Selecta in Leviticum

ORIGEN'S SELECTIONS ON LEVITICUS.

12.397 And He called Moses. It is named Leviticus, because that which pertains to the priesthood and the sacrifices and whatever such things God commanded, are contained in this Leviticus. Indeed, Exodus also has God's legislation; but how the priests were consecrated by being anointed, and how the tabernacle was constructed and received a harmonious structure, and many other things Leviticus narrates. And if it also contains certain other things, it is not surprising, for the title, Leviticus, is indicative of the most important things in it. From the same. Those who do not look correctly upon the discourse concerning sacrifices despise it either as worthless legislation, having nothing worthy of the Creator, or they impiously condemn the Creator Himself as legislating worthless things. But he who has understood the saying of David and of the Apostle, the one saying: 'Uncover my eyes and I will understand the wonderful things from your law;' and the other crying out: 'The law is spiritual,' is able to see clearly that the lessons hidden in these things are worthy of God. A man from you, if he should bring gifts to the Lord. We have observed in many places of the Scriptures that gifts are spoken of in the case of living creatures, but sacrifices in the case of inanimate things, according to what is said in Genesis: 'And God looked upon Abel, and upon his gifts, but upon Cain and upon his sacrifices he did not regard.' Furthermore, this also must be said, that concerning the animate things: 'A man, it says, from you, if he should bring gifts;' but concerning the inanimate things, 'if a soul.' The inanimate, the soul; so that of the irrational only the rational may be left, and of the inanimate, having been overcome by the fire, only the animate may remain. They shall pour out the blood upon the altar. The platform is called the altar of offering, upon which are the sacrifices of whole burnt offerings; but the altar of incense is the inner altar. From the same. Since the Jews delighted in sacrifices, having become accustomed to these in Egypt, as the making of the calf in the wilderness also testifies, God permitted them to offer these to Him, by this means bridling the disorderly impulses of polytheism and of not sacrificing to demons. 12.400 But if one soul should sin unwillingly. Unwilling is whatever evil one might do. It should be noted that the unwilling sin of ignorance, Scripture calls a sin. And blessed Paul mentions certain other things, saying: For the law had a shadow of the good things to come. From the same. 'A soul if it sins unwillingly, he says, and does not do from all the commandments of the Lord,' is according to nature. For perhaps there are also certain commandments of the Lord, which one must not do according to the saying: 'I gave them commandments that were not good.' A soul therefore sins unwillingly, when under the pretext of piety it observes what it ought not. And it needs a sacrifice for remission; for the one who acts deliberately does not need a sacrifice; like the one who became a Jew in order to win the Jews, and circumcised Timothy. That soul which touches any unclean thing, or a carcass. And by a carcass he means the person who has died to God, with whom one must not even eat; for he who touches him is unclean. And this is unclean, which has been hunted by our adversary the devil. Unclean beasts would be those who, having approached the word, are beast-like, but have sinned unto death, and have not become worthy to be saved even with the beasts, according to the saying which says: 'You will save men and beasts, O Lord.' Everyone who touches them shall be sanctified. Some say 'shall be sanctified' means 'shall be defiled,' not because of the sacrifice, I think, but because of the audacity of him who touches. For Haggai says: 'Whoever touches, shall be defiled.' From the same. We say that the sacrifices were rather an occasion of sustenance for the priests and a shadow

Selecta in Leviticum

ΩΡΙΓΕΝΟΥΣ ΕΚΛΟΓΑΙ ΕΙΣ ΛΕΥΙΤΙΚΟΝ.

12.397 Καὶ ἀνεκάλεσε Μωϋσῆν. Λευϊτικὸν ὠνόμασται, ἐπειδὴ τὸ τῆς ἱερωσύνης καὶ τὰ τῶν θυσιῶν καὶ ὅσα τοιαῦτα προσέταξεν ὁ Θεὸς, ἐν τούτῳ Λευϊτικῷ φέ ρεται. Ἔχει μὲν οὖν καὶ ἡ Ἔξοδος τοῦ Θεοῦ νομοθεσίας· ὅπως δὲ ἐτελέσθησαν οἱ ἱερεῖς χρισθέντες, καὶ ὅπως κατεσκευάσθη ἡ σκηνὴ καὶ σύμπηξιν ἔλαβεν ἁρμόνιον, καὶ ἄλλα πλείονα ἱστορεῖ τὸ Λευϊτικόν. Εἰ δὲ καὶ ἕτερά τινα περιέχει, οὐ θαυμαστὸν, ἐπιγραφὴ γάρ ἐστι, Λευϊτικὸν, τοῦ ἐν αὐτῷ καιριωτέρου δηλω τικόν. Τοῦ αὐτοῦ. Τὸν περὶ θυσιῶν λόγον οἱ μὴ ὀρθῶς ἐνορῶντες καταφρονοῦσιν ἢ ὡς εὐτελοῦς νομοθεσίας, καὶ μηδὲν ἄξιον τοῦ ∆ημιουργοῦ ἐχούσης, ἢ αὐτοῦ τοῦ ∆ημιουργοῦ ὡς εὐτελῆ νομοθετοῦντος ἀσεβῶς κα ταψηφίζονται. Ὁ δὲ νοήσας τὸ τοῦ ∆αυῒδ καὶ τοῦ Ἀποστόλου, τοῦ μὲν λέγοντος· «Ἀποκάλυψον τοὺς ὀφθαλμούς μου καὶ κατανοήσω τὰ θαυμάσια ἐκ τοῦ νόμου σου·» τοῦ δὲ βοῶντος· «Ὁ νόμος πνευματι κός ἐστι,» δύναται διαβλέψαι ὡς ἄξια Θεοῦ ἐστιν ἀποκεκρυμμένα ἐν τούτοις μαθήματα. Ἄνθρωπος ἐξ ὑμῶν, ἐὰν προσαγάγῃ δῶρα τῷ Κυρίῳ. Τετηρήκαμεν δὲ πολλαχοῦ τῶν Γραφῶν τὰ μὲν δῶρα ἐπὶ τῶν ζώων λέγεσθαι, τὰς δὲ θυσίας ἐπὶ τῶν ἀψύχων κατὰ τὸ ἐν τῇ Γενέσει λεγόμενον· «Καὶ ἐπεῖδεν ὁ Θεὸς ἐπὶ Ἄβελ, καὶ ἐπὶ τοῖς δώροις αὐτοῦ, ἐπὶ δὲ Κάϊν καὶ ἐπὶ ταῖς θυσίαις αὐτοῦ οὐ προσ έσχεν.» Ἔτι δὲ καὶ τοῦτο ῥητέον, ἐπὶ μὲν τῶν ἐμ ψύχων· «Ἄνθρωπος, φησὶν, ἐξ ὑμῶν, ἐὰν προσαγάγῃ δῶρα·» ἐπὶ δὲ τῶν ἀψύχων, «ἐὰν ψυχή.» Τὸ ἄψυ χον ἡ ψυχή· ἵνα τοῦ μὲν ἀλόγου τὸ λογικὸν μόνον καταλείπηται, καὶ τοῦ ἀψύχου ὑπὸ τοῦ πυρὸς νενικη μένου ἀπομείνοι τὸ ἔμψυχον μόνον. Προχεοῦσι τὸ αἷμα ἐπὶ τὸ θυσιαστήριον. Θυ σιαστήριον καρπώσεως ὁ βωμὸς λέγεται, ἐφ' οὗ θυ σίαι ὁλοκαυτώσεως· θυσιαστήριον δὲ θυμιάματος, τὸ ἔσω θυσιαστήριον. Τοῦ αὐτοῦ. Ἐπειδὴ ἔχαιρον ταῖς θυσίαις οἱ Ἰουδαῖοι ἐν Αἰγύπτῳ ταύταις προσεθίσαντες, ὡς καὶ ἡ ἐν τῇ ἐρήμῳ μοσχοποιία μαρτυρεῖ, ἐπέτρεψεν ὁ Θεὸς ταύτας αὐτῷ προσαγαγεῖν, ταύτῃ χαλινώσας τῆς πολυθεΐας τὰς ἀτάκτους ὁρμὰς καὶ τοῦ μὴ θύειν δαί μοσι. 12.400 Ἐὰν δὲ ψυχὴ μία ἁμάρτῃ ἀκουσίως. Ἀκούσιόν ἐστιν ὅπερ ἄν τις ποιῇ κακόν. Σημειωτέον ὅτι τὸ ἀ γνόημα τὸ ἀκούσιον, ἁμαρτίαν καλεῖ ἡ Γραφή. Καὶ ἄλλων τινῶν μέμνηται ὁ μακάριος Παῦλος φάσκων· Σκιὰν γὰρ εἶχεν ὁ νόμος τῶν μελλόντων. Τοῦ αὐτοῦ. «Ψυχὴ ἐὰν ἁμάρτῃ ἀκουσίως, φησὶ, καὶ μὴ ποιήσῃ ἀπὸ πασῶν τῶν ἐντολῶν Κυρίου,» κατὰ φύσιν ἔχει. Ἔστι γὰρ τάχα τινὰ καὶ προστά γματα Κυρίου, ἃ οὐ δεῖ ποιεῖν κατὰ τό· «Ἔδωκα αὐτοῖς προστάγματα οὐ καλά.» Ψυχὴ οὖν ἁμαρτά νει ἀκουσίως, ὅτε προφάσει εὐσεβείας τὸ μὴ δέον τηρεῖ. Καὶ δεῖται θυσίας πρὸς ἄφεσιν· οὐ δεομέ νου θυσίας τοῦ δρῶντος ἐξεπίτηδες· ὡς ὁ γεγονὼς Ἰουδαῖος ἵνα Ἰουδαίους κερδήσῃ, καὶ περιτεμὼν τὸν Τιμόθεον. Ἡ ψυχὴ ἐκείνη ἥτις ἐὰν ἅψηται παντὸς πρά γματος ἀκαθάρτου, ἢ θνησιμαίου. Θνησιμαῖον δέ φησι τὸν ἀποθανόντα τῷ Θεῷ ἄνθρωπον, ᾧ χρὴ μηδὲ συνεσθίειν· ὁ γὰρ ἁπτόμενος αὐτοῦ ἀκάθαρτός ἐστι. Καὶ τοῦτο ἀκάθαρτόν ἐστι τὸ θηρευθὲν ὑπὸ τοῦ ἀν τιδίκου ἡμῶν διαβόλου. Κτήνη ἀκάθαρτα εἴη ἂν, οἱ προσελθόντες μὲν τῷ λόγῳ κτηνώδεις, πρὸς θάνατον δὲ ἁμαρτήσαντες, καὶ μὴ γενόμενοι ἄξιοι σωθῆναι κἂν μετὰ κτηνῶν, κατὰ τὸ λέγον ῥητόν· «Ἀνθρώπους καὶ κτήνη σώσεις, Κύριε.» Πᾶς ὃς ἐὰν ἅψηται αὐτῶν ἁγιασθήσεται. Τινὲς τὸ «ἁγιασθήσεται,» μολυνθήσεται, φασὶν, οὐ διὰ τὴν θυσίαν, οἶμαι, ἀλλὰ διὰ τὸ τολμηρὸν αὐτοῦ ἁπτομένου. Ἀγγαῖος γάρ φησιν· «Ὃς ἂν ἅψηται, μιανθήσεται.» Τοῦ αὐτοῦ. Λέγομεν ὡς διατροφῆς ἀφορμὴ μᾶλλον τοῖς ἱερεῦσιν ἦσαν αἱ θυσίαι καὶ σκιὰ