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to be disturbed, by reminding him through the address of his forefathers of the promise made to the whole race. For why did he call him son of David? Fear not; and yet, elsewhere God does not do so, but when someone was planning concerning a woman that which he ought not, He uses His word more sternly and with a threat; and yet there too the matter was one of ignorance; for that man did not take Sarah knowingly; but nevertheless He rebuked him; but here more gently. For great was the magnitude of what was being dispensed, and the difference between the two men; for which reason there was no need of rebuke. But by saying, Fear not, he shows that he was afraid, lest he offend God by having an adulteress, since if it were not for this, he would not even have thought of putting her away. By all these things, then, he shows that the angel has come from God, bringing forth and setting before him all that he had thought, and all that he had felt in his mind. And having said her name, he did not stop there, but also added, your wife; he would not have called her so, if she had been corrupted. But by wife he here means his betrothed; just as Scripture is also accustomed to call the betrothed men sons-in-law even before the marriage. And what is, To take unto you? To keep her in the house; for in his mind she was already put away. This one who has been put away, he says, keep, whom God commits to you, not her parents; and He commits her, not for marriage, but to dwell with you, and He commits her by my voice. Just as Christ also later committed her to the disciple, so also now to Joseph. Then, having also hinted at the reason, he did not state the evil suspicion, but in a more reverent and fitting manner, by stating the cause of her birth-pangs, he did away with that too, showing that for the very reason he had been afraid and wished to put her away, for this very reason he would be right both to take and to keep her in the house, abundantly relieving his distress. For not only is she free, he says, from unlawful intercourse, but she even conceives above nature. Therefore do not only put away your fear, but also rejoice greatly; For that which is conceived in her is of the Holy Spirit. What was said is paradoxical, surpassing human reasoning, and above the 57.47 laws of nature. How then will a man inexperienced in these narratives believe? From past things, he says, from the revelations. For it was for this reason that he revealed everything in his mind, what he had felt, what he had feared, what he had planned to do, so that from those things he might also be persuaded of this; or rather, not from past things only, but also from things to come he persuades him. And she shall bring forth, he says, a son, and you shall call his name Jesus. For do not, because it is of the Holy Spirit, think that you are a stranger to the ministry belonging to the dispensation. For even if you contribute nothing to the generation, but the Virgin has remained untouched, nevertheless that which is a father's own, not harming the dignity of her virginity, this I give to you, to put the name upon the one who is born; for you shall call him. For even if the child is not yours, yet you shall show a father's part towards him. For this reason, even from the giving of the name I at once make you akin to the one who is born. Then, lest again from this anyone should suspect him to be the father, hear how he states what follows with precision. She shall bring forth, he says, a son; he did not say, She shall bring forth to you, but simply, She shall bring forth, leaving it in suspense; for she bore him not for him, but for the whole world. 7. For this reason also the angel came bringing the name from heaven, and thereby showing that the birth was wondrous, in that it was God who sent the name from above through the angel to Joseph. For this was not a simple thing, but a treasury of countless blessings. For this reason the angel also interprets it, and suggests good hopes, and by this means leads him to faith. For we are accustomed to be more inclined towards these things; which is why we also prefer to believe them. Having therefore established his faith from all things, from the past, from the future, from the present, from the honor shown to him, he also introduces the prophet at a fitting moment, bearing witness to all these things. But before he introduces him, he proclaims beforehand the good things that are to happen to the world through him. And what are these?

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διαταραχθῆναι, διὰ τῆς τῶν προγόνων προσηγορίας τῆς ἐπαγγελίας τῆς πρὸς τὸ ὅλον γένος γενομένης ἀναμνήσας. Ἐπεὶ τίνος ἕνεκεν υἱὸν ∆αυῒδ αὐτὸν ἐκάλεσε; Μὴ φοβηθῇς· καίτοιγε ἀλλαχοῦ ὁ Θεὸς οὐχ οὕτω ποιεῖ, ἀλλὰ βουλευομένου τινὸς περὶ γυναικὸς ὅπερ οὐκ ἔδει, ἐπιπληκτικώτερον καὶ μετ' ἀπειλῆς τῷ λόγῳ κέχρηται· καίτοιγε τὸ πρᾶγμα καὶ ἐκεῖ ἀγνοίας ἦν· οὐδὲ γὰρ εἰδὼς ἔλαβε τὴν Σάῤῥαν ἐκεῖνος· ἀλλ' ὅμως ἐπέπληξεν· ἐνταῦθα δὲ ἡμερώτερον. Πολὺ γὰρ τὸ μέγεθος τῶν οἰκονομουμένων ἦν, καὶ τὸ μέσον ἑκατέρων τῶν ἀνδρῶν· διόπερ οὐδὲ ἐπιπλήξεως ἔδει. Εἰπὼν δὲ, Μὴ φοβηθῇς, δείκνυσιν αὐτὸν δεδοικότα, μὴ προσκρούσῃ τῷ Θεῷ ὡς μοιχαλίδα ἔχω, ὡς εἰ μὴ τοῦτο ἦν, οὐδ' ἂν ἐνενόησεν ἐκβαλεῖν. ∆ιὰ πάντων τοίνυν δείκνυσιν, ὅτι παρὰ Θεοῦ ὁ ἄγγελος ἥκει, καὶ ἅπερ ἐνενόησε, καὶ ἅπερ ἔπαθε κατὰ διάνοιαν, ἅπαντα εἰς μέσον ἐκφέρων καὶ προτιθείς. Εἰπὼν δὲ αὐτῆς τὸ ὄνομα, οὐκ ἔστη μέχρι τούτου, ἀλλὰ καὶ ἐπήγαγε, Τὴν γυναῖκά σου, οὐκ ἂν οὕτω καλέσας, εἰ διέφθαρτο. Γυναῖκα δὲ ἐνταῦθα τὴν μνηστὴν λέγει· ὥσπερ οὖν καὶ γαμβροὺς εἴωθεν ἡ Γραφὴ λέγειν καὶ πρὸ τοῦ γάμου τοὺς μνηστῆρας. Τί δέ ἐστι, Παραλαβεῖν; Ἔνδον κατέχειν· ἤδη γὰρ αὐτῷ τῇ διανοίᾳ ἀπολέλυτο. Ταύτην τὴν ἀπολελυμένην, φησὶ, κάτεχε, ἥν σοι παραδίδωσιν ὁ Θεὸς, οὐχ οἱ γονεῖς· παραδίδωσι δὲ, οὐκ εἰς γάμον, ἀλλ' εἰς τὸ συνοικεῖν, καὶ παραδίδωσι διὰ τῆς φωνῆς τῆς ἐμῆς. Ὥσπερ αὐτὴν καὶ ὁ Χριστὸς ὕστερον παρέδωκε τῷ μαθητῇ, οὕτω καὶ νῦν τῷ Ἰωσήφ. Εἶτα καὶ τὴν ὑπόθεσιν αἰνιξάμενος, τὴν μὲν πονηρὰν ὑποψίαν οὐκ εἶπε, σεμνότερον δὲ καὶ πρεπωδέστερον τῇ τῶν ὠδίνων αἰτίᾳ κἀκείνην ἀνεῖλε, δεικνὺς ὅτι δι' ὅπερ ἐδεδοίκει καὶ ἐκβαλεῖν ἤθελε, δι' αὐτὸ μὲν οὖν τοῦτο καὶ λαβεῖν καὶ κατασχεῖν ἔνδον ἂν εἴη δίκαιος, ἐκ περιουσίας λύων τὴν ἀγωνίαν. Οὐ γὰρ μόνον παρανόμου, φησὶν, ἀπήλλακται μίξεως, ἀλλὰ καὶ ὑπὲρ φύσιν κυεῖ. Μὴ τοίνυν τὸν φόβον ἐκλύσῃς μόνον, ἀλλὰ καὶ εὐφραίνου μειζόνως· Τὸ γὰρ ἐν αὐτῇ γεννηθὲν ἐκ Πνεύματός ἐστιν ἁγίου. Παράδοξον τὸ εἰρημένον, ὑπερβαῖνον ἀνθρώπινον λογισμὸν, καὶ ἀνώτερον τῶν 57.47 τῆς φύσεως νόμων. Πῶς οὖν πιστεύσει ὁ τούτων ἄπειρος τῶν διηγημάτων ἀνήρ; Ἀπὸ τῶν παρελθόντων, φησὶν, ἀπὸ τῶν ἀποκαλύψεων. ∆ιὰ γὰρ τοῦτο τὰ ἐν τῇ διανοίᾳ πάντα ἐξεκάλυψεν, ἅπερ ἔπαθεν, ἅπερ ἔδεισεν, ἅπερ ποιῆσαι ἐβουλεύσατο, ἵνα ἐξ ἐκείνων καὶ τοῦτο πιστώσηται· μᾶλλον δὲ, οὐκ ἀπὸ τῶν παρελθόντων μόνον, ἀλλὰ καὶ ἀπὸ τῶν μελλόντων αὐτὸν ἐπάγεται. Τέξεται δὲ, φησὶν, υἱὸν, καὶ καλέσεις τὸ ὄνομα αὐτοῦ Ἰησοῦν. Μὴ γὰρ, ἐπειδὴ ἐκ Πνεύματός ἐστιν ἁγίου, νομίσῃς ἀλλότριόν σε τῆς διακονίας εἶναι τῆς κατὰ τὴν οἰκονομίαν. Εἰ γὰρ καὶ εἰς τὴν γέννησιν οὐδὲν συντελεῖς, ἀλλ' ἀνέπαφος ἔμεινεν ἡ Παρθένος, ὅμως ὅπερ ἐστὶ πατρὸς ἴδιον, οὐ λυμαινόμενον τὸ τῆς παρθενίας ἀξίωμα, τοῦτό σοι δίδωμι, τὸ ὄνομα ἐπιθεῖναι τῷ τικτομένῳ· σὺ γὰρ αὐτὸν καλέσεις. Εἰ γὰρ καὶ μὴ σὸς ὁ τόκος, ἀλλὰ τὰ πατρὸς ἐπιδείξῃ περὶ αὐτόν. ∆ιὰ τοῦτό σε καὶ ἀπὸ τῆς τοῦ ὀνόματος θέσεως εὐθέως οἰκειῶ τῷ τικτομένῳ. Εἶτα, ἵνα μὴ πάλιν ἐκ τούτου πατέρα τις αὐτὸν ὑποπτεύσῃ, ἄκουσον τὰ ἑξῆς πῶς μετὰ ἀκριβείας τίθησι. Τέξεται, φησὶν, υἱόν· οὐκ εἶπε, Τέξεταί σοι, ἀλλ' ἁπλῶς, Τέξεται, μετέωρον αὐτὸ θείς· οὐ γὰρ αὐτῷ ἔτικτεν, ἀλλὰ τῇ οἰκουμένῃ πάσῃ. ζʹ. ∆ιὰ τοῦτο καὶ τὸ ὄνομα ἐκ τῶν οὐρανῶν ἦλθε κομίζων ὁ ἄγγελος, καὶ ἐντεῦθεν δεικνὺς θαυμαστὸν ὄντα τὸν τόκον, τῷ τὸν Θεὸν εἶναι τὸν τὴν προσηγορίαν ἄνωθεν πέμποντα διὰ τοῦ ἀγγέλου τῷ Ἰωσήφ. Οὐδὲ γὰρ τοῦτο ἁπλῶς ἦν, ἀλλὰ μυρίων ἀγαθῶν θησαυρός. ∆ιὸ καὶ ἑρμηνεύει τοῦτο ὁ ἄγγελος, καὶ χρηστὰς ὑποτείνει ἐλπίδας, καὶ ταύτῃ πρὸς πίστιν αὐτὸν ἐπαγόμενος. Πρὸς γὰρ ταῦτα ἐπιῤῥεπέστερον εἰώθαμεν ἔχειν· διὸ καὶ μᾶλλον αὐτοῖς πιστεύειν φιλοῦμεν. Ἀπὸ πάντων τοίνυν κατασκευάσας τὴν πίστιν, ἀπὸ τῶν παρελθόντων, ἀπὸ τῶν μελλόντων, ἀπὸ τῶν ἐνεστώτων, ἀπὸ τῆς εἰς αὐτὸν τιμῆς, εἰσάγει καὶ τὸν προφήτην εὐκαίρως τούτοις ἅπασι ψηφιζόμενον. Πρὶν ἢ δὲ αὐτὸν εἰσαγαγεῖν, τὰ μέλλοντα τῇ οἰκουμένῃ δι' αὐτοῦ συμβήσεσθαι ἀγαθὰ προαναφωνεῖ. Τίνα δὲ ταῦτά ἐστιν;