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Raguel? 3 He had two names, like Jacob and Israel, like Simon Peter, like Thomas who is called Didymus, like Thaddeus who is also Lebbaeus. His son was Jobab. XVII What was the people's grumbling? They resented the toil of the journey. XVIII For what reason does he bring punishments immediately upon those who sin? The law was at its beginning, so it was necessary for the rest to be made sober by the punishment of the transgressors; for fear is fitting for beginners; yet, loving-kindness was joined to the punishment. For when they repented, they enjoyed benevolence. For example, as soon as the fire sent by God had consumed some part of the camp, and then all had run together for prayer, the lawgiver asked for remission, and the loving Lord granted it. But that the punishments were brought upon them of necessity, what follows testifies. For immediately after the cessation of the punishment, they renewed the memory of Egypt, and of the onions, and of the garlic and the other things, the desire for which the passion of gluttony had inflamed. Very appropriately, therefore, did the writer connect the divine generosity with their ingratitude by narrating the things concerning the manna, and that it not only fulfilled the need of bread, but also of relish; "For they ground it," it says, "in the mill, and pounded it in the mortar and cooked it in the pot, and made cakes." And while they were wailing, the Lord God was angry, and the prophet was vexed and cried out saying: "Why have you 4 afflicted your servant, and why have I not found grace in your sight, that you lay the rush of this people upon me? Did I conceive this people in my womb, or did I give birth to them, that you say to me, 'Take him into your bosom, as a nurse would take a suckling child, to the land which you swore to their fathers'?" Through these words he has shown their imperfect and infantile nature; for he likened them to a suckling, able to do nothing else, but only wishing to suck milk. But since the words were of one who was greatly vexed; for what follows also has this meaning; he is taught by the Lord God that he governs the people not by human power but by divine grace. For he said to him: "Gather for me seventy men from the elders of Israel, whom you yourself know to be elders of the people and their scribes; and you shall bring them to the tent of witness; and they shall stand there with you, and I will come down, and I will speak there with you, and I will take from the spirit that is upon you and I will put it upon them; and they will bear with you the rush of this people and you will not bear them by yourself alone." But through these words the lawgiver learned that he had received sufficient grace for the administration. For this reason he said: "I will take from the spirit that is upon you." For he did not say this because he lacked other power or grace, but to teach him that he had received power sufficient for the need, and that by giving to the seventy he did not diminish his grace, the events testify; for he continued administering and working wonders the same things which he also performed before. For just as one lighting ten thousand 5 wicks from one, neither diminishes this one, and yet imparts light to those; so the God of all, by imparting of his grace to the seventy, did not lessen the grace given to him. This we see happening even now. For many thousands of people being baptized by one priest, and receiving the divine gift, do not diminish the grace of the priest; and very many being ordained by the bishops, and receiving the priestly dignity, do not lessen the gift of the one ordaining. Yet the Lord bore witness to the vote of his servant; for he said to him, choose "those whom you know." XIX Why ever did the prophet doubt when God promised to give meat? Because he was not only a prophet, but also a man. But he was taught by the Lord God not to hesitate when God makes a promise. For he said to him: "Is the Lord's hand not sufficient? Now you shall know whether my word will come to pass for you, or not." Yet when promising to give, he joined a punishment to the generosity, for he said that "for a month you shall eat meat, until

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Ῥαγουήλ; 3 ∆ιώνυμως ἦν, ὡς Ἰακὼβ καὶ Ἰσραήλ, ὡς Σίμων Πέτρος, ὡς Θωμᾶς ὁ λεγόμενος ∆ίδυμος, ὡς Θαδδαῖος ὁ καὶ Λεββαῖος. τούτου υἱὸς ἦν ὁ Ἰωβάβ. XVII Τίς ἦν ὁ τοῦ λαοῦ γογγυσμός; Τὸν τῆς ὁδοιπορίας ἐδυσχέραινον πόνον. XVIII Τίνος ἕνεκεν ἁμαρτάνουσιν εὐθὺς ἐπάγει τὰς τιμωρίας; Ἀρχὴν εἶχεν ὁ νόμος, ἔδει τοίνυν τῇ τῶν παραβαινόντων τιμωρίᾳ σωφρο νίζεσθαι τοὺς λοιπούς· ἁρμόδιος γὰρ τοῖς ἀρχομένοις ὁ φόβος· συνέζευκτο μέντοι τῇ τιμωρίᾳ φιλανθρωπία. μεταμελούμενοι γὰρ εὐμενείας ἀπή λαυον. αὐτίκα γοῦν τοῦ θεηλάτου πυρὸς μέρος τι τῆς παρεμβολῆς ἀνα λώσαντος, εἶτα πάντων συνδεδραμηκότων εἰς δέησιν, ᾔτησε μὲν ὁ νομο θέτης τὴν ἄφεσιν, παρέσχε δὲ ταύτην ὁ φιλάνθρωπος Κύριος. ὅτι δὲ ἀναγ καίως αὐτοῖς αἱ τιμωρίαι προσήγοντο, τὰ ἑξῆς μαρτυρεῖ. εὐθὺς γὰρ μετὰ τὴν παῦλαν τῆς τιμωρίας, τῆς Αἰγύπτου τὴν μνήμην ἀνενεώσαντο, καὶ τῶν κρομμύων, καὶ τῶν σκορόδων καὶ τῶν ἄλλων, ὧν τὴν ἐπιθυμίαν τῆς γαστριμαργίας τὸ πάθος ἐπύρσευσε. μάλα τοίνυν εἰκότως τῇ ἐκείνων ἀχαριστίᾳ τὴν θείαν συνῆψε φιλοτιμίαν ὁ συγγραφεὺς τὰ περὶ τοῦ μάννα διηγησάμενος, καὶ ὅτι οὐ μόνον ἄρτου χρείαν, ἀλλὰ καὶ ὄψου ἐπλήρου· " ἤλεθον, γάρ φησιν, ἐν τῷ μύλῳ, καὶ ἔτριβον ἐν τῇ θυείᾳ καὶ ἥψουν ἐν τῇ χύτρᾳ, καὶ ἐποίουν ἐγκρυφίας ". ἐκείνων δὲ ὀλοφυρομένων, χαλεπαίνει μὲν ὁ δεσπό της Θεός, δυσχεραίνει δὲ ὁ προφήτης καὶ βοᾷ λέγων· " ἵνα τί ἐκά 4 κωσας τὸν θεράποντά σου, καὶ διὰ τί οὐχ εὕ ρηκα χάριν ἐναντίον σου ἐπιθεῖναι μοὶ τὴν ὁρμὴν τοῦ λαοῦ τούτου ἐπ' ἐμέ; μὴ ἐγὼ ἐν γασ τρὶ ἔλαβον τὸν λαὸν τοῦτον, ἢ ἐγὼ ἔτεκον αὐ τόν, ὅτι λέγεις μοι, ὅτι λάβε αὐτὸν εἰς τὸν κόλπον σου, ὡσεὶ λάβοι τιθηνὸς τὸν θηλάζον τα, εἰς τὴν γῆν, ἣν ὤμοσας τοῖς πατράσιν αὐ τῶν "; δεδήλωκε δὲ διὰ τούτων τὸ ἀτελὲς αὐτῶν καὶ νηπιῶδες· θηλά ζοντι γὰρ αὐτοὺς ἀπείκασεν, ἄλλο μὲν οὐδὲν ἐργάσασθαι δυναμένῳ, ἐκ μυζᾶν δὲ μόνον βουλομένῳ τὸ γάλα. ἐπειδὴ δὲ σφόδρα ἦν τὰ ῥήματα δυσχεραίνοντος· καὶ τὰ ἑξῆς γὰρ τοῦτον ἔχει τὸν νοῦν· διδάσκεται παρὰ τοῦ δεσπότου Θεοῦ, ὡς οὐκ ἀνθρωπίνῃ δυνάμει θείᾳ δὲ χάριτι τὸν λαὸν κυβερνᾷ. ἔφη γὰρ πρὸς αὐτόν· " συνάγαγέ μοι ἑβδομή κοντα ἄνδρας ἀπὸ τῶν πρεσβυτέρων Ἰσραήλ, οὓς αὐτὸς οἶδας ὅτι αὐτοί εἰσι πρεσβύτεροι τοῦ λαοῦ καὶ γραμματεῖς αὐτῶν· καὶ ἄξεις αὐ τοὺς εἰς τὴν σκηνὴν τοῦ μαρτυρίου· καὶ στή σονται ἐκεῖ μετὰ σοῦ, καὶ καταβήσομαι, καὶ λαλήσω ἐκεῖ μετὰ σοῦ, καὶ ἀφελῶ ἀπὸ τοῦ πνεύ ματος τοῦ ἐπὶ σοὶ καὶ ἐπιθήσω ἐπ' αὐτούς· καὶ συναντιλήψονται μετὰ σοῦ τὴν ὁρμὴν τοῦ λαοῦ τούτου καὶ οὐκ οἴσεις αὐτοὺς σὺ μόνος ". μεμάθηκε δὲ διὰ τούτων τῶν λόγων ὁ νομοθέτης, ὡς ἀποχρῶσαν ἔλαβε τῇ οἰκονομίᾳ τὴν χάριν. διὰ τοῦτο εἶπεν· " ἀφελῶ ἀπὸ τοῦ πνεύματος τοῦ ἐπὶ σοί ". οὐ γὰρ σπανίζων ἑτέρας δυ νάμεως ἢ χάριτος τοῦτο ἔφη, ἀλλ' ἐκεῖνον διδάσκων ὡς εἰλήφει δύναμιν ἀρκοῦσαν τῇ χρείᾳ, ὅτι δὲ καὶ τοῖς ἑβδομήκοντα δοὺς οὐκ ἐμείωσε τούτου τὴν χάριν, τὰ πράγματα μαρτυρεῖ· τὰ αὐτὰ γὰρ καὶ οἰκονομῶν, καὶ θαυ ματουργῶν διετέλει ἃ καὶ πρότερον ἐπετέλει. ὥσπερ γὰρ ἐκ μιᾶς θρυαλ 5 λίδος μυρίας τις ἐξάπτων, οὔτε ταύτην μειοῖ, κἀκείναις μεταδίδωσι τοῦ φωτός· οὕτως ὁ τῶν ὅλων Θεὸς τῆς τούτου χάριτος τοῖς ἑβδομήκοντα μεταδιδούς, τὴν τούτῳ δοθεῖσαν οὐκ ἠλάττωσε χάριν. τοῦτο καὶ νῦν ὁρῶμεν γινόμενον. πολλαὶ γὰρ ἀνθρώπων μυριάδες ὑπὸ ἱερέως ἑνὸς βαπ τιζόμεναι, καὶ τὴν θείαν δεχόμεναι δωρεάν, οὐ σμικρύνουσι τοῦ ἱερέως τὴν χάριν· καὶ πάμπολλοι παρὰ τῶν ἀρχιερέων χειροτονούμενοι, καὶ τὴν ἱερατικὴν ἀξίαν δεχόμενοι, τοῦ χειροτονοῦντος οὐκ ἐλαττοῦσι τὴν δω ρεάν. μεμαρτύρηκε μέντοι ὁ δεσπότης τῇ τοῦ θεράποντος ψήφῳ· ἔφη γὰρ αὐτῷ, ἔκλεξαι " οὓς οἶδας ". XIX Τί δήποτε τοῦ Θεοῦ δώσειν ὑποσχομένου κρέα ὁ προφήτης ἀμφέβαλλεν; Ἐπειδὴ οὐ μόνον προφήτης, ἀλλὰ καὶ ἄνθρωπος ἦν. ἐδιδάχθη δὲ παρὰ τοῦ δεσπότου Θεοῦ μὴ ἐνδοιάζειν ὑπισχνουμένου Θεοῦ. ἔφη γὰρ πρὸς αὐτόν· " μὴ ἡ χεὶρ Κυρίου οὐκ ἐξαρκέσει; ἤδη γνώσῃ εἰ ἐπικαταλήψεταί σε ὁ λόγος μου, ἢ οὔ ". ὑπισχνούμενος μέντοι δώσειν, τῇ φιλοτιμίᾳ τιμωρίαν συνῆψεν, εἰπὼν γάρ, ὅτι " ἕως μηνὸς φάγεσθε κρέα, ἕως ἂν