Ephrem the Syrian

“"In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth," [ Gen 1:1 ] that is, the substance of the heavens and the substance of the earth. So let no one think that there is anything interpretive (turgama) in the works of the six days. No one can rightly say that the things that pertain to these days were symbolic, nor can one say that they were meaningless names or that other things were symbolized for us by their names. Rather, let us know that just as heaven and earth were created in the beginning, so they were truly heaven and earth. There was no other thing signified by the names "heaven" and "earth". The rest of the works and things made that followed were not meaningless significations either, for the substances of their natures correspond to what their names signify. "In the beginning God created heaven and earth." [ Gen1:1 ] At this point these comprised the only things that had been made, for there was nothing else created along with heaven and earth. Even the elements that were created on that day had not yet been created. If the elements had been created along with heaven and earth, Moses would have said so. But he did not, lest he give the names of the elements precedence over their substances. Therefore it is evident that heaven and earth came to be from nothing because neither water nor wind had yet been created, nor had fire, light or darkness been given their natures, for they were posterior to heaven and earth. These things were created things that came after heaven and earth and they were not self-subsistent beings for they did not exist before [ heaven and earth ].”

“After this Moses spoke not of the firmament and things that were above [it], but rather of those things that were between the firmament and the earth which is within [ the firmament ]. Moses wrote about [ the things within the firmament ] for us, although he did not write about everything for us, for he did not record for us the day on which the spiritual things were created. Moses then goes on to write about the earth, "that it was tohu and bohu, " [ Gen1:2 ] that is, void and desolation. This is to show that even the void and desolation were prior to the elements. I am not saying that the void and desolation were something, but rather that that earth which was to become well-known did not exist, for only the [primitive] earth, without any other [adornment] existed. After Moses spoke about the creation of heaven and earth and showed that the waste and desolation preceded the elements that were created by the length of that moment that followed [their creation ], he turned to write about those elements saying, "Darkness was upon the face of the abyss" [ Gen1:2 ] . For the abyss of waters was created at that time. But how was it created on the day on which it was created? Even though it was created on this day and at this time, Moses does not tell us here how it was created. For now we should accept the creation of the abyss as it is written, while we wait to learn from Moses how it was created. As for the darkness that was upon the face of the abyss, some posit that it was a cloud of heaven. Now, if the firmament had been created on the first day they would speak rightly. If the upper heavens were similar to the firmament, then there would be a thick darkness between the two heavens, for the light had not been created nor affixed there to dissipate the darkness there by its rays. But if the place between the two heavens is light as Ezekiel, Paul, and Stephen bear witness, then how could the heavens, which had dissipated the darkness with their lights, spread darkness over the abyss? Because everything that was created was created in those six days, whether its creation was written down or not, the clouds must also have been created on that first day, just as fire was created along with wind, although Moses did not write about the fire as he did about the wind. Thus, the clouds were created along with the abyss although Moses did not write that the clouds were created along with the abyss, just as he did not record the creation of fire along with that of the wind when he wrote about the creation of the wind. It was necessary that everything be known to have its beginning in those six days. The clouds were surely created along with the abyss, for how many times were these brought forth from the abyss? Elijah saw a cloud rising up out of the sea. Solomon also said, "By his knowledge the depths broke forth and the clouds sprinkled down dew." It was not only because of their substance that they should have been created at this point, but they were created on that first night because they also rendered service on that first night. Just as the clouds covered Egypt for three days and three nights, clouds were spread over all of creation on the first night and on the first day. If the clouds had been dispersed, light would not have been required on the first day because the brightness of the upper heavens would have been sufficient to fill the place of the light that was created on the first day. After one night and one day were completed, the firmament was created on the second evening and henceforth its shadow rendered service for all subsequent nights. Therefore, heaven and earth were created on the evening of the first night. Along with the abyss that was created there were also created those clouds which brought about the requisite night when they were spread out. After their shadow had served for twelve hours, light was created beneath them and the light dispersed their shadow that had been spread over the waters all night. After Moses spoke of the darkness that was spread over the face of the abyss, he then said, "the wind of God was hovering over the face of the waters." [ Gen1:2 ] Because Moses called it the "wind of God" and said "it was hovering," some posit that this is the Holy Spirit and, because of that which is written here, associate it with the activity [of creation.] Nevertheless, the faithful do not make this connection, for they are not likely to so relate it. Rather, by those things that are truly said about it, they associate it with that element. To the end that from these names they are not able to consider the Spirit as active in creation. For it is said that an evil spirit of God consumed Saul. It is also said that "[ the wind ] was hovering," but what came forth from the waters on the first day when [ the wind ] was hovering over the waters? If on the day that it was written that "it was hovering over the waters" nothing came out of the waters, and then on the fifth day when the waters brought forth reptiles and birds, it was not written that the wind "was hovering," how then can anyone say that this wind took part in the activity of creation? For, although scripture says "it was hovering", it did not say that anything came out of the waters on the day that it was hovering. Just as through the service of the clouds, that is, the shadow of the first night, the creation of the clouds that came to be on the first day was brought to our attention, so too through the service of the wind, which is its breeze, Moses wished to make known to us the creation [ of the wind ]. For just as clouds do not exist without a shadow neither does wind exist without a breeze. It is in their service then that we notice those things that are not otherwise apparent to us. Therefore that wind was blowing because it was created for this purpose. After it blew and manifested its creation through its service on the first night, it became calm once again on the first day just as the clouds were dispersed once again on the first day.”

“[The Holy Spirit] warmed the waters with a kind of vital warmth, even bringing them to a boil through intense heat in order to make them fertile. The action of a hen is similar. It sits on its eggs, making them fertile through the warmth of incubation. Here then, the Holy Spirit foreshadows the sacrament of holy baptism, prefiguring its arrival, so that the waters made fertile by the hovering of cthat same divine Spirit might give birth to the children of God.”

“It was appropriate to reveal here that the Spirit hovered in order for us to learn that the work of creation was held in common by the Spirit with the Father and the Son. The Father spoke. The Son created. And so it was also right that the Spirit offer its work, clearly shown through its hovering, in order to demonstrate its unity with the other persons. Thus we learn that all was brought to perfection and accomplished by the Trinity.”

“The light was released so that it might spread over everything without being fastened down. It dispersed the darkness that was over everything although it did not move. It was only when [the light] went away and when it came that it moved, for when [the light] went away the rule was given to the night, and at [the light's] coming there would be an end to [the night's] rule. After the brightness [of the light] rendered its service for three days … the sun was in the firmament in order to ripen whatever had sprouted under that first light.”

“After Moses spoke of heaven and earth, of the darkness, the abyss and the wind that came to be at the beginning of the first night, he then turned to speak about the light that came to be at dawn of the first day. At the end of the twelve hours of that night, the light was created between the clouds and the waters and it chased away the shadow of the clouds that were overshadowing the waters and making them dark. For Nisan was the first month; in it the number of the hours of day and night were equal. The light, then, remained a length of twelve hours so that each day might also obtain its [ own ] hours just as the night possesses a measured length of time. Although the light and the clouds were created in the twinkling of an eye, the day and the night of the first day were each completed in twelve hours. The light then was like a bright mist over the face of the earth. Whether it was like the dawn or like the pillar that gave light in the wilderness to the people, it is obvious that it was unable to chase away the darkness that was spread over the face of everything, unless it had spread out completely over everything, either by its substance or by its appearance. The light was released so that it might spread over everything without being fastened down. It dispersed the darkness that was over everything although it did not move. It was only when [ the light ] went away and when it came that it moved, so that when [ the light ] went away the rule was given to the night and at [ the light's ] coming there would be an end to [ the night's ] rule.”

“Heaven, earth, fire, wind and water were created from nothing as Scripture bears witness. But light, which came to be on the first day along with the rest of the things that came to be afterwards, came to be from something. For when these other things came to be from nothing, Moses said, "God created heaven and earth." Although it is not written concerning fire, water and wind that they were created, neither is it written that they were made. Therefore, they came to be from nothing just as heaven and earth came to be from nothing. After God began to make [things] from something, Moses wrote, "God said, 'Let there be'" light, and so on. Even though Moses did say, "God created the great serpents," still "let the waters swarm with swarming things" had been [ said ] prior to that. Therefore those five created things were created from nothing and everything else was made from those [ five ] things that came to be from nothing. Fire was also created on the first day, although it is not written down that it was created, because it was in another element. It did not have its own existence, for it was created together with that thing in which it was. It is not possible that a thing which does not exist of itself can precede that thing which is the cause of its existence. That [ fire ] is in the earth, nature bears witness, but that it was not created together with the earth, scripture affirms, when it says, "In the beginning God created heaven and earth." Fire then, since it does not exist of itself, remains with the earth, even if the wind and the clouds have been commanded at every moment to bring forth fire from their wombs along with the wind and the clouds. Darkness, too, is neither a self-subsistent being nor a created thing, but is a shadow, as scripture makes clear. It was created neither before heaven nor after the clouds, for it was with the clouds and was brought forth from the clouds. [ Darkness ] too exists in another [ thing ], for it has no substance of its own. When that in which it exists vanishes, the darkness likewise vanishes with it. For whatever comes to an end along with another thing when it vanishes is without its own existence, because that other thing is the cause of its existence. So, how could darkness, whose existence is due to the clouds and to the firmament and not to the first light or to the sun, exist of itself? It is [ a thing ] which one thing, by its cover, brings forth and another, by its brightness, destroys. If one thing creates it and causes it to become something while another thing turns it back into nothing, how can it be a self-subsistent being? The clouds and the firmament, which were created at the beginning, bring it forth and the light that was created on the first day brings it to an end. If a created thing creates it and another created thing destroys it, and henceforth, one thing, at one moment, brings it into visibility and another, at that very moment itself turns back into nothing, turns it back into nothing, it is by compulsion that [ one thing ] causes it to begin and [ another thing ] causes it to go away. If created things cause it to come into existence and also cause it to vanish then it is a creation of creatures. [ The darkness then ] is but a shadow of the firmament and it is capable of vanishing in the presence of another thing, for it can be destroyed before the sun. Some teachings posit that this [ darkness ], which is at all times subject to created things, is an adversary of creatures, and they make that thing which has no substance of its own a self-existent being.”

“So let no one think that there is anything allegorical in the works of the six days. No one can rightly say that the things pertaining to these days were symbolic, nor can one say that they were meaningless names or that other things were symbolized for us by their names. Rather, let us know in just what manner heaven and earth were created in the beginning. They were truly heaven and earth. There was no other thing signified by the names "heaven" and "earth." The rest of the works and things made that followed were not meaningless significations either, for the substances of their natures correspond to what their names signify.”

“The waters that the earth drank on the first day were not salty. Even if they were like the deep on the surface of the earth, they were still not seas. For it was in the seas that these waters, which were not salty before being gathered together, became salty. When they were sent throughout the entire earth for the earth to drink they were sweet, but when they were gathered into seas on the third day, they became salty, lest they become stagnant due to their being gathered together and so that they might receive the rivers that enter into them without increasing. For the quantity that the seas require for nourishment is the measure of the rivers that flow down into them. The rivers flow down into the seas lest the heat of the sun dry them up. The saltiness [ of the seas ] then swallows up [ the rivers ] lest they increase, rise up and cover the earth. Thus the rivers turn into nothing, as it were, because the saltiness of the sea swallows them up. Even if the seas were created when the waters were created and were hidden in the waters, and the seas were bitter, the waters above them were not bitter. For just as in the flood there were seas, but they were covered over [ by those waters ], they were not able to change the sweet waters of the flood, which came from above, into their bitter nature, for if these waters had been bitter, how were the olives and all the plants preserved in them? How did those of the house of Noah and those with them drink from them? Even if Noah had commanded that every food be brought for himself and those with him because there would be no food anywhere, he did not allow water to be brought because those who had entered the ark would be able to take the water from outside of the ark to drink. Therefore, just as the waters of the flood were not salty while the seas were hidden within them, neither were the waters that were gathered on the third day bitter even though the seas below them were bitter. Just as the gathering of the waters did not precede that word which said, "Let the waters be gathered and let the dry land appear," [ Gen1:9 ] neither did the seas exist until that moment when God "called the gathering of water 'seas'." When they received their name they were changed. In their [ new ] place the [ waters ] attained that saltiness which had not been theirs [ even ] outside of their [ old ] place. For their place became deep at that very moment when God said, "Let the waters be gathered into one place." [ Gen1:9 ] Then either the land [ that contained ] the sea was brought down below the [ level of the ] earth to receive within it its own waters along with the waters that were above the entire earth, or the waters swallowed each other so that the place might be sufficient for them, or the place of the sea shook and it became a great depth and the waters quickly hastened into that basin. Although the will of God had gathered these waters, when the earth was created, a gate was opened for them to be gathered into one place. Just as in the gathering of the first and second waters there was found no gathering place because there was no place from which they might go out, so now do these waters come down with all the rains and showers and are gathered into seas along paths and roads which had been prepared for them on the first day. After Moses spoke of those things that came to be on the first day, he began to write about those things that came to be on the second day, saying, "And God said, 'Let there be a firmament between the waters and let it separate the waters below the firmament from the waters above the firmament.'" [ Gen1:6 ] The firmament between the waters was pressed together from the waters. It was of the same measure as the waters that were spread out over the surface of the earth. Then if, in its origin, it was above the earth (for the earth, water and fire were beneath it, while water, wind and darkness were above it), how do others posit that this [ firmament ], which encloses this world within it like a child in the womb, was created in the middle of everything as the womb of everything? If, on the other hand, the firmament had been created as the center of everything, light, darkness and wind, which were above the firmament when it was created, would have been confined above the firmament. If the creation [ of the firmament ] had occurred at night, the darkness and wind would also have remained there together with the waters which remained there. But if the creation [ of the firmament ] had occurred in the day, the light and the wind also would have remained there along with the waters. And if the [ wind, water and lights ] had remained there then the [ wind, water and lights ] here would be other things. When, then, could the [ wind, water and lights ] have been created? If, however, they did not remain there, how did those elements that were above [ the firmament ] when they were created move below it?”

“The firmament was created on the evening of the second night, just as the heavens came to be on the evening of the first night. But when the firmament came into existence, the covering of clouds that had served for a night and a day in the place of the firmament dissipated. Because [ the firmament ] had been created between the light and the darkness, no darkness remained above it, for the shadow of the clouds was dispelled when the clouds themselves were dispelled. Nor did any of this light remain there, for its alotted measure of time had come to an end and so it sank into the waters that were beneath [ the firmament ]. The wind could not have remained there, either, because it did not even exist there. It was on the first night that Moses said "it hovered" and not on the second night. If the firmament had been created on the first night when [ the wind ] was blowing there could then be some debate. But, since it is not written that [ the wind ] was blowing when the firmament was created, who would say that the wind was there when Scripture does not say so? After the wind hovered on the first day, manifested its service by its blowing and returned to its stillness, then the firmament came to be. It is evident, therefore, that [ the wind ] neither remained above nor descended below, for how can one seek in any place or spot for something whose very substance only exists at the moment of its service and whose service comes to an end when it ceases to blow? The wind underwent three things on the day of its creation: it was created from nothing, it blew in and through something, and it reverted to being hidden in its stillness. After the wind had undergone these three things, the firmament was created on the evening of the second day. There was then nothing that rose along with it, because there was nothing that remained above it. It made a separation between the waters that it was commanded to separate, but not between the light, the wind or darkness, for this had not been commanded. There was no light, therefore, on the first night. On the night of the second and third day, it sank into the waters beneath the firmament and sprang forth as we said [ above ]. But on the fourth day, when the waters were gathered into one place, they say that the firmament was formed and that the sun, the moon, and the stars were formed from the firmament and from fire, and there were places set apart for the lights. The moon would rise in the west of the firmament, the sun in the east, and at the same moment, the stars were dispersed in orderly fashion throughout the entire firmament.”

“Although God said about the light that came to be on the first day that "it was very good," He did not say this about the firmament which came to be on the second day, because the firmament had not yet been finished, neither in its structure nor in its adornment. The Creator delayed until the lights came to be so that when [ the firmament ] was adorned with the sun and the moon and the stars, and the strength of the darkness that was weakened by the lights shining from it, He would then say of the firmament as well as of [ the rest of creation ] that "it was very good."”

“The waters that the earth drank on the first day were not salty. Even if they were like the deep on the surface of the earth, they were still not seas. For it was in the seas that these waters, which were not salty before being gathered together, became salty. When they were sent throughout the entire earth for the earth to drink they were sweet, but when they were gathered into seas on the third day, they became salty, lest they become stagnant due to their being gathered together and so that they might receive the rivers that enter into them without increasing. For the quantity that the seas require for nourishment is the measure of the rivers that flow down into them. The rivers flow down into the seas lest the heat of the sun dry them up. The saltiness [ of the seas ] then swallows up [ the rivers ] lest they increase, rise up and cover the earth. Thus the rivers turn into nothing, as it were, because the saltiness of the sea swallows them up. Even if the seas were created when the waters were created and were hidden in the waters, and the seas were bitter, the waters above them were not bitter. For just as in the flood there were seas, but they were covered over [ by those waters ], they were not able to change the sweet waters of the flood, which came from above, into their bitter nature, for if these waters had been bitter, how were the olives and all the plants preserved in them? How did those of the house of Noah and those with them drink from them? Even if Noah had commanded that every food be brought for himself and those with him because there would be no food anywhere, he did not allow water to be brought because those who had entered the ark would be able to take the water from outside of the ark to drink. Therefore, just as the waters of the flood were not salty while the seas were hidden within them, neither were the waters that were gathered on the third day bitter even though the seas below them were bitter. Just as the gathering of the waters did not precede that word which said, "Let the waters be gathered and let the dry land appear," [ Gen1:9 ] neither did the seas exist until that moment when God "called the gathering of water 'seas'." When they received their name they were changed. In their [ new ] place the [ waters ] attained that saltiness which had not been theirs [ even ] outside of their [ old ] place. For their place became deep at that very moment when God said,"Let the waters be gathered into one place." [ Gen1:9 ] Then either the land [ that contained ] the sea was brought down below the [ level of the ] earth to receive within it its own waters along with the waters that were above the entire earth, or the waters swallowed each other so that the place might be sufficient for them, or the place of the sea shook and it became a great depth and the waters quickly hastened into that basin. Although the will of God had gathered these waters, when the earth was created, a gate was opened for thm to be gathered into one place. Just as in the gathering of the first and second waters there was found no gathering place because there was no place from which they might go out, so now do these waters come down with all the rains and showers and are gathered into seas along paths and roads which had been prepared for them on the first day. After Moses spoke of the firmament, which came to be on the second day, he then turned to write about the gathering of the waters and about the grass and the trees that the earth brought forth on the third day, saying, "And God said, 'Let the waters under the heavens be gathered together into one place, and let the dry land appear.'" [ Gen1:9 ] From the fact that He said, "Let the waters be gathered into one place," it is evident that it was the earth which bore the waters and that the abysses were not standing on nothing beneath the earth. Although the waters were gathered in the night at the word of God, the surface of the earth still became dry in the twinkling of an eye.”

“Although the grasses were only a moment old at their creation, they appeared as if they were months old. Likewise, the trees, although only a day old when they sprouted forth, were nevertheless like trees years old as they were fully grown and fruits were already budding on their branches. The grass that would be required as food for the animals that were to be created two days later was thus made ready. And the new corn that would be food for Adam and his descendants, who would be thrown out of paradise four days later, was thus prepared.”

“After Moses spoke about the gathering of the waters and about the sprouting of the vegetation on the earth on the third day, he turned to write about the lights that were created in the firmament saying, "And God said, 'Let there be lights in the firmament of the heavens to separate the day from the night'," [ Gen1:14 ] that is, one to rule over the day and the other [ to rule ] over the night. That [ God ] said, "Let them be for signs," [ Gen1:14 ] [ refers to ] measures of time, and "let them be for seasons," clearly indicates summer and winter. "Let them be for days," are measured by the rising and setting of the sun, and "let them be for years," are comprised of the daily cycles of the sun and the monthly cycles of the moon.”

“Indeed Moses said, "God made the two great lights, the greater light to rule the day, and the lesser light to rule the night; and [ He made ] the stars." [ Gen1:16 ] Although all that was done before the fourth day was begun in the evening, the works on the fourth day were fashioned at dawn. Because the third day had been completed, in that it is said, "It was evening and it was morning; day three," God did not create the two lights in the evening lest night be changed into day and morning be given priority over evening. Because the days followed the same order in which the first day was created, the night of the fourth day, like that of the other days, preceded its day. And if its evening preceded its dawn, the lights were not created in the evening, but rather at dawn. But to say that one of them was created in the evening and the other at dawn cannot be allowed for Moses said, "Let there be lights," and "God made the two great lights." If they were great when they were created and they were created at dawn, then the sun would have stood in the east and the moon opposite it in the west. The sun would have been set very low because it was created in the place where it set out over the earth, whereas the moon would have been set higher because it was created in the place where it stands on the fifteenth day. Indeed, at the moment the sun appears over the earth, the lights see each other and then the moon sinks. From the position of the moon, from its size and from the light it produced, it is clear, then, that it was fifteen days old when it was created. Just as the trees, the vegetation, the beasts, the birds and even mankind were old, so were they also young. They were old according to the appearance of their limbs and their substances, yet they were young because of the hour and moment of their creation. Likewise, the moon was both old and young. It was young, for it was but a moment old, but was also old, for it was full as it is on the fifteenth day. If the moon had been created a day old or even two, it would have given no light; because of its proximity to the sun, it would not even have been visible. If it had been created about four days old, although it might have been visible, it would still not have given any light. This would have rendered false the verse "God created the two great lights," as well as "He said, 'Let there be lights in heaven to give light upon the earth.'" Therefore, the moon had to be fifteen days old. The sun, although it was only one day old, was nevertheless four days old, for it is according to the sun that each day was counted and will be reckoned. Accordingly, those eleven days that were added to the moon at that first moment, by which the moon was older than the sun, are also added to it each year, for these [ days ] are used in the lunar reckoning. There was nothing lacking in that year for Adam and his descendants, for any deficiency in the measure of the moon had been filled in when the moon was created. Thus, Adam and his descendants learned from this year that, henceforth, eleven days were to be added to every year. Clearly then, it was not the Chaldeans who arranged the times and years; these things had been arranged before [ the creation of ] Adam.”

“After Moses spoke about the lights that came to be in the firmament, he turned to write about the swarming things, the birds and the serpents that were created from the waters on the fifth day, saying, "And God said, 'Let the waters cause living things to swarm, and let the birds fly above the earth.' And God created the great serpents and every living creature with which the waters swarmed according to their kind." [ Gen1:20,1:21 ] When the waters were gathered, which had been ordered on the second day, the rivers were ordered and also springs, lakes, and ponds were revealed. At the word of God, these waters--dispersed throughout creation--brought forth swarming things and fish from within them: the serpents were created within the abysses and the birds soared in flocks out of the waves into the air. As for the great serpents that were created, although the prophets said that Leviathan dwelt in the sea, Job said that the Behemoth dwelt on dry land. David too, speaking of this beast, says that "on a thousand mountains is Behemoth's pasture land," that is "His place of repose." Perhaps it was after they were created that their places were separated so that Leviathan should dwell in the sea and Behemoth on dry land.”

“After Moses spoke about the creation of the swarming things and of the birds and the sea serpents on the fifth day, he turned to write about the creeping things and the animals and the beasts that were created on the sixth day, saying, "And God said, 'Let the earth bring forth living creatures according to their kinds: cattle and reptiles and beasts.'" [ Gen1:24 ] Although the entire earth was swarming with swarming things, nevertheless the cattle and the beasts were made on the border of Paradise so that they might dwell at the appointed place of Adam. , Then the entire earth stirred with creeping things as it had been commanded. The earth also brought forth the beasts of the field as companions to the wild beasts, and it brought forth as many beasts as would be useful for the service of that one who, on that very day, was to transgress the commandment of his Lord.”

“After Moses spoke about the reptiles, the cattle and the beasts that were created on the sixth day, he turned to write about the creation of that man who was fashioned on the sixth day, saying, "And God said [Let us create man. . .]" [ Gen1:26 ] But to whom was God speaking? Here as well as in every place where He creates, it is clear that He was speaking to His Son. The Evangelist said about Him that "everything came to be through Him and without Him not one thing came to be." [ John1:1 ] Paul also attests to Him saying, "In Him all things were created, in heaven and on earth, all that is visible and all that is invisible." [ Col1:15 ] "And God said, 'Let us make man in our image." [ Gen1:26 ] According to what has been said up to this point, he is able, as it pleases him, to interpret for us: Moses explains ["in our image"] as follows "Let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the birds, and over the cattle, and over all the earth." [ Gen1:26 ] It is the dominion that Adam received over the earth and over all that is in it that constitutes the likeness of God who has dominion over the heavenly things and the earthly things.”

“Then Moses said, "male and female He created them," (Gen1:27) to make known that Eve was inside Adam, in the rib that was drawn out from him. Although she was not in his mind she was in his flesh, she was in his flesh with him, and she was also in soul and spirit with him, for God added nothing to that rib that He took out except the structure and the adornment. If everything that was suitable for Eve, who came to be from the rib, was complete from the rib alone, it is well said that "male and female He created them."”

“Then Moses said, "Male and female he created them," to make known that Eve was already inside Adam, in the rib that was drawn out from him. Although she was not in his mind she was in his body, and she was not only in his body with him but also in soul and spirit with him, for God added nothing to that rib that he took out except the structure and the adornment. If everything that was suitable for Eve, who came to be from the rib, was complete in and from that rib, it is rightly said that "male and female he created them."”

“"And God blessed them and said to them, 'Be fruitful and multiply, and fill the earth and subdue it; and have dominion over the fish of the sea, over the birds and over every animal that crawls upon the earth.'" [ Gen1:28 ] Because they were blessed on this earth, it is as if this dwelling spot had been prepared for them prior to their sin. For although they had not yet sinned God knew that they were about to sin. "Be fruitful and multiply and fill," not Paradise but "the earth," [ Gen1:28 ] and "have dominion over the fish of the sea and the birds and over all the beasts." [ Gen1:28 ] But how was Adam to rule over the fish of the sea unless he were in proximity to the sea? And how was he to rule over the birds that fly throughout every region unless his descendants were to dwell in every region? And how was Adam to rule over every beast of the earth unless his offspring inhabited the entire earth? Although Adam was created and was blessed to rule over the earth and over everything that was created and blessed in [ the earth ], God had indeed made him to dwell within Paradise. God truly manifested His fore-knowledge in His blessings and manifested His grace in the place in which He caused Adam to dwell. Lest it be said that Paradise was not created for [ Adam's ] sake, God made him dwell there in Paradise. And lest it be said that God did not know that Adam would sin, He blessed him on this earth. And everything with which God blessed Adam preceded the transgression of the commandment, lest by the transgression of him who had been blessed, the blessings of Him who gives blessing be withheld and the world be turned back into nothing on account of the folly of that one for whose sake everything had been created. Within Paradise, therefore, God did not bless Adam because that place and all that was in it is blessed. But God blessed him on the earth first so that by the blessing with which [ His ] grace blessed beforehand, the curse of the earth, which was about to be cursed by [ His ] justice, might [ thus ] be diminished. But even though it was a blessing of promise, in that it was fulfilled after his expulsion from Paradise, it was, nevertheless, His grace that was effected, for on that same day, God made Adam dwell in the garden, clothed him with glory and made him ruler over all the trees of Paradise.”

“From what toil did God rest? For the creatures that came to be on the first day came to be by implication, except for the light, which came through his word. And the rest of the works that came to be afterward came to be through his word. What toil is there for us when we speak one word? So what toil could there have been for God to speak one word a day? Moses, who divided the sea by his word and his rod, did not tire. Joshua, son of Nun, who restrained the luminaries by his word, did not tire. So what toil could there have been for God when he created the sea and the luminaries by his word? It was not because he rested on that day that God, who does not weary, blessed and sanctified the seventh day. Nor was it because he was to give it to that people, who did not understand that since they were freed from their servitude, they were to give rest to their servants and maidservants. He gave it to them so that, even if they had to be put under requirement, they would rest. It was given to them in order to depict by a temporal rest, which he gave to a temporal people, the mystery of the true rest, which will be given to the eternal people in the eternal world.”

“After Moses spoke about the reptiles, the cattle, and the beasts, about mankind and about their blessing on the sixth day, he turned to write about God's rest that took place on the seventh day saying, "Thus heaven and earth were finished, and all their host. And God rested on the seventh day from all His work which He had done." [ Gen2:1-2 ] From what toil did God rest? For the creatures that came to be on the first day came to be by a gesture, except for the light which came to be through His word. And the rest of the works which came to be afterwards came to be through His word. What toil is there for us when we speak one word, that there should be toil for God because of the one word a day that He spoke? If Moses, who divided the sea by his word and his rod, did not tire and Joshua, son of Nun, who restrained the luminaries by his word, did not tire, then what toil could there have been for God when He created the sea and the luminaries by [ His ] word? Indeed, it was not because He rested on [ that day ] that God who does not weary, blessed and sanctified the seventh day, nor was it so that He might grant that people, who did not set aside a day when they were freed from their servitude, to give rest to their servants and maid-servants. He gave it to them so that, even if they had to be coerced, they would rest. For it was given to them in order to depict by a temporal rest, which He gave to a temporal people, the mystery of the true rest which will be given to the eternal people in the eternal world. Also because a full week was required, God exalted with a word that seventh day which His works did not exalt so that, because of the honor set apart for it, it might be united to its companions, and so that the numbering of the week, which is required for the service of the world, might be completed.”

“Just as the trees, the vegetation, the animals, the birds and even humankind were old, so also were they young. They were old according to the appearance of their limbs and their substances, yet they were young because of the hour and moment of their creation. Likewise, the moon was both old and young. It was young, for it was but a moment old, but was also old, for it was full as it is on the fifteenth day.”

“After speaking about the Sabbath rest, and how God had blessed and sanctified this day, Scripture returns to the narrative of the initial establishment of creation, this time passing over, with only a few words, things it had already spoken of and recounting at greater length matters it had previously omitted. Thus it begins to describe the history of creation for a second time: "These are the generations of heaven and earth when they were created on the day that God made heaven and earth. None of the trees of the field was yet in existence, and the vegetation had not yet sprouted, seeing that He had not yet caused rain to fall on the earth, and Adam was not there to work on the earth. A fountain went up and irrigated the surface of the earth." [ Gen. 2:4 ] You should realize, reader, that even though the days of creation were completed and Scripture had pronounced a blessing on the Sabbath day that had been sanctified and had brought it to a close, it now reverts to narrating the very beginning of the acts of creation, even though the days of these acts had come to an end. "These are the generations of heaven and of earth," [ Gen2:4 ] that is to say, this is the narrative of the establishment of heaven and earth "on the day that the Lord made heaven and earth, for none of the trees of the field had yet come into being, and the vegetation had not sprouted." [ Gen. 2:5 ] It is quite true that these had not been created, seeing that these were made on the third day. [ cf. Gen. 1:9-13 ] Now it was not without reason that Scripture introduced on the first day mention of things created on the third.”

“Understand, O hearer, that although the days of creation were finished and God had blessed the sabbath day, which was sanctified, and he had completed his account, Moses still returned to tell the story of the beginning of creation even after the days of creation had been finished. "These are the generations of the heavens and the earth," that is, this is the account of the fashioning of heaven and earth on the day when the Lord made heaven and earth, for as yet "no plant of the field was in the earth and no herb of the field had yet sprung up." Even if these things were not actually created on the first day—for they had been made on the third day—still Moses did not rashly introduce, on the first day, the report of those things that were created on the third day. For Moses said, "No plant of the field was yet in the earth and no herb of the field had yet sprung up—for the Lord God had not caused it to rain upon the earth, but a mist went up from the earth and watered the whole face of the ground." Because everything that has been born and will be born from the earth will be through the conjunction of water and earth, Moses undertook to show that no plant or vegetation had been created along with the earth, because the rain had not yet come down. But after the great mist rose up from the great abyss and watered the whole face of earth and after the waters had been gathered together on the third day, then the earth brought forth all the vegetation.”

“For it says, "The trees were not in existence and the vegetation had not yet sprouted, seeing that the Lord had not caused rain to fall on the earth. A fountain went up from the earth to irrigate the surface of the earth." [ Gen2:5,2:6 ] Since everything was and is born through the interaction of water and earth, Scripture took care to indicate that trees and vegetation were not created at the same time as the earth, seeing that rain had not yet fallen. But after the great fountain of the great primordial deep had gone up and irrigated the entire surface of the earth, then, once the waters had been gathered together on the third day, the earth gave birth to all sorts of vegetation on the very same day. The waters over which the darkness had been spread on the first day are the same as those which issued from this fountain, covering, in a twinkling of an eye, the entire earth. This is the fountain which was opened up in the days of Noah, covering over all mountains on the earth. Now this fountain did not come up from under the earth, but from the earth, for it explicitly says "the fountain was coming up"--not from beneath the earth, but " from the earth." That these waters in the earth do not precede the earth in time is testified by the fact that the earth carries them in its womb. So "the fountain went up from the earth," as Scripture says, "and it irrigated the surface of the entire earth." [ Gen2:6 ] The earth then produced trees, vegetation and plants. It was not the case that God was unable to generate everything from the earth in any other way, but, because it was His will that the earth should give birth through the agency of water, He provided an initial beginning for this process, corresponding to the way in which it would be carried on until the end. Having spoken about what had been omitted and left untold on the first day, Scripture reverts to the description of Adam's fashioning as follows: "And Adam was not there to work on the earth." [ Gen. 2:5 ] Indeed he was not in existence during all the days prior to the sixth, because it was on the sixth day that he was created. [Gen. 1:26-7, 31]”

“So on the sixth day "the Lord fashioned dust from the ground into Adam, and He breathed the breath of life into his nostrils, and Adam became a living being." [ Gen2:7,2:8,2:9 ] Although animals, cattle and birds came into being at the same moment that they received life, in Adam's case God honored him in a variety of ways: first, because it is said that God "fashioned him with His hands and He breathed a soul into him" [ Gen2:7 ] ; He also gave him authority over Paradise and what is outside Paradise; and He wrapped him in glory and gave him reason, thought and an awareness of the Majesty. Having spoken of the honored way in which Adam was fashioned, Scripture turns to describe Paradise and Adam's introduction into it: "And the Lord planted Paradise in Eden of old, and He placed there Adam whom He had fashioned. " [ 2:8 ]”

“Eden is the land of paradise, and God had already planted it on the third day. Moses explains this by saying, "The Lord caused every tree that is pleasant to the sight and good for food to sprout forth from the earth." And to show that he was talking about paradise, he added, "And the tree of life was in the midst of paradise, and the tree of the knowledge of good and evil."”

“Now Eden is the land of Paradise. By "of old" Scripture means that He planted it on the third day; it explains this with the words "the Lord caused to sprout from the earth every kind of tree that is beautiful to look upon and good to eat" [ Gen2:9 ] ; and to show that this refers to Paradise, it says, "and the Tree of Life was in the midst of Paradise, and the Tree of Knowledge of good and evil." [ Gen2:9 ]”

“After having spoken of Paradise and the day on which it was planted, as well as the introduction into it of Adam, and the Tree of Life and its companion, Scripture turns to describe the river which goes out from its midst, and how it is divided up outside Paradise into four sources: "A river was issuing from Eden to irrigate Paradise. " [ Gen2:10 ] Notice that here too it calls the delightful land of Paradise "Eden." Had that river not first irrigated Paradise it would not have divided up into four sources outside it. I think it was perhaps for purposes of convenience that it was said to "irrigate," seeing that the spiritual trees of Paradise do not require any irrigation by water. But if, despite their being spiritual, they nevertheless absorbed something of those blessed and spiritual waters there, I should not object to such an opinion. The taste of the water of the four tributaries which flow from that river is not like the taste of the head of the source. For if water varies in taste in our countries, all of which are subject to the sentence of the curse, how much more would one expect the taste in the blessed land of Eden to be different from that of the land which was laid under the curse of the Just One as a result of Adam's transgression?”

“Moses turned to write about the river that flowed out from paradise and that, once outside of it, divided into four distinct sources, saying, "A river flowed out of Eden to water paradise." Here too Moses calls the delightful land of paradise Eden. If that river had indeed watered paradise, it would not have divided into the four rivers outside it. I would suggest that it was perhaps due to convention that it is said "to water," since the spiritual trees of paradise had no need of water. But if someone should say that because they are spiritual, they drink from the blessed and spiritual waters there, I would not quarrel over this. The four rivers that flowed from that river were not similar in taste to the headspring. For if the waters of our lands vary, all being placed under the sentence of a curse, how much more distinct should the taste of the blessed land of Eden be from the taste of that land that had been placed under the curse of the Just One due to Adam's transgression of the commandment?”

“Now these four rivers are as follows: the Pishon, that is, the Danube; the Gihon, that is, the Nile; the Tigris and the Euphrates. In between these we live. Even though the regions from which these flow are known, this does not apply to the head of the source; for Paradise is situated on a great height, and the rivers are swallowed up under the surrounding sea, descending as it were down a tall water pipe; having passed through the ground beneath the sea and reached this earth, the earth then spouts forth with one of them in the West-the Danube, or Pishon-the Gihon in the South, and the Euphrates and Tigris in the North.”

“The four rivers, then, are these: the Pishon, which is the Danube; the Gihon, which is the Nile; and then the Tigris and the Euphrates, between which we dwell. Although the places from which they flow are known, the source of the spring is not known. Because paradise is set on a great height, the rivers are swallowed up again, and they go down to the sea as if through a tall water duct, and so they pass through the earth that is under the sea into this land. The earth then spits out each one of them: the Danube, which is the Pishon, in the west; the Gihon in the south; and the Euphrates and the Tigris in the north.”

“Having spoken of Paradise and the rivers which issue from it and divide up, Scripture turns to speak of the entry of Adam into Paradise and the law which was laid down for him, as follows: "The Lord God took Adam and left him in the in the Paradise of Eden to till it [or worship Him] and keep [or guard] it." [ Gen2:15 ] With what did he till it, seeing that he had not agricultural implements? And how would he have been able to till it, seeing that he could not have managed it himself? And what would he have to clear from it, seeing that there were no thistles or thorns there? Again, how could he have guarded it, since he could not walk right around it? And from what was he guarding it, seeing that there was no thief trying to enter it? Now the barrier which came into existence at the transgression of the commandment testified to the fact that no guard was required as long as the commandment was kept. So Adam had nothing to keep there except for the law which was laid down for him. Nor was any work entrusted to him apart from preserving the commandment that he had been given. But should someone say that he had these two things to do as well as the commandment, I would not oppose him.”

“In the very midst he planted the Tree of Knowledge, endowing it with wonder, hedging it in with dread, so that it might straightway serve as a boundary to the inner region of paradise. Two things did Adam hear in that single decree: that they should not eat of it and that, by shrinking from it, they should perceive that it was not lawful to penetrate further, beyond that tree.”

“Having spoken of the introduction of Adam into Paradise and the reason God brought him there, Scripture turns to describe the commandment which was laid down for him, as follows: "And the Lord God commanded Adam, saying: 'You may indeed eat of all the trees in Paradise, but of the Tree of Knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat; for on the day you eat of it you will certainly die.' " [ Gen. 2:16-17 ] This commandment was a light one, for God had given him the whole of Paradise and held back from him but a single tree. If one tree sufficed for someone's sustenance, and many trees were withheld from him, there would still be relief for his distress, seeing that there still existed food for his hunger. But where it is a case of God's giving him many trees when one would have been sufficient, this means that if transgression takes place, it is not as a result of any real need, but because of contempt. So God withheld from him a single tree, hedging it around with death, so that even if Adam were to fail to keep the law out of love for the Lawgiver, at least the fear of death that surrounded the tree would make him afraid of overstepping the law.”

“Inside the paradise, the woman was very diligent; she was also attentive to the sheep and cattle, the herds and droves that were in the fields. She would also help the man with the buildings, pens, and with any other task that she was capable of doing. The animals, even though they were subservient, were not able to help him with these things. For this reason God made for the man a helper who would be concerned for everything for which God himself would be concerned. She would indeed help him in many things.”

“Having spoken of Adam's entry into Paradise and of the law that was laid down for him, Scripture turns to describe the names which he gave to the animals, as follows: "The Lord fashioned out of the earth all the wild animals and the birds of the sky; and He brought them to Adam to see what he would call them. " [ Gen. 2:19 ]”

“Moses said, "God brought them to Adam." This happened in order that God might make known the wisdom of Adam and the harmony that existed between the animals and Adam before he transgressed the commandment. The animals came to Adam as to a loving shepherd. Without fear they passed before him in orderly fashion, by kinds and by species. They were neither afraid of him nor were they afraid of each other. A species of predatory animals would pass by with a species of animal that is preyed upon following safely right behind.”

“They were not actually "fashioned," for the earth produced the animals, and the water the birds. [Gen. 1:20] By saying "fashioned" Scripture wishes to indicate that all animals, reptiles, cattle and birds came into being as a result of the combining of earth and water. It says "He brought them to Adam" in order to indicate his wisdom, and also the peaceful state which existed between the animals and Adam prior to his transgressing the commandment. For they came to him as though to a loving shepherd, passing in front of him without any fear, flock after flock according to their species and varieties. They had no fear of him, nor were they in trepidation of one another; a herd of predators passed by, followed fearlessly by a group of the animals upon which they preyed. So Adam took care of the earth and became master of everything on this day, in accordance with the blessing he had received--for the word of the Creator had taken effect and his blessing had been fulfilled in actual fact. That very same day did he rule over everything; and even though Adam was quick to rebel against the Lord of all things, God did not just give him the authority over all things that He had promised him, but in addition He gave him the right to allocate names, something that He had not promised him. Now if He had done more for him than what he had expected, how do you suppose He would have deprived him of what He had promised for any other reason than because he had sinned? If it were a case of someone giving just a small number of names, the remembering of these would be nothing out of the ordinary, but to allocate thousands of names all in a single short moment, and to avoid any duplication between the first ones and the last, this is something which surpasses human ability. For someone to specify a multitude of names for a multitude of species--reptiles, wild animals, domestic cattle and birds--is quite possible, but to avoid ever calling one species by the name of another is something that belongs to God--or to a human being to whom this ability has been given by God. If God gave Adam authority, made him share in the act of creation, wrapped him in glory, and gave him the Garden, what else should He have done for him so that he might keep the commandment, but did not do? After speaking about the fashioning of the animals and of the names they received, Scripture turns to describe Adam's sleep and the rib which was removed from him, and how woman [or a wife] was established, in the following words: "For Adam there was to be found no helper who resembled himself. " [ Genesis 2:20 ] Scripture calls Eve "helper," seeing that, even if Adam had helpers among the animals and cattle, nevertheless a helper of his own kind would be useful to him. For Eve looked after things inside, caring for the sheep, oxen, herds, and flocks in the field; she also assisted him with the buildings and the sheepfolds, and with the crafts that he invented. For even though the animals were subject to him, they were unable to assist him in these sorts of things. For that reason God made him a helper who would take care of everything along with him. And indeed she did assist him in all sorts of ways.”

“"The Lord cast a stillness on Adam and he slept; He took one of his ribs and closed up the flesh in its place. And the Lord made the rib that He had taken from Adam into a woman, and He brought her to Adam." [ Gen. 2:21,2:22 ] Now the man, who was wakeful, anointed with radiance, and as yet ignorant of what sleep was, fell naked on the ground and slept. It is quite likely that he saw in his dream what was being done to him in waking life. Once the rib had been extracted in the twinkling of an eye, and God had closed up the flesh in the flicker of an eyelid, and the bare rib had been fashioned with all kinds of adornments and embellishments, God then took her and brought her to Adam who was both one and two: he was one because he was Adam, he was two because he was created male and female.”

“That man, awake, anointed with splendor, and who did not yet know sleep, fell on the earth naked and slept. It is likely that Adam saw in his dream what was done to him as if he were awake. After Adam's rib had been taken out in the twinkling of an eye, God closed up the flesh in its place in the blink of an eyelash. The bare bone took on the full appearance and all the beauty of a woman. God then brought her to Adam, who was both one and two. He was one in that he was Adam, and he was two because he had been created male and female.”

“Having spoken of the stillness, the extracted rib and the woman fashioned out of it who had been brought to him, Scripture describes how Adam said, "This time it is bone from my bone and flesh from my flesh; let her be called woman, for she is taken from man. " [ Gen. 2:23 ] "This time" refers to the fact that she came after the animals and did not resemble them. For they came into being from the earth, whereas she "is bone from my bone and flesh from my flesh." He may have said this of her as though in prophecy, or he knew it was the case from the visionary dream he had seen, as we suggested above. Seeing that all species of animals had received from him a name on that very day, Adam did not call the rib that had been fashioned by her personal name "Eve," but called her instead "woman," the generic name applying to her entire kind.”

“"This now"—that is, the one who has come to me after the animals—is not such as they; they came from the earth, but she is "bone of my bone and flesh of my flesh." Adam said this either in a prophetic way or, as noted above, according to his vision in sleep. And just as on this day all the animals received from Adam their names according to their kinds, so also the bone, made into a woman, he called not by her proper name, Eve, but by the name of woman, the name belonging to the whole kind.”

“Following this it says, "The two of them were naked, but they were not ashamed. " [ Gen. 2:25 ] It was not because they were ignorant of what shame was that they were not ashamed; for had they been infants, as the pagans say, Scripture would not have said that "they were naked but were not ashamed," nor would it have spoken of "Adam and his wife" had they not been adults. The names which Adam gave should convince us of his wisdom, and the fact that it says that "he was to work it and guard it" is to indicate his strength. Likewise, the law laid down for them is meant to testify to their adulthood--and the transgression of the law to testify to their arrogance. It was because of the glory in which they were wrapped that they were not ashamed. Once this had been taken away from them, after the transgression of the commandment, they were ashamed because they had been stripped of it, and the two of them rushed to the leaves in order to cover not so much their bodies as their shameful members.”

“Having spoken of their naked state--which, because it was adorned with a heavenly raiment, was not shameful--Scripture turns to write about the astuteness of the serpent, as follows: "And the serpent was more astute than all the other wild animals that the Lord had made. " [ Gen. 3:1a ] Now even though it was astute, it was only more astute than the dumb animals which are under the control of mankind: it had not yet, just by reason of its having surpassed the level of animals in its astuteness, been raised to the level of mankind. That irrational creature was only more astute than the cattle; that mindless serpent was only more crafty than other animals. For it is clear that the serpent did not have a human mind, seeing that it did not possess human wisdom; whereas Adam, who surpassed the serpent in the way he was fashioned, by having a soul and an intellect, by his glory and by his location, clearly also infinitely surpassed the serpent in astuteness. For Adam, who had been set in authority and control over animals, was wiser than all the animals, and he who gave names to them all was certainly more astute than them all. For just as Israel could not look upon the face of Moses, [Exod. 34:33-35] neither were the animals able to look upon the radiance of Adam and Eve: at the time when they received names from him they passed in front of Adam with their eyes down, since their eyes were incapable of taking in his glory. So even though the serpent was more astute than the other animals, compared to Adam and Eve, who had authority over animals, it was foolish. Having spoken of the serpent's astuteness, it turns to describe how the deceitful one came to Eve, as follows: "And the serpent said to the woman, 'Did God really tell you not to eat of any of the trees of Paradise?'" [ Gen. 3:1b ] On the matter of the serpent's words: either Adam knew the serpent's own language, or Satan spoke through it; or the serpent asked the question mentally, and speech was granted it, or Satan asked God that speech should temporarily be granted to the serpent.”

“Although the serpent was cunning, it was only more cunning than the dumb animals that were governed by Adam. It is not true that because the serpent surpassed the level of animals in cleverness, it was immediately raised up to the level of human rationality. It was only more clever than those animals that lack reason and was only more crafty than the animals that had no mind. For it is clear that the serpent, which did not have the mind of man, did not possess the wisdom of mankind. Adam was also greater than the serpent by the way he was formed, by his soul, by his mind, by his glory and by his place. Therefore it is evident that in cunning also Adam was infinitely greater than the serpent.”

“The serpent could not enter paradise, for neither animal nor bird was permitted to approach the outer region of paradise, and Adam had to go out to meet them; so the serpent cunningly learned, through questioning Eve, the character of paradise, what it was and how it was ordered. When the accursed one learned how the glory of that inner tabernacle, as if in a sanctuary, was hidden from them, and that the Tree of Knowledge, clothed with an injunction, served as the veil for the sanctuary, he realized that its fruit was the key of justice that would open the eyes of the bold and cause them great remorse.”

“The tempter then turned its mind to the commandment of the One who had set down the commandment. Adam and Eve were commanded not only to not eat from the tree, but they were not even to draw near to it. The serpent then realized that God had forewarned them about even looking at it lest they become entrapped by its beauty. With this in mind, the serpent enticed Eve to look upon it.”

“Now the tempter's words would not have caused the tempted pair to sin had not their greed abetted the tempter. And even if the tempter had not come, the Tree with all its beauty would have caused them a struggle with their greed. In other words, they used the serpent's counsel as an excuse, for it was their own greed, which conformed with the serpent's counsel and went beyond it, that brought harm upon them.”

“For it says, "The woman saw that the Tree was good to eat, and was delightful to the eyes; and the Tree was enticing to look upon, and so she took some of its fruit and ate." [ Gen. 3:6 ] Now if she was overcome by the Tree's beauty and by desire for its fruit, she was not overcome by the counsel that had entered her ear, seeing that she was defeated by the greed which issued from within herself. Seeing that a commandment had been laid down for the tempted pair, it was appropriate that the tempter should come momentarily. Now because God had given to Adam everything inside and outside Paradise through Grace, requiring nothing in return, either for his creation, or for the glory in which He had clothed him, nevertheless out of Justice He held back one tree from him to whom He had given, in Grace, everything in Paradise and on earth, in the air and in the seas. For when God created Adam, He did not make him mortal, nor did He fashion him as immortal; this was so that Adam himself, either through keeping the commandment, or by transgressing it might acquire from this one of the trees which ever outcome he wanted. God had created the Tree of Life and hidden it from Adam and Eve, first, so that it should not, with its beauty, stir up conflict with them and so double their struggle, and also because it was inappropriate that they should be observant of the commandment of Him who cannot be seen for the sake of a reward that was there before their eyes. Even though God had given them everything else out of Grace, He wished to confer on them, out of Justice, the immortal life which is granted through eating of the Tree of Life. He therefore laid down this commandment. Not that it was a large commandment, commensurate with the superlative reward that was in preparation for them; no, He only withheld from them a single tree, just so that they might be subject to a commandment. But He gave them the whole of Paradise, so that they would not feel any compulsion to transgress the law. Because a tempter was required, as I mentioned, Satan was not allowed to have one of the Watchers, or one of the Seraphim or Cherubim, sent to Adam for this purpose; nor was Satan allowed to come to Adam in the Garden in human appearance, or in the divine appearance in which he came to our Lord on the mountain. [ [Matt. 4:1-11 par.] ] Nor did any of the huge and renowned animals, such as Behemoth or Leviathan, come; nor did any of the other animals, or any of the ritually clean cattle, lest some excuse might be found by [or for] the transgressors of the commandment. Instead, a mere serpent was allowed to come to them, which, even if it was astute, was nevertheless utterly despised and despicable. Moreover, when the serpent came, it did not do so performing any signs, or even fashioning some false apparition; no, it came just by itself in its mean state, with downcast eyes seeing that it was unable to look upon the radiance of her who was being tempted by this creature. Out of fear it did not go to Adam, but went instead to Eve, in order quickly to get her to eat of the Tree from which she had been told not to eat. And this was when she had not yet tasted of the thousands and ten thousands of other trees that had been granted her. And the reason for her not having tasted them was not because she was fasting; rather, hunger had not yet gained any hold over her, for she had only just been created at that very time. The entire reason the serpent was not prevented from coming hastily was because the serpent's very haste worked against the serpent. For it was the moment that Eve had been created, and she did not yet know what hunger was; and up to now she had not been tormented by any struggle over the Tree's beauty. So, because she was not hungry and was not struggling with the Tree, the serpent was not prevented from becoming a tempter. If she had vanquished it in a momentary fight, in a struggle lasting but a short time, the serpent--and he who was in the serpent--would still have received the punishment which in the event they received, while she and her husband would have eaten of the Tree of Life and lived forever; with the promised life that they would have acquired through Justice, they would also have had, through Justice, everything that previously they had been given through Grace. So the tempter made haste to come, and was not prevented. This was so that they might realize that he was the tempter, by the fact that the tempter came at the same time as the commandment, and in this way they would be wary of his deceitfulness. He who was unable to provide himself with even a small reputation came along and gave them momentous counsel. Satan, who was in the serpent, spoke through the serpent to the woman: "Did God really say that you should not eat of any of the trees of Paradise. " [ Gen. 3:1 ] It is right that we should realize that, had they been commanded not to eat of any of the trees, as the serpent said, it would have been a big commandment. Whereas in fact they were commanded exactly the opposite, as it were, no commandment at all seeing that it was so small and had been given only temporarily, until the tempter had gone away from them. Now Eve replied, saying to the serpent, "From the fruits of the trees in Paradise we may eat, but from the fruits of the Tree in the middle of Paradise He told us not to eat and not to approach it, lest we die. " [ Gen. 3:2,3:3 ] . The serpent, and he who was in the serpent, having heard that all the trees of Paradise had been provided for fruit, and only one had been withheld from them, supposed themselves to be wrapped in shame, seeing that there was no opportunity for counseling disobedience. Accordingly, the tempter observed the commandment of God the giver of commandments, how not only had they been forbidden to eat of it, but they were not to approach it at all; and he realized that God had forewarned them away from seeing the Tree, lest they be captivated by its beauty. So, luring Eve to look at it, he said, "It is not the case that you will die, for God knows that the day you eat of these fruits your eyes will be opened, and you will become like God, knowing good and evil. " [ Gen. 3:4,3:5 ] Now Eve omitted to look carefully at the serpent's words, at how the tempter had said exactly the opposite of what had been uttered by God; and she failed to answer him back and say, "How can my eyes be opened, seeing that they are not closed?" and "How will I know the difference between good and evil by eating the fruit, seeing that I already know this before eating it?" But she neglected everything that she should have said in opposition to the serpent, and, just as the serpent had desired, she raised her eyes from the serpent in front of her and gazed at the Tree she had been commanded not to approach. Now the serpent kept quiet, for it already perceived her guilt. For it was not so much the counsel that had entered her ear that lured her on to eat of the Tree, but rather her gaze, which she had focused on the Tree, enticed her to pluck and eat some of its fruit. She could very well have said to the serpent, "If I cannot see, how is it that I see everything that is to be seen? And if I do not know the difference between good and evil, how could I discern whether your counsel is good or evil? How would I know that divinity was good and the opening of the eyes an excellent thing, and whence would I recognize that death is evil? But all this is available to me; so why have you come to me? Your coming to us bears witness that we possess these very things; for with the sight that I have, and with the ability to distinguish what is good from what is evil that I possess, I will test your counsel. If I already have the things which you have promised, where is all this cunning of yours which has failed to hide your deception?" She did not say these things whereby she might have defeated the serpent, but instead she fixed her gaze on the Tree, thereby hastening her own defeat. Thus, following her desire and enticed by the divinity which the serpent had promised her, she ate furtively, away from her husband. Only subsequently did she give it to her husband, and he ate with her. Because she had believed the serpent she ate first, imagining that she would return clothed in divinity to her husband whom she had left as a woman. She hastily ate before her husband so that she might become head over her head, and that she might be giving orders to him from whom she received orders, seeing that she had become senior in divinity to Adam to whom she was junior in humanity. When she had eaten, she neither grew nor shrank; nor did she acquire enlightenment. For she did not receive the divinity she had been looking to, nor did she find the enlightenment that brings one to Paradise. She took the fruit to her husband and, with many entreaties, got him to eat it--though it is not written that she entreated him. [ Gen. 3:6 ] Having once eaten, Eve did not die as God had said, nor did she find divinity, as the serpent had said. For had she been exposed, Adam would have been afraid and would not have eaten, in which case, even though he would not have been guilty in that he did not eat, yet he would not have been victorious either, seeing that he would not have been tempted. It would have been the exposing of his wife that would have restrained him from eating rather than love for, or fear of, Him who gave the commandment. It was so that Adam might for a moment be tempted by Eve's blandishments--just as she had been by the counsel of the serpent--that she had approached and eaten, but had not been exposed.”

“The words of the tempter would not have caused those two to be tempted to sin if their avarice had not been so helpful to the tempter. Even if the tempter had not come, the tree itself, by its beauty, would have caused them a great struggle due to their avarice. Their avarice then was the reason that they followed the counsel of the serpent. The avarice of Adam and Eve was far more injurious to them than the counsel of the serpent.”

“Once Eve had enticed Adam and gotten him to eat, Scripture says that "the eyes of the two of them were opened and they knew that they were naked." [ Gen. 3:7 ] So their eyes were opened, not that they might become like God, as the serpent had said, but that they might see their own exposure, just as the enemy had hoped. For their eyes had thus been both open and closed: open, in that they could see everything; but closed, in that they did not see either the Tree of Life or their own exposure. The enemy was envious for this reason too, because they surpassed everything on earth in possessing glory and reason, and eternal life which is provided by the Tree of Life was promised to them alone. Thus the enemy was envious of Adam and Eve both for what they had and for what they were to receive; accordingly, he plotted against them and in the course of a momentary struggle he took from them what they should not have lost even if it meant a great struggle. For had the serpent been rejected, along with the sin, they would have eaten of the Tree of Life, and the Tree of Knowledge would not have been withheld from them any longer; from the one they would have acquired infallible knowledge, and from the other they would have received immortal life. They would have acquired divinity in humanity; and had they thus acquired infallible knowledge and immortal life they would have done so in this body. Thus by what it promised, the serpent annulled what they were to have had: it made them think that they would receive this by transgressing the commandment, thus effecting that they would not receive it as a result of keeping the commandment. It withheld divinity from them by means of the divinity which it promised them, and it brought about that those, to whom it had promised enlightenment from the Tree of Knowledge, should not have their eyes illumined by the Tree of Life, as promised. Now had they been willing to repent after transgressing the commandment, even though they would not have received what they had possessed prior to their transgression, nevertheless they would have escaped from the curses pronounced over the earth and over themselves. For the whole reason for God's delay in coming down to them was in case they might rebuke one another and so, when the Judge did come to them, they might ask for mercy. The serpent's arrival was not delayed, so that their temptation at the beautiful sight of the Tree might not be too great. The Judge, on the other hand, did delay in coming to them, in order to give them an opportunity to prepare a plea. However, the haste on the part of the tempter did not help them, even though this haste was designed to help them; nor did they profit from the Judge's delay, even though His delay, too, was intended for that very purpose.”

“"Where are you, Adam?" Are you trapped in the imagined godlikeness that the serpent falsely promised you? Or are you prepared for the death that I, the Lord, decreed for you? Would that you had considered the fruits! Suppose, Adam, that instead of a serpent who might be the most despicable creature of all, an angel or a god had come to you? Would you have despised the commandment of him who gave you all these things, heeding instead the counsel of one who had not yet done you any good? Would you then have considered evil the very One who formed you out of nothing? Would you despise the One who made you a second god over creation? Would you dare instead to consider good the very fallen one who gave you only a verbal promise of some good? If another god were to come to you in power, should you not have rejected his advice? How much more then in the case of a serpent who came to you with no power, with no wondrous deeds but with only the empty word that it spoke to you? Commentary on Genesis-.”

“"And they heard the sound [or voice] of the Lord as He walked in Paradise at the turn of the day; and they hid themselves from the Lord's presence among the trees in Paradise." [ Gen. 3:8 ] It was not just by the patience that He showed toward them that He wanted to help them, but He also wanted the sound of His footsteps to assist them; for He caused His silent footsteps to make a noise so that, at the noise, they might prepare to make supplication before Him who issued the sound. When, however, they failed to appear before Him with supplication, either as a result of His delay or because of the sound that had been sent forth in advance of Him, God then went on to employ the sound of His lips, just as He had used the sound of His footsteps, saying "Where are you, Adam?" [ Gen. 3:9 ] But instead of confessing his wrong and asking mercy before sentence was pronounced over him, Adam said, "I heard the sound of You in Paradise and I was afraid, for I saw that I was naked and so I hid myself." [ Gen. 3:10 ] The sound of feet which went before the God who was about to be revealed to Adam and Eve in punishment prefigured the voice of John who was to come before the Son, holding a winnowing fan in his hands as he cleans his threshing floors, about to burn the chaff in fire and clean the wheat in order to bring it into his storehouses. [ [Matt. 3:12] ] their temptation at the be "I heard the sound of You and I hid myself." [ Gen. 3:10 ] When had you heard the sound of Him as you do now? For you did not hear His sound when He fashioned you and brought you into Paradise, nor when He cast a stillness upon you and extracted your rib, constructing and bringing to you a wife. If it is only just recently that you have heard the sound of Him, you should realize even now that this sound of footsteps was made in order that your lips might make supplication. Speak to Him before He questions you about the coming of the serpent and about your and Eve's transgression, in case the confession of your lips might absolve you of the sin of eating the fruit which your fingers plucked. But they failed to confess anything about what they had done; instead, they told the Omniscient what had happened to them. footsteps "Where are you, Adam? In the state of divinity which the serpent promised you? Or subject to death which I pronounced over you, should you look to the fruits? Now suppose, Adam, that instead of the utterly despicable serpent there had come to you an angel, or another divine being, would it have been right for you to despise the command of Him who gave you all these things and instead to listen to the counsel of one who had not yet in actual fact performed anything good for you? Would you consider as evil Him who fashioned you out of nothing and made you a second god over creation, instead holding to be good one who had merely with words promised you some advantage? And if it would not be right for you to be deceived by the counsel of some other god, were he to come to you with a show of force, how much more so when it is a serpent that has come to you, without any mighty acts or miracles, but with only the bare words which it addressed to you? You have held your God to be false and your deceiver to be true; you have broken faith with your Benefactor who put you in authority over everything, and you have believed that deceiver who has cunningly managed to take away your authority completely." Had the serpent been prevented from coming to tempt Adam, the people who today complain about its having come would be complaining about its having been prevented from coming; for they would be saying that the serpent-- who in fact came so that Adam might acquire eternal life by means of a short-lived temptation--had been prevented from doing so out of envy. And those who now say that Adam would never have gone astray if the serpent had not come would instead be saying that had the serpent come, Adam would not have gone astray. For, just as they imagine that they are doing well by saying, "Had the serpent not come, Adam and Eve would not have gone astray," all the more so would they imagine that they did well by saying, "Had the serpent come, it would not have led Adam and Eve astray." Indeed, who would ever have believed it, had it not actually happened, that Adam should have listened to a serpent or Eve been won over by a reptile! "I heard the sound of You, and I was afraid and hid myself. " [ Gen. 3:10 ] Because Adam omitted what was requisite and instead said something that was not required--for instead of confessing what he had done, which would have benefited him, he related what had happened to him, which did not benefit him--God said to him, "Who showed you that you are naked? You have eaten of the Tree from which I commanded you not to eat. [ Gen. 3:11 ] You have seen your own nakedness with the help of the vision which the Tree bestowed upon you--the same that had promised you a glorious vision of divinity."”

“Once again Adam failed to confess his fault, laying the blame on the woman who was like him: "The woman with whom you provided me gave me of the Tree and I ate. [ Gen. 3:12 ] I myself did not approach the Tree, nor was it my hand which presumed to stretch out for the fruit." This is why the Apostle too says, "Adam himself did not sin, but Eve transgressed the commandment." [ I Tim. 2:14 ] But if He gave you a wife, Adam, He gave her as a helper and not as a harmer, as someone who receives instructions, rather than as one who gives orders.”

“When Adam was unwilling to confess his fault, God went down to Eve with a question, saying to her, "What is this that you have done?" [ Gen. 3:13 ] Eve, too, instead of making supplication with tears and taking the fault upon herself in the hope that pardon might come upon herself and her husband, answered back, not saying, "The serpent counseled me" or "enticed me," but simply, "The serpent deceived me and I ate. " [ Gen. 3:13 ]”

“Since Adam did not wish to confess his folly, God came down to question Eve and said to her, "What is this that you have done?" Eve too, instead of making supplication with her tears and bearing the fault herself so that mercy might take hold of both her and her husband, responded by saying not "The serpent counseled or seduced me" but "The serpent deceived me and I ate." When the two of them had been questioned and were both found to be wanting in remorse or true contrition, God went down to the serpent not to make inquiry but to render punishment. For where there is opportunity for repentance, it would be right to inquire, but to one who is a stranger to repentance, judgment is fitting.”

“When the two of them had been questioned and found to be lacking in contrition or valid excuse, God descended to the serpent, not with a question, but with a punishment. For where there was a possibility of repentance He made use of questions, but with a creature that is alien to repentance He employed a sentence of judgment. And you should realize that the serpent cannot repent from the fact that, when God said to it, "Because you have done this you are more cursed than all cattle," [ Gen. 3:14 ] it did not say "I did not do it" because it was afraid to lie, nor did it say "I did it," because it was alien to repentance.”

“When [Adam and Eve] had been questioned and were both found to be wanting in remorse or true contrition, God went down to the serpent, not to make inquiry but to render punishment. For where there is opportunity for repentance, it would be right to inquire, but to one who is a stranger to repentance, judgment is fitting. It is so that you might know that the serpent is not capable of repentance, that when God said to it, "Because you have done this, cursed are you above every beast," the serpent did not say, "I did not do it," because it was afraid to lie, nor did it say, "I did it," because it was a stranger to repentance.”

“"Cursed are you above every beast," because you deceived those who rule over all the beasts. Instead of being more clever than all the beasts you will be more cursed than all the beasts and "on your belly shall you go," because you brought birth pangs upon the race of women. And "dust you shall eat all days of your life," because you deprived Adam and Eve from eating of the tree of life.”

“"You are more cursed than all cattle because you deceived those who have authority over all cattle; and instead of being more astute than all other animals you shall be more cursed than all other animals, and you shall go about on your belly because you brought pangs upon womankind. And you shall eat dust all the days of your life [ Gen. 3:14 ] because you deprived Adam and Eve of the food of the Tree of Life. And I will place enmity between you and the woman, and between your seed and her seed [ Gen. 3:15 ] because by your fraudulent show of love you deceived and subjected both her and her children to death. He then indicates the nature of the enmity which was placed between the serpent and the woman, between its seed and hers, saying, "It shall tread upon your head--which wanted to escape from subjugation to her seed--and you will strike it, not in its organ of hearing, but in its heel. " [ Gen. 3:15 ]”

“Now even though the sentence imposed on the serpent was justly decreed--for punishment reverts to where the crime originated--nevertheless the full reason God began with this despicable creature was so that Adam and Eve might become afraid and repent while Justice was appeasing its anger on the serpent: then there would be an opportunity for Grace to hold them back from Justice's curses. When the serpent had been cursed, however, and Adam and Eve still did not ask forgiveness, God then came with punishment. He came to Eve, since it was by her hand that the sin had been handed over to Adam. Thus he decreed as follows against Eve: "I will greatly multiply your pains and your conceptions, and you shall give birth to children with pangs." [ Gen. 3:16 ] Even though she would have given birth to children anyway--seeing that she had received the blessing of childbirth along with all creatures--nevertheless she would not have given birth to many children, because those whom she bore would have remained immortal. And she would have been spared the pangs of birthgiving, the anguish of their upbringing and the lamentations at their deaths. "And you shall turn to your husband" --to be counseled, and not to counsel-- "and he shall have authority over you" [ Gen. 3:16 ] -- since you imagined that by eating the fruit you would from then onward have authority over him.”

“The punishment decreed against the serpent was justly decreed. Why? Because it was fitting that punishment return to the place where folly begins. The entire reason God began with this impious creature was so that, when justice appeased its anger on this creature, Adam and Eve should grow afraid and repent so that there might be a possibility for grace to preserve them from the curses of justice. But when the serpent had been cursed and Adam and Eve had still made no supplication, God came to them with punishment. He came to Eve first, because it was through her that the sin was handed on to Adam.”

“Although it was the earth, which had not done wrong, which was smitten instead of Adam, who had done wrong, nevertheless it was Adam, who is subject to suffering, whom He caused to suffer by means of the curse on the earth, which is not subject to suffering; for it was because of the earth's being cursed that Adam, who had not been directly cursed, was cursed. Thus he did not escape punishment at the curse which the earth received, for God decreed concerning him too, as follows: "With pains shall you eat of it all the days of your life" [ Gen3:17 ] --that is, after breaking the commandment, though you would have eaten of it without any pains had the commandment been kept. "Thorns and thistles" [ Gen3:18 ] will it bring forth after the sin, things which it would not have brought forth had there been no sin. "You shall eat herbage of the field," [ Gen3:18 ] because through your wife's slight enticement you have rejected Paradise's delectable fruits. "With the sweat of your face will you eat bread," [ Gen3:19 ] because it did not please you to enjoy yourself without any toil in the delights of the Garden. All this will be your portion "until you return to the earth whence you were taken," [ Gen3:19 ] seeing that you despised the commandment which, at the very present moment, might have given you eternal life, by means of the fruit of the Tree of Life which you would have been permitted to eat. Since you originate from dust and you forgot yourself, "you shall return to " [ Gen3:19 ] your "dust " and your true being shall be recognized through your low estate " Even Satan, who was created within these six days along with the womb to which he belonged, was fair until the sixth day, just as Adam and Eve were fair up to the time they transgressed the commandment. Now Satan, who had become Satan in secret on this day, was also secretly sentenced and condemned the same day; for God did not wish to make known his judgment in the presence of the pair who were not aware of his having tempted them--the woman said "It was the serpent," and not Satan, "who led me astray." So Satan was judged secretly, and in him all his hosts were condemned. For since the sin was so great, and any one of them alone would have been too insignificant for the punishment--just as birth pangs were decreed for Eve along with her daughters, and pains and death for Adam and his children, and for the serpent it was decreed that it and all its seed should be trampled--so it was decreed against Satan who was in the serpent that he should go to the fire along with all his hosts. For in the New Testament our Lord revealed what had been hidden in the old, when he said, "Concerning the judgment of the ruler of this world, he is judged," that is, he is condemned." [ John 16:11 ]”

“Having spoken of the punishment which the tempter and those tempted received, Scripture describes how "the Lord made garments of skin for Adam and Eve, and clothed them. " [ Gen. 3:21 ] Whether these garments were from the skins of animals, or whether they were specially created, like the thorn bushes and thistles which were created after the other works of creation had been completed, seeing that it is said that "the Lord made... and clothed them," it seems likely that when their hands were laid upon their leaves they found themselves clothed with garments made of skin. Or were, perhaps, some animals killed before them, so that they could nourish themselves with their flesh, cover up their nakedness with their skins, and in their deaths see the death of their own bodies?”

“Were these garments from the skins of animals? Or were they created like the thistles and thorns that were created after the other works of creation had been completed? Because it was said that the "Lord made … and clothed them," it seems most likely that when their hands were placed over their leaves they found themselves clothed in garments of skin. Why would beasts have been killed in their presence? Perhaps this happened so that by the animal's flesh Adam and Eve might nourish their own bodies and that with the skins they might cover their nakedness, but also that by the death of the animals Adam and Eve might see the death of their own bodies.”

“Having finished this it says, "Behold, Adam has become like one of us, knowing good and evil." [ Gen. 3:22 ] By saying that "he has become like one of us," Scripture also revealed symbolically something about the Trinity. But at the same time God was actually addressing Adam ironically, seeing that Adam had been told, "you will become like God, knowing good and evil." However, although Adam and Eve became aware of both these things from eating the fruit, prior to the fruit they were in practice only aware of the good, hearing about evil by report, but after eating it there was a change, so that they only heard by report of the good, whereas they tasted evil in practice. For the glory in which they had been wrapped left them, and the pains which had previously been kept away from them now dominated them. "And now, lest he stretch out his hand and take from the fruit of the Tree of Life as well, and eat it and live for ever..." [ Gen. 3:22 ] For if he had the audacity to eat of the Tree of which he was commanded not to eat, how much the more would he make a dash for the Tree concerning which he had received no commandment? But because it had been decreed against them that they should exist in toil and sweat, in pains and pangs, God, who when they were still free from the curse and clothed in glory was prepared to give them immortal life, now that they were clothed in the curse, kept them back from eating of the Tree of Life, lest by eating of it and living forever, they would have to remain in a life of pain for eternity. God's intention, then, was that this life-giving gift, which they would have received from the Tree of Life, might not be turned to misery and actually harm them even more than what they had acquired through the Tree of Knowledge. For from the Tree of Knowledge they had acquired temporal pains, whereas the Tree of Life would have made those pains eternal. From the Tree of Knowledge they had acquired death which would release them from the bonds of their pains, whereas the Tree of Life would have made them entombed all their lives, leaving them forever tortured by their pains. So it was that God kept them back from the Tree of Life, for it was not appropriate, either that a life of delight should be provided in the land of curses, or that eternal life should be found in the transient world. Had they eaten, however, one of two things would have happened: either the sentence of death would have been proved false, or the life-giving characteristic of the Tree of Life would have been proved not to be genuine. In order, therefore, that the sentence of death might not be annulled, and the life-giving characteristic of the Tree might not be proved false, God kept Adam at a distance from it, lest he suffer loss from the Tree of Life as well, just as he had already been harmed by the Tree of Knowledge.”

“God said, "Behold, Adam has become like one of us, knowing good and evil." Even though by saying, "He has become like one of us," he symbolically reveals the Trinity, the point is rather that God was mocking Adam in that Adam had previously been told, "You will become like God, knowing good and evil." Now even though after they ate the fruit Adam and Eve came to know these two things, before they ate the fruit they had perceived in reality only good, and they heard about evil only by hearsay. After they ate, however, a change occurred so that now they would only hear about good by hearsay, whereas in reality they would taste only evil. For the glory with which they had been clothed passed away from them, while pain and disease that had been kept away from them now came to hold sway over them.”

“If Adam had rashly eaten from the tree of knowledge he was commanded not to eat, how much faster would he hasten to the tree of life about which he had not been so commanded? But it was now decreed that they should live in toil, in sweat, in pains and in pangs. Therefore, lest Adam and Eve, after having eaten of this tree, live forever and remain in eternal lives of suffering, God forbade them to eat, after they were clothed with a curse, that which he had been prepared to give them before they incurred the curse and when they were still clothed with glory.”

“When Adam sinned God cast him forth from paradise, but in his grace he granted him the low ground beyond it, settling him in the valley below the foothills of paradise; but when mankind even there continued to sin they were blotted out, and because they were unworthy to be neighbors of paradise, God commanded the ark to cast them out on Mount Qardu.”

“At his departure from Paradise it says that God "caused a cherub and a sharp revolving sword to go round, to the east of the Garden of Eden, to protect the way to the Tree of Life. " [ Gen. 3:24 ] The barrier was thus a living one, which of its own accord went around guarding the way to the Tree of Life from anyone who audaciously wanted to pluck its fruit; for it would kill with its sharp sword any mortal who came to steal for himself immortal life.”

“Abel was very discerning in his choice of offerings, whereas Cain showed no such discernment. Abel selected and offered the choicest of his firstborn and of his fat ones, while Cain either offered young grains or certain fruits that are found at the same time as the young grains. Even if his offering had been smaller than that of his brother, it would have been as acceptable as the offering of his brother, had he not brought it with such carelessness. They made their offerings alternately; one offered a lamb of his flock, the other the fruits of the earth. But because Cain had taken such little regard for the first offering that he offered, God refused to accept it in order to teach Cain how he was to make an offering.”

“Cain was angry because the offering of his brother had been accepted. Cain became angry on account of the fire that had come down and distinguished between the offerings. His face became gloomy because there was laughter in the eyes of his parents and his sisters when his offering was rejected. They had seen that Cain's offering had been placed in the midst of the fire and yet the fire did not touch it.”

“God said to Cain, "Why are you angry, and why is your face gloomy?" Instead of being filled with anger, you ought to be filled with distress. Instead of your face being gloomy, tears ought to be flowing from your eyes. "If you do well, I will accept it." Notice then that it was not because of the small size of Cain's offering that it was rejected. It was not accepted because of his spitefulness and his lack of good will. "If you do well, I will accept it," even though I did not accept it before, and it will be accepted along with the chosen offering of your brother even though it was not accepted before. "But if you do not do well, sin is couching at the first door." Abel will listen to you through his obedience, for he will go with you to the plain. There you will be ruled over by sin, that is, you shall be completely filled with it. But instead of doing well so that the offering that had been rejected might be credited to Cain as acceptable, he then made an offering of murder to that One to whom he had already made an offering of negligence.”

“But Cain was filled with wrath instead of compunction. To him who knows all, who asked him about his brother in order to win him back, Cain retorted angrily and said, "I do not know, am I my brother's keeper?" … What then would you say, Cain? Should Justice take vengeance for the blood that cried out to it? Or not? Did it not delay so that you might repent? Did Justice not distance itself from its own knowledge and ask you as if it did not know, so that you might confess? What it said to you did not please you, so you came to that sin to which it had warned you beforehand not to come.”

“There the families of the two brothers had separated: Cain went off by himself and lived in the land of Nod, a place lower still than that of Seth and Enosh; but those who lived on higher ground, who were called "the children of God," left their own region and came down to take wives from the daughters of Cain down below.”

“That Cain remained alive until the seventh generation is clear. First, … it had been so decreed concerning him. Second, the length of the lives of those first generations also testifies to it. For if his father Adam remained alive until the ninth generation, that of Lamech, and was gathered from the world in the fifty-sixth year of Lamech, it is no great thing that Cain should remain until the seventh generation.”

“Some, because they think that Cain was avenged for seven generations, say that Lamech was evil, because God had said, "All flesh has corrupted its path," and also because the wives of Lamech saw that the line of their generation would be cut off. They were giving birth not to males but to females only, for Moses said that it was "when men multiplied on the earth and daughters were born to them." When these wives saw the plight of their generation, they became fearful and knew that the judgment decreed against Cain and his seven generations had come upon their generation. Lamech, then, in his cleverness, comforted them, saying, "I have killed a man for wounding me and a youth for striking me. Just as God caused Cain to remain so that seven generations would perish with him, so God will cause me to remain, because I have killed two, so that seventy-seven generations should die with me. Before the seventy-seven generations come, however, we will die, and through the cup of death that we taste we will escape from that punishment which, because of me, will extend to seventy-seven generations."”

“Still others say that Lamech, who was cunning and crafty, saw the plight of his generation: that the Sethites refused to intermingle with them because of the reproach of their father Cain, who was still alive, and that the lands would become uncultivated from the lack of plowmen and their generation would thus come to an end. Lamech, therefore, moved by zeal, killed Cain together with his one son whom he had begotten and who resembled him, lest through this one son who resembled him the memory of his shame continue through their generations. When he killed Cain, who had been like a wall between the two tribes to keep them from tyrannizing each other, Lamech said to his wives as if in secret, "A man and a youth have been killed, but take and adorn your daughters for the sons of Seth. Because of the murders that I have committed and because of the adornment and beauty of your daughters, those who refused to be married to us in the past six generations might now consent to marry with us in our generation."”

“Some say that while Adam was looking [at Enoch] God transported him to paradise lest Adam think that Enoch was killed as was Abel and so be grieved. This was so that Adam might also be comforted by this just son of his and that he might know that for all who were like this one, whether before death or after the resurrection, paradise would be their meeting place.”

“Enoch begot Methuselah, and Methuselah begot Lamech, and Lamech begot Noah (whose name means "relief" in Hebrew and Syriac). Lamech prophesied about his son and said, "This one shall bring us relief from our work and from the toil of our hands and from the earth which the Lord cursed." His offerings … will be pleasing to God who, because of the sin of the earth's inhabitants, will destroy in the waters of wrath the buildings that we have made and the plants over which our hands have toiled.”

“After recounting the ten generations from Adam to Noah, Moses said, "Noah was five hundred years old and begot Shem and Ham and Japheth." During this entire time Noah was an example to his sons by his virtue, for he had preserved virginity for five hundred years among those of whom it was said, "All flesh corrupted its path."”

“[Moses] called the sons of Seth "sons of God," those who, like the sons of Seth, had been called "the righteous people of God." The beautiful daughters of men whom they saw were the daughters of Cain who adorned themselves and became a snare to eyes of the sons of Seth. Then Moses said "they took to wife such of them as they chose," because when "they took" them, they acted very haughtily over those whom they chose. A poor one would exalt himself over the wife of a rich man, and an old man would sin with one who was young. The ugliest of all would act arrogantly over the most beautiful.”

“He called the sons of Seth sons of God, those who, like the sons of Seth, had been called "the righteous people of God." The beautiful daughters of men whom they saw were the daughters of Cain who adorned themselves and became a snare to the eyes of the sons of Seth. Then Moses said, they took them wives of all which they chose.”

“This generation will not live nine hundred years like the previous generations, for it is flesh and its days are filled with the deeds of flesh. Therefore, their days will be one hundred and twenty years. If they repent during this time, they will be saved from the wrath that is about to come upon them. But if they do not repent, by their deeds they will call down wrath upon themselves. Grace granted one hundred and twenty years for repentance to a generation that, according to justice, was not worthy of repentance.”

“The house of Cain, because the earth had been cursed so as not to give them its strength, produced small harvests, deprived of its strength, just as it is today that some seeds, fruits and grasses give strength and some do not. Because at that time they were cursed and sons of the cursed and were dwelling in the land of curses, they would gather and eat produce that lacked nutrition, and those who ate these were without strength just like the food that they ate. As for the Sethites, on the other hand, because they were the descendants of the blessed [Seth] and were dwelling in the land along the boundary of the fence of paradise, their produce was abundant and full of strength. So too were the bodies of those who ate that produce strong and powerful.”

“After Moses spoke about the mighty men who were born into the tribe of Cain, whose women, even though beautiful, were nevertheless smaller than the sons of Seth, he then said, "The Lord saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth and that every inclination of the thoughts of his heart was always evil," for in the years given to them for repentance they had increased their sins. "The wickedness of mankind was great in the earth," that is, evil extended and spread throughout both those tribes. "The inclination of the thoughts of their hearts was always evil," for their sins were not committed only occasionally, but their sins were incessant. Night and day they would not desist from their wicked thoughts.”

“Because the sons of Seth were going into the daughters of Cain, they turned away from their first wives whom they had previously taken. Then these wives, too, disdained their own continence and now, because of their husbands, quickly began to abandon their modesty, which up until that time they had preserved for their husbands' sake. It is because of this wantonness that assailed both the men and the women that Scripture says, "All flesh corrupted its path."”

“On that same day elephants came from the east, apes and peacocks approached from the south, other animals gathered from the west, and still others hastened to come from the north. Lions came from the jungles, and wild beasts arrived from their lairs. Deer and wild asses came from their lands, and the mountain beasts gathered from their mountains.When those of that generation gathered [to see] this novel sight, it was not to repent but rather to amuse themselves. Then in their very presence the lions began to enter the ark, and the bulls, with no fear, hurried in right on their heels to seek shelter with the lions. The wolves and the lambs entered together, and the hawks and the sparrows together with the doves and the eagles.”

“God granted one hundred years while the ark was being made to that generation, and still they did not repent. God summoned beasts that they had never seen and still they showed no remorse. He established a state of peace between the predatory animals and those who are preyed upon, and still they had no awe. God delayed yet seven more days for them, even after Noah and every creature had entered the ark, leaving the gate of the ark open to them. This is a wondrous thing that no lion remembered its jungle and no species of beast or bird visited its customary haunt! Although those of that generation saw all that went on outside and inside the ark, they were still not persuaded to renounce their evil deeds.”

“"The Lord shut the door before Noah," lest those left behind come at the time of the floods and break down the gate of the ark. The deluge came and "God blotted out all flesh. Only Noah was left and those that were with him in the ark." The springs of the abyss and the floodgates of heaven were open forty days and forty nights, and the "ark was afloat for one hundred fifty days."”

“With the eye of my mind I gazed upon paradise. The summit of every mountain is lower than its summit, the crest of the flood reached only its foothills, these it kissed with reverence before turning back to rise above and subdue the peak of every hill and mountain. The foothills of paradise it kisses, while every summit it buffets.”

“The springs of the abyss and the floodgates of heaven were open forty days and forty nights and "the ark was afloat for one hundred fifty days." But after one hundred fifty days the waters began to subside and the ark came to rest on Mt. Qardu. In the tenth month the tops of the mountains were seen. In the six hundred and first year, in the first month, the first day of the month, the waters were dried from off the earth. In the second month, that is, Iyor, "on the twenty-seventh day of the month, the earth was dry." Therefore Noah and those with him had been in the ark three hundred sixty-five days, for from the seventeenth of the second month, that is, Iyor, until the twenty-seventh of the same month the following year, according to the lunar reckoning, there were three hundred sixty-five days. Notice then that even the generation of the house of Noah employed this reckoning of three hundred sixty-five days in a year. Why then should you say that it was the Chaldeans and Egyptians who invented and developed it?”

“Those whom he had brought in "one by one" in order to maintain chastity on the ark, he now brought out "two by two" so that they might "be fruitful and multiply in creation." Even with respect to the animals that had preserved their chastity in the ark God said, "Bring forth with you every living thing that is with you of all flesh—birds and animals and every creeping thing that creeps on the earth—that they may breed abundantly on the earth."”

“"The Lord smelled" not the smell of the flesh or the smoke of wood, but rather he looked out and saw the simplicity of heart with which Noah offered the sacrifice from all and on behalf of all. And his Lord spoke to him, as he desired that Noah hear, "Because of your righteousness, a remnant was preserved and did not perish in that flood that took place. And because of your sacrifice that was from all flesh and on behalf of all flesh, I will never again bring a flood upon the earth." God thus bound himself beforehand by this promise so that even if mankind were constantly to follow the evil thought of their inclination, he would never again bring a flood upon them.”

“And because there was neither planting nor harvest during that year and the seasonal cycles had been disturbed, God restored to the earth that which had been taken away in his anger. God then said, "All the days of the earth, planting and harvest, cold and heat, summer and winter, day and night shall not cease from the earth." For throughout the entire year, until the earth dried up, winter, with no summer, had been upon them.”

“God also blessed Noah and his sons that they might be fruitful and multiply and that fear of them should fall upon all flesh both in the sea and on dry land. "Only you shall not eat flesh with its life." That means you shall eat no flesh that has not been slaughtered and whose blood, which is its life, has not been drained.”

“God requires the blood now and in the future. He requires it now in the case of a death that he decreed for a murderer, and also a stoning with which a goring bull is to be stoned. At the end, at the time of the resurrection, God will require that animals return all they ate from the flesh of man. God said, "From the hand of a man and of his brother I will require the life of a man," just as satisfaction for the blood of Abel was required from Cain, that is, "whoever sheds the blood of man, by man shall his blood be shed."”

“And his Lord spoke to [Noah], as he desired that Noah hear, "Because of your righteousness, a remnant was preserved and did not perish in that flood that took place. And because of your sacrifice that was from all flesh and on behalf of all flesh, I will never again bring a flood upon the earth." God thus bound himself beforehand by this promise so that even if mankind were constantly to follow the evil thoughts of their inclination, he would never again bring a flood upon them.”

“Noah's drunkenness was not from an excess of wine but because it had been a long time since he had drunk any wine. In the ark he had drunk no wine. Although all flesh was going to perish, Noah was not permitted to bring any wine onto the ark. During the year after the flood Noah did not drink any wine. In that first year after he left the ark, he did not plant a vineyard, for he came out of the ark on the twenty-seventh of Iyor, the time when the fruit should be starting to mature and not the time for planting a vineyard. Therefore, seeing that it was in the third year that he planted the vineyard from the grape stones that he brought with him on the ark and that it was three or even four years before they would have become a productive vineyard, there were then at least six years during which the just one had not tasted any wine.”

“Noah cursed Canaan, saying, "Cursed be Canaan. A slave of slaves shall he be to his brothers." But what sin could Canaan have committed even if he had been right behind his father when Ham observed the nakedness of Noah? Some say that because Ham had been blessed along with those who entered the ark and came out of it, Noah did not curse Ham himself, even though his son, who was cursed, grieved him greatly. Others, however, say from the fact that Scripture says, "Noah knew everything that his youngest son had done to him," it is clear that it was not Ham who observed his nakedness, for Ham was the middle son and not the youngest. For this reason they say that Canaan, the youngest, told of the nakedness of the old man. Then Ham went out and jokingly told his brothers. For this reason then, even though it might be thought that Canaan was cursed unjustly in that he did what he did in his youth, still he was cursed justly for he was not cursed in the place of another. Noah knew that Canaan would deserve the curse in his old age, or else he would not have been cursed in his youth.”

“After Ham had been cursed through his one son, Noah blessed Shem and Japheth and said, "May God increase Japheth, and may he dwell in the tent of Shem, and let Canaan be their slave." Japheth increased and became powerful in his inheritance in the north and in the west. And God dwelt in the tent of Abraham, the descendant of Shem, and Canaan became their slave when in the days of Joshua son of Nun, the Israelites destroyed the dwelling places of Canaan and pressed their leaders into bondage.”

“Concerning Nimrod, Moses said, "He was a mighty hunter before the Lord," because, according to the will of the Lord, it was he who fought with each of these nations and chased them out from there, so that they would go out and settle in the regions that had been set apart for them by God. "Therefore it is said, like Nimrod a mighty hunter before the Lord." One used to bless a chief or a ruler by saying, "May you be like Nimrod, a mighty hunter who was victorious in the battles of the Lord."”

“It is likely that they lost their common language when they received these new languages. For if their original language had not perished their first deed would not have come to nothing. It was when they lost their original language, which was lost by all the nations, with one exception, that their first building came to nought. In addition, because of their new languages, which made them foreigners to each other and incapable of understanding one another, war broke out among them on account of the divisions that the languages brought among them. Thus war broke out among those who had been building that fortified city out of fear of others. And all those who had been keeping themselves away from the city were scattered throughout the entire earth. It was Nimrod who scattered them. It was also he who seized Babel and became its first ruler. If Nimrod had not scattered them each to his own place, he would not have been able to take that place where they all had lived before.”

“Abraham gave a human reason as human beings do. Nevertheless, because Sarah thought it was Abraham who was sterile, she was taken to the palace. [This happened] first, so that she might learn that it was she who was barren; second, so that her love for her husband might be seen, for she did not exchange [her husband] for a king while she was a sojourner; and [last], so that the mystery of her descendants might be prefigured in her. Just as she had no love for the kingdom of Egypt, they would not love the idols, the garlic or the onions of Egypt. The entire house of Pharaoh was struck down by Sarah's deliverance. So too would all Egypt be struck down by the deliverance of her descendants.”

“This Melchizedek is Shem, who became a king due to his greatness; he was the head of fourteen nations. In addition, "he was a priest." He received this from Noah, his father, through the rights of succession. Shem lived not only to the time of Abraham, as Scripture says, but even to [the time of] Jacob and Esau, the grandsons of Abraham. It was to him that Rebekah went to ask and was told, "Two nations are in your womb, and the older shall be a servant to the younger." Rebekah would not have bypassed her husband, who had been delivered at the high place, or her father-in-law, to whom revelations of the divinity came continually, and gone straight to ask Melchizedek unless she had learned of his greatness from Abraham or Abraham's son.”

“Abraham thought, "Perhaps these kings will destroy each other, or other peoples might rise up and destroy them and empty out the land for us. Perhaps my seed will become strong and will go and slay its inhabitants and possess it, or maybe the land will swallow [its inhabitants] because of their deeds. Perhaps the [inhabitants] might go into exile into another land because of hunger or rumor or some such reason." Abraham sought to know which of these [would happen], but he had no doubts whatsoever.Then God, who knew what he sought, showed him what he did not seek in addition to what he did seek. For by the offering that Abraham made [when] the birds came down and he chased them away, God clearly showed him that his descendants would sin and be oppressed but would be saved through the prayers of their righteous ones. And by the pot of fire that came down, God made known that even if all their righteous ones should come to an end, deliverance from heaven would come to them. By the three-year-old calf and the three-year-old ram and the three-year-old goat [God showed him] that either they would be delivered after three generations or that kings, priests and prophets would soon arise from among his descendants. By the limbs of the animals that Abraham cut in two [God] depicted their many tribes, and by the bird that Abraham did not cut in two [God] signified their unity.”

“Now Abraham was not guilty of any doubt by his laughter, for he showed his love toward Ishmael in what he said. He had clung to this hope for twenty-five years. Abraham had manifested his faith in every vision that had come to him. However great his contest with barrenness became, he manifested the victory of his faith. But when old age was added to the barrenness, he laughed in his heart. That his Lord would do these two things for him was a marvel to him.”

“Although Abraham ran from the tent toward them as if toward strangers, he ran to receive those strangers with love. His love for strangers was thus proved by the haste with which he ran to meet those strangers. Therefore the Lord, who had just appeared to him at the door of the tent, now appeared to Abraham clearly in one of the three. Abraham then fell down and worshiped him, seeking from him in whom majesty dwells that he condescend to enter his house and bless his dwelling. "If I have found favor in your sight, do not pass by your servant." God did not oppose him, for he said, "Do as you have said." Then Abraham ran to Sarah [telling her] to make three measures of wheat, and then he ran to the herd to get a fatted calf.”

“The bread and meat, which was in abundance, was not to satisfy the angels but rather so that the blessing might be distributed to all the members of his household. After the angels had washed and sat down beneath a tree, "Abraham brought and set before them what he had prepared"; he did not dare recline with them but like a servant "stood apart from them."”

“After they had eaten, "they inquired about Sarah." She, who even in her old age had preserved her modesty, came out from inside the tent to the door of the tent. From Abraham's haste and from the silence that Abraham imposed on everyone with his gestures, those of his household knew that these who, because of the man of God, allowed their feet to be washed like men were not men.”

“"Then [God] said of Sarah, 'At this time I will return to you, and Sarah will have a son.' " But Sarah, even though Abraham was standing behind her to strengthen her, "laughed and said, 'After I have grown old shall I [again] have youthfulness? My husband is also old.' " A sign would have been given her if she had asked to hear or to see and then believe: first, because she was a woman, old and barren; and second, because nothing like this had ever been done before. God then gave a sign specifically to her who had not asked for a sign, and said, "Why did you laugh, Sarah, and say, 'Am I, who am old, to bear a child?' " But Sarah, instead of accepting the sign that was given to her, persisted, by this falsehood, in denying the true sign that had been given to her. Even though she had denied it because she was afraid, nevertheless in order to make her know that a false excuse did not convince him, God said to her, "But you did laugh in your heart; lo, even your heart is denying the foolishness of your tongue."”

“After the three men promised Sarah fruit, "they arose, and they looked toward Sodom." It was not revealed to Sarah that they were going to Sodom lest, on the same day that they had given her joy in the promise that a son was to be hers, she be grieving over her brother on account of that sentence of wrath decreed on Sodom and the nearby villages. They hid this from Sarah lest she never cease weeping, but they revealed it to Abraham so that he not cease praying and so that it be announced to the world that nowhere in Sodom was there found a single just man for whose sake it might be saved.”

“It was not that God, who had just said, "their sins were very grave," did not know that they had sinned. This was an example to judges not to prejudge a case, even based on very reliable hearsay. For if he who knows all set aside his knowledge lest he exact vengeance without full knowledge before the trial, how much more should they set aside their ignorance and not effect judgment before the case is heard.”

“Unless Sarah received renewed youth in the seed that she had received, Abim-elech would not have desired a woman ninety years old. Then Abraham prayed and God healed Abimelech, his wife and his female slaves so that they bore children, because from the time [Abim-elech] had decided to marry Sarah until he returned her, pangs of childbirth struck all the women in his household; they would kneel down, but they could not give birth.”

“Then the time came for Isaac to be born, and milk flowed in the breasts of the old woman. On the day of the great feast that Abraham prepared when he circumcised and weaned Isaac, Sarah noticed Ishmael playing. But Sarah also saw how much Ishmael shared the characteristics of his mother, for just as Sarah was despised in the eyes of Hagar, so too did Ishmael mock her son, and she thought, "If he acts thus to my son while I am still alive, perhaps [Abraham] will make him coheir with my son when I die and even give him two parts according to [the laws of] the firstborn."”

“Then Sarah, who showed no envy in any matter that concerned herself, became envious in this matter concerning her son. She was not envious of Hagar whom she had given to her husband. Since it was a matter of God's promise, and the son of the concubine thought that he would be coheir with the son of the freewoman, Sarah said, "Cast out the slave woman and her son, because it is not just that a son of a handmaid should have any inheritance together with that son of the promise, to whom it was promised by God. It is not right that you be opposed to God and make an heir him whom God has not made an heir."”

“After these things, Abimelech and Phicol, the commander of his army, spoke to Abraham, for they saw that God was with him and had helped him in the wars of the kings and had also promised him the land of the Canaanites. They also feared that after Abraham destroyed the Canaanites he would also destroy their own land, so they hastened to make a covenant with him, and the two of them made a covenant with Abraham.”

“Abraham made him swear by the covenant of circumcision. Because God saw that the two heads of the world had dishonored this member, he set the sign of the covenant on it so that this member, which was the most despised of all the limbs, would now be the most honored of all the limbs. The sign of the covenant that was set on it bestowed such great honor that those who take oaths now swear by it and all those who administer oaths make them swear by it.”

“Then they called the young woman to learn from her [whether she would return with him or not]. Because she heard about the oath that Abraham had made him swear, and about the prayer that the servant had prayed at the well and about the sign for which he had asked and which had been granted to him, she feared to say "I will not go," because she knew that it was the will of the Lord that she go. So she went and became Isaac's [wife].”

“The servant swore the oath to his master and went off with many choice gifts. He sat beside a well, prayed and asked for a sign. Even though he rejoiced in the sign that came to him, he still waited to see whether she was from [Abraham's] tribe. When he learned that she was the daughter of Bethuel, the son of Nahor, he praised God and went and stayed in their house.”

“Because no law concerning virginity or chastity had been set down, lest desire ever make a stain in the mind of that just man.… Abraham took for himself a concubine after the death of Sarah, so that through the uprightness of his many sons who were to be scattered throughout the entire earth, knowledge and worship of the one God would be spread. Abraham then had sons from Keturah, and he sent them eastward with gifts. Abraham died 175 years old and was buried next to Sarah, his wife.”

“"God blessed Isaac," and Isaac prayed for Rebekah, who was barren. After twenty years God heard him, and she conceived. Her sons struggled together within her womb. She went to inquire of the Lord, and it was told her, "Two nations are in your womb," that is, the Edomite and Hebrew nations. To whom did she go to inquire? It was to Melchizedek that she went to inquire, as we mentioned above in the genealogy of Melchizedek. She returned quickly because of the pangs that were striking her, and she gave birth to Esau and Jacob.”

“Jacob saw that the right of the firstborn was despised by Esau, and he contrived to take it from him, trusting in God who had said, "The elder shall serve the younger." Jacob boiled some lentils, and "Esau came home famished after hunting and said to Jacob, 'Let me eat some of that red pottage,' " that is, "Let me eat some of your lentils." "Jacob said to him, 'Give me your birthright and you may take all of them.' After Esau swore to him and sold him his birthright, Jacob then gave Esau [the lentils]." To show that it was not by reason of his hunger that Esau sold his birthright, Scripture says, "After he had eaten he arose and went away, and Esau despised his birthright." Therefore Esau did not sell it because he was hungry, but rather, since it had no value to him, he sold it for nothing as if it were nothing.”

“And Esau cried out and wailed bitterly, not because he lost his spiritual blessings but because he was now deprived of the bountiful produce of the blessed earth. [Esau wept] not because he was no longer able to be righteous but because he would not be able to make his brother his servant; not because he would not inherit eternal life but because the land of the Canaanites would not be his portion. Since Esau had such spite for his brother that he wished to kill him, Rebekah persuaded Jacob to go to the house of Laban lest they kill each other in their strife, and she became bereft of both of them at the same time.”

“Jacob continued on and turned aside to a well where he saw Rachel the shepherd girl, who, with her bare feet, her shabby clothing and her face burned from the sun, could not be distinguished from the charred brands that come out of the fire. Jacob knew at once that he who had provided the beautiful Rebekah at the spring now provided Rachel in her shabby clothing at the well. Then he performed a heroic deed in her presence, for, through the Son who was hidden in it, he rolled away the stone that even many could raise only with great difficulty. When he betrothed her to God through this marvelous deed, Jacob then returned and married himself to her with a kiss.”

“Leah bore Reu-ben, Simeon, Levi and Judah and then ceased giving birth, whereas Rachel was barren. Because she heard Jacob say that Abraham had prayed over the barren Sarah and was heard and that Isaac had also prayed for Rebekah and was answered, she thought that it was because Jacob had not prayed for her that her closed womb had not been opened. For this reason, she said in anger and in tears, "Give me children, or I shall die!"”

“So, lest she nag him, asking him every day for children, Jacob, who was sent from his parents to take a daughter of Laban, agreed to take the foreign woman. But it was also so that the sons of the maidservants might become joint heirs with sons of the freewomen that Jacob took maidservants and freewomen. So he took Bilhah, and she conceived and bore Dan and Naphtali.”

“After Jacob and Laban had parted from each other, "angels of God met Jacob" to make known to him that if Laban did not obey God, who had appeared to him in the evening, he and those with him would be destroyed at dawn by the hands of those angels who protect Jacob. Just as God had shown Jacob the angels that accompanied him when he went down, he also showed him angels when he was going up to make him know that the word was true which God had spoken to him: "I will go down with you, and I will bring you up from there." The army of angels that God had shown Jacob was so that he would not fear Esau, for there were many more [angels] with Jacob than were with Esau.”

“That night an angel appeared to [Jacob] and wrestled with him. He overcame the angel and was overcome by the angel so that [Jacob] learned how weak he was and how strong he was. He was weak when the angel touched the hollow of his thigh and it became dislocated, but he was strong, for the angel said to him, "Let me go." It was to show how long they had been contending with each other that [the angel] said, "Behold, the dawn is rising." Then Jacob sought to be blessed in order to make known that it was in love that they had laid hold of each other. Then the angel blessed him to show that he was not angry that an earthly being had prevailed over him.”

“Then Jacob sent Joseph to the flock that he might bring back to him a report on his brothers. But the brothers, by means of the cloak that was bespattered with blood, sent Jacob a report on Joseph. With no mercy they cast him into a pit in the desert, but they wept over Joseph with tears in the house. They sold him naked to the Arabs but wept over him and wailed in the presence of the Canaanites. They put irons on his hands and feet and sent him on his way but composed lamentations over him in the village. Joseph went down to Egypt and was sold; within a few days he had changed owners twice.”

“When Shelah had become a young man and Judah did not wish to bring her back to his house, Tamar thought, "How can I make the Hebrews realize that it is not marriage for which I am hungering, but rather that I am yearning for the blessing that is hidden in them? Although I am able to have relations with Shelah, I would not be able to make my faith victorious through Shelah. I ought then to have relations with Judah so that by the treasure I receive, I might enrich my poverty, and in the widowhood I preserve, I might make it clear that I did not desire marriage."”

“Because Tamar was afraid lest Judah find out and kill her in vengeance for his two sons of whose deaths she was accused, she, like Eliezer, asked for a sign saying, "Let your knowledge not condemn me for this act of desire, for you know that it is for what is hidden in the Hebrews that I thirst. I do not know whether this thing is pleasing to you or not. Grant that I may appear to him in another guise lest he kill me. [Grant] also that an invitation to lie with him might be found in his mouth, so that I may know that it is acceptable to you that the treasure, which is hidden in the circumcised, might be transmitted even through a daughter of the uncircumcised. May it be that, when he sees me, he will say to me, 'Come, let me come into you.' "”

“While Tamar was making supplication to God for these things, behold, Judah came out and saw her. The prayer of Tamar inclined him, contrary to his usual habit, [to go] to a harlot. When she saw him, she was veiled, for she was afraid. After the word of the sign for which she had asked had been spoken, she knew that God was pleased with what she was doing. Afterward she revealed her face without fear and even demanded remuneration from the lord of the treasure.”

“He then said, "She is more innocent than I," that is, "She is more righteous than I. What great sinners my sons were. 'Because of this, I did not give her to my son Shelah.' She is innocent of that evil suspicion that I held against her and [for which] I withheld my son Shelah from her." She who had been cheated out of marriage was justified in her fornication, and he who sent her out on account of his first two sons brought her back for the sake of his last two sons. "He did not lie with her again" because she had been the wife of his first two sons; nor did he take another wife, for she was the mother of his last two sons.”

“When Joseph said, "Let Pharaoh select a man," he spoke about himself. Joseph, out of modesty, did not say it openly in his own name, but he would not give it to another, for he knew that no one else would be able to make suitable provision for the great scourge that was coming upon them. Joseph became great in the eyes of Pharaoh through his interpretation of Pharaoh's dreams but even more through the beneficial counsel that his mind had devised.”

“Joseph's [former] master was there when the dreams of Pharaoh were being interpreted. When [Potiphar] saw that only in respect to the throne was [Joseph] less than Pharaoh, he returned quickly to his house. In his haste to go to tell his wife of [Joseph's] greatness, he closely resembled his wife when she had come out to meet him to accuse Joseph. Potiphar said to his wife, "Joseph, our servant, has become our master. He whom we sent to prison without clothing, Pharaoh has now clothed with a garment of fine white linen. He whom we cast prostrate into prison now sits upon the chariot of Pharaoh. He whom we had bound in irons now has a gold necklace set on his neck.… How then can I look again upon him whom my eyes are unable to look upon?"Then she said to him, "Do not fear Joseph to whom you did no evil, for he knows that the disgrace that came upon him in our home, whether justly or not, came upon him from my hands. Go, then, without fear with the princes and army commanders who follow behind his chariot, lest he think that the royal dignity that he has received is an affliction to us. To show you that he is not evil, I will now speak the truth, which is contrary to my previous lie. I was enamored of Joseph when I falsely accused him. I made assault upon his clothing because I was overcome by his beauty. If he is just, it is I whom he will bring to grief and not you. And if he is [truly] upright, he will not bring me to grief, either, because if he had not been wronged he would not have been imprisoned. If he had not been imprisoned, he would not have interpreted the dreams of Pharaoh and he would not have come to this royal dignity of which you just informed me. Although we did not exalt him, it is as if we did exalt him, for it was due to our afflicting him that he has been accorded such honor and become second to the king." Then Joseph's [former] master went and, with those who were higher in rank than he, followed Joseph's chariot through the streets of Egypt. But Joseph did him no evil because he knew that it was God who had permitted his brothers to throw him into the pit in the desert, and [who had delivered him] from the pit, in order to send him in irons to Egypt, and who had permitted his master to send him to prison so that from that humble seat he might set him upon the chariot of Pharaoh.”

“If this famine had been only in Egypt, Egypt would have had no fear, because of the grain Joseph [had stored up]. However, there was famine throughout the entire world, and because the entire earth stood in need of [the grain in] Egypt, the grain supply quickly dwindled and became expensive even for the Egyptians. The Egyptians would have consumed the grain at little expense, because of its abundance, if the entire earth had not come down to buy grain there. To make known that the entire earth hungered, [Moses] said, "The entire world came to Egypt to buy grain from Joseph."”

“They answered and said, "We do not even know the Egyptian language so that, by speaking Egyptian, we might escape notice and deceive the Egyptians. That we dwell in the land of Canaan you can learn from our offering. Moreover, there are twelve of us, and it is impossible that we should all have the same evil purpose of spying. We have come of our own will to stand before you. That we are completely ignorant of the Egyptian language and do not wear the clothing of Egyptians also testifies to our truthfulness. It is clear that we are not spies, for we are twelve. We are recognized everywhere because of our race and our number. "Behold, one of our brothers is with our father and another is no more."”

“After they had loaded their supplies, the [brothers] went up and related to their father the evils that they had endured on this trip and how they had become objects of ridicule in Egypt, having been falsely accused of spying in Egypt, and that they would not have escaped this suffering had it not been for Benjamin. While some of them were recounting these things to their father, the others were emptying their sacks, and behold, each one found his money in the opening of his sack.Jacob was full of grief because of all that had happened to them, but even more because of Simeon who was imprisoned. Although the brothers implored him daily to send Benjamin with them, Jacob would not assent because of his fear due to [what had happened to] Joseph. Then, when their grain had run out and all the children of his household were languishing from hunger, all his sons drew near and said to Jacob, "Spare Simeon for the sake of his children and be without your youngest son for a few days, lest Simeon's wife be widowed of Simeon."”

“Then Jacob was constrained by the famine, whether he was willing or not, to send Benjamin with them. So he gave them supplies and sent them off with blessings and said, "Just as I was bereaved of Rachel, so am I now bereaved of Rachel's children." Judah comforted his father and said, "If I do not bring back Benjamin and set him before you, then let me bear the blame forever." Then they took some of the choice fruits of the land: gum, pistachio nuts, which are berries, and so forth. They then went down and stood before Joseph. Joseph commanded his steward to give them lodging in his house.”

“But when the [brothers] saw Joseph's servants hurrying to unburden their beasts and to bring in their baggage, they said to themselves, grieving, "We have bereaved our father of Benjamin, and we shall never again see the face of our father. It was with treachery that our money was put into the openings of our packs, so that if we escape [the charge of] spying they might seize us and make us slaves [on the charge] of theft. Let us confess to the steward about the money before he begins to accuse us so that our brother Benjamin might free us from [the charge of] spying and the confession of our lips from [the charge of] theft."”

“Then the [brothers] approached Joseph's steward and said to him, "When we returned the first time we opened our sacks, and behold, there was each one's money in the opening of his sack. We are now returning it to you because it is not right that we take the money for the grain together with the grain." But when the steward saw how terrified they were, he consoled them and said, "Rest assured, do not be afraid. It is not because of the money, which I received, that we are bringing you into this house. We have eagerly awaited you because of the truth that is found among you. You are not going to be condemned for something that you did not take. You have been summoned to recline and be seated before our master, for he is just, and by the honor that he has reserved for you this second time, he wishes to make you forget the disgrace that you endured the first time."”

“When Joseph entered the house, his brothers brought him an offering and bowed down to him trembling. He inquired about their welfare, and they took heart. He asked if their father was alive, and they were put at ease. He asked whether that one was their brother, and he blessed him and said, "God be gracious to you my son," and all fear was taken from their mind. It was in the Egyptian language that Joseph blessed Benjamin, and it was through an interpreter that they heard these initial [exchanges].”

“Joseph began to make his brothers sit down as if around his [divining] cup; the elder according to his status as elder and the youngest according to his youth. It is amazing that his brothers did not recognize him: not by the money in their provisions when they went home the first time, not when Joseph had Simeon bound, not when he asked about his old father when they brought Benjamin back, not when they were accused of cheating, not from the fact that he made them stay in his house and blessed Benjamin, not even from the fact that he knew the names of all of them. This was all the more [amazing] since even his appearance was so similar. Even if his majesty had deluded them, his dreams should have jarred their memory. Although they did not recognize Joseph because of his majesty, his rank and his angry tongue, it was nevertheless because of the Lord that he remained hidden from them until his dreams should be fulfilled in them who had sold him in order to render them false.”

“The brothers did not know what to say; they found it impossible not to put the blame on Benjamin because the cup had come out from his sack, but the money that had twice come out from their own sacks did not permit them to put the blame on him. Then the brothers, confounded by the things that had befallen them, rent their garments and went back weeping to that house from which they had just departed rejoicing.”

“Then Judah said, "Before God the sins of your servants have been discovered"—not this one [of the cup] but the one for which we have been requited with these things. "Therefore not only he in whose sack the cup was found but we also will become slaves to our master." And Joseph said, "Far be it from" the just Egyptian "to do this!" These men, because of their great virtue, do not even eat bread with Hebrews lest they become unclean by them. How then can we do what is foreign to our conduct? The justice that hinders us from sinning against one who has not sinned against us compels us to be avenged on that one who has caused us offence. "The one in whose hand the cup was found shall remain and be a slave." This will be better for him than freedom, for this later servitude, which will free him from theft, will be better for him than that first freedom that enslaved him to theft.”

“When the things that needed to be said between them were finished, the doors of that judgment room were opened. The princes entered rejoicing and the army commanders full of gladness. This news was pleasing in the eyes of Pharaoh and his servants, for they had believed that he who had become like a father to Pharaoh and ruler over the freemen and princes of Egypt was no slave but was a son of a freeman from the blessed race of the house of Abraham.”

“Joseph commanded them not to quarrel on the way. The quarrel which he forbade them was that one say to another, "It was you who counseled us to throw him into the pit," while another would contend with his brother, saying, "It was you who urged us to sell him naked and in chains to the Arabs." "As I have forgiven all of you, you forgive each other."”

“When they told Jacob about the honor of Joseph, about the wisdom with which he administered his affairs and about how their last judgment was more bitter than the first, their father asked them and said, "Did you not ask Joseph how or why he went down to Egypt?" Then, when they all looked at each other and did not know what to say, Judah opened his mouth and said to his father, "We are recalling our crime today before our father." Because of the dreams of Joseph, Joseph's brothers thought, in their simplicity, that you and they would soon serve him as slaves. They also imagined, in their foolishness, that "it was better that he alone should be the servant than that we and our father should serve him as slaves." They did this because they took pity on you and on Benjamin and not because you loved Joseph. "You also loved Benjamin, but because he did not say that we would become servants to him, all of us love him. Forgive us then for having humiliated Joseph, for it is on account of our humiliating him that he has come to this exalted state." Their father then accepted their apology and said to them, "Because of the good news about Joseph by which you have brought me joy, this offense, which caused me great suffering when I heard it, is forgiven you."”

“Joseph went out to meet his father with chariots and with many people. [Joseph] got down [from his horse] and bowed down to his father, and they wept on each other's neck. Then Joseph commanded his brothers to say to Pharaoh, "We and our fathers are keepers of cattle," so that they might dwell in Goshen and thus keep their distance from those who worship sheep and bulls.”

“Just as the justice of Jacob cursed his firstborn because of his evil deed and this curse of Reuben was blotted out by Moses who was the descendant of Jacob, so too was death decreed by God against Adam when he transgressed the commandment. But the Son of God came and, with the promise of the resurrection that he promised, brought to nought the judgment that accompanied Adam out of paradise.”

“These too are figures for Satan and death. For just as Simeon and Levi, in their anger, destroyed a city and, through their greed, plundered its possessions, so also Satan, in his envy, killed the world secretly as Simeon and Levi had killed the sons of Shechem openly, and death fell suddenly upon all flesh as Simeon and Levi did on the possessions of the inhabitants of Shechem. The gospel of our Lord raised up those whom sin had slain in secret, and the blessed promise of the Son raised up the dead upon whom the tyrant Death suddenly fell.”

“When our Lord came, he also bound his foal to the true vine. Just as all the symbols are fulfilled by him, he would fulfill in truth even this that was handed down to them in likeness. Either there was a vine in Jerusalem outside of the sanctuary to which he bound his foal when he entered the temple, or in that city from which the foal came it had been bound to a vine. He said, "If they say to you, 'Why are you untying this foal?' say to them, 'The master requires it.' "”

“Just as Jacob depended on Joseph instead of Reuben the firstborn, so also instead of Adam, the firstborn and rebellious one, the world had one Son of old age, in the latter days of the world, so that the whole world might stand and lean on him as if on a pillar. "Rise up, O spring, O building supported" by brothers and sons. Through the power of our Lord the world is supported on the prophets and on the apostles. Joseph became a wall of plenty to his brothers in the time of famine, and our Lord became the wall of knowledge to the world in the time of error.”

“Joseph wept and said, "Do not be afraid of me, for although your father has died, the God of your father, on account of whom I will never strike you, is still alive. Because he turned the evil that you did to me to my good and he placed many people in my hands, God forbid that I do any evil to those who thus became the cause of life for many. But, just as I did not kill you in Egypt, do not leave my bones in Egypt." He made them swear to this and said, "God will indeed remember you and will bring you up to the land which he swore to Abraham. Bring my bones up to there, so that even if I do not inherit the land with you, I may be raised up with you from that land."”

“Just as Pharaoh was drowned in those very waters in which he had drowned the infants, so too David removed Goliath's head with that very sword with which he had destroyed many. Moses divided the waters through the symbol of the cross, while David laid Goliath low through the symbol of the stone. Our Lord condemned Satan by the word of his mouth when the latter was tempting him. Pharaoh was drowned by the waters with which he had drowned [others].”

“At the place where they were spending the night, the Lord came upon Moses and wanted to kill him, because he had discontinued circumcision in Midian for one of his sons who had not been circumcised. From the day [the Lord] spoke with him on Horeb, he had not been united to his wife, who was distressed; and she was under judgment because she had not put full faith in his word. [Moses] blamed her for keeping his son from being circumcised. They spent the night [preoccupied] with these thoughts. Suddenly an angel appeared for both of these reasons, while seeming to appear only because of circumcision.[The angel] appeared to Moses in anger so that his departure [from Midian] would not be ridiculed because he had discontinued circumcision without necessity, while the Hebrews had not interrupted it in spite of the death of their children. Now whom should he have feared, God, who prescribed circumcision, or his wife, who had stood in the way of circumcision? When Moses' wife saw that he was about to die because she had stood in the way of circumcision, about which and on account of which he had argued with her that evening, "she took a piece of flint" and, still trembling from the vision of the angel, "circumcised her son," letting him be spattered with his [own] blood. Then she held the angel's feet and said, "I have a husband of blood. Do not cause suffering on the day of the celebration of circumcision." Because there was great joy on the day Abraham circumcised Isaac, she said, "I too have a husband of blood. If you do not [refrain from harm] on account of me, who circumcised my son with my own hands, or on account of Moses, refrain on account of the commandment of circumcision itself which has been observed."”

“"Hail and fire fell" together; neither did the hail extinguish the fire, nor did the fire melt the hail. Rather, it burst into flames in the hail as in a thicket and turned [the hail] as red as iron in the fire, blazing in the hail, and careful of the trees. The force [of the hail] "splintered the ancient trees," but the fire in [the hail] protected the hedges, seed beds and vineyards.”

“Pharaoh said to Moses, "This time I have sinned." And the previous times he hardened his heart, did he not sin? And even if he sinned the previous times, he did not sin the way he did this time. [The Lord] warned him to bring in the cattle, but he was not persuaded. This is why his offense was more serious in this plague than in all the [other] plagues.”

“The Egyptians pursued the Hebrews with no fear of the darkness that separated them from the Hebrews and without being disturbed by the sea that was divided. During the night, through a sea that was divided, they went rushing forward to do battle with the people who were led by the column of fire. During the morning watch, the Lord appeared to the Egyptians and threw them into confusion. He clogged the wheels of their chariots so that they could neither pursue the people nor escape from the sea. But they did not fear the Lord who appeared to them, and they were not deterred by their wheels that were clogged. They boldly drove their chariots with full force.”

“By saying [to him], "You shall make everything according to the model of the tabernacle that I will show you," he first called it a model and a temporal tabernacle to indicate that it was transitory and that it would be replaced by the church, the perfect prototype which lasts forever. And so … they would esteem it because of its likeness to the heavenly tabernacle.”

“Bitter signs had accompanied [Israel] as far as the [Red] Sea so that they would fear [God]. And blessed wonders surrounded [Israel] in the desert waste so that they would be reconciled [to him]. But for want of faith [Israel] rejected [the signs] with the feeble excuse: "As for the man Moses who brought us out, we do not know what has become of him." They no longer considered the triumphs that had accompanied them. They only saw that Moses was not near. And so, with this as a convenient excuse, they could draw near to the paganism of Egypt. Therefore Moses was not seen by them for a while, so that the calf could be seen with them [and] so that they could worship openly what they had been worshiping in their hearts.When their paganism came out of hiding and into the open, Moses also came out of hiding and into the open to deliver openly the penalty to those whose paganism had become unrestrained beneath the holy cloud that overshadowed them. God deprived the flock of its shepherd for forty days, so that it would show that it trusted securely in the calf as the god that had pastured it with every delight. It made as its shepherd a calf which could not even graze! Moses, who inspired fear in them, was taken away from them, so that idolatry, which fear of Moses had quieted in their hearts, would cry out from their own mouths. And they did cry out: "Make gods for us to lead us."”

“When he wished that [the fig tree] be uprooted, the event was similar to that earlier one, when the Father said to Moses, "Permit me to destroy the people." He [thus] gave him a reason to intercede with him. Here too he showed the vinedresser that he wished to uproot it. The vinedresser made known his plea, and the merciful one showed his pity, that if, in a further year, [the fig tree] did not yield fruit, it would be uprooted.”

“The sons of Levi, who rallied to Moses with drawn swords, attacked them. But the sons of Levi did not know whom they should kill, because those who had worshiped mixed with those who had not worshiped. But the One for whom distinctions are easy to make separated those who committed idolatry from those who had not, so that the innocent would be grateful that their innocence had not escaped the notice of the just one, and the guilty would be brought to justice because their crime had not escaped the judge.”

“The serpent struck Adam in paradise and killed him. [It also struck] Israel in the camp and annihilated them. "Just as Moses lifted up the serpent in the desert, the Son of Man will be lifted up." Just as those who looked with bodily eyes at the sign which Moses fastened on the cross lived bodily, so too those who look with spiritual eyes at the body of the Messiah nailed and suspended on the cross and believe in him will live [spiritually]. Thus it was revealed through this brazen [serpent], which by nature cannot suffer, that he who was to suffer on the cross is one who by nature cannot die.”

“Nourish your soul with the fear of God, and God will nourish [your] body. Do these things, so that what you yourself are unable [to procure] may be given you by God. Take note of this, if God does not give the rain and the wind, it avails you naught, even if you are anxious. Obey God, therefore, and creation will obey your needs. If God nourished Israel for forty years in the desert, while they were murmuring and disbelieving, and effortlessly preserved their sandals and clothing, how much more so in the case of believers?”

“At times when we were in error, mired in the pride of our mind as if with our feet in the mud, we did not perceive our error because our soul was unable to see itself. Although we would look [into the mirror] each day, we would "grope around" in the dark "like blind men." Our inner mind did not possess that which is necessary for discernment.”

“Whoever believes in me will also do the works which I do, and will do even greater ones. And where is this word which he said, "The disciple is not greater than his master" [illustrated]? For example, Moses killed only three kings, but Joshua killed thirty. [Moses] persevered in prayer, made supplication, but did not enter [the promised land]. It was Joshua rather who entered and shared out the inheritance. Likewise, Samuel was greater than Eli, and Elisha received a double portion of his master's spirit after his ascension, like the Lord our Savior, for his disciples effected twice through their signs.”

“After Ham had been cursed through his one son, [Noah] blessed Shem and Japheth and said, "May God increase Japheth and may he dwell in the tent of Shem, and let Canaan be their slave." Japheth increased and became powerful in his inheritance in the north and in the west. And God dwelt in the tent of Abraham, the descendent of Shem, and Canaan became their slave when in the days of Joshua son of Nun, the Israelites destroyed the dwelling-places of [Canaan] and pressed their leaders into bondage.”

“People imitate those who do good deeds, therefore, not out of love for these good deeds but because of their utility.… The king of Moab took note of Jephthah. But, because it was his firstborn and a human being rather than an animal that he killed, God took pity on him, since he did it in affliction and not through love. In the case of Jephthah, if it had been one of his servants who had been first to encounter him, he would have killed him. But, in order that people would not engage in the sacrifice of their fellow human beings, he caused his own daughter to meet him, so that others would be afraid, lest they offer human beings by vow to God.”

“Just as those who travel about in the pathless desert tremble at serpents on the ground, and those who travel on the pathways are also terrified of vipers that hide on the paths, so were the Philistines, who traveled on paths and in the pathless desert, terrified of Samson. "To bite the horse's heels and throw its rider backward." It was during the great famine, which God had brought upon the Philistines, that Samson burned their crops by means of foxes, for fire was carried on their bodies like a rider on its horse. Then the Philistines keeled over from lack of bread and then fell backwards from lack of nourishment.”

“Satan the tyrant outwitted Samson with a woman, the same tyrant outwitted Adam with a woman: Samson had to grind at the mill, Adam had to labor wearily on the soil; Samson prayed to be released, whereas we pray to grow old in our misery. Blessed is he who delivered Samson, releasing him from the grinding. Samson is a type of the death of Christ the high priest: Samson's death returns prisoners to their towns, whereas the High Priest's death has returned us to our heritage.”

“Let Tamar rejoice that her Lord has come, for her name announced the son of her Lord, and her appellation called you to come to her.By you honorable women made themselves contemptible, [you] the One who makes all chaste. She stole you at the crossroads, [you] who prepared the road to the house of the kingdom. Since she stole life, the sword was insufficient to kill her. Ruth lay down with a man on the threshing floor for your sake. Her love was bold for your sake. She teaches boldness to all penitents. Her ears held in contempt all [other] voices for the sake of your voice. The fiery coal that crept into the bed of Boaz went up and lay down. She saw the Chief Priest hidden in his loins, the fire for his censer. She ran and became the heifer of Boaz. For you she brought forth the fatted ox. She went gleaning for love of you; she gathered straw. You repaid her quickly the wage of her humiliation: instead of ears [of wheat], the Root of kings, and instead of straw, the Sheaf of Life that descends from her.”

“Our Lord put forward the clear example of David, who was not accused either over this, as he was over something else. It was not permissible, he said, for David to eat [the holy bread] since he was not a priest. However, he was a priest, because he was a temple of the Spirit. Because they did not understand this, he openly proved them wrong with regard to their own [position]: "The priests were defiling the sabbath in the temple, and they were not guilty of sin." Another element is depicted for us there. Before David was persecuted, he partook of the bread with authority.”

“Indeed, when Saul heard that the priests had helped David unwittingly, he had them brought to him, and he killed them. It was fitting for you too that innocent blood be hung about your neck, as was Saul's case. But the Son of David escaped from your hands amid the Gentiles. David was persecuted by Saul, just as the Son was by Herod. The priests were slain because of David, and the infants because of our Lord. Abiathar escaped from the priests, as John did from the infants. In [the person of] Abiathar the priesthood of the house of Eli was brought to an end, and in John the prophecy of the sons of Jacob was terminated.”

“This is what happened to Paul. For the potency of the light suddenly surprised his feeble eyes and injured them. But the greatness of the voice brought low his strength and entered his ears and opened them.… For the voice did not plough up the ears, as the light injured the eyeballs. Why? But because it was necessary that he should hear but not see. Therefore the doors of hearing were opened by the voice as by a key: but the doors of sight were shut by the light that should open them. Why then was it necessary that he should hear? Clearly because by that voice our Lord was able to reveal himself as being persecuted by Saul. For he was not able to show himself by sight as being persecuted; for there was no way whereby this should be, that the son of David should be seen fleeing and Saul pursuing after him. For this happened in very deed with that first Saul and with the first David. The one was pursuing; the other was being persecuted; they both of them saw and were seen, each by the other. But here the ear alone could hear of the persecution of the Son of David; the eye could not see that he was being persecuted.”

“Envy persecuted David, and jealousy the Son of David. David was blocked up in the depths of the cave, and the Son of David in the depths of the underworld. It was imagined that David was guilty and despised, and that death was conquered and laid low. David cried out, "Where is your spear, O King?" and the Son of David, "Where is your victory, O Death?" Saul hurled his spear against David, and, although it did not strike him, the wall was witness to its blow. The crucifiers struck the Son of David with a lance, and although his power was not injured, his body was a witness to their blow. David was not struck, nor was the Son of David injured.”

“"Not one of his hairs shall fall to the ground," that is, he shall not undergo any punishment of the guilty, if he proves to be innocent; but he will deserve capital punishment, if he is found to conspire against my sovereignty. Indeed, if he still aspires to take hold of the kingdom, he will be executed: punishment restrains that ambition that discipline could not bring under control. - "On the First Book of Kings 1.52"”

“After expounding the crimes of Joab and Shimei, David entrusts Solomon with their punishment, but only gives him few details about the manner and quality of the punishment: "You will do," he says, "according to your wisdom." It is as if he said, Since both Joab and Shimei committed such [terrible] actions, it is unlawful that they are left unpunished. Therefore, solve this matter with the help of your wisdom so that your equity may catch them in their iniquity: may your severity, with the revelation of new crimes, find out the sins that your father's indulgence had hidden.”

“You can see here four people who were condemned by Solomon because they were guilty of treason: they all foreshadowed the Jewish nation's ruin, which would derive from Christ's unjust killing. Adonijah, who was appointed as king and was killed shortly later, was the first to presage the fall of the Jewish kingdom; then, after the abrogation of the priesthood of Aaron, Abiathar was expelled from his office; and Joab, who had the dignity of captain of the army, was deprived of his life by the leaders of the people and all his military force was destroyed. Finally, Shimei expressed in an even more evident and definitive manner the sin and punishment of the Jews, especially of the inhabitants of Jerusalem who blasphemed Christ and demanded his crucifixion. And that last prayer of Christ, like a supreme commandment, was postponed for four more decades and was not inflicted until the Jews were caught in a new crime when they persecuted the apostles and the other disciples of Christ.”

“Since the narrative [of the book of Kings] is accurate in the facts, nobody can have any doubt that Solomon received his noble sovereignty, his elevated thought and extraordinary power as a gift from God, thus it is evident that no one among those kings who were dead, nor among those who would succeed him, could be compared with him. It is certain, nevertheless, that these qualities, and others, which are described in the psalms about Solomon, mostly are to be transferred to Christ; otherwise the words [of these biblical passages] would not be in absolute and complete agreement with their meaning and truth. Therefore Christ is that prince of peace whose wisdom and royal power were never preceded in time or overcome in greatness. And before him no Son was born of an eternal nature or equal to the Father, nor after him will there ever be someone similar to him, as the Word, God says through another prophet: "Before me no god was formed, nor will be after me."”

“The two women indicate to us the church and the synagogue. The latter, after it tried to suppress the sacrament of human redemption and persecuted and killed the Redeemer through false accusations, claims, nevertheless, that its child should still be alive, that is, that the Jewish people should still be pleasing and acceptable to God and that he should give eternal life to the Mosaic law, which is dead. Since the [synagogue] is soaked in these errors, it perpetually quarrels with the church, which is represented by the other woman. However, the peaceful king settled the argument not by dividing but by gathering the children of both mothers, so that a single body might be created from the Jews and the Gentiles, whose head is Christ. And both mothers assert that they live under the same roof, because the church and the synagogue inhabit this world in dwellings, where they are mixed.”

“The officials elected by Solomon designate the order of the chosen ones whom Christ affirmed in his grace and appointed as rulers of his people. Indeed, twelve prefects were selected to administer the incomes of this king and his house, because just as many apostles had to be distributed over the entire world and had to be appointed as treasures of the divine mysteries, so that they might nourish with living and immortal food the Israel of God and might administer the incomes of the house of the peaceful king. Therefore, also the limits of each prefecture were clearly denoted, because, in a similar way, each apostle received a certain province: Simon preached in Rome, John in Ephesus, Matthew in Palestine and Thomas in the region of India.”

“Here we do not need to work around any concealed meaning; indeed, in this event there is a clear analogy with Christ and the actions he undertook for the building of the church. As Solomon ordered timbers to be cut from the mountains of Lebanon and stones to be shipped by sea, and employed them after they had been brought to the builder's yard of the temple, so Christ, after receiving the Jews and the Gentiles from the timbers of infidelity, transported them to the builder's yard of the temple which is not made by human hands.”

“These thousands of men employed in the cutting and transportation of the wooden beams and the stones signify the thousands of thousands of assistant spirits sent for our salvation. In the first place, [we see that] God ordered his angels to cut from the rock of the world and to polish and direct accurately the souls of the saints.… Second, in this same symbol, we can observe the toils of the saints for the conversion and salvation of souls, either when they endeavor to drive human beings away from the love of the world or when, after they have accomplished that, they begin to polish the stones cut from the rock until they provide them with luster by a thorough polishing and make them worthy of the heavenly building. Then they are taken and employed by the supreme builder.… Finally we can interpret the workers of Solomon to be the angels sent to accomplish their ministry, as well as the prophets and the apostles chosen from the old people to build the church.… The builders sent by the king of Tyre symbolize those strong in doctrine and holiness, whom the nation of the Gentiles abundantly supplied for the same purpose.”

“Here it is indicated that there were four symbols of cherubim, palm trees, narcissus and lilies, which we said represent the saints praying in the temple and contemplating divine things. And these same saints were foreshadowed with a similar sense by Moses, even though he used different symbols, when he distributed the tribes of his people in four groups to the four regions of the world, so that they might all live around the tabernacle. Indeed, the tabernacle represented the person of God, whom he wanted them to contemplate and to observe constantly.”

“The two weeks [of festivity] and the two solemn celebrations were accomplished by the people of the Lord with the greatest joy. The former prefigured the festivals of our church, which Christ began with the mystical dedication of his temple and the transferring of the flesh which he had assumed, to heaven; the latter foreshadowed the last day, the greatest of all solemn days, that will dawn for all saints after the resurrection of the flesh. And the distribution of the ministries and offices in the heavenly and everlasting temple will follow that day.”

“Now notice that Solomon did not only pray for his people but also for the foreigners and the strangers who distrusted the nation of Israel and were often hostile to it, so that the son of David might show the God of David to everyone in general, by praying for his enemies and by speaking ahead of time for us those future words: "But I say to you, Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you."”

“The queen of Sheba was a type of our church. She came from her distant land to king Solomon, the church came together from the four regions of the world to Christ. What [the queen] ignored, she learned from Solomon, and she went back to her land with many gifts. Here the mystery which had remained hidden for centuries and generations was finally revealed: after she had been taught to despise earthly possessions, she was made a participant and dispenser of the heavenly treasure. Why do not we imitate the queen of the South, whom our mother [the church] emulated, by offering gold, precious stones and spices to Christ? The transaction is that we lose worthless things, so that we may get great ones, which we search for and lack in the highest degree.”

“This means that the knowledge of divine things must be imparted to all nations everywhere through the advent and manifestation of Christ; and Isaiah predicted the coming of Christ in the clearest way by saying, "The earth will be full of the knowledge of the Lord as the waters cover the sea." The Scripture usually employs the symbol of silver to signify the holy doctrine [of Christ]. Indeed it is a pure, bright and sonorous metal, and its qualities are extraordinarily appropriate to Christ's gospel. Haggai predicted that the temple of the Lord, which is the church of Christ, must be filled with this kind of silver.”

“In the previous chapters the Scripture related the marriage of Solomon with the daughter of Pharaoh and did not rebuke him because she was the one wife only who did not secretly practice the religion of her homeland and was no reason of offense for him. But later he took other wives, so that the holy Scripture justly condemned both the previous marriage and these new ones. And there were four reasons for this: the first was his open transgression against religion because he had brought back [Israel's] ancient idolatry which he had previously rejected; the second was that he took many wives against the clear precept of the Law; the third was that he loved these wives to distraction; the fourth was his apostasy from the worship of the true God which derived, as the Law had predicted, from such marriages. Therefore, with good reason the Scripture emphasizes many times, with very severe words, that the crime of Solomon was a consequence of his familiarity with these women. A further detail, which increases Solomon's guilt, is that he did not only cause harm with his actions but also with his example. He was harmful not only because he was corrupted but also because he corrupted the kings that followed him, with the exception of one or two. Solomon was certainly the first among the leaders and kings of Israel who established public ceremonies and sacrifices of idolatry through the authority of magistrates.”

“The hands of the sinful woman were stretched out over his feet, that they might receive a gift from his divinity. Our Lord, therefore, showed his humanity so that the sinful woman might approach him. He also revealed his divinity in order that the Pharisee might be found guilty by him. Consequently, the sinful woman could scoff at the cunning thoughts of him who had been scoffing at her tears. She, through her love, brought into the open the tears that were hidden in the depths of her eyes, and [the Lord], because of her courage, brought into the open the thoughts that were hidden in the Pharisee. The sinful woman thought he was like God. Her faith was witness to this. Simon thought he was [merely] like a man. What he had worked out in his mind showed this. Our Lord, therefore, standing in the middle, worked out a parable between the two of them, so that the sinful woman might be encouraged through his pronouncing the parable and the Pharisee might be denounced through the explanation of the parable.But now, likewise, we are in the middle; and like Solomon we have fallen between women. But, even if we, like Solomon, have fallen between women, we are not, like Solomon, wounded by women. For these Gentile women were turning Solomon aside from the fear of God to their idols by means of their allurements. We place the faith of the Gentile women above the heroic exploits of the Hebrew women. For the latter, through the wholeness of their bodies, rendered Solomon's healthy faith sick, while the former, through their being healed, restore our ailing faith to health. Who therefore would not [wish] to be healed [by such faith]?”

“While he prepared to establish the reign which was reserved to him by God according to the predictions of the prophets Shemaiah and Ahijah, Jeroboam thought that nothing could be more useful for his purpose than kindling the hatred of the two opposite parties to the highest possible degree, so that he might preclude any chance of reconciliation and peace. Therefore, in order that those who already distrusted each other might be removed from each other even further, he introduced a new reason for dissension concerning the worship of God. He persuaded his party to leave behind their Jewish rites and to take up the religion of the Egyptians which was superior to all other religions, just as Egyptian wisdom and power were greater that those of the Canaanites and the Jews. Since the majority of the tribes agreed, he proposed to worship the ancient idols of the Hebrews, namely, two calves of gold, and dedicated them by using, according to the old custom, the formula "These are your gods, O Israel, who brought you up out of the land of Egypt."”

“While this old man insists in saying to his sons that he wants them to bury him, their father, in the grave of the prophet Shemaiah and hopes that his bones will find peace, he represents the allegorical type of an ancient Adam who exhorts and even urges his sons to lower him into baptism, which is the grave of the Emmanuel. Through him all those who have been buried with him through baptism certainly hope for peace and life. On the other hand, when this same old man lies and deceives the other prophet, he represents the Jewish people, about whom we read in the psalm: "But they flattered him with their mouths; they lied to him with their tongues."”

“And he did not want the queen to appear [before the prophet] without a present against the custom of the ancestors. Therefore "she took ten loaves of bread," that is, ten soldiers' biscuits, "a jar of honey and dry fruits": the Greek text has staphylas, that is, grapes, instead of dry fruits. He did not want her to offer a regal present, lest she might appear in her real nature.”

“But when Ahijah heard the sound of her feet as she came in at the door, he said, "Come in, wife of Jeroboam; why do you pretend to be another?" He heard her coming in, [the text] says, because he could not see anymore after his eyes had become dim from his old age. Yet through divine revelation he understood that she was Jeroboam's wife, even though she wanted to hide this from the prophet, whom she knew to be justifiably enraged [with her husband]. Therefore the prophet, beginning his speech, harshly attacked Jeroboam and condemned with very severe words his violation of pacts and piety and his oblivion to all the benefits that he had received from the generous hand of God, so that [the prophet] finally predicted huge calamities, the destruction of the kingdom and the complete ruin of [Jeroboam's] entire family.”

“Rehoboam spread and increased the idolatry introduced by Solomon after being instigated in this sin by his Gentile mother Naamah. And this seems to be hinted at in the Scripture which reports Rehoboam's apostasy just after mentioning his impious mother. Many examples that occur in this book, such as those of Maacah, Jezebel and Athaliah, amply demonstrate how the marriages made with foreign women had the power to corrupt the customs of the Israelites in this regard. Therefore, since God wanted to punish the offense caused by the violation of piety, he allowed Shishak, the king of Egypt, to enter Judea with a huge army, to conquer Jerusalem, to plunder the temple and the royal house and to destroy everything.”

“"Now in the eighteenth year of King Jeroboam son of Nebat, Abijam began to reign over Judah," and under his rule the Jews obtained a magnificent victory over the Israelites in a battle, which was greater than all those fought before in their civil wars. It is said that after the two multitudes of soldiers were drawn up in fighting order, Abijam appeared to have four hundred thousand men, and Jeroboam eight hundred thousand. The Jews won, while the number of the Israelites who fell in action was larger than five hundred thousand, which is an extremely rare occurrence in history.”

“In the meantime, Asa devoted himself to the reconstruction of the ruins of religion. He destroyed the temples of the idols, smashed the statues, set the sacred woods on fire and removed the ignominy of the effeminate priests. He also drove away Maacah, the mother of his father, Abijam. [She] was the high priestess of that abomination, and he chased her off from that place of honor that she was holding and broke her idols and burned them. Therefore, after removing the worship of the idols in this manner, he restored the holy rites of true religion and constantly protected all the sacred institutions for the forty-one years in which he ruled over the state.”

“[Baasha] was appointed king by God and was sent to restore the true religion which had been destroyed by Jeroboam and his successor Nadab, and to take revenge on the evil that was committed as well as impiety. He was certainly able to accomplish in the best possible way his first task, as he completely erased the progeny of both Jeroboam and Nadab. However, with regard to his second task, he promoted their impiety by perversely and foolishly worshiping the idols of both [his predecessors] and did not destroy at all the calves made by Jeroboam but incited his own subjects to adore them. Therefore the prophet Jehu harshly condemns the crime of Baasha's ungrateful soul in this passage and proclaims the revenge which will strike him shortly. So Baasha was deprived of his kingdom and life for this reason, and after the killing of Elah, his son and successor, in the second year of his reign, Zimri took hold of the power and kept it for seven days, as is written. Then he was put under siege by Omri in Tirzah, and after the city had been conquered, [Zimri] took refuge in the palace and set himself on fire together with the royal house. Omri, the founder of Samaria, succeeded him. He died after twelve years and left his reign to his son.”

“This is that Ahab who thought that he would make little progress in the new religion [i.e., idolatry] if he worshiped only the gods introduced by Jeroboam. Therefore he established rites for Baal, the god of the Sidonians, built his temple in the royal city, erected altars and planted sacred groves. And these actions bitterly enraged the prophets and the other worshipers of the true God.”

“Exactly at the time when the prophet and father of the prophets Elijah appeared, the rebellion of Ahab and his wife Jezebel had increased to such an extent that they not only trampled the law and fear of God underfoot, nor were content to promote the worship of idols, but even persecuted and killed the prophets and the saints.”

“Elijah was sent to prevent Ahab's insane rage and to show with words and actions of power and vigor the truth of the curses that the fathers had proclaimed against the transgres sors of the law of God, as they were not vain threats.… Moses wrote a large book of curses and ordered Joshua to proclaim them before the assembly of all the tribes of Israel with great clamor and loudly. He especially mentions the harsh famine and the other evils that follow it, the deprivation of the rain, the aridity and infertility of the land. Ahab despised and laughed at them, because he saw how abundant his supplies were, thanks to his father who was an impious king like him. Therefore, that arrogant king necessarily had to be punished for his arrogance.But the main reason why Elijah was sent was Jezebel, whose pride the Lord wanted to humiliate and whose falsehood he wanted to disclose. She had actually appointed herself as minister of Baal and had entrusted herself with the religious service for this god. She also proclaimed that Baal was the supreme god who ruled over those living in heaven and on earth and sent rain, watered the skies and gave fertility to the ground. She took as witnesses her fellow citizens, the Sidonians and the Tyrians and the other peoples of Phoenicia who were prosperous in those days in wealth and possessions more than any other of the neighboring nations and were also the most fervent worshipers of Baal. It was with good reason and according to justice that Elijah rose and came at that time of distress, and finally issued a stern rebuke against Ahab and his leaders and threatened to bring on them a sky of iron, as Moses had predicted, and a land of bronze.”

“From the typological point of view this symbol has two meanings. The stream [wadi] of Elijah prefigures that, at the fullness of time, the Messiah will come and will send the sinners to the stream that comes out of the sanctuary, just like the one that Ezekiel saw. That is the stream that gives healing to the sick when its waters are applied. The [second meaning is that] the stream is the baptism of the Messiah.”

“"The ravens brought him bread in the morning and meat in the evening." The bread represents perfection and justice accomplished together. This is the bread about which Isaiah says that it is given to those "who will live on the heights, and whose refuge will be the fortress of the rocks, and whose eyes will see the king in his beauty." Indeed, bread, which is the principal nourishment of human beings, indicates quite appropriately their main good. With regard to meat, the fact that it was brought in the evening shows two things: the first is the mourning of penitence, as the psalmist says: "Weeping may linger for the night," and the mortification of flesh and the hard toils, which the penitents marching toward perfection suffer. But their grief will become joy in the morning when the sun of justice, which dispels the darkness of sin, rises.And these words have an even higher meaning, because they are also referred to God the Word, who clothed himself with the flesh of our humanity and came to us in the evening, that is, at the consummation of times, and "filled with good things the hungry" through the Holy Spirit, which "God poured out on them richly through the Messiah, our Savior."”

“God sends Elijah to a city of [Gentile] people in order to change his hardness into mercy. He who had given him power over rain and dew did not want to withdraw by force what he had granted him. He wanted, nevertheless, to help the world which was tormented by starvation, but only with the consent of his servant. That is why he sends to the big city of Zarephath Elijah, who had stayed hidden to that time in the valley of Cherith, so that he may see with his own eyes the distress of its inhabitants, even though they had given no cause for that suffering, as they had not participated in the rebellion of Ahab. And even if they did not observe the law of Moses, they did not ridicule it, because they did not know it.”

“When Elijah reached the gate of Zarephath, he met a woman and immediately realized, through the Holy Spirit, that she was the widow about whom God had talked to him. She was there and looked at him. It seems to me that Elijah had asked his Lord whether she was the one, as he was afraid that his severity would be weakened if he began to make inquiries about the widows of Zarephath. And, at the same time, the woman had received the order to feed the prophet through revelation, dream or another means. This is, in fact, what the words of God to Elijah indicate: "I have commanded a widow there to feed you."When he found her barefoot and dressed in rags in the act of gathering some wood, wasted by starvation and made miserably thin, he had the impression of seeing a burned stick, and he himself was ashamed of asking her for bread so that he first asked her for water. Later he added the request of bread. He knew for sure that a jug of flour would not have been lacking thanks to the promise of his Lord.”

“"She went and did as Elijah said." Consider the faith of the widow, her obedience and charity, and then meditate on the greatness of the reward that he granted her. Indeed it is written, "The jar of meal was not emptied, neither did the jug of oil fail, according to the word of the Lord that he spoke by Elijah," nor did the number of her family members diminish, because, in exchange for the nourishment given to the prophet, her dead child was resurrected.”

“Observe carefully the tears of that woman, and see her humility in her grief, because she does not at all blame the judgment of God or rise against the prophet. In the humility of her intellect, she recognizes that that sentence struck her because of her guilt, and she says to the prophet, "You have come to me to bring my sin to remembrance."”

“"He stretched himself on the child three times and cried out to the Lord, 'O Lord my God, let this child's life come into him again.' " These words contain many symbols. [The Scripture] shows us immediately that through the invocation of the three names a human being will come back to life. If he kills the ancient Adam with the help of the Messiah in the holy baptism. The divine Paul says, "If we have died with the Messiah, we believe that we will also live with him." And what follows agrees precisely with this meaning: "He stretched himself on the child," because in this life, which he will give us after we are dead to that ancient Adam, "he will transform the body of our humiliation that it may be conformed to the body of his glory." And here you can also see a symbol of the triple descent of the Son of God to the dead: the first symbol consists here in the fact that he was made flesh and included his infinite nature into the womb of the Virgin; the second, that he stretched his body on the wood and was crucified; the third, that whoever accepts death lies in the grave and goes down to Sheol, so that, in order to vivify humankind, God consented to stretch his majesty on our smallness. "O ineffable miracle," which Isaiah calls "wonder," "his Lord has come down to the man and has assumed the likeness of a slave."”

“"After many days the word of the Lord came to Elijah, in the third year of the drought, saying, 'Go, present yourself to Ahab; I will send rain on the earth.' " The Lord, by giving life back to the child, granted grace to Elijah. He had taught him through the affliction of the child, who had died, that his Lord was also grieved for his creatures tormented by starvation and thirst, even though he did not want to destroy or sever the link of the word of his servant against his will. After preparing the spirit of Elijah through this thought, he calls him and says to him, "Go, present yourself to Ahab; I will send rain on the earth."”

“Observe again and see how the Lord orders Elijah to appear before Ahab exactly on the day when [the king] had taken up the heavy burden of searching for food to feed the horses and the mules of his house. This was part of the divine plan, so that the impious king might come to know the providence of God toward all creatures, even toward horses and mules, and to realize how much more the Creator would be ready to make up the indigence of the king if he had not been ungrateful to God and had not lightheartedly taken advantage of his favors. And God showed this same benevolence of his good will and indulgence toward animals when he said to Jonah, "And should I not be concerned about Nineveh, that great city, in which there are more than a hundred and twenty thousand persons, who do not know their right hand from their left, and also many animals?"”

“"When Ahab saw Elijah, Ahab said to him, "Is it you, you troubler of Israel?" He answered, "I have not troubled Israel; but you have, and your father's house." "It is you and your father Omri who ruined this people, because through your abominable customs and your evil commandments you corrupted their spirit and their worship and ridiculed the holy law that God had given them, and for that reason rain and dew stopped falling from heaven, and people were overwhelmed by starvation. Therefore it is not my words, which are good, but it is your actions, which are disgusting and trouble Israel." And this freedom of speech torments Ahab greatly, but he does not fight back or rebuke Elijah about anything, as is related in the two histories of the kings, so that you may know the authority that the Lord had given Elijah over the spirit of the king and the fear toward his prophet that he had put in [Ahab's] heart. This is what [God] had done in the ancient times to Pharaoh through Moses and Aaron, when they spoke with harshness and afflicted him [with their actions] even more than with their words.”

“"Have all Israel assemble for me at Mount Carmel." Now, it is amazing how the king obeyed Elijah, who asked him for a general gathering of the people; and how also the people obeyed him humbly, even though he bitterly reproached them for their evil actions. It is also amazing how his request was granted, when he asked to be allowed to fight against the prophets of Baal. It is certain that they could not find a way to avoid meeting him, and they even looked for him, if it is true what some of the doctors say. And we also know that in our days false and deceiving people do the same. Therefore they thought that the prophets of Baal would make an altar in which they would have someone, who, at their sign, would set the fire and destroy the wood and the bull that were on the altar. And since they were confident in this scheme, they came to the fight, confident of the expected victory and in order to provoke Elijah.”

“When Elijah said, "I alone am left as a prophet to the Lord," he was not speaking against the just, because they were no [longer] to be found. Rather he was denouncing sinners, because they had done away with [the just]. He did not wish it to be, therefore, that he alone be found just, and for this reason, he could not be found by them for three years, for he had discovered that they were not worthy of being visited by God.”

“"They limped about the altar that they had made." This means they had cut the bull in pieces and passed among the pieces lying on the altar by going from side to side. The Scripture shows us another image of this in the sacrifice of Abraham. He divided the animals and saw a torch of fire passing among the pieces. And Jeremiah mentions something similar when he reproaches the Jews because they had become similar to the pagan people and passed among the pieces of their sacrifices: "I will make [those who transgressed my covenant] like the calf which they cut in two and passed between its parts—the officials of Judah, the officials of Jerusalem, the eunuchs, the priests and all the people of the land who passed between the parts of the calf shall be handed over to their enemies."”

“Elijah, who on mount Carmel abolished the sacrifices of the pagan priests, ministers of vanity, through the burnt offering which he offered to the living God, gives us a living image of the burnt offering that the Emmanuel made on Mount Golgotha, bringing to an end through his own sacrifice which was offered only once, all the sacrifices prescribed by Moses, as well as the burnt offerings which the pagans offered to their infamous gods. "Then the fire of the Lord fell and consumed the burnt offering, the wood, the stones and the dust, and even licked up the water that was in the trench." You acted justly, Elijah, and quite wisely! Your fire will consume the stones, and the worshipers of the stones will blush for their shame. It will consume the wood, and those who make their gods out of carved wood will be upset and will turn away from their madness. It will consume the bull, so that nobody may ever worship the bull.”

“"Elijah brought them down to the Wadi Kishon, and cut their throats there." There is no doubt that the people rose against the prophets of shame and brought them before Elijah. But it is not entirely clear who killed them. The Scripture says that Elijah cut their throats. And this is in perfect agreement with the true spirit of Elijah, who was concerned for the safety of the assembly: he tried to be the only one who could be accused of the murder of the prophets. Indeed, he knew that Jezebel would have claimed vengeance for the shed blood of her priests.”

“"Elijah said to Ahab, 'Go up, eat and drink; for there is a sound of rushing rain.' " Elijah, after acknowledging that the people, thanks to the miracle that he had showed them, had turned away from their evil thoughts, and that the priests of Baal, their deceivers, had received a just sentence, wisely prophesies and announces the rain to the king. And he asks his Lord for a new miracle, in order to confirm his first miracle and accomplish his promise. Indeed, he had promised his people to give them rain if they repented of their iniquity. Therefore he prophesies [the coming of the rain], because he is certain that God is reconciled with his people in consequence of their repentance and the killing of the prophets who had misled them.”

“"And Elijah went up to the top of Carmel." He does not go to Jerusalem in order to offer a sacrifice to the Lord, even though he knows the commandment of the law, which prevents the Jews from sacrificing outside the place that God had appointed as holy for them. He goes up to top of the Carmel in order to ask for rain, even though he knows that Solomon had mentioned the rain in his prayer for the people and the Lord had promised him that he would have given rain to those who prayed to him inside the temple of Jerusalem. Therefore Elijah prayed, so that they might see the miracle, because many of them still had not realized that the famine that overwhelmed them had been sent by the Lord through Elijah, who had prayed to him. In order that the word might confirm that Elijah had bound the heavens and now opened them, it was necessary that the people saw the prophet kneeling down in prayer, in the act of causing the rain to come down through his prayer.”

“"Look, a little cloud no bigger than a person's hand is rising out of the sea." Before going up, Elijah prayed seven times. He did this, in the first place, in order to invite the people who were waiting for the rain, to meditate on the greatness of the grace that they received from their Lord; second, in order to teach them that even if their prayers were not fulfilled [immediately], they should not cease from multiplying their prayers until they were fulfilled at the time appointed by God. And at the seventh time a cloud bringing rain appeared, so that they might know that God had released [them] from the bondage of the famine into the abundance of his mercy in the fourth year, even though he had originally fixed the term to the seventh.”

“In my opinion Elijah accorded a great honor to Ahab, of which he was unworthy, when he ran in front of him like a servant. And there are two reasons for this. In the first place, [the prophet intended] to comfort with his company the terrified and trembling king who was troubled in his spirit by the sudden weather changes that had occurred. It seems that he was taken by a great fear when, in a second, the sun had veiled its light and a heavy darkness had spread over all the land. And in that obscure and thick darkness he saw lightning and heard terrifying peals of thunder and a storm of violent winds and the rain falling like a cataract. Indeed, it was necessary that the atmosphere was clothed with such a dress in order to show the greatness of the sign that God had accomplished before his prophet. But the main reason for this action was that the king, who saw the honor that the prophets, messengers of the Highest, accorded to him, might learn that he had to honor God, his Creator, over all things, might be converted, might fulfill his commandments, observe his laws and obey the prophets sent to him.See the humility of Elijah, and admire his wisdom before the pride, insanity and foolishness of Ahab. I certainly call mad and senseless one who, after seeing the wind, the water, the fire and the weather subjected to the power of Elijah, and hearing the entire people proclaim his power similar to that of God, did not recognize the excellence of his dignity, did not admire his action or honor his person, but in the excess of his pride, let him march before him, as a servant precedes one who is superior to him many times over. Indeed, the king should have let the prophet climb up and sit with him on his chariot.”

“"Then Jezebel sent a messenger to Elijah, saying, 'So may the gods do to me, and more also, if I do not make your life like the life of one of them by this time tomorrow.' " The insane woman contemplated that after learning from the king what Elijah had done to the prophets of Baal. However, she postponed the revenge that she desired, until the people, who were around [the prophet], were dispersed. In fact, in spite of her madness, she feared to be stoned if the people discovered her scheme to kill the prophet, who was well-known for the justice of his customs and had been seen in the act of releasing the clouds and making rain and fire, through which he had benefited his people by humiliating the arrogance of the friends of Baal and by defeating completely the famine.”

“"Then he was afraid; he got up and fled for his life." It was out of wisdom that he turned away from danger, because it was absolutely wrong that he disposed of his soul, since he had no reason to give it to death, but, on the contrary, he had every reason to keep it alive. And that was done so that the prophets of falsehood might not say that the god—whose worship he had disrupted, whose sacrifices he had despised and whose prophets he had killed—had handed him over to the power of the queen.”

“"He came and sat down under a solitary broom tree. He asked that he might die." He hopes for death, but not for the one with which Jezebel had threatened him, that is, the one that would have given the prophets of Baal the pretext to say that Baal had defeated the God of Israel, otherwise he would have never abandoned his servant in such a danger: therefore he had forsaken him by force.”

“"The angel of the Lord came a second time, touched him and said, 'Get up and eat, otherwise the journey will be too much for you.' " Elijah was sleeping under a tree. Now an angel came to him and woke him up (sleep was weighing him down because of his fatigue, affliction and discouragement) and provided him with strength and comfort through the meal that he prepared for him. The nourishment of the prophet consisted of bread baked in the ashes and his drink of water. "And he said, 'The journey will be too much for you,' " that is, "you will not escape the affliction which you fear, through your death, as you believe, but through your flight. Therefore the journey is too long for you, and it is not like going to Cherith, a place close by. Rather, you are leaving for a distant location among foreign people where you will get peace and prosperity. That is why, until you are allowed to do so, you must eat and drink and prepare yourself to be strong enough for a long journey, because in a barren and desert land, you will not find any food."Allegorically the bread baked in the ashes, which the vigilant [the angel] offers to Elijah, has two different meanings: on the one side, it immediately shows the toils of penitence which the ashes symbolize perfectly, since they are a figure of mourning and of a contrite heart; the unleavened bread soaked in ashes and the water are also the food of the poor and the miserable. But we can say, with greater accuracy, that they are figures of all the righteous, for whom the providence of the Creator has established a course of life in the paths of privation. Therefore he leads them through much suffering, privation of food and a severe fast in order to purify them completely from all the filth of earthly things. Then he guides them to the mountain, which is the perfection and the accomplishment of the saints.”

“Then the word of the Lord came to him, saying, "What are you doing here, Elijah?" After reaching Horeb, the mountain of God, Elijah spent the night in a cave, and on the next day, when he heard the noise of God coming to him, he went out to the entrance of the cave where he heard him saying, "What are you doing?" And he answered, "I have been very zealous for the Lord, the God of hosts. That is why I have stopped the heavens, so that it might no longer rain on the sinners, or on the earth either so that it might not give them any food, even though this seems to be a mild punishment for those who deserve a harsh and cruel torture. Should I have been quiet and kept silent while I was seeing the apostasy of an impious people that despised your commandments, abandoned your covenant made on this mountain, and exchanged you for Baal, the idol of the Sidonians, and for the vain cults of the pagans? Or should I have endured the insanity of Jezebel, who persecuted and killed your prophets? But I stood, thanks to the abundance of your mercy, because your powerful hand protected me at the Wadi Cherith and in Zarephath of Sidon. And now you have led me to your sacred mountain, even though the mad queen does not cease from setting up ambushes to destroy my soul."”

“"Now there was a great wind, so strong that it was splitting mountains and breaking rocks in pieces before the Lord, but the Lord was not in the wind." Now, after the wind, the earthquake came, and after the earthquake the fire, and [Elijah] noticed that the Lord was not in the earthquake or in the fire. This was the purpose of such a revelation: the Lord wanted to instruct the prophet through various figures in order to correct his excessive zeal and to lead him to imitate, according to righteousness, the providence of the most High who regulates the judgments of his justice through the abundant mercy of his grace. From the allegorical point of view this is the meaning of the frightening signs that precede the coming of the Lord: the earthquake and the fire kindled by the strong winds prefigure the type of the dreadful signs that will precede the final day of judgment.”

“"When Elijah heard it, he wrapped his face in his mantle and went out and stood at the entrance of the cave. Then there came a voice to him that said, 'What are you doing here, Elijah?' He answered, 'I have been very zealous for the Lord, the God of hosts; for the Israelites have forsaken your covenant.' " He stayed at the entrance of the cave because he did not dare approach the Lord who was coming to him. He wrapped his face, saying, "The creature is not worthy of seeing his Creator." But he did not move from his first thought, even though he saw the image of the benevolence of his Lord in the symbol that was presented to him, and in addition he experienced his admirable mercy and ineffable love for human beings. Who would not have been astonished by the word of the divine majesty who asked him with love, "What are you doing here, Elijah?" But Elijah did not change his mind or shut his mouth. Instead he rose against the sinners once again and complained about the sons of his people before the Lord who asked him the reason for his flight.”

“"Go, return on your way to the wilderness of Damascus; when you arrive, you shall anoint Hazael as king over Aram." As I have already said, "the sound of a sweet word" which comes after the storm and the fire divulged this good news. And what follows this manifestation fits perfectly with this context: Elijah, who had so far fled from Jezebel the queen, is now sent to anoint the kings and to hallow the prophets. And he anoints Hazael as king of Aram with his word; Jehu, son of Namsi, as king of Israel, judge of Ahab and avenger of innocent blood with oil; and Elisha [as prophet] with his mantle. Now, since the Lord had decided that those who had been condemned by Elijah because of their rebellion should receive the just retribution for their iniquity, their condemnation was prepared in this way: a part of the people would be punished by Hazael, king of Aram, whereas Ahab and Jezebel would receive their condemnation from Jehu; finally, if anything had been overlooked by them, Elisha would accomplish the task through the authority that the Lord had given him. And the people truly deserved punishment for not turning from their error. Even after learning the truth through the great and obvious signs that Elijah had performed, they did not abandon the worship of Baal. Also the sins of Ahab and Jezebel were great, well known and evident, and both of them had to be harshly punished for that reason. And since Jezebel had appointed new priests of Baal, her god, in order to replace those who had been killed by Elijah, it was necessary that they received the same punishment as their predecessors.In addition, other reasons obliged Elijah to raise Elisha to the dignity of prophet exactly at that time when he was about to leave this world: first, in order to assist him in the time of affliction; second, in order to confirm through his word the event of the kidnapping of his master and his ascension to heaven because nobody had ever heard anything like that before. Therefore [Elijah elevated Elisha to the dignity of prophet] in order to cut short the lies of the priests of Baal who could not commend the works of Elijah, their persecutor, and tried with all their might to persuade the people with false words that the disciples of Elijah had entirely invented the kidnapping of their master and pretended that God had raised him to heaven.”

“Through these words it is clear that seven thousand people remained faithful to the true religion of the ancestors, while the others had turned away from it, even though at the time of Jeroboam, king of the ten tribes, it is written that 800, men came out with him to fight. But it is wonderful how this small troop was precious in the eyes of the Lord, and how, because of it, he gave a double victory to the sons of their people and to Ahab, their king, who were absolutely unworthy of it. The Scripture says that in those days Ben-hadad, king of Aram, came against Samaria with thirty-two kings. Now 7, men with 232 youths, who preceded the troop, came out of the city, and fought against the Arameans, and killed them and defeated that great army.”

“"So he set out from there and found Elisha son of Shaphat. He passed by him and threw his mantle over him." With his mantle Elijah took Elisha from farming to prophesying. From the symbolic point of view, Elisha represents the type of the apostles to whom our Lord said in the Gospel, "So stay here in the city of Jerusalem until you have been clothed with power from high." Therefore the mantle of Elijah signified the gifts of the Spirit which the apostles would receive.”

“Here the Scripture relates the two battles of the king of Israel against the Arameans, at which we have already hinted, and the twin slaughters of the Arameans, of which the second caused the death of 127, men, as God took his revenge on the impious voice of the Arameans, who said about the true God worshiped by the Israelites, "The Lord is a god of the hills, but he is not a god of the valleys."”

“In the course of these events Ahab's indulgence toward a man who was notoriously impious and an open and arrogant despiser of divine majesty fully deserved to be condemned, just as Saul's clemency toward the king of the Amalekites was reproached with good reason by Samuel; this is especially true if, as some commentators assert, the same prophet who had promised the victory in the name of God prescribed that a punishment was to be inflicted on Ben-hadad. On the other hand, a mild punishment should have been inflicted on Ahab and his subjects, if they were completely unaware of the will of God. But they could not ignore God's will at all, because the prophet had told them ahead of time that the Arameans would be handed over to them, after the Arameans had violated the majesty of God with their impious insults.”

“And the Lord said to Elijah, "Get up, go down to meet King Ahab of Israel," and so on. Now, when Jezebel invited Ahab to come and take hold of the vineyard whose owners had been stoned, Elijah went out to meet him, precisely when he did not expect him, and approached him in order to reveal the shameful action which they thought no one else knew about. He reproached the king openly for stealing the vineyard and killing the righteous Naboth. But one may say: Is not Jezebel the one who prepared the death of Naboth? Ahab simply did not accept that his request was rejected by Naboth; he did not want to treat him badly or take his vineyard by force. However, if he claims the vineyard, since the inheritance is due to the king after the heirs are dead, as the law prescribes, we maintain that if Ahab had not sinned at all, it would have been impossible that the justice that absolves those who are oppressed might have wronged him. Nor would the prophet, who reproved him according to the command of the just Judge and had already condemned him twice, [have wronged him].And Elijah said to him, "Thus says the Lord: In the place where dogs licked up the blood of Naboth, dogs will also lick up your blood, and I will make your house like the house of Jeroboam." To Jezebel too, the Lord said, "The dogs shall eat Jezebel within the boundaries of Jezreel." Such are the judgments that Elijah pronounced against the king and the queen: he gives them to the dogs, and the house of Ahab to destruction.”

“And the Lord said to Elijah, "Have you seen how Ahab has humbled himself before me?" and so on. If the repentance of Ahab had not been sincere, it would not have been praised by the Lord nor would the sentence pronounced against him have been diminished. It is true that Ahab did not receive his punishment in its entirety: the dogs, in fact, did not rip up his corpse or the birds devour it. Therefore what was said by Elijah as the word of the Lord must be interpreted in the sense of the word addressed to Moses: "I will blot out that nation," but he did not blot it out. But consider three [different] meanings here.The first is that Ahab repents and prays, and God immediately receives his prayer and reconciles with him, and he reveals to Ahab the pardon of his fault through the mediation of the prophet. The benevolence of the Lord toward this impious man is truly admirable, and the friend of humankind also shows his mercifulness toward sinners on many occasions. God forgives the faults of David in the same way, and after he has confessed his sin, he hears from the prophet, "Now the Lord has put away your sin; you shall not die." And [the same happens] to Manasseh, whom he enables to leave his captivity after only a short time and to come back to his kingdom from Babylon. Second, consider that even though the repentance of Ahab was short, the pardon that he asked for was nonetheless granted immediately. His Lord did not act in this manner with Abraham, to whom he conceded an heir only after a prayer lasting one hundred years. See also how a great fault was forgiven Ahab, while Miriam became a leper for a small error. Recognize, then, that the grace of God, which is incomprehensible, does not allow sinners to waste away in their iniquity, and [God] makes the righteous man thrive by not giving him what he wants immediately and by correcting him without delay. See again how Abraham prayed without receiving anything. He does not make his servants rich, so that they might not grow too proud. In the third place, even though God has freed Ahab, who had been condemned by Elijah, from his sentence, he nonetheless says, "But in his sons' days I will bring the disaster on his house." This means that the merciful judge tried to influence the king to live under his good will, for Ahab was an impulsive man who changed his mind quickly and turned from goodness to evil. In addition, [he said these words] so that [Ahab] might invoke mercy for his children and turn from them the sentence pronounced against them.”

“You see, not all the humiliations with which Elijah had threatened Ahab were accomplished, thanks to [the king's] profound repentance, nor was Ahab's corpse devoured by birds or wild beasts. Instead he was brought to the royal palace in Samaria, and there, after being celebrated with regal magnificence, was solemnly buried. Ahab died in that battle, which Micaiah had predicted to be fatal and deadly to him, even though he did not die on the battlefield but was taken away from there and survived for several hours, before he finally died in the evening. Therefore it seems clear that the dogs were not prevented from licking the blood that flowed on that day and night from his wound.”

“"Ahaziah falls from the gallery of his upper chamber in Samaria." … Ahaziah is the son of Ahab, and after Ahab's death he takes his place and reigns over his people. Now, he falls from the upper chambers of his palace, and his body is seriously injured. Therefore Ahaziah sends some messengers to the god of the Ekronites in order to question him about his injury. It seems that such a piece of advice was given to him by his mother, Jezebel, who for her entire life made her children, namely, Ahaziah and Joram, her slaves, just like Ahab, her husband, had been a slave to her. Ahaziah's present action, as well as what his brother did after him—their shameful end and the hardness of their heart in the adoration of their idols until their death—are perfectly in keeping with the abominable actions and wicked will of their mother, Jezebel. So, Elijah, who had learned from a vigilant [i.e., an angel] what Ahaziah was doing, came out to meet his messengers and ordered them, by the word of the Lord, to return to their master and announce to him the news of his departure from this world, because he had rejected the Lord and had taken refuge in the god of Ekron, hoping that he would heal him.”

“But the stubborn king did not fear the word of the prophet and said in his heart, "He lies." And so he did not pay attention to his warning, which exhorted him to get rid of the reason of his evils and to repent. He persevered in his stubbornness and, instead of repenting of his pride and being converted, grew more stubborn and sent a captain of fifty with some guards to arrest the prophet of God and lead him to the tribunal. Now, after hearing that the fire had come down and had consumed the captain with his fifty men on the occasion of their effrontery, he sent some others, and again the fire consumed them and made them perish. And [divine] justice decrees this sentence quite rightly, because those who had seen the fire, which had come down at the prayer of Elijah, and had not believed or were converted, were necessarily scorched by the second descent of the fire. And the same punishment was prepared for the third one, who was sent after them, if the terrifying spectacle of the fire had not made him wise. He avoids appearing like his comrades: he arrives after the prophet, humbly kneels down before him and, on the one hand, repeats the order of the king, but on the other, gives him the option whether to obey the word of the king or not.”

“After the death of Ahaziah, since he had no children who could inherit the kingdom, his brother Jehoram became king. This did not occur because the Law prescribed anything of the sort, but because this was the custom of their neighbors, which the children of Israel had observed by now for many years. But God gives another rule for the kingdom of the children of Judah: he binds them to the family of David, and it is in this manner that the kingship was constantly transmitted from the father to the son or the next of kin—but they refused this succession only once, at the time of Jechonias, who became king after Zedekiah, brother of his father, because Jechonias was deported to Babel and Zedekiah was forced to take his place and stop the fall of the monarchy.”

“Elijah, who now lived with Elisha, whom he had also consecrated as prophet according to a divine oracle, as has been said already, was with him every day, inseparably sharing with him the same way of life. When he was about to ascend into the chariots of fire, to leave and be raised to the clouds with that physical mass that drags us to the ground, after he had already crossed Gilgal and was going to reach Bethel, he ordered Elisha to stay in Gilgal. But Elisha did not obey him nor would he separate from him because those words carried him instead of completely imprisoning him. That is why, after all, Elijah took him with him. When both had reached Bethel, where they spent a few days, and Elijah was planning again to visit Jericho by himself, he ordered Elisha not to come along with him for the second time. But just as before, he continued to be disobedient and stubborn, as if he felt torn at the thought of being cut off from his master. Since he did not know what to do, Elijah consented to go again with him. Fifty more followed them. These were the sons of the prophets.”

“"He went up from there to Bethel; and while he was going up on the way, some small boys came out of the city and jeered at him, saying, "Go away, baldhead! Go away, baldhead!" After Elisha had settled the matters concerning his disciples in Jericho, he moved to his dwelling place in Bethel, and during his journey the facts, which the Scripture places here, happened to him. It seems that the impudence of the children resulted from the teaching of their parents, because they were iniquitous and hostile to Elijah and all his disciples. And we may also think that they had been sent by their masters to repeat what they had learned. The word proclaimed according to Elisha by the disciples of Elijah, their fellow citizens, with regard to the ascension of their master grieved the people of Bethel a great deal. That is why, I suppose, those children did not only mention his baldness but also found further insults, which they said before him to outrage his fame, so that nobody might believe his word, if he repeated in Bethel what he had told and about which he had convinced many people in Jericho. In fact, they had meditated on this evil thought and said, "This is the reason for his coming." Now, Elisha, even though he was upset by the effrontery of the children, was much more enraged by the craftiness and the iniquities of their parents, and he corrected both by a harsh and terrible sentence: he punished the former, so that they might not add to their iniquity by growing up to adulthood; the latter, so that they might be corrected and cease from their wickedness. He, who had blessed the children of Jericho and benefited them to the highest degree for their faith, because, after seeing that he had divided the Jordan through his word, they had said that the spirit of Elijah rested on Elisha, decreed this bitter sentence against the people of Bethel. Indeed, the people of Bethel did not believe, when they heard from children of prophets who were in their city, the news of the ascension of Elijah."Then two she-bears came out of the woods and mauled forty-two of the boys." On the day the Lord sent Elijah to anoint Elisha, he said that he would have taken revenge through him on the children of Israel, who had revolted against him, that is, those who escaped from the sword of Hazael and Jehu, Elisha would have caused to perish. This is, therefore, the beginning of the punishment: the word pronounced against the iniquitous began to be fulfilled.”

“After the death of Ahab, his son Ahaziah died too, and since he had no children, his brother Jehoram took his place. Therefore the Scripture reports that he moved with his army against the king of Moab. He went to war because Mesha, king of Moab, had refused to pay his tribute to the kings of Israel and had not paid both Hezekiah and Jehoram, that is, [he had not paid] one hundred thousand fat lambs and one hundred thousand unshorn rams. The word noqdo, which the Scripture mentions here, derives from Hebrew and can be translated as "king of the shepherds of rams," that is, he reared huge herds of them. So Jehoram, who had resolved to assert the rights that his brother had renounced, summoned the kings of the inhabitants of Judea and Edom and marched with them through the territories of the children of Moab. But they found themselves on a barren and arid land, and they had no water for the army. The three kings went to see Elisha, following the advice of righteous Jehoshaphat, and implored him to rescue the suffering people, who were overwhelmed with thirst. The prophet protested and harshly reproached Jehoram but was pleased with Jehoshaphat and gave him hope of salvation. At the same time, he promised that through his mediation, he and his companions would soon obtain the victory through the agency of the Lord.”

“The Scripture mentions a musical instrument that produces sounds, or a harp, as the Hebrew says, so that, thanks to the sound of its music, all the soldiers might be assembled around it and might understand when they were summoned to destroy their enemies, and there might be evident testimonies of [Elisha's] words. In this way, when the miracle occurred, they could not attribute it to Baal or the idols they worshiped. Indeed, there were numerous idolaters in the army.”

“"The harpist played, and the water flowed to the bed of the streams." Through this figure the voice of Christ is conveniently foreshadowed, because he kept the harp of the spirit on the cross. Indeed, our Lord cried twice and gave up his spirit with a loud voice. And immediately the pagan centurion gave glory to the Lord, and in this manner the conversion of the Gentiles was clearly highlighted. After the Christ had brought to perfection on the wood of the cross the new glory of our Savior, the sources were immediately opened and rivers of living water flowed on the nations of the Gentiles, who are symbolized by the "wadi," as Jesus had said before his passion: "Let the one who believes in me drink. As the Scripture has said, 'Out of the believer's heart shall flow rivers of living water.' " In this way the word of the prophet might be fulfilled: He who has played the harp will play for the Gentiles in the name of the Lord.”

“"The kings fought together and killed one another." After the water had come and the armies of Jehoshaphat and his allied kings had drunk their fill, the Moabites, who had seen that the water was red, said this. But they were wrong, because the color of the water had become red on account of the coming of the sun that oppressed them. When they saw the stream flow, they did not think that water was actually flowing in it, because rain had not fallen in all those days. Consequently they took for granted that no source of water could exist in that dried and scorched region. Therefore they thought that the gods of their homeland had caused the kings and their armies to attack and destroy one another. Indeed, they were easily inclined to religious dissensions. They believed that what they saw flowing in the stream was the blood from the carnage of battle.”

“When the Moabites came to plunder the camp, they convinced themselves that its ruins had been abandoned by their guards. Instead, Jehoshaphat and the kings with him suddenly rose up with drawn swords when they realized that their enemies were approaching and almost upon them. But the Moabites did not persist in their attack. They turned around and ran away because they had come unarmed. They had not come to fight, but to plunder. Therefore they scattered the army of their enemies by simply turning their weapons against them. Then they destroyed and laid waste the land bordering [the Moabites]. And finally, like an overflowing stream, they rushed in to attack Moab, cutting down their trees according to Elisha's order, stopping up the flowing springs, destroying the villages, and demolishing all their houses until they brought down their walls. They surrounded and demolished their fortresses, that is, knocked down the walls and scattered the rubble of the demolition.”

“Therefore Mesha, who had lost all his hope in his armies, made an about-face to ask the gods for help, because he had seen that no human being could help him. Certain wise men of his country said to him that it was necessary to implore the mercy of the God of Israel by means of an extraordinary sacrifice, for exactly the same reason which Abraham, the father of the Israelites, had made his offering, which had been quite pleasing to God, according to the tradition that is generally renowned among the Canaanites. But the power and the strength of God had already been recognized by all with great admiration for what he had done before all the Moabites. Indeed, no one but him had made the water flow on his people in the desert of Edom, and they had never heard of or known another God who granted his worshipers greater benefits. Therefore the king, who could not deny the miracle that he had seen with his own eyes, did not want to be deprived of sufficient aid in the difficulties that encircled him. He was confirmed [in his hope] and abandoned the worship of idols by taking refuge in the powerful God who had created a new sea in the desert. Therefore he was invited by the word of the wise men and nobles of Moab to make a great sacrifice and to offer his firstborn child, the pillar of his house and the hope of his kingdom, on the city walls, before the armies that besieged him. He wanted the Hebrew to see the sacrifice he was about to make to the God of Abraham according to the teaching of Abraham.And then the wrath against the Israelites increased, because the calamities, which the Scripture accurately relates after these events, happened to them again. They had seen how God protected them, and the abundance of water that he had made miraculously flow for them and the retreat of their enemies before them. Nevertheless, they persisted in their dishonor, and their hearts were still attached to their calf.”

“People imitate those who do good deeds, therefore, not out of love for these good deeds but because of their usefulness. For Balaam also flattered [God], in that he had seven altars built because he had heard concerning these ancient ones that, with regard to the sacrifices they had offered to him, their prayers were accepted. The king of Moab took note of Jephthah. But, because it was his firstborn and a human being rather than an animal that he killed, God took pity on him, since it was in affliction that he did it and not through love. In the case of Jephthah, if it had been one of his servants who had been first to encounter him, he would have killed him. But, in order that people would not engage in the sacrifice of their fellow human beings, he caused his own daughter to meet him, so that others would be afraid, lest they offer human beings by vow to God.”

“It is said that this woman was the wife of Obadiah, the treasurer of Ahab and a secret disciple of Elijah, who had taken one hundred prophets away from the rage of Jezebel and had fed them when they were hungry. It seems that in this affair he was entrusted with the gold of the royal house, but after his death his wife was left with a huge debt to be paid to his masters. But since she could not pay, and the taxmen of the king pressed her and wanted to sell her children, the mother implored Elisha, because she knew he was the father of orphans and the defender of widows, and she thought he would have not drawn back his hands [when asked to help] the sons of a righteous man who had served his companions the prophets. Among other things, the taxmen of the king, who had lent money to Obadiah, in justice, according to the law of the Hebrews, had moved against his children; and this is what our Lord suggested to us in the parable of the creditor king who ordered the children to be sold for the debt of their father, even though he was still alive and only needed some time to pay his debt.”

“Here the Scripture relates the other miracle that Elisha performed in order to help the widow. He made flow into the vessels an amount of oil sufficient to pay the debt of her husband and abundantly multiplied it for the nourishment of her children.From the symbolic point of view three aspects must be observed here: first of all it is said that the widow filled the vessels of her neighbors with an oil that gushed out in her house thanks to a gift of God, because the holy church resembles the widow. In fact, she was not abandoned when her husband ascended to heaven, but she filled the hearts of the Gentiles with the oil of the knowledge of salvation which has multiplied and become abundant in her house thanks to the presence of the Holy Spirit. Moreover, the Gentiles, who were separated before, after being filled with that fat oil, glorified with their lips of cheerfulness that God whom they had ignored before. In the second place, the widow asked for empty vessels and filled with oil those that her children brought to her, both small and large vessels. This signifies the saints who have rejected any worldly passion and are filled with the fat of the holy ointment and the oil of happiness. So their mother, that is, the grace of God gives oil to each of them, both to the great and the little. For God gives his gifts as he likes, so that everything may be ours, as the apostle says: "We must grow up in Christ according to his gift." But those who are weighed down by their intemperance, drunkenness and worldly interests, those who, as the apostle says, walk in the vanity of their spirit and are obscured in their intelligence, those who have lost their hope and have given themselves to the practice of every sort of paganism and covetousness are deprived of this grace. In fact, they do not desire this oil, and if they desire it, they prepare no vessel to be filled with it. In the third place, the rest of the oil, which the dead husband had left to his widow, signifies the mercy that [Christ] had shown to the saints while he lived on earth. Solomon says that he who associates himself with the Lord has mercy for the poor, and [the Lord] will reward him according to his works.”

“It happened, in the next days, that Elisha arrived at Shunem and passed it. After the ascension of Elijah, Elisha took his place and was appointed as the chief and prefect of the children of the prophets. Duty to his calling obligated him to visit their lodgings in Bethel and Jericho, as well as those along the Jordan. In fact, since the straight line of his route compelled him to pass through the village of Shunem, now and then he made a detour to the house of the Shunammite, because she was an admirable woman. And she, after hearing the words of her fellow citizens about him and seeing him in her house, understood the advantages of his stay at her place. Therefore she asked her husband to build a high room, solitary and separated from the rest of the people of the house. Indeed, she said that it was not proper for a holy prophet to live in an impure place. She called him holy because of his virginity.”

“Elisha said to the Shunammite woman, "At this season, in due time, you shall embrace a son." He wanted to pay his debt for her service and pious assistance to him. Since she was blessed with the goods of the Law but was deprived of children, even though the Law also promised children to those who observed it, she ardently desired to have an heir for those goods. So Elisha promised the Shunammite woman this blessing, even though she had not asked for it.”

“"The woman conceived and bore a son at that season, in due time, as Elisha had declared to her," but after a few years, the child died. His mother placed the corpse on the bed of the prophet in the high room of her house and then rushed to meet him, blessed him and knelt down at his feet, not in order to make a request but to rebuke him. She said, "Did I ask my lord for a son? Did I not say, 'Do not mislead your servant?' " ["Why did you take me and throw me into the pangs of Eve, when I was free of them, and why did you make death, against which I had risen and for which I had no consideration, reign over me? Indeed, thanks to my unlucky sterility I had been away from those two evils. Because of my fear of death I had not asked you for children, and because of the mockeries of the pagans, among whom I live, I did not desire them. So I have said to you: Do not ask that children be given to me."]5From her lips she gave reproaches, while with her hands she implored him and, catching hold of his feet, besieged him. She swore she would not leave him until he had given her his grace and had brought back to life her son, which death had grasped. So Elisha was profoundly touched by the words of the woman. [Because he did not suffer so much for the death of the child as for the mockeries he would have been obliged to bear on the part of the prophets of Baal.]”

“When he saw her suffering and anguish, he immediately sent his disciple, entrusting him with his staff, and told him to lay it on the dead child and to inform him about the results of his ministry. He wanted the resurrection of the dead to happen by means of the staff of the master and the hands of the disciple, if his servant was sufficient for the miracle. If that were not sufficient, he would blame himself, because he had outraged with his laziness the coat of arms of the house of Moses.”

“"Then the mother of the child said, 'As the Lord lives, and as you yourself live, I will not leave without you.' " Now, since Elisha had stayed at home and had sent his disciple, the mother of the [dead] child pressed him to aid her personally. Elisha had mercy on her grief, which was great, and set out to accompany her to the village of Shunem. Gehazi, his disciple, had laid the staff on the child at the time fixed by his master but had not raised him; that is, the resurrection of the dead child had not followed the application of the staff, because Gehazi was a covetous man and was not worthy of being mentioned. Elisha did not raise the child by the mere imposition of the staff either but raised him one hour later by adding certain ceremonies to the imposition of the staff. And in that manner he accomplished the type of the Providence of the Word of God, who came to raise Adam after he had been condemned to death. For he knew that the staff of the prophet represented the wood of the cross. In fact, the salvation of the world was not in the Law, which is only the shadow and the figure of the goods to come, and the dead child was not raised by the application of the staff. Therefore, when the prophet set out to accomplish the resurrection, he diminished his size, lowered his height and adjusted himself to the dimension of the child.Immediately [the child's] dead flesh became warm. In this figure the incarnation of the only One was represented, as well as the beginning of our salvation, because it was necessary that the Son of God "was made a little lower than the angels" in order to be included in a womb of flesh and to be incarnated, so that he might give life to the flesh through the Spirit. With regard to the fact that the prophet walked back and forth in the house of the dead child, it prefigures the times in which Jesus Christ entered and went out of the houses of humankind and lived with them. Finally the prophet came back and adjusted himself again to the size of the child, and his body covered his body; at that time the dead child was resurrected. Our Lord accomplished this figure and brought it to perfection, when, still alive, he adjusted his holy limbs to the cross. And after his death he again adjusted his dead body in the tomb to the size of the dead Adam. And so God, through his great love for us, after we had died for our sins, brought us back to life with Christ. By his grace he saved us and raised us from the dead with him and made us sit with him in heaven through Jesus Christ, as the divine Paul says.”

“Here two miracles are proposed, which Elisha performed while he was among his disciples. He accomplished the first when he caused death to leave the pot, where, as they said, it had hidden. He performed the second when he nourished one hundred prophets with a little bit of bread. In both miracles he prefigures him who multiplies twice some barley loaves and nourishes with them "about five thousand men, besides women and children."”

“This was the starving steward of the prophets who was forced by the lack of food to go through the fields in order to gather some herbs. And since he could not find the herbs he knew, he gathered those that he did not know and were not edible. And since it is written that he gathered wild colocynths, some say that he gathered colocynths, others those [herbs] that are called the source of bitterness: with their inside parts, physicians make an effective and purifying medicine. Others say that perhaps their name comes from the term used by farmers: squirting cucumbers, which have a very bitter taste and resemble a vine. In fact, the Scripture calls a vine that plant that the steward found and from which he gathered colocynths.”

“Elisha corrects the nature of the cooked foods with some flour and gives them a new taste. Our Lord did the same according to the [divine] economy, so that he might be imitated, as he said for our exhortation, with the result that we might walk the path of the righteous and the pious, and might rejoice because of the great reward he promised us and might heal the diseases and the anguish and the tribulations that constantly surround us from the beginning of our life. The father of our race, Adam, gathered those [bitter] fruits as a consequence of his sin and proposed and offered them to us in the hour in which he heard [these words] from his Creator: "The ground is cursed because of you; it will bring forth thorns and thistles for you. You are dust, and to dust you shall return."”

“Here two miracles are proposed, which Elisha performed while he was among his disciples. He accomplished the first when he caused death to leave the pot, where, as they said, it had hidden. He performed the second when he nourished one hundred prophets with a little bit of bread. In both miracles he prefigures him who multiplies twice some barley loaves and nourishes with them "about five thousand men, besides women and children."”

“"Naaman, commander of the army of the king of Aram, was a great man and in high favor with his master because by him the Lord had given victory to Aram." Some rely on these words to say that he was the one who had killed Ahab by striking him with an arrow shot by his own hand, when there was war between [Israel] and Aram. This favor was granted him by the Lord as a reward for killing the persecutor of the prophets and for enfeebling the power of Jezebel, [Ahab's] wife, and for restraining her cruelty. And thanks to him the disciples of Elijah had relief too, those whom the fear of Ahab and Jezebel had forced to flee into the desert and take refuge in some caves. And they had returned to their abodes, as the Scripture mentions below. But all these theories are groundless, except for what they say about the persecution of the prophets, which is undoubtedly correct. It is true, nevertheless, what Obadiah says to Elijah: "Has it not been told my lord what I did when Jezebel killed the prophets of the Lord, how I hid a hundred of the Lord's prophets fifty to a cave and provided them with bread and water?"”

“Naaman was suffering from leprosy, and when he heard that a prophet who lived under the command of Jehoram, king of Israel, could cure him, he left and proceeded to the country of the healer and went to the house of Elisha, because he had learned that he was the prophet who could aid him in his distress and that he had to ask him to be healed. But Elisha did not go out to meet him or speak to him. He informed him through a messenger: If he wanted to be healed, he had to wash his body in the Jordan seven times. Now a question rises: Why did Elisha prevent Naaman from seeing him and did not allow him to come into his house? In the first place, because he had served Ben-hadad in his wars. In fact, the prophet knew that the king of Aram had killed many children of Israel, and how Naaman had destroyed their lands and how his hands were stained with innocent blood, for he was the commander of the army and had received full authority over the Arameans. In the second place, because he was stopped by the corruption of leprosy. Elisha knew that the Law prescribed that no leper could be approached or touched.Naaman, as a consequence, was enraged. Blaming and accusing Elisha, he left [saying] that he would have never thought to come to a prophet just in order to see him act mysteriously and that he certainly did not expect such words. He believed that his healing would be accomplished through a simple imposition of the hands. So he blamed Elisha and said, "Why did he not come out to meet a man of power who had come to his house? And why did he prevent me from seeing him, and why did he not judge me worthy of speaking to him? And why did he not heal me with the remedy he uses and which is easy and effortless for me? On the contrary, he sends me to the Jordan, as though that river may really purify me; but are not the rivers of my land, the Amana and the Pharpar, sufficient for such purification?" It is not surprising that he had such thoughts and rebelled, the man who had heard with his own ears and compared the words of the prophet. A man who had made his career in the army could not have access to the mystery hidden in that unusual healing. Therefore Naaman was sent to the Jordan as to the remedy capable to heal a human being. Indeed, sin is the leprosy of the soul, which is not perceived by the senses, but intelligence has the proof of it, and human nature must be delivered from this disease by Christ's power which is hidden in baptism. It was necessary that Naaman, in order to be purified from two diseases, that of the soul and that of the body, might represent in his own person the purification of all the nations through the bath of regeneration, whose beginning was in the river Jordan, the mother and originator of baptism.”

“After Naaman had been persuaded by the prophet and had washed seven times in the Jordan, he eventually acknowledged his error. He was astonished, and a deep bewilderment took him when he realized that he had been delivered from his filthiness. And he thanked God for his healing and testified that the Lord of the universe, in his profound care for him, had conceded him that extraordinary power by simply using water. He also proclaimed that his healing could not have derived from the water of the river but had been caused by Elisha's command. That is why he offered royal presents, but the prophet did not accept them and was not persuaded by the donor, even though he had pressed him many times. For that magnificently and very clearly prefigured the mystery of the healing, which is freely granted to all nations of the earth by our Lord through the intercession of the apostles. And this had been promised in advance to those masters by the prophet Isaiah, when he said, "You were sold for nothing, and you shall be redeemed without money."Since all diseases are a sort of bondage, the prophet necessarily fixed the healing at the seventh bath, in parallel with the fact that the Law, too, orders and promises freedom for the slave at the seventh year.”

“After Gehazi had come back from his meeting with Naaman, he entered Elisha's house, and [the prophet] asked him, according to custom, why he had moved away from him. "Where do you come from?" he said to Gehazi. He said this on purpose, so that the justice of the judgment passed on his sin might be evident. If Gehazi repented and swore, he would have been forgiven; but if he denied that he had secretly received money, the leprosy of Naaman would cover him conspicuously.”

“These words were fulfilled by the apostles: the house of the sacrifices of the Law was too small for them, and when they realized that the meeting place of the Jews was not sufficient for the greatness of the gospel, they set out to build a holy church where they gathered the children of God, who are righteous. This is what Isaiah had pointed out to them in advance by the word of the Lord when he said, "It is too light a thing that you should be my servant to raise up the tribes of Jacob and to restore the survivors of Israel; I will give you as a light to the nations, that my salvation may reach to the end of the earth."”

“This is a symbol signifying the fall of Adam. For water represents the type of sin. Indeed, through water, sin was redeemed by the deluge at the time of Noah and at the fulfillment of times. It was washed in the water of holy baptism by our Lord when he was baptized in the Jordan by John, when he was received and ate with sinners and in his passion was counted among the reprobates. The wood descended, the iron has emerged, because Emmanuel died, was buried and went down to the infernal regions of earth, and from there he has come back, and in his ascension he has lifted up Adam from the deep towards the heights.”

“Elisha prayed before the Lord and said, "strike this people with blindness." And he struck them with blindness according to the words of Elisha. Ben-hadad, king of the Arameans, sent a large army to surround the city of Dothan and ordered them to arrest Elisha, who lived there at that time. Now his servant saw the army of the Arameans and was horrified. But Elisha opened the eyes of the young man and showed him the ranks of fire that the Lord had erected around him against the Arameans, and his fear disappeared. At the same time [the enemies] were struck in their eyes and did not know the route of their march. They asked Elisha to be their guide; he led them to Samaria, and they were imprisoned inside walls. Then their eyes opened and they realized the danger into which they had voluntarily thrown themselves. But Elisha ordered that nobody should hurt them, and by his command, king Jehoram warmly received them. After offering them a banquet, he sent them back to their land in peace.This is the symbolic meaning [of this passage]: God had predicted through the prophet Isaiah, "The heart of these people was hardened; they have stopped their ears and have shut their eyes, so that they cannot see with their eyes." The people of Abraham had been blinded by a just sentence of God, because of their perverse will. They asked that the Savior of the world be killed and tried to delete any memory of him completely, but Christ has converted them from their perversity to good behavior. He has delivered his persecutors from their blindness and has given them the bread of heaven. Then he has scattered them through the earth to announce his wonders. Such were those who came back from the mount of Golgotha, beating their own chest. They said to Simon and the other apostles with contrite hearts, "Brothers, what should we do?" And such was Saul, the persecutor of the church whose eyes were open without seeing and whose eyes God wondrously closed but opened again very soon, and to whom he ordered to bring his name before the nations, the kings and the children of Israel.”

“"Some time later King Ben-hadad of Aram mustered his entire army; he marched against Samaria and laid siege to it." This is that Ben-hadad who had been condemned to death by God; and Ahab had received the order to execute him. But he spared his life and sent him back in peace. Therefore the Arameans besieged the city and prolonged the siege for many days, because their army occupied the whole surrounding area, so that bread began to be more and more scarce, and famine ruled. And when [the citizens] did not find the usual sustenance and food, they fell on the corpses of the dead. For the Scripture relates that there were certain mothers who decided to kill their children to assuage their hunger. And after one of them had put her son to death, when her companion in crime hid her own son (in order to save him) and broke the contract, an argument rose between them, and they both went before the judge. And they began to expound their reasons before the king, that is, Jehoram, the son of Ahab. The king, seeing that that was a harsh trial for him, was taken over by a violent rage against Elisha. For he thought [the prophet] was the cause of his disaster. Therefore he said, "Yesterday he gave abundant goods to Aramean robbers, and today has given sufficient bread to his disciples, and they are not lacking food, but he has no care for the people of his city and abandons them in their need." And he swore that on that day itself he would take revenge on Elisha for the blood of his people. But Jehoram had no right to accuse the prophet, but rather Ahab, his father, who had scorned the prophets. In fact, if he had been persuaded by their words and had killed Ben-hadad, that [king] would have never besieged Samaria and would have never thrown him into such calamities.From the symbolic point of view the atrocious famine which tortured the Samaritans for so many days and forced them to eat in such an abominable manner shows the lack of heavenly nourishment, which affected in those days all the nations of the earth. So the city of Samaria signifies the whole of humankind, and its famine represents the famine of all. But Elisha made it disappear through his prayer, as well as through the grace of Christ. The sick were fortified by his strength, and "those who were full hired themselves out for bread." This means that the apostles, announcers [of the gospel], have transmitted to the Gentiles the knowledge of salvation, and it has flowed, as Isaiah predicted, like "the waters covering the sea." In the same manner it had been decreed before God that the hungry should eat the crop of the foolish and that the thirsty should absorb his goods, as the friend of the righteous Job said. Indeed, as the Samaritans plundered the food that they had collected for the Arameans and the needs of their army and brought it into their army, so the church of the Gentiles took the holy books which were preserved in the Hebrew synagogues, and gave them for the benefit of their descendants.”

“"Famine in Samaria became so great that a donkey's head was sold for eighty shekels of silver." The donkey's head, which the Scripture reports here to be so expensive, signifies the teaching coming from the ravings of the philosophers and the scientists of the world. And it was an abominable and rotting food but was very precious when the famine reigned over the earth, and there was no one to break and give the bread to those children who asked for it, that is, until the advent of Christ."And one-fourth of a kab of dove's dung [was sold] for five shekels of silver." Even though the symbol is contrary—in fact, it does not fit in with the Word—but because the righteous are likened to a dove, we say that the kab of dove's dung represents the teaching of the law of Moses, if we compare it with the gospel of Christ. So it can be said that it was mud, a mud precious to the Jews at that time, with which they covered their eyes, which were to be opened soon by the spiritual bath and the gospel of Christ.”

“Elisha said, "Tomorrow there will be relief from the siege and the famine in the city of Samaria." But an officer of the house of king Jehoram mocked these words and derided the word [of the prophet]. Elisha answered him what the Scripture relates here. Some say that this man was the one whose story is reported by the biblical text above. He had sent to Elisha a messenger or a captain of the guard [of the king] to arrest him or to kill him but later had repented of his evil scheme and had run after him, preventing him from executing his command. This poor man, therefore, had seen the delivery of the town and the consequent abundance of which he had not profited, because on that same day the inhabitants of the city, who were coming out to plunder, had trampled him, and he had died. In his miserable fate he prefigures the fall of the people of Abraham, those who could see "the bread" of life "descended from heaven" to them but in large number were not worthy of enjoying that vivifying abundance, even though, at the same time, it was abundantly given to all those who asked for it through the grace of our Savior Jesus Christ.”

“Even though the four lepers are loathsome, if we symbolically recognize in them the fact that they announced goods for the inhabitants of their city, they do no wrong to the symbol but correctly represent the four holy Evangelists. Indeed, we must bear in mind that through their books the grace of our Savior and source of life Jesus Christ was known, and freedom was given to all people according to his divine plan. And so those whose flesh was leprous shone in their interior look with the splendor of their righteousness. In addition, they symbolically represent the first attitude of the apostles in the fact that leprosy had corrupted their skin. But they also represent them in the fact that their interior was adorned with righteous behavior because the old man has been transformed by the coming of the Holy Spirit and renewed. Therefore they have clothed themselves with the garment shining with the colors of heaven and have been sent to show the work of the hands of God.”

“"Now Elisha had said to the woman whose son he had restored to life, 'Get up and go with your household.' " This is the Shunammite woman who had received Elisha in her home. And [the prophet] had taken care of her son too, who had died, by reviving him. Elisha predicted to her that a seven-year famine would occur and invited her to find a new home by emigrating. He chose for her Palestine, a close and fertile region, whose inhabitants were rich thanks to their maritime commerce. For the land of the Philistines is entirely situated along the coast, and it had, at that time, some renowned harbors which were full of countless vessels, as is testified by the Scripture in many passages. That is why the patriarchs Abraham and Isaac had looked there for their refuge.From the allegorical point of view, Palestine, which received the righteous who were in exile and symbolically far from the Lord, was a figure of the world. And the people of Palestine detested the people of God and ill-treated the children of Israel who feared God. Later they were defeated by David and gave up their weapons of war, but they took them up again now and then. The world hates the saints and constantly persecutes them. And even after our Lord has defeated it and its prince [the devil] has been thrown out, these two never cease from fighting against his servants, grabbing and destroying the idle and the ignorant.”

“"Elisha went to Damascus while King Ben-hadad was ill." His illness had derived from his unhappiness. For he had been deeply afflicted by the fact that, in the war of Samaria, his armies had been defeated and that, at the same time, his people had been chased from the city when he had hoped that his victory would occur immediately. His entire army had fled and sunk into shame and dishonor, and he was troubled in his mind because of this. In addition, the anguish of his thoughts was due to something that was not responsible for his fall: he had been deceived in believing that a countless and powerful army would march against him, whereas it was later shown that there was no army at all to oppress him.”

“Therefore the king, when he heard of the coming of Elisha, sent Hazael, one of his noble men, to meet him. He ordered him to persuade the prophet to take care of his healing, and since he thought that this request must be accompanied with gifts and offerings, according to secular customs, he sent him, through his ambassador, all sorts of goods from Damascus and forty camels. But certainly the prophets refused, just as Elisha had refused and had not accepted the offerings of Naaman, the Aramean.”

“"Go, say to him, 'You shall certainly recover;' but the Lord has shown me that he shall certainly die." These were the words of Elisha to the king, who asked him, "Will I live after this illness?" But it seems that they do not agree with the truth of the events, and not even with each other. However, after the words reported above in the story of the prophet Micah, it is evident that they do not cancel each other out or contradict each other. In fact, both prophets answer in the same manner, and the words of their reply pursue the same aim in the fact that they announce to their interlocutor good and death at the same time. But in the reply of Micah a particular aspect must be considered, that is, the fact that Ahab could not escape from death, because he so ardently and savagely wanted to go to the war, which was the real cause of his fall.But the case of Ben-hadad is quite different: it would have been easy for him to get rid of his illness, because it was not serious or fatal. He would have recovered from his illness, as Elisha had said to him and as Ben-Hadad had asked him by saying, "Will I live after my illness?" However, he died in a natural course but by a hostile means: he was misled by Hazael, his ambassador, the one who spread the bed cover on his master, killed him and reigned in his place, as Elisha had predicted.”

“"Then the prophet Elisha called a member of the company of prophets and said to him, 'Gird up your loins; take this flask of oil in your hand, and go to Ramoth-gilead.' " Here the Scripture reports the just sentence that befalls the house of Ahab. Immediately it speaks about the choice of the judge and executor of the judgment. And this was Jehu, the son of Nimshi, who, on the word of the Lord, anointed one of the prophets for the royalty. And this was the disciple of Elisha who was sent by his master to the city of Ramoth-gilead, which was under the siege of the Israelites. He entered their camp and went to the tent where the commanders of the army gathered and standing before them, he naively said, "I have a message for you, commander." Jehu said in reply, "For which one of us?" The servant realized that he was the one indicated by Elisha. In fact, he did not know his name, but even though the son of the prophet did not know him nor had ever seen him, he saw the importance of this situation, and his mind was troubled, so that he said, "For you, commander." He showed that through the revelation of God he had realized that he was the one chosen by God. And immediately he took him into an inner chamber, according to the order of his master. And two things were also hidden: Jehu understood that that affair had to remain secret and that the news [of the anointing] should not be divulged at that time among the people. Therefore he anointed him and ordered him to take revenge against the house of Ahab. Then the prophet fled at once from the camp, and shortly later the entire assembly was in an admirable unanimity before king Jehu against Israel.”

“Jehu said to Bidkar, " 'Lift him out, and throw him on the plot of ground belonging to Naboth the Jezreelite,' because last night I saw the blood of Naboth and the blood of his children." He is thinking here about what had been said to him at night, or maybe he believes that this vengeance and the fact that he would kill Joram had been predicted to him at night through a vision. Jehu had also indicated to Bidkar another reason for killing Joram in his place and for ordering him to throw him on the plot of Naboth, saying, "When you and I rode side by side behind his father Ahab how the Lord uttered this oracle against him: 'For the blood of Naboth and for the blood of his children that I saw yesterday, says the Lord, I swear I will repay you on this very plot of ground,' " that is, outside the walls of Jezreel where the goods of Naboth were. After this action accomplished outside the gates of Jezreel, he entered the city to complete what he had successfully begun.”

“They thought that she would have wept over her dead son, but in the very hour in which she heard that the king had come, she painted her eyes, a raving old woman, adorned her head with a miter and looked from her window so that she might be looked at. She thought that maybe [Jehu] would be seduced by her look and would take her among his wives. Maybe she had heard of the story of Adonijah, who at the time of Solomon was aided by Abishag the Shunammite and demanded that she became his wife, so that, through the queen, he might be elevated to the throne of the kingdom. So she believed that Jehu too, in order to confirm and pacify his troubled and agitated new reign, would walk the path of Adonijah. These were the thoughts of Jezebel until she was still able to control herself.But after seeing Jehu, who was entering the gate, she remembered the horrible murder of her son and could not stand the sight of his murderer any longer nor could she restrain her fury but insulted him angrily and abused him before the crowd by saying, "Is it peace, Zimri, murderer of your master?" Indeed, nothing could break the violence of that insolent woman, neither the hope of marriage, nor the fear of an imminent death, nor the fear of her adversary who brandished his sword while threatening her. She, who tortured the others, was not able to save herself, but she provoked the king like a madwoman, addressing him with insulting words, so that she kindled his rage even more and greater resentment rose against her.”

“Jehu, who had seen the woman who had spoken to him and had recognized her to be Jezebel, ordered the eunuchs who were beside her to throw her out of the window, and they immediately threw her with force and spattered the wall with her blood. Horses passed there and trampled her corpse, and, a little later, dogs lacerated her flesh, so that nobody could say, This was Jezebel.[Let us see] the symbolic meaning [of this passage]. Ahab was struck in battle and fell, and after his fall, his servants came to mourn and weep over him, and they placed him into the tomb of the kings with honor. But the same thing did not happen to Jezebel. After the eunuchs had thrown her to the ground and her bones were broken in the fall, horses trampled her and dogs lacerated her. The reason for this difference is that Ahab, even though he committed many crimes, showed repentance now and then. Jezebel, by contrast, did not only violate justice and cause rage with her abominable behavior but also drove her husband to crime and exhorted him to commit iniquities. And later, she never repented in the times of her prosperity or in those of calamity, nor [did she turn] away from her path of perversity. Even in the very time of her condemnation to death, she became furious like a madwoman. Therefore there were many reasons why justice should be particularly harsh against her. In addition, observe and understand how Jezebel, who had terrified prophets and enslaved kings, was thrown by slaves into shame and dishonor and was lacerated by the teeth of dogs. That happened so that the mouth of liars might be stopped, and they might not say, "Why does the way of the guilty prosper? Why do all who are treacherous thrive?"”

“While these things were happening in the temple, Athaliah, being alarmed by the shouts of the gathering people and by the noise of the crowds, ran to the temple. But while she was trying to restrain the riot with her presence and voice, she was arrested by the guards of the king and was brought outside the walls of the temple, where she was killed by order of the high priest, lest her blood might pollute the house of God. So the prophetic predictions about the annihilation of the family of Ahab were gradually accomplished through different deaths.”

“After the kingdom had been pacified and its problems settled down, Jehoiada devoted himself to restore the religion of God, which had been destroyed by Joram and his successors. Therefore, in the first place, he persuaded the king and the entire people to renew the covenant made with God by their ancestors according to the words used in the traditional rite and to take an oath of reciprocal trust with one another. After that he turned to erase all the new cults and found that the people consented with him in an admirable manner. And so, after gathering a corps of soldiers, he immediately entered the sanctuary of Baal and destroyed its altars, smashed its statues and killed Mattan, the priest of that impious cult. Therefore, thanks to the authority of Jehoiada and his pious observation of the Law, the order of the sacred ministry, the sacrifices and the ceremonies were nearly brought back to the same honor that they had during the reign of David.”

“"Therefore King Joash summoned the priest Jehoiada with the other priests and said to them, 'Why are you not repairing the house?' " The reason why king Joash and the high priest Jehoiada called a meeting to discuss the repairing of the house of God is revealed in the second book of the Annals with these words: "Athaliah instructed the children of iniquity, and undermined the house of the Lord and drove all the priests who were in the house of the Lord to the worship of the idols." And it is not surprising that Athaliah, a woman endowed with audacity and shrewdness, made that attempt in order to aspire to power and take hold of the kingdom. Therefore, when everything was under her control and the king Ahaziah himself obeyed her blindly, nothing was neglected by her in order to draw the Jews away from the divine worship and to drive them to the ancient religion of the Sidonians. For this reason, while the temple of the true God remained abandoned after the introduction of the foreign cult, it had begun to be in ruin in many spots and was in danger of collapsing because of that. So the king, in order to remedy this serious situation, together with the authority of the high priest, gathered a large sum of money freely offered by the people and entrusted with it some priests elected to accomplish that task. But later on, when he realized that they were not making the progress he had hoped for in the task they had received, he transferred the care of the temple to other men of certain integrity who could work on that assignment with the highest perseverance and dedication. From the allegorical point of view you can recognize here a type of the saints who, after receiving from God the gift of knowledge, set out to repair that same house shaken by vain cults and various crimes.”

“"His servants arose, devised a conspiracy and killed Joash in the house of Millo, on the way that goes down to Silla." When he reached the age of 130 years, the priest Jehoiada died. Joash, being persuaded by the advice of some of his princes, abandoned the true religion which he had piously served when Jehoiada was alive, and restored the idolatry introduced by the women of Sidon, which he had gloriously banished with the help of the high priest himself. And while Zechariah, son of Jehoiada, attempted to prevent [that impiety] with all his might, and being inflamed with the divine spirit and standing between the temple and the altar, reproached the king and his princes, he was stoned to death in the hall itself of the house of God. And that was an act of extreme cruelty on the part of Joash, and every person's mind was disturbed because he, being oblivious of the benefits received from Jehoiada, allowed that the son of that very holy man was treated with such brutality before him and even incited [the crowd to stone him]. And [Zechariah], calling God as the witness of his innocence and his avenger, said, "May the Lord see and avenge." The holy man foresaw the calamities that would shortly befall the king and his kingdom. One year later the Syrians invaded Judah and plundered the land so that Joash, in order to save his life, was forced to deprive himself of the goods of the royal house and of the temple but was, nevertheless, shamefully ill treated by his enemies; and eventually he fell ill and lay in bed. While Joash was ill in his own bed, he was the victim of a plot of his servants, who stabbed him to death.”

“"Now when Elisha had fallen sick with the illness from which he was to die, King Joash of Israel went down to him and wept before him, crying, "My father, my father! The chariots of Israel and its horsemen!" And Jehu, king of Israel, died, and Jehoahaz, his son, took his place for seventeen years and died. And his son Joash reigned; he reestablished the kingship which had been troubled by his father, and fought impiety. Elisha helped him with words and actions. And when the prophet was struck with a fatal disease, the king came to him and, seeing that his death was imminent, began to weep like a son deprived of his father and said, "My father, my father," and so on. This is also the word that Elisha said at the moment of Elijah's ascension to heaven. And the meaning of both words is one, and we have explained it above.Then he calls the prophet "chariots and horsemen of Israel," because the peace of the kingdom and the victories of Israel depended on his prayer and rule. The prophet, on his part, rewarded the love of his tears and "said to him, 'Take a bow and arrows.' Elisha laid his hands on the king's hands" and ordered him to open the window turned eastwards and to shoot the arrow. And he shot the arrow. And Elisha said, "The Lord's arrow of victory, the arrow of victory over Aram!" Indeed, the window was turned towards Aram. "You shall fight the Arameans in Aphek until you have made an end of them." This passage suggests two spiritual meanings. The first is that God has bound the victory of the children of Israel to that sign, which is not a new thing: it existed for many centuries, [as was demonstrated] a few centuries before when the Lord made the plagues of Egypt and the liberation of the people depend on the lifting of the rod of Moses, and the destruction of Amalek on the lifting of his hands during the prayer and the destruction of the city of Ai on the lifting of the javelin of Joshua. It was appropriate that that situation was carried out in that manner, so that the people might clearly recognize with certainty the aid that God had given them and, at the moment of receiving such grace, the memory of grace might penetrate into their hearts. But only Elisha clearly knew the mystery, whereas it was hidden to the king; otherwise, he would have not struck the ground three times but ten. And since he was hesitant and drew back, Elisha blamed him—not because he had committed any fault but because his mistake deprived the children of his people of the victory and the great profit that would have derived from the extermination of the Arameans and the overthrowing of their kingdom that Elisha strongly desired. He is sad for being frustrated in his hope by the king who had stopped and had not multiplied the prescribed strokes. But the real motive which prevented the grace was the apostasy of the king and the people and their rebellious will in the worship of idols. That was again the cause that hindered the gift of the grace that was signified in that sign. The fact that Elisha laid his hands on the hands of the king shows that the weak hands of the king would be strengthened by the power that dwelled in the hands of the prophet, who stood here in the place of his master, so that those hands might be capable of destroying Aram and to exterminate it after it had destroyed and exterminated Israel. It is clear that the children of Israel, at the time of Joram, had diminished a great deal because in the royal city only 5 horses, and at the time of his son, only 10 chariots were available in their entire land and 50 horsemen, and only 10, foot soldiers, as the Scripture says, because the king of Aram had made them perish and had made them like the dust at threshing. Now the Hebrews, at the time of Solomon, had 52, horses in the stables of the king, and Jeroboam sent to war 800, men, and Abijah lined up against them 400, brave men whom he had gathered from the two tribes of Judah and Benjamin. The second spiritual meaning is the following: this sign is divided into two figures, and each of them possesses its own meaning: "The Lord's arrow of victory" clearly signifies our Lord and Savior hanging from the wood and giving up his spirit. In his spirit he descends into the fortresses and the castle of Sheol and delivers the righteous, who were imprisoned there, and after his resurrection, he subdues the entire universe through the holy apostles and gives new life to those who believe in his name. On the other hand, the fact that the arrow was shot from the window placed eastwards means that the accomplishment of our salvation has been obtained through the ascension of our Lord, as he rides higher than the heavens of the eastern heavens, and through his ascension he raises the eternal gates and makes us ascend as a host of the captives of heaven. Again the arrow stuck into the ground and then pulled out or departing from the ground signifies the burial of our Lord and his resurrection after he had descended and remained in the heart of the Sheol and in the land of the dead. Observe also, with discernment, that the land of Israel has been struck with three arrows, but the kingdom of Aram has been defeated in three battles, in the likeness of the adorable body of our Lord, which was tried with the thorns, the nails and the sword but was not corrupted. The power of death, of Satan, has been crushed three times. Indeed, [the Lord] annihilated Satan and banished sin and death. Again the arrow is shot three times and stays on the ground, but the Lord raises up the people of the Lord who had been thrown onto the ground, as also Christ was placed in the tomb and gave the hope of resurrection to the saints.”

“His disciples, the sons of the prophets, buried him. It seems that Joash accompanied him to his grave, because he had stayed beside him at the time of his illness and had showed a deep love for him, weeping before him and composing lamentations for his death. It also seems that the prophet Hosea took his place and ruled the sons of the prophets, because Hosea says at the beginning of his oracles that he prophesied at the time of Jeroboam, son of Joash.”

“Now also Elijah raised somebody from the dead, and Elisha, too, performed that miracle during his lifetime. But none of the prophets, after dying, ever resurrected anyone. Therefore see how the spirit of Elijah doubly rests on Elisha. In fact, the power that the Lord gives to the bones of Elisha is the symbol and seed of resurrection. And the honor devoted to them shows the glory with which the bodies of the saints will be clothed on the day of the resurrection of all the dead.”

“And because temporal death is a mercy for the righteous, death they therefore despise, since it is subjugated to them like a slave. In what manner did death harm [Elisha] who descended into Hades? For whilst he was in the pit of death, he snatched a dead man from its mouth. Because they entrust both body and spirit unto God, they do not become downcast in the face of bodily afflictions.”

“"In the second year of King Joash son of Ahaziah of Israel, King Amaziah son of Joash of Judah began to reign," who avenged the death of his father, but with moderation, so that he spared the life of the relatives of the conspirators according to the prescriptions of the Law and was careful that the punishment might not be too excessive for the authors of the crime. Therefore Amaziah was pious, as long as he had before his eyes his father's unhappy end, whose cause he could not ignore: offense against the true religion [of God]. However, when his reign began to be very prosperous, [Amaziah] rejected his fear of God which he had conceived after witnessing his father's punishment, and embraced foreign cults. In the second book of the Annals, the Scripture relating his victory against the Edomites confirms that this was the reason of his apostasy: "But Amaziah took courage, and led out his people, and went to the Valley of Salt and smote ten thousand men of Seir. The men of Judah captured another ten thousand alive and took them to the top of a rock, and all were enchained." And the text adds, "After Amaziah came from the slaughter of the Edomites, he brought the gods of the men of Seir, and set them up as his gods and worshiped them, making offerings to them."”

“"In the fifteenth year of King Amaziah son of Joash of Judah, King Jeroboam son of Joash of Israel began to reign in Samaria; he reigned forty-one years. He restored the border of Israel from Lebo-hamath as far as the Sea of the Arabah, according to the word of the Lord, the God of Israel, which he spoke by his servant Jonah son of Amittai, the prophet." This is the same Jonah who preached the repentance of Nineveh. And the Sea of Arabah is the same that the Scripture calls elsewhere the "salt sea," situated on the border with Canaan, of which the city of Hamath, beside the Mount Lebanon, is the other northern border. Jeroboam honored the prophet Jonah as his father had honored Elisha and recurred to his useful work, so that, being encouraged by his predictions and advice, was able to conquer back the cities occupied by the Syrians.”

“"In the second year of King Pekah son of Remaliah of Israel, King Jotham son of Uzziah of Judah began to reign." After rising to power in that year, Jotham administered the government [of Judah] for sixteen years, earning great praise. While the second book of the Annals has shown all the feats illustriously accomplished by him, the Scripture never reproaches him in this passage for any error, except for his toleration of the high places, which was a fault common to all the most praised kings of Judah. In the first place, he strengthened Jerusalem with new fortifications and built towers and castles in desert places. He conquered the Ammonites, who were perpetual enemies of the Jews, and ordered them for the future to pay the kings of Judah an annual tribute.”

“As I have already said, Sennacherib is a type of the devil, and this hypothesis is perfectly confirmed by the words that in this passage the Rabshakeh boastfully speaks against God when he makes false promises to the people, trying to take away from [God] the praise of his supreme power and giving assurance of a land of fertile soil and abundant crops in order to persuade them to abandon the region given to them by God and to move to the new dwelling places promised by the Assyrian. With a very similar artifice the accomplices and envoys of the devil endeavor to seduce a simple soul. And for this reason, in the first place, they try to uproot all the opinions that are inspired by divine providence.”

“"Josiah was eight years old when he began to reign; and he did what was right in the sight of the Lord" for the thirty-one years in which he reigned. In the eighteenth year from the beginning of his rule, he began to purify Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem. In fact, he removed the foreign religions introduced by Manasseh and overturned the sanctuaries and altars. In the same eighteenth year he ordered an expiation of the temple and commanded the priests to make repairs. He brought in workers, gathered stones, materials and other things useful to building and supplied the money for the expected expenses, and in this case he religiously emulated the pious zeal of his great-grandfather Jehoash. And at that time the refurbishment of the temple was not less necessary than it had been before, because for the fifty years in which Manasseh had reigned, it had been neglected or given to profane uses.”

“In the midst of paradise God had planted the Tree of Knowledge to separate off, above and below, sanctuary from Holy of Holies. Adam made bold to touch and was smitten like Uzziah: the king became leprous, Adam was tripped. Being struck like Uzziah, he hastened to leave: both kings fled and hid, in shame of their bodies.”

“Even though many others lived in Uz, no one was comparable to Job with regard to piety and innocence. He was of high reputation and was celebrated in everybody's words. And so that no one might think these things had been granted to Job thanks to his human ability, God never allowed a single possession of Job's to perish. [God] said, "My desire is that even a single hair, a loss that would be the very slightest, may be returned and increased for Job."”

“The text means that Job was not covered with crimes and evil deeds and would have returned "naked," that is, pure and innocent to "his mother's womb." He was so firm in his holy frankness that you may easily imagine he had never turned aside from righteousness nor would have ever passed from virtue to vice in the future.”

“"Only spare his soul." God does not say this as if he wanted to prevent the devil from snatching Job's life away, but he says "spare him." That is, be careful not to destroy the natural state of Job's mind and reason. So God arranged things in order that the devil, being convinced by the evidence of the facts, might acknowledge that Job, even though he was pressed by so many afflictions, could never be brought to blasphemy.”

“In the meantime, while the friends investigated Job's case and made preparations for their journey, there is no doubt that many days passed. They were all lords and men of princely rank. Job's three friends signified the class of the high priests, the priests and the prophets, who flourished among the Jews. And Job's seven sons represented the priests of the church, the apostles, the prophets, and those people endowed with the gift of miracles and healing, the assistants of the moderators, the presbyters and the deacons. - "Commentary on Job 2:11"”

“"See, you have reproached many." Eliphaz shows Job that he has corrected many with his action and has brought them back to a fitting moderation with his advice and warnings. "And you have strengthened the weak hands," that is, since you exhorted others to endure with a strong soul the calamities that befell them, now it is fair that you exercise patience in your own afflictions.”

“"And the young birds will raise their feathers over him." This text indicates that sin is the cause of the calamities humans suffer. In a different sense we may understand the text to speak of angels as "sons of the winged ones," sent by God either for our correction and punishment when we transgress or for our protection and salvation after we have repented.”

“These words must not refer to the sons of Aaron, who did not live anymore at that time, but to priests such as Job himself and Melchizedek. If the narrative is about real and holy priests, how is it said that they are led away in amazement? Evidently, [they are led away] in order that they may be astonished and admire the prodigies that are brought agains the impious through the decision of God and through the godhead. And so Job proceeds to relate here the admirable things that through the power and will of God happen in the sea, among the nations, among the kings and the leaders, and among all those, who prevail with force, deal with weapons and are called to war. Therefore, he submits.”

“These words mean, "Even if he kills me, I will support myself with my hope and faith in him." O admirable man, who, being destined to be killed, praises his killer and looks at him. Indeed Job knew that if he had taken away his life, the same one who is the Lord of Abraham, would have given it back to him. He believed that God was able to make alive those who had died.”

“Here the blessed Job assumes the role of teacher and prophet, and through the symbol of the tree coming to life again, he predicts his return to his former state. At the same time, Job prophesies that human nature in its entirety will be renewed. Giving vigorous thanks to the perfume of the baptismal waters, the human race will sprout again. Endowed with a new growing foliage, human nature will regain the dignity of its former beauty. After, it will be planted again through the death of the Lord.”

“Your words cruelly pierce me, because you endeavor to present me as a false witness before God, whose wrath "has torn me." Even in the middle of my mourning, where the loss of the children and cattle had dragged me, bodily pains invaded me. And I certainly remained silent, but he struck me with ominous reports and harsh news.”

“Certainly God does not cease from benefiting the wicked, in order to show that he has no hate against them, so that they may not say, "Since God hates us, he will never open the door of repentance to us." And while he severely and sternly acts with the righteous, he nevertheless offers his love to the unrighteous. The rewards to be granted in time for [righteous] virtues are the future signs of the good works they do.”

“"The blessing of the one about to die will come upon me," that is, the blessings of the poor, who, being without a coat, was about to die, will come upon me, as I provided him with a garment. In a different sense, you may suggest that the person about to die is he who is dead to the world and its wealth; when the world is dead together with the things that are in it, the one who said, "Whoever lost his soul for me will find it" will come to him. The blessing of this poor, Job says, will come upon me.”

“"I have become like dust and ashes," that is, I have been rendered contemptible to them as if I were dust, and I appear to be similar to vile mud. Emmanuel too, even though he was God, was thoughtlessly considered to be unworthy when he was clothed with flesh, so that the impure Jews said, "Even though you are a man, you make yourself God."”

“"I must speak so that I may find relief," like a woman in labor, who, after bringing forth her offspring, is relieved from the pain of giving birth. And again, "my belly is in pain and does not open," that is, I was in pain and could not find any respite, because I strongly desired to speak, but I abstained from it. Now I will break my voice and will make a revelation.”

“"And who created at the same time the morning stars?" that is, those stars that also rise and appear in the evening. But in a different sense [we may intend], when we refer to these stars to the substances that are separated from our senses, their generation does not agree with the nature of angels. Therefore, we say that Christ is signified through the term morning and the apostles through stars; and the teachers, sons of the angels, are defined as participants in the angelic nature.”

“"Is the unicorn willing to serve you?" This animal, as is reported, is similar to an ox and is found in the austral regions, armed with a single horn. In the unicorn, whoever is not subjected at all to the bondage of the world is covertly represented. It is said to be provided with a single horn, because there is only one truth for the righteous. Again the human soul is compared with the unicorn, and it must be defined as endowed with a single horn if it is led by a single movement to the top. Moreover, it is said that the unicorn cannot be caught as its strength and dangerousness are extreme. However, the virgin hunter can win it, after being captured by the pleasure of beauty. So the soul is caught by the things that it has loved.”

“The sort of wings described here appears to signify the synagogue of those who led Christ to the cross. Indeed, who is that mother who generated many children but whose children are not hers? It can only be the one who gave birth to the prophets and brought up the apostles, who are not hers though. Indeed both prophets and apostles, after being adopted into the church, abandoned it.”

“Scripture reports God increased by half all of Job's things, except for the children. It is evident, therefore, that the length of his life was also increased by a half. If he had lived 170 years when he was delivered from that calamity, it appears that he lived for 85 years more to the end of his life, that is, for the number of years that is the half of 170. Now, if you add 85 years to the 170 years he had lived before, you have a sum of 255. Actually Scripture declares that Job lived 248 years, therefore those 7 years that are not included in the sum were the years of his temptation. And with good reason they were not counted, because they appear to belong to a period of death more than life.”

“"When our Lord had arrived and had entered the boat with Simon, the wind abated." The Arian, therefore, who contradicts the birth [of the Lord] is also rejected, through the word that those who were in the boat spoke, "They came and worshiped him, and they were saying to him, 'You are indeed the Son of God.' " It is he of whom it is written, "The waters saw you and trembled, and the depths too were stirred up. Your pathways are on many waters, and your footsteps are not known." So they confessed by their word that he, concerning whom these things were spoken, was indeed the Son of God.”

“"A stone was placed at the entrance to the tomb." Thus, one stone [was placed] against another stone, so that [this] stone might be keeping guard over "the stone that the builders rejected." This [stone], lifted "up by" [human] hands, had to keep guard over that which was "detached, without [human] hands"; this [stone], on which "the angel was sitting," [had to keep guard] over that which "Jacob had placed under his head"; this [stone] with its seal [had to keep guard] over that which, through its seal, watches over the faithful. Thus did the gate of life go forth from the gate of death. "For this is the gate of our Lord, through which the just enter." When it was closed, it delivered those closed in. Through its death the dead lived. Through its voice the silent cried out. Through its resurrection, there was an earthquake. Its emergence forth from the tomb introduced the Gentiles into the church.”

“Watch, for when the body is sleeping it is nature that holds sway over us, and our activity is directed not by our wills but by the impulse of nature. When a heavy torpor of weakness and sadness rules over the soul, it is the enemy who holds sway over it and leads it against its own desire. It is force that holds sway over nature and the enemy who holds sway over the soul. That is why our Lord spoke of vigilance of soul and of body lest the body sink into a heavy sleep and the soul into a sluggishness born of timidity; just as [Scripture] says, "Let justice awaken you," and, "When I awake I am still with you," and, "Do not lose heart." This is why "we do not lose heart" in the ministry confided to us.”

“Risen is the light of the kingdom, in Ephrata the city of the king. The blessing wherewith Jacob blessed, to its fulfillment came today! That tree likewise, [the tree] of life, brings hope to mortal men! Solomon's hidden proverb had today its explanation! Today was born the child, and his name was called Wonder! For a wonder it is that God as a babe should show himself.”

“Stir up your soul, so that, by his wisdom, you may know what is fitting, and that, by his will, what is in the commandment may come to pass. One who is pleasing to the wicked is more evil than they. Impure words are only verbiage and empty noise. "Abundance of words will not go blameless." Abundance of words is the sign of no discipline.”

“Our Lord gave most of his assistance with persuasion rather than with admonition. Gentle showers soften the earth and thoroughly penetrate it, but a beating rain hardens and compresses the surface of the earth so that it will not be absorbed. "A harsh statement evokes anger," and with it comes injury. Whenever a harsh word opens a door, anger enters in, and on the heels of anger, injury.”

“The nations confess you because your word became a mirror before them in which they might see hidden death devouring their lives. Idols are ornamented by those who craft them, but they disfigure their crafters with their ornamentation. [The mirror] brought [the nations] directly to your cross, where physical beauty is disfigured but spiritual beauty is resplendent. The one who was God pursued the nations who were pursuing gods that were not gods at all. And [using] words like bridles, he turned them away from many gods [and brought them] to one.This is the mighty one whose proclamation [of the gospel] became a bridle in the jaws of the nations, turning them away from idols to the one who sent him.”

“Indeed, that Will for whom everything is easy constrains these abundant fountains of paradise, confining them with land, like water channels; he summoned them to issue forth in our direction, just as he bound up the waters in the bosom of his clouds, ready to be sent forth into the atmosphere at the bidding of his Will.”

“The waters that the earth drank on the first day were not salty. Even if these waters were like the deep on the surface of the earth, they were not yet seas. For it was in the seas that these waters, which were not salty before being gathered together, became salty. When they were sent throughout the entire earth for the earth to drink they were sweet, but when they were gathered into seas on the third day, they became salty, lest they become stagnant due to their being gathered together, and so that they might receive the rivers that enter into them without increasing. For the quantity that a sea requires for nourishment is the measure of the rivers that flow down into it. Rivers flow down into seas lest the heat of the sun dry them up. The saltiness [of the seas] then swallows up [the rivers] lest they increase, rise up and cover the earth. Thus the rivers turn into nothing, as it were, because the saltiness of the sea swallows them up.”

“Mary said to him, "How can this be, since no man has known me?" He said to her, "The Holy Spirit will come, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you." Why did he not mention the Father's name but instead the name of his Power and the name of the Holy Spirit? Because it was fitting that the Architect of the works [of creation] should come and raise up the house that had fallen and that the hovering Spirit should sanctify the buildings that were unclean. Thus, if the Progenitor entrusted the judgment that is to come to his [Son], it is clear that he accomplished the creation of humanity and its restoration through him as well. He was the live coal that had come to kindle the briars and thorns. He dwelt in the womb and cleansed it and sanctified the place of the birth pangs and the curses.”

“[God spoke] of the branches (thickets), not the root. When the measure of the people's sins was complete, John came and took up the roots of their trees. "For the ax is laid to the roots of the trees," [the roots] which Isaiah had left [untouched]. When will this be, if not at the rising forth of the true One, who was designated by the [image of] the staff and the shoot, and upon whom rests the Spirit, who is referred to as being sevenfold.”

“You juxtaposed [events] so that you might not grieve us and that you might save them. Those who had seized our silver brought gold. Those who had wounded our bodies brought myrrh. Those who had burned our sanctuary offered frankincense to your divinity.The myrrh [of the Magi] intercedes for their swords with which they killed us. Their gold intercedes for our treasures, for they plundered the treasuries of the house of Hezekiah. Their frankincense appeases your divinity, for they had angered your Father.… The Babylonians, too, came up [and] afflicted the children in Judah. By you the children have found peace, for by you the vicious have become worshipers. Those who despised old men honor a Child who is older than all. Babylon, too, sent offerings to Hezekiah; the envoys who saw his treasures were amazed. What did you show to the Magi? You showed a wonder, for they rendered you homage although you were poor. However great was the ivory palace of the kings of our people, greater and more beautiful is the little cave in which I bore you.”

“It is said that the valleys are filled, because the Lord has entered the world, and has redeemed all the peoples from the bondage of the devil, and brought them back to the faith and adoration of their Creator and has taught them to hope in eternal salvation. This is also said, because he has filled the deep valleys and the horrible and inhospitable caves with ascetics, who, after abandoning the cares of this world, exclusively devote themselves to honor and praise God.”

“Therefore, you will subdue kings and kingdoms with your frailty and will overturn their schemes and proud designs. So [Isaiah] calls the Jews, about whom he is speaking here, "worm," in order that they may understand that they cannot rely on their strength; nonetheless, their weakness will not hinder them, since worms are able to consume hard wood, so that, in the future, they will destroy the pride and power of very strong kingdoms.”

“Here [Isaiah] speaks again about the Gentiles and invites them to sing a new song to the Lord. Indeed, if the Jews, redeemed from captivity after seventy years, had to sing a new hymn to the Lord, their liberator, why should not the Gentiles do the same? And should they not burst out into a new song with much more good reason, since they have been delivered from a bondage of many centuries?"His praise from the end of the earth," that is, it happens in a wonderful way that the salvation given by Christ to humankind is celebrated by the remotest nations with hymns and songs. "The coastland and their inhabitants": those nations who submit to the waves of the sea with their ships will praise the Lord. Those who have considered the sea as a divinity and sacrifice to it will recognize, after being enlightened by faith, their true God, and they will consider and preach him as the Lord of the sea.”

“"Rejoice, O heavens, from above," that is, rejoice over the salvation of the nations. The angels are delighted at the repentance of a single sinner. "And the clouds will rain down righteousness." The clouds, which rain down righteousness, are the apostles and the priests who justify through the absolution, which they give by means of baptism. "Let the earth open, that salvation may be multiplied." Justice, symbolized through the earth, is poured on the mind of the nations, and salvation shall multiply in every region. "And let it cause righteousness to spring up also." In the salvation of the nations also their justice is multiplied, and salvation and justice spring up and grow at the same time.”

“"From the time this plague came to be" in all my people, "I have been there." In order that the words he had spoken may not be despised by the sorcerers, the text shows that they do not belong to the prophet as such, but to the Lord and his Spirit, who sent the prophet to preach to them. Indeed, the prophet clearly said as if from the person of the Lord, "I am in all my people, and my right hand extends to the heavens."”

“"Listen to me, my people, and give ear to me, my nation; for a law will go forth from me." And how could it go forth now, if it were the same law that went forth in the days of Moses? But it is evident that here he mystically signifies the spiritual law, which is the New Testament. "And my justice is a light to the peoples," that is, my sacrament. He also means that the conscience of the Gentiles, which is now clouded by idolatry, will be enlightened after all their gods are condemned by the divine sentence.”

“"Behold, my servant shall be wise," that is, shall be illustrious; these words certainly concern our Lord. Indeed, he was called a servant by his Father, because, in the first place, he was sent by his Father in order to fulfill his will in procuring salvation for all humankind, and in the second place, because he assumed the aspect of a servant. "He shall be exalted and lifted up, and he shall be very high" through his virtues and miracles.”

“"Behold, I have created the blacksmith, who made the vases in his work," that is, I elected the apostles and the disciples of the apostles, who perfectly instruct the peoples through the doctrine of truth. "I have also created the destroyer." I did not prevent the liars and the persecutors from rising against the church at the time of the apostles.”

“"Instead of the thorn shall come up the cypress; instead of the brier shall come up the myrtle." The spiritual meaning of these words refers to the change of customs, which sprouted and rose up in the advent of Christ among those nations who embraced his faith. Instead of thorns, which represent the sins, and instead of the brier, which is devoid of fruits, the sweet-smelling cypress and the myrtle have risen, which are figures of the actions of virtue, purity and holiness and … are pleasing to God and delight him.”

“"And the sons of the foreigners who join themselves to the Lord, … these I will bring to my holy mountain and make them joyful in my house of prayer." These words refer to the church of the Gentiles, as the Lord himself explained to the Jews, and it is written in the Gospel, "My house shall be called the house of prayer for all nations."”

“"Fasting like yours this day will not make your voice heard on high. Is such the fast that I choose a day for a person to humble himself?" Do not fast as if with the aim to fulfill your evil intentions, as if you had made a certain vow in order to obtain one thing or another and so that misfortunes might befall your enemies. Through this kind of fasting and prayers, he says, you seek to delight your will and not mine, and, since you despise me, you say on high, "Why have we fasted, and you do not see it? Why have we humbled ourselves, and you do not notice?"”

“At times even we, when we were in error, mired in the pride of our mind as if our feet were stuck in the mud, did not perceive our error of the divine gospel each day. We would "grope around in the dark like blind people," because our inner mind did not possess that which is necessary for discernment. Then, as if from a deep sleep, the mercy of the Most High poured out like pure rain, was sprinkled on our drowsiness, and from our sleep we were roused and boldly took up this mirror to see our self in it. At that very moment we were convicted by our faults, and we discovered that we were barren of any good virtue and that we had become a dwelling place for every corrupting thought and a lodge and abode for every lust.”

“For just as the deeds of the wicked are their accusers before the righteous Judge, making them bend and bow down their heads silently in shame, so also their beautiful deeds plead cause for the good before the good One. For the deeds of all humankind are both silent and speak silently by their nature, yet they speak when one sees them.In that place there is no interrogation, for [God] is the judge of knowledge; nor is there any response, for when he sees it, he hears. He hears with sight, and he sees with hearing.”

“"And he will come to Zion as Redeemer," that is, Zerubbabel. Therefore the spiritual Zion and the hill of visions and revelations is the church. The Redeemer, who comes to it, is Christ, that great Zerubbabel. "This is my covenant with you," which I made with your ancestors on the mountain, so that my words might never be lacking from the mouths of your descendants.”

“"Lift up your eyes round about, and see; they all gather together, they come to you; your sons shall come from far, and your daughters shall be carried in the arms. Then you shall see and be radiant, your heart shall thrill and rejoice." He says these words with regard to the righteous ones of the synagogue, who gather from every land and come to it; however, in a figurative sense, these words signify the children of the holy church, the dispersed peoples, I mean, who were quite far away and distant from God. The gospel of Christ, preached to them by the holy apostles, gathered them, so that the apostles carried them as if in their arms and introduced them into the sheepfold of the church, their mother.”

“"The Spirit of the Lord God is on me, because the Lord has anointed me to bring good tidings to the afflicted," that is, God anointed him with the Holy Spirit. Therefore, after being incarnated and clothed with a human body, as is said, he has received the Spirit and has been anointed with the Spirit, because he has received the Spirit for us and has anointed us with it."The Spirit of the Lord is on me." That Spirit, which proceeds from the Father and is his essence, is in me, who am the Word and the Son of the Father, and through my incarnation I received the anointment of the economy of salvation.”

“"For as a young man marries a virgin, so shall your sons marry you." He calls sons the apostles, the priests and the righteous ones of the church, who constitute the head of the body of the church, as the husband is the head of a woman. These are like husbands to the church through its doctrine and constantly generate spiritual sons to it.”

“"Like cattle that go down into the valley, the Spirit of the Lord gave them rest. So you did lead your people." Through all these words that the prophet speaks about the exodus of the Israelites from Egypt, he leads the mind back to the wonders that God performed by means of his servant Moses, whom he called the shepherd of his flock, and through whose right hand, which moved the staff, he divided the sea. The staff, therefore, prefigured the cross of Christ, who is the hidden arm of the glory of the Father.”

“"For behold, I create new heavens and a new earth." These words point to the church, referring to the heavenly and spiritual gifts that have been granted to it. Indeed, if the Lord took care of the Israelites for the earthly things promised to them, how much more will he provide for the church, thanks to the joy that peoples have experienced in their conversion to it. Therefore, he also calls new heavens and new earth the new and spiritual life granted to the church by the advent of Christ.”

“"And from them I will send" the sign "to Tarshish, Tubal and Javan," and to all the other cities, which came to help the house of Gog in its fight against Zerubbabel, that is, against Christ, who was symbolized by Zerubbabel, the king of the people in its return from captivity to the land of the inheritance of the Lord. Therefore the revolt of the nations against Zerubbabel prefigured what the prophet foretold about Christ by saying, "The kings of the earth set themselves, and the rulers take counsel together against the Lord and against his anointed."”

“Behold, for three years I have come seeking fruit on this fig tree. This refers to the three captivities in which the Israelites were taken away as captives, so that they might be chastened, but they were not chastened. In vain have I smitten your children, but they have not taken correction. To show that even after these things he was still patient, he said to the vinedresser, Cut it down. The vinedresser replied to him, Leave it, Lord, for another year. He agreed to be patient with the Israelites.”

“"Do not put your hope in deceptive words that say, 'Here is the temple of the Lord,' " that imply you are his temple. They are only trying to assure you that you will never be left by God as though God would decide to preserve his blessed temple and would save his priests even though they are wicked. No! Do not find hope in those who flatter you with these words. If you have not corrected what you are doing, then you are no temple of God, and God will not save you on account of the sacredness of his temple that is desecrated by you. His soul is disgusted by the multitude of your sacrifices that you offer in your wickedness.”

“"Why does the way of the wicked prosper? Why do all those who do evil things thrive?" Here the prophet steps out from his usual discourse. On other occasions he brings before God prayers and sorrow about sinners. But it seems here that he is beginning a dispute with God: Why is God merciful to them when they certainly do not deserve his mercy because their hearts are hard and stubborn? Truly, Jeremiah is not the only one who asks this question. Many righteous people wanted to know, as if they debated with God about his multitude of mercies to sinners. Job and David and Habakkuk wondered in this way about the mystery of God's extended patience. But they all had one goal—to call sinners to repentance. This is why they explained this mystery of [divine] extended patience, and tried to reveal to sinners all the benefits that the Lord promised to those who repent. For he is good, and slow to anger to the sons of Adam, and as a hospitable Father, showers them with his gifts. But at the same time, righteous people let them know beforehand the punishment that they can expect if they remain hardened in their hearts and will not stop their wicked stubbornness. Jeremiah had the same goal: by fear and promises to wake up and to call Israel to serve their God.”

“"The glorious throne, exalted from the beginning, is the place of our sanctuary." Again the prophet denounces the wicked who put their hope in their riches. He exhorts them to think about the household of God, he who sits in the sacred place in the Jerusalem temple, the throne of his glory, and from there God penetrates and tests everything around him. Thus, the prophet says, "Let them know that Babylon and all the glorious kings seated on its throne were exalted and raised there by God, who dwells in our sanctuary." Therefore, kings do not have reason to hope in their own strength, and no one should be afraid of princes, because their treasures will be taken away by the judgment of truth. For the oppression of the oppressed, oppressors will perish as the result of their own oppressive actions.”

“"Get up and go to the potter's house, and there you will hear my words." Here we have a parable about a potter meant to call Israel to repentance. As the potter makes from clay any vessel he likes, so God can easily change their state of events, turning disaster into joy. If Israel does not give up its hypocrisy, the Lord will frighten them with great calamities.”

“"Thus, I am against the prophets who steal my words, says the Lord." The prophet includes this with reference to the false prophets who were stealing true prophecies from true prophets and then passing them on in secret to someone whom they forbade to speak about this. What they had in mind was the following: If the prophecy was fulfilled, they would say, "See, we have a witness that we were prophesying the same thing." But if the prophecy was not fulfilled, they would blame Jeremiah and other true prophets, as if they deceived people.However, there is another kind of false prophet who would say anything to please listeners. They would reassure people, "No calamity will come on you," and according to the custom of false prophets, they would support this claim in the name of the Lord. They are like those against whom Jeremiah spoke previously, those who mix their false dreams with pronouncements of the Spirit and deceive the people.”

“"I will multiply them, and they will not be diminished. Their congregation will be before my face," as during the time of Moses, Aaron and Joshua. All this and what would follow in the prophecy below was fulfilled and was accomplished in the coming of our Lord, as we have already noted above. Like many other things in the Lord's divine plan predicted by the prophet and fulfilled by the redemption and restoration of the people of God, this passage also should not be simply understood in the sense of Israel but of people that the divine Paul calls the Israel of God who consisted of, and were gathered from, Jews and people of other nations. This passage is not simply about biological children of Abraham but about children of promise, and Paul teaches the same. Only in this more mysterious sense was the word of Jeremiah fulfilled, "They would no longer serve foreigners, but they shall serve the Lord their God and king David, whom I will raise up for them." The Jews did not have peace. After they were conquered by the Chaldeans, they never were free from fear and oppression from other foreign nations. Rather, at various times they were enslaved by Persians, Greeks and Romans. These words of the prophet, "Jacob shall return, have rest and should not be afraid," were not fulfilled for Jews. All prophets who prophesied after the Babylonian captivity say that during their time Jews were not free from fear and wars with neighboring nations, and they did not have even a moment of rest but were instead in fear of other peoples. And even though they served the Lord their God and did not worship pagan gods, they were oppressed.”

“"Thus says the Lord: A voice was heard in Ramah, lamentation, sobbing and weeping. Rachel is weeping for her children." In a historical sense this prophecy speaks about sons of Judah and Benjamin living in Jerusalem and Bethlehem. Jeremiah later on describes the fulfillment of this prophecy, saying that tribes of Judah and Benjamin were sent to Ramah, the city of Benjamin's tribe, and then they were sent to captivity in Babylon. But in a spiritual sense, these words were fulfilled when Herod killed infants in Ephrathah and in its suburbs. It was said that Rachel was crying in Bethlehem and her voice was heard in Ramah because her body was buried in Bethlehem. But the people of Bethlehem were captured and sent to Ramah, and from there they had to go into a foreign land, to Babylon. It is why the prophet comforts mothers of killed infants when referring to Rachel.”

“"If laws of day and night cease to speak before my face, says the Lord, then the descendants of Israel cease to be a nation forever." It is impossible that the world order established from the beginning would change, that is, movement of stars, change of seasons. Therefore, without doubt, the promise given to David would not be left unfulfilled, and his kingdom and his seed would not cease before God's face. Although this prophecy was fulfilled in its own time for Zerubbabel, who ruled over David's kingdom, it was more completely fulfilled in our Lord, as even the angel said, "The Lord God will give him the throne of his father David. He will reign in the house of Jacob forever, and his kingdom will have no end."And the prophet repeats and confirms later on what is said here about the spread and eternity of Christ's kingdom by saying, "Just as the heavenly stars could not be counted and the sands of the sea could not be measured, so I will increase the seed of David," that is, the seed of his Word (Logos), son of David, priests and the Levites of the new covenant. According to their dignified status, the prophet depicts the gospel and the church of Christ in the image of the powers of heaven (stars) and their spread in the image of the sands of the sea, because thus it should be that the gospel and the church would become known to all the ends of the universe and that all nations would believe in them.”

“"He shall break the obelisks of the city of the sun, which is in Egypt, and the temples of the gods of the Egyptians he shall burn with fire." The city of the sun is Egyptian Heliopolis, which was known for excessive demonic veneration and worship of futile idols. It had tall obelisks of amazing size. The height of each was up to sixty cubits, the capitals on the top of the obelisks were from shining brass that weighed up to a thousand or more pounds. On these obelisks were standing images and likenesses of people and animals that the Gentiles were worshiping. Also, those obelisks were inscribed with sacred writings of pagan mysteries. It was written about these obelisks that the Lord would break them. It does not speak so much about divine destruction and demolition of these obelisks as such, as about the destruction of the worship of demons and idols, images of those who were engraved on those obelisks. It was demolished, destroyed and stopped when the Lord Christ was incarnated and came to this world. This is exactly what Isaiah proclaimed when he said, "The Lord is seated on the light cloud and comes to Egypt, and handmade Egyptian idols will tremble in front of his face." The cloud on which the Lord is riding symbolizes for us the virgin Mary, who gave birth to God; it also symbolizes the living and clear message of the Lord's gospel and the holy name of Christ that was proclaimed by the apostles (these divine preachers). On them, as on the light cloud, the Lord was seated and was proclaimed to the ends of the earth. Also, these clouds mystically symbolize holy prophets. Just as Isaiah writes that God, in a figurative image of the vineyard, was talking about the people of Israel and that he would break their fence and "order the clouds that they rain no rain on it," so likewise in this passage clouds mean prophets who rain a heavenly rain on us.”

“"It shall come to pass in later days that I will bring back the captives of Elam," which refers to the time after seventy years of Jewish exile, when Cyrus, after destroying the Chaldean kingdom, would return all captured and enslaved people to their native lands. The divine Paul says, "Whatever was written of old was written for our instruction." Thus, the Holy Spirit ordered Jeremiah and other prophets to record events of the captivity and of the return of magnificent and great nations in their own time, so that we would have a clear and vivid depiction of our slavery under the burden of Satan, as well as providing us with a picture of the divine household of our Lord who, through his death, bestowed on us life and redemption.Moreover, the Holy Spirit instructs us that a human being should not complain about the truth of God when wicked people experience great calamities. But we always must think about the severe judgment that happened to great nations and listen to the prophet who exhorts us, saying, "Serve the Lord with fear, and rejoice with trembling, so that he will not be angry and you will not perish from his way. For his wrath may soon be kindled."”

“"Untie the donkey and bring it to me."He began with a manger and finished with a donkey, in Bethlehem with a manger, in Jerusalem with a donkey. This is like, "Rejoice, daughter of Zion, for behold, your king is coming to you, just and lowly and seated on a donkey." But the daughter of Zion saw him and was troubled. She looked at him and became sad. He the merciful One, and the Son of the merciful One, had spread his benevolence over her like a father, but she conducted herself as perversely toward him as she had done toward the One who had sent him. Not being able to abuse the Father, she displayed her hatred against his Only Begotten. The daughter of Zion repaid him with evil for the immensity of his grace. The Father had washed her from her blood, but she defiled his Son with her spitting. The Father had clothed her with fine linen and purple, but she clothed him with garments of mockery. He had placed a crown of glory on her head, but she plaited a crown of thorns for him. He had nourished her with choicest food and honey, but she gave him gall. He had given her pure wine, but she offered him vinegar and soaked it with blood. The One who had introduced her into cities, she drove out into the desert. The One who had put shoes on her feet, she made hasten barefoot toward Golgotha. The One who had girded her loins with sapphire, she pierced in the side with a lance. When she had outraged the servants of God and killed the prophets, she was led into captivity to Babylon, and when the time of her punishment was completed, her return from captivity took place.”

“Who then will pay the price for the shedding of the blood of him who came in human likeness, if not [Satan], who, clothing himself in a human form, betrayed him, not because he was able to condemn and betray him but because he wished to betray him? It was not [the Lord] who killed malice. It killed itself through its works.… If anyone shoots an arrow against his enemy that returns to strike him, he breaks the arrow and burns his bow. In the same way, Satan, seeing that the Son's death was victory for the world and that his cross freed created beings, entered into Judas, his [chosen] vessel, and the latter went and put a cord around his neck and choked himself.”

“Blessed is the poor person who gazes on that place; riches are poured in profusion outside and around it; chalcedony and other gems lie there cast out to prevent their defiling the glorious earth of paradise; should someone place there precious stones or beryls, these would appear ugly and dull compared with that dazzling land.”

“He was baptized and came up who draws all things into his net. Out of the stream from which Simon caught fish came the fisher of men, and he took him. With the cross, which catches all robbers, he caught that robber up into life. The living by his death emptied hell; he unloosed it and let entire multitudes fly away from it.”

“The iron is Alexander, the conqueror of all nations. Indeed, as iron submits all bodies, so he broke the forces of all princes and kings, and subjected their authorities. And the toes … these are the ten Hellenistic kings which originated from Alexander's empire: some of them were strong and powerful like iron; others were weak and humble. And even though they tried to settle peace and friendship among them with mutual marriages, they were never able to reach an agreement nor to stay firm in their decisions.”

“Daniel did not speak these words ("may the dream be for those who hate you") … because he feared the majesty of the king or in order to flatter him and his fortune but either to show respect for the king and the worship of the vessels in the temple or for that general edict through which he [the king] repressed those who wanted to scorn the divine name in their actions or words.”

“Then the king became even more insolent, even as God was patient and had shown magnanimity by endeavoring to lead him to repentance. And as he walked on the terrace of the royal house and looked around over his fortune, he said, "Where became of all those sad omens by which the saint had meant to frighten me? I certainly rule Babylon, which I made magnificent."”

“"My reason returned to me," that is, I was made again master of my own mind, and certainly returned to my senses. "I blessed the Most High, who does what he wills," that is, who with his divinity and will rules and administrates not only the affairs of human beings, whom he fashioned from clay, but also those of the spiritual powers, whom he placed in heaven.”

“Through that punishment, which he inflicted on me, [God] showed that he gives back to each one his properties with justice and impartiality and humiliates those who walk in arrogance; and as he mortified me, who was too full of myself and behaved arrogantly, so he will break the audacity of people similar to me with similar consideration.”

“"Under the influence of wine, he commanded that they bring the vessels" from the sanctuary and did not hesitate in showing them to his lords and concubines and other guests, as he intended to use them for a profane symposium. His father had taken those vessels from the temple of Jerusalem, when Nebuchadnezzar had conquered the city and had destroyed it; nonetheless he had set them in a decent place and had preserved them with holy devotion. [Belshazzar] went beyond any limit.”

“"You have exalted yourself against God." … Certainly, he says, you were brought to such madness that you placed yourself above God and overcame your father in arrogance and luxury. Indeed, [Nebuchadnezzar] thought that nobody among humankind was equal to him, but you believed that the Lord of heaven was inferior to you.”

“The vain king did not do that in order to give honor to Daniel for those sad omens, which he had announced to him by interpreting the writing, but he tried to catch his benevolence, as if he had understood that Daniel was extremely pleasing to God, and therefore he hoped that he would have dispelled his ruin, which the hand sent from above had signed, and Daniel himself had announced, through his intercession. But Belshazzar's efforts were pointless: on that very night Belshazzar was killed and Babylon was destroyed, and was affected by every misfortune from the Medes and the Persians, as the prophets had already foretold a long time before, and the kingdom of the Chaldeans passed to the Medes, after Darius, king of the Persians and the Medes, had assumed power.”

“Darius, as he loved quietness and inactivity and found work and business unpleasing, left the care of the empire to his prefects, and for this reason the Scripture adds, he set over the kingdom satraps, that is, 120 governors. And over them he placed three presidents, including Daniel. Then they asked him to set an interdict according to the law of the Medes and Persians. Indeed, among the Persians and the Medes, a law stated that when the king had set a certain rule, it was not permitted to rescind it. So the satraps asked the king for this kind of firm and immutable decree; and they were certain that the king would have not rescinded such a decree in order to save Daniel. It is likely that Daniel was not present in the hall of justice on that day, when the king argued from morning till evening with his satraps in order to save Daniel. If he had been present, he would have immediately confessed that he had prayed [to God], and after the confession of the crime the trial would have not been extended until evening.”

“Certainly it had been decided by Darius to save Daniel from the present danger with any possible means; therefore he sealed the entrance of the den with his own signet and invited the satraps to do the same. This had to be done for two reasons: first, in order that [the satraps] might not steal there without being seen and, after rolling off the lid, might kill him; second, in order that they might not spread among the people the rumor that some fraud had been used inside the den.”

“This beast obviously represents the kingdom of the Babylonians. The present vision of Daniel perfectly fits in with the already mentioned dream of Nebuchadnezzar, who saw a statue, and it forms a single and same prophecy with it. Indeed, as the Babylonian kingdom, in that dream, was compared with gold, which is the noblest among metals, here it is described as a lion, which is the strongest of all beasts, and an eagle, which is of the highest perniciousness among birds.”

“These are the symbols of the kingdom of Darius, king of the Medes. As in the statue of Nebuchadnezzar the Mede empire had been foreshadowed under the aspect of silver, which is a viler metal than gold, so in this dream it is indicated by the image of the bear, which is less agile than the lion. In addition he says that "the beast was raised up on one side," because Darius received a kingdom that was confined within the limits of his power and was never extended to that greatness, which the previous kingdom of Nebuchadnezzar had reached by including all the surrounding regions.”

“These words concern the kingdom of the Persians. Indeed, what in the statue of Nebuchadnezzar had been indicated under the aspect of bronze, a very hard metal, here is seen under the image of the leopard, an extremely agile and harmful beast. [The beast] is also provided with four wings and four heads. This is because it brought its dominion to the four winds of heaven. "And dominion was given to it": this is a reference to the multitude of peoples to be submitted. This passage must be compared with the prophecy of Isaiah: "He will strip kings of their robes, etc" In that same prophet we can read these words said about Cyrus to Cyrus by God.”

“This is Alexander, king of the Greeks, and the prophet says that he is similar to iron, which is the hardest among metals. He adds that the beast is armed with iron teeth, and with this symbol he indicates Alexander's powerful armies, which nearly subdued all kings. Then he adds that it was seen while devouring or trampling all that came its way, while destroying everything. With these words he predicted that Alexander would have attacked the vastness of almost all provinces, would have robbed their inhabitants and would have abandoned their fields and estates to his soldiers for pillage and destruction, so that it seemed that he had squeezed the entire world and all its precious things under a press and had offered all this to his soldiers in order that they might trample it.”

“This is Antiochus, the persecutor of the Jews, who sprang up in the midst of the ten kings and grew up. And this last horn, he says, "after three of the earlier horns were plucked by the roots, spoke arrogantly." Since there is here a hint of the fall of the previous three horns, it must be referred to the grandchildren and successors of the three past kings. Indeed the arrogant words, which this small horn spoke, are the insults and blasphemies thrown against God.”

“The secret meaning of that vision had been disclosed to him by the angel, and the expression "four beasts" indicated the four empires: the Babylonian, which flourished at that time, the Mede, the Persian and the Greek. But the power, he says, would have been transferred, at a certain time, from these kingdoms to the holy ones of the Most High because of the mystery hidden in many righteous people of his people and in the holy ones of the Most High, and he predicts that they would have reigned forever.”

“"Then the court shall sit in judgment" in order to revenge the tribulations of the holy ones and of the righteous ones, who preserved the law of the Most High, and in order to punish and destroy Antiochus, the little horn, by whom the Zealots of the house of Jacob had been afflicted and vexed. And that accursed man died of an immediate death, whereas those, who were righteous, received an everlasting power and empire.”

“Daniel adds, "Here the account ends," that is, the interpretation of the vision. "As for me, my thoughts greatly terrified me, and my face turned pale," because of the sad news of the afflictions, which the little horn will impose on my people and priests. "But I kept the matter in my mind," so that I might not sadden my listeners with such a bad omen.”

“He signifies Darius the Persian by saying "it had two horns," as Darius ruled the Medes and the Persians. "Both horns were long, but one was longer than the other": this is referred to the Persians, whose power was superior to that of the Medes and rose to a higher level. "And the longer one came up second": this is said because the Persians, after the Medes, would have obtained the rule over the world.”

“After the defeat of Darius, Alexander extended the empire of the Greeks in every direction and made it firm with strong garrisons. In the meantime "the great horn was broken," that is, Alexander died, "and in its place there came up four horns." Indeed, since Alexander had died without children, he left his divided monarchy to his friends Seleucus, Demetrius, Philip and Ptolemy.”

“"As for the ram that you saw with the two horns, this is the king of the Medes and the Persians." [Gabriel] alludes to Darius. "The two horns" signify the two kingdoms, the Persian and the Mede. "The male goat is the king of Greece": Alexander. "And the great horn between his eyes" signifies his highest power and his exceedingly extended empire all over the world. "After the horn was broken, four kingdoms arose from it": the monarchy of Alexander, after his death, will be diminished and divided into parts assigned to his friends Seleucus, Philip, Demetrius and Ptolemy.”

“When the Jews begin to abandon the law and faith of God and to estrange themselves, the grandchildren of Seleucus Nicator will invade the last part of their kingdom. "A king of bold countenance shall arise": this is Antiochus, who is able to understand riddles, is cunning and is ready to weave intrigues and to prepare his domination by means of his intelligence.”

“[Gabriel] says this because [Antiochus] got into the city through fraudulence, polluted the precious vessels of the temple and committed pillages and demolished the walls. "Without warning he shall destroy many": he killed forty thousand Jews and captured just as many. "And he shall even rise up against the Prince of princes": either because Antiochus would have attacked God with curses and blasphemies or because he would have violated the temple of God and would have destroyed the holy vessels.”

“"Yours is the victory, O Lord, in this case," because you foresaw our many sins and threatened those about to sin with many curses, keeping your watch lest we might sin. Righteousness is on your side, O Lord, because no evil will besiege us that was not announced to us beforehand. So now confusion has overwhelmed us everywhere, and we are dispersed in every place.”

“"And now, O Lord our God, who brought your people out of the land of Egypt, let your anger and wrath, we pray, turn away from Jerusalem," that is, "You made, O Lord, your name renowned everywhere when you divided the sea and submerged the Egyptians into the water, and now, since your people are banished because of their sins and wander through every land in exile, draw near to us and have mercy on your holy mountain and your city Jerusalem, which have become a disgrace among all our neighbors."”

“This means that there will be quietness for your people, so that the transgressions may be finished and the sins expiated through the seventy years of the bondage in Babylon may end, as well as all the crimes of the children of Israel. Again "to finish the transgression, to put an end to sin": here he also hints at the transgressions and sins of the Gentiles, which will happen in the end of the seventy weeks. "And to atone for iniquity": and this began from the baptism of John; "to bring everlasting righteousness": and soon Christ will appear, the Author of justice, who had been announced by the prophets before the centuries, and he will justify then sinners. "To seal both vision and prophet": certainly Christ fulfilled all the oracles of the prophets with his advent, passion and death, and he showed that they were true through facts. "And to anoint a most holy one": from the conclusion of this prophecy you will learn this: he endowed the holy ones with holiness.”

“Certainly this end of the Jews will be by no means similar to their transmigration to Egypt or Babylon; in fact they were dismissed from there after four hundred years, and from here after seventy. This ruin fixed by the decree of God the judge will remain immutable to the end. He shall make a strong covenant with many: Christ will make the Testament holy and firm through one week and half a week, until he removes the victim and the sacrifice. He is the one who set the victim and the sacrifice but who also abolishes them. In their place shall be an abomination that desolates: the Romans, after submitting Judea to their power, placed the eagle, symbol of their emperor, in the temple. And this is what we read: "So when you see the desolating sacrilege standing in the holy place, as was spoken by the prophet Daniel." Until the decreed end is poured out on desolation, that is, until the full execution of the divine decrees, the city will be given to oblivion and will lie destroyed and abandoned.”

“He says that the mourning had been protracted "for three weeks," because he had fasted for all that space of time. He calls fasting "mourning" in the same sense used by our Lord, when he defended himself and his disciples from the detractions of the Pharisees. When the disciples were reproached by the Pharisees because they were not fasting, the Lord answered, "The wedding guests cannot mourn," that is, fast, "as long as the bridegroom is with them, can they"?”

“"From the first day," that is, from that day when you began to fast, being inflamed by the desire to learn those things that you asked, so that you persevered in praying and supplicating before your God. "Your words have been heard, and I have come because of your words": your prayers led me, as well, to prepare a plan for the salvation of your people according to your vows.”

“That is, when that angel, who talked to me, left, and appeared to have entered the riverbed, to look for a place to ford. Suddenly two others appeared, standing on the opposite banks. Therefore the angel, while he proceeded in the riverbed and trod the stream in safety, played the role of he who knows the depth of the mysteries of God. So "the one standing on this bank of the stream and the one on the other" represent the symbol of the faculty to ask questions omitted by the prophet, which has been granted to them both. For this reason, as if they had received the faculty to do so, they question the other angel.”

“He signifies the times of Antiochus, when the impious king will take away the regular burnt offering, and will set up the abomination that desolates and will try to overturn the people of God and to corrupt his religion. Therefore 1, days will fill that entire space of time, when the Jews are afflicted by the harshest calamities, and the temple is violated and inside the secret recesses blasphemous and impious people dare raise an altar to their gods.”

“Because Israel, symbolically called "son" since Egypt, had lost its sonship through having worshiped Baal and offered incense to idols, John gave them a name which suited them: race of vipers. Because these had lost that title of sonship, which had been poured over them through grace in the days of Moses, they received from John a name congruent with their deeds. After the Lord went down into the land of the Egyptians and had returned from there, the Evangelist said, "Now the true word spoken by the prophet is accomplished." He said, "I will call my son out of Egypt." He also said, "He will be called a Nazarene," because in Hebrew nezer means a "scepter," and the prophet calls him a "Nazarene" because he is the Son of the scepter.”

“Jesus would lead his detractors to the point of judging themselves, saying, "What do the vinedressers deserve?" They decided concerning themselves, saying, "Let him destroy the evil ones with evil." Then he explained this, saying, "Have you not read that 'the stone which the builders rejected has become the head of the corner?' " What stone? That which is known to be lead. For see, he has said, "I am setting a plumb line in the midst of the sons of Israel." To show that he himself was this stone, he said concerning it, "Whoever knocks against that stone will be broken to pieces, but it will crush and destroy whomever it falls upon." The leaders of the people were gathered together against him and wanted his downfall because his teaching did not please them. But he said, "It will crush and destroy whomever it falls upon," because he had resisted idolatry, among other things. For "the stone that struck the image has become a great mountain, and the entire earth has been filled with it."”

“"We have heard a report from the Lord," that is, the Lord of the world powers will do nothing if he has not first revealed his mystery to his servants, the prophets. "And a messenger has been sent among the nations." A mystical meaning is probable here, and these words may be referred to Emmanuel, the angel of the testament, sent from heaven, who announced peace to the nations, and therefore was said to be the "expectation of the nations."”

“If thieves came to you, oh, how you would be silenced! Everything would be open for plunder because of the overwhelming fear, until [the plunderers] have stolen enough [riches] for themselves, for they are people of insatiable and consuming greed. If grape gatherers came to you—that is, if plunderers invaded you with open violence—what would you do? Would you not at least strive to have the gleanings of the vineyard remain to you? But you strive in vain against the Chaldeans, the invaders of your dominions. Therefore he refers to them [the Edomites] by adding how Esau has been pillaged, his treasures searched out. He prophesies that the people of Esau had to be pillaged by the Chaldeans with incredible zeal and then even deported to captivity. Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon fulfilled this prediction after he thouroughly destroyed Edom and moved its inhabitants elsewhere.”

“Shame shall cover you over the Jews, whose ruin you enjoyed, after they are brought back to their original power. And you shall be cut off forever. After the Jews return from Chaldea, they will subjugate you Edomites and will vex you for a long time. This will continue until the coming of a foreign people, who will defeat the Jews. Then the name and race of the Edomites will be totally obliterated. The Romans accomplished this prediction of the prophet against the Edomites by first subjugating Judea and then by scattering the Jews all over the world.”

“The Hebrews, like a fire, will consume the Edomites like stubble. If anything remains, they will scatter it. What David and Amaziah had begun was accomplished by the Jews after their return, when many Israelites who came back from Persia joined them, and the Edomites were deprived of any form of domination and were forced to change their religion and to embrace the Jewish rituals.”

“Here he indicates the prisoners of both the kingdoms of Samaria and Jerusalem, and also those who had gone to very far regions. Therefore he recalls the transmigration to Spain, because this is the name of a province, which is extremely distant from Judea, in order to show that this is the great gathering, which God had promised to bring together again from the four corners of the world. Those who have been saved shall go up to Mount Zion to rule Mount Esau, in order to defeat and destroy the nation of the Edomites. And the kingdom shall be the Lord's. All the nations will be subjugated and subjected to the people of God, that is, to the people that God shall make.”

“"The sun will go down" upon those prophets who lead my people astray, dwelling in darkness. "It will be night for you, without vision, and it will be dark for you, without dawn." "For, when [the spirit] goes out of a man, it goes about wandering." It does this quite by nature. [The Lord] rendered this judgment with regard to [the people]: "Thus will it be for this generation." That is, in the days of the prophets the evil spirit had gone out from them, [that spirit] that was sin itself.”

“"And you, O tower, O cloudy shepherd of the daughter of Zion, your time shall come." These words refer to the impious king Zedekiah, whom the prophet calls "tower" because the people of Judea stayed under his shadow, and "shepherd" because of his administration of the kingdom, and "cloudy" because of the error of idolatry to which he adhered. Again, in the symbolic meaning of his words he calls the devil a cloudy shepherd, because in an allegorical sense he always attacks the daughter of Zion under a cloudy sky. And, after catching her, he drags her away from the light—indeed the one who acts maliciously hates the light. But later, the supreme and legitimate prince of the mystical Jerusalem destroyed this tyranny with his advent and drove the obscure shepherd away.”

“"Writhe and groan, O daughter Zion, like a woman in labor, for now you shall go forth from the city and camp in the open country; you shall go to Babylon, and there you shall be rescued." The meaning is that you will go into captivity, people of Zion, to be deported to Babylon, but after years you will come back from there, not with the soldier hastening after you, but with that leader who by ascending into heaven made captivity his own prisoner. You will follow him together with Paul's brothers-in-arms and the princes of our army, who captivate all minds to the respect of Christ.”

“Now many nations are assembled against you. That is, in the meantime a mix of many different nations invades you under the command of Gog. Again there shall be profanation in Zion, and the eye shall gaze upon it, which means the holy places of Zion will be violated and greatly despised by those who did not know that they would have been thrashed by the revenging justice of God like sheaves gathered on the threshing floor.”

“"For I will make your horns, which the Babylonians broke, iron. You shall beat in pieces many people, and shall devote their grain to the Lord." This will happen when, after taking possession of their land and wealth, you pay the tithe to the Lord of the entire earth. As I have said, God showed a sign of such great prosperity to the Jews who would be coming back from captivity. He also reserved the same thing for his church.”

“"The Jews sent to John and said to him, 'Who are you?' He confessed and said, 'I am not the Messiah.' They said to him, 'Are you Elijah?' He said, 'No.' " But our Lord called him Elijah, as Scripture attests. However, when they interrogated him, he said, "I am not Elijah." But Scripture does not say that John came in the body of Elijah but "in the spirit and the power of Elijah." Elijah, who was taken up into the heavens, did not return to them, just as it was not David who later became king but Zerubbabel. The Pharisees, however, did not ask John, "Have you come in the spirit of Elijah?" but "Are you Elijah himself?" That is why he said to them, "No." Why should he have needed to be Elijah himself, if the actions of Elijah were to be found present in John? Elisha intervened and stood between John and Elijah, lest John be judged by them, since Elijah was taken up in a sacred chariot, whereas [John's] head was carried away on a dish by a corrupt young girl.”

“On that day living waters shall flow out from Jerusalem, half of them to the eastern sea and half of them to the western sea. After this, from Jerusalem the law of salvation will come. Indeed, as the Lord says, salvation is from the Jews, and it will spread among the neighbor nations. Two seas are proposed as a symbol of the nations: the eastern sea, which Scripture calls Sea of Salt, and the western sea, which is the Great Sea. Again, in a different manner, the prophet calls the eastern sea the people living in the region of light; while by the western sea he indicates the people of Judea, who would not be deprived of the light of the gospel, if they did not want to be. In fact, even though these people are signified through the image of the sunset and the night, nevertheless the living waters of the divine precepts of Christ would not be prevented from constantly flowing to irrigate their hearts, if only they wanted them to come back to their heart. And it shall continue in summer as in winter, as in the ancient times. That is, in the same order and with the same happiness they will flow to the nations who believe as they flowed to our ancestors.”

“It is clear that this passage refers to the glorious time of the Maccabees when, after the idolatry that Antiochus had introduced had been rejected, all of Judea embraced the cult of the one God. At the same time, the things which you see here to be foreshadowed were fulfilled and perfected by Christ. Therefore the prophet calls summer the very happy time of the manifestation of Christ to the whole world, because Nisan aptly represents the end of the winter month and the beginning of the fruitful summer. On the other hand, he calls winter the night, which constantly oppresses the devil, after the birth of Christ. Again the words "as it was in the ancient times" appear to be suitable to the day, which brought salvation to Moses and the children of Israel. Indeed, it opened a splendid summer for them, whom it carried safe and uninjured through the sea, while it generated a sorrowful winter to the Egyptians by submerging and suffocating their army. On that day the Lord will be one and his name one. What I said to refer to the time of the Maccabees and the dominion of the Jews was brought to its completion all over the world, when, after the promulgation of the gospel of Christ, the whole world believed in him and recognized that he is God and the true king.”

“On that day a great panic from the Lord shall fall on them, so that each will seize the hand of a neighbor, and the hand of the one will be fastened to the hand of the other. After peace was restored to the Jews, their Greek enemies and those Jews who had abandoned the religion of their fathers fell into a great distress and panic. And therefore it happened that, as is the habit of those who are confounded, they took each other's hand and were not able to let their hold go because of their fear.”

“On that day there shall be inscribed on the bit of the horse, "Holy to the Lord." Not war or wrath but holiness and peace. Isaiah certainly prophesied this when he said, "They shall beat their swords into plowshares and their spears into pruning hooks; nation shall not lift up sword against nation, neither shall they learn war any more." Both prophets expected the advent of Christ. In a mystical sense, by the horse the prophet signifies any servant of Christ and understands the bit as the divine law, by which the hearts of the faithful are directed, so that they may not rush down into vice. The bit holds the horse in check and obliges it to obey the horseman, that is, mystically, the Lord.”

“And the cooking pots in the house of the Lord shall be as holy as the bowls in front of the altar; and every cooking pot in Jerusalem and Judah shall be sacred to the Lord of hosts, so that all who sacrifice may come and use them to boil the flesh of the sacrifice. In that veneration the holy service of the house of the Lord will come, so that the common cooking pots may be revered by any foreigner, notwithstanding the fact that you Jews used to revere the bowls in front of the altar inside the closure of the house of the Lord. And not only will there be this honor for the cooking pots of the house of the Lord and of Jerusalem, but any cooking pot in the sanctuary as well as in the holy city and in the whole Jerusalem will be sanctified to the Lord, so that both the Jews and Gentiles will revere it as a thing consecrated to the Lord. The mystical meaning of this prophecy predicts two things: the honor to be given to the law of salvation proceeding from Judea and the conversion of the Jews and the Gentiles, whom the baptism of Christ received as cooking pots of flesh and turned into bowls full of perfumes.”

“The elderly Elizabeth gave birth to the last of the prophets, and Mary, a young girl, to the Lord of the angels. The daughter of Aaron gave birth to "the voice in the desert" and the daughter of King David to the Word of the heavenly king. The wife of the priest gave birth to "the angel of his face" but the daughter of David to the strong God of the earth. The barren one gave birth to him who remits sins, but the Virgin gave birth to him who takes them away. Elizabeth gave birth to him who reconciled people through repentance, but Mary gave birth to him who purified the lands of uncleanness. The elder one lit a lamp in the house of Jacob, his father, for his [lamp] itself was John, while the younger one [lit] "the Sun of justice" for all the nations. The angel announced to Zechariah, so that the slain one would proclaim the crucified one and that the hated one [would proclaim] the envied one. He who was to baptize with water [would proclaim] him who would baptize "with fire and with the Holy Spirit," and the light which was not obscure [would proclaim] "the Sun of justice." [The one] filled with the Spirit [would proclaim] concerning him who gives the Spirit. The priest calling with the trumpet [would proclaim] concerning the one who is to come at the [sound of] the trumpet at the end. The voice [would proclaim] concerning the Word, and the one who saw the dove [would proclaim] concerning him upon whom the dove rested, like the lightning before the thunder.”

“"It is not for you to know times or seasons." He has hidden that from us so that we might keep watch and that each of us might think that this coming would take place during our life. For, if the time of his coming were to be revealed, his coming would be in vain, and it would not have been desired by the nations and the ages in which it was to take place. He has indeed said that he will come, but he did not define when, and thus all generations and ages thirst for him.”

“This is why the humble voice accompanied the intense light, so that from the combination of the humble and the sublime, our Lord might produce help for the persecutor, just as all his assistance is produced from a combination of the small and great. For the humility of our Lord prevailed from the womb to the tomb.… His nature is not simply humble, nor is it simply sublime; rather they are two natures, lofty and humble, one mixed in the other.”

“The One who conquered persecutors [here] below and reigns over angels [in heaven] above spoke from above in a humble voice. The One who on earth pronounced ten woes against his crucifiers, above pronounced not a single woe against Saul, his persecutor. Our Lord pronounced woes against his crucifiers to teach his disciples not to flatter their killers. Our Lord spoke humbly from above so that the leaders of his church would speak humbly.”

“Our Lord spoke humbly from above so that the leaders of his church would speak humbly. Now, if someone should ask, "How did our Lord speak humbly with Paul if Paul's eyes were seriously injured?" they should realize that this impairment did not [result] from our compassionate Lord, who spoke humbly there. Rather, [it was the result] of the intense light that shone radiantly there. This light was not a punishment that befell Paul on account of the things he had done. It injured him with the intensity of its rays, as he himself said, "When I arose, I could see nothing because of the brilliance of the light."”

“I considered the Word of the Creator and likened it to the rock that marched with the people in Israel in the wilderness; it was not from the reservoir of water contained within it that it poured forth for them glorious streams. There was no water in the rock, yet oceans sprang forth from it. Just so did the Word fashion created things out of nothing.”

“He departed from Sheol and took up His abode in the Kingdom; that He might seek out a path from Sheol which oppresses all, to the Kingdom which requites all. For our Lord gave His resurrection as a pledge to mortals, that He would remove them from Sheol, which receives the departed without distinction, to the Kingdom which admits the invited with distinction; so that, from [the plan] which makes equal the bodies of all men within it, we may come to [the plan] which distinguishes the works of all men within it. This is He Who descended to Sheol and ascended, that from [the place] which corrupts its sojourners, He might bring us to the place which nourishes with its blessings its dwellers... Sheol brought Him forth, that through Him its treasures might be emptied out... For our Lord bare His cross and went forth according to the will of Death: but He cried upon the cross [Matthew 27:50-52] and brought forth the dead from within Sheol against the will of Death. For in that very thing by which Death had slain Him [i.e., the body], in that as armour He bore off the victory over Death. But the Godhead concealed itself in the manhood and fought against Death, Death slew and was slain. Death slew the natural life; and the supernatural life slew Him. And because Death was not able to devour Him without the body, nor Sheol to swallow Him up without the flesh, He came unto the Virgin, that from thence He might obtain that which should bear Him to Sheol; as from beside the ass they brought for Him the colt whereon He entered Jerusalem, and proclaimed concealing her overthrow and the destruction of her children. With the body then that [was] from the Virgin, He entered Sheol and plundered its storehouses and emptied its treasures. He came then to Eve the Mother of all living. This is the vine whose fence Death laid open by her own hands, and caused her to taste of his fruits. So Eve the Mother of all living became the well-spring of death to all living. But Mary budded forth, a new shoot from Eve the ancient vine; and new life dwelt in her, that when Death should come confidently after his custom to feed upon mortal fruits, the life that is slayer of death might be stored up [therein] against him; that when Death should have swallowed [the fruits] without fear, he might vomit them forth and with them many. For [He Who is] the Medicine of life flew down from heaven, and was mingled in the body, the mortal fruit. And when Death came to feed after his custom, the Life in His turn swallowed up Death. This is the food that hungered to eat its eater. So then, by one fruit which Death swallowed hungrily, he vomited up many lives which he had swallowed greedily. The hunger then which hurried him against one, emptied out his greed which had hurried him against many. Thus Death was diligent to swallow one, but was in haste to set many free. For while One was dying on the cross, many that were buried from within Sheol were coming forth at His cry. [Matthew 27:50-53] This is the fruit that cleft asunder Death who had swallowed it, and brought out from within it the Life in quest of which it was sent. For Sheol hid away all that she had devoured. But through One that was not devoured, all that she had devoured were restored from within her. He, whose stomach is disordered, vomits forth both that which is sweet to him and that which is not sweet. So the stomach of Death was disordered, and as he was vomiting forth the medicine of life which had sickened it, he vomited forth along with it also those lives that had been swallowed by him with pleasure. This is the Son of the carpenter, Who skilfully made His cross a bridge over Sheol that swallows up all, and brought over mankind into the dwelling of life. And because it was through the tree that mankind had fallen into Sheol, so upon the tree they passed over into the dwelling of life. Through the tree then wherein bitterness was tasted, through it also sweetness was tasted; that we might learn of Him that among the creatures nothing resists Him. Glory be to You, Who laid Your cross as a bridge over death, that souls might pass over upon it from the dwelling of the dead to the dwelling of life!”

“Thus, as peace began to be [established], the angels proclaimed, "Glory in the highest and peace on earth." When lower beings received [peace] from superior beings, "they cried, Glory on earth and peace in the heavens." At that time when the divinity came down [and] was clothed in humanity, the angels cried, "Peace on earth." And at the time when that humanity ascended in order to be absorbed into the divinity and sit on the right—"Peace in heaven"—the infants were crying forth before him, "Hosanna in the highest." Hence, the apostle also learned that one should say, "He made peace by the blood of his cross [for] that which is in heaven and on earth."”

“This Jesus that gathered and carried and brought with him of the fruit was longing for the Tree of Life to taste the fruit that quickens all. For him Rahab too was looking. For when the scarlet thread in type redeemed her from wrath, in type she tasted of the Truth. For him Elijah longed, and when he did not see him on earth, he, thoroughly cleansed through faith, mounted up to heaven to see him. Moses saw him and Elijah. The meek man from the depth ascended, the zealous from on high descended, and in the midst beheld the Son. They figured the mystery of his advent: Moses was a type of the dead, and Elijah a type of the living, that fly to meet him at his coming. For the dead that have tasted death, them he makes to be first: and the rest that are not buried, are at last caught up to meet him.”

“But why instead of a stern reproof did our Lord speak a parable of persuasion to that Pharisee? He spoke the parable to him tenderly, that he, though stubborn and resistant, might unawares be enticed to correct his perversities. For the waters that are frozen by the force of a cold wind, the heat of the sun gently dissolves. So our Lord did not oppose him harshly, that he might not give occasion to the rebellious to rebel again.… Our Lord, then, did not employ harsh reproof, because his coming was of grace. He did not refrain from reproof, because his later coming will be of retribution. Even though he had come in humility, he nonetheless caused men to be afraid, because "it is a fearful thing to fall into his hands" when he shall come "in flaming fire." But our Lord most often helped others by way of persuasion than by reproof. For the gentle shower softens the earth and penetrates all through it. But violent rain binds and hardens the face of the earth, so that it does not receive it.”

“The Lord touched the leper in order to show that the law was not an obstacle to him who had constituted the law.… The leper was afraid to touch the Lord lest he defile him. But the Lord touched the leper to show him that he would not be defiled, he, at whose rebuke the defilement fled from the defiled one. … Samson ate honey from the dead body of an impure animal, and with the jawbone of a dead ass he was victorious and rescued Israel. God gave him water from the dead jawbone.”

“Paul also said, "They will perish," and all the other things, and again the apostle took up the same words of David. But if all the works of creation perish completely, then paradise, which is not perishable, will also perish. In truth, because of paradise, which does not cease, it is evident that all the works of creation will be renewed for us, as some assert, and they will not perish, as others have said.”

“"Therefore we must pay the closer attention to what we have heard" from the Son, "lest we drift away" just like the former people. "If," because of that message declared through the angel in Sodom, those who did not want to listen to it "received the penalty of punishment, then how can we be saved, if we neglect so great a new life?"”

“God "tasted death for every one," but, because his immortal nature could not die in the flesh in which he died, he who was dead, as it is, did not die. He did not die because of his nature; he nominally clothed himself with death for his love to us. Since he was superior to death by his nature, death could not approach him.”

“"Since therefore the children," summoned through his promise, "share in flesh and blood," that is sin, as signified by flesh, "and he himself likewise partook of the same nature" in the likeness of flesh, he was mingled with them, so that he might become for them a model of goodness. He consigned himself to death, so that through his death "he might destroy him who has the power of death, that is, the devil," who instilled death into living creatures when the fruit was eaten. So he died in order "to free," through his death, those over whom the fear of death ruled and "who were, for all their lives, subject to the slavery of eternal death." You do not receive the medicine that vivifies your life from angels, but from the seed itself of Abraham, to whom it was said, "In your seed all nations will be blessed." "So he had to become similar in everything …" to the children of Abraham, "in order to become as merciful" as Moses, who, as an image of the Son, devoted himself to the salvation of the children of his nation. And [he had to become similar] also in order to become faithful and save all the nations from death, like Aaron, who in the mystery of the Son repelled death from the children of his generation by using the censor, which he received to oppose death. God appointed him high priest not for those things which are generously given to us through sacrifices, as through Eleazar, but for those which are spiritually granted to us in him: that is, in order that he becomes the propitiator through baptism and not through aspersion."Because he himself has suffered and been tempted"—that is, he was tempted through his becoming connatural with us—he is able to assist those who are infirm in their weakness and victims of temptation. In fact, he is now made aware of … the weakness of flesh and knows humans more fully after clothing himself with flesh.”

“But since he said, "as Moses," do not think that he is as Moses; "the glory of this" high priest "is greater than that of Moses inasmuch as the maker of a house has greater honor than the house." Similarly the honor of the Lord and the Son is greater than that of the servant Moses. "Every house was built by someone," but "he who created Moses" and "built all things is God. And Moses was certainly faithful," but as an assistant, "as a servant was faithful to testify to the things that were to be spoken later." In truth Christ is not a faithful servant like Moses, but "as a son" he was faithful, and not over the shrine of the temple but over the souls of people. In fact, "we are his house if we stand firm in his confidence" and are not brought into disorder while "in the glory of his hope." But if we transgress, we cause his suffering.”

“We also had the promise to enter into the kingdom through our faith and spiritual way of life, as well as those who accepted the command through the law so that … they might possess the land granted to them. "But the message" of the law "which they heard did not benefit them because it did not meet with faith" in the hearers. "We who have believed" in Christ and his gifts "enter" faithfully "that rest." They, on the other hand, did not enter into that rest in consequence of the vow made through David, who said, "I swore in my anger that they should not enter my rest."”

“In fact, if Joshua, the son of Nun, who allowed them to inherit the land, had settled them and given them rest, they still would not speak at all about the "other day of rest." Indeed, Joshua made them rest, because he gave them the land as an inheritance, but they did not rest in it perfectly, as God perfectly rested from God's works, for they lived in toils and wars. If that rest was not a true rest, since Joshua himself, the giver of their rest, was urged by the wars, if this is their condition, I say, there still remains the sabbath of God, who gives rest to those who enter there, as God rested from God's works, that is, from all the works which God made.”

“Jesus' prayers were granted, but how were his prayers granted if he had demanded to be delivered from death? To be sure, he was not saved. He wanted to fulfill in himself the will of the Father. And for this reason it was evident that he was the Son of God, because in behalf of human creatures he exposed his own soul for the rest of the soul of the one who sent him, and his obedience was made evident by the hands of those who crucified him. If, therefore, the crucifiers testify that his prayers were granted, if it is so, I say, he certainly wanted to die, and he demanded that the will of his Father was fulfilled. He offered supplications with loud claims to the one who was able to save him from death; he who was about to die did not ask for delivery from death nor demand to be resurrected after his death because this had been promised to him earlier, but he prayed for his crucifiers lest they might die in him. And his prayers were granted, because the door was opened so that his crucifiers might live in him. And the one who did these things, that is, the one who abased himself to such humility and suffering for his murderers is the Son of God; and from this it was evident that he was satisfied in those sufferings which he endured. In fact, some of his murderers were converted, and through their repentance they were the heralds of his resurrection.”

“"He became the source of our eternal salvation" by replacing Adam, who had been the source of our death through his disobedience. But as Adam's death did not reign in those who did not sin, so life reigns in those who do not need to be absolved. Even though he is a liberal giver of life, life is given to those who obey, not to those who fall away from him.”

“"It is impossible to restore again to repentance" through a second baptism "those who have once been baptized, who have tasted the heavenly gift" through the medicine which they received, "have become partakers of the Holy Spirit" through the gifts received from the Spirit, "have tasted the goodness of the Word of God" in the new gospel and were armed with the power of the age to come in the promises prepared for the pious ones, but now "have fallen away" again. Those who propose two baptisms ask for the crucifixion again of the Son of God and for his dishonor. But crucifixion was performed once and will not be performed once more, and baptism was conceded as an "absolver" and is not conceded a second time to the sinner.”

“After the apostle said these words and discouraged them from sinning and being in want of propitiation, he changed his tone and encouraged them, as if to say, "If there is no second baptism to purify you, your deeds and charity are to be an eternal baptism for you." "Though," he says, "we speak thus" and close the door of mercy before the just ones lest they may sin, nevertheless the door of mercy is open for penitents. "God is not so unjust as to overlook your work," that is, your gift, "and the love" which you have for the saints and the poor who are in Jerusalem.”

“"Through two unchangeable things" … the former is that he swore by himself. The latter is that David said, "The Lord has sworn and will not change his mind, that you are a priest forever after the order of Melchizedek." It is by this means that we who have been made coheirs of his promise "might have strong encouragement." We "have fled for refuge" in order to protect ourselves, not for God's justice, in order that God may draw and drive us away from the evils of this world, and may open for us the way "into the inner shrine behind the curtain." We do not go in first. We do not go into the shrine of the tabernacle, where Moses went, but into the inner shrine in heaven, "where Jesus has gone as a forerunner, having become a high priest forever," not in order to offer the victims of sacrifices, like Aaron, but to offer the word for all nations, like Melchizedek.”

“Some say that this Melchizedek was actually Shem, son of Noah; in fact, they say the book of Genesis clearly shows that he lived in the days of Abraham and Isaac and Jacob. Moreover, from the sortitions of those tribes who inherited the land of the house of Shem, it looks clear that he lived in Salem in his own inheritance.Not only Melchizedek but also the name Melchizedek are "without father, and mother and without genealogy" because neither the name Melchizedek nor the name Israel were written in the genealogy, whereas Shem and Jacob had father and mother, and a beginning and an end, and were inscribed in the genealogy. But the names of Melchizedek and Israel did not have any of these things. God glorified them both with names equally imposed by him. He "was made similar to the Son of God" through his priesthood, so that the priesthood of Melchizedek might last forever, not in Melchizedek himself but in the Lord of Melchizedek. And the apostle highly praises the priesthood of all nations rather than that of his people, when he says, "Consider how great this man is to whom even our patriarch Abraham gave the tenth part of everything."”

“This Melchizedek is Shem, who became a king due to his greatness; he was the head of fourteen nations. In addition, he was a priest. He received this from Noah, his father, through the rights of succession. Shem lived not only to the time of Abraham, as Scripture says, but even to the time of Jacob and Esau, the grandsons of Abraham. It was to him that Rebekah went to ask and was told, "Two nations are in your womb, and the elder shall serve the younger." Rebekah would not have bypassed her husband, who had been delivered at the high place, or her father-in-law, to whom revelations of the divinity came continually, and gone straight to ask Melchizedek unless she had learned of his greatness from Abraham or Abraham's son. Abraham would not have given him a tenth of everything unless he knew that Melchizedek was infinitely greater than himself. Would Rebekah have asked one of the Canaanites or one of the Sodomites? Would Abraham have given a tenth of his possessions to any one of these? One ought not even entertain such ideas.Because the length of Melchizedek's life extended to the time of Jacob and Esau, it has been stated, with much probability, that he was Shem. His father Noah was dwelling in the east, and Melchizedek was dwelling between two tribes, that is, between the sons of Ham and his own sons. Melchizedek was like a partition between the two, for he was afraid that the sons of Ham would turn his own sons to idolatry.”

“Through Abraham, who gave him the tenth part, the house of Levi, which had to be generated by him, took the tenth part in him. The Levites, even though they took the tenth part, did not take it from strangers but received the tenth part from themselves; in fact, they took the tenth part from their brothers, the sons of Abraham. Therefore, Abraham, to whom the promise of priesthood was made, gave the tenth part to Melchizedek, who was not inscribed in the Levitic generation. And to Abraham it had been promised that all nations would have been blessed in him. So why did he need the blessing of an uncircumcised man? Does not this show and prove that, if Abraham had not been inferior to Melchizedek, he would not have demanded to be blessed by him? And so the mortal sons receive the tenth part, and in the same manner Melchizedek, who was mortal, lived at that time to be a witness for Abraham, for the indisputably true Melchizedek's blessing destined to the seed of Abraham.”

“Paul says, "If perfection had been attainable" through the Levitic house, "for under it the people received the law"—that is, through its agency the law of the people was declared—"what further need would there have been" to elevate another priest from another place, "rather than one named after the order of Aaron," who was the patriarch of those priests, "but after the order of" the uncircumcised "Melchizedek"?After thus proving the necessity to change priesthood, Paul begins again to prove that, with this change in the priesthood, the law is changed too. "When there is a change in the priesthood," he says, "there is necessarily a change in the law as well." Is there need of a sacrificial law, if sacrifices and priesthood have been abolished? So Melchizedek, "of whom these things are spoken" even though he was from that generation, came "from another tribe from which no one has ever served at the altar," and the one who received his priesthood was certainly not from the Levites, lest he might be estranged from Melchizedek because of his origin. In fact, "it is evident that our Lord" Jesus Christ "was descended from Judah, and in connection with that tribe Moses said nothing about priests." For this reason Uzziah was stricken with leprosy, because he wanted to transfer priesthood by his action and move it to the house of Judah, before Jesus, who was from Judah, came and took it in his hour. "This becomes even more evident" because "another priest arises in the likeness of Melchizedek, who has become a priest not according to a legal requirement concerning bodily descent," that is, not by being appointed before the people through the aspersion, sanctification, and blood and anointment of priesthood, and through its garments. Our Lord, on the contrary, was appointed and accepted the priesthood "by the power of a life" which is not broken down by death. He accepted the priesthood through the oath proffered by David, "You are a priest forever after the order of Melchizedek." Therefore, "a former commandment is set aside," as well as the previous priesthood, "because of its weakness and uselessness" as a rule.”

“Because of their earthly voluptuousness and desire for pleasure, which the former priests showed, and because of their infirmity, through which they made their people infirm before their cupidities, they did not bring any of them to that perfection, thanks to which we got rid of all our material goods. In fact, "the introduction" of the gospel made for the hope which surpassed what was previously preached to us, was also made for the introduction of this precept: through our own freedom from material possessions "we approach God," whereas through the voluptuousness and pleasures of the law we were rejected and removed from God.”

“In the house of Levi, because "they became priests without an oath," they did not last; he, on the contrary, lasts forever. In fact, it cannot happen that he speaks falsely about the oath, because he said, "The Lord has sworn and will not change his mind, 'You are a priest forever' " of the priests according to the order of Melchizedek. And "Jesus Christ" was "a much better" mediator than the former priests in that thing, which he promised us through the New Testament.While before it was necessary that the priests were many, because death interrupted the older ones in the course of their office and they did not last forever, now there is no other high priest with our Lord, "who lives forever to make intercession for us," not in the victims of the sacrifices but in prayers.”

“"It was fitting that we should have such a high priest, holy, blameless, unstained, separated from sinners … who had no need, like those high priests, to offer sacrifices first for his own sins and then for those of the people; he did this once for all when he offered up himself," not for him but for the sins of humankind.”

“"The point in what we are saying," that is, the discussion which we have undertaken with regard to priesthood and the law, is now presented to you according to what I have said above. "We have such a high priest" of the high priests, who does not stand before the ark of alliance but "who," by ascending, "is seated at the right hand of the throne of the majesty in heaven."Moreover, he, who was so entirely praised, was "a minister in the sanctuary" in the very tabernacle of truth—that is, either in the kingdom of heaven, as he promised, or in this world, as he actually did by washing the feet of his disciples.”

“Since they were in the darkness without a model, they managed their office according to a general affinity in divine matters. That is, all those ancient religious institutions were shadows and symbols of this institution of the church, which is established in its spirituality and divinity before him. And to Moses himself it was ordered, when he was about to build the tabernacle of the hour, "See that you make everything according to the pattern which was shown you on the mountain."”

“"For I will be merciful" to them, not with regard to their impurity but "toward their iniquities," not with regard to the uncleanness of nocturnal dreams but to the sins which are performed in them through the power of the devil.Therefore in the new covenant that Jeremiah announced, "The first has become old. Now what decayed and became old is near to vanishing away."”

“Now "even the first covenant had" in it some rules in addition to "regulations" of the ministry of "worship," because sin exacted the punishment of the sword. However, this sanctification—this law that sanctifies us by means of water—does not pass away like those rules; in fact, it remains forever hereafter, because Jesus rejected that law for a new covenant, which was earlier proclaimed through Jeremiah.Then Paul turns his attention to the temporary tabernacle and to all the things which were in it in order to prove and reveal that they also have passed away, together with the abrogation of their law. It could not happen that they remained after the cessation of the law, because they also were shadows and symbols of this true ministry, which will last. Therefore, he begins again to deprive of its authority the service of the ministry held in the temporary tabernacle, of which the priests were proud in their overconfidence, by saying, "The first tent was prepared" so, because "in it were the lampstand and the table" and the other things. In the inner tent, "called the Holy of Holies," under its veil, there was placed one "golden altar of incense and the ark covered on all sides with gold," together with the other things. However, is there now any need to describe these objects in detail, one by one? In fact, even though each of these things had been set in their proper place for the service of religious ministry, they were nonetheless symbolic shadows of this heavenly ministry; since the truth has now come, it is not necessary anymore that we deal with shadows.”

“All these things, as I have said, were performed according to rules by infirm priests up to the time when God made a correction. From that time "Christ" came "as a high priest" not of sacrifices but of "good things." And he entered "the tent"—not a small one "made with hands" but a huge and perfect one, which is not the product of human work—"that is, not of this creation," because it was made out of nothing, unlike that tent which was erected with the spoils of the Egyptians.”

“"But now once by coming at the end of times" he has suffered, so that through his sacrifice he might destroy sin, which killed the people and all nations together.In fact "as it is appointed for men to die once" because of their first sin, and "after" death their "judgment" comes, "so Christ too," by coming, was revealed once and "offered" himself for the sins of everybody. Then "he will appear a second time," not in order to die for the sins, for which he has already died once, but in order to appear in a new world, where there will be no sins on the part of those who in hope expect salvation through him.”

“If they had become perfect, their priesthood would have ceased, because they should have abstained from their sacrifices. And if their conscience was cleansed from sin, at the same time they would have been cleansed from the impurity of flesh. But "in these sacrifices there is a reminder of sin" every day. "For it is impossible that the blood of bulls and goats should take away sin." Therefore our Lord, who came to this world, said through the mouth of David, "Sacrifices and offerings you have not desired, but a body you have prepared for me," so that the victims of sacrifices might be abolished through his sacrifice.”

“Now "exposures to abuse and persecutions" they had to endure, because the law imposed on them the requirement to reveal their sins over their offerings. However, these exposures to abuse discouraged people from revealing their sins. These difficulties, he says, that you had in revealing your sins, and the shames that prevented you from revealing them, these fumes of the consciousness, which were like fierce pains and great sufferings of bitterness—all these have been taken away from you through the baptism of the waters and with the single expiation that you received.”

“The just one lives when endurance and faith are found in that one. But if somebody is oppressed by doubts and scruples, because the rewarder did not appear, "my soul has no pleasure in him" on that day.But we are not victims of scruples, which destroy our path to heaven and "bring us to perdition"; we have faith instead, through which we obtain "the salvation of our soul."”

“And there are witnesses who testify about it. In fact, even though faith was hidden from the people of the middle generation, it had nonetheless been revealed to those of the first. And there is a proof that reveals what is not evident. What proof? Certainly the one through which the testimony about the people of the first generation was made, that is, the narrative of scripture, that testified about the faith, through which the ancient fathers were put to test.”

“"By faith Abel offered to God a more acceptable sacrifice than Cain," who brought offerings selected without care. The faith of Abel and the infidelity of Cain were sealed up in their offerings. If Abel had not believed in the promise, he would not have chosen and brought the best offerings. He had actually seen his brother, who picked up everywhere the vile ears [vegetable offerings] with contempt and offered them by laying them on the altar. For that faith Abel "obtained testimony" about himself "that he was righteous" and certainly not from a human being but from God, "who testified of his gifts," so that up to this time Abel talks through his faith, that is, is put to test through it.”

“"By faith Enoch was taken up and did not taste death." If he had not believed that the observation of the commandment could introduce him again to the place from which the house of Adam had come out because of the transgression, he would not have applied himself to please God for three hundred years. In fact, "without faith," that is, if that person did not believe that the true God exists and "rewards those who seek him," he would have never tried to please and seek him.”

“"By faith Noah was warned by God concerning events as yet unseen," that is, about things which would have happened 120 years after he had received the warning, and [he] "took heed" of those distant threats of punishment [and] "constructed an ark" with great toil "for the saving of his household." By that same faith the world which did not believe was condemned, and that same faith made Noah the heir of the promise.”

“"By faith Sarah herself received power to conceive, even when she was past the age." She, who was barren gave birth—that is, received the powers and youth that were necessary for conception and bearing—even though her old age was unable to cope with these things. And all this happened to her because, in the midst of the pagan Canaanites, she "considered him faithful who had promised" to give her these things.”

“"By faith Abraham, when he was tested, offered up Isaac" as a victim, even though he had received this child with the promise that through him his descendants would have been named. And Abraham never doubted, not even when he was about to kill him, that through him his descendants would have been named.He decided in his mind and accepted the idea that "God is able to raise men even from the dead; hence, figuratively speaking, he did receive him back," that is, so that in him he might come to know the resurrection of the dead, and in him might know the children of the spirit whom he would have had.”

“"By faith Moses, when he was grown up, refused to be called a son of Pharaoh's daughter." If he had not believed in the promise of Abraham, he would have not refused to be corrupted by sin, nor would he have chosen to share ill treatment with the people of God. He considered the emulation of Christ, about whom he indeed wrote, to be more important than the wealth of the Egyptians, which he would have received, because in his expectation "he was looking ahead to the reward."”

“Indeed, through the rumors about the miracles which had happened in Egypt and the desert, she believed that they would have possessed the land of Canaan, as God had said to Abraham. The apostle also added some words about the "explorers," who "were received by her in peace," because he wanted to show that they came out of her house in purity and honesty. In fact, they had not entered that place for the sake of fornication.”

“In order not to repeat all the details in his review of the works of faith, Paul stopped relating the stories of these ancient fathers, deciding not to describe their actions in their different aspects. However, he did not omit other cases, which he included in a short account, … that is, about the faith of Gideon, who defeated ten thousand Midianites with three thousand soldiers, and Barak, who by his faith destroyed the army of Sisera; and Samson, who by his faith killed one thousand men with the jaw of an ass; and Jephthah, who by his faith conquered twenty-two cities of the sons of the Ammonites; and David, who by his faith beat and killed Goliath; and Samuel, who by his faith prevailed among the Philistines; "and about the other prophets, who by faith conquered kingdoms" (in prophecy, not in the sword), "enforced justice" (that is, through the revenges and punishments that they inflicted on the impious), "received promises" (like Elisha, who went into ecstasy), "stopped the mouths of lions" (like the house of Daniel), "quenched raging fire" (like the house of Hananiah), "escaped the edge of the sword" (like those whom the Chaldaeans tried to slay together with the wise men of Babylon, and also Uriah and Elijah, and other prophets), "won strength out of weakness" (like King Hezekiah and Elisha), "became mighty in war" (like Abraham, Lot, Moses and Joshua), and "put foreign armies to flight" (like Samson, Barak, David and his companions, who were mentioned above).”

“"Women received their dead by resurrection," like Silomaea and Zarephath, who had them from Elijah and his disciple. Others, however, who were given to death despised their own life, like the seven brothers together with their mother. Even though they did not do what their companions had done in faith, they nevertheless desired death in their expectation and believed that they would have deserved to obtain "a better resurrection."”

“"They were stoned," like Moses and Naboth; "sawn in two," like Zechariah and Isaiah; "tempted" in different manners, like Job; and "killed with the sword" like Micah, Uriah and John. "They went about in the skins of sheep and goats," like Elijah and Elisha. "They were destitute, afflicted and ill-treated—of whom the world was not worthy," like the prophets whom Obadiah hid and nourished with food. "They wandered in deserts, in mountains, in dens and caves of the earth," and when Jezebel heard about the reputation of those hiding, she looked for them, but Obadiah made them run away and take refuge in other places.”

“Even though we come later in the test of temptations, it was previously promised to us that "apart from us they should not be made perfect." In fact it does not happen that, since our brothers lived before, they will have their reward before. There is a single day of retribution for all the afflictions which people endured and endure.”

“"Therefore, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses" about the weight of our life, that is, about the fact that we have ahead of us a cloud of sad afflictions, which lead many who trust in Christ and die for him to honor, "let us lay aside everything" from us.… And "let us run with perseverance the race that is set for us" not only by our persecutors but by the devil himself.”

“Let us look not toward human beings for the perfection of our faith. In fact, among them one is good for something, but the other is not. Rather let us look into "Jesus Christ, the pioneer of faith," who was made our leader and "the perfecter" of our faith, because he began from the Jordan the fight against the enemy, then continued it in the desert, and finished it in Jerusalem through the cross, which was erected by the persecutors on Golgotha.”

“"Therefore lift your drooping hands and strengthen your weak knees," that is, "make straight paths for your feet" throughout the afflictions caused by your persecutors, so that they may not slip. [Do this] "so that what is lame," that is, those who transgressed through the denial of faith, "may not be put out of joint" and increase the power of sin "but rather be healed," so that, through his healing, sin may be affected by sickness.”

“Even if the door is closed before him, it is not closed in the same manner before us. "Know that afterward, when he desired to inherit the blessing, he was rejected, for he found no chance to repent." Moreover, Esau's repentance and his tears did not mean that he wanted to be blessed more than his brother but that he wanted to gain control over his brother. "Even though he sought the blessing with tears," it was not conceded to him. He did not demand blessing, as I said, but the right of the firstborn. In fact, if he had demanded to be superior to his brother in the kingdom of heaven, this would have not been denied to him. But, since he neglected what was useful to his soul and asked for an estate more fertile than that of his brother, he did not receive the blessing that he begged and was deprived of those things that Jacob, by prevailing on him, received through his faith.”

“A further interpretation of "he knew her not until she had borne a son" is that this holiness was of necessity, even though they both willingly shared in it. But the holiness they observed after the birth of our Lord was of their own free will.The Evangelist defined the nature of this necessity and showed us concerning its limit, that it was "until." … Should it be deduced from this therefore that he did not live with her chastely after she had given birth, since it is indicated "until"? But "until" is not the end limit. For he said, "The Lord said to my Lord, Sit at my right hand, until I put your enemies under your feet." Therefore, when his enemies were put beneath his feet, did he stand up? Another interpretation of "he knew her not" follows. Is not marriage pure, according to the testimony of the apostle, "The fruit of their womb is pure"? But, if one were to say, "See, the brothers of our Lord are named in the Gospel," I would reply, "Because our Lord entrusted his mother Mary to John, it is clear that these are not her sons, nor is Joseph her husband." For how could he who said, "Honor your father and your mother," have separated Mary from her sons and entrusted her to John instead?”

“That is, the doctrines of the [levitical] priests and their offerings. "It is well that the heart is strengthened by grace," that is, is made firm by the new gospel, not by the restrictions of the priests about food. Those who practiced this way of life obtained no profit in these rules; that is, those who observed them were not purified nor had eternal life in them.”

“"I appeal to you, brethren, bear with my words of exhortation"—I wrote and proved that all those traditional customs on which you pride yourselves are only traces of this new gospel which was preached to you through Christ. "I have written to you briefly," in accordance with your strength; if you are just adequate to your task, I will write to you more, but if you have reached perfection, you do not need any of these words.”

“He departed from Sheol and took up His abode in the Kingdom; that He might seek out a path from Sheol which oppresses all, to the Kingdom which requites all. For our Lord gave His resurrection as a pledge to mortals, that He would remove them from Sheol, which receives the departed without distinction, to the Kingdom which admits the invited with distinction; so that, from [the plan] which makes equal the bodies of all men within it, we may come to [the plan] which distinguishes the works of all men within it. This is He Who descended to Sheol and ascended, that from [the place] which corrupts its sojourners, He might bring us to the place which nourishes with its blessings its dwellers... Sheol brought Him forth, that through Him its treasures might be emptied out... For our Lord bare His cross and went forth according to the will of Death: but He cried upon the cross [Matthew 27:50-52] and brought forth the dead from within Sheol against the will of Death. For in that very thing by which Death had slain Him [i.e., the body], in that as armour He bore off the victory over Death. But the Godhead concealed itself in the manhood and fought against Death, Death slew and was slain. Death slew the natural life; and the supernatural life slew Him. And because Death was not able to devour Him without the body, nor Sheol to swallow Him up without the flesh, He came unto the Virgin, that from thence He might obtain that which should bear Him to Sheol; as from beside the ass they brought for Him the colt whereon He entered Jerusalem, and proclaimed concealing her overthrow and the destruction of her children. With the body then that [was] from the Virgin, He entered Sheol and plundered its storehouses and emptied its treasures. He came then to Eve the Mother of all living. This is the vine whose fence Death laid open by her own hands, and caused her to taste of his fruits. So Eve the Mother of all living became the well-spring of death to all living. But Mary budded forth, a new shoot from Eve the ancient vine; and new life dwelt in her, that when Death should come confidently after his custom to feed upon mortal fruits, the life that is slayer of death might be stored up [therein] against him; that when Death should have swallowed [the fruits] without fear, he might vomit them forth and with them many. For [He Who is] the Medicine of life flew down from heaven, and was mingled in the body, the mortal fruit. And when Death came to feed after his custom, the Life in His turn swallowed up Death. This is the food that hungered to eat its eater. So then, by one fruit which Death swallowed hungrily, he vomited up many lives which he had swallowed greedily. The hunger then which hurried him against one, emptied out his greed which had hurried him against many. Thus Death was diligent to swallow one, but was in haste to set many free. For while One was dying on the cross, many that were buried from within Sheol were coming forth at His cry. [Matthew 27:50-53] This is the fruit that cleft asunder Death who had swallowed it, and brought out from within it the Life in quest of which it was sent. For Sheol hid away all that she had devoured. But through One that was not devoured, all that she had devoured were restored from within her. He, whose stomach is disordered, vomits forth both that which is sweet to him and that which is not sweet. So the stomach of Death was disordered, and as he was vomiting forth the medicine of life which had sickened it, he vomited forth along with it also those lives that had been swallowed by him with pleasure. This is the Son of the carpenter, Who skilfully made His cross a bridge over Sheol that swallows up all, and brought over mankind into the dwelling of life. And because it was through the tree that mankind had fallen into Sheol, so upon the tree they passed over into the dwelling of life. Through the tree then wherein bitterness was tasted, through it also sweetness was tasted; that we might learn of Him that among the creatures nothing resists Him. Glory be to You, Who laid Your cross as a bridge over death, that souls might pass over upon it from the dwelling of the dead to the dwelling of life!”

“He departed from Sheol and took up His abode in the Kingdom; that He might seek out a path from Sheol which oppresses all, to the Kingdom which requites all. For our Lord gave His resurrection as a pledge to mortals, that He would remove them from Sheol, which receives the departed without distinction, to the Kingdom which admits the invited with distinction; so that, from [the plan] which makes equal the bodies of all men within it, we may come to [the plan] which distinguishes the works of all men within it. This is He Who descended to Sheol and ascended, that from [the place] which corrupts its sojourners, He might bring us to the place which nourishes with its blessings its dwellers... Sheol brought Him forth, that through Him its treasures might be emptied out... For our Lord bare His cross and went forth according to the will of Death: but He cried upon the cross [Matthew 27:50-52] and brought forth the dead from within Sheol against the will of Death. For in that very thing by which Death had slain Him [i.e., the body], in that as armour He bore off the victory over Death. But the Godhead concealed itself in the manhood and fought against Death, Death slew and was slain. Death slew the natural life; and the supernatural life slew Him. And because Death was not able to devour Him without the body, nor Sheol to swallow Him up without the flesh, He came unto the Virgin, that from thence He might obtain that which should bear Him to Sheol; as from beside the ass they brought for Him the colt whereon He entered Jerusalem, and proclaimed concealing her overthrow and the destruction of her children. With the body then that [was] from the Virgin, He entered Sheol and plundered its storehouses and emptied its treasures. He came then to Eve the Mother of all living. This is the vine whose fence Death laid open by her own hands, and caused her to taste of his fruits. So Eve the Mother of all living became the well-spring of death to all living. But Mary budded forth, a new shoot from Eve the ancient vine; and new life dwelt in her, that when Death should come confidently after his custom to feed upon mortal fruits, the life that is slayer of death might be stored up [therein] against him; that when Death should have swallowed [the fruits] without fear, he might vomit them forth and with them many. For [He Who is] the Medicine of life flew down from heaven, and was mingled in the body, the mortal fruit. And when Death came to feed after his custom, the Life in His turn swallowed up Death. This is the food that hungered to eat its eater. So then, by one fruit which Death swallowed hungrily, he vomited up many lives which he had swallowed greedily. The hunger then which hurried him against one, emptied out his greed which had hurried him against many. Thus Death was diligent to swallow one, but was in haste to set many free. For while One was dying on the cross, many that were buried from within Sheol were coming forth at His cry. [Matthew 27:50-53] This is the fruit that cleft asunder Death who had swallowed it, and brought out from within it the Life in quest of which it was sent. For Sheol hid away all that she had devoured. But through One that was not devoured, all that she had devoured were restored from within her. He, whose stomach is disordered, vomits forth both that which is sweet to him and that which is not sweet. So the stomach of Death was disordered, and as he was vomiting forth the medicine of life which had sickened it, he vomited forth along with it also those lives that had been swallowed by him with pleasure. This is the Son of the carpenter, Who skilfully made His cross a bridge over Sheol that swallows up all, and brought over mankind into the dwelling of life. And because it was through the tree that mankind had fallen into Sheol, so upon the tree they passed over into the dwelling of life. Through the tree then wherein bitterness was tasted, through it also sweetness was tasted; that we might learn of Him that among the creatures nothing resists Him. Glory be to You, Who laid Your cross as a bridge over death, that souls might pass over upon it from the dwelling of the dead to the dwelling of life!”