49

will overlook it dissolved and corrupted, but will raise it, and will restore to the soul its instrument, through which it served the Creator. However, not every man of God has been called a prophet, but those who possess perfect virtue, such as Moses and Elijah, and anyone like them. The title, therefore, has shown that he was much more honored than the old prophet. QUES. 44. How should one understand: "Whoever wished, consecrated himself?" What follows makes it clear: "And he became a priest of the 80.716 high places;" that is, he acted as a priest, and with his hands offered the incense. QUES. 45. Knowing beforehand that the people would be impious, why did God permit the division to happen? For what did it profit Judah and Benjamin to have the divine temple? For they too dared the same lawlessness; "For they built for themselves," it says, "high places and pillars, and groves, on every high hill, and under every leafy tree. And there was a conspiracy in the land." And he has used "conspiracy" instead of "apostasy." For Jezebel, having learned of the death of Joram, and that Jehu had received the appointment to the kingdom, cried out, "Conspiracy, conspiracy," that is, apostasy and tyranny. And what follows also shows this: "And they did according to all the abominations of the nations, whom the Lord drove out from before the sons of Israel." Therefore, the ten tribes did not slide into impiety because of the division of the kingdom, but because of their own lawlessness. For indeed, the prophets make greater accusations against the tribe of Judah. For Hosea was commanded to take a harlot, for a reproof of the manifest impiety of the ten tribes; for the licentiousness of the harlot is manifest; but an adulteress as a type of Judea, because while seeming to be joined to God through the temple, she secretly served idols. And Jeremiah the prophet says: "Backsliding Israel has justified herself more than treacherous Judah." And Ezekiel the prophet called not only Samaria, but also Sodom, the sister of Jerusalem. Having departed from divine piety, they were stripped of providence. For Shishak, the king of the Egyptians, took many of the cities of the Judeans, as the book of Chronicles has taught; and he also came upon Jerusalem, and plundered not only the royal, but also the divine treasures. And he took also the golden weapons, both those which David the king had taken from the Syrians, and those which Solomon had made. QUES. 46. What is: "They stored them in the Tekoa of the runners?" In the interpretation of Hebrew names, I found Tekoa written as a striking and a trumpet blast. But the book of Chronicles teaches these things thus: "And king Rehoboam made in their stead 80.717 bronze shields, and committed them to the hands of the chiefs of the runners, who kept the doors of the king's house. And it happened after a while, when the king went into the house of the Lord, the guards went in, and the runners; and those who returned to meet the runners, took the shields, and restored them to the post of the runners." It was given, he says, to the spear-bearers and shield-bearers around the king, who, standing beside the gates of the palace, guarded the entrances. And when the king went forth, some went before, and others ran alongside. And when he came to the temple, those who returned met them, that is, the guards of the temple, and received these things from them, and they themselves, holding these, stood before the gate of the temple, so that the weapons might remain before the doors, and those who carried them might worship God with the king. And it is likely that there was also a chamber before the doors, so that when the king arrived, the armor-bearers would deposit their weapons there. QUES. 47. How should one understand that "For David’s sake God gave him a remnant, that he might set up his children after him?" Having recounted the impiety of both Rehoboam and Abijah, he used these words, teaching how for the sake of the ancestor he preserved the kingdom for a long time for the descendants. Then having praised the

49

περιόψεται διαλυθὲν καὶ φθαρὲν, ἀλλ' ἀναστήσει, καὶ τῇ ψυχῇ τὸ ὄργανον ἀποδώσει, δι' οὗ τὸν ποιητὴν τεθεράπευκεν. Ἄνθρωπος μέντοι Θεοῦ οὐ πᾶς προ φήτης ὠνόμασται, ἀλλ' οἱ τελείαν τὴν ἀρετὴν κεκτη μένοι, ὡς Μωσῆς καὶ Ἠλίας, καὶ εἴ τις ἐκείνοις παρόμοιος. ∆εδήλωκε τοίνυν ἡ προσηγορία, ὡς τοῦ πρεσβύτου προφήτου πολλῷ τιμιώτερος ἦν. ΕΡΩΤ. Μ∆ʹ. Πῶς νοητέον τό· "Ὁ βουλόμενος ἐπλήρου τὴν χεῖρα αὑτοῦ;" Τὸ ἐπαγόμενον δηλοῖ· "Καὶ ἐγένετο ἱερεὺς τῶν 80.716 ὑψηλῶν·" τουτέστιν ἱεράτευε, καὶ ταῖς χερσὶ τὸ θυμίαμα προσέφερεν. ΕΡΩΤ. ΜΕʹ. Προειδὼς ὁ Θεὸς ὡς ἀσεβήσει ὁ λαὸς, τί δήποτε γενέσθαι τὴν διαίρεσιν συνεχώρησεν; Τί γὰρ τὸν Ἰούδαν καὶ τὸν Βενιαμὶν ὤνησε τὸ τὸν θεῖον ἔχειν νεών; Τὴν γὰρ αὐτὴν καὶ οὗτοι παρανο μίαν ἐτόλμων· "Ὠκοδόμησαν γὰρ, φησὶν, αὐτοῖς ὑψηλὰ καὶ στήλας, καὶ ἄλση, ἐπὶ πάντα βουνὸν ὑψηλὸν, καὶ ὑποκάτω παντὸς ξύλου ἀλσώδους. Καὶ σύνδεσμος ἐγένετο ἐν τῇ γῇ." Τὸν δὲ σύνδε σμον ἀντὶ τῆς ἀποστάσεως τέθεικε. Καὶ γὰρ ἡ Ἰεζάβελ τοῦ Ἰωρὰμ μεμαθηκυῖα τὴν τελευτὴν, καὶ τὸν Ἰοὺ τῆς βασιλείας τὴν χειροτονίαν δεξάμενον, ἐβόησε, Σύνδεσμος, σύνδεσμος, τουτέστιν ἀποστασία καὶ τυραννίς. Τοῦτο δὲ καὶ τὰ ἑξῆς δηλοῖ· "Καὶ ἐποίησαν ἀπὸ πάντων βδελυγμάτων τῶν ἐθνῶν, ὧν ἐξώρισε Κύριος ἀπὸ προσώπου τῶν υἱῶν Ἰσραὴλ." Οὐ τοίνυν διὰ τὴν τῆς βασιλείας διαί ρεσιν ἐξώκειλαν εἰς ἀσέβειαν αἱ δέκα φυλαὶ, ἀλλὰ διὰ τὴν οἰκείαν παρανομίαν. Αὐτίκα γοῦν μείζους ποιοῦνται τῆς Ἰούδα φυλῆς οἱ προφῆται κατηγορίας. Καὶ γὰρ Ὠσηὲ πόρνην μὲν προσετάχθη λαβεῖν, εἰς ἔλεγχον τῆς προφανοῦς ἀσεβείας τῶν δέκα φυλῶν· προφανὴς γὰρ ἡ τῆς πόρνης ἀκολασία· μοιχεύτριαν δὲ εἰς τύπον τῆς Ἰουδαίας, ὅτι τῷ Θεῷ διὰ τοῦ ναοῦ συνῆφθαι δοκοῦσα, λάθρα τοῖς εἰδώλοις ἐλάτρευεν. Ἱερεμίας δὲ ὁ προφήτης φησίν· "Ἐδικαίωσεν αὐτὴν ἡ ἀποστροφὴ Ἰσραὴλ ἀπὸ τῆς ἀσυνθέτου Ἰούδα." Ἰεζεκιὴλ δὲ ὁ προφήτης, οὐ τὴν Σαμάρειαν μόνον, ἀλλὰ καὶ τὰ Σόδομα τῆς Ἱερουσαλὴμ ἐκάλεσεν ἀδελφήν. Ἀποστάντες τῆς εὐσεβείας τῆς θείας ἐγυμνώθησαν προμηθείας. Σουσακεὶμ γὰρ τῶν Αἰγυπτίων ὁ βασιλεὺς πολλὰς μὲν τῶν Ἰουδαίων εἷλε πόλεις, ὡς ἡ τῶν Παραλειπομένων ἐδίδαξε βί βλος· ἐπέβη δὲ καὶ τῆς Ἱερουσαλὴμ, καὶ οὐ μόνον τοὺς βασιλικοὺς, ἀλλὰ καὶ τοὺς θείους ἐσύλησε θησαυρούς. Ἔλαβε δὲ καὶ τὰ ὅπλα τὰ χρυσᾶ, καὶ ἃ ∆αβὶδ ὁ βασιλεὺς ἀπὸ τῶν Σύρων εἰλήφει, καὶ ἃ ὁ Σολομὼν ἐπεποιήκει. ΕΡΩΤ. Μʹ. Τί ἐστιν· "Ἀπηρείδοντο αὐτὰ εἰς τὸ Θεκουὲ τῶν παρατρεχόντων· Ἐν μὲν τῇ τῶν Ἑβραικῶν ὀνομάτων ἑρμηνείᾳ τὸ Θεκουὲ, κρουσμὸς καὶ σαλπισμὸς κείμενον εὗρον. Ἡ δὲ τῶν Παραλειπομένων βίβλος οὕτω ταῦτα διδάσκει· "Καὶ ἐποίησε Ῥοβοὰμ ὁ βασιλεὺς ἀντ' 80.717 αὐτῶν θυρεοὺς χαλκοῦς, καὶ κατέστησεν ἐπὶ χεῖρας ἀρχόντων τῶν παρατρεχόντων, τῶν φυλασσόντων τὰς θύρας τοῦ οἴκου τοῦ βασιλέως. Καὶ ἐγένετο ἀπὸ ἱκανοῦ, ἐν τῷ εἰσπορεύεσθαι τὸν βασιλέα εἰς οἶκον Κυ ρίου, εἰσεπορεύοντο οἱ φυλάσσοντες, καὶ οἱ παρατρέ χοντες· καὶ οἱ ἐπιστρέφοντες εἰς ἀπάντησιν τῶν παρα τρεχόντων, ἐλάμβανον τοὺς θυρεοὺς, καὶ ἀποκαθίστων εἰς τὴν τάξιν τῶν παρατρεχόντων." Ἐδίδοτο, φησὶ, τοῖς δορυφόροις καὶ ἀσπιδηφόροις τοῖς περὶ τὸν βασι λέα, οἳ παρὰ τὰς θύρας τῶν βασιλείων ἑστῶτες τὰς εἰσόδους ἐφρούρουν. Προϊόντος δὲ τοῦ βασιλέως, οἱ μὲν προηγοῦντο, οἱ δὲ παρέτρεχον. Ἡνίκα δὲ εἰς τὸν ναὸν παρεγένετο, ἀπήντων οἱ ἐπιστρέφοντες, ἀντὶ τοῦ, οἱ τοῦ ναοῦ φύλακες, καὶ ἐδέχοντο ταῦτα παρ' αὐτῶν, καὶ αὐτοὶ ταῦτα κατέχοντες πρὸ τῆς πύλης εἱστήκεισαν τοῦ νεὼ, ἵνα τὰ μὲν ὅπλα μείνῃ πρὸ τῶν θυρῶν, οἱ δὲ ταῦτα κομίζοντες σὺν τῷ βα σιλεῖ τὸν Θεὸν προσκυνήσωσιν. Εἰκὸς δὲ καὶ οἶκον γενέσθαι πρὸ τῶν θυρῶν, ὥστε τοῦ βασιλέως ἀφικνουμένου, τοὺς ὁπλοφόρους ἐκεῖ τὰ ὅπλα ἀποτίθεσθαι. ΕΡΩΤ. ΜΖʹ. Πῶς νοητέον τὸ, ὅτι "∆ιὰ ∆αβὶδ ἔδωκεν αὐτῷ ὁ Θεὸς κατάλειμμα, ἵνα στήσῃ τὰ τέκνα αὐ τοῦ μετ' αὐτόν;" ∆ιηγησάμενος καὶ τοῦ Ῥοβοὰμ καὶ τοῦ Ἀβιᾶ τὴν ἀσέβειαν, τοῖσδε τοῖς λόγοις ἐχρήσατο, διδάσκων ὡς διὰ τὸν πρόγονον μέχρι πολλοῦ τῶν ἀπογόνων τὴν βασιλείαν ἐφύλαξεν. Εἶτα ἐπαινέσας τὴν