 reads “the righteous will flourish.”

Translator’s note. “A support in the land” follows Justin’s Greek (stērigma, “support” or “firm stay”). The Hebrew of Psalm 72:16 speaks instead of grain on the earth, on the tops of the mountains.

Translator’s note. The Hebrew of Psalm 72:20 reads “The prayers of David, son of Jesse, are ended.” Justin’s Greek has “hymns.”

Translator’s note. See 1 Kings 11:1–8. Scripture speaks of Solomon’s many foreign wives and of his following Ashtoreth, “the goddess of the Sidonians.” It does not say he worshiped in Sidon itself.

Translator’s note. Compare 1 Timothy 4:1 (“deceiving spirits”) and 1 John 4:6 (“the spirit of error”).

Translator’s note. Justin gives these as sayings of Jesus. The first joins “Many will come in my name” (Matthew 24:5) to the wording of Matthew 7:15. The third is close to Matthew 7:15. The last echoes Matthew 24:11, 24, though “false apostles” is Paul’s phrase (2 Corinthians 11:13), not a Gospel one. The saying about “divisions and factions” is not found in the Gospels in that form (compare 1 Corinthians 11:18–19, which uses the same two Greek words).

Scripture: Matthew 24:5; Matthew 7:15; 1 Corinthians 11:18-19; Matthew 24:24

Scripture: Matthew 24:5

Translator’s note. “As I said at the beginning” refers back to Justin’s remarks on the philosophical schools in chapter 2.

Translator’s note. Compare Matthew 10:21 and Luke 21:16, where Jesus warns that believers will be handed over and put to death by family members and friends.

Scripture: Matthew 5:44

Translator’s note. The Greek says “tent of testimony” (the tabernacle), not “ark of testimony” as in the older English. 1 Kings 8:4 records that the tent of meeting was brought up into the temple along with the ark.

Translator’s note. Psalm 24 (Psalm 23 in the Greek numbering), quoted in full from the Septuagint across 36.3–4.

Translator’s note. Justin follows the Septuagint, “Lift up your gates, you rulers.” The Hebrew reads “Lift up your heads, O gates.” His argument in 36.5 about heavenly rulers depends on the Greek wording.

Translator’s note. The “other psalm” is Psalm 110:1 (109:1 in the Greek numbering).

Scripture: Psalm 110:1

Translator’s note. The Greek says “the tent (tabernacle) of testimony” (skēnē tou martyriou), not the ark.

Scripture: Isaiah 53:2-3

Translator’s note. “Interlude” translates diapsalma. This is the Greek Psalms’ word for the Hebrew “Selah.” Its exact meaning is uncertain, but it probably marks a pause or a musical break.

Translator’s note. This is Psalm 99 in English Bibles (Psalm 98 in the Greek Septuagint numbering).

Scripture: Psalm 99:6

Translator’s note. The Greek says “by the prophetic Spirit,” meaning the Holy Spirit speaking through the prophets.

Translator’s note. The Greek verb (enteinō) means to stretch or bend tight, as with a bow; the word “bow” is supplied in the English.

Translator’s note. The Greek word staktē means fragrant drops, probably the oil that oozes from myrrh.

Translator’s note. Justin’s Greek says the virgins are brought “behind him” (the king), whereas the Septuagint Psalm has “behind her”; the Greek also has “temple” (naos) and “golden fringes.”

Translator’s note. See 1 Kings 19:10, 18. Justin’s wording is very close to Paul’s quotation of the same exchange in Romans 11:3–4.

Scripture: Romans 11:3-4

Translator’s note. The list of gifts echoes Isaiah 11:2–3 (in the Greek Old Testament: a spirit of wisdom and understanding, counsel and strength, knowledge and godliness, and, in verse 3, the fear of God). Healing and teaching recall Paul’s list of gifts in 1 Corinthians 12:9, 28.

Scripture: Isaiah 11:2

Translator’s note. This is Psalm 68:18 (67:19 in the Greek Old Testament). The Psalm itself says “you received gifts among men.” Justin, like Paul in Ephesians 4:8, has “he gave gifts to men.”

Scripture: Ephesians 4:8

Translator’s note. “Wise in yourselves” and “honoring with the lips only” recall Isaiah 5:21 and 29:13. In the last clause (“we honor them”) the Greek gives no object. It is understood from the earlier phrase “God and his Christ.”

Scripture: Isaiah 5:21; Isaiah 29:13

Translator’s note. “One who suffers” translates a Greek word meaning “capable of suffering” or “subject to suffering.”

Translator’s note. Justin is thinking of Genesis 2:7, where God forms man from the dust and breathes into him the breath of life.

Scripture: Exodus 12:7; Genesis 2:7

Translator’s note. See Deuteronomy 16:5–6, which forbids sacrificing the Passover in any town except the place the Lord chooses as a dwelling for his name.

Scripture: Deuteronomy 16:5-6

Translator’s note. The command to roast the lamb whole, head and legs included, is in Exodus 12:8–9. The cross-shaped arrangement of spits is Justin’s description and is not in Scripture.

Scripture: Exodus 12:9

Translator’s note. The fast Isaiah describes is in Isaiah 58:6, which in the Greek Old Testament speaks of loosening “the knots of violent contracts.”

Scripture: Leviticus 16:7-10; Isaiah 58:6

Translator’s note. Justin’s word for the one who “became capable of suffering” (παθητός) stresses that Christ took on a nature able to suffer. “His will” in the Greek could mean either God’s will or Christ’s own.

Scripture: Leviticus 14:10; Luke 22:19

Translator’s note. This quotes Malachi 1:10–12 in Justin’s own wording, which differs slightly from the usual Greek Old Testament text. For example, the Greek Old Testament has “the Lord Almighty.”

Scripture: Malachi 1:10-12

Scripture: Malachi 1:11-12

Translator’s note. The Greek says “the one of the sabbaths.” This is a Jewish way of saying the first day of the week, that is, Sunday, and the same phrase is used in the Gospels (for example, Matthew 28:1). The older translation’s “after the Sabbath” gives the sense. The eighth-day command is in Genesis 17:12.

Scripture: Genesis 17:12; Leviticus 12:3

Translator’s note. The quotation is Psalm 19:4 (Psalm 18:5 in the Greek Old Testament). Paul applies the same verse to the spread of the gospel in Romans 10:18.

Scripture: Exodus 28:33-34

Translator’s note. The Greek is ambiguous about who “believes.” It could also mean that the apostles themselves trust not in their own message but in the power of the one who sent them, which is how the older translation takes it.

Scripture: Isaiah 53:1-2

Translator’s note. For the picture of many members making one body, compare 1 Corinthians 12:12.

Scripture: Isaiah 53:2; 1 Corinthians 12:12

Translator’s note. The older translation has “everlasting covenant.” The Greek says “new covenant” (καινὴ διαθήκη).

Translator’s note. Compare Colossians 2:11–12, where Paul links a circumcision “not made with hands” to being buried with Christ in baptism.

Scripture: Colossians 2:11-12

Translator’s note. The quotation is Isaiah 53:8 in its Greek form, and “healed by his wound” echoes Isaiah 53:5. Justin takes “generation” to mean Christ’s birth and origin. Modern readers often understand the verse differently.

Scripture: Isaiah 53:8; Isaiah 53:5

Translator’s note. The quotation is Isaiah 7:10–15 in its Greek form. Its wording sometimes differs from English Bibles, which are translated from the Hebrew.

Scripture: Isaiah 7:10-15

Translator’s note. The last clause is obscure in the Greek and is kept literal. In the Hebrew of Isaiah 7:17, “the king of Assyria” stands as a separate phrase naming the coming disaster.

Scripture: Isaiah 7:15-16; Isaiah 8:4; Isaiah 7:16-17

Translator’s note. Here Justin quotes the verse as “will have in the womb,” the wording found in Matthew 1:23 and in many copies of the Greek Isaiah. In 43.5 he quotes it as “will conceive.” The older English made both read “conceive.” The rendering “young woman” (Greek neanis) is the one found in later Greek translations used by Jews, such as those of Aquila and Theodotion.

Scripture: Isaiah 7:14

Translator’s note. Justin is loosely recalling Ezekiel 14:14–20, which names Noah, Daniel and Job and says they could save neither sons nor daughters, only themselves; Justin (or the copyist of the one surviving manuscript) has Jacob in place of Job.

Translator’s note. The quotation is from Isaiah 66:24. The Greek word translated “bodies” literally means “limbs”; in the Greek Old Testament it is used for dead bodies.

Scripture: Isaiah 66:24

Translator’s note. The Greek says “washing” (or “bath”), not “fountain” as in the older English; Justin probably has in mind Isaiah 1:16 (“Wash yourselves, make yourselves clean”), which he quotes about baptism in First Apology 61.

Scripture: Isaiah 1:16

Translator’s note. “Plan” translates the Greek word oikonomia, often rendered “dispensation” (the older English). It means God’s arrangement for saving humanity through the incarnation.

Translator’s note. “Monthly periods” translates a Greek word normally meaning menstruation, so Trypho probably means the purity laws of Leviticus 15:19–24. The older English “observe months” is a less likely reading.

Translator’s note. “The faithful servant” echoes what is said of Moses in Numbers 12:7 and Hebrews 3:5.

Scripture: Numbers 12:7; Hebrews 3:5

Translator’s note. Justin says “scarlet thread.” The older English has “a fringe of purple dye.” Numbers 15:38–39 commands tassels with a blue cord so that Israel would remember God’s commands, so Justin’s color differs from Scripture. The phylactery comes from Deuteronomy 6:8 and 11:18.

Scripture: Deuteronomy 6:8

Translator’s note. The seven thousand who had not bowed to Baal are from 1 Kings 19:18 (quoted by Paul in Romans 11:4). The charge of sacrificing children is probably from Isaiah 57:5.

Scripture: Isaiah 57:5

Translator’s note. “Circumcised from error” is Justin’s figure for Gentiles who have been cut free from error through Christ, a spiritual circumcision.

Translator’s note. The older English says these people “expect some virtue” from the observances, which is not in the Greek. The Greek says they act out of weakness of judgment.

Translator’s note. Compare Galatians 2:12–14, where Paul rebukes Peter for withdrawing from table fellowship with Gentiles and for compelling Gentiles to live like Jews.

Translator’s note. The older English says the synagogues curse “this very Christ, and everything by which they might obtain salvation.” The Greek says they curse those who believe in Christ, and the people who believe do so in order to obtain salvation.

Translator’s note. Justin gives this saying of Jesus as a quotation, but it is not found in our Gospels. The Ezekiel reference is to Ezekiel 18:21–24 and 33:12–16.

Scripture: Ezekiel 18:21-24

Translator’s note. “As God himself cries out” probably refers to Isaiah 29:13, where God complains that the people honor him with their lips while teaching human commandments.

Scripture: Isaiah 29:13

Translator’s note. The Greek text followed here reads “your race” (that is, Jewish people). The older translation has “our race,” which reflects a different reading of the text.

Scripture: Matthew 15:9; Mark 7:7

Translator’s note. The promise that Elijah will come before the great and fearful day of the Lord is found in Malachi 4:5 (3:23 in Hebrew), not in Zechariah. The Greek text does name Zechariah, which is either Justin’s slip or a copyist’s error.

Scripture: Malachi 4:5; Isaiah 53:2-3

Translator’s note. John’s words follow Matthew 3:11–12 (compare Luke 3:16–17). The Lord’s saying that Elijah would come is in Matthew 17:11.

Scripture: Matthew 17:11; Luke 1:17; Matthew 3:11-12; Luke 3:16-17

Translator’s note. The Greek exadelphē usually means “cousin,” though here it is rendered “niece.” According to Matthew 14:6 the girl was the daughter of Herodias, which made her Herod’s stepdaughter and grandniece, and Herodias herself was Herod’s niece. Justin is summarizing the Gospel story (Matthew 14:3–11; Mark 6:17–28) and does not name the women.

Translator’s note. Both quotations come from Matthew 17:11–13.

Scripture: Matthew 17:11-13

Translator’s note. The laying of hands on Joshua is in Numbers 27:18–23 (compare Deuteronomy 34:9). The words “I will take some of the spirit that is in you and put it on...” come from Numbers 11:17, where God says them about the seventy elders, not about Joshua. Justin joins the two passages.

Scripture: Numbers 27:18; Numbers 11:17

Translator’s note. The last sentence is compressed in the Greek. The sense seems to be that the Spirit’s first coming, in John, was without glory, matching Christ’s first coming. Justin has just argued that Elijah himself will come before Christ’s second, glorious coming.

Translator’s note. “Demons shudder” echoes James 2:19.

Scripture: Exodus 17:16; James 2:19

Translator’s note. Justin quotes the Greek Septuagint, which differs in places from English Bibles based on the Hebrew. For example, “priests” and “humiliation” in Isaiah 40:2 appear where the Hebrew has no “priests” and reads “warfare” or “hard service.”

Scripture: Isaiah 39:8; Isaiah 40:1-5

Scripture: Isaiah 40:6-11

Translator’s note. “Spittle” follows the Greek Septuagint of Isaiah 40:15. Hebrew-based English Bibles read “fine dust.”

Scripture: Isaiah 40:12-17

Translator’s note. The older translation reverses the condition (“If the prophets had not ceased, so that there were no more…”) and adds “in reference to Jesus Christ.” Neither is in the Greek. Justin’s point is that prophecy stopped with John, which shows that John and Jesus fulfilled it.

Translator’s note. The Greek word haireseis means “sects” or “factions.” Later it came to mean “heresies.”

Scripture: Matthew 3:1-2; Matthew 16:21; Matthew 24:11; Matthew 26:29

Translator’s note. The Greek word diatheke can mean both “covenant” and “testament” (a will). Here it means the new covenant, not the book.

Scripture: Matthew 11:12-15; Luke 16:16

Translator’s note. The quotation is Genesis 49:8–12, in the Greek Septuagint form. At points this differs from the Hebrew. For example, “until the things stored up for him come” stands where the Hebrew has a hard phrase often rendered “until Shiloh comes,” and “expectation of the nations” stands where the Hebrew has “the obedience of the peoples.”

Scripture: Genesis 49:8-12

Translator’s note. The Herod sentence is compressed, and its sense is uncertain. The words rendered “under whom he suffered” could also mean “from the time he suffered,” and the older English has “after whose [reign].” The point seems to be that even if the ruler, Herod, was of foreign descent, there was still a lawful high priest, so the line of leadership had not yet failed. A tradition that Herod’s family came from Ascalon is also preserved by the later writer Julius Africanus.

Translator’s note. “Left like a watchman’s hut in an orchard” echoes Isaiah 1:8 in the Greek Septuagint, where the same word (oporophylakion) is used.

Scripture: Isaiah 1:8; Genesis 49:10

Translator’s note. The Greek says literally that they placed their “back” (noton) under the yoke.

Scripture: Genesis 49:11

Translator’s note. The Greek says only that He “sat on” and does not say on what. Of the four Gospels, only Matthew (21:1–7) mentions both a donkey and her foal. Mark, Luke and John speak of a single young animal.

Translator’s note. “The twelve” means the twelve shorter prophetic books at the end of the Old Testament, not the apostles. The quotation is Zechariah 9:9.

Scripture: Zechariah 9:9

Translator’s note. The reference to Jacob is to Genesis 49:11, where Jacob speaks of the ruler from Judah tying his foal to the vine and his donkey’s colt to the choice vine, a verse Justin discussed just before this.

Scripture: Genesis 49:11; Matthew 21:2

Scripture: Zechariah 13:7; Luke 24:25-27

Translator’s note. The quotation is Zechariah 13:7. Jesus applies the same verse to Himself and His disciples in Matthew 26:31 and Mark 14:27.

Scripture: Zechariah 13:7

Translator’s note. The quotation is from Genesis 49:11.

Scripture: Genesis 49:11

Translator’s note. “The Word” (Greek logos) may mean the prophetic word of Scripture, or Christ the Word, who Justin believed spoke through the prophets; the Greek says the point was made “through art” or “skill,” meaning a deliberate figure of speech.

Scripture: Genesis 49:11

Translator’s note. The idea that God allotted the sun, moon and stars to the nations recalls Deuteronomy 4:19, and “God of gods and Lord of lords … the great, the mighty and the terrible” echoes Deuteronomy 10:17; the Greek verb here means God “allowed” or “conceded” this.

Scripture: Deuteronomy 4:19; Deuteronomy 10:17

Translator’s note. Trypho is still speaking here; the quotation is a loose form of Psalm 96:5 (Psalm 95:5 in the Greek Old Testament), which in the Greek reads “all the gods of the nations are demons.”

Translator’s note. The reference to Isaiah’s “seed” left for salvation is to Isaiah 1:9, as Paul also quotes it in Romans 9:29.

Scripture: Isaiah 1:9

Translator’s note. In the Greek this sentence is grammatically unfinished. It has no main verb, and it runs straight into the quotation in the next section. It has been completed here so that it reads clearly.

Scripture: Numbers 12:7; Genesis 18:1

Translator’s note. The quotation is from Genesis 18:1–2 and 19:27–28; one word in the Greek text (the verb “stood”) is garbled in the source edition.

Scripture: Genesis 18:1-2; Genesis 19:27-28

Scripture: Genesis 18:10; Genesis 18:14

Translator’s note. The quotation is from Genesis 21:9–12. Paul quotes the last line (“through Isaac your seed will be named”) in Romans 9:7, and it also appears in Hebrews 11:18.

Scripture: Genesis 21:9-12

Scripture: Genesis 21:12

Translator’s note. “In number, not in purpose”: the Greek word for purpose (gnōmē) can also mean mind or will. Justin means they are two, not one, and yet they never differ in what they intend.

Translator’s note. Genesis 19:23–25. Justin’s point is the double “Lord”: the Lord rains fire “from the Lord” out of heaven.

Scripture: Genesis 19:23-25

Translator’s note. “The Scripture” translates the Greek ho logos, “the word.” Here it means the words of the account given through Moses, not Christ the Word.

Translator’s note. The quotations are Psalm 110:1 and Psalm 45:6–7. Both are applied to Christ in the New Testament (for example, Matthew 22:44 and Hebrews 1:8–9).

Scripture: Psalm 110:1

Translator’s note. Genesis 18:13–14 and 18:16–17, quoted from the Greek Old Testament.

Scripture: Genesis 18:13-14; Genesis 18:16-17

Translator’s note. Genesis 18:20–23. In this aside Justin steps out of the conversation and speaks as the writer of the account.

Scripture: Genesis 18:20-23

Translator’s note. The Greek here says only “and he went to his place,” with no name given, but Genesis 18:33 names Abraham, so the translation supplies “Abraham.”

Scripture: Genesis 18:33; Genesis 19:1; Genesis 19:10; Genesis 19:16

Translator’s note. Lot speaks “to them,” which is plural, but he addresses them with the singular “Lord.” In 56.23 Justin argues that the one speaking with Lot is the Lord himself, not the two angels.

Scripture: Genesis 19:17-19

Translator’s note. The Greek literally says “I have marveled at your face,” a Septuagint rendering of the Hebrew idiom “to lift up someone’s face,” meaning to show favor or grant a request.

Scripture: Genesis 19:20-25

Scripture: Genesis 18:33

Translator’s note. This is Genesis 19:24. Justin takes the two mentions of “the Lord” in this verse as two distinct persons: the Lord on earth, and the Lord in heaven who is the Maker of all things.

Scripture: Genesis 19:24

Scripture: Genesis 18:8

Translator’s note. The older translation ends with “and able to rise above them.” Nothing in the Greek corresponds to these words.

Translator’s note. The older translation says that “they” (the others) might incur condemnation. In the Greek the subject is “I.” Justin fears that he himself will be judged if he does not share freely what God has given him.

Translator’s note. “The word of God” (ὁ λόγος τοῦ θεοῦ) could mean Scripture or Christ the Word speaking through the prophet; Justin elsewhere says the prophets spoke as the divine Word moved them (1 Apology 36).

Scripture: Genesis 31:10-11

Translator’s note. This is Genesis 31:12–13 (see 31:3 for “I will be with you”); Justin’s Greek, like the Septuagint at Genesis 31:13, reads “in the place of God” (ἐν τόπῳ θεοῦ) where the Hebrew has “Bethel.”

Scripture: Genesis 31:12-13

Translator’s note. The quotation is from Genesis 32:22–26; the Greek says “a man” (ἄνθρωπος), and Justin later identifies him as the one who is called angel, God, and Lord.

Scripture: Genesis 32:22-26

Translator’s note. This is Genesis 32:26–30. Where the older translation gives the place name as “Peniel” (Hebrew, “face of God”), Justin’s Greek has “Eidos Theou” (“Form of God”), which is how the Greek Old Testament translates the name.

Scripture: Genesis 32:26-30

Translator’s note. The quotation is from Genesis 35:6–10.

Scripture: Genesis 35:6-10

Translator’s note. The quotation is from Genesis 28:10–13.

Scripture: Genesis 28:10-13

Translator’s note. Justin is quoting Genesis 28:13–15 from the Greek Old Testament, which has “sand” where the Hebrew has “dust,” and “toward the sea” where English Bibles have “west”; in Hebrew idiom “the sea” (the Mediterranean) stands for the west.

Scripture: Genesis 28:13-15

Translator’s note. Genesis 28:16-19. The printed Greek reads ἔλαθε (“escaped notice”), which is an obvious slip for ἔλαβε (“took”), and we translate it as “took.” “House of God” is Bethel. The name Oulammaous comes from the Greek Old Testament, which ran together the Hebrew words “but Luz” as if they were one name. The Hebrew text says the city was formerly called Luz.

Scripture: Genesis 28:16-19

Translator’s note. Justin uses two Greek words here, ἀνήρ (“man”) and ἄνθρωπος (“human being”). The Greek Old Testament uses the first for the “men” who visited Abraham (Genesis 18:2) and the second for the “man” who wrestled with Jacob (Genesis 32:24). Justin may be echoing both stories.

Scripture: Exodus 3:2

Translator’s note. The quotation runs from Exodus 2:23 to 3:16. “I am surely watching over” translates a Greek phrase that is literally “I am visiting you with a visitation.” It copies a Hebrew way of stressing a verb by repeating it.

Scripture: Exodus 2:23; Exodus 3:16

Scripture: Exodus 3:2; Exodus 3:6

Scripture: Exodus 3:2

Scripture: Exodus 3:6

Scripture: Genesis 19:24

Translator’s note. The quotation is Exodus 3:2-4.

Scripture: Exodus 3:2-4

Translator’s note. The Sodom passage is Genesis 19:24: “the Lord rained … brimstone and fire from the Lord out of heaven.” The appearance to Moses is Exodus 3:2–6.

Scripture: Genesis 31:13; Genesis 35:1; Genesis 19:24; Exodus 3:2

Translator’s note. “Commander-in-chief” (archistratēgos) is the title in the Greek Old Testament at Joshua 5:14, where the figure says he is “commander of the army of the Lord.” The older translation has “Captain.” It also calls Joshua “the son of Nave,” which is the Greek spelling of Nun.

Scripture: Proverbs 8:22; Joshua 5:14

Translator’s note. Justin quotes Proverbs 8:21–36 in the Greek (Septuagint) form. The opening line (“If I tell you what happens day by day…”) is found in the Greek but not in the Hebrew. The Greek reads “created me” in 8:22, where the meaning of the Hebrew verb is disputed (“acquired,” “possessed,” or “created”). It also reads “begets me” in 8:25.

Scripture: Proverbs 8:21-25

Scripture: Proverbs 8:26-31

Translator’s note. The Greek of Proverbs 8:35 reads literally “favor (thelēsis) from the Lord has been prepared”; here the word means God’s goodwill toward the one who finds Wisdom.

Scripture: Proverbs 8:32-36

Translator’s note. Justin quotes Genesis 1:26–28.

Scripture: Genesis 1:26-28

Translator’s note. Genesis 3:22. “Sect” translates the Greek “hairesis,” which can also mean a school of thought or party.

Scripture: Genesis 3:22

Translator’s note. Justin is thinking of Proverbs 8:22–25, part of the passage from Proverbs 8 that he quoted in chapter 61.

Translator’s note. Joshua 5:13–6:2.

Scripture: Joshua 5:13-15; Joshua 6:1-2

Translator’s note. The older translation reads “proved to me,” but the Greek “soi” here means “by you”: Trypho grants that Justin has proved his point.

Translator’s note. The phrase “not of human seed but of the will of God” may echo John 1:13.

Scripture: Isaiah 53:8; Genesis 49:11; John 1:13

Translator’s note. Psalm 110:3–4 in the Greek (Septuagint) version. “From above” can also mean “from of old”; the older translation chose “from of old.”

Translator’s note. “Sweet resin” translates the Greek “staktē,” a fragrant resin (oil of myrrh).

Translator’s note. “Assembly” translates the Greek “synagogue,” which here simply means a gathering.

Translator’s note. “Lord of hosts” translates the Greek “Lord Sabaoth” (the Hebrew title). The older translation has “Lord of Sabaoth.”

Translator’s note. The quotation is Psalm 99:1–7 (Psalm 98 in the Greek Old Testament).

Translator’s note. The psalm in question is Psalm 72 (71 in the Greek Old Testament), whose heading reads “for Solomon.” Justin quoted it in full and argued that it is not about Solomon earlier in the Dialogue, in chapter 34.

Translator’s note. “So be it, so be it” translates the Greek “genoito, genoito,” which is how the Greek Old Testament renders the Hebrew “Amen, Amen” at Psalm 72:19.

Translator’s note. “Those who pierced him will see him and mourn” echoes Zechariah 12:10. John 19:37 and Revelation 1:7 also apply this verse to Christ.

Scripture: Zechariah 12:10

Translator’s note. The quotation is Psalm 19:1–6 (Psalm 18 in the Greek Old Testament). The Greek reads “in the sun he has set his tent,” while the Hebrew says God set a tent for the sun in the heavens.

Translator’s note. The quotation is Isaiah 42:8. In the Greek Old Testament the word given here as “excellences” stands for the Hebrew “my praise.” The verse goes on, “to carved images,” but Trypho stops before those words. Justin’s reply in the next section turns to the surrounding verses.

Scripture: Isaiah 42:8

Translator’s note. The Greek genos means “race” or “people”; the Hebrew has “a covenant of the people.”

Scripture: Isaiah 42:5-7

Translator’s note. “Praise” translates the Greek aretai, which can mean “excellencies” or “virtues”; here and in 65.6 it stands where the Hebrew of Isaiah has “praise.”

Scripture: Isaiah 42:8-10

Translator’s note. “Hosts” is literally “powers” (Greek dynameis).

Scripture: Isaiah 42:11-13

Scripture: Isaiah 42:6

Scripture: Isaiah 7:14

Translator’s note. This is Isaiah 7:10–15 in the Greek (Septuagint) version.

Scripture: Isaiah 7:10-15

Translator’s note. The Greek here reads “will be seized.” The Septuagint of Isaiah 7:16 has an almost identical word meaning “will be left” or “forsaken.” The two words sounded alike, so the difference may be a copying slip.

Scripture: Isaiah 7:15-16; Isaiah 8:4; Isaiah 7:17

Translator’s note. Trypho’s point is that the Greek word he cites (neanis) means simply “young woman,” whereas Justin’s text, like the Septuagint, has parthenos, “virgin.” Irenaeus (Against Heresies 3.21.1) reports that the Jewish translators Theodotion and Aquila rendered the word neanis.

Scripture: Isaiah 7:14

Translator’s note. The older translation adds “[it is well]” to complete the sentence. The Greek has no such phrase. The sentence continues with “say that he was counted worthy.”

Translator’s note. “Plan” translates oikonomia, which can also be rendered “dispensation” or “arrangement.” It means God’s ordered purpose for salvation.

Translator’s note. Justin is recalling Exodus 20:18–19, where the people were terrified by the thunder and lightning at the mountain and asked Moses to speak to them instead of God.

Scripture: Jeremiah 31:31-32

Translator’s note. “Not as that one was” echoes Jeremiah 31:31–32, where God promises a new covenant “not like the covenant I made with their fathers.”

Translator’s note. “Who will declare his generation?” is from Isaiah 53:8 in the Greek Old Testament (the Septuagint). Justin reads “generation” as Christ’s origin or birth.

Scripture: Isaiah 53:8

Translator’s note. Trypho is recalling God’s promise to David in 2 Samuel 7:12–16 (compare Psalm 132:11). His wording is a free summary, not an exact quotation.

Scripture: Psalm 132:11

Translator’s note. Isaiah 7:13–14 addresses the prophecy to the “house of David.” Justin’s point is that Isaiah’s sign explains how God’s earlier promise to David would be fulfilled.

Scripture: Isaiah 7:14

Translator’s note. Tradition credited the Septuagint, the Greek translation of the Hebrew Scriptures, to seventy elders working for King Ptolemy of Egypt. In Isaiah 7:14 it reads “virgin,” while Justin’s opponents read “young woman” (see chapters 43 and 71).

Translator’s note. The mocking remark is Trypho’s comparison, in chapter 67, of the virgin birth to the Greek myth of Perseus born of the virgin Danaë.

Translator’s note. Justin is referring to Pharaoh’s magicians (Exodus 7–8) and the prophets of Baal (1 Kings 18).

Translator’s note. The older translation has “wine” where this Greek text reads “donkey” (onos). Justin is thinking of Jacob’s blessing of Judah, which mentions a donkey’s colt tied to the vine (Genesis 49:10–11).

Scripture: Genesis 49:11

Translator’s note. The quotation is from Psalm 19:5 (Psalm 18:6 in the Greek numbering).

Translator’s note. “Had eyes and did not see” echoes Jeremiah 5:21 (compare Isaiah 6:9–10).

Translator’s note. Isaiah 35:1–7, quoted in a Greek form close to the Septuagint. It differs in places from the Hebrew-based wording in most English Bibles.

Translator’s note. The Greek word here (pēros) can mean “maimed” or “blind.” It is taken as “blind” because Justin matches the three conditions with leaping, hearing, and seeing, as in Isaiah 35:5–6.

Translator’s note. The older translation says Christ will raise him “after He has made him immortal.” The Greek means “along with” making him immortal, so the raising and the making immortal go together.

Translator’s note. Mithras was a god of a mystery cult popular in the Roman Empire. He was commonly pictured as born from a rock, and he was worshiped in cave-like sanctuaries. Justin’s claim that the cult copied the prophets is his own polemical argument, not an established historical fact.

Scripture: Daniel 2:34; Daniel 2:45

Scripture: Isaiah 33:13-16

Translator’s note. The whole quotation is Isaiah 33:13–19 in a Greek form close to the Septuagint. It differs considerably from the Hebrew-based wording in most English Bibles.

Scripture: Isaiah 33:16-19

Translator’s note. “To do in remembrance” echoes Jesus’ words at the Last Supper (Luke 22:19; 1 Corinthians 11:24–25), where the same Greek verb “do” is used.

Scripture: Luke 22:19-20; 1 Corinthians 11:24-25; Isaiah 33:16-17

Translator’s note. The ‘seventy elders’ are the traditional translators of the Septuagint, the Greek Old Testament.

Translator’s note. Justin gives examples in chapters 72–73. Modern scholars generally think the passages he names were not removed by Jewish teachers. Most were probably Christian additions or variant readings. One example is “the Lord reigned from the tree” in Psalm 96:10.

Translator’s note. In Isaiah 7:14 the Septuagint, the Greek translation Justin uses, has parthenos, “virgin.” The Hebrew word (‘almah) means a young woman. Later Jewish Greek translations, such as those of Aquila and Theodotion, used neanis, “young woman,” which is the reading Trypho gives.

Scripture: Isaiah 7:14

Translator’s note. “On a sign” translates the Greek literally. The older translation has “on a standard,” and Justin probably means the cross.

Translator’s note. “Put wood into his bread” follows the Greek. English Bibles, translating the Hebrew, usually have “let us destroy the tree with its fruit.”

Scripture: Jeremiah 11:19

Translator’s note. The quotation from Isaiah is Isaiah 53:7.

Scripture: Isaiah 53:7; Jeremiah 11:19

Translator’s note. This saying is not found in any known text of Jeremiah or any other Old Testament book. Irenaeus also quotes it several times, sometimes under the name of Jeremiah and sometimes under the name of Isaiah.

Translator’s note. The words “from the wood” are not in the Hebrew text or in the main manuscripts of the Greek Old Testament. They do appear in some early Christian quotations and in Old Latin versions. Most scholars think they were a Christian addition, not a Jewish deletion.

Scripture: Psalm 96:10

Translator’s note. The older translation reads “freed from [the grave],” supplying words in brackets. The Greek says only that he “has been saved, having risen.”

Translator’s note. The older translation said “retained by us.” The Greek says “preserved among you,” meaning among the Jews.

Translator’s note. The quotation is Psalm 96:1–3 (Psalm 95 in the Greek Old Testament); parallel lines appear in 1 Chronicles 16:23–24.

Translator’s note. The Greek text breaks off at the end of this section, and the next section begins in the middle of a sentence, so some text is lost between them. The older English supplies bracketed words to bridge the gap.

Translator’s note. This section opens in the middle of a quotation of Deuteronomy 31:16–18; the lost words are probably “This people will rise up and prostitute themselves after the foreign gods” (31:16), to which “of the land” belongs.

Scripture: Deuteronomy 31:16-18

Translator’s note. God’s statement that his name was not made known to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob is in Exodus 6:3. The quotation is Exodus 23:20–21, given in the Greek Old Testament’s form. There, “he will not hold back from you” stands where the Hebrew has “he will not pardon your transgressions.”

Scripture: Exodus 6:3; Exodus 23:20-21

Translator’s note. The Greek has an active verb, “he renamed Jacob,” with the one who spoke to Moses as the apparent subject.

Scripture: Exodus 23:21; Numbers 13:16; Genesis 32:28

Translator’s note. “Angel” in Greek means “messenger,” and “apostle” means “one sent.” That is why Justin can say the prophets are called both. “Send me” is from Isaiah 6:8.

Scripture: Isaiah 6:8

Translator’s note. “This God” translates Justin’s “that God,” meaning the one who appeared to the patriarchs. Justin distinguishes him from “the Father of all,” whose will he carries out.

Translator’s note. The “son of man” who receives the everlasting kingdom is from Daniel 7:13–14. The stone cut out without hands is from Daniel 2:34 (see also 2:45).

Scripture: Daniel 7:13-14; Daniel 2:34

Translator’s note. The washing of the robe in the blood of the grape is from Genesis 49:11, Jacob’s blessing of Judah. Justin calls it a word of Moses because Moses was held to be the author of Genesis.

Scripture: Isaiah 53:8; Genesis 49:11

Translator’s note. The phrase “messenger (angel) of great counsel” comes from the Greek Old Testament of Isaiah 9:6 (9:5 in the Greek and Hebrew numbering). The Hebrew text has “Wonderful Counselor” instead.

Scripture: Isaiah 9:6

Translator’s note. Matthew 8:11–12.

Scripture: Matthew 8:11-12

Translator’s note. Justin is quoting from memory and blending sayings. The first is close to Matthew 7:22–23, but “eat and drink” is not there; compare Luke 13:26, “We ate and drank in your presence.” The second combines “outer darkness” (Matthew 25:30) with Matthew 25:41, where Jesus speaks of “the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels.”

Scripture: Matthew 7:22-23; Matthew 25:41

Translator’s note. The saying is from Luke 10:19. “Centipedes” is not in Luke; it is Justin’s addition or comes from the form of the saying he knew.

Scripture: Luke 10:19; Luke 24:25-27

Translator’s note. Justin appears to be combining Psalm 110:3 in the Greek Old Testament (“from the womb, before the morning star, I have begotten you”) with Psalm 72:5 and 72:17 (“before the moon,” “before the sun”).

Scripture: Luke 9:22; Mark 8:31

Translator’s note. The passage is Isaiah 7:14 (“the virgin shall conceive and bear a son”). Justin quoted it earlier in the dialogue together with Isaiah 8:4 (the child who takes the power of Damascus), and Trypho had already said that Jews apply it to Hezekiah.

Translator’s note. The quotation is Isaiah 8:4 as found in the Greek Old Testament, where “he will take” is read of the child; the Hebrew is usually rendered impersonally: the wealth of Damascus and the spoil of Samaria “will be carried away before the king of Assyria.”

Scripture: Isaiah 8:4

Scripture: Isaiah 8:4; Isaiah 7:14

Translator’s note. The saying about the Amorite father and Hittite mother is from Ezekiel 16:3, where it is spoken to Jerusalem. Justin’s point is that “Assyria” and “Amorite” are figurative labels, not literal descriptions.

Scripture: Matthew 2:1-2; Ezekiel 16:3

Translator’s note. Justin’s quotation follows the wording of Matthew 2:6 rather than Micah 5:2 (5:1 in the Hebrew), whether in the Hebrew or the Greek Old Testament.

Scripture: Matthew 2:2; Matthew 2:6; Micah 5:2

Scripture: Matthew 2:11; Matthew 2:12

Scripture: Matthew 1:19; Matthew 1:20

Translator’s note. The older translation’s “Cyrenius” follows the Greek spelling of the name (Kyrenios). The Latin form, Quirinius, is the one usually used today. The census is the one in Luke 2:1–5.

Scripture: Matthew 1:24; Luke 2:2; Luke 2:4; Matthew 2:13

Translator’s note. The cave is not mentioned in the Gospels. Luke 2:7 speaks only of a manger. Matthew 2:1 says the Magi came “from the east.” The claim that they came from Arabia is Justin’s own.

Scripture: Luke 2:7

Translator’s note. The Greek says “with you” where the older translation has “with us.” It also says the initiation is done “by them,” meaning the leaders of the cult, where the older translation has “by him,” meaning the devil.

Scripture: Matthew 2:12; Matthew 2:16

Translator’s note. Justin’s claim that Ramah was in Arabia is his own. In Jeremiah 31:15 and Matthew 2:18, Ramah is the town of that name in the territory of Benjamin, north of Jerusalem. Rachel’s burial near Bethlehem comes from Genesis 35:19.

Scripture: Jeremiah 31:15; Matthew 2:18

Translator’s note. Justin reads Isaiah 8:4 as a prophecy about the Magi. “Plundered” plays on the word for “spoils” in the quotation.

Scripture: Isaiah 8:4

Translator’s note. Ancient writers usually counted Damascus as part of Syria. Justin places it in Arabia so that the Magi “from Arabia” fit Isaiah’s prophecy about Damascus. In Paul’s day the city was for a time under an official of the Nabataean Arab king Aretas (2 Corinthians 11:32).

Translator’s note. The quotation is Isaiah 29:13–14 in the Greek Old Testament. Jesus quotes verse 13 in Matthew 15:8–9, and Paul quotes verse 14 in 1 Corinthians 1:19. Justin connects the two halves of his point with the same Greek verb: the grace was “transferred” (metetethē), and God will “remove” (metatheinai) this people.

Scripture: Isaiah 29:13-14

Translator’s note. The reference is to Daniel 7:13–14.

Scripture: Daniel 7:13-14

Translator’s note. This is Isaiah 30:1–5 as it reads in the Greek Old Testament (the Septuagint). The Hebrew text of verse 4 reads “his princes are at Zoan (Tanis), and his envoys reach Hanes.” The phrase “evil angels” comes from the Greek version, and Justin’s argument depends on it.

Scripture: Isaiah 30:1-5

Translator’s note. The other passages are Job 1:6 and 2:1, Genesis 3:1–14, and Exodus 7–8. The David quotation is Psalm 96:5 (95:5 in the Greek numbering). The Greek Old Testament reads “demons” there, where the Hebrew has “idols” or “worthless things.”

Scripture: Zechariah 3:1-2; Job 1:6; Genesis 3:13-14

Translator’s note. Justin openly admits here that many Christians of pure and godly mind did not share his belief in a rebuilt Jerusalem and a thousand-year reign.

Translator’s note. The closing words echo Isaiah 29:13 (compare Matthew 15:8).

Scripture: Isaiah 29:13; Matthew 15:8

Translator’s note. In the next chapter (81) Justin supports the thousand years by quoting Isaiah 65 and by citing the Revelation of John (see Revelation 20:4–6).

Translator’s note. Justin quotes Isaiah 65:17–25 in a form close to the Greek Septuagint, with some differences in wording. Here I have translated his Greek as he gives it.

Scripture: Isaiah 65:17-20

Translator’s note. The older translation adds “and drink the wine” after “eat the produce of them.” The Greek has no such words. It also gives “the works of their toil shall abound,” where the Greek says they will “wear out” or “make old” the works of their labors. The older translation’s last sentence, “Now we have understood...,” belongs to the start of 81.3 in the Greek and is translated there.

Scripture: Isaiah 65:21-25

Translator’s note. Justin is drawing on the warning about the tree in Genesis 2:17 and on Genesis 5:5, where Adam dies at 930 years, short of a thousand. The saying about a day and a thousand years echoes Psalm 90:4, and its wording is closer to 2 Peter 3:8.

Scripture: Isaiah 65:22; Genesis 2:17; 2 Peter 3:8

Translator’s note. The saying of the Lord is from Luke 20:35–36 (compare Matthew 22:30). Luke has “they are sons of God, being sons of the resurrection.” Justin’s shorter Greek most naturally reads “children of the God of the resurrection,” as the older translation gives it.

Scripture: Revelation 20:4-6; Luke 20:35-36

Scripture: 2 Peter 2:1; Matthew 7:15

Translator’s note. Compare Matthew 24:5, 9, 11 and 24.

Scripture: Matthew 24:9; Matthew 24:5; Matthew 24:11; Matthew 24:24

Translator’s note. The Ezekiel quotation is a loose paraphrase of Ezekiel 3:17–21 and 33:7–9. Ezekiel has “the house of Israel,” where Justin has “the house of Judah.” I have translated it as Justin wrote it.

Scripture: Ezekiel 3:17-19

Translator’s note. The rulers’ quotation is a shortened form of Isaiah 1:23 in the Greek Septuagint.

Scripture: Isaiah 1:23

Translator’s note. The quotation is from Psalm 110:1. For the events with Hezekiah and the Assyrians, see 2 Kings 19 and Isaiah 37.

Scripture: Psalm 110:1; Isaiah 37:36

Translator’s note. Justin quotes the Greek (Septuagint) form of Psalm 110 (Psalm 109 in the Greek numbering), including “from the womb, before the morning star, I have begotten you.” The Septuagint has the Lord sending out a rod of power “for you from Zion,” and the Hebrew has “your mighty scepter from Zion.” Justin’s wording here is “to Jerusalem.”

Translator’s note. “The gods of the nations are demons” is from the Greek (Septuagint) of Psalm 96:5 (Psalm 95:5 in the Greek numbering). The Hebrew has “idols” or “worthless things.” The Septuagint heading assigns this psalm to David.

Translator’s note. The prophecy is Isaiah 7:14.

Scripture: Isaiah 7:14

Translator’s note. “Firstborn of all things made” echoes Colossians 1:15 (“firstborn of all creation”). However, Justin’s Greek word here (poiēmata, “things made”) is different from Paul’s word for “creation” (ktisis).

Scripture: Colossians 1:15; Genesis 2:21-22

Translator’s note. Justin refers to the Septuagint, the Greek translation of the Hebrew Scriptures, which has “virgin” (parthenos) in Isaiah 7:14. The Jewish teachers he argues with preferred “young woman” (neanis), as in later Greek versions.

Scripture: Isaiah 7:14

Scripture: Genesis 21:2; Luke 1:57

Translator’s note. “Hosts” translates the Greek “dynameis” (powers), which can also mean armies or heavenly powers.

Scripture: Psalm 24:7; Isaiah 53:2

Translator’s note. “Firstborn of all creation” quotes Colossians 1:15.

Scripture: Colossians 1:15

Translator’s note. “Binding spells” translates “katadesmoi,” a word for magical spells that “bind” a person or spirit. The older translation’s “incantations” is looser.

Translator’s note. The quotation is Psalm 148:1–2. “Powers” here is the same Greek word (“dynameis”) as “hosts” in “Lord of hosts.” Justin’s argument links the two.

Translator’s note. Jesus’ command to love enemies is found in Matthew 5:44 and Luke 6:27.

Scripture: Matthew 5:44; Luke 6:27

Translator’s note. This is Isaiah 66:5–7. Where Justin’s text reads “a voice of the people” (laou), the Septuagint reads “a voice from the temple” (ek naou), a very similar-looking word.

Scripture: Isaiah 66:5-7

Translator’s note. This is Isaiah 66:8–11. Justin’s wording in verse 9 (“even to her who does not bear”) differs from the standard Septuagint text, and it is translated here as he wrote it.

Scripture: Isaiah 66:8-11

Translator’s note. Throughout this chapter Justin collects Old Testament passages that mention wood, a tree, a rod or a staff, and reads them as pointing to the cross. The Greek word xylon means both “tree” and “wood,” so the same word covers the tree of life, the wood thrown into the water at Marah (Exodus 15:23–25), and the “tree” of the cross. The other events are the sea divided (Exodus 14:16) and water from the rock (Exodus 17:5–6).

Scripture: Genesis 2:9; Exodus 14:16; Exodus 15:25; Exodus 17:6

Translator’s note. Justin argued earlier in the Dialogue that the God who appeared to the patriarchs was not the Father but the one Christians call the Son.

Scripture: Genesis 30:37-38; Genesis 32:10; Genesis 28:12-13; Genesis 31:13

Translator’s note. “Angel” (angelos) also means “messenger.” Justin uses it as a title for the Son, as the one who carries the Father’s message.

Translator’s note. The references are Numbers 17:1–8 (Aaron’s rod), Isaiah 11:1, Psalm 1:3, and Psalm 92:12 (Psalm 91:13 in the Greek Old Testament).

Scripture: Numbers 17:8; Isaiah 11:1

Translator’s note. The “seventy willows and twelve springs” seem to echo the oasis at Elim (Exodus 15:27). In the Bible, Elim has seventy palm trees and twelve springs and comes after the crossing of the Red Sea, not the Jordan. The last line echoes Psalm 23:4.

Scripture: Genesis 18:1; Exodus 15:27

Translator’s note. In Genesis 38:18–26, Judah’s staff, which he left with Tamar as a pledge along with his seal and cord, proves that he is the father of her twins.

Scripture: Genesis 38:25

Translator’s note. The quotation is Isaiah 11:1–3, following the Greek Old Testament, which reads “fear of God” where the Hebrew has “fear of the LORD.”

Scripture: Isaiah 11:1-3

Translator’s note. Justin takes “rest” (Isaiah’s word) to mean “come to an end,” and he builds his argument on that sense.

Translator’s note. “The twelve” means the twelve shorter prophetic books (Hosea to Malachi).

Translator’s note. “Dispensation” translates oikonomia, God’s plan or arrangement, here meaning Christ’s coming in the flesh.

Translator’s note. The second quotation is Joel 2:28–29 in a shortened form. Its closing words, “and they shall prophesy,” are not in Joel 2:29 but appear in Peter’s quotation of Joel in Acts 2:18.

Scripture: Ephesians 4:8; Joel 2:28-29

Translator’s note. Matthew 2:1 says only that the Magi came “from the east.” Justin identifies their homeland as Arabia, as he also does in chapters 77–78.

Scripture: Luke 3:23

Translator’s note. The fire in the Jordan is not found in our New Testament Gospels. A few other early sources tell of fire or a great light at Jesus’ baptism, including some Old Latin manuscripts at Matthew 3:15. In Justin’s Greek, “the apostles wrote” governs only the dove clause. The fire is stated in his own voice and is not said to come from the apostles’ writings.

Scripture: Matthew 3:16; Mark 1:10

Scripture: Luke 3:22

Translator’s note. “Free from corruption” translates aphthartous (incorruptible, not subject to decay). The older translation’s “free from death” gives the general sense.

Translator’s note. The prophecy of the king riding on a donkey is Zechariah 9:9 (see Matthew 21:4–5).

Translator’s note. Justin weaves together Gospel material: John’s clothing and food (Matthew 3:4), people wondering whether he was the Christ (Luke 3:15), and his answer (John 1:20, 23; Matthew 3:11).

Scripture: Matthew 3:4; Matthew 3:11; Luke 3:15-16; John 1:20-23

Translator’s note. “Without good looks” is Justin’s reading of Isaiah 53:2. On Jesus as a carpenter, see Mark 6:3. The detail about plows and yokes is not in the Gospels. The quotation is Psalm 2:7. A few ancient manuscripts of Luke 3:22 give these same words as the voice at Jesus’ baptism.

Scripture: Psalm 2:7; Isaiah 53:2; Luke 3:23; Mark 6:3

Translator’s note. “Nun” is written “Nave” in Justin’s Greek (the Septuagint form). Joshua and Jesus are the same name in Greek.

Translator’s note. The law’s statement is in Deuteronomy 21:23, about a person hanged on a tree.

Scripture: Deuteronomy 21:23

Translator’s note. Justin is drawing on Isaiah 53 in its Greek form (see especially verses 3, 7, 8 and 12).

Scripture: Isaiah 53:7-8; Isaiah 53:12

Scripture: Isaiah 53:7; Deuteronomy 21:23

Translator’s note. The story is in Exodus 17:8–13. Exodus says Moses “lifted up” his hands, with Aaron and Hur supporting them one on each side. Moses had given Joshua his name in Numbers 13:16. The cross-shaped posture is Justin’s reading of the scene.

Scripture: Exodus 17:8-12

Translator’s note. The Greek says the stone also carries a symbolic meaning pointing to Christ, whom Justin has earlier shown Scripture calls “the stone.”

Scripture: Exodus 17:12

Translator’s note. The “unicorn” (Greek monokerōs, “one-horned”) is the Septuagint’s rendering of a Hebrew word that modern Bibles usually translate “wild ox.” Justin’s argument in the next section builds on this Greek word.

Scripture: Deuteronomy 33:13-17

Translator’s note. The “piece fixed in the middle” is a projecting peg or seat on which a crucified person’s body rested; the Greek verb means “ride upon” or “be borne upon.” Irenaeus (Against Heresies 2.24.4) likewise describes a fifth point of the cross on which the body rests.

Translator’s note. The battle with Amalek is in Exodus 17:8–13. In Greek, Joshua’s name is the same as “Jesus.” Moses gave the son of Nun this name in Numbers 13:16.

Scripture: Exodus 17:8-13

Translator’s note. The Greek can also be read “for the salvation of those who believe that death was proclaimed...” This is how the older English takes it. The overall sense is the same either way.

Scripture: Numbers 21:8-9; John 3:14-15; Genesis 3:14; Isaiah 27:1

Translator’s note. After the revolt of AD 132–135 the emperor Hadrian barred Jews from Jerusalem. Justin refers to this elsewhere (Dialogue 16; First Apology 47).

Translator’s note. The quotation is Genesis 15:6. Paul makes the same argument from it in Romans 4:9–11.

Scripture: Genesis 15:6; Romans 4:10-11

Translator’s note. The last words echo Deuteronomy 32:4, which Justin quotes loosely.

Scripture: Deuteronomy 32:4

Translator’s note. By “that angel” Justin probably means Christ. Elsewhere in the Dialogue he calls Christ the angel (messenger) of God.

Scripture: Matthew 22:37-40; Mark 12:30-31; Deuteronomy 6:5; Leviticus 19:18

Scripture: Mark 12:30-31; Deuteronomy 6:5; Leviticus 19:18

Translator’s note. The references are to Exodus 20:4 and Numbers 21:8–9.

Scripture: Exodus 20:4; Numbers 21:8-9

Translator’s note. “As I said before” refers to chapter 91, where Justin first explained the bronze serpent as a figure of the cross.

Translator’s note. One word in the Greek is damaged here, in the phrase translated “why.” The sense is clear from the context.

Scripture: Numbers 21:8-9; Exodus 20:4

Translator’s note. The curse in the law is Deuteronomy 21:23 (“anyone hung on a tree is under God’s curse”). Paul applies it to Christ in Galatians 3:13, in the form “Cursed is everyone who hangs on a tree.”

Scripture: Deuteronomy 21:23

Translator’s note. The quotation is Deuteronomy 27:26. Justin’s wording is closer to the form Paul gives in Galatians 3:10 than to the Greek Old Testament of Deuteronomy.

Scripture: Deuteronomy 27:26; Galatians 3:10

Translator’s note. The older English says only that “His Father” caused him to suffer. The Greek says that “his Father, and he himself” brought it about.

Translator’s note. “Healed by his wound” echoes Isaiah 53:5 (the Greek uses the word for a bruise or stripe).

Scripture: Isaiah 53:5

Translator’s note. The quotation is from Deuteronomy 21:23. Justin’s wording matches Paul’s form of the verse in Galatians 3:13 more closely than the Greek Old Testament.

Scripture: Deuteronomy 21:23; Galatians 3:13

Translator’s note. “The other nations” translates ta alla ethnē, the usual word for the Gentiles. Justin means the non-Jewish peoples, under whose authorities Christians were being put to death.

Translator’s note. In the last sentence the Greek does not make clear who “taught” and who “will judge.” It may be Christ or God, so the translation keeps “he.”

Scripture: Matthew 5:44; Matthew 5:45; Luke 6:35; Luke 6:36

Translator’s note. The story of Moses is in Exodus 17:12. The quotation is from Psalm 3:4–5 (3:5–6 in the Greek Old Testament).

Scripture: Exodus 17:12

Translator’s note. The quotations are from Isaiah 65:2, Isaiah 57:2, and Isaiah 53:9, broadly following the wording of the Greek Old Testament.

Scripture: Isaiah 65:2; Isaiah 57:2; Isaiah 53:9

Translator’s note. “Dug” is the literal sense of the Greek verb, which the older translation renders “pierced.” The psalm is numbered 21 in the Greek Old Testament Justin used (22 in most English Bibles; these are verses 16–18). At this point the standard Hebrew text reads “like a lion” instead.

Translator’s note. The older translation says “King or Christ.” The Greek has only “king.”

Translator’s note. This is Psalm 22 (Psalm 21 in the Greek numbering). Justin quotes the Greek Septuagint version, which differs from the Hebrew in places. In the Hebrew, “attend to me” is missing. The Hebrew has “the words of my groaning” where the Greek has “the words of my transgressions.” Where the Greek has “it is not for lack of understanding in me,” the Hebrew has “I find no rest.”

Translator’s note. The mockers’ words are echoed by the chief priests at the cross in Matthew 27:43.

Translator’s note. “Dug into” renders the Greek verb ōryxan, literally “they dug.” Older English versions render it “pierced.” The Hebrew text at this point (Psalm 22:16) is disputed: the standard Hebrew text reads “like a lion.”

Translator’s note. “One-horned beasts” renders the Greek monokerōs, which older English renders “unicorns.” The Hebrew word probably means a wild ox. “Church” translates ekklēsia, which also means “assembly.”

Translator’s note. Compare Matthew 27:46 and Mark 15:34. In Justin’s Greek, the cry from the cross reads “O God, O God,” without “my.”

Scripture: Psalm 22:1; Matthew 27:46

Translator’s note. Compare Matthew 26:36–44 and Mark 14:32–39 (Gethsemane, on the Mount of Olives, with Peter, James, and John).

Scripture: Matthew 26:39

Translator’s note. See Genesis 3:9 and 4:9.

Scripture: Genesis 3:9; Genesis 4:9

Translator’s note. Judah’s blessing is Jacob’s in Genesis 49:8–12. Joseph’s blessing is probably Moses’ blessing in Deuteronomy 33:13–17, which Justin discussed earlier in the Dialogue. Both blessings are treated earlier in the work.

Scripture: Matthew 11:27

Translator’s note. “Firstborn ... before all created things” echoes Colossians 1:15–17. “Without beauty” echoes the description of the Servant in Isaiah 53:2–3.

Scripture: Colossians 1:15; Isaiah 53:2-3

Translator’s note. The older translation makes Adam the father “both of Himself and of those” listed. The Greek more naturally says “Adam himself was the father of these.” The argument still works: Adam is the ancestor of Mary’s forefathers, and so, by the principle in the next sentence, of her child.

Scripture: Mark 8:31; Luke 9:22

Translator’s note. “East” translates the Greek anatolē, meaning the “rising” of the sun and so “the East.” In the Greek Old Testament it stands for the Hebrew word “Branch” in Zechariah 3:8 and 6:12, and elsewhere in the Dialogue (e.g. ch. 106) Justin applies Zechariah 6:12 to Christ. Here he lists the titles without citing particular verses.

Scripture: Matthew 16:16-18

Translator’s note. Luke 1:35, 38. Luke has “the Holy Spirit will come upon you”; Justin writes “the Spirit of the Lord.”

Scripture: Luke 1:35; Luke 1:38

Translator’s note. Psalm 22:4–6 (21:5–7 in the Greek Old Testament).

Translator’s note. The Greek reads literally “he is a reproach to us, the men who believe in him.”

Scripture: Matthew 19:16-17; Mark 10:17-18; Luke 18:18-19

Translator’s note. Psalm 22:7–8. The mockery in the Gospels is at Matthew 27:39–43 (compare Mark 15:29–32). The words “and walk about” are not found in our Gospels.

Scripture: Matthew 27:39-43; Mark 15:29-31

Translator’s note. Psalm 22:9–15. Justin’s quotation passes over the words “Do not be far from me, for trouble is near” (verse 11) before “for there is no one to help me.”

Translator’s note. “Arabia” is Justin’s usual description of the Magi’s home. Matthew 2:1 says only “from the east.” For the flight to Egypt, see Matthew 2:13–14.

Scripture: Matthew 2:1-3; Matthew 2:13-14

Translator’s note. The Greek phrase rendered “at the very beginning” can also mean “at all.”

Scripture: Genesis 3:15

Translator’s note. The older translation has “destruction of the tower.” The Greek word usually means “laying down” or “foundation,” so “building” is used here.

Scripture: Genesis 11:6

Translator’s note. The quotations are Psalm 22:15 and Isaiah 50:4.

Scripture: Matthew 27:14; Mark 15:5; Isaiah 50:4

Translator’s note. The quotation is from Psalm 22:10–11. The calf refers to Exodus 32.

Translator’s note. The Greek of this sentence is compressed; the phrase rendered “sinless as he is” literally reads “with respect to being sinless.”

Scripture: Isaiah 53:9

Translator’s note. The meaning of the rare Greek word translated “doomed to an early end” is uncertain. The older translation has “prematurely destructive.”

Translator’s note. The quotation is Psalm 22:13. Matthew 2:1 says only that the Magi came “from the east”; Justin is the earliest known writer to say they came from Arabia.

Scripture: Matthew 2:13; Matthew 2:16; Matthew 2:22

Translator’s note. The quotation is Hosea 10:6 in the Greek version. In Hosea the words describe the calf idol of Samaria being carried off to Assyria. Justin applies them to Jesus being sent to Herod.

Scripture: Luke 23:7; Hosea 10:6

Translator’s note. Justin’s explanation of the word is not accurate. In Hebrew, “satan” means “adversary,” and the usual Hebrew word for serpent is “nachash.”

Scripture: Genesis 3:1; Job 1:6; Zechariah 3:1

Translator’s note. The words at the Jordan match Psalm 2:7. They also match the reading of Luke 3:22 in a few ancient manuscripts. Most manuscripts have “You are my beloved Son; in you I am well pleased.” The temptation is in Matthew 4:1–11 and Luke 4:1–13, and Jesus’ answer quotes Deuteronomy 6:13.

Scripture: Psalm 2:7; Luke 3:22; Matthew 4:9-10; Luke 4:8

Translator’s note. The Greek says only “like clots” or “thick drops” (thromboi). The older translation adds “of blood,” as in Luke 22:44. Luke 22:43–44 is missing from some early manuscripts, and Justin’s words here are an early witness to the passage.

Scripture: Luke 22:44; Matthew 26:39

Scripture: Matthew 27:14

Translator’s note. The quotation is Psalm 22:15–18 (Psalm 21 in the Greek numbering), quoted from the Greek version. “Dug into” translates the Greek verb ōryxan, which literally means “they dug.” The older translation and most English Bibles have “pierced.” The Hebrew wording of this line is disputed, and many Hebrew manuscripts read “like a lion.”

Scripture: Matthew 27:35; John 19:23-24

Translator’s note. “Memoirs” is Justin’s usual name for the Gospels.

Translator’s note. Justin’s earlier explanation is in chapter 91. There he says the horns of the unicorn in Deuteronomy 33:17 can stand only for the cross.

Translator’s note. The idea that righteous souls before Christ fell under the power of evil spirits is Justin’s own inference from this story. Scripture does not state it.

Translator’s note. The words on the cross are from Luke 23:46, which quotes Psalm 31:5.

Scripture: Luke 23:46

Translator’s note. The saying is Matthew 5:20.

Scripture: Matthew 5:20

Translator’s note. Psalm 22:22–23 (Psalm 21:23–24 in the Greek Old Testament). “Congregation” translates “ekklēsia,” the same Greek word used for “church.”

Translator’s note. For the new names Peter and Boanerges, see Mark 3:16–17. “His memoirs” may mean Peter’s memoirs rather than Jesus’ memoirs. Some scholars take this as a reference to Mark’s Gospel, which early tradition linked with Peter and which alone records “Boanerges.” The Greek is ambiguous.

Scripture: Mark 3:16-17; Genesis 32:28; Numbers 13:16

Translator’s note. For the star and the Magi, see Matthew 2:1–11. Matthew says only that the Magi came “from the east.” “From Arabia” is Justin’s own detail.

Scripture: Numbers 24:17; Zechariah 6:12; Matthew 2:1-2

Translator’s note. The “memoirs” are the Gospels. Justin says elsewhere (First Apology 66) that these memoirs are called Gospels. Compare Matthew 12:38–40.

Scripture: Matthew 12:38-39; Matthew 16:4

Translator’s note. “Wicked and adulterous generation” echoes Jesus’ words in Matthew 12:39. Justin’s “three days” follows the Greek Old Testament (Septuagint) at Jonah 3:4. The Hebrew text, followed by most English Bibles, has “forty days.” That is why the older translation adds “(in other versions, forty).”

Scripture: Jonah 2:10

Translator’s note. See Jonah 4:1–9.

Scripture: Jonah 4:1; Jonah 4:6-9

Translator’s note. Jonah 4:10–11.

Scripture: Jonah 4:10-11

Translator’s note. For “the sign of Jonah,” see Matthew 12:39–41, 16:4, and Luke 11:29–30.

Scripture: Matthew 12:39

Translator’s note. Justin made the same charge earlier, in chapter 17. The story that the disciples stole the body also appears in Matthew 28:11–15.

Scripture: Matthew 28:13

Translator’s note. The older English has “long-suffering” for the Greek “polyeleos,” which means “of much mercy.”

Translator’s note. “The Twelve” are the twelve shorter prophetic books, the Minor Prophets, counted as one.

Translator’s note. Micah 4:1–3, which is nearly the same as Isaiah 2:2–4. Justin’s Greek says literally that peoples “will set a river” toward the mountain, a very literal rendering of the Hebrew verb for “flow,” which shares its root with the word for “river.” The usual Septuagint of Micah reads “peoples will hasten to it.”

Scripture: Micah 4:1-3

Translator’s note. Micah 4:4–7.

Scripture: Micah 4:4-7

Translator’s note. The older English has “the true worship of God”; the Greek has only “the worship of God” (θεοσέβεια).

Scripture: Daniel 7:25; 2 Thessalonians 2:3; Micah 4:2

Translator’s note. The swords, plows and vine come from Micah 4:3–4, quoted in chapter 109. Justin reads the “vine” as a man’s own wife, supporting this with Psalm 128:3 (127:3 in the Greek Old Testament), which reads “your wife,” not “his wife.”

Scripture: Micah 4:3; Micah 4:4

Scripture: Micah 4:4

Translator’s note. Justin is quoting Micah 4:6, part of the prophecy given in chapter 109; in the Greek, “the afflicted and thrust-out one” is feminine, as in Micah.

Scripture: Micah 4:6

Translator’s note. The quotation is Isaiah 57:1.

Scripture: Isaiah 57:1

Translator’s note. “Jesus” and “Joshua” are the same name in Greek (Ἰησοῦς). Moses renamed Hoshea “Joshua” (Numbers 13:16), and Justin relies on this.

Scripture: Exodus 17:11-12; Numbers 13:16

Translator’s note. On the law’s curse, compare Deuteronomy 21:23 and Galatians 3:13; Justin discusses this curse at length in chapters 89–96.

Scripture: Deuteronomy 21:23

Translator’s note. The quotation is Isaiah 53:7. Compare 1 Corinthians 5:7: “Christ, our passover lamb, has been sacrificed.”

Scripture: Exodus 12:7; 1 Corinthians 5:7; Isaiah 53:7

Translator’s note. See Joshua 2:1, 15–21.

Scripture: Exodus 12:13; Joshua 2:15; Joshua 2:18

Translator’s note. See Exodus 20:4 and Numbers 21:8–9. The word for the “standard” or pole is σημεῖον, which also means “sign.” It is the word used in the Greek of Numbers 21:8, and Justin builds on it in the next section.

Scripture: Exodus 20:4; Numbers 21:8-9

Translator’s note. For Moses’ outstretched hands and Joshua’s victory over Amalek, see Exodus 17:8–13.

Scripture: Genesis 3:14; Isaiah 27:1; Exodus 17:11-12

Translator’s note. Justin combines phrases from Matthew 23:23–24, 27.

Scripture: Matthew 23:27; Matthew 23:23-24

Translator’s note. Compare Matthew 23:7–8. Many manuscripts of Matthew 23:7 have the doubled “Rabbi, Rabbi.”

Scripture: Matthew 23:7

Translator’s note. Greek “Jesus” and Hebrew “Joshua” are the same name. Justin uses “Jesus” for both men, which is how the Greek Old Testament reads. “Oshea” here is Justin’s Αὐσῆς, i.e. Hoshea (Numbers 13:16).

Scripture: Numbers 13:16

Translator’s note. Justin’s Greek names the letters alpha (Abram to Abraham) and rho (Sarai to Sarah, which the Greek Old Testament spells Σάρα and then Σάρρα). See Genesis 17:5, 15.

Scripture: Genesis 17:5; Genesis 17:15

Translator’s note. Justin says Joshua “alone” of the adults who left Egypt entered the land. Numbers 14:30 names Caleb as well.

Translator’s note. Joshua’s stopping of the sun is told in Joshua 10:12–14. “His Spirit” probably means the Spirit of Christ, though the Greek pronoun is ambiguous.

Scripture: Joshua 10:12-13

Translator’s note. The eternal light in Jerusalem recalls Isaiah 60:19–20. Melchizedek appears as king of Salem and priest of the Most High God in Genesis 14:18, and as a priest “forever after the order of Melchizedek” in Psalm 110:4 (compare Hebrews 7). Justin applies both titles to Christ.

Scripture: Isaiah 60:19-20; Genesis 14:18

Translator’s note. The second circumcision with stone knives is in Joshua 5:2–3. Justin’s word for “heaps” (thēmōnia, a stack, as of sheaves) is not the word the Greek Old Testament uses for the “hill of foreskins” in Joshua 5:3 (bounos). Still, he seems to have that scene in mind.

Scripture: Joshua 5:2-3

Translator’s note. The Greek perfect infinitive means Joshua “had circumcised” them, a completed past act (Joshua 5:2–3), so the older English rendering “would circumcise” does not match.

Scripture: Joshua 5:2

Translator’s note. The quotations are Isaiah 53:7, Isaiah 65:2 and Isaiah 53:1. Elsewhere in the Dialogue Justin argues that Christ is figuratively called Jacob and Israel.

Scripture: Isaiah 53:7; Isaiah 65:2; Isaiah 53:1

Translator’s note. The quotation is Psalm 8:3 (8:4 in the Greek and Hebrew numbering).

Scripture: Psalm 8:3

Translator’s note. “Sharp stones” echoes the Greek of Joshua 5:2, where the stone knives are made from sharp rock. The “cornerstone” recalls Isaiah 28:16 and Psalm 118:22, and the “stone cut out without hands” recalls Daniel 2:34. Justin reads these as Christ, whose words come through the apostles’ preaching. The water of life for all who are willing echoes Revelation 22:17.

Scripture: Joshua 5:2; Isaiah 28:16; Daniel 2:34; Revelation 22:17

Translator’s note. Only the words about the fountain and the broken cisterns come from Jeremiah 2:13. The rest of the quotation is not found in that passage. It seems to combine wording like Isaiah 16:1 (Mount Zion as a desert) with the certificate of divorce in Jeremiah 3:8 or Isaiah 50:1.

Scripture: Jeremiah 2:13; Isaiah 16:1; Jeremiah 3:8

Translator’s note. Justin quotes Zechariah 2:10–11 (2:14–15 in the Greek Old Testament), continuing in the next section to Zechariah 3:2.

Scripture: Zechariah 2:10-11

Translator’s note. Where Hebrew-based Bibles read “his holy dwelling,” the Greek Old Testament that Justin uses reads “his holy clouds.”

Scripture: Zechariah 2:12-13; Zechariah 3:1-2

Translator’s note. Justin does not deny that a priest named Joshua (Jesus) lived among the exiles. His point is that Zechariah saw him in a vision, not in person.

Translator’s note. In the Greek Old Testament, Joshua son of Nun is called “Jesus son of Nave.” This is why Justin links his name to Christ.

Translator’s note. Numbers 14:29–31 says that Caleb as well as Joshua would enter the land, along with those under twenty. Justin’s earlier claim that Joshua alone entered left out Caleb, a slip Trypho could have seized on.

Translator’s note. The last sentence echoes Jesus’ words in Matthew 7:2.

Scripture: Matthew 7:2

Translator’s note. Justin is applying the vision of Joshua the high priest in Zechariah 3. There Satan stands to oppose him, and Joshua’s filthy clothes are taken off.

Scripture: Zechariah 3:1-4

Translator’s note. The older translation says Jesus “has promised again to deliver us.” The Greek says he does rescue us again now. The promise concerns the garments and the kingdom.

Scripture: Zechariah 3:2

Translator’s note. God’s words about pure sacrifices offered in every place among the Gentiles come from Malachi 1:11.

Scripture: Zechariah 3:1-4; Malachi 1:11

Translator’s note. The quotation is from Malachi 1:10–12; “thanksgiving” translates eucharistia, the word from which “Eucharist” comes.

Scripture: Malachi 1:10-12

Translator’s note. The “filthy clothes” recall Zechariah 3:3–5, where the filthy garments of Joshua the high priest are taken off him. Justin discussed that passage in the chapters just before this one.

Scripture: Matthew 25:46

Scripture: Malachi 1:11

Translator’s note. The mourning of those who pierced him alludes to Zechariah 12:10–12 (compare Revelation 1:7). “After the order of Melchizedek” is from Psalm 110:4. “His burial has been taken away from the midst” is the Greek Old Testament (Septuagint) of Isaiah 57:2, which Justin has quoted earlier in the Dialogue.

Scripture: Zechariah 12:10; Isaiah 57:2; Acts 10:42

Translator’s note. The older translation puts a quotation in Ezekiel’s mouth (“There shall be no other prince in the house but He”). The Greek has only Justin’s paraphrase: Ezekiel’s “prince in the house” is none other than Christ. The “prince” (or “leader”) appears in Ezekiel’s vision of the new temple (for example Ezekiel 44:3).

Translator’s note. “Providence” translates pronoia, God’s forethought and care.

Translator’s note. The quotation is Isaiah 52:15–53:1 in the Greek Old Testament (Septuagint), which has “Lord” at the start of 53:1. Paul quotes these verses in Romans 15:21 and 10:16, and John quotes Isaiah 53:1 in John 12:38.

Scripture: Isaiah 52:15; Isaiah 53:1

Translator’s note. Deuteronomy 32:16–23, from the Song of Moses, quoted from the Greek Old Testament. Paul quotes verse 21 (“I will make them jealous with what is not a nation”) in Romans 10:19.

Translator’s note. The first quotation is close to Zechariah 2:11, though there the nations dwell “in your midst” rather than “in the middle of the whole earth.” The second is from Isaiah 62:12.

Scripture: Zechariah 2:11; Isaiah 62:12

Translator’s note. “He made himself plain to those who did not ask after him” and the words that follow come from Isaiah 65:1, which Paul also quotes in Romans 10:20. Our texts of Isaiah read “Here I am” rather than “I am God.” The promise to make Abraham “the father of many nations” is Genesis 17:4–5.

Scripture: Isaiah 65:1; Genesis 17:5

Translator’s note. The call to leave his land is Genesis 12:1. For believers as children of Abraham through faith, compare Galatians 3:7.

Scripture: Genesis 12:1; Galatians 3:7

Translator’s note. “Renounced” translates a Greek verb that means to say farewell to something or to bid it goodbye.

Scripture: Genesis 15:6; Deuteronomy 32:20

Translator’s note. The promises are Genesis 26:4 (to Isaac) and Genesis 28:14 (to Jacob).

Scripture: Genesis 26:4; Genesis 28:14

Translator’s note. The blessing of Judah is Genesis 49:8–12. Phares is Perez, son of Judah (Genesis 38:29; Ruth 4:18–22). “Like the sand on the seashore” echoes the promise to Abraham in Genesis 22:17.

Scripture: Genesis 22:17

Translator’s note. Justin believes that Christ, before he was born as a man, was the one who led Israel out of Egypt. In chapter 75 he links this to Exodus 23:20–21, where God says of the angel sent before Israel, “my name is in him.” In Greek, “Jesus” and “Joshua” are the same name.

Scripture: Genesis 49:10

Translator’s note. The “Seventy” are the translators of the Greek Old Testament (the Septuagint). Justin says they wrote “for whom it is laid up.” However, the wording he attributes to the Jews, “the things laid up for him,” is also widely found in surviving Septuagint manuscripts of Genesis 49:10. The difference is a matter of variant readings.

Scripture: Daniel 7:13; Genesis 49:10

Translator’s note. The Old Testament does not record how Isaiah died. The story that he was sawn in two comes from later Jewish tradition, and Hebrews 11:37 likely alludes to it (“they were sawn in two”).

Scripture: Genesis 49:10

Translator’s note. Justin was born in Flavia Neapolis (modern Nablus) in Samaria. His family was probably Gentile, but he still calls the Samaritans his people. His written address to the emperor is his First Apology, which speaks of Simon in chapters 26 and 56. For Simon, compare Acts 8:9–10.

Scripture: Matthew 8:11-12; Ephesians 1:21

Translator’s note. Justin is quoting Psalm 72:17 (Psalm 71 in the Greek numbering) freely. The Septuagint reads “his name will endure before the sun.” “In his seed” refers to God’s promise to Abraham (Genesis 22:18).

Translator’s note. “Rising” (anatolē) can mean the rising of the sun, the east, or the dawn. In Zechariah 6:12 the Greek Old Testament uses it for the Hebrew word meaning “Branch.” “Tribe by tribe they will mourn” comes from Zechariah 12:12.

Scripture: Deuteronomy 4:19; Zechariah 6:12; Zechariah 12:12

Translator’s note. The words “without honor, without beauty, and despised” echo Isaiah 53:2–3.

Scripture: Isaiah 53:2-3; Luke 10:17

Translator’s note. The quotation is Isaiah 49:6 from the Greek Old Testament, slightly abridged. The Greek word “pais” can mean “servant” or “child.” Here it translates the Hebrew word for “servant.”

Scripture: Isaiah 49:6

Translator’s note. “Twice as much sons of Gehenna” echoes Jesus’ words to the scribes and Pharisees about their converts in Matthew 23:15. The prophetic quotations are Isaiah 42:16 and Isaiah 43:10.

Scripture: Matthew 23:15; Isaiah 42:16; Isaiah 43:10

Translator’s note. “Proselytes” are Gentiles who had converted to Judaism.

Translator’s note. The quotation is Isaiah 42:6–7. The older translation has “covenant of the people”; the Greek here says “covenant of a race” (genous).

Scripture: Isaiah 42:6-7

Translator’s note. The quotation is Isaiah 49:8 (Greek Septuagint), where the Greek has “covenant of nations” (diathēkēn ethnōn).

Scripture: Isaiah 49:8; Jeremiah 31:31

Translator’s note. The quotation is Psalm 2:7–8.

Translator’s note. The quotation is Isaiah 14:1. The point seems to be that a circumcised proselyte joins Israel under the one law and needs no new covenant, while Gentile Christians remain “nations” yet are called God’s people, so the prophecies of a covenant for the nations refer to them.

Scripture: Isaiah 14:1

Translator’s note. The quotations are Deuteronomy 32:20 and Isaiah 42:19–20.

Scripture: Deuteronomy 32:20; Isaiah 42:19-20

Translator’s note. The quotation is Isaiah 29:14, and “wise only in doing evil” echoes Jeremiah 4:22.

Scripture: Isaiah 29:14; Jeremiah 4:22

Translator’s note. “Lord of hosts” translates “Lord of Sabaoth,” a Hebrew title meaning “Lord of hosts” (or armies).

Scripture: Jeremiah 31:27; Isaiah 19:24-25

Translator’s note. The quotation is Ezekiel 36:12, from the Greek Old Testament (the Septuagint).

Scripture: Ezekiel 36:12

Translator’s note. The Greek manuscript of Justin reads “he will take up justice.” The Septuagint reads “he will bring forth justice in truth; he will shine out and not be broken,” and the older translation follows that. Here Justin’s text is translated as it stands.

Scripture: Isaiah 42:1-4

Translator’s note. The Greek here is compressed. The older translation renders it “like Jacob, and Israel, and Judah, and Joseph, and David.” Justin seems to mean that Christians bear these names because Christ bears them in the prophets (he has just shown Christ called “Jacob” and “Israel”). The wording “are called… and are” may echo 1 John 3:1.

Scripture: 1 John 3:1

Scripture: Psalm 82:1; Psalm 82:6

Translator’s note. “As you translate them” contrasts the Jews’ own rendering with the Septuagint wording that Justin gives next. It is not certain which Jewish version Justin had in mind.

Translator’s note. The “Seventy” are the translators of the Greek Old Testament, the Septuagint. Their wording adds “Behold” and has “men” (plural) where the version in 124.2 has “a man.”

Translator’s note. “Free from suffering” renders the Greek apatheis, “not subject to suffering.”

Scripture: Psalm 82:6

Translator’s note. The Greek of the phrase about envy and inexperience is difficult; apeiria normally means “inexperience.”

Scripture: Luke 8:5-8; Matthew 13:3-8

Translator’s note. In the Greek, “if he recognizes him” could also mean “if the steward acknowledges him.” I have followed the more natural reading, in which the lord is still the subject.

Scripture: Luke 19:23

Translator’s note. This is Justin’s explanation of the name. Modern scholars usually explain “Israel” differently, as something like “God strives” or “he struggles with God.”

Scripture: Genesis 32:24; Colossians 1:15

Translator’s note. The temptation is told in Matthew 4:1–11 and Luke 4:1–13. Jesus’ reply quotes Deuteronomy 6:13 in the form found in Matthew 4:10 and Luke 4:8.

Scripture: Matthew 4:10; Luke 4:8; Deuteronomy 6:13

Translator’s note. The Greek word translated “from of old” (anōthen) can mean either “from the beginning” or “from above.”

Scripture: Genesis 32:25; Genesis 32:28

Translator’s note. “The Rising” is the Greek word anatolē, which means the rising of the sun, or the east. In the Greek Old Testament it is used in Zechariah for the “Branch.”

Scripture: Isaiah 9:6; Daniel 7:13; Isaiah 11:1; Matthew 24:30

Scripture: Exodus 6:2-4

Translator’s note. “Form of God” (Greek Eidos theou) is how the Greek Old Testament renders the place name Peniel in Genesis 32:30; in Hebrew the name means “Face of God.”

Scripture: Genesis 32:24; Genesis 32:30

Translator’s note. Justin is quoting excerpts from Genesis 18:1–2 and 18:13–14 in the Greek Old Testament.

Scripture: Genesis 18:1-2; Genesis 18:13-14

Translator’s note. The quotations are from Genesis 18:16–17; Justin had already gone through this passage earlier in the Dialogue (chapter 56).

Scripture: Genesis 18:16-17

Translator’s note. The two quotations are from Numbers 11:23 and Deuteronomy 31:2–3.

Scripture: Numbers 11:23; Deuteronomy 31:2-3

Translator’s note. The quotations are from Genesis 17:22, the frequent phrase “The Lord spoke to Moses,” Genesis 11:5, and Genesis 7:16.

Scripture: Genesis 17:22; Genesis 11:5; Genesis 7:16

Translator’s note. See Exodus 40:35 (Moses could not enter the tent of meeting) and 1 Kings 8:10–11 (the priests could not stand to minister because of the cloud and the glory).

Scripture: Exodus 40:35

Scripture: Exodus 3:2

Translator’s note. The quotations are Genesis 19:24, Psalm 24:7 and Psalm 110:1. In Psalm 24:7 Justin follows the Greek Old Testament, which reads “Lift up your gates, you rulers,” where the Hebrew has “Lift up your heads, O gates.”

Scripture: Genesis 19:24; Psalm 24:7; Psalm 110:1

Translator’s note. In Greek, “Jesus” and “Joshua” are the same name. Earlier in the Dialogue (ch. 75), Justin argued from Exodus 23:20–21 (“my name is in him”) that the angel sent before Israel bore this name, the name Moses gave to Hoshea (Numbers 13:16).

Translator’s note. This is the view of Justin’s opponents, not his own. In the next section (128.4) he rejects it, arguing that this power is distinct in number from the Father and not like the sun’s light, and that angels exist permanently.

Translator’s note. The last phrase in the Greek can also be read as “the cause of his existence, and of his being powerful, Lord and God.”

Scripture: Genesis 19:24; Genesis 18:21

Translator’s note. The quotation is Genesis 3:22.

Scripture: Genesis 3:22

Translator’s note. “Wisdom” here means the book of Proverbs, quoted from the Greek Old Testament (Proverbs 8:21a–25). The first sentence appears in the Greek version but not in the Hebrew text.

Scripture: Proverbs 8:22-25

Translator’s note. This is from the Song of Moses (Deuteronomy 32:43), in the Greek form Justin used, which differs from the Hebrew text.

Scripture: Deuteronomy 32:43

Translator’s note. The reference to the worm and fire is Isaiah 66:24.

Scripture: Isaiah 66:24

Translator’s note. The scattering of the nations refers to Deuteronomy 32:8, part of the passage (Deuteronomy 32:7–9) that Justin goes on to quote.

Translator’s note. Justin is alluding to Deuteronomy 32:21, where God says Israel provoked him with idols and he will provoke them with “a people that is no people.”

Scripture: Deuteronomy 32:43

Translator’s note. The quotation is Deuteronomy 32:7–9. “The Seventy” are the translators traditionally credited with the Greek Old Testament (the Septuagint). In verse 8 most Septuagint manuscripts read “angels of God,” while the standard Hebrew text reads “sons of Israel.” A Hebrew copy found among the Dead Sea Scrolls reads “sons of God.” Justin treats “sons of Israel” as the Jewish reading and “angels” as the Seventy’s.

Scripture: Deuteronomy 32:7-9

Translator’s note. The Greek says the manna was given “through heavenly angels”; compare Psalm 78:25, where the manna is called “bread of angels.”

Scripture: Exodus 13:21; Exodus 16:4; Exodus 15:23-25

Translator’s note. The serpents are in Numbers 21:6–9, and Moses’ outstretched hands in Exodus 17:8–13. In Exodus 17:14 God tells Moses to write the event down and recite it in Joshua’s ears, and God says, “I will blot out the memory of Amalek.” Justin reads this as placing the name of Jesus in Israel’s ears, and as saying that Jesus himself will blot out Amalek.

Scripture: Numbers 21:8-9; Exodus 17:11-12; Exodus 17:14

Translator’s note. “Son of Nun” is Joshua. The Greek has “Naue,” the Septuagint spelling of Nun, which the older translation gives as “Nave.”

Scripture: Exodus 17:14

Translator’s note. Deuteronomy 8:4 says Israel’s clothes did not wear out in the wilderness, and 29:5 says their clothes and sandals did not wear out. The idea that the children’s clothes grew with them is not in the Bible; it seems to reflect a Jewish tradition.

Scripture: Numbers 11:31-32; Exodus 17:6; Deuteronomy 29:5

Translator’s note. The calf is in Exodus 32, and the daughters of foreigners in Numbers 25:1–3. “Jesus” here is Joshua son of Nun. Joshua 10:13 says the sun did not hurry to set “for about a whole day.” The figure of thirty-six hours is not in the Joshua account, and it is unclear where Justin got it.

Scripture: Exodus 32:4; Numbers 25:1-2; Joshua 10:12-13

Translator’s note. Justin writes “tent of testimony,” but the story is the capture of the ark of the covenant by the Philistines (1 Samuel 4–6). The older translation renders it “ark.”

Translator’s note. The Greek here says “the tent” (skēnē), where the older translation says “the ark.” I have kept “tent.”

Scripture: Numbers 13:16

Translator’s note. Isaiah 3:9–12, quoted from the Greek Old Testament (Septuagint). The Hebrew of Isaiah 3:10 reads differently: “Tell the righteous that it will be well with them.”

Scripture: Isaiah 3:9-12

Translator’s note. Isaiah 3:12–15, from the Greek Old Testament.

Scripture: Isaiah 3:12-15

Translator’s note. Isaiah 5:18–21.

Scripture: Isaiah 5:18-21

Translator’s note. The Greek word chnous can mean fine dust, chaff, or down. “Provoked” translates paroxynan, meaning they angered God by rejecting his word.

Scripture: Isaiah 5:22-25

Translator’s note. Compare Jesus’ words in Matthew 5:44 and Luke 6:27–28.

Scripture: Matthew 5:44; Luke 6:27-28

Translator’s note. “Christ himself” translates a Greek phrase meaning “that one himself.” Where the older translation says the teaching “moves” you, the Greek verb (dysōpei) usually means to put to shame. It can also mean to move someone through a sense of shame.

Translator’s note. “Planned purpose” and “plan” translate oikonomia, God’s ordering of events. The older translation renders it “dispensation.”

Translator’s note. The story is in Genesis 29:15–30. The Law of Moses, given long after Jacob’s time, forbids marrying a woman’s sister while the wife is still alive (Leviticus 18:18).

Scripture: Genesis 29:30

Translator’s note. See Genesis 9:25–27. There Noah curses Canaan, the son of Ham, and makes him a servant to Ham’s brothers Shem and Japheth. Justin’s phrase “the offspring of the third” refers to Canaan as Ham’s son. Justin discusses this passage more fully in chapter 139.

Scripture: Genesis 9:25-27

Translator’s note. The Greek text printed here begins with a word meaning “advised” or “planned” (ebouleusen). This is almost certainly a slip for the very similar “served” (edouleusen), which the context requires and the older translation follows. See Genesis 30:31–43 (the flocks), 29:17 (Leah’s eyes), and 31:19, 34–35 (the stolen gods).

Scripture: Genesis 30:32; Genesis 29:17; Genesis 31:19; Genesis 31:34

Scripture: Genesis 27:41; Genesis 32:28

Translator’s note. The quotation is Isaiah 43:15 in the Greek version (the Septuagint).

Scripture: Isaiah 43:15

Translator’s note. The older translation reads “He shall shine.” The Greek printed here has “he will take up judgment” (analēpsei), which may be a copying error for the Septuagint’s “he will shine forth” (analampsei). The words “until he brings out victory” are closer to Matthew 12:20 than to the Septuagint of Isaiah.

Scripture: Isaiah 42:1-4

Translator’s note. The Greek word translated “cut out” is used of stone cut from a quarry. It may echo Isaiah 51:1, “Look to the rock from which you were hewn.” The older translation says “quarried out from the bowels of Christ.”

Translator’s note. The quotation is Isaiah 65:9–12 in the Greek Septuagint.

Scripture: Isaiah 65:9-12

Translator’s note. The Greek of the second sentence is difficult; the sense seems to be that the promised “seed from Jacob” must be a different group from the natural descendants rebuked in the same passage.

Translator’s note. The quotation is Isaiah 2:5–6 in the Greek Septuagint.

Scripture: Isaiah 2:5-6

Translator’s note. Justin’s Greek here has only “what is from Jacob and from Judah,” though Isaiah 65:9 itself says “seed from Jacob.”

Scripture: Isaiah 65:8-9

Translator’s note. “You will not put up with him when he calls… you have done evil” echoes Isaiah 65:12. The “woe” is quoted from Isaiah 3:9–10.

Scripture: Isaiah 65:12; Isaiah 3:9-10

Translator’s note. The cakes for “the host of heaven” recall Jeremiah 7:18 and 19:13. On hating the one who sent him, compare Luke 10:16 and John 15:23.

Scripture: Jeremiah 7:18

Translator’s note. “His wounds, by which… we were healed” echoes Isaiah 53:5 (compare 1 Peter 2:24).

Scripture: Isaiah 53:5

Translator’s note. “Apple of God’s eye” renders Greek “pupil (literally ‘girl’) of God” and echoes Zechariah 2:8. “Not pleasing to God” sits oddly with the argument, and the text may be faulty here.

Scripture: Zechariah 2:8

Translator’s note. Most surviving manuscripts of the Septuagint (the Greek translation by “the Seventy”) actually read “bind” at Isaiah 3:10, so it is unclear exactly which texts Justin is contrasting here.

Scripture: Isaiah 3:9-10

Translator’s note. In the Greek, “always the first in power” is feminine and describes the eighth day, not Christ.

Scripture: Isaiah 54:9

Translator’s note. “Firstborn of all creation” is from Colossians 1:15. Moses’ rod at the sea is from Exodus 14:16.

Scripture: Colossians 1:15; Isaiah 54:9; Exodus 14:16