46

having foreshadowed, he adds next: “And a rod shall come forth from the root of Jesse, and a flower shall spring up from the root,” and what follows, 2.3.111 most clearly representing the birth of Christ from the root of Jesse—and he was the father of David. Concerning this birth, he at first proclaims the calling of the gentiles enigmatically in a prophetic manner; for the saying, “the wolf shall feed with the lamb, and the leopard shall lie down with the kid,” and the like, signified nothing other than the change to a pious and gentle and social manner of the gentiles who were savage and harsh in their ways and differed in nothing from beasts. 2.3.112 This very thing he teaches later more plainly, saying: “the whole earth was filled with the knowledge of the Lord, as much water covers the seas.” 2.3.113 And furthermore, the prophetic word, interpreting itself, adds: “And in that day there shall be the root of Jesse, even he who arises to rule the gentiles; in him shall the gentiles hope. And his rest shall be honor.” 2.3.114 Since, therefore, above he signified in a veiled manner the falling away of the Jewish nation, and after this the calling of the gentiles, sometimes in a veiled manner, sometimes plainly, it is fitting that, taking up the word again, he makes mention of those of the circumcision who believe in Christ, so as not to shut out completely their hope in Christ. for there shall be, he says, “he who arises to rule the gentiles.” 2.3.115 And who was he who arises but “the root of Jesse,” whom he clearly says will rule the gentiles but not Israel? Since, therefore, he taught in various ways the conversion of the gentiles to him who was born and sprouted from the root of Jesse, and had as yet said nothing good about those of the circumcision, he fittingly supplies what was lacking in the prophecy, saying: “And it shall be in that day,” that is, in the time of the appearance of him who was born from the root of Jesse, “the Lord will apply his hand to show, to seek and to be jealous for the remnant that is left of the people, which shall be left from” these and those enemies. For which Aquila has rendered: “And it shall be in that day, the Lord will apply his hand a second time, to acquire the remnant of his people, which shall be left from the Assyrians” and what follows. 2.3.116 And you will understand these things, if you consider the enemies of the people of God to be certain intelligible and spiritual ones, that is, evil demons or powers opposed to the word, who, long ago invisibly presiding over the named nations, besieged the souls of Israel, encompassing them with various passions, and dragging them down and taking them captive into a life similar to the conduct of the foreigners. 2.3.117 So then, when almost this entire people, so to speak, had been taken captive in soul by the aforementioned ones, those who were protected and left uninjured and inviolate according to the prophecy will obtain the aforementioned promise, seeing the hand of the Lord and becoming his possession, according to the oracle that says: “the Lord will apply his hand to show, to be jealous for the remnant that is left of the people.” 2.3.118 And what does “the Lord will apply” mean? But in addition to what he once showed long ago through the prophets, the hand of the Lord was also present for these people, so that to those saved from the fall of the whole nation he would add what was lacking to the former things. And these were the mysteries of the new covenant, shown through the hand of the Lord to the one left from the people. But also “to be jealous for,” he says, “the remnant that is left of the people,” 2.3.119 for which, in agreement, Aquila and Theodotion have: “to acquire,” he says, “the remnant of his people,” which he shall leave from the Assyrians and from the other enemy nations. And this “remnant that is left of the people” “he will raise,” he says, “a sign for the nations,” 2.3.120 the Lord clearly showing through them his own sign among all the nations, “and he will gather” through them “the lost of Israel and the dispersed of Judah from the four

46

προανατεινάμενος ἑξῆς ἐπιλέγει· «καὶ ἐξελεύσεται ῥάβδος ἐκ τῆς ῥίζης Ἰεσσαί, καὶ ἄνθος ἐκ τῆς ῥίζης ἀναβήσεται», καὶ τὰ ἑξῆς, 2.3.111 σαφέστατα τὴν ἐκ ῥίζης Ἰεσσαὶ πατὴρ δὲ ἦν οὗτος τοῦ ∆αβὶδ γένεσιν τοῦ Χριστοῦ παριστάς. ἐφ' ᾗ γενέσει τὴν τῶν ἐθνῶν κλῆσιν πρότερον μὲν δι' αἰνίγματος προφητικῷ τρόπῳ ἀναφωνεῖ· τὸ γὰρ «συμβοσκηθήσεται λύκος μετὰ ἀρνός, καὶ πάρδαλις σὺν ἐρίφῳ συναναπαύσεται», καὶ τὰ τοιαῦτα, οὐδὲν ἕτερον ἢ τῶν ἀγρίων καὶ ἀπηνῶν τὸν τρόπον καὶ μηδὲν θηρίων διαφερόντων ἐθνῶν τὴν ἐπὶ τὸν εὐσεβῆ καὶ ἥμερόν τε καὶ κοινωνικὸν τρόπον μεταβολὴν ἐδήλου. 2.3.112 τοῦτο δὲ αὐτὸ εἰς ὕστερον γυμνότερον διδάσκει φάσκων· «ἐνεπλήσθη ἡ σύμπασα τοῦ γνῶναι τὸν κύριον, ὡς ὕδωρ πολὺ καλύψαι θαλάσσας». 2.3.113 καὶ ἔτι γε αὐτὸς ἑαυτὸν ἑρμηνεύων ὁ προφητικὸς λόγος ἐπιλέγει· «καὶ ἔσται ἐν τῇ ἡμέρᾳ ἐκείνῃ ἡ ῥίζα τοῦ Ἰεσσαὶ καὶ ὁ ἀνιστάμενος ἄρχειν ἐθνῶν, ἐπ' αὐτῷ ἔθνη ἐλπιοῦσιν. καὶ ἔσται ἡ ἀνάπαυσις αὐτοῦ τιμή». 2.3.114 Ἐπειδὴ τοίνυν ἀνωτέρω μὲν τὴν ἀπόπτωσιν τοῦ Ἰουδαίων ἔθνους ἐσήμαινεν ἐπικεκαλυμμένως, μετὰ δὲ ταῦτα τὴν τῶν ἐθνῶν κλῆσιν τοτὲ μὲν κεκαλυμμένως τοτὲ δὲ γυμνῶς, εἰκότως αὖθις ἐπαναλαμβάνων τὸν λόγον, τῶν ἐκ περιτομῆς εἰς τὸν Χριστὸν πιστευόντων μνημονεύει, ὑπὲρ τοῦ μὴ πάντη ἀποκλεῖσαι αὐτῶν τὴν εἰς τὸν Χριστὸν ἐλπίδα. «ἔσται» μὲν γάρ, φησίν, «ὁ ἀνιστάμενος ἄρχειν ἐθνῶν». 2.3.115 τίς δ' ἦν ὁ ἀνιστάμενος ἀλλ' ἢ «ἡ ῥίζα τοῦ Ἰεσσαί», ὃν καὶ σαφῶς φησιν ἄρξειν ἐθνῶν ἀλλ' οὐχὶ Ἰσραήλ; ἐπειδὴ τοίνυν διαφόρως τὴν τῶν ἐθνῶν ἐπιστροφὴν ἐπὶ τὸν ἐκ ῥίζης Ἰεσσαὶ φύντα καὶ βλαστήσαντα ἐδίδαξεν, οὐδὲν δὲ οὐδέπω χρηστὸν περὶ τῶν ἐκ περιτομῆς εἰρήκει, εἰκότως τὸ ἐλλιπὲς τῆς προρρήσεως ἀποδίδωσι φάσκων· «καὶ ἔσται ἐν τῇ ἡμέρᾳ ἐκείνῃ», τοῦτ' ἔστιν ἐν τῷ χρόνῳ τῆς ἐπιφανείας τοῦ ἐκ ῥίζης Ἰεσσαὶ φύντος, «προσθήσει κύριος τοῦ δεῖξαι τὴν χεῖρα αὐτοῦ, τοῦ ζητῆσαι καὶ ζηλῶσαι τὸ καταλειφθὲν ὑπόλοιπον τοῦ λαοῦ, ὃ ἂν καταλειφθῇ ἀπὸ» τῶνδε καὶ τῶνδε τῶν πολεμίων. ἀνθ' οὗ ὁ μὲν Ἀκύλας πεποίηκεν· «καὶ ἔσται ἐν τῇ ἡμέρᾳ ἐκείνῃ, προσθήσει κύριος δεύτερον τὴν χεῖρα αὐτοῦ, τοῦ κτήσασθαι τὸ ὑπόλειμμα τοῦ λαοῦ αὐτοῦ, ὃ ὑπολειφθήσεται ἀπὸ τῶν Ἀσσυρίων» καὶ τῶν ἑξῆς. 2.3.116 νοήσεις δὲ καὶ ταῦτα, πολεμίους τοῦ λαοῦ τοῦ θεοῦ νοητούς τινας καὶ πνευματικοὺς ἤτοι δαίμονας πονηροὺς ἢ δυνάμεις ἀντικειμένας τῷ λόγῳ θεωρήσας, οἳ τῶν κατωνομασμένων ἐθνῶν πάλαι πρότερον ἀοράτως προεστῶτες τὰς ψυχὰς ἐπολιόρκουν τοῦ Ἰσραήλ, ποικίλοις πάθεσιν αὐτὰς περιβάλλοντες, ὑποσύροντές τε καὶ αἰχμαλωτίζοντες εἰς τὸν ὅμοιον τῆς τῶν ἀλλοφύλων ἀγωγῆς βίον. 2.3.117 Τούτου δὴ οὖν παντὸς σχεδὸν εἰπεῖν τοῦ λαοῦ κατὰ ψυχὴν αἰχμαλώτου ληφθέντος ὑπὸ τῶν δεδηλωμένων, οἱ φυλαχθέντες καὶ καταλειφθέντες ἄτρωτοι καὶ ἄσυλοι κατὰ τὴν προφητείαν τῆς δηλουμένης ἐπαγγελίας τεύξονται, ὀψόμενοι τοῦ κυρίου τὴν χεῖρα καὶ κτῆμα αὐτοῦ γενησόμενοι, κατὰ τὸ φάσκον λόγιον· «προσθήσει κύριος τοῦ δεῖξαι τὴν χεῖρα αὐτοῦ, τοῦ ζηλῶσαι τὸ καταλειφθὲν ὑπόλοιπον τοῦ λαοῦ». 2.3.118 τί δὲ «προσθήσει κύριος»; ἀλλὰ γὰρ πρὸς οἷς ἅπαξ ἐπεδείξατο πάλαι πρότερον διὰ τῶν προφητῶν προσεγενήθη χεὶρ κυρίου καὶ τούτοις, ὡς ἂν διασωθεῖσιν ἀπὸ τῆς πτώσεως τοῦ παντὸς λαοῦ τὰ λείποντα τοῖς προτέροις προσθήσειν. ταῦτα δὲ ἦν τὰ τῆς καινῆς διαθήκης μυστήρια, διὰ τῆς χειρὸς τοῦ κυρίου δεδειγμένα τῷ καταλειφθέντι ἀπὸ τοῦ λαοῦ. ἀλλὰ καὶ «τοῦ ζηλῶσαι», φησίν, «τὸ καταλειφθὲν ὑπόλοιπον τοῦ λαοῦ», 2.3.119 ἀνθ' οὗ συμφώνως ὁ Ἀκύλας καὶ Θεοδοτίων· «τοῦ κτήσασθαι», φησίν, «τὸ ὑπόλειμμα τοῦ λαοῦ αὐτοῦ», ὃ ἂν καταλίπῃ ἀπὸ τῶν Ἀσσυρίων καὶ ἀπὸ τῶν λοιπῶν πολεμίων ἐθνῶν. τοῦτο δὲ «τὸ καταλειφθὲν τοῦ λαοῦ ὑπόλοιπον» «ἀρεῖ», φησίν, «σημεῖον εἰς τὰ ἔθνη», 2.3.120 σαφῶς δι' αὐτῶν τὸ ἑαυτοῦ σημεῖον ὁ κύριος ἐν πᾶσι τοῖς ἔθνεσιν ἐπιδεικνύμενος, «καὶ συνάξει» δι' αὐτῶν «τοὺς ἀπολομένους Ἰσραὴλ καὶ τοὺς διεσπαρμένους Ἰούδα ἐκ τῶν τεσσάρων