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an example of Abraham and Sarah, who, like a rock, having become barren and fruitless and childless and sterile until old age, were made "as the stars of heaven for multitude." Therefore he says: for he was one, and I called him and I loved him and I multiplied him. Just as, then, I did in the case of Abraham, so do not despair, as also from this rock, which you yourselves hewed, there will be some hope of salvation for all men, so as not to be left out of the promise to Abraham, the grace to be given from me to all the nations through the aforementioned rock. A rock, therefore, was also the cave, "which Joseph hewed" "for a tomb," but the divine Apostle also knows to call Christ himself a rock, saying: "and the rock was Christ." And since those who contrived his death, laying hands on him, marred the body of Christ during the passion, it was fittingly said to them: Look to the solid rock, which you hewed, and to the hollow of the pit, which you dug. The Savior himself also teaches this in the Psalms, saying: "they have pierced my hands and my feet, they have numbered all my bones." Perhaps by "hollow of the pit" he alluded to the wounded "side" of his body, "from which blood and water came out." But just as in the case of Abraham and of Sarah, who was barren and childless and by nature sterile, by a miraculous and divine power he was made "as the stars of heaven for multitude," so also now it will happen through the rock hewn and dug by you. For through this Zion, I mean the pious commonwealth, and I mean the despairing Zion: and I will now comfort you, Zion, signifying I will comfort the pious, which on your account was made desolate. Nevertheless I myself will take up her desolation and I will make her desolate places like a paradise and her western parts like a paradise of the Lord. As in comparison with her who formerly had the husband, now the church from the gentiles was again called desolate; just as then also in what the same prophet declares, saying: "Rejoice, O barren one who does not bear; break forth and cry aloud, you who are not in labor; for the children of the desolate one will be more than of her who has a husband." And who was she who had the husband but the one who made "the bill of divorce"? And in the desolate place, he says, there will be a paradise similar to the paradise of God, which Moses wrote was "planted" in the creation of the world. Therefore it is said: like a paradise of the Lord, and he says this will be towards the west. "For to those who sat in darkness and in the shadow of death a light has dawned," the saving light and the paradise of God filled with the gifts of the Holy Spirit, where he says one will find gladness and joy and besides these, thanksgiving and the voice of praise, of those who do right sending forth a voice of praise, and of those turning from former sins being purified through confession. 2.38 Having gone through the accusation against the Jewish people and the refutation of their impiety against Christ, and the evils that befell them for what they had dared against him, then having prophesied the change for the better of the formerly desolate church, and how there will be a paradise of God in her and how those in her will find gladness and joy, and thanksgiving and a voice of praise. Having prophesied these things, very consequently he calls to obedience of his words no longer the Jewish nation, that is usually called Israel, but clearly the people gathered to him from the gentiles and the kings of the gentiles, saying in these very words: listen to me, listen to me, my people, and you kings, give ear to me; for a law will go out from me, and my judgment for a light to the nations. And in these words one would not be so foolish as to think that his people means that one to whom it was said: "behold, for your sins you were sold, and for your iniquities I sent your mother away," but the present people from the gentiles "by grace

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παράδειγμα τοῦ Ἀβραὰμ καὶ τῆς Σάρρας, οἳ δίκην πέτρας ἄγονοι καὶ ἄκαρποι καὶ ἄπαιδες γενόμενοι καὶ μέχρι γήρως ἐστειρωμένοι «ὡσεὶ τὰ ἄστρα τοῦ οὐρανοῦ τῷ πλήθει» συνέστησαν. διό φησιν· ὅτι εἷς ἦν, καὶ ἐκάλεσα αὐτὸν καὶ ἠγάπησα αὐτὸν καὶ ἐπλήθυνα αὐτόν. ὥσπερ οὖν ἐπὶ τοῦ Ἀβραὰμ πεποίηκα, οὕτω μὴ ἀπογινώσκετε, ὡς καὶ ἀπὸ τῆς πέτρας ταύτης, ἣν ὑμεῖς αὐτοὶ ἐλατομήσατε, ἔσται τις ἐλπὶς ἅπασιν ἀνθρώποις σωτηρίας, ὡς μὴ ἀπολειφθῆναι τῆς πρὸς τὸν Ἀβραὰμ ἐπαγγελίας, τὴν δοθησομένην ἅπασι τοῖς ἔθνεσιν ἐξ ἐμοῦ διὰ τῆς εἰρημένης πέτρας χάριν. ἦν μὲν οὖν πέτρα καὶ τὸ σπήλαιον, «ὃ ἐλατόμησεν ὁ Ἰωσὴφ» «εἰς μνημεῖον», ἀλλὰ καὶ τὸν Χριστὸν αὐτὸν οἶδεν ὁ θεῖος Ἀπόστολος πέτραν ὀνομάζειν λέγων· «ἡ δὲ πέτρα ἦν ὁ Χριστός». ἐπεὶ δὲ χεῖρας ἐπιβαλόντες τὸ σῶμα τοῦ Χριστοῦ ἐλωβήσαντο κατὰ τὸ πάθος οἱ τὸν θάνατον αὐτοῦ τυρεύσαντες, εἰκότως πρὸς αὐτοὺς εἴρηται τό· ἐμβλέψατε εἰς τὴν στερεὰν πέτραν, ἣν ἐλατομήσατε, καὶ εἰς τὸν βόθυνον τοῦ λάκκου, ὃν ὠρύξατε. τοῦτο δὲ διδάσκει καὶ αὐτὸς ὁ σωτὴρ ἐν Ψαλμοῖς λέγων· «ὤρυξαν χεῖράς μου καὶ πόδας μου, ἐξηρίθμησαν πάντα τὰ ὀστᾶ μου». μήποτε δὲ βόθυνον λάκκου ᾐνίξατο τὴν τρωθεῖσαν τοῦ σώματος αὐτοῦ «πλευράν, ἐξ ἧς αἷμα καὶ ὕδωρ ἐξῆλθεν». Ἀλλὰ γὰρ ὥσπερ ἐπὶ τοῦ Ἀβραὰμ καὶ τῆς ἀγόνου καὶ ἀτέκνου καὶ τὴν φύσιν ἐστειρωμένης Σάρρας παραδόξῳ καὶ θεϊκῇ δυνάμει «ὡσεὶ τὰ ἄστρα τοῦ οὐρανοῦ τῷ πλήθει» συνέστη, οὕτω καὶ νῦν γενήσεται διὰ τῆς λατομηθείσης καὶ ὀρυχθείσης ὑφ' ὑμῶν πέτρας. δι' αὐτῆς γὰρ τῆς Σιών, λέγω δὲ τὸ θεοσεβὲς πολίτευμα, τὴν ἀπεγνωσμένην Σιὼν δὲ λέγω· καὶ σὲ νῦν παρακαλέσω, Σιών, τὸ θεοσεβὲς δηλῶν παρακαλέσω, ὅπερ εἰς ἔρημον δι' ὑμᾶς κατέστη. πλὴν αὐτὸς ἐγὼ ἀναλήψομαι τὴν ἐρημίαν αὐτῆς καὶ θήσω τὰ ἔρημα αὐτῆς ὡς παράδεισον καὶ τὰ πρὸς δυσμὰς αὐτῆς ὡς παράδεισον κυρίου. ὡς ἐν παραθέσει δὲ τῆς πάλαι ἐχούσης τὸν ἄνδρα νῦν ἡ ἐξ ἐθνῶν ἐκκλησία πάλιν ἔρημος ὠνομάσθη· ὥσπερ οὖν καὶ ἐν οἷς ὁ αὐτὸς προφήτης θεσπίζει λέγων· «Εὐφράνθητι, στεῖρα ἡ οὐ τίκτουσα, ῥῆξον καὶ βόησον, ἡ οὐκ ὠδίνουσα, ὅτι πολλὰ τὰ τέκνα τῆς ἐρήμου μᾶλλον ἢ τῆς ἐχούσης τὸν ἄνδρα». τίς δὲ ἦν ἡ τὸν ἄνδρα ἔχουσα ἀλλ' ἢ ἡ «τὸ βιβλίον τοῦ ἀποστασίου» ποιησαμένη; ἐν δέ γε τῇ ἐρήμῳ ἔσται τίς φησι παράδεισος ἐοικότως τῷ παραδείσῳ τοῦ θεοῦ, ὃν ἐν τῇ κοσμοποιΐᾳ «πεφυτεῦσθαι» Μωσῆς συνέγραψε. διὸ λέγεται· ὡς παράδεισος κυρίου, τοῦτον δὲ ἔσεσθαί φησι πρὸς ταῖς δυσμαῖς. «τοῖς γὰρ καθημένοις ἐν σκότῳ καὶ σκιᾷ θανάτου φῶς ἀνέτειλε» τὸ σωτήριον καὶ ὁ τοῦ θεοῦ παράδεισος ὁ τῶν χαρισμάτων τοῦ ἁγίου πνεύματος πεπληρωμένος, ἔνθα φησὶν εὑρήσειν ἀγαλλίαμα καὶ εὐφροσύνην καὶ πρὸς τούτοις ἐξομολόγησιν καὶ φωνὴν αἰνέσεως, τῶν μὲν κατορθούντων φωνὴν αἰνέσεως ἀφιέναι, τῶν δὲ ἐπιστρεφόντων ἐκ προτέρων ἁμαρτημάτων δι' ἐξομολογήσεως καθαιρομένων. 2.38 Τὴν κατὰ τοῦ Ἰουδαίων λαοῦ κατηγορίαν καὶ τὸν ἔλεγχον τῆς κατὰ τοῦ Χριστοῦ δυσσεβείας αὐτῶν, τά τε διαδεξάμενα αὐτοὺς κακά, ἐφ' οἷς κατ' αὐτοῦ τετολμήκασι, διελθών, εἶτα τῆς πάλαι ἐρήμου ἐκκλησίας τὴν ἐπὶ τὸ κρεῖττον μεταβολὴν θεσπίσας καὶ ὡς ἔσται παράδεισος θεοῦ ἐν αὐτῇ καὶ ὡς ἀγαλλίαμα καὶ εὐφροσύνην εὑρήσουσιν οἱ ἐν αὐτῇ, ἐξομολόγησίν τε καὶ φωνὴν αἰνέσεως. ταῦτα προφήσας σφόδρα ἀκολούθως εἰς ὑπακοὴν τῶν ἑαυτοῦ λόγων ἀνακαλεῖται οὐκέτι τὸ Ἰουδαίων ἔθνος τὸ συνήθως ὀνομαζόμενον Ἰσραήλ, ἀλλὰ σαφῶς τὸν ἐξ ἐθνῶν συστάντα αὐτῷ λαὸν καὶ τοὺς τῶν ἐθνῶν βασιλεῖς αὐτοῖς ῥήμασι λέγων· ἀκούσατέ μου ἀκούσατέ μου, λαός μου, καὶ οἱ βασιλεῖς, πρός με ἐνωτίσασθε· ὅτι νόμος παρ' ἐμοῦ ἐξελεύσεται καὶ ἡ κρίσις μου εἰς φῶς ἐθνῶν. λαὸν δὲ αὐτοῦ ἐν τούτοις οὐχ οὕτω τις γένοιτ' ἂν ἠλίθιος ὡς νομίσαι δηλοῦσθαι ἐκεῖνον πρὸς ὃν ἐλέγετο· «ἰδοὺ ταῖς ἁμαρτίαις ὑμῶν ἐπράθητε, καὶ ταῖς ἀνομίαις ὑμῶν ἐξαπέστειλα τὴν μητέρα ὑμῶν», ἀλλ' ὁ παρὼν λαὸς ἐξ ἐθνῶν «χάριτι