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a missing text, he placed beside it the asterisk, not as if there were a need for the text to be sought at all, for it is superfluous, but so that he might not leave an opportunity for Jews and Samaritans to criticize the divine scriptures in the holy churches, there being nothing reprehensible against the faith in the asterisked texts; for they are superfluous and redundant, as we have shown from the reading concerning Adam and his life; so that also from the briefest text it is possible for you to understand the remaining texts, where the asterisks are placed. And so that you may learn this too, why he placed asterisks beside these texts, we will speak of this also without reserve. You know this, O hearer, that the stars are in the firmament of heaven, even if they are covered by clouds or the sun. He who placed the asterisks did so with this thought, to show you that the texts, beside which the asterisks are placed, are indeed fixed in the Hebrew words, as the stars in the firmament of heaven, but were covered by the translation of the seventy-two, as the stars are covered by the clouds. This is the explanation of the asterisk. The account of the obelus is as follows. This is the obelus which is placed beside it; for it is written very much like the so-called line. It is called an obelus according to Attic usage, but by others it is called a spear, which is a lance, and it was placed beside the words of the divine scripture that are found in the seventy-two interpreters but are not present in those of Aquila and Symmachus. For the seventy-two interpreters added these words of their own accord, not in vain, but rather for a benefit. For having added them to the deficient words, they brought the reading into clarity, so that we suppose that they were not devoid of the Holy Spirit. For what there was no need to repeat, they omitted; but where the saying seemed to be lame when transferred into the Greek dialect, there they made the addition. And one must marvel at this and not dare to bring blame, but rather praise, as the reverent person understands it to have happened by the counsel of God. For being seventy-two in number and on the island of Pharos, which is called the upper land, opposite Alexandria, in thirty-six small houses, pair by pair in each small house, being shut up from dawn until evening, and in the evening being ferried across and back in thirty-six small boats to the palace of Ptolemy Philadelphus and feasting with him, and sleeping pair by pair in thirty-six bedrooms so as not to confer with one another but to translate unadulteratedly, thus they continued. For Ptolemy, having built the aforementioned thirty-six small houses on the far side of the island and having made them double, shut them in two by two, as I said, and he also shut in two servants to serve them for the purpose of cooking and service, along with scribes. But he made no windows in the walls for those small houses, but from above, from the roofs, he opened what are called skylights. And they, living thus, locked up from morning until evening, thus they translated. And to each pair one book was given, for instance, the book of the Genesis of the world to one pair, the Exodus of the sons of Israel to another pair, Leviticus to another, and so on, another book to another. And thus the twenty-seven specified and canonical books, but counted as twenty-two according to the lettering of the alphabet among the Hebrews, were translated. For they have twenty-two names of letters, but five of them are doubled. For the kaph is double, and the mem, and the nun, and the pe, and the tsade. Therefore the books in this manner are counted as twenty-two, but are found to be twenty-seven, because five of them are doubled. For Ruth is joined to Judges and is counted among the Hebrews as one

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ἐλλείποντα λόγον, παρέθετο δὲ αὐτῷ τὸν ἀστερίσκον, οὐχ ὡς χρείας οὔσης τοῦ πάντως ζητηθῆναι τὸν λόγον, περιττὸς γάρ ἐστιν, ἀλλ' ἵνα μὴ παραλείψῃ Ἰουδαίοις καὶ Σαμαρείταις ἐπιλαμβάνεσθαι τῶν ἐν ταῖς ἁγίαις ἐκκλησίαις θείων γραφῶν, μηδενὸς ἐπιληψίμου πράγματος ὑπάρχοντος κατὰ τῆς πίστεως ἐν τοῖς ἀπηστερισμένοις λόγοις· περιττοὶ γάρ εἰσι καὶ δισσολογούμενοι, ὡς ἀπὸ τῆς ἀναγνώσεως ἐδείξαμεν περὶ τοῦ Ἀδὰμ καὶ τῆς αὐτοῦ ζωῆς· ὡς καὶ ἀπὸ τοῦ βραχυτάτου λόγου δυνατόν σε τοῖς λοιποῖς ἐπιστῆναι λόγοις, ἔνθα οἱ ἀστερίσκοι παράκεινται. Ἵνα δὲ καὶ τοῦτο μάθῃς, διὰ τί ἀστερίσκους παρέθετο τοῖς λόγοις τούτοις, ἀφθόνως καὶ τοῦτο λέξομεν. Ἐπίστασαι τοῦτο, ὦ ἀκροατά, ὅτι ἐν τῷ στερεώματι τοῦ οὐρανοῦ οἱ ἀστέρες εἰσί, κἄν τε ὑπὸ νεφελῶν ἢ ἡλίου καλυφθῶσι. Τούτῳ τῷ νοήματι ὁ τοὺς ἀστερίσκους παραθεὶς ἐποίησεν, ἵνα σοι δείξῃ ὅτι οἱ λόγοι, οἷς παράκεινται οἱ ἀστερίσκοι, πεπήγασι μὲν ἐν ταῖς ἑβραϊκαῖς λέξεσιν, ὡς οἱ ἀστέρες ἐν τῷ στερεώματι τοῦ οὐρανοῦ, ἐκαλύφθησαν δὲ ὑπὸ τῆς τῶν ἑβδομήκοντα δύο ἑρμηνείας, ὡς οἱ ἀστέρες ὑπὸ τῶν νεφελῶν καλύπτονται. Αὕτη ἡ ὑπόθεσις τοῦ ἀστερίσκου. Τοῦ δὲ ὀβελοῦ τὸ διήγημα τοῦτον ἔχει τὸν τρόπον. Ὀβελὸς οὗτός ἐστιν ὁ παρακείμενος· παραπλησίως γὰρ γράφεται τῇ καλουμένῃ γραμμῇ. Ὀβελὸς δὲ κέκληται κατὰ ἀττικὴν χρῆσιν, ἄλλοις δὲ καλεῖται δόρυ, ὅ ἐστι λόγχη, παρετέθη δὲ ταῖς τῆς θείας γραφῆς λέξεσι ταῖς παρὰ μὲν τοῖς ἑβδομήκοντα δύο ἑρμηνευταῖς κειμέναις παρὰ δὲ τοῖς περὶ Ἀκύλαν καὶ Σύμμαχον μὴ ἐμφερομέναις. Ἀφ' ἑαυτῶν γὰρ οἱ ἑβδομήκοντα δύο ἑρμηνευταὶ ταύτας τὰς λέξεις προσέθηκαν, οὐκ εἰς μάτην, ἀλλὰ μᾶλλον εἰς ὠφέλειαν. Ταῖς γὰρ ἐλλιπῶς ἐχούσαις λέξεσι προστεθεικότες εἰς σαφήνειαν τὴν ἀνάγνωσιν παρήγαγον, ὥσθ' ὑπολαμβάνειν ἡμᾶς οὐκ ἀμοίρους αὐτοὺς γεγενῆσθαι πνεύματος ἁγίου. Ὧν γὰρ οὐκ ἦν χρεία δισσολογεῖν παρῆκαν· ὅπου δὲ χωλὸν ἐδόκει τὸ ῥῆμα εἶναι εἰς ἑλληνικὴν διάλεκτον μεταφερόμενον, ἐκεῖ τὴν προσθήκην ἐποιήσαντο. Θαυμάσαι δέ ἔστιν ἐπὶ τούτῳ καὶ μὴ τολμᾶν μέμψιν ἐπάγειν, ἀλλὰ μᾶλλον ἔπαινον, ὡς ἐκ βουλῆς Θεοῦ γεγενημένον συνιέναι τὸν εὐλαβῆ. Ἑβδομήκοντα δύο γὰρ ὄντες τὸν ἀριθμὸν καὶ ἐν τῇ Φαρίᾳ νήσῳ, καλουμένῃ δὲ ἄνω γῇ, ἄντικρυ τῆς Ἀλεξανδρείας ἐν τριάκοντα καὶ ἓξ οἰκίσκοις, ζυγὴ ζυγὴ κατὰ οἰκίσκον, ἀφ' ἕωθεν ἕως ἑσπέρας συγκλειόμενοι, καὶ τὸ ἑσπέρας ἐν τριάκοντα ἓξ σκαφιδίοις περαιούμενοι καὶ ἀντιπεραιούμενοι εἰς τὸ τοῦ Πτολεμαίου τοῦ Φιλαδέλφου παλάτιον καὶ μετ' αὐτοῦ ἑστιώμενοι καὶ κατὰ ζυγὴν ἐν κοιτῶσι τριάκοντα ἓξ καθεύδοντες εἰς τὸ μὴ συνδυάσαι μετ' ἀλλήλων ἀλλ' ἀνοθεύτως ἑρμηνεῦσαι, οὕτω διετέλουν. Τοὺς γὰρ προειρημένους τριάκοντα ἓξ οἰκίσκους ὁ Πτολεμαῖος κατασκευάσας ἐν τῷ πέραν εἰς τὴν νῆσον διπλοῦς τε αὐτοὺς ποιήσας δύο δύο ἐνέκλεισεν, ὡς ἔφην, καὶ παῖδας δύο ὑπηρετεῖν αὐτοῖς ἅμα ἐνέκλειεν ὀψοποιίας ἕνεκεν καὶ ὑπηρεσίας μετὰ καὶ ταχυγράφων. Ἀλλ' οὔτε θυρίδας τοῖς οἰκίσκοις ἐκείνοις ἐκ τῶν τοίχων ἐποίησεν, ἀλλ' ἄνωθεν ἐκ τῶν δωμάτων τὰς καλουμένας ἀναφωτίδας ἀνέῳξεν. Οἱ δὲ οὕτω διάγοντες ἀπὸ πρωίθεν ἕως ἑσπέρας ὑπὸ κλεῖδα συγκεκλεισμένοι οὕτως ἡρμήνευσαν. Ἑκάστῃ δὲ ζυγῇ βίβλος μία ἐπεδίδοτο, ὡς εἰπεῖν ἡ βίβλος τῆς τοῦ κόσμου Γενέσεως μιᾷ ζυγῇ, ἡ Ἔξοδος τῶν υἱῶν Ἰσραὴλ τῇ ἄλλῃ ζυγῇ, τὸ Λευιτικὸν τῇ ἄλλῃ καὶ καθ' ἑξῆς ἄλλη βίβλος τῇ ἄλλῃ. Καὶ οὕτως αἱ εἴκοσι ἑπτὰ βίβλοι αἱ ῥηταὶ καὶ ἐνδιάθετοι, εἴκοσι δὲ καὶ δύο κατὰ τὴν τοῦ ἀλφαβήτου παρ' Ἑβραίοις στοιχείωσιν ἀριθμούμεναι ἡρμηνεύθησαν. Εἴκοσι γὰρ καὶ δύο ἔχουσι στοιχείων ὀνόματα, πέντε δέ εἰσιν ἐξ αὐτῶν διπλούμεναι. Τὸ γὰρ χὰφ ἔστι διπλοῦν καὶ τὸ μὲμ καὶ τὸ νοῦν καὶ τὸ φὶ καὶ τὸ σαδέ. ∆ιὸ καὶ αἱ βίβλοι κατὰ τοῦτον τὸν τρόπον εἴκοσι δύο μὲν ἀριθμοῦνται, εἴκοσι ἑπτὰ δὲ εὑρίσκονται, διὰ τὸ πέντε ἐξ αὐτῶν διπλοῦσθαι. Συνάπτεται γὰρ ἡ Ῥοὺθ τοῖς Κριταῖς καὶ ἀριθμεῖται παρ' Ἑβραίοις μία