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having the more rustic life; for it did not enumerate loans and interest, nor houses with golden roofs; from which there was no lack, so that he was able to do good; but also sheep, and oxen, and the things from seasons and agriculture, from which he assisted those in need. For as I said, Scripture presents this king to us not as one boasting from precious materials, but as one content with things measured by need. It does not mention horses, and gold-inlaid chariots, or treasures of silver and gold, and precious stones, and other things that inflame the disease of love for wealth, but those things that least go beyond necessity. For having children, he remained unwounded by wealth, considering abundance and superfluity to be the lack of desire, and ambition, the not being enslaved to passions. Since it is marked with an obelus, the phrase, *and very many servants*, it is necessary to know that whatever is marked with an obelus is not found in the Hebrew, but was placed only by the Seventy for the sake of clarity. But to introduce spiritual contemplation into the cataloguing of animals of different kinds is at once interpretive of dreams and superfluous. "And that man was noble, of those from the rising of the sun." Symmachus, however, has rendered it, *the greatest of all the easterners*. He was, it says, more brilliant and more illustrious than all, and he could count distinguished and brilliant ancestors, but none of these things lifted him up to arrogance. "And his sons, going to one another, 64.521 held a banquet each day, taking with them their three sisters, to eat and drink with them." And having a harmonious virtue, they were also without strife in perceptible things, going to one another, and not far away, nor making mixtures with others; and they made their sisters witnesses of their prudence; for they did not call any strange women to their festivities and dinners, but included their sisters, which is a clear sign of prudence and decency. But their unanimity and fellowship, the devil found for the sudden plot against them, to strike them all down at once in the house of the eldest brother. "And when the days of the feast were completed, Job sent and purified them, rising up in the morning." You see a purification not Mosaic, but apostolic, cleansing their mind, but not their body, with prayers. But some say that the priests of old were also, like Melchizedek, unordained; this, therefore, the word *sent* indicates. "And it happened on a certain day, that behold, the angels of God came to stand before the Lord, and the devil came with them." God is indeed invisible to all created creation, without quantity, without magnitude, present everywhere, and overseeing all things, embracing all things, and there is no place outside of his dominion, he is present to each, as is fitting; for to the holy angels, as holy, he sends secret voices of commands, but to the evil one, as evil, he grants permissions for the testing of men; for the devil is not able to do anything, except what is permitted by God. And he does not stand in the super-celestial places, may it not be; for from there he was cast down; For how, it says, has Lucifer, who rises in the morning, fallen from heaven? But he is said to stand with the angels, as being himself also in the places of the dominion of God, and awaiting to be permitted or allowed to make temptations against men; not fulfilling any ministry to God in this, but because on account of his transgression and evil he was brought down to this, and rages against us. He is permitted by the one who rightly governs our affairs, to bring upon us temptations which we are able to bear; Scripture, therefore, representing these very things, brought forth the account figuratively for our understanding. And the phrase, *And it happened on a certain day*, instead of, a certain day came, on which the theatre was opened, and the athlete came down

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ἔχοντα τὸν ἀγροικότερον· οὐ γὰρ δανείσματα καὶ τόκους κατέλεξεν, οὐδὲ χρυσορόφους οἰκίας· ὅθεν οὐδὲν ἄπορον ἦν, ὥστε καὶ εὐποιεῖν δύνασθαι· ἀλλὰ καὶ πρόβατα, καὶ βόας, καὶ τὰ ἐξ ὡρῶν καὶ γεωργίας, ἐξ ὧν τοῖς δεομένοις ἐπήρκει. Ὅπερ γὰρ ἔφην, οὐκ ἐκ τιμίας ὕλης μεγαλαυχούμενον, ἀλλὰ τοῖς τῇ χρείᾳ συμμετρουμένοις ἀρκούμενον, τοῦτον ἡμῖν ἡ Γραφὴ τὸν βασιλέα παρίστησιν. Οὐχ ἵππων μέμνηται, καὶ ἁρμάτων χρυσοκολλήτων, ἢ ἀργυρίου καὶ χρυσίου θησαυρῶν, καὶ λίθων τιμίων, καὶ ἑτέρων τῶν τὴν φιλόπλουτον νόσον ἀναφλεγόντων, ἀλλὰ τῶν ἥκιστα τὴν χρείαν ἐκβαινόντων. Παῖδας γὰρ ἔχων, τοῖς χρήμασιν ἔμεινεν ἄτρωτος, εὐπορίαν τιθέμενος καὶ περιουσίαν, τῆς ἐπιθυμίας τὴν ἔνδειαν, καὶ φιλοτιμίαν, τὸ μὴ δεδουλῶσθαι τοῖς πάθεσιν. Ἐπειδὴ δὲ ὠβέλισται, τὸ, καὶ ὑπηρεσία πολλὴ σφόδρα, χρὴ εἰδέναι, ὅτι ὅσα ὠβέλισται, ἐν τῷ Ἑβραϊκῷ οὐ κεῖται, ὑπὸ δὲ τῶν Ἑβδομήκοντα μόνον πρὸς σαφήνειαν ἐτέθη. Τό γε μὴν τῇ τῶν ζώων ἐν διαφόρῳ γένει καταγραφῇ, πνευματικὴν θεωρίαν ἐπάγειν, ὀνειροκριτικὸν ἅμα καὶ περιττόν. «Καὶ ἦν ὁ ἄνθρωπος ἐκεῖνος εὐγενὴς, τῶν ἀφ' ἡλίου ἀνατολῶν.» Ὁ μέντοι Σύμμαχος, μέγιστος πάντων τῶν ἀνατολικῶν, ἐκδέδωκε. Πάντων, φησὶ, λαμπρότερος ἦν καὶ περιφανέστερος, καὶ προγόνους εἶχεν ἀριθμεῖν ἐπισήμους καὶ λαμπροὺς, ἀλλ' οὐδὲν τούτων ἐπῆρεν αὐτὸν εἰς ὑπερηφανίαν. «Συμπορευόμενοι δὲ οἱ υἱοὶ αὐτοῦ πρὸς ἀλλήλους, 64.521 ἐποίουν πότον καθ' ἑκάστην ἡμέραν, συμπαραλαμβάνοντες ἅμα καὶ τὰς τρεῖς ἀδελφὰς αὐτῶν, ἐσθίειν καὶ πίνειν μετ' αὐτῶν.» Σύμφωνον δὲ ἔχοντες τὴν ἀρετὴν, καὶ ἐν τοῖς αἰσθητοῖς ἦσαν ἀστασίαστοι, πρὸς ἀλλήλους πορευόμενοι, καὶ οὐ πόῤῥω, οὐδὲ πρὸς ἄλλους ἐπιμιξίας ποιούμενοι· ἐποιοῦντο δὲ καὶ τὰς ἀδελφὰς, τοῦ σώφρονος μάρτυρας· οὐ γὰρ ἀλλοτρίας τινὰς ἐπὶ τὰς φιλοτησίας καὶ τὰ δεῖπνα ἐκάλουν, ἀλλὰ τὰς ἀδελφὰς συμπαρελάμβανον, ὅπερ σημεῖον ἐναργὲς σωφροσύνης καὶ κοσμιότητος. Ἀλλὰ τὴν τούτων ὁμόνοιαν καὶ συνουσίαν, εἰς τὴν ἀθρόαν κατ' αὐτῶν ἐπιβουλὴν, εὗρεν ὁ διάβολος, τοῦ πάντας ἅμα καταβαλεῖν ἐν τῷ οἴκῳ τοῦ ἀδελφοῦ τοῦ πρεσβυτέρου. «Καὶ ὡς ἂν συνετελέσθησαν αἱ ἡμέραι τοῦ πότου, ἀπέστειλεν Ἰὼβ καὶ ἐκαθάριζεν αὐτοὺς, ἀνιστάμενος τὸ πρωΐ.» Ὁρᾷς καθαρισμὸν οὐχὶ Μωσαϊκὸν, ἀλλ' ἀποστολικὸν, τὴν διάνοιαν αὐτοῖς, ἀλλ' οὐ τὸ σῶμα, ταῖς εὐχαῖς ἀποσμήχοντα. Τινὲς δέ φασιν, ὅτι καὶ οἱ ἱερεῖς τὸ παλαιὸν ἦσαν, ὥσπερ ὁ Μελχισεδὲκ, ἀχειροτόνητοι· τοῦτο οὖν δηλοῖ τὸ, ἀπέστειλεν. «Καὶ ἐγένετο ὡς ἡ ἡμέρα αὕτη, καὶ ἰδοὺ ἦλθον οἱ ἄγγελοι τοῦ Θεοῦ παραστῆναι ἐνώπιον τοῦ Κυρίου, καὶ ὁ διάβολος ἦλθε μετ' αὐτῶν.» Ὁ μὲν Θεὸς ἀόρατος πάσῃ γενητῇ κτίσει, ἄποσος, ἀμεγέθης, πανταχοῦ παρὼν, καὶ τοῖς πᾶσιν ἐφιστάμενος, τὰ πάντα περιλαμβάνων, καὶ οὐκ ἔστι τόπος ἔξω τῆς αὐτοῦ δεσποτείας, πάρεστιν ἑκάστῳ, καθὸ προσήκει· τοῖς μὲν γὰρ ἁγίοις ἀγγέλοις, ὡς ἁγίοις, ἀποῤῥήτους φωνὰς ἐπιταγμάτων ἐπιπέμπων, τῷ πονηρῷ δὲ, ὡς πονηρῷ, συγχωρήσεις πειραστικὰς ἀνθρώπων ἐφιείς· οὐ γὰρ δύναταί τινα πράττειν ὁ διάβολος, εἰ μὴ ὅσα συγχωρεῖται παρὰ Θεοῦ. Καὶ οὐχ ἵσταται μὲν εἰς τοὺς ὑπερουρανίους τόπους, μὴ γένοιτο· ἐκεῖθεν γὰρ ἐξεκυλίσθη· Πῶς γὰρ, φησὶν, ἐξέπεσεν ἐκ τοῦ οὐρανοῦ Ἑωσφόρος, ὁ πρωῒ ἀνατέλλων; Λέγεται δὲ παρίστασθαι μετὰ τῶν ἀγγέλων, ὡς καὶ αὐτὸς ἐν τοῖς τόποις τῆς δεσποτείας τοῦ Θεοῦ τυγχάνων, καὶ ἀναμένων ἐπιτραπῆναι, ἢ συγχωρηθῆναι τοὺς κατὰ τῶν ἀνθρώπων ποιεῖσθαι πειρασμούς· οὐ λειτουργίαν τινὰ ταύτην ἐκπληρῶν τῷ Θεῷ, ἀλλ' ἐπειδήπερ ὑπὲρ τῆς παρατροπῆς καὶ τῆς κακίας εἰς τοῦτο κατηνέχθη, καὶ μέμηνε καθ' ἡμῶν. Συγχωρεῖται ὑπὸ τοῦ τὰ ἡμέτερα καλῶς διοικοῦντος, πρὸς ἃ φέρειν δυνάμεθα, τοὺς πειρασμοὺς ἡμῖν ἐπάγειν· ταῦτα οὖν αὐτὰ διατυπώσασα ἡ Γραφὴ, διὰ τὴν ἡμετέραν νόησιν κατὰ σχηματισμὸν τὸν λόγον προήγαγε. Τὸ δὲ, Ἐγένετο ὡς ἡ ἡμέρα αὕτη, ἀντὶ τοῦ, ἧκέ τις ἡμέρα, ἐν ᾗ τὸ θέατρον ἠνοίχθη, καὶ ὁ ἀθλητὴς κατέβη