Paul says: "For in hope we were saved; but hope that is seen is [not] hope; for what a man sees, why does he hope for it? But if we hope for what we do not see, we wait for it with patience" *** See whether perhaps as Abraham against hope believed in hope, so also all the sons of the faith of Abraham against hope believe in hope concerning all the things they believe, whether concerning the resurrection of the dead or concerning inheriting the kingdom of heaven or the kingdom of God. For these things, as far as human nature is concerned, are against hope, but as far as the power of God and his unfailing promises are concerned, they are in hope for those who hope from believing. And since the one who believes believes in hope, for this reason "faith, hope, love remain". And I think faith has the character of an element, hope that of progress, 214 and love that of perfection *** and so also | someone might be weak even in showing mercy, showing mercy but not with cheerfulness, but as from grief or from necessity *** therefore I think it is said concerning love that it also "believes all things", which is equal to "makes all faith to believe and one to have all faith", and where there is perfect love, there is all faith *** and yet the deadness of his body | and the deadness which Sarah's womb had, as far as they were concerned, provoking him to be weak in faith *** the deadness of Abraham's body and the deadness of Sarah's womb; following these things you will say that the generation of the others had its origin from burning passion, but that of Isaac in no way from burning passion, but | through the praiseworthy deadness of Abraham's body and of Sarah's womb by the promise of God *** so that such a deadness is spoken of with praise, of the one who has put to death the members that are on the earth; for when someone by the spirit puts to death the deeds of the body, then he extinguishes all the burning passion that is naturally kindled in him; so that the generation of Isaac was not from burning passion but from the promise of God; for they became worthy to be named parents of so great a patriarch, having put to death the deeds of the body by the spirit *** But that Abraham's body is said to have been deadened not on account of old age will be clear to the one who considers in what way Abraham took another | wife whose name was Keturah, and she bore him Zimran and Jokshan and Medan and Midian and Ishbak and Shuah, and he took her after the death of Sarah who lived 127 years, and Abraham is clearly found to be ten years older than Sarah; therefore at the time of the death | of Sarah Abraham was 137 years old. But if someone should think and wish after this to say that the deadness of Abraham's body happened because of 216 old age ‖, it must be said to him that let it be granted that he needed the grace in the pro[mis]e, being about a hundred years old, in order to become the father of Isaac, how then without a promise after he became 137 years old were another six sons born to him? And otherwise, considering the time | of Abraham's life, being 175 years in all, in proportion to so long a time, you will say the vigor and the constitution of his body had not yet been dulled when he was still about a hundred years old *** And to be persuaded that Abraham's bo⸍dy⸍ is said to have been deadened not because of old age, observe that first Isaac entered into the house of his mother | Sarah and took Rebekah, and she became his wife, and he loved her, and Isaac was comforted concerning his mother; and Isaac was 40 years old when he took Rebekah; but later Abraham took another wife whose name was Keturah; therefore when Abraham took another wife whose name was Keturah, he had become | 140 years old *** and always carrying in the body the deadness of Jesus, in no way still bearing the image of the man of dust, but always bearing the image of the heavenly man *** but one might ask, looking into these things, when "So shall your seed be" was said and that Ishmael had not yet been born when Abraham had become about 87 years | old, how the apostle says after "So shall your seed be" the phrase "And not being weak

φησιν ὁ Παῦλος· «Τῇ γὰρ ἐλπίδι ἐσώθημεν· ἐλπὶς δὲ βλεπομένη [οὐκ] ἔστιν ἐλπίς· ὃ γὰρ βλέπει τις, τί ἐλπίζει; Εἰ δὲ ὃ οὐ βλέπομεν ἐλπίζομεν, δι' ὑπομονῆς ἀπεκδεχόμεθα» *** Ὅρα μήποτε ὡς Ἀβραὰμ παρ' ἐλπίδα ἐπ' ἐλπίδι ἐπίστευσεν, οὕτως καὶ πάντες οἱ τῆς | πίστεως Ἀβραὰμ υἱοὶ παρ' ἐλπίδα ἐπ' ἐλπίδι <πιστεύουσιν> περὶ πάντων ὧν πιστεύουσιν, εἴτε περὶ ἀναστάσεως νεκρῶν εἴτε περὶ τοῦ κληρο νομήσειν βασιλείαν οὐρανῶν ἢ βασιλείαν Θεοῦ. Ταῦτα γὰρ ὅσον ἐπὶ τῇ ἀνθρω πίνῃ φύσει παρ' ἐλπίδα ἐστίν, ὅσον δὲ ἐπὶ τῷ δυνατῷ τοῦ Θεοῦ καὶ ταῖς ἀψευδέσιν ἐπαγγελίαις αὐτοῦ ἐπ' ἐλπίδι τῶν ἐκ τοῦ πιστεύειν ἐλπιζόντων τυγχάνει. Καὶ ἐπείπερ ὁ πιστεύων ἐπ' ἐλπίδι πιστεύει, διὰ τοῦτο «μένει πίστις, ἐλπίς, ἀγάπη». Καὶ νομίζω στοιχειώσεως μὲν ἔχειν λόγον τὴν πίστιν, προκοπῆς δὲ τὴν ἐλπίδα, 214 τελειότητος δὲ τὴν ἀγάπην *** οὕτω δὲ καὶ | ἀσθενῶν ἄν τις εἴη καὶ τῷ ἐλεεῖν, ἐλεῶν μὲν οὐκ ἱλαρότητι δέ, ἀλλ' ὡς ἐκ λύπης ἢ ἐξ ἀνάγκης *** διὸ νομίζω λέγεσθαι περὶ τῆς ἀγάπης ὅτι καὶ «πάντα πιστεύει», ὅπερ ἴσον ἐστὶν τῷ «ποιεῖ πᾶσαν τὴν πίστιν πιστεύειν καὶ ἔχειν τινὰ πᾶσαν τὴν πίστιν», καὶ ὅπου ἡ τελεία ἀγάπη, ἐκεῖ πᾶσα ἡ πίστις *** καίτοι γε τῆς τοῦ σώματος νεκρό|τητος καὶ τῆς νεκρώσεως ἧς εἶχεν ἡ μήτρα Σάρρας ὅσον ἐφ' ἑαυτοῖς ἀσθενεῖν τῇ πίστει αὐτὸν προκαλουμένων *** τὸ νενεκρωμένον τοῦ Ἀβραὰμ σῶμα καὶ τὴν νέκρωσιν τῆς μήτρας Σάρρας· τούτοις ἑπόμενος φήσεις τὴν μὲν τῶν λοιπῶν γένεσιν ἀπὸ πυρώσεως ἐσχηκέναι τὴν ἀρχήν, τὴν δὲ τοῦ Ἰσαὰκ οὐδαμῶς μὲν ἀπὸ πυρώσεως, διὰ | δὲ τὴν ἐπαινετὴν νεκρότητα τοῦ σώματος Ἀβραὰμ καὶ τῆς μήτρας Σάρρας τῇ ἐπαγγελίᾳ τοῦ Θεοῦ *** ὥστε ἐν ἐπαίνῳ λέγεται ἡ τοιαύτη νέκρωσις τοῦ τὰ μέλη τὰ ἐπὶ τῆς γῆς νεκρώσαντος· ὅτε γάρ τις πνεύματι τὰς πράξεις τοῦ σώματος θανατοῖ, τότε σβέννυσι πᾶσαν τὴν πεφυκυῖαν ἀνάπτεσθαι ἐν αὐτῷ πύρωσιν· ὥστε τὴν τοῦ Ἰσαὰκ γένεσιν μὴ εἶναι ἀπὸ πυρώσεως ἀλλ' ἐξ ἐπαγ γελίας Θεοῦ· ἄξιοι γὰρ γεγόνασιν τηλικούτου πατριάρχου ἐπιγραφῆναι γονεῖς πνεύματι τὰς πράξεις τοῦ σώματος θανατώσαντες *** Ὅτι δὲ οὐ διὰ τὸ γῆρας λέγεται τὸ σῶμα τοῦ Ἀβραὰμ νενεκρωμένον, δῆλον ἔσται τῷ ἐπιστήσαντι τίνα τρόπον προσθέμενος | Ἀβραὰμ ἔλαβεν γυ ναῖκα ᾗ ὄνομα Χεττούρα, καὶ ἔτεκεν αὐτῷ τὸν Ζεμβρὰν καὶ τὸν Ἰεκτὰν καὶ τὸν Μαδὰν καὶ τὸν Μαδιὰμ καὶ τὸν Ἰεσβὸκ καὶ τὸν Σωύε, καὶ ἔλαβεν ταύτην μετὰ τὴν τελευτὴν Σάρρας ἥτις ἔζησεν ἔτη ˉρˉκˉζ, πρεσβύτερος δὲ τῆς Σάρρας δέκα ἔτεσιν εὑρίσκεται σαφῶς ὁ Ἀβραάμ· οὐκοῦν παρὰ τὸν καιρὸν τοῦ θανά|του Σάρρας ˉρˉλˉζ ἐτῶν ἦν ὁ Ἀβραάμ. Ἐὰν δέ τις δοκῇ καὶ μετὰ ταῦτα θέλειν τὴν νέκρωσιν τοῦ σώματος Ἀβραὰμ διὰ τὸ 216 γῆρας λέγειν ‖ γενέσθαι, λεκτέον αὐτῷ ὅτι ἔστω χάριτος αὐτὸν τῆς ἐν ἐπαγ[γε]λίᾳ δεδεῆσθαι ἑκατονταέτη που ὑπάρχοντα ἵνα γένηται τοῦ Ισαὰκ πατήρ, πῶς οὖν χωρὶς ἐπαγγελίας μετὰ τὸ γενέσθαι ˉρˉλˉζ ἐτῶν ἐγεν νήθησαν αὐτῷ ἄλλοι ἓξ υἱοί; Καὶ ἄλλως δὲ λογισάμενος τὸν χρό|νον τῆς ζωῆς Ἀβραὰμ ἔτη πάντα γενόμενον ˉρˉοˉε, ἀνάλογον τῷ τοσούτῳ χρόνῳ, τὴν εὐτο νίαν καὶ τὴν σύστασιν τοῦ σώματος αὐτοῦ φήσεις μηδέπω ἠμβλύνθαι ἡνίκα ἑκατονταέτης που ὑπῆρχεν ἔτι *** πρὸς δὲ <τὸ> πεισθῆναι ὅτι οὐ διὰ γῆρας νενεκρωμένον εἶναι λέγεται τὸ τοῦ Ἀβραὰμ σ̣ω῀̣μ̣α̣, τήρει ὅτι πρότερον μὲν εἰσῆλθεν Ἰσαὰκ εἰς τὸν οἶκον τῆς μητρὸς αὐτοῦ | Σάρρας καὶ ἔλαβεν τὴν Ῥεβέκκαν, καὶ ἐγένετο αὐτῷ γυνή, καὶ ἠγάπησεν αὐτήν, καὶ παρεκλήθη Ἰσαὰκ περὶ τῆς μητρὸς αὐτοῦ· καὶ ἦν Ἰσαὰκ ἐτῶν ˉμ ὅτε ἔλαβεν τὴν Ῥεβέκκαν· ὕστερον δὲ προσθέμενος Ἀβραὰμ ἔλαβεν γυναῖκα ᾗ ὄνομα Χεττούρα· οὐκοῦν ὅτε προσθέμενος Ἀβραὰμ ἔλαβεν γυναῖκα ᾗ ὄνομα Χεττούρα, ἐτῶν ἐγεγό|νει ˉρˉμ *** καὶ τὴν νέκρωσιν τοῦ Ἰησοῦ πάντοτε ἐν τῷ σώματι περιφέροντες, οὐδαμῶς μὲν ἔτι φοροῦντες τὴν εἰκόνα τοῦ χοϊκοῦ, ἀεὶ δὲ φοροῦντες τὴν εἰκόνα τοῦ ἐπουρανίου *** ζητήσαι δ' ἄν τις εἰς ταῦτα ἐπιτηρῶν πότε εἴρηται τὸ «Οὕτως ἔσται τὸ σπέρμα σου» καὶ ὅτι οὐδέπω γεγεννημένου τοῦ Ἰσμαὴλ ὅτε Ἀβραὰμ περὶ τὰ ˉπˉζ ἔτη | γεγόνει, πῶς ὁ ἀπόστολός φησιν μετὰ τὸ «Οὕτως ἔσται τὸ σπέρμα σου» τὸ «Καὶ μὴ ἀσθενήσας