The ''Dialogue with Trypho,'' along with the
First
First or 1st is the ordinal form of the number one (#1).
First or 1st may also refer to:
*World record, specifically the first instance of a particular achievement
Arts and media Music
* 1$T, American rapper, singer-songwriter, DJ, and rec ...
and
Second
The second (symbol: s) is the unit of time in the International System of Units (SI), historically defined as of a day – this factor derived from the division of the day first into 24 hours, then to 60 minutes and finally to 60 seconds ...
Apologies, is a second-century
Christian
Christians () are people who follow or adhere to Christianity, a monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus Christ. The words ''Christ'' and ''Christian'' derive from the Koine Greek title ''Christós'' (Χρι ...
apologetic
Apologetics (from Greek , "speaking in defense") is the religious discipline of defending religious doctrines through systematic argumentation and discourse. Early Christian writers (c. 120–220) who defended their beliefs against critics and ...
text, usually agreed to be dated in between AD 155-160. It is seen as documenting the attempts by theologian
Justin Martyr
Justin Martyr ( el, Ἰουστῖνος ὁ μάρτυς, Ioustinos ho martys; c. AD 100 – c. AD 165), also known as Justin the Philosopher, was an early Christian apologist and philosopher.
Most of his works are lost, but two apologies and ...
to show that Christianity is the new law for all men, and to prove from Scripture that Jesus is
the Messiah
In Abrahamic religions, a messiah or messias (; ,
; ,
; ) is a salvation, saviour or liberator of a group of people. The concepts of ''Messiah in Judaism, mashiach'', Messianism#Judaism, messianism, and of a Messianic Age#Judaism, Messianic Age ...
.
[''Reading the Old Testament with the Ancient Church: Exploring the Formation of Early Christian Thought''; by Ronald E. Heine (Sep 1, 2007) pages 48-52]
The ''Dialogue'' utilizes the literary device of an intellectual conversation between Justin and Trypho, a Jew. The concluding section propounds that the Christians are the true people of
God
In monotheism, monotheistic thought, God is usually viewed as the supreme being, creator deity, creator, and principal object of Faith#Religious views, faith.Richard Swinburne, Swinburne, R.G. "God" in Ted Honderich, Honderich, Ted. (ed)''The Ox ...
.
Identity of Trypho
The identity of Trypho as rabbi
Tarfon
Rabbi Tarfon or Tarphon ( he, רבי טרפון, from the Greek Τρύφων ''Tryphon''), a Kohen, was a member of the third generation of the Mishnah sages, who lived in the period between the destruction of the Second Temple (70 CE) and the f ...
- the Hebrew name 'Tarfon' itself is likely derived from Greek Trifon (Trypho) - has been proposed, but many Jewish scholars do not accept the notion that Justin Martyr's Trypho is Tarfon.
[Claudia Setzer, ''Jewish Responses to Early Christians'' (Nov 1, 1994) , p. 215] They instead consider Trypho a fictional character invented by Justin for his literary purposes.
[Larry R. Helyer, ''Exploring Jewish Literature of the Second Temple Period'' (Jul 5, 2002) , p. 493]
Setting and structure
The setting is presented as a chance meeting between Justin and Trypho in Ephesus
Ephesus (; grc-gre, Ἔφεσος, Éphesos; tr, Efes; may ultimately derive from hit, 𒀀𒉺𒊭, Apaša) was a city in ancient Greece on the coast of Ionia, southwest of present-day Selçuk in İzmir Province, Turkey. It was built in t ...
. Justin had just converted to Christianity
Conversion to Christianity is the religious conversion of a previously non-Christian person to Christianity. Different Christian denominations may perform various different kinds of rituals or ceremonies initiation into their community of belie ...
from a philosophical background and Trypho had just fled the disturbances in Judea.[
When Justin suggests to Trypho to convert to Christianity, the dialogue becomes animated. Trypho criticizes Christians on a number of grounds, and Justin provides answers to each criticism.][
In the opening of the ''Dialogue'', Justin relates his vain search among the ]Stoics
Stoicism is a school of Hellenistic philosophy founded by Zeno of Citium in Athens in the early 3rd century BCE. It is a philosophy of personal virtue ethics informed by its system of logic and its views on the natural world, asserting that th ...
, Peripatetic
Peripatetic may refer to:
*Peripatetic school, a school of philosophy in Ancient Greece
*Peripatetic axiom
* Peripatetic minority, a mobile population moving among settled populations offering a craft or trade.
*Peripatetic Jats
There are several ...
s, and Pythagorean
Pythagorean, meaning of or pertaining to the ancient Ionian mathematician, philosopher, and music theorist Pythagoras, may refer to:
Philosophy
* Pythagoreanism, the esoteric and metaphysical beliefs purported to have been held by Pythagoras
* Ne ...
s for a satisfying knowledge of God; his finding in the ideas of Plato
Plato ( ; grc-gre, Πλάτων ; 428/427 or 424/423 – 348/347 BC) was a Greek philosopher born in Athens during the Classical period in Ancient Greece. He founded the Platonist school of thought and the Academy, the first institution ...
wings for his soul, by the aid of which he hoped to attain the contemplation of the God-head; and his meeting on the sea-shore with an aged man who told him that by no human endeavor but only by divine revelation could this blessedness be attained, that the prophets had conveyed this revelation to man, and that their words had been fulfilled. Of the truth of this he assured himself by his own investigation; and the daily life of the Christians and the courage of the martyrs convinced him that the charges against them were unfounded. So he sought to spread the knowledge of Christianity as the true philosophy.
Justin also accuses Jews of being blind, fleshly beings who cannot see beyond the text of religious law: “For your ears are closed, your eyes are blinded, and the heart is hardened,' Jeremiah has cried; yet not even then do you listen. The Lawgiver is present, yet you do not see Him; to the poor the Gospel is preached, the blind see, yet you do not understand. You have now need of a second circumcision, though you glory greatly in the flesh.” This concept finds its origin in the New Testament
The New Testament grc, Ἡ Καινὴ Διαθήκη, transl. ; la, Novum Testamentum. (NT) is the second division of the Christian biblical canon. It discusses the teachings and person of Jesus, as well as events in first-century Christ ...
: Paul writes in 2 Corinthians 3:13-15 that “to this very day whenever Moses is read, a veil lies over their minds; but when one turns to the Lord, the veil is removed.”
In the ''Dialogue'', Justin also wrote, "For I choose to follow not men or men's doctrines, but God and the doctrines eliveredby Him. For if you have fallen in with some who are called Christians, but who do not admit this ruth
Ruth (or its variants) may refer to:
Places
France
* Château de Ruthie, castle in the commune of Aussurucq in the Pyrénées-Atlantiques département of France
Switzerland
* Ruth, a hamlet in Cologny
United States
* Ruth, Alabama
* Ruth, Ar ...
and venture to blaspheme the God of Abraham
Abraham, ; ar, , , name=, group= (originally Abram) is the common Hebrew patriarch of the Abrahamic religions, including Judaism, Christianity, and Islam. In Judaism, he is the founding father of the special relationship between the Jew ...
, and the God of Isaac
Isaac; grc, Ἰσαάκ, Isaák; ar, إسحٰق/إسحاق, Isḥāq; am, ይስሐቅ is one of the three patriarchs of the Israelites and an important figure in the Abrahamic religions, including Judaism, Christianity, and Islam. He was the ...
, and the God of Jacob
Jacob (; ; ar, يَعْقُوب, Yaʿqūb; gr, Ἰακώβ, Iakṓb), later given the name Israel, is regarded as a patriarch of the Israelites and is an important figure in Abrahamic religions, such as Judaism, Christianity, and Islam. J ...
; who say there is no resurrection of the dead, and that their souls, when they die, are taken to heaven; do not imagine that they are Christians." This passage is sometimes cited as evidence that the early church
Early Christianity (up to the First Council of Nicaea in 325) spread from the Levant, across the Roman Empire, and beyond. Originally, this progression was closely connected to already established Jewish centers in the Holy Land and the Jewish ...
subscribed to the doctrine of soul sleep
Christian mortalism is the Christian belief that the human soul is not naturally immortal and may include the belief that the soul is “sleeping” after death until the Resurrection of the Dead and the Last Judgment, a time known as the interm ...
, though some claim that Justin's emphasis is on saying that denial of the resurrection of the dead
General resurrection or universal resurrection is the belief in a resurrection of the dead, or resurrection from the dead ( Koine: , ''anastasis onnekron''; literally: "standing up again of the dead") by which most or all people who have died ...
is what makes them non-Christian, especially considering that he claims that "even after death souls are in a state of sensation" in Chapter 18 of his ''First Apology''.
In his critical edition (with French translation), Philippe Bobichon demonstrates the particular nature of this text, equally influenced by Greek and Rabbinic thought.
Dating
Because the text mentions Justin Martyr's ''First Apology
The ''First Apology'' was an early work of Christian apologetics addressed by Justin Martyr to the Roman Emperor Antoninus Pius. In addition to arguing against the persecution of individuals solely for being Christian, Justin also provides the ...
'', which was written sometime between AD 150-155, ''Dialogue with Trypho'' must have been written after it. The date of authorship has been suggested to have been written anywhere between 155-167, with some scholars favoring 155–160, or even a more specific date, c. 160.
Authenticity
The ''Dialogue with Trypho'' and the two ''Apologies'' are universally accepted by scholars as authentic works of Justin. Though they are preserved only in the '' Sacra parallela'', they were known to Tatian
Tatian of Adiabene, or Tatian the Syrian or Tatian the Assyrian, (; la, Tatianus; grc, Τατιανός; syc, ܛܛܝܢܘܣ; c. 120 – c. 180 AD) was an Assyrian Christian writer and theologian of the 2nd century.
Tatian's most influential wor ...
, Methodius of Olympus
Saint Methodius of Olympus ( el, Μεθόδιος) (died c. 311) was an early Christian bishop, ecclesiastical author, and martyr. Today, he is honored as a saint and Church Father; the Catholic Church commemorates his feast on June 20.
Life
F ...
, and Eusebius
Eusebius of Caesarea (; grc-gre, Εὐσέβιος ; 260/265 – 30 May 339), also known as Eusebius Pamphilus (from the grc-gre, Εὐσέβιος τοῦ Παμφίλου), was a Greek historian of Christianity, exegete, and Christian ...
and their influence is traceable in Athenagoras, Theophilus of Antioch
:''There is also a Theophilus of Alexandria'' (c. 412 AD).
Theophilus ( el, Θεόφιλος ὁ Ἀντιοχεύς) was Patriarch of Antioch from 169 until 182. He succeeded Eros c. 169, and was succeeded by Maximus I c. 183, according to Henr ...
, the Pseudo-Melito, and especially Tertullian
Tertullian (; la, Quintus Septimius Florens Tertullianus; 155 AD – 220 AD) was a prolific early Christian author from Carthage in the Roman province of Africa. He was the first Christian author to produce an extensive corpus of L ...
. Eusebius speaks of two ''Apologies'', but he quotes them both as one, which indeed they are in substance. The identity of authorship is backed up not only by the reference in chapter 120 of the ''Dialogue'' to the ''Apology,'' but by the unity of treatment. Zahn showed that the ''Dialogue'' was originally divided into two books, that there is a considerable lacuna in chapter 74, as well as at the beginning, and that it is probably based on an actual occurrence at Ephesus
Ephesus (; grc-gre, Ἔφεσος, Éphesos; tr, Efes; may ultimately derive from hit, 𒀀𒉺𒊭, Apaša) was a city in ancient Greece on the coast of Ionia, southwest of present-day Selçuk in İzmir Province, Turkey. It was built in t ...
, the personality of the Rabbi Tarfon
Rabbi Tarfon or Tarphon ( he, רבי טרפון, from the Greek Τρύφων ''Tryphon''), a Kohen, was a member of the third generation of the Mishnah sages, who lived in the period between the destruction of the Second Temple (70 CE) and the f ...
being employed, though in a Hellenized form.
Editions
English
*
* , from the Greek text in .
Greek
*
*
*
See also
*Dialogue of Jason and Papiscus
The ''Dialogue of Jason and Papiscus'' is a lost early Christian text in Greek describing the dialogue of a converted Jew, Jason, and an Alexandrian Jew, Papiscus. The text is first mentioned, critically, in the ''True Account'' of the anti-Christ ...
References
Further reading
* Rokeah, David (2002). ''Justin Martyr and the Jews''. Brill.
*
volume 1 onlinevolume 2 online
* Bobichon, Philippe, "Œuvres de Justin Martyr : Le manuscrit de Londres (Musei Britannici Loan 36/13) apographon du manuscrit de Paris (Parisinus Graecus 450)" , ''Scriptorium'' 57/2 (2004), pp. 157–17
online
* Bobichon, Philippe, "Justin Martyr : étude stylistique du Dialogue avec Tryphon suivie d’une comparaison avec l’Apologie et le De resurrectione", ''Recherches augustiniennes et patristiques'' 34 (2005), pp. 1–6
online
* Bobichon, Philippe, "Comment Justin a-t-il acquis sa connaissance exceptionnelle des exégèses juives (contenus et méthodes) ?", ''Revue de Théologie et de Philosophie'', 139, 2007, pp. 101–12
article online
{{DEFAULTSORT:Dialogue With Trypho
2nd-century books
2nd-century Christian texts
Christian apologetic works
Christian theology books
Jewish apologetics
Jewish–Christian debate
Texts in Koine Greek