187

him. Of the fruit of thy womb will I set upon thy throne,” 7.2.30 and he adds to these, saying: “There will I make a horn for David to bud, I have prepared a lamp for my Christ; I will clothe his enemies with shame, but upon him shall my holiness flourish.” 7.2.31 The present prophecy also agrees with the one before it, signifying that the proclaimed God would come forth from Bethlehem. David, therefore, at first not knowing this very thing, prays to learn it from God, then having prayed he is instructed. 7.2.32 For since he had received the oracle in the psalm that said to him, “Of the fruit of thy womb will I set upon thy throne,” and again, “There will I make a horn for David to bud, I have prepared a lamp for my Christ,” he reasonably falls down before God, and falling to the ground he beseeches, and persisting further in prayer he swears to God that he will not first enter “into the tabernacle of his house,” nor give “sleep to his eyes” and “slumber to his eyelids,” nor go up “to the bed of his couch,” but would lie on the ground worshipping and beseeching, until he should find “a place for the Lord, and a tabernacle for the God of Jacob,” that is, until he should learn, the Lord having revealed to him, the birth of the Christ. 7.2.33 But having prayed and longed to know such things, he not long after beholds by the divine spirit the things that were to be, God having promised his own that he would hearken while they were yet speaking. 7.2.34 Having been heard, then, he is deemed worthy of an oracle proclaiming Bethlehem to him, as the place of the Lord and the tabernacle of the God of Jacob would be established there. Therefore, when the divine spirit had prophesied these things in him, he, having heard it, adds: “Behold, we heard of it in Ephrathah.” - 7.2.35 Now Ephrathah is the same as Bethlehem, as is clear from Genesis, where it is said concerning Rachel, that they buried her in the hippodrome “of Ephrathah, which is Bethlehem.” 7.2.36 And the prophecy before this also contained: “And you, Bethlehem, house of Ephrathah.” -”Behold,” he says, “we heard of it,” clearly meaning the birth of Christ and the tabernacling of the God of Jacob. And what could be the tabernacle of the God of Jacob but the body of Christ which was born in the place of Bethlehem, in which, as in a tabernacle, the divinity of the only-begotten dwelt? And it is not said to be simply the tabernacle of God, but with the addition “of the God of Jacob,” because it was none other who dwelt in it than the God who appeared to Jacob in the form and shape of a man, on whose account he was also deemed worthy of the name Israel, being called “one who sees God,” for this is what the name is interpreted to mean; and we have established in the first parts of the present work that the one who appeared to Jacob was none other than the Word of God. 7.2.37 Therefore, the place in Bethlehem was shown to David, when he had prayed and longed for the place and the tabernacle of the Lord and God of Jacob. Wherefore, after saying, “Behold, we heard of it in Ephrathah,” he adds, saying: “Let us worship at the place where his feet stood.” 7.2.38 Clearly therefore, in these passages also, it was prophesied that in Ephrathah, which is Bethlehem, the Lord and God of Jacob himself would establish for himself a place and a tabernacle, in harmony with the prophecy of Micah which said: “And you, Bethlehem, house of Ephrathah, out of you shall come forth for me a ruler, and his goings forth are from of old, from the days of eternity”; which things we have just examined and shown to refer to no other than our Savior and Lord Jesus, the Christ of God, born in Bethlehem in accordance with the predictions. 7.2.39 For surely no one could point to another who came forth gloriously from this place after the times of the prophecy; for neither king nor prophet nor any other of the God-beloved among the Hebrews is shown to be both “of the seed of David” and born there, but only our Savior and Lord, the Christ of God. 7.2.40 It is time therefore to confess that it is he and no other who is prophesied in these passages,

187

αὐτόν. ἐκ καρποῦ τῆς κοιλίας σου θήσομαι ἐπὶ τὸν θρόνον σου», 7.2.30 καὶ ἐπιφέρει τούτοις λέγων· «ἐκεῖ ἐξανατελῶ κέρας τῷ ∆αβίδ, ἡτοίμασα λύχνον τῷ χριστῷ μου· τοὺς ἐχθροὺς αὐτοῦ ἐνδύσω αἰσχύνην, ἐπὶ δὲ αὐτὸν ἐξανθήσει τὸ ἁγίασμά μου». 7.2.31 Συνᾴδει τῇ πρὸ ταύτης καὶ ἡ παροῦσα προφητεία, ἐκ Βηθλεὲμ τὸν προκηρυττόμενον θεὸν προελεύσεσθαι σημαίνουσα. τοῦτο δ' οὖν αὐτὸ καὶ ὁ ∆αβὶδ πρότερον μὲν ἀγνοῶν εὔχεται παρὰ τοῦ θεοῦ μαθεῖν, εἶτ' εὐξάμενος παιδεύεται. 7.2.32 ἐπειδὴ γὰρ τετύχηκε χρησμοῦ τοῦ πρὸς αὐτὸν ἐν τῷ ψαλμῷ φήσαντος «ἐκ καρποῦ τῆς κοιλίας σου θήσομαι ἐπὶ τὸν θρόνον σου», καὶ αὖθις «ἐκεῖ ἐξανατελῶ κέρας τῷ ∆αβίδ, ἡτοίμασα λύχνον τῷ χριστῷ μου», εἰκότως προσπίπτει τῷ θεῷ, καὶ προσπεσὼν ἐπ' ἐδάφους ποτνιᾶται, ἐπὶ πλέον δὲ τῇ προσευχῇ προσκαρτερῶν ὄμνυσιν τῷ θεῷ, μὴ πρότερον εἰσελεύσεσθαι «εἰς σκήνωμα οἴκου» αὐτοῦ, μηδὲ δώσειν «τοῖς ὀφθαλμοῖς» αὐτοῦ «ὕπνον» καὶ «τοῖς βλεφάροις» αὐτοῦ «νυσταγμόν», μηδὲ ἀναβήσεσθαι «ἐπὶ κλίνης στρωμνῆς» αὐτοῦ, κεῖσθαι δὲ χαμαὶ προσκυνοῦντα καὶ ποτνιώμενον, ἔστ' ἂν εὕρῃ «τόπον τῷ κυρίῳ, καὶ σκήνωμα τῷ θεῷ Ἰακώβ», τοῦτ' ἔστιν ἕως ἂν μάθῃ, τοῦ κυρίου φανερώσαντος αὐτῷ, τὴν γένεσιν τοῦ Χριστοῦ. 7.2.33 εὐξάμενος δὲ καὶ τοιαῦτα γνῶναι ποθήσας, οὐκ εἰς μακρὸν τῷ θείῳ πνεύματι τὰ μέλλοντα ἔσεσθαι θεωρεῖ, τοῦ θεοῦ τοῖς οἰκείοις ἐπαγγειλαμένου ἔτι λαλούντων ἐπακούσεσθαι. 7.2.34 ἐπακουσθεὶς δῆτα καταξιοῦται χρησμοῦ τὴν Βηθλεὲμ ἐπιφωνοῦντος αὐτῷ, ὡς ἂν ἐνθάδε τοῦ τόπου τοῦ κυρίου καὶ τοῦ σκηνώματος τοῦ θεοῦ Ἰακὼβ συστησομένου. ταῦτα τοιγαροῦν τοῦ θείου πνεύματος ἐν αὐτῷ θεσπίσαντος, αὐτὸς αὐτοῦ ἐπακούσας ἐπιλέγει· «ἰδοὺ ἠκούσαμεν αὐτὴν ἐν Ἐφραθά». - 7.2.35 Ἐφραθὰ δὲ ἡ αὐτή ἐστιν τῇ Βηθλεέμ, ὡς δῆλόν ἐστιν ἀπὸ τῆς. Γενέσεως, ἔνθα περὶ τῆς Ῥαχὴλ εἴρηται, ὅτι ἔθαψαν αὐτὴν ἐν τῷ ἱπποδρόμῳ «Ἐφραθά, αὕτη ἐστὶ Βηθλεέμ». 7.2.36 καὶ ἡ πρὸ ταύτης δὲ περιεῖχεν προφητεία· «καὶ σὺ Βηθλεὲμ οἶκος τοῦ Ἐφραθά». -»ἰδού», φησίν, «ἠκούσαμεν αὐτήν», δῆλον δ' ὅτι τὴν τοῦ Χριστοῦ γένεσιν καὶ τὴν τοῦ θεοῦ Ἰακὼβ κατασκήνωσιν. ποῖον δ' ἂν εἴη τὸ σκήνωμα τοῦ θεοῦ Ἰακὼβ ἢ τὸ σῶμα τοῦ Χριστοῦ τὸ ἐν τῷ τόπῳ τῆς Βηθλεὲμ γεγεννημένον, ἐν ᾧ ὡς ἐν σκηνώματι ἡ θεότης τοῦ μονογενοῦς κατεσκήνωσεν; οὐχ ἁπλῶς δὲ θεοῦ, ἀλλὰ μετὰ προσθήκης τῆς «τοῦ θεοῦ Ἰακὼβ» λέγεται τὸ σκήνωμα εἶναι, διὰ τὸ μὴ ἄλλον εἶναι τὸ σκηνῶσαν ἐν αὐτῷ ἢ τὸν τῷ Ἰακὼβ ἐν ἀνθρώπου εἴδει καὶ σχήματι ὀφθέντα θεόν, δι' ὃν καὶ τῆς ἐπὶ τῷ Ἰσραὴλ προσωνυμίας ἠξιώθη, «ὁρῶν θεὸν» τοῦτο γὰρ ἑρμηνεύεται τὸ ὄνομα προσαγορευθείς· οὐκ ἄλλον δὲ ὄντα τοῦ θεοῦ λόγου τὸν τῷ Ἰακὼβ ὀφθέντα ἐν τοῖς πρώτοις τῆς μετὰ χεῖρας ὑποθέσεως παρε στήσαμεν. 7.2.37 ἐδείχθη τοιγαροῦν τῷ ∆αβίδ, εὐξαμένῳ καὶ ποθήσαντι τοῦ κυρίου καὶ θεοῦ Ἰακὼβ τὸν τόπον καὶ τὸ σκήνωμα, ὁ ἐπὶ τῆς Βηθλεὲμ τόπος. διόπερ εἰπὼν «ἰδοὺ ἠκούσαμεν αὐτὴν ἐν Ἐφραθά», ἐπιφέρει λέγων· «προσκυνήσωμεν εἰς τὸν τόπον, οὗ ἔστησαν οἱ πόδες αὐτοῦ». 7.2.38 σαφῶς τοιγαροῦν καὶ ἐν τούτοις ἐν τῇ Ἐφραθά, ἥτις ἐστὶν ἡ Βηθλεέμ, αὐτὸς ὁ κύριος καὶ θεὸς Ἰακὼβ τόπον ἑαυτῷ καὶ σκήνωμα συστήσεσθαι προεφητεύετο, ὁμοφώνως τῇ τοῦ Μιχαίου προφητείᾳ φησάσῃ· «καὶ σύ, Βηθλεὲμ οἶκος τοῦ Ἐφραθά, ἐκ σοῦ μοι ἐξελεύσεται ἡγούμενος, καὶ αἱ ἔξοδοι αὐτοῦ ἀπ' ἀρχῆς ἐξ ἡμερῶν αἰῶνος»· ἅπερ ἀρτίως ἐξετάσαντες ἐδείκνυμεν ἀναφέρεσθαι οὐδ' ἐφ' ἕτερον ἢ ἐπὶ μόνον τὸν σωτῆρα καὶ κύριον ἡμῶν Ἰησοῦν τὸν Χριστὸν τοῦ θεοῦ, ἐν Βηθλεὲμ ταῖς προρρήσεσιν ἀκολούθως γεγεννημένον. 7.2.39 οὐκ ἂν γοῦν ἄλλον τις ἐπιδείξειεν ἐκ ταύτης ἐνδόξως μετὰ τοὺς τῆς προφητείας χρόνους προελθόντα· οὔτε γὰρ βασιλεὺς οὔτε προφήτης οὐδ' ἕτερός τις τῶν παρ' Ἑβραίοις θεοφιλῶν ἢ μόνος ὁ σωτὴρ καὶ κύριος ἡμῶν ὁ Χριστὸς τοῦ θεοῦ ὁμοῦ καὶ «ἐκ σπέρματος ∆αβὶδ» καὶ αὐτόθι γεγεννημένος ἀποδείκνυται. 7.2.40 Ὥρα τοιγαροῦν αὐτὸν ἐκεῖνον εἶναι καὶ οὐδὲ ἄλλον τὸν καὶ ἐν τούτοις προφητευόμενον ὁμολογεῖν,