• Biblical Families is not a dating website. It is a forum to discuss issues relating to marriage and the Bible, and to offer guidance and support, not to find a wife. Click here for more information.

Justin Martyr & Christianity

Sonny Chancelor

Sonny Chancelor

Member
Male
Wondering if anyone had read the following section of Justin Martyr's dialogue with Trypho. Typology is rampant among the early Christians. Is it fair to say that typology is "Hellinization"?
======================================================
CHAPTER CXXXIV -- THE MARRIAGES OF JACOB ARE A FIGURE OF THE CHURCH.

"If, then, the teaching of the prophets and of Himself moves you, it is better for you to follow God than your imprudent and blind masters, who even till this time permit each man to have four or five wives; and if any one see a beautiful woman and desire to have her, they quote the doings of Jacob [called] Israel, and of the other patriarchs, and maintain that it is not wrong to do such things; for they are miserably ignorant in this matter. For, as I before said, certain dispensations of weighty mysteries were accomplished in each act of this sort. For in the marriages of Jacob I shall mention what dispensation and prophecy were accomplished, in order that you may thereby know that your teachers never looked at the divine motive which prompted each act, but only at the grovelling and corrupting passions. Attend therefore to what I say. The marriages of Jacob were types of that which Christ was about to accomplish. For it was not lawful for Jacob to marry two sisters at once. And he serves Laban for [one of] the daughters; and being deceived in [the obtaining of] the younger, he again served seven years. Now Leah is your people and synagogue; but Rachel is our Church. And for these, and for the servants in both, Christ even now serves. For while Noah gave to the two sons the seed of the third as servants, now on the other hand Christ has come to restore both the free sons and the servants amongst them, conferring the same honour on all of them who keep His commandments; even as the children of the free women and the children of the bond women born to Jacob were all sons, and equal in dignity. And it was foretold what each should be according to rank and according to fore-knowledge. Jacob served Laban for speckled and many-spotted sheep; and Christ served, even to the slavery of the cross, for the various and many-formed races of mankind, acquiring them by the blood and mystery of the cross. Leah was weak-eyed; for the eyes of your souls are excessively weak. Rachel stole the gods of Laban, and has hid them to this day; and we have lost our paternal and material gods. Jacob was hated for all time by his brother; and we now, and our Lord Himself, are hated by you and by all men, though we are brothers by nature. Jacob was called Israel; and Israel has been demonstrated to be the Christ, who is, and is called, Jesus.
http://www.earlychristianwritings.com/text/justinmartyr-dialoguetrypho.html
 
I deleted my post. Upon further reflection, I think I spoke past what I ought to have said regarding those called Early Church Fathers, and perhaps did not well bind truth and mercy about my neck. I am sorry if I so did.
 
Last edited:
The Early Church Fathers were subject to cultural influences, just like modern believers. Many of them had lost touch with the Jewish roots of their faith, and relied on Hellenized viewpoints.
 
I had never heard this representative about Jacob, his wives, the sheep, etc. before, but it does make sense.

I would say that "flagrant" typology may have been rampant with early church fathers, but typology in general is regaining momentum in the last 30 years with computer analysis and mathematical models of various scriptures are revealing more and more encoded secrets than before. Typology is built into throughout the scriptures and is completely intentional by The Creator to have done this.

As to your query regarding typology and hellenization, I would say that hellenization is simply a subset, a type of, typology. I'm not educated in this regard to say the least but with my current understanding of the definition of that term, I don't see any hellenization in this at all.

The only errors I noticed in the Martyr's writing were the typical things we've addressed here on BF before:
1) Polygyny was not a dispensation that has been done away with, and
2) Sisters were not prohibited, per se. There was only one qualifier as to whether it was prohibited. And let's not forget the two verses in which God portrays Himself as having two wives who are sisters.

EDIT: ooops. wasn't done and formatting.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top