Sophia Scriptura

Dialogue with Trypho 78.5

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

Summary: Christ was born in a cave near Bethlehem.

Greek text · Archambault 2:18–20

Γεννηθέντος δὲ τότε τοῦ παιδίου ἐν Βηθλεέμ, ἐπειδὴ Ἰωσὴφ οὐκ εἶχεν ἐν τῇ κώμῃ ἐκείνῃ που καταλῦσαι, ἐν σπηλαίῳ τινὶ σύνεγγυς τῆς κώμης κατέλυσε· καὶ τότε, αὐτῶν ὄντων ἐκεῖ, ἐτετόκει ἡ Μαρία τὸν Χριστὸν καὶ ἐν φάτνῃ αὐτὸν ἐτεθείκει, ὅπου ἐλθόντες οἱ ἀπὸ Ἀρραβίας μάγοι εὗρον αὐτόν.

English · Claude translation

“And when the child was born in Bethlehem, since Joseph had no place to lodge in that village, he lodged in a certain cave near the village; and then, while they were there, Mary bore the Christ and laid him in a manger, and there the Magi from Arabia came and found him.

About this passage

Source
Archambault 2:18–20 · 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
Topics
Christology

Notes

Translation notes

  • The earliest witness to the tradition that Jesus was born in a cave, later marked by the Church of the Nativity.

Cite this passage

Justin, Dial. 78.5 (trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/justin-dialogue/78/5/).

Plain text
Justin, Dial. 78.5 (trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/justin-dialogue/78/5/).

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