The Apologists · AD 130–180 · External witness
Trypho
fl. c. 135 (death unrecorded) · Jewish interlocutor of Justin's Dialogue · Ephesus (a refugee of the Bar Kokhba war)
External witness
Who Trypho was
“The most distinguished among the Hebrews of his day,” Eusebius calls him — the learned Jew, lately fled from the Bar Kokhba war, with whom Justin held the two-day conversation at Ephesus preserved as the Dialogue with Trypho: the longest surviving record of a Jewish–Christian debate from antiquity, courteous on both sides, parting unpersuaded but with mutual prayers. Whether Trypho is a faithful portrait, a literary composite, or (an old, insecure guess) the rabbi Tarfon, the sources cannot settle; he stands here as the named partner of the church's first great dialogue with the synagogue.
Also listed in non-christian witnesses.
Common questions
When was Trypho active?
Trypho is dated fl. c. 135 (death unrecorded) in the archive, which places Trypho in the Apologists (AD 130–180). The dating is traditional and approximate; the archive marks it as uncertain rather than fixing a year the sources do not give.
Which early sources mention Trypho?
Trypho is named in 3 primary-source passages catalogued here, drawn from Justin Martyr, Eusebius of Caesarea and Jerome of Stridon. Every passage is quoted from a named public-domain translation, earliest first.
Where was Trypho from?
The archive associates Trypho with Ephesus (a refugee of the Bar Kokhba war).
Who were Trypho’s contemporaries?
The archive links Trypho to 1 other figure, including Justin Martyr. Each connection is drawn from a source that places them together, not from inference.
Primary-source mentions (3)
Every passage below is quoted from a named public-domain translation, earliest first.
Dialogue with Trypho (the interlocutor throughout)
c. AD 160Hail, O philosopher! And immediately following me, he ranged himself alongside of me.Justin Martyr · Dialogue 1–9 · source text
Ecclesiastical History IV.18
c. AD 325He wrote also a Dialogue against the Jews, which he held in the city of Ephesus with Trypho, a most distinguished man among the Hebrews of that day.Eusebius of Caesarea · IV.18 · source text
On Illustrious Men 23 (the Dialogue 'against Trypho, leader of the Jews')
c. AD 392Another Dialogue against the Jews, which he held with Trypho, the leader of the Jews.Jerome of Stridon · On Illustrious Men 23 · source text
Connected in the archive
People
Events in this lifetime
- AD 70 · The fall of Jerusalem, AD 70
- AD 95 · Domitian’s reprisals, AD 95
- AD 96 · Rome writes to Corinth: 1 Clement, AD 96
- AD 112 · Pliny writes Trajan, AD 112
- AD 117 · Symeon and Ignatius martyred, AD 117
- AD 135 · Bar Kokhba crushed; Aelia Capitolina, AD 135
Place
Places served
The one place the sources put Trypho.