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For this reason, he foretells that his descendants would be few; for this is what "you will not boil over like water" means, instead of, 'may you not be heated to much childbearing.' He also reproaches Simeon and Levi, lamenting the unjust destruction of the Shechemites and prays to have no part in that transgression. However, he curses not them, but their wicked passions, their wrath and rage; he called their anger 'desire'; for from this anger has its etymology; for the one who is angry desires to avenge himself on the enemy; and this punishment was a prophecy; "for I will divide them," he says, "in Jacob and scatter them in Israel." But the tribe of Levi was scattered for the sake of the highest honor, so that with each tribe there would be Levites and priests, and they would reap the benefit from them. They did not receive their own inheritance, but in each tribe some cities were assigned to them, and a fixed number of cubits of the suburban land. And the tribe of Simeon also did not have a separate inheritance, but according to the patriarch's prophecy, was scattered among the other tribes. But for Judah he recounts many praises: "Judah, your 93 brothers will praise you; your hands will be on the back of your enemies; your father's sons will bow down to you; Judah is a lion's cub; from a shoot, my son, you have gone up, reclining you have slept as a lion, and as a cub; who will rouse him?"; But none of these things apply to Judah himself but to the tribe that sprang from him. For this was a royal tribe, with David first reigning and then those from him; and of all the other tribes it was the most powerful; for when King David ordered the people to be numbered, he found four hundred thousand of Judah, and nine hundred thousand of the other tribes; and indeed, even when numbered in the wilderness they appeared more numerous than the other tribes. But the precise fulfillment of the prophecy came about in the case of the Lord Christ, who arose from a shoot, according to the patriarch Jacob and according to the prophet Isaiah: "A rod shall come forth from the root of Jesse, and a flower shall rise from his root." To him also this applies: "reclining he slept as a lion, and as a lion's cub." For just as the lion is fearsome even while sleeping, so the lordly death has become fearsome both to death and to the devil. He called him a lion and a lion's cub as king and king's son and God and God's son; for according to his humanity he sprang from David, and as God he was begotten from the Father before the ages. And "who will rouse him?" shows his ineffable power; for he raised himself, according to his own prophecy: "Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up." He foretells also the time of his appearance: "A ruler shall not fail from Judah, nor a leader from his loins, until he comes for whom it is reserved, and he is the expectation of the nations." This is a most 94 clear sign of the Lord's coming; for not only the kings of the Jews failed, but also the high priests and the prophets, so that the end of the prophecy was shown; for when our Savior was about to be born, foreign kings ruled over them, so that the eternal king might be revealed, the expectation of the nations, according to the promise given by the God of all to the patriarchs. For to Abraham and to Isaac and to Jacob the God of all promised to bless all the nations of the earth in their seed. This the patriarch Jacob made clear here while blessing Judah: "A ruler shall not fail from Judah, nor a leader from his loins, until he comes for whom it is reserved and he is the expectation of the nations." Then showing the people constituted from Gentiles and Jews: "binding his colt to the vine, and to the tendril of the vine his donkey's colt"; that Israel was called a vine, all the prophets teach; for David says, "You brought a vine out of Egypt," and so on. And Isaiah, "My beloved had a vineyard on a horn, in a fertile place"; and through Jeremiah the God of all said, "But I had planted you a fruitful vine, wholly true";

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οὗ δὴ χάριν ὀλίγους αὐτοῦ γεγενῆσθαι τοὺς ἀπογόνους προλέγει· τοῦτο γὰρ δηλοῖ τό " ὡς ὕδωρ μὴ ἐκζέσῃς ", ἀντὶ τοῦ, μὴ θερμανθείης εἰς πολυγονίαν. νεμεσᾷ δὲ καὶ τῷ Συμεὼν καὶ τῷ Λευῒ τῶν σικημιτῶν ἄδικον ὄλεθρον ὀδυ ρόμενος καὶ εὔχεται μηδεμίαν κοινωνίαν εἰς τὴν παρανομίαν ἔχειν ἐκεί νην. ἐπαρᾶται μέντοι οὐκ αὐτοῖς, ἀλλὰ τοῖς πονηροῖς αὐτῶν πάθεσι, τῇ ὀργῇ τῇ μήνιδι· ἐπιθυμίαν δὲ τὴν ὀργὴν ἐκάλεσεν· ἐκ ταύτης γὰρ καὶ ἡ ὀργὴ τὴν ἐτυμολογίαν ἔχει· ὀρέγεται γὰρ ὁ ὀργιζόμενος ἀμύνασθαι τὸν ἐχθρόν· καὶ αὕτη δὲ ἡ τιμωρία πρόρρησις ἦν· " διαμεριῶ γὰρ αὐτούς, φησίν, ἐν Ἰακὼβ καὶ διασπερῶ αὐτοὺς ἐν Ἰσραήλ ". ἀλλ' ἡ τοῦ Λευῒ φυλὴ διὰ τὴν ἄκραν διεσπάρη τιμήν, ὥστε γὰρ ἑκάστῃ φυλῇ συνεῖναι λευΐτας καὶ ἱερέας, καὶ τὴν παρ' αὐτῶν ὠφέλειαν καρποῦσθαι. οὐκ ἔλαβον ἴδιον κλῆρον, ἀλλ' ἐν ἑκάστῃ φυλῇ τινες αὐτοῖς ἀπενεμήθησαν πόλεις, καὶ τῆς προαστείου γῆς ὡρισμένος πήχεων ἀριθμός. καὶ ἡ τοῦ Συμεὼν δὲ φυλὴ οὐκ εἶχε κλῆρον κεχωρισμένον, ἀλλὰ κατὰ τὴν τοῦ πατριάρχου πρόρρησιν, μεταξὺ τῶν ἄλλων διεσπάρη φυλῶν. τοῦ δὲ Ἰούδα πολλοὺς ἐπαίνους διέξεισιν· " Ἰούδα, σὲ 93 αἰνέσαισαν οἱ ἀδελφοί σου· αἱ χεῖρές σου ἐπὶ νώτου τῶν ἐχθρῶν σου· προσκυνήσουσί σοι οἱ υἱοὶ τοῦ πατρός σου· σκύμνος λέοντος Ἰούδα· ἐκ βλαστοῦ, υἱέ μου, ἀνέβης, ἀναπεσὼν ἐκοι μήθης ὡς λέων, καὶ ὡς σκύμνος· τίς ἐγερεῖ αὐ τόν "; ἀλλὰ τούτων οὐδὲν τῷ Ἰούδα ἁρμόττει ἀλλ' ἢ τῇ ἐκ τούτου βλαστησάσῃ φυλῇ. βασιλικὴ γὰρ ἦν αὕτη, πρώτου μὲν τοῦ ∆αβὶδ βασιλεύσαντος εἶτα τῶν ἐξ ἐκείνου· καὶ πασῶν δὲ τῶν ἄλλων φυλῶν ἦν δυνατωτάτη· καὶ γὰρ ἡνίκα ∆αβὶδ ὁ βασιλεὺς ἀριθμηθῆναι προσέταξε τὸν λαόν, τετρακοσίας τοῦ Ἰούδα χιλιάδας εὗρε, τῶν δὲ ἄλλων φυλῶν ἐννακοσίας· καὶ μέντοι κἂν τῇ ἐρήμῳ διαριθμηθέντες πλείους ὤφθησαν τῶν ἄλλων φυλῶν. ἀλλὰ τὸ ἀκριβὲς τῆς προρρήσεως τὴν ἔκβασιν ἔλα βεν ἐπὶ τοῦ δεσπότου Χριστοῦ, ὃς ἐκ βλαστοῦ ἀνέτειλε, κατὰ τὸν πα τριάρχην Ἰακὼβ καὶ κατὰ τὸν προφήτην Ἠσαΐαν· " ἐξῆλθε ῥάβδος ἐκ τῆς ῥίζης Ἰεσσαὶ καὶ ἄνθος ἐκ τῆς ῥίζης ἀνέβη ". αὐτῷ δὲ καὶ τό· " ἀναπεσὼν ἐκοιμήθη ὡς λέων, ἁρμόττει καὶ ὡς σκύμνος λέοντος ". ὥσπερ γὰρ ὁ λέων καὶ καθεύδων ἐστι φοβερός, οὕτως ὁ δεσποτικὸς θάνατος φοβερὸς καὶ τῷ θανάτῳ καὶ διαβόλῳ γεγένηται. λέοντα δὲ αὐτὸν καὶ σκύμνον κέκληκε λέοντος ὡς βασιλέα καὶ βασιλέως υἱὸν καὶ Θεὸν καὶ Θεοῦ υἱόν· καὶ κατὰ τὸ ἀνθρώπινον γὰρ ἐκ τοῦ ∆αβὶδ ἐβλάστησε, καὶ ὡς Θεὸς πρὸ τῶν αἰώνων ἐκ τοῦ πατρὸς ἐγεννήθη. καὶ τό " τίς ἐγερεῖ αὐτόν "; τὴν ἄφατον αὐτοῦ δείκνυσι δύναμιν· αὐτὸς γὰρ ἑαυτὸν ἀνέστησε, κατὰ τὴν αὑτοῦ πρόρρησιν· " λύσατε τὸν ναὸν τοῦ τον, καὶ ἐν τρισὶν ἡμέραις ἐγερῶ αὐτόν ". προ αγορεύει καὶ τῆς ἐπιφανείας αὐτοῦ τὸν καιρόν· " οὐκ ἐκλείψει ἄρχων ἐξ Ἰούδα καὶ ἡγούμενος ἐκ τῶν μηρῶν αὐτοῦ, ἕως ἂν ἔλθῃ ᾧ ἀπόκειται, καὶ αὐτὸς προσ δοκία ἐθνῶν ". τοῦτο τῆς τοῦ Κυρίου παρουσίας σημεῖον σαφέσ 94 τατον· ἐξέλιπον γὰρ τῶν ἰουδαίων οὐχ οἱ βασιλεῖς μόνον, ἀλλὰ καὶ οἱ ἀρχιερεῖς καὶ οἱ προφῆται, ὥστε δειχθῆναι τὸ τῆς προρρήσεως τέλος· τοῦ γὰρ σωτῆρος ἡμῶν τίκτεσθαι μέλλοντος, ἀλλόφυλοι αὐτῶν ἐκρά τησαν βασιλεῖς, ἵνα ὁ αἰώνιος δειχθῇ βασιλεύς, ἡ τῶν ἐθνῶν προσδοκία, κατὰ τὴν δοθεῖσαν παρὰ τοῦ Θεοῦ τῶν ὅλων τοῖς πατριάρχαις ἐπαγ γελίαν. καὶ γὰρ καὶ τῷ Ἀβραὰμ καὶ τῷ Ἰσαὰκ καὶ τῷ Ἰακὼβ ὑπέσχετο ὁτῶν ὅλων Θεὸς ἐν τῷ σπέρματι αὐτῶν εὐλογήσειν πάντα τὰ ἔθνη τῆς γῆς. τοῦτο ἐνταῦθα παρεδήλωσε τὸν Ἰούδαν εὐλογῶν ὁ Ἰακὼβ ὁ πατριάρχης· " οὐκ ἐκλείψει ἄρχων ἐξ Ἰούδα καὶ ἡγού μενος ἐκ τῶν μηρῶν αὐτοῦ, ἕως ἂν ἔλθῃ ᾧ ἀπό κειται καὶ αὐτὸς προσδοκία ἐθνῶν ". εἶτα δεικνὺς τὸν ἐξ ἐθνῶν καὶ ἰουδαίων συστάντα λαόν· " δεσμεύων πρὸς ἄμπελον τὸν πῶλον αὐτοῦ καὶ τῇ ἕλικι τῆς ἀμ πέλου τὸν πῶλον τῆς ὄνου αὐτοῦ "· ὅτι δὲ ἄμπελος ὁ Ἰσραὴλ ὠνομάζετο, ἅπαντες οἱ προφῆται διδάσκουσι· καὶ γὰρ ∆αβίδ φησιν· " ἄμπελον ἐξ Αἰγύπτου μετῆρας " καὶ τὰ ἑξῆς. καὶ ὁ Ἠσαΐας, " ἀμπελὼν ἐγενήθη τῷ ἠγαπημένῳ ἐν κέρατι, ἐν τόπῳ πίονι "· καὶ διὰ τοῦ Ἰερεμίου ὁ τῶν ὅλων ἔφη Θεός· " ἐγὼ δὲ ἐφύτευσά σε ἄμπελον καρποφό ρον, πᾶσαν ἀληθινήν "·