Sophia Scriptura

Dialogue with Trypho 90.4

Justin Martyr · Dialogue with Trypho · ca. 155–160 · Rome · Read in context

Summary: Moses' outstretched hands in the battle against Amalek formed the sign of the cross.

Greek text · Archambault 2:84

Ὅτε ὁ λαός, φημί, ἐπολέμει τῷ Ἀμαλὴκ καὶ ὁ τοῦ Ναυῆ υἱός, ὁ ἐπονομασθεὶς τῷ Ἰησοῦ ὀνόματι, τῆς μάχης ἦρχεν, αὐτὸς Μωσῆς ηὔχετο τῷ θεῷ τὰς χεῖρας ἑκατέρως ἐκπετάσας, Ὢρ δὲ καὶ Ἀαρὼν ὑπεβάσταζον αὐτὰς πανῆμαρ, ἵνα μὴ κοπωθέντος αὐτοῦ χαλασθῶσιν. Εἰ γὰρ ἐνεδεδώκει τι τοῦ σχήματος τούτου τοῦ τὸν σταυρὸν μιμουμένου, ὡς γέγραπται ἐν ταῖς Μωσέως γραφαῖς ὁ λαὸς ἡττᾶτο· εἰ δὲ ἐν τῇ τάξει ἔμενε ταύτῃ, Ἀμαλὴκ ἐνικᾶτο τοσοῦτον, καὶ ἰσχύων διὰ τοῦ σταυροῦ ἴσχυεν.

English · Claude translation

“When the people,” I said, “were fighting against Amalek, and the son of Nun, named with the name of Jesus, led the battle, Moses himself prayed to God stretching out his hands on either side, and Hur and Aaron held them up all day, so that they might not drop when he was tired. For if he gave up any of this posture, which imitated the cross, the people were beaten, as is written in the writings of Moses; but if he remained in this position, Amalek was defeated so much, and he who prevailed prevailed through the cross.

About this passage

Source
Archambault 2:84 · 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
Extrabiblical texts
  • Barn. 12.2 (Epistle of Barnabas) · echo, medium confidence
Topics
Christology, Prayer

Notes

Translation notes

  • Compare Barn. 12.2.

Cite this passage

Justin, Dial. 90.4 (trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/justin-dialogue/90/4/).

Plain text
Justin, Dial. 90.4 (trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/justin-dialogue/90/4/).

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