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and teraphim and filled the hand of one of his sons and he became his priest. " But he was not of the Levitical tribe, but of Ephraim. And it taught the cause of the transgression. " 'For in those days,' it says, 'there was no king in Israel; every man did what was right in his own eyes.' " Anarchy is the cause of so much harm. XXV What follows has much ambiguity; " 'For there was,' it says, 'a young man from Bethlehem of the people of Judah, of the kindred of Judah, and he was a Levite, and he sojourned there.' " For if he was a Levite, how was he from the kindred of Judah? He called Bethlehem the people of Judah; and as I think, he also called the same village the kindred of Judah. But we have said that God did not set apart a special inheritance for the priests and Levites, but scattered them among all the tribes, so that all might have teachers of piety. Therefore this man, being a Levite, dwelt in Bethlehem which belonged to the people and kindred of Judah. But if anyone considers this interpretation to be forced, let him remember what we have already said, that the two tribes, the royal and the priestly, intermingled with one another 308. It is likely that this man was a Levite on his father's side, but had a mother from the tribe of Judah. Great indeed was the transgression of the man. For first, though God pitched the tent in Shiloh, he ministered in another place contrary to the divine law. Then he offered sacrifices to handmade idols—for this is what "the graven and the molten" signifies. In addition to these, he dared another transgression. For the law forbade Levites to act as priests; but commanded them to minister to the priests. Therefore he also broke this law by daring to act as a priest. And he was ungrateful to the one who had cared for him; for having taken the instruments of deceit, he followed those of the tribe of Dan, and became an agent of the error concerning idols. XXVI What is: "in the valley of the house of Rehob"? Near that city, as is likely, Rehob dwelt. This was formerly called Laish; but having been besieged by these men, it was renamed Dan; now it is called Paneas. Here, however, we have clearly learned the lineage of this Levite. " 'For Jonathan,' it says, 'son of Manasseh, son of Gershom, son of Moses, he and his sons were priests to the tribe of Dan, until the captivity of the land. And he set up for them the graven image of Micah which he had made, all the days that the house of God was in Shiloh.' " Therefore they acted as priests unlawfully, not only serving idols, but also daring to fulfill the priestly function. For they were Levites, not priests; for the Lord God commanded that only the lineage of Aaron 309 should serve as priests. And I think that because the lawgiver took a foreign woman as his wife, he commanded that those born from this union be ranked with the Levites, and not with the priests; so that the priestly dignity might not be insulted by being reproached for its ignoble birth. For if his brother and sister brought this reproach upon the lawgiver, what would those more prone to sedition and tyranny not have dared? For those who were insolent against Aaron, who married a maiden descended from the royal tribe, what would they not have done against the children of Moses, who took the daughter of a Midianite and priest of idols? XXVII Why was it that Israel, moved by zeal and preferring piety to kinship, was defeated? Because they were engaged in similar transgressions, and they saw the licentiousness of others, but overlooked their own. This the divine apostle also said: "For in what you judge another, you condemn yourself; for you who judge do the same things." And again: "But do you suppose this, O man, who judges those who do such things and do them yourself, that you will escape the judgment of God? Or do you despise the riches of his goodness and forbearance and longsuffering, not knowing that God’s kindness is meant to lead you to repentance? But because of your hardness and your impenitent heart, you are storing up for yourself wrath on the day of wrath and revelation and the righteous judgment of God, who will render to each one according to his works." This is also what these 310 suffered. For by a just

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καὶ θεραφὶμ καὶ ἔπλησε τὴν χεῖρα ἑνὸς τῶν υἱῶν αὐτοῦ καὶ ἐγένετο αὐτῷ εἰς ἱερέα ". τῆς δὲ λευϊτικῆς οὐκ ἦν οὗτος φυλῆς, ἀλλὰ τῆς τοῦ Ἐφραΐμ. ἐδίδαξε δὲ καὶ τὴν αἰτίαν τῆς παρανομίας. " ἐν ταῖς ἡμέραις, γάρ φησιν, ἐκείναις οὐκ ἦν βασιλεὺς ἐν Ἰσραήλ· ἀνὴρ ἕκαστος τὸ ἀρεστὸν ἐν ὀφθαλ μοῖς αὐτοῦ ἐποίει ". τοσαύτης πρόξενος βλάβης ἡ ἀναρχία. XXV Τὰ ἑξῆς πολλὴν ἔχει ἀμφιβολίαν· " ἦν, γάρ φησι, παιδάριον ἐκ Βηθλεὲμ δήμου Ἰούδα, ἐκ συγγενείας Ἰούδα,καὶ αὐτὸς λευΐτης καὶ αὐτὸς παρῴκει ἐκεῖ ". εἰ γὰρ λευΐτης, πῶς ἐκ συγγενείας Ἰούδα; ∆ῆμον Ἰούδα τὴν Βηθλεὲμ ὠνόμασεν· ὡς δὲ νομίζω, καὶ συγγένειαν Ἰούδατὴν αὐτὴν προσηγόρευσε κώμην. εἰρήκαμεν δέ, ὡς τοῖς ἱερεῦσι καὶ λευΐ ταις ἴδιον κλῆρον οὐκ ἀφώρισεν ὁ Θεός, ἀλλ' ἐν ἁπάσαις αὐτοὺς διέσπειρε ταῖς φυλαῖς, ἵν' ἔχωσιν ἅπαντες τῆς εὐσεβείας τοὺς διδασκάλους. τοιγάρ τοι καὶ οὗτος λευΐτης ὢν ᾤκει τὴν Βηθλεὲμ οὖσαν τοῦ δήμου καὶ τῆς συγ γενείας Ἰούδα. εἰ δέ τις βεβιασμένην ταύτην ὑπείληφε τὴν ἑρμηνείαν, ἀναμνησθήτω τῶν ἤδη παρ' ἡμῶν εἰρημένων, ὡς ἐπεμίγησαν ἀλλήλαις 308 αἱ δύο φυλαί, ἥ τε βασιλικὴ καὶ ἡ ἱερατική. εἰκὸς δὲ τοῦτον λευΐτην μὲν εἶναι πατρόθεν, μητέρα δὲ ἐκ τῆς Ἰούδα ἐσχηκέναι φυλῆς. πολλὴ μέντοι τοῦ ἀνδρὸς ἡ παρανομία. πρῶτον γὰρ τοῦ Θεοῦ τὴν σκήνην ἐν τῇ Σιλὼμ πήξαντος, ἐν ἑτέρῳ παρὰ τὸν θεῖον νόμον ἐλειτούργει χωρίῳ. ἔπειτα χειροποιήτοις εἰδώλοις-τοῦτο γὰρ δηλοῖ " τὸ γλυπτὸν καὶ τὸ χωνευτόν "-, τὰς θυσίας προσέφερε. πρὸς δὲ τούτοις καὶ ἄλλην ἐτόλμα παράβασιν. ἱερᾶσθαι γὰρ τοὺς λευΐτας ὁ νόμος ἐκώλυε· τοῖς δὲ ἱερεῦσιν ἐκέλευσε λειτουργεῖν. τοιγαροῦν καὶ τοῦτον παρέβη τὸν νόμον ἱερατεῦσαι τολμήσας. ἀχάριστος δὲ καὶ περὶ τὸν τεθεραπευκότα γεγένηται· λαβὼν γὰρ τῆς ἀπάτης τὰ ὄργανα, τοῖς ἐκ τῆς ∆ὰν φυλῆς ἠκολούθησε, καὶ τῆς περὶ τὰ εἴδωλα πλάνης ἐγένετο πρόξενος. XXVI Τί ἐστιν· " ἐν κοιλάδι ἦν τοῦ οἴκου Ῥηχάβ "; Παρ' ἐκείνην, ὡς εἰκός, τὴν πόλιν ᾤκησεν ὁ Ῥηχάβ. αὕτη δὲ πάλαι μὲν Λαϊσὰ προσηγόρευται· πολιορκηθεῖσα δὲ ὑπὸ τούτων μετεκλήθη ∆άν· νῦν δὲ Πανεὰς ὀνομάζεται. ἐνταῦθα μέντοι τοῦδε τοῦ λευΐτου τὸ γένος σαφῶς μεμαθήκαμεν. " Ἰωναθάν, γάρ φησιν, υἱὸς Μανασσῆ υἱοῦ Γηρσώμ, υἱοῦ Μωϋσῆ, αὐτὸς καὶ οἱ υἱοὶ αὐ τοῦ ἦσαν ἱερεῖς τῇ φυλῇ ∆άν, ἕως τῆς μετοικε σίας τῆς γῆς. καὶ ἔταξεν αὐτοῖς τὸ γλυπτὸν Μιχὰ ὃ ἐποίησε, πάσας τὰς ἡμέρας ὅσας ἦν ὁ οἶ κος τοῦ Θεοῦ ἐν Σιλώμ ". παρανόμως τοιγαροῦν ἱεράτευον, οὐ μόνον εἰδώλοις λατρεύοντες, ἀλλὰ καὶ ἱερατικὸν ἔργον τολμῶντες πληροῦν. λευΐται γὰρ ἦσαν, οὐχ ἱερεῖς· μόνον γὰρ τοῦ Ἀαρὼν τὸ γένος 309 ἱερατεύειν ὁ δεσπότης Θεὸς διηγόρευσε. καὶ νομίζω διὰ τὸ ἀλλόφυλον ἀγαγέσθαι γυναῖκα τὸν νομοθέτην, τοὺς ἐκ τούτου φύντας τοῖς λευΐταις συνταχθῆναι, καὶ οὐ τοῖς ἱερεῦσι προσέταξεν· ἵνα μὴ τὸ ἱερατικὸν ἀξίωμα καθυβρίζηται ὀνειδιζόμενον τὴν δυσγένειαν. εἰ γὰρ ἀδελφὸς καὶ ἀδελφὴ ταύτην τῷ νομοθέτῃ τὴν λοιδορίαν ἐπήνεγκαν, τί οὐκ ἂν ἐτόλμησαν οἱ περὶ τὸ στασιάζειν καὶ τυραννεῖν προχειρότεροι; οἱ γὰρ κατὰ τοῦ Ἀαρὼν θρασυνόμενοι, ὃς κόρην ἔγημεν ἐκ τῆς βασιλικῆς βεβλαστηκυῖαν φυλῆς, τί οὐκ ἂν ἔδρασαν κατὰ τῶν Μωϋσέως παίδων, ὃς μαδιηναίου καὶ εἰδώλων ἱερέως ἠγάγετο θυγατέρα; XXVII Τί δήποτε ζήλῳ κινηθεὶς ὁ Ἰσραὴλ καὶ τῆς συγγενείας τὴν εὐσέβειαν προτιμήσας ἡττήθη; Ὅτι ταῖς ὁμοίαις παρανομίαις ἐκέχρηντο, καὶ τὰς μὲν τῶν ἄλλων ἀκολα σίας ἑώρων, παρεώρων δὲ τὰς οἰκείας. τοῦτο καὶ ὁ θεῖος ἀπόστολος ἔφη· " ἐν ᾧ γὰρ κρίνεις τὸν ἕτερον, σεαυτὸν κατακρί νεις· τὰ γὰρ αὐτὰ πράσσεις ὁ κρίνων ". καὶ πάλιν· " λογίζῃ δὲ τοῦτο, ὦ ἄνθρωπε, ὁ κρίνων τοὺς τὰ τοιαῦτα πράσσοντας, καὶ ποιῶν αὐτά, ὅτι σὺ ἐκφεύξῃ τὸ κρῖμα τοῦ Θεοῦ, ἢ τοῦ πλούτου τῆς χρηστότητος αὐτοῦ, καὶ τῆς ἀνοχῆς, καὶ τῆς μακροθυμίας καταφρονεῖς, ἀγνοῶν ὅτι τὸ χρησ τὸν τοῦ Θεοῦ εἰς μετάνοιάν σε ἄγει; κατὰ δὲ τὴν σκληρότητά σου καὶ ἀμετανόητον καρδίαν, θησ αυρίζεις σεαυτῷ ὀργὴν ἐν ἡμέρᾳ ὀργῆς καὶ ἀπο καλύψεως, καὶ δικαιοκρισίας τοῦ Θεοῦ, ὃς ἀπο δώσει ἑκάστῳ κατὰ τὰ ἔργα αὐτοῦ ". τοῦτο καὶ οὗτοι 310 πεπόνθασι. δικαίῳ γὰρ