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

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 commandments of the Mosaic law. For I have not come, he says, to abolish the law, but to fulfill it. And choosing from all of Israel, and from every nation, mighty men; I mean the holy apostles and their successors; he will fight against the devil, the king of wickedness and sin, and will conquer him. He appointed the battle to be made on the next day; indicating the later time of the incarnation after the fullness of the time of the law. And Moses goes up to the top of the mountain, that he may look upon the battle. For initiation according to the law also leads up to a proportionate height of knowledge; from where the Jews might be able to look upon the strategies concerning Christ; and when Moses raised his hands, Israel prevailed; but when he let them down, Amalek prevailed. For hands stretched out into the air form the shape of the cross, and every cross-bearer conquers; just as, in turn, everyone who does not bear the cross, but forsakes the faith in Christ, is fought against. But the hands of Moses were heavy, and with difficulty were they raised into the aforementioned figure. Because even those of the law with difficulty come to bear the cross of Christ. And taking, it says, a stone, they placed it under him, and he sat on it; and Aaron and Hur supported his hands, one on this side, and one on that side. For Christ is the precious and chosen stone, on whom those from Israel who believe lean and rest. The same Christ is also understood as Aaron and Hur, as high priest and judge; for Aaron was high priest, and Hur judge. This Christ, understood through both, supports the faithful from Israel, for faith through the cross, and for victory, and does not allow them to be weighed down and dragged down. Moses, instructed by God, ordered the people to wash their clothes, and to abstain from women, and thus to present themselves to God at the foot of Mount Sinai. For one must wash away the shame of wickedness and put on the beauty of virtue, and be pure of bodily pleasure and defilement. Commanding this, the law, of which Moses is a type, presents to Christ the God those who obey, instructing and ordering them, and leading them to perfection. But God came down not to the people, but to the mountain. For the people of the Hebrews are groveling and earthly, but the people of the Christians are high-minded, and lofty in contemplation, and raised above earthly things. To whom God also physically visited and associated, having become man. And there was fire around the mountain, for fear for the dense people, who did not have a spirit of adoption, but of bondage to fear, being led by force and not being pious willingly; but for the purification of the new; for fire is also purifying. And the smoke signified the hiddenness of the divine nature. For he made, it says, darkness his hiding place. Or also otherwise, the smoke as a symbol of the mist which is poured over the mind of the Jews, 77.1197 not allowing it to be illuminated by the rays of truth. But the fire as an image of the light which illumines the mind of those who believe in Christ. And the sounds of the trumpet, going forth, became stronger; for when Christ came among us, the things proclaimed about him in the law became clearer and more knowable. For hear these things, it says, all you nations. But Moses spoke, it says, and God answered him with a voice. For he, like a schoolmaster, sought the law by which they were to be improved; but God gave the law. And the Son is the voice of the Father, as the Word. For the law is from him, even if it was spoken to Moses through angels. And when God commanded, Moses goes up to the top of the mountain; for Christ called the faithful people, the one set above

Μωσῆς Ἰησοῦ τοῦ Ναυῆ ἐπιλέξασθαι ἄνδρας δυνατοὺς καὶ ἐξελθεῖν καὶ παρατά 77.1196 ξασθαι Ἀμαλὴκ, ὑπεσήμαινεν ὅτι Ἰησοῦς ὁ Χριστὸς ὑποταγήσεται ταῖς ἐντολαῖς τοῦ Μωσαϊκοῦ νόμου. Οὐκ ἦλθον γὰρ, φησὶ, καταλῦσαι τὸν νόμον, ἀλλὰ πληρῶσαι. Καὶ ἐπιλεξάμενος ἐκ παντὸς τοῦ Ἰσραὴλ, καὶ ἐκ παντὸς ἔθνους, ἄνδρας δυνατούς· φημὶ δὴ τοὺς ἱεροὺς ἀποστόλους καὶ τοὺς διαδόχους αὐτῶν· παρατάξεται τῷ διαβόλῳ τῷ βασιλεῖ τῆς κακίας καὶ ἁμαρτίας, καὶ καταπολεμήσει αὐτόν. Εἰσαύριον δὲ τὴν παράταξιν διωρίσατο ποιήσασθαι· δηλῶν τὸν μετέπειτα καιρὸν τῆς ἐνανθρωπήσεως τὸν μετὰ τὸ πλήρωμα τοῦ νομικοῦ χρόνου. Ἄνεισι δὲ ἐπὶ τὴν κορυφὴν τοῦ βουνοῦ Μωσῆς, ἵν' ἔχῃ καθορᾷν τὴν μάχην. Ἀναβιβάζει γὰρ καὶ ἡ κατὰ νόμον μυσταγωγία πρὸς ὕψος σύμμετρον γνώσεως· ὅθεν ἂν Ἰουδαῖοι δύναιντο καθορᾷν τὰ τῶν περὶ Χριστὸν στρατηγήματα· καὶ ἀνατείναντος μὲν Μωσέως τὰς χεῖρας κατίσχυεν Ἰσραήλ· καθιέντος δὲ κατίσχυεν Ἀμαλήκ. Χεῖρες μὲν γὰρ ἀποτάδην εἰς ἀέρα δεικνύμεναι, τὸ τοῦ σταυροῦ σχῆμα γράφουσι, πᾶς δὲ σταυροφόρος νικᾷ· καθάπερ αὖ πᾶς μὴ τὸν σταυρὸν φέρων, ἀλλὰ τὴν κατὰ Χριστὸν πίστιν προέμενος, πολεμεῖται. Βαρεῖαι δὲ αἱ χεῖρες Μωσέως, καὶ μόλις ἐπαιρόμεναι πρὸς τὸν εἰρημένον τύπον. Ὅτι καὶ οἱ τοῦ νόμου μόλις ἥκουσιν εἰς τὸ φορέσαι τὸν σταυρὸν τοῦ Χριστοῦ. Καὶ λαβόντες, φησὶ, λίθον ὑπέθηκαν ὑπ' αὐτὸν, καὶ ἐκάθητο ἐπ' αὐτοῦ· καὶ Ἀαρὼν καὶ Ὢρ, ἐστήριζον τὰς χεῖρας αὐτοῦ, ἐντεῦθεν εἷς, καὶ ἐντεῦθεν εἷς. Λίθος μὲν γὰρ τίμιος καὶ ἐκλεκτὸς ὁ Χριστὸς, ἐφ' ὃν ἐρειδόμενοι ἀναπαύονται, οἱ ἐξ Ἰσραὴλ πιστεύοντες. Ὁ αὐτὸς δὲ Χριστὸς νοεῖται καὶ Ἀαρὼν καὶ Ὢρ, ὡς ἀρχιερεὺς καὶ κριτής· Ἀαρὼν μὲν γὰρ ἀρχιερεὺς, κριτὴς δὲ Ὤρ. Ὃς Χριστὸς δι' ἀμφοτέρων νοούμενος, ὑπερείδει τοὺς ἐξ Ἰσραὴλ πιστοὺς, εἰς τὴν διὰ τοῦ σταυροῦ καὶ πίστιν, καὶ νίκην, καὶ οὐκ ἐᾷ βαρεῖσθαι καὶ κατασπᾶσθαι. Ἐνηχηθεὶς θεόθεν ὁ Μωσῆς προσέταξε τῷ λαῷ πλῦναι τὰ ἱμάτια ἑαυτῶν, καὶ ἀποσχέσθαι γυναικὸς, καὶ οὕτως ὑπὸ τὸ ὄρος Σινᾶ παραστῆναι τῷ Θεῷ. Χρὴ γὰρ ἀποπλύνασθαι τὸ αἶσχος τῆς κακίας καὶ ἐνδύσασθαι τὸ κάλλος τῆς ἀρετῆς, καὶ καθαρεύειν σωματικῆς ἡδονῆς καὶ μολυσμοῦ. Τοῦτο δὲ προστάττων ὁ νόμος, οὗ τύπος ὁ Μωσῆς, παρίστησι Χριστῷ τῷ Θεῷ τοὺς πειθομένους παιδαγωγῶν καὶ ῥυθμίζων, καὶ προσάγων τῇ τελειότητι. Κατέβη δὲ ὁ Θεὸς οὐ πρὸς τὸν λαὸν, ἀλλὰ πρὸς τὸ ὄρος. Ὁ μὲν γὰρ τῶν Ἑβραίων λαὸς χαμαίζηλος καὶ γεώδης, ὁ δὲ τῶν Χριστιανῶν, ὑψίνους, καὶ τῇ θεωρίᾳ μετέωρος, καὶ τῶν γηίνων ὑπερῃρμένος. Οἷς καὶ σωματικῶς ὁ Θεὸς ἐπεδήμησε καὶ συνανεστράφη ἐνανθρωπήσας. Πῦρ δὲ περὶ τὸ ὄρος, εἰς φόβον μὲν τοῦ παχέος λαοῦ, ᾧ οὐκ ἦν πνεῦμα υἱοθεσίας, ἀλλὰ δουλείας εἰς φόβον, βιαίως ἠγμένῳ καὶ οὐκ ἐθελουσίως εὐσεβοῦντι· εἰς κάθαρσιν δὲ τοῦ νέου· ἔστι γὰρ καὶ πῦρ καθαρτήριον. Ὁ δὲ καπνὸς τὸ ἀπόκρυφον ᾐνίττετο τῆς θείας φύσεως. Ἔθετο γὰρ, φησὶ, σκότος ἀποκρυφὴν αὐτοῦ. Ἢ καὶ ἄλλως, ὁ μὲν καπνὸς εἰς σύμβολον τῆς ἀχλύος, ἣ κατακέχυται τῆς διανοίας τῶν Ἰουδαίων, 77.1197 μὴ συγχωροῦσα ἐντρανίζειν ταῖς τῆς ἀληθείας αὐγαῖς. Τὸ δὲ πῦρ εἰς εἰκόνα τοῦ φωτὸς ὃ καταλάμπει τὸν νοῦν τῶν εἰς Χριστὸν πιστευόντων. Προβαίνουσαι δὲ αἱ φωναὶ τῆς σάλπιγγος ἐγίνοντο ἰσχυρότεραι· ἐπιδημήσαντος γὰρ τοῦ Χριστοῦ ἡμῖν, τρανότερα καὶ γνωριμώτερα γεγόνασι τὰ περὶ αὐτοῦ τῷ νόμῳ διαγορευόμενα. Ἀκούσατε γὰρ ταῦτα, φησὶ, πάντα τὰ ἔθνη. Ἀλλ' Ὁ μὲν Μωσῆς ἐλάλει, φησὶν, ὁ δὲ Θεὸς ἀπεκρίνετο αὐτῷ φωνῇ. Ὁ μὲν γὰρ οἷον παιδαγωγὸς ἐζήτει τὸν νόμον ᾧ βελτιωθῆναι μέλλοιεν· ὁ δὲ Θεὸς ἐνομοθέτει. Φωνὴ δὲ τοῦ Πατρὸς ὁ Υἱὸς, ὡς Λόγος. Ἐξ αὐτοῦ γὰρ ὁ νόμος, εἰ καὶ δι' ἀγγέλων τῷ Μωσεῖ λελάληται. Κελεύσαντος δὲ τοῦ Θεοῦ, ἄνεισι Μωσῆς εἰς τὴν κορυφὴν τοῦ ὄρους· καλέσαντος γὰρ τοῦ Χριστοῦ τὸν πιστὸν λαὸν, τὸν ὑπερκείμενον