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

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 Jews prepare for the Sabbath. And it was a type of the present life, in which we prepare for the one to come, which is a rest from the works done in the present. For there none of the things pursued here is accomplished. And just as the Hebrews ate some of the manna gathered on the Preparation day on that day, and some on the seventh; so also we shall enjoy some of the spiritual works gathered here, some here, and some there. He keeps the Sabbath spiritually who perseveres with God, and takes leisure from the works of life, and is occupied with spiritual things. A detailed contemplation concerning the Passover. The time of the sacred rite was appointed at the beginning of the year, and in the first month, because Christ according to his divinity is the beginning of all things, and in the beginning of all things and before all things. This was legislated while the Israelites were still slaves of the Egyptians, even if now he repeats the legislation concerning it again. For in no other way could the slaves of sin escape the tyranny of the demons, except through the participation of Christ and communion in the true lamb, who takes away the sin of the world. But the sheep is taken, not on the first day of the month, but on the tenth. For there were many ages before the foundation of the world, in which Christ existed in his divinity, just as there were many days before the tenth. But it is kept until the 14th because of the 5 periods of the ages according to us. For the first is that in which Adam was in paradise. The second is that in which Noah was. The third is that in which Abraham was. The fourth is that in which Moses and the prophets were. The fifth is that in which Christ became man. This period is also alluded to by the text, 'And in the fifth generation the sons of Israel went up out of Egypt.' For in this, freedom from the slavery of demons and the passions came to be. These five periods, I think, are also signified by the parable of the one who hired the laborers for his vineyard; who went out early in the morning, and about the third hour and the sixth and the ninth and the eleventh, at which hour Christ hired the gentiles, who were called to the work of the evangelical commandments. Therefore, as has been said, the sheep is taken from the 10th of the month, and is kept until the 14th, so that you may know that the mystery concerning Christ was guarded in the foreknowledge of the Holy Trinity, from the very foundation of the world, which was the first period. And it was fulfilled in the 5th, that is the last, and was sacrificed towards evening, while the darkness of ignorance and error was still poured out over the earth. And the moon was then on its fourteenth day, and full; so that you may understand that the devil, the ruler of darkness, had his own glory full. For the moon has been set for the rule of the night, and as if placing a certain spurious light, the wisdom of the world, in the hearts of those who are led astray, he was contriving for himself the fullest glory 77.1205; but when the true lamb died for us, that light of his began to be destroyed. For from then on the moon must cease, and its light be consumed. And this, then, was what is sung in the Psalms, 'In his days righteousness will flourish, and abundance of peace, until the moon is taken away.' For in the days of Christ both righteousness and peace flourished, and the ruler of the night was taken away. For just as he took away man, he was taken away by Christ. And each takes a sheep according to his house. For the whole Christ must dwell in each one. But those unable to receive Christ by themselves, and to understand the mystery concerning Christ through themselves, because of weakness

Ἡ δὲ ὀγδόη τὸ τοῦ ἀεὶ εὖ εἶναι τῶν 77.1204 ὄντων, ἀῤῥήτως μυστήριον ὑπαγορεύει. Παρασκευὴ λέγεται ἡ ἕκτη ἡμέρα, διότι ἐν αὐτῇ παρασκευάζονται πρὸς τὸ Σάββατον Ἰουδαῖοι. Ἦν δὲ τύπος τοῦ παρόντος βίου, ἐν ᾧ παρασκευαζόμεθα πρὸς τὸν μέλλοντα, κατάπαυσιν ὄντα τῶν ἐν τῷ παρόντι γινομένων ἔργων. Ἐκεῖ γὰρ οὐδὲν τῶν ὧδε σπουδαζομένων ἐπιτελεῖται. Καὶ καθάπερ Ἑβραῖοι τοῦ κατὰ τὴν Παρασκευὴν συναγομένου μάννα τὸ μὲν κατὰ τὴν ἡμέραν ταύτην ἤσθιον, τὸ δὲ κατὰ τὴν ἑβδόμην· οὕτω καὶ ἡμεῖς τῶν ἐνταῦθα συναγομένων πνευματικῶν ἔργων, τῶν μὲν ἐνταῦθα, τῶν δὲ ἐκεῖ ἀπολαύσομεν. Σαββατίζει δὲ πνευματικῶς ὁ προσκαρτερῶν τῷ Θεῷ, καὶ σχολὴν ἄγων ἀπὸ τῶν βιωτικῶν ἔργων, καὶ τοῖς πνευματικοῖς ἐνασχολούμενος. Περὶ τοῦ Πάσχα λεπτομερὴς θεωρία. Ἐν ἀρχῇ τοῦ ἔτους ὡρίζετο, καὶ ἐν τῷ πρώτῳ μηνὶ, τῆς ἱερουργίας ὁ καιρὸς, ὅτι ἀρχὴ πάντων, καὶ ἐν ἀρχῇ πάντων καὶ πρὸ πάντων ὁ Χριστὸς κατὰ τὴν θεότητα. ∆ούλοις δὲ οὖσιν ἔτι τοῖς Ἰσραηλίταις τῶν Αἰγυπτίων τοῦτο νενομοθέτηται, εἰ καὶ νῦν αὖθις ἐπαναλαμβάνει τὴν περὶ τούτου νομοθεσίαν. Μηδὲ γὰρ ἂν ἄλλως δύνασθαι τοὺς δούλους τῆς ἁμαρτίας διαφυγεῖν τὴν τυραννίδα τῶν δαιμόνων, εἰ μὴ διὰ τῆς τοῦ Χριστοῦ μετουσίας καὶ κοινωνίας τοῦ ἀληθινοῦ ἀμνοῦ, τοῦ αἴροντος τὴν ἁμαρτίαν τοῦ κόσμου. Λαμβάνεται δὲ τὸ πρόβατον, οὐκ ἐν τῇ πρώτῃ ἡμέρᾳ τοῦ μηνὸς, ἀλλ' ἐν τῇ δεκάτῃ. Πολλοὶ γάρ τινες αἰῶνες ἦσαν πρὸ τῆς τοῦ κόσμου καταβολῆς, καθ' οὓς ἦν ὁ Χριστὸς τῇ θεότητι, ὥσπερ καὶ πολλαὶ ἡμέραι πρὸ τῆς δεκάτης. ∆ιατηρεῖται δὲ μέχρι τῆς ιδʹ διὰ τοὺς εʹ καιροὺς τῶν καθ' ἡμᾶς αἰώνων. Πρῶτος μὲν γὰρ καθ' ὃν ἦν ἐν παραδείσῳ Ἀδάμ. ∆εύτερος δὲ καθ' ὃν ὁ Νῶε. Τρίτος δὲ καθ' ὃν ὁ Ἀβραάμ. Τέταρτος δὲ καθ' ὃν ὁ Μωσῆς καὶ οἱ προφῆται. Πέμπτος δὲ καθ' ὃν ἐνηνθρώπησεν ὁ Χριστός. Τοῦτον δὲ τὸν καιρὸν αἰνίττεται καὶ τὸ, Πέμπτῃ δὲ γενεᾷ ἀνέβησαν οἱ υἱοὶ Ἰσραὴλ ἐξ Αἰγύπτου. Ἐν τούτῳ γὰρ ἡ ἐλευθερία τῆς δουλίας τῶν δαιμόνων καὶ τῶν παθῶν γέγονε. Τούτους, οἶμαι, τοὺς εʹ καιροὺς ὑποσημαίνει καὶ ἡ παραβολὴ τοῦ μισθωσαμένου τοὺς ἐργάτας εἰς τὸν ἀμπελῶνα αὐτοῦ· ὃς ἐξῆλθεν ἅμα πρωῒ, καὶ περὶ τρίτην ὥραν καὶ ἕκτην καὶ ἐννάτην καὶ ἑνδεκάτην, καθ' ἣν ἐμισθώσατο τὰ ἔθνη Χριστὸς κεκλημένα πρὸς ἐργασίαν τῶν εὐαγγελικῶν ἐντολῶν. Λαμβάνεται μὲν οὖν, ὡς εἴρηται, τὸ πρόβατον ἀπὸ ιʹ τοῦ μηνὸς, καὶ διατηρεῖται μέχρι ιδʹ, ἵνα γνῷς ὅτι ἐφυλάττετο μὲν τὸ κατὰ Χριστὸν μυστήριον ἐν προγνώσει τῆς ἁγίας Τριάδος, ἐξ αὐτῆς ἄρα τῆς τοῦ κόσμου καταβολῆς, ὃς ἦν ὁ πρῶτος καιρός. Ἐτελέσθη δὲ κατὰ τὸν εʹ, ἤτοι τὸν τελευταῖον, καὶ ἐτύθη πρὸς ἑσπέραν, ἔτι τοῦ σκότους τῆς ἀγνοίας καὶ πλάνης κατακεχυμένου τῆς γῆς. Ἦν δὲ ἡ σελήνη τέσσαρες καὶ δεκάτη τηνικαῦτα, καὶ πληροφαής· ἵνα νοήσῃς ὡς τοῦ σκότους ἄρχων διάβολος πλήρη τὴν οἰκείαν εἶχε δόξαν. Σελήνη γὰρ εἰς ἀρχὴν τέθειται τῆς νυκτὸς, καὶ ὥσπερ τι νόθον φῶς τὴν τοῦ κόσμου σοφίαν ταῖς τῶν πλανωμένων καρδίαις ἐντιθεὶς, πληρεστάτην ἑαυτῷ τὴν δόξαν 77.1205 ἐπραγματεύετο· ἀποθανόντος δὲ τοῦ ἀληθινοῦ ἀμνοῦ δι' ἡμᾶς, ἤρξατο καταλύεσθαι τὸ τοιοῦτον ἐκείνου φῶς. Ἀπολήγειν γὰρ ἐκ τότε τὴν σελήνην ἀνάγκη, καὶ δαπανᾶσθαι τὸ ταύτης φῶς. Καὶ τοῦτο ἦν ἄρα τὸ ἐν Ψαλμοῖς ᾀδόμενον, Ἀνατελεῖ ἐν ταῖς ἡμέραις αὐτοῦ δικαιοσύνη, καὶ πλῆθος εἰρήνης, ἕως οὗ ἀνταναιρεθῇ ἡ σελήνη. Ἀνέτειλε γὰρ ἐν ταῖς ἡμέραις Χριστοῦ δικαιοσύνη τε καὶ εἰρήνη, καὶ ὁ τῆς νυκτὸς ἄρχων ἀντανῃρέθη. Ὡς γὰρ ἀνελὼν τὸν ἄνθρωπον, ἀντανῃρέθη παρὰ Χριστοῦ. Λαμβάνεται δὲ ἑκάστον πρόβατον κατ' οἰκίας. ∆εῖ γὰρ ἑκάστῳ τὸν Χριστὸν ὅλον ἐνοικίζεσθαι. Οἱ δὲ μὴ δυνάμενοι καθ' ἑαυτοὺς τὸν Χριστὸν λαμβάνειν, καὶ δι' ἑαυτῶν συνιέναι τὸ κατὰ Χριστὸν μυστήριον, δι' ἀσθένειαν