2

we will take up the interpretation. It should be known, however, that a characteristic of prophecy is not only to foretell future things, but also to speak of present things, and things that have already happened; for the divine Moses clearly taught us about things created long and very long ago by the God of all, and which received their being, not having received this teaching from men, but from the grace of the Spirit. He also foretold present things, such as the punishments inflicted on Pharaoh, and to Israel the provision of manna, and the partaking of meat. And he prophesied future things: the coming of the Lord Christ, the dispersion of the Jews, the salvation of the Gentiles. So also the divine David, the first after him to write prophecy, both makes mention of the good deeds already done by the God of all, and signifies things that will be in times long after. He uses not only predictive words, but also admonitory and legislative ones; and now he offers moral teaching, now dogmatic teaching; and sometimes he laments the misfortunes of the Jews, and at other times he foretells the salvation of the Gentiles. And in many places he prophesies the passion and the resurrection of the Lord Christ; and by the variety of his prophecy he offers great pleasure to those who are willing to pay attention. Some have said that not all the psalms are by David, but also by others. Wherefore, understanding the inscriptions thus, they have assigned some to Idithun, some to Aitham, others to the sons of Kore, and others to Asaph, having learned from the history of the Chronicles that they too were prophets. I, however, assert nothing about these things. For what benefit does it add to me, whether all are by him, or some are by them, since it is clear that they were all written by the working of the divine Spirit? For we know that the divine David was a prophet, and the history of the Chronicles calls them prophets too. But it is the characteristic of a prophet to offer his tongue as a servant to the grace of the Spirit, according to the voice which is borne in the Psalms, "My tongue," he says, "is the pen of a swift writer." Nevertheless, let the vote of the majority prevail; and the majority of the writers have said that these are by David. And since some have called the inscriptions of the Psalms false, I think it necessary to discuss this briefly. 80.864 To me it seems rash to overturn the inscriptions that have been handed down from the beginning in the time of Ptolemy, who reigned over Egypt after Alexander, which all the seventy elders translated into the Greek language, as also all the other divine Scripture. But one hundred and fifty years before the translation, the wonderful Esdras, filled with divine grace, wrote anew the sacred books, which had long been corrupted by the negligence of the Jews and the impiety of the Babylonians. And if he renewed the memory of these things by the all-holy Spirit, and these men, not without divine inspiration, with great harmony translated them into the Greek language, and in addition to the other divine Scriptures also interpreted the inscriptions; I think it rash and exceedingly audacious to call these false, and to suppose one's own reasonings to be wiser than the working of the Spirit. This the interpretation of the Psalms in detail will also show more clearly. And they have interpreted the *diapsalma* in different ways. For some have supposed it to be a pause in the working of the Spirit, others a change of prophecy, and others a change of melody. But one, using the interpretation of Aquila, has put "forever" instead of *diapsalma*, saying that this is to be joined to the preceding verse. For example, in the third psalm, after, "With my voice I cried to the Lord, and he heard me from his holy mountain," we find the *diapsalma* added. But Aquila has joined it thus, "And he heard me from his holy mountain forever." And so he successively joins it to the preceding verse, producing a single meaning. But I both the Seventy, and all the others of the divine Scripture

2

ἑρμηνείας ἁψόμεθα. Ἰστέον μέντοι, ὡς ἴδιον προφητείας οὐ μόνον τὰ ἐσόμενα προαγορεύειν, ἀλλὰ καὶ τὰ παρόντα, καὶ τὰ ἤδη γεγενημένα λέγειν· καὶ γὰρ ὁ θεσπέσιος Μωσῆς τὰ πάλαι καὶ πρόπαλαι ὑπὸ τοῦ Θεοῦ τῶν ὅλων κτισθέντα, καὶ τὸ εἶναι λαβόντα, σαφῶς ἡμᾶς ἐξεπαίδευσεν, οὐ παρ' ἀνθρώπων ταύτην τὴν διδα σκαλίαν δεξάμενος, ἀλλ' ἐκ τῆς τοῦ Πνεύματος χάρι τος. Προεῖπε δὲ καὶ τὰ παρόντα, ὡς τῷ Φαραὼ τὰς ἐπενεχθείσας παιδείας, καὶ τῷ Ἰσραὴλ τοῦ μάννα τὴν χορηγίαν, καὶ τῶν κρεῶν τὴν μετάληψιν. Προεθέσπισε δὲ καὶ τὰ ἐσόμενα, τοῦ ∆εσπότου Χριστοῦ τὴν παρουσίαν, τὴν Ἰουδαίων διασπορὰν, τὴν τῶν ἐθνῶν σωτηρίαν. Οὕτω καὶ ὁ θεῖος ∆αβὶδ, μετὰ τοῦτον πρῶτος προφητείαν συγγράψας, καὶ τῶν ἤδη γεγενημένων παρὰ τοῦ Θεοῦ τῶν ὅλων εὐεργεσιῶν ποιεῖται τὴν μνήμην, καὶ τὰ μακροῖς ὕστερον χρόνοις ἐσόμενα προσημαίνει. Οὐ μόνον δὲ προαγορευτικοῖς κέχρηται λόγοις, ἀλλὰ καὶ παραι νετικοῖς καὶ νομοθετικοῖς· καὶ νῦν μὲν ἠθικὴν, νῦν δὲ δογματικὴν προσφέρει διδασκαλίαν· καὶ ποτὲ μὲν τὰς Ἰουδαίων ὀλοφύρεται συμφορὰς, ποτὲ δὲ τὴν τῶν ἐθνῶν σωτηρίαν προᾴδει. Πολλαχοῦ δὲ τοῦ ∆εσπότου Χριστοῦ καὶ τὸ πάθος, καὶ τὴν ἀνάστασιν προθεσπίζει· καὶ τῇ ποικιλίᾳ τῆς προφητείας πολ λὴν τοῖς προσέχειν ἐθέλουσι προσφέρει τὴν ἡδο νήν. Τοὺς δὲ ψαλμοὺς οὐχ ἅπαντας αὐτοῦ τινες ἔφασαν εἶναι τοῦ ∆αβὶδ, ἀλλὰ καὶ ἑτέρων. Ὅθεν καὶ τὰς ἐπιγραφὰς οὕτω νενοηκότες, τοὺς μὲν τῷ Ἰδιθοὺμ, τοὺς δὲ τῷ Αἰθὰμ, ἄλλους δὲ τοῖς υἱοῖς Κορὲ, καὶ ἑτέρους τῷ Ἀσὰφ ἀνέθεσαν, προφήτας καὶ αὐτοὺς ἐκ τῆς τῶν Παραλειπομένων ἱστορίας εἶναι μεμαθηκότες. Ἐγὼ δὲ περὶ τούτων μὲν οὐδὲν ἰσχυρίζομαι. Ποίαν γάρ μοι προστίθησιν ὠφέλειαν, εἴτε τούτου πάντες, εἴτ' ἐκείνων εἶέν τινες, δήλου γε ὄντος, ὡς ἐκ τῆς τοῦ θείου Πνεύματος ἐνεργείας συνεγράφησαν ἅπαντες; καὶ τὸν θεσπέσιον γὰρ ∆αβὶδ προφήτην ἴσμεν, κἀκείνους προφήτας τῶν Παραλειπομένων ἡ ἱστορία καλεῖ. Προφήτου δὲ ἴδιον, τὸ τὴν γλῶτταν ὑπουργὸν παρέχειν τῇ τοῦ Πνεύ ματος χάριτι, κατὰ τὴν ἐν τοῖς Ψαλμοῖς φερομένην φωνὴν, "Ἡ γλῶσσά μου, φησὶ, κάλαμος γραμματέως ὀξυγράφου." Κρατείτω δὲ ὅμως τῶν πλειόνων ἡ ψῆφος· τοῦ ∆αβὶδ δὲ οἱ πλείους τῶν συγγραφέων τού τους ἔφασαν εἶναι. Ἐπειδὴ δὲ καὶ τὰς ἐπιγραφὰς τῶν Ψαλμῶν ψευ δεῖς τινες ἀπεκάλεσαν, ἀναγκαῖον ἡγοῦμαι καὶ περὶ 80.864 τούτου βραχέα διεξελθεῖν. Ἐμοὶ δοκεῖ τολμηρὸν εἶναι τὰς ἀνέκαθεν ἐμφερομένας ἐπὶ Πτολεμαίου, τοῦ τῆς Αἰγύπτου μετὰ τὸν Ἀλέξανδρον βασιλεύ σαντος, ἀνατρέπειν ἐπιγραφὰς, ἃς οἱ ἑβδομήκοντα πάντες πρεσβύτεροι μετέθεσαν εἰς τὴν Ἑλλάδα φωνὴν, ὡς καὶ τὴν ἄλλην ἅπασαν θείαν Γραφήν. Πρὸ πεντήκοντα δὲ καὶ ἑκατὸν τῆς ἑρμηνείας ἐνιαυ τῶν, θείας ἀναπλησθεὶς χάριτος ὁ θαυμάσιος Ἔσδρας τὰς ἱερὰς ἀνέγραψε βίβλους, ὑπὸ τῆς τῶν Ἰουδαίων ἀμελείας, καὶ τῆς τῶν Βαβυλωνίων δυσ σεβείας, πάλαι διαφθαρείσας. Εἰ δὲ κἀκεῖνος ὑπὸ τοῦ παναγίου Πνεύματος τὴν τούτων ἀνενεώσατο μνήμην, καὶ οὗτοι, μὴ δίχα τῆς θείας ἐπιπνοίας, μετὰ πολλῆς συμφωνίας μετήνεγκαν ταύτας εἰς τὴν Ἑλλάδα φωνὴν, πρὸς δὲ ταῖς ἄλλαις θείαις Γραφαῖς καὶ τὰς ἐπιγραφὰς ἡρμηνεύκασιν· τολμη ρὸν οἶμαι καὶ λίαν θρασὺ, ψευδεῖς ταύτας προσ αγορεύειν, καὶ τοὺς οἰκείους λογισμοὺς τῆς τοῦ Πνεύ ματος ἐνεργείας σοφωτέρους ὑπολαμβάνειν. Τοῦτο δὲ δείξει σαφέστερον καὶ ἡ κατὰ μέρος τῶν Ψαλμῶν ἑρμηνεία. Καὶ τὸ διάψαλμα δὲ διαφόρως ἡρμήνευσαν. Οἱ μὲν γὰρ τῆς τοῦ Πνεύματος ἐνεργείας παῦλαν ὑπ έλαβον εἶναι, οἱ δὲ προφητείας ἐναλλαγὴν, οἱ δὲ τοῦ μέλους μεταβολήν. Εἷς δὲ, τῇ τοῦ Ἀκύλα χρησά μενος ἑρμηνείᾳ, τὸ ἀεὶ τέθεικεν ἀντὶ τοῦ διαψάλμα τος, τῷ ἡγουμένῳ στίχῳ τοῦτο συνάπτεσθαι φήσας. Οἷον ἐν τῷ τρίτῳ ψαλμῷ μετὰ τὸ, "Φωνῇ μου πρὸς Κύριον ἐκέκραξα, καὶ ἐπήκουσέ μου ἐξ ὄρους ἁγίου αὑτοῦ," προσκείμενον εὑρίσκομεν τὸ διάψαλμα. Ὁ δὲ Ἀκύλας οὕτως συνῆψε, "Καὶ ἐπήκουσέ μου ἐξ ὄρους ἁγίου αὑτοῦ ἀεὶ." Καὶ οὕτω δὲ ἐφεξῆς τῷ ἡγουμένῳ στίχῳ συνάπτει, μίαν διάνοιαν ἐργαζό μενος. Ἐγὼ δὲ καὶ τοὺς Ἑβδομήκοντα, καὶ τοὺς ἄλλους ἅπαντας τῆς θείας Γραφῆς