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De mensuribus et ponderibus

The work 'On Measures and Weights' by Epiphanius of Salamis

If anyone wishes to know the parts of the divine scriptures that contribute to much experience, I mean concerning measures and weights, let him not hesitate to consult this little commentary. And first the philologist must know how many parts there happen to be in the prophecies. For the prophecies are divided into ten theories, thus containing teachings, theories, exhortations, reproofs, threats, wailings, lamentations, prayers, histories, predictions. And alongside these same prophecies are these signs: concerning the rejection of the former people; concerning the rejection of the law according to the flesh; concerning the new covenant; concerning the calling of the gentiles. concerning Christ. concerning the promises to the former people. concerning the obscurity in the divine scriptures; concerning the foreknowledge of future things. Since some have punctuated the scriptures according to prosody, and concerning prosody, these are the signs: acute /, grave /, circumflex /, long !, short !, rough breathing /, smooth breathing /, apostrophe ', hyphen &, comma. Concerning the asterisk and obelus and lemniscus and hypolemniscus, that is, the signs in the divine scriptures. This asterisk, where it is placed, signifies that the expression it refers to is found in the Hebrew and is included by Aquila and Symmachus, and rarely also by Theodotion; but the seventy-two translators omitted it and did not translate it, as such sayings were spoken twice and read as if superfluous. To demonstrate what has been said, it must be stated in brief words, so that from one word you may know about the rest. It is found at the beginning of Genesis, «ouaeeei Adam salōeim sana ouathesa mēōth sana», which is translated, as Aquila also followed, «and Adam lived thirty year and nine hundred year». Therefore the seventy-two translators, being of Hebrew origin and from their tenderest years precisely educated in the language of the Hebrews, but not less so in that of the Greeks, not only translated the scripture from Hebrew into Greek, but also rendered the Hebrew dialect, which is expressed with repetition, by translating it with clarity. And instead of the name of the year being placed in two places, they used one place and changed the seeming harshness into smoothness, saying «And Adam lived thirty and nine hundred years», having done nothing incomplete in the saying, but also establishing the reading with clarity; which in Hebrew cannot be said so concisely as the seventy-two say, that «Adam lived thirty and nine hundred years», nor in Greek as Aquila translated it, speaking superficially, «Adam lived nine hundred year and thirty year». For you see, O philologist, how it provides an impropriety to the statement, not paying attention to the clarity of the statement, but to the accuracy of the repetition. And this seemed to some to be stated incompletely by the seventy-two, but to be translated completely by Aquila and Symmachus and other editions; but in fact it was not omitted by the seventy-two, but is even found superfluously and with cacophony in the circle of Aquila, in two places instead of one, that is, instead of 'years', 'year' and 'year'. For this reason the seventy-two omitted the name of the year in one place. But when the circle of Aquila came afterwards and published what had been omitted by the seventy-two, they seemed to be more redundant. Origen, coming after these things, restored to each place the

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De mensuribus et ponderibus

Τὸ «Περὶ μέτρων καὶ σταθμῶν» ἔργον Ἐπιφανίου τοῦ Σαλαμῖνοσ

Εἴ τις ἐθέλει τῶν ἐν ταῖς θείαις γραφαῖς εἰδέναι τὰ πρὸς πολυπειρίαν μέρη, λέγω δὴ περὶ μέτρων καὶ σταθμῶν, τούτῳ τῷ ὑπομνηστικῷ ἐντυγχάνειν μὴ κατοκνείτω. Καὶ πρῶτον μὲν δεῖ εἰδέναι τὸν φιλόλογον, πόσα τυγχάνει ἐν ταῖς προφητείαις μέρη. Εἰς δέκα γὰρ διῄρηνται θεωρίας αἱ προφητεῖαι, οὕτω περιέχουσαι διδασκαλίας, θεωρίας, προτροπάς, ἐλέγχους, ἀπειλάς, ὀλοφυρμούς, θρήνους, εὐχάς, ἱστορίας, προρρήσεις. Παράκεινται δὲ ταῖς αὐταῖς προφητείαις σημεῖα ταῦτα· περὶ τῆς ἀποβολῆς τοῦ προτέρου λαοῦ· περὶ τῆς ἀποβολῆς τοῦ κατὰ σάρκα νόμου· περὶ τῆς καινῆς διαθήκης· περὶ τῆς τῶν ἐθνῶν κλήσεως. περὶ Χριστοῦ. περὶ ἐπαγγελιῶν τοῦ προτέρου λαοῦ. περὶ τῆς ἐν ταῖς θείαις γραφαῖς ἀσαφείας· περὶ μελλόντων προγνώσεως. Ἐπειδὴ δέ τινες κατὰ προσῳδίαν ἔστιξαν τὰς γραφὰς καὶ περὶ τῆς προσῳδίας τάδε· ὀξεῖα /, βαρεῖα /, περισπωμένη /, μακρά !, βραχεῖα !, δασεῖα /, ψιλή /, ἀπόστροφος ', ὑφέν &, ὑποδιαστολή. Περὶ ἀστερίσκου καὶ ὀβελοῦ καὶ λιμνίσκου καὶ ὑπολιμνίσκου ἤγουν τῶν ἐν ταῖς θείαις γραφαῖς σημείων. Ὁ ἀστερίσκος οὗτος, ἔνθα παράκειται, σημαίνει τὸ ἐμφερόμενον ῥῆμα ἐν τῷ ἑβραϊκῷ κεῖσθαι καὶ ἐμφέρεσθαι παρὰ Ἀκύλᾳ καὶ Συμμάχῳ, σπανίως δὲ καὶ παρὰ Θεοδοτίωνι· οἱ δὲ ἑβδομήκοντα δύο ἑρμηνευταὶ παρῆκαν καὶ οὐχ ἡρμήνευσαν, ὡς δισσολογουμένων τῶν τοιούτων λογίων καὶ ὡς ἐκ περισσοῦ ἀναγινωσκομένων. Εἰς παράστασιν δὲ τῶν εἰρημένων λεκτέον διὰ βραχείας λέξεως εἰς τὸ ἀπὸ τῆς μιᾶς λέξεως περὶ τῶν λοιπῶν σε γνῶναι. Κεῖται ἐν ἀρχῇ τῆς Γενέσεως «οὐαεεεὶ Ἀδὰμ σαλωεὶμ σανᾶ οὐαθεσὰ μηὼθ σανᾶ», ὃ ἑρμηνεύεται, ὡς καὶ Ἀκύλας ἠκολούθησε, «καὶ ἔζησεν Ἀδὰμ τριάκοντα ἔτος καὶ ἐνακόσια ἔτος». Ὅθεν οἱ ἑβδομήκοντα δύο ἑρμηνευταὶ ἐξ Ἑβραίων ὁρμώμενοι καὶ ἐξ ἁπαλῶν ὀνύχων τήν τε τῶν Ἑβραίων, οὐ μὴν ἀλλὰ καὶ τῶν Ἑλλήνων ἀκριβῶς πεπαιδευμένοι φωνήν, οὐ μόνον τὴν ἐκ τῆς ἑβραΐδος εἰς ἑλληνίδα ἡρμήνευσαν γραφήν, ἀλλὰ καὶ τὴν ἐν τῇ ἑβραΐδι διὰ δισσολογίας ἐκφωνουμένην διάλεκτον τῇ τρανότητι ἑρμηνεύσαντες παρήγαγον. Καὶ ἀντὶ τοῦ εἰς δύο τόπους κεῖσθαι τὸ ὄνομα τοῦ ἔτους ἑνὶ τόπῳ χρησάμενοι τὴν δοκοῦσαν εἶναι βόμβησιν εἰς λειότητα μετέβαλον φήσαντες «ἔζησε δὲ Ἀδὰμ τριάκοντα καὶ ἐνακόσια ἔτη», οὔτε ἐλλιπές τι ποιήσαντες τῷ λόγῳ, ἀλλὰ καὶ εἰς τρανότητα κατέστησαν τὴν ἀνάγνωσιν, ὅπερ ἐν μὲν τῇ ἑβραΐδι οὐ δύναται διὰ τῆς συντομίας λέγεσθαι οὕτως, ὡς οἱ ἑβδομήκοντα δύο λέγουσιν, ὅτι «ἔζησεν Ἀδὰμ τριάκοντα καὶ ἐνακόσια ἔτη», οὔτε ἐν τῇ ἑλληνίδι, ὡς ὁ Ἀκύλας ἡρμήνευσεν, ἐξ ἐπιπολῆς λέγων «ἔζησεν Ἀδὰμ ἐνακόσια ἔτος καὶ τριάκοντα ἔτος». Ὁρᾷς γάρ, ὦ φιλόλογε, ὡς ἀπρέπειαν παρέχει τῷ λόγῳ, οὐ τῇ τρανότητι τοῦ λόγου προσέχων, ἀλλὰ τῇ τῆς δευτερολογίας ἀκριβείᾳ. Καὶ ἔδοξε τοῦτό τισι παρὰ μὲν τοῖς ἑβδομήκοντα δύο ἐλλιπῶς κεῖσθαι, παρὰ δὲ Ἀκύλᾳ καὶ Συμμάχῳ καὶ ἄλλαις ἐκδόσεσιν ἀνελλιπῶς ἡρμηνεῦσθαι, ὅπερ οὐδὲ παρὰ τοῖς ἑβδομήκοντα δύο ἐνέλιπεν, ἀλλὰ καὶ ὑπὸ τῶν περὶ Ἀκύλαν μετὰ καὶ τῆς κακοφωνίας περισσῶς κεῖται ἐν δυσὶ τόποις ἀνθ' ἑνός, τουτέστιν ἀντὶ τοῦ ἔτη ἔτος καὶ ἔτος. ∆ιὰ τοῦτο ἐν ἑνὶ τόπῳ τὸ τοῦ ἔτους ὄνομα οἱ ἑβδομήκοντα δύο παρέλιπον. Ἐλθόντων δὲ μετ' ἔπειτα τῶν περὶ Ἀκύλαν καὶ τὰ ὑπὸ τῶν ἑβδομήκοντα δύο παραλειφθέντα ἐκδεδωκότων, ἐδόκουν εἶναι περιττότερα. Ὠριγένης μετὰ ταῦτα ἐλθὼν ἀποκατέστησε μὲν ἑκάστῳ τόπῳ τὸν