Dialogue with Trypho 78.6

Summary: Isaiah's “cave of a strong rock” (Isa 33:16) is the source imitated by the Mithras cult.

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Greek text · Archambault 2:20

Ὅτι δὲ Ἡσαΐας καὶ περὶ τοῦ συμβόλου τοῦ κατὰ τὸ σπήλαιον προεκεκηρύχει, ἀνιστόρησα ὑμῖν, ἔφην, καὶ διʼ αὐτοὺς δὲ τοὺς σήμερον σὺν ὑμῖν ἐλθόντας πάλιν τῆς περικοπῆς ἐπιμνησθήσομαι, εἶπον· καὶ ἀνιστόρησα ἣν καὶ προέγραψα ἀπὸ τοῦ Ἡσαίου περικοπήν, εἰπὼν διὰ τοὺς λόγους ἐκείνους τοὺς τὰ Μίθρα μυστήρια παραδιδόντας, ἐν τόπῳ ἐπικαλουμένῳ παρʼ αὐτοῖς σπηλαίῳ μυεῖσθαι ὑπʼ αὐτῶν, ὑπὸ τοῦ διαβόλου ἐνεργηθῆναι εἰπεῖν.

English · Claude translation

“And I have recounted to you,” I said, “that Isaiah also proclaimed beforehand the symbol of the cave; and for the sake of those who have come with you today, I will recall the passage again.” And I recounted the passage from Isaiah which I have written above, saying that because of those words those who hand down the mysteries of Mithras were moved by the devil to say that they are initiated by them in a place called among them a cave.

About this passage

Source
Archambault 2:20 · 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
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.
Scripture

Notes

Translation notes

  • “For the sake of those who have come with you today”: new listeners have joined on the second day of the discussion.

Notes on the original text

  • Digital text corrected (digitization slip against Archambault's printed text (wrong accent)): ἥν καὶ προέγραψα → ἣν καὶ προέγραψα.

Cite this passage

Justin, Dial. 78.6 (trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/justin-dialogue/78/6/).

Plain text
Justin, Dial. 78.6 (trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/justin-dialogue/78/6/).

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