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after me there will not be. For since there is one beginning, there would be one divinity, with which the theology of his only-begotten is also included. And the Word, persisting in the same teaching, adds: I am God, and there is no savior besides me. And he says these things, having said before through the preceding words: And I am the Lord God, and the child whom I have chosen, so as not to err, even in the present case, connecting the statement about the child whom he chose with the preceding theology: I am God, and there is no savior besides me, and the child whom I have chosen; for as he himself was called a witness, and the child whom he chose, so also would this one be a saving God, and the child whom he chose. But if he says: there is no savior besides me, not forbidding the child whom he chose to be the savior, he would say this: The present prophet at least knows him as "savior," in the passages where he says: "And the Lord will send them a savior, who will save them; judging he will save them." But even if the child whom I have chosen, he says, saves as a "savior," yet he does not save apart from me, but with my consent and by my will; for without my counsel and apart from me there is no one who saves. And these things, he says, I myself, God, announced beforehand through my prophets, and in accordance with my own words I saved those worthy of salvation through my child. And instead of "I reproached," all the other interpreters have said "and I made heard." For beforehand I made these things heard, being the only God among you, there being no other who was foreign or estranged. And you are witnesses of these things, that there was no stranger nor foreigner among you when he delivered these oracles through my prophets. And I, the Lord God, was a witness, and the child whom I have chosen. Therefore, when he delivered these oracles, he was with him; he was from him and with him; through the prophets the child whom he chose was testified to. And in these words the Word clearly shows that the Christ pre-existed the incarnation and was with the Father, but from the beginning, he says, having determined these things, I establish my own counsel, and there is no one who is able to lead it astray or divert it; for when "there is not nor does there exist another God," it is clear that there will be no one able to rescue from my hands nor to overturn the things ordained by me. And these things have been said in the person of Jacob and of Israel, but they refer to the apostolic choir. And the word also extends to all those from the Jewish race who have accepted the Christ of God. 2.25 The meaning of the preceding is as follows: Long ago, providing my benefactions to the Jewish nation, both educating and chastening them, I handed them over to the Babylonians, but not for long I set them free from the captivity into Babylon, since I am God and Lord of all. And the Babylonians themselves, who had invaded Jerusalem, I made desolate, so that even the Chaldeans among them resorted to flight, and some of them were taken as prisoners, cast into ships on their sea by certain other enemy powers stronger than they. These things I, God, accomplished, showing my kingdom to men. And instead of: the one who appointed Israel your king, Symmachus says: I am the Lord, your Holy One, the creator of Israel, your king. But these things I accomplished against the Babylonians and the Chaldeans, and prophetically, God related these things, not yet having happened but being about to happen, as if they had already been accomplished by him, but also even before, in the most ancient times, he says, showing my own divinity to those in Egypt, I led my own people through the Red Sea, having made a passage in mighty water and a dry path through the sea itself, when I also "cast the chariots of Pharaoh and his power into the sea," so that they slept, "sinking into the deep," and rose no more, who, having been long before like a blazing fire, became as extinguished flax. These things, therefore, I accomplished in the long-ago remembered times, and these were the
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μετ' ἐμὲ οὐκ ἔσται. μιᾶς γὰρ οὔσης ἀρχῆς μία εἴη ἂν θεότης, ᾗ συμπαραλαμβάνεται καὶ ἡ τοῦ μονογενοῦς αὐτοῦ θεολογία. ἐπιμένων δὲ ὁ λόγος τῇ αὐτῇ διδασκαλίᾳ ἐπιφέρει· ἐγὼ θεός, καὶ οὐκ ἔστι πάρεξ ἐμοῦ σῴζων. ταῦτα δὲ φάσκει προειπὼν διὰ τῶν ἔμπροσθεν τό· κἀγὼ κύριος ὁ θεὸς καὶ ὁ παῖς, ὃν ἐξελεξάμην, ὡς ἂν μὴ ἁμαρτεῖν καὶ ἐπὶ τοῦ παρόντος τὸν τῇ προκειμένῃ θεολογίᾳ συνάπτοντα τὸν περὶ τοῦ παιδός, ὃν ἐξελέξατο, λόγον· ἐγὼ θεός, καὶ οὐκ ἔστι πάρεξ ἐμοῦ σῴζων, καὶ ὁ παῖς, ὃν ἐξελεξάμην· ὡς γὰρ μάρτυς αὐτὸς ἐλέγετο, καὶ ὁ παῖς, ὃν ἐξελέξατο, οὕτως καὶ θεὸς σῴζων εἴη ἂν οὗτος, καὶ ὁ παῖς, ὃν ἐξελέξατο. ἐὰν δὲ λέγῃ· πάρεξ ἐμοῦ σῴζων οὐκ ἔστιν, οὐκ ἀπαγορεύων τὸν σωτῆρα εἶναι τὸν παῖδα, ὃν ἐξελέξατο, τοῦτ' ἂν εἴποι· οἶδε γοῦν αὐτὸν «σωτῆρα» ὁ παρὼν προφήτης, ἐν οἷς φησι· «καὶ ἀποστελεῖ αὐτοῖς κύριος σωτῆρα, ὃς σώσει αὐτούς, κρίνων σώσει αὐτούς». ἀλλ' εἰ καὶ σῴζει οἷα «σωτὴρ» ὁ παῖς, ὃν ἐξελεξάμην φησίν, ἀλλ' οὐ πάρεξ ἐμοῦ σῴζει, μετ' ἐμῆς δὲ γνώμης καὶ ἐξ ἐμοῦ νεύματος· δίχα γὰρ τῆς ἐμῆς βουλῆς καὶ πάρεξ ἐμοῦ οὐκ ἔστι τις σῴζων. Καὶ ταῦτα δέ φησιν ἐγὼ αὐτὸς ὁ θεὸς προαπήγγειλα διὰ τῶν ἐμῶν προφητῶν, ἀκολούθως τε τοῖς ἐμαυτοῦ λόγοις ἔσωσα τοὺς ἀξίους σωτηρίας διὰ τοῦ ἐμοῦ παιδός. ἀντὶ δὲ τοῦ ὠνείδισα οἱ λοιποὶ ἑρμηνευταὶ πάντες καὶ ἠκούτισα εἰρήκασι. προλαβὼν γὰρ ταῦτα ἀκουστὰ ἐποίησα μόνος ὢν ἐν ὑμῖν θεὸς μὴ ὄντος τινὸς ἀλλοτρίου μηδὲ ἀπεξενωμένου. καὶ τούτων δὲ ὑμεῖς μάρτυρες, ὡς οὐδεὶς ἦν ξένος οὐδὲ ἀλλότριος ἐν ὑμῖν, ὅτε ταῦτα ἐθέσπιζεν διὰ τῶν ἐμῶν προφητῶν. μάρτυς δὲ ἤμην κἀγὼ κύριος ὁ θεὸς καὶ ὁ παῖς, ὃν ἐξελεξάμην. οὐκοῦν ὅτε ταῦτα ἐθέσπιζε συνῆν αὐτῷ, ἦν ἐξ ἐκείνου καὶ σὺν αὐτῷ ταῦτα, διὰ τῶν προφητῶν ἐμαρτύρετο ὁ παῖς, ὃν ἐξελέξατο. ∆ιαρρήδην δ' ἐν τούτοις ὁ λόγος προϋπάρχειν τῆς ἐνανθρωπήσεως τὸν Χριστὸν καὶ τῷ πατρὶ συνεῖναι παρίστησιν, ἀλλ' ἀπ' ἀρχῆς ταῦτά φησιν ὁρίσας ἵστημι τὴν ἐμαυτοῦ βουλήν, καὶ οὐκ ἔστιν ὁ δυνάμενος αὐτὴν παραγαγεῖν ἢ παρατρέψαι· ὅτε γὰρ «μή ἐστι μηδ' ὑπάρχει ἕτερος θεός», δῆλον ὡς οὐκ ἔσται ὁ δυνάμενος ἐκ τῶν χειρῶν μου ἐξαιρεῖσθαι οὐδὲ ἀνατρέψαι τὰ ὑπ' ἐμοῦ ὡρισμένα. ταῦτα δὲ λέλεκται μὲν εἰς πρόσωπον τοῦ Ἰακὼβ καὶ τοῦ Ἰσραήλ, ἀναφέρεται δὲ ἐπὶ τὸν χορὸν τὸν ἀποστολικόν. διήκει δὲ ὁ λόγος καὶ ἐπὶ πάντας τοὺς ἀπὸ τοῦ Ἰουδαίων γένους τὸν Χριστὸν τοῦ θεοῦ παραδεδεγμένους. 2.25 Ὁ νοῦς τῶν προκειμένων τοιοῦτός ἐστι· πάλαι μὲν τὰς ἐμὰς παρέχων εὐεργεσίας τῷ Ἰουδαίων ἔθνει, παιδεύων μὲν αὐτοὺς καὶ σωφρονίζων Βαβυλωνίοις παρέδωκα, οὐκ εἰς μακρὸν δὲ ἐλευθέρους ἀνῆκα τῆς εἰς Βαβυλῶνα αἰχμαλωσίας, ἅτε θεὸς ὢν καὶ κύριος τῶν ὅλων. αὐτούς τε Βαβυλωνίους τοὺς ἐπιβάντας τῇ Ἰερουσαλὴμ ἀναστάτους ἐποίησα ὡς καὶ φυγῇ χρήσασθαι τοὺς παρ' αὐτοῖς Χαλδαίους, δεσμίους τε ἀχθῆναί τινας αὐτῶν πλοίοις ἐμβληθέντας ἐν τῇ παρ' αὐτοῖς θαλάσσῃ ὑφ' ἑτέρων τινῶν πολεμίων δυνάμεων κραταιοτέρων αὐτῶν. ταῦτα ἐγὼ διεπραξάμην ὁ θεὸς δεικνὺς τὴν ἐμὴν βασιλείαν ἀνθρώποις. ἀντὶ δὲ τοῦ· ὁ καταδείξας Ἰσραὴλ βασιλέα ὑμῶν, ὁ Σύμμαχος· ἐγώ φησι κύριος ὁ ἅγιος ὑμῶν, κτίστης Ἰσραὴλ βασιλεὺς ὑμῶν. ἀλλὰ ταῦτα μὲν ἐπὶ τῶν Βαβυλωνίων καὶ τῶν Χαλδαίων διεπραξάμην, προφητικῶς δὲ ταῦτα μήπω γενόμενα μέλλοντα δὲ ἔσεσθαι ὡς ἂν ἤδη πεπραγμένα παρ' αὐτῷ ὁ θεὸς διῆλθεν, ἀλλὰ καὶ ἔτι πρότερον ἐν τοῖς παλαιοτάτοις χρόνοις φησὶ τὴν ἐμαυτοῦ θεότητα τοῖς ἐν Αἰγύπτῳ δεικνὺς διήγαγον τὸν ἐμαυτοῦ λαὸν διὰ τῆς ἐρυθρᾶς θαλάσσης ποιήσας δίοδον ἐν ὕδατι ἰσχυρῷ καὶ τρίβον ξηρὰν δι' αὐτῆς τῆς θαλάσσης, ὅτε καὶ «ἅρματα Φαραὼ καὶ τὴν δύναμιν αὐτοῦ ἔρριψα εἰς θάλασσαν» ὡς κοιμηθῆναι αὐτοὺς «δύντας κατὰ τοῦ βυθοῦ» καὶ μηκέτ' ἀναστῆναι, οἵτινες ἐοικότες πάλαι πρότερον φλέγοντι πυρὶ γεγόνασιν ὡς λίνον ἐσβεσμένον. ταῦτα μὲν οὖν εἰργασάμην ἐν τοῖς πρόπαλαι μνημονευομένοις χρόνοις, καὶ ταῦτ' ἦν τὰ