John Chrysostom, Against the Jews

a male to go up to the temple; but with the temple destroyed, it was impossible for this to happen. After these things, it again commanded the one with a discharge, the leper, the woman in her monthly period, the one who has given birth, to offer sacrifices; and this again is impossible, with the place not existing, nor the altar being visible. It commanded them to sing holy hymns; and this we showed before was forbidden away from the place, with the prophets accusing them and saying that 48.917 they read the law outside, and invoked a confession. When, therefore, it was not even possible for the law to be read outside the city, how is it possible to practice it outside the city? For this reason, indeed, threatening them he said: I will not visit your daughters, when they commit fornication, and your daughters-in-law, when they commit adultery. And what is this? Having read an old law to you, I will try to make it clearer. What then is the law? If a woman transgresses against her husband, and despising him, ignores him, and someone lies with her with a seed of copulation, and it is hidden from the eyes of her husband, and there is no witness against her, and she is not caught in the act, and a spirit of jealousy comes upon him, but she is not defiled. What he says is something like this: If a woman commits adultery, he says, and her husband suspects adultery, or she does not commit adultery, but he suspects it, and there is neither a witness, nor a convicting pregnancy, he will bring her to the priest, he says, and will offer her gift of barley meal. Why not fine flour, not wheat flour, but barley? Because what is happening is mourning and condemnation and evil suspicion, the form of the offering imitated the disaster; for because of this he says: You shall not pour oil upon it, nor shall you put frankincense upon it. Then, for it is necessary to summarize, the priest shall bring her forward, and shall take pure water in an earthen vessel, and taking some of the earth that is on the floor, he will cast it into the water, and will set the woman, and will put her under oath, and will say: If you have not transgressed by being defiled against your own husband, be safe from the water of testing; but if you have transgressed and are defiled, and someone has given his bed to you, other than your husband, may the Lord make you a curse and an oath in the midst of the people. What is, a curse and an oath? So that they may say: May I not suffer as such-and-such a woman suffered. By the Lord making your belly swollen, and the accursed water will enter to make your womb swell. And the woman shall say: So be it, so be it. And it shall be, if she is defiled, the water of testing will enter, and her belly will swell, and the woman shall become a curse. But if the woman is not defiled, she shall be innocent and shall conceive seed. Since, therefore, when they went into captivity, it was not possible for any of these things to happen, with neither the temple existing, nor the altar, nor the tabernacle, nor the sacrifice being offered, threatening he said: I will not visit your daughters, when they commit fornication, and your daughters-in-law, when they commit adultery. βʹ. Do you see that the law has its force from the place? That it is not possible for there to be a priest, when the city does not exist, is clear from this. For just as it is not possible for there to be a king, when there are no armies, no diadem, no purple robe, nor the other things that constitute a kingdom; so also it is not possible for there to be a priest, when sacrifice has been abolished, offering has been forbidden, the holy things have been trampled, the whole structure has been destroyed; for the priesthood consisted in all these things. It would have been sufficient then, as I said before, for our proof that neither sacrifices, nor burnt offerings, nor the other purifications, nor anything else of the 48.918 Jewish polity would return; what remains is the proof that the temple would no longer be standing. For just as with this not existing now all things have been abolished, and even if something seems to be done, it is dared unlawfully; so when the argument has demonstrated that it will never return to its proper form, that other point has also been jointly demonstrated, that neither will the remaining worship return again to its former state, there will be no priest, no king. For if it was not permitted for those of their seed, even if one were among the private citizens, to worship foreign gods, much more him the

ἀρσενικὸν εἰς τὸν ναὸν ἀναβαίνειν· τοῦ δὲ ναοῦ καταλυθέντος, ἀδύνατον τοῦτο γενέσθαι. Μετὰ ταῦτα πάλιν ἐπέταττε τὸν γονοῤῥυῆ, τὸν λεπρὸν, τὴν ἐν καταμηνίοις γυναῖκα, τὴν λεχῶ, θυσίας ἀναφέρειν· καὶ τοῦτο δὲ πάλιν ἀδύνατον, οὐκ ὄντος τοῦ τόπου, οὐδὲ τοῦ βωμοῦ φαινομένου. Ἐκέλευσεν ᾄδειν ἱεροὺς ὕμνους· καὶ τοῦτο ἔμπροσθεν ἀπεδείξαμεν ἀπὸ τοῦ τόπου κωλυόμενον, καὶ τοὺς προφήτας ἐγκαλοῦντας, καὶ λέγοντας ὅτι 48.917 ἀνέγνωσαν ἔξω νόμον, καὶ ἐπεκαλέσαντο ὁμολογίαν. Ὅταν τοίνυν μηδὲ ἀναγινώσκεσθαι δυνατὸν ἦν τὸν νόμον ἔξω τῆς πόλεως, πῶς αὐτὸν πράττειν ἔξω τῆς πόλεως δυνατόν; ∆ιὰ γοῦν τοῦτο καὶ ἀπειλῶν αὐτοῖς ἔλεγεν· Οὐκ ἐπισκέψομαι τὰς θυγατέρας ὑμῶν, ὅταν ἐκπορνεύσωσι, καὶ τὰς νύμφας ὑμῶν, ὅταν μοιχεύσωσι. Τί δὲ τοῦτό ἐστι; Νόμον ὑμῖν ἀναγνοὺς παλαιὸν, σαφέστερον ποιῆσαι πειράσομαι. Τίς οὖν ἐστιν ὁ νόμος; Ἐὰν παραβῇ γυνὴ κατὰ τοῦ ἀνδρὸς αὐτῆς, καὶ παρίδῃ αὐτὸν ὑπεριδοῦσα, καὶ κοιμηθῇ τις μετ' αὐτῆς κοίτην σπέρματος, καὶ λάθῃ ἐξ ὀφθαλμῶν τοῦ ἀνδρὸς, καὶ μάρτυς μὴ ᾖ κατ' αὐτῆς, καὶ μὴ ᾖ συνειλημμένη, καὶ ἐπέλθῃ ἐπ' αὐτῷ πνεῦμα ζηλώσεως, αὕτη δὲ μὴ ᾖ μεμιασμένη. Ὃ δὲ λέγει τοιοῦτόν ἐστιν· Ἐὰν μοιχευθῇ, φησὶ, γυνὴ, καὶ ὑποπτεύσῃ τὴν μοιχείαν ὁ ἀνὴρ, ἢ μὴ μοιχευθῇ, οὗτος δὲ ὑποπτεύσῃ, καὶ μήτε μάρτυς ᾖ, μήτε κύησις ἐλέγχουσα, ἄξει αὐτὴν πρὸς τὸν ἱερέα, φησὶ, καὶ προσοίσει τὸ δῶρον αὐτῆς ἄλευρον κρίθινον. Τί δήποτε οὐ σεμίδαλιν, οὐκ ἄλευρον πυροῦ, ἀλλὰ κρίθινον; Ἐπειδὴ πένθος ἐστὶ καὶ κατάγνωσις καὶ ὑποψία πονηρὰ τὸ γινόμενον, ἐμιμεῖτο τὴν συμφορὰν τῆς οἰκείας θυσίας τὸ σχῆμα· διὰ γὰρ τοῦτό φησιν· Οὐκ ἐπιχεεῖς ἐπ' αὐτὸ ἔλαιον, οὐδὲ ἐπιθήσεις ἐπ' αὐτὸ λίβανον. Εἶτα δεῖ γὰρ ἐπιτεμεῖν καὶ προσάξει αὐτὴν ὁ ἱερεὺς, καὶ λήψεται ὕδωρ καθαρὸν ἐν ἀγγείῳ ὀστρακίνῳ, καὶ ἀπὸ τῆς γῆς τῆς οὔσης ἐπὶ τοῦ ἐδάφους λαβὼν, ἐμβαλεῖ εἰς τὸ ὕδωρ, καὶ στήσει τὴν γυναῖκα, καὶ ὁρκιεῖ αὐτὴν, καὶ ἐρεῖ· Εἰ μὴ παρέβης μιανθῆναι πρὸς τὸν ἄνδρα τὸν σεαυτῆς, σώα ἴσθι ἀπὸ τοῦ ὕδατος τοῦ ἐλεγμοῦ· εἰ δὲ παρέβης καὶ μεμίανσαι, καὶ ἔδωκέ τις τὴν κοίτην αὐτοῦ ἐν σοὶ, πλὴν τοῦ ἀνδρός σου, δῴη Κύριός σε ἐν ἀρᾷ καὶ ἐνόρκιον ἐν μέσῳ τοῦ λαοῦ. Τί ἔστιν, Ἐν ἀρᾷ καὶ ἐνόρκιον; Ἵνα λέγωσι· Μὴ πάθοιμι ὡς ἔπαθεν ἡ δεῖνα γυνή. Ἐν τῷ δοῦναι Κύριον τὴν κοιλίαν σου ἐμπεπρισμένην, καὶ εἰσελεύσεται τὸ ὕδωρ τὸ ἐπικατηραμένον πρῖσαι τὴν γαστέρα σου. Καὶ ἐρεῖ ἡ γυνή· Γένοιτο, γένοιτο. Καὶ ἔσται, ἐὰν ᾖ μεμιασμένη, εἰσελεύσεται τὸ ὕδωρ τοῦ ἐλεγμοῦ, καὶ πρίσει τὴν κοιλίαν αὐτῆς, καὶ ἔσται ἡ γυνὴ εἰς ἀράν. Ἐὰν δὲ μὴ μιανθῇ ἡ γυνὴ, ἀθῴα ἔσται καὶ ἐκσπερματιεῖ σπέρμα. Ἐπεὶ οὖν εἰς αἰχμαλωσίαν ἀπελθόντων αὐτῶν, οὐδὲν τούτων γενέσθαι δυνατὸν ἦν, οὔτε τοῦ ναοῦ ὄντος, οὔτε τοῦ βωμοῦ, οὔτε τῆς σκηνῆς, οὔτε τῆς θυσίας ἀναφερομένης, ἀπειλῶν ἔλεγεν· Οὐκ ἐπισκέψομαι τὰς θυγατέρας ὑμῶν, ὅταν πορνεύσωσι, καὶ τὰς νύμφας ὑμῶν, ὅταν μοιχεύσωσιν. βʹ. Ὁρᾷς ἀπὸ τοῦ τόπου τὴν ἰσχὺν ἔχοντα τὸν νόμον; Ὅτι δὲ οὔτε τὸν ἱερέα δυνατὸν εἶναι, τῆς πόλεως οὐκ οὔσης, δῆλον ἐκ τούτου. Ὥσπερ γὰρ βασιλέα οὐ δυνατὸν εἶναι, τῶν στρατοπέδων οὐκ ὄντων, οὐ διαδήματος, οὐχ ἁλουργίδος, οὐ τῶν ἄλλων τῶν τὴν βασιλείαν συγκροτούντων· οὕτως οὐδὲ ἱερέα δυνατὸν εἶναι, θυσίας ἀνῃρημένης, προσφορᾶς κεκωλυμένης, τῶν ἁγίων πεπατημένων, τοῦ σχήματος παντὸς ἠφανισμένου· ἡ γὰρ ἱερωσύνη ἐν τούτοις ἅπασιν ἦν. Ἤρκει μὲν οὖν, ὅπερ ἔφθην εἰπὼν, πρὸς ἀπόδειξιν ἡμῖν τοῦ μήτε θυσίας, μήτε ὁλοκαυτώματα, μήτε τοὺς λοιποὺς καθαρμοὺς, μήτε ἄλλο τι τῆς 48.918 Ἰουδαϊκῆς πολιτείας ἐπανήξειν· λοιπὸν ἡ ἀπόδειξις τοῦ μηκέτι στήσεσθαι τὸν ναόν. Ὥσπερ γὰρ οὐκ ὄντος τούτου νῦν πάντα ἀνῄρηται, κἂν δοκῇ τι γίνεσθαι, παρανόμως τολμᾶται· οὕτως ἀποδείξαντος τοῦ λόγου ὅτι οὐδέποτε ἐπανήξει πρὸς τὸ οἰκεῖον σχῆμα, κἀκεῖνο συναποδέδεικται, ὅτι οὔτε ἡ λοιπὴ λατρεία πρὸς τὴν προτέραν ἐπανήξει κατάστασιν πάλιν, οὐχ ἱερεὺς ἔσται τις, οὐ βασιλεύς. Εἰ γὰρ τοῖς ἐκ τοῦ σπέρματος αὐτῶν, κἄν τις ἦν τῶν ἰδιωτευόντων, οὐκ ἐφεῖτο γοῦν λατρεύειν ἀλλογενέσι, πολλῷ μᾶλλον αὐτὸν τὸν