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was it possible to partake of the blessing dear to God, unless perhaps changing from their bestiality they were ever going to partake of the same manner of the piety of Abraham? since he too, being a certain foreigner and a stranger to the piety which he afterwards pursued, is said to have been transferred and to have been changed from the superstition of his fathers, to have left behind home and kindred and ancestral customs and way of life, in which he was born and raised, and to have followed God who had also given him the recorded oracles. 1.2.16 If, therefore, Moses, having come after Abraham and having established a certain polity for the Jewish nation through the legislation published by him, legislated such things, as had also been achieved by the God-beloved before him, and as it was possible for all the nations to apply, so that it was possible according to the ordinance of Moses for 'all the tribes of the earth' and 'all the nations' to worship God; one might say, that the oracles foretold that through the legislation of Moses those from all the nations who would worship God and would emulate Judaism and would become proselytes according to the law would be blessed with the blessing of Abraham. and we too ought to keep the things ordained by Moses. But since the polity according to Moses was not suitable for the other nations but only for the Jews, and of these, not for all of them but for those living in the land of Judaea, another way had by all means to be established apart from the law of Moses, according to which the nations throughout the whole world, living in like manner to Abraham, would share in the same blessing as him. 1.3.1 That the ordinance according to Moses, for Jews, as I said, and not for all of them, for not even for those in the diaspora, but applied only to those inhabiting Palestine, will be clear to you if you reason thus. Moses somewhere says while legislating: 'Three times a year all your males shall appear before the Lord your God.' And even more clearly where all had to meet three times a year he defines, saying: 'Three times a year all your males shall appear before the Lord your God in the place which the Lord shall choose.' 1.3.2 You see how he does not command them to meet in every city or wherever it might happen, but 'in the place which the Lord your God shall choose'; where at three times each year he legislates that they come together to the same place, and he defines the times at which they had to meet in the place where the rites of his worship were performed, one at the Passover, a second after fifty days at the feast called Pentecost, and a third in the seventh month after the Passover on the day of atonement, on which to this day all Jews observe the fast. and he lays a curse on those not abiding by the things legislated. 1.3.3 Therefore, those who were going to meet three times a year in Jerusalem and to fulfill the legal requirements had to live, I suppose, not somewhere far from Judaea, but within and around its borders. And if indeed for the Jews living farthest from Palestine it was impossible to perform the things legislated, much less can one say that they applied to all nations and to those in the ends of the earth. 1.3.4 Hearken now in what way the same lawgiver again commands the woman after childbirth to present herself and to offer sacrifices to God, saying thus: 'And the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, Speak to the children of Israel, and you shall say to them, A woman who conceives and bears a male child shall be unclean for seven days.' 1.3.5 Then after saying some things in between he adds: 'And when the days of her purification are fulfilled, for a son or for a daughter, she shall bring a lamb of the first year for a whole burnt offering, and a young pigeon or a turtledove for a sin offering, to the door of the tabernacle of testimony to the priest. She shall bring them before the Lord. And the priest shall make atonement for her, and shall cleanse her from the issue of her blood. This is the law for her who has borne a male or a female.' 1.3.6 Still, in addition to these things, the same one also for one [unclean] from a funeral and from contact with the dead commands that he not be cleansed otherwise than through

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θεοφιλοῦς μετασχεῖν οἷόν τε ἦν εὐλογίας, εἰ μήποτ' ἄρα τῆς θηριωδίας μεταβαλόντες τοῦ ὁμοίου τρόπου τῆς τοῦ Ἀβραὰμ θεοσεβείας ἤμελλόν ποτε μεταλήψεσθαι; ἐπεὶ κἀκεῖνος, ἀλλοεθνής τις ὢν καὶ ἀλλότριος ἧς ὕστερον μετῆλθεν εὐσεβείας, λέγεται μετατεθεῖσθαι καὶ τῆς πατρικῆς δεισιδαιμονίας μεταβεβλῆσθαι, οἶκόν τε καὶ συγγένειαν καὶ ἔθη πάτρια βίου τε ἀγωγήν, ἐν ᾗ γεγέννητό τε καὶ τέθραπτο, καταλελοιπέναι, ἠκολουθηκέναι δὲ θεῷ τῷ καὶ τοὺς χρησμοὺς αὐτῷ τοὺς ἀναγράπτους δεδωκότι. 1.2.16 εἰ μὲν οὖν Μωσῆς μετὰ τὸν Ἀβραὰμ γενόμενος καὶ πολιτείαν τινὰ διὰ τῆς ἐκδοθείσης ὑπ' αὐτοῦ νομοθεσίας τῷ Ἰουδαίων ἔθνει καταβεβλημένος τοιαῦτα ἐνομοθέτησεν, οἷα καὶ τοῖς πρὸ αὐτοῦ θεοφιλέσι κατώρθωτο, καὶ οἷα δυνατὸν ἦν πᾶσι τοῖς ἔθνεσιν ἐφαρμόττειν, ὡς δύνασθαι κατὰ τὴν Μωσέως διαταγὴν «πάσας τὰς φυλὰς τῆς γῆς» καὶ «πάντα τὰ ἔθνη» θεοσεβεῖν· ἦν εἰπεῖν, ὅτι διὰ τῆς Μωσέως νομοθεσίας τοὺς ἐξ ἁπάντων τῶν ἐθνῶν θεοσεβήσοντας καὶ τὸν ἰουδαϊσμὸν ζηλώσοντας πρὸς αὐτούς τε γενησομένους κατὰ τὸν νόμον εὐλογηθήσεσθαι τῇ τοῦ Ἀβραὰμ εὐλογίᾳ προηγόρευε τὰ λόγια. ἐχρῆν δὲ καὶ ἡμᾶς τὰ παρὰ Μωσεῖ διατεταγμένα φυλάττειν. ἐπεὶ δὲ οὐκ ἦν ἡ κατὰ Μωσέα πολιτεία κατάλληλος τοῖς λοιποῖς ἔθνεσιν ἀλλ' ἢ μόνοις Ἰουδαίοις, καὶ τούτοις οὐχὶ τοῖς πᾶσιν ἀλλὰ τοῖς ἐπὶ τῆς Ἰουδαίας γῆς τὰς διατριβὰς ποιουμένοις, ἕτερον ἐχρῆν ἐξ ἅπαντος ὑποστῆναι τρόπον παρὰ τὸν Μωσέως νόμον, καθ' ὃν ἤμελλον βιοῦντα ὁμοίως τῷ Ἀβραὰμ τὰ καθ' ὅλης οἰκουμένης ἔθνη τῆς ἴσης αὐτῷ κοινωνήσειν εὐλογίας. 1.3.1 Ὅτι δὲ ἡ κατὰ Μωσέα διαταγὴ Ἰουδαίοις, ὡς ἔφην, καὶ τούτοις οὐχὶ πᾶσιν, οὐδὲ γὰρ τοῖς ἐν διασπορᾷ τυγχάνουσιν, ἀλλ' ἢ μόνοις τοῖς τὴν Παλαιστίνην οἰκοῦσιν ἐφήρμοζεν, ὧδέ σοι συλλογιζομένῳ φανερὸν ἔσται. φησί που Μωσῆς νομοθετῶν· «τρὶς τοῦ ἐνιαυτοῦ ὀφθήσεται πᾶν ἀρσενικόν σου ἐνώπιον κυρίου τοῦ θεοῦ σου». καὶ ἔτι σαφέστερον ὅπου ἐχρῆν ἀπαντᾶν τοὺς πάντας τρὶς τοῦ ἔτους ἀφορίζει λέγων· «τρεῖς καιροὺς τοῦ ἐνιαυτοῦ ὀφθήσεται πᾶν ἀρσενι κόν σου ἐναντίον κυρίου τοῦ θεοῦ σου ἐν τῷ τόπῳ ᾧ ἂν ἐκλέξηται κύριος». 1.3.2 Θεωρεῖς ὡς οὐκ ἐν πάσῃ πόλει οὐδ' ὅποι ἔτυχεν ἀπαντᾶν προστάττει, ἀλλ' «ἐν τόπῳ ᾧ ἐὰν ἐκλέξηται κύριος ὁ θεός σου»· ἔνθα τρισὶν ἑκάστου ἐνιαυτοῦ καιροῖς ἐπὶ ταὐτὸ συνιέναι νομοθετεῖ, καὶ τοὺς καιροὺς ἀφορίζει καθ' οὓς ἀπαντᾶν ἐχρῆν ἐν τῷ τόπῳ, ἐν ᾧ τὰ τῆς κατ' αὐτὸν λατρείας ἐπετελεῖτο, ἕνα μὲν τοῦ πάσχα, δεύτερον τὸν μετὰ πεντήκοντα ἡμέρας ἐπὶ τῆς ὀνομαζομένης πεντηκοστῆς ἑορτῆς, καὶ τρίτον τῷ ἑβδόμῳ μηνὶ μετὰ τὸ πάσχα κατὰ τὴν τοῦ ἱλασμοῦ ἡμέραν, καθ' ἣν εἰσέτι νῦν Ἰουδαῖοι πάντες τὴν νηστείαν ἐπιτελοῦσιν· ἐπαρᾶταί τε τοῖς μὴ ἐμμένουσι τοῖς νομοθετουμένοις. 1.3.3 οὐκοῦν τοὺς μέλλοντας ἀπαντᾶν τρὶς τοῦ ἔτους εἰς τὰ Ἱεροσόλυμα καὶ τὰ νόμιμα πληροῦν οὐ πόρρω που τῆς Ἰουδαίας ἐχρῆν δήπου οἰκεῖν, ἀλλ' εἴσω ἀμφὶ τοὺς ὅρους· εἰ δὲ δὴ τοῖς πορρωτάτω τῆς Παλαιστίνης οἰκοῦσιν Ἰουδαίοις ἀδύνατα ἦν τελεῖν τὰ νενομοθετημένα, πολλοῦ δεῖ φάναι πᾶσι τοῖς ἔθνεσι καὶ τοῖς ἐν ταῖς ἐσχατιαῖς τῆς γῆς ἐφαρμόζειν. 1.3.4 Ἐπάκουσον δὲ τίνα τρόπον ὁ αὐτὸς πάλιν νομοθέτης τὴν ἀπὸ λέχους γυναῖκα ἀπαντᾶν προστάττει καὶ θυσίας τῷ θεῷ προσφέρειν, λέγων οὕτως· «καὶ ἐλάλησε κύριος πρὸς Μωσῆν, λέγων λάλησον τοῖς υἱοῖς Ἰσραήλ, καὶ ἐρεῖς πρὸς αὐτούς, γυνὴ ἥτις ἐὰν σπερματισθῇ καὶ τέκῃ ἄρσεν ἀκάθαρτος ἔσται ἑπτὰ ἡμέρας». 1.3.5 εἶτα μεταξύ τινα εἰπὼν ἐπιφέρει· «καὶ ὅταν πληρωθῶσιν αἱ ἡμέραι καθάρσεως αὐτῆς ἐφ' υἱῷ ἢ ἐπὶ θυγατρί, προσοίσει ἀμνὸν ἐνιαύσιον εἰς ὁλοκάρπωμα, καὶ νεοσσὸν περιστερᾶς ἢ τρυγόνα περὶ ἁμαρτίας, ἐπὶ τὴν θύραν τῆς σκηνῆς τοῦ μαρτυρίου πρὸς τὸν ἱερέα προσοίσει αὐτὰ ἔναντι κυρίου. καὶ ἐξιλάσεται περὶ αὐτῆς ὁ ἱερεὺς καὶ καθαριεῖ αὐτὴν ἀπὸ τῆς πηγῆς τοῦ αἵματος αὐτῆς. οὗτος ὁ νόμος τῆς τικτούσης ἄρσεν ἢ θῆλυ». 1.3.6 Ἔτι πρὸς τούτοις ὁ αὐτὸς καὶ τὸν ἀπὸ κήδους καὶ νεκρῶν ἐπαφῆς προστάττει μὴ ἄλλως καθαίρεσθαι ἢ διά