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he brought punishment upon them. And they were initiated to Baal-peor, and ate sacrifices of the dead, and provoked him with their practices. This is the sixth sin, in Numbers. For having again run aground into licentiousness, and mingling with the women of the Moabites, they learned their impiety. Baal-peor is an idol honored among them. And Peor was the name of the place of the idol; but Baal, the idol. Some say this one is called Kronos in the Greek language; he is also called Bel. 55.664 And he calls sacrifices of the dead what are called among the Greeks libations, which they were accustomed to offer to the dead, or that which they performed through certain necromantic works of sorcery, or because they contained the memorials of dead men. And one would not err in calling the so-called gods themselves dead. And the downfall was multiplied among them.

4. He did not state the cause of the idolatry, which was fornication, through which they acted impiously, to which gluttony was joined; but the result accuses the impiety. For on this account the law forbade intermingling with foreign women. For the sympathy of women knows how to move one even towards licentiousness. And Phinehas stood up, and made atonement; and the slaughter ceased. And it was counted to him for righteousness, to a generation forever. Symmachus called the slaughter a Plague. And history teaches this too, that Phinehas took the spear and pierced Zimri who was fornicating with the Moabite woman, and with the lance he killed the woman along with him. God, accepting his zeal, proclaimed him, but proclaimed the punishment being brought upon the others. So much does a man's righteousness avail with God, checking a common plague. And they provoked him at the water of contradiction, and Moses was afflicted for their sakes, because they embittered his spirit. And he spoke rashly with his lips. The seventh sin, for which Moses was also blamed. For approaching him as he was mourning for his sister, they demanded what they needed with great disorder. But he, being struck by the despondency of his grief, and seeing their incontinence, being overcome by anger and sorrow, did not minister to the divine command with his usual harmony; but mingling a certain doubt in his words, he struck the rock, and brought forth water. For this is what "He spoke rashly with his lips" signifies, meaning that he did not use his words without doubt. For he says Moses said to them: "Shall I bring you water from this rock?" On this account, the God of all, being seemingly indignant, did not give the land promised to the fathers through him, but commanded him to receive the end of his life, and fulfilled the promise through Jesus the son of Nave. And the governor of all things seems to have imposed this punishment upon him; but arranging other things, he brought this about. For first, knowing the foolishness of the Jews, He did not permit the whole promise to reach its fulfillment through him, lest they should suppose him to be a god. For those who deified the image of a calf, what reverence would they not have offered to the one who became the minister of so many wonders? For this very reason God caused his tomb to be hidden. In addition to this, He also wished to show the temporary nature of the legislation from the things that happened to the lawgiver himself. For if the lawgiver himself did not enjoy the promised land, it was easy to see from this that they themselves would not enjoy this provision for very long. Thus having recounted the things in the wilderness, he refutes their transgression which took place in the land of promise. They did not destroy the nations, which the Lord told them to. And they were mingled among the nations, and learned their works, and they served their carved images, and it became a stumbling block to them. For He forbade intermingling because of the fellowship of impiety, destroying the end along with the beginning, and making the fruit disappear with the root, and with the lesser evil the

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αὐτοῖς ἐπήγαγε κόλασιν. Καὶ ἐτελέσθησαν τῷ Βεελφεγὼρ, καὶ ἔφαγον θυ σίαν νεκρῶν καὶ παρώξυναν αὐτὸν ἐν τοῖς ἐπιτη δεύμασιν αὐτῶν. Ἕκτον ἁμάρτημα τοῦτο δὲ, ἐν τοῖς Ἀριθμοῖς. Εἰς ἀκολασίαν γὰρ πάλιν ἐξοκείλαντες, καὶ ταῖς τῶν Μωαβιτῶν μιγνύμενοι γυναιξὶ, μετέμαθον τὴν ἐκείνων ἀσέβειαν. Βεελφεγὼρ δέ ἐστιν εἴδωλον παρ' ἐκείνοις τιμώμενον. Καὶ Φεγὼρ μὲν ἐκαλεῖτο τοῦ εἰδώλου ὁ τόπος· Βαὰλ δὲ, τὸ εἴδωλον. Τοῦτον δέ φασί τινες Κρόνον καλεῖσθαι τῇ Ἑλλάδι φωνῇ· λέγεται δὲ καὶ Βήλ. 55.664 Θυσίας δὲ νεκρῶν καλεῖ τὰς καλουμένας παρ' Ἕλλησι χοὰς, ἃς τοῖς νεκροῖς προσφέρειν εἰώθασιν, ἢ ἣν ἐποίουν διὰ νεκρικῶν τινων τῶν κατὰ γοητείαν ἔργων, ἢ διὰ τὸ νεκρῶν ἀνδρῶν περιέχειν μνήμας. Καὶ αὐτοὺς δὲ τοὺς καλουμένους θεοὺς, νεκροὺς οὐκ ἄν τις ἁμάρτοι προσα γορεύσας. Καὶ ἐπληθύνθη ἐν αὐτοῖς ἡ πτῶσις.

δʹ. Οὐκ εἶπε δὲ τῆς εἰδωλολατρείας τὸ αἴτιον, ὅπερ ἦν ἡ πορνεία, δι' ἣν ἠσέβησαν, ᾗπερ ἡ γαστριμαργία συνῆπτο· τὸ δὲ ἀποτέλεσμα κατηγορεῖ τὴν ἀσέβειαν. Τούτου γὰρ χάριν καὶ τὴν ἐπιμιξίαν τῶν ἀλλοφύλων γυναικῶν ἀπεῖ πεν ὁ νόμος. Γυναικῶν γὰρ συμπάθεια καὶ πρὸς ἀσέλ γειαν οἶδε κινεῖν. Καὶ ἔστη Φινεὲς, καὶ ἐξιλάσατο· καὶ ἐκόπασεν ἡ θραῦσις. Καὶ ἐλογίσθη αὐτῷ εἰς δι καιοσύνην εἰς γενεὰν ἕως τοῦ αἰῶνος. Τὴν θραῦσιν ὁ Σύμμαχος Πληγὴν εἴρηκε. ∆ιδάσκει δὲ καὶ τοῦτο ἡ ἱστορία, ὡς λαβὼν τὸν σειρομάστην ὁ Φινεὲς διέπειρε μετὰ τῆς Μωαβίτιδος τὸν πορνεύοντα Ζαμβρῆ, καὶ τῷ δόρατι συνανεῖλε τὴν γυναῖκα. Τούτου τὸν ζῆλον ἀποδε ξάμενος ὁ Θεὸς, αὐτὸν μὲν ἀνεκήρυξε, τὴν δὲ τοῖς ἄλλοις ἐπαγομένην τιμωρίαν ἐκήρυξε. Τοσοῦτον ἀνδρὸς ἰσχύει δικαιοσύνη παρὰ Θεῷ, κοινὴν πληγὴν ἀναστέλλουσα. Καὶ παρώργισαν αὐτὸν ἐπὶ ὕδατος ἀντιλογίας, καὶ ἐκακώθη Μωϋσῆς δι' αὐτοὺς, ὅτι παρεπίκραναν τὸ πνεῦμα αὐτοῦ. Καὶ διέστειλεν ἐν τοῖς χείλεσιν αὐ τοῦ. Ἕβδομον ἁμάρτημα, ἐφ' ᾧ καὶ Μωϋσῆς ἐνεκλήθη. Πενθοῦντι γὰρ τὴν ἀδελφὴν προσελθόντες μετὰ πολλῆς ἀταξίας τὴν χρείαν ἐξῄτησαν. Ὁ δὲ καὶ τῇ ἀθυμίᾳ τοῦ πένθους βαλλόμενος, καὶ τὴν τούτων ἀκρασίαν θεώμενος, θυμῷ καὶ λύπῃ περισχεθεὶς οὐ μετὰ τῆς συνήθους ἁρμο νίας τῷ θείῳ προστάγματι διηκόνει· ἀλλ' ἀμφιβολίαν τινὰ τοῖς λόγοις ἀναμίξας, τὴν πέτραν ἐπάταξε, καὶ τὸ ὕδωρ ἐξήγαγε. Τοῦτο γὰρ δηλοῖ τὸ, ∆ιέστειλεν ἐν τοῖς χείλεσιν αὐτοῦ, ἀντὶ τοῦ, οὐκ ἀναμφιβόλως τοῖς λόγοις ἐχρήσατο. Εἶπε γὰρ, φησὶ, Μωϋσῆς πρὸς αὐτούς· Μὴ ἐκ τῆς πέτρας ταύτης ἐπάξω ὑμῖν ὕδωρ; Τού του χάριν ἀγανακτήσας δῆθεν ὁ τῶν ὅλων Θεὸς, οὐ διὰ αὐτοῦ τὴν τοῖς πατράσιν ἐπηγγελμένην ἀποδέδωκε γῆν, ἀλλ' αὐτὸν μὲν ἐκέλευσε δέξασθαι τοῦ βίου τὸ τέλος, διὰ Ἰησοῦ δὲ τοῦ Ναυῆ πεπλήρωκε τὴν ὑπόσχεσιν. Καὶ δο κεῖ μὲν αὐτῷ ταύτην τὴν τιμωρίαν ἐπιτεθεικέναι ὁ τῶν ὅλων πρύτανις· ἕτερα δὲ οἰκονομῶν ἐπραγματεύσατο τοῦτο. Πρῶτον μὲν γὰρ τὴν τῶν Ἰουδαίων ἐπιστάμενος ἄνοιαν, οὐκ εἴασε δι' αὐτοῦ τὴν ὑπόσχεσιν πᾶσαν πέρας λαβεῖν, ἵνα μὴ αὐτὸν θεὸν ὑπολάβωσιν. Οἱ γὰρ εἰκόνα μόσχου θεοποιήσαντες, ποῖον οὐκ ἂν προσήνεγκαν σέβας τῷ τοσούτων θαυμάτων ὑπουργῷ γενομένῳ; ∆ιά τοι τοῦτο καὶ τὸν τάφον αὐτοῦ λαθεῖν πεποίηκεν ὁ Θεός. Πρὸς δὲ τοῦτο καὶ τῆς νομοθεσίας ἠβουλήθη δεῖξαι τὸ πρόσκαιρον ἀπὸ τῶν αὐτῷ τῷ νομοθέτῃ συμβάντων. Εἰ γὰρ αὐτὸς ὁ νομοθέτης τῆς ἐπηγγελμένης οὐκ ἀπέλαυσε γῆς, συνιδεῖν ἐντεῦθεν ῥᾴδιον ἦν, ὡς οὐδὲ αὐτοὶ ταύτης ἀπολαύσουσιν ἐπὶ πλεῖστον τῆς προμηθείας. Οὕτω τὰ κατὰ τὴν ἔρημον διηγησάμενος, τὴν ἐν τῇ γῇ τῆς ἐπαγ γελίας γεγενημένην αὐτῶν διελέγχει παρανομίαν. Οὐκ ἐξωλόθρευσαν τὰ ἔθνη, ἃ εἶπε Κύριος αὐτοῖς. Καὶ ἐμίγησαν ἐν τοῖς ἔθνεσι, καὶ ἔμαθον τὰ ἔργα αὐ τῶν, καὶ ἐδούλευσαν τοῖς γλυπτοῖς αὐτῶν, καὶ ἐγε νήθη αὐτοῖς εἰς σκάνδαλον. Τὴν γὰρ ἐπιμιξίαν διὰ τὴν τῆς ἀσεβείας ἐκώλυσε κοινωνίαν, τῇ ἀρχῇ τὸ τέλος συναναιρῶν, καὶ σὺν τῇ ῥίζῃ τὸν καρπὸν ἀφανίζων, καὶ τῷ ἐλάττονι κακῷ τὸ