16
when one from the tribe of Judah reigned, all the twelve tribes were called both Jews and Israelites, and until Solomon the son of David and until Rehoboam, son of Solomon, descendant of David. And according to the rebuke of God and the unworthiness of Rehoboam, the twelve tribes were split, and two and a half came to be with Judah, that is with Rehoboam, and nine and a half with Jeroboam. And the nine and a half were called both Israelites and Israel, 1.194 being ruled by Jeroboam son of Nebat in Samaria; but the two and a half in Jerusalem were called Jews, being ruled by Rehoboam son of Solomon. And again there came to be successions of kings: Rehoboam begat Abijah, Abijah begat Asa, Asa begat Jehoshaphat, Jehoshaphat begat Joram, Joram begat Ahaziah, Ahaziah begat Joash, Joash begat Amaziah, Amaziah begat Azariah, who is called Uzziah, Azariah, also Uzziah, begat Jotham, Jotham begat Ahaz, Ahaz begat Hezekiah; and in the times of Hezekiah and Ahaz, tribes from Israel were taken captive to the borders of the Medes. After this, Hezekiah begat Manasseh, Manasseh begat Amon, Amon begat Josiah, Josiah begat Jeconiah, who was also called Shallum, who was also named Amaziah. This Jeconiah begat Jeconiah who was called Zedekiah and Jehoiakim. 8. And let no one doubt about this, but rather let him marvel at the precision, usefully set down here for the diligent who, for the sake of useful learning, wish to comprehend the precise details of the scriptures, who immediately with the benefit will be compelled to be grateful, having recovered the saying which was removed by some ignorant men in the Gospel through doubt, as if by correction. For since the holy Matthew enumerated the generations in three parts, stating fourteen generations from Abraham until David and from David until the captivity, fourteen generations, and from the captivity until Christ, fourteen generations, the first two numbers are found to be clear, containing no lack in number; for they contain the times until Jeconiah; but the third number is no longer found to be of fourteen generations having the full count according to the succession of names, but of thirteen, because some, finding Jeconiah together with another Jeconiah at the same point, thought the number had been repeated. But it was not a repetition, 1.195 but a clear number. For the son was named after his father, Jeconiah son of Jeconiah. Therefore some, removing the one name as if for elegance, carried away by ignorance, made the promise of the hypothesis concerning the group of the number of fourteen names deficient and they obscured the great experience of the connection. Therefore from this point, from the time of Jeconiah, the captivity to Babylon takes place. At this time of the captivity the elders approached Nebuchadnezzar in Babylon, asking that some of his own settlers be sent into the land of Israel, so that the land, having become overgrown with woods, might not be desolated. And he accepted their request, for he did not delay, and he sends four of his own peoples, those called Cuthaeans and Cudaeans, Sephpharuraeans and Anagogauaeans, who went up together with their idols and dwelt at that time in Samaria, having chosen this land for themselves on account of it being both rich and most fertile. But in time these men, being torn apart by the wild beasts, by lions and leopards and bears and the other evil beasts, send to Babylon, asking and marveling exceedingly at the way of life of the settlers who had dwelt there before, how they were able to withstand the seizing and violence of the wild beasts. But the king, having summoned the elders, asked about their way of life during their possession of Judea, and how they escaped the seizing of the wild beasts, with so many wild beasts abounding
16
βασιλεύσαντος ἐκ φυλῆς Ἰούδα ἐκαλοῦντο Ἰουδαῖοί τε καὶ Ἰσραηλῖται πᾶσαι αἱ δώδεκα φυλαὶ καὶ ἕως Σολομῶντος τοῦ υἱοῦ ∆αυὶδ καὶ ἕως τοῦ Ῥοβοάμ, υἱοῦ Σολομῶντος, ἐκγόνου δὲ τοῦ ∆αυίδ. καὶ κατὰ ἐπιτίμησιν θεοῦ καὶ ἀναξιότητα τοῦ Ῥοβοὰμ ἐσχίσθησαν αἱ δεκαδύο φυλαὶ καὶ γεγόνασι δύο ἥμισυ μετὰ τοῦ Ἰούδα τουτέστι μετὰ Ῥοβοὰμ καὶ ἐννέα ἥμισυ μετὰ Ἱεροβοάμ. ἐκαλοῦντο δὲ αἱ ἐννέα ἥμισυ Ἰσραηλῖταί τε καὶ Ἰσραήλ, 1.194 βασιλευόμεναι ὑπὸ τοῦ Ἱεροβοὰμ υἱοῦ Ναβὰτ ἐν Σαμαρείᾳ· αἱ δὲ δύο ἥμισυ εἰς Ἱερουσαλὴμ Ἰουδαῖοι ἐκαλοῦντο, βασιλευόμεναι ὑπὸ Ῥοβοὰμυἱοῦ Σολομῶντος. καὶ γεγόνασι πάλιν διαδοχαὶ βασιλέων· Ῥοβοὰμ γεννᾷ τὸν Ἀβιά, Ἀβιὰ γεννᾷ τὸν Ἀσά, Ἀσὰ γεννᾷ τὸν ἸωσαφάἸωσαφὰτ γεννᾷ τὸν Ἰωράμ, Ἰωρὰμ γεννᾷ τὸν Ὀχοζίαν, Ὀχοζίας γεννατὸν Ἰωάς, Ἰωὰς γεννᾷ τὸν Ἀμεσσίαν, Ἀμεσσίας γεννᾷ τὸν Ἀζαρίτὸν καλούμενον Ὀζίαν, Ἀζαρίας ὁ καὶ Ὀζίας γεννᾷ τὸν ἸωάθαμἸωάθαμ γεννᾷ τὸν Ἄχαζ, Ἄχαζ γεννᾷ τὸν Ἐζεκίαν· ἐν χρόνοις δεἘζεκίου καὶ Ἄχαζ ᾐχμαλωτεύθησαν φυλαὶ ἐκ τοῦ Ἰσραὴλ εἰς τὰ ὅρια Μήδων. μετὰ τοῦτο Ἐζεκίας γεννᾷ τὸν Μανασσῆ, Μανασσῆς γεννᾷ τὸν Ἀμώς, Ἀμὼς γεννᾷ τὸν Ἰωσίαν, Ἰωσίας γεννᾷ τὸν Ἰεχονίαν, τοκαὶ Σελοὺμ καλούμενον, ὃς καὶ Ἀμασίας ἐλέγετο. ὁ Ἰεχονίας οὗτος γεννᾷ τὸν Ἰεχονίαν τὸν καλούμενον Σεδεκίαν καὶ Ἰωακείμ. 8. Καὶ μηδεὶς περὶ τούτου ἀμφιβαλλέτω, θαυμαζέτω δὲ μᾶλλον τὴν ἀκριβολογίαν, ὠφελίμως ἐνταῦθα κειμένην τοῖς σπουδαίοις χρηστομαθίας ἕνεκα τὰ ἀκριβῆ τῶν γραφῶν καταλαμβάνειν ἐθέλουσιν, οἵτινες εὐθὺς μετὰ τῆς ὠφελείας εὐγνωμονεῖν ἀναγκασθήσονται, κερδήσαντες τὸ ὑπό τινων ἀμαθῶν ἐν τῷ εὐαγγελίῳ δι' ἀμφιβολίαν ὡς κατὰ διόρθωσιν ἀφανισθὲν ῥητόν. τριχῶς γὰρ ἀριθμήσαντος τοῦ ἁγίου Ματθαίου τὰς γενεάς, ἀπὸ τοῦ Ἀβραὰμ μέχρι τοῦ ∆αυὶδ φήσαντος γενεὰς δεκατέσσαρας καὶ ἀπὸ τοῦ ∆αυὶδ ἕως τῆς αἰχμαλωσίας γενεὰς δεκατέσσαρας καὶ ἀπὸ τῆς αἰχμαλωσίας ἕως τοῦ Χριστοῦ γενεὰς δεκατέσσαρας, οἱ δύο ἀνώτεροι ἀριθμοὶ σαφεῖς εὑρίσκονται, μηδεμίαν ἔλλειψιν ἀριθμοῦ περιέχοντες· ἕως γὰρ τοῦ Ἰεχονίου περιέχουσι τοὺς χρόνους· ὁ δὲ τρίτος ἀριθμὸς οὐκέτι δεκατεσσάρων γενεῶν εὑρίσκεται κατὰ διαδοχὴν ὀνομάτων ἔχων τὸ πλήρωμα, ἀλλὰ δεκατριῶν, ἐπειδή τινες εὑρόντες Ἰεχονίαν ἅμα Ἰεχονίᾳ ἑτέρῳ ἐπὶ τὸ αὐτὸ ἐνόμισαν τὸν ἀριθμὸν δεδισσολογημένον. οὐκ ἦν δὲ δισσολογία, 1.195 ἀλλὰ ἀριθμὸς σαφής. εἰς ὄνομα γὰρ πατρὸς ὁ παῖς ἐπεκέκλητο Ἰεχονίας τοῦ Ἰεχονίου. ἀφελόμενοι οὖν τινες ὡς κατὰ φιλοκαλίαν τὸ ἓν ὄνομα, ἀγνοίᾳ φερόμενοι, ἐλλιπῆ ἐποιήσαντο τῆς ὑποθέσεως κατὰ τὴν ὁμάδα τοῦ ἀριθμοῦ τῶν δεκατεσσάρων ὀνομάτων τὴν ὑπόσχεσιν καὶ τὸ πολύπειρον τῆς σχέσεως ἠφάνισαν. Γίνεται γοῦν ἐντεῦθεν ἀπὸ τοῦ χρόνου Ἰεχονίου ἡ αἰχμαλωσία ἡ εἰς Βαβυλῶνα. ἐν τούτῳ τῷ χρόνῳ τῆς αἰχμαλωσίας προσῆλθον οἱ πρεσβύτεροι τῷ Ναβουχοδονόσορ ἐν Βαβυλῶνι, παρακαλοῦντες ἀποσταλῆναί τινας τῶν ἰδίων αὐτοῦ ἐγκαθέτους εἰς τὴν Ἰσραηλῖτιν γῆν, ὅπως μὴ ἡ χώρα ὑλομανήσασα ἐρημωθείη. καὶ ἐδέξατο τὴν παρ' αὐτῶν παράκλησιν οὐ γὰρ ἀνεβάλλετο καὶ ἀποστέλλει μὲν τῶν ἰδίων τέσσαρα γένη, τούς τε Κουθαίους καλουμένους καὶ Κουδαίους, Σεπφαρουραίους καὶ Ἀναγωγαυαίους, οἵτινες ἅμα τοῖς αὐτῶν εἰδώλοις ἀναβάντες κατῴκουν τὸ τηνικαῦτα τὴν Σαμάρειαν, ταύτην ἐπιλεξάμενοι ἑαυτοῖς τὴν γῆν διὰ τὸ εἶναι πίονά τε καὶ γονιμωτάτην. χρόνῳ δὲ οὗτοι ὑπὸ τῶν θηρίων διασπαραττόμενοι, λεόντων τε καὶ παρδάλεων καὶ ἄρκων καὶ τῶν ἄλλων πονηρῶν θηρίων, ἀποστέλλουσιν εἰς Βαβυλῶνα, παρακαλοῦντες καὶ ὑπερβολῇ θαυμάζοντες τὴν τῶν κατοικησάντων τὸ πρὶν ἐγκαθέτων διαγωγήν, πῶς ἠδύναντο ὑποστῆναι τὴν τῶν θηρῶν ἁρπαγήν τε καὶ βίαν. ὁ δὲ βασιλεὺς μεταστειλάμενος τοὺς πρεσβυτέρους ἤρετο τὴν αὐτοῖς γενομένην ἀγωγὴν ἐπὶ τῆς ἐν τῇ Ἰουδαίᾳ καθέξεως, πῶς τε διελάνθανον τὴν τῶν θηρῶν ἁρπαγήν, τοσαύτης θηριοβολίας