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it contains because of the fifty-year period mentioned in the law, which the children of the Hebrews called Jubilee, in which there were remissions and pardons for debtors, and freedom for servants, and it was legislated that certain other such things be done. For this reason he applied the confession of the offense for the pardon and remission of sins to the 50th psalm. Thus then, in each psalm, according to certain arguments, one might say that their proper meanings have been applied by the power of the numbers. But the one who says these things does not seem to me to hit the mark; first, because no number at all is found in the Hebrew book of Psalms; but they were written down without the addition of the number; then, because some are joined together differently, while others are divided. For instance, the first and the second at the beginning of the book are joined together in the Hebrew; and again the 9th, which is joined together among us, is divided into two in the Hebrew. And the entire book of Psalms is divided into 5 parts, as has already been said before. These things being so, the aforementioned theory of numbers would be idle. And what reason could one say there is, for example, for the meaning of the psalm at hand, I mean the 62nd, to correspond to such a number, or that for each of the 150 numbers a unique sense should be defined, fitting this or that number? But let one accept these things as he wishes. But I think that the psalms are placed one after another for the most part for the sake of the meaning written in them, having thus observed and found in many cases; for which reason they are also joined together as if having a kinship and a sequence with one another. Hence they are not presented chronologically, but according to the sequence of thought. And this has already been shown before from many others indeed, but especially from the 41st to the 50th, in which we demonstrated conclusively that those inscribed "of the sons of Korah" preserve much continuity with the meaning manifested from them; and that the one of Asaph placed next to these, and again joined to these the confession of David found in the 50th, offers the theory given by us as an unforced one. This then is one reason, as it seems to me, for the sequence of the psalms; but I have also another to mention. For when much idolatry had overcome the nation of the Jews, the history of the Kings teaches that they fell into forgetfulness of their ancestral scriptures; 23.604 so that not even the book of the law of Moses was to be seen, nor was the memory of the piety of the fathers preserved among them. Thus, for instance, they even killed the prophets who rebuked their impieties, and for these reasons they were delivered for the first time to the Assyrian captivity. It is not surprising, therefore, in such a state of affairs, that the contents of the book of Psalms also fell into disorder, and were given over to oblivion for long periods of time. But after these things, whether Ezra, or some other of the prophets, took pains in their collection, and along with the other books collected the book of Psalms, not finding all of them at once, but at different times. And to arrange in the first places those found first; for which reason not even all those of David are placed in sequence; but in between, those of the sons of Korah, and of Asaph, and of Solomon and Moses, both Ethan and Heman, and again of David are found mixed together, arranged in the book, not according to the times they were spoken, but according to when they were found. Hence it happened that those later in time, being found first, were taken up first, and those earlier in time, being found after these, were arranged in a second place. These things, then, may be said by us from what is probable regarding the proposed inquiry. But now it is time to take up also the contents in the psalm at hand. David, wandering like the other prophets in

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περιέχει διὰ τὴν ἐν τῷ νόμῳ φερομένην πεντηκονταετηρίδα, ἣν Ἰωβηλαῖον παῖδες Ἑβραίων ἐκάλουν, ἐν ᾧ ἀφέσεις καὶ συγχωρήσεις ἐγένοντο τοῖς χρεωφειλέταις, ἐλευθερία τε οἰκέταις, καὶ ἄλλα τινὰ τοιαῦτα πράττειν νενομοθέτητο. Τούτου χάριν τὴν ἐξομολόγησιν τοῦ πλημμελήματος ὑπὲρ συγχωρήσεως καὶ ἀφέσεως ἁμαρτιῶν τῷ νʹ ψαλμῷ ἐφήρμοσεν. Οὕτως οὖν καὶ ἐφ' ἑκάστῳ ψαλμῷ κατά τινας λόγους τῇ τῶν ἀριθμῶν δυνάμει τὰς οἰκείας διανοίας εἴποι ἂν ἐφηρμόσθαι. Ἀλλ' ὁ ταῦτα λέγων οὔ μοι δοκεῖ τυγχάνειν τοῦ σκοποῦ· πρῶτον μὲν ὅτι οὐδὲ ὅλως ἀριθμός τις ἐν τῇ Ἑβραϊκῇ βίβλῳ τῶν Ψαλμῶν φέρεται· ἄνευ δὲ τῆς τοῦ ἀριθμοῦ προσθήκης ἀνεγράφησαν· εἶθ' ὅτι διαφόρως οἱ μὲν εἰσὶ συνημμένοι, οἱ δὲ διῃρημένοι. Αὐτίκα γοῦν ὁ πρῶτος καὶ ὁ δεύτερος κατὰ τὴν ἀρχὴν τῆς βίβλου συνημμένοι εἰσὶ κατὰ τὸ Ἑβραϊκόν· καὶ πάλιν ὁ θʹ συνημμένος παρ' ἡμῖν ἐν τῷ Ἑβραϊκῷ διῄρηται εἰς δύο. Καὶ πᾶσα δὲ ἡ τῶν Ψαλμῶν βίβλος εἰς μέρη εʹ διῄρηται, καθὼς ἤδη πρότερον εἴρηται. Ὧν οὕτως ἐχόντων, σχολάζοι ἂν ἡ προλεχθεῖσα τῶν ἀριθμῶν θεωρία. Ποῖον δὲ καὶ λόγον εἴποι ἄν τις ἔχειν, φέρ' εἰπεῖν, τοῦ μετὰ χεῖρας ψαλμοῦ, λέγω δὲ τοῦ ξβʹ, τὴν διάνοιαν πρὸς τὸν τοιόνδε ἀριθμὸν ἐφαρμόττειν, ἢ τῶν ἐφ' ἑκάστῳ τῶν ρνʹ ἀριθμῶν ἴδιον ἀφοριεῖσθαι νοῦν προσήκοντα τῷ τοιῷδε, ἢ τῷ τοιῷδε ἀριθμῷ; ἀλλὰ ταῦτα μὲν ὅπη τις ἐθέλοι παραδεχέσθω. Ἐγὼ δὲ ἡγοῦμαι τῆς τῶν ἐγγεγραμμένων διανοίας ἕνεκεν ἐφεξῆς ἀλλήλων τοὺς ψαλμοὺς κεῖσθαι κατὰ τὸ πλεῖστον, οὕτως ἐν πολλοῖς ἐπιτηρήσας καὶ εὑρών· διὸ καὶ συνῆφθαι αὐτοὺς ὡσανεὶ συγγένειαν ἔχοντας καὶ ἀκολουθίαν πρὸς ἀλλήλους. Ἔνθεν μὴ κατὰ τοὺς χρόνους ἐμφέρεσθαι, ἀλλὰ κατὰ τὴν τῆς διανοίας ἀκολουθίαν. ∆έδεικται δὲ τοῦτο ἤδη πρότερον καὶ ἀπὸ πλειόνων μὲν ἑτέρων, μάλιστα δὲ ἀπὸ τοῦ μαʹ μέχρι τοῦ νʹ, ἐν οἷς ἀποδεικτικῶς παρεστήσαμεν τοὺς μὲν ἐπιγεγραμμένους τῶν υἱῶν Κορὲ πολλὴν σώζειν ἀκολουθίαν πρὸς τὸν νοῦν τὸν ἐξ αὐτῶν δηλούμενον· ἐφεξῆς δὲ τούτοις κείμενον τὸν τοῦ Ἀσὰφ καὶ πάλιν τούτων συνημμένην τοῦ ∆αυῒδ τὴν ἐξομολόγησιν τὴν ἐν τῷ νʹ φερομένην, ἀβίαστον τὴν ἀποδοθεῖσαν ἡμῖν θεωρίαν παρέχειν. Μία μὲν οὖν αὕτη ἡ αἰτία, ὡς ἐμοὶ δοκεῖ, τῆς ἀκολουθίας γένοιτ' ἂν τῶν ψαλμῶν· ἔχω δὲ καὶ ἄλλην εἰπεῖν. Πολλῆς γὰρ εἰδωλολατρείας κατακρατησάσης τοῦ Ἰουδαίων ἔθνους, λήθην αὐτοὺς πε 23.604 ποιῆσθαι τῶν πατρίων γραφῶν ἡ τῶν Βασιλειῶν ἱστορία διδάσκει· ὡς μηδὲ φαίνεσθαι βίβλον τοῦ Μωϋσέως νόμου, μηδὲ μνήμην τῆς τῶν πατέρων εὐσεβείας σώζεσθαι παρ' αὐτοῖς. Οὕτω γοῦν καὶ τοὺς προφήτας ἀνῄρουν διελέγχοντας αὐτῶν τὰς δυσσεβείας, καὶ τούτων ἕνεκα τὸ πρῶτον τῇ τῶν Ἀσσυρίων παρεδόθησαν αἰχμαλωσίᾳ. Οὐδὲν οὖν θαυμαστὸν ἐν τοιαύτῃ καταστάσει καιρῶν, καὶ τὰ ἐμφερόμενα τῇ βίβλῳ τῶν Ψαλμῶν διαπεπτωκέναι, λήθῃ τε μακροῖς παραδεδόσθαι χρόνοις. Μετὰ δὲ ταῦτα εἴτε Ἔσδραν, εἴτε τινὰ ἕτερον προφητῶν, περὶ τὴν συναγωγὴν αὐτῶν ἐσπουδακέναι, μετά τε τῶν λοιπῶν καὶ τὴν βίβλον τῶν Ψαλμῶν συναγηοχέναι, οὐκ ἀθρόως εὑρόντα τοὺς πάντας, ἀλλὰ κατὰ διαφόρους χρόνους. Κατατάττειν δὲ ἐν πρώτοις τοὺς πρώτους εὑρισκομένους· διὸ μηδὲ τοῦ ∆αυῒδ ἐφεξῆς κεῖσθαι τοὺς πάντας· ἐν δὲ τῷ μεταξὺ καὶ τῶν υἱῶν Κορὲ, καὶ τοῦ Ἀσὰφ, καὶ Σολομῶνος καὶ Μωϋσέως, Αἰθάν τε καὶ Αἰμὰν, καὶ πάλιν τοῦ ∆αυῒδ εὑρίσκεσθαι ἀναμὶξ ἐν τῇ βίβλῳ κατατεταγμένους, οὐ καθ' οὓς ἐλέχθησαν χρόνους, ἀλλὰ καθ' οὓς εὕρηνται. Ἔνθεν συμβῆναι τοὺς τοῖς χρόνοις ὑστέρους πρώτους εὑρεθέντας ἀναληφθῆναι πρώτους, καὶ τοὺς τοῖς χρόνοις προτέρους, μετὰ ταῦτα εὑρημένους, ἐν δευτέρᾳ καταταγῆναι χώρᾳ. Ταῦτα μὲν οὖν ἡμῖν εἰς τὴν προταθεῖσαν ζήτησιν ἐξ εἰκότων εἰρήσθω. Ἤδη δὲ καὶ τῶν ἐμφερομένων ἐν τῷ μετὰ χεῖρας ψαλμῷ ἐφάψασθαι καιρός. Πλανώμενος ∆αυῒδ ὁμοίως τοῖς λοιποῖς προφήταις ἐν