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in the land of Judea, with whom the prophet Jeremiah and Baruch and some others were, have resorted to flight because of the fear of the Babylonians, choosing rather to hand themselves over to the Egyptians than to serve the Babylonians. These things are recorded in the prophecy of Jeremiah. But the prophet Isaiah, having been born almost one hundred and fifty years before Jeremiah, anticipates these things; for he writes concerning those very people who were not persuaded by the voice of God through Jeremiah forbidding them to enter Egypt, saying: Woe, apostate children, or transgressors according to Symmachus, says the Lord; you have made a plan not through me and covenants not through my spirit, to add sin upon sins, you who are going down to Egypt, but did not ask me, to be helped by Pharaoh and the things that are said after these. In which he also teaches this: that there were in Tanis evil chief angels, clearly showing that at that time there were demons among the Egyptians, calling them evil angels, who were especially active in many things in the so-called city of Egypt, Tanis, where the palace of Pharaoh was established at that time. For all those native Egyptians who ruled their own country were called Pharaoh, while also possessing their own proper names, so that one of them was Necho, while also being called Pharaoh. The Psalter mentions Tanis, as the wonderful deeds performed through Moses happened "in the land of Egypt, in the field of Tanis," and in the prophecy concerning Egypt this same prophet taught, saying: "Where are your wise men now? And let them announce to you and tell you what the Lord Sabaoth has planned against Egypt, the rulers of Tanis have failed." But there, since he was prophesying the coming of the Lord to Egypt, he consequently indicated the "failure of the rulers of Tanis"; which things were fulfilled at the epiphany of our Savior to men. But in the passage at hand, indicating the things in the time of Jeremiah, the text does not say "the rulers of Tanis have failed," but that there were then in Tanis evil chief angels, who were the same as the ones mentioned above as "the rulers of Tanis." But nevertheless, he says, these evil chief angels in Tanis will be of no help in defending those who flee to them and call upon their aid, and in addition to being of no help to them, they will become for them a shame and a reproach. which things were fulfilled for them at the time when the king of the Babylonians, having subjugated Egypt, enslaved by the law of war not only the Egyptians but also the Jews who had become refugees among them; for at that time the hope of the Jews in Pharaoh was turned into shame and reproach for them. It must be known that the thirtieth volume of Origen's exegetical works on the prophet proceeded up to this point. Next after these is brought forward: The vision of the four-footed beasts in the desert. In affliction and in distress, a lion and a lion's whelp from there and asps and the flying offspring of asps. But I think that through these things the text alludes to the gods of the Egyptians; for almost every kind of four-footed animal was considered a god among them. But instead of: The vision of the four-footed beasts in the desert, Symmachus says an oracle of the beasts of the south, and all the other interpreters have likewise rendered it beasts of the south. Therefore, the Septuagint called the country of the Egyptians, which is situated in the southern region, a desert, saying: The vision of the four-footed beasts in the desert, because it was then all desolate of God, but filled with the four-footed beasts deified by them and with the demons active among them. For which reason they were also said to be in affliction and in distress; for in great distress of soul and in extreme affliction they proclaimed the gods among them; and those very ones afflicting and distressing their souls were evil demons; among whom were

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Ἰουδαίᾳ χώρᾳ, οἷς ὁ προφήτης συνῆν Ἰερεμίας καὶ Βαροὺχ καί τινες ἄλλοι, διὰ τὸν τῶν Βαβυλωνίων φόβον φυγῇ κέχρηνται, μᾶλλον ἑλόμενοι Αἰγυπτίοις ἑαυτοὺς ἐγχειρίσαι ἢ Βαβυλωνίοις δουλεύειν. ταῦτα δὲ ἐν τῇ τοῦ Ἰερεμίου προφητείᾳ ἱστόρηται. φθάνει δὲ ταῦτα ὁ προφήτης Ἠσαΐας σχεδὸν πρὸ ὅλων πεντήκοντα καὶ ἑκατὸν ἐτῶν τοῦ Ἰερεμίου γεγονώς· γράφει δ' οὖν περὶ αὐτῶν ἐκείνων τῶν μὴ πεισθέντων τῇ διὰ τοῦ Ἰερεμίου φωνῇ τοῦ θεοῦ ἀπαγορευούσῃ εἰσελθεῖν εἰς τὴν Αἴγυπτον λέγων· Οὐαὶ τέκνα ἀποστάται, ἢ παραβάται κατὰ τὸν Σύμμαχον, λέγει κύριος· ἐποιήσατε βουλὴν οὐ δι' ἐμοῦ καὶ συνθήκας οὐ διὰ τοῦ πνεύματός μου προσθεῖναι ἁμαρτίαν ἐφ' ἁμαρτίαις, οἱ πορευόμενοι καταβῆναι εἰς Αἴγυπτον, ἐμὲ δὲ οὐκ ἐπηρώτησαν, τοῦ βοηθηθῆναι ὑπὸ Φαραὼ καὶ τὰ τούτοις ἐπιλεγόμενα. ἐν οἷς καὶ τοῦτο διδάσκει· ὅτι ἦσαν ἐν Τάνει ἀρχηγοὶ ἄγγελοι πονηροί, σαφῶς παριστὰς γεγονέναι τότε παρ' Αἰγυπτίοις δαίμονας, ἀγγέλους πονηροὺς ὀνομάζων αὐτούς, οἳ μάλιστα ἐνήργουν τὰ πολλὰ ἐν τῇ καλουμένῃ πόλει τῆς Αἰγύπτου Τάνει, ἔνθα τὸ βασίλειον τοῦ Φαραὼ κατ' ἐκεῖνο καιροῦ ἵδρυτο. Φαραὼ δὲ πάντες ἐκαλοῦντο οἱ ἐξ αὐτῶν Αἰγυπτίων βασιλεύοντες τῆς αὐτῶν χώρας μετὰ τοῦ ἰδιάζοντα κεκτῆσθαι ὀνόματα, ὥστε εἶναι μέν τινα αὐτῶν Νεχαὼ μετὰ τοῦ καὶ Φαραὼ λέγεσθαι. μέμνηται δὲ τῆς Τάνεως ἡ Ψαλμῳδία ὡς τῶν διὰ Μωσέως παραδόξως πεπραγμένων «ἐν γῇ Αἰγύπτῳ, ἐν πεδίῳ Τάνεως» γεγονότων, καὶ ἐν τῇ περὶ Αἰγύπτου προφητείᾳ ὁ αὐτὸς οὗτος προφήτης ἐδίδασκε λέγων· «ποῦ εἰσι νῦν οἱ σοφοί σου; καὶ ἀναγγειλάτωσάν σοι καὶ εἰπάτωσάν σοι τί βεβούλευται κύριος σαβαὼθ ἐπ' Αἴγυπτον, ἐξέλιπον οἱ ἄρχοντες Τάνεως». ἀλλ' ἐκεῖ μέν, ἐπειδὴ τὴν εἰς Αἴγυπτον τοῦ κυρίου παρουσίαν ἐθέσπιζεν, ἀκολούθως «ἔκλειψιν τῶν ἀρχόντων Τάνεως» ἐδήλου· ἅπερ ἐπληροῦτο κατὰ τὴν τοῦ σωτῆρος ἡμῶν εἰς ἀνθρώπους ἐπιφάνειαν. διὰ δὲ τῶν μετὰ χεῖρας τὰ κατὰ τοὺς Ἰερεμίου χρόνους σημαίνων ὁ λόγος οὔ φησιν «ἐκλελοιπέναι τοὺς ἄρχοντας Τάνεως», ἀλλ' ὅτι ἦσαν τότε ἐν Τάνει ἀρχηγοὶ ἄγγελοι πονηροί, οἱ αὐτοὶ ὄντες τοῖς ἀνωτέρω λελεγμένοις «ἄρχουσι Τάνεως». πλὴν ἀλλὰ καὶ οὗτοί φησιν οἱ ἐν Τάνει ἀρχηγοὶ ἄγγελοι πονηροὶ οὐδὲν ὠφελήσουσιν εἰς τὸ ἐπαμῦναι τοῖς προσφυγοῦσιν αὐτοῖς καὶ τὴν ἐξ αὐτῶν βοήθειαν ἀνακαλεσαμένοις, πρὸς δὲ τῷ μηδὲν αὐτοὺς ὠφελῆσαι γενήσονται αὐτοῖς αἰσχύνη καὶ ὄνειδος. ἃ καὶ αὐτοῖς ἐπληροῦτο καθ' ὃν χρόνον ὁ τῶν Βαβυλωνίων βασιλεὺς ὑποχείριον ποιησάμενος τὴν Αἴγυπτον, οὐ μόνον Αἰγυπτίους ἀλλὰ καὶ τῶν Ἰουδαίων τοὺς προσφύγους αὐτοῖς γενομένους πολέμου νόμῳ ἐξηνδραποδίσατο· τὸ τηνικαῦτα γὰρ ἡ ἐπὶ Φαραὼ τῶν Ἰουδαίων ἐλπὶς εἰς αἰσχύνην καὶ ὄνειδος αὐτοῖς περιετράπη. ἰστέον δ' ὡς μέχρι τούτων Ὠριγένει προῆλθεν ὁ τριακοστὸς τῶν εἰς τὸν προφήτην ἐξηγητικῶν τόμος. Τούτοις ἑξῆς ἐπιφέρεται· Ἡ ὅρασις τῶν τετραπόδων τῶν ἐν τῇ ἐρήμῳ. Ἐν τῇ θλίψει καὶ τῇ στενοχωρίᾳ, λέων καὶ σκύμνος λέοντος ἐκεῖθεν καὶ ἀσπίδες καὶ ἔκγονα ἀσπίδων πετομένων. οἶμαι δὲ διὰ τούτων τοὺς Αἰγυπτίων θεοὺς αἰνίττεσθαι τὸν λόγον· σχεδὸν γὰρ πᾶν εἶδος τετραπόδων ζῴων παρ' αὐτοῖς θεὸς ἐνομίζετο. ἀντὶ δὲ τοῦ· Ἡ ὅρασις τῶν τετραπόδων τῶν ἐν τῇ ἐρήμῳ, ὁ Σύμμαχος λῆμμά φησι κτηνῶν νότου, καὶ οἱ λοιποὶ δὲ πάντες ἑρμηνευταὶ ὁμοίως κτηνῶν νότου ἐκδεδώκασιν. οὐκοῦν τὴν χώραν τῶν Αἰγυπτίων κατὰ τὸ νότιον κλίμα κειμένην ἔρημον ὠνόμασαν οἱ Ἑβδομήκοντα φήσαντες· Ἡ ὅρασις τῶν τετραπόδων τῶν ἐν τῇ ἐρήμῳ, διὰ τὸ ἔρημον τότε πᾶσαν εἶναι θεοῦ, πεπληρῶσθαι δὲ τετραπόδων τῶν παρ' αὐτοῖς θεοποιουμένων καὶ τῶν παρ' αὐτοῖς ἐνεργούντων δαιμόνων. διὸ καὶ ἐν θλίψει καὶ ἐν στενοχωρίᾳ εἶναι ἐλέγοντο· κατὰ γὰρ πολλὴν στενοχωρίαν ψυχῆς καὶ καθ' ὑπερβολὴν θλίψεως τοὺς παρ' αὐτοῖς ἀνηγόρευον θεούς· αὐτοὺς δὲ ἐκείνους τοὺς τὰς ψυχὰς αὐτῶν θλίβοντας καὶ στενοχωροῦντας πονηροὺς δαίμονας· ἐν οἷς ἦσαν