Thursday, November 20, 2014

42. Some of Tertullian's works have been identified as originating with Justin

Dunn notes Adversus Iudaeos "is a work that relies heavily upon Justin's Dialogus cum Tryphone."  This pattern also holds true for large parts of Adv Marc 4's 'sister text' Adv Marc 5.  This hypothesis would agree with the assumption that the ur-text of Adversus Marcionem 4 & 5 as well as Adversus Marcionem 3 originated with Justin and got to Tertullian in a reworked Irenaean form.  This would account for Adversus Iudaeos also being 'translated' and reworked by Tertullian.  It represents an earlier form of Adversus Marcionem 3 (something almost universally acknowledged) and Tertullian perhaps owing to his Montantism assumed that the similarities were a result of both authors being inspired by the same 'Holy Spirit.' Ernest Evans commenting on parallel harmonized readings in 2 Clement and Justin writes in his introduction of his translation of Against Praxeas " The reference to Luke 1. 35 is not explicit: but that the homilist was acquainted with John 1. 14 and 4. 24 is too evident to admit of denial, and the association of these texts with the words of the Annunciation is probable. Justin Martyr evidently interpreted Luke in the light of John, and it was probably from him that Tertullian copied this exegesis, as he copied so much else."


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