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to him; with your hand, with your defiled, with your insatiable hand; what do you say? What need is there, after your testimony, of another torment? “So that the devil may be silenced,” he says, “so that the righteous man may appear more glorious, so that for those who come after, we might leave behind remedies for both patience and affliction.” “And it was as this day.” So that the author might show the swiftness of the 64.529 plot, he says this; for he began the war before midday. “And behold, a messenger came to Job and said to him.” Murder is mingled with destruction, which makes the enemies appear grievous; great is the cruelty and the inhumanity, double is the calamity, murder and captivity; and the salvation of the one who was left, an addition to the evils. You see how great the swiftness of the blow, new and strange is the calamity; he who was in such abundance, and had never experienced anything of the sort, has suddenly come to the removal of all his possessions; for it was not that some things were taken away and others were left behind, for some comfort for what was lost, but he alone is left, the one who reports the tragedy. “While he was still speaking, another messenger came and said to Job, ‘Fire fell from heaven and burned up the sheep, and consumed the shepherds likewise, and I alone have escaped to tell you.’” The evil one repented that he reported the first things badly. “Badly,” he says, “did I shoot my arrow, I did not hit the mark, the path was missed.” I said that men have taken the yokes of oxen and the donkeys captive; Job is able to reason, ‘Men have wronged me, what is this to God? Shall I ascribe the injustice of men to God? Some are the wrongdoers, and another will be the one blasphemed?’ Therefore, so that he might turn his thought from men to God, he says, “Fire fell from heaven.” But Aquila and Theodotion said, “fire of God.” You cannot say that enemies cast it from above; insult the one who has done wrong, blaspheme the one who has made war; why do you serve him? why do you worship the one consuming your possessions? Do not think the blows are human, hearing of captors; God makes war on you from above, from heaven. And it is clear, so that even fire coming down from heaven devoured the sheep. See how great is the power of the devil, how he moved so many nations, whether by forming demons into enemies, you for me should understand the facility; not thinking it to be fire in reality (for he cannot create), but he thus made it appear to burn everything; or if it was indeed fire in reality, he moved this also from what exists, with God’s permission. “While he was still speaking, another messenger comes, saying to Job, ‘Your sons and your daughters were eating and drinking at their eldest brother’s house, when suddenly a great wind came from the desert and struck the four corners of the house, and the house fell upon your children, and they are dead; and I alone have escaped to tell you.’” 64.532 And he shook this down upon them, so that the body of each was no longer distinguishable for burial; and he added, “eating and drinking,” so that he might say, “in the very moment of their merriment.” For as one who brought on every trial, and stripped him of his possessions, but did not strip him of his virtue, he proceeds then to his nature, he tears off the branches from the root, he removes the fruit, so that he might grieve the one who begot them; and see the message, how it is full of irony, and tending toward sorcery, and able to break the soul of the noble man. “A great wind,” he says, “came from the desert.” And again, he slanders the judge; for wind does not obey men, but God. And he did not say, “The house fell upon those inside,” but what was able to stir up grief, “upon your children,” so that upon hearing of the children, he might come to pity, and be bent toward sympathy, and wailing might say: “Woe is me! Suddenly I, who had many children, have become childless; it were better not to have received them, than to have received them so that I might learn of what I was deprived.” For the past peace, and calm, and prosperity, the

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αὐτῷ· τῇ χειρί σου, τῇ μιαρᾷ, τῇ ἀκορέστῳ· τί φής; τίς χρεία μετὰ τὴν σὴν μαρτυρίαν, ἑτέρας βασάνου; Ἵν' ἐπιστομισθῇ, φησὶν, ὁ διάβολος, ἵνα λαμπρότερος φανῇ ὁ δίκαιος, ἵνα τοῖς μετὰ ταῦτα, καὶ ὑπομονῆς, καὶ θλίψεως φάρμακα καταλίπωμεν. «Καὶ ἦν ὡς ἡ ἡμέρα αὕτη.» Ἵνα τοίνυν ὁ συγγραφεὺς δείξῃ τὸ ὀξὺ τῆς ἐπι 64.529 βουλῆς τοῦτό φησιν· οὔπω γὰρ μεσούσης ἡμέρας ἤρξατο τοῦ πολέμου. «Καὶ ἰδοὺ ἄγγελος ἦλθε πρὸς Ἰὼβ, καὶ εἶπεν αὐτῷ.» Φόνος τῇ ἀπωλείᾳ ἀναμέμικται, ὅπερ φορτικοὺς ποιεῖ τοὺς πολεμίους φαίνεσθαι· πολλὴ ἡ ὠμότης, καὶ ἡ ἀπανθρωπία, διπλῆ ἡ συμφορὰ, φόνος, καὶ αἰχμαλωσία· καὶ ἡ σωτηρία τοῦ περιλειφθέντος, προσθήκη τῶν κακῶν. Εἶδες πόση ταχύτης τῆς πληγῆς, καινὴ καὶ ξένη ἡ συμφορά· ὁ ἐν τοσαύτῃ ἀφθονίᾳ, καὶ μηδέποτε πεῖραν λαβὼν τοιούτου τινὸς, ἐξαίφνης γέγονεν ἐν ἀφαιρέσει τῶν ὄντων πάντων· οὐ γὰρ, τὰ μὲν ἀφηρέθη, τὰ δὲ ὑπελείφθη, πρὸς παραμυθίαν τινὰ τῶν ἀπολλυμένων, ἀλλ' αὐτοὺς ὑπολείπεται μόνος, ὁ τὴν τραγῳδίαν ἀπαγγέλλων. «Ἔτι τούτου λαλοῦντος, ἦλθεν ἕτερος ἄγγελος, καὶ εἶπε πρὸς Ἰὼβ, Πῦρ ἔπεσεν ἐκ τοῦ οὐρανοῦ, καὶ κατέκαυσε τὰ πρόβατα, καὶ τοὺς ποιμένας κατέφαγεν ὁμοίως, καὶ σωθεὶς ἐγὼ μόνος, ἦλθον τοῦ ἀπαγγεῖλαί σοι.» Μετεμελήθη ὁ πονηρὸς, ὅτι κακῶς τὰ πρῶτα ἀπήγγειλε. Κακῶς, φησὶν, ἐτόξευσα, οὐ κατὰ σκοποῦ ἔβαλον, περιεπλανήθη ἡ ἄτροπος. Εἶπον, ὅτι οἱ ἄνθρωποι τὰ ζεύγη καὶ τὰς ὄνους ᾐχμαλώτευσαν, δύναται λογίσασθαι ὁ Ἰὼβ, Ἄνθρωποί με ἠδίκησαν, τί τοῦτο πρὸς τὸν Θεόν; τὴν τῶν ἀνθρώπων ἀδικίαν Θεῷ ἐπιγράψω; ἄλλοι οἱ ἀδικήσαντες, καὶ ἕτερος ἔσται ὁ βλασφημούμενος; Ἵνα οὖν μεταγάγῃ αὐτοῦ τὴν διάνοιαν ἀπὸ τῶν ἀνθρώπων εἰς Θεὸν, φησί· Πῦρ ἔπεσεν ἐκ τοῦ οὐρανοῦ. Ἀκύλας δὲ καὶ Θεοδοτίων, πῦρ, εἶπον, Θεοῦ. Μὴ δύνῃ εἰπεῖν, ὅτι Ἐχθροὶ ἔῤῥιψαν ἄνωθεν, ὕβρισον τὸν ἀδικήσαντα, βλασφήμησον τὸν πολεμήσαντα· διὰ τί λατρεύεις αὐτῷ; διὰ τί προσκυνεῖς τὸν ἀναλίσκοντά σου τὰ κτήματα; Μὴ νόμιζε ἀνθρωπίνας εἶναι τὰς πληγὰς, ἀκούσας αἰχμαλωτεύοντας· ἄνωθέν σοι πολεμεῖ, ἐκ τοῦ οὐρανοῦ, ὁ Θεός. Καὶ δῆλον, ὥστε καὶ πῦρ κατελθὸν ἐκ τοῦ οὐρανοῦ, κατέφαγε τὰ πρόβατα. Ὅρα πόση τοῦ διαβόλου ἡ δύναμις, πῶς ἔθνη τοσαῦτα ἐκίνησεν, εἴτε δαίμονας σχηματίσας εἰς πολεμίους, σύ μοι τὴν εὐκολίαν νόησον· μὴ νομίζων πῦρ εἶναι κατ' ἀλήθειαν (οὐ γὰρ δύναται δημιουργεῖν), ἀλλ' οὕτως ἔδειξε καταφλέξαι ἅπαντα· ἢ εἴπερ ἦν κατ' ἀλήθειαν πῦρ, ἐκ τοῦ ὄντος καὶ τοῦτο κεκίνηκε, Θεοῦ ἀφέντος. «Ἔτι τούτου λαλοῦντος, ἄλλος ἄγγελος ἔρχεται, λέγων τῷ Ἰώβ· Τῶν υἱῶν σου, καὶ τῶν θυγατέρων σου, ἐσθιόντων καὶ πινόντων παρὰ τῷ ἀδελφῷ αὐτῶν τῷ πρεσβυτέρῳ, ἐξαίφνης πνεῦμα μέγα ἐπῆλθεν ἐκ τῆς ἐρήμου, καὶ ἥψατο τῶν τεσσάρων γωνιῶν τῆς οἰκίας, καὶ ἔπεσεν ἡ οἰκία ἐπὶ τὰ παιδία σου, καὶ ἐτελεύτησαν· ἐσώθην δὲ ἐγὼ μόνος, καὶ ἦλθον τοῦ ἀπαγγεῖλαί σοι.» 64.532 Καὶ ταύτην αὐτοῖς ἐπικατέσειεν, ὥστε μηδὲ πρὸς ταφὴν εὐδιάκριτον εἶναι λοιπὸν ἑκάστου τὸ σῶμα· τὸ δὲ, ἐσθιόντων καὶ πινόντων, προσέθηκεν, ἵνα εἴπῃ, ἐν αὐτῷ τῷ τῆς εὐφροσύνης καιρῷ. Ὡς γὰρ πᾶσαν πεῖραν προσαγαγὼν, καὶ τῶν κτημάτων γυμνώσας, τῆς ἀρετῆς οὐκ ἐγύμνωσε, χωρεῖ λοιπὸν ἐπὶ τὴν φύσιν, ἀποσπᾷ τοὺς κλάδους ἀπὸ τῆς ῥίζης, περιαιρεῖ τὸν καρπὸν, ἵνα λυπήσῃ τὸν γεννήσαντα· καὶ βλέπε τὴν ἀγγελίαν, πῶς μεστή ἐστιν εἰρωνείας, καὶ εἰς γοητείας ῥέπουσα, καὶ κατακλᾶσαι τοῦ γενναίου τὴν ψυχὴν δυναμένη. Ἐπῆλθε, φησὶ, πνεῦμα μέγα ἐκ τῆς ἐρήμου. Καὶ πάλιν, τὸν κριτὴν διαβάλλει· πνεῦμα γὰρ οὐκ ἀνθρώποις ὑπακούει, ἀλλὰ τῷ Θεῷ. Καὶ οὐκ εἶπεν, Ἔπεσεν ἡ οἰκία ἐπὶ τοὺς ἔνδον, ἀλλ' ὅπερ ἠδύνατο πένθος ἐγεῖραι, ἐπὶ τὰ παιδία σου, ἵνα τῶν παίδων ἀκούσας, εἰς οἶκτον ἔλθῃ, καὶ καμφθῇ πρὸς συμπάθειαν, καὶ οἰμώζων ἐρεῖ· Οἴμοι! ἐξαίφνης ἄπαις ὁ πολύπαις γέγονα· βέλτιον ἦν μὴ λαβεῖν, ἢ οὕτω λαβεῖν ἵνα μάθω τίνος ἀπεστερήθην. Ἡ γὰρ παρελθοῦσα εἰρήνη, καὶ γαλήνη, καὶ εὐημερία, τὴν