Commentarium in evangelium matthaei

 Angels of god may gather up the evil doctrines attached to the soul and hand them over for consumption, overturning them with what is called burning f

 He did not speak to them», and not to the crowds when he came «into the house» does he speak, but to the disciples who came to him in it, it is clear

 They have sold their possessions, so that, by having sold and given those things away and in exchange for them having received from god a good purpose

 In the strait, not in the pinnae, which is a kind of pearl-bearing shell, but in those called mussels. and for these, i mean those of the bosphorus, t

 Of christ” one might be able to attain, having been first exercised in the, so to speak, knowledges which are surpassed by the knowledge of christ. bu

 Of bad kinds, as among fish, to the fine ones, or from the better to the worse, but among men, the just or the wicked can always be seen either reachi

 The calling from every kind of nation. and those who served the net cast into the sea are the lord of the net, jesus christ, and the angels who came a

 You will know that i the lord have poured out my wrath upon you.” 10.14 have you understood all these things? they say, yes (13, 51[52]). christ jesus

 Of the heavens is within you, and especially through the repentance from the letter to the spirit, because whenever someone turns to the lord, th

 Might make him like himself, until the disciple becomes as the teacher, imitating first the imitator of christ, and after this one, also <τὸν> chris

 He was doing greater things than those in the time of elijah and elisha, and even before, in the time of moses and joshua son of nun. but those who ma

 For they consider judea their homeland and that israel their kinsmen, and perhaps the body their house for all were dishonored in judea by the israel

 Paying attention, if on account of living very intensely and reproving those who sin he should be hated and plotted against, as one persecuted and rev

 Baptist (14, 1. 2[-11]). and thus in mark and thus in luke. the jews held different opinions concerning these matters, some false, such as the sadduce

 He passed over in silence in his histories. 10.21 the text of matthew has it thus: for herod, having seized john, bound him in prison. concerning thes

 Free among the dead.” “for though he was crucified through weakness, yet he lives by the power of god.” furthermore, behold the people among whom clea

 Into the desert, was in it, because his word and teaching were peculiar compared to what was customary and established among the gentiles. and the cro

 To give the loaves of the blessing to the disciples, so that they might set them before the crowds, he healed the sick, so that having been made wel

 The disciples say they have five loaves and the two fish in matthew and mark and luke, without noting whether they were of wheat or of barley but joh

 “all flesh is grass,” that is, to make the flesh subject and to subordinate “the mind of the flesh,” so that in this way one might be able to partake

 Of those who come to the name of jesus, those who know “the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven” might be called disciples but those to whom such a th

 Jesus [compelled] the disciples to get in, or perhaps the struggle of temptations and circumstances, into which one is compelled by the word and, as i

 To lead us to the other side. for it is not possible to reach the other side without having endured the trials of waves and a contrary wind. then, whe

 Having sent them, since they were not able, on account of being very ill, to approach on their own, and they did not themselves touch the fringe, as t

 Jesus does not accuse them concerning a tradition of the jewish elders, but concerning two of the most necessary commandments of god, of which the one

 By the name of the treasury wishes to give to the poor rather than to the relatives of the givers, if they happen to be in need of necessities and the

 The hidden things. and all these words will be to you like the words of the sealed book, which if they give it to a man who knows letters, saying, ‘re

 For which things the carnal jews and the ebionites who differ little from them accuse us of breaking the law, for not thinking that the obvious meanin

 Drink” and the rest, teaching us that the things according to the letter are a shadow, but the true meanings of the law underlying these are good thin

 Guides of the blind. who then? the pharisees, whose 'minds the god of this age has blinded,' being 'unbelievers' because they had not believed in jesu

 What enters into the mouth goes into the stomach and is cast out into the latrine, and the food that is sanctified through the word of god and prayer

 And jesus went out from there and withdrew into the region of tyre and sidon, and behold a canaanite woman (15, 21. 22 [-28]). from where there? or fr

 To see the difference of those who approach, who approach him, as it were, as the one who was made “of the seed of david according to the flesh,” and

 He answered and said: it is not right to take the children's bread and throw it to the little dogs. one might inquire into the meaning of this saying,

 Blind in soul and not seeing the true light, and others lame and not able to walk according to reason, and others maimed and not able to work accord

 Of the loaves (jesus) went out and saw a great multitude, and was moved with compassion for them and healed their sick. and when it was evening, the

 To her “o woman, great is your faith let it be to you as you desire,” he healed her daughter “from that hour,” yet it is not written that he sent he

to give the loaves of the blessing to the disciples, so that they might set them before the crowds, "he healed the sick," so that having been made well they might partake of the loaves of blessing; for those who are still sick cannot receive the loaves of Jesus' blessing. But also if anyone, when it is necessary to hear "Let each one examine himself, and so let him eat of the bread" and the rest, does not listen to these things, but partakes of the Lord's bread and his cup in a random way, he becomes weak or sick or even from, so to speak, being stupefied by the power of the bread, falls asleep. 11.t ORIGEN'S COMMENTARIES ON THE GOSPEL OF MATTHEW, BOOK XI 11.1 Now when it was evening, his disciples came to him—that is, at the consummation of the age, concerning which it is opportune to say, "it is the last hour," found in the epistle of John—, who, not yet understanding what the Word was about to do, say to him that the place is desolate, seeing the desolation of the divine [and] law and word among the many. And they say to him that the hour <already> has passed, as if the opportune time of the law and prophets had passed by. And perhaps they said this, reporting the word, and because John had been beheaded and the law and the prophets, who were until John, had ceased. The hour, therefore, they say, has passed, and there is no food because its season is no longer present, so that those in the desert who followed you might serve the law and prophets. And the disciples also say: Send them away, therefore, so that each, if not from the cities, then from the villages, the less honorable places, might buy food. The disciples said these things, despairing that for the crowds would be found, after the letter of the law had been destroyed and prophecies had ceased, paradoxical and new foods. But Jesus, see what he answers the disciples, almost shouting and saying clearly: You suppose that if the great crowd, needing food, goes away from me, they will find it in villages rather than with me, and in gatherings of men—not citizens but villagers—rather than when they remain with me. But I declare to you that what you suppose they need, they do not need—for they have no need to go away—; but what you think they do not have need of—that is, of me, as not being able to feed them—, of this, contrary to your expectation, they have need. Since, therefore, having trained you, I made you able to give spiritual food to those in need, you give the crowds who have followed me something to eat; for you have the power, having received it from me, to give the crowds food, which if you had attended to, you would have understood, that I am much more able to feed them, and you would not have said: Send the crowds away, so that they may go and buy food for themselves. 11.2 So Jesus, because of the power he gave to the disciples which was also nourishing of others, said: You give them something to eat. But they, while not denying the ability to give bread, yet considering themselves to be far fewer and not sufficient to feed those who followed Jesus, and not seeing that Jesus, taking each loaf <or> word, extends it as far as he wishes, making it sufficient for all whom he may wish to feed, they say: we have here only five loaves and two fish, perhaps hinting that the five loaves are the perceptible words of the scriptures and for this reason equal in number to the five senses, and the two fish are either the spoken and the indwelling word, being like a relish to the perceptible things lying in the scriptures, or perhaps also the word concerning the Father and the Son that has come to them. For this reason also he himself "ate a piece of a broiled fish," having risen, "taking it" from the disciples, and accepting the theology concerning the Father which they were able to report to him in part. We, then, have thus been able to approach the account concerning the five loaves and two fish; but it is likely that those more able than we to gather the five loaves and the two fish to themselves could render a more abundant and better meaning concerning these things. It must be observed, however, that the

τῆς εὐλογίας ἄρτους διδόναι τοῖς μαθηταῖς, ἵνα παραθῶσι τοῖς ὄχλοις, «ἐθεράπευσε τοὺς ἀρρώστους», ἵν' ὑγιάναντες τῶν τῆς εὐλογίας μεταλάβωσιν ἄρτων· οὐ γὰρ δύνανται οἱ ἔτι ἄρρωστοι χωρῆσαι τοὺς τῆς Ἰησοῦ εὐλογίας ἄρτους. Ἀλλὰ καὶ ἐάν τις, δέον ἀκούειν τοῦ «δοκιμαζέτω δὲ ἕκαστος ἑαυτόν, καὶ οὕτως ἐσθιέτω ἐκ τοῦ ἄρτου» καὶ τὰ λοιπά, τούτων μὲν μὴ κατακούῃ, ὡς ἔτυχε δὲ μεταλαμβάνῃ ἄρτου κυρίου καὶ ποτηρίου αὐτοῦ, ἀσθενὴς ἢ ἄρρωστος γίνεται ἢ καὶ ἐκ τοῦ, ἵν' οὕτως εἴπω, καροῦσθαι ὑπὸ τῆς τοῦ ἄρτου δυνάμεως κοιμώμενος. 11.t ὨΡΙΓΕΝΟΥΣ ΤΩΝ ΕΙΣ ΤΟ ΚΑΤΑ ΜΑΤΘΑΙΟΝ ΕΥΑΓΓΕΛΙΟΝ ἘΞΗΓΗΤΙΚΩΝ ΤΟΜΟΣ ΙΑʹ 11.1 Ὀψίας δὲ γενομένης προσῆλθον αὐτῷ οἱ μαθηταὶ αὐτοῦ-τουτέστιν ἐπὶ συντελείᾳ τοῦ αἰῶνος, καθ' ὃν ἔστιν εὐκαίρως εἰπεῖν τὸ «ἐσχάτη ὥρα ἐστίν», ἐν τῇ Ἰωάννου ἐπιστολῇ κείμενον-, οἵτινες μηδέπω νοοῦντες ὃ ἔμελλε ποιεῖν ὁ λόγος φασὶν αὐτῷ ὅτι ἔρημός ἐστιν ὁ τόπος, ὁρῶντες τὴν τοῦ θείου [καὶ] νόμου καὶ λόγου ἐρημίαν ἐν τοῖς πολλοῖς. Λέγουσι δ' αὐτῷ τὸ καὶ ἡ ὥρα <ἤδη> παρῆλθεν, οἱονεὶ παρελήλυθε τὸ εὔκαιρον νόμου καὶ προφητῶν. Τάχα δὲ τοῦτο ἔλεγον, ἀναφέροντες τὸν λόγον, καὶ διὰ τὸ τὸν Ἰωάννην ἀποκεκεφαλίσθαι καὶ τὸν νόμον καὶ τοὺς προφήτας, οἳ ἦσαν μέχρι Ἰωάννου, πεπαῦσθαι. Παρῆλθεν οὖν, φασίν, ἡ ὥρα, καὶ οὐ πάρεστι τροφὴ τῷ τὸν καιρὸν αὐτῆς μηκέτι ἐνεστηκέναι, ἵν' οἱ ἐν τῇ ἐρήμῳ ἀκολουθήσαντές σοι νόμῳ καὶ προφήταις δουλεύσωσι. Καὶ ἔτι φασὶν οἱ μαθηταί· Ἀπόλυσον οὖν αὐτούς, ἵν' ἕκαστος, εἰ μὴ δύναται ἀπὸ τῶν πόλεων, ἀλλ' ἀπὸ τῶν κωμῶν, τῶν ἀτιμοτέρων χωρίων, ὠνήσηται βρώματα. Ταῦτα μὲν ἔφασκον οἱ μαθηταί, ἀπο γινώσκοντες τοῖς ὄχλοις εὑρεθήσεσθαι, μετὰ τὸ καταλελύσθαι τὸ γράμμα τοῦ νόμου καὶ πεπαῦσθαι προφητείας, παραδόξους καὶ καινὰς τροφάς. Ἀλλ' ὁ Ἰησοῦς ὅρα τί ἀποκρίνεται τοῖς μαθηταῖς, μονονουχὶ βοῶν καὶ σαφῶς λέγων· ὑμεῖς μὲν ὑπολαμβάνετε ὅτι, ἐὰν ἀπέλθωσιν ἀπ' ἐμοῦ ὁ πολὺς ὄχλος χρῄζοντες τροφῶν, ταύτας εὑρήσουσιν ἐν κώμαις μᾶλλον ἢ παρ' ἐμοί, καὶ ἐν συστήμασιν ἀνθρώπων-οὐ πολιτῶν ἀλλὰ κωμητῶν-μᾶλλον ἢ ὅτε παραμενοῦσί μοι. Ἐγὼ δὲ ὑμῖν ἀποφαίνομαι ὅτι, οὗ μὲν ὑπολαμβάνετε χρῄζειν αὐτούς, οὐ χρῄζουσιν-οὐ γὰρ χρείαν ἔχουσι τοῦ ἀπελθεῖν-· οὗ δὲ νομίζετε αὐτοὺς μὴ ἔχειν χρείαν-τουτέστιν ἐμοῦ, ὡς μὴ δυναμένου αὐτοὺς τρέφειν-, τούτου παρὰ τὴν ὑμετέραν προσδοκίαν χρείαν ἔχουσιν. Ἐπεὶ οὖν παιδεύσας ὑμᾶς ἱκανοὺς ἐποίησα πρὸς τὸ διδόναι τοῖς δεομένοις λογικὴν τροφήν, ὑμεῖς δότε τοῖς ἀκολουθήσασί μοι ὄχλοις φαγεῖν· ἔχετε γὰρ δύναμιν ἀπ' ἐμοῦ λαβόντες τοῦ δοῦναι τοῖς ὄχλοις φαγεῖν, ᾗτινι εἰ ἦτε ἐπιστάντες, κατενοήσατε ἄν, ὅτι πολλῷ πλεῖον ἐγὼ δύναμαι αὐτοὺς θρέψαι, καὶ οὐκ εἰρήκειτε ἄν· Ἀπόλυσον τοὺς ὄχλους, ἵνα ἀπελθόντες ἀγοράσωσιν ἑαυτοῖς βρώματα. 11.2 Ὁ μὲν οὖν Ἰησοῦς, δι' ἣν ἔδωκε δύναμιν καὶ ἑτέρων θρεπτικὴν τοῖς μαθηταῖς, εἶπε· ∆ότε αὐτοῖς ὑμεῖς φαγεῖν. Οἱ δὲ μὴ ἀρνούμενοι μὲν τὸ δύνασθαι διδόναι ἄρτους, πολλῷ δὲ ὀλιγωτέρους αὑτοὺς νομίζοντες εἶναι καὶ οὐχ ἱκανοὺς τρέφειν τοὺς ἀκολουθήσαντας τῷ Ἰησοῦ, οὐδὲ θεωροῦντες ὅτι ἕκαστον ἄρτον <ἢ> λόγον ὁ Ἰησοῦς λαβὼν εἰς ὅσον βούλεται ἐκτείνει, ποιῶν αὐτὸν διαρκῆ πᾶσιν ὅσους ἐὰν θρέψαι θέλῃ, φασίν· οὐκ ἔχομεν ὧδε εἰ μὴ πέντε ἄρτους καὶ δύο ἰχθύας, πέντε μὲν ἴσως αἰνισσόμενοι ἄρτους εἶναι τοὺς αἰσθητοὺς τῶν γραφῶν λόγους καὶ διὰ τοῦτο ἰσαρίθμους ταῖς πέντε αἰσθήσεσιν, δύο δὲ ἰχθῦς ἤτοι τὸν προφορικὸν καὶ τὸν ἐνδιάθετον λόγον, ὡσπερεὶ ὄψον τυγχάνοντας τῶν ἐν ταῖς γραφαῖς αἰσθητῶν κειμένων, ἢ τάχα καὶ τὸν φθάσαντα ἐπ' αὐτοὺς περὶ πατρὸς καὶ υἱοῦ λόγον. ∆ιὸ καὶ αὐτὸς «ἔφαγεν ἰχθύος ὀπτοῦ» ἀναστὰς «μέρος λαβὼν» ἀπὸ τῶν μαθητῶν, καὶ ἀποδεξάμενος ἣν ἐδύναντο ἐκ μέρους ἀπαγγεῖλαι αὐτῷ περὶ τοῦ πατρὸς θεολογίαν. Ἡμεῖς μὲν οὖν οὕτως τῷ περὶ τῶν πέντε ἄρτων καὶ δύο ἰχθύων ἐπιβαλεῖν δεδυνήμεθα λόγῳ· εἰκὸς δὲ ὅτι οἱ μᾶλλον ἡμῶν συναγαγεῖν δυνάμενοι τοὺς πέντε ἄρτους καὶ τοὺς δύο ἰχθύας παρ' ἑαυτοῖς πλείονα καὶ κρείττονα δύναιντ' ἂν ἀποδοῦναι περὶ τούτων νοῦν. Παρατηρητέον μέντοι ὅτι τοὺς