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Or they are the tents of the valley, the Churches of the believing nations, which were established through Christ our Savior God throughout the whole inhabited world; which, I think, is even more evident than the others.

Or again, he measures out the valley of Tents, he who with knowledge encompasses the world of bodies as a valley of Tents. For in many places of Scripture, the body was called a tent.

Gilead is mine, and Manasseh is mine, and Ephraim the strength of the head

my. According to one of the interpretations for this name, Gilead is revelation.

But Manasseh is interpreted as forgetfulness. Revelation and forgetfulness are fittingly added to the righteous one; on the one hand, receiving initiation through the contemplation of the mysteries; on the other hand, the forgetfulness of the labors according to virtue, because of the gladness of spiritual contemplation that succeeds the labors of the virtues. And Ephraim is interpreted as enlargement; which is the unfailing hope according to faith in the good things to come; which is the support of the head of the righteous one; that is, of faith. For faith is the head of every righteous one, and of every good work. And the secure strengthening of this has become the unfailing hope of the good things to come; by which, viewing the things to come as present, we are enlarged in our afflictions, remaining unfallen in temptations.

Judah is my king, Moab is the basin of my hope. Judah is interpreted as confession. For confession through prayers rules among the

saints over every good thing. But Judah can also be understood as the Lord; who is the true king of the spiritual Israel and of him who sees God; he who on our behalf, when he became man, confessed to the Father, saying, I confess to you, holy Father.

But Moab is interpreted as the father's intestine, and our body is understood, through which, according to practical philosophy, like a bath, which the basin clearly indicates, the purification of sins is naturally accomplished. For the basin is the purification of hope; (868) that is, the readiness throughout life according to the purification for the inheritance of the good things laid up for us in hope.

But again Moab can also be understood as the incarnation of the Lord. For he was made and was called the Son of man for our sake, the true basin of our hope, that is, the one who washes and cleanses our stains and defilements from sin.

Upon Edom I will stretch out my shoe. Edom is interpreted as bloody clay; and it can be taken also as the

flesh of the Lord; through which he walked among men as through a shoe; since creation was otherwise unable to contain the Creator; who is by nature infinite and uncontainable.

But again it can also be understood as the flesh of each one of us; upon which we stretch out the shoe; that is, the thing which guards the soul from the evil thistles and thorns of the devil, both ascetic practice and self-control; for this is what must be understood as the

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Ἤ Σκηναί κοιλάδος ὑπάρχουσιν, αἱ διά Χριστοῦ τοῦ Σωτῆρος ἡμῶν Θεοῦ παγεῖσαι κατά τήν πᾶσαν τήν οἰκουμένην τῶν πιστευσάντων ἐθνῶν Ἐκκλησίαι· ὅ καί μᾶλλον ὡς οἶμαι, τῶν ἄλλων ἐστίν ἐπιφανέστερον.

Ἤ πάλιν, κοιλάδα Σκηνῶν διαμετρεῖ, ὁ τόν κόσμον τῶν σωμάτων καθάπερ κοιλάδα Σκηνῶν γνώσει περιλαμβάνων. Σκῆνος γάρ πολλαχοῦ τῆς Γραφῆς, τό σῶμα προσηγορεύθη.

Ἐμός ἐστι Γαλαάδ, καί ἐμός ἐστι Μανασσῆς, καί Ἐφραΐμ κραταίωσις τῆς κεφαλῆς

μου. Γαλαάδ κατά μίαν ἐπί τῷ ὀνόματι τούτῳ ἑρμηνειῶν, ἐστίν ἀποκάλυψις.

Μανασσῆς δέ, ἑρμηνεύεται λήθη. Ἀποκάλυψις δέ καί λήθη εἰκότως προσγίνονται δικαίῳ· λαμβάνοντι μέν διά θεωρίας τῶν ἀποῤῥήτων τήν μύησιν· τῶν δέ κατ᾿ ἀρετήν πόντων τήν λήθην, διά τήν διαδεχομένην τούς πόνους τῶν ἀρετῶν εὐφροσύνην τῆς πνευματικῆς θεωρίας. Ἐφραΐμ δέ ἑρμηνεύεται πλατυσμός· ὅπερ ἐστίν ἡ κατά πίστιν ἐπί τοῖς μέλλουσιν ἀγαθοῖς ἄπτωτος ἐλπίς· ἥτις ἐστίν ἀντίληψις τῆς κεφαλῆς τοῦ δικαίου· τουτέστι, τῆς πίστεως. Παντός γάρ δικαίου κεφαλή ἡ πίστις ἐστί, καί παντός ἔργου ἀγαθοῦ. Κραταίωσις δέ ταύτης καθέστηκεν ἀσφαλής, ἡ τῶν μελλόντων ἀγαθῶν ἀδιάπτωτος ἐλπίς· καθ᾿ ἥν ὡς παρόντα τά μέλλοντα θεωροῦντες, ἐμπλατυνόμεθα ταῖς θλίψεσιν, ἀκατάπτωτοι ἐν τοῖς πειρασμοῖς διαμένοντες.

Ἰούδας βασιλεύς μου, Μωάβ λέβης τῆς ἐλπίδος μου. Ἰούδας ἐξομολόγησις ἑρμηνεύεται. Ἄρχει γάρ ἡ δι᾿ εὐχῶν ἐξομολόγησις ἐν τοῖς

ἁγίοις παντός ἀγαθοῦ. ∆ύναται δέ νοηθῆναι καί εἰς τόν Κύριον ὁ Ἰούδας· ὅς ἐστιν ἀληθινός βασιλεύς τοῦ πνευματικοῦ Ἰσραήλ καί ὁρῶντος θεόν· ὁ ὑπέρ ἡμῶν ἡνίκα γέγονεν ἄνθρωπος, ἐξομολογούμενος πρός τόν Πατέρα, καί λέγων, Ἐξομολογοῦμαί σοι Πάτερ ἅγιε.

Μωάβ δέ, ἔντερον πατρός ἑρμηνεύεται, νοεῖται δέ τό ἡμέτερον σῶμα, δι᾿ οὗ κατά τήν πρακτικήν φιλοσοφίαν λουτροῦ δίκην, ὅπερ δηλοῖ σαφῶς ὁ λέβης, ἡ κάθαρσις πέφυκε γίνεσθαι τῶν ἁμαρτημάτων. Κάθαρσις γάρ ἐστιν ὁ λέβης, τῆς ἐλπίδος· (868) τουτέστιν, ἡ διά βίου κατά τήν κάθαρσιν πρός κληρονομίαν τῶν κατ᾿ ἐλπίδα ἀποκειμένων ἡμῖν ἀγαθῶν ἑτοιμότης.

∆ύναται δέ πάλιν νοηθῆναι ὁ Μωάβ καί εἰς τήν σάρκωσιν τοῦ Κυρίου. Υἱός γάρ ἀνθρώπου δι᾿ ἡμᾶς γέγονέ τε καί ἐχρημάτισεν ὁ ἀληθινός λέβης τῆς ἐλπίδος ἡμῶν, τουτέστιν ὁ ῥυπτικός καί καθαρτικός τῶν ἐκ τῆς ἁμαρτίας ἡμετέρων κηλίδων τε καί μολυσμῶν.

Ἐπί τήν Ἰδουμαίαν ἐκτενῶ τό ὑπόδημά μου. Ἰδουμαία, αἱματώδης πηλός ἑρμηνεύεται· δύναται δέ ληφθῆναι καί εἰς τήν

σάρκα τοῦ Κυρίου· δι᾿ ἧς ἐπέβη ὡς δι᾿ ὑποδήματος τοῖς ἀνθρώποις· ἄλλως χωρῆσαι τόν Ποιητήν μή δυναμένης τῆς κτίσεως· ἄπειρόν τε καί ἀχώρητον κατά φύσιν τυγχάνοντα.

∆ύναται δέ πάλιν νοηθῆναι καί εἰς τήν ἑκάστου ἡμῶν σάρκα· ἐφ᾿ ἧς ἐκτείνομεν τό ὑπόδημα· τουτέστι τήν φρουροῦσαν τήν ψυχήν ἀπό τῶν πονηρῶν τοῦ διαβόλου τριβόλων τε καί ἀκανθῶν ἄσκησίν τε καί ἐγκράτειαν· τοῦτο γάρ χρή νοεῖσθαι τό