Origen of Alexandria, Selections on Genesis

with flocks of sheep and herds of goats, but also let us not devour the rich ones of the flock. But since his gods were not found, he makes a covenant with the divine Jacob; and the world, when it cast off the falsely-named gods, became a friend of Christ. And Jacob said to his brethren; Gather stones; and they gathered stones. And in 12.128 Ecclesiastes it is written; A time to cast away stones, and a time to gather stones together. And they are gathered at the command of Jacob, who was a type of Christ, so that the building may be completed upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Christ our Lord himself being the chief cornerstone, from living stones, when it becomes a spiritual house, a holy priesthood. And Laban turned and went away to his own place. For the worthless man, his place is near on account of his wickedness; but for the one journeying by way of progress, since the place is far off, the labor is not small. And the angels of God met him. The Lord says: I am the way. Therefore, for the one travelling this way, the angels of God meet him. And he commanded them, saying: Thus shall you say to my lord Esau: Thus says your servant Jacob: I have sojourned with Laban. Out of respect, he unhypocritically calls his elder brother his lord. But a soft answer also turns away wrath. And as a man, he was afraid, but trusting in God, he did not flee, but came. And he crossed the ford of Jabbok. Jabbok is a river of Arabia, now called Iambikes. And Jacob was left alone, and a man wrestled with him, and so forth. And who else could be the one called man and at the same time God, wrestling with and striving with Jacob, than the one who in many and various ways spoke to the fathers, the sacred Word of God, being called Lord and God, who also, having blessed Jacob, named him Israel, saying, because you have had power with God? So also did the men of that time see the Word of God, as did the apostles of our Lord who said: That which was from the beginning, which we have seen with our eyes, and which we have looked upon, and our hands have handled, concerning the Word of life; which Word, and life, Jacob also having seen, adds, saying: For I have seen God face to face. And Jacob loved Joseph more than all his sons, because he was the son of his old age. And he made for him a coat of many colors. A coat of many colors is an excellent state adorned with virtues. But when his brothers saw that their father loved him more than all his sons, they hated him, and could not speak anything peaceable to him. He who hates is unable to speak anything peaceable to the one who is hated. Let us therefore put away hatred, so that we may be able to speak peaceable things. 12.129 And the Midianites sold Joseph into Egypt to Potiphar, Pharaoh’s eunuch, the chief cook. Potiphar is called Phutiphar by Aquila and Symmachus in this place, but in another, Phutiphare. And the interpretation of the present name is connected to the word; but the exposition of the other will appear in what follows. But Onan, knowing that the seed would not be his, it happened when he went in to his brother's wife, he spilled it on the ground. Everyone who sows to the flesh, and treasures up the works of the flesh in the earth, is like Onan; for this reason he is also put to death by God. And the Lord was with Joseph; and he was a successful man. As one shooting at a mark, he directed his own reason, and always succeeded. And Scripture has used this in many places. And the Lord blessed the Egyptian's house for Joseph's sake. Because of the holy man being in the Egyptian's house, the house is blessed, and his possessions, and the Egyptian's field. But this is not a spiritual blessing. And it came to pass after these things, the chief cupbearer of the king of Egypt sinned, and the chief baker, against their lord the king of Egypt. I think that the analogy to: I sinned against the king of Egypt, might be said concerning the martyrs, that they sin against the spiritual king of Egypt, but not against God. For they seem to sin against the law of the world, which is contrary to the law of God. For indeed I was stolen away out of the land of the Hebrews, and here also not

ποιμνίοις καὶ αἰ πολίοις, ἀλλὰ καὶ τοὺς πλουσίους τῆς ποίμνης μὴ κατ εσθίωμεν. Ἐπεὶ δὲ οὐχ εὕρηνται οἱ αὐτοῦ θεοὶ, συμ βάσεις ποιεῖται μετὰ τοῦ θεσπεσίου Ἰακώβ· καὶ ὁ κόσμος, ἡνίκα τοὺς ψευδωνύμους ἀπεβάλετο θεοὺς, φίλος γέγονε τοῦ Χριστοῦ. Εἶπε δὲ Ἰακὼβ τοῖς ἀδελφοῖς αὐτοῦ· Συλλέγετε λίθους· καὶ συνέλεξαν λίθους. Καὶ ἐν τῷ 12.128 Ἐκκλησιαστῇ γέγραπται· Καιρὸς τοῦ βαλεῖν λί θους, καὶ καιρὸς τοῦ συναγαγεῖν λίθους. Συνά γονται δὲ κατὰ πρόσταξιν Ἰακὼβ, ὃς τύπος ἦν Χρι στοῦ, ἵνα ἡ οἰκοδομὴ πληρωθῇ ἐπὶ τῷ θεμελίῳ τῶν ἀποστόλων καὶ προφητῶν, ὄντος ἀκρογωνιαίου αὐ τοῦ Χριστοῦ τοῦ Κυρίου ἡμῶν, ἐκ λίθων ζώντων, ὅτε γίνεται οἶκος πνευματικὸς, ἱεράτευμα ἅγιον. Καὶ ἀποστραφεὶς Λάβαν ἀπῆλθεν εἰς τὸν τόπον αὐτοῦ. Τοῦ μὲν φαύλου διὰ τὴν κακίαν ἐγγὺς ὁ τόπος· τοῦ δὲ διὰ προκοπῆς ὁδεύοντος, ἐπεὶ μακράν ἐστιν ὁ τόπος, οὐ μικρὸς ὁ κόπος. Καὶ συνήντησαν αὐτῷ οἱ ἄγγελοι τοῦ Θεοῦ. Ὁ Κύριός φησιν· Ἐγώ εἰμι ἡ ὁδός. Τῷ οὖν τὴν ὁδὸν ταύτην πορευομένῳ συναντῶσιν ἄγγελοι τοῦ Θεοῦ. Καὶ ἐνετείλατο αὐτοῖς λέγων· Οὕτως ἐρεῖτε τῷ κυρίῳ μου Ἠσαῦ· Οὕτως λέγει ὁ παῖς σου Ἰακώβ· Μετὰ Λάβαν παρῴκησα. Κατὰ τιμὴν τὸν πρε σβύτερον ἀδελφὸν ἀνυποκρίτως κύριον αὑτοῦ κα λεῖ. Πλὴν καὶ ἀπόκρισις ὑποπίπτουσα ἀπο στρέφει θυμόν. Καὶ ὡς ἄνθρωπος μὲν ἐφοβή θη, τῷ Θεῷ δὲ πιστεύσας, οὐκ ἔφυγεν, ἀλλ' ἤρ χετο. Καὶ διέβη τὴν διάβασιν τοῦ Ἰαβώκ. Ἰαβὼκ πόταμός ἐστι τῆς Ἀραβίας, ὁ νῦν καλούμενος Ἰαμβίκης. Ὑπελείφθη δὲ Ἰακὼβ μόνος, καὶ ἐπάλαιε μετ' αὐτοῦ ἄνθρωπος, καὶ τὰ ἑξῆς. Τίς δ' ἂν ἄλλος εἴη ὁ λεγόμενος ἄνθρωπος ὁμοῦ καὶ Θεὸς, συμπαλαίων καὶ συναγωνιζόμενος τῷ Ἰακὼβ, ἢ ὁ πολυμερῶς καὶ πολυτρόπως λαλήσας τοῖς πατράσιν ἱερὸς τοῦ Θεοῦ Λόγος, Κύριος καὶ Θεὸς χρηματίζων, ὃς καὶ εὐλο γήσας τὸν Ἰακὼβ, Ἰσραὴλ αὐτὸν ὠνόμασεν, ἐπειπὼν, ὅτι ἐνίσχυσας μετὰ Θεοῦ; οὕτω δὲ ἑώρων οἱ τότε ἄνδρες τὸν τοῦ Θεοῦ Λόγον, ὡς καὶ οἱ φήσαντες τοῦ Κυρίου ἡμῶν ἀπόστολοι· Ὃ ἦν ἀπ' ἀρχῆς, ἑωράκα- μεν τοῖς ὀφθαλμοῖς ἡμῶν, καὶ ἐθεασάμεθα, καὶ αἱ χεῖρες ἡμῶν ἐψηλάφησαν περὶ τοῦ Λόγου τῆς ζωῆς· ὃν Λόγον, καὶ ζωὴν θεασάμενος καὶ ὁ Ἰακὼβ, ἐπι φέρει λέγων· Εἶδον γὰρ Θεὸν πρόσωπον πρὸς πρόσωπον. Ἰακὼβ δὲ ἠγάπα τὸν Ἰωσὴφ παρὰ πάντας τοὺς υἱοὺς αὐτοῦ, ὅτι υἱὸς γήρως ἦν αὐτῷ. Ἐποίησε δὲ αὐτῷ χιτῶνα ποικίλον. Χιτὼν ποικίλος ἐστὶν ἕξις ἀρίστη ταῖς ἀρεταῖς κεκοσμημένη. Ἰδόντες δὲ οἱ ἀδελφοὶ αὐτοῦ, ὅτι αὐτὸν ὁ πα τὴρ φιλεῖ ἐκ πάντων τῶν υἱῶν αὐτοῦ, ἐμίσησαν αὐτὸν, καὶ οὐκ ἠδύναντο λαλεῖν αὐτῷ οὐδὲν εἰρηνικόν. Ὁ μισῶν ἀδυνάτως ἔχει πρὸς τὸ εἰρηνικόν τι λαλεῖν τῷ μισουμένῳ. Ἀποθώμεθα οὖν τὸ μῖσος, ἵνα λαλεῖν εἰρηνικὰ δυνηθῶμεν. 12.129 Οἱ δὲ Μαδιηναῖοι ἀπέδοντο τὸν Ἰωσὴφ εἰς Αἴ γυπτον τῷ Πετεφρῇ τῷ σπάδοντι Φαραὼ ἀρχιμα γείρῳ. Πετεφρῆς παρὰ Ἀκύλᾳ καὶ Συμμάχῳ Φουτιφὰρ εἴρηται ἐν τούτῳ τῷ τόπῳ, ἐν δὲ ἑτέρῳ Φουτιφαρέ. Καὶ ἡ μὲν τοῦ παρόντος ὀνόματος ἑρμη νεία παράκειται τῇ λέξει· ἡ δὲ ἔκθεσις τοῦ ἑτέ ρου ἐν τοῖς ἑξῆς φανεῖται. Γνοὺς δὲ Αὐνᾶν, ὅτι οὐκ αὐτῷ ἔσται τὸ σπέρμα, ἐγένετο ὅταν εἰσήρχετο πρὸς τὴν γυναῖκα τοῦ ἀδελφοῦ αὐτοῦ, ἐξέχεεν ἐπὶ τὴν γῆν. Πᾶς ὁ σπεί ρων ἐπὶ τὴν σάρκα, καὶ τὰ ἔργα τῆς σαρκὸς ἐν τῇ γῇ θησαυρίζων, ὅμοιος τῷ Αὐνᾶν· διὸ καὶ θανα τοῦται ὑπὸ Θεοῦ. Καὶ ἦν Κύριος μετὰ Ἰωσήφ· καὶ ἦν ἀνὴρ ἐπιτυγ χάνων. Ὡς ἐπὶ σκοπὸν βάλλων, ἔτεινε τὸ ἡγε μονικὸν ἑαυτοῦ, καὶ ἀεὶ ἐπετύγχανε. Πολλαχοῦ δὲ κέ χρηται τούτῳ ἡ Γραφή. Καὶ εὐλόγησε Κύριος τὸν οἶκον τοῦ Αἰγυπτίου διὰ Ἰωσήφ. ∆ιὰ τὸν ἅγιον ἐν οἴκῳ ὄντα Αἰ γυπτίου εὐλογεῖται ὁ οἶκος, καὶ τὰ ὑπάρχοντα, καὶ ὁ ἀγρὸς τοῦ Αἰγυπτίου. Αὕτη δὲ οὐ πνευματικὴ εὐ λογία. Ἐγένετο δὲ μετὰ ῥήματα ταῦτα, ἥμαρτεν ὁ ἀρ χιοινοχόος τοῦ βασιλέως Αἰγύπτου, καὶ ὁ ἀρχισι τοποιὸς τῷ κυρίῳ αὐτῶν βασιλεῖ Αἰγύπτου. Νο μίζω ὅτι τὸ ἀνάλογον τῷ· Ἥμαρτον βασιλεῖ Αἰγύπτου, λέγοιτ' ἂν περὶ τῶν μαρτύρων, ὅτι τῷ νοητῷ βασιλεῖ τῆς Αἰγύπτου οὗτοι ἁμαρτάνουσιν, ἀλλ' οὐ τῷ Θεῷ. Εἰς γὰρ τὸν τοῦ κόσμου νόμον δοκοῦσιν ἁμαρτάνειν, ἐναντίον ὄντα τῷ νόμῳ τοῦ Θεοῦ. Ὅτι κλοπῇ ἐκλάπην ἐκ γῆς Ἑβραίων, καὶ ὧδε οὐκ