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that it would supply not only a double income, but a triple one for them, sufficient to nourish them both in the sixth and in the seventh year; but also lasting until the eighth. "For you will sow," it says, "in the eighth year and eat of the old produce until the ninth year; until its produce comes in, you will eat the old of the old." Then he strengthens the law with the reminder of his dominion. "For the land is mine," he says, "for you are sojourners and tenants before me." "I," he says, "gave this to you; therefore, as its master, I make the law." XXXVI What is, "ten women shall bake their bread in one oven"? Since they were gaping for the land, he both legislates and threatens. For to them, when they live according to the law, he promises the fruitfulness of the land; and again, when they transgress, he threatens the unfruitfulness of the land and an attack of enemies and extreme poverty. This he also makes clear here, that such great poverty will overtake you, that ten women will make their loaves in one oven because of the scarcity 187 of necessities; for he added this: "and you shall eat, and not be satisfied." XXXVII What is, "then the land will enjoy its sabbaths all the days of its desolation"? What follows is an interpretation of this. For he said: "and you shall be in the land of your enemies." For in Babylon they continued serving for seventy years. And from the reign of Saul until the captivity, four hundred and ninety years are reckoned; and a seventh of these is seventy. This, therefore, he says, that the land will remain unsown and unplowed for seventy years, while you are inhabiting a foreign land; since along with the other laws you also transgressed the commandment of the sabbath. For he added this: "and the land shall keep sabbath, which it did not keep when you dwelt in it." And he has added another threat. "And upon those who are left of you I will send a faintness into their hearts in the land of their enemies; and the sound of a driven leaf shall chase them, and they shall flee as fleeing from a war," and so on. And this prophecy also reached its end. For in the siege of the Chaldeans, while many were slain in the conflicts, and many perished from famine, and those who were enslaved were resettled in Babylon; those who escaped the hands of the enemies fled to Egypt, fearing the attack of the Chaldeans. And the prophecy of the most divine Jeremiah teaches us this clearly. After the threats, however, he also promised good things and announced the return from captivity, not because of their 188 worthiness, but because of the piety of their forefathers. For he said this: "And I will remember the covenant of Jacob, and the covenant of Isaac, and the covenant of Abraham, and I will remember their former covenant, when I brought them out of the land of Egypt, from the house of bondage, before all the nations, to be their God: I am the Lord." And through these things he taught the reasons for his philanthropy. For because of the promises to their fathers, he says, I endure their lawlessness; and since all the nations knew through the extraordinary wonders that I care for them in a special way, and they are called my people. However, he mentioned Jacob first, since he alone was the ancestor of all these. For Isaac was also the ancestor of the Idumeans, and Abraham of both the Israelites and those from Keturah; therefore, beginning from the bottom, he has ascended in order to Abraham, with whom he had made the covenants from the beginning. XXXVIII What is, "whoever makes a vow so as to give a valuation for his vow to the Lord"? He calls a vow the promise, which many call an offering; and it is possible to find this law being kept even now among some barbarians. For the faithful among the nomads, I mean the descendants of Ishmael, weigh out silver equivalent to their well-born infants and offer this to God. Concerning this God has legislated; and knowing as God, that some of those promising to give a valuation for themselves to God would break the promise by reducing the valuation, he commanded that it be fifty didrachmas for the

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διπλασίαν πρόσοδον χορηγήσειν μόνην, ἀλλὰ καὶ τριπλασίαν αὐτοῖς, ἀποχρῶσαν καὶ ἐν τῷ ἕκτῳ καὶ ἐν τῷ ἑβ δόμῳ διαθρέψαι ἔτει· ἀλλὰ καὶ μέχρι τοῦ ὀγδόου διαρκοῦσαν. " σπε ρεῖτε, γάρ φησιν, τὸ ἔτος τὸ ὄγδοον καὶ φάγε σθε ἀπὸ τῶν γενημάτων παλαιὰ ἕως τοῦ ἔτους τοῦ ἐννάτου, ἕως ἂν ἔλθῃ τὰ γενήματα αὐτῆς, φάγεσθε παλαιὰ παλαιῶν ". εἶτα τῇ μνήμῃ τῆς δεσπο τείας κρατύνει τὸν νόμον. " ἐμὴ γάρ ἐστι, φησίν, ἡ γῆ, διότι προσήλυτοι καὶ πάροικοι ὑμεῖς ἐστε ἐναν τίον μου ". ἐγώ, φησί, ταύτην ὑμῖν ἐδωρησάμην, τοιγάρτοι ὡς δεσπότης νομοθετῶ. XXXVI Τί ἐστι, " πέψουσι δέκα γυναῖκες τοὺς ἄρτους αὐτῶν ἐν κλιβάνῳ ἑνί "; Ὣς περὶ τὴν γῆν κεχηνόσι καὶ νομοθετεῖ καὶ ἀπειλεῖ. καὶ γὰρ ἐννόμως πολιτευομένοις τῆς γῆς αὐτοῖς ἐπαγγέλλεται τὴν εὐκαρπίαν· καὶ αὖ πάλιν παραβαίνουσι, καὶ γῆς ἀκαρπίαν καὶ πολεμίων ἔφοδον ἀπειλεῖ καὶ πε νίαν ἐσχάτην. τοῦτο καὶ ἐνταῦθα δηλοῖ, ὅτι τοσαύτη ὑμᾶς καταλήψεται πενία, ὡς δέκα γυναῖκας ἐν ἑνὶ κλιβάνῳ τοὺς ἄρτους ποιεῖν διὰ τὴν σπάνιν 187 τῶν ἀναγκαίων· τοῦτο γὰρ ἐπήγαγε· " καὶ φάγεσθε, καὶ οὐ μὴ ἐμπλησθῆτε ". XXXVII Τί ἐστι, " τότε εὐδοκήσει ἡ γῆ τὰ σάββατα πᾶσας τὰς ἡμέρας τῆς ἐρημώσεως αὐτῆς "; Τὸ ἐπαγόμενον ἑρμηνεία τούτου ἐστίν. ἔφη γάρ· " καὶ ὑμεῖς ἔσεσθε ἐν τῇ γῇ τῶν ἐχθρῶν ὑμῶν ". ἐν Βαβυλῶνι γὰρ ἑβδομήκοντα ἔτη δουλεύοντες διετέλεσαν. ἀπὸ δὲ τῆς τοῦ Σαοὺλ βασιλείας, μέχρι τῆς αἰχμαλωσίας τετρακόσια καὶ ἐνενήκοντα συνάγεται ἔτη· τούτων δὲ τὸ ἕβδομον ἑβδομήκοντα. τοῦτο τοίνυν φησίν, ὅτι ἄσπαρ τος ἡ γῆ μενεῖ, καὶ ἀνήροτος ἑβδομήκοντα ἔτη, ὑμῶν τὴν ἀλλοτρίαν οἰ κούντων· ἐπειδὴ μετὰ τῶν ἄλλων νόμων παρέβητε καὶ τοῦ σαββάτου τὴν ἐντολήν. τοῦτο γὰρ ἐπήγαγε· " καὶ σαββατιεῖ ἡ γῆ, ἃ οὐκ ἐσαββάτισεν, ἡνίκα κατῳκεῖτε αὐτήν ". προστέθεικε δὲ καὶ ἑτέραν ἀπειλήν. " καὶ τοῖς καταλειφ θεῖσιν ἐξ ὑμῶν ἐπάξω δειλίαν εἰς τὴν καρδίαν αὐτῶν ἐν τῇ γῇ τῶν ἐχθρῶν αὐτῶν· καὶ διώξε ται αὐτοὺς φωνὴ φύλλου φερομένου, καὶ φεύ ξονται ὡς φεύγοντες ἀπὸ πολέμου ", καὶ τὰ ἑξῆς. καὶ αὕτη δὲ ἡ πρόρρησις πέρας ἔλαβεν. ἐν γὰρ τῇ τῶν χαλδαίων πολιορ κίᾳ, πολλῶν μὲν ἐν ταῖς συμπλοκαῖς ἀναιρεθέντων, πολλῶν δὲ λιμῷ διαφ θαρέντων, τῶν ἀνδραποδισθέντων δὲ εἰς Βαβυλῶνα μετοικισθέντων· οἱ τὰς τῶν πολεμίων χεῖρας διαφυγόντες εἰς τὴν Αἴγυπτον ἔφυγον, δεί σαντες τῶν χαλδαίων τὴν ἔφοδον. καὶ τοῦτο σαφῶς ἡμᾶς ἡ τοῦ θειοτάτου Ἱερεμίου προφητεία διδάσκει. μετὰ μέντοι τὰς ἀπειλὰς ὑπέσχετο καὶ χρησ τὰ καὶ τὴν ἀπὸ τῆς αἰχμαλωσίας ἐπάνοδον ἐπηγγείλατο, οὐ διὰ τὴν 188 αὐτῶν ἀξίαν, ἀλλὰ διὰ τὴν τῶν προγόνων εὐσέβειαν. τοῦτο γὰρ ἔφη· " καὶ μνησθήσομαι τῆς διαθήκης Ἰακὼβ καὶ τῆς διαθήκης Ἰσαὰκ καὶ τῆς διαθήκης Ἀβραὰμ καὶ μνησθήσομαι αὐτῶν τῆς διαθήκης τῆς προ τέρας, ὅτε ἐξήγαγον αὐτοὺς ἐκ γῆς Αἰγύπτου, ἐξ οἴκου δουλείας ἐναντίον πάντων τῶν ἐθνῶν, τοῦ εἶναι αὐτῶν Θεός· ἐγώ εἰμι Κύριος ". ἐδίδαξε δὲ διὰ τούτων τὰς τῆς φιλανθρωπίας αἰτίας. διὰ γὰρ τὰς πρὸς πατέρας αὐτῶν ἐπαγγελίας, φησί, τῆς τούτων ἀνέχομαι παρανομίας· καὶ ἐπειδὴ ἔγνω πάντα τὰ ἔθνη διὰ τῶν παραδόξων θαυμάτων. ὅτι διαφερόντως τούτων ἐπιμελοῦμαι, καὶ λαὸς ἐμὸς χρηματίζουσι. τοῦ μέντοι Ἰακὼβ ἐμ νημόνευσε πρώτου, ἐπειδὴ τούτων ἁπάντων μόνος ἦν πρόγονος. ὁ γὰρ Ἰσαὰκ καὶ τῶν ἰδουμαίων, ὁ δὲ Ἀβραὰμ καὶ τῶν ἰσραηλιτῶν καὶ τῶν ἀπὸ Χεττούρας· κάτωθεν τοίνυν ἀρξάμενος, κατὰ τάξιν ἐπὶ τὸν Ἀβραὰμ ἀνελήλυθε, πρὸς ὃν ἐξ ἀρχῆς ἐπεποίητο τὰς συνθήκας. XXXVIII Τί ἐστιν, " ὃς ἂν εὔξηται εὐχὴν ὥστε δοῦναι τιμὴν τῆς εὐχῆς αὐτοῦ τῷ Κυρίῳ "; Εὐχὴν καλεῖ τὴν ὑπόσχεσιν, ὃ πολλοὶ τάγμα προσαγορεύουσι· τοῦτον δὲ τὸν νόμον ἔστι καὶ νῦν παρ' ἐνίοις βαρβάροις εὑρεῖν φυλαττόμενον. οἱ γὰρ πιστοὶ τῶν νομάδων, λέγω δὲ τοὺς ἀπογόνους τοῦ Ἰσμαὴλ, ἀντι ταλαντεύουσι τοῖς εὐθυγενέσι βρέφεσιν ἄργυρον καὶ τοῦτον προσκομί ζουσι τῷ Θεῷ. περὶ τούτου νενομοθέτηκεν ὁ Θεός· καὶ γινώσκων ὡς Θεός, ὅτι τῶν ὑπισχνουμένων τινὲς δώσειν ὑπὲρ ἑαυτῶν τιμὴν τῷ Θεῷ, παρα βήσονται τὴν ὑπόσχεσιν σμικρύνοντες τὴν τιμήν, ἐκέλευσε πεντήκοντα εἶναι δίδραχμα τοῦ