to number Israel; for he used the expression 'incited' both in the second of Kings and in the first of Chronicles, in the one case concerning the anger of the Lord, and in the other concerning the devil. But if 'incited' is the cause of sinning, and the devil is the cause of sinning, the devil was named by both appellations, both by the common one and by the one hidden from the many, which names him 20the anger of the Lord20, according to the great Ode and elsewhere, which says, 'I sent my anger <and> it devoured them as stubble,' and so forth; for everything sent by someone is other than the one who sends it out. Who then would be the anger sent against the Egyptians if not, as we taught in the first of Chronicles, the devil? If, therefore, sinners are said to be delivered to the anger of God, it must be understood that they are delivered to the devil, as Paul delivered the Corinthian and those whom he delivered to Satan that they might be taught not to blaspheme. We also have angels watching over and helping us when we do well, and a universal judgment comes upon all these, as it says: 'Arise,' it says, 'be judged before the mountains, and let the hills hear your voice; hear, you hills, the judgment of the Lord.' And in these things the word of God seems to command that judgment be held with the powers entrusted with human affairs, so that one may be able to demonstrate whether, through someone's negligence and omission of what was incumbent upon him on behalf of men, he has fallen into sin or fault. We shall understand this by using an example, say, a judgment of a people with their bishops, and a judgment of sons with their father, and a judgment of learners with their teacher, when sometimes the people will show that the cause of their sins came from the bishops, and sometimes the bishop, having demonstrated that he has done all things on his part <and> has not omitted anything incumbent upon a diligent ruler, will prove the people to be liable for the accusations. And understand the same regarding sons who blame the upbringing by their fathers, both defending themselves and demonstrating that their fathers were the cause of such failings; and likewise, conversely, the fathers defending themselves as having omitted nothing in the upbringing of their sons according to the word of God, while the sons are convicted <as> having fallen into sin through their own indolence. And it is not far from these things to understand also concerning students and teachers. 31 When grim things are about to be brought on, a certain serving angel of God call<s out> to those entrusted with the painful things, not to bring them for the time being until the servants of God receive seals on their foreheads. He commands this very thing in other words in Ezekiel the prophet: 'Slay and spare not anything, but do not go near those on whom the sign is.' Perhaps then, since those who are punished suffer this because of their own sins, a certain mark signifying the righteousness inherent in them is placed on the foreheads of the righteous, that is, on their confidence <in> virtue, who, having received the aforementioned sign, giving thanks to the one who gave it, say, 'The light of your countenance, O Lord, has been marked upon us,' and again, 'You have given a sign to those who fear you, to flee from the face of the bow.' It must be investigated whether it is possible for there to be so many thousands of virgin men from the Israel according to the flesh, while John was still living in this life. Since, therefore, the literal narrative brings much that is impossible, but the things in the holy book <must> be true, it is necessary to understand the foregoing things according to a spiritual sequence. For it is fitting for the true Israel, the one having no guile, to be divided into tribes; therefore, of this Israel, <if we say that such> a multitude of virgin men exists, we say nothing impossible, for all who have come to Christ, both Jews and Greeks, complete this intelligible nation. And since the Hebrews in this way have great harmony and symphony, turning about themselves in being perfected in one mind and one judgment, by so great a number and equal divisions of it are they arranged. Therefore, the four-sided

ἀριθμῆαι τὸν Ἰραήλ· τῇ γὰρ ἐπέσεισε προσηγορίᾳ ἐχρήσατο καὶ τῇ δευτέρᾳ τῶν Βασιλειῶν καὶ τῇ πρώτῃ τῶν Παραλειπομένων, τῇ μὲν ἐπὶ τῆς ὀργῆ τοῦ κυρίου τῇ δὲ ἐπὶ τοῦ διαβόλου. εἰ δὲ τὸ ἐπέσεισεν αἴτιον τοῦ ἁμαρτάνειν ἐστίν, αἴτιον δὲ τοῦ ἁμαρτάνειν ὁ διάβολός ἐστιν, διάβολος δι' ἀμφοτέρων τῶν προσηγοριῶν ὠνομάσθη, διά τε τῆς καθημαξευμένης καὶ τῆς τοὺς πολλοὺς λανθανούσης, τῆς αὐτὸν ὀνομαζούσης 20ὀργὴν Κυρίου20, κατὰ τὴν μεγάλην Ὠδὴν καὶ ἀλλαχοῦ λέγουσαν Ἀπέτειλα τὴν ὀργήν ου <καὶ> κατέφαγεν αὐτοὺ ὡ καλάμην καὶ τὰ ἑξῆς· πᾶν γὰρ τὸ ἀποστελλόμενον ὑπό τινος, τοῦτο ἕτερόν ἐστιν τοῦ ἐξαποστέλλοντος. τίς οὖν ἂν εἴη ἡ ὀργὴ ἡ ἀποστελλομένη ἐπὶ τοὺς Αἰγυπτίους ἤ, ὡς ἐδιδάξαμεν ἐν τῇ πρώτῃ τῶν Παραλειπομένων, ὁ διάβολος; εἰ τοίνυν παραδίδοσθαι τῇ ὀργῇ τοῦ θεοῦ λέγονται οἱ ἁμαρτωλοί, νοητέον αὐτοὺς παραδίδοσθαι τῷ διαβόλῳ, ὡς ὁ Παῦλος τὸν Κορίνθιον καὶ οὓ παρέδωκε τῷ Σατανᾷ ἵνα παιδευθῶιν μὴ βλαφημεῖν. Ἔχομεν καὶ ἀγγέλους ἐφορῶντας καὶ βοηθοῦντας ἡμῖν εὖ πράττουσι, καὶ κρίσις γίνεται καθολικὴ πρὸς τούτους πάντας, ὡς φησίν· ἀνάταθι γάρ φησι, κρίθητι πρὸ τὰ ὄρη, καὶ ἀκουάτωαν οἱ βουνοὶ φωνήν ου· ἀκούατε, βουνοί, τὴν κρίιν τοῦ Κυρίου. καὶ δοκεῖ ἐν τούτοις προστάσσεσθαι ὁ λόγος τοῦ θεοῦ κρίνεσθαι μετὰ τῶν ἐγκεχειρισμένων τὰ ἀνθρώπινα δυνάμεων, ἵνα δύνηταί τις παραστῆσαι εἰ, διὰ τήν τινος ἀμέλειαν καὶ παράλειψιν τῶν ἐπιβαλλόντων αὐτῷ ὑπὲρ ἀνθρώπων, ἐν ἁμαρτήματι ἢ αἰτίᾳ γέγονεν. νοήσομεν δὲ τοῦτο χρησάμενοι παραδείγματι, φέρε εἰπεῖν, κρίσει λαοῦ μετὰ τῶν ἐπισκόπων καὶ κρίσει υἱῶν μετὰ τοῦ πατρὸς καὶ κρίσει μανθανόντων μετὰ τοῦ διδασκάλου, ὅτε ποτὲ μὲν ὁ λαὸς τὴν αἰτίαν τῶν ἁμαρτημάτων αὐτοῦ δείξει παρὰ τῶν ἐπισκόπων γεγονέναι, ποτὲ δὲ ὁ ἐπίσκοπος, παραστήσας πάντα τὰ παρ' ἑαυτοῦ πεποιηκέναι <μηδὲ> ἐλλελοιπέναι τι τῶν ἐπιβαλλόντων σπουδαίῳ ἄρχοντι, τῶν ἐγκλημάτων ἔνοχον ἀποδείξει τὸν λαόν. τὸ δὲ ὅμοιον νόει καὶ περὶ υἱῶν τὴν παρὰ τοῖς πατράσιν ἀνατροφὴν αἰτι<ω>μένων, καὶ περὶ αὑτῶν μὲν ἀπολογουμένων ἀποδεικνυόντων δὲ τοὺς πατέρας αἰτίους γεγονέναι τοιούτων πταισμάτων· ὁμοίως δὲ τοὐναντίον τῶν πατέρων ἀπολογουμένων ὡς μηδὲν παραλιπόντων εἰς τὴν κατὰ τὸν θεοῦ λόγον ἀνατροφὴν πρὸς τοὺς υἱούς, τῶν δὲ υἱῶν ἐλεγχομένων <ὡς> παρὰ τὴν ἰδίαν ῥᾳθυμίαν ἐν ἁμαρτήμασι γενομένων. οὐ μακρὰν δὲ τούτων ἐστὶν νοῆσαι καὶ περὶ μαθητῶν καὶ διδασκάλων. 31 Σκυθρωπῶν μελλόντων ἐπιφέρεσθαι, ὑπηρετῶν τις ἄγγελος θεοῦ φων<εῖ> πρὸς τοὺς ἐγχειρισθέντας τὰ ἐπίπονα, τέως μὴ ἐπάγειν αὐτὰ ἕως σφραγῖδας ἐπὶ τῶν μετώπων λάβωσιν οἱ τοῦ θεοῦ δοῦλοι. ἐντέλλεται τοῦτο αὐτὸ λέξεσιν ἑτέραις ἐν Ἰεζεκιὴλ τῷ προφήτῃ Κόπτετε καὶ μὴ φείδεθέ τι, ἐφ' οἷ δέ ἐτι τὸ ημεῖον μὴ ἐγγίητε. μήποτε οὖν, ἐπεὶ οἱ κολαζόμενοι διὰ ἰδίας ἁμαρτίας τοῦτο πάσχουσιν, τοῖς δικαίοις χαρακτήρ τις σημαίνων τὴν προσοῦσαν αὐτοῖς δικαιοσύνην τίθεται ἐπὶ τοῦ μετώπου, τουτέστιν ἐπὶ τῆς <ἐπ'> ἀρετῇ παρρησίας αὐτῶν, οἳ τοῦ προκειμένου τυχόντες σημείου χάριν ὁμολογοῦντες τῷ δεδωκότι φασίν Ἐημειώθη ἐφ' ἡμᾶ τὸ φῶ τοῦ προώπου ου Κύριε, καὶ πάλιν ∆έδωκα τοῖ φοβουμένοι ε ημείωιν τοῦ φυγεῖν ἀπὸ προώπου τόξου. Ζητητέον εἰ δυνατὸν ἀπὸ τοῦ κατὰ σάρκα Ἰσραήλ, ἔτι ἐν τούτῳ Ἰωάννου τῷ βίῳ περιόντος, ἀνδρῶν παρθένων τοσαύτας εἶναι χιλιάδας. ἐπεὶ τοίνυν πολὺ τὸ ἀδύνατον ἡ αἰσθητὴ διήγησις φέρει, ἀληθῆ δὲ <δεῖ> εἶναι τὰ ἐν τῇ βίβλῳ ἁγίᾳ οὔσῃ, ἀνάγκη κατὰ πνευματικὴν ἀκολουθίαν ἐκλαμβάνειν τὰ προκείμενα. ἀκόλουθον γὰρ τὸν ἀληθινὸν Ἰσραήλ, τὸν οὐκ ἔχοντα δόλον, εἰς φυλὰς διαιρεῖσθαι· τούτο<υ> οὖν τοῦ Ἰσραὴλ <ἐὰν τοσοῦτο> λέγωμεν πλῆθος ἀνδρῶν παρθένων εἶναι, οὐκ ἀδύνατόν τί φαμεν, οἱ γὰρ Χριστῷ προσεληλυθότες πάντες Ἰουδαῖοί τε καὶ Ἕλληνες συμπληροῦσι τὸ νοητὸν τοῦτο ἔθνος. καὶ ἐπεὶ οἱ οὕτως Ἑβραῖοι πολλὴν ἁρμονίαν καὶ συμφωνίαν ἔχουσιν, στρεφόμενοι περὶ αὑτοὺς ἐν τῷ καταρτίζεθαι ἑνὶ νοῒ καὶ μιᾷ γνώμῃ, τοσούτῳ ἀριθμῷ καὶ ἴσαι διαιρέσεις αὐτοῦ ὑπόκεινται. ἐστὶν τοίνυν τετράγωνος ὁ