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that what was spoken by Isaiah the prophet might be fulfilled, saying: land of Zebulun and land of Naphtali, the way of the sea, beyond the Jordan, Galilee of the Gentiles, the people dwelling in darkness have seen a great light, and for those dwelling in the region and shadow of death, a light has dawned on them. From that time Jesus began to preach and to say: for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.” The holy gospel, therefore, recounts the outcomes of the pr ......, but the prophecy declares what is to come; first, then, it evangelizes those in Galilee; for it was necessary not to pass over in silence the region in which Emmanuel, having appeared to men, was about to spend his time. And the region was Galilee, to which a saving drink is proclaimed by the oracle, saying: This first drink, act quickly, land of Zebulun and land of Naphtali. These are two tribes, that of Zebulun and that of Naphtali, which received Galilee by lot in the distribution of the land that took place under Joshua the son of Nun. But since it happened that Greeks also lived in this region between the two tribes, for not only Jews, but now also foreigners inhabited the region, the text necessarily makes mention of these as well, saying: and the rest who are by the sea coast and beyond the Jordan. And very precisely, since there is also another Galilee, he adds, saying: those by the sea coast and beyond the Jordan. And by 'sea coast' he means the entire region around the lake of Gennesaret, which the Gospel mentions as a “sea”, for it says: “And as Jesus was walking by the Sea of Galilee, he saw two brothers.” And from there also the disciples of our Savior came. And Capernaum and Bethsaida and Chorazin and the other villages, which the evangelical scripture mentions, are still shown even now around the lake of Tiberias. But this Galilee also happens to be beyond the Jordan, where the Christ of God spent most of his time; therefore a saving drink and a great light are proclaimed first to those in it. And the Savior provided a sensible image of this life-giving drink, when at a “wedding” taking place “in Cana of Galilee” he first worked a miracle, the change from water into wine. Wherefore the Evangelist noted, saying: “This beginning of signs Jesus did in Cana of Galilee.” Therefore, signifying these very things, the prophecy says: This first drink, act quickly. For it wishes that those deemed worthy of the great light of the saving theophany should render the fruit of the spiritual drink through works. Wherefore it says: the people who sit in darkness, see a great light; you who dwell in a land of the shadow of death, a light will shine upon you. And who were those in darkness and shadow of death, but those who were formerly overcome “by ignorance of God” and enslaved to the death of the soul? They were in darkness who, before the dawning of Christ, were in ignorance of “the true light”, and they were in the shadow of death who were “sinning unto death” according to this: “the soul that sins, it shall die.” But as long as “one who sins unto death” is in the present life, he is not so completely swallowed up by death that he cannot change and be saved, yet neither is he entirely freed from it, wherefore he is said to be in the shadow of death. Nevertheless, the one proclaimed through the preceding prophecies, having shined upon these first, bestowed the grace of the great light. And in this first region he acquired a very great people, so as to choose the apostolic choir from among them. Wherefore it is said next: the greater part of the people, whom you have brought down in your gladness. But instead of 'whom you have brought down', the others have translated 'you have magnified'. If, then, all those who lived in Galilee had believed in the Christ of God, the present text would have mentioned all of them, but now, since very many believed, but more remained in unbelief, it is reasonably said that the greater part of the people partook of the saving gladness. It signifies through these things as towards the

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ἵνα πληρωθῇ τὸ ῥηθὲν διὰ Ἠσαΐου τοῦ προφήτου λέγοντος· γῆ Ζαβουλὼν καὶ γῆ Νεφθαλείμ, ὁδὸν θαλάσσης, πέραν τοῦ Ἰορδάνου, Γαλιλαία τῶν ἐθνῶν, ὁ λαὸς ὁ καθήμενος ἐν σκότει φῶς εἶδεν μέγα, καὶ τοῖς καθημένοις ἐν χώρᾳ καὶ σκιᾷ θανάτου, φῶς ἀνέτειλεν αὐτοῖς. ἀπὸ τότε ὁ Ἰησοῦς ἤρξατο κηρύσσειν καὶ λέγειν· ὅτι ἤγγικεν ἡ βασιλεία τῶν οὐρανῶν». τὸ μὲν οὖν ἱερὸν εὐαγγέλιον τὰς ἀποβάσεις τῶν πρ ...... ἱστορεῖ, ἡ δὲ προφητεία τὰ μέλλοντα γενήσεσθαι θεσπίζει· πρῶτον γοῦν τοῖς ἐπὶ τῆς Γαλιλαίας εὐαγγελίζεται· ἔδει γὰρ μηδὲ τὴν χώραν ἀποσιωπῆσαι, καθ' ἣν τὰς διατριβὰς ποιεῖσθαι ἤμελλεν ἀνθρώποις φανεὶς ὁ Ἐμμανουήλ. ἡ δὲ χώρα ἦν Γαλιλαία, ᾗ ποτὸν σωτήριον εὐαγγελίζεται τὸ λόγιον φάσκον· Τοῦτο πρῶτον πίε, ταχὺ ποίει, χώρα Ζαβουλὼν καὶ γῆ Νεφθαλείμ. δύο δέ εἰσιν αὗται φυλαί, ἡ τοῦ Ζαβουλὼν καὶ ἡ τοῦ Νεφθαλείμ, τὴν Γαλιλαίαν κληρωσάμεναι ἐν τῇ διανεμήσει τῆς γῆς τῆς ἐπὶ Ἰησοῦ τοῦ Ναυῆ γενομένης. ἀλλ' ἐπεὶ συνέβαινεν ἐν τῇ χώρᾳ ταύτῃ καὶ Ἕλληνας οἰκεῖν μεταξὺ τῶν δύο φυλῶν, οὐ γὰρ μόνον Ἰουδαῖοι, ἤδη δὲ καὶ ἀλλογενεῖς κατῴκουν τὴν χώραν, ἀναγκαίως καὶ τούτων ὁ λόγος μέμνηται φήσας· καὶ οἱ λοιποὶ οἱ τὴν παράλιον καὶ πέραν τοῦ Ἰορδάνου. σφόδρα δὲ ἀκριβῶς οὔσης καὶ ἑτέρας Γαλιλαίας ἐπάγει λέγων· οἱ τὴν παράλιον καὶ πέραν τοῦ Ἰορδάνου. παράλιον δὲ λέγει πᾶσαν τὴν ἀμφὶ τὴν Γενησαρὲτ λίμνην χώραν, ἧς μέμνηται τὸ Εὐαγγέλιον ὡς «θαλάσσης», λέγει δ' οὖν· «παράγων δὲ ὁ Ἰησοῦς παρὰ τὴν θάλασσαν τῆς Γαλιλαίας εἶδεν δύο ἀδελφούς». ἐντεῦθέν τε καὶ οἱ μαθηταὶ τοῦ σωτῆρος ἡμῶν ὡρμῶντο. ἥ τε Καφερναοὺμ καὶ ἡ Βηθσαϊδὰ καὶ ἡ Χωραζὶ καὶ αἱ λοιπαὶ κῶμαι, ὧν μέμνηται ἡ εὐαγγελικὴ γραφὴ περὶ τὴν λίμνην τῆς Τιβεριάδος εἰσέτι καὶ νῦν δείκνυνται. ἀλλὰ καὶ πέραν τοῦ Ἰορδάνου τυγχάνει ἡ Γαλιλαία αὕτη, ἐν ᾗ τὰς πλείστας ἐποιήσατο διατριβὰς ὁ Χριστὸς τοῦ θεοῦ· διὸ ποτὸν σωτήριον καὶ φῶς μέγα τοῖς ἐν αὐτῇ εὐαγγελίζεται πρώτοις. τοῦ δὲ ζωοποιοῦ τούτου ποτοῦ εἰκόνα παρεῖχεν ὁ σωτὴρ αἰσθητῶς, ὁπηνίκα «γάμου» συντελουμένου «ἐν Κανὰ τῆς Γαλιλαίας» πρῶτον παράδοξον εἰργάσατο, τὴν ἐξ ὕδατος εἰς οἶνον μεταβολήν. διὸ ἐπεσημήνατο λέγων ὁ Εὐαγγελιστής· «ταύτην ἐποίησεν ἀρχὴν τῶν σημείων ὁ Ἰησοῦς ἐν Κανὰ τῆς Γαλιλαίας». αὐτὰ δὴ οὖν ταῦτα σημαίνουσα ἡ προφητεία φησί· Τοῦτο πρῶτον πίε, ταχὺ ποίει. Βούλεται γὰρ δι' ἔργων τὸν καρπὸν τοῦ λογικοῦ πόματος ἀποδιδόναι τοὺς καταξιωθέντας τοῦ μεγάλου φωτὸς τῆς σωτηρίου θεοφανείας. διό φησιν· ὁ λαὸς οἱ καθήμενοι ἐν σκότει, ἴδετε φῶς μέγα· οἱ κατοικοῦντες ἐν χώρᾳ σκιᾶς θανάτου, φῶς λάμψει ἐφ' ὑμᾶς. τίνες δὲ ἦσαν οἱ ἐν σκότῳ καὶ σκιᾷ θανάτου ἢ οἱ «ἐν ἀγνωσίᾳ τοῦ θεοῦ» τὸ πρὶν κατισχυμένοι καὶ τῷ θανάτῳ τῆς ψυχῆς δεδουλωμένοι; ἐν σκότῳ δὲ ἐτύγχανον οἱ πρὸ τῆς ἐπιλάμψεως τοῦ Χριστοῦ ἐν ἀγνωσίᾳ ὄντες «τοῦ φωτὸς τοῦ ἀληθινοῦ», καὶ ἐν σκιᾷ δὲ θανάτου ἦσαν «οἱ τὰ πρὸς θάνατον ἁμαρτάνοντες» κατὰ τό· «ψυχὴ ἡ ἁμαρτάνουσα, αὕτη ἀποθανεῖται». ἀλλ' ἕως μὲν ἐν τῷ παρόντι βίῳ τυγχάνει «ὁ πρὸς θάνατον ἁμαρτάνων», οὐχ οὕτω πάντη καταπέποται ὑπὸ τοῦ θανάτου, ὡς μὴ δύνασθαι μεταβαλόντα σωθῆναι, ἀλλ' οὐδὲ ἀπήλλακται αὐτοῦ παντελῶς, διὸ λέγεται εἶναι ἐν σκιᾷ θανάτου. πλὴν ἐπιλάμψας τούτοις πρώτοις τὴν χάριν τοῦ μεγάλου φωτὸς ἐδωρήσατο ὁ διὰ τῶν προκειμένων θεσπιζόμενος. Ἐν ταύτῃ δὲ τῇ χώρᾳ πρώτῃ πλεῖστον λαὸν ἐκτήσατο, ὡς καὶ τὸν ἀποστολικὸν χορὸν ἐξ αὐτῶν ἐκλέξασθαι. διὸ ἑξῆς εἴρηται· τὸ πλεῖστον τοῦ λαοῦ, ὃ κατήγαγες ἐν εὐφροσύνῃ σου. ἀντὶ δὲ τοῦ· ὃ κατήγαγες, ἐμεγάλυνας ἡρμήνευσαν οἱ λοιποί. εἰ μὲν οὖν ἦσαν πάντες οἱ τὴν Γαλιλαίαν οἰκοῦντες εἰς τὸν Χριστὸν τοῦ θεοῦ πεπιστευκότες, πάντων ἂν ἐμνημόνευσεν ὁ παρὼν λόγος, νυνὶ δὲ ἐπειδὴ πλεῖστοι μὲν ἐπίστευσαν, πλείους δὲ τῇ ἀπιστίᾳ ἐναπέμειναν, εἰκότως τὸ πλεῖστον τοῦ λαοῦ λέλεκται τῆς σωτηρίου μετειληφέναι εὐφροσύνης. Σημαίνει διὰ τούτων ὡς πρὸς τὴν