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Interpretatio in Danielem

OF THE BLESSED THEODORET, BISHOP OF CYRUS, A COMMENTARY ON THE VISIONS OF THE PROPHET DANIEL.

INTRODUCTION. If it were easy for everyone to unfold the oracles of the divine prophets, and to go beyond the surface of the letter, and to descend into the depth, and there to hunt for the hidden pearl of meaning, perhaps it would have been rightly considered superfluous to make a written interpretation of these things, since everyone would easily grasp the prophetic 81.1257 thought upon the very reading; but since, although we all have received one nature, we have not all received equal knowledge ("For to each one," it says, "is given the manifestation of the Spirit for the common good, and to one is given through the Spirit the utterance of wisdom, and to another the utterance of knowledge according to the same Spirit, to another faith by the same Spirit;" and the rest are likewise all distributed by division); I think I do nothing inappropriate, if I hand down a written teaching to those who are ignorant of these divine writings, having myself been brought up in them from childhood, and having gleaned some small knowledge from many pious authors; for indeed the divine law commands that what we have learned from the fathers, we should teach to our descendants. "For you shall teach them," it says, "to your sons, and to your sons' sons;" for which reason also the great teacher David says, "Give ear, O my people, to my law; incline your ear to the words of my mouth. I will open my mouth in parables; I will utter dark sayings from of old." Then, showing whence he learned these things, he says, "Things that we have heard and known, that our fathers have told us, have not been hidden from their children, in the generation to come." And teaching the reason for this knowledge, he says, "For He established a law in Israel, which He commanded our fathers to make known to their sons, that another generation might know, the sons who were to be born, and they shall arise and declare them to their sons." And showing the benefit from this teaching, he adds, "That they should set their hope in God, and not forget the works of God, but seek out his commandments." Therefore, receiving this teaching from the fathers, we owe a just debt to those who have come after us and who will come, and it is fitting to make this payment graciously. Not only does the divine law stir us, but also many of our distinguished acquaintances, by earnestly beseeching us, have compelled us to take courage for this contest. Come, then, let us make the prophecy of the most divine Daniel as clear as possible to those who are ignorant of it. And perhaps this labor will not be useless even to those who have been deemed worthy of knowledge; for either they will find more than they supposed, or finding their own thoughts in ours, they will confirm by this commonality what they themselves have discovered; for somehow the agreement of the many tends to strengthen what has been understood. We shall try to interpret this prophet at present, not as though scorning the others, far from it; for we know all are instruments of the divine Spirit; but first 81.1260 because our acquaintances requested of us the interpretation of this man, and we think it proper to grant the favor we were asked for to those who asked. Then, the folly and shamelessness of the Jews prepares us to leave aside the others for the present, and to lay bare and make plain his prophecies; for they have reached such a point of shamelessness as to separate this man from the choir of the prophets, and to deprive him of the very title of prophet. And their artifice is shameless, but not without purpose; for since, much more clearly than all the others, that of our great God and Savior

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Interpretatio in Danielem

ΤΟΥ ΜΑΚΑΡΙΟΥ ΘΕΟ∆ΩΡΗΤΟΥ ΕΠΙΣΚΟΠΟΥ ΚΥΡΟΥ ΥΠΟΜΝΗΜΑ ΕΙΣ ΤΑΣ ΟΡΑΣΕΙΣ ΤΟΥ ΠΡΟΦΗΤΟΥ ∆ΑΝΙΗΛ.

ΠΡΟΘΕΩΡΙΑ. Εἰ πᾶσι ῥᾴδιον ἦν τὰ τῶν θείων προφητῶν ἀνα πτύσσειν θεσπίσματα, καὶ τοῦ μὲν γράμματος ὑπερ βαίνειν τὴν ἐπιφάνειαν, εἰς δὲ τὸ βάθος καταδύνειν, καὶ τὸν ἐκεῖ κρυπτόμενον τοῦ νοήματος μαργαρίτην θηρεύειν, ἴσως ἂν εἰκότως ἐνομίσθη παρέλκον ἀνάγραπτον τούτων ποιεῖσθαι τὴν ἑρμηνείαν, πάν των εὐπετῶς παρ' αὐτὴν τὴν ἀνάγνωσιν τῆς προφη 81.1257 τικῆς διανοίας ἐφικνουμένων· ἐπειδὴ δὲ, μίαν μὲν ἅπαντες φύσιν ἐλάχομεν, οὐκ ἴσην δὲ ἅπαντες γνῶσιν ἐλάβομεν ("Ἑκάστῳ γὰρ δίδοται, φησὶν, ἡ φανέρωσις τοῦ Πνεύματος πρὸς τὸ συμφέρον, καὶ ἄλλῳ μὲν δίδοται διὰ τοῦ Πνεύματος λόγος σοφίας, ἄλλῳ δὲ λόγος γνώσεως κατὰ τὸ αὐτὸ Πνεῦμα, ἑτέρῳ δὲ πίστις ἐν τῷ αὐτῷ Πνεύματι·" καὶ τὰ ἑξῆς δὲ ὡσαύτως κατὰ διαίρεσιν ἅπαντα διανέμεται)· οὐδὲν ἀπεικὸς οἶμαι ποιεῖν, εἰ τοῖς ἀγνοοῦσι τὰ θεῖα τού των συγγράμματα ἔγγραφον παραδῴην διδασκα λίαν, παιδόθεν μὲν αὐτοῖς ἐντραφεὶς, παρὰ πολλῶν δὲ συγγραφέων εὐσεβῶν σμικράν τινα γνῶσιν ἐρανι σάμενος· καὶ γὰρ ὁ θεῖος παρακελεύεται νόμος, ἃ παρὰ τῶν πατέρων μεμαθήκαμεν, τοὺς ἐγγόνους διδάσκειν. "∆ιδάξεις γὰρ αὐτὰ, φησὶ, τοὺς υἱούς σου, καὶ τοὺς υἱοὺς τῶν υἱῶν σου·" οὗ χάριν καὶ ὁ μέγας διδάσκαλος ∆αβὶδ, "Προσέχετε, λαός μου, φησὶ, τὸν νόμον μου, κλίνατε τὸ οὖς ὑμῶν εἰς τὰ ῥήματα τοῦ στόματός μου· ἀνοίξω ἐν παραβολαῖς τὸ στόμα μου, φθέγξομαι προβλήματα ἀπ' ἀρχῆς." Εἶτα δεικνὺς πόθεν ταῦτα μεμάθηκεν, "Ὅσα ἠκούσαμεν, φησὶ, καὶ ἔγνωμεν αὐτὰ, καὶ οἱ πατέρες ἡμῶν διηγήσαντο ἡμῖν, οὐκ ἐκρύβη ἀπὸ τῶν τέκνων αὐτῶν, εἰς γενεὰν ἑτέραν." Καὶ τῆς γνώσεως τὴν αἰτίαν διδάσκων, "Νόμον γὰρ, φησὶν, ἔθετο ἐν Ἰσραήλ· ὅσα ἐνετείλατο τοῖς πατρά σιν ἡμῶν, τοῦ γνωρίσαι αὐτὰ τοῖς υἱοῖς αὐτῶν, ὅπως ἂν γνῷ γενεὰ ἑτέρα, υἱοὶ τεχθησόμενοι· καὶ ἀναστήσονται, καὶ ἀναγγελοῦσιν αὐτὰ τοῖς υἱοῖς αὑτῶν." Καὶ τὴν ἐκ τῆς διδασκαλίας ὠφέλειαν δεικνὺς ἐπάγει· "Ἵνα θῶνται ἐπὶ τὸν Θεὸν τὴν ἐλπίδα αὑτῶν, καὶ μὴ ἐπιλάθωνται τῶν ἔργων τοῦ Θεοῦ, καὶ τὰς ἐντολὰς αὐτοῦ ἐκζητήσωσι." Ταύ την τοίνυν τὴν διδασκαλίαν παρὰ τῶν πατέρων δεχό μενοι, χρέος δίκαιον τοῖς μεθ' ὑμᾶς γενομένοις τε καὶ ἐσομένοις ὀφείλομεν, καὶ προσήκει τούτου τὴν ἔκτισιν εὐγνωμόνως ποιήσασθαι. Οὐ μόνον δὲ ἡμᾶς ὁ θεῖος διεγείρει νόμος, ἀλλὰ καὶ πολλοὶ τῶν ἐπισή μων συνήθων, θερμῶς ἡμᾶς λιπαρήσαντες, θαῤ ῥῆσαι τὸν ἀγῶνα τοῦτον ἠνάγκασαν. Φέρε τοίνυν, τοῦ θειοτάτου ∆ανιὴλ τὴν προφητείαν, ὡς ἔνι μάλι στα, σαφῆ τοῖς ἀγνοοῦσι ποιήσωμεν. Ἴσως δὲ, οὐδὲ τοῖς γνώσεως ἠξιωμένοις ἄχρηστος οὗτος ὁ πόνος γενήσεται· ἢ γὰρ πλείονα εὑρήσουσιν ὧν νενομίκα σιν, ἢ τὰ αὑτῶν ἐν τοῖς ἡμετέροις εὑρίσκοντες, βεβαιώσουσι τῇ κοινωνίᾳ τὸ ὑπὸ σφῶν αὐτῶν θηρευ θέν· φιλεῖ γάρ πως ἡ τῶν πλειόνων συγκατάθεσις κρατύνειν τὰ νοηθέντα. Τοῦτον δὲ τὸν προφήτην ἐπὶ τοῦ παρόντος ἑρμηνεύειν πειρώμεθα, οὐχ ὡς τῶν ἄλλων καταφρονοῦντες, μὴ γένοιτο· ἅπαντας γὰρ ἴσμεν τοῦ θείου Πνεύματος ὄργανα· ἀλλὰ πρῶτον 81.1260 μὲν, ὅτι τούτου τὴν ἑρμηνείαν ἡμᾶς οἱ συνήθεις ἐπήγγειλαν, καὶ προσῆκον ἡγούμεθα ἣν ᾐτή θημεν χάριν, ταύτην δοῦναι τοῖς ᾐτηκόσιν. Ἔπειτα δὲ ἡμᾶς ἡ Ἰουδαίων ἄνοιά τε καὶ ἀναίδεια παρασκευάζει τοὺς μὲν ἄλλους ἐν τῷ παρόντι κατα λιπεῖν, τὰς δὲ τούτου προῤῥήσεις γυμνοῦν, καὶ δήλας ποιεῖν· εἰς γὰρ τοσαύτην ἀναισχυντίαν ἤλασαν, ὡς καὶ τοῦ χοροῦ τῶν προφητῶν τοῦτον ἀποσχοινίζειν, καὶ αὐτῆς αὐτὸν τῆς προφητικῆς προσηγορίας ἀποστερεῖν. Ἔστι δὲ αὐτῶν ἀναιδὲς μὲν, οὐκ ἀπὸ σκοποῦ δὲ τὸ τέχνασμα· ἐπειδὴ γὰρ τῶν ἄλλων ἁπάντων πολλῷ σαφέστερον τὴν τοῦ μεγάλου Θεοῦ καὶ Σωτῆρος ἡμῶν