Dialogue with Trypho 111.4

Summary: Rahab's scarlet cord signified Christ's blood, which saves former sinners.

Greek text · Archambault 2:170–172

Ἔμελλεν οὖν ὁ θεὸς πλανᾶσθαι, εἰ μὴ τὸ σημεῖον τοῦτο ἐπὶ τῶν θυρῶν ἐγεγόνει; Οὔ φημι ἐγώ, ἀλλʼ ὅτι προεκήρυσσε τὴν μέλλουσαν διʼ αἵματος τοῦ Χριστοῦ γενήσεσθαι σωτηρίαν τῷ γένει τῶν ἀνθρώπων. Καὶ γὰρ τὸ σύμβολον τοῦ κοκκίνου σπαρτίου, οὗ ἔδωκαν ἐν Ἱεριχῶ οἱ ἀπὸ Ἰησοῦ τοῦ Ναυῆ πεμφθέντες κατάσκοποι Ῥαὰβ τῇ πόρνῃ, εἰπόντες προσδῆσαι αὐτὸ τῇ θυρίδι, διʼ ἧς αὐτοὺς ἐχάλασεν ὅπως λάθωσι τοὺς πολεμίους, ὁμοίως τὸ σύμβολον τοῦ αἵματος τοῦ Χριστοῦ ἐδήλου, διʼ οὗ οἱ πάλαι πόρνοι καὶ ἄδικοι ἐκ πάντων τῶν ἐθνῶν σώζονται, ἄφεσιν ἁμαρτιῶν λαβόντες καὶ μηκέτι ἁμαρτάνοντες.

English · Claude translation

“Would God, then, have been deceived if this sign had not been on the doors? I do not say so, but that it proclaimed beforehand the salvation that would come to the human race through the blood of Christ. For the symbol of the scarlet cord, which the spies sent by Joshua the son of Nun gave at Jericho to Rahab the harlot, telling her to tie it to the window through which she let them down so that they might escape the enemy, likewise showed the symbol of the blood of Christ, by which those who were formerly fornicators and unjust from all the nations are saved, having received forgiveness of sins and sinning no more.

About this passage

Source

Archambault 2:170–172 · Georges Archambault, ed., Justin: Dialogue avec Tryphon, 2 vols., Textes et documents pour l'étude historique du christianisme 8, 11 (Paris: Picard, 1909) · Greek text: G. Archambault, Justin: Dialogue avec Tryphon (Paris, 1909), digitized by the Perseus Digital Library and published by the First Thousand Years of Greek project (Open Greek and Latin), CC BY-SA 4.0

Text

As printed in Archambault. Manuscript variants and the editor's apparatus are not reproduced; no textual problem is noted in this passage.

Translation

Claude translation (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-09-26 · Translated by Claude from the Greek text of Archambault (1909); made independently of existing English translations.

Compare

Ante-Nicene Fathers, vol. 1 (1885) (an older public-domain English translation, whole volume at CCEL; checked against ours only after ours was made)

Scripture

Josh 2:18 · allusion, high confidence
Josh 2:15 · allusion, high confidence

Extrabiblical texts

1 Clem. 12.7 (1 Clement) · echo, medium confidence

Topics

Christology

Cite this passage

Justin, Dial. 111.4 (trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/justin-dialogue/111/4/).

Plain text

Justin, Dial. 111.4 (trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/justin-dialogue/111/4/).

Greek text · Archambault 2:170–172

English · Claude translation

About this passage

Notes

Translation notes

Cite this passage