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considering the time of his arrival. Since these things have been proven, it is now time to consider the circumstances of his appearance and to show how each of these things was also foretold among the Hebrews. 9.Prooem.2 The fulfillment of the prophecies will be sealed through the testimony of the holy evangelists and the outcome of events recorded by them. First of all, then, since the facts concerning his birth, family, tribe, and seed have been demonstrated, let us consider the new and strange star, different from the usual ones, that appeared at his birth, since this too was proclaimed of old by Moses long ago and is recorded in this way: 9.1.1 From the book of Numbers. Moses in Numbers concerning the star that appeared at the birth of our Savior: "Balaam son of Beor says, the man who truly sees says, who hears the oracles of God, who knows the knowledge of the Most High, and who saw a vision of God in sleep, his eyes having been unveiled: I will show him, but not now; I bless him, but he does not draw near. A star shall rise out of Jacob, and a man shall arise out of Israel, and shall crush the leaders of Moab, and shall plunder all the sons of Seth. And Edom shall be a possession, and Esau his enemy shall be a possession; and Israel has acted with strength. And one shall arise out of Jacob, and shall destroy him that is saved out of the city." 9.1.2 They say that the successors of Balaam, moved by this prophecy (for it was preserved among them, as was likely), when they saw in heaven a strange star, different from the usual ones, fixed over the top, one might say, and directly above Judea, made haste to come to the land of Palestine, for the sake of inquiring about the king signified by the appearance of the star. 9.1.3 The evangelist Matthew testifies to these things, saying: "Now when Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea in the days of Herod the king, behold, wise men from the east came to Jerusalem, saying, 'Where is he who has been born king of the Jews? For we saw his star in the east and have come to worship him.'" when also, having been sent to Bethlehem, "they went on their way, and behold," again the same "star, which they had seen in the east, went before them, until it came and stood over where the child was. When they saw the star, they rejoiced exceedingly with great joy. And going into the house they saw the child with Mary his mother, and they fell down and worshiped him." 9.1.4 These things the holy gospel says. But what the word of prophecy says will happen at the rising of the star and the birth of our Savior Jesus Christ is worth considering: the crushing of the rulers of Moab, and the plundering of the sons of Seth, and the inheritance of the remaining enemies of the Jewish nation. And these were Edom and Esau. 9.1.5 What did he signify by these things, if not by "the rulers of Moab" the overthrow of the invisible rulers, that is, of the demons of old who were regarded as gods among the Moabites? But he mentioned no others, because of the idolatry of Israel that occurred in the wilderness, when "the people were initiated to Baal-peor"—and this was a demon, honored as a god by the king of Moab, Balak. 9.1.6 Since, therefore, Israel had been conquered at that time by the invisible rulers of Moab, I mean by the gods believed in among the Moabites—for they practiced idolatry and "worshiped" their graven images, as the Scripture says: "and they were initiated to Baal-peor," and this was a demon of the Moabites, at the time when they also committed fornication with the Moabite women—it was fitting that Balaam prophesied what would one day come to pass and the reversal of the situation in due time, saying: "A star shall rise out of Jacob, and a man shall arise out of Israel, and he shall crush the leaders of Moab"; 9.1.7 as if he were saying more clearly, the demons who boasted against Israel of the

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χρόνον τῆς ἀφίξεως αὐτοῦ διασκοπούμενοι. ὧν ἀποδεδειγμένων καιρὸς ἤδη τὰ κατὰ τὴν ἐπιφάνειαν αὐτοῦ συνιδεῖν παραστῆσαί τε ὅπως καὶ τούτων ἕκαστα παρ' Ἑβραίοις προαναπεφώνητο. 9.Prooem.2 τό γε μὴν τῶν προρρήσεων ἀποτέλεσμα διὰ τῆς τῶν ἱερῶν εὐαγγελιστῶν μαρτυρίας καὶ τῆς δι' αὐτῶν ἱστορηθείσης τῶν πραγμάτων ἀποβάσεως ἐπισφραγισθήσεται. Πρῶτον οὖν ἁπάντων, ἐπειδὴ τὰ περὶ τῆς γενέσεως αὐτοῦ γένους τε καὶ φυλῆς καὶ σπέρματος ἀποδέδεικται, φέρε τὰ περὶ τοῦ φανέντος ἐπὶ τῇ γενέσει αὐτοῦ νέου τινὸς καὶ ξενίζοντος παρὰ τοὺς συνήθεις ἀστέρος θεασώμεθα, ἐπεὶ καὶ τοῦτο πάλαι πρότερον ἐκ μακρῶν ἄνωθεν χρόνων παρὰ Μωσεῖ βοώμενον τοῦτον ἱστόρηται τὸν τρόπον· 9.1.1 Ἀπὸ τῶν Ἀριθμῶν. Μωσῆς ἐν Ἀριθμοῖς περὶ τοῦ φανέντος ἐπὶ τῇ γενέσει τοῦ σωτῆρος ἡμῶν ἀστέρος· «φησὶ Βαλαὰμ υἱὸς Βεώρ, φησὶν ὁ ἄνθρωπος ὁ ἀληθινῶς ὁρῶν, ἀκούων λόγια θεοῦ, ἐπιστάμενος ἐπιστήμην ὑψίστου, καὶ ὅρασιν τοῦ θεοῦ ἰδών, ἐν ὕπνῳ, ἀποκεκαλυμμένοι οἱ ὀφθαλμοὶ αὐτοῦ· δείξω αὐτῷ, καὶ οὐχὶ νῦν· μακαρίζω, καὶ οὐκ ἐγγίζει· ἀνατελεῖ ἄστρον ἐξ Ἰακώβ, καὶ ἀναστήσεται ἄνθρωπος ἐξ Ἰσραήλ, καὶ θραύσει τοὺς ἀρχηγοὺς Μωάβ, καὶ προνο μεύσει πάντας υἱοὺς Σήθ. καὶ ἔσται Ἐδὼμ κληρονομία, καὶ ἔσται κληρονομία Ἠσαῦ ὁ ἐχθρὸς αὐτοῦ· καὶ Ἰσραὴλ ἐποίησεν ἐν ἰσχύϊ. καὶ ἐξεγερθήσεται ἐξ Ἰακώβ, καὶ ἀπολεῖ σωζόμενον ἐκ πόλεως.» 9.1.2 Ἐπὶ ταύτῃ φασὶν τῇ προφητείᾳ κινηθέντας τοὺς διαδόχους Βαλαάμ σεσῶσθαι γὰρ αὐτήν, ὡς καὶ ἦν εἰκός, παρ' αὐτοῖς, ὁπηνίκα συνεῖδον ἐν οὐρανῷ ξενίζοντά τινα παρὰ τοὺς συνήθεις ἀστέρας κατὰ κορυφῆς, ὡς ἂν εἴποι τις, καὶ κατὰ κάθετον τῆς Ἰουδαίας ἐστηριγμένον, σπουδὴν πεποιῆσθαι ἐπὶ τὴν Παλαιστινῶν ἀφικέσθαι γῆν, ἱστορίας ἕνεκα τοῦ διὰ τοῦ φανέντος ἀστέρος σημαινομένου βασιλέως. 9.1.3 Μαρτυρεῖ τούτοις ὁ εὐαγγελιστὴς Ματθαῖος, λέγων· «τοῦ δὲ Ἰησοῦ γεννηθέντος ἐν Βηθλεὲμ τῆς Ἰουδαίας, ἐν ἡμέραις Ἡρώδουτοῦ βασιλέως, ἰδοὺ μάγοι ἀπὸ ἀνατολῶν παρεγένοντο εἰς Ἱερουσαλὴμ λέγοντες· ποῦ ἐστιν ὁ τεχθεὶς βασιλεὺς τῶν Ἰουδαίων; εἴδομεν γὰρ αὐτοῦ τὸν ἀστέρα ἐν τῇ ἀνατολῇ, καὶ ἤλθομεν προσκυνῆσαι αὐτῷ». ὅτε καὶ παραπεμφθέντες εἰς Βηθλεὲμ «ἐπορεύθησαν, καὶ ἰδοὺ» πάλιν ὁ αὐτὸς «ἀστήρ, ὃν εἶδον ἐν τῇ ἀνατολῇ, προῆγεν αὐτούς, ἕως ἐλθὼν ἐστάθη ἐπάνω οὗ ἦν τὸ παιδίον. ἰδόντες δὲ τὸν ἀστέρα ἐχάρησαν χαρὰν μεγάλην σφόδρα, καὶ εἰσελθόντες εἰς τὴν οἰκίαν εἶδον τὸ παιδίον μετὰ Μαρίας τῆς μητρὸς αὐτοῦ, καὶ πεσόντες προσεκύνησαν αὐτῷ». 9.1.4 Ταῦτα μὲν τὸ ἱερὸν εὐαγγέλιον. ὁ δέ γε τῆς προφητείας λόγος ἐπὶ τῇ τοῦ ἀστέρος ἐπιτολῇ καὶ τῇ τοῦ σωτῆρος ἡμῶν Ἰησοῦ Χριστοῦ γενέσει τίνα φησὶν ἔσεσθαι, συνιδεῖν ἄξιον· θραῦσιν ἀρχηγῶν Μωάβ, καὶ προνομὴν υἱῶν Σήθ, καὶ τῶν γε λοιπῶν τοῦ Ἰουδαίων ἔθνους πολεμίων κληρονομίαν. οὗτοι δὲ ἦσαν Ἐδὼμ καὶ Ἠσαῦ. 9.1.5 τί δὲ ᾐνίξατο διὰ τούτων ἢ διὰ μὲν τῶν ἀρχηγῶν Μωὰβ τὴν τῶν ἀοράτων ἀρχόντων καθαίρεσιν, αὐτῶν δὴ τῶν πάλαι παρὰ τοῖς Μωαβίταις θεολογουμένων δαιμόνων; ἀλλ' οὐχ ἑτέρων ἐμνήσθη, διὰ τὴν εἰδωλολατρίαν τοῦ Ἰσραὴλ τὴν ἐπὶ τῆς ἐρήμου γενομένην, ὅτε «ἐτελέσθη ὁ λαὸς τῷ Βεελφεγώρ» δαίμων δὲ ἦν οὗτος, ὡς θεὸς παρὰ τῷ βασιλεῖ Μωὰβ τῷ Βαλὰκ τιμώμενος. 9.1.6 ἐπεὶ οὖν νενίκητο ὁ Ἰσραὴλ κατὰ τοῦτο τοῦ καιροῦ πρὸς τῶν ἀοράτων ἀρχόντων τοῦ Μωάβ, λέγω δὲ τῶν παρὰ τοῖς Μωαβίταις νενομισμένων θεῶν εἰδωλολάτρησαν γοῦν καὶ «προσεκύνησαν» τοῖς γλυπτοῖς, ὥς φησιν ἡ γραφή· «καὶ ἐτελέσθησαν τῷ Βεελφεγώρ», δαίμων δὲ οὗτος τῶν Μωαβιτῶν ἦν, ὅτε καὶ ἐξεπόρνευσαν εἰς τὰς Μωαβίτιδας, εἰκότως τὸ μέλλον ἔσεσθαί ποτε καὶ τὴν εἰς τοὐναντίον τῶν πραγμάτων μεταβολὴν κατὰ καιρὸν ὁ Βαλαὰμ θεσπίζει λέγων· «ἀνατελεῖ ἄστρον ἐξ Ἰακώβ, καὶ ἀναστήσεται ἄνθρωπος ἐξ Ἰσραήλ, καὶ θραύσει ἡγεμόνας Μωάβ»· 9.1.7 ὡσεὶ σαφέστερον ἔλεγεν, τοὺς μεγαλαυχήσαντας κατὰ τοῦ Ἰσραὴλ δαίμονας τῶν