John Chrysostom, On Isaiah

When David was about to compose the seventy-first psalm, he inscribed it to Solomon, and as he proceeded, he sang of things far greater than the dignity of Solomon, or rather, even of the nature of all men. For, “His name remains before the sun” and “His throne before the moon” and all such things, no one, not even the most foolish, would say are spoken of human nature. And Jacob, when he proclaimed beforehand these things that Isaiah is now about to say, and more than these; for along with the calling of the nations he also spoke of the death and the resurrection and the time in which he was to be present; neither did he set them down stripped bare, but having hidden what he was about to say under the mask of his son's name, he thus proclaimed them beforehand, seeming to foretell the things that would happen to Judah; but as the outcome of the events testifies, proclaiming beforehand what <Christ> was to accomplish. For Judah did not become the expectation of the nations, nor did the tribe shine then, when their polity ceased; but all these things happened when Christ came. But if the Jews should shamelessly misrepresent this law of prophecy, they could indeed easily be refuted from the very things spoken, if one, unfolding the prophecies with accuracy and examining every saying with fitting attention, would fit what was said to what has happened. But so as to shut their mouths even out of abundance, I will try to make this clear, not from the things spoken concerning Christ, but from the things prophesied concerning their own patriarchs, showing that many of the prophecies are spoken concerning the patriarchs, but were fulfilled in their descendants. And for the sake of an example, after telling one or two stories, I will take up the matters at hand. For when Jacob, calling Simeon and Levi, proclaims beforehand what would happen to them, he spoke thus: “Simeon and Levi are brothers,” and having accused them of their lawlessness and the unjust slaughter of the Shechemites, he goes on to say: “I will divide them in Jacob, and scatter them in Israel.” This no one would see as having happened to Levi and Simeon, but to the tribes from them. For the tribe of Levi was scattered, each tribe having a tenth part of it; and that of Simeon, which suffered almost the same thing, was spread among them all according to the allotment and did not, like each of the others, receive its inheritance joined together and consolidated unto itself. And Jacob, having received blessings from his father, enjoyed none of them himself. For his father foretold great prosperity and perpetual dominion over Esau; but he was in want even of necessities and was supported by serving, and was so far from ruling over his brother, that indeed he was in danger of the most extreme things and having met him only once with great fear, was content to be able to escape him and be saved. What then shall we say to these things? That the prophecy is a lie? By no means. But that such is often its custom, to speak of things that will be fulfilled in others under the persons of others, and to use some names for others; which also happened in the case of Canaan. For we do not see him having served his brothers, nor indeed did the curse fail, but it received its fulfillment in the Gibeonites, who were descended from Canaan. For what was said was a prophecy in the form of a curse.

2.2 Since, therefore, there are so many and such examples that show us that many of the things spoken are said of some, but are fulfilled in others, and that the prophets have used names, what is surprising if now also the prophet, putting forward the name of Judea and Jerusalem, proclaims beforehand concerning the Church? For since his discourse was to ungrateful people who were killing prophets, burning the books, and tearing down the altars, rightly the veil lay upon the reading of the Old Testament, according to the blessed

τὸν ψαλμὸν τὸν ἑβδομηκοστὸν πρῶτον ὁ ∆αυῒδ συντιθέναι μέλλων ἐπέγραψεν αὐτὸν τῷ Σολομῶντι, καὶ προϊὼν πολλῷ μείζονα τῆς Σολομῶντος ἀξίας, μᾶλλον δὲ καὶ τῆς ἁπάντων ἀνθρώπων φύσεως ᾖδεν. Τὸ γάρ, Πρὸ τοῦ ἡλίου διαμένει τὸ ὄνομα αὐτοῦ καὶ Πρὸ τῆς σελήνης ὁ θρόνος αὐτοῦ καὶ ὅσα τοιαῦτα, οὐδεὶς ἂν οὐδὲ τῶν σφόδρα ἀνοήτων περὶ ἀνθρωπίνης εἴποι λέγεσθαι φύσεως. Καὶ ὁ Ἰακὼβ δέ, ἡνίκα ταῦτα, ἃ μέλλει νῦν ὁ Ἡσαΐας λέγειν, καὶ πλείονα τούτων προανεφώνει· μετὰ γὰρ τῆς τῶν ἐθνῶν κλήσεως καὶ τὸν θάνατον εἶπε καὶ τὴν ἀνάστασιν καὶ τὸν καιρὸν καθ' ὃν ἔμελλε παρέσεσθαι· οὐδὲ ἐκεῖνος ἀπογυμνώσας αὐτὰ τέθεικεν, ἀλλὰ τῷ προσωπείῳ τῆς προσηγορίας τοῦ υἱοῦ κρύψας ἅπερ ἔμελλεν ἐρεῖν, οὕτως αὐτὰ προανεφώνησε, τῷ μὲν δοκεῖν τὰ συμβησόμενα τῷ Ἰούδᾳ προλέγων· καθὼς δὲ τὸ τῶν πραγμάτων μαρτυρεῖ τέλος, ἅπερ ἔμελλε κατορθοῦν <ὁ Χριστὸς> προαναφωνῶν. Οὔτε γὰρ προσδοκία ἐθνῶν Ἰούδας γέγονεν, οὔτε τότε ἔλαμψεν ἡ φυλή, ὅτε ἐξέλιπεν αὐτῶν ἡ πολιτεία· ἀλλὰ ἅπαντα ταῦτα, ὅτε ὁ Χριστὸς παρεγένετο, γέγονεν. Εἰ δὲ ἀναισχυντοῖεν Ἰουδαῖοι τοῦτον παρακρουόμενοι τῆς προφητείας τὸν νόμον, μάλιστα μὲν ἂν καὶ ἐξ αὐτῶν τῶν εἰρημένων ῥᾳδίως διελεγχθεῖεν, εἴ τις μετὰ ἀκριβείας τὰς προφητείας ἐξαπλώσας καὶ πᾶσαν ῥῆσιν μετὰ τῆς προσηκούσης ἐξετάζων προσοχῆς, ἁρμόζοι τὰ εἰρημένα τοῖς γεγενημένοις. Ὥστε δὲ καὶ ἐκ περιουσίας αὐτῶν ἀπορράψαι τὰ στόματα, οὐκ ἀπὸ τῶν εἰς τὸν Χριστὸν εἰρημένων, ἀλλ' ἀπὸ τῶν εἰς τοὺς αὐτῶν πατριάρχας προφητευθέντων, τοῦτο πειράσομαι ποιῆσαι φανε ρόν, δεικνὺς ὅτι αἱ πολλαὶ τῶν προφητειῶν εἴρηνται μὲν εἰς τοὺς φυλάρχους, ἐξέβησαν δὲ εἰς τοὺς ἐξ ἐκείνων. Καὶ παραδείγματος ἕνεκεν μίαν καὶ δευτέραν εἰπὼν ἱστορίαν, ἅψομαι τῶν προκειμένων. Καὶ γὰρ ὅτε τὸν Συμεὼν καὶ τὸν Λευῒ καλέσας ὁ Ἰακὼβ προαναφωνεῖ τὰ συμβησόμενα αὐτοῖς, οὕτως ἔλεγε· Συμεὼν καὶ Λευῒ ἀδελφοί, καὶ κατηγορήσας αὐτῶν τῆς παρανομίας καὶ τῆς ἀδίκου σφαγῆς τῆς εἰς τοὺς Σικημίτας γεγενημένης, προϊών φησι· ∆ιαμεριῶ αὐτοὺς ἐν Ἰακώβ, καὶ διασπερῶ αὐτοὺς ἐν Ἰσραήλ. Τοῦτο δὲ ἐπὶ τοῦ Λευῒ καὶ τοῦ Συμεὼν οὐδεὶς ἂν ἴδοι γεγενημένον, ἀλλ' ἐπὶ τῶν φυλῶν τῶν ἐξ αὐτῶν. Καὶ γὰρ ἡ τοῦ Λευῒ φυλὴ διεσπάρη, τὸ δέκατον μέρος αὐτῆς ἑκάστης φυλῆς ἐχούσης· ἥ τε τοῦ Συμεών, ἥτις τὸ αὐτὸ τοῦτο σχεδὸν ἔπαθε, πάσαις αὐταῖς παρεκταθεῖσα κατὰ τὸν κλῆρον καὶ οὐχ, ὡς ἑκάστη τῶν ἄλλων, συνημμένην ἔλαβε τὴν κληρουχίαν καὶ πρὸς ἑαυτὴν συγκεκροτημένην. Καὶ ὁ Ἰακὼβ δεξάμενος εὐλογίας παρὰ τοῦ πατρός, οὐδεμιᾶς αὐτῶν ἀπήλαυσεν αὐτός. Ὁ μὲν γὰρ πατὴρ αὐτοῦ προὔλεγεν εὐετηρίαν πολλὴν καὶ διηνεκῆ δεσποτείαν τοῦ Ἠσαῦ· οὗτος δὲ καὶ τῶν ἀναγκαίων ἠπόρει καὶ θητεύων ἐτρέφετο καὶ τοσοῦτον ἀπέσχε κρατῆσαι τἀδελφοῦ, ὅτι δὴ καὶ περὶ αὐτῶν ἐκινδύνευε τῶν ἐσχάτων καὶ ἅπαξ αὐτῷ συντυχὼν μόνον μετὰ πολλοῦ τοῦ δέους, ἠγάπησε τὸ δυνηθῆναι διαφυγὼν αὐτὸν καὶ σωθῆναι. Τί οὖν ἂν εἴποιμεν πρὸς ταῦτα; ὅτι ψεῦδος ἡ προφητεία; Ἄπαγε· ἀλλ' ὅτι τοιοῦτον αὐτῆς πολλαχοῦ τὸ ἔθος, τὰ ἐφ' ἑτέρων ἐκβησόμενα ἑτέρων ὑποκειμένων προσώπων λέγειν καὶ ἀποκεχρῆσθαι ὀνόμασιν ἄλλοις ἀνθ' ἑτέρων· ὃ καὶ ἐπὶ τοῦ Χαναὰν γέγονεν. Οὐδὲ γὰρ ὁρῶμεν ἐκεῖνον δουλεύσαντα τοῖς ἀδελφοῖς, οὐ μὴν οὐδὲ τὴν ἀρὰν διαπεσοῦσαν, ἀλλ' ἐπὶ τῶν Γαβαιονιτῶν λαβοῦσαν τὸ τέλος τῶν ἐκ τοῦ Χαναὰν γεγονότων. Καὶ γὰρ ἐν τάξει ἀρᾶς προφητεία τὸ λεγόμενον ἦν.

2.2 Τοσούτων τοίνυν καὶ τοιούτων ὄντων παραδειγμάτων τῶν ἀποδεικνύντων ἡμῖν, ὅτι πολλὰ τῶν εἰρημένων λέγεται μὲν ἐφ' ἑτέρων, ἐκβαίνει δὲ ἐπ' ἄλλων καὶ ὀνόμασιν ἀποκέχρηνται οἱ προφῆται, τί θαυμαστὸν εἰ καὶ νῦν τὸ τῆς Ἰουδαίας καὶ τῆς Ἱερουσαλὴμ προθεὶς ὄνομα ὁ προφήτης περὶ τῆς Ἐκκλησίας προαναφωνεῖ; Καὶ γὰρ ἐπειδὴ πρὸς ἀγνώμονας ὁ λόγος ἦν αὐτῷ προφήτας ἀναιροῦντας, τὰ βιβλία καίοντας, τὰ θυσιαστήρια κατασκάπτοντας, εἰκότως τὸ κάλυμμα ἔκειτο ἐπὶ τῇ ἀναγνώσει τῆς παλαιᾶς ∆ιαθήκης, κατὰ τὸν μακάριον