Glaphyra in Pentateuchum ARGUMENTAGLAPHYRORUM S. CYRILLIALEXANDRINI
legal, they might carefully seek the pearl hidden in it, that is, Christ, in whom are all the hidden treasures of wisdom and knowledge, according to t
Therefore, since no one who has chosen to think rightly and properly would doubt that new things have come to be in Christ, come, let us consider what
And having formed a statue out of earth, he makes it a rational living being, and so that it might run back to the principles of its own nature, he im
I think, in a way, even for those who are least disposed, it is a good and worthy thing to come into existence and to live. What then, tell me? For I
saying: Therefore they shall eat the fruits of their own way. For though it was possible for them to be saved, if they wished, and to escape the harms
we have been enriched, God having foreknown the matter, and in his own counsels recording the things that would follow for us. For since the inventor
received corruption as the wages of sin and the penalty of transgression 69.32 but righteousness was an accusation against Christ, at least according
In the beginnings and first stages and upon them human nature was practicing fruitfulness, and to increase and to multiply was just beginning to appea
to the fields, as if he would be a spectator of his gentleness, and would enjoy the many-colored sight of the flowers? But he acts impiously, and give
to kill a man, who has spoken the truth to you, which I heard from the Father this Abraham did not do. But he assigns Satan as their father, saying:
a sacrifice of praise, and pay your vows to the Most High, and call upon me in the day of your trouble, and I will deliver you, and you will glorify m
of human nature being reformed in him, to the image in the beginning, according to which the first man was made. 4. But it is also worthwhile for us t
David: Spare me, for I am a sojourner in the land and a stranger, as all my fathers were. But concerning those who mind earthly things, in the 48th ps
GLAPHYRA ON GENESIS, BOOK TWO.
at least according to what seems to me to be well and truly the case. For instance, let us say, food and drink, and perhaps natural intercourse with w
prose writers, and poets especially, according to what seems good to them, to narrate and fashion the natures of things and to raise on high things s
and he was eager to offer as a burnt offering the clean and unprofaned of the cattle and of the birds offering, I suppose, thank-offerings to the God
having cast off the grievous burden of sin, are we then released into spiritual prosperity? For He Himself called us to this, saying: Come to me, all
they earnestly rejected every form of wickedness, and completely unadulterated, at least among themselves, they have kept the boasts of their glorious
complete perfection. For one might perceive this as being signified to us, at least in the proposed numbers, by reflecting on this: that it is a custo
he who is coming is stronger than I whose sandals I am not worthy to carry. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and with fire. For the love of t
for. And when the flood had abated, the ark rested upon the mountains of Ararat, which is interpreted as a testimony of descent. For they are lofty, a
backwards, and they did not see the 69.76 nakedness of their father. And Noah awoke from his wine, and knew what his younger son had done to him, and
to speak, he has sold off incorruptibility in Adam. For it was said to him, You are earth, and to earth you shall return. And after this he was depriv
of the concurrence into unity through the Spirit, and of the journey to the things above. For Christ has become for us a tower of strength, according
of the king and it adds that And Melchizedek, king of Salem, brought out bread and wine for him and he was priest of God Most High. And he blessed A
But let us say, paying attention to the interpretations of the names, that the thing would not even be fitting for a man, that those who have reigned
of Christ. And all the other Levites and priests performed the sacrifices according to the law, having their station at the first tabernacle. But the
I will shatter, and I will crush bars of iron, and I will give you dark treasures, hidden, unseen I will open to you that you may know that I am the
is set for Cyrus, will clearly inform what was said next through the voice of the prophet: I made the earth and man upon it. I with my hand establishe
in spirit. And that the glory of the Church is better than the first and in the beginnings, I mean that of the temple 69.97 made of stones, he has dec
Seraphim, to whom a thousand thousands of angels minister, since He emptied Himself, then indeed is He said to have been revealed as a minister of the
in regard to the divine Abraham, he has carried away the prey of what is useful and fitting, and has led astray the reasonings that are necessary for
to him through the spirit For he who is joined to the Lord, he says, is one spirit. Thus, according to the Greek language, Melchi means king and Sed
the command of Moses to be inactive, and the law to be set aside, with another polity, one unknown to any of the ancients, being unexpectedly introduc
removing from the first and more ancient customs, he is in some way certainly also a priest. And if God has promised a new covenant, the first having
of the law only, but also to the one from the faith of Abraham, who is the father of us all (as it is written, 'I have made you the father of many nat
But I am departing childless and the son of Masek my house-born servant, this is Damascus Eliezer. Observe the precision of the statement. For what w
and Abraham's sitting with them, and what is the flame darting through the midst of the divided pieces. We shall therefore relate it. 4. Necessarily,
and he took on the yoke of slavery. And God already was legislating circumcision to Abraham, saying: You shall keep my covenant, you and your seed aft
to his child, I mean Isaac, and he heard clearly that he would be a father in him of countless and innumerable nations, and he was justified by believ
that is, the mystery concerning him. For it is customary to swear by the Father as by the proper power of the Son, and this is to swear by oneself. Si
unfolding and spreading it for the knowledge of those who do not know it. But even if the word concerning him has become twofold in a way, yet it is s
angel? Return, he says, to your mistress, and humble yourself under her hands. For the worship according to the law was prefigured as being in labor w
recognizing the Savior and Redeemer of all, the holy Scripture signifies again. For the lads were playing, leaping upon each other, that is, Isaac, an
said to him, Abraham, Abraham. And he said, Behold, I am here. And he said, Take your beloved son, whom you love, Isaac, and go into the high lan
they thought they should follow only the decrees of God the Father, as those men followed Abraham, not yet understanding the Son through whom are all
spoken in the Psalms as from Him: Sacrifice and offering you did not desire, but a body you prepared for me in burnt offerings and sin offerings you
of those who have been justified, and reckoned as children of the forefather Abraham. For if one must infer anything from human affairs, I would say t
of him who looks to a better love. For, he says, the 69.149 virgin to whom I shall say, ‘Let down your pitcher that I may drink,’ and she says, ‘Drink
the servant and the camels. And the servant might now be understood as a type of those from Israel. For they are people who already have the law as a
Give me your birthright today. And Esau said: Behold, I am going to die, and what use is this birthright to me? And Jacob said to him: Swear to me tod
man is sick, and he is altogether in need of salvation through Christ, who justifies in faith and mercies. 2. It is clear, then, that the account of t
for one whom he might defeat. But he always conquers, not the people under the law, but the one in Christ through faith, and having run through the ac
for one meal sold his birthright. Therefore, by precisely comparing the ways of the youths and the darkness of the Jewish commonwealth, and the sincer
they have imitated Esau, having preferred the enjoyment of temporary and carnal things to the glory that is with God, all but setting out the birthrig
But when he had brought it to his father, he was still too late, and he was taught what had happened. For he heard immediately: Your brother came, and
offering themselves as a sweet savor to God the Father. And indeed Christ, having expressly laid down for us the gospel laws, says, Do not think that
in a way unmovable, and knowing to think rightly, and unshakably established? For we have received authority to tread upon serpents and scorpions, and
that is, you will be subjected, and not willingly to the one who is according to nature like you. And Moses was also a man like us, having nothing ext
What then is the salvation of God the Father? The God Word from Him, who for our sake became like us and in the form of a servant according to the eco
she was receiving, and she was already in the very fears of death the embryos leaping not moderately. Then what was the matter she wished to be hidde
For he said on our behalf: Holy Father, keep them in your truth. But if Rebecca should be understood to be the mother of Esau as well, this will in no
he will have him to defend and save him everywhere. But when he had awakened, the divine Jacob was in no small wonder, and indeed he said, The Lord i
blessed disciples, and they have become fathers of innumerable nations, in the faith which is in Christ, I say, and as in the spiritual birth, is sure
until all the shepherds are gathered, and they will roll the stone from the mouth of the well, and we will water them. While he was still speaking to
of those accustomed, and he has likewise watered the flocks of Laban. And just as Moses went down to the hearth of an idolatrous man, so also did the
much more vigorously and better than they, one might perhaps know very easily, by considering that. For a heavy stone lay upon the well, which a very
overcome by obscurity, were carried away to what seemed right. But he, although being alone, set forth the truth. For Jacob alone rolled away the ston
the younger before the elder Fulfill, therefore, the week for this one, and I will give you this one also in return for the labor which you shall per
For in no way is the Divine in need, but it is all-perfect in itself, not having its power to be strengthened acquired from another, nor indeed is it
Synagogue for the divine Abraham himself was of Hellenic root and race and the second and after the first is the younger, that is, the Church. And L
greatly distressed, she devises a plan against the matter of her childlessness. For she persuades Jacob, saying: Behold my handmaid Bilhah. Go in to h
to run under the yoke, the neighboring and paired birth of the four, who were also born of handmaids, would show us enigmatically. But there is also s
the heir come, let us kill him, that the inheritance may be ours. That the Pharisees and the unholy throng of the Scribes were excessively lovers of
is it? For since Christ first among men showed death to be a sleep (for He was life by nature), a certain door, as it were, and a way has been made fo
cast aside the stones of the road so that stumbling on the obstacles in the middle, they might not receive hesitation in their zeal for good works. T
clearly, speaking of fornication and impurity, and the things kindred to these. Therefore, the death of Rachel signifies in some way certainly the dea
One might see, as I said, the divine Jacob, with the discourse setting forth the things written about him, and clarifying as much as possible what see
Isaac. He who is in the likeness of Jacob, having as it were left heaven as a certain paternal hearth, and having arrived at Laban's, who must be comp
For having been raised from the dead, and refashioning human nature into the divine image, he first breathed upon the holy apostles, saying: Receive t
of the wise and riddles. Therefore the deep and as it were black of the doctrines concerning Christ, the grey color hints at for us. But the bright an
the whole inhabited world, and in the whole cosmos, Christ sets himself forth, as it were, a certain rod. And not simply a rod, but one of storax, and
desiring to be variegated unto virtue, practicing it in a twofold manner, I mean, both in deed and in word. And so the divine prophets, representing t
to the one who gathers. For He receives the slave, that He might show him brilliant in the boasts of freedom. He receives those under the law as alrea
to those who have chosen through the things that follow: For Jacob arose, it says, and took his wives and his children on the camels, and led away all
God is the craftsman and creator. And another of the holy apostles writes: I beseech you as sojourners and pilgrims, abstain from fleshly lusts, which
to the Holy Spirit for ever and ever. Amen. Further concerning Jacob. 1. The way of the saints is not unadmired, at least by those who have chosen to
four hundred men with him. But Jacob was exceedingly afraid, and was in distress. And he divided the people that were with him, and the oxen, and the
fattening those who are zealous to be attached to him. But I think it is necessary for us to reshape the narrative into a spiritual contemplation. And
of the world. For certain men in the world who had assumed the highest honors, and possessed a power on earth hard to 69.261 overcome, have warred aga
he promised, having brought back human nature to what it was in the beginning. A new creation are the things in Christ, according to the Scriptures. A
Again: The Lord is witness among you, and his Christ is witness this day, that you have found nothing in my hand. And the blessed David, more clearly,
he would come, and speaking beforehand, he commanded him to announce it in advance, and taming him with gifts and words, he shows the one who had long
in the day, let us walk becomingly. Therefore, those who believe are in the day, but the disobedient fight against Christ as if in the night and in da
if not, blot me out also from this book which you have written. Therefore, in such a manner was it said to Jacob, 'Let me go,' by the one wrestling wi
To a man, perhaps, there might be nothing peculiar to God yet from what he is by nature, he is named in many ways. For Light, and life, and power, an
What benefit, then, might come to us from this (for the divinely inspired Scripture is by no means a teller of idle tales), come, let us speak as we a
having suffered, and being not moderately grieved by those ignobly overcome by anger, I mean Simeon and Levi, he rebuked them terribly, because what i
the things that happen from time to time, setting up as it were splendid images of the knowledge concerning him. Let us see, therefore, also in the th
I think, is this: *But they brought an evil report about Joseph to Israel their father.* Therefore, like skirmishes, the first fruits of their unholy
this dream that you have dreamed? Shall I and your mother and your brothers indeed come to bow down to you to the ground? But his brothers were jealou
the child to the father? But they, having drenched the coat of many colors with the blood of a goat, brought it to their father, composing words steep
as I have already said, the spiritual Joseph would reasonably be understood, that is, those in Christ, as an addition of God. And our argument would n
the blessed Paul writes, God was in Christ, reconciling the world to himself. Therefore Emmanuel was shepherding those born into slavery, and those wh
having appeared in the last times of the age, as I just said, with flesh, but pre-existing as God. For we say that he is co-eternal with the Father. T
But they were found not in Shechem, but in Dothan. Shechem is interpreted as shoulder. And the limb would be a sign of industry. For the divinely-insp
having suffered together with Christ who was dishonored. But the father mourned Joseph for he did not wish to be comforted, it says. It is possible,
she adorned herself, and sat at the gates of Enaim, which is on the way to Timnah. For she saw that his son Shelah was grown, but he himself had not g
We shall rightly acquit Judah but we say that the union 69.313 was rather a dispensational one. For she desired a free offspring, being deprived of t
the birth of the children of Judah, who had cohabited with Tamar, might enigmatically indicate that the Synagogue of the Jews had a share in the tranq
to Tamar, Shelah the youngest. For this reason she has remained a widow, and has continued for long periods of time in this state. For since God did n
We have already said that he was carried away by them into the land of the Egyptians. That the Only-begotten, having emptied Himself, and having becom
the better, Ephraim. For they have become fruits as if from a sacred mother, I mean the Church, and those called from the nations would be counted amo
the true account concerning these things, casting the eye of the mind upon the Holy Scriptures. For it is again as follows: And it came to pass after
Ephraim and Manasseh, But the offspring, he says, which shall be born to you, shall be yours. Do you understand then that even if we are called sons o
to Christ. And He accepts very gladly, the Son testifying to us of our intimacy with Him, and thus He deems us worthy of love, calls us to union, clea
is of Israel, making the pre-eminence by the immeasurable multitude of those who believed for with one and the same grace we have been crowned for sa
he made a law. Therefore also the prophet Isaiah says, How has the faithful city Sion, full of judgment, become a harlot? in which righteousness slept
of the frog, of hail being sent down, of the firstborn being slain, and in addition to these, of the redeemed still going through the midst of the sea
going beyond, they have also acted outrageously against the Son himself. For they said among themselves: This is the heir come, let us kill him and t
to the Jews, bearing the circumcision in the spirit, and the Jew in secret. But even so they killed them, having first done away with the prophets, an
nor is sown, and they will hamstring the heifer in the ravine, and the priests, the Levites, shall come near, for the Lord your God has chosen them to
an enemy in him, and a son of iniquity shall not proceed to harm him. For if he himself gives us to tread upon serpents and scorpions, and upon all th
Who then will raise him up? he says. It is as if he were to say, he lay down willingly, but he will not need the cooperation of another for his resurr
having been enriched with success in all things that please God except that those justified through faith in Christ, and made radiant by the grace of
enmity, but making Israel dwell with the nations in love. I think therefore that in this way and not in another manner will Zebulun dwell by the sea.
the apostles are ambassadors for Christ, and in them is placed the word of reconciliation, nothing paradoxical, if they are also understood as judges
Father. For the Son, being the power of God and the Father, made his own temple alive. For this reason he is said to have been saved by the Father, ha
David: You have multiplied to enrich it. And somewhere the most wise Paul also writes to us about him: I thank my God always for you, for the grace of
a fruitfulness of virtue. But the Father Himself also visits our affairs with the Son. But it is somewhere clear, that even if Christ is understood as
you will learn, as God says: And I will make the wilderness into marshes, and the earth into aqueducts. I will place in the waterless land the cedar,
to God and the Father, even unto death for this reason, therefore, he is said to be highly exalted, and as though not possessing it on account of his
Abundant are the fruits of piety towards God. For it is said somewhere to the Son: You have visited the earth and watered it abundantly you have mult
to the kidneys [ditches?] not sparing, according to what is written. For such men are exceedingly patient in suffering, and consider suffering to be l
with whom also to God the Father be glory with the Holy Spirit for ever and ever. Amen.
and other cities. But the plan turned out contrary to the tyrant's expectations. For, he says, in the humbling of those being punished the demonstrati
may the more unseen things become as if in sight and in clarity. Therefore, having been sick with sin from the beginning and from our fathers, and opp
A newborn child is understood because of the guilelessness of the divinity, that is, because he became a new creation. For having stripped off the old
of the 69.397 inventor of sin. But since he became with us, and Emmanuel was numbered among those who are plotted against, the male child by nature an
in the land of Midian. And having come to the land of Midian, he sat by the well. Now the priest of Midian had seven daughters who were shepherds of t
Jesus has fulfilled, he who brought the sons of Israel across the Jordan, and was a general after Moses. For he bound in a cave the five kings of the
being done on their own behalf, was then transferred to Midian, and was moved to the land of foreigners. Then, having sat down by the well, he defende
false shepherds, but he has given to drink the living water, that is, his divine and heavenly preaching. Therefore he also said: If anyone thirsts, le
quick-witted. For what of the praiseworthy things did they not possess, so that they were justly admired? But they were not able to ward off the tyran
God of Jacob. And Moses turned away his face for he was afraid to look upon God. For God gave the Law for assistance, according to the voice of the p
a bush, and therefore holy the land that has it, and sacred to God. And when Moses approached he is stopped, and is commanded to loose the sandal from
to send forth the destroyer. But since 69.420 it was necessary that the chosen not be destroyed together with the unholy races, out of love for the fa
city from the sojourn in the world, unless through participation in Christ and His love for mankind, according to what was said by Him to the foolish
You will marvel again finding in this another mystical economy. For the lamb is slaughtered on the fourteenth day of the month, when the lunar cycle h
wishing to signify something else, as it seems to me, than that by the venerable and precious blood of Christ, we make safe our earthly house, that is
indicating in the minds of the believers. But a more watery conception of him is not to think that he is God by nature, but to bring him down to the r
God, no longer as now in a riddle and in a mirror, and in a shadow, and in part, as Paul says. Therefore, as the contemplation of him as if in a riddl
approaching him, and bringing them back again to that which we were in the beginning. Therefore, in these things the whole mystery concerning our Savi
who loved me, and gave himself for me. Just as, therefore, those of Israel lived, as it were, the life of the slain lamb, so also we no longer live ou
For he is an infant. But solid food is for the mature, for those who by practice have their senses trained to discern good and evil. Therefore, having
having become, so that for the future they might have a mind well-established and firmly fixed in them, and indeed might believe that He is not one of
age. Just now, therefore, those of Israel, having abandoned the God-hated worship of the Egyptians, changed their minds to bring to pass whatever God
The just man, he says, shall flourish like a palm tree. And do not be surprised at this. Since Christ Himself is also called by this name in the divin
In no way then shall we blame the Master, but rather we shall ask from him the necessities for life. But the peoples of the Jews, when they ought to h
of the people to gather, and they did not find it. And the Lord said to Moses: How long do you not wish to obey my commandments and my law? See, the L
as in an image, that perceptible thing still was, but the truth was he himself, he will fully persuade, saying to the Jews: Your fathers ate the manna
the previously established instruction of the Law, leading us by the hand to Christ for the Law is a schoolmaster but having it rather together with
and he opened his mouth, so as not to cease. For the meat, it says, was still in their teeth, before it ran out. And the Lord was angry with the peopl
Christ. For the gentiles have been called to the knowledge of the truth, not through Moses or the law, but rather by the power of God the Father, who
of your Father, the God of Abraham, and the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob. But Moses turned his face away. For he was afraid to look upon God. Se
they summoned. The Rod, then, is the Son. But as long as He was as in the hand of the Father and in the heights of the Godhead, not yet having become
having settled in native ways, and sinking very deep into a state of decline, according to the prophet's voice: They have served creation, rather than
the glorious and all-transcending dignity of the Godhead? For this reason also the blessed Paul says, Even if we have known Christ according to the f
The water was changed, For the life by nature, that is, the Word from God the Father, through an economic union, I mean with respect to the flesh, tha
revealing to us the things of Christ in him, what is being signified will be obscure and unclear to the listeners. And so the Jews, not having the one
death has been driven away from what is perceptible, but through the one in Christ, through the Spirit, which he worked in the first-born and new peop
of Egypt, to kill us and our children, and our livestock with thirst? And Moses cried out to the Lord, saying: What shall I do with this people? In a
into this wilderness, to kill us and our livestock? O the cowardice, how impatient the mind, and how very prone to despair the intellect! For those wh
with a rod the rock, the divine Moses, with the elders of the people, and indeed Aaron also, standing by him. And they speak to the rock and it pours
being disciplined, that is, Israel in the person of Moses, spoke against Christ, and accusing him before Pilate, and Away with him, away with him, cr
we shall know, fixing the eye of our mind on the sacred Scriptures. For, it says, the Lord said to Moses: Go down and testify to the people, and sanct
Lord. And Moses said to God: The people will not be able to come up to Mount Sinai. For you solemnly charged us, saying: Set a boundary for the mounta
a stained tunic. Therefore the law is a preparer, and it reveals beforehand the beauty of the gifts through Christ, as though still in thick types. Le
for it scarcely spoke only to Judea, in which also God was made known. But the great trumpet is Christ, that is, the proclamations through him, 69.508
Let those who draw near to the Lord God be sanctified, lest the Lord depart from them. See then, see, and from these things again, how it is impossibl
of Christ, and that it is a reality, the most wise Paul will confirm, having written thus: For Christ did not enter into a sanctuary made with hands,
at interest, and has not taken bribes against the innocent. He will receive a blessing from the Lord, and mercy from God his Savior. This is the gener
Therefore, those who are truly eager to ascend to what is above, so that they may also be near God, must first be purified by the blood of Christ, who
robust, and that of the undefiled animals the highest is a calf, Christ is likened to a perfect calf and sometimes to a small calf, and for what reas
in the appearance of the firmament of heaven in its purity, it says. For it was necessary, yes, necessary, for those who had once been sick with polyt
the evil one, when they sacrificed the lamb as a type of Christ and they were anointed with the blood, and escaped the destroyer. But behold, it has
carved things. Do you see how they have cast off obedience? And this, I think, is the adornment of their ears. But behold how Aaron smiles at their un
Indeed God scarcely consents to him, saying that He Himself would by no means be with them, but rather would send with them an angel as an overseer an
and to think the things useful for salvation. But they would not be beyond punishment, because, after having chosen what is beneficial, they turned ra
he heard Christ speaking of the rebirth of the spirit, he coldly and sluggishly replied, saying: How can a man be born again 69.537 when he is old? Ca
a wonderful thing the Creator has placed in those who are by nature easily corruptible, but death crept in through wrath, because the first father Ada
Christ, and as the first-fruit of spiritual 69.544 first-borns of the fields. But that death for Him was not for tears and lamentation, but rather for
a leader or a teacher. For the male is more authoritative than the other, but among females as one having become under law and a leader. For the femal
a Father and God in heaven, and making others partakers of grace. For they remembered, as was likely, Christ's judgment bringing them to this, who sai
adding to what I said: It shall be eaten in a holy place, in the court of the tabernacle of testimony. But at that time there was one tabernacle in th
we have wiped clean the filth, we have ceased in Christ from our ancient infirmities, a sacred word will persuade us. For it is written thus in Leviti
The God-inspired Scripture will persuade. For God somewhere said to His own acquaintances: Come out, come out from their midst, and be separate, you w
death on a tree. For this was foreshadowed for us in the sacred Scriptures. For two clean small birds are taken. This was then a type of Christ who is
so also in the house of God, but not yet into the upper mansions. For the gift has been kept for the saints for the age to come. Therefore the one who
a house, and after the house has been scraped, and the priest shall enter, and he shall see if the plague has spread in the house, it is a persistent
the chorus of prophets, who also announced to the high priest of all and protector of our souls, that is, to Christ, even before the incarnation, the
of my anger. I will not abandon Ephraim to be blotted out. Because I am God, and not a man the Holy One in your midst. When therefore it says: the pr
of the house they shall carry outside the city to an unclean place. For when every manner of healing was devised for those of Israel, and the leprous
as one both, but living and pure. For the Word himself, by himself, is the provider of all life and purity, and the temple from the Virgin has the liv
Therefore the lawgiver, through the releasing of the little bird into the field outside the city, both the removal from the world, and the ascension o
The entry therefore was yearly and at one time. In what manner it should be done, so that he might not miss what is fitting, he legislated, saying: Th
for not on His own behalf, but for our salvation. Let us therefore follow very closely the very shadows of the law, It was indeed very likely, or rath
drawing out, and showing the one and by nature Lord of all, and accustomed to lead to the knowledge of the truth. For one of those accustomed to think
to come to life again, for the matter seemed to be some kind of prodigy, and nothing else. But the Divine is always unostentatious, although having th
coming forth from his mother's womb, and it devours half of her flesh. And Moses cried to the Lord, saying: O God, I beseech you, heal her. And the Lo
and He remarried, in a way, the first, that is, the Israelite woman, who was again the Synagogue. That they were sawn asunder when their customs from
studying the lawless Scribes and Pharisees, and because God spoke to their fathers, being immoderately insolent, having chosen to disobey for this rea
thus, purchasing the entire world through 69.601 faith in him, and through his own blood, according to what is written, for God and the Father. For th
Again. 4. The word showing us as in an image, that the divine nature is swift to pity, and in a way most ready to console itself, but is often made ha
will ward off a thing that knows how to make glad. But he will justly exclaim, as is most fitting for each: This is your portion, the portion for your
scarcely. For he says, the Lord said to Moses: I am merciful to them according to your word. But as I live, and my name is living. And the glory of th
minding the things of the flesh those who have preferred the temporary and perishable things to eternal delight. For behold that also those from Isra
of the inheritance Let it be written for another generation, and the people who are to be created will praise the Lord. For the inheritance has been
pushing aside the word, and living as far as possible from life-giving grace, and grieving God with excessive disobedience, they were caught in countl
you shall eat, until this selfsame day, until you have brought the gifts of your God. A perpetual statute for your generations, in all your dwelling p
and we ourselves, not one ear of corn, but as a sheaf is offered, that is, from many ears of corn, one bundle. And this thing is necessary for benefit
himself for our sins, according to the Scriptures, and we have been saved but he was bruised for our sins, and suffers for our sake, and he endured t
He was called a prophet, and appeared in the form of a servant, although being Lord and God of prophets. But the heifer is red: for the mystery of the
the trial, which Christ underwent for our sake. For silver is tested in fire, according to what is sung in the Psalms, that You tested us, O God, you
it will be defiled indeed but it would not be delivered from what has happened otherwise, unless it were sprinkled with the water of purification on
to mother earth. From this, the saints have cried out in various ways, lamenting our condition. Therefore, one can hear the blessed David openly cryin
recasting the narrative. For being displeased with the good things from God and from above, and going rashly for what is pleasant rather than what is
water for me, and for my eyes a fountain of tears, and I will weep for the people day and night? For those who were able to be brilliant and enviable,
of the Psalms the person of Christ is introduced, saying concerning the impiety of the Jews, to the Father and God in heaven, that Whom you have smitt
having her nails trimmed. 1. The God of all delivered the bloodline of Israel from the house of bondage, and as from an iron furnace, all but having w
to show a mother, he brought her into his own house. And what is this? He pitched the holy tabernacle in the wilderness, so that being trained by the
I say, freeing the mind from all filth, and as the divine Paul writes, the old man who is corrupted according to the desires of deceit, to attend with
to the Lord, is one spirit. But it shall be, he says, If you do not want her, you shall send her away free, and she shall not be sold for silver. For
father of sin. Those 69.661 therefore in this world, roused up against their enemies by the law of war and battle, either happen to receive blows to t
being profitable, we remove from our midst the ugliness of our previous stumbles, and having conquered ill-smelling sin by the fragrances of what foll
He has commanded not as a secondary matter to deem worthy of the greatest possible care the words that would come from him. And these were the words f
to seem to be divided into the things of the flesh and of the world. Thus having dedicated himself, the holy Paul writes: For to me to live is Christ,
new things. Or if anyone should choose to do this, let him know that he is dishonoring the divine economy, and forcing away what is pleasing to God, a
Moses commanded them on that day, saying: After seven years, in the time of the year of release, at the feast of Tabernacles, when all Israel comes to
of the bondwoman, was born according to the flesh but the one from the free woman, through promise which things are spoken allegorically. For these
the heir; come, let us kill him, that the inheritance may be ours. That the Pharisees and the unholy throng of the Scribes were excessively lovers of wealth and lovers of gain, one might perceive, and very readily, by applying one's mind to the things written about them. For our Lord Jesus Christ said that those who had chosen to set their minds on things above must sell their earthly wealth and distribute their possessions to the poor, that they might gain the treasure above. But, as the evangelist says, the Scribes and Pharisees, who were lovers of money, heard these things and scoffed at him. But that they even stooped to the most trivial matters, busying themselves with minute details with great precision, not even excusing the slightest thing from those who did not bring the appointed tithes according to the law, though they themselves cared little for the law, the Lord made perfectly clear to them, saying: Woe to you, Scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you tithe mint and dill and cumin, and have neglected the weightier matters of the law: justice and mercy and faith. Therefore, Gad is a raiding party, but Asher is wealth. And both were born of the handmaid Zilpah, after Dan and Naphtali, who were from Bilhah. But in these, let the time before the coming of our Savior be described for us; in which Rachel was still barren, that is, the Church of the Gentiles; that she would bear many, and would be the nurse of countless ones, Isaiah had already proclaimed, saying: Rejoice, O barren one who does not bear; break forth and cry aloud, you who are not in labor! For the children of the desolate one will be more than the children of her who has a husband. And the divine David himself also made it clear, saying of God: He settles the barren woman in a home, a joyful mother of children. And somewhere the Lord and God of all said to her: Lift up your eyes all around, and see them all. And again: Behold, these shall come from afar, these from the north, and these from the sea, and others from the land of the Persians. Come then, if it seems good, let us consider when and how the barren woman gave birth. Therefore, after those who were born of the handmaids, Reuben, the firstborn of Jacob, finds mandrakes in the field; and he brings them to Leah his own mother. And she gives them to Rachel who asks for them. And Leah, having received the mandrakes, bears two more sons, both Issachar and also Zebulun. Then God remembered Rachel, and her womb having been opened, she herself bore Joseph, and as she died, Benjamin. That Leah, then, signifies the Synagogue of the Jews69.220, and Rachel the Church of the Gentiles, the argument has already often indicated to us. Letting go, then, of tautology as being now unprofitable, let us henceforth explain what the mandrakes, found by the firstborn Reuben, might be a type of. And what would the distribution to both and in equal measure perhaps wish to show; for Leah gave to Rachel; and besides these, what also of the birth of the children itself, travailing with the mystery in the meanings of their names. 11. Mandrakes, then, grow in the fields; their fruit is a kind of apple. But that the thing is sleep-inducing, and intoxicates with a deep slumber those who have partaken of it, I think will not require a long argument for proof, since the experience of physicians sometimes overcomes the sleeplessness of the sick by the natural power of mandrakes. These also enigmatically prefigured to us the mystery of Christ, sleeping in a way for our sake, and lowering himself into emptying, even to death, though he lived again. For he was God by nature, and became flesh. But wherever death is taken in the order of sleep, there the revival to life must also be sought. And so the whole mystery of Christ is, as it were, in these things. And so the divine Paul, to those who out of fickleness had been moved to a different doctrine, enjoins, saying: For I delivered to you as of first importance what I also received: that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, and that he was buried, and that he was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures. And after other things: But if Christ is preached as having been raised from the dead, how do some among you say that there is no resurrection of the dead
ὁ κληρονόμος, δεῦτε, ἀποκτείνωμεν αὐτὸν, ἵνα ἡμῶν ἡ κληρονομία γένηται. Ὅτι δὲ φιλόπλουτοι καὶ φιλοκερδεῖς ἄγαν οἱ Φαρισαῖοι
γεγόνασι, καὶ τὸ τῶν Γραμματέων ἀνόσιον στῖφος, κατίδοι τις ἂν, καὶ λίαν ἑτοίμως, τοῖς περὶ αὐτῶν γεγραμμένοις τὸν νοῦν ἐνιείς.
Ὁ μὲν γὰρ Κύριος ἡμῶν Ἰησοῦς Χριστὸς, ἀπεμπολῆσαι δεῖν ἔφασκε τὸν ἐπίγειον πλοῦτον τοῖς τὰ ἄνω φρονεῖν ᾑρημένοις, καὶ διανέμειν
τὰ ὄντα πτωχοῖς, ἵνα τὸν ἄνω κερδάνωσι θησαυρόν. Ἀλλ', ὥς φησιν ὁ εὐαγγελιστὴς, ἤκουον ταῦτα οἱ Γραμματεῖς καὶ οἱ Φαρισαῖοι
φιλάργυροι ὄντες, καὶ ἐξεμυκτήριζον αὐτόν. Ὅτι δὲ καὶ μέχρι τῶν ἄγαν εὐτελεστέρων καθικνούμενοι, μετὰ πολλῆς ἀκριβείας λεπτολογίαις
ἐσπούδαζον, οὐδὲ τὸ βραχὺ μεθιέντες τοῖς μὴ προσάγουσι κατὰ νόμον τὰς τεταγμένας δεκάτας, καίτοι τοῦ νόμου πεφροντικότες ὀλίγα,
παντελῶς αὐτοῖς διεσάφει λέγων ὁ Κύριος· Οὐαὶ ὑμῖν, Γραμματεῖς καὶ Φαρισαῖοι ὑποκριταὶ, ὅτι ἀποδεκατοῦτε τὸ ἡδύοσμον, καὶ
τὸ ἄνηθον, καὶ τὸ κύμινον· καὶ ἀφήκατε τὰ βαρύτερα τοῦ νόμου, τὴν κρίσιν, καὶ τὸν ἔλεον, καὶ τὴν πίστιν. Οὐκοῦν ὁ μὲν Γὰδ
πειρατήριον, πλοῦτος δὲ ὁ Ἀσήρ. Καὶ ἄμφω ἐγενέσθην ἐκ θεραπαίνης τῆς Ζελφᾶς, μετὰ τὸν ∆άν τε καὶ Νεφθαλεὶμ, οἳ ἦσαν ἐκ Βάλλας.
Ἀλλ' ἐν τούτοις μὲν, ἡμῖν ὁ πρὸ τῆς τοῦ Σωτῆρος ἡμῶν ἐπιδημίας καιρὸς γεγράφθω· καθ' ὃν ἦν ἔτι στεῖρα Ῥαχὴλ, τουτέστιν, ἡ
ἐξ ἐθνῶν Ἐκκλησία· ἣ ὅτι τέξεται πολλοὺς, καὶ ἀναριθμήτων ἔσται τροφὸς, προανακέκραγε μὲν Ἡσαΐας λέγων· Εὐφράνθητι, στεῖρα,
ἡ οὐ τίκτουσα. Ῥῆξον καὶ βόησον, ἡ οὐκ ὠδίνουσα· ὅτι πολλὰ τὰ τέκνα τῆς ἐρήμου μᾶλλον ἢ τῆς ἐχούσης τὸν ἄνδρα. ∆ιεσάφει δὲ
καὶ αὐτὸς ὁ θεσπέσιος ∆αβὶδ περὶ Θεοῦ λέγων· Ὁ κατοικίζων στεῖραν ἐν οἴκῳ, μητέρα ἐπὶ τέκνοις εὐφραινομένην. Ἔφη δέ που πρὸς
αὐτὴν καὶ ὁ τῶν ὅλων ∆εσπότης καὶ Θεός· Ἆρον κύκλῳ τοὺς ὀφθαλμούς σου, καὶ ἴδε πάντας. Καὶ πάλιν· Ἰδοὺ οὗτοι πόῤῥωθεν ἔρχονται,
οὗτοι ἀπὸ βοῤῥᾶ, καὶ οὗτοι ἀπὸ θαλάσσης, ἄλλοι δὲ ἐκ γῆς Περσῶν. Φέρε δὴ οὖν, εἰ δοκεῖ, καταθρῶμεν ὁπηνίκα καὶ ὅπως τέτοκεν
ἡ στεῖρα. Οὐκοῦν μετ' ἐκείνους οἳ γεγόνασιν ἐκ θεραπαινῶν, τοὺς ἐν ἀγρῷ μανδραγόρας εὑρίσκει Ῥουβεὶμ, ὁ ἐξ Ἰακὼβ πρωτότοκος·
προσκομίζει δὲ Λείᾳ τῇ ἰδίᾳ μητρί. Ἡ δὲ τῇ Ῥαχὴλ ζητούσῃ δίδωσι. Καὶ τίκτει μὲν Λεία, λαβοῦσα τοὺς μανδραγόρας, δύο πάλιν
υἱοὺς, τόν τε Ἰσάχαρ καὶ μέντοι καὶ τὸν Ζαβουλών. Εἶτα μέμνηται Θεὸς τῆς Ῥαχὴλ, καὶ διανοιχθείσης αὐτῇ τῆς μήτρας, καὶ αὐτὴ
τέτοκε τὸν Ἰωσὴφ, καὶ τελευτῶσα τὸν Βενιαμίν. Λεία μὲν οὖν ὅτι τὴν τῶν Ἰουδαίων Συναγωγὴν ὑπαινίττεται69.220, Ῥαχὴλ δὲ τὴν
ἐξ ἐθνῶν Ἐκκλησίαν, προμεμήνυκεν ἡμῖν πλειστάκις ὁ λόγος. Μεθέντες δὴ οὖν ὡς ἀνόνητον ἔτι τὸ ταυτολογεῖν, λοιπὸν ἀφηγώμεθα
τίνος ἂν εἶεν εἰς τύπον οἱ μανδραγόραι, διὰ τοῦ πρωτοτόκου Ῥουβεὶμ ηὑρημένοι. Τί δ' ἂν βούλοιτο δηλοῦν ἡ εἰς ἄμφω τε καὶ ἐν
ἴσῳ τάχα που διανέμησις· δέδωκε γὰρ ἡ Λεία τῇ Ῥαχήλ· τί δὲ πρὸς τούτοις καὶ αὐτὴ τῶν παίδων ἡ γένεσις, ἐν ταῖς τῶν ὀνομάτων
σημασίαις ὠδίνουσα τὸ μυστήριον. ιαʹ. Μανδραγόραι τοίνυν φύονται μὲν ἐν ἀγροῖς· εἶδος δὲ τὸ μῆλον αὐτοῖς. Ὑπνηλὸν δὲ ὅτι τὸ
χρῆμά ἐστι, καὶ βαθεῖ καταμεθύσκον κάρῳ τοὺς μετεσχηκότας, οὐ μακροῦ δεήσειν οἶμαι πρὸς ἀπόδειξιν λόγου, τὰς τῶν ἀῤῥωστούντων
ἀγρυπνίας τῆς ἰατρῶν ἐμπειρίας ἔσθ' ὅτε νικώσης τῇ τῶν μανδραγορῶν φυσικῇ ἐνεργείᾳ. Οἳ καὶ ὑποφήνειαν ἡμῖν αἰνιγματωδῶς τὸ
Χριστοῦ μυστήριον, ὑπνοῦντος τρόπον τινὰ δι' ἡμᾶς, καὶ καθιέντος εἰς κένωσιν ἑαυτὸν μέχρι θανάτου, εἰ καὶ ἀνεβίω πάλιν. Θεὸς
γὰρ ἦν κατὰ φύσιν, καὶ γέγονε σάρξ. Ὅπου δὲ ὅλως ὁ θάνατος ἐν ὕπνου τάξει παρειλημμένος, ζητητέον ἐκεῖ καὶ τὴν εἰς ζωὴν ἀναβίωσιν.
Ὅλον δὲ ὥσπερ ἐν τούτοις τὸ Χριστοῦ μυστήριον. Καὶ γοῦν ὁ θεσπέσιος Παῦλος τοῖς ἐξ ἐλαφρίας κεκινημένοις εἰς ἑτερόφρονα δόξαν,
ἐπισκήπτει λέγων· Παρέδωκα γὰρ ὑμῖν ἐν πρώτοις ὃ καὶ παρέλαβον· ὅτι Χριστὸς ἀπέθανεν ὑπὲρ τῶν ἁμαρτιῶν ἡμῶν, κατὰ τὰς Γραφὰς,
καὶ ὅτι ἐτάφη, καὶ ὅτι ἐγήγερται τῇ τρίτῃ ἡμέρᾳ κατὰ τὰς Γραφάς. Καὶ μεθ' ἕτερα· Εἰ δὲ Χριστὸς κηρύσσεται ὅτι ἐκ νεκρῶν ἐγήγερται,
πῶς λέγουσιν ἐν ὑμῖν τινες, ὅτι ἀνάστασις νεκρῶν οὐκ
