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COMMENTARY ON THE 59TH PSALM To the end, for those who will be changed; for an inscription on a pillar for David; for teaching,

when (857) he set fire to Mesopotamia, and to Syria of Zobah [erar Zobah]; and Joab returned, and smote the valley of Salt, twelve thousand.

The present psalm is inscribed, To the end, for those who will be changed; both on account of the change and alteration of mind and will that happened to men at the end of the ages through the coming of Christ, from unbelief to faith, and from vice to virtue, and from ignorance to the knowledge of God; and on account of the universal alteration and renewal of the entire race of men in grace, from death and corruption to immortal life and incorruption, which will later take place at the end of the ages through the same one, our Savior God, through the expected resurrection. And for an inscription on a pillar for David; that is, for Christ himself; both on account of the abolition of wickedness that has already occurred in his divine incarnation like a pillar, in himself as author and Savior, and after him in those who live piously according to him; and on account of the complete annihilation of both death and corruption yet to be accomplished through him. And for teaching, when he set fire to Mesopotamia, and to Syria of Zobah [Fr. Zobah]. For our teaching, we who are being changed and who will be changed, that is, the praiseworthy and divine change, the psalm is inscribed by the spiritual David; I mean, Christ our God. For he alone, being the true king of Israel and of the one who sees God, as the destroyer of all wickedness and ignorance, and the victor over all time and nature, through which wickedness is by nature constituted in us; set fire to Mesopotamia, having conversed with us in the flesh; that is, the state of wickedness flooded by the unnatural passions of the flesh. And Syria of Zobah [etiam Fr. Zobah; et deinceps], that is, the disposition enslaved to time, that is, deceived by this age. For Zobah is interpreted as seven; and this clearly signifies the property of time. For time is sevenfold. For he says that the devil is accustomed to move time along with himself against virtue and knowledge, weaving unseen wars, just as Adraazar did the two Syrias against David. For Adraazar, being translated into the Greek language, is interpreted as "loosing strength" (860) or "undermining power"; who is the devil, who through deceit loosed the spiritual strength of our nature in the beginning by the transgression of the divine commandment, and enslaved man to time and nature. For without the things subject to nature and time, he is utterly unable to fight against men.

And Joab returned and smote the valley of Salt, twelve thousand. For everyone who serves as a general for the spiritual king David, that is, for our Lord Jesus, against the opposing powers, smites twelve thousand in the valley of Salt. The valley of Salt is the flesh, having become a place of passions of dishonor through disobedience; in which, as in a valley, through reason and contemplation, every pious and God-loving person smites nature and time; that is, the irrational preconception of the soul concerning them, in no way abiding, because of the height of virtue and knowledge, in the laws subject to nature and time. For the number twelve signifies nature and time; since nature is fivefold because of the senses, and time is sevenfold, as is clear to all. And combining five with seven, you would clearly complete the number twelve.

And perhaps also the triad of the soul’s powers, which was badly and unnaturally entangled through deceit with the tetrad of sensible things in relation, through which every... comes to be

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ΕΡΜΗΝΕΙΑ ΕΙΣ ΤΟΝ ΝΘ΄ ΨΑΛΜΟΝ Εἰς τό τέλος, τοῖς ἀλλοιωθησομένης· εἰς στηλογραφίαν τῷ ∆αβίδ· εἰς διδαχήν,

ὁπότε (857) ἐνεπύρισε τήν Μεσοποταμίαν, καί τήν Συρίαν Σωβᾶ [erar Σωβᾶ]· καί ἐπέστρεψεν Ἰωάβ, καί ἐπάταξε τήν φάραγγα τῶν Ἀλῶν δώδεκα χιλιάδας.

Εἰς τό τέλος, τοῖς ἀλλοιωθησομένοις ὁ παρών ἐπιγράφεται [ἐπιγέγραπται] ψαλμός· διά τε τήν ἐπί τέλει τῶν χρόνων διά τῆς ἐπιδημίας τοῦ Χριστοῦ γενομένην τοῖς ἀνθρώποις ἐξ ἀπιστίας εἰς πίστιν, καί ἀπό κακίας εἰς ἀρετήν, καί ἀγνοίας εἰς γνῶσιν Θεοῦ γνωμικήν τε καί προαιρετικήν μεταβολήν καί ἀλλοίωσιν· ∆ιά τε τήν εἰς ὕστερον ἐπί τέλει τῶν αἰώνων γενησομένην δι᾿ αὐτοῦ τοῦ Σωτῆρος ἡμῶν Θεοῦ καθολικήν τοῦ παντός γένους τῶν ἀνθρώπων ἐν χάριτι φυσικήν ἐκ θανάτου καί φθορᾶς εἰς ζωήν ἀθάνατον καί ἀφθαρσίαν, διά τῆς προσδοκωμένης ἀναστάσεως, ἀλλοίωσίν τε καί ἀνανέωσιν. Εἰς στηλογραφίαν δέ τῷ ∆αβίδ· τουτέστιν, αὐτῷ τῷ Χριστῷ· διά τε τήν γενομένην ἤδη κατά τήν θείαν αὐτοῦ σάρκωσιν στήλης δίκην, ἐν αὐτῷ μέν ὡς ἀρχηγῷ καί Σωτῆρι, καί μετ᾿ αὐτόν ἐν τοῖς κατ᾿ αὐτόν εὐσεβῶς βιοῦσι, τῆς κακίας ἀναίρεσιν· διά τε τόν ἔτι δι᾿ αὐτοῦ γενησόμενον παντελῆ τοῦ τε θανάτου καί τῆς φθορᾶς ἀφανισμόν. Εἰς διδαχήν δέ ὁπόταν ἐνεπύρισε τήν Μεσοποταμίαν, καί τήν Συρίαν Σωβᾶ [Fr. Σωβάλ] . Εἰς διδαχήν ἡμῖν, τοῖς ἀλλοιουμένοις καί ἀλλοιωθησομένοις, δηλονότι τήν ἐπαινετήν καί θείαν ἀλλοίωσιν, ὁ ψαλμός ἐπιγέγραπται παρά τοῦ ∆αβίδ τοῦ νοητοῦ· λέγω δέ Χριστοῦ τοῦ Θεοῦ. Μόνος γάρ αὐτός ἀληθινός βασιλεύς ὑπάρχων τοῦ Ἰσραήλ καί ὁρῶντος Θεόν, ὡς πάσης ἀναιρέτης κακίας καί ἀγνωσίας, καί νικητής παντός χρόνου καί φύσεως, δι᾿ ὧν ἐν ἡμῖν κακία συνίστασθαι πέφυκεν· ἐνεπύρισε τήν Μεσοποταμίαν, διά σαρκός ἡμῖν ὁμιλήσας· τουτέστι, τήν ἐπικλυζομένην τοῖς παρά φύσιν πάθεσι τῆς σαρκός ἕξιν τῆς κακίας. Καί τήν Συρίαν Σωβᾶ [etiam Fr. Σωβᾶ· et deinceps], τουτέστι τήν δεδουλωμένην τῷ χρόνῳ, ἤγουν ἠπατημένην τῷ αἰῶνι τούτῳ διάθεσιν. Ἑπτά γάρ ἡ Σωβᾶ ἑρμηνεύεται· σαφῶς δέ τοῦτο δηλοῖ τήν χρονικήν ἰδιότητα. Ἑβδοματικός γάρ ὁ χρόνος. Φησίν γάρ καί χρόνον εἴωθεν ὁ διάβολος συνεπικινεῖν ἑαυτῷ κατά τῆς ἀρετῆς καί τῆς γνώσεως, τούς ἀφανεῖς συμπλέκων πολέμους, ὡς τάς δύο Συρίας κατά τοῦ ∆αβίδ ὁ Ἀδρααζάρ. Ἀδρααζάρ γάρ εἰς τήν Ἑλλάδα φωνήν μεταφραζόμενος, λύων ἰσχύν (860) ἤ κατασκάπτων δύναμιν ἑρμηνεύεται· ὅστις ἐστίν ὁ διάβολος, ὁ δι᾿ ἀπάτην τήν πνευματικήν ἰσχύν τῆς ἡμετέρας φύσεως κατ᾿ ἀρχάς τῇ παραβάσει τῆς θείας ἐντολῆς διαλύσας, καί τῷ χρόνῳ καί τῇ φύσει δουλώσας τόν ἄνθρωπον. Ἄνευ γάρ τῶν ὑπό φύσιν καί χρόνον, μάχεσθαι τοῖς ἀνθρώποις παντελῶς οὐ δύναται.

Καί ἐπέστρεψεν Ἰωάβ καί ἐπάταξε τήν φάραγγα τῶν Ἁλῶν δώδεκα χιλιάδας. Πᾶς γάρ ὁ τῷ νοητῷ βασιλεῖ ∆αβίδ στρατηγῶν, τουτέστι τῷ Κυρίῳ ἡμῶν Ἰησοῦ, κατά τῶν ἐναντίων δυνάμεων, πατάσσει δώδεκα χιλιάδας ἐν τῇ φάραγγι τῶν Ἁλῶν. Φάραγξ δέ ἐστιν Ἁλῶν ἡ σάρξ, ὡς χωρίον παθῶν ἀτιμίας διά τῆς παρακοῆς γενομένη· ἐν ᾗ καθάπερ φάραγγι διά λόγου καί θεωρίας, πᾶς εὐσεβής καί φιλόθεος πατάσσει φύσιν καί χρόνον· ἤγουν τήν ἐπ᾿ αὐτοῖς τῆς ψυχῆς παράλογον πρόληψιν, μηδαμῶς ἐμμένων διά τό ὕψος τῆς ἀρετῆς καί τῆς γνώσεως, τοῖς ὑπό φύσιν καί χρόνον νόμοις. Ὁ γάρ δώδεκα ἀριθμός τήν φύσιν δηλοῖ καί τόν χρόνον· εἴπερ πενταδική μέν ἡ φύσις διά τάς αἰσθήσεις· ἑβδοματικός δέ χρόνος, ὡς πᾶσι καθέστηκεν εὔδηλον. Πέντε δέ τοῖς ἑπτά συνθείς, τόν δώδεκα πληρώσαις ἄν σαφῶς ἀριθμόν.

Τυχόν δέ καί τήν κακῶς δι᾿ ἀπάτης παρά φύσιν συμπλακεῖσαν τῇ τετράδι τῶν αἰσθητῶν τριάδα τῶν δυνάμεων τῆς ψυχῆς κατά τήν σχέσιν, δι᾿ ἧς πᾶσα γίνεσθαι