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of Egypt, and I took them by the hand, saying, I am the Lord your God. On that day I took them by my hand, to bring them out of the land of Egypt, into the land which I had prepared for them, a land flowing with milk and honey, a honeycomb beyond all the land. To these who have come to you, he says, O prophet, both show my benefactions, and recount the transgressions of their fathers; and narrate how I appeared in Egypt to their fathers while they were still being impious, and serving the idols of the Egyptians, and I taught them that I am both God and Lord; and I used these words, wishing to free them from slavery, and to fulfill the promises, and to give the promised land, which is a mother of myriad goods, and brings forth all sorts of fruits for its inhabitants; and one would not err in declaring it better than all the earth, and calling it the workmanship of bees; for this he has shown by saying, "It is a honeycomb beyond all the land." Thus he named the honeycombs filled with honey. 7. And he said, he says, to them: Each of you cast away the abominations of his eyes, and do not be defiled with the practices of Egypt, I am the Lord your God. And I advised them, he says, to flee communion with the impiety of the Egyptians, and to recognize my lordship, having taught them this through signs and wonders 81.989; but they were in no way willing to heed my suggestions. And signifying this he added: 8. And they departed from me, and were not willing to obey me; each did not cast away the abominations of his eyes, and they did not abandon the practices of Egypt. Then he teaches the justice of his wrath. "And I said I would pour out my anger upon them, to accomplish my wrath on them in the midst of Egypt." Then he teaches the philanthropy and the long-suffering with which he manages human nature. 9. And I acted so that my name might not be profaned at all before the nations, in the midst of whom they are, before whom I was made known to them, to bring them out of the land of Egypt. I wished, he says, to punish them immediately for their disobedience; but since they were my people, I did not exact punishment from them in the presence of their enemies, so that my name might not be profaned at all before the nations with whom they lived; so that their punishment might not become, he says, a pretext for blasphemy against me; for I wished through my beneficence toward them to change the minds of those others as well; but the book of Exodus teaches us these things more clearly. For the blessed Moses narrates how all the people delivered to him the divine words as he conveyed them to Pharaoh; so then, he says, having used this long-suffering; 10-12. This one I brought out of the land of Egypt. And I brought them out of the land of Egypt. And I led them into the wilderness. And I gave them my commandments, and I made known to them my judgments, which if a man does, he shall live in them. And I gave them my Sabbaths, to be a sign between me and between them, that they might know that I am the Lord who sanctifies them. Having freed them, he says, from that bitter slavery, as in a certain wrestling school, in the wilderness I trained them with good and beneficial laws, contriving life for them through the keeping of these; for the laws were productive of life. And he called them commandments and judgments. For the commandments are not one thing, and the judgments another, but the same things are called by different names. For they are commandments, as having been written by God and Lord, and having been commanded to be kept; and judgments, not only as having been written justly, and possessing justice, but also as being able to justify the one who performs them rightly. But it is necessary to note, that from these commandments, and from the judgments which are able to provide life to those who keep them, he separated the Sabbaths. For having said, "I gave them my commandments 81.992, and the

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Αἰγύπτου, καὶ ἀντελαβόμην τῆς χειρὸς αὐ τῶν, λέγων, Ἐγὼ Κύριος ὁ Θεὸς ὑμῶν. Ἐν τῇ ἡμέρᾳ ἐκείνῃ ἀντελαβόμην αὐτῶν τῇ χειρί μου, τοῦ ἐξάγειν αὐτοὺς ἐκ γῆς Αἰγύπτου, εἰς τὴν γῆν, ἣν ἡτοίμασα αὐτοῖς, γῆν ῥέουσαν γάλα καὶ μέλι, κηρίον ἐστὶ παρὰ πᾶσαν τὴν γῆν. Τούτοις, φησὶν, ὦ προφῆτα, τοῖς πρὸς σὲ παραγενομένοις, καὶ τὰς ἐμὰς ὑπόδειξον εὐεργεσίας, καὶ τὰς τῶν πατέρων αὐτῶν ἀπαρίθμησαι παρανομίας· διήγησαι δὲ, ὅπως ἐπεφάνην ἐν Αἰγύπτῳ τοῖς πατράσιν αὐτῶν ἀσεβοῦσιν ἔτι, καὶ τὰ τῶν Αἰγυπτίων εἴδωλα θεραπεύουσι, καὶ ἐδίδαξα αὐτοὺς, ὅτι ἐγὼ καὶ Θεός εἰμι, καὶ ∆εσπότης· καὶ τούτοις ἐχρώμην τοῖς λόγοις, ἐκείνους ἀπαλ λάξαι τῆς δουλείας βουλόμενος, τὰς δὲ ὑποσχέσεις πληρῶσαι, καὶ τὴν ἐπηγγελμένην ἀποδοῦναι γῆν, μυρίων ἀγαθῶν οὖσαν μητέρα, καὶ παντοδαποὺς καρποὺς τοῖς ἐνοικοῦσι τίκτουσαν· καὶ οὐκ ἄν τις ἁμάρτοι πάσης μὲν τῆς γῆς ἀποφαίνων κρείττονα, μελιττῶν δὲ αὐτὴν ἐργασίαν ἀποκαλῶν· τοῦτο γὰρ ἐδήλωσεν εἰρηκώς· "Κηρίον ἐστὶ παρὰ πᾶσαν τὴν γῆν." Οὕτω προσηγόρευσε τὰ τοῦ μέλιτος πεπλη ρωμένα κηρία. ζʹ. Καὶ εἶπε, φησὶ, πρὸς αὐτούς· Ἕκαστος τὰ βδελύγματα τῶν ὀφθαλμῶν αὑτοῦ ἀποῤῥί ψατε, καὶ ἐν τοῖς ἐπιτηδεύμασιν Αἰγύπτου μὴ μιαίνεσθε, ἐγὼ Κύριος ὁ Θεὸς ὑμῶν. Παρῄνεσα δὲ αὐτοὺς, φησὶ, τῆς μὲν τῶν Αἰγυπτίων ἀσεβείας τὴν κοινωνίαν φυγεῖν, τὴν δὲ ἐμὴν ἐπιγνῶναι δεσπο τείαν, ταύτην αὐτοὺς διὰ σημείων καὶ θαυμάτων 81.989 διδάξας· οἱ δὲ οὐδαμῶς προσέχειν ἠθέλησαν ταῖς ἐμαῖς εἰσηγήσεσι. Καὶ τοῦτο σημαίνων ἐπήγαγε· ηʹ. Καὶ ἀπέστησαν ἀπ' ἐμοῦ, καὶ οὐκ ἠθέλησαν ὑπακοῦσαί μου· ἕκαστος τὰ βδελύγματα τῶν ὀφθαλμῶν αὑτοῦ οὐκ ἀπέῤῥιψε, καὶ τὰ ἐπιτηδεύ ματα Αἰγύπτου οὐ κατέλιπον. Εἶτα διδάσκει τῆς ὀργῆς τὸ δίκαιον. "Καὶ εἶπον τοῦ ἐκχέαι τὸν θυμόν μου ἐπ' αὐτοὺς, τοῦ συντελέσαι τὴν ὀργήν μου ἐν αὐτοῖς ἐν μέσῳ τῆς Αἰγύπτου." Ἔπειτα τὴν φιλαν θρωπίαν καὶ τὴν μακροθυμίαν διδάσκει, ᾗ κεχρη μένος οἰκονομεῖ τῶν ἀνθρώπων τὴν φύσιν. θʹ. Καὶ ἐποίησα, ὅπως τὸ ὄνομά μου τὸ παρ άπαν μὴ βεβηλωθῇ ἐνώπιον τῶν ἐθνῶν, ὧν αὐτοί εἰσιν ἐν μέσῳ αὐτῶν, ἐφ' ὧν ἐγνώσθην πρὸς αὐ τοὺς ἐνώπιον αὐτῶν, τοῦ ἐξαγαγεῖν αὐτοὺς ἐκ γῆς Αἰγύπτου. Ἐβουλήθην, φησὶν, ἀπειθήσαντας παραυτίκα κολάσαι· ἐπειδὴ δὲ λαὸς ἐμὸς ἐχρημά τιζε, δίκας αὐτοὺς ἐπὶ τῶν δυσμενῶν οὐκ ἐπραξά μην, ἵνα τὸ παράπαν τὸ ὄνομά μου μὴ βεβηλωθῇ ἐνώπιον τῶν ἐθνῶν, οἷς οὗτοι συνῴκουν· ἵνα μὴ πρόφασις, φησὶ, τῆς κατ' ἐμοῦ βλασφημίας ἡ τού των γένηται τιμωρία· ἤθελον γὰρ διὰ τῆς περὶ τού τους εὐεργεσίας κἀκείνων μεταβαλεῖν τὰ φρονήματα· ταῦτα δὲ ἡμᾶς ἐναργέστερον διδάσκει τὸ τῆς Ἐξόδου βιβλίον. ∆ιηγεῖται γὰρ ὁ μακάριος Μωσῆς, ὅπως αὐτῷ πᾶς ὁ λαὸς ἀπένεμε τοὺς θείους λόγους δια πορθμεύοντι τῷ Φαραῷ· ταύτῃ τοίνυν, φησὶ, τῇ μακροθυμίᾳ χρησάμενος· ιʹ-ιβʹ. Τοῦτον ἐξήγαγον ἐκ γῆς Αἰγύπτου. Καὶ ἐξήγαγον αὐτοὺς ἐκ γῆς Αἰγύπτου. Καὶ ἤγαγον αὐτοὺς εἰς τὴν ἔρημον. Καὶ ἔδωκα αὐτοῖς τὰ προστάγματά μου, καὶ τὰ δικαιώματά μου ἐγνώρισα αὐτοῖς, ὃς ἐὰν ποιήσῃ αὐτὰ ἄν θρωπος, καὶ ζήσεται ἐν αὐτοῖς. Καὶ Σάββατά μου ἔδωκα αὐτοῖς, τοῦ εἶναι εἰς σημεῖον ἀναμέ σον ἐμοῦ καὶ ἀναμέσον αὐτῶν, τοῦ γνῶναι ὅτι ἐγὼ Κύριος ὁ ἁγιάζων αὐτούς. Ἐλευθερώσας αὐ τοὺς, φησὶ, τῆς πικρᾶς ἐκείνης δουλείας, ὡς ἐν πα λαίστρᾳ τινὶ, ἐν τῇ ἐρήμῳ τοῖς ἀγαθοῖς καὶ ὠφε λίμοις νόμοις ἐπαιδοτρίβουν, ζωὴν αὐτοῖς διὰ τῆς τούτων φυλακῆς μηχανώμενος· ζωῆς γὰρ ὑπῆρχον οἱ νόμοι παρεκτικοί. Προστάγματα δὲ αὐτὰ καὶ δικαιώματα προσηγόρευσεν. Οὐ γὰρ ἕτερα τὰ προσ τάγματα, καὶ ἄλλα τὰ δικαιώματα, ἀλλὰ τὰ αὐτὰ διαφόροις ὀνόμασι κέκληται. Προστάγματα μὲν γάρ ἐστιν, ὡς παρὰ Θεοῦ καὶ ∆εσπότου γραφέντα, καὶ φυλάττεσθαι κελευσθέντα· δικαιώματα δὲ, οὐ μόνον ὡς ἐνδίκως γραφέντα, καὶ τὸ δίκαιον ἔχοντα, ἀλλὰ καὶ ὡς δικαιοῦν τὸν κατορθοῦντα δυνάμενα. Ἀναγκαῖον δὲ ἐπιστῆσαι, ὅτι τῶν προσταγμάτων τούτων, καὶ τῶν δικαιωμάτων τῶν ζωὴν τοῖς φυ λάττουσι παρέχειν δυναμένων, τὰ Σάββατα διεχώρι σεν. Εἰρηκὼς γὰρ, "Ἔδωκα αὐτοῖς τὰ προστάγματά 81.992 μου, καὶ τὰ