they did not endeavour to pervert the Gentiles to their opi nion, but that thofe of the Jews who denied Chrift, though they lived according to the Mosaick law, could not be faved without repentance in this life; for, fays he, the goodness of God is fuch, that he will accept those who are truly penitent, as he declares by Ezechiel, but reject thofe who perfift in their wickedness. Then follows the paffage we are about, Wherefore the Lord faith; which also follows in Ezechiel in that place which Juftin refers to; fee Ezech. xviii. 26-30. And indeed it is remarkable, that this 30th verfe is now in the Septuagint Verfion more like the words of this paffage than any of the preceding are to what Juftin cites, as will appear by comparing them (Εκαςον κατὰ τὴν ὁδὸν αὐτὸ κρινῶ ὑμᾶς, λέγει Κύ g). Nor would it be at all ftrange, if there were a much greater difference, confidering how unlike the prefent copies of the Greek Version are to those in Juftin's time, and particularly to Justin's own copy of that translation; which every one who has read Juftin cannot but obferve with surprise; and those who have not may fee in Vaillant's Differtation concerning the places in the New Teftament cited out of the Old, and Archbishop Ufher's Syntagm. de Septuagint. Interp. c. 4. p. 42, &c. But,

a

Secondly, That which feems to put the matter past all doubt is, that Clemens Alexandrinus citing the fame paffage, expressly cites it as the words of God the Father, and not of Chrift, having just before also quoted the preceding verses in Ezechiel. This Dr. Grabe has alfo obferved, which makes it fomewhat unaccountable that he should in the very fame paragraph suppose it taken out of the Gofpel of the Naza

renes.

Thirdly, Confidering the series of Juftin's discourse, it would have been very abfurd for him to have cited a faying of Chrift to flop the mouth of Trypho, who was a few, and therefore would yield no regard to it, especially when he had several paffages in the books of the Old Teftament, which his adversary owned, to have produced, which were as much to

* In Lib. Quis Dives falvetur, §. 40.

his

his purpose, and really more particularly expreffed his mind, than any words in the New.

XIII. A History of Chrift's Baptifm, related by Justin Martyr. Dialog. cum Tryph. Jud. p. 315.

του

Καὶ τότε ελθόντῳ τῷ Ἰησε ἐπὶ τὸν Ἰορδάνην ποταμὸν, ἔνθα ὁ Ἰωάννης ἐβάπτιζε, και TEXDÚVTO TË 'ING TO

ὕδωρ, καὶ πῦρ ανήφθη ἐν τῷ Ἰορδάνῃ. Καὶ ἀναδύντῳ ἀντὰ ἀπὸ τὰ ὕδατος, ὡς πε βιτερὰν τὸ ἅγιον πνεῦμα ἐπιπτῆναι ἐπ' αὐτὸν, ἔγραψαν οἱ ̓Απόςολοι αυτέ τέτε τα Χρισᾶ ἡμῶν.

And when Jefus came to the river Jordan, where John was baptifing, as Jefus was defcending into the water, a fire was kindled in Jordan. And when he came out of the water, the Apostles of this our Chrift have wrote, that the Holy Ghoft did alight upon him as (or in the form of) α

dove.

That which is peculiar in this relation, and not in our Gofpels, is, that a fire is faid to be kindled in Jordan, when Chrift was going down into the river to be baptifed; and something of the fame nature we find there was in the Gospel of the Ebionites, or Nazarenes, viz. that at Chrift's baptifm after the descent of the Holy Ghoft, and the voice from heaven, a great light fhone around the place. (See the paffage at large out of Epiphanius, in the foregoing Part, Chap. XXV. Numb. 11.) On this account fome learned men have imagined this history to have been taken by Juftin Martyr out of this Apocryphal Gospel. Thus thought a certain learned friend of Mr. Dodwell, and Dr. Mill b; but herein they are most evidently mistaken, because Juftin's account, and that in the Ebionite Gospel do fo very much difagree in circumftances. Juftin relates, that as Christ was defcending into the river, the fire was kindled, and then after that was the defcent of the Holy

Differt. in Iren. ii. § 9. b Annot. in Matt, iii. 16. &

Prolegom. §. 269, & 766.

Ghost,

Ghost, and the voice from heaven: on the contrary, this Gospel faith, that the light was not till after Chrift had afcended out of the water, and the Spirit had defcended, and the voice came down from heaven. Befides, if we look carefully into the paffages, we fhall eafily perceive they are different, not only because of the disagreement, as has been faid, in point of time, which there is between them, but because the fubjects are quite different. The one fpeaks of a fire kindled in the river; the other of a great light encircling or shining around all the place; which are two things fo different, that I suppofe, if this had been obferved, no one would have imagined that Juftin took his account out of the Ebionite Gospel. But farther, he who will be at the pains to confider what opinion Fuftin had of the Ebionites, and their scheme, will hardly persuade himself that Father made use of their idle and filly Apocryphal books. Nor is there any thing that I have feen to be urged on the other fide, befides what Dr. Mill gathers from the words ypaα amisonoi, i. e. the Apostles (speaking of several of them) wrote this, that Juftin referred to the Gospel of the twelve Apostles, which was the fame with that of the Ebionites, or Nazarenes. But it is easy to answer, that thefe words, the Apostles wrote, respect only the latter part of the fenfe, viz. the Holy Ghoft's alighting upon Chrift in the form of a dove, and not the former, because the verb is in the infinitive mood, but the other verbs are in the third perfon; and for this reafon Dr. Grabe b, from whom Dr. Mill borrowed this argument, rejects it, as not fufficient to prove the point. That therefore which feems moft probable upon the whole is, that this circumftance at our Saviour's baptifm was related by Justin only as what he had received by tradition; and if I mistake not, this was founded upon that paffage in three of our Evangelifts, viz. that the heavens were opened; by which I know not what elfe can be understood befides fome lucid phænomenon in the air. "Il femble que les

nuages s'écarterent tout d'un coup, et qu'une flamme de"fcendit de l'entre-deux. Au moins les hommes ne peu"vent pas voir une autre ouverture du ciel, et l'on difoit "communément, que le ciel s'ouvroit, lors que cela arri"voita." It is probable that the clouds divided fuddenly, and that a flame of fire defcended from between them. Otherwife men could not poffibly fee any opening of the heaven; befides, we commonly fay, the heavens are opened, when there is fuch a phanomenon in them. Hence it might easily pass into a common opinion, that there was a fire at our Saviour's baptism; which, with the addition of one circumftance, is the fame as Juftin fays.

It is neceffary here to add, that this fame hiftory was alfo in the Apocryphal book, entitled, The Preaching of Paul and Peter, in the paffage above produced, Chap. XXX. Numb. 7. and feems to be referred to in the Latin poem of Juvencus upon the Gospels thus ;

Hæc memorans vitreas penetrabat fluminis undas,

Surgenti manifefta Dei præfentia claret.

And Dr. Mill informs us alfo, that it is to be found in a very antient Manuscript at Paris.

XIV. A Hiftory of Chrift, in his younger years in Juftin Martyr. Dialog. cum Tryph. Jud. p. 316.

ws ai

Καὶ ἐλθόντῳ τῇ Ἰησᾶ ἐπὶ τὸν Ἰορδάνην, καὶ νομιζομένη Ἰωσὴφ τᾶ τέκτονος υἱς υπάρχειν, καὶ ἀειδῆς, ὡς αἱ γραφαὶ ἐκήρυσσον, φαινομένε, καὶ τέκτονος νομιζομένη· ταῦτα γὰρ τὰ τεκτονικὰ ἔργα εἰςγάζετο ἐν ἀνθρώποις ὤν, ἄροτρα καὶ ζυγά, διὰ τέτων καὶ

And when Jefus came to Jordan, and was reputed the fon of Jofeph the carpenter, either in refpe&t of his perand making a mean figure fon or garb) as the Scriptures have foretold, (fee Ifa. liii. 1.) and himfelf was efteemed a carpenter, for he worked, when he was here on earth, at the

a Cleric. Annot. in Mat. iii. 16.

carpenter's

Tà Tñs dixαioσúvns cúμbora τῆς δικαιοσύνης σύμβολα διδάσκων, καὶ ἐνεργῆ βίον.

carpenter's trade, making ploughs and yokes (for oxen, &c.); thus making a pattern of righteoufnels, and a laborious life.

There is at this day extant a Gospel of the Infancy of our Saviour (of which more hereafter), in which we read of the actions and miracles of Chrift, during the interval of his minority, and particularly of his working with his father in the carpenter's trade. Accordingly, Chap. XXXVIII. we read, that Jofeph took him along with him to all the places where he was fent for to do business, to make gates and milk-pails, and fieves, and trunks, and that when Jofeph intended to make any thing longer or shorter, wider or narrower, as foon as Chrift put his hand to the work, it was inftantly done, according to Jofeph's intention, so that he had indeed but little occafion to work, not being very dexterous at his trade. It may perhaps be thought, Juftin took what he fays out of fome fuch Apocryphal books; but inasmuch as this book was a forgery long after Juftin's time, and it does not appear, there was any fuch book in his time, it is much more probable, either that he relates only what he had received by tradition, or else that what he here faith, was his glofs upon thofe words of Mark, c. vi. 3. in which Chrift is called by his own townsmen : TíxTwv, the carpenter. Origen indeed afferts, that it is no where to be read in the Gospels received by the Churches, that Chrift was a carpenter; which he never would fo pofitively have afferted against Celfus, bantering our Saviour because he was a carpenter by trade, unless he was well affured of the fact. It is probable therefore Chrift was not called Téxtwr, the carpenter, in any copies of St. Mark which Origen had feen; and accordingly, I obferve, first, That in the parallel place in St. Matthew, c. xiii. 55. he is not called TéxTwv, but réxtovos viòs, not the carpenter, but the carpenter's fon. Secondly, That

* Οὐδαμοῦ τῶν ἐν ταῖς ἐκκλησίαις φιρομένων εὐαγγελίων τέκτων αὐτὸς ὁ

Ἰησοῦς ἀναγέγραπται. Contr. Celf. 1. vi. p. 299.

many