The Instructor 1.7.60
Summary: The law was given by the Word through Moses and was temporary; grace and truth came through Jesus, whom Moses foretold as the prophet like himself, prefigured by Joshua.
Greek text · Stählin 1:125–126
γεγόναμεν. διὸ καὶ ἐπιφέρει »προφήτην εἰς ἔθνη τέθεικά σε«, προφητεῦσαι λέγων αὐτὸν δεῖν μηδὲ ὄνειδος εἶναι δοκεῖν τοῦ νεωτέρου τὴν προσηγορίαν τοῖς νηπίοις καλουμένοις. ὁ δὲ νόμος χάρις ἐστὶν παλαιὰ διὰ Μωσέως ὑπὸ τοῦ λόγου δοθεῖσα. διὸ καὶ φησιν ἡ γραφή· »ὁ νόμος διὰ Μωσέως ἐδόθη« (οὐχὶ ὑπὸ Μωσέως, ἀλλὰ ὑπὸ μὲν τοῦ λόγου, διὰ Μωσέως δὲ τοῦ θεράποντος αὐτοῦ· διὸ καὶ πρόσκαιρος ἐγένετο), »ἡ δὲ ἀίδιος χάρις καὶ ἡ ἀλήθεια διὰ Ἰησοῦ Χριστοῦ ἐγένετο.« ὁρᾶτε τὰς λέξεις τῆς γραφῆς· ἐπὶ μὲν τοῦ νόμου »ἐδόθη« φησὶ μόνον, »ἡ δὲ ἀλήθεια«, χάρις οὖσα τοῦ πατρός, ἔργον ἐστὶ τοῦ λόγου αἰώνιον καὶ οὐκέτι δίδοσθαι λέγεται, ἀλλὰ »διὰ Ἰησοῦ γίνεσθαι, οὗ χωρὶς ἐγένετο οὐδὲ ἕν«. αὐτίκα γοῦν ὁ Μωσῆς, τῷ τελείῳ προφητικῶς παραχωρῶν παιδαγωγῷ τῷ λόγῳ, καὶ τὸ ὄνομα καὶ τὴν παιδαγωγίαν προθεσπίζει καὶ τῷ λαῷ παρατίθεται τὸν παιδαγωγόν, ἐντολὰς ὑπακοῆς ἐγχειρίσας· »προφήτην ὑμῖν ἀναστήσει«, φησίν, »ὁ θεὸς ὡς ἐμὲ ἐκ τῶν ἀδελφῶν ὑμῶν«, τὸν Ἰησοῦν τὸν τοῦ Ναυῆ, αἰνιττόμενος τὸν Ἰησοῦν τὸν τοῦ θεοῦ υἱόν· σκιαγραφία γὰρ ἦν τοῦ κυρίου τὸ ὄνομα τὸ Ἰησοῦ προκηρυσσόμενον ἐν νόμῳ. ἐπιφέρει γοῦν, τὸ λυσιτελὲς τῷ λαῷ συμβουλεύων, »αὐτοῦ ἀκούσεσθε« λέγων, »καὶ ὁ ἄνθρωπος, ὃς ἂν μὴ ἀκούσῃ τοῦ προφήτου τούτου, τούτῳ ἀπειλεῖ«.
English · Claude translation
So he adds, “I have appointed you a prophet to the nations,” saying that he must prophesy, and that the name of “youth” should not seem a reproach to those called infants. The law is an old grace given by the Word through Moses. That is why Scripture says, “The law was given through Moses” (not by Moses, but by the Word through Moses his servant; that is why it was temporary), “but eternal grace and truth came through Jesus Christ.” See the words of Scripture: of the law it says only “was given”; but “the truth,” being the grace of the Father, is the eternal work of the Word, and is no longer said to be given, but “to come through Jesus, without whom not one thing came to be.” So Moses, prophetically yielding place to the perfect Instructor, the Word, foretells both the name and the instruction, and commends the Instructor to the people, handing over commandments of obedience: “God will raise up for you a prophet like me from among your brothers,” he says, speaking of Jesus the son of Nun, but hinting at Jesus the Son of God; for the name Jesus, proclaimed beforehand in the law, was a sketch of the Lord. So he adds, counseling what is profitable for the people, “You shall hear him,” and “the man who does not hear this prophet,” him he threatens.
About this passage
Notes
Translation notes
- Joshua son of Nun is Ἰησοῦς in Greek; Clement sees the name as a prefiguring of Jesus.
- The quotations are Jer 1:5, John 1:17 (with “eternal” added), John 1:3, and Deut 18:15, 19 (Acts 3:22–23).
Notes on the original text
- Digital text corrected (stray period in the digital text): »ἐδόθη« φησὶ. μόνον, → »ἐδόθη« φησὶ μόνον,.
Cite this passage
Clement of Alexandria, Paed. 1.7.60 (trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/clement-paedagogus/1/7/60/).
Plain text
Clement of Alexandria, Paed. 1.7.60 (trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/clement-paedagogus/1/7/60/).
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