113

having filled the world, we are no longer reproached by those who remain in impiety, but rather we are envied and are objects of jealousy; and the Jews after the return from Babylon, having been freed from captivity, recovered their own spirit. 30. And they will know that I am the Lord their God, and they are my people, the house of Israel, says the Lord Adonai. It is necessary to recall the words of the Apostle, that "Not all those from Jerusalem are Israel, nor because they are the seed of Abraham, are they all children." And to these it is fitting to add 81.1168 the words of the divine John the Baptist spoken to the Pharisees, that "God is able from these stones to raise up children for Abraham." From which it is clear, that all who have believed, and see the God of all through faith, as it is possible to see, are called Israel; for this is what the name means; and this happened to them after the return, and the prophecy fits us more properly and more truly, inasmuch as our affairs are not a type, but reality. 31. And you are my sheep, he says, and the sheep of my pasture. And showing that the word is not only for Israel, but for all human nature, he necessarily added: "You are men, and I am the Lord your God, says the Lord Adonai." For you, having been freed from beastliness, acquire the disposition proper to human nature; and I will be your God and Lord, exercising all providence and care for you. The prophecy, therefore, has this meaning. Now, I consider it nothing new for the Jews to be foolish in their usual way, but I marvel that some of our own people dare to apply everything to Zerubbabel, and not understand that most of what was said is directly contrary to what was done by him; for the passage: "I will make a covenant of peace with David, and I will destroy evil beasts from the land, and they shall dwell in the desert with confidence, and they shall sleep in the forests." And: "They shall dwell in hope, and there will be no one to frighten them, and I will raise up for them a plant of peace for a name, and they shall no longer be destroyed by famine on the earth, and they shall no longer bear the reproach of the nations;" happen to be completely contrary to the history concerning him. For he, having returned from Babylon and begun to rebuild the divine temple, was prevented by the neighboring nations from putting an end to the work. Therefore, after forty-six years had passed, both according to the ancient history and according to the testimony of the Gospels, only the temple was built; but after another eighty-two years the city received its walls, Nehemiah having raised them in the thirty-second year of the reign of Artaxerxes. And the writing of Ezra teaches us that such fear lay upon the builders that they were forced to build while bearing arms, and at the same time to carry stones and to shoot arrows against the enemies. How then does the saying, "There will be no one to frighten them," or, "I will raise up for them a plant of peace," or, "They will not be few in number," fit such circumstances? And Ezra teaches us again, 81.1169 that Nehemiah, using much effort, with difficulty persuaded the priests to leave their life in the villages and to inhabit the city; and it is likewise easy for the studious to compare the other things with the history and to perceive the discrepancy. Therefore some things fit them, but most things fit the salvation of the world. Therefore, leaving the Jews to their nonsense, who have transferred to their soul the weakness of the eyes of the body of their own mother, Leah I mean, and do not wish to see the truth, we exhort our fellow believers, to test all things, but to hold fast to what is good, according to the divine Apostle, and what we are accustomed to do with foods, preferring the sweet to the unsavory, and indeed choosing the sweeter over the sweet, to do this also with the divine oracles; for the mind, as Job says, distinguishes words, and the throat tastes food, and in a long time

113

οἰκουμένην ἐμπλήσαντες, οὐκ ἔτι ὑπὸ τῶν ἐν τῇ ἀσεβείᾳ διαμεινάντων ὀνειδιζό μεθα, ἀλλὰ μᾶλλον διαφθονούμεθα, καὶ ζηλοτυπού μεθα· καὶ Ἰουδαῖοι μετὰ τὴν Βαβυλῶνος ἐπάνοδον, τῆς αἰχμαλωσίας ἀπαλλαγέντες, τὸ οἰκεῖον ἀνεκτή σαντο φρόνημα. λʹ. Καὶ γνώσονται, ὅτι ἐγώ εἰμι Κύριος ὁ Θεὸς αὐτῶν, καὶ αὐτοὶ λαός μου, οἶκος Ἰσραὴλ, λέγει Ἀδωναῒ Κύριος. Ἀναγκαῖον μνημονεῦσαι τῶν τοῦ Ἀποστόλου ῥημάτων, ὅτι "Οὐ πάντες οἱ ἐξ Ἱερουσαλὴμ, οὗτοι Ἰσραὴλ, οὐδ' ὅτι εἰσὶ σπέρμα Ἀβραὰμ, πάντες τέκνα." Προσθεῖναι δὲ 81.1168 τούτοις προσήκει τοῦ θεσπεσίου Ἰωάννου τοῦ Βα πτιστοῦ τὰ πρὸς τοὺς Φαρισαίους εἰρημένα, ὅτι "∆ύναται ὁ Θεὸς ἐκ τῶν λίθων τούτων ἐγεῖραι τέκνα τῷ Ἀβραάμ." Ἐξ ὧν δῆλον, ὅτι πάντες οἱ πιστεύσαντες, καὶ τὸν τῶν ὅλων Θεὸν διὰ τῆς πί στεως ὁρῶντες, ὡς ἰδεῖν δυνατὸν, Ἰσραὴλ χρημα τίζουσι· τοῦτο γὰρ ἑρμηνεύει τὸ ὄνομα· καὶ ἐπ' ἐκείνων δὲ τοῦτο συνέβη μετὰ τὴν ἐπάνοδον, καὶ ἡμῖν κυριώτερον καὶ ἀληθέστερον ἁρμόττει ἡ προφητεία, ὅσῳ οὐ τύπος τὰ ἡμέτερα, ἀλλὰ ἀλήθεια. λαʹ. Καὶ ὑμεῖς πρόβατά μου, φησὶ, καὶ πρό βατα νομῆς μου. Καὶ δεικνὺς, ὅτι οὐ μόνον πρὸς τὸν Ἰσραὴλ ὁ λόγος, ἀλλὰ πρὸς πᾶσαν τῶν ἀνθρώ πων φύσιν, ἀναγκαίως προστέθεικεν· "Ἄνθρωποί ἐστε, καὶ ἐγὼ Κύριος ὁ Θεὸς ὑμῶν, λέγει Ἀδωναῒ Κύριος." Ὑμεῖς μὲν γὰρ τῆς θηριωδίας ἀπαλλαγέντες, τὸ προσῆκον τῶν ἀνθρώπων τῇ φύσει κτή σασθε φρόνημα· ἐγὼ δὲ ὑμῶν ἔσομαι Θεὸς καὶ Κύριος, πᾶσαν ὑμῶν πρόνοιαν καὶ κηδεμονίαν ποιού μενος. Ἡ μὲν οὖν προφητεία ταύτην ἔχει τὴν διά νοιαν. Ἐγὼ δὲ τὸ μὲν Ἰουδαίους συνήθως ἀνοηταίνειν οὐδὲν ἡγοῦμαι καινὸν, θαυμάζω δὲ τῶν ἡ μετέρων ἐνίους τολμῶντας ἅπαντα εἰς τὸν Ζορο βάβελ λαμβάνειν, καὶ μὴ συνιέντας, ὅτι τῶν εἰρη μένων τὰ πλεῖστα ἀντικρύς ἐστιν ἐναντία τῶν ὑπ' ἐκείνου γεγενημένων· τὸ γάρ· "∆ιαθήσομαι τῷ ∆αβὶδ διαθήκην εἰρήνης, καὶ ἀφανιῶ θηρία πονηρὰ ἀπὸ τῆς γῆς, καὶ κατοικήσουσιν ἐν τῇ ἐρήμῳ πεποι θότες, καὶ ὑπνώσουσιν ἐν τοῖς δρυμοῖς." Καί· "Κατοικήσουσιν ἐπ' ἐλπίδι, καὶ οὐκ ἔσται ὁ ἐκ φοβῶν αὐτοὺς, καὶ ἀναστήσω αὐτοῖς φυτὸν εἰρήνης εἰς ὄνομα, καὶ οὐκ ἔτι ἔσονται ἀπολλύμενοι ἐν λιμῷ ἐπὶ τῆς γῆς, καὶ οὐ μὴ ἐνέγκωσιν οὐκ ἔτι ὀνειδισμὸν ἐθνῶν·" παντελῶς ἐναντία τῇ περὶ ἐκείνου ἱστορίᾳ ὄντα τυγχάνει. Ἐκεῖνος γὰρ ἐκ τῆς Βαβυλῶνος ἐπανελθὼν, καὶ ἀνοικοδομεῖν ἀρξάμενος τὸν θεῖον νεὼν, ὑπὸ τῶν πλησιοχώρων ἐθνῶν διεκω λύθη τέλος ἐπιθεῖναι τῷ ἔργῳ. ∆ιὸ ἓξ καὶ τεσσαρά κοντα διαδραμόντων ἐτῶν, καὶ κατὰ τὴν παλαιὰν ἱστορίαν, καὶ κατὰ τὴν τῶν Εὐαγγελίων μαρτυρίαν, μόνος ὁ νεὼς ἐνεουργήθη· μετὰ δὲ ἄλλα δύο καὶ ὀγδοήκοντα ἔτη τοὺς περιβόλους ἡ πόλις ἀπέλαβε, Νεεμίου τούτους ἀναστήσαντος ἐν τῷ δευτέρῳ καὶ τριακοστῷ τῆς Ἀρταξέρξου βασιλείας. ∆ιδάσκει δὲ ἡμᾶς ἡ τοῦ Ἔσδρα συγγραφὴ, ὅτι τοσοῦτο δέος τοῖς οἰκοδομοῦσιν ἐπέκειτο, ὡς ἀναγκάζεσθαι σιδη ροφοροῦντας οἰκοδομεῖν, καὶ κατὰ ταυτὸν τούς τε λίθους προσφέρειν, καὶ κατὰ τῶν πολεμίων ἀφιέναι τὰ βέλη. Πῶς τοίνυν ἁρμόττει τοῖς τοιούτοις τὸ, "Οὐκ ἔσται ὁ ἐκφοβῶν αὐτοὺς," ἢ τὸ, "Ἀναστήσω αὐτοῖς φυτὸν εἰρήνης," ἢ τὸ, "Οὐκ ἔσονται ὀλίγοι ἐν ἀριθμῶ;" ∆ιδάσκει δὲ ἡμᾶς πάλιν ὁ Ἔσδρας, 81.1169 ὅτι πόνῳ πολλῷ χρησάμενος ὁ Νεεμίας μόγις τοὺς ἱερέας ἀνέπεισε τὴν ἐν τοῖς χωρίοις καταλιπεῖν δίαιταν καὶ τὴν πόλιν οἰκῆσαι· καὶ τὰ ἄλλα δὲ ὁμοίως ῥᾴδιον τοῖς φιλομαθέσι παραθεῖναι τῇ ἱστο ρίᾳ, καὶ τὴν διαφωνίαν καταμαθεῖν. Οὐκοῦν ἔνια μὲν ἐκείνοις ἁρμόττει, τὰ δὲ πλεῖστα τῇ τῆς οἰκου μένης σωτηρίᾳ. Καταλιπόντες τοίνυν Ἰουδαίους ληρεῖν, οἳ εἰς τὴν ψυχὴν μετέθεσαν τῶν τοῦ σώ ματος ὀφθαλμῶν τῆς οἰκείας μητρὸς, τῆς Λείας, φημὶ, τὴν ἀσθένειαν, καὶ βλέπειν οὐκ ἐθέλουσι τὴν ἀλήθειαν, τοὺς ὁμοπίστους παρακαλοῦμεν, πάντα μὲν δοκιμάζειν, τὸ δὲ καλὸν κατέχειν, κατὰ τὸν θεῖον Ἀπόστολον, καὶ ὅπερ ἐπὶ τῶν σιτίων ποιεῖν εἰώθα μεν, τοῦ ἀηδοῦς τὸ ἡδὺ προτιμῶντες, καὶ μέντοι καὶ τοῦ ἡδέος τὸ ἥδιον προαιρούμενοι, τοῦτο καὶ ἐπὶ τῶν θείων λογίων ποιεῖν· νοῦς μὲν γὰρ, ᾗ φησιν ὁ Ἰὼβ, ῥήματα διακρίνει, λάρυγξ δὲ σῖτα γεύεται, καὶ ἐν πολλῷ χρόνῳ