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Fragments on Matthew

1 Mt 1, 16 The promises were made to David and to Abraham that from them the Christ would appear, not that Christ was going to be benefited from this, but that God was honoring them. The evangelists, therefore, wished to show this, that it came to pass according to the prophetic voices; but lest they should be thought to be so zealous about this, as if Christ were going to be shown to be great from this, they omitted Mary, who truly happened to become the mother of God, and gave the genealogy of Joseph, wishing to show Christ from there with emphasis or rather some clear proof, making this clear to the readers, that it makes no difference to state the lineage of Christ through Mary or through Joseph; for how the woman who did not bear him according to the law of women? But if indeed something was taken from Mary, from which Christ according to the flesh was formed not naturally, but paradoxically by the Holy Spirit, who took some small thing from her, and from that formed the temple for God the Word. So that he is shown to be from the kinship of David, at least according to the prophetic voices that were pointed out, but he is shown not to be glorified by their lineage, but rather, if one were to speak the truth, glorifying those whom he wished to be inscribed as his fathers. 2 Mt 1, 17 For this reason he mentioned the three divisions, in order to show the times of the judges before the kings, up to David; for he does not mention Saul, because he had become rejected and was given in the wrath of God. Therefore, on account of the different situations of the rulers among the Jews—the judges, kings, and priests—he made the division. And even if there are seventeen kings from David to Jechoniah, yet the evangelist was not mistaken in omitting the three; for he did not set out to speak of the successions of kings, but of generations. And so that the number of the fourteen generations might be met, he omitted the three; for he <introduced> not a generation of a man's time in which one begets a child, this being uncertain, but a certain number of years. Therefore, he took those whom he knew to be sufficient for the number, without being concerned about the persons. Thus also in the third <containing> fourteen, he counts only twelve, as these were sufficient to fill out the things from the fourteen generations. Or rather, in the third genealogy fourteen are found, with Christ himself being counted along with the second Jechoniah, who was also called Jehoiakim, being a descendant of Josiah. Having therefore spoken of all the ancestors and concludedthat because of her he also gave his genealogy. 3 Mt 1, 23 The angel confirms the word by the antiquity of the prophecy; and this word was spoken to Ahaz when the king of Samaria and of Syria marched against him, since he was distressed lest they take the city and establish the son of Tabeel as king, God spoke this oracle to him, showing, that until Christ should be born of the virgin, those from the lineage of David would not cease ruling Israel. And he remained fifteen years in the kingdom and died. And his son became king, being twenty-four years old, so that Hezekiah was nine years old when his father began to reign. How then do the Jews say that the oracle was fulfilled in Hezekiah, who was born nine years before his father's reign, even if we should concede that this oracle was given in the first year of his reign. And let no one say that birth from a woman is shameful; for in the first place, the incorporeal nature of God, being light, is not of a nature to be defiled, just as indeed not even the perceptible light of the luminaries is defiled when it approaches impure places. And in general, he who was not defiled through the formation when he created the woman was not defiled either when he was made flesh from her. For these things against those of the

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Fragmenta in Matthaeum

1 Mt 1, 16 Αἱ ἐπαγγελίαι πρὸς τὸν ∆αβὶδ ἐγένοντο καὶ τὸν Ἀβραὰμ ὡς ἐξ αὐτῶν φανήσεται ὁ Χριστὸς οὐχὶ τοῦ Χριστοῦ τι μέλλοντος ἐντεῦθεν ὠφελεῖσθαι, ἀλλὰ τοῦ θεοῦ τιμῶντος ἐκείνους. οἱ τοίνυν εὐαγγελισταὶ τοῦτο μὲν ὅτι κατὰ τὰς προφητικὰς φωνὰς ἐγένετο δεῖξαι ἠβουλήθησαν· ἵνα δὲ μὴ νομισθῶσιν οὕτω περὶ τούτου σπουδάζειν ὡς ἂν τοῦ Χριστοῦ μέλλοντος ἐντεῦθεν δείκνυσθαι μεγάλου, τὴν μὲν Μαρίαν παρέλιπον, ἣν ἀληθῶς συνέβη μητέρα γενέσθαι τοῦ θεοῦ, τὸν δὲ Ἰωσὴφ ἐγενεαλόγησαν κατ' ἔμφασιν ἤ τινα σαφῆ μᾶλλον ἀπόδειξιν δεικνύναι βουλόμενοι ἐκεῖθεν τὸν Χριστόν, ἐκεῖνο σαφὲς ποιοῦντες τοῖς ἐντυγχάνουσιν, ὅτι οὐδὲ διαφέρει διὰ τῆς Μαρίας ἢ τοῦ Ἰωσὴφ τὸ γένος εἰπεῖν τοῦ Χριστοῦ· πῶς γὰρ ἡ μὴ κατὰ νόμον αὐτὸν γεννήσασα γυναικῶν; εἰ δὲ καί τι τῆς Μαρίας ἐλήφθη, ἐξ οὗ τὸ κατὰ σάρκα διεπλάσθη Χριστὸς οὐ φυσικῶς, ἀλλὰ παραδόξως τοῦ ἁγίου πνεύματος βραχὺ μέν τι λαβόντος ἐξ αὐτῆς, διαπλάσαντος δὲ ἀπ' ἐκείνου τῷ θεῷ λόγῳ τὸν ναόν. ὡς φαίνεσθαι μὲν ἐκ τῆς συγγενείας τοῦ ∆αβὶδ κατά γε τὰς προφητικὰς δειχθέντα φωνάς, φαίνεσθαι δὲ αὐτὸν οὐ σεμνυνόμενον τῷ γένει αὐτῶν, ἀλλ' εἴπερ ἄρα τὸ ἀληθὲς εἰπεῖν ἐκείνους σεμνύνοντα οὓς ἐπιγράφεσθαι πατέρας ἐβούλετο. 2 Mt 1, 17 ∆ιὰ τοῦτο ἐμνήσθη τῶν τριῶν διαιρέσεων, ἵνα δείξῃ τοὺς τῶν κριτῶν πρὸ τῶν βασιλέων χρόνους ἕως ∆αβίδ· τοῦ γὰρ Σαοὺλ οὐ μνημο νεύει διὰ τὸ ἀδόκιμον αὐτὸν γεγονέναι καὶ κατὰ ὀργὴν τοῦ θεοῦ δοθῆναι. διὰ τοίνυν τὰς διαφόρους καταστάσεις τῶν ἀρξάντων παρὰ Ἰουδαίοις, τῶν κριτῶν, βασιλέων, τῶν ἱερέων, ἐποιήσατο τὴν διαίρεσιν. εἰ καὶ δέκα δὲ καὶ ἑπτά εἰσιν οἱ βασιλεῖς ἀπὸ ∆αβὶδ ἕως Ἰεχωνίου, ἀλλὰ τοὺς τρεῖς παραλιπὼν ὁ εὐαγγελιστὴς οὐκ ἐσφάλη· οὐ γὰρ διαδοχὰς προέθετο εἰπεῖν βασιλέων, ἀλλὰ γενεάς. καὶ ἵν' ἀπαντήσῃ ὁ ἀριθμὸς τῶν τεσσάρων καὶ δέκα γενεῶν , παρέλιπε τοὺς τρεῖς· οὐ γὰρ γενεὰν χρόνου ἀνθρώπου καθ' ὅν τις παιδοποιεῖ ἀδήλου ὄντος τούτου, ἀλλὰ τινῶν ἀριθμὸν ἐνιαυτῶν <εἰσηγήσατο>. διὸ οὓς ᾔδει ἀρκεῖν αὐτῶν εἰς τὸν ἀριθμόν, τούτους παρέλαβεν, μὴ φροντίσας τῶν προσώπων. οὕτως καὶ ἐπὶ τῆς τρίτης τέσσαρας καὶ δέκα <περιεχούσης> δώδεκα μόνους ἀριθμεῖ ὡς ἀρκούντων καὶ τούτων ἀναπληρῶσαι τὰ ἐκ τῶν τεσσάρων καὶ δέκα γενεῶν. μᾶλλον δ' ἐν τῇ τρίτῃ γενεαλογίᾳ εὑρίσκονται τέσσαρες καὶ δέκα συναριθμουμένου καὶ αὐτοῦ τοῦ Χριστοῦ καὶ τοῦ δευτέρου Ἰεχωνίου, ὃς καὶ Ἰωακεὶμ ἐκαλεῖτο ἀπόγονος ὢν Ἰωσίου. εἰπὼν τοίνυν τοὺς προγόνους ἅπαντας καὶ τελευτήσαςὅτι δι' ἐκείνην καὶ τοῦτον ἐγενεαλόγησεν. 3 Mt 1, 23 Τῇ ἀρχαιότητι τῆς προφητείας πιστοῦται τὸν λόγον ὁ ἄγγελος· τῷ δὲ Ἄχαζ ἐλέχθη ὁ λόγος οὗτος, ὅτε ἐπεστράτευσαν κατ' αὐτοῦ βασιλεὺς Σαμαρείας καὶ Συρίας, ἐπειδὴ ἠγωνία μὴ λάβωσιν τὴν πόλιν καὶ καταστήσωσιν βασιλέα τὸν υἱὸν Ταβεήλ, ὁ θεὸς τὸν χρησμὸν αὐτῷ τοῦτον εἶπε δηλῶν, ὅτι ἕως οὗ ὁ Χριστὸς τεχθῇ ἐκ τῆς παρθένου, οὐκ ἂν παύσονται οἱ ἐκ γένους ∆αβὶδ ἄρχοντες Ἰσραήλ. καὶ ἔμεινεν πεντεκαίδεκα ἔτη ἐν τῇ βασιλείᾳ καὶ ἀπέθανεν. καὶ γέγονεν ὁ υἱὸς αὐτοῦ βασιλεὺς ὢν ἐτῶν εἴκοσι καὶ τεσσάρων ὡς εἶναι Ἐζεκίαν ἐτῶν ἐννέα, ὅτε ὁ πατὴρ αὐτοῦ ἐβασίλευσεν. πῶς οὖν Ἰουδαῖοι τὸν χρησμὸν λέγουσιν ἐπὶ Ἐζεκίου ἀποβῆναι τοῦ πρὸ τῆς βασιλείας τοῦ πατρὸς τεχθέντος πρὸ ἐτῶν ἐννέα, ἵνα συγχωρήσωμεν, ὅτι ἐν τῷ πρώτῳ ἔτει τῆς βασιλείας αὐτοῦ ἐδόθη ὁ χρησμὸς οὗτος. καὶ μή τις λεγέτω αἰσχρὰν τὴν ἐκ γυναικὸς γέννησιν· πρῶτον μὲν γὰρ ἡ ἀσώματος τοῦ θεοῦ φύσις οὐ πέφυκε μολύ νεσθαι φῶς ὑπάρχουσα, ὅπου γε οὐδὲ τὸ αἰσθητὸν τῶν φωστήρων φῶς μολύνεται πλησιάζον ἀκαθάρτοις τόποις. ὅλως δὲ ὁ διὰ τῆς διαπλάσεως μὴ μολυνθεὶς ἐν τῷ δημιουργεῖν τὴν γυναῖκα οὐδὲ ἐν τῷ σαρκοῦσθαι ἐξ αὐτῆς ἐμολύνθη. ταῦτα γὰρ πρὸς τὰς τῶν