7

Such things happened; for he placed rods in the watering troughs, and the sheep conceived, and brought forth white and variegated, and speckled ash-colored. But the whole was the work of God, as Jacob himself says. The sons of Laban were jealous of him, and having taken his wives secretly with his possessions, he departed. And Laban pursued him, and before he encountered him, God threatened him, if he should deal harshly with Jacob. And he, having come, first accused him, and sought the reason for his secret departure. And when Jacob said that he had done this because he was envied, lest he take his daughters, Laban sought his gods, whom Rachel had stolen. And when he did not find them, Jacob vehemently attacked him, making accusations. And finally, having eaten and drunk, they were separated from each other, having set up a heap of stones there, which they also called the Mound of Witness. Then angels of God met Jacob. Jacob sends to Esau, announcing his arrival. And when those who had been sent came and said that Esau was coming with four hundred men, becoming terrified he begs God to deliver him from the impending danger, and sends gifts to Esau. And when Jacob crossed the stream, and was blessed, and his name was changed, he sees Esau coming, and dividing the multitude, he placed the maids with their children first, and Leah second with her children, and having commanded Rachel with Joseph to come last, he himself went first. And when Esau saw him gladly, and received the gifts from him, he asked to journey with him; but he declined. And coming he settled in the city of Shechem, Salem, where Shechem the son of Hamor the king, having desired Dinah the daughter of Jacob, and having defiled the virgin, asked to take her as his wife by law of marriage. And Simeon and Levi said they would give her readily, if they were circumcised along with their people. And when they were circumcised, while still in pain, Simeon and Levi killed them. Jacob therefore was afraid, lest the neighboring Canaanites attack him; and at God's command he went up to Bethel. And the nurse of Rebecca died. And when God blessed him, he departed from Bethel and dwelt beyond the tower of Gader. Then Rachel had a difficult labor, and died, and was buried on the road to Ephrath; 56.323 this is Bethlehem. And he who was born was Benjamin. Then Reuben slept with Bilhah his father's concubine. Then Isaac died; and Esau and Jacob buried him. The descendants of Esau are enumerated, where Job is found being from these, and is here called Jobab. The brothers were jealous of Joseph on account of the dreams, and because their father loved him more. And taking him alone they wanted to kill him; but on the advice of Reuben to throw him into a pit (for he wanted for the time being to save him from death), when they had thrown him in, they later sold him to the Midianites, with Judah having proposed this. And having dipped his tunic in blood, they showed it to their father. But he, thinking he had been devoured by a wild beast, mourned grievously. And to Judah were born Er, Onan, and Shelah. And when Er died, his brother Onan took his wife Tamar; and he did not want to raise up seed for his brother. And when he also died, Judah no longer wanted to give Tamar as a wife to the third, Shelah. But Tamar, having adorned herself, sat as a prostitute by the road. And Judah, thinking her to be truly a prostitute (for her face was covered), went in to her, and gave her a pledge, a necklace and a ring and a staff. And when it was reported after this that Tamar was pregnant, her father-in-law Judah commanded that she be burned. But she sent, saying she had conceived by the man whose ring this is. Then Judah says: Tamar is more righteous than I. And when she was giving birth, Zarah put forth his hand, then drew it back, and Perez came out, and then Zarah. And these things are thus allegorized. The first people, he says, the righteous before the law, put forth the hand, that is, the virtuous way of life and

7

τοιαῦτα γέγονεν· ἐτίθει γὰρ ῥάβδους ἐν τοῖς ποτιστηρίοις, καὶ ἐνεκίσσα τὰ πρόβατα, καὶ ἔτικτε λευκὰ καὶ ποικίλα, καὶ σποδοειδῆ ῥαντά. Τὸ δὲ πᾶν τοῦ Θεοῦ ἔργον ἦν, ὡς αὐτός φησιν ὁ Ἰακώβ. ∆ιεφθονοῦντο αὐτῷ υἱοὶ Λάβαν, καὶ λαβὼν λάθρα τὰς ἑαυτοῦ γυναῖκας μετὰ τῶν ὑπαρχόντων ἀπῆλθεν. Ὁ δὲ Λάβαν κατεδίωξε, καὶ πρὶν αὐτῷ συμβαλεῖν, ἠπείλησεν ὁ Θεὸς αὐτῷ, εἰ τραχέως προσενεχθείη τῷ Ἰακώβ. Ὁ δὲ ἐλθὼν, τὸ μὲν πρῶτον ἐνεκάλει, καὶ τὴν αἰτίαν ἐζήτει τῆς λαθραίας ἀναχωρήσεως. Ὡς δὲ εἶπεν ὁ Ἰακὼβ, διὰ τὸ πεφθονῆσθαι μήποτε τὰς θυγατέρας αὐτοῦ λάβοι, τοῦτο πεποιηκέναι, ἐζήτει τοὺς θεοὺς αὐτοῦ Λάβαν, οὓς ἔκλεψεν ἡ Ῥαχήλ. Ὡς δὲ οὐχ εὗρεν, ἐπιτίθεται σφοδρῶς ὁ Ἰακὼβ ἐγκαλῶν. Καὶ τέλος, φαγόντες καὶ πιόντες, διεχωρίσθησαν ἀλλήλων, βουνὸν λίθων στήσαντες ἐκεῖ, ὃν καὶ Βουνὸν μαρτυρίου ἐκάλεσαν. Τότε συνήντησαν τῷ Ἰακὼβ ἄγγελοι Θεοῦ. Ἀποστέλλει ὁ Ἰακὼβ πρὸςτὸν Ἡσαῦ, ἀπαγγέλλων αὐτοῦ τὴν ἐπιδημίαν. Ὡς δὲ ἦλθον οἱ ἀποσταλέντες, καὶ εἶπον ἔρχεσθαι τὸν Ἡσαῦ μετὰ τετρακοσίων ἀνδρῶν, περίφοβος γενόμενος δεῖται τοῦ Θεοῦ, ὥστε αὐτὸν ἀπαλλάξαι τοῦ ἐπικειμένου κινδύνου, καὶ πέμπει δῶρα τῷ Ἡσαῦ. Ὡς δὲ εἰσῆλθε τὸν χειμάῤῥουν ὁ Ἰακὼβ, καὶ εὐλογήθη, καὶ μετωνομάσθη τὸ ὄνομα αὐτοῦ, ὁρᾷ τὸν Ἡσαῦ ἐρχόμενον, καὶ διελὼν τὸ πλῆθος, τὰς μὲν παιδίσκας μετὰ τῶν παίδων αὐτῶν πρώτας ἔταξε, τὴν δὲ Λείαν δευτέραν μετὰ τῶν παιδίων, καὶ τὴν Ῥαχὴλ μετὰ Ἰωσὴφ ἐσχάτην ἔρχεσθαι κελεύσας, αὐτὸς πρῶτος ἀπῄει. Ὡς δὲ εἶδεν αὐτὸν ἀσμένως ὁ Ἡσαῦ, καὶ τὰ δῶρα ἔλαβε παρ' αὐτοῦ, ἠξίου συμπορεύεσθαι αὐτῷ· ὁ δὲ παρῃτεῖτο. Καὶ ἐλθὼν κατέλυσεν εἰς πόλιν Σικίμων Σαλὴμ, ἔνθα Συχὲμ ὁ υἱὸς Ἐμμὼρ τοῦ βασιλέως, ἐρασθεὶς ∆ίνας τῆς θυγατρὸς Ἰακὼβ, καὶ φθείρας τὴν παρθένον, ἠξίου νόμῳ γάμου λαβεῖν αὐτὴν γυναῖκα. Εἶπε δὲ Συμεὼν καὶ Λευῒ δώσειν ἑτοίμως, εἰ περιτμηθεῖεν ἐκεῖνοι μετὰ τοῦ λαοῦ αὐτῶν. Ὡς δὲ περιετμήθησαν, ἔτι ὄντας ἐν τῷ πόνῳ ἀνεῖλον αὐτοὺς Συμεὼν καὶ Λευΐ. Ἐφοβεῖτο λοιπὸν ὁ Ἰακὼβ, μὴ συνεπιθῶνταιαὐτῷ οἱ πλησίον Χαναναῖοι· καὶ τοῦ Θεοῦ κελεύσαντος ἀνῆλθεν εἰς Βαιθήλ. Καὶ ἀπέθανεν ἡ τροφὸς Ῥεβέκκας. Ὡς δὲ ηὐλόγησεν αὐτῷ ὁ Θεὸς, ἀπάρας ἐκ Βαιθὴλ κατῴκησεν ἐπέκεινα πύργου Γαδέρ. Τότε ἐδυστόκησεν ἡ Ῥαχὴλ, καὶ ἀπέθανε, καὶ ἐτάφη ἐν τῇ ὁδῷ Ἐφραθᾶ· 56.323 αὕτη ἐστὶ Βηθλεέμ. Ὁ δὲ τεχθεὶς ἦν Βενιαμείν. Τότε ἐκοιμήθη Ῥουβὶμ μετὰ Βάλλας τῆς παλλακῆς τοῦ πατρὸς αὐτοῦ. Τότε ἀπέθανεν Ἰσαάκ· καὶ ἔθαψαν αὐτὸν Ἡσαῦ καὶ Ἰακώβ. Γενεαλογοῦνται οἱ ἀπὸ τοῦ Ἡσαῦ, ἔνθα εὑρίσκεται Ἰὼβ ἀπὸ τούτων ὢν, Ἰωβὰβδὲ ἐνταῦθα καλεῖται. ∆ιαφθονοῦνται τῷ Ἰωσὴφ οἱ ἀδελφοὶ τῶν ἐνυπνίων ἕνεκα, καὶ ὅτι μᾶλλον αὐτὸν ὁ πατὴρ ἐφίλει. Καὶ λαβόντες μόνον ἐβούλοντο ἀνελεῖν· συμβουλεύσαντος δὲ τοῦ Ῥουβὶμ εἰς λάκκον ἐμβαλεῖν (ἐβούλετο γὰρ αὐτὸν τέως ἐξελέσθαι τοῦ θανάτου), ἐπεὶ ἐνέβαλον, ἀπέδοντο ὕστερον τοῖς Μαδιαναίοις, τοῦ Ἰούδα τοῦτο εἰσηγησαμένου. Τὸν δὲ χιτῶνα αὐτοῦ βάψαντες αἵματι, ἐπεδείκνυον τῷ πατρί. Ὁ δὲ νομίσας θηριάλωτον γεγονέναι, ἐθρήνει χαλεπῶς. Τῷ δὲ Ἰούδα ἐτέχθησαν Ἢρ, Αὐνᾶν, καὶ Σηλών. Ἀποθανόντος δὲ τοῦ Ἢρ, τὴν γυναῖκα αὐτοῦ τὴν Θάμαρ ἔλαβεν ὁ ἀδελφὸς αὐτοῦ Αὐνᾶν· καὶ οὐκ ἐβούλετο ἀναστῆσαι σπέρμα τῷ ἀδελφῷ αὐτοῦ. Ὡς δὲ καὶ οὗτος ἀπέθανεν, οὐκέτι ἤθελε τῷ τρίτῳ Σηλὼν δοῦναι γυναῖκα τὴν Θάμαρ ὁ Ἰούδας. Ἡ δὲ Θάμαρ κοσμησαμένη ἐκάθισεν ὡς πόρνη παρὰ τὴν ὁδόν. Καὶ νομίσας αὐτὴν ἀληθῶς πόρνην εἶναι Ἰούδας (ἐκεκάλυπτο γὰρ τὸ πρόσωπον), εἰσῆλθε πρὸς αὐτὴν, καὶ ἔδωκεν αὐτῇ ἀῤῥαβῶνα, ὁρμίσκον καὶ δακτύλιον καὶ ῥάβδον. Ὡς δὲ ἀπηγγέλθη μετὰ ταῦτα, ὅτι κύει Θάμαρ, ἐκέλευσεν αὐτὴν κατακαυθῆναι ὁ πενθερὸς Ἰούδας. Ἡ δὲ ἀπέστειλε λέγουσα, ἐκ τοῦ ἀνδρὸς συνειληφέναι, οὗ ὁ δάκτυλός ἐστι. Τότε φησὶν Ἰούδας· ∆εδικαίωται Θάμαρ ἢ ἐγώ. Ὡςδὲ ἔτικτε, προεξήνεγκε τὴν χεῖρα ὁ Ζαρὰ, εἶτα συνέστειλε, καὶ ἐξῆλθεν ὁ Φαρὲς, καὶ τότε ὁ Ζαρά. Ταῦτα δὲ οὕτως ἀλληγορεῖται. Προεξήνεγκε, φησὶν, ὁ πρῶτος λαὸς, οἱ πρὸ τοῦ νόμου δίκαιοι, τὴν χεῖρα, τουτέστι, τὴν ἐνάρετον πολιτείαν καὶ