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of the women from the men; for it was unsympathetic, and unfeeling of the terrible thing possessing them, for those living together to have marital relations for the succession of children with a threat hanging over them, when it is the time for prayer. And even without impending wrath, the Christ-bearing Apostle forbids the union of men with women at times of prayer, writing to those in marriage to abstain then especially from marital intercourse when it is necessary to pray and beseech God, saying; “Deprive one another for a time,” that is, of the customary bed, “that you may devote yourselves to prayer.” If therefore this is done for the sake of purity and at a time when nothing terrible is impending, how much more should purity be striven for when danger is impending. 4.267 For this was also cared for in the teaching before the Savior's advent. For example, when the nations were hostilely set against Israel to plunder and take captive, the divine word exhorts those subject to the attack of the enemies to be devoted to fasting and chastity, saying; “Sanctify a fast, proclaim a solemn assembly,” and after other things; “Let the bridegroom go forth from his chamber, and the bride from her bridal chamber. Between the porch and the altar let the priests weep and say; ‘Spare, Lord, your people, and do not give your heritage to reproach, that the nations should rule over them, lest the nations say: Where is their God?’” 4.268 And see how discordant and inappropriate it was for those living together to remain in the same chamber and bridal chamber when grievous things were expected, while the priests were lamenting between the porch and the altar. 4.269 In agreement with this prophecy it is also proclaimed in ancient history; for when the ark had been built by Noah according to the command of him who cares for all because of a terrible downpour so that Noah and his house might be kept safe from all harm, with the deluge of rain already impending, the Lord says to the righteous man; “Enter, you and your sons and your wife and the wives of your sons,” so that inside the ark the men would be by themselves and the women separately, marital relations not being consummated during the destruction of the human race, when all were perishing except for only the four couples who entered the ark, the men and their wives no longer remaining in separation when, after the earth had dried and the flood had ceased, they came out of the ark, a command having been given by God “for Noah to go out, and his wife with him, and their sons and their wives”; for the threat against mankind having been stopped, cohabitations are restored, so that the succession of mankind might be increased by the procreation of children. 4.270 Similarly to these things thus considered concerning Noah and those from the prophet Joel, also now with a terrible thing hanging over, the word, exhorting to lamentation, wishes for the men by themselves and likewise the women to lament so that the impending calamity might be felt. 4.271 And see indeed the precision of the command, not only separating the different tribes from each other, but also the men of the same tribe from the women and vice versa; for it says; “a tribe by itself and their women by themselves.” 4.272 By the tribe of the house of David it means those who are such because they act royally and capably with practical power. 4.273 And since not only in a literal sense do men differ from women in that the latter give birth and the former beget, but also in an anagogical sense, the souls sowing lessons in other souls in the manner of teaching may rightly be called men, while those who receive the lessons from others, but do not beget them from themselves, are allegorically addressed as women. 4.274 Likewise also in the case of Nathan and Levi and Simeon and of the other remaining tribes, let the distinction of men and women remain, with respect to the literal and the spiritual sense. The tribe of Nathan and that of Levi, the prophetic

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τῶν γυναικῶν τῶν ἀνδρῶν· ἀσυμπαθὲς γὰρ ἦν, καὶ μὴ αἰσθομένων τοῦ κατέχοντος δεινοῦ, τὸ συνευνάζεσθαι τοὺς συμβιοῦντας ἐπὶ δια̣δοχῇ τέκνων ἐπηρτημένης ἀπειλῆς, ὅτε προσευχῆς ο῾̣ καιρὸς ὑπάρχει. Καὶ χωρὶς δὲ ἐπικειμένου χόλου εἵργει τὰς συνόδους τὰς ἀνδρῶν πρὸς γυναῖκας ἐν τοῖς καιροῖς τῶν προσευχῶν ὁ χριστοφόρος Ἀπόστολος, γράφων τοῖς ἐν συζυγίαις τότε μάλιστα ἀνέχειν ἑαυτοὺς ἀπὸ μίξεων γαμηλίων ὅτε εὔχεσθαι καὶ παρακαλεῖν Θεὸν δεῖ, λέγων· «Ἀποστερεῖτε ἀλλήλους πρὸς καιρόν», τῆς συνήθους εὐνῆς δηλονότι, «ἵνα σχολάσητε τῇ προσευχῇ.» Εἰ τοίνυν τοῦτο πράττεται ἁγνείας ἕνεκα καὶ ἐν ὥρᾳ ὅτε μηδὲν ἐπίκειται φοβερόν, πολλῷ μᾶλλον σπουδαζέσθω ἡ ἁγνεία κινδύνου ἐπικειμένου. 4.267 Πεφρόντισται γὰρ τοῦτο καὶ ἐν τῇ πρὸ τοῦ Σωτῆρος ἐπιδημίας διδασκαλίᾳ. Αὐτίκα γοῦν πολεμικῶς ἐπικειμένων τῶν ἐθνῶν κατὰ τοῦ Ἰσραὴλ ἐπὶ τῷ διαρπάσαι καὶ αἰχμαλωτίσαι, παρακελεύετα̣ι ὁ θεῖος λόγος ἀσιτίᾳ καὶ σωφροσύνῃ σχολάσαι τοὺς ὑποκειμένους τῇ ἐφόδῳ τῶν ἐχθρῶν, φήσας· «Ἁγιάσατε νηστείαν, κηρύξατε θεραπείαν», καὶ μεθ' ἕτερα· «Ἐξελθάτω νυμφίος ἐκ τοῦ κοιτῶνος αὐτοῦ καὶ νύμφη ἐκ τοῦ παστοῦ αὐτῆς. Ἀνὰ μέσον τῆς κρηπῖδος τοῦ θυσιαστηρίου κλαύσονται οἱ ἱερεῖς καὶ ἐροῦσιν· Φεῖσαι, Κύριε, τοῦ λαοῦ σου καὶ μὴ δῷς τὴν κληρονομίαν σου εἰς ὄνειδος τοῦ κατάρξαι αὐτῶν ἔθνη, μήποτε εἴπωσι τὰ ἔθνη· Ποῦ ἐστιν ὁ Θεὸς αὐτῶν;» 4.268 Καὶ ὅρα ὡς ἀπᾷδον ἦν καὶ ἀνάρμοστον ἐν τῷ αὐτῷ κοιτῶνι καὶ παστῷ διατρίβειν τοὺς συνοικοῦντας ἀνιαρῶν προσδοκωμένων, τῶν ἱερέων ἀνὰ μέσον τῆς κρηπῖδος τοῦ θυσιαστηρίου ὀλοφυρομένων. 4.269 Σύμφωνα ταύτῃ τῇ προφητείᾳ καὶ ἐν παλαιᾷ ἱστορίᾳ διαγορεύεται· κατασκευασθείσης γὰρ ὑπὸ τοῦ Νῶε κατὰ πρόσταξιν τοῦ πάντων κηδομένου κιβωτοῦ διὰ φοβερὰν ἐπομβρίαν ἵνα Νῶε καὶ ὁ οἶκος αὐτοῦ ἔξω πάσης βλάβης φυλαχθῶσιν, ἐπικειμένης ἤδη τῆς τοῦ ὑετοῦ φορᾶς, λέγει ὁ Κύριος τῷ δικαίῳ· «Εἴσελθε σὺ καὶ υἱοί σου καὶ ἡ γυνή σου καὶ αἱ γυναῖκες τῶν υἱῶν σου», ἵν' ἔνδον ἐν τῇ λάρνακι οἱ ἄνδρες καθ' ἑαυτοὺς καὶ χωρὶς αἱ γυναῖκες τυγχάνωσιν, γαμικῆς ὁμιλίας οὐ τελουμένης ἐν τῇ φθορᾷ τοῦ γένους ἀνθρώπων, πάντων ῥεόντων δίχα μόνων τῶν τεσσάρων συζυγιῶν τῶν εἰσελθουσῶν εἰς τὴν κιβωτόν, οὐκέτι ἐν διαιρέσει μενόντων τῶν ἀνδρῶν καὶ τῶν συμβιουσῶν ὅτε, ξηρανθείσης τῆς γῆς λωφήσαντος τοῦ κατακλυσμοῦ, ἔξω γίνονται τῆς κιβωτοῦ, ἐντολῆς ὑπὸ Θεοῦ δοθείσης «ἐξελθεῖν Νῶε καὶ τὴν γυναῖκα αὐτοῦ μετ' αὐτοῦ, καὶ τοὺς υἱοὺς αὐτῶν καὶ τὰς γυναῖκας αὐτῶν»· ἐμποδισθείσης γὰρ τῆς κατὰ ἀνθρώπων ἀπειλῆς, αἱ συμβιώσεις ἀποδέδονται, ἵνα αὐξηθῇ ἡ τῶν ἀνθρώπων ἐκ παιδοποιΐας διαδοχή. 4.270 Παραπλησίως τοῖς οὕτω τεθεωρημένοις περὶ τοῦ Νῶε καὶ τοῖς ἐκ τοῦ προφήτου Ἰωήλ, καὶ νῦν ἐπηρτημένου δεινοῦ εἰς κοπετὸν προτρεπόμενος ὁ λόγος βούλεται τοὺς ἄνδρας καθ' ἑαυτοὺς καὶ ὁμοίως τὰς γυναῖκας κόπτεσθαι ἐπὶ τῷ αἰσθηθῆναι τὴν ἐπικειμένην συμφοράν. 4.271 Καὶ ὅρα γε τὴν ἀκρίβειαν τῆς προστάξεως μὴ μόνον τὰς διαφόρους φυλὰς διαστελλούσης ἀφ' ἑαυτῶν, ἀλλὰ καὶ τοὺς ὁμοφύλους ἄνδρας ἀπὸ γυναικῶν καὶ ἀνάπαλιν· φησὶν γάρ· «φυλὴ καθ' ἑαυτὴν καὶ αἱ γυναῖκες αὐτῶν καθ' ἑαυτάς». 4.272 Φυλὴν τοῦ οἴκου ∆αυὶδ λέγει τοὺς διὰ τὸ βασιλικῶς καὶ ἱκανῶς τῇ πρακτικῇ δυνάμει ἐνεργεῖν οὕτω τυγχάνοντας. 4.273 Καὶ ἐπεὶ μὴ κατὰ μόνην ἱστορίαν ἄνδρες γυναικῶν διαφέρουσιν τῷ τὰς μὲν τίκτειν τοὺς δὲ γεννᾶν, ἀλλὰ καὶ κατὰ ἀναγωγήν, αἱ σπείρουσαι ψυχαὶ μαθήματα ἄλλαις ψυχαῖς διδασκαλίας τρόπῳ ἄνδρες ἐν δίκῃ καλείσθωσαν, τῶν ὑποδεχομένων τὰ μαθήματα ἐξ ἄλλων, ἀλλ' οὐκ ἐξ ἑαυτῶν γεννωσῶν, προσαγορευομένων ἀλληγορικῶς γυναικῶν. 4.274 Ὁμοίως καὶ ἐπὶ τοῦ Νάθαν καὶ Λευὶ καὶ Συμεὼν καὶ τῶν ὑπολελειμμένων ἄλλων φυλῶν, ἡ παραλλαγὴ τῶν ἀνδρῶν καὶ γυναικῶν πρὸς ῥητὸν καὶ διάνοιαν μενέτω. Φυλὴ τοῦ Νάθαν καὶ ἡ τοῦ Λευὶ οἱ προφητικὴν