Opening the library…

Home Bible Corpus Discover You

Search the Bible

Three Books of Testimonies Against the Jews

Cyprian of Carthage

Book 1 · Introduction

About this work

Author: Cyprian of Carthage

In Genesis: “And the Lord God said unto

‹ Book 1 · Section 20 Book 1 · Section 21 ›

Abraham

,

Go

out

from

thy

country

,

and

from

thy

kindred

,

and

from

thy

father’s

house

,

and

go

into

that

land

which

I

shall

show

thee

:

and

I

will

make

of

thee

a

great

nation

,

and

I

will

bless

thee

,

and

I

will

magnify

thy

name

;

and

thou

shalt

be

blessed

:

and

I

will

bless

him

that

blesseth

thee

,

and

I

will

curse

him

that

curseth

thee

:

and

in

thee

shall

all

the

tribes

of

the

earth

be

blessed

.

”

On

this

same

point

in

Genesis

:

“

And

Isaac

blessed

Jacob

.

Behold

,

the

smell

of

my

son

is

as

the

smell

of

a

plentiful

field

which

the

Lord

hath

blessed

:

and

God

give

thee

of

the

dew

of

heaven

,

and

of

the

fertility

of

the

earth

,

abundance

of

corn

,

and

wine

,

and

oil

:

and

peoples

shall

obey

thee

,

and

princes

shall

worship

thee

:

and

thou

shalt

be

lord

over

thy

brother

,

and

the

sons

of

thy

father

shall

worship

thee

;

and

he

that

curseth

thee

shall

be

cursed

,

and

he

that

blesseth

thee

shall

be

blessed

.

”

On

this

matter

too

in

Genesis

:

“

But

when

Joseph

saw

that

his

father

placed

his

right

hand

on

the

head

of

Ephraim

,

it

seemed

displeasing

to

him

:

and

Joseph

laid

hold

of

his

father’s

hand

,

to

lift

it

from

the

head

of

Ephraim

on

to

the

head

of

Manasseh

.

Moreover

,

Joseph

said

unto

his

father

,

Not

so

,

my

father

:

this

is

my

first

-

born

;

place

thy

right

hand

upon

his

head

.

But

he

would

not

,

and

said

,

I

know

it

,

my

son

,

I

know

it

:

and

he

also

shall

be

a

people

,

and

he

shall

be

exalted

;

but

his

younger

brother

shall

be

greater

than

he

,

and

his

seed

shall

become

a

multitude

of

nations

.

”

Moreover

in

Genesis

:

“

Judah

,

thy

brethren

shall

praise

thee

:

thine

hand

shall

be

upon

the

back

of

thine

enemies

;

the

sons

of

thy

father

shall

worship

thee

.

Judah

is

a

lion’s

whelp

:

from

the

slender

twig

,

my

son

,

thou

hast

ascended

:

thou

layedst

down

and

sleepedst

as

a

lion

,

and

as

a

lion’s

whelp

.

Who

shall

stir

him

up

?

There

shalt

not

fail

a

prince

from

Judah

,

and

a

leader

from

his

loins

,

until

those

things

entrusted

to

him

shall

come

;

and

he

is

the

hope

of

the

nations

:

binding

his

foal

unto

the

vine

,

and

his

ass’s

colt

unto

the

branch

of

the

vine

;

he

shall

wash

his

garments

in

wine

,

and

his

clothing

in

the

blood

of

the

grape

:

terrible

are

his

eyes

with

wine

,

and

his

teeth

are

whiter

than

milk

.

”

Hence

in

Numbers

it

is

written

concerning

our

people

:

“

Behold

,

the

people

shall

rise

up

as

a

lion

-

like

people

.

”

In

Deuteronomy

:

“

Ye

Gentiles

shall

be

for

the

head

;

but

this

unbelieving

people

shall

be

for

the

tail

.

”

Also

in

Jeremiah

:

“

Hear

the

sound

of

the

trumpet

.

And

they

said

,

We

will

not

hear

:

for

this

cause

the

nations

shall

hear

,

and

they

who

shall

feed

their

cattle

among

them

.

”

In

the

seventeenth

Psalm

:

“

Thou

shalt

establish

me

the

head

of

the

nations

:

a

people

whom

I

have

not

known

have

served

me

:

at

the

hearing

of

the

ear

they

have

obeyed

me

.

”

Concerning

this

very

thing

the

Lord

says

in

Jeremiah

:

“

Before

I

formed

thee

in

the

belly

,

I

knew

thee

;

and

before

thou

wentest

forth

from

the

womb

,

I

sanctified

thee

,

and

established

thee

as

a

prophet

among

the

nations

.

”

Also

in

Isaiah

:

“

Behold

,

I

have

manifested

him

for

a

witness

to

the

nations

,

a

prince

and

a

commander

to

the

peoples

.

”

Also

in

the

same

:

“

Nations

which

have

not

known

Thee

shall

call

upon

Thee

;

and

peoples

which

were

ignorant

of

Thee

shall

flee

to

Thee

.

”

In

the

same

,

moreover

:

“

And

in

that

day

there

shall

be

a

root

of

Jesse

,

which

shall

rise

to

rule

in

all

the

nations

;

in

Him

shall

the

Gentiles

hope

:

and

His

rest

shall

be

honour

.

”

In

the

same

again

:

“

The

land

of

Zebulon

,

and

the

land

of

Nephtalim

,

by

the

way

of

the

sea

,

and

ye

others

who

inhabit

the

maritime

places

,

and

beyond

Jordan

of

the

nations

.

People

that

walk

in

darkness

,

behold

ye

a

great

light

;

ye

who

dwell

in

the

region

of

the

shadow

of

death

,

the

light

shall

shine

upon

you

.

”

Also

in

the

same

:

“

Thus

saith

the

Lord

God

to

Christ

my

Lord

,

whose

right

hand

I

hold

,

that

the

nations

may

hear

Him

;

and

I

will

break

asunder

the

strength

of

kings

,

I

will

open

before

Him

gates

;

and

cities

shall

not

be

shut

.

”

Also

in

the

same

:

“

I

come

to

gather

together

all

nations

and

tongues

;

and

they

shall

come

,

and

see

my

glory

.

And

I

will

send

out

over

them

a

standard

,

and

I

will

send

those

that

are

preserved

among

them

to

the

nations

which

are

afar

off

,

which

have

not

heard

my

name

nor

seen

my

glory

;

and

they

shall

declare

my

glory

to

the

nations

.

”

Also

in

the

same

:

“

And

in

all

these

things

they

are

not

converted

;

therefore

He

shall

lift

up

a

standard

to

the

nations

which

are

afar

,

and

He

will

draw

them

from

the

end

of

the

earth

.

”

Also

in

the

same

:

“

Those

who

had

not

been

told

of

Him

shall

see

,

and

they

who

have

not

heard

shall

understand

.

”

Also

in

the

same

:

“

I

have

been

made

manifest

to

those

who

seek

me

not

:

I

have

been

formal

of

those

who

asked

not

after

me

.

I

said

,

Lo

,

here

am

I

,

to

a

nation

that

has

not

called

upon

my

name

.

”

Of

this

same

thing

,

in

the

Acts

of

the

Apostles

,

Paul

says

:

“

It

was

necessary

that

the

word

of

God

should

first

be

shown

to

you

;

but

since

ye

put

it

from

you

,

and

judged

yourselves

unworthy

of

eternal

life

,

lo

,

we

turn

to

the

Gentiles

:

for

thus

said

the

Lord

by

the

Scriptures

,

Behold

,

I

have

set

Thee

a

light

among

the

nations

,

that

Thou

shouldest

be

for

salvation

even

to

the

ends

of

the

earth

.

”

Notes

1
Gen. xi. 1–3.
2
The quotation in the Oxford edition begins from this point.
3
Gen. xxvii. 27–29.
4
Gen. xlviii. 17–19. The whole of this quotation is wanting in more than one codex.
5
“Frutice.” The Oxford translator has here, without any authority as it appears, from the text, adopted the reading of the Vulgate, “ad prædam.” Cyprian has used the LXX., reading apparently, ἐκ βλαστοῦ. The Hebrew ףרֶטֶּמִ gives a colour to either reading. See Gesenius, Lex. in voce ףרֶמֶ. [Elucidation X.]
6
Original, “ad cilicium;” LXX. τῆ ἕλικι, “the tendril of the vine;” Oxford trans. “the choice vine.”
7
Gen. xlix. 8–12.
8
Num. xxiii. 14.
9
Deut. xxviii. 44.
10
Jer. vi. 18.
11
Ps. xviii. 43, 44.
12
Jer. i. 5.
13
Isa. lv. 4.
14
Isa. lv. 5.
15
Isa. xi. 10.
16
Oxford edition adds “Galilee.”
17
Isa. ix. 1, 2.
18
Isa. xlv. 1.
19
Isa. lxvi. 18, 19.
20
Isa. v. 25, 26.
21
Isa. lii. 15.
22
Isa. lxv. 1.
23
Acts xiii. 46, 47.