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him above his enemies. This the history of Exodus also teaches. For by as much, it says, as the Egyptians afflicted them, by so much they became more numerous, and the land multiplied them. It shows, therefore, that the increase was not of nature, but of His promise. For when they ought to have become fewer, being driven by the taskmasters, their children being thrown into the river, their nature being abused, then rather they increased, so as to become exceedingly formidable to the inhabitants; so that Pharaoh, who knew not Joseph, said: Behold, now the nation is numerous, and is mightier than we. But they would not have been strengthened when they increased, if they had not received the protection of Joseph and the favor of Pharaoh. He turned their heart to hate his people, to deal craftily with his servants. Since, from being honored by the Egyptians, they turned out into a similar idolatry, for this reason He prepared them to be hated, and to have the heavy works imposed on them, so that, being afflicted, they might flee to God, and the promise of God to Abraham might find a place to be fulfilled. For as He tested and glorified Joseph, who was found worthy through the trial, so now the people; for having been tried, they groaned and cried out to their God. Therefore now the honor shown to them by the Egyptians was turned into hatred. For having come into ease and honor among the Egyptians, they forgot the God of their fathers, and became partakers of their idolatry, as says Jesus the son of Nave, saying, And now fear the Lord, and serve him in uprightness of righteousness, and put away the strange gods, which your fathers served beyond the river, and in Egypt. He turned the heart of the 55.658 Egyptians, not by compelling, but by conceding to their free will. They dealt craftily, at one time by ordering the midwives to kill the males of the Hebrews, and at another time by commanding them to be sent into the river. But nevertheless, even so, the race escaped the contrivances of death. He sent forth Moses his servant, Aaron whom he had chosen for himself. He set among them the words of his signs, and of his wonders in the land of Ham.

4. He sets forth the principal narratives of the history. For having summarized, he says, that having punished them sufficiently according to their desert, he sends those through whom he performed wonders, punishing the Egyptians on the one hand, and instructing the Hebrews toward their own knowledge on the other. But the causes of the signs he revealed only to those around Moses, declaring a rational comprehension to them as being the only rational ones, so that they might know for what reason he at one time changed the waters of the Egyptians, and at another time each particular thing, and why it happened in this order, and of what things these were images or symbols. For since not all are able of themselves and by themselves to depart from harmful things, to those who are thus weak God sends those who are able, guides and leaders of the way that leads to good things. And these are: the law of God, Moses, and the high-priestly word, of which Aaron is a symbol. And they indeed moved their tongue, and lent their mouth to God and uttered the words; but all the power was sent from him. He sent forth darkness and made it dark, because they provoked his words. And the wonderful servants did not speak against the divine commands, but did what was commanded, and brought upon them that very long and three-day night, or rather a darkness more gloomy than night. For the night, even if it is moonless, is mingled with the brightness of the stars; but that darkness the divine Scripture calls palpable. For God, the guardian of the people, did not punish the Egyptians by any great things; for the almighty hand was not at a loss to send upon them sudden wrath, lions, bears, famine, or plague, or death; but he punished them by what he said, and gently called them to repentance; but the greatest affliction of the people was not because of clay

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αὐτὸν ὑπὲρ τοὺς ἐχθροὺς αὐτοῦ. Τοῦτο καὶ τῆς Ἐξόδου ἡ ἱστορία διδάσκει. Ὅσῳ γὰρ, φησὶν, ἐκάκουν αὐτοὺς οἱ Αἰγύπτιοι, τοσούτῳ πλείους ἐγίνοντο, καὶ ἐπλήθυνεν αὐτοὺς ἡ γῆ. ∆είκνυσι τοιγαροῦν, ὅτι οὐ φύσεως ἦν ἡ ἐπίδοσις, ἀλλὰ τῆς ἐπαγγελίας αὐ τοῦ. Ὅτε γὰρ ὀλιγωτέρους ἔδει γενέσθαι ὑπὸ τῶν ἐργοδιωκτῶν ἐλαυνομένους, τῶν παίδων εἰς τὸν πο ταμὸν ῥιπτομένων, τῆς φύσεως ἐπηρεαζομένης, τότε μᾶλλον ἐπέδοσαν οὕτως, ὡς καὶ σφόδρα γενέσθαι φοβε ροὺς τοῖς ἐνοικοῦσιν· ὥστε τὸν Φαραὼ λέγειν, ὃς οὐκ ᾔδει τὸν Ἰωσήφ· Ἰδοὺ νῦν πολυπληθεῖ τὸ ἔθνος, καὶ ἰσχύει ὑπὲρ ἡμᾶς. Οὐκ ἂν δὲ αὐξηθέντες ἐκραταιώθη σαν, εἰ μὴ τῆς Ἰωσὴφ ἔτυχον προστασίας καὶ τῆς τοῦ Φαραὼ δεξιώσεως. Μετέτρεψε τὴν καρδίαν αὐτῶν, τοῦ μισῆσαι τὸν λαὸν αὐτοῦ, τοῦ δολιοῦσθαι ἐν τοῖς δούλοις αὐτοῦ. Ἐπειδὴ ἐκ τοῦ τιμᾶσθαι παρὰ τῶν Αἰ γυπτίων αὐτοὺς εἰς τὴν ὁμοίαν εἰδωλολατρείαν ἐξέβησαν, τούτου χάριν παρεσκεύασε μισῆσαι αὐτοὺς, καὶ τὰ βα ρέα τῶν ἔργων ἐπιθεῖναι, ἵνα κακωθέντες καταφύγωσι πρὸς τὸν Θεὸν, καὶ εὕρῃ χώραν πληρωθῆναι ἡ πρὸς τὸν Θεὸν Ἀβραὰμ ἐπαγγελία. Ὡς γὰρ τὸν Ἰωσὴφ πειράσαἐδόξασεν, ἄξιον ὀφθέντα διὰ τῆς πείρας, οὕτω νῦν τὸν λαόν· πειρασθέντες γὰρ ἐστέναξαν καὶ ἐκέκραξαν πρὸς τὸν Θεὸν αὐτῶν. ∆ιὸ νῦν εἰς μῖσος μετεστράφη τοῖς Αἰ γυπτίοις ἡ πρὸς αὐτοὺς τιμή. Ἐν ἀνέσει γὰρ γενόμενοι καὶ τιμῇ παρ' Αἰγυπτίοις ἐπελάθοντο τοῦ πατρῴου Θεοῦ, καὶ τῆς αὐτῶν εἰδωλολατρείας γεγόνασι κοινωνοὶ, ὥς φησιν Ἰησοῦς ὁ τοῦ Ναυῆ, Καὶ νῦν φοβήθητε, λέ γων, τὸν Κύριον, καὶ λατρεύσατε αὐτῷ ἐν εὐθύτητι δικαιοσύνης, καὶ περιέλεσθε τοὺς θεοὺς τοὺς ἀλλο τρίους, οἷς ἐλάτρευσαν οἱ πατέρες ὑμῶν ἐν τῷ πέ ραν τοῦ ποταμοῦ, καὶ ἐν Αἰγύπτῳ. Μετέτρεψε δὲ τῶν 55.658 Αἰγυπτίων τὴν καρδίαν, οὐ βιασάμενος, ἀλλὰ τῷ αὐτεξ ουσίῳ παραχωρῶν. Ἐδολιεύσαντο δὲ ποτὲ μὲν ταῖς μαίαις ἐπιτάξαντες ἀνελεῖν τῶν Ἑβραίων τὰ ἄῤῥενα, ποτὲ δὲ τῷ ποταμῷ ταῦτα παραπέμψαι κελεύσαντες. Ἀλλ' ὅμως καὶ οὕτω τὸ γένος διέφυγε τοῦ θανάτου τὰ μηχανήματα. Ἐξαπέστειλε Μωϋσῆν τὸν δοῦλον αὐ τοῦ, Ἀαρὼν ὃν ἐξελέξατο ἑαυτῷ. Ἔθετο ἐν αὐτοῖς τοὺς λόγους τῶν σημείων αὐτοῦ, καὶ τῶν τεράτων αὐτοῦ ἐν γῇ Χάμ.

δʹ. Τῆς ἱστορίας τὰ καίρια τίθησι διηγήματα. Συντεμὼν γάρ φησιν, ὡς ἱκανῶς αὐτοὺς πρὸς τὴν ἀξίαν τιμωρη σάμενος, πέμπει τούτους δι' ὧν ἐποίησε τεράτων, τοὺς μὲν Αἰγυπτίους κολάζων, πρὸς τὴν ἰδίαν δὲ γνῶσιν τοὺς Ἑβραίους παιδεύων. Τῶν σημείων δὲ τὰς αἰτίας τοῖς ἀμφὶ Μωϋσέα μόνοις ἐξέφηνε, λογικὴν κατάληψιν ὡς λογικοῖς μόνοις οὖσι δηλώσας, ὡς εἰδέναι δι' ἣν αἰτίαν ποτὲ μὲν τὰ ὕδατα τῶν Αἰγυπτίων μετέβαλε, ποτὲ δὲ τὸ καθ' ἕκαστον, καὶ διὰ τί κατὰ τήνδε τὴν τάξιν ἐγίνετο, καὶ ταῦτα τίνων εἰκόνες ἢ σύμβολα. Ἐπειδὴ γὰρ μὴ πάντες οἷοί τέ εἰσιν ἐξ ἑαυτῶν καὶ δι' ἑαυτῶν ἀναχωρεῖν τῶν βλαβερῶν, τοῖς οὕτως ἀσθενέσιν ἀποστέλλει Θεὸς τοὺς δυναμένους, ὁδηγοὺς καὶ ἡγεμόνας τῆς ὁδοῦ τῆς ἐπὶ τὰ ἀγαθὰ φερούσης. Εἰσὶ δὲ οὗτοι· ὁ Θεοῦ νόμος, Μωϋσῆς, καὶ ὁ ἀρχιερατικὸς λόγος, οὗ σύμβολον Ἀαρών. Καὶ ἐκεῖνοι μὲν τὴν γλῶτταν ἐκίνουν, καὶ τὸ στόμα ἐδάνειζον τῷ Θεῷ καὶ τὰ ῥήματα ἐξέβαλλον· ἡ δὲ δύνα μις παρ' αὐτοῦ πᾶσα ἐπέμπετο. Ἐξαπέστειλε σκότος καὶ ἐσκότασε, διότι παρεπίκραναν τοὺς λόγους αὐ τοῦ. Καὶ οὐκ ἀντεῖπον οἱ θαυμάσιοι θεράποντες τοῖς θείοις προστάγμασιν, ἀλλὰ τὰ κελευόμενα ἔδρων, καὶ τὴν μακροτάτην αὐτοῖς καὶ τριήμερον ἐπήγαγον νύκτα, μᾶλλον δὲ νυκτὸς ζοφωδέστερον σκότος. Ἡ μὲν γὰρ νὺξ, κἂν ἀσέληνος ᾖ, τῇ αἴγλῃ τῶν ἀστέρων κεράννυται· ἐκεῖνο δὲ τὸ σκότος ψηλαφητὸν ἡ θεία καλεῖ Γραφή. Ὁ γὰρ τοῦ λαοῦ κηδεμὼν Θεὸς οὐ διὰ μεγάλων τινῶν τοὺς Αἰγυπτίους ἐκόλαζεν· οὐ γὰρ ἠπόρει ἡ παντοδύναμος χεὶρ ἀθρόαν αὐτοῖς ὀργὴν ἐπιπέμψαι, λέοντας, ἄρκτους, λιμὸν, ἢ λοιμὸν, ἢ θάνατον· ἀλλὰ δι' ὧν εἶπεν ἐτιμωρεῖτο, καὶ αὐτοὺς ἠρέμα καλῶν εἰς μετάνοιαν· ἡ δὲ μεγίστη τοῦ λαοῦ κάκωσις οὐ διὰ πηλοῦ