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of the death of the cattle, and of the death of the firstborn; and he did not mention the gnats, nor the boils, nor the darkness; but instead of these he said blight and frost; for which the others have interpreted locust or bruchus, or worm, or cold. He sent upon them the wrath of his anger, anger and wrath and tribulation, a sending forth by means of evil angels. He made a path for his wrath, he did not spare their souls from death, and he shut up their cattle to death. And he struck every firstborn in the land of Egypt, the firstfruits of all their labor in the tents of Ham. In addition to what was said, God also did these things against the Egyptians for the salvation of the people; He sent upon them the wrath of his anger, anger and wrath and tribulation. But since wrath and anger are mentioned many times, the present discourse interprets the meaning of such a phrase by adding what follows: A sending forth by means of evil angels; or according to Symmachus, a dispatch of afflicting angels. For the dispatch of afflicting angels was considered by men to be the anger and wrath of God. For it is not proper to think that there is a passion of anger in God; but that the punishments against the impious, which come about by the just judgment of God through the sending of angels appointed for this purpose, are called anger and wrath. However, when the dispatch of afflicting angels occurred against the Egyptians, he himself made a path for his wrath; and according to Symmachus, he paved a way for his wrath. And it seems to me that through these things is hinted the mystical worship delivered to the people at the time of the wrath that came upon the Egyptians. For then he commands them to celebrate the feast of the Passover, having sacrificed a sheep as a symbol of the Lamb of God who was to be sacrificed for men, and having anointed the doorposts of their houses with the blood; so that the destroyer, seeing this, might withdraw from an attack on those who had done this. For it is written: And the Lord will pass through to strike the Egyptians; and he will see the blood on the lintel, and on both the doorposts. And the Lord will pass over the door; and he will not permit the destroyer to enter into your houses to strike you. But for these he made a path to 23.929 escape his wrath; but he did not spare the Egyptians; but he delivered their souls to death, as they were worthy of such punishment; since, given over to impieties and to the polytheistic and Egyptian superstition, their souls happened to be immersed in another death. Therefore the present discourse teaches that not a common death came upon them, but a death of souls. For the destroyer, to whom they were delivered, at the same time as the dissolution of the body, took their souls, leading them away to destruction. Wherefore it is also written again: He did not spare their souls from death. Then he clarifies, saying next: And he struck every firstborn in the land of Egypt, the firstfruits of their labors. But instead of, the firstfruits of their labors in the tents of Ham; Symmachus interpreted: The first of their strengths. For the firstborn were also the first of the strength of those who begot them. Therefore, through the first plagues, as if calling them to repentance through forbearance and long-suffering, he sparingly brought punishments upon them. But in the end he did not spare their souls from death; but also shut up their cattle to death. Since every firstborn in the land of Egypt was destroyed, of both cattle and men. And very precisely he says that in the case of men their souls were delivered to death; for the destroyer was a demon, who took their souls even after death; but in the case of the cattle he no longer mentioned souls, but only the common and bodily death; for cattle do not partake of a soul that remains after the dissolution of the body in the same way as the souls of men. But the

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τοῦ θανάτου τῶν κτηνῶν, καὶ τοῦ θανάτου τῶν πρωτοτόκων· σκνιπῶν τε οὐκ ἐμνήσθη, οὐδὲ τῶν φλυκτανῶν, οὐδὲ τοῦ σκότους· ἀντὶ δὲ τούτων ἐρυσίβην εἶπε καὶ πάχνην· ἀνθ' ὧν μυζήτην ἢ βροῦχον, ἢ σκώληκα, ἢ κρύος οἱ λοιποὶ ἡρμήνευσαν. Ἐξαπέστειλεν εἰς αὐτοὺς ὀργὴν θυμοῦ αὐτοῦ, θυμὸν καὶ ὀργὴν καὶ θλίψιν, ἀποστολὴν δι' ἀγγέλων πονηρῶν. Ὡδοποίησε τρίβον τῇ ὀργῇ αὐτοῦ, οὐκ ἐφείσατο ἀπὸ θανάτου τῶν ψυχῶν αὐτῶν, καὶ τὰ κτηνὴ αὐτῶν εἰς θάνατον συνέκλεισε. Καὶ ἐπάταξε πᾶν πρωτότοκον ἐν γῇ Αἰγύπτῳ, ἀπαρχὴν παντὸς πόνου αὐτῶν ἐν τοῖς σκηνώμασι Χάμ. Πρὸς τοῖς λεχθεῖσι καὶ ταῦτα κατὰ τῶν Αἰγυπτίων ὑπὲρ τῆς σωτηρίας τοῦ λαοῦ ὁ Θεὸς εἰργάζετο· Ἐξαπέστειλεν εἰς αὐτοὺς ὀργὴν θυμοῦ αὐτοῦ, θυμὸν καὶ ὀργὴν καὶ θλίψιν. Πολλαχοῦ δὲ τῆς ὀργῆς ὀνομαζομένης καὶ τοῦ θυμοῦ, ὁ παρὼν λόγος τὴν διάνοιαν ἑρμηνεύει τῆς τοιαύτης φωνῆς ἑξῆς ἐπιλέγων· Ἀποστολὴν δι' ἀγγέλων πονηρῶν· ἢ κατὰ τὸν Σύμμαχον, Ἐπαποστολὴν ἀγγέλων κακούντων. Ἡ γὰρ τῶν κακούντων ἀγγέλων ἐπαποστολὴ ὡς πρὸς ἀνθρώπους ἐνομίζετο θυμὸς εἶναι καὶ ὀργὴ Θεοῦ. Οὐ γὰρ δὴ πάθος εἶναι ὀργῆς περὶ τὸν Θεὸν προσήκει νομίζειν· τὰς δὲ κατὰ τῶν ἀσεβῶν τιμωρίας κρίσει δικαίᾳ Θεοῦ δι' ἀποστολὴν ἀγγέλων τῶν εἰς τοῦτο τεταγμένων γιγνομένας ὀργὴν καὶ θυμὸν καλεῖσθαι. Πλὴν ἀλλὰ τοῖς Αἰγυπτίοις ἐπαποστολῆς ἀγγέλων κακούντων γενομένης, αὐτὸς ὡδοποίησε τρίβον τῇ ὀργῇ αὐτοῦ· κατὰ δὲ τὸν Σύμμαχον, διέστρωσε ἀτραπὸν τῇ ὀργῇ αὐτοῦ. Καί μοι δοκεῖ διὰ τούτων αἰνίττεσθαι τὴν παραδοθεῖσαν τῷ λαῷ μυστικὴν λατρείαν κατὰ τὸν καιρὸν τῆς ἐπελθούσης τοῖς Αἰγυπτίοις ὀργῆς. Τότε γὰρ διατάττεται τὴν τοῦ Πάσχα ἑορτὴν ἐπιτελέσαι, θύσαντας μὲν πρόβατον κατὰ σύμβολον τοῦ μέλλοντος ὑπὲρ ἀνθρώπων τυθήσεσθαι Ἀμνοῦ τοῦ Θεοῦ, χρίσαντας δὲ ἑαυτῶν τὰς φλιὰς τῶν οἴκων τῷ αἵματι· ὡς ἂν, τοῦτο θεασάμενος ὁ ὀλοθρευτὴς, ἀναχωρήσειε τῆς κατὰ τῶν τοῦτο πραξάντων ἐπιβολῆς. Γέγραπται γοῦν· Καὶ παρελεύσεται Κύριος πατάξαι τοὺς Αἰγυπτίους· καὶ ὄψεται τὸ αἷμα ἐπὶ τῆς φλιᾶς, καὶ ἐπ' ἀμφοτέρων τῶν σταθμῶν. Καὶ παρελεύσεται Κύριος τὴν θύραν· καὶ οὐκ ἀφήσει τὸν ὀλοθρεύοντα εἰσελθεῖν εἰς τὰς οἰκίας ὑμῶν πατάξαι. Ἀλλὰ τούτοις μὲν ὡδοποίησε τρίβον πρὸς τὸ ἐκ 23.929 φυγεῖν τὴν ὀργὴν αὐτοῦ· τῶν δὲ Αἰγυπτίων οὐκ ἐφείσατο· παρεδίδου δὲ εἰς θάνατον τὰς ψυχὰς αὐτῶν, ἀξίων ὄντων τῆς τοιαύτης τιμωρίας· ἐπειδήπερ, ἀσεβείαις ἐκδεδομένοι καὶ τῇ πολυθέῳ καὶ Αἰγυπτιακῇ δεισιδαιμονίᾳ, ἄλλῳ θανάτῳ τὰς ψυχὰς ἐτύγχανον βεβαπτισμένοι. ∆ιόπερ ὁ παρὼν λόγος οὐ κοινὸν θάνατον ἐπεληλυθέναι αὐτοῖς διδάσκει, ἀλλὰ ψυχῶν θάνατον. Ὁ γὰρ ὀλοθρευτὴς, ᾧ παρεδόθησαν, ἅμα τῇ τοῦ σώματος διαλύσει, τὰς ψυχὰς αὐτῶν παρελάμβανεν, εἰς ὄλεθρον αὐτὰς ἀπάγων. ∆ιὸ καὶ αὖθις γέγραπται· Οὐκ ἐφείσατο ἀπὸ θανάτου τῶν ψυχῶν αὐτῶν. Εἶτα διασαφεῖ λέγων ἑξῆς· Καὶ ἐπάταξε πᾶν πρωτότοκον ἐν γῇ Αἰγύπτῳ, ἀπαρχὴν τῶν πόνων αὐτῶν. Ἀντὶ δὲ τοῦ, ἀπαρχὴν τῶν πόνων αὐτῶν ἐν τοῖς σκηνώμασι Χάμ· ὁ Σύμμαχος· Πρωτεῖον δυνάμεων αὐτῶν, ἡρμήνευσε. Τὰ γὰρ πρωτότοκα καὶ πρωτεῖον ἦν τῆς δυνάμεως τῶν γεννησάντων. ∆ιὰ μὲν οὖν τῶν πρώτων πληγῶν, ὥσπερ εἰς μετάνοιαν αὐτοὺς προσκαλούμενος διὰ τῆς ἀνοχῆς καὶ μακροθυμίας, πεφεισμένως αὐτοῖς ἐπῆγε τὰς τιμωρίας. Ἐπὶ τέλει δὲ οὐκ ἐφείσατο ἀπὸ θανάτου τῶν ψυχῶν αὐτῶν· ἀλλὰ καὶ τὰ κτήνη αὐτῶν εἰς θάνατον συνέκλεισεν. Ἐπεὶ καὶ πᾶν πρωτότοκον ἐν γῇ Αἰγύπτῳ ἀνῃρεῖτο, κτηνῶν τε καὶ ἀνδρῶν. Σφόδρα δὲ ἀκριβῶς ἐπὶ μὲν τῶν ἀνθρώπων θανάτῳ φησὶ τὰς ψυχὰς αὐτῶν παραδεδόσθαι· ἦν γὰρ ὁ ὀλοθρευτὴς δαίμων, ὁ τὰς ψυχὰς αὐτῶν καὶ μετὰ θάνατον παραλαμβάνων· ἐπὶ δὲ τῶν κτηνῶν οὐκέτι ψυχῶν ἐμνημόνευσεν, ἀλλὰ μόνου τοῦ κοινοῦ καὶ σωματικοῦ θανάτου· οὐ γὰρ μετέχει ψυχῆς τὰ κτήνη τῆς μετὰ τὴν τοῦ σώματος λύσιν παραμενούσης ὁμοίως ταῖς τῶν ἀνθρώπων ψυχαῖς. Τὴν δὲ