Adnotationes in Genesim

ORIGEN'S SELECTIONS ON GENESIS. 17.12 CHAPTER 7. Verse 4. I am bringing a flood (upon) the earth for forty days and forty nights. And I will wipe out every living thing that I have made from the face of the earth, from man to beast. Why did he destroy the multitudes of men with the flood? He wished to wipe out the race of Cain; but the tribe of the pious was also mixed with it; for which reason it also shared in the punishment. But wishing to make a certain beginning of a new life, he preserved Noah and his children with their wives, since he was pious and just, and had sprung from the piety of his relatives, and hated the intermingling of lawlessness. He did not, however, as some say, do these things with any anger or regret. For these are human passions; but the divine nature is free from passions. Besides, regret is appropriate for those who learn the nature of things after experience; then, learning by experience that they did not decide correctly, they regret it. But God sees things that will be after many generations as if they have already happened. Thus, as he foresees and foreknows, so he governs all things. Why then does he regret, when he manages all things according to 17.13 his own foreknowledge? Therefore, in God, regret is a change of economy; For I regret, he says, that I have appointed Saul as king; instead of: I have decided to remove this one, and to appoint another. So also here: I considered that I had made man; I decided to destroy the race of men. But being a lover of mankind, he kept Noah as a seed for nature. And since he had also created the species of irrational animals for the sake of human need; these also were destroyed along with the humans, except for those preserved in the ark with Noah. For the Lord God commanded that two of each kind of what are considered unclean be saved, and seven of the clean. For since he was about to permit men to partake of meat, and the devout were also about to offer sacrifices to him, he ordered more of the clean to be preserved; the three pairs for the increase of the species, and the one extra for sacrifice. For immediately after the cessation of the punishment, Noah offered a sacrifice of thanksgiving to God, from all, it says, of the clean animals, and from all of the clean birds. So that it is clear that for this reason he ordered seven of each kind of the clean to be brought into the ark, so that, when Noah offered the one animal from each kind, he would not destroy the pairs. Verse 10. And the Lord God shut the ark from outside of him. The security of the closing door required some more divine power. CHAPTER 19. Verse 25. And he overthrew these cities, and all the surrounding country, and all who lived in the cities. Verse 20. And his wife looked behind, and she became a pillar of salt. The Lord not only destroys the impious, but also their foods, which are of Sodom and harmful; among which is also a vine, about which it is written: For their vine is of the vine of Sodom, and their branch is of Gomorrah. As soon as he was saved into the city, the fire was brought upon the cities, a sign of the coming consummation. She became not simply a pillar, but especially a pillar of salt, because of this: You are the salt of the earth. And to the pillar of salt applies the saying: But if the salt has lost its taste? He does not at once go up to the mountain according to what was said to him, but first comes to Zoar, although not daring for himself to go up to the mountain. CHAPTER 23. Verse 15. Land of four hundred

Adnotationes in Genesim

ΩΡΙΓΕΝΟΥΣ ΕΚΛΟΓΑΙ ΕΙΣ ΤΗΝ ΓΕΝΕΣΙΝ. 17.12 ΚΕΦ. Ζʹ. Στίχ. δʹ. Ἐγὼ ἐπάγω ὑετὸν (ἐπὶ) τὴν γῆν τεσσα ράκοντα ἡμέρας, καὶ τεσσαράκοντα νύκτας. Καὶ ἐξαλείψω πᾶσαν τὴν ἐξανάστασιν, ἣν ἐποίησα, ἀπὸ προσώπου τῆς γῆς, ἀπὸ ἀνθρώ που ἕως κτήνους. Τί δήποτε τῷ κατακλυσμῷ τὰ τῶν ἀνθρώπων πλή θη διέφθειρεν; Ἐξαλεῖψαι τοῦ Κάϊν τὸ γένος ἠθέ λησε· ἀνεμίγη δὲ αὐτῷ καὶ τῶν εὐσεβῶν ἡ φυλή· διὸ καὶ τῆς τιμωρίας μετέσχηκεν. Ἀρχὴν δέ τινα καινοῦ βίου ποιήσασθαι βουληθεὶς, τὸν Νῶε καὶ τοὺς ἐκεί νου παῖδας σὺν ταῖς γυναιξὶ διετήρησεν, εὐσεβῆ ὄντα καὶ δίκαιον, καὶ ἐκ τῆς τῶν συγγενῶν εὐσεβείας βλαστήσαντα, καὶ τὴν τῆς παρανομίας ἐπιμιξίαν μι σήσαντα. Οὐ μὴν, ὥς τινές φασιν, ὀργῇ τινι καὶ μετ αμελείᾳ ταῦτα πεποίηκε. Ταῦτα γάρ τοι ἀνθρώπινα πάθη· ἡ δὲ θεία φύσις, ἐλευθέρα παθῶν. Ἄλλως τε ἡ μεταμέλεια τοῖς μετὰ τὴν πεῖραν μανθάνουσι τῶν πραγμάτων τὴν φύσιν κατάλληλος· εἶτα τῇ πείρᾳ μανθάνοντες ὡς οὐκ ὀρθῶς ἐβουλεύσαντο, μεταμέλον ται. Ὁ δὲ Θεὸς οὕτως ὁρᾷ τὰ μετὰ πολλὰς ἐσόμενα γενεὰς, ὡς ἤδη γεγενημένα. Ὡς προορῶν τοίνυν καὶ προγινώσκων, οὕτως ἅπαντα πρυτανεύει. Τί δήποτε τοίνυν μεταμέλεται, ἅπαντα πρὸς τὴν πρόγνωσιν τὴν 17.13 οἰκείαν οἰκονομῶν; Οὐκοῦν ἐπὶ Θεοῦ μεταμέλεια οἰ κονομίας μεταβολή· Μεταμέλομαι γὰρ, φησὶν, ὅτι κέκρικα τὸν Σαοὺλ εἰς βασιλέα· ἀντὶ τοῦ· Εὐδο κίμασα μὲν παῦσαι τοῦτον, ἕτερον δὲ χειροτονῆσαι. Οὕτω κἀνταῦθα· Ἐνεθυμήθην, ὅτι ἐποίησα ἄνθρωπον· ἐδοκίμασα διολέσαι τῶν ἀνθρώπων τὸ γένος. Ἀλλὰ φιλάνθρωπος ὢν, σπέρμα τὸν Νῶε τῇ φύσει τετήρηκεν. Ἐπειδὴ δὲ καὶ τῶν ἀλόγων τὰ γένη τῆς τῶν ἀνθρώπων εἵνεκα δεδημιούργηκε χρείας· καὶ ταῦτα τοῖς ἀνθρώποις συνδιεφθάρη, πλὴν τῶν ἐν τῇ κιβωτῷ σὺν τῷ Νῶε διαφυλαχθέντων. Ἐκέλευσε γὰρ ὁ δεσπότης Θεὸς ἀνὰ δύο μὲν ἐξ ἑκάστου γένους τῶν δοκούντων ἀκαθάρτων διασωθῆναι, ἀνὰ ἑπτὰ δὲ τῶν καθαρῶν. Ἐπειδὴ γὰρ ἤμελλε συγχωρεῖν τοῖς ἀν θρώποις μεταλαμβάνειν κρεῶν, ἤμελλον δὲ καὶ θυ σίας αὐτῷ προσφέρειν τῆς εὐσεβείας οἱ τρόφιμοι, πλείονα τὰ καθαρὰ φυλαχθῆναι προσέταξε· τὰς μὲν τρεῖς συζυγίας, εἰς τὴν αὔξησιν τοῦ γένους, τὸ δὲ ἓν τὸ περιττὸν εἰς θυσίαν. Εὐθὺς γὰρ ὁ Νῶε μετὰ τὴν παῦλαν τῆς τιμωρίας, θυσίαν τῷ Θεῷ εὐχαριστήριον προσενήνοχεν, ἀπὸ πάντων, φησὶ, κτηνῶν τῶν καθαρῶν, καὶ ἀπὸ πάντων τῶν πετεινῶν τῶν κα θαρῶν. Ὡς εἶναι δῆλον ὅτι τούτου χάριν, ἀνὰ ἑπτὰ προσέταξεν ἐξ ἑκάστου γένους τῶν καθαρῶν εἰς τὴν κιβωτὸν εἰσαχθῆναι, ἵνα, τὸ ἓν ζῶον ἐξ ἑκάστου γέ νους ὁ Νῶε προσφέρων, μὴ διαφθείρῃ τὰς συζυγίας. Στίχ. ιʹ. Καὶ ἔκλεισε Κύριος ὁ Θεὸς ἔξωθεν αὐτοῦ τὴν κιβωτόν. Θειοτέρας τινὸς δυνάμεως ἔχρῃζεν ἡ ἀσφάλεια τῆς θύρας κλειομένης. ΚΕΦ. ΙΘʹ. Στίχ. κεʹ. Καὶ κατέστρεφεν τὰς πόλεις ταύτας, καὶ πᾶσαν τὴν περίχωρον, καὶ πάντας τοὺς κατοι κοῦντας ἐν ταῖς πόλεσι. Στίχ. κʹ. Καὶ ἀπέβλεψεν ἡ γυνὴ αὐτοῦ εἰς τὰ ὀπίσω, καὶ ἐγένετο στήλη ἁλός. Ὁ Κύριος οὐ μόνον τοὺς ἀσεβεῖς ἀπόλλυσιν, ἀλλὰ καὶ τὰς τροφὰς αὐτῶν οὔσας Σοδομιτικὰς καὶ ἐπι βλαβεῖς· ἐν αἷς ἐστι καὶ ἄμπελος, περὶ ἧς γέ γραπται· Ἐκ γὰρ ἀμπέλου Σοδόμων ἡ ἄμπε λος αὐτῶν καὶ ἡ κληματὶς αὐτῶν ἐκ Γομόῤ ῥας. Ἅμα τε εἰς τὴν πόλιν ἀπεσώθη, καὶ τὸ πῦρ ἐπεφέρετο ταῖς πόλεσι, σημεῖον τῆς μελλούσης συντελείας. Στήλη οὐχ ἁπλῶς ἐγένετο, ἀλλὰ μάλιστα στήλη ἁλὸς, διὰ τό· Ὑμεῖς ἐστε τὸ ἅλας τῆς γῆς. Ἐφαρμόσῃ δὲ τῇ στήλῃ τοῦ ἁλὸς τό· Ἐὰν δὲ τὸ ἅλας μωρανθῇ; Οὐκ ἀθρόως ἀναβαίνει εἰς τὸ ὄρος κατὰ τὰ εἰρημένα αὐτῷ, ἀλλὰ πρῶτον εἰς Σηγὼρ γί νεται, καίτοιγε μὴ θαῤῥήσας ἑαυτῷ περὶ τοῦ ἀναβῆ ναι εἰς τὸ ὄρος. ΚΕΦ. ΚΓʹ. Στίχ. ιεʹ. Γῆ τετρακοσίων