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your eyes be open toward this house day and night; so that both one praying by himself, and your people praying in common, 80.693 may obtain their requests, and not only the natives, but also those who come from elsewhere, and who are in need of your goodness, may be inundated with your gifts. I beseech you also that those who sin, but use repentance and pray diligently, be deemed worthy of your forbearance, and that the streams of your mercy be granted to them. And if your people, having been defeated in war on account of the transgressions they committed, should become captives of the spear, then, while in servitude, should come to a sense of their failings and, looking toward this temple, should beseech you to obtain pity, look down from heaven from that undefiled temple of yours, and restore to them, as they pray, their ancestral freedom. These things concerning wars and concerning the other plagues sent by God, he beseeched the philanthropic Master; so that those who live in their homeland, and run together to the divine temple, and fervently supplicate, might receive pardon. And those who are far away, and turn to the road that leads to this place, and implore God, might both be delivered from their difficulties and obtain their desires. QUEST. 28. How is this to be understood, "The Lord set the sun in the heaven, and said that he would dwell in thick darkness?" Singing, the blessed David said, "Cloud and thick darkness are round about him." And elsewhere, "And he bowed the heavens, and came down, and thick darkness was under his feet. And he mounted upon Cherubim, and flew; he flew upon the wings of the winds, and made darkness his hiding place." Now darkness and thick darkness signify the invisibility of the divine essence. Solomon therefore said that he who placed the sun in heaven, so that men might enjoy the light, he himself said "that he would dwell in thick darkness." But I think that the temple is alluded to here. For it had very small windows, since it also had other little houses built. For he added this: "Build a house for me, a comely house for yourself, to dwell upon emptiness." For he himself did not need such a building, but commanded it to be built for the need of men. It should be known, however, that the divine David had given to Solomon the plan of the building, and the measurements, and the gold, and the silver, and the number of the sacred vessels. For the book of Chronicles also says these things: "And David gave to Solomon his son the pattern of the temple, and of its houses, and of its upper 80.696 chambers, and of its inner storehouses, and of the mercy seat; and the pattern of all that he had by the spirit with him, and of the courts of the house of the Lord, and of all the chambers round about, for the treasuries of the house of the Lord, and for the treasuries of the holy things; and the divisions of the courses of the priests and of the Levites, for all the work of the service of the house of the Lord, and of the storerooms of the serviceable vessels for the worship of the house of the Lord; of which the gold and the weight of its measure, for all the vessels." And in order he lists the lampstands, and the tables, and the censers, and the flesh-hooks, and the bowls; and that he showed him also the pattern of the form of the Cherubim spreading out their wings and overshadowing the ark of the covenant of the Lord. All this David gave to Solomon in writing from the hand of the Lord. It is clear, therefore, that just as God showed to the great Moses the pattern of the tabernacle, and said to him, 'You shall make all things according to the pattern shown to you on the mountain;' so the grace of the Spirit taught the blessed David the form of the building; and he in turn showed this to his child. It is necessary to note that he called the all-holy Spirit 'Lord'. For the writer, having said, 'He gave him the pattern of all that he had by the spirit with him,' added a little later, 'All this David gave to Solomon in writing from the hand of the Lord.' And as the book of Chronicles taught again, the temple was also adorned with marbles. "For onyx stones, and stones for setting, and precious stones, and

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ὀφθαλμούς σου ἀνεῳγμένους εἰς τὸν οἶκον τοῦτον ἡμέρας καὶ νυκτός· ὥστε καὶ ἕνα καθ' ἑαυτὸν προσευχόμενον, καὶ κοινῆ 80.693 τὸν λαόν σου δεόμενον, τῶν αἰτήσεων ἀπολαύειν, καὶ μὴ τοὺς ἰθαγενεῖς μόνον, ἀλλὰ καὶ τοὺς ἄλλοθεν ἀφικνουμένους, καὶ τῆς σῆς ἀγαθότητος δεομέ νους, ταῖς σαῖς ἐπικλύζεσθαι δωρεαῖς. Ἱκετεύω δὲ καὶ τοὺς ἁμαρτάνοντας μὲν, μεταμελείᾳ δὲ κεχρη μένους, καὶ προσευχομένους ἐπιμελῶς, φειδοῦς ἀξιοῦσθαι, καὶ τοῦ σοῦ ἐλέους τοὺς κρουνοὺς αὐτοῖς χορηγεῖσθαι. Εἰ δὲ καὶ ἡττηθεὶς ἐν πολέμῳ, διὰ τὰς τολμηθείσας παρανομίας δορυάλωτος ὁ λαός σου γένοιτο, εἶτα δουλεύων εἰς αἴσθησιν ἔλθοι τῶν ἐπταισμένων, καὶ οἴκτου τυχεῖν ἱκετεύσοι εἰς τοῦτον τὸν ναὸν ἀποβλέπων, ἐπίβλεψον οὐρανόθεν ἐξ ἐκεί νου τοῦ ἀκηράτου ναοῦ σου, καὶ τὴν προγονικὴν αὐτοῖς ἐλευθερίαν προσευξαμένοις ἀπόδος. Ταῦτα καὶ περὶ πολέμων, καὶ περὶ τῶν ἄλλων θεηλάτων πληγῶν τὸν φιλάνθρωπον ∆εσπότην ἱκέτευσεν· ὥστε τοὺς μὲν ἐν τῇ πατρίδι διάγοντας, καὶ εἰς τὸν θεῖον ναὸν συνθέοντας, καὶ θερμῶς ἱκετεύοντας, συγγνώμης τυχεῖν. Τοὺς δὲ πόῤῥω ὄντας, καὶ εἰς τὴν πρὸς τοῦτον φέρουσαν τρεπομένους ὁδὸν, καὶ τὸν Θεὸν ἀντιβολοῦντας, καὶ τῶν δυσχερῶν ἀπαλ λάττεσθαι, καὶ τῶν καταθυμίων τυγχάνειν. ΕΡΩΤ. ΚΗʹ. Πῶς νοητέον τὸ, "Ἥλιον ἔστησεν ἐν οὐρανῷ Κύριος, καὶ εἶπε τοῦ κατοικεῖν ἐν γνόφῳ;" Μελῳδῶν ὁ μακάριος ἔφη ∆αβὶδ, "Νεφέλη καὶ γνόφος κύκλῳ αὐτοῦ." Καὶ ἀλλαχοῦ, "Καὶ ἔκλινεν οὐρανοὺς, καὶ κατέβη, καὶ γνόφος ὑπὸ τοὺς πόδας αὐτοῦ. Καὶ ἐπέβη ἐπὶ Χερουβὶμ, καὶ ἐπετάσθη· ἐπετάσθη ἐπὶ πτερύγων ἀνέμων, καὶ ἔθετο σκότος ἀποκρυφὴν αὑτοῦ." Σκότος δὲ καὶ γνόφος τῆς θείας αἰνίττεται οὐσίας τὸ ἀόρατον. Ἔφη τοίνυν ὁ Σολο μὼν, ὅτι τὸν ἥλιον ἐν οὐρανῷ τεθεικὼς, ὥστε τοὺς ἀνθρώπους ἀπολαύειν τοῦ φωτὸς, αὐτὸς εἶπε "τοῦ κατοικεῖν ἐν γνόφῳ." Οἶμαι δὲ ἐνταῦθα τὸν ναὸν αἰνίττεσθαι. Φωταγωγοὺς γὰρ εἶχε ἄγαν σμικροτά τους, ἐπειδὴ καὶ ἑτέρους οἰκίσκους εἶχε δεδομημέ νους. Τοῦτο γὰρ ἐπήγαγεν· "Οἰκοδόμησον οἶκόν μοι, οἶκον εὐπρεπῆ σεαυτῷ, τοῦ κατοικεῖν ἐπὶ κενότητος" Οὐδὲ γὰρ αὐτὸς ἐδεῖτο τῆς τοιαύτης οἰκοδομίας, ἀλλὰ διὰ τὴν τῶν ἀνθρώπων χρείαν οἰκοδομηθῆναι προσέταξεν. Ἰστέον μέντοι, ὡς τῆς οἰκοδομίας τὸ σκάριφον, καὶ τὰ μέτρα, καὶ τὸν χρυ σὸν, καὶ τὸν ἄργυρον, καὶ τὸν τῶν ἱερῶν ἀριθμὸν, ὁ θεῖος ∆αβὶδ ἐδεδώκει τῷ Σολομῶντι. Λέγει γὰρ ταῦτα καὶ τῶν Παραλειπομένων ἡ βίβλος· "Καὶ ἔδωκε ∆αβὶδ Σολομῶντι τῷ υἱῷ αὑτοῦ τὸ παράδει γμα τοῦ ναοῦ, καὶ τῶν οἴκων αὐτοῦ. καὶ τῶν ὑπερ 80.696 ῴων, καὶ τῶν ταμείων αὐτοῦ τῶν ἐσωτέρων, καὶ τοῦ ἱλαστηρίου· καὶ τὸ παράδειγμα πάντων, ὧν ἦν ἐν πνεύματι μετ' αὐτοῦ, καὶ τῶν αὐλῶν οἴκου Κυρίου, καὶ πάντων παστοφορίων τῶν κύκλῳ, τῶν εἰς τὰς ἀποθήκας οἴκου Κυρίου, καὶ τῶν ἀποθη κῶν τῶν Ἁγίων· καὶ τὰς διαιρέσεις τῶν ἐφημεριῶν τῶν ἱερέων καὶ τῶν Λευϊτῶν, εἰς πᾶσαν ἐργασίαν λειτουργίας οἴκου Κυρίου, καὶ τῶν ἀποθηκῶν τῶν λειτουργησίμων σκευῶν λατρείας οἴκου Κυρίου· ἧς τὸ χρυσίον καὶ τὸ σταθμὸν τῆς ὁλκῆς αὐτοῦ, πᾶσι τοῖς σκεύεσι." Καὶ ἐφεξῆς καταλέγει καὶ τὰς λυχνίας, καὶ τὰς τραπέζας, καὶ τὰ πυρεῖα, καὶ τὰς κρεάγρας, καὶ τὰς φιάλας· καὶ ὅτι ὑπέδειξεν αὐτῷ καὶ τὸ παράδειγμα τοῦ σχήματος τῶν Χερουβὶμ τῶν διαπετομένων ἐν ταῖς πτέρυξι, καὶ σκια ζόντων ἐπὶ τῆς κιβωτοῦ τῆς διαθήκης Κυρίου. Πάν τα ἐν γραφῇ ἐκ χειρὸς Κυρίου ἔδωκε ∆αβὶδ τῷ Σο λομῶντι. ∆ῆλον τοίνυν, ὅτι καθάπερ τῷ μεγάλῳ Μωσῇ ἔδειξεν ὁ Θεὸς τῆς σκηνῇς τὸ παράδειγμα, καὶ ἔφη πρὸς αὐτὸν, ὅτι "Ποιήσεις πάντα κατὰ τὸν τύπον τὸν δειχθέντα σοι ἐν τῷ ὄρει·" οὕτως τὸν μακάριον ∆αβὶδ ἐδίδαξεν ἡ χάρις τοῦ Πνεύματος τῆς οἰκοδομίας τὸ εἶδος· αὐτὸς δὲ τοῦτο ὑπέδειξε τῷ παιδί. Ἐπισημήνασθαι δὲ χρὴ, ὅτι Κύριον τὸ παν άγιον ὠνόμασε Πνεῦμα. Εἰρηκὼς γὰρ ὁ συγγρα φεὺς, ὅτι "Ἔδωκεν αὐτῷ τὸ παράδειγμα πάντων ὧν ἦν ἐν πνεύματι μετ' αὐτοῦ," ἐπήγαγε μετ' ὀλίγα, "Πάντα ἐν γραφῇ ἐκ χειρὸς Κυρίου ἔδωκε ∆αβὶδ τῷ Σολομῶντι." Ὡς δὲ ἡ τῶν Παραλειπομένων πάλιν ἐδίδαξε βίβλος, καὶ μαρμάροις ὁ ναὸς ἐπεποίκιλτο. "Λίθους γὰρ ὄνυχος, καὶ πληρώσεως, καὶ λίθους πολυτελεῖς, καὶ