148

He permitted it so that they might be purged and show who among them were approved.

Then, describing the power of that very one, he said, "and he shall do according to his will, and he shall be exalted and magnified."

And indeed, speaking of his blasphemous mind, he added that he shall speak marvelous things against the God of gods and shall prosper until the indignation be accomplished, showing that not from his own will but because of the wrath of God against the Jews, thus that man prevailed and was strong.

Having said then, through many other things, how many evils he will work upon Egypt and Palestine, and how he will return and at whose call and what cause compelling, he then speaks of the change of these affairs, and that the Jews, having paid the penalty through all these things, will obtain some help, an angel having been sent to their aid; for he says, "at that time shall Michael stand up, the great prince who stands for the children of your people.

And there shall be a time of trouble, such as never was since there was a nation on the earth even to that time.

And at that time a great people shall be saved, who is written in the book," 1.405 that is, those who are worthy of salvation.

But the matter in question has not yet been demonstrated even now.

What is this then? That he also set times in these evils, just as there four hundred years and after these, seventy.

Let us see, therefore, here also if he sets any time.

Where indeed can this be found? In the things to be said after this.

For since he heard of the many and great evils, the burning of the city, the overthrow of the law, the captivity, he then desires to learn their end, and if there will be any change of these calamities.

And asking, he spoke thus: "Lord, what shall be the end of these things? And he said, Go your way, Daniel, for the words are closed up until the time of the end," hinting at the obscurity of what was said.

Then also the reason for the permission of the evils: "until many be chosen, and made white, and purified; and the lawless shall do lawlessly, and none of the wicked shall understand, but the wise shall understand."

Then foretelling the time how long the terrible things will hold them, he says, "from the time of the alteration of the continual sacrifice."

And the continual sacrifice was called the daily sacrifice; for "continual" is that which is frequent and continuous.

For it was the custom for the Jews both in the morning and in the evening and on each day to sacrifice to God, and for this reason that sacrifice was called the continual sacrifice.

"And he altered it." For this reason the angel says that from the time of the alteration of the continual sacrifice, that is, from the abolishment of the sacrifice, there are 1290 days, which is three and a half years.

Then, showing that there will be both a release from and a deliverance from these evils, he added, "Blessed 1.406 is he who waits and comes to the #22ατλεʹ days," adding 45 to the #22ασλʹ, since in a month and a half the engagement happened to take place, in which there was a clear victory and a complete deliverance from the impending evils.

For by saying, "Blessed is he who waits and comes to the #22ατλεʹ days," he indicated the deliverance.

And he did not simply say, "he who comes."

For since many of those who acted impiously saw the change, he does not bless them, but those who endured in the times of evils and did not betray piety and obtained the relief.

Could anything be clearer than these things? It is time then to come to the matter in question, both the present captivity and slavery, on account of which we have moved all these things.

That, therefore, the three captivities were foretold, the one having 400 years, the other 70, and the other three and a half, has been sufficiently demonstrated to us from this, as far as possible.

Come then, let us speak also about this one.

For that also concerning the final, fourth, and last one this prophet prophesied, we shall present Josephus himself as a witness, the one who thinks their thoughts.

For since he spoke about the captivity of Antiochus and brought forth the prophet as a witness, he adds also concerning this one, and

148

συνεχώρησεν ὥστε αὐτοὺς ἐκκαθᾶραι καὶ δεῖξαι τοὺς ἐν αὐτοῖς δοκίμους. εἶτα διηγούμενος αὐτοῦ ἐκείνου τὴν δύναμιν ἔφη "καὶ ποιήσει κατὰ τὸ θέλημα αὐτοῦ, καὶ ὑψωθήσεται καὶ μεγαλυνθήσεται." καὶ μέντοι καὶ τὴν βλάσφημον αὐτοῦ γνώμην λέγων προσέθηκεν ὅτι ἐπὶ τὸν θεὸν τῶν θεῶν λαλήσει ὑπέρογκα καὶ κατευθυνεῖ μέχρι συντελεσθῆναι τὴν ὀργήν, δεικνὺς ὅτι οὐκ ἀπὸ τῆς οἰκείας γνώμης ἀλλὰ διὰ τὴν ὀργὴν τοῦ θεοῦ τὴν κατὰ τῶν Ἰουδαίων οὕτως ἐκεῖνος ἐκράτει καὶ ἴσχυεν. εἰπὼν οὖν δι' ἑτέρων πλειόνων ὅσα κακὰ ἐργάσεται τὴν Αἴγυπτον καὶ τὴν Πα λαιστίνην, καὶ πῶς ἐπανήξει καὶ τίνος καλοῦντος καὶ ποίας αἰτίας καταναγκαζούσης, λέγει λοιπὸν καὶ τὴν μεταβολὴν τῶν πραγμά των τούτων, καὶ ὅτι δίκην δόντες οἱ Ἰουδαῖοι διὰ τούτων ἁπάν των τεύξονταί τινος ἀντιλήψεως, ἀγγέλου πεμφθέντος εἰς τὴν ἐκείνων βοήθειαν· "ἐν τῷ καιρῷ" γάρ φησιν "ἐκείνῳ ἀναστήσε ται Μιχαὴλ ὁ μέγας ἄρχων, ὁ ἐφεστηκὼς ἐπὶ τοὺς υἱοὺς τοῦ λαοῦ σου. καὶ ἔσται καιρὸς θλίψεως οἷος οὐ γέγονεν ἀφ' οὗ γεγένηται ἔθνος ἐπὶ τῆς γῆς καὶ ἕως τοῦ καιροῦ ἐκείνου. καὶ ἐν τῷ καιρῷ ἐκείνῳ σωθήσεται λαὸς πολὺς ὁ γεγραμμένος ἐν τῇ βίβλῳ," 1.405 τουτέστιν οἱ σωτηρίας ὄντες ἄξιοι. ἀλλὰ τὸ ζητούμενον οὔπω καὶ νῦν ἀποδέδεικται. τί δὴ τοῦτό ἐστιν; ὅτι καὶ χρόνους ὥρισεν ἐν τοῖς κακοῖς τούτοις, ὥσπερ ἐκεῖ ἔτη τετρακόσια καὶ μετὰ ταῦτα ἑβδομήκοντα. ἴδωμεν τοίνυν καὶ ἐνταῦθα εἴ τινα χρόνον ὁρίζει. ποῦ δὴ τοῦτο ἔστιν εὑρεῖν; ἐν τοῖς μετὰ ταῦτα λεχθησομένοις. ἐπειδὴ γὰρ τὰ πολλὰ καὶ μεγάλα ἤκουσε κακά, τὸν ἐμπρησμὸν τῆς πόλεως, τὴν ἀνατροπὴν τοῦ νόμου, τὴν αἰχμαλωσίαν, ἐπι θυμεῖ λοιπὸν τὸ τέλος αὐτῶν μαθεῖν, καὶ εἴ τις ἔσται τῶν συμ φορῶν τούτων μεταβολή. καὶ διερωτῶν ἔλεγεν οὕτως "κύριε, τί τὰ ἔσχατα τούτων; καὶ εἶπε· δεῦρο ∆ανιήλ, ὅτι ἐμπεφραγμένοι εἰσὶν οἱ λόγοι ἕως καιροῦ πέρας," τὸ ἀσαφὲς τῶν εἰρημένων αἰ νιττόμενος. εἶτα καὶ τὴν αἰτίαν τῆς συγχωρήσεως τῶν κακῶν· "ἕως ἂν ἐκλεγῶσι καὶ ἐκλευκανθῶσι καὶ πυρωθῶσι πολλοί, καὶ ἀνομήσουσιν ἄνομοι, καὶ οὐ συνήσουσι πάντες ἀσεβεῖς, καὶ νοή μονες νοήσωσιν." εἶτα τὸν καιρὸν προλέγων ὅσον μέλλει κατέχειν αὐτοὺς τὰ δεινά, φησίν "ἀπὸ καιροῦ παραλλάξεως ἐνδελεχισμοῦ." ἐνδελεχισμὸς δὲ ἐκαλεῖτο ἡ καθημερινὴ θυσία· τὸ γὰρ ἐνδελεχὲς τὸ πυκνὸν καὶ συνεχές ἐστιν. ἔθος γὰρ ἦν τοῖς Ἰουδαίοις καὶ ἐν πρωῒ καὶ ἐν ἑσπέρᾳ καὶ καθ' ἑκάστην ἡμέραν τῷ θεῷ θύειν, καὶ διὰ τοῦτο ἡ θυσία ἐκείνη ἐνδελεχισμὸς ἐλέγετο. "καὶ ἤλλαξε." διὰ τοῦτό φησιν ὁ ἄγγελος ὅτι ἀπὸ καιροῦ τῆς ἀλλάξεως τοῦ ἐν δελεχισμοῦ, τουτέστιν ἀπὸ τῆς καταλύσεως τῆς θυσίας, εἰσὶ δὲ ἡμέραι αςʹ, ὅπερ ἐστὶν ἔτη τρία ἥμισυ. εἶτα δηλῶν ὅτι καὶ λύσις τῶν κακῶν τούτων ἔσται καὶ ἀπαλλαγή, ἐπήγαγε "μακά 1.406 ριος ὁ ὑπομείνας καὶ φθάσας εἰς ἡμέρας #22ατλεʹ," ταῖς #22ασλʹ μεʹ προθείς, ἐπειδὴ ἐν μηνὶ καὶ ἥμισυ μηνὸς τὴν συμβολὴν συνέβη γενέσθαι, ἐν ᾗ γέγονε καθαρὰ ἡ νίκη καὶ ἡ παντελὴς τῶν ἐπικει μένων κακῶν ἀπαλλαγή. εἰπὼν γάρ "μακάριος ὁ ὑπομείνας καὶ φθάσας εἰς ἡμέρας #22ατλεʹ" τὴν ἀπαλλαγὴν ἐδήλωσε. καὶ οὐχ ἁπλῶς εἶπεν "ὁ φθάσας." ἐπειδὴ γὰρ πολλοὶ τῶν ἀσεβησάντων εἶδον τὴν μεταβολήν, οὐκ ἐκείνους μακαρίζει, ἀλλὰ τοὺς ἐν τοῖς καιροῖς τῶν κακῶν ὑπομείναντας καὶ μὴ προδόντας τὴν εὐσέ βειαν καὶ τῆς ἀνέσεως τυχόντας. ἆρά τι τούτων σαφέστερον γένοιτ' ἄν; Ὥρα δὴ λοιπὸν ἐπὶ τὸ ζητούμενον ἐλθεῖν καὶ τὴν παροῦσαν αἰχμαλωσίαν καὶ δουλείαν, δι' ἣν καὶ πάντα κεκινήκαμεν ταῦτα. ὅτι μὲν οὖν αἱ τρεῖς προανηγορεύθησαν αἰχμαλωσίαι, ἡ μὲν ἔτη ἔχουσα υʹ, ἡ δὲ οʹ, ἡ δὲ τρία ἥμισυ, ἱκανῶς ἐντεῦθεν ἡμῖν, ὡς οἷόν τε, ἀποδέδεικται. φέρε δὴ λοιπὸν καὶ περὶ ταύτης εἴπωμεν. ὅτι γὰρ καὶ περὶ τῆς ἐσχάτης τετάρτης καὶ τελευταίας προανεφώ νησεν ὁ προφήτης οὗτος, αὐτὸν παρέξομεν τὸν Ἰώσηπον μάρτυρα, τὸν τὰ ἐκείνων φρονοῦντα. ἐπειδὴ γὰρ εἶπε τὰ περὶ τῆς Ἀντώχου αἰχμαλωσίας καὶ μάρτυρα τὸν προφήτην παρήγαγεν, ἐπάγει καὶ περὶ ταύτης, καὶ