55

saying, "Be merciful to me, Lord, shall I drink the blood of men who went at the risk of their lives?" Likewise also the rest of them were invincible men and most formidable to their opponents, having shields and very great spears, and swift on their feet as gazelles upon the mountains, and their faces were like the faces of lions. And of the warriors of the common people whom David had, the number was 234 myriads, as they were numbered by Joab the commander-in-chief. For it says, "And the anger of the Lord was again kindled against Israel, and he moved David against them, saying, 'Go and number Israel and Judah.'" And the king said to Joab the commander of the army who was with him, "Survey the people, that I may know their number." And Joab said, "May the Lord God add to your people; and why does my lord desire this thing?" But the king's word prevailed, and Joab went out and surveyed the people. And all Israel was one million one hundred thousand men who drew the sword, and Judah four hundred and eighty thousand men who drew the sword. But he did not number Levi and Benjamin, because the king's word was abominable to Joab, and it seemed evil 1.154 in the sight of God. And David's heart struck him for numbering the people; and the Lord sent Gad the prophet to David, and he said, "Thus says the Lord: Choose for yourself either three years of famine in your land, or to flee for three months from your enemies, or for there to be three days of pestilence in your land." And David said to Gad, "I am in a great strait on every side; yet let me fall into the hands of the Lord, for his mercies are many. But let me not fall into the hands of men." And David chose the pestilence. And it was the day of the wheat harvest, and the Lord sent a pestilence in Israel from the morning until the appointed time, and seventy thousand of the people died. And the angel of God stretched out his hand against Jerusalem to destroy it. And David said to God, "Behold, I have sinned, and I am the shepherd who has done wickedly, but what have these sheep done? Let your hand be against me, Lord, and against my father's house." And the Lord was entreated and said to the angel, "Stay your hand." And David built there an altar, and immediately offered up burnt offerings. And the Lord listened to him, and the plague was stayed from the people." But these things, says Theodoret, did not happen without reason, but the people paid the penalty for their own transgression on this pretext; for having abandoned the pious and divine king, they campaigned with a tyrannical and patricidal son. So also on account of Saul's slaughter of the Gibeonites they were chastised by a famine after his death. For all the people and Joshua 1.155 son of Nun had made the treaties with the Gibeonites, and Eleazar the high priest also partook of the oaths. Therefore, the descendants of those who had sworn ought not to have transgressed the oath. For Joshua said to them after the discovery of their trickery, "And now you are cursed. There shall not cease from you a slave, nor a woodcutter and water-carrier for me and for my God. For this reason they became woodcutters and water-carriers for the altar of God and for all the congregation until this day." Since, therefore, they disregarded these things, for this reason also after his death they endured the chastisement of the famine. The word therefore teaches us not to transgress treaties made with an oath before God, even if the transgression is for the benefit of others. But David, being ignorant of the cause of the divinely sent plague of famine, inquired of God. And having learned that they were being held accountable for the unjust slaughter of the Gibeonites, he used those very ones who had been wronged as judges, saying, "What shall I do for you, and with what shall I make atonement?" And they said, "We have no silver or gold with Saul, nor is it for us to put any man from all Israel to death; but the man who persecuted

55

λέγων "ἵλεώς μοι, κύριε, εἰ αἷμα ἀνθρώπων πορευθέντων ἐν ταῖς ψυχαῖς αὐτῶν πίωμαι." ὁμοίως δὲ καὶ οἱ λοιποὶ αὐτῶν ὑπῆρχον ἄνδρες ἀκατ αγώνιστοι καὶ φοβερώτατοι τοῖς ἐναντίοις, θυρεοὺς ἔχοντες καὶ δόρατα μέγιστα, καὶ κοῦφοι τοῖς ποσὶν ὡς δορκάδες ἐπὶ τῶν ὀρέων, καὶ τὰ πρόσωπα αὐτῶν ὡς πρόσωπα λεόντων. τῶν δέ γε πολεμιστῶν τοῦ κοινοῦ λαοῦ οὓς εἶχεν ὁ ∆αβίδ, ἦν ἀριθμὸς μυ ριάδες σλδʹ, καθὼς ἠριθμήθησαν ὑπὸ Ἰωὰβ τοῦ ἀρχιστρατήγου. φησὶ γάρ "καὶ προσέθετο ὀργῇ κύριος ἐκκαῆναι ἐν Ἰσραήλ, καὶ ἐπέσεισε τὸν ∆αβὶδ ἐν αὐτοῖς λέγων «πορεύθητι καὶ ἀρίθμησον τὸν Ἰσραὴλ καὶ τὸν Ἰούδαν.» καὶ εἶπεν ὁ βασιλεὺς πρὸς Ἰωὰβ τὸνἄρχοντα τῆς ἰσχύος τὸν μετ' αὐτοῦ «ἐπίσκεψαι τὸν λαόν, καὶ γνώσομαι τὸν ἀριθμὸν αὐτοῦ.» καὶ εἶπεν Ἰωάβ «προσθείη κύριος ὁ θεὸς πρὸς τὸν λαόν σου· καὶ ἵνα τί ὁ κύριός μου βούλεται ἐν τῷ λόγῳ τούτῳ;» καὶ ὑπερίσχυσεν ὁ λόγος τοῦ βασιλέως, καὶ ἀπῆλθεν Ἰωὰβ καὶ ἐπεσκέψατο τὸν λαόν. καὶ ἦν πᾶς Ἰσραὴλ χίλιαι χιλιάδες καὶ ἑκατὸν χιλιάδες ἀνδρῶν ἐσπασμένων ῥομφαίαν, καὶ Ἰούδας χιλιάδες τετρακόσιαι ὀγδοήκοντα ἀνδρῶν ἐσπασμένων μάχαιραν. τὸν δὲ Λευὶ καὶ τὸν Βενιαμὶν οὐκ ἠρίθμησεν, ὅτι προσώχθισεν ὁ λόγος τοῦ βασιλέως τὸν Ἰωάβ, καὶ πονηρὸν ἐφάνη 1.154 ἐναντίον τοῦ θεοῦ. καὶ ἐπάταξε καρδία ∆αβὶδ αὐτὸν ἐν τῷ ἀριθ μῆσαι τὸν λαόν· καὶ ἀπέστειλε κύριος Γὰδ τὸν προφήτην πρὸς ∆αβίδ, καὶ εἶπε «τάδε λέγει κύριος· ἔκλεξαι σεαυτῷ γενέσθαι σοι ἢ τρία ἔτη λιμὸν ἐν τῇ γῇ σου, ἢ μῆνας τρεῖς φεύγειν σε ἐκ τῶν ἐχθρῶν σου ἔμπροσθεν, ἢ τρεῖς ἡμέρας θάνατον ἐν τῇ γῇ σου.» καὶ εἶπε ∆αβὶδ πρὸς Γάδ «στενά μοι σφόδρα πάντοθεν ἐστί· πλὴν ἐμπεσοῦμαι εἰς χεῖρας κυρίου, ὅτι πολλοὶ οἱ οἰκτιρμοὶ αὐ τοῦ. εἰς δὲ χεῖρας ἀνθρώπων οὐ μὴ ἐμπέσω.» καὶ ἐξελέξατο ∆αβὶδ τὸν θάνατον. καὶ ἡμέρα θέρους πυρῶν, καὶ ἔδωκε κύριος θάνατον ἐν Ἰσραὴλ ἀπὸ πρωΐθεν ἕως ἀρίστου, καὶ ἀπέθανον ἐκ τοῦ λαοῦ χιλιάδες ἑβδομήκοντα. καὶ ἐξέτεινεν ὁ ἄγγελος θεοῦ τὴν χεῖρα αὐτοῦ εἰς Ἱερουσαλὴμ τοῦ διαφθεῖραι ἐν αὐτῇ. καὶ εἶπεν ∆αβὶδ πρὸς τὸν θεόν «ἰδοὺ ἐγὼ ἡμάρτηκα, καὶ ἐγώ εἰμι ὁ ποιμὴν ὁ κακοποιήσας, καὶ τὰ πρόβατα τί ἐποίησαν; γενέσθω δὲ ἡ χείρ σου ἐν ἐμοί, κύριε, καὶ ἐν τῷ οἴκῳ τοῦ πατρός μου.» καὶ παρακληθεὶς ὁ κύριος εἶπε πρὸς τὸν ἄγγελον «ἄνες τὴν χεῖρά σου.» καὶ ᾠκοδόμησεν ἐκεῖ ∆αβὶδ θυσιαστήριον, καὶ ἀνήγαγεν εὐθὺς ὁλοκαυτώσεις. καὶ ἐπήκουσεν αὐτοῦ κύριος, καὶ συνεσχέθη ἡ θραῦσις τοῦ λαοῦ." ταῦτα δέ, φησὶ Θεοδώρητος, οὐκ ἀπεικὸς συμβέβηκεν, ἀλλ' οἰκείας παρανομίας ἔτισε δίκας ὁ λαὸς διὰ προ φάσεως· καταλιπὼν γὰρ τὸν εὐσεβῆ καὶ θεῖον βασιλέα τυράννῳ καὶ πατραλοίᾳ παιδὶ συνεστράτευσεν. οὕτω δὲ καὶ διὰ τὴν τοῦ Σαοὺλ εἰς τοὺς Γαβαωνίτας ἀναίρεσιν ἐπαιδεύθησαν διὰ λιμοῦ μετὰ τὴν ἐκείνου τελευτήν. ὁ μὲν γὰρ λαὸς ἅπας καὶ Ἰησοῦς ὁ 1.155 τοῦ Ναυῆ πεποίηκε τὰς πρὸς τοὺς Γαβαωνίτας συνθήκας, ἐκοι νώνησε δὲ τῶν ὅρκων καὶ Ἐλεάζαρ ὁ ἀρχιερεύς. ἔδει τοίνυν τοὺς ἀπογόνους τῶν ὀμωμοκότων μὴ παραβῆναι τὸν ὅρκον. φησὶ γὰρ πρὸς αὐτοὺς Ἰησοῦς μετὰ τὴν φανέρωσιν τῆς πανουργίας αὐτῶν "καὶ νῦν ἐπικατάρατοι ἔστε. οὐ μὴ ἐκλείψῃ ἐξ ὑμῶν δοῦλος, οὐδὲ ξυλοκόπος καὶ ὑδροφόρος ἐμοὶ καὶ τῷ θεῷ μου. διὰ τοῦτο ἐγέ νοντο ξυλοκόποι καὶ ὑδροφόροι τῷ θυσιαστηρίῳ τοῦ θεοῦ καὶ πάσῃ τῇ συναγωγῇ ἕως τῆς ἡμέρας ταύτης." ἐπεὶ οὖν ταῦτα παρελογίσαντο, διὰ τοῦτο καὶ μετὰ τὴν ἐκείνου τελευτὴν ὑπέστη σαν τὴν διὰ τοῦ λιμοῦ παιδείαν. διδάσκει γοῦν ἡμᾶς ὁ λόγος μὴ παραβαίνειν τὰς μεθ' ὅρκων συνθήκας ἐπὶ θεοῦ γινομένας, κἂν εἰς ἄλλων ὠφέλειαν ἡ παράβασις γίνηται. ἀγνοῶν δὲ τὴν αἰτίαν ὁ ∆αβὶδ τῆς θεηλάτου πληγῆς τοῦ λιμοῦ τὸν θεὸν ἀνηρώτα. καὶ μαθὼν ὡς ἕνεκα τῆς τῶν Γαβαωνιτῶν ἀδίκου ἀναιρέσεως εὐθύνας εἰσπράττονται, αὐτοῖς ἐκείνοις ἐχρήσατο κριταῖς τοῖς ἠδικημένοις, λέγων "τί ποιήσω ὑμῖν, καὶ ἐν τίνι ἐξιλάσομαι;" καὶ φασίν "οὐκ ἔστιν ἡμῖν ἀργύριον οὐδὲ χρυσίον μετὰ Σαούλ, καὶ οὐκ ἔστιν ἡμῖν θανατῶσαι ἄνδρα ἐκ παντὸς Ἰσραήλ· ἀλλ' ὁ ἀνὴρ ὁ διώξας