Against Celsus 1.51
Summary: Micah foretold Bethlehem as the Messiah's birthplace, the cave of the nativity is still shown there, and the Jewish teachers knew the prophecy until they suppressed it after Christ came.
Greek text · Koetschau 1:101–103
Εἵρηται δὴ περὶ μὲν τοῦ τόπου τῆς γενέσεως αὐτοῦ, ὅτι ἀπὸ „Βηθλεὲμ“ „ἐξελεύσεται ὁ ἡγούμενος, “ τοῦτον τὸν τρόπον· „καὶ σὺ Βηθλεὲμ οἶκος τοῦ Ἐφραθὰ, ὀλιγοστὸς εἶ τοῦ εἶναι ἐν χιλιάσιν Ἰούδα· ἐκ σοῦ μοι ἐξελεύσεται τοῦ εἶναι εἰς ἄρχοντα ἐν τῷ Ἰσραὴλ, καὶ αἱ ἔξοδοι αὐτοῦ ἀπʼ ἀρχῆς ἐξ ἡμερῶν αἰῶνος.“ αὕτη δʼ ἡ προφητεία οὐδενὶ ἁρμόσαι ἂν τῶν, ὥς φησιν ὁ παρὰ τῷ Κέλσῳ Ἰουδαῖος, ἐνθουσιώντων καὶ ἀγειρόντων καὶ λεγόντων ἄνωθεν ἥκειν, ἐὰν μὴ σαφῶς δεικνύηται ἐκ Βηθλεὲμ γεγεννημένος ἢ, ὡς ἂν εἴποι τις ἄλλος, ἀπὸ Βηθλεὲμ ἐπὶ τὸ ἡγεῖσθαι τοῦ λαοῦ ἐρχόμενος. περὶ δὲ τοῦ γεγεννῆσθαι τὸν Ἰησοῦν ἐν Βηθλεὲμ εἰ βούλεταί τις μετὰ τὴν τοῦ Μιχαία προφητείαν καὶ μετὰ τὴν ἀναγεγραμμένην ἐν τοῖς εὐαγγελίοις ὑπὸ τῶν Ἰησοῦ μαθητῶν ἱστορίαν καὶ ἄλλοθεν πεισθῆναι, κατανοησάτω ὅτι ἀκολούθως τῇ ἐν τῷ εὐαγγελίῳ περὶ τῆς γενέσεως αὐτοῦ ἱστορίᾳ δείκνυται τὸ ἐν Βηθλεὲμ σπήλαιον, ἔνθα ἐγεννήθη, καὶ ἡ ἐν τῷ σπηλαίῳ φάτνη, ἔνθα ἐσπαργανώθη. καὶ τὸ δεικνύμενον τοῦτο διαβόητόν ἐστιν ἐν τοῖς τόποις καὶ παρὰ τοῖς τῆς πίστεως ἀλλοτρίοις, ὡς ἄρα ἐν τῷ σπηλαίῳ τούτῳ ὁ ὑπὸ Χριστιανῶν προσκυνούμενος καὶ θαυμαζόμενος γεγέννηται Ἰησοῦς. ἐγὼ δʼ οἶμαι ὅτι πρὸ μὲν τῆς Χριστοῦ ἐπιδημίας οἱ ἀρχιερεῖς καὶ γραμματεῖς τοῦ λαοῦ διὰ τὸ σαφὲς καὶ ἐναργὲς τῆς προφητείας ἐδίδασκον ὅτι ὁ Χριστὸς ἐν Βηθλεὲμ γεννηθήσεται. καὶ ἔφθανεν ὁ λόγος οὗτος καὶ ἐπὶ τοὺς πολλοὺς τῶν Ἰουδαίων· ὅθεν καὶ ὁ Ἡρώδης ἀναγέγραπται πυνθανόμενος τῶν ἀρχιερέων καὶ γραμματέων τοῦ λαοῦ ἀκηκοέναι παρʼ αὐτῶν ὅτι ὁ Χριστὸς „ἐν Βηθλεὲμ τῆς Ἰουδαίας“ γεννηθήσεται, ὅθεν ἦν ὁ Δαυίδ. ἔτι δὲ καὶ ἐν τῷ κατὰ Ἰωάννην λέλεκται Ἰουδαίους εἰρηκέναι ὅτι ὁ Χριστὸς ἐν Βηθλεὲμ γεννηθήσεται, ὅθεν ὁ Δαυὶδ ἦν. μετὰ δὲ τὴν Χριστοῦ ἐπιδημίαν οἱ πραγματευόμενοι καθελεῖν τὴν περὶ αὐτοῦ ὑπόληψιν ὡς προφητευθέντος ἄνωθεν περὶ τῆς γενέσεως, τὴν τοιαύτην διδασκαλίαν περιεῖλον ἀπὸ τοῦ λαοῦ· ἀδελφόν τι ποιοῦντες τοῖς πείσασι τοὺς ἑωρακότας αὐτὸν ἀναστάντα ἀπὸ τῶν νεκρῶν στρατιώτας τῶν φρουρούντων τὸ μνημεῖον καὶ τοῦτʼ ἀπαγγέλλουσιν εἰρηκέναι τοῖς ἰδοῦσιν· „εἴπατε ὅτι οἱ μαθηταὶ αὐτοῦ ἡμῶν κοιμωμένων νυκτὸς ἔκλεψαν αὐτόν. καὶ ἐὰν ἀκουσθῇ τοῦτο ἐπὶ τοῦ ἡγεμόνος, ἡμεῖς πείσομεν καὶ ὑμᾶς ἀμερίμνους ποιήσομεν.“
English · Claude translation
It has been said, then, about the place of his birth, that the ruler "will come forth" from "Bethlehem," in this way: "And you, Bethlehem, house of Ephrathah, are the least to be among the thousands of Judah; from you will come forth for me one to be ruler in Israel, and his goings forth are from the beginning, from the days of eternity." This prophecy would not fit any of those whom Celsus's Jew calls ecstatics and beggars saying they have come from above, unless it were clearly shown that he was born in Bethlehem, or, as someone else might put it, came from Bethlehem to rule the people. As for Jesus' being born in Bethlehem, if anyone wants to be persuaded from other sources besides the prophecy of Micah and the story recorded in the Gospels by Jesus' disciples, let him note that, in agreement with the story in the Gospel about his birth, there is shown in Bethlehem the cave where he was born and the manger in the cave where he was wrapped in swaddling clothes. And what is shown there is famous in those parts, even among those alien to the faith, namely that in this cave was born the Jesus who is worshiped and admired by Christians. I think that before the coming of Christ the chief priests and scribes of the people taught, because of the clearness and plainness of the prophecy, that the Christ would be born in Bethlehem; and this teaching reached the many among the Jews too. That is why Herod is recorded, when he inquired of the chief priests and scribes of the people, to have heard from them that the Christ would be born "in Bethlehem of Judea," where David came from. And further, in the Gospel according to John it is said that the Jews said that the Christ would be born in Bethlehem, where David was from. But after the coming of Christ, those who busied themselves to overthrow the belief that his birth had been prophesied long before took such teaching away from the people—doing something akin to what was done by those who persuaded the soldiers guarding the tomb, who had seen him risen from the dead and were reporting it, and said to those who had seen: "Say that his disciples came by night and stole him while we were asleep. And if this comes to the governor's ears, we will persuade him and keep you out of trouble."
About this passage
Notes
Translation notes
- The quotations are Mic 5:2 (5:1 LXX), Matt 2:4–6, John 7:42, and Matt 28:13–14; the manger is Luke 2:7. This is among the earliest witnesses to the cave of the nativity at Bethlehem (cf. Justin, Dial. 78).
Notes on the original text
- Digital text corrected (missing accent): ὁ Χριστος ἐν → ὁ Χριστὸς ἐν.
Cite this passage
Origen, Cels. 1.51 (trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/origen-celsum/1/51/).
Plain text
Origen, Cels. 1.51 (trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/origen-celsum/1/51/).
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