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another of Solomon, and again of Ethan the Ezrahite; and many others besides these are untitled, so that we are not able to know whose they might be. Therefore, since they were composed at different times in antiquity, they existed sporadically, preserved by those diligent in these matters. Then later the 150 were collected into one book. Perhaps then the one who collected them, whether this was Ezra, as the sons of the Hebrews say, or some other besides him, arranged as first in the book those that first came to him. For not having found all of them at once at one time, he of necessity joined those that came to hand to those previously received. Wherefore it is likely that he arranged the first eight of the sons of Korah at that time, when they were all found together at once; and after those, he joined the ones that came to him after these. Then, when many had been found in the meantime, and had been taken up into the book of Psalms after the 82nd psalm, two other psalms of the 23.1041 sons of Korah were found again, which he also joined consecutively, arranging them in the eighty-third and eighty-fourth place. Then in the intervening time the Prayer of David was found, and he inserted this too after the 84th. And again after the Prayer of David, which had been listed in the 85th place, two others of the sons of Korah were found, the one at hand and the one after it; and of necessity these too were collected with the Prayer of David. And one might say that the same reasoning exists for the composition of the remaining psalms as well. And what has been said will be confirmed by proofs from the prophets; since in the prophetic books one can often find things spoken earlier in time placed second in order, and things prophesied later placed before those that preceded them in time. For instance, Jeremiah begins to prophesy in the time of Josiah, and continues until Zedekiah and the captivity; and Zedekiah was the fourth king after Josiah. For after Josiah, his son Jehoiakim succeeded to the rule as the second; after him, Jeconiah son of Jehoiakim was third; after him, Zedekiah brother of Jehoiakim was fourth; and although Jeremiah prophesied during the reigns of all these, his eponymous writing begins from Josiah; then, proceeding, it mentions Jeconiah, the third from Josiah; then it prophesies the things concerning Zedekiah, who was the fourth from Josiah; next to which it places the things prophesied in the fourth year of Jehoiakim, who was second after Josiah. Then next it brings on the things from the beginning of the reign of the same Jehoiakim; then the things concerning Zedekiah, and again the things concerning Jehoiakim. Then it mentions the captivity in Babylon, and how after Zedekiah, Gedaliah was appointed leader of those left behind, and how Ishmael kills Gedaliah, after whom Johanan son of Kareah leads. And after all these it next brings on the prophecies spoken in the 4th year of Jehoiakim, and again those spoken at the beginning of the reign of Zedekiah. And you might find similar things in Ezekiel. Since in his writing too the prophecies are not composed in chronological order; but some from the 27th year of the captivity are placed before what was spoken in the 11th year of the captivity; for after those in the 27th year are placed those spoken in the 11th year of the captivity; and again after those in the 11th, others are placed that were spoken in the 10th year, and next those in the 25th year. And of all these things one might say the cause is none other than the one that has been given. For it is likely that things prophesied partially at various times and under each king, were preserved sporadically in antiquity by the diligent, and that either Ezra, or some others, in collecting into one account the things spoken by each of the prophets at different times, arranged as first the sayings that were found first; then next joined those found after these, even if they were earlier in time. And that the same reasoning applies to the ordering of the Psalms, both of all of them in general, and of those under our examination in particular; unless perhaps some deeper meaning is hidden

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Σολομῶντος ἄλλος, καὶ πάλιν Αἰθὰν τοῦ Ἐσδραΐτου· καὶ ἕτεροι δὲ πλεῖστοι ὅσοι παρὰ τούτους φέρονται ἀνεπίγραφοι, οὐ δυναμένων ἡμῶν εἰδέναι τίνος ἄρ' εἶεν. ∆ιαφόρως οὖν εἰρημένων τὸ παλαιὸν σποράδην ὑπῆρχε παρὰ τοῖς περὶ ταῦτα σπουδαίοις πεφυλαγμένον. Εἶθ' ὕστερον συναχθῆναι τοὺς ρνʹ ὑπὸ μίαν βίβλον. Μήποτ' οὖν ὁ συναγαγὼν, εἴτ' Ἔσδρας οὗτος ἦν, ὥς φασιν Ἑβραίων παῖδες, εἴτε τις ἕτερος παρὰ τοῦτον, τοὺς πρώτους εἰς αὐτὸν ἐχομένους πρώτους ἐν τῇ βίβλῳ κατέταττεν. Οὐκ ἀθρόως γὰρ τοὺς πάντας ὑφ' ἕνα καιρὸν εὑρὼν, ἐξ ἀνάγκης τοὺς πρὸς χεῖρα παρεμπίπτοντας συνῆπτε τοῖς προειληφόσι. ∆ιόπερ καὶ τοὺς πρώτους ηʹ Τῶν υἱῶν Κορὲ εἰκὸς τότε κατατάξαι, ὅτε καὶ ἀθρόως ὁμοῦ πάντες εὕρηνται· μετ' ἐκείνους δὲ συνάψαι τοὺς μετὰ ταῦτα εἰς αὐτὸν ἐλθόντας. Εἶτα πολλῶν ἐν τῷ μεταξὺ εὑρημένων, καὶ εἰς τὴν βίβλον τῶν Ψαλμῶν ἀναληφθέντων μετὰ τὸν πβʹ ψαλμὸν, εὑρῆσθαι πάλιν ἄλλους δύο Τῶν 23.1041 υἱῶν Κορὲ, οὓς καὶ ἀκολούθως συνάψας ἐν τῷ τρίτῳ καὶ πʹ καὶ τῷ πδʹ κατέταξεν. Εἶτα μεταξὺ τοῦ χρόνου τῆς τοῦ ∆αυῒδ Προσευχῆς εὑρεθείσης, ἐνθεῖναι καὶ ταύτην μετὰ τὸν πδʹ. Καὶ πάλιν μετὰ τὴν Προσευχὴν τοῦ ∆αυῒδ, ἐν πεʹ τόπῳ καταλεχθεῖσαν, εὑρεθῆναι ἑτέρους δύο Τῶν υἱῶν Κορὲ, τὸν μετὰ χεῖρας καὶ τὸν ἐφεξῆς αὐτῷ· ἐξ ἀνάγκης τε καὶ αὐτοὺς συναχθῆναι τῇ Προσευχῇ τοῦ ∆αυΐδ. Τὸν αὐτὸν δὲ λόγον ὑπάρχειν ὁ αὐτὸς εἴποι ἂν καὶ ἐπὶ τῆς τῶν λοιπῶν ψαλμῶν συνθέσεως. Πιστώσεται δὲ τὸ λελεγμένον ἀπὸ προφητικῶν ἀποδείξεων· ἐπεὶ γὰρ ἐν ταῖς προφητικαῖς βίβλοις πολλάκις ἐστὶν εὑρεῖν τὰ τῷ χρόνῳ προλεχθέντα δεύτερα κείμενα τῇ τάξει, καὶ τὰ προφητευθέντα ὕστερα προτεταγμένα τῶν προαγόντων τοῖς χρόνοις. Ὁ γοῦν Ἱερεμίας προφητεύειν μὲν ἄρχεται ἐπὶ Ἰωσίου, παρατείνει δὲ μέχρι Σεδεκίου καὶ τῆς αἰχμαλωσίας· Σεδεκίας δ' ἦν τέταρτος ἀπὸ Ἰωσίου βασιλεύς. Μετὰ γὰρ Ἰωσίαν δεύτερος Ἰωακεὶμ υἱὸς αὐτοῦ διαδέχεται τὴν ἀρχήν· μεθ' ὃν τρίτος Ἰεχωνίας υἱὸς Ἰωακείμ· μεθ' ὃν τέταρτος Σεδεκίας ἀδελφὸς Ἰωακείμ· καθ' οὓς ἅπαντας τοῦ Ἱερεμίου προφητεύσαντος, ἡ ἐπώνυμος αὐτοῦ γραφὴ ἄρχεται μὲν ἀπὸ Ἰωσίου· εἶτα προϊοῦσα μέμνηται Ἰεχωνίου τοῦ τρίτου ἀπὸ Ἰωσίου· εἶτα προφητεύει τὰ ἐπὶ Σεδεκίου, ὃς ἦν τέταρτος ἀπὸ Ἰωσίου· οἷς ἑξῆς τίθησι τὰ ἐν τῷ τετάρτῳ ἐπὶ Ἰωακεὶμ προφητευθέντα, ὃς ἦν δεύτερος μετὰ Ἰωσίαν. Εἶθ' ἑξῆς ἐπάγει τὰ ἐν ἀρχῇ τοῦ αὐτοῦ Ἰωακείμ· εἶτα τὰ ἐπὶ Σεδεκίου, καὶ πάλιν τὰ ἐπὶ Ἰωακείμ. Εἶτα μέμνηται τῆς αἰχμαλωσίας τῆς εἰς Βαβυλῶνα, καὶ ὡς μετὰ Σεδεκίαν κατέστη ἡγούμενος τῶν ἀπολειφθέντων Γοδολίας, καὶ ὡς Ἰσμαὴλ ἀναιρεῖ τὸν Γοδολίαν, μεθ' ὃν Ἰωανᾶν υἱὸς Καριὲ ἡγεῖται. Καὶ μετὰ τούτους ἅπαντας ἑξῆς ἐπάγει τὰς ἐν τῷ δʹ ἔτει Ἰωακεὶμ λεχθείσας προφητείας, καὶ πάλιν τὰς ἐν ἀρχῇ βασιλείας Σεδεκίου εἰρημένας. Εὕροις δ' ἂν καὶ παρὰ τῷ Ἐζεκιὴλ τὰ παραπλήσια. Ἐπεὶ καὶ ἐν τῇ τούτου γραφῇ οὐχ ἑξῆς τοῖς χρόνοις σύγκεινται αἱ προφητεῖαι· ἀλλ' εἰσὶν αἱ μὲν κατὰ τὸ κζʹ ἔτος τῆς αἰχμαλωσίας προτεταγμέναι τῷ ιαʹ τῆς αἰχμαλωσίας εἰρημένῳ· μετὰ γὰρ τὰς ἐν τῷ κζʹ ἔτει φέρονται αἱ λεχθεῖσαι ἐν τῷ ιαʹ τῆς αἰχμαλωσίας ἔτει· καὶ πάλιν μετὰ τὰς ἐν τῷ ιαʹ ἄλλαι φέρονται ἐν τῷ ιʹ ἔτει εἰρημέναι, καὶ ἑξῆς αἱ ἐν τῷ κεʹ ἔτει. Καὶ τούτων ἁπάντων εἴποι ἄν τις τὴν αἰτίαν οὐκ ἄλλην εἶναι τῆς ἀποδεδομένης. Σποράδην γὰρ, ὡς εἰκὸς, τῶν κατὰ χρόνους καὶ καθ' ἕκαστον βασιλέα μερικῶς προπεφητευμένων, τὸ παλαιὸν παρὰ τοῖς σπουδαίοις σωζομένων, ἤτοι τὸν Ἔσδραν, ἢ καί τινας ἑτέρους, ὑπὸ μίαν περιγραφὴν συνάγοντας τὰ ἑκάστῳ τῶν προφητῶν κατὰ χρόνους διαφόρους λεχθέντα, τοὺς πρώτους εὑρισκομένους λόγους κατατάσσειν πρώτους· εἶθ' ἑξῆς συνάπτειν τοὺς μετὰ ταῦτα εὑρισκομένους, εἰ καὶ προῆγον τῷ χρόνῳ. Τὸν δ' αὐτὸν εἶναι λόγον καὶ ἐπὶ τῆς τάξεως τῶν Ψαλμῶν, καθόλου μὲν ἁπάντων, ἰδίως δὲ καὶ τῶν μετὰ χεῖρας ἡμῖν ἐξεταζομένων· εἰ μὴ ἄρα τις βαθύτερος νοῦς λανθάνων