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What is the meaning of the 250 men who rose up against Moses and, offering incense, a fire went out from the Lord and consumed them, and the Lord commanded Eleazar to take up their firepans and make them beaten plates and attach them to the altar?

ANSWER The number fifty is always taken in divine matters as transcending things

under time; but the number two hundred refers to sensible things and the senses because of the composition of the number four with the number five. Therefore, as many as take up sensible things in a sensible way and pursue the divine virtues through sensible things, these rise up against the divine law and are burned in their conscience by the fire of reproof.

And then the priestly word of teaching takes their firepans, that is, the mind in which they thought to offer to God a zeal not according to knowledge, and through teaching it beats out and thins the thickness upon it and brings it to the altar, that is, to divine knowledge.

QUESTION 156 For what reason does the law forbid “the price of a dog and the wages of a prostitute”? 14Α_222 ANSWER It means by these things that one must offer to God virtues unmixed with anger and

desire, calling anger the dog, and desire the prostitute. QUESTION 157 Since the 21st (22nd) Psalm clearly refers to the Lord, how

should we understand, “But I am a worm and not a man”? ANSWER Our Lord Jesus Christ, through his ineffable love for us,

philanthropy, became and was called a worm; for just as the worm is born without intercourse, so also the Lord was conceived without seed. But also as a worm he became bait for the devil; for gaping at the flesh as at a worm, he was pierced by the divinity. But he is also a worm to his enemies; for by wisdom the wise man is found to be straight, but to the foolish he is crooked. But he also becomes a worm in us whenever we sin, reproving and consuming our conscience.

QUESTION 158 What is that which is written in Genesis, “and he placed the cherubim and the

flaming sword which turned, to guard the way to the tree of life”? ANSWER Just as the sensible tree becomes food for the flesh, so also the tree

of life, which is the Lord, becomes food and life for our souls. And the way that leads to 14Α_224 him is the virtues; and it is guarded by the cherubim and the flaming sword; and cherubim is interpreted as ‘fullness of knowledge;’ and through knowledge the desire for God is engendered in us, and through the flaming sword, that is, the discernment that consumes wicked things, fear is added to us; therefore fear and desire guard the way to the tree of life. And the sword is said to turn; for whenever we sin, it meets us face to face, reproving us through our conscience, but when we repent, it gives us passage.

QUESTION 159 From the Apostle: “Whoever builds on this foundation gold or

silver, precious stones, wood, hay, straw, the fire will test them. If anyone's

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Τί σημαίνουσιν οἱ σν' (250) ἄνδρες οἵτινες ἐπεσυνεστήσαντο Μωυσῇ καὶ προσφέροντες τὸ θυμίαμα, ἐξῆλθεν πῦρ παρὰ Κυρίου καὶ κατέφαγεν αὐτοὺς καὶ προσέταξεν Κύριος τῷ Ἐλεάζαρ ἀνελέσθαι τὰ πυρεῖα αὐτῶν καὶ ποιῆσαι αὐτὰ λεπίδας ἐλατὰς καὶ προσαρτῆσαι τῷ θυσιαστηρίῳ;

ΑΠΟΚΡΙΣΙΣ Ὁ πεντήκοντα ἀριθμὸς ἐπὶ τῶν θείων ἀεὶ λαμβάνεται ὡς ὑπερβατικὸς τῶν

ὑπὸ χρόνον· ὁ δὲ τῶν διακοσίων ἀριθμὸς ἐπὶ τῶν αἰσθητῶν καὶ αἰσθήσεων διὰ τὴν τοῦ τέσσαρα πρὸς τὸν πέντε ἀριθμὸν σύνθεσιν. Ὅσοι οὖν τὰ αἰσθητὰ αἰσθητῶς λαμβάνουσιν καὶ τὰς θείας ἀρετὰς διὰ τὰ αἰσθητὰ μετέρχονται, οὗτοι ἐπισυνίστανται τῷ θείῳ νόμῳ καὶ τῷ πυρὶ τῶν ἐλέγχων τὴν συνείδησιν αὐτῶν κατακαίονται.

Καὶ τότε ὁ ἱερατικὸς τῆς διδασκαλίας λόγος τὰ πυρεῖα αὐτῶν λαμβάνει, τουτέστιν τὸν νοῦν ἐν ᾧ τὸν οὐ κατ᾽ ἐπίγνωσιν ζῆλον τῷ Θεῷ ἐνόμιζον προσάγειν, καὶ διὰ τῆς διδασκαλίας τὸ ἐπικείμενον αὐτῷ πάχος ἐλαύνει καὶ λεπτύνει καὶ τῷ θυσιαστηρίῳ, τουτέστιν τῇ θείᾳ γνώσει, προσάγει.

ΕΡΩΤΗΣΙΣ 156 Τίνος χάριν «ἄλλαγμα κυνὸς καὶ μίσθωμα πόρνης» ἀπαγορεύει ὁ νόμος; 14Α_222 ΑΠΟΚΡΙΣΙΣ Σημαίνει διὰ τούτων ὅτι δεῖ τῷ Θεῷ τὰς ἀρετὰς προσάγειν θυμοῦ καὶ

ἐπιθυμίας ἀνεπιμίκτους, θυμὸν λέγων τὸν κύνα, πόρνην δὲ τὴν ἐπιθυμίαν. ΕΡΩΤΗΣΙΣ 157 Ἐπειδὴ προδήλως ὁ κα' (21) ψαλμὸς εἰς τὸν Κύριον ἀναφέρεται, πῶς

νοήσωμεν τὸ «ἐγὼ δέ εἰμι σκώληξ καὶ οὐκ ἄνθρωπος»; ΑΠΟΚΡΙΣΙΣ Ὁ Κύριος ἡμῶν Ἰησοῦς ὁ Χριστὸς διὰ τὴν ἄφατον αὐτοῦ περὶ ἡμᾶς

φιλανθρωπίαν ἐγένετο καὶ ἐκλήθη σκώληξ· ὡς γὰρ ὁ σκώληξ ἄνευ συνουσίας τίκτεται, οὕτως καὶ ὁ Κύριος ἐκτὸς σπορᾶς συνελήφθη. Ἀλλὰ καὶ ὡς σκώληξ δέλεαρ γέγονεν τῷ διαβόλῳ· περιχανὼν γὰρ ὡς σκώληκι τῇ σαρκί, τῇ θεότητι περιεπάρη. Ἀλλὰ καὶ τοῖς ἐχθροῖς ἐστιν σκώληξ· τῇ γὰρ σοφίᾳ ὁ σοφὸς εὐθὺς εὑρίσκεται, τῷ δὲ ἄφρονι σκολιός. Ἀλλὰ καὶ ἐν ἡμῖν γίνεται σκώληξ ἡνίκα ἁμαρτάνομεν, τὴν συνείδησιν ἡμῶν διελέγχων καὶ κατατρώγων.

ΕΡΩΤΗΣΙΣ 158 Τί ἐστιν τὸ ἐν τῇ Γενέσει γεγραμμένον τὸ «καὶ ἔταξεν τὰ χερουβὶμ καὶ τὴν

φλογίνην ῥομφαίαν τὴν στρεφομένην, φυλάσσειν τὴν ὁδὸν τοῦ ξύλου τῆς ζωῆς»; ΑΠΟΚΡΙΣΙΣ Ὥσπερ τὸ ξύλον τὸ αἰσθητὸν τροφὴ γίνεται τῆς σαρκός, οὕτως καὶ τὸ ξύλον

τῆς ζωῆς, ὅπερ ἐστὶν ὁ Κύριος, τροφὴ καὶ ζωὴ γίνεται τῶν ἡμετέρων ψυχῶν. Ὁδὸς δὲ ἡ ἀπάγουσα πρὸς 14Α_224 αὐτόν ἐστιν αἱ ἀρεταί· φυλάττεται δὲ αὐτὴ ὑπὸ τῶν χερουβὶμ καὶ τῆς φλογίνης ῥομφαίας· χερουβὶμ δὲ ἑρμηνεύεται 'πλῆθος γνώσεως·' διὰ δὲ τῆς γνώσεως ὁ πόθος ἡμῖν ὁ πρὸς τὸν Θεὸν ἐγγίνεται, διὰ δὲ τῆς φλογίνης ῥομφαίας, τουτέστιν τῆς διακρίσεως τῆς τῶν μοχθηρῶν ἀναλωτικῆς, ὁ φόβος ἡμῖν προσγίνεται· ἄρα οὖν φόβος καὶ πόθος ἐστὶν ὁ φυλάσσων τὴν ὁδὸν τοῦ ξύλου τῆς ζωῆς. Στρέφεσθαι δὲ λέγεται ἡ ῥομφαία· ὅτ᾽ ἂν γὰρ ἁμαρτάνομεν διὰ τῆς συνειδήσεως ἡμῶν διελέγχουσα κατὰ πρόσωπον ὑπαντᾷ, ὅτε δὲ μετανοῶμεν δίδωσι πάροδον.

ΕΡΩΤΗΣΙΣ 159 Ἐκ τοῦ Ἀποστόλου· «Ὅστις ἐποικοδομεῖ ἐπὶ τὸν θεμέλιον τοῦτον χρυσὸν ἢ

ἄργυρον, λίθους τιμίους, ξύλα, χόρτον, καλάμην, τὸ πῦρ αὐτὰ δοκιμάσει. Εἴ τινος