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Hortatory Address to the Greeks

Justin Martyr

Chapter 10

About this work

Author: Justin Martyr

Chapter X—Training and inspiration of Moses.

These things, ye men of Greece, have been

‹ Chapter 9 Chapter 11 ›

recorded

in

writing

concerning

the

antiquity

of

Moses

by

those

who

were

not

of

our

religion

;

and

they

said

that

they

learned

all

these

things

from

the

Egyptian

priests

,

among

whom

Moses

was

not

only

born

,

but

also

was

thought

worthy

of

partaking

of

all

the

education

of

the

Egyptians

,

on

account

of

his

being

adopted

by

the

king’s

daughter

as

her

son

;

and

for

the

same

reason

was

thought

worthy

of

great

attention

,

as

the

wisest

of

the

historians

relate

,

who

have

chosen

to

record

his

life

and

actions

,

and

the

rank

of

his

descent

,

—

I

speak

of

Philo

and

Josephus

.

For

these

,

in

their

narration

of

the

history

of

the

Jews

,

say

that

Moses

was

sprung

from

the

race

of

the

Chaldæans

,

and

that

he

was

born

in

Egypt

when

his

forefathers

had

migrated

on

account

of

famine

from

Phœnicia

to

that

country

;

and

him

God

chose

to

honour

on

account

of

his

exceeding

virtue

,

and

judged

him

worthy

to

become

the

leader

and

lawgiver

of

his

own

race

,

when

He

thought

it

right

that

the

people

of

the

Hebrews

should

return

out

of

Egypt

into

their

own

land

.

To

him

first

did

God

communicate

that

divine

and

prophetic

gift

which

in

those

days

descended

upon

the

holy

men

,

and

him

also

did

He

first

furnish

that

he

might

be

our

teacher

in

religion

,

and

then

after

him

the

rest

of

the

prophets

,

who

both

obtained

the

same

gift

as

he

,

and

taught

us

the

same

doctrines

concerning

the

same

subjects

.

These

we

assert

to

have

been

our

teachers

,

who

taught

us

nothing

from

their

own

human

conception

,

but

from

the

gift

vouchsafed

to

them

by

God

from

above

.