199
was enslaved; but nevertheless he promises that Egypt would rest from its labor, alluding through it to the whole race of idolaters. And the merchandise of the Ethiopians, he says, and the tall men of the Sabeans will pass over to you, the prophesied king, and they will be your slaves, by which he seems to signify certain barbaric and uncivilized nations living in the outermost parts of the earth, which indeed he prophesies will serve Christ. Therefore he adds: they will follow behind you bound with manacles and will worship you. Saba is an Ethiopian nation, from where the "queen of Sheba" came "to hear the wisdom of Solomon." But also to these he promises a good end: to worship the one prophesied and to pray in him, since God was in him, and because of the God dwelling in him, he himself was God. But those who worshiped him did not know this long ago, but nevertheless having come to know, they received great benefits. And he was also the savior of Israel, for which reason the name Jesus is translated as savior. When, therefore, the souls of idolaters and of uncivilized and barbaric men, having been enslaved to the Christ of God, may worship him, and they did worship him, knowing that he was God on account of the one dwelling in him. At that time all who oppose him will be ashamed and confounded and will go away in shame. But how all those who at various times opposed Christ were ashamed and confounded, both those of the circumcision and all those of the nations who instigated persecutions against his church, the testimony through works demonstrates more than any word. But instead of: For God is in you, and there is no God besides you, according to Theodotion it is this way: Yet in you is the mighty one, and there is no other besides him; for there is no other God dwelling in you. Again, instead of: for you are God, and we did not know, Symmachus says: truly you are a hidden God, and Aquila: you are therefore a mighty one hiding himself, and Theodotion: for this reason you are a mighty hidden one, having shown the secret of the theology of Christ by naming him a hidden God. Next to these he adds: Be renewed to me, O islands. Israel is saved by the Lord with an everlasting salvation; they will not be ashamed nor confounded forever and ever. And these things are consistently connected concerning the apostles and disciples and evangelists of our Savior; for they were the Israel being saved, and through them the islands often mentioned before were renewed. And these were the churches of God, as if surrounded by the sea by the evil of this life. He says, therefore, that these are renewed and return to him through the calling of his apostles, who were Israel being saved by the Lord with an everlasting salvation, to whom also the words, they will not be ashamed nor confounded forever and ever, clearly suited, as the work accomplished by them throughout the whole world through the churches of God testifies. 2.29 But observe for me through these things how greatly the human race has been honored by God the maker of all things. Wherefore he himself has deemed it worthy of the saving call and of all things promised through the present prophecy; for just as I necessarily established the heaven for the abode of angels and holy spirits, both for the constitution and for the adornment of the universe, in the same way I did not make the element of the earth for idleness nor for uselessness; but I made it a dwelling place and abode for those who live rationally in it, who were able to both know God and to live piously, since they were made "in the image of God." And whatever "angels, ministers of God," are in heaven, this on earth are men who are a care to God. Since, therefore, the human race has been deemed worthy by me of so much honor that for their sake the entire earth was established, it is fitting that the evangelical proclamation manifestly to all
199
καταδεδούλωτο· πλὴν ἀλλ' ὅμως διαναπαύεσθαι τοῦ κόπου τὴν Αἴγυπτον ἐπαγγέλλεται δι' αὐτῆς πᾶν τὸ τῶν εἰδωλολατρῶν γένος αἰνιττόμενος. καὶ ἡ ἐμπορία δέ φησιν Αἰθιόπων καὶ οἱ Σαβαεὶμ ἄνδρες ὑψηλοὶ ἐπὶ σὲ τὸν προφητευόμενον βασιλέα διαβήσονται καὶ σοὶ ἔσονται δοῦλοι, δι' ὧν σημαίνειν ἔοικε βάρβαρά τινα καὶ ἀνήμερα καὶ ἐν τοῖς ἐξωτάτω τῆς γῆς οἰκοῦντα ἔθνη, ἃ δὴ δουλεύσειν τῷ Χριστῷ θεσπίζει. διὸ ἐπιλέγει· ὀπίσω σου ἀκολουθήσουσι δεδεμένοι χειροπέδαις καὶ προσκυνήσουσί σοι. Σαβὰ δὲ ἔθνος ἐστὶν Αἰθιοπικόν, ὅθεν «βασίλισσα Σαβὰ» παραγέγονε «τῆς σοφίας Σολομῶντος ἀκουσομένη». ἀλλὰ καὶ τούτοις τέλος ἀγαθὸν ὑπισχνεῖται τὸ προσκυνήσειν τῷ προφητευομένῳ καὶ τὸ προσεύξασθαι ἐν αὐτῷ, ἐπειδήπερ ὁ θεὸς ἐν αὐτῷ ἦν καὶ διὰ τὸν ἐνοικοῦντα ἐν αὐτῷ θεὸν καὶ αὐτὸς θεὸς ἦν. οὐκ ᾔδεισαν δὲ τοῦτο πάλαι πρότερον οἱ προσκυνοῦντες αὐτόν, ὅμως δὲ γνόντες τὰ μεγάλα ὤναντο. αὐτὸς δὲ ἦν καὶ τοῦ Ἰσραὴλ σωτήρ, διὸ καὶ τὸ Ἰησοῦς ὄνομα εἰς τὸν σωτῆρα μεταλαμβάνεται. ἐπειδὰν οὖν αἱ τῶν εἰδωλολατρῶν ψυχαὶ καὶ αἱ τῶν ἀνημέρων καὶ βαρβάρων ἀνδρῶν καταδουλωθεῖσαι τῷ Χριστῷ τοῦ θεοῦ προσκυνήσωσιν αὐτῷ καὶ αὐτῷ προσεκύνησαν γνοῦσαι αὐτὸν εἶναι θεὸν διὰ τὸν ἐν αὐτῷ κατοικοῦντα. τὸ τηνικαῦτα αἰσχυνθήσονται καὶ ἐντραπήσονται πάντες οἱ ἀντικείμενοι αὐτῷ καὶ πορεύσονται ἐν αἰσχύνῃ. ὅπως δὲ κατῃσχύνθησαν καὶ ἐνετράπησαν πάντες οἱ κατὰ καιροὺς ἀντικείμενοι γενόμενοι τῷ Χριστῷ, αὐτοί τε οἱ ἐκ περιτομῆς καὶ τῶν ἐθνῶν πάντες οἱ τοὺς κατὰ τῆς αὐτοῦ ἐκκλησίας διωγμοὺς ἐξάψαντες, παντὸς λόγου μᾶλλον ἡ διὰ τῶν ἔργων μαρτυρία παρίστησιν. ἀντὶ δὲ τοῦ· ὅτι ἐν σοὶ ὁ θεός ἐστι, καὶ οὐκ ἔστι θεὸς πλὴν σοῦ, κατὰ τὸν Θεοδοτίωνα τοῦτον ἔχει τὸν τρόπον· πλὴν ἐν σοὶ ἰσχυρός, καὶ οὐκ ἔστιν ἔτι πλὴν αὐτοῦ· τοῦ γὰρ ἐν σοὶ κατοικοῦντος θεοῦ ἕτερος οὐκ ἔστι. πάλιν ἀντὶ τοῦ· σὺ γὰρ εἶ θεός, καὶ οὐκ ᾔδειμεν, ὁ μὲν Σύμμαχος· ὄντως φησὶ σὺ θεὸς κρυφαῖος, ὁ δὲ Ἀκύλας· ἄρα σὺ ἰσχυρὸς ἀποκρυπτόμενος, ὁ δὲ Θεοδοτίων· διὰ τοῦτο σὺ ἰσχυρὸς κρυφαῖος, τὸ ἀπόρρητον τῆς τοῦ Χριστοῦ θεολογίας διὰ τοῦ κρυφαῖον θεὸν αὐτὸν ὀνομάσαι δηλώσας. τούτοις ἑξῆς ἐπιφέρει· ἐγκαινίζεσθε πρός με, νῆσοι. Ἰσραὴλ σῴζεται ὑπὸ κυρίου σωτηρίαν αἰώνιον· οὐκ αἰσχυνθήσονται οὐδὲ μὴ ἐντραπῶσιν ἕως τοῦ αἰῶνος. καὶ ταῦτα δὲ ἀκολούθως συνῆπται περὶ τῶν ἀποστόλων καὶ μαθητῶν καὶ εὐαγγελιστῶν τοῦ σωτῆρος ἡμῶν· αὐτοὶ γὰρ ἦσαν ὁ σῳζόμενος Ἰσραήλ, καὶ δι' αὐτῶν ἀνεκαινίσθησαν αἱ πολλάκις διὰ τῶν ἔμπροσθεν δηλωθεῖσαι νῆσοι. αὗται δὲ ἦσαν αἱ ἐκκλησίαι τοῦ θεοῦ ὡς ὑπὸ θαλάσσης κυκλούμεναι ὑπὸ τῆς τοῦ βίου κακίας. ταύτας οὖν φησιν ἐγκαινίζεσθαι καὶ πρὸς αὐτὸν ἐπιστρέφειν διὰ τῆς τῶν ἀποστόλων αὐτοῦ κλήσεως, οἵτινες ἦσαν Ἰσραὴλ σῳζόμενος ὑπὸ κυρίου σωτηρίαν αἰώνιον, οἷς καὶ τό· οὐκ αἰσχυνθήσονται οὐδὲ μὴ ἐντραπῶσιν ἕως τοῦ αἰῶνος, ἐναργῶς ἥρμοττε μαρτυροῦντος τοῦ δι' αὐτῶν καθ' ὅλης τῆς οἰκουμένης ἐπιτελεσθέντος ἔργου διὰ τῶν ἐκκλησιῶν τοῦ θεοῦ. 2.29 Θέα δέ μοι διὰ τούτων ὅπως μεγάλως τετίμηται παρὰ τῷ πάντων ποιητῇ θεῷ τὸ τῶν ἀνθρώπων γένος. διὸ καὶ τῆς κλήσεως αὐτὸς τῆς σωτηρίου κατηξίωσε καὶ πάντων τῶν διὰ τῆς παρούσης προφητείας ἐπηγγελμένων· ὥσπερ γὰρ τὸν οὐρανὸν εἰς διατριβὴν ἀγγέλων καὶ πνευμάτων ἁγίων ἀναγκαίως ὑπεστησάμην εἰς σύστασίν τε καὶ εἰς κόσμον τοῦ παντός, τὸν αὐτὸν τρόπον καὶ τὸ τῆς γῆς στοιχεῖον οὐκ εἰς ἀργὸν οὐδὲ εἰς ἄχρηστον κατεσκεύασα· οἰκητήριον δὲ αὐτὸ καὶ διατριβὴν τῶν ἐν αὐτῷ λογικῶς πολιτευομένων εἰργασάμην, οἳ καὶ θεὸν εἰδέναι καὶ θεοσεβῶς βιοῦν οἷοί τε ἦσαν, ἅτε «κατ' εἰκόνα θεοῦ» πεποιημένοι. ὅπερ δ' οὖν ἐν οὐρανῷ «ἄγγελοι λειτουργοὶ θεοῦ», τοῦτ' ἐπὶ γῆς ἄνδρες τῷ θεῷ μεμελημένοι. ἐπεὶ τοίνυν τοσαύτης ἠξίωται παρ' ἐμοὶ τιμῆς τὸ τῶν ἀνθρώπων γένος ὡς δι' αὐτοὺς τὴν σύμπασαν γῆν ὑποστήσασθαι, εἰκότως τὸ κήρυγμα τὸ εὐαγγελικὸν προφανῶς πᾶσιν