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Lord. And now the Lord has rejected us and delivered us into the hands of Midian.” Since, therefore, he had the memory of God's miraculous works and possessed a firm opinion concerning God, that it was easy for Him, if He wished, to deliver them from the misfortunes that held them, the angel said: “Go in this might of yours, and you will save Israel from the hand of Midian”; which means, “Go into battle with this faith, and you will conquer.” But let no one find fault with what follows. For he did not speak as one disbelieving God: “My clan is the weakest in Manasseh, and I am the least in my father’s house”; but using a humble mind-set. Wherefore the angel, taking him up, said: “For the Lord will be with you, and you shall strike down Midian as one man.” At any rate, he immediately believed and offered a sacrifice. But the angel did not seize the divine honor; but he fulfilled the office of a priest, and striking the rock with his staff, he consumed the sacrifice with a wondrous fire. XIV Why did he command that the bull fattened for Baal be offered to God? 300 To transfer them from error to the truth. For this very reason he also instructed that his altar be torn down, and the grove be cut down. For it was necessary for the one deemed worthy of such grace not only to be pious, but also to become a teacher of others. XV What is the symbol of the fleece that received the dew? First Gideon asked that the dew be on the fleece, but that all the ground remain dry; and after this, that the ground be wet, but that only the fleece remain without a share of the dew. The account shows that long ago Israel enjoyed the divine grace, as the fleece did the dew; but later all of human nature has obtained the spiritual gifts. But Israel has become destitute of these, just as the fleece was deprived of the dew. XVI Why did he command that only those who had drunk in a manner similar to a dog go into battle? The Lord God Himself has declared the reason. “For,” he says, “the people with you are too many for me to give Midian into their hand, lest Israel boast over me, saying, ‘My own hand has saved me.’” Therefore, when most had been dismissed, he commanded that the remaining men be brought to the river, then, when the majority had knelt down on their knees and drunk quickly; but the three hundred had not done this out of hesitation, but brought the stream to their mouth with their hand, he commanded these alone, as idle and sluggish men, to rush against the opponents; so that the divine turning of the scales might be made clear 301 to all. So also through twelve fishermen and tax collectors and one shoemaker, he destroyed the phalanx of demons, and saved the nature of men. For this reason the prophet Isaiah compared those things to these and said: “For the Lord has scattered the rod of the disobedient, as on the day against Midian.” For just as here he used unarmed soldiers, carrying in their left hands torches hidden in jars, and in their right hands the trumpets; so he sent the holy apostles unarmed into the world, carrying the torch of miracles and the trumpet of proclamations. XVII What is, “Gideon made an ephod of them and set it up in his city, in Ophrah”? The deed was indeed unlawful. For only the priests were permitted to use the ephod; for through it what was to be done was revealed. However, Gideon's purpose did not tend toward impiety, but as a ruler and general he wished to learn through the ephod what was to be done; but for the people it became a cause of lawlessness. “For,” he says, “all Israel whored after it there, and it became a snare to Gideon and to his house.” The ephod I have interpreted as “shoulder-garment” in Exodus, to which the oracle was attached; and through it victory in wars was signified. The history of the Kingdoms teaches this more clearly. For when the foreigners had gathered, Saul commanded the priest to take up the ephod; then, seeing the enemies in disarray, and the victory having been signified, he says, “Withdraw the ephod.” It is clear, therefore, that it was a garment worn by the priests, and foretelling what was to be done, and Aquila also

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Κύριος. καὶ νῦν ἀπώσατο ἡμᾶς Κύριος καὶ παρέδωκεν ἡμᾶς εἰς χεῖρας Μαδιάμ ". ἐπειδὴ τοίνυν ἔσχε τὴν μνήμην τῆς τοῦ Θεοῦ θαυματουργίας καὶ βεβαίαν ἐκέκτητο τὴν περὶ Θεοῦ δόξαν, ὅτι ῥᾴδιον αὐτῷ βουληθέντι τῶν κατεχούσων αὐ τοὺς συμφορῶν ἀπαλλάξαι, ἔφη ὁ ἄγγελος· " πορεύου ἐν τῇ ἰσ χύϊ σου ταύτῃ, καὶ σώσεις τὸν Ἰσραὴλ ἐκ χει ρὸς Μαδιάμ "· ἀντὶ τοῦ, μετὰ ταύτης παράταξαι τῆς πίστεως, καὶ νικήσεις. μηδεὶς δὲ τοῖς ἑξῆς ἐπιμεμφέσθω. οὐ γὰρ ὡς τῷ Θεῷ ἀπιστῶν ἔφη· " ἡ χιλιάς μου ταπεινοτέρα ἐν Μανασσῇ· καὶ ἐγὼ σμικρὸς ἐν τῷ οἴκῳ τοῦ πατρός μου "· ἀλλὰ μετρίῳ κεχρημένος φρονήματι. ὅθεν ὑπολαβὼν ὁ ἄγγελος ἔφη· " ὅτι ἔσ ται Κύριος μετὰ σοῦ, καὶ ἀποκτενεῖς τὴν Μαδιὰμ ὡσεὶ ἄνδρα ἕνα ". εὐθὺς γοῦν πιστεύσας θυσίαν προσήνεγκεν. ὁ δὲ ἄγγελος οὐχ ἥρπασε τὴν θεῖαν τιμήν· ἀλλ' ἱερέως χρείαν ἐπλήρωσε, καὶ ῥάβδῳ πατάξας τὴν πέτραν, ὡλοκαύτωσε τὴν θυσίαν παραδόξῳ πυρί. XIV Τί δήποτε τὸν τῷ Βαὰλ τρεφόμενον μόσχον τῷ Θεῷ προσενεχθῆναι προσ έταξε; 300 Μετατιθεὶς αὐτοὺς ἐκ τῆς πλάνης πρὸς τὴν ἀλήθειαν. διά τοι τοῦτο καὶ τὸν ἐκείνου βωμὸν κατασκαφῆναι παρηγγύησε, καὶ τὸ ἄλσος ἐκκοπῆναι. ἔδει γὰρ τὸν τῆς τοιαύτης χάριτος ἀξιωθέντα, μὴ μόνον εὐσεβεῖν, ἀλλὰ καὶ ἄλλων γενέσθαι διδάσκαλον. XV Τίνος σύμβολον ὁ πόκος ὁ τὴν δρόσον δεξάμενος; Πρῶτον ᾔτησεν ὁ Γεδεὼν ἐν τῷ πόκῳ γενέσθαι τὴν δρόσον, πᾶσαν δὲ τὴν γῆν διαμεῖναι ξηράν· μετὰ δὲ ταῦτα, τὴν μὲν γῆν ὑγρανθῆναι, μόνον δὲ τὸν πόκον ἄμοιρον διαμεῖναι τῆς δρόσου. δηλοῖ δὲ ὁ λόγος, ὡς πάλαι μὲν ὁ Ἰσραὴλ τῆς θείας ἀπήλαυσε χάριτος, ὡς ὁ πόκος τῆς δρόσου· ὕστε ρον δὲ πᾶσα τῶν ἀνθρώπων ἡ φύσις τῶν πνευματικῶν τετύχηκε δωρεῶν. ἔρημος δὲ τούτων ὁ Ἰσραὴλ γέγονε, καθάπερ ὁ πόκος ἐστερήθη τῆς δρόσου. XVI Τί δήποτε τοὺς κυνὶ παραπλησίως πεπωκότας μόνους ἐκέλευσε παρα τάξασθαι; ∆εδήλωκε τὴν αἰτίαν αὐτὸς ὁ δεσπότης Θεός. " πολύς, γάρ φησιν, ὁ ὄχλος ὁ μετὰ σοῦ, ὥστε παραδοῦναί με τὴν Μαδιὰμ ἐν χειρὶ αὐτῶν, μήποτε καυχήσηται Ἰσραὴλ ἐπ' ἐμὲ λέγων· ἡ χείρ μου ἔσωσέ με ". τῶν πλείστων τοίνυν ἀπολυθέντων, τοὺς ὑπολειφθέντας τῷ ποταμῷ προσαχ θῆναι προσέταξεν, εἶτα τῶν πλειόνων εἰς γόνυ κλιθέντων καὶ πεπωκότων συντόμως· τῶν δὲ τριακοσίων τοῦτο μὲν δι' ὄκνον οὐ πεποιηκότων, τῇ δὲ χειρὶ τὸ νᾶμα προσενεγκόντων τῷ στόματι, τούτους μόνους ἐκέλευσεν, ὡς ἀργοὺς καὶ νωθεῖς, κατὰ τῶν ἀντιπάλων ὁρμῆσαι· ἵνα γένηται δήλη 301 πᾶσιν ἡ θεία ῥοπή. οὕτω καὶ διὰ δώδεκα ἁλιέων καὶ τελωνῶν καὶ σκυτο τόμου ἑνός, τὴν τῶν δαιμόνων κατέλυσε φάλαγγα, καὶ τῶν ἀνθρώπων τὴν φύσιν διέσωσε. τούτου χάριν ὁ προφήτης Ἠσαΐας τούτοις ἐκεῖνα παρέβαλλεν καὶ ἔφη· " τὴν γὰρ ῥάβδον τῶν ἀπειθούντων διεσκέδασε Κύριος, ὡς τῇ ἡμέρᾳ τῇ ἐπὶ Μαδιάμ ". ὥσπερ γὰρ ἐνταῦθα γυμνοῖς ἐχρήσατο στρατιώταις, τῇ μὲν λαιᾷ φέρουσι κεκρυμμένας ἐν ἀμφορεῦσι λαμπάδας, τῇ δεξιᾷ δὲ τὰς σάλπιγγας· οὕτω τοὺς ἱεροὺς ἀποστόλους γυμνοὺς εἰς τὴν οἰκουμένην ἀπέστειλε, φέροντας τὴν λαμπάδα τῶν θαυμάτων καὶ τὴν σάλπιγγα τῶν κηρυγμάτων. XVII Τί ἐστιν, " ἐποίησεν αὐτὰ Γεδεὼν εἰς ἐφοὺδ καὶ ἔσ τησεν αὐτὸ ἐν τῇ πόλει αὐτοῦ ἐν Ἐφραθά "; Παράνομον μὲν τὸ γεγονός. τῷ γὰρ ἐφοὺδ μόνοις ἐξῆν κεχρῆσθαι τοῖς ἱερεῦσι· δι' ἐκείνου γὰρ τὸ πρακτέον ἀπεκαλύπτετο. ὁ μέντοι τοῦ Γεδεὼν σκοπὸς οὐκ εἰς ἀσέβειαν ἀπέκλινεν, ἀλλ' ὡς ἄρχων καὶ στρατηγὸς ἐβού λετο διὰ τοῦ ἐφοὺδ τὸ πρακτέον μανθάνειν· τῷ δὲ λαῷ πρόξενον παρανο μίας ἐγένετο. " ἐξεπόρνευσε, γάρ φησι, πᾶς Ἰσραὴλ ὀπί σω αὐτοῦ ἐκεῖ· καὶ ἐγένετο τῷ Γεδεὼν καὶ τῷ οἴκῳ αὐτοῦ εἰς σκάνδαλον ". τὸ δὲ ἐφούδ, " ἐπωμίδα " ἐν τῇ Ἐξόδῳ ἡρμήνευσα, ᾗ τὸ λόγιον συνήπτετο· δι' ἐκείνου δὲ ἡ ἐν πολέ μοις ἐδηλοῦτο νίκη. ἡ δὲ τῶν Βασιλειῶν ἱστορία σαφέστερον τοῦτο δι δάσκει. τῶν γὰρ ἀλλοφύλων συνηθροισμένων, ἐκέλευσεν ὁ Σαοὺλ ἆραι τὸ ἐφοὺδ τὸν ἱερέα· εἶτα τεταραγμένους τοὺς πολεμίους ἰδών, καὶ τὴν νίκην δεδηλωμένην, " συνάγαγε, φησί, τὸ ἐφούδ ". δῆλον τοίνυν ὡς ὕφασμα ἦν τοῖς ἱερεῦσι περιτιθέμενον, καὶ προμηνύον τὸ πρακ τέον, καὶ ὁ Ἀκύλας δὲ