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foreign, the rulers of those nations, and they became suppliants of the stranger. But he, taking the opportunity, offered to those who were ignorant the teachings of piety, and injustice opened the way for piety, and lawless greed became an agent of the knowledge of God. Thus He managed the affairs of Isaac and Jacob. For the one benefited Abimelech, and the other showed to Laban the true God, and exposed the weakness of those that were not, but were thought to be. Thus He managed the affairs of Joseph. And having first permitted him to become a slave, through slavery and slander and bonds He entrusted to him the reins of Egypt. And first he proclaims one God to the cupbearer; then he offers this same teaching to the king. From there, having received the rudders, he wisely steers the whole vessel. Thus, wishing to deliver the increased Israel from Egyptian slavery, He delivered them with many and great wonders, devising from this their renown. For He appointed this nation as a teacher of the knowledge of God to all the nations. And just as for the care of this nation, He now chose Moses, now Joshua, and again Samuel, and at another time another of the prophets, and through one man practicing philosophy, He benefited all his countrymen; so through one nation, Israel, He called all the nations that have the same nature into the fellowship of piety. And that these things are so, Rahab the harlot testifies, being a foreigner and a harlot, but satisfied with the report alone, and through this having received piety, she abandoned her own people and entrusted herself to strangers. "For we have heard," she says, "what the Lord your God did to the Egyptians, and the fear of you has fallen upon us." For this reason she makes covenants with the spies, and confirms them with an oath. The Philistines also testify, fearing the presence of the ark, and saying to one another: "This is the God who struck Egypt; woe to us, Philistines." For this reason God delivered the ark to the Philistines, rebuking the transgression of the people; for it was not right that those who had openly transgressed the law should make the law their champion; but when it was delivered up, He preserved its reverence, teaching the Philistines that they had not conquered God, but the transgression of men. For this reason He caused Dagon, 83.768 who was worshipped by them as a god (but this was a mute and senseless idol), to fall before the ark, and to show the posture of those who worship, so that the Philistines might learn the difference. But they again foolishly set it up, and again they see it fallen down and worshipping. Then, behaving with great folly, and not willing to see the difference, they were taught to be sober by experience, and having been disciplined they came to their senses, and cast out the drunkenness of ignorance, and they send the ark as they should to its own ministers, and having honored it with votive offerings they proclaim the punishments, and teach those who receive it the manner of its return. This God also did in the case of Belshazzar. For since the people had strayed into great impiety, He sent them captive to Babylon, and the sacred vessels became the spoils of the enemies, Nebuchadnezzar, as they were divine, kept them far from common use, and brought them into the temples of the gods recognized by them. But his son, I mean Belshazzar, not having been taught by his father's misfortunes, nor considering what penalties that man paid for his arrogance, and this after he had, as he thought, honored the divine vessels, brings into their midst the things once dedicated to God, and the sinner drinks from them, and offers to his fellow drinkers the untouchable things. But as these things were happening, a sentence was passed against the wicked one, and the hand of some unseen person wrote on the wall of God

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ὀθνεῖον, οἱ τῶν ἐθνῶν ἐκείνων βασιλεύοντες, καὶ ἱκέ ται τοῦ ξένου ἐγένοντο. Ὁ δὲ πρόφασιν λαμβάνων, προσέφερε τοῖς ἀγνοοῦσι τὰ τῆς εὐσεβείας παιδεύ ματα, καὶ ἡ ἀδικία τῆς εὐσεβείας τὴν ὁδὸν ἀνεῴγνυ, καὶ ἡ παράνομος πλεονεξία πρόξενος θεογνωσίας ἐγίγνετο. Οὕτω τὰ κατὰ τὸν Ἰσαὰκ καὶ Ἰακὼβ ᾠκονόμησεν. Ὁ μὲν γὰρ, τὸν Ἀβιμελὲχ εὐηρ-γέτησεν, ὁ δὲ τῷ Λάβαν τὸν ὄντα Θεὸν ὑπέδειξε, καὶ τῶν οὐκ ὄντων μὲν, δοκούντων δὲ, τὴν ἀσθένειαν ἤλεγ ξεν. Οὕτω τὰ κατὰ τὸν Ἰωσὴφ ᾠκονόμησε. Καὶ δοῦλον γενέσθαι πρότερον συγχωρήσας, διὰ δουλείας καὶ συ κοφαντίας καὶ δεσμῶν τῆς Αἰγύπτου αὐτῷ τὰς ἡνίας ἐνεχείρισε. Καὶ πρῶτον μὲν ἕνα Θεὸν τῷ οἰνοχόῳ κηρύττει· εἶτα τῷ βασιλεῖ τὴν αὐτὴν ταύτην διδασκα λίαν προσφέρει. Ἐκεῖθεν τοὺς οἴακας δεξάμενος, ἅπαν σοφῶς ἰθύνει τὸ σκάφος. Οὕτω τὸν Ἰσραὴλ αὐξηθέντα, τῆς Αἰγυπτιακῆς ἀπαλλάξαι δουλείας ἐθελήσας, μετὰ πολλῶν καὶ μεγάλων ἀπαλλάττει θαυμάτων, τὸ ἐπίση μον αὐτῶν ἐντεῦθεν μηχανώμενος. Τῶν γὰρ ἐθνῶν ἁπάντων τοῦτο τὸ ἔθνος θεογνωσίας ἐχειροτόνει δι δάσκαλον. Καὶ καθάπερ εἰς τοῦδε τοῦ ἔθνους ἐπιμέλειαν, νῦν μὲν ἐξελέξατο τὸν Μωϋσῆν, νῦν δὲ τὸν Ἰησοῦν, καὶ πάλιν τὸν Σαμουὴλ, ἄλλοτε δὲ ἄλλον τῶν προφητῶν, καὶ δι' ἑνὸς ἀνθρώπου φιλοσοφίαν ἀσκοῦντος, ἅπαντας εὐηργέτει τοὺς ὁμοφύλους· οὕτω δι' ἑνὸς ἔθνους τοῦ Ἰσραὴλ, πάντα τὰ ἔθνη τὰ τὴν αὐτὴν ἔχοντα φύσιν, εἰς τὴν τῆς εὐσεβείας κοινωνίαν ἐκάλει. Καὶ ὅτι ταῦτα οὕτως ἔχει, μαρτυρεῖ μὲν Ῥαὰβ ἡ πόρνη, ἀλλόφυλος μὲν οὖσα καὶ πόρνη, ἀρ κεσθεῖσα δὲ μόνῃ τῇ φήμῃ, καὶ διὰ ταύτης τὴν εὐ σέβειαν δεξαμένη, καὶ τοὺς μὲν οἰκείους προεμένη, τοῖς δὲ ἀλλοτρίοις ἑαυτὴν ἐγχειρίσασα. «Ἠκού σαμεν γὰρ, φησὶν, οἷα ἐποίησε Κύριος ὁ Θεὸς ὑμῶν τοῖς Αἰγυπτίοις, καὶ ἔπεσεν ὁ φόβος ὑμῶν ἐφ' ἡμᾶς.» ∆ιὰ τοῦτο συνθήκας πρὸς τοὺς κατασκόπους ποιεῖται, καὶ ὅρκῳ ταύτας βεβαιοῖ. Μαρτυροῦσι δὲ καὶ Ἀλλόφυ λοι, δείσαντες τῆς κιβωτοῦ τὴν παρουσίαν, καὶ πρὸς ἀλλήλους εἰρηκότες· «Οὗτος ὁ Θεὸς, ὁ πατάξας τὴν Αἴγυπτον· οὐαὶ ἡμῖν, ἀλλόφυλοι.» Τούτου χάριν ὁ Θεὸς παραδίδωσι μὲν τοῖς Ἀλλοφύλοις τὴν κιβωτὸν, τὴν τοῦ λαοῦ παρανομίαν ἐλέγχων· οὐ γὰρ ἔδει τὸν νό μον ποιήσασθαι πρόμαχον τοὺς προφανῶς παραβεβη κότας τὸν νόμον· παραδοθείσης δὲ φυλάττει τὸ σέβας, διδάσκων τοὺς Ἀλλοφύλους, ὡς οὐ Θεὸν ἐνίκησαν, ἀλλὰ ἀνθρώπων παρανομίαν. ∆ιὰ τοῦτο τὸν ∆αγὼν, 83.768 τὸν ὑπ' ἐκείνων ὡς Θεὸν προσκυνούμενον (εἴδωλον δὲ ἦν τοῦτο ἄφωνον καὶ ἀναίσθητον) πεσεῖν πρὸ τῆς κιβω τοῦ, καὶ τὸ τῶν προσκυνούντων ἐπιδεῖξαι σχῆμα παρασκευάζει, ἵνα μάθωσιν οἱ Ἀλλόφυλοι τὸ διάφο ρον. Οἱ δὲ πάλιν μὲν ἀνοήτως ἀνορθοῦσι, πάλιν δὲ ὁρῶσι καταπεπτωκότα καὶ προσκυνοῦντα. Εἶτα πολ λὴν ἄγοντες ἀβελτηρίαν, καὶ τὸ διάφορον ὁρᾷν οὐκ ἐθέλοντες, τῇ πείρᾳ σωφρονεῖν ἐδιδάχθησαν, καὶ παιδευθέντες ἀνένηψαν, καὶ τῆς ἀγνοίας τὴν μέθην ἐξέβαλον, καὶ πέμπουσιν ὡς ἔδει τὴν κιβωτὸν τοῖς οἰκείοις θεραπευταῖς, καὶ ἀναθήμασι τετιμηκότες τὰς παιδείας κηρύττουσι, καὶ τοὺς ὑποδεχομένους αὐτὴν διδάσκουσι τῆς ἐπανόδου τὸν τρόπον. Τοῦτο καὶ ἐπὶ τοῦ Βαλτάσαρ πεποίηκεν ὁ Θεός. Ἐπειδὴ γὰρ εἰς πολλὴν ἀσέβειαν ἐξωκείλαντα τὸν λαὸν, δορυάλωτον ἔπεμψεν εἰς Βαβυλῶνα, καὶ τὰ ἱερὰ σκεύη λάφυρα τῶν πολεμίων ἐγένετο, ὁ μὲν Ναβου χοδονόσορ, ἅτε δὴ θεῖα, τῆς κοινῆς αὐτὰ πόῤῥω πε ποίηκε χρήσεως, εἰς δὲ τοὺς νεὼς τῶν νομιζο μένων ὑπ' αὐτῶν θεῶν εἰσκεκόμικεν. Ὁ δὲ ἐκείνου παῖς, Βαλτάσαρ φημὶ, ταῖς πατρῴαις οὐ παιδευθεὶς συμφοραῖς, οὐδὲ σκοπήσας ὁποίας ἐκεῖνος δίκας τῆς ἀλαζονείας ἐξέτισε, καὶ ταῦτα ὡς ἐνόμισε τὰ θεῖα σκεύη τετιμηκὼς, φέρει μὲν εἰς μέσον τὰ ἅπαξ ἀφιερωθέντα Θεῷ, πίνει δὲ ἀπὸ τούτων ὁ ἀλιτήριος, προσφέρει δὲ καὶ τοῖς συμπόταις τὰ ἄψαυστα. Ἀλλὰ τούτων γινομένων, κατὰ τοῦ ἀλάστορος ἐξεφέρετο ψῆφος, καὶ χεὶρ ἀφανοῦς τινος ἐνέγραφε τῷ τοίχῳ τοῦ Θεοῦ