Collectio dictorum veteris testamenti

 is forced to descend into a foreign state and if the demons should see any good understanding accompanying him, they hasten to subject it to the sowi

 escaping. The heifer, taken first, signified the first generation. For just as the heifer struggles against the yoke, so also the first generation of

 the river, but to keep alive every female. For the devil, the spiritual Pharaoh, also conceived a threefold manner of plotting against the spiritual I

 He interprets what that one speaks spiritually and obscurely, and transforms his weak voice to be more melodious. For I have not come, he says, to abo

 the Gospel according to Christ, had as a son the multitude of those being reborn to it through the Holy Spirit whom she also circumcised with a stone

 and easy to comprehend is the mystery concerning Christ. But God did not lead the Jews to this immediately, but through the long law and the many ridd

 Moses commanded Joshua son of Nun to choose mighty men and go out and fight 77.1196 Amalek, signified that Jesus Christ would be subject to the comman

 of the people of the Jews, and servant of God, he ascends to the highest knowledge of God but the people are prevented from approaching, lest they di

 coming after it, demands this final penalty, as one who, after being freed from the burden of sin, is again voluntarily subjected to it. And He comman

 But the eighth ineffably suggests the mystery of the eternal well-being of the 77.1204 beings. The sixth day is called Preparation, because on it the

 and poverty of intellect, they make their neighbors, that is, those of the same faith, partners, so that through one another they may be raised to hig

 unmixed with wickedness, those partaking of the true Lamb nourish their own soul, throughout the whole weekly age, which is measured by the week. And

 the body bears uncircumcision. Circumcision is mystical, a voluntary removal of the passions. The circumcision of circumcision is the putting away of

 of rational discernment, as Israel did in the time of Moses, commits idolatry. For having cast into the fire of the passions the words concerning theo

 to do good things, and to walk toward good things. Humpbacked is the one bent downwards, and not able to look up from earthly things. Sun-spotted is o

 God, ostracizing stupidity, and wishing his subjects to belong to necessity alone, through the not weaving together of linen and wool, banished variet

 but in heaven God Himself whom alone they both worship and attend. And on the day that the tabernacle was set up, the cloud covered the tabernacle, an

 they were catechized by the evangelists. Or otherwise, the four types of meanings were a symbol of the four types of moral discourse. Of which the one

 Aaron's rod, as a symbol of watchfulness. For to Jeremiah, seeing a staff of a nut tree, God says: Behold, I am watchful over my words. And it budded

 bracelets, and rings, and armlets, and braided chains. For the leaders of the people in Christ and the eminent often surpass the evangelical commands

 with bodily ways of the ministry of the virtues, they return to the contemplation of kindred intelligible things. A foreign boy and a servant-girl are

 undertaking. For she will pay the penalty for the offense to God, the Father of spirits, and she will be his wife, as having already been joined to hi

 of the other man wherefore he is required to pay the penalty for the murder, but he alone suffers loss in his soul. For this, I think, is what this m

 war for one year he shall cheer his wife, whom he has taken. For it is not right that one who has just taken a spouse for himself should be led out t

 Virtue is the mother of the good deeds from it. And its nest is the soul in which it dwells. It is necessary for those who encounter them to be benefi

 its fruit for three years will be unpurified for you. It shall not be eaten, and in the fourth year all its fruit shall be holy to the Lord. But in th

 dragging down to earth, those things that draw up to heaven. Saul, is the natural 77.1249 law, which from the beginning received from the Lord the lot

 David is the law according to the spirit, who reigns over the Christians who worship God spiritually. But Saul is the law according to the letter, who

 the face of the Lord, according to David, and learns the cause of such a famine, that this injustice was against Saul, and against his house, with whi

 taking from the spiritual David, that is, the law according to the spirit, may kill the aforementioned sons and grandsons of 77.1257 Saul then in eve

 of knowledge, if it should receive the divine and discerning word, which brings to memory former sins, and will prefer even to nature itself the heali

 The Lord in the desert I mean in the world, and in the nature of men, digging out and cleansing the hearts of the worthy from material weight and min

 of the city. Since Hezekiah is interpreted as 'strength of God,' every mind 77.1265 that through practical philosophy has acquired divine strength, wh

 through themselves they again turn him away, as he flees into his land which is the fixed habit of evil, whom his sons kill as he is fleeing, and the

 the king of the Assyrians, flees to God, and silently cries out to Him, through progress in virtue and knowledge, and receives an angel as an ally th

 at once a philosopher and a lover of God has both Judah and Jerusalem the one taken as the habit of confession and repentance for Judah is interpret

 becomes a lofty and exalted mind, and in the good things given to it by God, boasts as if in its own accomplishments. There comes by providence upon t

 the spear and the flask of water that is, the power of practical virtue, and the grace of gnostic contemplation, even if he again gives these things

 of king Darius, I mean of the natural law, having conquered by him, lifts up his face to heaven, that is, the disposition of the soul, in which are th

 not being guarded. For lead is a symbol of punishment, but silver of brightness. And the seven eyes of this practical faith are the seven gifts of the

 constituted. For since matter is indeed a tetrad, because of the tetraktys of its elements, and form is a pentad, because of the fivefold nature of se

 they rise up for mischief. And approaching Zerubbabel, and Joshua and the leaders of the families, they say to them: We will build with you for like

of king Darius, I mean of the natural law, having conquered by him, lifts up his face to heaven, that is, the disposition of the soul, in which are the characters of good things, to the height of knowledge in the presence of dispassion. For through dispassion he is raised to the height of knowledge, seeking the giver of the victory. For Jerusalem is interpreted as a vision of peace. Now, he calls victory the power of the practical life over the passions; and wisdom, the knowledge of the truth through the contemplative life. And glory, the beauty and splendor from both. For being united they flash forth a single radiance. Then observe: that And I am your servant. For through such a mind, as through a ministering instrument, he perfects virtue and knowledge in man, who contributes nothing else except the disposition that wills what is good. But the first young man, having given to wine the power over all things, assigned the victory to the fervor of carnal pleasures. The second, having given this to the king, hinted that worldly glory prevails. But the third, Zerubbabel, through women revealed the end of virtues, love for God and for neighbor; and through truth, the end of knowledge, that is, the principle of beings; I mean God. And the two young men bear an image of the composite body of matter and form; and one assigns authority to desire, the other to anger. For the mind is a symbol of desire, and the king of anger; for anger is tyrannical. But Zerubbabel holds the type of the simple and uncompounded soul in its essence; wherefore he also set up wisdom in opposition. For to the carnal pleasures, the spiritual one which comes from the aforesaid love; and to the corruptible power, the incorruptible. And having thus discoursed and conquered, he liberated the people, as we have mentioned above; and he led them back to Judea, or to repentance and confession, and to Jerusalem, I mean the peaceful and dispassionate state; and he built the temple, the knowledge capable of receiving the highest wisdom. Another contemplation on Zerubbabel. The new Zerubbabel is Jesus Christ, who is prefigured through the old, who was conceived in the confusion of our nature, and born a perfect man, who did not become a captive with us, nor was dragged down to the confusion of the passions. For, it says, He did no sin, but was born among us captives, and was numbered with us the lawless. This is the rising of the light of 77.1284 truth that shone upon those scattered by error. For, it says, the sun of righteousness rises for us, and his name is Dayspring. This is he who in both word and deed conquered the whole world, and truly frees those who obey him, and leads them back from darkness to light, and from evil to virtue, and from death to life, and from earth to heaven. This is the wise builder of our rational temple which was set on fire by the fire of our passions, who constructed the temple not made with hands of the assumption, in which he also dwelt. This is he of whom the Holy Spirit foretold: The hands of Zerubbabel have laid the foundation of this house, and his hands shall finish it, signifying both the first formation of man, and the final re-formation in himself. By hands he meant the creative power. This is the Zerubbabel in whose hand is the tin stone. And this stone has seven eyes. For the old Zerubbabel is in no way recorded as having possessed such a stone. Now, the hand of the new Zerubbabel is the practice of his commandments. And the tin stone is faith in him. For faith in him is made manifest in the practice of his commandments. But it is a stone because of its firmness, as far as concerns the truth, and its immovability. And of tin because tin characterizes it. For just as tin has partaken of the property of silver and of lead. For thus this faith, when kept, glorifies, but punishes

βασιλέως ∆αρείου, λέγω δὴ τοῦ φυσικοῦ νόμου, νικήσας παρ' αὐτοῦ, αἴρει τὸ πρόσωπον εἰς τὸν οὐρανὸν, τοῦτ' ἔστι, τὴν διάθεσιν τῆς ψυχῆς, ἐν ᾗ οἱ χαρακτῆρες τῶν καλῶν, εἰς τὸ ὕψος τῆς γνώσεως ἐνώπιον τῆς ἀπαθείας. ∆ιὰ γὰρ τῆς ἀπαθείας εἰς τὸ ὕψος τῆς γνώσεως ἀνατείνεται, ζητῶν τὸν δοτῆρα τῆς νίκης. Ἱερουσαλὴμ γὰρ ὅρασιν εἰρήνης ἑρμηνεύει. Νίκην μὲν οὖν λέγει τὸ κατὰ τῶν παθῶν κράτος τῆς πρακτικῆς· σοφίαν δὲ, τὴν διὰ τῆς θεωρητικῆς γνῶσιν τῆς ἀληθείας. ∆όξαν δὲ τὴν ἐξ ἀμφοτέρων ὡραιότητα καὶ λαμπρότητα. Ἑνούμεναι γὰρ μίαν ἀναστράπτουσιν αἵγλην. Εἶτα προστήρησον· ὅτι Καὶ ἐγὼ σὸς οἰκέτης. ∆ιὰ γὰρ τοῦ τοιούτου νοὸς, ὡς δι' ὑπηρετοῦντος ὀργάνου, τὴν ἀρετὴν καὶ τὴν γνῶσιν ἐν τῷ ἀνθρώπῳ ἐπιτελεῖ, μηδὲν ἕτερον συνεισφέροντι πλὴν τῆς θελούσης τὰ καλὰ διαθέσεως. Ἀλλ' ὁ μὲν πρῶτος νεανίσκος τῷ οἴνῳ δοὺς τὸ κατὰ πάντων κράτος, τῇ ζέσει τῶν σαρκικῶν ἡδονῶν τὴν νίκην κατεχωρήσατο. Ὁ δεύτερος δὲ τῷ βασιλεῖ τοῦτο δοὺς, τὴν κοσμικὴν δόξαν ὑπερισχύειν ᾐνίξατο. Ὁ δὲ τρίτος ὁ Ζοροβάβελ διὰ μὲν τῶν γυναικῶν ἐνέφηνε τὸ τέλος τῶν ἀρετῶν, τὴν εἰς τὸν Θεὸν καὶ εἰς τὸν πλήσιον ἀγάπην διὰ δὲ τῆς ἀληθείας, τὸ τέλος τῶν γνώσεων, ἤτοι τῶν ὄντων ἀρχήν· λέγω δὴ τὸν Θεόν. Καὶ οἱ μὲν βʹ νεανίσκοι τοῦ ἐξ ὕλης καὶ εἴδους συνθέτου σώματος εἰκόνα φέρουσιν· καὶ ὁ μὲν τῇ ἐπιθυμίᾳ, ὁ δὲ τῷ θυμῷ προσνέμει τὸ κύρος. Ὁ μὲν γὰρ νοῦς ἐπιθυμίας σύμβολον, ὁ δὲ βασιλεὺς θυμοῦ· τυραννικὸν γὰρ ὁ θυμός. Ὁ δέ γε Ζοροβάβελ τύπον ἐπέχει τῆς ἁπλῆς καὶ ἀσυνθέτου κατ' οὐσίαν ψυχῆς· διὸ καὶ σοφῆς ἀντέθηκε. Ταῖς μὲν γὰρ σαρκικαῖς ἡδοναῖς, τὴν πνευματικὴν τὴν ἐκ τῆς εἰρημένης ἀγάπης γινομένην· τῷ δὲ φθειρομένῳ κράτει, τὸ ἄφθαρτον. Καὶ διαλεχθεὶς οὕτω καὶ νικήσας, ἠλευθέρωσε τὸν λαὸν, ὡς ἀνωτέρω προδιελάβομεν· καὶ ἐπανήγαγεν εἰς τὴν Ἰουδαίαν, ἢ εἰς μετάνοιαν καὶ ἐξομολόγησιν, καὶ εἰς Ἱερουσαλὴμ, φημὶ δὴ τὴν εἰρηνικὴν καὶ ἀπαθῆ κατάστασιν· καὶ ᾠκοδόμησε τὸν ναὸν, τὴν δεκτικὴν τῆς ἀνωτάτω σοφίας γνῶσιν. Ἑτέρα θεωρία εἰς τὸν Ζοροβάβελ. Ζοροβάβελ νέος ἐστὶν ὁ διὰ τοῦ παλαιοῦ τυπούμενος Ἰησοῦς Χριστὸς, ὁ ἐν τῇ συγχύσει τῆς φύσεως ἡμῶν συλληφθεὶς, καὶ γεννηθεὶς τέλειος ἄνθρωπος, ὁ μὴ γενόμενος μὲν σὺν ἡμῖν αἰχμάλωτος, μηδὲ πρὸς τὴν τῶν παθῶν σύγχυσιν κατασυρείς. Ἁμαρτίαν γὰρ, φησὶν, οὐκ ἐποίησεν, ἐν ἡμῖν δὲ τοῖς αἰχμαλώτοις τεχθεὶς, καὶ μεθ' ἡμῶν τῶν ἀνόμων λογισθείς. Οὗτός ἐστιν ἡ ἀνατολὴ φωτὸς τῆς 77.1284 ἀληθείας τοῦ λάμψαντος τοῖς διασπαρεῖσιν ὑπὸ τῆς πλάνης. Ἀνατελεῖ γὰρ, φησὶν, ἡμῖν ἥλιος δικαιοσύνης, καὶ ἀνατολὴ ὄνομα αὐτοῦ. Οὗτός ἐστιν ὁ καὶ λόγῳ καὶ ἔργῳ νικήσας ὅλον τὸν κόσμον, καὶ ἀληθῶς ἐλευθερῶν τοὺς πειθομένους αὐτῷ, καὶ ἐπανάγων ἀπὸ σκότους εἰς φῶς, καὶ ἀπὸ κακίας εἰς ἀρετὴν, καὶ ἀπὸ θανάτου εἰς ζωὴν, καὶ ἀπὸ γῆς εἰς οὐρανόν. Οὗτός ἐστιν ὁ σοφὸς οἰκοδόμος τοῦ ἐμπρησθέντος τῷ πυρὶ τῶν παθῶν ἡμῶν λογικοῦ ναοῦ, ὁ κατασκευάσας τὸν ἀχειροποίητον ναὸν τοῦ προσλήμματος, ἐν ᾧ καὶ ἐσκήνωσεν. Οὗτός ἐστιν οὗ προείρηκε τὸ Πνεῦμα τὸ ἅγιον· Αἱ χεῖρες Ζοροβάβελ ἐθεμελίωσαν τὸν οἶκον τοῦτον, καὶ αἱ χεῖρες αὐτοῦ ἐπιτελέσουσιν αὐτόν τήν τε προτέραν δηλοῦν τοῦ ἀνθρώπου διάπλασιν, καὶ τὴν τελευταίαν ἐν ἑαυτῷ ἀνάπλασιν. Οὗ χεῖρας εἶπε τὴν δημιουργικὴν δύναμιν. Οὗτός ἐστιν ὁ Ζοροβάβελ οὗ ἐν τῇ χειρὶ ὁ λίθος ὁ κασσιτέρινος. Ἑπτὰ δὲ τοῦ λίθου τούτου οἱ ὀφθαλμοί. Ὁ γὰρ παλαιὸς Ζοροβάβελ οὐδαμῶς ἱστόρηται λίθον τοιοῦτον κτησάμενος. Χεὶρ μὲν οὖν τοῦ νέου Ζοροβάβελ ἡ πρᾶξις τῶν ἐντολῶν αὐτοῦ. Λίθος δὲ κασσιτέρινος, ἡ εἰς αὐτὸν πίστις. Ἡ γὰρ εἰς αὐτὸν πίστις ἐν τῇ πράξει τῶν ἐντολῶν αὐτοῦ διαφαίνεται. Ἀλλὰ λίθος μὲν αὕτη διὰ τὸ στεῤῥὸν, ὅσον πρὸς τὴν ἀλήθειαν, καὶ ἀμετακίνητον. Κασσιτέρινος δὲ διὰ τὸ τὸν κασσίτερον χαρακτηρίζειν αὐτήν. Ὥσπερ γὰρ ὁ κασσίτερος τῆς τοῦ ἀργύρου καὶ τῆς τοῦ μολίβδου μετέσχηκεν ἰδιότητος. Οὕτω γὰρ αὕτη δοξάζει μὲν φυλαττομένη, κολάζει δὲ