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De mensuribus et ponderibus (excerptum Graecum 4)

82.1 Up to this point, most excellent friend of the good, being content with all that has been said before, we have explained the hypothesis of the interpreters; then next, to the remaining matters, as we pray, with your prayers, O man of God, let us turn our mind to explain concerning the weights and measures and numbers in the divine scriptures, from where each is named and for what reason it is so called and from where it has taken the cause of its name and what is the quality and the weight and the capacity of each of these. 82.2 A measure, then, is the kor, and it is found in the Gospel according to Luke, where the Savior praises the prudent steward for having the debtors rewrite in their own bills so many instead of so many kors, and for making so many instead of so many baths of oil. 82.3 For the names of measures are these: lethek, gomor, bathos, saton, modios, kabos, choinix, yphe [of fine flour], a handful of flour, artabe, three measures of fine flour, three kana of groats, nebel of wine, kollathon, alabastron of myrrh, kampsakes of water, kotyle of oil, kyathos, metretes of wine, metretes of oil, tryblion, xestes, amphoreus, aporryma, sabitha, hin, chous, the golden stamnos in which the manna was laid away, mares, kypros, kongiarion. 82.4 The kor, then, is taken from the Hebrew dialect, where it is called chor. It is 30 modioi. Chor is said to be from the mound of a foundation. For choria is called a mound. And the thirty modioi, when heaped up, make a camel's load. 82.5 And lethek, as is said in Hosea the prophet, that 'I hired for myself a lethek of barley.' but in other copies it is 'a gomor of barley,' which is the same. For this signifies fifteen modioi. And it is called lethek according to the Hebrew language, which is 'a lifting', from the ability of a young man to lift up the fifteen modioi and place them on a donkey. 82.6 The same is also called the gomor. There are two gomors, a large and a small; of which the large is of equal measure to the lethek, being itself fifteen modioi, but the small is twelve. Bathos. And this is derived from the Hebrew dialect, being synonymous with the oil-press, called bith. For bathos is interpreted as 'oil-press', and it is fifty xestai. And the measure is that of the work of an oil-press. 82.7 Mnasin or medimnos, I think, were derived from the Roman language. For 'medium' is interpreted as 'middle' in that language. Manases, then, is measured among Cypriots and among other nations. And there are ten modioi of wheat or barley in the Cypriot modios of seventeen xestai. But the medimnos among the Cypriots themselves is different. For the Salaminians, or Constantians, have the medimnos as five modioi, but the Paphians and Sicilians measure it as four and a half modioi. 82.8 Saton is so called, being taken from the Hebrew language itself, and is pronounced as feminine. But in Greek it is neuter; for it is called 'saton' and not 'satos'. It is a heaping modios, so that the modios is filled, and a quarter of a modios must still be heaped over. And it is called sata, pronounced according to the same dialect, 'a taking' and 'a lifting', from the one measuring taking and lifting the measure with a certain motion.82.9 The name of the modios was discovered by the Hebrews with great accuracy to be twenty-two xestai; not simply nor by chance, but through great accuracy. For the just modios, as the Law is accustomed to say, was measured according to the holy measure. And the holy measure is nothing other than the 22 works which God performed in the six days of the week. 82.10 These twenty-two numbers, being found everywhere and counted in different forms, both in the twenty-two works which God performed in the six days of the creation of the world, and in the twenty-two generations from Adam until Israel, and in the twenty-two elements of the letters from aleph to thau, and in the 22 books from Genesis to Esther, were born for us as a measure * of 22 xestai, which is called mode by the Hebrews, but modia by the Greeks because of

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De mensuribus et ponderibus (excerptum Graecum 4)

82.1 Ἕως ἐνταῦθα, φιλοκαλώτατε, ἀρκεσθέντες τοῖς προειρημένοις ἅπασι τὴν τῶν ἑρμηνευτῶν ὑπόθεσιν ἐδηλώσαμεν· εἶθ' ἑξῆς εἰς τὰ ἐπίλοιπα, καθὼς ὑπευχόμεθα, σαῖς εὐχαῖς, ἄνθρωπε τοῦ θεοῦ, τὸν νοῦν ἐπιδῶμεν περὶ τῶν ἐν ταῖς θείαις γραφαῖς σταθμῶν τε καὶ μέτρων καὶ ἀριθμῶν δηλώσοντες, πόθεν ἕκαστον ὠνόμασται καὶ τίνος ἕνεκα οὕτως κέκληται καὶ πόθεν τὴν πρόφασιν τῆς ὀνομασίας εἴληφε καὶ τίς ἑκάστου τούτων ἡ ποιότης καὶ ἡ ὁλκὴ καὶ ἡ δύναμις. 82.2 Μέτρον οὖν ἐστι κόρος, κεῖται δὲ ἐν τῷ κατὰ Λουκᾶν Εὐαγγελίῳ, ὅθεν ὁ Σωτὴρ ἐπαινεῖ τὸν φρόνιμον οἰκονόμον τοῖς χρεωφειλέταις ἀντὶ κόρων τοσούτων ἐν τοῖς σφῶν αὐτῶν χειρογράφοις τοσούτους μεταγραψάμενον, ἀντὶ δὲ τοσούτων βάθων ἐλαίου τοσαῦτα ποιήσαντα. 82.3 Ὀνόματα γάρ εἰσι μέτρων τάδε· λεθέκ, γόμορ, βάθος, σάτον, μόδιος, κάβος, χοῖνιξ, ὑφή [σεμιδάλεως], δρὰξ ἀλεύρου, ἀρτάβη, τρία μέτρα σεμιδάλεως, τρία κανᾶ χονδριτῶν, νέβελ οἴνου, κόλλαθον, ἀλάβαστρον μύρου, καμψάκης ὕδατος, κοτύλη ἐλαίου, κύαθος, μετρητὴς οἴνου, μετρητὴς ἐλαίου, τρυβλίον, ξέστης, ἀμφορεύς, ἀπόρρυμα, σαβιθά, ἴν, χοῦς, στάμνος χρυσῆ ἐν ᾗ ἀπέκειτο τὸ μάννα, μάρης, κύπρος, κογγιάριον. 82.4 Εἴληπται τοίνυν ὁ κόρος ἐκ τῆς Ἑβραϊκῆς διαλέκτου, ὃς καλεῖται χόρ. εἰσὶ δὲ μόδιοι λʹ. χὸρ δὲ λέγεται ἀπὸ τοῦ βουνοῦ ὑποθέσεως. χορία γὰρ καλεῖται βουνός. βουνισθέντες δὲ καὶ οἱ τριάκοντα μόδιοι ποιοῦσι φορτίον καμήλου. 82.5 Λεθὲκ δὲ ὡς ἐν τῷ Ὠσηὲ τῷ προφήτῃ εἴρηται, ὅτι ἐμισθωσάμην ἐμαυτῷ λεθὲκ κριθῶν. ἐν ἀντιγράφοις δὲ γόμορ κριθῶν τὸ αὐτό ἐστι. δέκα γὰρ καὶ πέντε μόδιοι σημαίνονται οὗτοι. λεθὲκ δὲ κατὰ τὴν τῶν Ἑβραίων φωνὴν κέκληται, ὅ ἐστιν ἔπαρμα, ἀπὸ τοῦ δύνασθαι τῷ νεανίᾳ ἐπαρθῆναι τοὺς δέκα πέντε μοδίους καὶ ἐπιτεθῆναι τῷ ὄνῳ. 82.6 Τὸ δὲ αὐτὸ καὶ τὸ γόμορ καλεῖται. δύο δέ εἰσι γόμορ, μέγα καὶ μικρόν· ὧν τὸ μέγα ἰσόμετρόν ἐστι τῷ λεθὲκ δέκα πέντε καὶ αὐτὸ ὂν μοδίων, τὸ δὲ μικρὸν δώδεκα. Βάθος. καὶ τοῦτο ἀπὸ τῆς Ἑβραϊκῆς διαλέκτου παρῆκται συνωνύμως τῷ ἐλαιοτριβείῳ κα λούμενον βίθ. βάθος γὰρ ἑρμηνεύεται ἐλαιοτριβεῖον, ἔστι δὲ ξεστῶν πεντήκοντα. τὸ δὲ μέτρον ἐστὶ τῆς τοῦ ἐλαιοτριβείου ἐργασίας. 82.7 Μνασὶς ἢ μέδιμνος οἶμαι ἐκ τῆς Ῥωμαϊκῆς γλώσσης παρήχθησαν. τὸ γὰρ μεδιοὺμ μέσον ἑρμηνεύεται ἐν αὐτῇ τῇ γλώσσῃ. μανασὴς τοίνυν παρὰ Κυπρίοις μετρεῖται καὶ παρ' ἄλλοις ἔθνεσιν. εἰσὶ δὲ δέκα μόδιοι σίτου ἢ κριθῶν εἰς τὸν τῶν δέκα καὶ ἑπτὰ ξεστῶν παρὰ Κυπρίοις μόδιον. μέδιμνος δὲ παρ' αὐτοῖς τοῖς Κυπρίοις διάφορος. τὸν γὰρ μέδιμνον Σαλαμίνιοι εἴτουν Κωνστάντιοι ἐκ πέντε μοδίων ἔχουσι, Πάφιοι δὲ καὶ Σικελοὶ τεσσάρων ἡμίσεος μοδίων αὐτὸν μετροῦσιν. 82.8 Σάτον καλεῖται ἐξ αὐτῆς τῆς Ἑβραΐδος διαληφθέν, θηλυκῶς δὲ ἐκφωνούμενον. ἐν δὲ τῇ Ἑλληνίδι οὐδετέρως· σάτον γὰρ λέγεται καὶ οὐχὶ σάτος. ἔστι δὲ μόδιος ὑπέργομος ὥστε πληροῦσθαι μὲν τὸν μόδιον, δεῖν δὲ ἔτι ὑπεργίνεσθαι τὸ τέταρτον τοῦ μοδίου. κέκληται δὲ σάτα κατὰ τὴν αὐτὴν διάλεκτον ἐκφωνούμενον λῆψις καὶ ἄρσις, ἀπὸ τοῦ τὸν μετροῦντα ἕξει τινὶ τὸ μέτρον λαμβάνειν τε καὶ κουφίζειν.82.9 Τοῦ δὲ μοδίου τὸ ὄνομα διὰ πολλῆς ἀκριβείας ὑπὸ τῶν Ἑβραίων εὑρέθη εἴκοσι δύο ξεστῶν ὑπάρχον· οὐχ ἁπλῶς δὲ οὐδ' ὡς ἔτυχεν, ἀλλὰ διὰ πολλὴν ἀκρίβειαν. ὁ γὰρ δίκαιος μόδιος, καθὼς εἴωθεν ὁ νόμος λέγειν, κατὰ τὸ μέτρον τὸ ἅγιον ἐμετρήθη. τὸ δὲ ἅγιον μέτρον οὐδὲν ἄλλο ἐστὶν ἢ τὰ κβʹ ἔργα, ἃ ἐποίησεν ὁ Θεὸς ἐν ταῖς ἓξ ἡμέραις τῆς ἑβδομάδος. 82.10 Οὗτοι οἱ εἴκοσι δύο ἀριθμοὶ πανταχοῦ εὑρισκόμενοι καὶ ἐν διαφόροις εἴδεσιν ἀριθμούμενοι, ἔν τε τοῖς εἴκοσι δύο ἔργοις οἷς ἐποίησεν ὁ Θεὸς ἐν ταῖς ἓξ ἡμέραις τῆς κοσμοποιίας, καὶ ἐν εἴκοσι δύο γενεαῖς ἀπὸ Ἀδὰμ ἄχρι τοῦ Ἰσραήλ, καὶ ἐν τοῖς εἴκοσι δύο στοιχείοις τῶν γραμμάτων ἀπὸ τοῦ ἄλεφ ἄχρι τοῦ θαῦ, καὶ ἐν τοῖς κβʹ βιβλίοις ἀπὸ τῆς Γενέσεως ἄχρι τῆς Ἐσθήρ, μέτρον ἡμῖν * ἐγεννήθησαν κβʹ ξεστῶν, ὃ καλεῖται παρ' Ἑβραίοις μόδη, παρ' Ἕλλησι δὲ μόδια διὰ