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being gladdened by the victory; and by every device both secretly and openly Saul prepared his murder, at one time preparing the plots in secret, and at another taking up arms openly and stirring up his subjects against him. And after many attempts were often made by Saul against David, at last, having come among the Gittites, he inhabited one of the cities of the foreigners, which they willingly conceded to him, in which he was with his fellow soldiers, living with two lawful wives, one of whom was an Israelite, and the other had been the wife of one of the rulers around Carmel, who after that man's death lived with David. The history contains these things. Therefore, that he was held fast among the foreigners does not signify a capture made for harm concerning him (for it did not happen thus), but a loving kindness and disposition. For the Gittites settled among themselves the one driven from his fatherland. What then did this David, son of Jesse, this man from among men, accomplish so much by his own labors, as to call back again all human nature, which had been alienated from 5.147 God through the transgression of the holy commandments, and to reveal to him the enigmas of the inscription? And one will not err in calling the God-breathed scripture an inscription on a pillar. Or it is clear through the context of the history, that he is so great who went outside the borders of Judea and settled a city for himself among foreigners and rested in a double marriage, receiving into his chamber one of the Israelite race, and the other from the foreigners, so that if it is necessary to lay bare the account of this more clearly, this is he who is both victor and bridegroom; for by the things with which he contended against the one having the power of death, the mighty one in war delivered to freedom this infinite people held fast in Hades. And when the Israelite people, with envy and jealousy, rushed to his murder, he is held fast through goodwill by the foreigners and establishes a city among them, I mean the church, in which he strengthens his own kingdom, who said to those set under the law, "The kingdom shall be taken from you and given to a nation producing its fruits." In this city there is also something of the Israelite nobility according to the prophetic cry, which says, "In the churches bless God the Lord from the fountains of Israel." For those who began the word of faith, the heralds of truth, the founders of the church, I mean the disciples and apostles, were from the fountains of Israel. "Princes," he says, "of Judah, their leaders, princes of Zebulun, princes of Naphtali." Through certain signs and symbols the 5.148 prophecy prefigures the peculiarities of the race of the disciples, among whom is also the younger Benjamin, taught the mysteries through ecstasy, and from the seed of Abraham and the tribe of Benjamin, Paul the divine apostle. But even if the king is recorded to live with the Israelite woman, yet Abigail is loved more, with whom formerly lived Nabal the Carmelite, surnamed the cynic, that harsh and mountain-dwelling man, who sheared the sheep. When he perished, the woman lives with the king and becomes the mother of kings. The inscription of the psalmody, therefore, contains so many mysteries, signifying the victory on behalf of the people who were alienated from the holy ones, and the pillar for the achievements on behalf of the foreigners, which through the letters in it stands as a reproach to those from the unbelief of the Jews, but to those being saved through faith, a guide to the good and an example. But the very words of the psalmody seem somehow to look not so much toward the king who appeared from David, as toward David himself, the combatant against wickedness and the worker of virtue. And one would not say that the meanings of the psalmody are discordant with the enigmas of the inscription. For one who looks toward theology truly and in the proper manner will certainly show life to be in harmony with faith. But this is not otherwise unless of the carnal insurrection through those of the

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φαιδρυνομένων τῇ νίκῃ· καὶ πάσαις ἐπινοίαις λάθρα τε καὶ ἐκ τοῦ προδήλου τὸν κατ' αὐτοῦ φόνον ὁ Σαοὺλ ἐξηρτύετο, νῦν μὲν κρύβδην τὰς ἐπιβουλὰς συσκευάζων, αὖθις δὲ διὰ τοῦ προδήλου τῶν ὅπλων ἁπτόμενος καὶ συγκινῶν κατ' αὐτοῦ τὸ ὑπήκοον. πολλῆς δὲ πολλάκις προσαχθείσης πείρας παρὰ τοῦ Σαοὺλ τῷ ∆αβὶδ τέλος παρὰ τοῖς Γετθαίοις γενόμενος πόλιν ᾤκησεν τῶν ἀλλοφύλων μίαν ἑκουσίως παραχωρησάντων αὐτῷ, ἐν ᾗ μετὰ τῶν συνασπιστῶν ἦν, δύο νομίμοις γυναιξὶ συνοικῶν, ὧν ἡ μὲν ἦν Ἰσραηλῖτις, ἡ δὲ τῶν κατὰ τὸν Κάρμηλόν τινος δυναστευόντων γενομένη γυνὴ μετὰ θάνατον ἐκείνου τῷ ∆αβὶδ συνοικήσασα. ταῦτα περιέχει ἡ ἱστορία. Τὸ τοίνυν κεκρατῆσθαι αὐτὸν ἐν τοῖς ἀλλοφύλοις οὐ τὴν ἐπὶ κακῷ γενομένην σύλληψιν περὶ αὐτοῦ διασημαίνει (οὐ γὰρ οὕτως ἐγένετο) ἀλλὰ τὴν ἀγαπητικὴν φιλοφροσύνην τε καὶ διάθεσιν. τὸν γὰρ ἐκ τῆς πατρῴας γῆς ἐλαυνόμενον οἱ Γετθαῖοι παρ' ἑαυτοῖς κατοικίζουσιν. τί οὖν ἄρα οὗτος ὁ τοῦ Ἰεσσαὶ ∆αβὶδ ὁ ἐξ ἀνθρώπων ἄνθρωπος τοσοῦτον τοῖς ἰδίοις ἄθλοις κατώρθωσεν, ὡς πᾶσαν τὴν ἀνθρωπίνην φύσιν διὰ τῆς τῶν ἁγίων ἐντολῶν παραβάσεως μακρυνθεῖσαν ἀπὸ 5.147 τοῦ θεοῦ πάλιν ἀνακαλέσασθαι κἀκείνῳ μηνύσαι τὰ τῆς στηλογραφίας αἰνίγματα; στηλογραφίαν δέ τις τὴν θεόπνευ στον γραφὴν ὀνομάζων οὐχ ἁμαρτήσεται. ἢ δῆλόν ἐστι διὰ τῆς κατὰ τὴν ἱστορίαν συμφράσεως, ὅτι τοσοῦτός ἐστιν ὁ ἔξω τῶν τῆς Ἰουδαίας ὄρων γενόμενος καὶ πόλιν ἐν ἀλλοφύλοις ἑαυτῷ συνοικήσας καὶ διπλῷ συναναπαυόμενος γάμῳ, τὴν μὲν τοῦ Ἰσραηλιτικοῦ γένους, τὴν δὲ ἐκ τῶν ἀλλοφύλων τῷ θαλάμῳ παραδεξάμενος, ὥστε εἰ χρὴ τρανότερον τὸν περὶ τούτου λόγον ἀπογυμνῶσαι, οὗτος ἐκεῖνός ἐστιν ὁ νικητής τε ὁμοῦ καὶ νυμφίος· δι' ὧν μὲν γὰρ κατηγωνίσατο τὸν τὸ κράτος ἔχοντα τοῦ θανάτου, ὁ δυνατὸς ἐν πολέμῳ τὸν ἄπειρον τοῦτον λαὸν τὸν ἐν τῷ ᾅδῃ κρατούμενον εἰς ἐλευθε ρίαν ἐξείλετο. τοῦ δὲ Ἰσραηλίτου λαοῦ φθόνῳ καὶ ζηλο τυπίᾳ πρὸς τὸν κατ' αὐτοῦ φόνον ὁρμήσαντος κρατεῖται δι' εὐνοίας παρὰ τῶν ἀλλοφύλων καὶ πόλιν ἐν αὐτοῖς συνίστησιν, τὴν ἐκκλησίαν λέγω, ἐν ᾗ κρατύνει τὴν ἑαυτοῦ βασιλείαν ὁ εἰπὼν τοῖς ὑπὸ τὸν νόμον τεταγμένοις ὅτι Ἀρθήσεται ἀφ' ὑμῶν ἡ βασιλεία καὶ δοθήσεται ἔθνει ποιοῦντι τοὺς καρποὺς αὐτῆς. ἐν ταύτῃ τῇ πόλει ἐστὶ μέν τι καὶ τῆς Ἰσραηλιτικῆς εὐγενείας κατὰ τὴν προφητικὴν ἀναφώνησιν, ἥ φησιν ὅτι Ἐν ἐκκλησίαις εὐλογεῖτε τὸν θεὸν κύριον ἐκ πηγῶν Ἰσραήλ. οἱ γὰρ κατάρξαντες τοῦ λόγου τῆς πίστεως, οἱ κήρυκες τῆς ἀληθείας, οἱ θεμελιωταὶ τῆς ἐκκλησίας, οἱ μαθηταὶ λέγω καὶ ἀπόστολοι, ἐκ πηγῶν ἦσαν τοῦ Ἰσραήλ. Ἄρχοντες, φησίν, Ἰούδα, ἡγεμόνες αὐτῶν ἄρχοντες Ζαβουλών, ἄρχοντες Νεφθαλείμ. διὰ σημείων τινῶν καὶ συμβόλων προσημαίνει ἡ 5.148 προφητεία τὰ τοῦ γένους τῶν μαθητῶν ἰδιώματα, ἐν οἷς ἐστι καὶ ὁ νεώτερος Βενιαμὶν διὰ τῆς ἐκστάσεως παιδευθεὶς τὰ μυστήρια καὶ ἐκ σπέρματος Ἀβραὰμ καὶ φυλῆς Βενιαμίν, Παῦλος ὁ θεῖος ἀπόστολος. Πλὴν εἰ καὶ τῇ Ἰσραηλίτιδι συνοικεῖν ὁ βασιλεὺς ἱστορεῖται, ἀλλ' ἀγαπᾶται πλεῖον ἡ Ἀβιγαία, ᾗ συνῴκει τὸ πρότερον ὁ Καρμήλιος Νάβαλ, ὁ κυνικὸς ἐπίκλην, ὁ τραχὺς ἐκεῖνος καὶ ὄρειος, ὁ τὰ πρόβατα κείρων. οὗ διαφθαρέντος, συνοικεῖ τῷ βασιλεῖ ἡ γυνὴ καὶ βασιλέων γίνεται μήτηρ. ἡ μὲν οὖν ἐπιγραφὴ τῆς ψαλμῳδίας τοσαῦτα περιέχει μυστήρια, τὴν ὑπὲρ τοῦ λαοῦ τοῦ μακρυνθέντος ἀπὸ τῶν ἁγίων νίκην σημαίνουσα καὶ τὴν ἐπὶ τοῖς κατορθώμασιν ὑπὲρ τῶν ἀλλοφύλων στήλην, ἥτις διὰ τῶν ἐν αὐτῇ γραμμάτων τοῖς μὲν ἀπὸ τῆς ἀπιστίας τῶν Ἰουδαίων ὄνειδος ἕστηκεν τοῖς δὲ διὰ πίστεως σῳζομένοις ὁδηγία πρὸς τὸ ἀγαθὸν καὶ ὑπόδειγμα. αὐτὰ δὲ τῆς ψαλμῳδίας τὰ ῥήματα μᾶλλόν πως δοκεῖ οὐ τοσοῦτον πρὸς τὸν ἐκ τοῦ ∆αβὶδ ἀναφανέντα βασιλέα βλέπειν, ὅσον πρὸς αὐτὸν τὸν ∆αβὶδ τὸν κατὰ τῆς κακίας ἀγωνιστὴν καὶ τῆς ἀρετῆς ἐργάτην. οὐκ ἂν δέ τις ἀπᾴδειν εἴποι τὰ τῆς ψαλμῳδίας νοήματα πρὸς τὰ τῆς ἐπιγραφῆς αἰνίγματα. ὁ γὰρ πρὸς τὴν θεολογίαν ἀληθῶς καὶ καθ' ὃν δεῖ τρόπον βλέπων σύμφωνον ἀποδείξει πάντως τὸν βίον τῇ πίστει. τοῦτο δὲ οὐκ ἄλλως εἰ μὴ τῆς σαρκικῆς ἐπαναστάσεως διὰ τῶν τῆς