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not making it clear; and again naming holy mountains, and the gates of Zion preferred by the Lord over the tabernacles of Jacob, and a city of God spoken of gloriously; and above all, in the city, not Israel, nor the nation of the Jews, but Rahab who was once a harlot and Babylon, and Tyrians and Ethiopians and foreigners. For that all these would be born in the city of God, one could state no other reason than the birth of the man born in it, and of the Lord being born there, that is, in the aforementioned man; on account of which he prophesies at the end of the psalm all common gladness and dances, songs and praises and springs of divine and holy words. And when he says that all these things will be in the writing of the peoples, I think it signifies 23.1052 the time of the census of the nations, which was fulfilled at the birth of our Savior Jesus Christ; for then a decree went out from Caesar Augustus that all the world should be registered; when Quirinius, governing Judea, made the registration. Indeed, the evangelist indicates it, saying: This was the first census; so that the time itself is precisely declared through the present psalm. Perhaps for this reason the psalm is set apart, and separated far from the rest of those inscribed "of the sons of Korah," because the word wished to hide the mysteries declared in it concerning the birth of the Lord; so that this is another reason for the things we were investigating at the beginning of the present matters. And you might say the same about the 87th which is read next after this one, it too being inscribed "of the sons of Korah"; since it too prophesies the death of our Savior, following the one at hand which contains his birth.

A SONG OF A PSALM FOR THE SONS OF KORAH, TO THE END, FOR MAHALATH, FOR RESPONSIVE SINGING, OF UNDERSTANDING, OF HEMAN THE EZRAHITE. 87.

O Lord, the God of my salvation, I have cried day and night before you. And the present psalm happens to be "Of the sons of Korah," like the one before it. But the one before it hinted at the birth of Christ, saying: And to Zion it will be said: Man and man was born in her, and he himself will establish her, as Aquila translated; and it signifies the time of the birth of the said man, proceeding in order; for it said: When writing of peoples, this one was born there. But the fifth edition has rendered the meaning of this more clearly, in which it is said: In the census of the peoples, this one will be born there. For it most clearly mentioned the census, according to which our Savior and Lord was born, just as the evangelist declares, saying: In those days a decree went out from Caesar Augustus that all the world should be registered. This was the first census made when Quirinius was governor of Syria. But that one signified his birth, while the one at hand signifies his death. And "for Mahalath," Symmachus translated as "by a choir"; but Aquila, "for a dance." And it seems to me to hint at the people of Christ and the ecclesiastical choir, in which the death of our Savior is sung. And since his birth is also sung by this choir, fittingly the psalm before this, having prophesied his birth, added saying: And singers as well as dancers, all my springs are in you, signifying the choirs in the Church of Christ singing of him and praising the mysteries. And they say that the one called Heman the Ezrahite was one of the sons of Zerah the son of Judah, and that he was called Zerahite by the Hebrews as a patronymic; and that there were five in all; and that the first of Chronicles 23.1053 bears witness to the account, containing it in this way: The sons of Judah: Perez and Zerah; and the sons of Zerah: Zimri, and Ethan and Heman and

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μὴ διασαφῶν· καὶ πάλιν ὄρη ἅγια ὀνομάζων, καὶ πύλας Σιὼν προτιμωμένας ὑπὸ τοῦ Κυρίου τῶν σκηνωμάτων Ἰακὼβ, καὶ πόλιν Θεοῦ δεδοξασμένως λαλουμένην· καὶ ἐπὶ πᾶν, ἐν τῇ πόλει, οὐ τὸν Ἰσραὴλ, οὐδὲ τὸ Ἰουδαίων ἔθνος, ἀλλὰ Ῥαὰβ τήν ποτε πόρνην καὶ Βαβυλῶνα, Τυρίους τε καὶ Αἰθίοπας καὶ ἀλλοφύλους. Τούτους γὰρ πάντας τεχθήσεσθαι ἐν τῇ πόλει τοῦ Θεοῦ διὰ ποίαν αἰτίαν οὐκ ἂν ἔχοι τις ἄλλην εἰπεῖν ἢ διὰ τὴν γένεσιν τοῦ ἐν αὐτῇ τεχθέντος ἀνδρὸς, καὶ τοῦ Κυρίου τεχθέντος ἐκεῖ, δηλαδὴ ἐν αὐτῷ τῷ προλεχθέντι ἀνδρί· ἐφ' οἷς πᾶσαν εὐφροσύνην κοινὴν καὶ χορείας, ᾠδάς τε καὶ αἴνους καὶ πηγὰς θείων καὶ ἱερῶν λόγων ἐπὶ τέλει τοῦ ψαλμοῦ θεσπίζει. Ἐπὰν δὲ λέγῃ ἐν γραφῇ λαῶν ταῦτα πάντα ἔσεσθαι, σημαίνειν 23.1052 ἡγοῦμαι τὸν καιρὸν τῆς ἀπογραφῆς τῶν ἐθνῶν, ἥτις ἐπληροῦτο ἐπὶ τῆς τοῦ Σωτῆρος ἡμῶν Ἰησοῦ Χριστοῦ γενέσεως· τότε γὰρ ἐξῆλθε δόγμα παρὰ Καίσαρος Αὐγούστου ἀπογράφεσθαι πᾶσαν τὴν οἰκουμένην· ὅτε Κυρήνιος ἐπιστὰς τῇ Ἰουδαίᾳ τὰς ἀπογραφὰς ἐποιεῖτο. Ἐπισημαίνεται γοῦν ὁ εὐαγγελιστὴς λέγων· Αὕτη ἡ ἀπογραφὴ πρώτη· ὥστε καὶ τὸν καιρὸν αὐτὸν ἀκριβῶς διὰ τοῦ παρόντος ψαλμοῦ δηλοῦσθαι. Μήποτε δὲ καὶ διὰ τοῦτο ἀφώρισται ὁ ψαλμὸς, καὶ μακρὰν ἀπεσχοίνισται τῶν λοιπῶν τῶν ἐπιγεγραμμένων υἱῶν Κορὲ, ἐπειδὴ κρύπτεσθαι ὁ λόγος τὰ δηλούμενα ἐν αὐτῷ μυστήρια περὶ τῆς τοῦ Κυρίου γενέσεως ἐβούλετο· ὥστε καὶ ταύτην ἑτέραν εἶναι αἰτίαν τῶν ἐζητημένων ἡμῖν κατὰ τὴν ἀρχὴν τῶν προκειμένων. Τὸ αὐτὸ δ' ἂν εἴποις καὶ ἐπὶ τοῦ πζʹ ἑξῆς τούτῳ ἐπιλεγομένου, ἐπιγεγραμμένου τε καὶ αὐτοῦ τῶν υἱῶν Κορέ· ἐπεὶ καὶ αὐτὸς τὸν θάνατον τοῦ Σωτῆρος ἡμῶν προφητεύει ἀκολούθως τῷ μετὰ χεῖρας τὴν γένεσιν αὐτοῦ περιέχοντι.

Ω∆Η ΨΑΛΜΟΥ ΤΟΙΣ ΥΙΟΙΣ ΚΟΡΕ, ΕΙΣ ΤΟ ΤΕΛΟΣ, ΥΠΕΡ ΜΑΕΛΕΘ, ΤΟΥ ΑΠΟΚΡΙΘΗΝΑΙ, ΣΥΝΕΣΕΩΣ ΑΙΜΑΝ ΤΩ ΕΣ∆ΡΑΪΤΗ. ΠΖʹ.

Κύριε ὁ Θεὸς τῆς σωτηρίας μου, ἡμέρας ἐκέκραξα καὶ ἐν νυκτὶ ἐναντίον σοῦ. Καὶ ὁ παρὼν ψαλμὸς Τῶν υἱῶν Κορὲ, ὡς καὶ ὁ πρὸ αὐτοῦ, τυγχάνει. Ἀλλ' ὁ μὲν πρὸ αὐτοῦ, Χριστοῦ γένεσιν ᾐνίττετο φάσκων· Καὶ τῇ Σιὼν λεχθήσεται· Ἀνὴρ καὶ ἀνὴρ ἐτέχθη ἐν αὐτῇ, καὶ αὐτὸς ἑδράσει αὐτὴν, ὡς ὁ Ἀκύλας ἡρμήνευσε· καὶ τὸν καιρόν γε σημαίνει τῆς γενέσεως τοῦ εἰρημένου ἀνδρὸς, προϊὼν ἑξῆς· ἔφασκε γοῦν· Ἐν τῷ γράφειν λαοὺς, οὗτος ἐτέχθη ἐκεῖ. Τούτου δὲ τὴν διάνοιαν σαφέστερον ἀποδέδωκεν ἡ πέμπτη ἔκδοσις, ἐν ᾗ εἴρηται· Ἐν ἀπογραφῇ λαῶν, οὗτος γεννηθήσεται ἐκεῖ. Σαφέστατα γὰρ τῆς ἀπογραφῆς ἐμνημόνευσε, καθ' ἣν ὁ Σωτὴρ καὶ Κύριος ἡμῶν ἐγεννήθη, ὥσπερ οὖν δηλοῖ λέγων ὁ εὐαγγελιστής· Ἐν ταῖς ἡμέραις ἐκείναις ἐξῆλθε δόγμα παρὰ Καίσαρος Αὐγούστου ἀπογράφεσθαι πᾶσαν τὴν οἰκουμένην. Αὕτη ἡ ἀπογραφὴ πρώτη ἐγένετο ἡγεμονεύσαντος τῆς Συρίας Κυρηνίου. Ἀλλ' ἐκεῖνος μὲν τὴν γένεσιν ἐσήμανεν αὐτοῦ, ὁ δὲ μετὰ χεῖρας τὸν θάνατον. Τὸ δὲ, ὑπὲρ Μαελὲθ, διὰ χοροῦ, ἡρμήνευσεν ὁ Σύμμαχος· ὁ δὲ Ἀκύλας, ἐπὶ χορείας. Καί μοι δοκεῖ τὸν Χριστοῦ λαὸν αἰνίττεσθαι καὶ τὴν ἐκκλησιαστικὴν χορείαν, ἐν ᾗ τοῦ Σωτῆρος ἡμῶν ὁ θάνατος ἀνυμνεῖται. Ἐπεὶ δὲ καὶ ἡ γένεσις αὐτοῦ διὰ τῆς χορείας ταύτης ᾄδεται, εἰκότως καὶ ὁ πρὸ τούτου ψαλμὸς τὴν γένεσιν αὐτοῦ θεσπίσας ἐπήγαγε λέγων· Καὶ ᾄδοντες ὡς χοροὶ πᾶσαι πηγαὶ ἐν σοὶ, τοὺς ἐν τῇ Ἐκκλησίᾳ Χριστοῦ χοροὺς ᾄδοντας αὐτοῦ καὶ ἀνυμνοῦντας τὰ μυστήρια δηλώσας. Τὸν δὲ λεγόμενον Αἰμὰν τὸν Ἐσδραΐτην φασὶν εἶναι ἕνα τῶν υἱῶν Ζαρὰ τοῦ υἱοῦ Ἰούδα, κεκλῆσθαί τε αὐτὸν παρ' Ἑβραίοις πατρωνυμικῶς Ζαραΐτην· εἶναι δὲ πέντε τοὺς πάντας· μαρτυρεῖν δὲ τῷ λόγῳ τὴν πρώτην τῶν Παραλειπομέ 23.1053 νων, τοῦτον περιέχουσαν τὸν τρόπον· Υἱοὶ Ἰούδα Φαρὲς καὶ Ζαρά· καὶ υἱοὶ Ζαρὰ, Ζαμβρὶ, καὶ Αἰθὰμ καὶ Αἰμὰν καὶ