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the divine oracle to Abraham when the Lord said to him: Go out from your land and from your kindred and from your father's house to the land that I will show you; and I will make you a great nation, and I will bless you, and I will magnify your name, and you will be blessed; and I will bless those who bless you, and what follows these things. Second, when the Lord appeared to him and said to him: To your seed I will give this land. And third, when the Lord said to Abraham, after Lot had been separated from him, the things which have been written down. Fourth, in which it is said, and after 7 these words the word of the Lord came to Abraham in a vision of the night, saying, Do not be afraid, Abram, I am your shield; and after other things: I am the Lord who brought you out of the country of the Chaldeans. Fifth, when the Lord appeared to Abraham and said to him, I am your God; be well-pleasing before me, and the rest. Sixth, in which the Lord appeared to him again by the oak of Mamre, as he was sitting at the door of his tent at midday; and lifting up his eyes he saw, and behold, three men were standing before him; and when he saw them, he ran to meet them from the door of his tent; and he bowed down to the ground and said: Lord, if I have found favor in your sight, do not pass by your servant, let a little water be brought, and let them wash your feet. Then after some things it is added, that rising up from there they looked toward Sodom; and Abraham was walking with them, accompanying them; and the Lord said: Shall I hide from Abraham my servant what I am about to do? But Abraham shall surely become a great and numerous nation, and in him all the nations of the earth shall be blessed; for I knew that he will command his sons and his house after them, and they will keep the ways of the Lord, to do righteousness and justice, so that the Lord may bring upon Abraham the things which he spoke to him. And the Lord said: The outcry of Sodom and Gomorrah has become great. And after a little: And turning from there the men went to Sodom; but Abraham was standing before the Lord; and Abraham drew near and said, Will you destroy the righteous with the wicked; and shall the righteous be as the wicked; if 8 there are fifty righteous in the city will you destroy them? will you not spare the whole place for the sake of the fifty righteous, if they are in it? Far be it from you to do such a thing as this, to slay the righteous with the wicked; and shall the righteous be as the wicked; Far be it; shall not the judge of all the earth do justice? And after other things the scripture says: And the Lord went away when he ceased speaking to Abraham. And the two angels also came to Sodom in the evening; and Lot was sitting by the gate of Sodom. It is worth considering whether some random angel is indicated in these passages as the one who delivered the divine oracles to Abraham, or the God of all himself, or some third one besides these, the Word of God, whom holy scripture is accustomed to call Lord and God after the most high Father and God of all; and further to inquire, who was the one of the three men who appeared to Abraham, to whom he himself said, Lord, if I have found favor in your sight; and again, Far be it; shall not the judge of all the earth do justice? concerning whom the divine scripture, having narrated not only a first but also a second and a third time, says, and the Lord appeared to him, upon the appellation "Lord" of the ineffable name being set down in the Hebrew, which has never been applied to an angelic power. When, for instance, Lot is recorded as saying to the angels who came to Sodom, I pray, lord, since your servant has found mercy before you, the word "lord" is found indeed in the Hebrew, but not through the four letters which are used among the Hebrews for the ineffable name of God, but through 9 other syllables by which also the one named "lord" among men, being one of a relative term, such as "master of a servant," is written among the Hebrews; but having nothing similar to these is that which is used for the sovereignty of God through the four letters in both the

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χρηματισμὸς τῷ Ἁβραὰμ ὅτε εἶπεν αὐτῷ Κύριος· Ἔξελθε ἐκ τῆς γῆς σου καὶ ἐκ τῆς συγγενείας σου καὶ ἐκ τοῦ οἴκου τοῦ πατρός σου εἰς τὴν γῆν ἣν ἄν σοι δείξω· καὶ ποιήσω σε εἰς ἔθνος μέγα, καὶ εὐλογήσω σε, καὶ μεγαλυνῶ τὸ ὄνομά σου, καὶ ἔσῃ εὐλόγητος· καὶ εὐλογήσω τοὺς εὐλογοῦντάς σε, καὶ τὰ τούτοις ἑξῆς. ∆εύτερος, ὅτε ὤφθη αὐτῷ Κύριος καὶ εἶπεν αὐτῷ· Τῷ σπέρματί σου δώσω τὴν γῆν ταύτην. Καὶ τρίτος, ὅτε ὁ Κύριος εἶπεν τῷ Ἁβραὰμ μετὰ τὸ διαχωρισθῆναι τὸν Λὼτ ἀπ' αὐτοῦ τὰ ἀναγεγραμμένα. Τέταρτος, ἐν ᾧ εἴρηται, μετὰ δὲ 7 τὰ ῥήματα ταῦτα ἐγενήθη ῥῆμα Κυρίου πρὸς Ἁβραὰμ ἐν ὁράματι τῆς νυκτὸς λέγων, Μὴ φοβοῦ Ἅβραμ, ἐγὼ ὑπερασπίζω σου· καὶ μεθ' ἕτερα· Ἐγὼ Κύριος ὁ ἐξαγαγών σε ἐκ χώρας Χαλδαίων. Πέμπτος, ὅτε ὤφθη Κύριος τῷ Ἁβραὰμ καὶ εἶπεν αὐτῷ, Ἐγώ εἰμι ὁ Θεόςσου· εὐαρέστει ἐνώπιον ἐμοῦ, καὶ τὰ λοιπά. Ἕκτος, ἐν ᾧ πάλιν ὤφθη αὐτῷ Κύριος πρὸς τῇ δρυῒ τῇ Μαμβρῇ καθημένου αὐτοῦ ἐπὶ τῆς θύρας τῆς σκηνῆς αὐτοῦ μεσημβρίας· ἀναβλέψας δὲ τοῖς ὀφθαλμοῖς αὐτοῦ εἶδεν, καὶ ἰδοὺ τρεῖς ἄνδρες εἱστήκεισαν ἐπάνω αὐτοῦ· καὶ ἰδὼν προσέδραμεν εἰς συνάντησιν αὐτοῖς ἀπὸ τῆς θύρας τῆς σκηνῆς αὐτοῦ· καὶ προσεκύνησεν ἐπὶ τὴν γῆν καὶ εἶπεν· Κύριε, εἰ εὗρον χάριν ἐναντίον σου μὴ παρέλθῃς τὸν παῖδά σου, ληφθήτω δὴ μικρὸν ὕδωρ, καὶ νιψάτωσαν τοὺς πόδας ὑμῶν. Εἶτα μετά τινα ἐπιφέρεται, ὅτι ἐξαναστάντες ἐκεῖθεν ἐπέβλεψαν ἐπὶ πρόσωπον Σοδόμων· Ἁβραὰμ δὲ συνεπορεύετο μετ' αὐτῶν συμπροπέμπων αὐτούς· ὁ δὲ Κύριος εἶπεν· Μὴ κρύψω ἐγὼ ἀπὸ Ἁβραὰμ τοῦ παιδός μου ἃ ἐγὼ ποιῶ; Ἁβραὰμ δὲ γινόμενος ἔσται εἰς ἔθνος μέγα καὶ πολὺ, καὶ ἐνευλογηθήσεται ἐν αὐτῷ πάντα τὰ ἔθνη τῆς γῆς· ἤδειν γὰρ ὅτι συντάξει τοῖς υἱοῖς αὐτοῦ καὶ τῷ οἴκῳ αὐτοῦ μετ' αὐτῶν, καὶ φυλάξουσιν τὰς ὁδοὺς Κυρίου, ποιεῖν δικαιοσύνην καὶ κρίσιν, ὅπως ἂν ἐπαγάγῃ Κύριος ἐπὶ Ἁβραὰμ ἃ ἐλάλησεν πρὸς αὐτόν. Εἶπεν δὲ Κύριος· κραυγὴ Σοδόμων καὶ Γομόρρας πεπλήθυνται. Καὶ μετ' ὀλίγα· καὶ ἀποστρέψαντες ἐκεῖθεν οἱ ἄνδρες ἦλθον εἰς Σόδομα· Ἁβραὰμ δὲ ἦν ἐστηκὼς ἐναντίον Κυρίου· καὶ ἐγγίσας Ἁβραὰμ εἶπεν, Μὴ συναπολέσῃς δίκαιον μετὰ ἀσεβοῦς· καὶ ἔσται ὁ δίκαιος ὡς ὁ ἀσεβής· ἐὰν 8 ὦσι πεντήκοντα δίκαιοι ἐν τῇ πόλει ἀπολέσεις αὐτούς; οὐκ ἀνήσεις πάντα τὸν τόπον ἕνεκεν τῶν πεντήκοντα δικαίων, ἐὰν ὦσιν ἐν αὐτῇ; μηδαμῶς σὺ ποιήσεις ὡς τὸ ῥῆμα τοῦτο τοῦ ἀποκτεῖναι δίκαιον μετὰ ἀσεβοῦς· καὶ ἔσται ὁ δίκαιος ὡς ὁ ἀσεβής· μηδαμῶς· ὁ κρίνων πᾶσαν τὴν γῆν οὐ ποιήσεις κρίσιν; Καὶ μεθ' ἕτερα φησὶν ἡ γραφή· Ἀπῆλθεν δὲ Κύριος ὡς ἐπαύσατο λαλῶν τῷ Ἁβραάμ. Εἰσῆλθον δὲ καὶ οἱ δύο ἄγγελοι εἰς Σόδομα ἑσπέρας· Λὼτ δὲ ἐκάθητο παρὰ τὴν πύλην Σοδόμων. Ἐπιστῆσαι ἄξιον πότερον ἄγγελος ὁ τυχὼν κατὰ τοὺς τόπους δηλοῦται ὁ τοὺς χρηματισμοὺς πρὸς τὸν Ἁβραὰμ πεποιημένος, ἢ αὐτὸς ὁ τῶν ὅλων Θεὸς, ἢ τρίτος τίς παρὰ τούτους ὁ τοῦ Θεοῦ Λόγος, ὃν μετὰ τὸν ἀνωτάτω Πατέρα καὶ Θεὸν τῶν ὅλων Κύριον καὶ Θεὸν ἀποκαλεῖν ἔθος τῇ ἱερᾷ γραφῇ· ἔτι τε ζητῆσαι, τίς ἦν ὁ τῶν τριῶν τῶν ὀφθέντων τῷ Ἁβραὰμ ἀνδρῶν, πρὸς ὃν αὐτός τε εἶπεν, Κύριε, εἰ εὗρον χάριν ἐναντίον σου· καὶ πάλιν, Μηδαμῶς· ὁ κρίνων πᾶσαν τὴν γῆν οὐ ποιήσεις κρίσιν; περὶ οὗ καὶ ἡ θεία γραφὴ οὐ μόνον πρῶτον ἀλλὰ καὶ δεύτερον καὶ τρίτον ἱστορηκώς φησιν, ὤφθη δὲ αὐτῷ Κύριος, ἐπὶ τῇ Κύριος προσηγορίᾳ τοῦ ἀνεκφωνήτου ἐν τῷ Ἑβραικῷ τεταγμένου ὀνόματος, ὅπερ οὐδεπώποτε ἐπὶ ἀγγελικῆς δυνάμεως παρείληπται. Ὅτε γοῦν ὁ Λὼτ τοῖς εἰς Σόδομα ἐλθοῦσιν ἀγγέλοις ἀναγέγραπται λέγων, ∆έομαι, κύριε, ἐπειδὴ εὗρεν ὁ παῖς σου ἔλεος ἐνώπιόν σου, κεῖται μὲν ἐν τῷ Ἑβραϊκῷ τὸ κύριε, ἀλλ' οὐ διὰ τῶν τεσσάρων στοιχείων τῶν παρ' Ἑβραίοις ἐπὶ τοῦ ἀρρήτου ὀνόματος τοῦ Θεοῦ παραλαμβανομένων, δι' 9 ἑτέρων δὲ συλλαβῶν δι' ὧν καὶ ὁ παρ' ἀνθρώποις ὀνομαζόμενος κύριος τῶν πρός τι τυγχάνων, οἷον οἰκέτου κύριος, παρ' Ἑβραίοις ἐγγέγραπται· ἀλλ' οὐδέν γε τούτοις ἔχον παραπλήσιον τὸ ἐπὶ τῆς τοῦ Θεοῦ αὐθεντείας διὰ τῶν τεσσάρων στοιχείων παραλαμβανόμενον ἔν τε ταῖς