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| Chapter I., Sections 1-23 translated from the Greek: On the Inspiration of Holy Scripture, and How the Same is to be Read and Understood, and What is the Reason of the Uncertainty in it; and of the Impossibility or Irrationality of Certain Things in it, Taken According to the Letter.
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Translated from the
Greek.
Chapter I.—On the Inspiration of
Holy Scripture, and How the Same is to be Read and Understood, and What
is the Reason of the Uncertainty in it; and of the Impossibility or
Irrationality of Certain Things in it, Taken According to the
Letter.
(The translation from the Greek is designedly literal,
that the difference between the original and the paraphrase of Rufinus
may be more clearly seen.)
1. Since, in our investigation of matters of
such importance, not satisfied with the common opinions, and with the
clear evidence of visible things,2812
| 2812 τῇ ἐναργείᾳ
τῶν
βλεπομένων. | we
take in addition, for the proof of our statements, testimonies from
what are believed by us to be divine writings, viz., from that which is
called the Old Testament, and that which is styled the New, and
endeavour by reason to confirm our faith; and as we have not yet
spoken of the Scriptures as divine, come and let us, as if by way of an
epitome, treat of a few points respecting them, laying down those
reasons which lead us to regard them as divine writings. And
before making use of the words of the writings themselves,
and of the things which are exhibited in them, we must make the
following statement regarding Moses and Jesus Christ,—the
lawgiver of the Hebrews, and the Introducer of the saving
doctrines according to Christianity. For, although there have
been very many legislators among the Greeks and Barbarians, and
teachers who announced opinions which professed to be the truth, we
have heard of no legislator who was able to imbue other nations with a
zeal for the reception of
his words; and although those who professed to philosophize about truth
brought forward a great apparatus of apparent logical demonstration, no
one has been able to impress what was deemed by him the truth upon
other nations, or even on any number of persons worth mentioning
in a single nation. And yet not only would the legislators have
liked to enforce those laws which appeared to be good, if possible,
upon the whole human race, but the teachers also to have spread what
they imagined to be truth everywhere throughout the world. But as
they were unable to call men of other languages and from many
nations to observe their laws, and accept their teaching, they did not
at all attempt to do this, considering not unwisely the
impossibility of such a result happening to them. Whereas all
Greece, and the barbarous part of our world, contains innumerable
zealots, who have deserted the laws of their fathers and the
established gods, for the observance of the laws of Moses and the
discipleship of the words of Jesus Christ; although those who clave to
the law of Moses were hated by the worshippers of images, and those who
accepted the words of Jesus Christ were exposed, in addition, to the
danger of death.
2. And if we observe how powerful the word
has become in a very few years, notwithstanding that against those who
acknowledged Christianity conspiracies were formed, and some of them on
its account put to death, and others of them lost their property, and
that, notwithstanding the small number of its teachers,2813
| 2813 οὐδὲ τῶν
διδασκάλων
πλεοναζόντων. | it was preached everywhere throughout the
world, so that Greeks and Barbarians, wise and foolish, gave themselves
up to the worship that is through Jesus,2814
| 2814 τῇ διὰ
᾽Ιησοῦ
θεοσεβεία. | we
have no difficulty in saying that the result is beyond any human
power,2815
| 2815 μεῖζον ἤ
κατὰ
ἄνθρωπον το
πρᾶγμα
εἶναι. | Jesus having taught
with all authority and persuasiveness that His word should not be
overcome; so that we may rightly regard as oracular
responses2816
those utterances of
His, such as, “Ye shall be brought before governors and kings for
My sake, for a testimony against them and the
Gentiles;”2817
and, “Many
shall say unto Me in that day, Lord, Lord, have we not eaten in Thy
name, and drunk in Thy name, and in Thy name cast out devils? And
I shall say unto them,
Depart from Me, ye workers of iniquity, I never knew
you.”2818
Now it was
perhaps (once) probable that, in uttering these words, He spoke them in
vain, so that they were not true; but when that which was delivered
with so much authority has come to pass, it shows that God,
having really become man, delivered to men the doctrines of
salvation.2819
3. And what need is there to mention also
that it was predicted of Christ2820
| 2820 προεφητεύθη
ὁ Χριστός. | that then
would the rulers fail from Judah, and the leaders from his
thighs,2821
when He came for
whom it is reserved (the kingdom, namely); and that the
expectation of the Gentiles should dwell in the land?2822
For it is clearly manifest from the
history, and from what is seen at the present day, that from the times
of Jesus there were no longer any who were called kings of the
Jews;2823
| 2823 οὔκ ἔτι
βασιλεῖς
᾽Ιουδαίαν
ἐχρημάτισαν. | all those Jewish institutions on which they
prided themselves—I mean those arrangements relating to the
temple and the altar, and the offering of the service, and the
robes of the high priest having been destroyed. For the
prophecy was fulfilled which said, “The children of Israel shall
sit many days, there being no king, nor ruler, nor sacrifice, nor
altar, nor priesthood, nor responses.”2824
And these predictions we employ to
answer those who, in their perplexity as to the words spoken in Genesis
by Jacob to Judah, assert that the Ethnarch,2825
being of the race of Judah, is the ruler of
the people, and that there will not fail some of his seed, until the
advent of that Christ whom they figure to their imagination. But
if “the children of Israel are to sit many days without a king,
or ruler, or altar, or priesthood, or responses;” and if,
since the temple was destroyed, there exists no longer sacrifice, nor
altar, nor priesthood, it is manifest that the ruler has failed
out of Judah, and the leader from between his thighs. And since
the prediction declares that “the ruler shall not fail from
Judah, and the leader from between his thighs, until what is reserved
for Him shall come,” it is manifest that He is come to whom
(belongs) what is reserved—the expectation of the
Gentiles. And this is clear from the multitude of the heathen who
have believed on God through Jesus Christ.
4. And
in the song in Deuteronomy,2826
also, it is
prophetically made known that, on account of the sins of the former
people, there was to be an election of foolish nations, which has
been brought to pass by no other than by Jesus. “For
they,” He says, “moved Me to jealousy with that which is
not God, they have provoked Me to anger with their idols; and I will
move them to jealousy with those which are not a people, and will
provoke them to anger with a foolish nation.”2827
Now it is possible to understand
with all clearness how the Hebrews, who are said to have moved God to
jealousy by that which is not God, and to have provoked Him to anger by
their idols, were (themselves) aroused to jealousy by that which was
not a people—the foolish nation, namely, which God chose by the
advent of Jesus Christ and His disciples. We see, indeed,
“our calling, that not many wise men after the flesh, not
many mighty, not many noble (are called); but God hath chosen the
foolish things of the world to confound the wise; and base things, and
things that are despised, hath God chosen, and things that are
not, to bring to nought the things which formerly
existed;”2828
and let not the
Israel according to the flesh, which is called by the apostle
“flesh,” boast in the presence of God.
5. And what are we to say regarding the
prophecies of Christ in the Psalms, there being a certain ode with the
superscription “For the Beloved,”2829
whose” tongue” is said to be the “pen of a ready
writer, who is fairer than the sons of men,” since “grace
was poured on His lips?” For a proof that grace was poured
on His lips is this, that although the period of His teaching was
short—for He taught somewhere about a year and a few
months—the world has been filled with his teaching, and with the
worship of God (established) through Him. For there arose
“in His days righteousness and abundance of
peace,”2830
which abides until
the consummation, which has been called the taking away of the moon;
and He continues “ruling from sea to sea, and from the rivers to
the ends of the earth.”2831
And to the
house of David has been given a sign: for the Virgin bore, and
was pregnant,2832
| 2832 ἐτεκε
καὶ ἐν γαστρὶ
ἔσχε, καὶ
ἔτεκεν
υἱόν. | and brought forth a
son, and His name is Emmanuel, which is, “God with us;” and
as the same prophet says, the prediction has been fulfilled,
“God (is) with us; know it, O nations, and be overcome; ye who
are strong, be vanquished:”2833
for we
of the heathen have been overcome and vanquished, we who have been
taken by the grace of His teaching. The place also of His birth
has been foretold in (the prophecies of) Micah: “For thou,
Bethlehem,” he says, “land of Judah, art by no means the
least among the rulers of Judah; for out of thee shall come forth a
Ruler, who shall rule My people Israel.”2834
| 2834 Cf. Mic.
v. 2 with Matt. ii. 6. | And according to Daniel, seventy weeks
were fulfilled until (the coming of) Christ the Ruler.2835
And He came, who, according to
Job,2836
| 2836 Cf. Job xl. and xli. | has subdued the great fish,2837
and has given power to His true disciples to
tread upon serpents and scorpions, and all the power of the
enemy,2838
without sustaining
any injury from them. And let one notice also the universal
advent of the apostles sent by Jesus to announce the Gospel, and he
will see both that the undertaking was beyond human power, and that the
commandment came from God. And if we examine how men, on hearing
new doctrines, and strange words, yielded themselves up to these
teachers, being overcome, amid the very desire to plot against them, by
a divine power that watched over these (teachers), we shall not be
incredulous as to whether they also wrought miracles, God bearing
witness to their words both by signs, and wonders, and divers
miracles.
6. And while we thus briefly2839
demonstrate the deity of Christ, and
(in so doing) make use of the prophetic declarations regarding Him, we
demonstrate at the same time that the writings which prophesied
of Him were divinely inspired; and that those documents which announced
His coming and His doctrine were given forth with all power and
authority, and that on this account they obtained the election from the
Gentiles.2840
| 2840 διὰ τοῦτο
τῆς ἀπὸ τῶν
ἐθνῶν
ἐκλογῆς
κεκρατηκότα. | We must say,
also, that the divinity of the prophetic declarations, and the
spiritual nature of the law of Moses, shone forth after the advent of
Christ. For before the advent of Christ it was not altogether
possible to exhibit manifest proofs of the divine inspiration of
the ancient Scripture; whereas His coming led those who might suspect
the law and the prophets not to be divine, to the clear conviction that
they were composed by
(the aid of) heavenly grace. And he who reads the words of the
prophets with care and attention, feeling by the very perusal the
traces of the divinity2841
that is in them,
will be led by his own emotions to believe that those words which have
been deemed to be the words of God are not the compositions of
men. The light, moreover, which was contained in the law of
Moses, but which had been concealed by a veil, shone forth at the
advent of Jesus, the veil being taken away, and those blessings, the
shadow of which was contained in the letter, coming forth gradually to
the knowledge (of men).
7. It would be tedious now to
enumerate the most ancient prophecies respecting each future
event, in order that the doubter, being impressed by their divinity,
may lay aside all hesitation and distraction, and devote himself with
his whole soul to the words of God. But if in every part of the
Scriptures the superhuman element of thought2842
| 2842 τὸ ὑπὲρ
ἄνθρωπον τῶν
νοημάτων. |
does not seem to present itself to the uninstructed, that is not at all
wonderful for, with respect to the works of that providence which
embraces the whole world, some show with the utmost clearness that they
are works of providence, while others are so concealed as to seem
to furnish ground for unbelief with respect to that God who orders all
things with unspeakable skill and power. For the artistic
plan2843
of a providential Ruler is not so evident in
those matters belonging to the earth, as in the case of the sun,
and moon, and stars; and not so clear in what relates to human
occurrences, as it is in the souls and bodies of animals,—the
object and reason of the impulses, and phantasies and natures of
animals, and the structure of their bodies, being carefully ascertained
by those who attend to these things.2844
| 2844 Σφόδρα τοῦ
πρὸς τί καὶ
ἕνεκα τίνος
εὑρισκομένου
τοῖς τούτων
ἐπιμελομένοις,
περὶ τὰς
ὁρμὰς, καὶ
τὰς
φαντασίας,
καὶ φύσεις
τῶν ζώων, καὶ
τὰς
κατασκευὰς
τῶν
σωμάτων. | But as
(the doctrine of) providence is not at all weakened2845
(on account of those things which are not
understood) in the eyes of those who have once honestly accepted
it, so neither is the divinity of Scripture, which extends to the whole
of it, (lost) on account of the inability of our weakness to discover
in every expression the hidden splendour of the doctrines
veiled in common and
unattractive phraseology.2846
| 2846 ἐν
εὐτελεῖ καὶ
εὐκαταφρονήτῳ
λέξει. | For we
have the treasure in earthen vessels, that the excellency of the power
of God may shine forth, and that it may not be deemed to proceed from
us (who are but) human beings. For if the
hackneyed2847
methods of
demonstration (common) among men, contained in the books (of the
Bible), had been successful in producing conviction; then our
faith would rightly have been supposed to rest on the wisdom of men,
and not on the power of God; but now it is manifest to everyone who
lifts up his eyes, that the word and preaching have not prevailed among
the multitude “by persuasive words of wisdom, but by
demonstration of the Spirit and of power.”2848
Wherefore, since a celestial or even a
super-celestial power compels us to worship the only Creator, let us
leave the doctrine of the beginning of Christ, i.e., the
elements,2849
and endeavour to go
on to perfection, in order that the wisdom spoken to the perfect may be
spoken to us also. For he who possesses it promises to speak
wisdom among them that are perfect, but another wisdom than that of
this world, and of the rulers of this world, which is brought to
nought. And this wisdom will be distinctly stamped2850
upon us, and will produce a revelation of
the mystery that was kept silent in the eternal ages,2851
but now has been manifested through the
prophetic Scriptures, and the appearance of our Lord and Saviour
Jesus Christ, to whom be glory for ever and ever.
Amen.
8. Having spoken thus briefly2852
on the subject of the divine inspiration of
the holy Scriptures,
it is necessary to proceed to the (consideration of the) manner in
which they are to be read and understood, seeing numerous errors have
been committed in consequence of the method in which the holy
documents2853
| 2853 τὰ ἅγια
ἀναγνώσματα. | ought to be
examined;2854
not having been
discovered by the multitude. For both the hardened in heart, and
the ignorant persons2855
| 2855 οἱ ἰδιῶται
τῶν ἐκ τῆς
περιτομῆς. | belonging to the
circumcision, have not believed on our Saviour, thinking that they are
following the language of the prophecies respecting Him,
and not perceiving in a manner palpable to their senses2856
that He had proclaimed liberty to the
captives, nor that He had built up what they truly consider the
city of God, nor cut off “the chariots of Ephraim, and the horse
from Jerusalem,”2857
nor eaten butter
and honey, and, before knowing or preferring the evil, had selected the
good.2858
And thinking, moreover, that it was
prophesied that the wolf—the four-footed animal—was to feed
with the lamb, and the leopard to lie down with the kid, and the calf
and bull and lion to feed together, being led by a little child, and
that the ox and bear were to pasture together, their young ones growing
up together, and that the lion was to eat straw like the ox:2859
seeing none of these things visibly
accomplished during the advent of Him who is believed by us to be
Christ, they did not accept our Lord Jesus; but, as having called
Himself Christ improperly,2860
they crucified
Him. And those belonging to heretical sects reading this
(statement), “A fire has been kindled in Mine
anger;”2861
and this, “I
am a jealous God, visiting the iniquities of the fathers upon the
children unto the third and fourth generation;”2862
and this, “I repent of having anointed
Saul to be king;”2863
and this, “I
am a God that maketh peace, and createth evil;”2864
and, among others, this, “There is not
wickedness in the city which the Lord hath not
done;”2865
and again this,
“Evils came down from the Lord upon the
gates of Jerusalem;”2866
and, “An evil
spirit from the Lord plagued
Saul;”2867
and countless other
passages like these—they have not ventured to disbelieve these as
the Scriptures of God; but believing them to be the (words) of the
Demiurge, whom the Jews worship, they thought that as the Demiurge was
an imperfect and unbenevolent God, the Saviour had come to
announce a more perfect Deity, who, they say, is not the
Demiurge, being of different opinions regarding Him; and having once
departed from the Demiurge, who is the only uncreated God, they have
given themselves up to fictions, inventing to themselves
hypotheses, according to which they imagine that there are some
things which are visible, and certain other things which are not
visible, all which are the fancies of their own minds. And yet,
indeed, the more simple among those who profess to belong to the Church
have supposed that there is no deity greater than the Demiurge,
being right in so thinking, while they imagine regarding Him such
things as would not be believed of the most savage and unjust of
mankind.
9. Now the cause, in all the points
previously enumerated, of the false opinions, and of the impious
statements or ignorant assertions2868
about God,
appears to be nothing else than the not understanding the Scripture
according to its spiritual meaning, but the interpretation of it
agreeably to the mere letter. And therefore, to those who
believe that the sacred books are not the compositions of men, but that
they were composed by inspiration2869
of the Holy
Spirit, agreeably to the will of the Father of all things through Jesus
Christ, and that they have come down to us, we must point out the ways
(of interpreting them) which appear (correct) to us, who cling to the
standard2870
of the heavenly
Church of Jesus Christ according to the succession of the
apostles. Now, that there are certain mystical economies made
known by the holy Scriptures, all—even the most simple of those
who adhere to the word—have believed; but what these are, candid
and modest individuals confess that they know not. If, then, one
were to be perplexed about the intercourse of Lot with his daughters,
and about the two wives of Abraham, and the two sisters married to
Jacob, and the two handmaids who bore him children, they can return no
other answer than this, that these are mysteries not understood by
us. Nay, also, when the (description of the) fitting out of the
tabernacle is read, believing that what is written is a type,2871
| 2871 τύπους
εἶναι τὰ
γεγραμμένα. | they seek to adapt what they can to each particular
related about the tabernacle,—not being wrong so far as regards
their belief that the tabernacle is a type of something, but
erring sometimes in adapting the description of that of which the
tabernacle is a type, to some special thing in a manner worthy of
Scripture. And all the history that is considered to tell of
marriages, or the begetting of children, or of wars, or any histories
whatever that are in circulation among the multitude, they
declare to be types; but of what in each individual instance, partly
owing to their habits not being thoroughly exercised—partly, too,
owing to their precipitation—sometimes, even when an individual
does happen to be well trained and clear-sighted, owing to the
excessive difficulty of discovering things on the part of
men,—the nature of each particular regarding these (types) is not
clearly ascertained.
10. And what need is there to speak of the
prophecies, which we all know to be filled with enigmas and dark
sayings? And if we come to the Gospels, the exact understanding
of these also, as being the mind of Christ, requires the grace that was
given to him who said, “But we have the mind of Christ, that we
might know the things freely given to us by God. Which things
also we speak, not in the words which man’s wisdom teacheth, but
which the Spirit teacheth.”2872
And who,
on reading the revelations made to John, would not be amazed at
the unspeakable mysteries therein concealed, and which are
evident (even) to him who does not comprehend what is
written? And to what person, skilful in investigating words,
would the Epistles of the Apostles seem to be clear and easy of
understanding, since even in them there are countless numbers of most
profound ideas, which, (issuing forth) as by an aperture, admit of no
rapid comprehension?2873
| 2873 Μυρίων ὅσων
κἀκεῖ, ὡς δἰ
ὀπῆς,
μεγίστων καὶ
πλείστων
νοημάτων οὐ
βραχεῖαν
ἀφορμὴν
παρεχόντων. | And
therefore, since these things are so, and since innumerable
individuals fall into mistakes, it is not safe in reading (the
Scriptures) to declare that one easily understands what needs the key
of knowledge, which the Saviour declares is with the lawyers. And
let those answer who will not allow that the truth was with these
before the advent of Christ, how the key of knowledge is said by our
Lord Jesus Christ to be with those who, as they allege,
had not the books which
contain the secrets2874
of knowledge, and
perfect mysteries.2875
For His words
run thus: “Woe unto you, ye lawyers! for ye have taken away
the key of knowledge: ye have not entered in yourselves, and them
that were entering in ye hindered.”2876
11. The way, then, as it appears to us, in
which we ought to deal with the Scriptures, and extract from them
their meaning, is the following, which has been ascertained
from the Scriptures themselves. By Solomon in the Proverbs we
find some such rule as this enjoined respecting the divine doctrines of
Scripture:2877
| 2877 The Septuagint:
Καὶ σὺ δὲ
ἀπόγραψαι
αὐτὰ σεαυτῷ
τρισσῶς, εἰς
βσυλὴν καὶ
γνῶσιν ἐπὶ
τὸ πλάτος τῆς
καρδίας σου ·
διδάκω οὖν σε
ἀληθῆ λόγον,
καὶ γνῶσιν
ἀληθῆ
ὑπακούειν,
τοῦ
ἀποκρίνεσθαί
σε λόγους
ἀληθείας
τοῖς
προβαλλομένοις
σοι. The Vulgate reads: Ecce,
descripsi eam tibi tripliciter, in cogitationibus et scientia, ut
ostenderem tibi firmitatem et eloquia veritatis, respondere ex his
illis, qui miserunt te. | “And do
thou portray them in a threefold manner, in counsel and knowledge, to
answer words of truth to them who propose them to thee.”2878
| 2878 Cf. note 4,
ut supra. | The individual ought, then, to portray
the ideas of holy Scripture in a threefold manner upon his own soul; in
order that the simple man may be edified by the “flesh,” as
it were, of the Scripture, for so we name the obvious sense; while he
who has ascended a certain way (may be edified) by the
“soul,” as it were. The perfect man, again, and he
who resembles those spoken of by the apostle, when he says,
“We speak wisdom among them that are perfect, but not the wisdom
of the world, nor of the rulers of this world, who come to nought; but
we speak the wisdom of God in a mystery, the hidden wisdom, which God
hath ordained before the ages, unto our glory,”2879
(may receive edification) from the
spiritual law, which has a shadow of good things to come. For as
man consists of body, and soul, and spirit, so in the same way does
Scripture, which has been arranged to be given by God for the salvation
of men. And therefore we deduce this also from a book which is
despised by some—The Shepherd—in respect of the
command given to Hermas to write two books, and after so doing to
announce to the presbyters of the Church what he had learned from the
Spirit. The words are as follows: “You will write two
books, and give one to Clement, and one to Grapte. And Grapte
shall admonish the
widows and the orphans, and Clement will send to the cities abroad,
while you will announce to the presbyters of the Church.”
Now Grapte, who admonishes the widows and the orphans, is the mere
letter (of Scripture), which admonishes those who are yet children in
soul, and not able to call God their Father, and who are on that
account styled orphans,—admonishing, moreover, those who no
longer have an unlawful bridegroom,2880
but who remain
widows, because they have not yet become worthy of the (heavenly)
Bridegroom; while Clement, who is already beyond the letter, is said to
send what is written to the cities abroad, as if we were to call these
the “souls,” who are above (the influence of) bodily
(affections) and degraded2881
ideas,—the
disciple of the Spirit himself being enjoined to make known, no longer
by letters, but by living words, to the presbyters of the whole
Church of God, who have become grey2882
through
wisdom.
12. But as there are certain passages of
Scripture which do not at all contain the “corporeal”
sense, as we shall show in the following (paragraphs), there are also
places where we must seek only for the “soul,” as it were,
and “spirit” of Scripture. And perhaps on this
account the water-vessels containing two or three firkins a-piece are
said to lie for the purification of the Jews, as we read in the Gospel
according to John: the expression darkly intimating, with
respect to those who (are called) by the apostle “Jews”
secretly, that they are purified by the word of Scripture, receiving
sometimes two firkins, i.e., so to speak, the “psychical”
and “spiritual” sense; and sometimes three firkins, since
some have, in addition to those already mentioned, also the
“corporeal” sense, which is capable of
(producing) edification. And six water-vessels are
reasonably (appropriate) to those who are purified in the world, which
was made in six days—the perfect number. That the first
“sense,” then, is profitable in this respect, that it is
capable of imparting edification, is testified by the multitudes
of genuine and simple believers; while of that interpretation which is
referred back to the “soul,” there is an illustration in
Paul’s first Epistle to the Corinthians. The
expression is, “Thou shalt not muzzle the mouth of the ox
that treadeth out the corn;”2883
| 2883 Cf. 1 Cor. ix. 9 and Deut. xxv. 4. | to which he
adds, “Doth God take care of oxen? or saith He it
altogether for our sakes? For our sakes, no doubt, this was
written: that he that plougheth should plough in hope, and that
he who thresheth, in hope of partaking.”2884
And there are numerous
interpretations adapted to the multitude which are in
circulation, and which edify those who are unable to understand
profounder meanings, and which have somewhat the same
character.
13. But the interpretation is
“spiritual,” when one is able to show of what heavenly
things the Jews “according to the flesh” served as an
example and a shadow, and of what future blessings the law contains a
shadow. And, generally, we must investigate, according to
the apostolic promise, “the wisdom in a mystery, the hidden
wisdom which God ordained before the world for the glory”
of the just, which “none of the princes of this world
knew.”2885
And the same
apostle says somewhere, after referring to certain events
mentioned as occurring in Exodus and Numbers, “that these
things happened to them figuratively, but that they were written on our
account, on whom the ends of the world are come.”2886
And he gives an opportunity for
ascertaining of what things these were patterns, when he
says: “For they drank of the spiritual Rock that followed
them, and that Rock was Christ.”2887
And in another Epistle, when sketching
the various matters relating to the tabernacle, he used the
words: “Thou shalt make everything according to the
pattern showed thee in the mount.”2888
| 2888 Cf. Ex. xxv. 40 and Heb. viii. 5. | Moreover, in the Epistle to the
Galatians, as if upbraiding those who think that they read the law, and
yet do not understand it, judging that those do not understand it who
do not reflect that allegories are contained under what is
written, he says: “Tell me, ye that desire to be under the
law, do ye not hear the law? For it is written, Abraham had two
sons; the one by the bond-maid, the other by the free woman. But
he who was by the bond-maid was born according to the flesh; but he of
the free woman was by promise. Which things are an
allegory:2889
for these are
the two covenants,” and so on. Now we must carefully
observe each word employed by him. He says: “Ye who
desire to be under the law,” not “Ye that are under the
law;” and, “Do ye not hearthe
law?”—“hearing” being understood to mean
“comprehending” and
“knowing.” And in the Epistle to the
Colossians, briefly abridging the meaning of the whole legislation, he
says: “Let no man therefore judge you in meat, or in drink,
or in respect of a festival, or of a new moon, or of Sabbaths, which
are a shadow of things to come.”2890
Moreover, in the Epistle to the
Hebrews, discoursing of those who belong to the circumcision, he
writes: “who serve for an ensample and shadow of heavenly
things.”2891
Now it is
probable that, from these illustrations, those will entertain no doubt
with respect to the five books of Moses, who have once given in their
adhesion to the apostle, as divinely inspired;2892
but do you wish to know, with regard to the rest of the history,
if it also happened as a pattern? We must note, then, the
expression in the Epistle to the Romans, “I have left to myself
seven thousand men, who have not bowed the knee to
Baal,”2893
quoted from the
third book of Kings, which Paul has understood as equivalent (in
meaning) to those who are Israelites according to election,
because not only were the Gentiles benefited by the advent of Christ,
but also certain of the race of God.2894
| 2894 τινὰς ἀπὸ
τοῦ θεῖου
γένους, i.e., Israelites. |
14. This being the state of the case, we have to
sketch what seem to us to be the marks of the (true) understanding of
Scriptures. And, in the first place, this must be pointed out,
that the object of the Spirit, which by the providence of God, through
the Word who was in the beginning with God, illuminated the
ministers of truth, the prophets and apostles, was especially (the
communication) of ineffable mysteries regarding the affairs of
men (now by men I mean those souls that make use of bodies), in order
that he who is capable of instruction may by investigation, and
by devoting himself to the study of the profundities of meaning
contained in the words, become a participator of all the doctrines of
his counsel. And among those matters which relate to souls (who
cannot otherwise obtain perfection apart from the rich and wise truth
of God), the (doctrines) belonging to God and His only-begotten Son are
necessarily laid down as primary, viz., of what nature He is, and in
what manner He is the Son of God, and what are the causes of His
descending even to (the
assumption of) human flesh, and of complete humanity; and what, also,
is the operation of this (Son), and upon whom and when
exercised. And it was necessary also that the subject of
kindred beings, and other rational creatures, both those who are
divine and those who have fallen from blessedness, together with
the reasons of their fall, should be contained in the divine teaching;
and also that of the diversities of souls, and of the origin of these
diversities, and of the nature of the world, and the cause of its
existence. We must learn also the origin of the great and
terrible wickedness which overspreads the earth, and whether it is
confined to this earth only, or prevails elsewhere. Now, while
these and similar objects were present to the Spirit, who enlightened
the souls of the holy ministers of the truth, there was a second
object, for the sake of those who were unable to endure the fatigue of
investigating matters so important, viz., to conceal the doctrine
relating to the previously mentioned subjects, in expressions
containing a narrative which conveyed an announcement regarding the
things of the visible creation,2895
| 2895 περὶ τῶν
αἰσθητῶν
δημιουργημάτων. | the creation
of man, and the successive descendants of the first men until they
became numerous; and other histories relating the acts of just men, and
the sins occasionally committed by these same men as being human
beings, and the wicked deeds, both of unchastity and vice, committed by
sinful and ungodly men. And what is most remarkable, by the
history of wars, and of the victors, and the vanquished, certain
mysteries are indicated to those who are able to test these
statements. And more wonderful still, the laws of truth are
predicted by the written legislation;—all these being described
in a connected series, with a power which is truly in keeping with the
wisdom of God. For it was intended that the covering also of the
spiritual truths—I mean the “bodily” part of
Scripture—should not be without profit in many cases, but
should be capable of improving the multitude, according to their
capacity.
15. But
since, if the usefulness of the legislation, and the sequence and
beauty2896
of the history,
were universally evident of itself,2897
we should not
believe that any other thing could be understood in the Scriptures save
what was obvious, the word of God has arranged that certain
stumbling-blocks, as it were, and offences, and impossibilities,
should be introduced into the midst of the law and the history, in
order that we may not, through being drawn away in all directions by
the merely attractive nature of the language,2898
| 2898 ὑπὸ τῆς
λέξεως
ἑλκόμενοι τὸ
ἀγωγὸν
ἄκρατον
ἐχούσης. | either altogether fall away from the (true)
doctrines, as learning nothing worthy of God, or, by not
departing from the letter, come to the knowledge of nothing more
divine. And this also we must know, that the principal aim being
to announce the “spiritual” connection in those things that
are done, and that ought to be done, where the Word found that things
done according to the history could be adapted to these mystical
senses, He made use of them, concealing from the multitude the deeper
meaning; but where, in the narrative of the development of
super-sensual things,2899
| 2899 ἐν τῇ
διηγήσει τῆς
περὶ τῶν
νοητῶν
ἀκολουθίας. | there did not
follow the performance of those certain events, which was already
indicated by the mystical meaning, the Scripture interwove in the
history (the account of) some event that did not take place, sometimes
what could not have happened; sometimes what could, but did not.
And sometimes a few words are interpolated which are not true in their
literal acceptation,2900
and sometimes a
larger number. And a similar practice also is to be noticed with
regard to the legislation, in which is often to be found what is useful
in itself, and appropriate to the times of the legislation; and
sometimes also what does not appear to be of utility; and at other
times impossibilities are recorded for the sake of the more
skilful and inquisitive, in order that they may give themselves to the
toil of investigating what is written, and thus attain to a
becoming conviction of the manner in which a meaning worthy of God must
be sought out in such subjects.
16. It was not only, however, with the (Scriptures
composed) before the advent (of Christ) that the Spirit thus dealt; but
as being the same Spirit, and (proceeding) from the one God, He did the
same thing both with the evangelists and the apostles,—as even these do not contain
throughout a pure history of events, which are interwoven
indeed according to the letter, but which did not actually
occur.2901
| 2901 Οὐδὲ τούτων
πάντη
ἄκρατον τὴν
ἱστορίαν τῶν
προσυφασμένων
κατὰ τὸ
σωματικὸν
ἐχόντων, μὴ
γεγενημένων
· οὐδὲ τὴν
νομοθεσίαν
καὶ τὰς
ἐντολὰς
πάντως τὸ
εὔλογον
ἐμφαίνοντα
. One ms. reads γεγενημένην,
referring to ἱστορίαν, on which one
editor remarks, “Hic et in sequentibus imploro fidem
codicum!” | Nor even do
the law and the commandments wholly convey what is agreeable to
reason. For who that has understanding will suppose that
the first, and second, and third day, and the evening and the morning,
existed without a sun, and moon, and stars? and that the first
day was, as it were, also without a sky? And who is so foolish as
to suppose that God, after the manner of a husbandman, planted a
paradise in Eden, towards the east, and placed in it a tree of life,
visible and palpable, so that one tasting of the fruit by the bodily
teeth obtained life? and again, that one was a partaker of good and
evil by masticating what was taken from the tree? And if God is
said to walk in the paradise in the evening, and Adam to hide himself
under a tree, I do not suppose that anyone doubts that these things
figuratively indicate certain mysteries, the history having taken
place in appearance, and not literally.2902
| 2902 διὰ
δοκούσης
ιστορίας καὶ
οὐ σωματικῶς
γεγενημένης. | Cain also, when going forth from the
presence of God, certainly appears to thoughtful men as likely to lead
the reader to inquire what is the presence of God, and what is the
meaning of going out from Him. And what need is there to say
more, since those who are not altogether blind can collect countless
instances of a similar kind recorded as having occurred, but which did
not literally2903
take place?
Nay, the Gospels themselves are filled with the same kind of
narratives; e.g., the devil leading Jesus up into a high
mountain, in order to show him from thence the kingdoms of the
whole world, and the glory of them. For who is there among those
who do not read such accounts carelessly, that would not condemn those
who think that with the eye of the body—which requires a
lofty height in order that the parts lying (immediately) under and
adjacent may be seen—the kingdoms of the Persians, and Scythians,
and Indians, and Parthians, were beheld, and the manner in which their
princes are glorified among men? And the attentive reader may
notice in the Gospels innumerable other passages like
these, so that he will be convinced that in the histories that are
literally recorded,
circumstances that did not occur are inserted.
17. And if we come to the legislation of
Moses, many of the laws manifest the irrationality, and others the
impossibility, of their literal2904
| 2904 ὅσον
ἐπὶ τῷ καθ᾽
ἑαυτοὺς
τηρεῖσθαι. |
observance. The irrationality (in this), that the people
are forbidden to eat vultures, although no one even in the direst
famines was (ever) driven by want to have recourse to this bird; and
that children eight days old, which are uncircumcised, are
ordered to be exterminated from among their people, it being
necessary, if the law were to be carried out at all literally with
regard to these, that their fathers, or those with whom they are
brought up, should be commanded to be put to death. Now the
Scripture says: “Every male that is uncircumcised, who
shall not be circumcised on the eighth day, shall be cut off from among
his people.”2905
And if you
wish to see impossibilities contained in the legislation, let us
observe that the goat-stag is one of those animals that cannot exist,
and yet Moses commands us to offer it as being a clean beast; whereas a
griffin, which is not recorded ever to have been subdued by man, the
lawgiver forbids to be eaten. Nay, he who carefully
considers (the famous injunction relating to) the Sabbath,
“Ye shall sit each one in your dwellings: let no one go out
from his place on the seventh day,”2906
will deem it impossible to be literally observed: for no living
being is able to sit throughout a whole day, and remain without moving
from a sitting position. And therefore those who belong to the
circumcision, and all who desire that no meaning should be exhibited,
save the literal one, do not investigate at all such subjects as
those of the goat-stag and griffin and vulture, but indulge in foolish
talk on certain points, multiplying words and adducing
tasteless2907
traditions; as, for
example, with regard to the Sabbath, saying that two thousand
cubits is each one’s limit.2908
| 2908 τόπον
ἑκάστῳ εἶναι
δισχιλίους
πήχεις. | Others, again, among whom is Dositheus
the Samaritan, condemning such an interpretation, think that in the
position in which a man is found on the Sabbath-day, he is to remain
until evening. Moreover, the not carrying of a burden on the
Sabbath-day is an impossibility; and therefore the Jewish
teachers have
fallen into countless absurdities,2909
| 2909 Εἰς
ἀπεραντολογίαν
ἐληλύθασι. | saying that a
shoe of such a kind was a burden, but not one of another kind; and that
a sandal which had nails was a burden, but not one that was
without them; and in like manner what was borne on one shoulder (was a
load), but not that which was carried on both.
18. And if we go to the Gospel and institute
a similar examination, what would be more irrational than (to take
literally the injunction), “Salute no man by the
way,”2910
which simple
persons think the Saviour enjoined on the apostles? The
command, moreover, that the right cheek should be smitten, is
most incredible, since everyone who strikes, unless he happen to have
some bodily defect,2911
| 2911 εἰ μὴ ἄρα
πεπονθώς τι
παρὰ φύσιν
τυγχάνοι. | smites the
left cheek with his right hand. And it is
impossible to take (literally, the statement) in the Gospel about
the “offending” of the right eye. For, to grant the
possibility of one being “offended” by the sense of sight,
how, when there are two eyes that see, should the blame be laid upon
the right eye? And who is there that, condemning himself
for having looked upon a woman to lust after her, would rationally
transfer the blame to the right eye alone, and throw it
away? The apostle, moreover, lays down the law, saying,
“Is any man called, being circumcised? Let him not become
uncircumcised.” 2912
In the first
place, anyone will see that he does not utter these words in connection
with the subject before him. For, when laying down precepts on
marriage and purity, how will it not appear that he has
introduced these words at random?2913
But, in the second place, who will say
that a man does wrong who endeavours to become uncircumcised, if
that be possible, on account of the disgrace that is considered by the
multitude to attach to circumcision.
All these statements have been made by us, in
order to show that the design of that divine power which gave us the
sacred Scriptures is, that we should not receive what is presented by
the letter alone (such things being sometimes not true in their literal
acceptation, but absurd and impossible), but that certain things
have been introduced into the actual history and into the legislation
that are useful in their literal sense.2914
| 2914 καὶ τῇ κατὰ
τὸ ῥητὸν
χρησίμων
νομοθεσίᾳ. |
19. But
that no one may suppose that we assert respecting the whole that no
history is real2915
because a certain
one is not; and that no law is to be literally observed, because a
certain one, (understood) according to the letter, is absurd or
impossible; or that the statements regarding the Saviour are not
true in a manner perceptible to the senses;2916
or that no commandment and precept of
His ought to be obeyed;—we have to answer that, with regard to
certain things, it is perfectly clear to us that the historical account
is true; as that Abraham was buried in the double cave at Hebron, as
also Isaac and Jacob, and the wives of each of them; and that Shechem
was given as a portion to Joseph;2917
| 2917 Cf. Gen. xlviii. 22 and Josh. xxiv.
32. | and that
Jerusalem is the metropolis of Judea, in which the temple of God was
built by Solomon; and innumerable other statements. For the
passages that are true in their historical meaning are much more
numerous than those which are interspersed with a purely spiritual
signification. And again, who would not say that the
command which enjoins to “honour thy father and thy mother,
that it may be well with thee,”2918
is
useful, apart from all allegorical meaning,2919
| 2919 χωρις πάσης
ἀναγωγῆς. |
and ought to be observed, the Apostle Paul also having employed these
very same words? And what need is there to speak of the
(prohibitions), “Thou shalt not commit adultery,”
“Thou shalt not kill,” “Thou shalt not steal,”
“Thou shalt not bear false witness?”2920
And again, there are commandments
contained in the Gospel which admit of no doubt whether they are to be
observed according to the letter or not; e.g., that which says,
“But I say unto you, Whoever is angry with his
brother,”2921
and so on.
And again, “But I say unto you, Swear not at all.”2922
“And in the writings of the
apostle the literal sense is to be retained: “Warn them
that are unruly, comfort the feeble-minded, support the weak, be
patient towards all men;”2923
although it is
possible for those ambitious of a deeper meaning to retain the
profundities of the wisdom of God, without setting aside the
commandment in its literal meaning.2924
| 2924 Εἰ και παρὰ
τοῖς
φιλοτιμοτέροις
δύναται
σώζειν
ἕκαστον
αὐτῶν, μετὰ
τοῦ μὴ
ἀθετεῖσθαι
τὴν κατὰ τὸ
ῥητὸν
ἑντολην, βάθη
Θεοῦ
σοφίας. | The
careful (reader), however, will be in doubt2925
as
to certain points, being unable to show without
long investigation whether
this history so deemed literally occurred or not, and whether the
literal meaning of this law is to be observed or not. And
therefore the exact reader must, in obedience to the Saviour’s
injunction to “search the Scriptures,”2926
carefully ascertain in how far the literal
meaning is true, and in how far impossible; and so far as he can,
trace out, by means of similar statements, the meaning everywhere
scattered through Scripture of that which cannot be understood in a
literal signification.
20. Since, therefore, as will be clear to
those who read, the connection taken literally is impossible, while the
sense preferred2927
is not impossible,
but even the true one, it must be our object to grasp the whole
meaning, which connects the account of what is literally impossible in
an intelligible manner with what is not only not impossible, but also
historically true, and which is allegorically understood, in respect of
its not having literally occurred.2928
| 2928 ῞Ολον τὸν νοῦν
φιλοτιμητέον
καταλαμβάνειν,
συνείροντα
τὸν περὶ τῶν
κατὰ τὴν
λέξιν
ἀδυνάτων
λόγον νοητῶς
τοῖς οὐ μόνον
οὐκ
ἀδυνάτοις,
ἀλλὰ καὶ
ἀληθέσι κατὰ
τὴν ἱστορίαν,
συναλληγορουμένοις
τοῖς ὅσον
ἐπὶ τῇ λέξει,
μὴ
γεγενημένοις. | For,
with respect to holy Scripture, our opinion is that the whole of it has
a “spiritual,” but not the whole a
“bodily” meaning, because the bodily meaning is in many
places proved to be impossible. And therefore great attention
must be bestowed by the cautious reader on the divine books, as being
divine writings; the manner of understanding which appears to us
to be as follows:—The Scriptures relate that God chose a
certain nation upon the earth, which they call by several names.
For the whole of this nation is termed Israel, and also Jacob.
And when it was divided in the times of Jeroboam the son of Nebat, the
ten tribes related as being subject to him were called Israel; and the
remaining two, along with the tribe of Levi, being ruled over by the
descendants of David, were named Judah. And the whole of
the territory which the people of this nation inhabited, being given
them by God, receives the name of Judah, the metropolis of which is
Jerusalem,—a metropolis, namely, of numerous cities, the names of
which lie scattered about in many other passages (of Scripture), but
are enumerated together in the book of Joshua the son of Nun.2929
| 2929 ἐν
᾽Ιησοῦ τῷ
τοῦ Ναυῆ. |
21. Such, then, being the state of the case, the
apostle, elevating our power of discernment (above the letter), says
somewhere, “Behold Israel after the flesh,”2930
as if there were an Israel “according
to the Spirit.” And in another place he says, “For
they who are the children of the flesh are not the children of
God;” nor are “they all Israel who are of
Israel;”2931
nor is “he a
Jew who is one outwardly, nor is that ‘circumcision’ which
is outward in the flesh: but he is a Jew who is one
‘inwardly;’ and circumcision is that of the heart, in the
spirit, and not in the letter.”2932
For if the judgment respecting the
“Jew inwardly” be adopted, we must understand that, as
there is a “bodily” race of Jews, so also is there a race
of “Jews inwardly,” the soul having acquired this nobility
for certain mysterious reasons. Moreover, there are many
prophecies which predict regarding Israel and Judah what is about to
befall them. And do not such promises as are written concerning
them, in respect of their being mean in expression, and
manifesting no elevation (of thought), nor anything worthy of the
promise of God, need a mystical interpretation? And if the
“spiritual” promises are announced by visible signs,
then they to whom the promises are made are not
“corporeal.” And not to linger over the point
of the Jew who is a Jew “inwardly,” nor over that of the
Israelite according to the “inner man”—these
statements being sufficient for those who are not devoid of
understanding—we return to our subject, and say that Jacob is the
father of the twelve patriarchs, and they of the rulers of the people;
and these, again, of the other Israelites. Do not, then, the
“corporeal” Israelites refer their descent to the rulers of
the people, and the rulers of the people to the patriarchs, and the
patriarchs to Jacob, and those still higher up; while are not the
“spiritual” Israelites, of whom the “corporeal”
Israelites were the type, sprung from the families, and the families
from the tribes, and the tribes from some one individual whose descent
is not of a “corporeal” but of a better kind,—he,
too, being born of Isaac, and he of Abraham,—all going back to
Adam, whom the apostle declares to be Christ? For every beginning
of those families which have relation to God as to the Father of
all, took its commencement lower down with Christ, who is next to the
God and Father of all,2933
| 2933 Πᾶσα γὰρ
ἀρχὴ πατριῶν
τῶν ὡς πρὸς
τὸν τῶν ὅλων
Θεὸν,
κατωτέρω ἀπὸ
τοῦ Χριστοῦ
ἤρξατο τοῦ
μετὰ τὸν τῶν
ὅλων Θεὸν καὶ
πατέρα. | being thus the
Father of every soul, as Adam is the father of all men. And if Eve
also is intended by the apostle to refer to the Church, it is not
surprising that Cain, who was born of Eve, and all after him, whose
descent goes back to Eve, should be types of the Church, inasmuch as in
a pre-eminent sense they are all descended from the Church.
22. Now, if the statements made to us
regarding Israel, and its tribes and its families, are calculated
to impress us, when the Saviour says, “I was not sent but to the
lost sheep of the house of Israel,”2934
we
do not understand the expression as the Ebionites do, who are poor in
understanding (deriving their name from the poverty of their
intellect—“Ebion” signifying “poor”
in Hebrew), so as to suppose that the Saviour came specially to
the “carnal” Israelites; for “they who are the
children of the flesh are not the children of God.”2935
| 2935 Rom. ix. 8. [See Dr. Burton’s
Inquiry into the Heresies of the Apostolic Age (Bampton
Lectures), pp. 184, 185, 498, 499. S.] | Again, the apostle teaches regarding
Jerusalem as follows: “The Jerusalem which is above is
free, which is the mother of us all.”2936
And in another Epistle:
“But ye are come unto mount Zion, and to the city of the living
God, to the heavenly Jerusalem, and to an innumerable company of
angels, to the general assembly and to the Church of the
first-born which are written in heaven.”2937
If, then, Israel is among the race of
souls,2938
and if there is in
heaven a city of Jerusalem, it follows that the cities of Israel have
for their metropolis the heavenly Jerusalem, and it consequently
is the metropolis of all Judea. Whatever, therefore, is
predicted of Jerusalem, and spoken of it, if we listen to the words of
Paul as those of God, and of one who utters wisdom, we must understand
the Scriptures as speaking of the heavenly city, and of the whole
territory included within the cities of the holy land. For
perhaps it is to these cities that the Saviour refers us, when to those
who have gained credit by having managed their “pounds”
well, He assigns the presidency over five or ten cities.
If, therefore, the prophecies relating to Judea, and Jerusalem,
and Israel, and Judah, and Jacob, not being understood by us in a
“carnal” sense, indicate some such mysteries (as already
mentioned), it will follow also that the predictions concerning Egypt
and the Egyptians, Babylon and the Babylonians, Tyre and the Tyrians,
Sidon and the Sidonians, or
the other nations, are spoken not only of these “bodily”
Egyptians, and Babylonians, and Tyrians, and Sidonians, but also of
their “spiritual” (counterparts). For if there be
“spiritual” Israelites, it follows that there are also
“spiritual” Egyptians and Babylonians. For what is
related in Ezekiel concerning Pharaoh king of Egypt does not at all
apply to the case of a certain man who ruled or was said to rule over
Egypt, as will be evident to those who give it careful
consideration. Similarly, what is said about the ruler of Tyre
cannot be understood of a certain man who ruled over Tyre. And
what is said in many places, and especially in Isaiah, of
Nebuchadnezzar, cannot be explained of that individual. For
the man Nebuchadnezzar neither fell from heaven, nor was he the morning
star, nor did he arise upon the earth in the morning. Nor would
any man of understanding interpret what is said in Ezekiel about
Egypt—viz., that in forty years it should be laid desolate, so
that the footstep of man should not be found thereon, and that
the ravages of war should be so great that the blood should run
throughout the whole of it, and rise to the knees—of that
Egypt which is situated beside the Ethiopians whose bodies are
blackened by the sun.
23. And perhaps as those here, dying
according to the death common to all, are, in consequence of the deeds
done here, so arranged as to obtain different places according to the
proportion of their sins, if they should be deemed worthy of the place
called Hades;2939
| 2939 τοῦ
καλουμένου
χωρίου
ᾅδου. | so those there
dying, so to speak, descend into this Hades, being judged deserving of
different abodes—better or worse—throughout all this space
of earth, and (of being descended) from parents of different
kinds,2940
| 2940 καὶ παρὰ
τοισδε, ἤ
τοῖσδε τοῖς
πατράσι. | so that an
Israelite may sometimes fall among Scythians, and an Egyptian
descend into Judea. And yet the Saviour came to gather
together the lost sheep of the house of Israel; but many of the
Israelites not having yielded to His teaching,
those from the Gentiles were
called.…And these points, as we suppose, have been concealed in
the histories. For “the kingdom of heaven is like a
treasure hid in a field; the which when a man hath found, he hideth,
and for joy thereof goeth and selleth all that he hath, and buyeth that
field.”2941
Let us
notice, then, whether the apparent and superficial and obvious meaning
of Scripture does not resemble a field filled with plants of every
kind, while the things lying in it, and not visible to all, but buried,
as it were, under the plants that are seen, are the hidden treasures of
wisdom and knowledge; which the Spirit through Isaiah2942
calls dark and invisible and concealed, God
alone being able to break the brazen gates that conceal them, and to
burst the iron bars that are upon the gates, in order that all the
statements in the book of Genesis may be discovered which refer to the
various genuine kinds, and seeds, as it were, of souls, which stand
nearly related to Israel, or at a distance from it; and the descent
into Egypt of the seventy souls, that they may there become as
the “stars of heaven in multitude.” But since
not all who are of them are the light of the world—“for not
all who are of Israel are Israel”2943
—they become from seventy souls
as the “sand that is beside the sea-shore
innumerable.”E.C.F. INDEX & SEARCH
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