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1. And how could the divine Apostle, foreseeing in the Spirit the calling of the foreign nations that would happen through his own Gospel, not mention the foreign woman? For Ruth was a foreigner 22.917 and from the foreigners forbidden by Moses, the Moabites; "For Moabites," he says, "and Ammonites shall not enter the assembly of the Lord until the third and fourth generation, and forever;" but nevertheless, having become beloved of God and superior to the law, she entered into the assembly of the Lord; since the law speaks to those under the law; "But law is not laid down for a righteous person, but for the lawless and disobedient, for the ungodly and sinners." But Ruth was not such, even if she was a foreigner by race, but having transgressed the ordinance of the law, she both entered into the assembly of the Lord, and was counted among the Israelite race, and was deemed worthy to be taken up among the ancestors of our Savior, on account of the nobility of her character, but not on account of the nobility of her body; and for all of us foreigners from the nations she has become a very great example, that indeed by doing similar things to her, we shall obtain equal things from God.

2. Fittingly, therefore, as he was about to proclaim the good news of the calling and adoption of foreigners, he placed her in the genealogy; practically instructing us foreigners from the nations through her, that indeed having left behind our ancestral customs, fittingly also the consequences will be fulfilled for us; for we shall no longer be counted among foreigners, nor shall we be called foreigners, but of the true Israel and of the people of God's inheritance; And again he necessarily mentioned Ruth, having taught through her story the causes which were the things that annulled the prohibition of the law which said, "Moabites shall not enter the assembly of the Lord." For the Moabitess became as Rachel and as Leah, who both built the house of Israel; And how was the mention of Ruth not useful to the genealogy of our Savior Jesus Christ, concerning whom it was said "and to do mighty things in Ephrathah, and to be famous in Bethlehem?" For one might fittingly say that these are clearly prophecies, seeing the name from Bethlehem of Jesus Christ, who is genealogized by Matthew, renowned among every race of men, and the power that was in Ephrathah; through which power all the nations, recognizing the Christ of God genealogized from Ruth, through him departed from their ancestral customs, similarly to Ruth, and gave themselves to the God of Israel, again similarly to her; for which reasons it seems to me that the inclusion of Ruth has not been irrationally received into the genealogy of Matthew.

10. Why the evangelist calls Jehoiakim Jechoniah.

1. This man had two names; but since according to the prophet Jeremiah he is famously called Jechoniah, through which he says, "Jechoniah was dishonored like a vessel for which there is no use; because he and his seed were cast out; O earth, earth, hear the word of the Lord; write this man down as an outcast, for no man of his seed shall rise up to sit upon the throne of David, still ruling in Judah;" and since on account of these things it happened that the aforementioned man underwent the 22.920 captivity to Babylon along with the people, fittingly the wonderful evangelist, while describing the generation of the Redeemer and Savior of all, also mentioned this one who was dishonored, who was cast out along with his seed into the land of the Babylonians, who became an outcast, a captive; teaching that the one sent by the Father to proclaim release to the captives, this was Jesus Christ, whose book he is writing, to whom the oracle speaking in the prophet refers: "The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he has anointed me, he has sent me to bring good news to the poor, to proclaim release to the captives;" concerning whom also in another place the

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αʹ. Καὶ πῶς οὐκ ἔμελλεν ὁ θεῖος Ἀπόστολος, τὴν τῶν ἀλλοφύλων ἐθνῶν κλῆσιν τῷ πνεύματι προθεωρῶν διὰ τοῦ οἰκείου Εὐαγγελίου γενησομένην, τῆς ἀλλοφύλου μνημονεύειν; ἀλλόφυλος γὰρ ἡ Ῥοὺθ καὶ 22.917 ἐξ ἀλλοφύλων τῶν ἀπηγορευμένων παρὰ Μωϋσεῖ Μωαβιτῶν· «Μωαβῖται γὰρ, φησὶ, καὶ Ἀμμανῖται οὐκ εἰσελεύσονται εἰς Ἐκκλησίαν Κυρίου ἕως τρίτης καὶ τετάρτης γενεᾶς, καὶ ἕως εἰς τὸν αἰῶνα·» πλὴν ἀλλὰ καὶ κρεῖττον τοῦ νόμου γενομένη θεοφιλὴς, εἰσῆλθεν εἰς Ἐκκλησίαν Κυρίου· ἐπείπερ ὁ νόμος τοῖς ἐν τῷ νόμῳ λαλεῖ· «∆ικαίῳ δὲ νόμος οὐ κεῖται, ἀλλ' ἀνόμοις καὶ ἀνυποτάκτοις, ἀσεβέσι καὶ ἁμαρτωλοῖς.» Ἡ δὲ Ῥοὺθ οὐ τοιαύτη, εἰ καὶ τὸ γένος ἀλλόφυλος ἦν, ὑπερβᾶσα δὲ τὸν διορισμὸν τοῦ νόμου, καὶ εἰσελήλυθεν εἰς τὴν Ἐκκλησίαν Κυρίου, καὶ τοῦ γένους ἐχρημάτισε τοῦ Ἰσραηλιτικοῦ, καὶ ἐν προγόνοις ἀναληφθῆναι τοῦ Σωτῆρος ἡμῶν κατηξιώθη, διὰ τὴν τῶν τρόπων, ἀλλ' οὐ διὰ τὴν τοῦ σώματος εὐγένειαν· πᾶσί τε ἡμῖν τοῖς ἐξ ἐθνῶν ἀλλοφύλοις μέγιστον ὑπόδειγμα κατέστη, ὅτι δὴ ὅμοια πράξαντες αὐτῇ, τῶν ἴσων παρὰ τῷ Θεῷ τευξόμεθα.

βʹ. Εἰκότως οὖν τὴν τῶν ἀλλοφύλων κλῆσίν τε καὶ εἰσποίησιν μέλλων εὐαγγελίζεσθαι, τῇ γενεαλογίᾳ αὐτὴν τέθεικεν· ἡμᾶς τοὺς ἐξ ἐθνῶν ἀλλοφύλους μονονουχὶ παιδεύων δι' αὐτῆς, ὅτι δὴ τὰ πάτρια καταλιπόντες, εἰκότως καὶ τὰ ἀκόλουθα εἰς ἡμᾶς πληρωθήσεται· οὐκέτι γὰρ ἐν ἀλλοφύλοις καταλεγησόμεθα, οὐδ' ἐξ ἀλλοφύλων χρηματίσομεν, ἀλλ' ἐκ τοῦ ἀληθινοῦ Ἰσραὴλ καὶ τοῦ λαοῦ τοῦ κλήρου τοῦ Θεοῦ· ἀναγκαίως δὲ αὖ πάλιν ἐμνήσθη τῆς Ῥοὺθ, τὰ αἴτια διὰ τῆς κατ' αὐτὸν ἱστορίας διδάξας τίνα ἦν τὰ λύσαντα τὴν ἀπαγόρευσιν τοῦ νόμου τὴν φήσασαν, «Μωαβῖται οὐκ εἰσελεύσονται εἰς Ἐκκλησίαν Κυρίου.» Γέγονε γὰρ ἡ Μωαβῖτις ὡς Ῥαχὴλ καὶ ὡς Λεία, αἳ ᾠκοδόμησαν ἀμφότεραι τὸν οἶκον Ἰσραήλ· πῶς δὲ οὐχὶ χρήσιμος ἦν τῇ τοῦ Σωτῆρος ἡμῶν Ἰησοῦ Χριστοῦ γενεαλογίᾳ ἡ μνήμη τῆς Ῥοὺθ, ἐφ' ἣν εἴρηται «καὶ τὸ ποιῆσαι δύναμιν ἐν Ἐφραθᾷ, ἔσται ὄνομα ἐν Βηθλεέμ;» προφητείας γὰρ ἄντικρυς ταύτας εἰκότως ἄν τις φαίη τυγχάνειν, τὸ ἐκ Βηθλεὲμ ὄνομα τὸ παρὰ τῷ Ματθαίῳ γενεαλογουμένῳ Ἰησοῦ Χριστῷ ἐξάκουστον εἰς πᾶν γένος ἀνθρώπων θεωρῶν, καὶ τὴν ἐν Ἐφραθᾷ γενομένην δύναμιν· δι' ἧς δυνάμεως πάντα τὰ ἔθνη τὸν ἐκ τῆς Ῥοὺθ γενεαλογούμενον Χριστὸν τοῦ Θεοῦ ἐπιγνόντα, δι' αὐτοῦ τῆς μὲν πατρῴας ἀπέστη, τῆς Ῥοὺθ παραπλησίως, τῷ δὲ Θεῷ τοῦ Ἰσραὴλ ἑαυτὰ ἐπιδέδωκεν, ὁμοίως αὐτῇ πάλιν· ὧν ἕνεκά μοι δοκεῖ οὐκ ἀσυλλόγιστος ἡ παράθεσις τῆς Ῥοὺθ ἐν τῇ τοῦ Ματθαίου παρειλῆφθαι γενεαλογίᾳ.

Ιʹ. ∆ιὰ τί τὸν Ἰωακεὶμ Ἰεχονίαν ὀνομάζει ὁ εὐαγγελιστής.

αʹ. ∆ιώνυμος οὗτος ἦν· ἀλλ' ἐπεὶ κατὰ τὸν προφήτην Ἱερεμίαν Ἰεχονίας

ὀνομασθεὶς διακέκληται, δι' ὧν φησιν, «Ἠτιμώθη Ἰεχονίας ὡς σκεῦος οὗ οὐκ ἔστιν αὐτοῦ χρεία· διότι ἀπεῤῥίφη αὐτὸς καὶ τὸ σπέρμα αὐτοῦ· γῆ, γῆ, ἄκουε λόγον Κυρίου· γράψον τὸν ἄνδρα τοῦτον ἐκκήρυκτον, ὅτι οὐ μὴ ἀναστῇ ἐκ τοῦ σπέρματος αὐτοῦ καθήμενος ἐπὶ θρόνου ∆αβὶδ, ἄρχων ἔτι ἐν τῷ Ἰούδᾳ·» καὶ ἐπειδὴ τούτων ἕνεκα συνέβη τὴν 22.920 εἰς Βαβυλῶνα αἰχμαλωσίαν ἅμα τῷ λαῷ ὑποστῆναι τὸν εἰρημένον, εἰκότως ὁ θαυμάσιος εὐαγγελιστὴς τοῦ Λυτρωτοῦ καὶ Σωτῆρος ἁπάντων ὑπογράφων τὴν γένεσιν, καὶ τοῦδε ἐμνήσθη τοῦ ἠτιμωμένου τοῦ ἀποῤῥιφέντος ἅμα τῷ σπέρματι εἰς τὴν Βαβυλωνίων γῆν. τοῦ ἐκκηρύκτου γενομένου, τοῦ αἰχμαλώτου· διδάσκων ὅτι κηρύξαι αἰχμαλώτοις ἄφεσιν ἀπεσταλμένος ὑπὸ τοῦ Πατρὸς, οὗτος ἦν Ἰησοῦς Χριστὸς, οὗ τὴν βίβλον ἀναγράφει, εἰς ὃν ἀναφέρεται τὸ φάσκον ἐν τῷ προφήτῃ λόγιον· «Πνεῦμα Κυρίου ἐπ' ἐμὲ, οὗ εἵνεκεν ἔχρισέ με, εὐαγγελίσασθαι πτωχοῖς ἀπέσταλκέ με, κηρύξαι αἰχμαλώτοις ἄφεσιν·» περὶ οὗ καὶ ἐν ἑτέρῳ φησὶν ὁ