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of this one alone did the things of the promise depend; and yet he chose to sacrifice this one, just as in the promise of his birth he was not hindered in his faith either by his own deadness, or by the impairment of his wife's nature, so here too he was not impeded by death. 10.16 Compare, therefore, these things with what has now happened, and you will see your faint-heartedness, and you will see the worthlessness of those who are scandalized, and you will learn clearly that the scandal comes to you from nowhere else than from not yielding to the incomprehensible providence of God, but from seeking everywhere a mode of dispensations and demanding causes for what happens and meddling in every detail. 10.17 If Abraham had suffered this, he would have limped in his faith. But he did not meddle, which is why he also shone and obtained all the things that had been promised; nor was he scandalized, neither by old age, nor by the command after these things; nor did he consider the command an obstacle to the promise, nor that the sacrifice was destructive of the promise, nor did he fall into despair of the promise, although he had come to the very end of the matter. For do not tell me that God did not allow the command to come to fruition, nor the right hand of the just man to be bloodied; but consider that Abraham knew none of these things, nor did he know that he would receive his son back alive and thus return home, but he directed his whole mind toward the slaughter. 10.18 For this reason he is also called a second time from the heavens. For He did not simply say to him, "Abraham," but "Abraham, Abraham," by the doubling of the voice both restraining and checking his intense purpose for the sacrifice; so wholly was he for the command. Did you see how the whole thing was fulfilled by his will, and there was no scandal anywhere. And the cause: not meddling in the things of God. 10.19 And what of Joseph? tell me. Did he not also suffer something of this kind? For to him also a great grace of promise had been given by God, and yet the things that happened were contrary to the promises. For the promise through the dreams was that his brothers would bow down to him, and a twofold vision proclaimed this, both that through the stars and that through the sheaves; but the events that followed these visions were contrary to the visions. 10.20 For first, a harsh war was stirred up against him from this in his father's house, and those who had suffered the same birth pangs as he, cutting through the laws of kinship and tearing apart the bonds of brotherly love itself and shaking the very statutes of nature, became enemies and foes and fiercer than wolves toward their brother because of those dreams; and just as some savage and untamed beasts take a lamb in their midst, so they plotted against him each day. 10.21 And the father of this war was irrational envy and unjust malice; and boiling with anger, they breathed murder each day, as envy kindled this furnace and raised the pyre. And since for a time they could do him no harm while he was staying indoors and living with his parents, they slandered his reputation and fashioned a shameful opinion of him and brought a wicked censure against him, wishing in this way to destroy his father's affection and to make him an easy target for their plot. 10.22 Then after this, having caught him away from their father's eyes and finding him in a deserted place bringing them food and having come to visit them, they felt no reverence for the reason of his arrival, nor were they ashamed of the brotherly table, but they sharpened their swords and prepared for slaughter and all became brother-killers, having no small or great charge to bring against him who was about to be killed by them; but for the very things for which he should have been crowned and proclaimed, they were envious, warring, and slandering. 10.23 But he did not even so turn away from their company, but even in such wickedness he showed a brotherly disposition; but they even so attempted to kill him and did kill him, for their part, and bloodied their right hands and the fratricide

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μόνου τούτου τὰ τῆς ἐπαγγελίας ἤρτητο· καὶ ὅμως τοῦτον εἵλετο καταθῦσαι, ὥσπερ ἐν τῇ ὑποσχέσει τῆς γεννήσεως αὐτοῦ μήτε τῇ οἰκείᾳ νεκρώσει, μήτε τῇ πηρώσει τῆς φύσεως τῆς γυναικὸς κωλυθεὶς πρὸς τὴν πίστιν, οὕτως οὐδὲ ἐνταῦθα τῷ θανάτῳ παρεμποδισθείς. 10.16 Παράβαλε τοίνυν ταῦτα πρὸς τὰ νῦν γεγενημένα καὶ ὄψει σου τὴν μικροψυχίαν καὶ ὄψει τὴν εὐτέλειαν τῶν σκανδαλιζομένων καὶ μαθήσῃ σαφῶς ὅτι οὐδαμόθεν ἑτέρωθέν σοι τὸ σκάνδαλον γίνεται ἢ ἐκ τοῦ μὴ παραχωρεῖν τῇ ἀκαταλήπτῳ τοῦ Θεοῦ προνοίᾳ, ἀλλ' ἐπιζητεῖν οἰκονομιῶν τρόπον πανταχοῦ καὶ αἰτίας τῶν γινομένων ἀπαιτεῖν καὶ ἕκαστα περιεργάζεσθαι. 10.17 Ὅπερ εἰ ἔπαθεν ὁ Ἀβραάμ, ἔμελλε πρὸς τὴν πίστιν χωλεύειν. Ἀλλ' οὐ περιεργάσατο, διὸ καὶ ἔλαμψε καὶ πάντων ἐπέτυχε τῶν ἐπηγγελμένων· οὐδὲ ἐσκανδαλίζετο, οὐδὲ τῷ γήρᾳ, οὐδὲ τῷ μετὰ ταῦτα ἐπιτάγματι· οὐδὲ ἐνόμισε κώλυμα εἶναι τὸ ἐπίταγμα τῇ ὑποσχέσει, οὔτε ἀναιρετικὴν εἶναι τὴν θυσίαν τῆς ἐπαγγελίας, οὐδὲ εἰς ἀπόγνωσιν ἐνέπιπτε τῆς ὑποσχέσεως, καίτοι πρὸς αὐτὸ τὸ πέρας τῶν πραγμάτων ἐλθών. Μὴ γάρ μοι τοῦτο λέγε ὅτι οὐκ εἴασεν ὁ Θεὸς εἰς ἔργον τὸ ἐπίταγμα ἐλθεῖν, οὐδὲ αἱμαχθῆναι τοῦ δικαίου τὴν δεξιάν· ἀλλ' ἐκεῖνο σκόπει ὅτι τούτων οὐδὲν ὁ Ἀβραὰμ ᾔδει, οὐδὲ ὅτι ζῶντα ἀπολήψεται τὸν υἱὸν καὶ οὕτως οἴκαδε ἐπιστρέψαι ἠπίστατο, ἀλλ' ἔτεινεν ὅλην πρὸς τὴν σφαγὴν τὴν ἑαυτοῦ γνώμην. 10.18 ∆ιὰ τοῦτο καὶ ἐκ δευτέρου καλεῖται ἐκ τῶν οὐρανῶν. Οὐ γὰρ εἶπεν αὐτῷ «Ἀβραάμ» ἁπλῶς, ἀλλά «Ἀβραάμ, Ἀβραάμ», τῷ διπλασιασμῷ τῆς φωνῆς τὴν ἐπιτεταμένην πρὸς τὴν θυσίαν προαίρεσιν ἀνείργων τε καὶ ἀναχαιτίζων· οὕτως ὅλος τοῦ ἐπιτάγματος ἦν. Εἶδες πῶς τὸ πᾶν τῇ γνώμῃ αὐτοῦ ἐπεπλήρωτο καὶ σκάνδαλον οὐδαμοῦ. Τὸ δὲ αἴτιον, τὸ μὴ περιεργάζεσθαι τὰ τοῦ Θεοῦ. 10.19 Τί δὲ ὁ Ἰωσήφ; εἰπέ μοι. Οὐ τοιοῦτόν τι καὶ αὐτὸς πέπονθε; Καὶ γὰρ κἀκείνῳ μεγάλη τῆς ὑποσχέσεως χάρις ἦν παρὰ τοῦ Θεοῦ δεδομένη καὶ τὰ γινόμενα πάλιν ἀπεναντίας τῶν ἐπαγγελλιῶν ἐγίνετο. Ἡ μὲν γὰρ ὑπόσχεσις ἦν διὰ τῶν ὀνειράτων προσκυνήσειν αὐτὸν τοὺς ἀδελφοὺς καὶ διπλῆ ὄψις τοῦτο ἀνεκήρυττεν, ἤ τε διὰ τῶν ἄστρων, ἤ τε διὰ τῶν δραγμάτων· τὰ δὲ μετὰ τὰς ὁράσεις ταύτας συμβαίνοντα ἐναντία τῶν ὄψεων ἦν. 10.20 Πρῶτον μὲν γὰρ πόλεμος αὐτῷ χαλεπὸς ἐντεῦθεν κατὰ τὴν πατρῴαν οἰκίαν ἀνερριπίζετο καὶ οἱ τὰς αὐτὰς αὐτῷ λύσαντες ὠδῖνας, διατεμόντες τῆς συγγενείας τοὺς νόμους καὶ διαρρήξαντες τῆς ἀδελφικῆς φιλίας αὐτῆς τὰ δεσμὰ καὶ αὐτοὺς τῆς φύσεως διασαλεύσαντες τοὺς θεσμοὺς, ἐχθροὶ καὶ πολέμιοι καὶ λύκων ἀγριώτεροι περὶ τὸν ἀδελφὸν ἀπὸ τῶν ὀνειράτων ἐκείνων ἐγίνοντο· καὶ ὥσπερ θῆρες ἄγριοι καὶ ἀνήμεροί τινες ἀρνίον ἐν μέσῳ λαβόντες, οὕτω καθ' ἑκάστην ἐπεβούλευον αὐτῷ τὴν ἡμέραν. 10.21 Καὶ πατὴρ τοῦ πολέμου τούτου φθόνος ἦν ἄλογος καὶ βασκανία ἄδικος· καὶ τῷ θυμῷ ζέοντες, φόνου καθ' ἑκάστην ἔπνεον τὴν ἡμέραν, τοῦ φθόνου τὴν κάμινον ταύτην ἀνάπτοντος καὶ τὴν πυρὰν ἐγείροντος. Καὶ ἐπειδὴ τέως αὐτὸν οὐδὲν ἐργάσασθαι ἠδύναντο χαλεπόν, ἔνδον στρεφόμενον καὶ μετὰ τῶν γονέων διατρίβοντα, διαβάλλουσιν αὐτοῦ τὴν ὑπόληψιν καὶ αἰσχρὰν κατασκευάζουσιν αὐτῷ δόξαν καὶ ψόγον καταφέρουσι πονηρόν, τοῦ πατρὸς τὸ φίλτρον ταύτῃ καταλῦσαι βουλόμενοι καὶ πρὸς ἐπιβουλὴν εὐχείρωτον λαβεῖν. 10.22 Εἶτα μετὰ ταῦτα λαβόντες αὐτὸν ἔξω τῶν πατρικῶν ὀφθαλμῶν καὶ ἐπ' ἐρημίας εὑρόντες αὐτοῖς κομίζοντα τροφὴν καὶ εἰς ἐπίσκεψιν αὐτῶν ἀφιγμένον, οὐ τὴν αἰτίαν τῆς ἀφίξεως ᾐδέσθησαν, οὐ τὴν τράπεζαν ᾐσχύνθησαν τὴν ἀδελφικήν, ἀλλὰ τὰ ξίφη ἠκόνουν καὶ πρὸς σφαγὴν ηὐτρεπίζοντο καὶ ἀδελφοκτόνοι πάντες ἐγίνοντο, οὐ μικρόν, οὐ μέγα ἐγκαλεῖν ἔχοντες τῷ μέλλοντι ἀναιρεῖσθαι παρ' αὐτῶν· ἀλλ' ὑπὲρ ὧν αὐτὸν στεφανοῦσθαι καὶ ἀνακηρύττεσθαι ἔδει, φθονοῦντες, πολεμοῦντες, διαβάλλοντες. 10.23 Ἀλλ' ἐκεῖνος οὐδὲ οὕτως ἀπεστρέφετο αὐτῶν τὴν συνουσίαν, ἀλλὰ καὶ ἐν τοσαύτῃ πονηρίᾳ τὴν ἀδελφικὴν ἐπεδείκνυτο διάθεσιν· οἱ δὲ καὶ οὕτως αὐτὸν ἀνελεῖν ἐπεχείρουν καὶ ἀνεῖλον, τό γε αὐτῶν μέρος καὶ τὰς δεξιὰς ᾕμαξαν καὶ τὴν ἀδελφοκτονίαν