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wailing they cried out: "Woe to us, who will deliver us from the hand of this strong God? This is the God who struck Egypt with every plague." And after the experience of the evils, their priests and their diviners said to them to send away the ark with gifts, "So that the Lord, the God of Israel, may lighten his hand from you, and from your gods," and from your land; and why do you harden your hearts, as Egypt and Pharaoh hardened their hearts? When he had mocked them, did he not send his people away, and they departed?" But after the impious had given this counsel, and shown the weakness of their own gods (for first God shattered them, then he chastised their worshippers; and then he sent out the mice against the produce of the land), they wished to learn by experience whether the plague was sent from God, or had happened by some chance. For having constructed a new cart, and having yoked to it milch cows that were separated from their calves, they placed the ark upon it, and mice equal in number to the five cities, and seats made of gold, as gifts to the God who had chastised them. They placed these in a certain vessel, which the Seventy called a boergas, but Josephus a casket. And at a crossroads, having released the cows without a driver, they waited to see whether they would turn back at the lowing of their calves, or whether they would turn aside to another road, leaving the one leading to the Hebrews; so that if either of these two things happened, they might condemn the ark as weak. But if the 80.545 cows, leaving the other roads, and disregarding their own calves, should go to the land of Israel, they would know that the plagues that had occurred were truly sent from God. For this reason, they also followed from a distance, and did not depart until the Hebrews who were nearby, seeing the strange sight, a cart guided by no man, but having the ark as its cargo and driver, ran to it gladly, and marveled at the victory of God. QUES. XI. Why did God strike the people when the ark returned? The history has clearly taught. "For the sons of Jeconiah among the men of Beth-shemesh," it says, "did not rejoice, because they saw the ark of the Lord; and he struck among them seventy men, and fifty thousand men of the people." But the sons of Jeconiah, as impious men and worshippers of idols, were displeased when they saw the ark, and very justly they received their punishment; but the people were chastised because they were not willing to risk themselves for the ark, and left it for seven months among the foreigners, and did not undertake the war on its behalf. The Lord God, therefore, having shown that he did not need their alliance, and having shown how much reverence he received from the impious foreigners, punished them as being more impious than the foreigners. But since the people in Beth-shemesh, fearing the ark, sent it away, saying, "Who will be able to stand before the Lord, this holy one? but Abinadab eagerly received it; he filled his whole house with blessing. But that the people impiously despised the ark, the following things bear witness. For the most divine Samuel exhorted them to return to the Lord with all their heart, and to remove the foreign gods from their midst, and the groves. But the groves Aquila interpreted as Ashtoreth, that is, the statues of Astarte. They call Astarte Aphrodite, having made the name from the star. For they say in their myths that the Morning Star belongs to her. QUES. XII. Why did Samuel build an altar, when God had commanded through the law to worship in one place? The divine temple had not yet been built, and they worshipped God in different 80.548 places. However, from this we also learn that God, knowing the people's readiness for impiety, limited the divine worship to one place. For to the pious, and to those who knew the purpose of the law, every place was consecrated for the worship of God. For even the great Elijah, the divine temple to himself all according to

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θρηνοῦντες ἐβόων· "Οὐαὶ ἡμῖν, τίς ἐξέληται ἡμᾶς ἐκ χειρὸς τοῦ Θεοῦ τοῦ στερεοῦ τούτου; Οὗτος ὁ Θεὸς ὁ πατάξας τὴν Αἴγυπτον ἐν πάσῃ πληγῇ." Καὶ μετὰ τὴν πεῖ ραν δὲ τῶν κακῶν, οἱ ἱερεῖς αὐτῶν καὶ οἱ χρησμῳδοὶ πρὸς αὐτοὺς ἔλεγον, μετὰ δώρων ἐκπέμψαι τὴν κιβω τὸν, "Ὅπως κουφίσῃ Κύριος ὁ Θεὸς Ἰσραὴλ τὴν χεῖρα αὐτοῦ ἀφ' ὑμῶν, καὶ ἀπὸ τῶν θεῶν ὑμῶν," καὶ ἀπὸ τῆς γῆς ὑμῶν· καὶ ἵνα τί βαρύνετε τὰς καρδίας ὑμῶν, ὡς ἐβάρυνεν Αἴγυπτος καὶ Φαραὼ τὰς καρδίας αὐτῶν; Οὐχὶ ὅτε ἐνέπαιξεν αὐτοῖς, ἐξαπέστειλε τὸν λαὸν αὐ τοῦ, καὶ ἀπῆλθον;" Ἀλλὰ ταῦτα συμβεβουλευ κότες οἱ ἀσεβεῖς, καὶ δείξαντες τῶν οἰκείων θεῶν τὴν ἀσθένειαν (πρῶτον γὰρ αὐτοὺς συνέτριψεν ὁ Θεὸς, εἶτα τοὺς προσκυνοῦντας ἐπαίδευσε· καὶ τότε τοὺς μῦς κατὰ τῶν τῆς γῆς βλαστημάτων ἐξέπεμψε), πείρᾳ μαθεῖν ἠβουλήθησαν, εἴτε θεήλατος ἡ πληγὴ, εἴτε κατά τι συμβεβηκὸς γενομένη. Καινὴν γὰρ κατα σκευάσαντες ἅμαξαν, καὶ βοῦς ἀρτιτόκους ὑποζευ ξαντες τῶν μόσχων κεχωρισμένας, ἐπέθεσαν τὴν κι βωτὸν, καὶ τῶν πέντε πόλεων ἰσαρίθμους μῦς τε καὶ ἕδρας ἐκ χρυσοῦ κατεσκευασμένας, δῶρα τῷ πεπαιδευκότι Θεῷ. Ἐνέθεσαν δὲ ταῦτα σκεύει τινὶ, ὃ οἱ μὲν Ἑβδομήκοντα προσηγόρευσαν βοερ γὰς, Ἰώσηπος δὲ γλωσσόκομον. Ἐν τριόδῳ δὲ ἡνιόχου δίχα τὰς βοῦς ἀπολύσαντες, ἀνέμενον ἰδεῖν, εἴτε πρὸς τὸν τῶν μόσχων μυκηθμὸν ἀποστρέ φονται, εἴτε πρὸς ἄλλην ὁδὸν ἀποκλίνουσι, τὴν πρὸς Ἑβραίους φέρουσαν καταλιποῦσαι· ἵνα εἰ μὲν τούτων δυοῖν θάτερον γένοιτο, ὡς ἀσθενοῦς κα ταγνῶσι τῆς κιβωτοῦ. Εἰ δὲ τὰς ἄλλας ὁδοὺς αἱ 80.545 βόες καταλιποῦσαι, καὶ τῶν οἰκείων καταφρονήσασαι μόσχων, πρὸς τὴν Ἰσραηλῖτιν ἀπίωσι γῆν, γνῶσιν ἀληθῶς θεηλάτους εἶναι καὶ τὰς γεγενημένας πλη γάς. Οὗ δὴ χάριν, καὶ πόῤῥωθεν εἴποντο, καὶ οὐ πρότερον ἀπέστησαν, ἕως τῶν Ἑβραίων οἱ ἀγχιτέρμονες τὸ ξένον θεασάμενοι πρᾶγμα, ἄμαξαν ὑπ' οὐδενὸς ἀνθρώπων ἰθυνομένην, φορτίον δὲ καὶ ἡνίοχον τὴν κιβωτὸν ἔχουσαν, προσέδραμον ἄσμενοι, καὶ τοῦ Θεοῦ τὴν νίκην ἐθαύμασαν. ΕΡΩΤ. ΙΑʹ. ∆ιατί τὸν λαὸν ἐπάταξεν ὁ Θεὸς ἐπανελθούσης τῆς κιβωτοῦ; Σαφῶς ἐδίδαξεν ἡ ἱστορία. "Οὐκ ἠσμένισαν γὰρ, φησὶν, υἱοὶ Ἰεχονίου ἐν τοῖς ἀνδράσι Βεθσάμοις, ὅτι εἶδον τὴν κιβωτὸν τοῦ Κυρίου· καὶ ἐπάταξεν ἐν αὐτοῖς ἑβδομήκοντα ἄνδρας, καὶ πεντήκοντα χι λιάδας ἀνδρῶν ἐκ τοῦ λαοῦ." Ἀλλ' οἱ μὲν Ἰεχονίου παῖδες, ὡς δυσσεβεῖς, καὶ τοῖς εἰδώλοις λατρεύοντες, ἐδυσφόρησαν ἰδόντες τὴν κιβωτὸν, καὶ μάλα εἰ κότως τὴν τιμωρίαν ἐδέξαντο· ὁ δὲ λαὸς ἐπαιδεύθη, ὡς τῆς κιβωτοῦ προκινδυνεῦσαι μὴ βουληθεὶς, καὶ ἑπτὰ μῆνας αὐτὴν παρὰ τοῖς ἀλλοφύλοις καταλι πὼν, καὶ τὸν ὑπὲρ αὐτῆς οὐκ ἀναδεξάμενος πόλε μον. ∆είξας τοίνυν ὁ ∆εσπότης Θεὸς, ὡς τῆς αὐ τῶν συμμαχίας οὐ δεῖται· καὶ δείξας ὅσον ἔσχε σέβας παρὰ τῶν δυσσεβῶν ἀλλοφύλων, ἐκόλασεν αὐ τοὺς ὡς τῶν ἀλλοφύλων δυσσεβεστέρους. Ἐπειδὴ δὲ οἱ ἐν Βεθσάμοις δείσαντες τὴν κιβωτὸν ἀπέπεμ ψαν, εἰρηκότες, "Τίς δυνήσεται παραστῆναι ἐνώπιον Κυρίου τοῦ ἁγίου τούτου; προθύμως δὲ ταύτην ὁ Ἀμιναδὰβ ἀπεδέξατο· πάσης αὐτοῦ τὴν οἰκίαν εὐλογίας ἐνέπλησεν. Ὅτι δὲ ἀσεβῶς ὁ λαὸς τῆς κιβωτοῦ κατεφρόνησε, τὰ ἑξῆς μαρτυρεῖ. Ὁ γὰρ θειότατος Σαμουὴλ παρῄνεσεν αὐτοῖς ἐπι στρέψαι πρὸς Κύριον ἐν ὅλῃ τῇ καρδίᾳ, καὶ ἐξ ᾶραι τοὺς θεοὺς τοὺς ἀλλοτρίους ἐκ μέσου αὐτῶν, καὶ τὰ ἄλση. Τὰ δὲ ἄλση Ἀσταρὼθ ὁ Ἀκύλας ἡρμήνευσε, τουτέστι τὰ τῆς Ἀστάρτης ἀγάλματα. Ἀσ- τάρτην δὲ καλοῦσι τὴν Ἀφροδίτην, ἐκ τοῦ ἄστρου τὴν ἐπωνυμίαν πεποιηκότες. Αὐτῆς γὰρ εἶναι τὸν Ἑωσφόρον μυθολογοῦσι. ΕΡΩΤ. ΙΒʹ. Τί δήποτε τοῦ Θεοῦ κελεύσαντος διὰ τοῦ νόμου ἐν ἑνὶ τόπῳ λατρεύειν, θυσιαστήριον ὁ Σαμουὴλ ᾠκοδόμησεν; Οὐδέπω ὁ θεῖος ναὸς ᾠκοδόμητο, καὶ ἐν διαφόροις 80.548 τόποις ἐλάτρευον τῷ Θεῷ. Πλὴν καὶ ἐντεῦθεν μαν θάνομεν, ὡς τοῦ λαοῦ τὸ πρόχειρον εἰς ἀσέβειαν ἐπι στάμενος ὁ Θεὸς, ἑνὶ τὴν θείαν λατρείαν περιώρισε τόπῳ. Τοῖς γὰρ εὐσεβέσι, καὶ τὸν τοῦ νόμου σκοπὸν ἐπισταμένοις, ἅπας εἰς τὴν τοῦ Θεοῦ λατρείαν καθ ιέρωτο τόπος. Καὶ γὰρ Ἠλίας ὁ πάνυ, τοῦ θείου νεὼ πρὸς ἑαυτὸν ἅπαντας κατὰ