Selecta in Jesum Nave

ORIGEN'S SELECTIONS ON JOSHUA, SON OF NAVE.

12.820 You, and all this people. To those who keep the law he promised to give what he had foretold; for not to Joshua the son of Nave. For not having kept it, the Israelites did not receive it, as what follows shows. Every place on which you shall tread. They resisted those at Ai on account of the transgression of Achar. And otherwise: Because God having delivered the nations into their hands, they did not destroy them, and they became a goad to them. And they entered into the house of a harlot woman, whose name was Rahab. The spies entrust their own salvation to a harlot; and very reasonably. For it is shown from what the harlot says, she alone is faithful and fearing God; wherefore also through her her family is saved. From the same. Rahab is interpreted as "breadth," being a symbol of the Church from the Gentiles saying: "The place is too narrow for me, make me a place that I may dwell." From the same. She is saved not from the reception alone, but primarily from faith and her disposition towards God. And she hid them in the stalks of flax. With the stalks of the flax she hid them, which she had on the roof preparing to make the fine linen for them as being worthy of high-priestly vestment. For the stalk of flax makes the fine linen from which the priestly garment is made. And she let them down through the window. It should be known that her house was in the wall. The new things are brothers of the old; for similar is the case of Paul, when they let him down in a basket through the wall. From the same. The Apostle was saved a second time from the enemies in a similar manner, as he says in his second Epistle to the Corinthians: "And through a window in a basket I was let down through the wall, and escaped." Again in the Acts: "And they watched the gates also day and night, that they might kill him; but his disciples took him by night, let him down through the wall, lowering him in a basket." And they remained there for three days. Not that the journey was of three days; for the Jordan 12.821 is very near to Jericho, but on account of the thorough search for the spies. "For," it says, "they sought, those who were pursuing, all the roads, and did not find them." Forty thousand well-girded men. It must be noted that the number four, whether of units, or of hundreds, or of another larger number, is set for affliction. Make for yourself knives of stone from sharp rock. It must be asked why those born in the wilderness were not circumcised; or why on the Sabbath one who gathered sticks in the time of Moses by the command of God was stoned to death. But so great a multitude having remained uncircumcised in the wilderness was not even blamed, although God indeed declared that the soul that was not circumcised on the eighth day should be utterly destroyed, and yet not for those transgressing the Sabbath did he decree this. Therefore it is already clear from this, that circumcision and Sabbath are not good in and of themselves, but because they served for a time. And it must be known that for the sake of a sign through circumcision he wished them to be known, and not enduring to be seen by faith, like irrational sheep by the brand even if it should stray, it has an easy finding of itself; thus he wished the Jews mixing with the gentiles to be conspicuous from their circumcision. And the proof of this is that in Egypt they were circumcised, but in the wilderness, since they were alone and separated from the Egyptians and from the other nations around Palestine, they remained uncircumcised. But when having crossed the Jordan they were about to be in the midst of the nations, again they were commanded to be circumcised. Wherefore he said "a second time," because not as eight-day-olds were they being circumcised, but already grown men, and some leaning towards old age. And the stone knife signifies to us the Lord who gave to us the spiritual circumcision, the

Selecta in Jesum Nave

ΩΡΙΓΕΝΟΥΣ ΕΙΣ ΙΗΣΟΥΝ ΝΑΥΗ ΕΚΛΟΓΑΙ.

12.820 Σὺ, καὶ πᾶς ὁ λαὸς οὗτος. Τοῖς φυλάσσουσι τὸν νόμον ὑπέσχετο διδόναι ἃ προείρηκεν· οὐ γὰρ Ἰησοῦ τῷ Ναυῆ. Μὴ φυλάξαντες γὰρ οἱ Ἰσραηλῖται οὐκ ἔλαβον, ὡς δηλοῖ τὰ ἑξῆς. Πᾶς ὁ τόπος ἐφ' ᾧ ἂν ἐπιβῆτε. Ἀντέστησαν οἱ ἐπὶ τῆς Γαῒ διὰ τὴν τοῦ Ἀχὰρ παρανομίαν. Καὶ ἄλ λως· Ὅτι τοῦ Θεοῦ παραδόντος εἰς χεῖρας αὐτῶν τὰ ἔθνη οὐκ ἐξωλόθρευσαν, καὶ ἐγενήθησαν, εἰς σκόλοπα αὐτοῖς. Καὶ εἰσήλθοσαν εἰς οἰκίαν γυναικὸς πόρνης, ᾗ ὄνομα Ῥαάβ. Πόρνῃ πιστεύουσιν οἱ κατάσκοποι τὴν ἑαυτῶν σωτηρίαν· καὶ μάλα εἰκότως. ∆είκνυται γὰρ ἐξ ὧν ἡ πόρνη διαλέγεται, μόνη πιστὴ καὶ τὸν Θεὸν φοβουμένη· διὸ καὶ δι' αὐτῆς ἡ συγγένεια σώζεται. Τοῦ αὐτοῦ. Ῥαὰβ ἑρμηνεύεται πλατυσμὸς, σύμ βολον οὖσα τῆς ἀπὸ τῶν ἐθνῶν Ἐκκλησίας λεγούσης· «Στενός μοι ὁ τόπος, ποίησόν μοι τόπον ἵνα οἰκήσω.» Τοῦ αὐτοῦ. Οὐκ ἐκ τῆς δεξιώσεως μόνης σώζεται, ἀλλὰ προηγουμένως ἀπὸ τῆς πίστεως καὶ τῆς πρὸς τὸν Θεὸν διαθέσεως. Καὶ ἔκρυψεν αὐτοὺς ἐν τῇ λινοκαλάμῃ. Τοῖς ξύλοις αὐτοὺς ἔκρυψε τῆς λινοκαλάμης οἷς εἶχεν ἐπὶ τοῦ δώματος ἑτοιμάζουσα ἐργάζεσθαι τὴν βύσσον αὐτοῖς ὡς ἀξίοις οὖσιν ἐνδύματος ἀρχιερατικοῦ. Ἡ γὰρ λινοκαλάμη ποιεῖ τὴν βύσσον ἐξ ἧς τὸ ἱερατικὸν ἔνδυμα γίνεται. Καὶ κατεχάλασεν αὐτοὺς διὰ τῆς θυρίδος. Ἰστέον ὅτι ὁ οἶκος αὐτῆς ἐν τῷ τείχει ἦν. Ἀδελφὰ τῆς πα λαιᾶς τὰ νέα· ὅμοιον γάρ ἐστι τὸ ἐπὶ τοῦ Παύλου, ὅτε ἐχάλασαν αὐτὸν ἐν σαργάνῃ διὰ τοῦ τείχους. Τοῦ αὐτοῦ. Ὁ Ἀπόστολος δεύτερον ἐσώθη ἀπὸ τῶν ἐχθρῶν ὁμοιοτρόπως, ὥς φησιν ἐν τῇ δευτέρᾳ πρὸς Κορινθίους αὐτοῦ Ἐπιστολῇ· «Καὶ διὰ θυρίδος ἐν σαργάνῃ ἐχαλάσθην διὰ τοῦ τείχους, καὶ ἐξέφυγον.» Πάλιν ἐν ταῖς Πράξεσι· «Παρετηροῦντο δὲ καὶ τὰς πύλας ἡμέρας καὶ νυκτὸς, ὅπως αὐτὸν ἀνέλωσι· λαβόν τες δὲ οἱ μαθηταὶ αὐτοῦ νυκτὸς, τοῦ τείχους καθῆκαν αὐτὸν, χαλάσαντες ἐν σπυρίδι.» Καὶ κατέμειναν ἐκεῖ τρεῖς ἡμέρας. Οὐχ ὅτι τριῶν ἡμερῶν ἦν ἡ ὁδός· πάνυ γὰρ πλησίον ὁ Ἰορ 12.821 δάνης τῆς Ἱεριχὼ, ἀλλὰ διὰ τὴν τῶν κατασκόπων ἀκριβῆ ἐξέτασιν. «Ἐζήτησαν γὰρ, φησὶν, οἱ κατα διώκοντες πάσας τὰς ὁδοὺς, καὶ οὐχ εὗρον.» Τετράκις μύριοι εὔζωνοι. Σημειωτέον ὅτι ἡ τε τρὰς, εἴτε μονάδων, εἴτε ἑκατοντάδων, εἴτε ἑτέρου πλείονος ἀριθμοῦ, ἐπὶ κακώσεως κεῖται. Ποίησόν σοι μαχαίρας πετρίνας ἐκ πέτρας ἀκρο τόμου. Ζητητέον διὰ τί οὐ περιετμήθησαν οἱ ἐν τῇ ἐρήμῳ τεχθέντες· ἢ διὰ τί τῷ Σαββάτῳ τις ξύλα συλλέξας ἐπὶ Μωϋσέως ἐκ προστάγματος Θεοῦ λι θόλευστος γέγονε. Τοσοῦτον δὲ πλῆθος ἀπερίτμητον μεμενηκὸς ἐν τῇ ἐρήμῳ οὐδὲ ἐμέμφθη, καίτοι τοῦ Θεοῦ μὲν ἀποφῃναμένου ἐξολοθρεύεσθαι τὴν ψυχὴν τὴν μὴ περιτμημένην τῇ ἡμέρᾳ τῇ ὀγδόῃ, οὐκέτι δὲ ἐπὶ τῶν παραβαινόντων τὸ Σάββατον τοῦτο ὡρίσαν τος. Ἤδη μὲν οὖν καὶ αὐτόθεν εὔδηλον, ὅτι περιτομὴ καὶ Σάββατον οὐκ αὐτὰ καθ' ἑαυτὰ καλὰ, ἀλλὰ ἐπειδὴ πρὸς καιρὸν ἐχρησίμευσεν. Ἰστέον δὲ ὅτι σημείου χά ριν διὰ τῆς περιτομῆς ἐβουλήθη γνωρίζεσθαι, καὶ οὐκ ἀνασχομένους ἀπὸ πίστεως φαίνεσθαι, ὡς πρόβατα ἄλο γα τῷ καυτῆρι κἂν πλανηθῇ, ῥᾳδίαν ἔχει τὴν ἑαυτοῦ εὕρεσιν· οὕτω τοὺς Ἰουδαίους ἐπιμιγνυμένους τοῖς ἔθνεσιν ἀπὸ τῆς περιτομῆς φανεροὺς εἶναι βουληθείς. Καὶ τούτου ἀπόδειξις τὸ ἐν μὲν τῇ Αἰγύπτῳ περιτέ μνεσθαι αὐτοὺς, ἐν δὲ τῇ ἐρήμῳ, ἐπειδὴ μόνοι ἦσαν καὶ Αἰγυπτίων κεχωρισμένοι καὶ τῶν ἄλλων ἐθνῶν τῶν κατὰ Παλαιστίνην, ἀπεριτμήτους μεμενηκέναι. Ὅτε δὲ παρελθόντες τὸν Ἰορδάνην ἔμελλον ἐν μέσῳ εἶναι τῶν ἐθνῶν, αὖθις προσετάχθησαν περιτμηθῆναι. ∆ιόπερ ἐκ δευτέρου εἶπεν, ὅτι οὐκ ὀκταημέρους πε ριετέμνοντο, ἀλλ' ἀνδροθέντας ἤδη, καὶ πρὸς γῆράς τινας νενευκότας. Ἡ δὲ πετρίνη μάχαιρα τὸν Κύριον ἡμῖν δηλοῖ τὸν τὴν νοητὴν δόντα ἡμῖν περιτομὴν, τὴν