Collectio dictorum veteris testamenti

 is forced to descend into a foreign state and if the demons should see any good understanding accompanying him, they hasten to subject it to the sowi

 escaping. The heifer, taken first, signified the first generation. For just as the heifer struggles against the yoke, so also the first generation of

 the river, but to keep alive every female. For the devil, the spiritual Pharaoh, also conceived a threefold manner of plotting against the spiritual I

 He interprets what that one speaks spiritually and obscurely, and transforms his weak voice to be more melodious. For I have not come, he says, to abo

 the Gospel according to Christ, had as a son the multitude of those being reborn to it through the Holy Spirit whom she also circumcised with a stone

 and easy to comprehend is the mystery concerning Christ. But God did not lead the Jews to this immediately, but through the long law and the many ridd

 Moses commanded Joshua son of Nun to choose mighty men and go out and fight 77.1196 Amalek, signified that Jesus Christ would be subject to the comman

 of the people of the Jews, and servant of God, he ascends to the highest knowledge of God but the people are prevented from approaching, lest they di

 coming after it, demands this final penalty, as one who, after being freed from the burden of sin, is again voluntarily subjected to it. And He comman

 But the eighth ineffably suggests the mystery of the eternal well-being of the 77.1204 beings. The sixth day is called Preparation, because on it the

 and poverty of intellect, they make their neighbors, that is, those of the same faith, partners, so that through one another they may be raised to hig

 unmixed with wickedness, those partaking of the true Lamb nourish their own soul, throughout the whole weekly age, which is measured by the week. And

 the body bears uncircumcision. Circumcision is mystical, a voluntary removal of the passions. The circumcision of circumcision is the putting away of

 of rational discernment, as Israel did in the time of Moses, commits idolatry. For having cast into the fire of the passions the words concerning theo

 to do good things, and to walk toward good things. Humpbacked is the one bent downwards, and not able to look up from earthly things. Sun-spotted is o

 God, ostracizing stupidity, and wishing his subjects to belong to necessity alone, through the not weaving together of linen and wool, banished variet

 but in heaven God Himself whom alone they both worship and attend. And on the day that the tabernacle was set up, the cloud covered the tabernacle, an

 they were catechized by the evangelists. Or otherwise, the four types of meanings were a symbol of the four types of moral discourse. Of which the one

 Aaron's rod, as a symbol of watchfulness. For to Jeremiah, seeing a staff of a nut tree, God says: Behold, I am watchful over my words. And it budded

 bracelets, and rings, and armlets, and braided chains. For the leaders of the people in Christ and the eminent often surpass the evangelical commands

 with bodily ways of the ministry of the virtues, they return to the contemplation of kindred intelligible things. A foreign boy and a servant-girl are

 undertaking. For she will pay the penalty for the offense to God, the Father of spirits, and she will be his wife, as having already been joined to hi

 of the other man wherefore he is required to pay the penalty for the murder, but he alone suffers loss in his soul. For this, I think, is what this m

 war for one year he shall cheer his wife, whom he has taken. For it is not right that one who has just taken a spouse for himself should be led out t

 Virtue is the mother of the good deeds from it. And its nest is the soul in which it dwells. It is necessary for those who encounter them to be benefi

 its fruit for three years will be unpurified for you. It shall not be eaten, and in the fourth year all its fruit shall be holy to the Lord. But in th

 dragging down to earth, those things that draw up to heaven. Saul, is the natural 77.1249 law, which from the beginning received from the Lord the lot

 David is the law according to the spirit, who reigns over the Christians who worship God spiritually. But Saul is the law according to the letter, who

 the face of the Lord, according to David, and learns the cause of such a famine, that this injustice was against Saul, and against his house, with whi

 taking from the spiritual David, that is, the law according to the spirit, may kill the aforementioned sons and grandsons of 77.1257 Saul then in eve

 of knowledge, if it should receive the divine and discerning word, which brings to memory former sins, and will prefer even to nature itself the heali

 The Lord in the desert I mean in the world, and in the nature of men, digging out and cleansing the hearts of the worthy from material weight and min

 of the city. Since Hezekiah is interpreted as 'strength of God,' every mind 77.1265 that through practical philosophy has acquired divine strength, wh

 through themselves they again turn him away, as he flees into his land which is the fixed habit of evil, whom his sons kill as he is fleeing, and the

 the king of the Assyrians, flees to God, and silently cries out to Him, through progress in virtue and knowledge, and receives an angel as an ally th

 at once a philosopher and a lover of God has both Judah and Jerusalem the one taken as the habit of confession and repentance for Judah is interpret

 becomes a lofty and exalted mind, and in the good things given to it by God, boasts as if in its own accomplishments. There comes by providence upon t

 the spear and the flask of water that is, the power of practical virtue, and the grace of gnostic contemplation, even if he again gives these things

 of king Darius, I mean of the natural law, having conquered by him, lifts up his face to heaven, that is, the disposition of the soul, in which are th

 not being guarded. For lead is a symbol of punishment, but silver of brightness. And the seven eyes of this practical faith are the seven gifts of the

 constituted. For since matter is indeed a tetrad, because of the tetraktys of its elements, and form is a pentad, because of the fivefold nature of se

 they rise up for mischief. And approaching Zerubbabel, and Joshua and the leaders of the families, they say to them: We will build with you for like

and easy to comprehend is the mystery concerning Christ. But God did not lead the Jews to this immediately, but through the long law and the many riddles, as through a certain long road, He guided them towards this; lest, assailed by thoughts of the excess, they turn back again to the Egyptian impiety, but so that by practicing from afar in the shadow of the truth, and being trained at the proper time, they might easily come to perfection. Philistim, then, is interpreted as "the wonderful," and the wonderful way is the short one, such as is that of the divine Gospel. And God led them, by day in a pillar of cloud, to show them the way; and by night in a pillar of fire. The pillar of truth is God, drawing from earth to heaven. And night is the time before the incarnation of the Lord; on account of the darkness of error, and the prevailing gloom of the passions; but day is that of His advent, in which the Sun of righteousness Himself arose, illuminating and making bright the souls of the believers. Therefore, He guided the Jews by the punishing law; for fire is a symbol of punishment. But He guides Christians by the salvation through holy baptism. For the cloud is water and a symbol of the divine water of baptism. For it is not 77.1193 possible to arrive at the city which is above and holy, unless Christ guides and shows the way of salvation. And the pillar of the cloud was taken up from before their face, and stood behind them, and went in between the camp of the Egyptians, and between the camp of the sons of Israel, and they did not come together all the night. For when it was night, that is, a time bringing cowardice upon the pious, the power of the Lord stands between them and those who pursue them, visible or invisible enemies; not allowing them to clash until the fear should pass. Or the word is also concerning those just now being instructed in the word of piety, with whom, since they are still weak, it prevents the enemies from engaging. But after which, just as through the sea, they might come through the divine baptism, it allows them to fight, having put aside their cowardice. For after crossing the Red Sea, the Israelites became most warlike and hard to conquer. The thirst that came upon the Israelites in the desert was a type of the labors in ascetic practice, and a prelude of training. For see, that in the beginning the war of enemies did not assail them; for they had not yet been trained for excellence. For this reason they are first tried by the labors of the flesh. And this also looks to that: No temptation has overtaken you except what is human. By a tree the bitter water of Marah was made sweet. For in Christ the tree of life, bitter things are made sweet; and the unbearable become bearable. Just as the Israelites, remembering the meats, desired to be in Egypt, and to be enslaved again so as to be filled with them, so also among us, harsh pleasures of the passions often persuade the more foolish to consider the slavery of the devil bearable, for the sake of enjoying them. And God allows these things to those who are incontinent. For the partaking of the quail illustrates this. But just as for those who preferred the meat to the manna, the eating ended in cholera; so also for those who prefer earthly luxury to heavenly, and carnal pleasure to spiritual, the partaking will end in the destruction of the soul. Concerning the manna. The manna came down in the morning, prefiguring Christ, who is the heavenly bread feeding the souls of the hungry; who also visited as the rising of the sun those sitting in darkness; but the quail towards evening, signifying the animal sacrifice of the legal worship, which was performed in shadows and faint traces of the truth, and was about to receive an end. For evening is the end of the day. He having commanded

καὶ εὐσύνοπτον τὸ περὶ Χριστοῦ μυστήριον. Οὐκ εὐθὺς δὲ πρὸς τοῦτο τοὺς Ἰουδαίους ὁ Θεὸς ἤγαγε, διὰ δὲ τοῦ μακροῦ νόμου καὶ τῶν πολλῶν αἰνιγμάτων, ὡς διὰ μακρᾶς τινος ὁδοῦ, τούτους ὡδήγει πρὸς τοῦτο· μήποτε πολεμηθέντες τοῖς λογισμοῖς τῆς ὑπερβολῆς, ἀποστρέψωσι πάλιν εἰς τὴν Αἰγυπτιακὴν ἀσέβειαν, ἀλλ' ἵνα πόῤῥωθεν ἐμμελετῶντες τῇ σκιᾷ τῆς ἀληθείας, καὶ γυμναζόμενοι κατὰ τὸν πρέποντα καιρὸν, εὐμαρῶς ἐπὶ τὸ τέλειον ἔλθοιεν. Φυλιστιεὶμ μὲν οὖν ἡ θαυμαστὴ ἑρμηνεύεται, ὁδὸς δὲ θαυμαστὴ ἡ σύντομος, ὁποία ἐστὶν ἡ τοῦ θείου Εὐαγγελίου. Ὁ δὲ Θεὸς ἡγεῖτο αὐτῶν, ἡμέρας μὲν ἐν στύλῳ νεφέλης, δεῖξαι αὐτοῖς τὴν ὁδόν· τὴν δὲ νύκτα ἐν στύλῳ πυρός. Στύλος ἐστὶ τῆς ἀληθείας, ὁ Θεὸς ἀπὸ γῆς ἕλκων εἰς οὐρανόν. Καὶ νὺξ μὲν ὁ πρὸ τῆς ἐνανθρωπήσεως τοῦ Κυρίου καιρός· διὰ τὸν σκότον τῆς πλάνης, καὶ τὸν ἐπιπολάζοντα ζόφον τῶν παθῶν· ἡμέρα δὲ ὁ τῆς ἐπιδημίας αὐτοῦ, καθ' ὃν ἀνέτειλεν αὐτὸς ὁ ἥλιος τῆς δικαιοσύνης, φωτίζων καὶ λαμπρύνων τὰς τῶν πιστευόντων ψυχάς. Λοιπὸν οὖν μὲν Ἰουδαίους ὡδήγει τῷ κολάζοντι νόμῳ· κολάσεως γὰρ σύμβολον τὸ πῦρ. Τοὺς Χριστιανοὺς δὲ ὁδηγεῖ τῇ διὰ τοῦ ἁγίου βαπτίσματος σωτηρίᾳ. Ὕδωρ γὰρ ἡ νεφέλη καὶ σύμβολον τοῦ θείου ὕδατος τοῦ βαπτίσματος. Οὐ γὰρ 77.1193 ἔστιν εἰς τὴν ἄνω τε καὶ ἁγίαν ἀφικέσθαι πόλιν, μὴ καθοδηγουμένου Χριστοῦ, καὶ τὴν ὁδὸν τῆς σωτηρίας ὑποδεικνύοντος. Ἐξῆρε δὲ καὶ ὁ στύλος τῆς νεφέλης ἀπὸ προσ ώπου αὐτῶν, καὶ ἔστη ἐκ τῶν ὀπίσω αὐτῶν, καὶ εἰσῆλθεν ἀνὰ μέσον τῆς παρεμβολῆς τῶν Αἰγυπτίων, καὶ ἀνὰ μέσον τῆς παρεμβολῆς τῶν υἱῶν Ἰσραὴλ, καὶ οὐ συνέμιξαν ἀλλήλοις ὅλην τὴν νύκτα. Νυκτὸς γὰρ οὔσης, ἤτοι καιροῦ δειλίαν τοῖς εὐσεβέσιν ἐπάγοντος, ἵσταται μέσον αὐτῶν τε καὶ τῶν καταδιωκόντων αὐτοὺς, ὁρατῶν ἢ ἀοράτων ἐχθρῶν, ἡ τοῦ Κυρίου δύναμις· οὐκ ἐῶσα συῤῥήγνυσθαι μέχρις ἂν ὁ φόβος παρέλθῃ. Ἢ καὶ περὶ τῶν ἄρτι κατηχουμένων τὸν τῆς εὐσεβείας λόγον ὁ λόγος, οἷς ἀσθενέσιν οὖσιν ἔτι συμπλέκεσθαι κωλύει τοὺς πολεμίους. Μεθ' ὃ δὲ καθάπερ διὰ θαλάσσης, διὰ τοῦ θείου βαπτίσματος ἔλθοιεν, ἀφίησι μάχεσθαι, τὴν δειλίαν ἀποθεμένους. Τὴν γὰρ Ἐρυθρὰν θάλασσαν διαβάντες οἱ Ἰσραηλῖται, μαχιμώτατοι καὶ δυσκαταγώνιστοι γεγόνασιν. Ἡ προσγενομένη δίψα τοῖς Ἰσραηλίταις κατὰ τὴν ἔρημον τύπος ἦν τῶν ἐν ἀσκήσει πόνων, καὶ γυμνασίας προοίμιον. Ὅρα γὰρ, ὅτι οὐκ ἐν ἀρχῇ προσέβαλεν αὐτοῖς πόλεμος ἐχθρῶν· οὔπω γὰρ ἐγυμνάσθησαν εἰς τὸ ἀριστεύειν. ∆ιὰ τοῦτο τοῖς τῆς σαρκὸς πρότερον δοκιμάζονται πόνοις. Εἰς τοῦτο δὲ βλέπει καὶ τό· Πειρασμὸς ὑμᾶς οὔπω κατέλαβεν, εἰ μὴ ἀνθρώπινος. Ξύλῳ κατεγλυκάνθη τὸ τῆς Μερᾶς πικρὸν ὕδωρ. Ἐν Χριστῷ γὰρ τῷ τῆς ζωῆς ξύλῳ καταγλυκαίνονται μὲν τὰ πικρά· φορητὰ δὲ τὰ δύσοιστα γίνονται. Ὥσπερ οἱ Ἰσραηλῖται τῶν κρεῶν ὑπομνησθέντες ἐπεθύμησαν ἐν Αἰγύπτῳ γενέσθαι, καὶ δουλεύειν πάλιν ὥστε ἐμπλησθῆναι αὐτῶν, οὕτω καὶ τοὺς ἀνοητοτέρους ἐν ἡμῖν δριμεῖαι πολλάκις ἀναπείθουσιν ἡδοναὶ παθῶν, φορητὴν ἡγεῖσθαι τὴν τοῦ διαβόλου δουλείαν, ἕνεκεν τοῦ ἀπολαύειν αὐτῶν. Ἐφίησι δὲ τούτοις ὁ Θεὸς, ἀκαθέκτως ἔχουσι. Τοῦτο γὰρ ἡ τῆς ὀρτυγομήτρας εἰκονίζει μετάληψις. Ἀλλ' ὥσπερ ἐκείνοις προτιμήσασι τοῦ μάννα τὸ κρέας εἰς χολέραν κατέληξεν ἡ βρῶσις· οὕτω καὶ τούτοις προτιμῶσι τῆς οὐρανίου τρυφῆς τὴν γεηρὰν, καὶ τῆς πνευματικῆς ἡδονῆς τὴν σαρκικὴν, εἰς ψυχικὸν ὄλεθρον ἡ μετάληψις καταλήξει. Περὶ τοῦ μάννα. Τὸ μὲν μάννα πρωῒ κατήρχετο, προτυποῦν τὸν Χριστὸν, ὅς ἐστιν οὐράνιος ἄρτος τρέφων τὰς ψυχὰς τῶν πινῶν· ὃς καὶ ἀνατολὴ ἡλίου τοῖς ἐν σκότει καθημένοις ἐπιδεδήμηκεν· ἡ δὲ ὀρτυγομήτρα πρὸς ἐσπέραν, δηλοῦσα τῆς νομικῆς λατρείας τὴν ζωοθυσίαν, ἥτις ἐν σκιαῖς τε καὶ ἀμυδροῖς ἴχνεσι τῆς ἀληθείας ἐπετελεῖτο, καὶ πέρας ἔμελλε δέξασθαι. Πέρας γὰρ τῆς ἡμέρας ἡ ἑσπέρα. Ἐντειλάμενος ὁ