Collectio dictorum veteris testamenti

 is forced to descend into a foreign state and if the demons should see any good understanding accompanying him, they hasten to subject it to the sowi

 escaping. The heifer, taken first, signified the first generation. For just as the heifer struggles against the yoke, so also the first generation of

 the river, but to keep alive every female. For the devil, the spiritual Pharaoh, also conceived a threefold manner of plotting against the spiritual I

 He interprets what that one speaks spiritually and obscurely, and transforms his weak voice to be more melodious. For I have not come, he says, to abo

 the Gospel according to Christ, had as a son the multitude of those being reborn to it through the Holy Spirit whom she also circumcised with a stone

 and easy to comprehend is the mystery concerning Christ. But God did not lead the Jews to this immediately, but through the long law and the many ridd

 Moses commanded Joshua son of Nun to choose mighty men and go out and fight 77.1196 Amalek, signified that Jesus Christ would be subject to the comman

 of the people of the Jews, and servant of God, he ascends to the highest knowledge of God but the people are prevented from approaching, lest they di

 coming after it, demands this final penalty, as one who, after being freed from the burden of sin, is again voluntarily subjected to it. And He comman

 But the eighth ineffably suggests the mystery of the eternal well-being of the 77.1204 beings. The sixth day is called Preparation, because on it the

 and poverty of intellect, they make their neighbors, that is, those of the same faith, partners, so that through one another they may be raised to hig

 unmixed with wickedness, those partaking of the true Lamb nourish their own soul, throughout the whole weekly age, which is measured by the week. And

 the body bears uncircumcision. Circumcision is mystical, a voluntary removal of the passions. The circumcision of circumcision is the putting away of

 of rational discernment, as Israel did in the time of Moses, commits idolatry. For having cast into the fire of the passions the words concerning theo

 to do good things, and to walk toward good things. Humpbacked is the one bent downwards, and not able to look up from earthly things. Sun-spotted is o

 God, ostracizing stupidity, and wishing his subjects to belong to necessity alone, through the not weaving together of linen and wool, banished variet

 but in heaven God Himself whom alone they both worship and attend. And on the day that the tabernacle was set up, the cloud covered the tabernacle, an

 they were catechized by the evangelists. Or otherwise, the four types of meanings were a symbol of the four types of moral discourse. Of which the one

 Aaron's rod, as a symbol of watchfulness. For to Jeremiah, seeing a staff of a nut tree, God says: Behold, I am watchful over my words. And it budded

 bracelets, and rings, and armlets, and braided chains. For the leaders of the people in Christ and the eminent often surpass the evangelical commands

 with bodily ways of the ministry of the virtues, they return to the contemplation of kindred intelligible things. A foreign boy and a servant-girl are

 undertaking. For she will pay the penalty for the offense to God, the Father of spirits, and she will be his wife, as having already been joined to hi

 of the other man wherefore he is required to pay the penalty for the murder, but he alone suffers loss in his soul. For this, I think, is what this m

 war for one year he shall cheer his wife, whom he has taken. For it is not right that one who has just taken a spouse for himself should be led out t

 Virtue is the mother of the good deeds from it. And its nest is the soul in which it dwells. It is necessary for those who encounter them to be benefi

 its fruit for three years will be unpurified for you. It shall not be eaten, and in the fourth year all its fruit shall be holy to the Lord. But in th

 dragging down to earth, those things that draw up to heaven. Saul, is the natural 77.1249 law, which from the beginning received from the Lord the lot

 David is the law according to the spirit, who reigns over the Christians who worship God spiritually. But Saul is the law according to the letter, who

 the face of the Lord, according to David, and learns the cause of such a famine, that this injustice was against Saul, and against his house, with whi

 taking from the spiritual David, that is, the law according to the spirit, may kill the aforementioned sons and grandsons of 77.1257 Saul then in eve

 of knowledge, if it should receive the divine and discerning word, which brings to memory former sins, and will prefer even to nature itself the heali

 The Lord in the desert I mean in the world, and in the nature of men, digging out and cleansing the hearts of the worthy from material weight and min

 of the city. Since Hezekiah is interpreted as 'strength of God,' every mind 77.1265 that through practical philosophy has acquired divine strength, wh

 through themselves they again turn him away, as he flees into his land which is the fixed habit of evil, whom his sons kill as he is fleeing, and the

 the king of the Assyrians, flees to God, and silently cries out to Him, through progress in virtue and knowledge, and receives an angel as an ally th

 at once a philosopher and a lover of God has both Judah and Jerusalem the one taken as the habit of confession and repentance for Judah is interpret

 becomes a lofty and exalted mind, and in the good things given to it by God, boasts as if in its own accomplishments. There comes by providence upon t

 the spear and the flask of water that is, the power of practical virtue, and the grace of gnostic contemplation, even if he again gives these things

 of king Darius, I mean of the natural law, having conquered by him, lifts up his face to heaven, that is, the disposition of the soul, in which are th

 not being guarded. For lead is a symbol of punishment, but silver of brightness. And the seven eyes of this practical faith are the seven gifts of the

 constituted. For since matter is indeed a tetrad, because of the tetraktys of its elements, and form is a pentad, because of the fivefold nature of se

 they rise up for mischief. And approaching Zerubbabel, and Joshua and the leaders of the families, they say to them: We will build with you for like

is forced to descend into a foreign state; and if the demons should see any good understanding accompanying him, they hasten to subject it to the sowings of their ruler; as the Egyptians did Sarah to Pharaoh. And it is of God alone to rescue both this one and that one, like Abraham and Sarah, who were being oppressed and endangered by the hand of the tyrant. And Abraham went up from Egypt, he and his wife, and all that was his, and Lot with him, into the desert. For it is necessary for the one running up from an utterly worldly and sinful life to a holy way of life to leave nothing of his own behind, neither thought nor imagination, lest he ever be forced to turn back on account of it. But first to be transformed into a state barren of evil and undisturbed by the admixture of wickedness. Just as Abraham, when his kinsman Lot was taken captive by enemies, taking his own household and some who were foreigners but friends, pursued after him; and fighting alongside and routing them, he brought back his kinsman, and all the captives; so also the apostles, spiritually arming the nurslings of the Church, and taking along with them some who were still worldly-minded, but friends to piety, ran down the demons who had taken us captive, and having contended against them, they brought back their kinsmen who had been taken captive according to the principle of humanity. 77.1180 And for such a brave deed they receive no worldly reward, but praises from those who were saved, and blessings from Christ, just like Abraham. For Melchizedek blessed him, who was a type of Christ, as the great Paul taught; and having taken no spoil, he nourished him with bread and wine. For, he says, the laborer is worthy of his food. His friends, however, took shares of the spoils, as God often increases even here the substance of those who strive alongside the saints. On Melchizedek. Without father and without mother and without genealogy, as being, according to virtue, above nature and what is in nature; having neither beginning of days nor end of life, as, according to knowledge, soaring above things under time and age, and entering into God himself. And made like to God the most high, according to the likeness to God from actions and contemplations, and as one made and remade by God into God. And he remains a priest forever, as not being stopped by any death of evil from ministering and standing before God. And he alone is said to possess these things, as the first to have acquired them. When the angels commanded Lot to save himself on the mountain, he said: I will not be able to be saved on the mountain, lest the evils overtake me and I die. Behold, this city is near for me to flee to, and it is small; and there my soul will be saved. For those just coming out of evil cannot at once run up to the height of a way of life, but for the time being they depart from wicked habits, and run instead toward the good things that are not far off, and the conduct that is subordinate to the perfect state. And so from there they ascend to the life that lies above, being raised from practice to contemplation. And Lot went up from Zoar. And he sat on the mountain, he and his two daughters with him, and he dwelt in the cave with them. The mind ascends as if by steps to what is higher, having with itself prudence and courage as daughters. For sensual pleasure fell away and was cast out like Lot's wife. And it dwells as in a cave in the fixity and firmness of the good. For it is written that the righteous will dwell in a high cave of a strong rock. And the strong rock would be Christ, on account of his omnipotence; and his cave the Church, the enclosure and shelter of the saints. For, he says, they have put on a rock in which they dwell, those who flee the fire of sin, and the fire of Gehenna

ἀναγκάζεται καταβαίνειν εἰς τὴν ἀλλοτρίαν ἕξιν· εἴ τινα δὲ συμπερινοστοῦσαν αὐτῷ ἀγαθὴν σύνεσιν ἴδοιεν οἱ δαίμονες, σπεύδουσιν ὑπαγαγεῖν αὐτὴν τοῖς σπερματισμοῖς τοῦ ἄρχοντος αὐτῶν· ὡς τῷ Φαραὼ τὴν Σάῤῥαν οἱ Αἰγύπτιοι. Θεοῦ δὲ μόνου ἐστὶν ἐξελέσθαι καὶ τοῦτον καὶ ταύτην, ὡς τὸν Ἀβραὰμ καὶ τὴν Σάῤῥαν, τῆς τοῦ τυράννου χειρὸς καταδυναστευομένους καὶ κινδυνεύοντας. Ἀνέβη δὲ Ἀβραὰμ ἐξ Αἰγύπτου, αὐτὸς καὶ ἡ γυνὴ αὐτοῦ, καὶ πάντα τὰ αὐτοῦ, καὶ Λὼτ μετ' αὐ τοῦ, εἰς τὴν ἔρημον. Χρὴ γὰρ τὸν ἐξ ἄκρας κοσμικῆς καὶ ἐφαμάρτου ζωῆς εἰς ἱερὰν πολιτείαν ἀνατρέχοντα, μηδέν τι τῶν ἑαυτοῦ καταλιπεῖν ὀπίσω, μὴ διάνοιαν, μὴ φαντασίαν, μή ποτε δι' ἐκεῖνο παλινοστεῖν ἀναγκάζοιτο. Μεθαρμόζεσθαι δὲ πρῶτον εἰς κατάστασιν ἔρημον κακίας καὶ ἀπαρενόχλητον ἐπιμιξίας φαυλότητος. Ὥσπερ Ἀβραὰμ, αἰχμαλωτισθέντος ὑπὸ τῶν πολεμίων τοῦ συγγενοῦς αὐτοῦ Λὼτ, παραλαβὼν τοὺς οἰκογενεῖς αὐτοῦ καί τινας ἀλλογενεῖς μὲν, φίλους δὲ, κατεδίωξεν ὀπίσω αὐτοῦ· καὶ συμμαχῶν καὶ τροπωσάμενος ἀπέστρεψε τὸν συγγενῆ, καὶ πᾶσαν τὴν αἰχμαλωσίαν· οὕτω καὶ οἱ ἀπόστολοι πνευματικῶς ἐξοπλίσαντες τοὺς τροφίμους τῆς Ἐκκλησίας, συμπαραλαβόντες δὲ καί τινας τῶν κοσμικὰ μὲν φρονούντων ἔτι, φίλων δὲ τῇ εὐσεβείᾳ, κατέδραμον τῶν αἰχμαλωτισάντων ἡμᾶς δαιμόνων, καὶ καταγωνισάμενοι τούτους, ἐπέστρεψαν τοὺς αἰχμαλωτισθέντας συγγενεῖς αὐτῶν κατὰ τὸν λόγον τῆς ἀνθρωπότητος. 77.1180 Τῆς δὲ τοιαύτης ἀνδραγαθίας ἀμοιβὴν λαμβάνουσι κοσμικὸν μὲν οὐδὲν, εὐφημίας δὲ παρὰ τῶν σεσωσμένων, καὶ εὐλογίας παρὰ Χριστοῦ, καθάπερ καὶ Ἀβραάμ. Εὐλόγησε γὰρ αὐτὸν ὁ Μελχισεδὲκ, ὃς ἦν Χριστοῦ τύπος, καθὼς ὁ μέγας Παῦλος ἐδίδαξε· καὶ μηδέ τι λάφυρον λαβόντα, ἄρτῳ καὶ οἴνῳ διέθρεψεν. Ἄξιος γὰρ, φησὶν, ὁ ἐργάτης τῆς τροφῆς αὐτοῦ. Οἱ μέντοι φίλοι μερίδας λαφύρων ἔλαβον, αὔξοντος τοῦ Θεοῦ κἀνταῦθα πολλάκις τὰς οὐσίας τῶν συναθλούντων τοῖς ἁγίοις. Εἰς τὸν Μελχισεδέκ. Ἀπάτωρ μὲν καὶ ἀμήτωρ καὶ ἀγενεαλόγητος, ὡς κατὰ τὴν ἀρετὴν ὑπὲρ τὴν φύσιν, καὶ τὰ ἐν τῇ φύσει γενόμενος· μήτε δὲ ἀρχὴν ἡμερῶν, μήτε ζωῆς τέλος ἔχων, ὡς κατὰ τὴν γνῶσιν ὑπεριπτάμενος τὰ ὑπὸ χρόνον καὶ αἰῶνα, καὶ εἰς αὐτὸν εἰσδὺς τὸν Θεόν. Ἀφωμοιωμένος δὲ Θεῷ τῷ ὑψίστῳ, κατὰ τὴν ἐκ πράξεων καὶ θεωριῶν πρὸς Θεὸν ὁμοίωσιν, καὶ ὡς τῷ Θεῷ ποιηθείς τε καὶ μεταποιηθεὶς εἰς Θεόν. Μένει δὲ ἱερεὺς εἰς τὸν αἰῶνα, ὡς μηδενὶ θανάτῳ κακίας παυόμενος τοῦ λειτουργεῖν καὶ παρίστασθαι τῷ Θεῷ. Μόνος δὲ ταῦτα κεκτῆσθαι λέγεται, ὡς πρῶτος ταῦτα κτησάμενος. Τῶν ἀγγέλων ἐντειλαμένων τῷ Λὼτ, σώζεσθαι εἰς τὸ ὄρος, εἶπεν αὐτός· Οὐ δυνήσομαι διασωθῆναι εἰς τὸ ὄρος, μὴ καταλάβῃ με τὰ κακὰ καὶ ἀποθάνω. Ἰδοὺ ἡ πόλις αὕτη ἐγγὺς τοῦ καταφυγεῖν με ἐκεῖ, ἥ ἐστι μικρά· καὶ ἐκεῖ σωθήσεται ἡ ψυχή μου. Οἱ γὰρ ἄρτι τῆς κακίας ἐκβαίνοντες, οὐ δύνανται πρὸς ὕψος εὐθέως πολιτείας ἀναδραμεῖν, ἀλλὰ ἀποφοιτῶσι μὲν τῶν πονηρῶν τέως ἐθῶν, μεταθέουσι δὲ πρὸς τὰ οὐ πόῤῥω καλὰ, καὶ τὴν ὑποκαθημένην τῷ τελείως ἔχοντι ἀγωγήν. Καὶ οὕτως ἐκεῖθεν ἀναβαίνουσιν εἰς τὴν ὑπερκειμένην ζωὴν, ἐκ πράξεως εἰς θεωρίαν ὑψούμενοι. Ἀνέβη δὲ Λὼτ ἐκ Σηγώρ. Καὶ ἐκάθητο ἐν τῷ ὄρει αὐτὸς, καὶ αἱ δύο θυγατέρες αὐτοῦ μετ' αὐτοῦ, καὶ ᾤκησεν ἐν τῷ σπηλαίῳ μετ' αὐτῶν. Ἄνεισι μὲν ὥσπερ διὰ βαθμῶν ὁ νοῦς ἐπὶ τὸ μετεωρότερον, ἔχων μεθ' ἑαυτοῦ τὴν φρόνησιν καὶ τὴν ἀνδρείαν ὡς θυγατέρας. Ἡ γὰρ ἡδυπάθεια ἐξέπεσεν καὶ ἀπεβλήθη δίκην τῆς γυναικὸς τοῦ Λώτ. Οἰκεῖ δὲ ὡς ἐν σπηλαίῳ τῇ παγιότητι καὶ ἑδραιότητι τοῦ καλοῦ. Γέγραπται γὰρ ὅτι κατοικήσει ὁ δίκαιος ἐν ὑψηλῷ σπηλαίῳ πέτρας ἰσχυρᾶς. Εἴη δ' ἂν πέτρα μὲν ἰσχυρὰ ὁ Χριστὸς, διὰ τὸ πανσθενές· σπήλαιον δὲ αὐτοῦ ἡ Ἐκκλησία, ἡ περιβολὴ καὶ σκέπη τῶν ἁγίων. Πέτραν γὰρ, φησὶ, περιεβάλοντο ἣν οἰκοῦσιν, οἱ τὸ πῦρ τῆς ἁμαρτίας φεύγοντες, καὶ τὸ πῦρ τῆς γεέννης