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among the Moabites he speaks of a throne of Christ, on which he is seated with truth in the tent of David. Thus the prophetic spirit is accustomed to call the church of Christ, since it is also its custom to name Christ himself David because he was born “of the seed of David according to the flesh.” Therefore it calls the church the tent of David, and the throne upon it the president of the church, who holds the physical throne as a vicar for Christ. But that these things were said concerning the church of the gentiles, the writing of the Acts of the Apostles will demonstrate. There James, the first to be bishop of Jerusalem, is recorded as having said: “Men, brothers, listen to me. Simeon has related how God first visited to take from the gentiles a people for his name. And with this the words of the prophets agree, as it is written: After these things I will return and I will rebuild the tent of David that has fallen, and its ruins I will rebuild, and I will set it up, so that the remnant of men may seek the Lord, and all the gentiles upon whom my name has been called, says the Lord, who makes these things known from of old,” clearly through these words, having mentioned the calling of the gentiles, he adduced the prophecy concerning the tent of David. Therefore he says these things will be not through types and symbols, but with truth; for with the tent of David being established among the most superstitious Moabites and a throne being founded in it, its president is seated, judging and seeking judgment and hastening justice, but according to Symmachus: and he will sit upon it in truth in the tent of David, judging and seeking judgments and swift to justice. Who would not be astonished, seeing with his own eyes the result of the word, churches of God established and in them the throne of Christ in Areopolis itself and the regions around it, and in the other cities of Arabia, while the demons who formerly worked all terrible things among them are no longer even remembered by name. 1.71 Symmachus made a clearer interpretation of these things, rendering it in this way: we have heard the pride of Moab, exceedingly proud, according to his arrogance and according to his pride. and his anger, not so his arms. Therefore Moab will wail, and everyone will wail for Moab; for those who rejoice in the wall of baked brick, plagues were found. Because the vines of Heshbon are desolate, the vine of Sibmah; the lords of the nations have cut down its shoots; it reached as far as Jazer, they wandered into the desert; her offshoots they let cross the sea. Therefore I will weep with the weeping of Jazer for the vine of Sibmah; I will drench you with my tears, Heshbon and Elealeh, because upon your fruit-harvest and upon your reaping a treader has fallen. And gladness and joy have been taken away from your Carmel, and in the vineyards they will not rejoice nor drink wine, in the wine presses the treader will not tread, I have stopped the shouting of the treaders. Therefore my belly will sound like a psaltery for Moab, and my inwards for the wall of baked brick. And it shall be when it is seen that Moab has wearied himself on the high places and enters his sanctuary to pray, he will not be able. This is the word. that the Lord spoke concerning Moab. And now he has spoken: In three years, like the years of a hired worker, the glory of Moab will be dishonored with all its great multitude, and a remnant will be left, small and little and not many. That the power of the Moabites was great in the times in which these things were prophesied, has already been shown to us before from the citation of the words of the prophet Jeremiah and how it opposed Jerusalem and how the Moabites scorned Israel, laughing at him as worthy of no account, and how they thought great things of their own idol. And the present prophecy also demonstrates this by saying: We have heard the insolence of Moab, exceedingly insolent, I have removed the pride,

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παρὰ τοῖς Μωαβίταις θρόνον Χριστοῦ φησιν, ἐν ᾧ καθιεῖται μετὰ ἀληθείας ἐν σκηνῇ ∆αυίδ. οὕτω δὲ καλεῖν εἴωθε τὸ προφητικὸν πνεῦμα τὴν ἐκκλησίαν τοῦ Χριστοῦ, ἐπεὶ καὶ τὸν Χριστὸν αὐτὸν ∆αυὶδ ὀνομάζειν ἔθος διὰ τὸ «ἐκ σπέρματος ∆αυὶδ κατὰ σάρκα» γεγεννῆσθαι αὐτόν. διὸ σκηνὴν μὲν ∆αυὶδ τὴν ἐκκλησίαν ἀποκαλεῖ, θρόνον δὲ τὸν ἐπὶ ταύτης τὸν τῆς ἐκκλησίας πρόεδρον, ὃς τὸ σωματικὸν ἐπέχει θρόνον τοποτηρῶν ὥσπερ τῷ Χριστῷ. ὅτι δὲ ταῦτα περὶ τῆς ἐκκλησίας τῆς ἐξ ἐθνῶν εἴρηται, παραστήσει ἡ τῶν Πράξεων τῶν Ἀποστόλων γραφή. ἔνθα Ἰάκωβος ὁ πρῶτος Ἱεροσολύμων ἐπισκοπεύσας ἀναγέγραπται εἰρηκώς· «ἄνδρες ἀδελφοί, ἀκούσατέ μου. Συμεὼν ἐξηγήσατο καθὼς πρῶτον ὁ θεὸς ἐπεσκέψατο λαβεῖν ἐξ ἐθνῶν λαὸν τῷ ὀνόματι αὐτοῦ. καὶ τούτῳ συμφωνοῦσιν οἱ λόγοι τῶν προφητῶν, καθὼς γέγραπται· μετὰ ταῦτα ἀναστρέψω καὶ οἰκοδομήσω τὴν σκηνὴν ∆αυὶδ τὴν πεπτωκυῖαν, καὶ τὰ κατεστρεμμένα αὐτῆς ἀνοικοδομήσω καὶ ἀνορθώσω αὐτήν, ὅπως ἂν ἐκζητήσωσιν οἱ κατάλοιποι τῶν ἀνθρώπων τὸν κύριον, καὶ πάντα τὰ ἔθνη ἐφ' οὓς ἐπικέκληται τὸ ὄνομά μου, λέγει κύριος, ὁ ποιῶν ταῦτα γνωστὰ ἀπ' αἰῶνος», σαφῶς δὴ διὰ τούτων τῆς τῶν ἐθνῶν κλήσεως μνημονεύσας τὴν περὶ τῆς σκηνῆς ∆αυὶδ παρέθηκε προφητείαν. ταῦτ' οὖν ἔσεσθαί φησιν οὐ διὰ τύπων καὶ συμβόλων, ἀλλὰ μετὰ ἀληθείας· σκηνῆς γὰρ ∆αυὶδ παρὰ τοῖς δεισιδαιμονεστάτοις Μωαβίταις συστησομένης καὶ θρόνου ἱδρυθέντος ἐν αὐτῇ ὁ ταύτης προεστὼς καθιεῖται κρίνων καὶ ἐκζητῶν κρίμα καὶ σπεύδων δικαιοσύνην, κατὰ δὲ τὸν Σύμμαχον· καὶ καθίσει ἐπ' αὐτοῦ ἐπ' ἀληθείας ἐν τῇ σκηνῇ ∆αυὶδ κρίνων καὶ ἐκζητῶν κρίσεις καὶ ταχὺς εἰς δικαιοσύνην. τίς δ' οὐκ ἂν ἐκπλαγείη τοῦ λόγου τὸ ἀποτέλεσμα ὀφθαλμοῖς παραλαμβάνων ἐκκλησίας θεοῦ συνεστώσας καὶ τὸν ἐν ταύταις Χριστοῦ θρόνον κατ' αὐτὴν τὴν Ἀρεόπολιν καὶ τὰς ἀμφὶ ταύτην χώρας, κατά τε τὰς λοιπὰς τῆς Ἀραβίας πόλεις, τῶν πάλαι παρ' αὐτοῖς τὰ πάνδεινα ἐνεργούντων δαιμόνων μηκέτι μὴ δὲ μέχρις ὀνόματος μνημονευομένων. 1.71 Λευκοτέραν τούτων ἑρμηνείαν ὁ Σύμμαχος ἐποιήσατο τοῦτον ἐκδοὺς τὸν τρόπον· ἠκούσαμεν τὴν ὑπερηφανίαν Μωάβ, ὑπερήφανος σφόδρα, κατὰ τὸ ἔπαρμα καὶ κατὰ τὴν ὑπερηφανίαν αὐτοῦ. καὶ ἡ ὀργὴ αὐτοῦ, οὐχ οὕτως οἱ βραχίονες αὐτοῦ. διὰ τοῦτο ὀλολύξει Μωάβ, καὶ περὶ τῆς Μωὰβ πᾶς τις ὀλολύξει· τοῖς εὐφραινομένοις ἐν τῷ τείχει τῷ ὀστρακίνῳ εὑρέθησαν πληγαί. ὅτι κλήματα Ἐσεβὼν ἠρημώθη, ἄμπελος Σαβαμά· κύριοι ἐθνῶν ἐξέκοψαν τὰς παραφυάδας αὐτῆς· ἕως Ἰαζὴρ ἥψατο, ἐπλανήθησαν εἰς τὴν ἔρημον· οἱ ἀπόστολοι αὐτῆς ἀφῆκαν διαβαίνειν τὴν θάλασσαν. διὰ τοῦτο κλαύσομαι κλαυθμῷ τὴν Ἰαζὴρ ἄμπελον Σαβαμά· μεθύσω σε δάκρυσί μου Ἐσεβὼν καὶ Ἐλεάλη, ὅτι ἐπὶ τὴν ὀπώραν σου καὶ ἐπὶ τὸν θερισμόν σου πατητὸς ἔπεσε. καὶ περιηρέθη εὐφροσύνη καὶ χαρὰ ἐκ τοῦ Καρμήλου σου, καὶ ἐν τοῖς ἀμπελῶσιν οὐκ ἀγαλλιάσονται οὐδὲ πίωσιν οἶνον, εἰς τὰ ὑπολήνια οὐ πατήσει ὁ πατῶν, κίνημα πατούντων ἔπαυσα. διὰ τοῦτο ἡ κοιλία μου τῷ Μωὰβ ὡς ψαλτήριον ἠχήσει, καὶ τὰ ἐντός μου τῷ τείχει τῷ ὀστρακίνῳ. καὶ ἔσται ὅταν ὀφθῇ, ὅτι ἐκοπώθη Μωὰβ εἰς τὰ ὑψηλὰ καὶ εἰσελεύσεται εἰς τὸ ἁγίασμα αὐτοῦ προσεύξασθαι, καὶ οὐ δυνήσεται. οὗτος ὁ λόγος. ὃν ἐλάλησε κύριος περὶ Μωάβ. καὶ νῦν ἐλάλησεν Ἐν τρισὶν ἔτεσιν ὡς ἐπὶ μισθωτοῦ καὶ ἀτιμασθήσεται ἡ δόξα Μωὰβ σὺν παντὶ τῷ πλήθει τῷ πολλῷ, καὶ περισσευθήσεται ὀλίγος βραχὺς καὶ οὐ πολύς. Ὅτι μεγάλη τις ἦν ἡ τῶν Μωαβιτῶν δύναμις ἐν τοῖς χρόνοις, καθ' οὓς ταῦτα προεφητεύετο, δεδήλωται ἡμῖν ἤδη πρότερον ἐκ τῆς παραθέσεως τῶν τοῦ προφήτου Ἰερεμίου φωνῶν καὶ ὡς ἀντεπολιτεύετο τῇ Ἰερουσαλὴμ καὶ ὡς ἐξηυτέλιζον οἱ Μωαβῖται τὸν Ἰσραὴλ γελῶντες αὐτὸν ὡς οὐδενὸς ἄξιον λόγου καὶ ὡς μέγα ἐφρόνουν ἐπὶ τῷ ἑαυτῶν εἰδώλῳ. καὶ ἡ παροῦσα δὲ προφητεία τοῦτο παρίστησι διὰ τοῦ λέγειν· Ἠκούσαμεν τὴν ὕβριν Μωάβ, ὑβριστὴς σφόδρα, τὴν ὑπερηφανίαν ἐξῆρα,