Preparation for the Gospel 8.14.66–9.15.1
Greek text: Dindorf, Eusebii Opera 1 (Greek text: W. Dindorf, Eusebii Caesariensis Opera 1–2 (Leipzig: Teubner, 1867), digitized by the First Thousand Years of Greek project (Open Greek and Latin), CC BY-SA 4.0).English: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), public domain (CC0). Compare: E. H. Gifford, Eusebii Pamphili Evangelicae Praeparationis libri XV (Oxford, 1903), vol. 3 (English).
Preparation 8, chapter 14
8.14.66Dindorf 1:465
χώρα δʼ ἡ Κυκλώπων, ἐπειδὴ τὸ γένος αὐτῶν ἐστι πλάσμα μύθου, δίχα σπορᾶς καὶ γεωπόνων ἀνδρῶν ἥμερος καρπὸς οὐ φύεται, καθάπερ οὐδʼ ἐκ τοῦ μὴ ὄντος τι γεννᾶται. τῆς Ἑλλάδος δʼ οὐ κατηγορητέον ὡς λυπρὰς καὶ ἀγόνου· πολὺ γὰρ κἀν ταύτῃ τὸ βαθύγειον. εἰ δʼ ἡ βάρβαρος διαφέρει ταῖς εὐκαρπίαις, πλεονεκτεῖ μὲν τροφαῖς, ἐλαττοῦται δὲ τοῖς τρεφομένοις, ὧν χάριν αἱ τροφαί· μόνη γὰρ ἡ Ἑλλάς ἀψευδῶς ἀνθρωπογονεῖ, φυτὸν οὐράνιον καὶ βλάστημα θεῖον ἠκριβωμένον, λογισμὸν ἀποτίκτουσα οἰκειούμενον ἐπιστήμῃ. τὸ δʼ αἴτιον· λεπτότητι ἀέρος ἡ διάνοια πέφυκεν ἀκονᾶσθαι.
chōra dʼ hē Kyklōpōn, epeidē to genos autōn esti plasma mythou, dicha sporas kai geōponōn andrōn hēmeros karpos ou phyetai, kathaper oudʼ ek tou mē ontos ti gennatai. tēs Hellados dʼ ou katēgorēteon hōs lypras kai agonou; poly gar kan tautę̄ to bathygeion. ei dʼ hē barbaros diapherei tais eukarpiais, pleonektei men trophais, elattoutai de tois trephomenois, hōn charin hai trophai; monē gar hē Hellas apseudōs anthrōpogonei, phyton ouranion kai blastēma theion ēkribōmenon, logismon apotiktousa oikeioumenon epistēmę̄. to dʼ aition; leptotēti aeros hē dianoia pephyken akonasthai.
In the land of the Cyclopes, since their race is the invention of myth, cultivated fruit does not grow without sowing and farmers, just as nothing comes into being from what is not. Nor is Greece to be accused of being poor and barren; for in it too there is much deep soil. And if the barbarian world excels in fertility, it has more food but is inferior in those who are fed, for whose sake the food exists. For Greece alone truly bears human beings, a heavenly plant and divine offshoot brought to perfection, bringing forth reasoning akin to knowledge. The cause is that the mind is naturally sharpened by the fineness of the air.
Notes and citation
Summary: Greece, though less fertile, produces the finest minds because of its fine air.
- Philo, On Providence 2. The fertile land of the Cyclopes is in Homer, Odyssey 9.108–111.
Notes on the original text
- Digital text corrected (Latin letter and stray mark in the digital text; missing iota subscript in the digital text; wrong accent in the digital text; wrong breathing and missing punctuation in the digital text; wrong breathing in the digital text): δίχα σποράς → δίχα σπορᾶς; τῆς ‘Eλλάδος → τῆς Ἑλλάδος; αἶ τροφαί μόνη → αἱ τροφαί· μόνη; ἡ Ἐλλάς → ἡ Ἑλλάς; οἰκειούμενον ἐπιστήμη → οἰκειούμενον ἐπιστήμῃ.
Extrabiblical texts: Philo, Prov. 2 (Philo of Alexandria (works); quotation); Homer, Od. 9.108–111 (Homer, Odyssey; allusion)
Cite (SBL): Eusebius, Praep. ev. 8.14.66 (Dindorf 1:465; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/eusebius-praeparatio/8-14-66/#p-8-14-66). (abbreviation not yet checked)
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Translation: Translated by Claude from the Greek of Dindorf's Teubner text (1867; digital text First1KGreek, CC BY-SA 4.0), then compared section by section with the public-domain English of E. H. Gifford (1903); differences checked against the Greek.
8.14.67Dindorf 1:465
διὸ καὶ Ἡράκλειτος οὐκ ἄπο σκοποῦ φησιν ‘αὐγὴ ξηρὴ, ψυχὴ σοφωτάτη καὶ ἀρίστη.’’ τεκμηριώσαιτο δʼ ἄν τις καὶ ἐκ τοῦ τοὺς μὲν νήφοντας καὶ ὀλιγοδεεῖς συνετωτέρους εἶναι, τοὺς δὲ ποτῶν ἀεὶ καὶ σιτίων ἐμπιπλαμένους ἥκιστα φρονίμους, ἅτε βαπτιζομένου τοῖς ἐπιοῦσι τοῦ λογισμοῦ.
dio kai Hērakleitos ouk apo skopou phēsin ‘augē xērē, psychē sophōtatē kai aristē.’’ tekmēriōsaito dʼ an tis kai ek tou tous men nēphontas kai oligodeeis synetōterous einai, tous de potōn aei kai sitiōn empiplamenous hēkista phronimous, hate baptizomenou tois epiousi tou logismou.
That is why Heraclitus too says, not beside the mark, 'A dry ray of light is the wisest and best soul.' One might prove it also from the fact that the sober and frugal are more intelligent, while those always filled with drink and food are least prudent, since their reasoning is drowned by what comes upon it.
Notes and citation
Summary: Heraclitus: the dry soul is wisest; sobriety sharpens the mind.
- Philo, On Providence 2, quoting Heraclitus (fragment 118).
Notes on the original text
- Digital text corrected (line-end hyphen left in the digital text; misplaced space in the digital text; wrong breathing in the digital text): Ἠράκλειτος → Ἡράκλειτος; φησιν‘ αὐγὴ → φησιν ‘αὐγὴ; σοφω- τάτη → σοφωτάτη.
Extrabiblical texts: Philo, Prov. 2 (Philo of Alexandria (works); quotation); Heraclitus, fr. 118 (Heraclitus (fragments); quotation)
Cite (SBL): Eusebius, Praep. ev. 8.14.67 (Dindorf 1:465; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/eusebius-praeparatio/8-14-66/#p-8-14-67). (abbreviation not yet checked)
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Translation: Translated by Claude from the Greek of Dindorf's Teubner text (1867; digital text First1KGreek, CC BY-SA 4.0), then compared section by section with the public-domain English of E. H. Gifford (1903); differences checked against the Greek.
8.14.68Dindorf 1:465–466
διὸ κατὰ τὴν βάρβαρον ἔρνη μὲν ταῖς εὐτροφίαις καὶ στελέχη περιμήκιστα, καὶ ζῴων ἀλόγων σφόδρα τὰ γονιμώτατα, νοῦν δʼ ἥκιστα γεννᾷ. διότι τὸ ὑψωθῆναι ἐξ ἀέρος αὐτοῦ, αἱ γῆς καὶ ὕδατος ἐπάλληλοι καὶ συνεχεῖς ἀναθυμιάσεις κατεκράτησαν.
dio kata tēn barbaron ernē men tais eutrophiais kai stelechē perimēkista, kai zǭōn alogōn sphodra ta gonimōtata, noun dʼ hēkista genną. dioti to hypsōthēnai ex aeros autou, hai gēs kai hydatos epallēloi kai synecheis anathymiaseis katekratēsan.
That is why in the barbarian world shoots and stems grow to great height through rich nourishment, and the most prolific of irrational animals, but it produces mind least of all; because the continual and successive exhalations of earth and water have overpowered the air, preventing it from rising.
Notes and citation
Summary: Damp barbarian lands produce plants and beasts but not minds.
- Philo, On Providence 2.
Extrabiblical texts: Philo, Prov. 2 (Philo of Alexandria (works); quotation)
Cite (SBL): Eusebius, Praep. ev. 8.14.68 (Dindorf 1:465–466; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/eusebius-praeparatio/8-14-66/#p-8-14-68). (abbreviation not yet checked)
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Translation: Translated by Claude from the Greek of Dindorf's Teubner text (1867; digital text First1KGreek, CC BY-SA 4.0), then compared section by section with the public-domain English of E. H. Gifford (1903); differences checked against the Greek.
8.14.69Dindorf 1:466
ἰχθύων δὲ καὶ ὀρνίθων καὶ χερσαίων γένη ζῴων οὐκ ἔστιν ἐγκλήματα φύσεως ἐφʼ ἡδονὴν παρακαλούσης, ἀλλὰ δεινὸς ψόγος τῆς ἡμῶν αὐτῶν ἀκρασίας. ἀναγκαῖον μὲν γὰρ ἦν εἰς τὴν τοῦ ὅλου συμπλήρωσιν, ἵνα γένηται κόσμος ἐν ἑκάστῳ μέρει, φῦναι ζῴων ἰδέας ἁπάντων· οὐκ ἀναγκαῖον δὲ ἐπὶ τὴν τούτων ἀπόλαυσιν ὁρμῆσαι τὸ σοφίας συγγενέστατον χρῆμα τὸν ἄνθρωπον, μεταβαλόντα εἰς ἀγριότητα θηρίων.
ichthyōn de kai ornithōn kai chersaiōn genē zǭōn ouk estin enklēmata physeōs ephʼ hēdonēn parakalousēs, alla deinos psogos tēs hēmōn autōn akrasias. anankaion men gar ēn eis tēn tou holou symplērōsin, hina genētai kosmos en hekastǭ merei, phynai zǭōn ideas hapantōn; ouk anankaion de epi tēn toutōn apolausin hormēsai to sophias syngenestaton chrēma ton anthrōpon, metabalonta eis agriotēta thēriōn.
The kinds of fish, birds, and land animals are not charges against nature as inviting us to pleasure, but a serious reproach of our own incontinence. For it was necessary for the completion of the whole, so that there should be order in each part, that the forms of all animals should come into being; but it was not necessary that man, the thing most akin to wisdom, should rush to enjoy them, changing into the savagery of beasts.
Notes and citation
Summary: Animals exist for the completeness of creation, not to feed human gluttony.
- Philo, On Providence 2.
Extrabiblical texts: Philo, Prov. 2 (Philo of Alexandria (works); quotation)
Topics: Ethics
Cite (SBL): Eusebius, Praep. ev. 8.14.69 (Dindorf 1:466; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/eusebius-praeparatio/8-14-66/#p-8-14-69). (abbreviation not yet checked)
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Translation: Translated by Claude from the Greek of Dindorf's Teubner text (1867; digital text First1KGreek, CC BY-SA 4.0), then compared section by section with the public-domain English of E. H. Gifford (1903); differences checked against the Greek.
8.14.70Dindorf 1:466
διὸ καὶ μέχρι νῦν οἷς λόγος ἐγκρατείας ἁπαξαπάντων ἀπέχονται, λαχανώδει χλόῃ καὶ καρποῖς δένδρων προσοψήμασιν ἡδίστῃ ἀπολαύσει χρώμενοι. τοῖς δὲ τὴν τῶν εἰρημένων θοίνην ἡγουμένοις εἶναι κατὰ φύσιν ἐπέστησαν διδάσκαλοι, σωφρονισταὶ, νομοθέται κατὰ πόλεις, οἷς ἐμέλησε τὴν ἀμετρίαν τῶν ἐπιθυμιῶν στεῖλαι, μὴ ἐπιτρέψασι τὴν χρῆσιν ἀδεᾶ πᾶσι πάντων.
dio kai mechri nyn hois logos enkrateias hapaxapantōn apechontai, lachanōdei chloę̄ kai karpois dendrōn prosopsēmasin hēdistę̄ apolausei chrōmenoi. tois de tēn tōn eirēmenōn thoinēn hēgoumenois einai kata physin epestēsan didaskaloi, sōphronistai, nomothetai kata poleis, hois emelēse tēn ametrian tōn epithymiōn steilai, mē epitrepsasi tēn chrēsin adea pasi pantōn.
That is why even now those who care for self-control abstain from all of them altogether, using as relishes green vegetables and the fruits of trees, a most pleasant enjoyment. But for those who think feasting on such things to be according to nature, teachers, correctors, and lawgivers have been set up in the cities, whose concern it was to restrain the immoderation of desires, not permitting the unrestricted use of all things to all.
Notes and citation
Summary: The self-controlled abstain from meat; lawgivers restrain others' appetites.
- Philo, On Providence 2.
Notes on the original text
- Digital text corrected (wrong accent in the digital text): στεἲλαι → στεῖλαι.
Extrabiblical texts: Philo, Prov. 2 (Philo of Alexandria (works); quotation)
Topics: Fasting
Cite (SBL): Eusebius, Praep. ev. 8.14.70 (Dindorf 1:466; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/eusebius-praeparatio/8-14-66/#p-8-14-70). (abbreviation not yet checked)
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Translation: Translated by Claude from the Greek of Dindorf's Teubner text (1867; digital text First1KGreek, CC BY-SA 4.0), then compared section by section with the public-domain English of E. H. Gifford (1903); differences checked against the Greek.
8.14.71Dindorf 1:466
εἰ δὲ καὶ ῥόδα καὶ κρόκος καὶ ἡ ἄλλη τῶν ἀνθέων ποικιλία πρὸς ὑγίειαν, οὐ πρὸς ἡδονὴν γέγονεν. ἄπλετοι γὰρ τούτων αἱ δυνάμεις, καὶ καθʼ αὑτὰς διὰ τῶν ὀσμῶν ὠφελοῦσιν, εὐωδίας πάντας ἀναπιμπλᾶσαι, καὶ πολὺ μᾶλλον ἐν ταῖς ἰατρικαῖς συνθέσεσι τῶν φαρμάκων. ἔνια γὰρ ἀναμιχθέντα τὰς ἑαυτῶν δυνάμεις ἀριδηλοτέρας παρέχεται, καθάπερ εἰς ζῴου γένεσιν ἡ ἄρρενος καὶ θήλεος μίξις, ἰδίᾳ ἑκατέρου μὴ πεφυκότος ποιεῖν ἅπερ ἄμφω συνελθόντα.
ei de kai rhoda kai krokos kai hē allē tōn antheōn poikilia pros hygieian, ou pros hēdonēn gegonen. apletoi gar toutōn hai dynameis, kai kathʼ hautas dia tōn osmōn ōphelousin, euōdias pantas anapimplasai, kai poly mallon en tais iatrikais synthesesi tōn pharmakōn. enia gar anamichthenta tas heautōn dynameis aridēloteras parechetai, kathaper eis zǭou genesin hē arrenos kai thēleos mixis, idią hekaterou mē pephykotos poiein haper amphō synelthonta.
And roses, crocus, and the rest of the variety of flowers came into being for health, not for pleasure. For their powers are immense: they benefit by themselves through their scents, filling all with fragrance, and much more in the medical compounding of drugs. For some, when mixed, make their own powers more evident, just as the union of male and female does for the generation of an animal, neither being able by itself to do what both do together.
Notes and citation
Summary: Flowers exist for health and medicine.
- Philo, On Providence 2.
Extrabiblical texts: Philo, Prov. 2 (Philo of Alexandria (works); quotation)
Cite (SBL): Eusebius, Praep. ev. 8.14.71 (Dindorf 1:466; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/eusebius-praeparatio/8-14-66/#p-8-14-71). (abbreviation not yet checked)
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Translation: Translated by Claude from the Greek of Dindorf's Teubner text (1867; digital text First1KGreek, CC BY-SA 4.0), then compared section by section with the public-domain English of E. H. Gifford (1903); differences checked against the Greek.
8.14.72Dindorf 1:466–467
ταῦτʼ ἀναγκαίως λέλεκται πρὸς τὰ λοιπὰ τῶν ὑπὸ σοῦ διαπορηθέντων, ἱκανὴν πίστιν ἐργάσασθαι δυνάμενα τοῖς μὴ φιλονείκως ἔχουσι περὶ τοῦ τὸν θεὸν τῶν ἀνθρωπίνων ἐπιμελεῖσθαι πραγμάτων. ”
tautʼ anankaiōs lelektai pros ta loipa tōn hypo sou diaporēthentōn, hikanēn pistin ergasasthai dynamena tois mē philoneikōs echousi peri tou ton theon tōn anthrōpinōn epimeleisthai pragmatōn. ”
These things have necessarily been said in answer to the rest of the doubts you raised, able to produce sufficient belief, in those who are not contentious, that God takes care of human affairs."
Notes and citation
Summary: Philo concludes that God cares for human affairs.
- Philo, On Providence 2.
Notes on the original text
- Digital text corrected (line-end hyphen left in the digital text): φιλο- νείκως → φιλονείκως.
Extrabiblical texts: Philo, Prov. 2 (Philo of Alexandria (works); quotation)
Cite (SBL): Eusebius, Praep. ev. 8.14.72 (Dindorf 1:466–467; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/eusebius-praeparatio/8-14-66/#p-8-14-72). (abbreviation not yet checked)
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Translation: Translated by Claude from the Greek of Dindorf's Teubner text (1867; digital text First1KGreek, CC BY-SA 4.0), then compared section by section with the public-domain English of E. H. Gifford (1903); differences checked against the Greek.
8.14.73Dindorf 1:467
Ταῦτα μὲν οὖν ἐκ τοῦ δηλωθέντος ἐπετεμόμην ἀνδρὸς, ὁμοῦ μὲν δεικνὺς οἷοι καὶ κατὰ τοὺς νέους γεγόνασιν Ἑβραίων παῖδες, ὁμοῦ δὲ καὶ τὰ τῆς εὐσεβοῦς αὐτῶν περὶ θεοῦ διαλήψεως, τά τε τῆς πρὸς τοὺς προπάτορας ὁμοφωνίας ἐμφανῆ καθιστάς. ἤδη δʼ ἐντεῦθεν μεταβῆναι καιρὸς καὶ ἐπὶ τὰς τῶν ἔξωθεν περὶ τῶν αὐτῶν μαρτυρίας.
Tauta men oun ek tou dēlōthentos epetemomēn andros, homou men deiknys hoioi kai kata tous neous gegonasin Hebraiōn paides, homou de kai ta tēs eusebous autōn peri theou dialēpseōs, ta te tēs pros tous propatoras homophōnias emphanē kathistas. ēdē dʼ enteuthen metabēnai kairos kai epi tas tōn exōthen peri tōn autōn martyrias.
These things I have abridged from the man mentioned, showing at once what the sons of the Hebrews have been like in recent times, and making plain their pious conception of God and their agreement with their forefathers. It is time now to pass on to the testimonies of outsiders on the same matters.
Notes and citation
Summary: Eusebius closes Book 8 and turns to pagan testimonies.
Notes on the original text
- Digital text corrected (line-end hyphen left in the digital text): ἐπετεμό- μην → ἐπετεμόμην.
Cite (SBL): Eusebius, Praep. ev. 8.14.73 (Dindorf 1:467; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/eusebius-praeparatio/8-14-66/#p-8-14-73). (abbreviation not yet checked)
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Translation: Translated by Claude from the Greek of Dindorf's Teubner text (1867; digital text First1KGreek, CC BY-SA 4.0), then compared section by section with the public-domain English of E. H. Gifford (1903); differences checked against the Greek.
Preparation 9, chapter 1
9.1.1Dindorf 1:467
Καὶ τῆς τῶν παρʼ Ἑβραίοις λογίων ἀποδοχῆς οὐκ ἀσυλλογίστως ἡμῖν, κρίσει δὲ καὶ διανοίᾳ ἐξητασμένῃ γεγενημένης, ἐπειδὴ συνῶπται τὰ τῆς ἀποδείξεως, ὥρα συνιδεῖν ὡς καὶ αὐτῶν Ἑλλήνων οἱ μάλιστα διαφανεῖς τῶν καθʼ Ἑβραίους οὐκ ἄπειροι γεγόνασι πραγμάτων, ἀλλʼ οἱ μὲν καὶ τῷ βίῳ τῶν ἀνδρῶν ταῖς τε παρʼ αὐτοῖς φερομέναις ἱστορικαῖς διηγήσεσιν ἀλήθειαν ἐπεμαρτύρησαν, οἱ δὲ καὶ τῆς δογματικῆς ὁμοίως αὐτοῖς ἐφήψαντο θεολογίας.
Kai tēs tōn parʼ Hebraiois logiōn apodochēs ouk asyllogistōs hēmin, krisei de kai dianoią exētasmenę̄ gegenēmenēs, epeidē synōptai ta tēs apodeixeōs, hōra synidein hōs kai autōn Hellēnōn hoi malista diaphaneis tōn kathʼ Hebraious ouk apeiroi gegonasi pragmatōn, allʼ hoi men kai tǭ biǭ tōn andrōn tais te parʼ autois pheromenais historikais diēgēsesin alētheian epemartyrēsan, hoi de kai tēs dogmatikēs homoiōs autois ephēpsanto theologias.
Since our acceptance of the oracles among the Hebrews has come about not without reasoning but by tested judgment and understanding, and the proof has been surveyed, it is time to see that the most distinguished of the Greeks themselves were not unacquainted with the affairs of the Hebrews: some bore witness to the truth both of the men's way of life and of the historical narratives current among them, and others even touched on their doctrinal theology in the same way.
Notes and citation
Summary: Eusebius opens Book 9: Greek writers too knew and confirmed Hebrew history and teaching.
Notes on the original text
- Digital text corrected (wrong breathing in the digital text): οἶ μάλιστα διαφανεῖς τῶν → οἱ μάλιστα διαφανεῖς τῶν; ἀλλʼ οἶ μὲν → ἀλλʼ οἱ μὲν.
Cite (SBL): Eusebius, Praep. ev. 9.1.1 (Dindorf 1:467; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/eusebius-praeparatio/8-14-66/#p-9-1-1). (abbreviation not yet checked)
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Translation: Translated by Claude from the Greek of Dindorf's Teubner text (1867; digital text First1KGreek, CC BY-SA 4.0), then compared section by section with the public-domain English of E. H. Gifford (1903); differences checked against the Greek.
9.1.2Dindorf 1:467
πρῶτα δὲ τὰ πρῶτα παραθήσομαι, δεικνὺς ὅσοι τῶν Ἑλληνικῶν συγγραφέων ἐπʼ ὀνόματος Ἰουδαίων τε καὶ Ἑβραίων τῆς τε παρʼ αὐτοῖς τὸ παλαιὸν ἀσκουμένης φιλοσοφίας καὶ τῆς ἀνέκαθεν τῶν προπατόρων ἱστορίας ἐμνημόνευσαν.
prōta de ta prōta parathēsomai, deiknys hosoi tōn Hellēnikōn syngrapheōn epʼ onomatos Ioudaiōn te kai Hebraiōn tēs te parʼ autois to palaion askoumenēs philosophias kai tēs anekathen tōn propatorōn historias emnēmoneusan.
I shall set out first things first, showing how many of the Greek writers mentioned the Jews and Hebrews by name, the philosophy practiced among them of old, and the history of their forefathers from the beginning.
Notes and citation
Summary: Eusebius will cite Greek writers who mention Jews and Hebrews by name.
Notes on the original text
- Digital text corrected (misread letter in the digital text): ἀδκουμένης → ἀσκουμένης.
Cite (SBL): Eusebius, Praep. ev. 9.1.2 (Dindorf 1:467; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/eusebius-praeparatio/8-14-66/#p-9-1-2). (abbreviation not yet checked)
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Translation: Translated by Claude from the Greek of Dindorf's Teubner text (1867; digital text First1KGreek, CC BY-SA 4.0), then compared section by section with the public-domain English of E. H. Gifford (1903); differences checked against the Greek.
9.1.3Dindorf 1:467
ἄρξεται δέ μοι ὁ λόγος ἀπὸ τοῦ τῶν ἀνδρῶν βίου, ὡς ἂν μάθοις ὅτι μὴ ἐκτὸς σώφρονος λογισμοῦ τὴν τῶν δηλουμένων φιλοσοφίαν τῶν Ἑλλήνων προτετιμήκαμεν.
arxetai de moi ho logos apo tou tōn andrōn biou, hōs an mathois hoti mē ektos sōphronos logismou tēn tōn dēloumenōn philosophian tōn Hellēnōn protetimēkamen.
My account will begin from the life of these men, so that you may learn that not without sober reasoning have we preferred the philosophy of the people described to that of the Greeks.
Notes and citation
Summary: He begins with the Hebrews' way of life.
Cite (SBL): Eusebius, Praep. ev. 9.1.3 (Dindorf 1:467; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/eusebius-praeparatio/8-14-66/#p-9-1-3). (abbreviation not yet checked)
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Translation: Translated by Claude from the Greek of Dindorf's Teubner text (1867; digital text First1KGreek, CC BY-SA 4.0), then compared section by section with the public-domain English of E. H. Gifford (1903); differences checked against the Greek.
9.1.4Dindorf 1:467–468
ἀκόλουθα γοῦν τοῖς προεξητασμένοις ἐν τῷ πρὸ τούτου συγγράμματι καὶ τὰ τῆς ἠθικῆς αὐτοῖς ἐπιτελεῖσθαι συνασκήσεως, οὐ μόνον αἱ παρʼ αὐτοῖς ἱεραὶ βίβλοι, ἀλλὰ καὶ τῶν παρʼ Ἕλλησι φιλοσόφων οἱ μάλιστα διαφανεῖς καὶ καθʼ ἡμᾶς βεβοημένοι μαρτυροῦσι. καὶ δὴ λαβὼν ἀνάγνωθι τὰ Θεοφράστου ἐν τοῖς Πορφυρίῳ γραφεῖσι Περὶ τῆς τῶν ἐμψύχων ἀποχῆς κείμενα τοῦτον τὸν τρόπον
akoloutha goun tois proexētasmenois en tǭ pro toutou syngrammati kai ta tēs ēthikēs autois epiteleisthai synaskēseōs, ou monon hai parʼ autois hierai bibloi, alla kai tōn parʼ Hellēsi philosophōn hoi malista diaphaneis kai kathʼ hēmas beboēmenoi martyrousi. kai dē labōn anagnōthi ta Theophrastou en tois Porphyriǭ grapheisi Peri tēs tōn empsychōn apochēs keimena touton ton tropon
That the practice of ethical discipline among them is carried out consistently with what was examined in the previous book, not only their sacred books but also the most distinguished philosophers among the Greeks, celebrated even in our time, bear witness. Take and read what Theophrastus says, as set down in Porphyry's work On Abstinence from Animal Food, as follows:
Notes and citation
Summary: Eusebius introduces Theophrastus as quoted by Porphyry.
Notes on the original text
- Digital text corrected (wrong breathing in the digital text): οὐ μόνον αἶ παρʼ αὐτοῖς → οὐ μόνον αἱ παρʼ αὐτοῖς; φιλοσόφων οἶ μάλιστα → φιλοσόφων οἱ μάλιστα.
Cite (SBL): Eusebius, Praep. ev. 9.1.4 (Dindorf 1:467–468; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/eusebius-praeparatio/8-14-66/#p-9-1-4). (abbreviation not yet checked)
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Translation: Translated by Claude from the Greek of Dindorf's Teubner text (1867; digital text First1KGreek, CC BY-SA 4.0), then compared section by section with the public-domain English of E. H. Gifford (1903); differences checked against the Greek.
Preparation 9, chapter 2
9.2.1Dindorf 1:468
“ Καίτοι Σύρων μὲν Ἰουδαῖοι διὰ τὴν ἐξ ἀρχῆς θυσίαν ἔτι καὶ νῦν, φησὶν ὁ Θεόφραστος, ζῳοθυτούντων, εἰ τὸν αὐτὸν ἡμὰς τρόπον τις κελεύοι θύειν, ἀποσταίημεν ἂν τῆς πράξεως. οὐ γὰρ ἑστιώμενοι τῶν τυθέντων, ὁλοκαυτοῦντες δὲ ταῦτα νυκτὸς, καὶ κατʼ αὐτῶν πολὺ μέλι καὶ οἶνον λείβοντες, ἀνήλισκον τὴν θυσίαν θᾶττον, ἵνα τοῦ δεινοῦ μηδʼ ὁ πανόπτης γένοιτο θεατής.
“ Kaitoi Syrōn men Ioudaioi dia tēn ex archēs thysian eti kai nyn, phēsin ho Theophrastos, zǭothytountōn, ei ton auton hēmas tropon tis keleuoi thyein, apostaiēmen an tēs praxeōs. ou gar hestiōmenoi tōn tythentōn, holokautountes de tauta nyktos, kai katʼ autōn poly meli kai oinon leibontes, anēliskon tēn thysian thatton, hina tou deinou mēdʼ ho panoptēs genoito theatēs.
"And yet, though the Jews among the Syrians, says Theophrastus, still sacrifice living creatures because of their original sacrifice, if anyone bade us sacrifice in the same way, we would shrink from the deed. For they do not feast on what is sacrificed, but, burning them whole at night and pouring much honey and wine on them, they consume the sacrifice quickly, so that even the all-seeing one may not become a spectator of the dreadful thing.
Notes and citation
Summary: Theophrastus describes Jewish whole burnt offerings consumed at night.
- Theophrastus, On Piety, quoted by Porphyry, On Abstinence 2.26. "The all-seeing one" is the sun.
Notes on the original text
- Digital text corrected (garbled word in the digital text; misread letter in the digital text; misread word in the digital text; repeated syllable in the digital text; repeated syllables in the digital text; wrong accent in the digital text): ἀρχῆς χῆς → ἀρχῆς; ξῳοθυτούντων → ζῳοθυτούντων; θὐειν → θύειν; ἑστιώμεεἰν, νοὶ τῶν → ἑστιώμενοι τῶν; ἀνήλισκον λισκον → ἀνήλισκον; ἔνα τοῦ δεινοῦ → ἵνα τοῦ δεινοῦ.
Extrabiblical texts: Porphyry, Abst. (Porphyry, On Abstinence from Killing Animals; quotation); Theophrastus (Theophrastus, On Piety; quotation)
Cite (SBL): Eusebius, Praep. ev. 9.2.1 (Dindorf 1:468; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/eusebius-praeparatio/8-14-66/#p-9-2-1). (abbreviation not yet checked)
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Translation: Translated by Claude from the Greek of Dindorf's Teubner text (1867; digital text First1KGreek, CC BY-SA 4.0), then compared section by section with the public-domain English of E. H. Gifford (1903); differences checked against the Greek.
9.2.2Dindorf 1:468
καὶ τοῦτο δρῶσι νηστεύοντες τὰς ἀνὰ μέσον τούτων ἡμέρας· κατὰ δὲ πάντα τοῦτον τὸν χρόνον, ἅτε φιλόσοφοι τὸ γένος ὄντες, περὶ τοῦ θείου μὲν ἀλλήλοις λαλοῦσι, τῆς δὲ νυκτὸς τῶν ἄστρων ποιοῦνται τὴν θεωρίαν, βλέποντες εἰς αὐτὰ, καὶ διὰ τῶν εὐχῶν θεοκλυτοῦντες. κατήρξαντο γὰρ οὗτοι πρῶτοι τῶν τε λοιπῶν ζῴων καὶ σφῶν αὐτῶν, ἀνάγκῃ καὶ οὐκ ἐπιθυμίᾳ τοῦτο πράξαντες.’
kai touto drōsi nēsteuontes tas ana meson toutōn hēmeras; kata de panta touton ton chronon, hate philosophoi to genos ontes, peri tou theiou men allēlois lalousi, tēs de nyktos tōn astrōn poiountai tēn theōrian, blepontes eis auta, kai dia tōn euchōn theoklytountes. katērxanto gar houtoi prōtoi tōn te loipōn zǭōn kai sphōn autōn, anankę̄ kai ouk epithymią touto praxantes.’
And they do this while fasting on the days in between. Throughout all this time, being philosophers by race, they talk with one another about the divine, and at night they contemplate the stars, gazing at them and calling on God in their prayers. For these were the first to begin the sacrifice both of the other animals and of themselves, doing it from necessity and not from desire."
Notes and citation
Summary: Theophrastus calls the Jews philosophers who fast, pray, and study the stars.
- Theophrastus, via Porphyry, On Abstinence 2.26.
Extrabiblical texts: Porphyry, Abst. (Porphyry, On Abstinence from Killing Animals; quotation); Theophrastus (Theophrastus, On Piety; quotation)
Cite (SBL): Eusebius, Praep. ev. 9.2.2 (Dindorf 1:468; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/eusebius-praeparatio/8-14-66/#p-9-2-2). (abbreviation not yet checked)
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Translation: Translated by Claude from the Greek of Dindorf's Teubner text (1867; digital text First1KGreek, CC BY-SA 4.0), then compared section by section with the public-domain English of E. H. Gifford (1903); differences checked against the Greek.
Preparation 9, chapter 3
9.3.1Dindorf 1:468
Καὶ ἐν τῷ τετάρτῳ δὲ τῆς αὐτῆς ὑποθέσεως τοιαῦτα περὶ τῶν αὐτῶν ἱστορεῖ ὁ Πορφύριος· Εἰσὶ τοίνυν οἱ Ἐσσαῖοι Ἰουδαῖοι μὲν τὸ γένος, φιλάλληλοι δὲ καὶ τῶν ἄλλων πλέον.
Kai en tǭ tetartǭ de tēs autēs hypotheseōs toiauta peri tōn autōn historei ho Porphyrios; Eisi toinyn hoi Essaioi Ioudaioi men to genos, philallēloi de kai tōn allōn pleon.
And in the fourth book of the same subject Porphyry relates such things about them: "There are the Essenes, Jews by race, more affectionate to one another than others are.
Notes and citation
Summary: Porphyry begins his account of the Essenes.
- Porphyry, On Abstinence 4.11, drawing on Josephus, Jewish War 2.
Notes on the original text
- Digital text corrected (misread letters and missing punctuation in the digital text): Πορφύριος Εἰδὶ → Πορφύριος· Εἰσὶ.
Extrabiblical texts: Josephus, B.J. 2 (Josephus (works); quotation); Porphyry, Abst. (Porphyry, On Abstinence from Killing Animals; quotation)
Cite (SBL): Eusebius, Praep. ev. 9.3.1 (Dindorf 1:468; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/eusebius-praeparatio/8-14-66/#p-9-3-1). (abbreviation not yet checked)
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Translation: Translated by Claude from the Greek of Dindorf's Teubner text (1867; digital text First1KGreek, CC BY-SA 4.0), then compared section by section with the public-domain English of E. H. Gifford (1903); differences checked against the Greek.
9.3.2Dindorf 1:468–469
οὗτοι τὰς μὲν ἡδονὰς ὡς κακίαν ἀποστρέφονται, τὴν δὲ ἐγκράτειαν καὶ τὸ μὴ τοῖς πάθεσιν ὑποπίπτειν ἀρετὴν ὑπολαμβάνουσι. καὶ γάμου μὲν αὐτοῖς ὑπεροψία, τοὺς δʼ ἀλλοτρίους παῖδας ἐκλαμβάνοντες ἁπαλοὺς ἔτι πρὸς τὰ μαθήματα συγγενεῖς ἡγοῦνται καὶ τοῖς ἤθεσιν ἑαυτῶν ἐντυποῦσι, τὸν μὲν γάμον καὶ τὴν ἐξ αὐτοῦ διαδοχὴν οὐκ ἀναιροῦντες, τὰς δὲ τῶν γυναικῶν ἀσελγείας φυλαττόμενοι· καταφρονηταὶ δὲ πλούτου καὶ θαυμάσιον παρʼ αὐτοῖς τὸ κοινωνικὸν, οὐδʼ ἔστιν εὑρεῖν κτήσει τινὰ παρʼ αὐτοῖς ὑπερέχοντα.
houtoi tas men hēdonas hōs kakian apostrephontai, tēn de enkrateian kai to mē tois pathesin hypopiptein aretēn hypolambanousi. kai gamou men autois hyperopsia, tous dʼ allotrious paidas eklambanontes hapalous eti pros ta mathēmata syngeneis hēgountai kai tois ēthesin heautōn entypousi, ton men gamon kai tēn ex autou diadochēn ouk anairountes, tas de tōn gynaikōn aselgeias phylattomenoi; kataphronētai de ploutou kai thaumasion parʼ autois to koinōnikon, oudʼ estin heurein ktēsei tina parʼ autois hyperechonta.
They turn away from pleasures as vice, and regard self-control and not yielding to the passions as virtue. They disdain marriage, but taking other people's children while still tender for instruction, they treat them as kin and mold them in their own ways; not abolishing marriage and the succession it brings, but guarding against the licentiousness of women. They despise wealth, and their sharing is admirable; nor can one find anyone among them superior in possessions.
Notes and citation
Summary: The Essenes shun pleasure, adopt children instead of marrying, and share goods.
- Porphyry, On Abstinence 4.11, from Josephus, Jewish War 2.
Extrabiblical texts: Josephus, B.J. 2 (Josephus (works); quotation); Porphyry, Abst. (Porphyry, On Abstinence from Killing Animals; quotation)
Topics: Marriage
Cite (SBL): Eusebius, Praep. ev. 9.3.2 (Dindorf 1:468–469; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/eusebius-praeparatio/8-14-66/#p-9-3-2). (abbreviation not yet checked)
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Translation: Translated by Claude from the Greek of Dindorf's Teubner text (1867; digital text First1KGreek, CC BY-SA 4.0), then compared section by section with the public-domain English of E. H. Gifford (1903); differences checked against the Greek.
9.3.3Dindorf 1:469
νόμος γὰρ τοὺς εἰς τὴν αἵρεσιν εἰσιόντας δημεύειν τῷ τάγματι τὴν οὐσίαν, ὥστε ἐν ἅπασι μήτε πενίας ταπεινότητα φαίνεσθαι μήθʼ ὑπεροχὴν πλούτου, τῶν δὲ ἑκάστου κτημάτων ἀναμεμιγμένων μίαν ὥσπερ ἀδελφοῖς ἅπασιν οὐσίαν εἶναι.
nomos gar tous eis tēn hairesin eisiontas dēmeuein tǭ tagmati tēn ousian, hōste en hapasi mēte penias tapeinotēta phainesthai mēthʼ hyperochēn ploutou, tōn de hekastou ktēmatōn anamemigmenōn mian hōsper adelphois hapasin ousian einai.
For it is a law that those entering the sect make over their property to the order, so that in all of them neither the humiliation of poverty nor the superiority of wealth appears, but, the possessions of each being mixed together, there is one property for all as for brothers.
Notes and citation
Summary: New members give their property to the community.
- Porphyry, from Josephus, Jewish War 2.
Extrabiblical texts: Josephus, B.J. 2 (Josephus (works); quotation)
Cite (SBL): Eusebius, Praep. ev. 9.3.3 (Dindorf 1:469; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/eusebius-praeparatio/8-14-66/#p-9-3-3). (abbreviation not yet checked)
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Translation: Translated by Claude from the Greek of Dindorf's Teubner text (1867; digital text First1KGreek, CC BY-SA 4.0), then compared section by section with the public-domain English of E. H. Gifford (1903); differences checked against the Greek.
9.3.4Dindorf 1:469
κηλῖδα δὲ ὑπολαμβάνουσι τοὔλαιον, κἂν ἀλειφθῇ τις ἄκων, σμήχεται τὸ σῶμα· τὸ γὰρ αὐχμεῖν ἐν καλῷ τίθενται, λευχειμονεῖν τε διὰ παντός.
kēlida de hypolambanousi toulaion, kan aleiphthę̄ tis akōn, smēchetai to sōma; to gar auchmein en kalǭ tithentai, leucheimonein te dia pantos.
They regard oil as a defilement, and if anyone is anointed against his will, he wipes his body clean; for they think it good to be rough and dry, and always to wear white.
Notes and citation
Summary: They avoid oil and wear white.
- Porphyry, from Josephus, Jewish War 2.
Extrabiblical texts: Josephus, B.J. 2 (Josephus (works); quotation)
Cite (SBL): Eusebius, Praep. ev. 9.3.4 (Dindorf 1:469; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/eusebius-praeparatio/8-14-66/#p-9-3-4). (abbreviation not yet checked)
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Translation: Translated by Claude from the Greek of Dindorf's Teubner text (1867; digital text First1KGreek, CC BY-SA 4.0), then compared section by section with the public-domain English of E. H. Gifford (1903); differences checked against the Greek.
9.3.5Dindorf 1:469
χειροτονητοὶ δὲ τῶν κοινῶν οἱ ἐπιμεληταὶ καὶ ἀδιαίρετοι πρὸς ἁπάντων εἰς τὰς χρείας ἕκαστοι. μία δʼ οὐκ ἔστιν αὐτῶν πόλις, ἀλλʼ ἐν ἑκάστῃ μετοικοῦσι πολλοὶ, καὶ τοῖς ἑτέρωθεν ἥκουσιν αἱρετισταῖς ἀναπέπταται τὰ παρʼ ἀλλήλοις· καὶ οἱ πρῶτον ἰδόντες εἰσίασιν ὡς πρὸς συνήθεις· διὸ οὐδὲν ἐπικομιζόμενοι ἀποδημοῦσιν ἀναλωμάτων ἕνεκα.
cheirotonētoi de tōn koinōn hoi epimelētai kai adiairetoi pros hapantōn eis tas chreias hekastoi. mia dʼ ouk estin autōn polis, allʼ en hekastę̄ metoikousi polloi, kai tois heterōthen hēkousin hairetistais anapeptatai ta parʼ allēlois; kai hoi prōton idontes eisiasin hōs pros synētheis; dio ouden epikomizomenoi apodēmousin analōmatōn heneka.
The managers of the common goods are elected, and each is appointed without distinction by all for the various needs. They have no one city, but many settle in each, and what they have is open to members of the sect who come from elsewhere; and they go in to those they have never seen before as to intimates. Therefore they take nothing with them for expenses when they travel.
Notes and citation
Summary: Elected stewards manage common goods; members find hospitality everywhere.
- Porphyry, from Josephus, Jewish War 2.
Notes on the original text
- Digital text corrected (wrong accent in the digital text; wrong breathing in the digital text): εἰς τἀς χρείας → εἰς τὰς χρείας; καὶ οἶ πρῶτον → καὶ οἱ πρῶτον.
Extrabiblical texts: Josephus, B.J. 2 (Josephus (works); quotation)
Cite (SBL): Eusebius, Praep. ev. 9.3.5 (Dindorf 1:469; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/eusebius-praeparatio/8-14-66/#p-9-3-5). (abbreviation not yet checked)
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Translation: Translated by Claude from the Greek of Dindorf's Teubner text (1867; digital text First1KGreek, CC BY-SA 4.0), then compared section by section with the public-domain English of E. H. Gifford (1903); differences checked against the Greek.
9.3.6Dindorf 1:469
οὔτε δὲ ἐσθῆτα οὔτε ὑποδήματα ἀμείβουσι, πρὶν διαρραγῆναι πρότερον παντάπασιν, ἢ δαπανηθῆναι τῷ χρόνῳ. οὐδʼ ἀγοράζουσί τι, οὐδὲ πωλοῦσιν, ἀλλὰ τῷ χρῄζοντι διδοὺς ἕκαστος τὰ παρʼ ἑαυτῷ τὸ παρʼ ἐκείνου χρήσιμον ἀντικομίζεται· καὶ χωρὶς τῆς ἀντιδόσεως ἀκώλυτος ἡ μετάληψις αὐτοῖς παρʼ ὧν ἂν ἐθέλωσι.’’
oute de esthēta oute hypodēmata ameibousi, prin diarragēnai proteron pantapasin, ē dapanēthēnai tǭ chronǭ. oudʼ agorazousi ti, oude pōlousin, alla tǭ chrę̄zonti didous hekastos ta parʼ heautǭ to parʼ ekeinou chrēsimon antikomizetai; kai chōris tēs antidoseōs akōlytos hē metalēpsis autois parʼ hōn an ethelōsi.’’
They do not change clothing or shoes until they are completely torn or worn out by time. They neither buy nor sell anything, but each gives what he has to one in need and receives in return what is useful from him; and even without exchange they may freely take from whomever they wish."
Notes and citation
Summary: They wear clothes until worn out and share without buying or selling.
- Porphyry, from Josephus, Jewish War 2.
Notes on the original text
- Digital text corrected (misread letter in the digital text; wrong breathing and accent in the digital text): ὐποδἠματα → ὑποδήματα; ἀντικομίξεται → ἀντικομίζεται.
Extrabiblical texts: Josephus, B.J. 2 (Josephus (works); quotation)
Cite (SBL): Eusebius, Praep. ev. 9.3.6 (Dindorf 1:469; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/eusebius-praeparatio/8-14-66/#p-9-3-6). (abbreviation not yet checked)
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Translation: Translated by Claude from the Greek of Dindorf's Teubner text (1867; digital text First1KGreek, CC BY-SA 4.0), then compared section by section with the public-domain English of E. H. Gifford (1903); differences checked against the Greek.
9.3.7Dindorf 1:469–470
“ Πρός γε μὴν τὸ θεῖον ἰδίως εὐσεβεῖς. πρὶν γὰρ ἀνασχεῖν τὸν ἥλιον οὐδὲν φθέγγονται τῶν βεβήλων, πατρίους δέ τινας εἰς αὐτὸν εὐχὰς ὥσπερ ἱκετεύοντες ἀνατεῖλαι. μετὰ ταῦτα πρὸς ἃς ἕκαστοι τέχνας ἴσασιν ὑπὸ τῶν ἐπιμελητῶν ἀφεῖνται, καὶ μέχρι πέμπτης ὥρας ἐργασάμενοι συντόνως, ἔπειτα πάλιν εἰς ἓν ἀθροίζονται χωρίον, ζωσάμενοί τε σκεπάσμασιν οὕτως ἀπολούονται τὸ σῶμα ψυχροῖς ὕδασι· καὶ μετὰ ταύτην τὴν ἁγνείαν εἰς ἴδιον οἴκημα συνίασιν, ἐν ᾧ μηδενὶ τῶν ἑτεροδόξων ἐπιτέτραπται παρελθεῖν.
“ Pros ge mēn to theion idiōs eusebeis. prin gar anaschein ton hēlion ouden phthengontai tōn bebēlōn, patrious de tinas eis auton euchas hōsper hiketeuontes anateilai. meta tauta pros has hekastoi technas isasin hypo tōn epimelētōn apheintai, kai mechri pemptēs hōras ergasamenoi syntonōs, epeita palin eis hen athroizontai chōrion, zōsamenoi te skepasmasin houtōs apolouontai to sōma psychrois hydasi; kai meta tautēn tēn hagneian eis idion oikēma syniasin, en hǭ mēdeni tōn heterodoxōn epitetraptai parelthein.
"Toward the divine they are especially pious. Before the sun rises they utter nothing profane, but offer certain ancestral prayers toward it, as if begging it to rise. After this they are dismissed by the managers to the crafts each knows, and having worked hard until the fifth hour, they gather again in one place, and, girding themselves with linen coverings, wash their bodies in cold water. After this purification they gather in a private building, into which none of another persuasion is permitted to enter.
Notes and citation
Summary: Essenes pray at dawn, work until midday, and bathe before eating.
- Porphyry, from Josephus, Jewish War 2.
Notes on the original text
- Digital text corrected (doubled comma in the digital text; misread letters in the digital text; wrong accent in the digital text; wrong breathing in the digital text): βεβήλων,, → βεβήλων,; ὥσπερ ίκετεύοντες → ὥσπερ ἱκετεύοντες; εἰς ἕν ἀθροίζονται → εἰς ἓν ἀθροίζονται; δκεπάσμαδιν → σκεπάσμασιν.
Extrabiblical texts: Josephus, B.J. 2 (Josephus (works); quotation)
Topics: Prayer
Cite (SBL): Eusebius, Praep. ev. 9.3.7 (Dindorf 1:469–470; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/eusebius-praeparatio/8-14-66/#p-9-3-7). (abbreviation not yet checked)
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Translation: Translated by Claude from the Greek of Dindorf's Teubner text (1867; digital text First1KGreek, CC BY-SA 4.0), then compared section by section with the public-domain English of E. H. Gifford (1903); differences checked against the Greek.
9.3.8Dindorf 1:470
αὐτοὶ δὲ καθαροὶ καθάπερ εἰς ἅγιόν τι τέμενος παραγίνονται τὸ δειπνητήριον. καθεσθέντων δὲ μεθʼ ἡσυχίας ὁ μὲν σιτοποιὸς ἐν τάξει παρατίθησιν ἄρτους, ὁ δὲ μάγειρος ἓν ἀγγεῖον ἐξ ἑνὸς ἐδέσματος ἑκάστῳ. προκατεύχεται δὲ ὁ ἱερεὺς τῆς τροφῆς, ἁγνῆς οὔσης καὶ καθαρᾶς, καὶ γεύσασθαί τινα πρὶν τῆς εὐχῆς ἀθέμιτον· ἀριστοποιησαμένοις δὲ ἐπεύχεται πάλιν, ἀρχόμενοί τε καὶ παυόμενοι γεραίρουσι τὸν θεόν.
autoi de katharoi kathaper eis hagion ti temenos paraginontai to deipnētērion. kathesthentōn de methʼ hēsychias ho men sitopoios en taxei paratithēsin artous, ho de mageiros hen angeion ex henos edesmatos hekastǭ. prokateuchetai de ho hiereus tēs trophēs, hagnēs ousēs kai katharas, kai geusasthai tina prin tēs euchēs athemiton; aristopoiēsamenois de epeuchetai palin, archomenoi te kai pauomenoi gerairousi ton theon.
And being pure themselves, they come to the dining room as to some holy precinct. When they have sat down in quiet, the baker sets out loaves in order, and the cook one dish of one kind of food for each. The priest prays before the food, which is pure and clean, and it is unlawful for anyone to taste before the prayer; and when they have breakfasted he prays again; at beginning and end they honor God.
Notes and citation
Summary: Their meal is a holy rite with prayers before and after.
- Porphyry, from Josephus, Jewish War 2.
Notes on the original text
- Digital text corrected (stray mark in the digital text; wrong accent in the digital text): καὶ καθαρὰς → καὶ καθαρᾶς; ἀριστοπͅοιησαμένοις → ἀριστοποιησαμένοις.
Extrabiblical texts: Josephus, B.J. 2 (Josephus (works); quotation)
Topics: Prayer
Cite (SBL): Eusebius, Praep. ev. 9.3.8 (Dindorf 1:470; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/eusebius-praeparatio/8-14-66/#p-9-3-8). (abbreviation not yet checked)
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Translation: Translated by Claude from the Greek of Dindorf's Teubner text (1867; digital text First1KGreek, CC BY-SA 4.0), then compared section by section with the public-domain English of E. H. Gifford (1903); differences checked against the Greek.
9.3.9Dindorf 1:470
ἔπειθʼ ὡς ἱερὰς καταθέμενοι τὰς ἐσθῆτας πάλιν ἐπʼ ἔργα τρέπονται μέχρι δείλης. δειπνοῦσι δʼ ὑποστρέψαντες ὁμοίως, συγκαθεζομένων τῶν ξένων, εἰ τύχοιεν αὐτοῖς παρόντες.
epeithʼ hōs hieras katathemenoi tas esthētas palin epʼ erga trepontai mechri deilēs. deipnousi dʼ hypostrepsantes homoiōs, synkathezomenōn tōn xenōn, ei tychoien autois parontes.
Then, laying aside their garments as sacred, they turn again to work until evening. Returning, they dine in the same way, guests sitting with them if any happen to be present.
Notes and citation
Summary: They return to work and dine again in the evening.
- Porphyry, from Josephus, Jewish War 2.
Notes on the original text
- Digital text corrected (repeated syllables in the digital text): ὑποστρέψαντες στρέψαντες → ὑποστρέψαντες.
Extrabiblical texts: Josephus, B.J. 2 (Josephus (works); quotation)
Cite (SBL): Eusebius, Praep. ev. 9.3.9 (Dindorf 1:470; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/eusebius-praeparatio/8-14-66/#p-9-3-9). (abbreviation not yet checked)
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Translation: Translated by Claude from the Greek of Dindorf's Teubner text (1867; digital text First1KGreek, CC BY-SA 4.0), then compared section by section with the public-domain English of E. H. Gifford (1903); differences checked against the Greek.
9.3.10Dindorf 1:470
οὔτε δὲ κραυγή ποτε τὸν οἶκον οὔτε θόρυβος μιαίνει· τὰς δὲ λαλιὰς ἐν τάξει παραχωροῦσιν ἀλλήλοις, καὶ τοῖς ἔξωθεν ὡς μυστήριόν τι φρικτὸν ἡ τῶν ἔνδον σιωπὴ καταφαίνεται. τούτου δὲ αἴτιον ἡ διηνεκὴς νῆψις καὶ τὸ μετρεῖσθαι παρʼ αὐτοῖς τροφὴν καὶ ποτὸν μέχρι κόρου.’’
oute de kraugē pote ton oikon oute thorybos miainei; tas de lalias en taxei parachōrousin allēlois, kai tois exōthen hōs mystērion ti phrikton hē tōn endon siōpē kataphainetai. toutou de aition hē diēnekēs nēpsis kai to metreisthai parʼ autois trophēn kai poton mechri korou.’’
Neither shouting nor uproar ever defiles the house; they yield speech to one another in turn, and to outsiders the silence of those within appears like some awesome mystery. The cause of this is their continual sobriety, and the fact that food and drink are measured out among them only to satisfy."
Notes and citation
Summary: Their meals are silent and sober.
- Porphyry, from Josephus, Jewish War 2.
Extrabiblical texts: Josephus, B.J. 2 (Josephus (works); quotation)
Cite (SBL): Eusebius, Praep. ev. 9.3.10 (Dindorf 1:470; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/eusebius-praeparatio/8-14-66/#p-9-3-10). (abbreviation not yet checked)
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Translation: Translated by Claude from the Greek of Dindorf's Teubner text (1867; digital text First1KGreek, CC BY-SA 4.0), then compared section by section with the public-domain English of E. H. Gifford (1903); differences checked against the Greek.
9.3.11Dindorf 1:470
Τοῖς δὲ ζηλοῦσι τὴν αἵρεσιν οὐκ εὐθὺς ἡ πάροδος, ἀλλʼ ἐπʼ ἐνιαυτὸν ἔξω μένοντι τὴν αὐτὴν ὑποτίθενται δίαιταν, ἀξινάριόν τε καὶ περίζωμα δόντες καὶ λευκὴν ἐσθῆτα. ἐπειδὰν δὲ ἐν τούτῳ τῷ χρόνῳ πεῖραν ἐγκρατείας δῷ, πρόσεισι μὲν ἔγγιον τῇ διαίτῃ καὶ καθαρώτερον τῶν πρὸς ἁγνείαν ὑδάτων μεταλαμβάνει,
Tois de zēlousi tēn hairesin ouk euthys hē parodos, allʼ epʼ eniauton exō menonti tēn autēn hypotithentai diaitan, axinarion te kai perizōma dontes kai leukēn esthēta. epeidan de en toutǭ tǭ chronǭ peiran enkrateias dǭ, proseisi men engion tę̄ diaitę̄ kai katharōteron tōn pros hagneian hydatōn metalambanei,
"For those who desire to join the sect, entrance is not immediate; but they prescribe for him the same way of life while he stays outside for a year, giving him a small hatchet, a loincloth, and a white garment. When in this time he has given proof of self-control, he comes nearer to their way of life and shares in the purer waters of purification;
Notes and citation
Summary: Candidates undergo a year's probation.
- Porphyry, from Josephus, Jewish War 2.
Extrabiblical texts: Josephus, B.J. 2 (Josephus (works); quotation)
Cite (SBL): Eusebius, Praep. ev. 9.3.11 (Dindorf 1:470; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/eusebius-praeparatio/8-14-66/#p-9-3-11). (abbreviation not yet checked)
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Translation: Translated by Claude from the Greek of Dindorf's Teubner text (1867; digital text First1KGreek, CC BY-SA 4.0), then compared section by section with the public-domain English of E. H. Gifford (1903); differences checked against the Greek.
9.3.12Dindorf 1:470–471
παραλαμβάνεται δὲ εἰς τὰς συμβιώσεις οὐδέπω· μετὰ γὰρ τὴν τῆς καρτερίας ἐπίδειξιν δυσὶν ἄλλοις ἔτεσι τὸ ἦθος δοκιμάζεται, καὶ φανεὶς ἄξιος, οὕτως εἰς τὸν ὅμιλον ἐγκρίνεται.
paralambanetai de eis tas symbiōseis oudepō; meta gar tēn tēs karterias epideixin dysin allois etesi to ēthos dokimazetai, kai phaneis axios, houtōs eis ton homilon enkrinetai.
but he is not yet received into their common life; for after showing his endurance, his character is tested for two more years, and if he appears worthy, he is then admitted to the company.
Notes and citation
Summary: Two more years of testing precede full admission.
- Porphyry, from Josephus, Jewish War 2.
Extrabiblical texts: Josephus, B.J. 2 (Josephus (works); quotation)
Cite (SBL): Eusebius, Praep. ev. 9.3.12 (Dindorf 1:470–471; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/eusebius-praeparatio/8-14-66/#p-9-3-12). (abbreviation not yet checked)
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Translation: Translated by Claude from the Greek of Dindorf's Teubner text (1867; digital text First1KGreek, CC BY-SA 4.0), then compared section by section with the public-domain English of E. H. Gifford (1903); differences checked against the Greek.
9.3.13Dindorf 1:471
πρὶν δὲ τῆς κοινῆς ἅψασθαι τροφῆς, ὅρκους αὐτοῖς ὄμνυσι φρικώδεις· πρῶτον μὲν εὐσεβήσειν τὸ θεῖον, ἔπειτα τὰ πρὸς ἀνθρώπους δίκαια φυλάξειν, καὶ μήτε κατὰ γνώμην βλάψειν τινὰ μήτʼ ἐξ ἐπιτάγματος, μισήσειν δʼ ἀεὶ τοὺς ἀδίκους καὶ συναδικεῖσθαι τοῖς δικαίοις· τὸ πιστὸν πᾶσι μὲν παρέξειν, μάλιστα δὲ τοῖς κρατοῦσιν· οὐ γὰρ δίχα θεοῦ περιγίγνεσθαί τινι τὸ ἄρχειν. κἂν αὐτὸς ἄρχῃ, μηδεπώποτε ἐξυβρίσαι εἰς τὴν ἐξουσίαν, μηδὲ ἐσθῆτι, ἤ τινι πλέονι κόσμῳ τοὺς ὑποτεταγμένους ὑπερλαμπρύνεσθαι· τὴν ἀλήθειαν ἀγαπᾶν ἀεὶ καὶ τοὺς ψευδομένους προβάλλεσθαι· χεῖρας κλοπῆς καὶ ψυχὴν ἀνοσίου κέρδους καθαρὰν φυλάξειν, καὶ μήτε κρύψειν τι τοὺς αἱρετιστὰς μήθʼ ἑτέροις αὐτῶν τι μηνύσειν, κἂν μέχρι θανάτου τις βιάζηται.
prin de tēs koinēs hapsasthai trophēs, horkous autois omnysi phrikōdeis; prōton men eusebēsein to theion, epeita ta pros anthrōpous dikaia phylaxein, kai mēte kata gnōmēn blapsein tina mētʼ ex epitagmatos, misēsein dʼ aei tous adikous kai synadikeisthai tois dikaiois; to piston pasi men parexein, malista de tois kratousin; ou gar dicha theou perigignesthai tini to archein. kan autos archę̄, mēdepōpote exybrisai eis tēn exousian, mēde esthēti, ē tini pleoni kosmǭ tous hypotetagmenous hyperlamprynesthai; tēn alētheian agapan aei kai tous pseudomenous proballesthai; cheiras klopēs kai psychēn anosiou kerdous katharan phylaxein, kai mēte krypsein ti tous hairetistas mēthʼ heterois autōn ti mēnysein, kan mechri thanatou tis biazētai.
Before touching the common food, he swears awesome oaths to them: first, that he will revere the divine; next, that he will keep justice toward men, and harm no one either of his own will or by command; that he will always hate the unjust and help the just; that he will keep faith with all, and especially with those in power, for to no one does rule come without God; and that if he himself rules, he will never be insolent in his authority, nor outshine those under him in dress or any greater adornment; that he will always love the truth and expose liars; that he will keep his hands pure from theft and his soul from unholy gain; and that he will neither hide anything from the members of the sect nor disclose anything of theirs to others, even if one should force him to the point of death.
Notes and citation
Summary: Members swear oaths of piety, justice, honesty, and secrecy.
- Porphyry, from Josephus, Jewish War 2.
Notes on the original text
- Digital text corrected (misread letters in the digital text; wrong breathing in the digital text): ἐριτάυματος → ἐπιτάγματος; ὐπερλαμπρύνεσθαι → ὑπερλαμπρύνεσθαι.
Extrabiblical texts: Josephus, B.J. 2 (Josephus (works); quotation)
Topics: Ethics
Cite (SBL): Eusebius, Praep. ev. 9.3.13 (Dindorf 1:471; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/eusebius-praeparatio/8-14-66/#p-9-3-13). (abbreviation not yet checked)
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Translation: Translated by Claude from the Greek of Dindorf's Teubner text (1867; digital text First1KGreek, CC BY-SA 4.0), then compared section by section with the public-domain English of E. H. Gifford (1903); differences checked against the Greek.
9.3.14Dindorf 1:471
πρὸς δὲ τούτοις ὄμνυσι μηδενὶ μὲν μεταδοῦναι τῶν δογμάτων ἑτέρως ἢ ὡς αὐτὸς παρέλαβεν, ἀφέξεσθαι δὲ λῃστείας, καὶ συντηρήσειν ὁμοίως τά τε τῆς αἱρέσεως αὐτῶν βιβλία καὶ τὰ τῶν ἀγγέλων ὀνόματα.
pros de toutois omnysi mēdeni men metadounai tōn dogmatōn heterōs ē hōs autos parelaben, aphexesthai de lę̄steias, kai syntērēsein homoiōs ta te tēs haireseōs autōn biblia kai ta tōn angelōn onomata.
Besides these, he swears to impart the doctrines to no one otherwise than as he received them, to abstain from robbery, and likewise to preserve the books of their sect and the names of the angels.
Notes and citation
Summary: They swear to transmit the doctrines faithfully and guard the books and angels' names.
- Porphyry, from Josephus, Jewish War 2.
Extrabiblical texts: Josephus, B.J. 2 (Josephus (works); quotation)
Cite (SBL): Eusebius, Praep. ev. 9.3.14 (Dindorf 1:471; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/eusebius-praeparatio/8-14-66/#p-9-3-14). (abbreviation not yet checked)
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Translation: Translated by Claude from the Greek of Dindorf's Teubner text (1867; digital text First1KGreek, CC BY-SA 4.0), then compared section by section with the public-domain English of E. H. Gifford (1903); differences checked against the Greek.
9.3.15Dindorf 1:471
τοιοῦτοι μὲν οἱ ὅρκοι· οἱ δὲ ἁλόντες καὶ ἐκβληθέντες κακῷ μόρῳ φθείρονται. τοῖς γὰρ ὅρκοις καὶ τοῖς ἔθεσιν ἐνδεδεμένοι οὐδὲ τῆς παρὰ τοῖς ἄλλοις τροφῆς δύνανται μεταλαμβάνειν, ποηφαγοῦντες δὲ καὶ λιμῷ διαφθειρόμενοι ἀπόλλυνται.
toioutoi men hoi horkoi; hoi de halontes kai ekblēthentes kakǭ morǭ phtheirontai. tois gar horkois kai tois ethesin endedemenoi oude tēs para tois allois trophēs dynantai metalambanein, poēphagountes de kai limǭ diaphtheiromenoi apollyntai.
Such are the oaths. Those convicted and expelled perish by a miserable death. For, bound by the oaths and customs, they cannot even partake of food among others, but eating grass and wasting from hunger, they perish.
Notes and citation
Summary: Expelled members starve, bound by their oaths.
- Porphyry, from Josephus, Jewish War 2.
Notes on the original text
- Digital text corrected (word split in the digital text; wrong accent in the digital text): οἷ δὲ ἁλόντες → οἱ δὲ ἁλόντες; δύ νανται → δύνανται.
Extrabiblical texts: Josephus, B.J. 2 (Josephus (works); quotation)
Cite (SBL): Eusebius, Praep. ev. 9.3.15 (Dindorf 1:471; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/eusebius-praeparatio/8-14-66/#p-9-3-15). (abbreviation not yet checked)
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Translation: Translated by Claude from the Greek of Dindorf's Teubner text (1867; digital text First1KGreek, CC BY-SA 4.0), then compared section by section with the public-domain English of E. H. Gifford (1903); differences checked against the Greek.
9.3.16Dindorf 1:471
διὸ δὴ πολλοὺς ἐλεήσαντες ἐν ταῖς ἐσχάταις ἀνάγκαις ἀνέλαβον, ἱκανὴν τιμωρίαν δεδωκέναι νομίζοντες ἐπὶ τοῖς ἁμαρτήμασι τὴν μέχρι θανάτου βάσανον.’’
dio dē pollous eleēsantes en tais eschatais anankais anelabon, hikanēn timōrian dedōkenai nomizontes epi tois hamartēmasi tēn mechri thanatou basanon.’’
Therefore, out of pity, they have taken many back in their last extremity, thinking that torment to the point of death was sufficient punishment for their sins."
Notes and citation
Summary: Some are taken back after near-death suffering.
- Porphyry, from Josephus, Jewish War 2.
Extrabiblical texts: Josephus, B.J. 2 (Josephus (works); quotation)
Cite (SBL): Eusebius, Praep. ev. 9.3.16 (Dindorf 1:471; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/eusebius-praeparatio/8-14-66/#p-9-3-16). (abbreviation not yet checked)
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Translation: Translated by Claude from the Greek of Dindorf's Teubner text (1867; digital text First1KGreek, CC BY-SA 4.0), then compared section by section with the public-domain English of E. H. Gifford (1903); differences checked against the Greek.
9.3.17Dindorf 1:471–472
“ Τὴν δὲ σκαλίδα διδόασι τοῖς μέλλουσιν αἱρετισταῖς, ἐπεὶ καὶ αὐτοὶ ἄλλως οὐ θακεύουσιν ἢ βόθρον ὀρύξαντες εἰς βάθος ποδιαῖον, περικαλύψαντες θοἰματίῳ, ὡς μὴ ταῖς αὐγαῖς ἐνυβρίζειν τοῦ θεοῦ.
“ Tēn de skalida didoasi tois mellousin hairetistais, epei kai autoi allōs ou thakeuousin ē bothron oryxantes eis bathos podiaion, perikalypsantes thoimatiǭ, hōs mē tais augais enybrizein tou theou.
"They give the small spade to those who are to join the sect, since they themselves do not relieve themselves otherwise than by digging a pit a foot deep and covering themselves with the cloak, so as not to insult the rays of God.
Deut 23:13 (allusion, medium confidence)
Notes and citation
Summary: They bury their excrement so as not to offend God's light.
- Porphyry, from Josephus, Jewish War 2.
Extrabiblical texts: Josephus, B.J. 2 (Josephus (works); quotation)
Cite (SBL): Eusebius, Praep. ev. 9.3.17 (Dindorf 1:471–472; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/eusebius-praeparatio/8-14-66/#p-9-3-17). (abbreviation not yet checked)
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Translation: Translated by Claude from the Greek of Dindorf's Teubner text (1867; digital text First1KGreek, CC BY-SA 4.0), then compared section by section with the public-domain English of E. H. Gifford (1903); differences checked against the Greek.
9.3.18Dindorf 1:472
τοσαύτη δʼ ἐστὶν αὐτῶν ἡ λιτότης ἡ περὶ τὴν δίαιταν καὶ ἡ ὀλιγότης ὡς ἐν τῇ ἑβδομάδι μὴ δεῖσθαι κενώσεως, ἣν τηρεῖν εἰώθασιν εἰς ὕμνους τῷ θεῷ καὶ εἰς ἀνάπαυσιν.
tosautē dʼ estin autōn hē litotēs hē peri tēn diaitan kai hē oligotēs hōs en tę̄ hebdomadi mē deisthai kenōseōs, hēn tērein eiōthasin eis hymnous tǭ theǭ kai eis anapausin.
So great is their frugality and the smallness of their diet that on the seventh day they have no need of evacuation, which day they are accustomed to keep for hymns to God and for rest.
Notes and citation
Summary: They eat so little that they need not relieve themselves on the Sabbath.
- Porphyry, from Josephus, Jewish War 2.
Extrabiblical texts: Josephus, B.J. 2 (Josephus (works); quotation)
Cite (SBL): Eusebius, Praep. ev. 9.3.18 (Dindorf 1:472; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/eusebius-praeparatio/8-14-66/#p-9-3-18). (abbreviation not yet checked)
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Translation: Translated by Claude from the Greek of Dindorf's Teubner text (1867; digital text First1KGreek, CC BY-SA 4.0), then compared section by section with the public-domain English of E. H. Gifford (1903); differences checked against the Greek.
9.3.19Dindorf 1:472
ἐκ δὲ τῆς ἀσκήσεως ταύτης τοσαύτην πεποίηνται καρτερίαν, ὡς στρεβλούμενοι καὶ λυγιζόμενοι καὶ καόμενοι καὶ διὰ πάντων ὁδεύοντες τῶν βασανιστηρίων ὀργάνων, ἵνʼ ἢ βλασφημήσωσι τὸν νομοθέτην, ἢ φάγωσί τι τῶν ἀσυνήθων, οὐδέτερον ὑπομένειν.
ek de tēs askēseōs tautēs tosautēn pepoiēntai karterian, hōs strebloumenoi kai lygizomenoi kai kaomenoi kai dia pantōn hodeuontes tōn basanistēriōn organōn, hinʼ ē blasphēmēsōsi ton nomothetēn, ē phagōsi ti tōn asynēthōn, oudeteron hypomenein.
From this discipline they have acquired such endurance that, though racked and twisted and burned and made to pass through every instrument of torture, so that they might either blaspheme the lawgiver or eat something unaccustomed, they endure neither.
Notes and citation
Summary: Under torture they would neither blaspheme Moses nor eat forbidden food.
- Porphyry, from Josephus, Jewish War 2.
Notes on the original text
- Digital text corrected (garbled and repeated words in the digital text; repeated syllables in the digital text): στρεβλούμενοι μένοι → στρεβλούμενοι; τῶν ἀσυνήοὐδέτερον οὐδέτερον → τῶν ἀσυνήθων, οὐδέτερον.
Extrabiblical texts: Josephus, B.J. 2 (Josephus (works); quotation)
Topics: Martyrdom
Cite (SBL): Eusebius, Praep. ev. 9.3.19 (Dindorf 1:472; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/eusebius-praeparatio/8-14-66/#p-9-3-19). (abbreviation not yet checked)
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Translation: Translated by Claude from the Greek of Dindorf's Teubner text (1867; digital text First1KGreek, CC BY-SA 4.0), then compared section by section with the public-domain English of E. H. Gifford (1903); differences checked against the Greek.
9.3.20Dindorf 1:472
διέδειξαν δὲ τοῦτο ἐν τῷ πρὸς Ῥωμαίους πολέμῳ. ἐπεὶ οὐδὲ κολακεῦσαι τοὺς αἰκιζομένους, ἢ δακρῦσαι ὑπομένουσι, μειδιῶντες δὲ ἐν ταῖς ἀλγηδόσι, καὶ κατειρωνευόμενοι τῶν τὰς βασάνους προσφερόντων, εὔθυμοι τὰς ψυχὰς ἠφίεσαν, ὡς πάλιν κομιούμενοι· καὶ γὰρ ἔρρωται παρʼ αὐτοῖς ἥδε ἡ δόξα, φθαρτὰ μὲν εἶναι τὰ σώματα, καὶ τὴν ὕλην οὐ μόνιμον αὐτῶν, τὰς δὲ ψυχὰς ἀθανάτους ἀεὶ διαμένειν· καὶ συμπλέκεσθαι μὲν ἐκ τοῦ λεπτοτάτου φοιτώσας αἰθέρος, ῥύμῃ φυσικῇ κατασπωμένας, ἐπειδὰν δʼ ἀνεθῶσι τῶν κατὰ σάρκα δεσμῶν, οἷον δὴ μακρᾶς δουλείας ἀπηλλαγμένας, τότε χαίρειν καὶ μετεώρους φέρεσθαι.
diedeixan de touto en tǭ pros Rhōmaious polemǭ. epei oude kolakeusai tous aikizomenous, ē dakrysai hypomenousi, meidiōntes de en tais algēdosi, kai kateirōneuomenoi tōn tas basanous prospherontōn, euthymoi tas psychas ēphiesan, hōs palin komioumenoi; kai gar errōtai parʼ autois hēde hē doxa, phtharta men einai ta sōmata, kai tēn hylēn ou monimon autōn, tas de psychas athanatous aei diamenein; kai symplekesthai men ek tou leptotatou phoitōsas aitheros, rhymę̄ physikę̄ kataspōmenas, epeidan dʼ anethōsi tōn kata sarka desmōn, hoion dē makras douleias apēllagmenas, tote chairein kai meteōrous pheresthai.
They showed this in the war against the Romans. For they would not flatter their torturers or shed tears, but smiling in their pains and mocking those who applied the tortures, they gave up their souls cheerfully, as expecting to receive them again. For this belief is strong among them: that bodies are perishable and their matter not lasting, but souls remain immortal forever; and that, coming from the finest ether, they are entangled, drawn down by a natural attraction; but when released from the bonds of the flesh, as if freed from long slavery, they then rejoice and are carried aloft.
Notes and citation
Summary: In the Roman war the Essenes died cheerfully, believing in the immortality of the soul.
- Porphyry, from Josephus, Jewish War 2.
Notes on the original text
- Digital text corrected (misread letter and repeated syllables in the digital text; misread letter in the digital text; missing capital and breathing in the digital text; wrong breathing in the digital text): πρὸς ρωμαίους → πρὸς Ῥωμαίους; δὠματα, μάτα, → σώματα,; κατασρωμένας → κατασπωμένας; οἶον δὴ → οἷον δὴ.
Extrabiblical texts: Josephus, B.J. 2 (Josephus (works); quotation)
Topics: Martyrdom, Eschatology
Cite (SBL): Eusebius, Praep. ev. 9.3.20 (Dindorf 1:472; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/eusebius-praeparatio/8-14-66/#p-9-3-20). (abbreviation not yet checked)
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Translation: Translated by Claude from the Greek of Dindorf's Teubner text (1867; digital text First1KGreek, CC BY-SA 4.0), then compared section by section with the public-domain English of E. H. Gifford (1903); differences checked against the Greek.
9.3.21Dindorf 1:472
ἀπὸ δὴ τῆς τοιαύτης διαίτης καὶ τῆς πρὸς ἀλήθειαν καὶ τὴν εὐσέβειαν ἀσκήσεως εἰκότως ἐν αὐτοῖς πολλοὶ, οἱ καὶ τὰ μέλλοντα προγινώσκουσιν, ὡς ἂν βίβλοις ἱεραῖς καὶ διαφόροις ἁγνείαις καὶ προφητῶν ἀποφθέγμασιν ἐμπαιδοτριβούμενοι· σπάνιον δὲ, εἰ ἐν ταῖς προαγορεύσεσιν ἀστοχοῦσι.’’
apo dē tēs toiautēs diaitēs kai tēs pros alētheian kai tēn eusebeian askēseōs eikotōs en autois polloi, hoi kai ta mellonta proginōskousin, hōs an biblois hierais kai diaphorois hagneiais kai prophētōn apophthegmasin empaidotriboumenoi; spanion de, ei en tais proagoreusesin astochousi.’’
From such a way of life and from discipline in truth and piety, there are naturally many among them who foreknow the future, being trained in sacred books, various purifications, and the sayings of prophets; and rarely do they miss in their predictions."
Notes and citation
Summary: Many Essenes are skilled in prophecy.
- Porphyry, from Josephus, Jewish War 2.
Notes on the original text
- Digital text corrected (misread letter in the digital text): ἀροφθέγμασιν → ἀποφθέγμασιν.
Extrabiblical texts: Josephus, B.J. 2 (Josephus (works); quotation)
Cite (SBL): Eusebius, Praep. ev. 9.3.21 (Dindorf 1:472; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/eusebius-praeparatio/8-14-66/#p-9-3-21). (abbreviation not yet checked)
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Translation: Translated by Claude from the Greek of Dindorf's Teubner text (1867; digital text First1KGreek, CC BY-SA 4.0), then compared section by section with the public-domain English of E. H. Gifford (1903); differences checked against the Greek.
9.3.22Dindorf 1:472–473
Ταῦτα μὲν ὁ Πορφύριος, ἐκ παλαιῶν, ὡς εἰκὸς, ἀναγνωσμάτων, τῇ τῶν δηλουμένων ἀνδρῶν εὐσεβείᾳ τε ὁμοῦ καὶ φιλοσοφίᾳ ἐν τῷ τετάρτῳ συγγράμματι τῶν σπουδασθέντων αὐτῷ Περὶ τῆς τῶν ἐμψύχων ἀποχῆς ἐμαρτύρησεν.
Tauta men ho Porphyrios, ek palaiōn, hōs eikos, anagnōsmatōn, tę̄ tōn dēloumenōn andrōn eusebeią te homou kai philosophią en tǭ tetartǭ syngrammati tōn spoudasthentōn autǭ Peri tēs tōn empsychōn apochēs emartyrēsen.
So Porphyry, drawing, it seems, from ancient writings, bore witness to the piety and philosophy of the men described, in the fourth book of his work On Abstinence from Animal Food.
Notes and citation
Summary: Eusebius notes Porphyry's testimony to the Essenes.
Cite (SBL): Eusebius, Praep. ev. 9.3.22 (Dindorf 1:472–473; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/eusebius-praeparatio/8-14-66/#p-9-3-22). (abbreviation not yet checked)
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Translation: Translated by Claude from the Greek of Dindorf's Teubner text (1867; digital text First1KGreek, CC BY-SA 4.0), then compared section by section with the public-domain English of E. H. Gifford (1903); differences checked against the Greek.
Preparation 9, chapter 4
9.4.1Dindorf 1:473
Ἑκαταῖος δὲ ὁ Ἀβδηρίτης, ἀνὴρ φιλόσοφος ἅμα καὶ περὶ τὰς πράξεις ἱκανώτατος, ἰδίαν βίβλον ἀναθεὶς τῇ περὶ Ἰουδαίων ἱστορίᾳ, πλεῖστα περὶ αὐτῶν διέξεισιν, ἀφʼ ὧν ἐπὶ τοῦ παρόντος ἀρκέσει παρατεθέντα ταῦτα
Hekataios de ho Abdēritēs, anēr philosophos hama kai peri tas praxeis hikanōtatos, idian biblon anatheis tę̄ peri Ioudaiōn historią, pleista peri autōn diexeisin, aphʼ hōn epi tou parontos arkesei paratethenta tauta
Hecataeus of Abdera, a philosopher and very capable in affairs, devoted a book of his own to the history of the Jews and goes through a great deal about them; of which these will suffice to be quoted for the present:
Notes and citation
Summary: Eusebius introduces Hecataeus of Abdera on the Jews.
- The passages are quoted from Josephus, Against Apion 1.197–204; the book on the Jews ascribed to Hecataeus is of disputed authenticity.
Extrabiblical texts: Hecataeus (Hecataeus of Abdera; quotation)
Cite (SBL): Eusebius, Praep. ev. 9.4.1 (Dindorf 1:473; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/eusebius-praeparatio/8-14-66/#p-9-4-1). (abbreviation not yet checked)
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Translation: Translated by Claude from the Greek of Dindorf's Teubner text (1867; digital text First1KGreek, CC BY-SA 4.0), then compared section by section with the public-domain English of E. H. Gifford (1903); differences checked against the Greek.
9.4.2Dindorf 1:473
“Ἔστι γὰρ τῶν Ἰουδαίων τὰ πολλὰ ὀχυρώματα κατὰ τὴν χώραν καὶ κῶμαι· μία δὲ ἡ Ἱερουσαλὴμ πόλις ὀχυρὰ, πεντήκοντα μάλιστα σταδίων τὴν περίμετρον, ἣν οἰκοῦσι μὲν ἀνθρώπων περὶ δώδεκα μυριάδες, καλοῦσι δʼ αὐτὴν Ἱεροσόλυμα.
“Esti gar tōn Ioudaiōn ta polla ochyrōmata kata tēn chōran kai kōmai; mia de hē Hierousalēm polis ochyra, pentēkonta malista stadiōn tēn perimetron, hēn oikousi men anthrōpōn peri dōdeka myriades, kalousi dʼ autēn Hierosolyma.
"The Jews have many fortresses and villages throughout the country, but one fortified city, Jerusalem, about fifty stadia in circumference, inhabited by about one hundred and twenty thousand people; they call it Hierosolyma.
Notes and citation
Summary: Hecataeus describes Jerusalem.
- Hecataeus, via Josephus, Against Apion 1.
Extrabiblical texts: Josephus, C. Ap. 1 (Josephus (works); quotation); Hecataeus (Hecataeus of Abdera; quotation)
Cite (SBL): Eusebius, Praep. ev. 9.4.2 (Dindorf 1:473; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/eusebius-praeparatio/8-14-66/#p-9-4-2). (abbreviation not yet checked)
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Translation: Translated by Claude from the Greek of Dindorf's Teubner text (1867; digital text First1KGreek, CC BY-SA 4.0), then compared section by section with the public-domain English of E. H. Gifford (1903); differences checked against the Greek.
9.4.3Dindorf 1:473
ἐνταῦθα δέ ἐστι κατὰ μέσον μάλιστα τῆς πόλεως περίβολος λίθινος, μῆκος ὡς πεντάπλεθρος, εὖρος δὲ πήχεων ἑκατὸν, ἔχων διπλᾶς πύλας, ἐν ᾧ βωμός ἐστι τετράγωνος, ἀτμήτων συλλέκτων ἀργῶν λίθων οὕτω συγκείμενος· πλευρὰν δὲ ἑκάστην εἴκοσι πήχεων, ὕψος δωδεκάπηχυ.
entautha de esti kata meson malista tēs poleōs peribolos lithinos, mēkos hōs pentaplethros, euros de pēcheōn hekaton, echōn diplas pylas, en hǭ bōmos esti tetragōnos, atmētōn syllektōn argōn lithōn houtō synkeimenos; pleuran de hekastēn eikosi pēcheōn, hypsos dōdekapēchy.
Here, about the middle of the city, is a stone enclosure, about five plethra long and a hundred cubits wide, with double gates, in which there is a square altar, built of unhewn, gathered, unworked stones put together thus: each side twenty cubits, and twelve cubits high.
Exod 20:25 (echo, medium confidence)
Notes and citation
Summary: Hecataeus describes the temple court and altar of unhewn stones.
- Hecataeus, via Josephus. Compare Exod 20:25.
Extrabiblical texts: Josephus, C. Ap. 1 (Josephus (works); quotation); Hecataeus (Hecataeus of Abdera; quotation)
Cite (SBL): Eusebius, Praep. ev. 9.4.3 (Dindorf 1:473; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/eusebius-praeparatio/8-14-66/#p-9-4-3). (abbreviation not yet checked)
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Translation: Translated by Claude from the Greek of Dindorf's Teubner text (1867; digital text First1KGreek, CC BY-SA 4.0), then compared section by section with the public-domain English of E. H. Gifford (1903); differences checked against the Greek.
9.4.4Dindorf 1:473
καὶ παρʼ αὐτὸν οἴκημα μέγα, οὗ βωμός ἐστι καὶ λυχνίον· ἀμφότερα χρυσᾶ, δύο τάλαντα τὴν ὁλκήν· ἐπὶ δὲ τούτων φῶς ἐστιν ἀναπόσβεστον καὶ τὰς νύκτας καὶ τὰς ἡμέρας. ἄγαλμα δʼ οὐκ ἔστιν οὐδʼ ἀνάθημα τοπαράπαν, οὐδὲ φύτευμα παντελῶς, οὐδὲ οἷον ἀλσῶδες, ἤ τι τοιοῦτον.
kai parʼ auton oikēma mega, hou bōmos esti kai lychnion; amphotera chrysa, dyo talanta tēn holkēn; epi de toutōn phōs estin anaposbeston kai tas nyktas kai tas hēmeras. agalma dʼ ouk estin oudʼ anathēma toparapan, oude phyteuma pantelōs, oude hoion alsōdes, ē ti toiouton.
And beside it is a great building, where there is an altar and a lampstand, both of gold, two talents in weight; and on these is a light that is never extinguished, night or day. There is no statue or votive offering at all, and no plant whatever, nor anything like a grove or such.
Notes and citation
Summary: The temple has a golden altar and lampstand, an eternal light, and no images.
- Hecataeus, via Josephus.
Extrabiblical texts: Josephus, C. Ap. 1 (Josephus (works); quotation); Hecataeus (Hecataeus of Abdera; quotation)
Cite (SBL): Eusebius, Praep. ev. 9.4.4 (Dindorf 1:473; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/eusebius-praeparatio/8-14-66/#p-9-4-4). (abbreviation not yet checked)
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Translation: Translated by Claude from the Greek of Dindorf's Teubner text (1867; digital text First1KGreek, CC BY-SA 4.0), then compared section by section with the public-domain English of E. H. Gifford (1903); differences checked against the Greek.
9.4.5Dindorf 1:473
διατρίβουσι δʼ ἐν αὐτῷ καὶ τὰς νύκτας καὶ τὰς ἡμέρας ἱερεῖς, ἁγνείας τινὰς ἁγνεύοντες, καὶ τοπαράπαν οἷνον οὐ πίνοντες ἐν τῷ ἱερῷ.”
diatribousi dʼ en autǭ kai tas nyktas kai tas hēmeras hiereis, hagneias tinas hagneuontes, kai toparapan hoinon ou pinontes en tǭ hierǭ.”
Priests spend the nights and days in it, performing certain purifications, and drinking no wine at all in the temple."
Lev 10:9 (allusion, medium confidence)
Notes and citation
Summary: Priests serve continually and drink no wine in the temple.
- Hecataeus, via Josephus.
Extrabiblical texts: Josephus, C. Ap. 1 (Josephus (works); quotation); Hecataeus (Hecataeus of Abdera; quotation)
Cite (SBL): Eusebius, Praep. ev. 9.4.5 (Dindorf 1:473; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/eusebius-praeparatio/8-14-66/#p-9-4-5). (abbreviation not yet checked)
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Translation: Translated by Claude from the Greek of Dindorf's Teubner text (1867; digital text First1KGreek, CC BY-SA 4.0), then compared section by section with the public-domain English of E. H. Gifford (1903); differences checked against the Greek.
9.4.6Dindorf 1:473
Ταῦτα εἰπὼν ὑποβὰς ὅτι καὶ Ἀλεξάνδρῳ τῷ βασιλεῖ συνεστρατεύσαντο, καὶ μετὰ ταῦτα τοῖς διαδόχοις αὐτοῦ, μεμαρτύρηκεν. οἷς δʼ αὐτὸς παρατυχεῖν φησιν ὑπʼ ἀνδρὸς Ἰουδαίου κατὰ τὴν στρατείαν γενομένοις, τοῦτο παραθήσομαι. λέγει δὲ οὕτως
Tauta eipōn hypobas hoti kai Alexandrǭ tǭ basilei synestrateusanto, kai meta tauta tois diadochois autou, memartyrēken. hois dʼ autos paratychein phēsin hypʼ andros Ioudaiou kata tēn strateian genomenois, touto parathēsomai. legei de houtōs
Having said this, he testifies a little further on that they served in the army with King Alexander and afterward with his successors. What he says he himself witnessed done by a Jewish man during the campaign I shall set out. He says this:
Notes and citation
Summary: Hecataeus tells of Jews serving under Alexander and an incident he witnessed.
Extrabiblical texts: Hecataeus (Hecataeus of Abdera; quotation)
Cite (SBL): Eusebius, Praep. ev. 9.4.6 (Dindorf 1:473; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/eusebius-praeparatio/8-14-66/#p-9-4-6). (abbreviation not yet checked)
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Translation: Translated by Claude from the Greek of Dindorf's Teubner text (1867; digital text First1KGreek, CC BY-SA 4.0), then compared section by section with the public-domain English of E. H. Gifford (1903); differences checked against the Greek.
9.4.7Dindorf 1:473–474
“Ἐμοῦ γοῦν ἐπὶ τὴν ἐρυθρὰν θάλασσαν βαδίζοντος συνηκολούθει τις μετὰ τῶν ἄλλων τῶν παραπεμπόντων ἡμὰς ἱππέων Ἰουδαίων ὄνομα Μοσόμαμος, ἄνθρωπος ἱκανὸς κατὰ ψυχὴν, εὔρωστος, καὶ τοξότης ὑπὸ δὴ πάντων ὁμολογούμενος καὶ Ἑλλήνων καὶ τῶν βαρβάρων ἄριστος.
“Emou goun epi tēn erythran thalassan badizontos synēkolouthei tis meta tōn allōn tōn parapempontōn hēmas hippeōn Ioudaiōn onoma Mosomamos, anthrōpos hikanos kata psychēn, eurōstos, kai toxotēs hypo dē pantōn homologoumenos kai Hellēnōn kai tōn barbarōn aristos.
"When I was marching toward the Red Sea, among the other Jewish horsemen escorting us was one named Mosollamus, a man of strong spirit, robust, and acknowledged by all, Greeks and barbarians, as the best archer.
Notes and citation
Summary: Hecataeus introduces the Jewish archer Mosollamus.
- Hecataeus, via Josephus, Against Apion 1.
Notes on the original text
- Digital text corrected (line-end hyphen left in the digital text): βαδί- ζοντος → βαδίζοντος.
Extrabiblical texts: Josephus, C. Ap. 1 (Josephus (works); quotation); Hecataeus (Hecataeus of Abdera; quotation)
Cite (SBL): Eusebius, Praep. ev. 9.4.7 (Dindorf 1:473–474; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/eusebius-praeparatio/8-14-66/#p-9-4-7). (abbreviation not yet checked)
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Translation: Translated by Claude from the Greek of Dindorf's Teubner text (1867; digital text First1KGreek, CC BY-SA 4.0), then compared section by section with the public-domain English of E. H. Gifford (1903); differences checked against the Greek.
9.4.8Dindorf 1:474
οὗτος οὖν ὁ ἄνθρωπος, βαδιζόντων πολλῶν κατὰ τὴν ὁδὸν, καὶ μάντεως τινος ὀρνιθευομένου, καὶ πάντας ἐπισχεῖν ἀξιοῦντος, ἠρώτησε διὰ τί προσμένουσι· δείξαντος δὲ τοῦ μάντεως αὐτῷ τὸν ὄρνιθα, καὶ φήσαντος, ἐὰν μὲν αὐτοῦ μένῃ, προσμένειν συμφέρει πᾶσιν, ἐὰν δὲ ἀναστὰς εἰς τοὔμπροσθεν πέτηται, προάγειν, ἐὰν δὲ εἰς τὸ ὄπισθεν, ἀναχωρεῖν αὖθις· σιωπήσας καὶ ἑλκύσας τὸ τόξον ἔβαλε, καὶ τὸν ὄρνιθα πατάξας ἀπέκτεινεν.
houtos oun ho anthrōpos, badizontōn pollōn kata tēn hodon, kai manteōs tinos ornitheuomenou, kai pantas epischein axiountos, ērōtēse dia ti prosmenousi; deixantos de tou manteōs autǭ ton ornitha, kai phēsantos, ean men autou menę̄, prosmenein sympherei pasin, ean de anastas eis toumprosthen petētai, proagein, ean de eis to opisthen, anachōrein authis; siōpēsas kai helkysas to toxon ebale, kai ton ornitha pataxas apekteinen.
This man, then, when many were marching along the road, and a seer was taking omens from birds and asking all to halt, asked why they were waiting. When the seer showed him the bird and said that if it stayed there it was best for all to wait, if it rose and flew forward to advance, and if backward to retreat again, he said nothing, but drew his bow and shot, and struck and killed the bird.
Notes and citation
Summary: Mosollamus shoots the seer's omen-bird.
- Hecataeus, via Josephus.
Notes on the original text
- Digital text corrected (misread letter in the digital text): βαδιξόντων → βαδιζόντων; ὀρνιθενομένου → ὀρνιθευομένου.
Extrabiblical texts: Josephus, C. Ap. 1 (Josephus (works); quotation); Hecataeus (Hecataeus of Abdera; quotation)
Cite (SBL): Eusebius, Praep. ev. 9.4.8 (Dindorf 1:474; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/eusebius-praeparatio/8-14-66/#p-9-4-8). (abbreviation not yet checked)
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Translation: Translated by Claude from the Greek of Dindorf's Teubner text (1867; digital text First1KGreek, CC BY-SA 4.0), then compared section by section with the public-domain English of E. H. Gifford (1903); differences checked against the Greek.
9.4.9Dindorf 1:474
ἀγανακτούντων δὲ τοῦ μάντεως καί τινων ἄλλων καὶ καταρωμένων αὐτῷ, Τί μαίνεσθε, ἔφη, κακοδαίμονες; εἶτα τὸν ὄρνιθα λαβὼν εἰς τὰς χεῖρας, Πῶς γὰρ οὗτος, ἔφη, τὴν αὑτοῦ σωτηρίαν οὐ προϊδὼν, περὶ τῆς ἡμετέρας πορείας ἡμῖν ἄν τι ὑγιὲς ἀνήγγειλεν; εἰ γὰρ ἠδύνατο προγινώσκειν τὸ μέλλον, εἰς τὸν τόπον τοῦτον οὐκ ἂν ἦλθε, φοβούμενος μὴ τοξεύσας αὐτὸν ἀποκτείνῃ Μοσόμαμος ὁ Ἰουδαῖος. καὶ ταῦτα μὲν ὁ Ἑκαταῖος.
aganaktountōn de tou manteōs kai tinōn allōn kai katarōmenōn autǭ, Ti mainesthe, ephē, kakodaimones? eita ton ornitha labōn eis tas cheiras, Pōs gar houtos, ephē, tēn hautou sōtērian ou proïdōn, peri tēs hēmeteras poreias hēmin an ti hygies anēngeilen? ei gar ēdynato proginōskein to mellon, eis ton topon touton ouk an ēlthe, phoboumenos mē toxeusas auton apokteinę̄ Mosomamos ho Ioudaios. kai tauta men ho Hekataios.
When the seer and some others were angry and cursed him, he said, 'Why are you mad, you wretches?' Then, taking the bird in his hands, he said, 'How could this bird, which did not foresee its own safety, tell us anything sound about our march? For if it could foreknow the future, it would not have come to this place, fearing that Mosollamus the Jew would shoot and kill it.'" So Hecataeus.
Notes and citation
Summary: Mosollamus mocks divination: the bird could not foresee its own death.
- Hecataeus, via Josephus.
Notes on the original text
- Digital text corrected (misread letter in the digital text; word split by a stray mark in the digital text): κακαδαίμονες → κακοδαίμονες; προι· δὼν → προϊδὼν.
Extrabiblical texts: Josephus, C. Ap. 1 (Josephus (works); quotation); Hecataeus (Hecataeus of Abdera; quotation)
Cite (SBL): Eusebius, Praep. ev. 9.4.9 (Dindorf 1:474; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/eusebius-praeparatio/8-14-66/#p-9-4-9). (abbreviation not yet checked)
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Translation: Translated by Claude from the Greek of Dindorf's Teubner text (1867; digital text First1KGreek, CC BY-SA 4.0), then compared section by section with the public-domain English of E. H. Gifford (1903); differences checked against the Greek.
Preparation 9, chapter 5
9.5.1Dindorf 1:474
‘‘Κλέαρχος δὲ ὁ περιπατητικὸς φιλόσοφος ἐν τῷ πρώτῳ Περὶ ὕπνου βιβλίῳ Ἀριστοτέλει τῷ φιλοσόφῳ τοιόνδε τινὰ περὶ Ἰουδαίων ἀνατίθησι λόγον, ὧδε πρὸς ῥῆμα γράφων,
‘‘Klearchos de ho peripatētikos philosophos en tǭ prōtǭ Peri hypnou bibliǭ Aristotelei tǭ philosophǭ toionde tina peri Ioudaiōn anatithēsi logon, hōde pros rhēma graphōn,
"Clearchus, the Peripatetic philosopher, in the first book On Sleep, attributes to the philosopher Aristotle an account of the Jews like this, writing word for word:
Notes and citation
Summary: Eusebius introduces Clearchus's account of Aristotle meeting a Jew.
- Clearchus of Soli, On Sleep, quoted from Josephus, Against Apion 1.176–182.
Notes on the original text
- Digital text corrected (misread letter in the digital text): φιλοδόφῳ → φιλοσόφῳ.
Extrabiblical texts: Josephus, C. Ap. 1 (Josephus (works); quotation); Clearchus (Clearchus of Soli, On Sleep; quotation)
Cite (SBL): Eusebius, Praep. ev. 9.5.1 (Dindorf 1:474; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/eusebius-praeparatio/8-14-66/#p-9-5-1). (abbreviation not yet checked)
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Translation: Translated by Claude from the Greek of Dindorf's Teubner text (1867; digital text First1KGreek, CC BY-SA 4.0), then compared section by section with the public-domain English of E. H. Gifford (1903); differences checked against the Greek.
9.5.2Dindorf 1:474
‘ ’ Ἀλλὰ τὰ μὲν πολλὰ μακρὸν ἂν εἴη λέγειν· ὅσα δὲ ἔχει τῶν ἐκείνου θαυμασιότητά τινα καὶ φιλοσοφίαν ὁμοίως διελθεῖν οὐ χεῖρον. Σαφῶς δʼ ἴσθι, εἶπεν, Ὑπεροχίδη, θαυμαστὸν ὀνείροις ἴσα σοι δόξω λέγειν.
‘ ’ Alla ta men polla makron an eiē legein; hosa de echei tōn ekeinou thaumasiotēta tina kai philosophian homoiōs dielthein ou cheiron. Saphōs dʼ isthi, eipen, Hyperochidē, thaumaston oneirois isa soi doxō legein.
"'It would take long to tell most of it; but it would not be bad to go through equally those of his traits that have something wonderful and philosophical. Know clearly,' he said, 'Hyperochides, that I shall seem to you to be telling something as wonderful as dreams.'
Notes and citation
Summary: Aristotle begins his story to Hyperochides.
- Clearchus, via Josephus.
Extrabiblical texts: Josephus, C. Ap. 1 (Josephus (works); quotation); Clearchus (Clearchus of Soli, On Sleep; quotation)
Cite (SBL): Eusebius, Praep. ev. 9.5.2 (Dindorf 1:474; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/eusebius-praeparatio/8-14-66/#p-9-5-2). (abbreviation not yet checked)
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Translation: Translated by Claude from the Greek of Dindorf's Teubner text (1867; digital text First1KGreek, CC BY-SA 4.0), then compared section by section with the public-domain English of E. H. Gifford (1903); differences checked against the Greek.
9.5.3Dindorf 1:474–475
καὶ ὁ Ὑπεροχίδης εὐλαβούμενος, Διʼ αὐτὸ γὰρ, ἔφη, τοῦτο καὶ ζητοῦμεν ἀκοῦσαι πάντες.
kai ho Hyperochidēs eulaboumenos, Diʼ auto gar, ephē, touto kai zētoumen akousai pantes.
And Hyperochides said respectfully, 'For that very reason we all want to hear it.'
Notes and citation
Summary: Hyperochides asks to hear.
- Clearchus, via Josephus.
Notes on the original text
- Digital text corrected (misread letters in the digital text): Ὑρεσοχίδης → Ὑπεροχίδης.
Extrabiblical texts: Josephus, C. Ap. 1 (Josephus (works); quotation); Clearchus (Clearchus of Soli, On Sleep; quotation)
Cite (SBL): Eusebius, Praep. ev. 9.5.3 (Dindorf 1:474–475; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/eusebius-praeparatio/8-14-66/#p-9-5-3). (abbreviation not yet checked)
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Translation: Translated by Claude from the Greek of Dindorf's Teubner text (1867; digital text First1KGreek, CC BY-SA 4.0), then compared section by section with the public-domain English of E. H. Gifford (1903); differences checked against the Greek.
9.5.4Dindorf 1:475
Οὐκοῦν, εἶπεν ὁ Ἀριστοτέλης, κατὰ τὸ τῶν ῥητορικῶν παράγγελμα, γένος αὐτοῦ πρῶτον διέλθωμεν, ἵνα μὴ ἀπειθῶμεν τοῖς τῶν ἀπαγγελιῶν διδασκάλοις.
Oukoun, eipen ho Aristotelēs, kata to tōn rhētorikōn parangelma, genos autou prōton dielthōmen, hina mē apeithōmen tois tōn apangeliōn didaskalois.
'Then,' said Aristotle, 'following the rule of the rhetoricians, let us first go through his race, so that we may not disobey the teachers of narration.'
Notes and citation
Summary: Aristotle will first describe the man's race.
- Clearchus, via Josephus.
Extrabiblical texts: Josephus, C. Ap. 1 (Josephus (works); quotation); Clearchus (Clearchus of Soli, On Sleep; quotation)
Cite (SBL): Eusebius, Praep. ev. 9.5.4 (Dindorf 1:475; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/eusebius-praeparatio/8-14-66/#p-9-5-4). (abbreviation not yet checked)
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Translation: Translated by Claude from the Greek of Dindorf's Teubner text (1867; digital text First1KGreek, CC BY-SA 4.0), then compared section by section with the public-domain English of E. H. Gifford (1903); differences checked against the Greek.
9.5.5Dindorf 1:475
Λέγε, εἶπεν ὁ Ὑπεροχίδης, οὕτως εἰ δοκεῖ.
Lege, eipen ho Hyperochidēs, houtōs ei dokei.
'Speak,' said Hyperochides, 'if you think so.'
Notes and citation
Summary: Hyperochides agrees.
- Clearchus, via Josephus.
Notes on the original text
- Digital text corrected (wrong breathing in the digital text): Ύπεροχίδης → Ὑπεροχίδης.
Extrabiblical texts: Josephus, C. Ap. 1 (Josephus (works); quotation); Clearchus (Clearchus of Soli, On Sleep; quotation)
Cite (SBL): Eusebius, Praep. ev. 9.5.5 (Dindorf 1:475; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/eusebius-praeparatio/8-14-66/#p-9-5-5). (abbreviation not yet checked)
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Translation: Translated by Claude from the Greek of Dindorf's Teubner text (1867; digital text First1KGreek, CC BY-SA 4.0), then compared section by section with the public-domain English of E. H. Gifford (1903); differences checked against the Greek.
9.5.6Dindorf 1:475
Κεῖνος τοίνυν τὸ μὲν γένος ἦν Ἰουδαῖος, ἐκ τῆς Κοίλης Συρίας, οὗτοι δʼ εἰσὶν ἀπόγονοι τῶν ἐν Ἰνδοῖς φιλοσόφων· καλοῦνται δὲ, ὥς φασιν, οἱ φιλόσοφοι παρὰ μὲν Ἰνδοῖς Καλανοί, παρὰ δὲ Σύροις Ἰουδαῖοι, τοὔνομα λαβόντες ἀπὸ τοῦ τόπου. προσαγορεύεται γὰρ ὃν κατοικοῦσι τόπον Ἰουδαία· τὸ δὲ τῆς πόλεως αὐτῶν ὄνομα πάνυ σκολιόν ἐστιν, Ἰερουσαλὴμ γὰρ αὐτὴν καλοῦσιν.
Keinos toinyn to men genos ēn Ioudaios, ek tēs Koilēs Syrias, houtoi dʼ eisin apogonoi tōn en Indois philosophōn; kalountai de, hōs phasin, hoi philosophoi para men Indois Kalanoi, para de Syrois Ioudaioi, tounoma labontes apo tou topou. prosagoreuetai gar hon katoikousi topon Ioudaia; to de tēs poleōs autōn onoma pany skolion estin, Ierousalēm gar autēn kalousin.
'That man, then, was a Jew by race, from Coele-Syria. These people are descendants of the philosophers in India; the philosophers, they say, are called Calani among the Indians and Jews among the Syrians, taking the name from the place; for the place they inhabit is called Judea. The name of their city is very awkward: they call it Jerusalem.
Notes and citation
Summary: Aristotle: the Jews are descendants of Indian philosophers, named from Judea.
- Clearchus, via Josephus.
Notes on the original text
- Digital text corrected (wrong accent in the digital text; wrong accents in the digital text; wrong breathing in the digital text): οἶ φιλόσοφοι → οἱ φιλόσοφοι; ἄπο του τόπου → ἀπὸ τοῦ τόπου; ὂν κατοικοῦσι → ὃν κατοικοῦσι.
Extrabiblical texts: Josephus, C. Ap. 1 (Josephus (works); quotation); Clearchus (Clearchus of Soli, On Sleep; quotation)
Cite (SBL): Eusebius, Praep. ev. 9.5.6 (Dindorf 1:475; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/eusebius-praeparatio/8-14-66/#p-9-5-6). (abbreviation not yet checked)
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Translation: Translated by Claude from the Greek of Dindorf's Teubner text (1867; digital text First1KGreek, CC BY-SA 4.0), then compared section by section with the public-domain English of E. H. Gifford (1903); differences checked against the Greek.
9.5.7Dindorf 1:475
οὗτος οὖν ὁ ἄνθρωπος ἐπιξενούμενός τε πολλοῖς κἀκ τῶν ἄνω τόπων εἰς τοὺς ἐπιθαλαττίους ὑποκαταβαίνων Ἑλληνικὸς ἦν οὐ τῇ διαλέκτῳ μόνον, ἀλλὰ καὶ τῇ ψυχῇ. καὶ τότε διατριβόντων ἡμῶν περὶ τὴν Ἀσίαν, παραβαλὼν εἰς τοὺς αὐτοὺς τόπους ἄνθρωπος, ἐντυγχάνει ἡμῖν τε καί τισιν ἑτέροις τῶν σχολαστικῶν, πειρώμενος αὐτῶν τῆς σοφίας. ὡς δὲ πολλοῖς τῶν ἐν παιδείᾳ συνῳκείωτο, παρεδίδου τι μᾶλλον ὧν εἶχε. ταῦτα καὶ ὁ Κλέαρχος.
houtos oun ho anthrōpos epixenoumenos te pollois kak tōn anō topōn eis tous epithalattious hypokatabainōn Hellēnikos ēn ou tę̄ dialektǭ monon, alla kai tę̄ psychę̄. kai tote diatribontōn hēmōn peri tēn Asian, parabalōn eis tous autous topous anthrōpos, entynchanei hēmin te kai tisin heterois tōn scholastikōn, peirōmenos autōn tēs sophias. hōs de pollois tōn en paideią synǭkeiōto, paredidou ti mallon hōn eiche. tauta kai ho Klearchos.
This man, then, being received as a guest by many and coming down from the upper regions to the coast, was Greek not only in language but also in soul. And when we were staying in Asia, the man, coming to the same places, met us and some other scholars, testing their wisdom. And as he had become intimate with many people of education, he imparted something more of what he had.' So Clearchus too.
Notes and citation
Summary: The Jew, Greek in speech and soul, conversed with Aristotle in Asia.
- Clearchus, via Josephus.
Notes on the original text
- Digital text corrected (missing space in the digital text; wrong accent in the digital text; wrong breathing in the digital text): οὗτος οὑν → οὗτος οὖν; ὐποκαταβαίνων → ὑποκαταβαίνων; τὴνἈσίαν → τὴν Ἀσίαν.
Extrabiblical texts: Josephus, C. Ap. 1 (Josephus (works); quotation); Clearchus (Clearchus of Soli, On Sleep; quotation)
Cite (SBL): Eusebius, Praep. ev. 9.5.7 (Dindorf 1:475; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/eusebius-praeparatio/8-14-66/#p-9-5-7). (abbreviation not yet checked)
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Translation: Translated by Claude from the Greek of Dindorf's Teubner text (1867; digital text First1KGreek, CC BY-SA 4.0), then compared section by section with the public-domain English of E. H. Gifford (1903); differences checked against the Greek.
Preparation 9, chapter 6
9.6.1Dindorf 1:475
Τούτου δὲ μνημονεύει καὶ ὁ ἡμέτερος Κλήμης ἐν τῷ πρώτῳ Στρωματεῖ, διʼ ὧν ταῦτά φησι
Toutou de mnēmoneuei kai ho hēmeteros Klēmēs en tǭ prōtǭ Strōmatei, diʼ hōn tauta phēsi
Our own Clement too mentions this in the first Miscellany, where he says this:
Notes and citation
Summary: Eusebius introduces Clement of Alexandria's references.
Notes on the original text
- Digital text corrected (repeated syllable in the digital text): Κλήμης μὴς → Κλήμης.
Cite (SBL): Eusebius, Praep. ev. 9.6.1 (Dindorf 1:475; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/eusebius-praeparatio/8-14-66/#p-9-6-1). (abbreviation not yet checked)
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Translation: Translated by Claude from the Greek of Dindorf's Teubner text (1867; digital text First1KGreek, CC BY-SA 4.0), then compared section by section with the public-domain English of E. H. Gifford (1903); differences checked against the Greek.
9.6.2Dindorf 1:475
Κλέαρχος δʼ ὁ περιπατητικὸς εἰδέναι φησί τινα Ἰουδαῖον, ὃς Ἀριστοτέλει συνεγένετο.’’ Καὶ μεθʼ ἕτερα ἐπιλέγει
Klearchos dʼ ho peripatētikos eidenai phēsi tina Ioudaion, hos Aristotelei synegeneto.’’ Kai methʼ hetera epilegei
"Clearchus the Peripatetic says he knew a certain Jew who associated with Aristotle." And after other things he adds:
Notes and citation
Summary: Clement cites Clearchus on Aristotle's Jewish companion.
- Clement of Alexandria, Miscellanies 1.15.70.
Extrabiblical texts: Clement of Alexandria, Strom. 1.15.70 (Miscellanies; quotation)
Cite (SBL): Eusebius, Praep. ev. 9.6.2 (Dindorf 1:475; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/eusebius-praeparatio/8-14-66/#p-9-6-2). (abbreviation not yet checked)
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Translation: Translated by Claude from the Greek of Dindorf's Teubner text (1867; digital text First1KGreek, CC BY-SA 4.0), then compared section by section with the public-domain English of E. H. Gifford (1903); differences checked against the Greek.
9.6.3Dindorf 1:475
“ Νουμᾶς δὲ ὁ Ρωμαίων βασιλεὺς Πυθαγόρειος μὲν ἦν, ἐκ δὲ τῶν Μώσεως ὠφεληθεὶς διεκώλυσεν ἀνθρωποειδῆ καὶ ζωόμορφον εἰκόνα θεοῦ Ῥωμαίους κτίζειν.
“ Noumas de ho Rōmaiōn basileus Pythagoreios men ēn, ek de tōn Mōseōs ōphelētheis diekōlysen anthrōpoeidē kai zōomorphon eikona theou Rhōmaious ktizein.
"Numa, king of the Romans, was a Pythagorean, and benefiting from the writings of Moses, he forbade the Romans to make an image of God in human or animal form.
Notes and citation
Summary: Clement: Numa, taught by Moses' writings, forbade images of God.
- Clement of Alexandria, Miscellanies 1.15.71.
Extrabiblical texts: Clement of Alexandria, Strom. 1.15.71 (Miscellanies; quotation)
Cite (SBL): Eusebius, Praep. ev. 9.6.3 (Dindorf 1:475; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/eusebius-praeparatio/8-14-66/#p-9-6-3). (abbreviation not yet checked)
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Translation: Translated by Claude from the Greek of Dindorf's Teubner text (1867; digital text First1KGreek, CC BY-SA 4.0), then compared section by section with the public-domain English of E. H. Gifford (1903); differences checked against the Greek.
9.6.4Dindorf 1:475–476
ἐν γοῦν ἑκατὸν καὶ ἑβδομήκοντα τοῖς πρώτοις ἔτεσι ναοὺς οἰκοδομούμενοι ἄγαλμα οὐδὲν οὔτε πλαστὸν οὔτε μὴν γραπτὸν ἐποιήσαντο. ἐπεδείκνυτο γὰρ αὐτοῖς ὁ Νουμᾶς διʼ ἐπικρύψεως ὡς οὐκ ἐφάψασθαι τοῦ βελτίστου δυνατὸν γλώττῃ, μόνῳ δὲ τῷ νῷ. Ἔτι πρὸς τούτοις ἐξῆς ὑποβὰς τάδε φησί
en goun hekaton kai hebdomēkonta tois prōtois etesi naous oikodomoumenoi agalma ouden oute plaston oute mēn grapton epoiēsanto. epedeiknyto gar autois ho Noumas diʼ epikrypseōs hōs ouk ephapsasthai tou beltistou dynaton glōttę̄, monǭ de tǭ nǭ. Eti pros toutois exēs hypobas tade phēsi
For in the first hundred and seventy years, though building temples, they made no image, either modeled or painted. For Numa showed them secretly that it is not possible to lay hold of the best by the tongue, but by the mind alone." Further, a little after this, he says:
Notes and citation
Summary: For 170 years Rome had no images of the gods.
- Clement of Alexandria, Miscellanies 1.15.71.
Notes on the original text
- Digital text corrected (misread letter in the digital text): ἐροιήσαντο → ἐποιήσαντο.
Extrabiblical texts: Clement of Alexandria, Strom. 1.15.71 (Miscellanies; quotation)
Cite (SBL): Eusebius, Praep. ev. 9.6.4 (Dindorf 1:475–476; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/eusebius-praeparatio/8-14-66/#p-9-6-4). (abbreviation not yet checked)
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Translation: Translated by Claude from the Greek of Dindorf's Teubner text (1867; digital text First1KGreek, CC BY-SA 4.0), then compared section by section with the public-domain English of E. H. Gifford (1903); differences checked against the Greek.
9.6.5Dindorf 1:476
“ Φανερώτατα δὲ Μεγασθενὴς ὁ συγγραφεὺς ὁ Σελεύκῳ τῷ Νικάνορι συμβεβιωκὼς ἐν τῇ τρίτῃ τῶν Ἰνδικῶν ὧδε γράφει· ἅπαντα μέντοι τὰ περὶ φύσεως εἰρημένα παρὰ τοῖς ἀρχαίοις λέγεται καὶ παρὰ τοῖς ἔξω τῆς Ἑλλάδος φιλοσοφοῦσι, τὰ μὲν παρὰ Ἰνδοῖς ὑπὸ τῶν Βραχμάνων, τὰ δὲ ἐν Συρίᾳ ὑπὸ τῶν καλουμένων Ἰουδαίων. ”
“ Phanerōtata de Megasthenēs ho syngrapheus ho Seleukǭ tǭ Nikanori symbebiōkōs en tę̄ tritę̄ tōn Indikōn hōde graphei; hapanta mentoi ta peri physeōs eirēmena para tois archaiois legetai kai para tois exō tēs Hellados philosophousi, ta men para Indois hypo tōn Brachmanōn, ta de en Syrią hypo tōn kaloumenōn Ioudaiōn. ”
"Megasthenes, the historian who lived with Seleucus Nicator, writes most plainly thus in the third book of his Indica: 'All that was said about nature among the ancients is said also among those who philosophize outside Greece: some among the Indians by the Brahmans, and some in Syria by those called Jews.'"
Notes and citation
Summary: Clement cites Megasthenes: Brahmans and Jews held the ancient philosophy of nature.
- Clement of Alexandria, Miscellanies 1.15.72, quoting Megasthenes, Indica 3.
Notes on the original text
- Digital text corrected (missing iota subscript in the digital text; repeated syllable in the digital text): ἐν τῇ τρίτη → ἐν τῇ τρίτῃ; Ἰνδοῖς δοῖς → Ἰνδοῖς; ἐν Συρία → ἐν Συρίᾳ.
Extrabiblical texts: Clement of Alexandria, Strom. 1.15.72 (Miscellanies; quotation); Megasthenes (Megasthenes, Indica; quotation)
Cite (SBL): Eusebius, Praep. ev. 9.6.5 (Dindorf 1:476; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/eusebius-praeparatio/8-14-66/#p-9-6-5). (abbreviation not yet checked)
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Translation: Translated by Claude from the Greek of Dindorf's Teubner text (1867; digital text First1KGreek, CC BY-SA 4.0), then compared section by section with the public-domain English of E. H. Gifford (1903); differences checked against the Greek.
9.6.6Dindorf 1:476
Ἔτι πρὸς τούτοις ὁ Κλήμης Ἀριστοβούλου τοῦ περιπατητικοῦ καὶ Νουμηνίου τοῦ Πυθαγορείου μνημονεύει λέγων “ Ἀριστόβουλος δὲ ἐν τῷ πρώτῳ τῶν πρὸς τὸν Φιλομήτορα κατὰ λέξιν γράφει· Κατηκολούθηκε δὲ ὁ Πλάτων τῇ καθʼ ἡμᾶς νομοθεσίᾳ, καὶ φανερός ἐστι περιειργασμένος ἕκαστα τῶν ἐν αὐτῇ λεγομένων.
Eti pros toutois ho Klēmēs Aristoboulou tou peripatētikou kai Noumēniou tou Pythagoreiou mnēmoneuei legōn “ Aristoboulos de en tǭ prōtǭ tōn pros ton Philomētora kata lexin graphei; Katēkolouthēke de ho Platōn tę̄ kathʼ hēmas nomothesią, kai phaneros esti perieirgasmenos hekasta tōn en autę̄ legomenōn.
Besides these, Clement mentions Aristobulus the Peripatetic and Numenius the Pythagorean, saying: "Aristobulus, in the first book of his work addressed to Philometor, writes word for word: 'Plato followed our legislation, and has plainly studied carefully each of the things said in it.
Notes and citation
Summary: Clement quotes Aristobulus: Plato followed the law of Moses.
- Clement of Alexandria, Miscellanies 1.22.150, quoting Aristobulus (fragment 3).
Notes on the original text
- Digital text corrected (missing iota subscript in the digital text; missing space in the digital text; repeated syllables in the digital text; stray mark in the digital text; wrong accent in the digital text): ΚλήμηςἈριστοβούλου → Κλήμης Ἀριστοβούλου; καἰ Νουμηνίου → καὶ Νουμηνίου; μνημονευει μονεύει → μνημονεύει; Πλάτωνʼ τῇ → Πλάτων τῇ; νομοθεσί}α → νομοθεσίᾳ; ἐν αὐτὴ λεγομένων → ἐν αὐτῇ λεγομένων.
Extrabiblical texts: Clement of Alexandria, Strom. 1.22.150 (Miscellanies; quotation); Aristobulus, Aristob. fr. 3 (Aristobulus (fragments); quotation)
Cite (SBL): Eusebius, Praep. ev. 9.6.6 (Dindorf 1:476; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/eusebius-praeparatio/8-14-66/#p-9-6-6). (abbreviation not yet checked)
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Translation: Translated by Claude from the Greek of Dindorf's Teubner text (1867; digital text First1KGreek, CC BY-SA 4.0), then compared section by section with the public-domain English of E. H. Gifford (1903); differences checked against the Greek.
9.6.7Dindorf 1:476
διηρμήνευται δὲ πρὸ Δημητρίου ὑφʼ ἑτέρων, πρὸ τῆς Ἀλεξάνδρου καὶ Περσῶν ἐπικρατήσεως, τά τε κατὰ τὴν ἐξ Αἰγύπτου ἐξαγωγὴν τῶν Ἑβραίων τῶν ἡμετέρων πολιτῶν, καὶ ἡ τῶν γεγονότων ἁπάντων αὐτοῖς ἐπιφάνεια, καὶ κράτησις τῆς χώρας, καὶ τῆς ὅλης νομοθεσίας ἐπεξήγησις.
diērmēneutai de pro Dēmētriou hyphʼ heterōn, pro tēs Alexandrou kai Persōn epikratēseōs, ta te kata tēn ex Aigyptou exagōgēn tōn Hebraiōn tōn hēmeterōn politōn, kai hē tōn gegonotōn hapantōn autois epiphaneia, kai kratēsis tēs chōras, kai tēs holēs nomothesias epexēgēsis.
For before Demetrius, before the conquest of Alexander and the Persians, others had translated the account of the exodus from Egypt of the Hebrews, our fellow citizens, the manifestation of all that happened to them, the conquest of the land, and the explanation of the whole legislation.
Notes and citation
Summary: Aristobulus claims parts of the law were translated into Greek before Alexander.
- Aristobulus, via Clement, Miscellanies 1.22.150.
Extrabiblical texts: Clement of Alexandria, Strom. 1.22.150 (Miscellanies; quotation); Aristobulus, Aristob. fr. 3 (Aristobulus (fragments); quotation)
Topics: Scripture and canon
Cite (SBL): Eusebius, Praep. ev. 9.6.7 (Dindorf 1:476; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/eusebius-praeparatio/8-14-66/#p-9-6-7). (abbreviation not yet checked)
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Translation: Translated by Claude from the Greek of Dindorf's Teubner text (1867; digital text First1KGreek, CC BY-SA 4.0), then compared section by section with the public-domain English of E. H. Gifford (1903); differences checked against the Greek.
9.6.8Dindorf 1:476–477
ὥστε εὔδηλον εἶναι τὸν προειρημένον φιλόσοφον εἰληφέναι πολλά· γέγονε γὰρ πολυμαθής· καθὼς καὶ Πυθαγόρας πολλὰ τῶν παρʼ ἡμῖν μετενέγκας εἰς τὴν ἑαυτοῦ δογματοποιίαν.
hōste eudēlon einai ton proeirēmenon philosophon eilēphenai polla; gegone gar polymathēs; kathōs kai Pythagoras polla tōn parʼ hēmin metenenkas eis tēn heautou dogmatopoiian.
So it is quite clear that the philosopher mentioned took much from it, for he was very learned; as Pythagoras too transferred many of our teachings into his own doctrine.'
Notes and citation
Summary: Plato and Pythagoras borrowed from the Jewish law.
- Aristobulus, via Clement.
Notes on the original text
- Digital text corrected (misread letters in the digital text): μετεωέγκας → μετενέγκας.
Extrabiblical texts: Clement of Alexandria, Strom. 1.22.150 (Miscellanies; quotation); Aristobulus, Aristob. fr. 3 (Aristobulus (fragments); quotation)
Cite (SBL): Eusebius, Praep. ev. 9.6.8 (Dindorf 1:476–477; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/eusebius-praeparatio/8-14-66/#p-9-6-8). (abbreviation not yet checked)
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Translation: Translated by Claude from the Greek of Dindorf's Teubner text (1867; digital text First1KGreek, CC BY-SA 4.0), then compared section by section with the public-domain English of E. H. Gifford (1903); differences checked against the Greek.
9.6.9Dindorf 1:477
Νουμήνιος δὲ ὁ Πυθαγορικὸς φιλόσοφος ἄντικρυς γράφει· τί γάρ ἐστι Πλάτων ἢ Μώσης ἀττικίζων; Ταῦτα ὁ Κλήμης.
Noumēnios de ho Pythagorikos philosophos antikrys graphei; ti gar esti Platōn ē Mōsēs attikizōn? Tauta ho Klēmēs.
And Numenius, the Pythagorean philosopher, writes outright: 'For what is Plato but Moses speaking Attic?'" So Clement.
Notes and citation
Summary: Numenius: Plato is Moses speaking Greek.
- Clement, Miscellanies 1.22.150, quoting Numenius (fragment 8).
Notes on the original text
- Digital text corrected (stray mark in the digital text): Πλάτωνʼ ἢ → Πλάτων ἢ.
Extrabiblical texts: Clement of Alexandria, Strom. 1.22.150 (Miscellanies; quotation); Numenius, fr. 8 (Numenius of Apamea; quotation)
Cite (SBL): Eusebius, Praep. ev. 9.6.9 (Dindorf 1:477; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/eusebius-praeparatio/8-14-66/#p-9-6-9). (abbreviation not yet checked)
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Translation: Translated by Claude from the Greek of Dindorf's Teubner text (1867; digital text First1KGreek, CC BY-SA 4.0), then compared section by section with the public-domain English of E. H. Gifford (1903); differences checked against the Greek.
Preparation 9, chapter 7
9.7.1Dindorf 1:477
Καὶ αὐτοῦ δὲ τοῦ Πυθαγορικοῦ φιλοσόφου, τοῦ Νουμηνίου λέγω, ἀπὸ τοῦ πρώτου Περὶ τἀγαθοῦ τάδε παραθήσομαι “ Εἰς δὲ τοῦτο δεήσει εἰπόντα καὶ σημηνάμενον ταῖς μαρτυρίαις ταῖς Πλάτωνος ἀναχωρήσασθαι καὶ ξυνδήσασθαι τοῖς λόγοις τοῦ Πυθαγόρου, ἐπικαλέσασθαι δὲ τὰ ἔθνη τὰ εὐδοκιμοῦντα, προσφερόμενον αὐτῶν τὰς τελετὰς καὶ τὰ δόγματα, τάς τε ἱδρύσεις συντελουμένας Πλάτωνι ὁμολογουμένως, ὁπόσας Βραχμᾶνες καὶ Ἰουδαῖοι καὶ Μάγοι καὶ Αἰγύπτιοι διέθεντο Ταῦτα μὲν οὖν περὶ τῶνδε.
Kai autou de tou Pythagorikou philosophou, tou Noumēniou legō, apo tou prōtou Peri tagathou tade parathēsomai “ Eis de touto deēsei eiponta kai sēmēnamenon tais martyriais tais Platōnos anachōrēsasthai kai xyndēsasthai tois logois tou Pythagorou, epikalesasthai de ta ethnē ta eudokimounta, prospheromenon autōn tas teletas kai ta dogmata, tas te hidryseis synteloumenas Platōni homologoumenōs, hoposas Brachmanes kai Ioudaioi kai Magoi kai Aigyptioi diethento Tauta men oun peri tōnde.
And from the Pythagorean philosopher himself, Numenius I mean, I shall set out these words from the first book On the Good: "Having spoken and indicated this, one will need to go back to the testimonies of Plato and bind them to the doctrines of Pythagoras, and then call in the nations of good repute, bringing forward their rites and doctrines and their institutions carried out in agreement with Plato, as many as the Brahmans, Jews, Magi, and Egyptians have established." So much on these matters.
Notes and citation
Summary: Numenius appeals to Brahmans, Jews, Magi, and Egyptians as agreeing with Plato.
- Numenius, On the Good 1 (fragment 1a).
Notes on the original text
- Digital text corrected (line-end hyphen left in the digital text; misread letter and wrong accent in the digital text; misread letter in the digital text): ἐρικαλἐσασθαι → ἐπικαλέσασθαι; Βσαχμᾶνες → Βραχμᾶνες; διέ- θεντο → διέθεντο.
Extrabiblical texts: Numenius, fr. 1a (Numenius of Apamea; quotation)
Cite (SBL): Eusebius, Praep. ev. 9.7.1 (Dindorf 1:477; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/eusebius-praeparatio/8-14-66/#p-9-7-1). (abbreviation not yet checked)
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Translation: Translated by Claude from the Greek of Dindorf's Teubner text (1867; digital text First1KGreek, CC BY-SA 4.0), then compared section by section with the public-domain English of E. H. Gifford (1903); differences checked against the Greek.
Preparation 9, chapter 8
9.8.1Dindorf 1:477
Καὶ ἐν τῇ τρίτῃ δὲ βίβλῳ Μώσεως ὁ αὐτὸς τάδε λέγων μνημονεύει “Τὰ δʼ ἐξῆς Ἰαννῆς καὶ Ἰαμβρῆς Αἰγύπτιοι ἱερογραμματεῖς, ἄνδρες οὐδενὸς ἥττους μαγεῦσαι κριθέντες εἶναι, ἐπὶ Ἰουδαίων ἐξελαυνομένων ἐξ Αἰγύπτου.
Kai en tę̄ tritę̄ de biblǭ Mōseōs ho autos tade legōn mnēmoneuei “Ta dʼ exēs Iannēs kai Iambrēs Aigyptioi hierogrammateis, andres oudenos hēttous mageusai krithentes einai, epi Ioudaiōn exelaunomenōn ex Aigyptou.
And in the third book the same author mentions Moses, saying this: "Next came Jannes and Jambres, Egyptian sacred scribes, men judged second to none in magic, when the Jews were being driven out of Egypt.
Exod 7:11 (allusion, medium confidence) · 2 Tim 3:8 (allusion, medium confidence)
Notes and citation
Summary: Numenius mentions Jannes and Jambres opposing the Jews in Egypt.
- Numenius (fragment 9).
Extrabiblical texts: Numenius, fr. 9 (Numenius of Apamea; quotation); Jan. Jam. (Jannes and Jambres; allusion)
Cite (SBL): Eusebius, Praep. ev. 9.8.1 (Dindorf 1:477; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/eusebius-praeparatio/8-14-66/#p-9-8-1). (abbreviation not yet checked)
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Translation: Translated by Claude from the Greek of Dindorf's Teubner text (1867; digital text First1KGreek, CC BY-SA 4.0), then compared section by section with the public-domain English of E. H. Gifford (1903); differences checked against the Greek.
9.8.2Dindorf 1:477
Μουσαίῳ γοῦν τῷ Ἰουδαίων ἐξηγησαμένῳ, ἀνδρὶ γενομένῳ θεῷ εὔξασθαι δυνατωτάτῳ, οἱ παραστῆναι ἀξιωθέντες ὑπὸ τοῦ πλήθους τοῦ τῶν Αἰγυπτίων οὗτοι ἦσαν, τῶν τε συμφορῶν ἃς ὁ Μουσαῖος ἐπῆγε τῇ Αἰγύπτῳ, τὰς νεανικωτάτας αὐτῶν ἐπιλύεσθαι ὤφθησαν δυνατοί.’
Mousaiǭ goun tǭ Ioudaiōn exēgēsamenǭ, andri genomenǭ theǭ euxasthai dynatōtatǭ, hoi parastēnai axiōthentes hypo tou plēthous tou tōn Aigyptiōn houtoi ēsan, tōn te symphorōn has ho Mousaios epēge tę̄ Aigyptǭ, tas neanikōtatas autōn epilyesthai ōphthēsan dynatoi.’
These, then, were the men whom the multitude of the Egyptians thought fit to stand against Musaeus, who led the Jews, a man who was most powerful in prayer to God; and of the calamities that Musaeus brought on Egypt, they were seen to be able to undo the most violent."
Exod 7:22 (allusion, medium confidence)
Notes and citation
Summary: Numenius: the Egyptian magicians countered Moses ('Musaeus').
- Numenius (fragment 9). "Musaeus" is Numenius's name for Moses.
Notes on the original text
- Digital text corrected (word split and misread letter in the digital text): Αἰγυ ττίων → Αἰγυπτίων.
Extrabiblical texts: Numenius, fr. 9 (Numenius of Apamea; quotation)
Cite (SBL): Eusebius, Praep. ev. 9.8.2 (Dindorf 1:477; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/eusebius-praeparatio/8-14-66/#p-9-8-2). (abbreviation not yet checked)
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Translation: Translated by Claude from the Greek of Dindorf's Teubner text (1867; digital text First1KGreek, CC BY-SA 4.0), then compared section by section with the public-domain English of E. H. Gifford (1903); differences checked against the Greek.
9.8.3Dindorf 1:477
Διὰ δὴ τούτων ὁ Νουμήνιος καὶ τοῖς ὑπὸ Μώσεως ἐπιτελεσθεῖσι παραδόξοις θαύμασι καὶ αὐτῷ δὲ ὡς θεοφιλεῖ γενομένῳ μαρτυρεῖ.
Dia dē toutōn ho Noumēnios kai tois hypo Mōseōs epitelestheisi paradoxois thaumasi kai autǭ de hōs theophilei genomenǭ martyrei.
By these words Numenius bears witness both to the extraordinary wonders performed by Moses and to Moses himself as dear to God.
Notes and citation
Summary: Eusebius: Numenius confirms Moses' miracles.
Notes on the original text
- Digital text corrected (garbled letters in the digital text): ἐπιIελ͂ῖ-σθ̀εῖσι → ἐπιτελεσθεῖσι.
Cite (SBL): Eusebius, Praep. ev. 9.8.3 (Dindorf 1:477; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/eusebius-praeparatio/8-14-66/#p-9-8-3). (abbreviation not yet checked)
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Translation: Translated by Claude from the Greek of Dindorf's Teubner text (1867; digital text First1KGreek, CC BY-SA 4.0), then compared section by section with the public-domain English of E. H. Gifford (1903); differences checked against the Greek.
Preparation 9, chapter 9
9.9.1Dindorf 1:477–478
“ Τοῦ δὲ Ἰουδαίων ἔθνους καὶ Χοιρίλος ἀρχαῖος γενόμενος ποιητὴς μέμνηται, καὶ ὡς συνεστράτευσαν τῷ βασιλεῖ Ξέρξῃ ἐπὶ τὴν Ἑλλάδα. λέγει δὲ οὕτως τῶν δʼ ὄπιθεν διέβαινε γένος θαυμαστὸν ἰδέσθαι, γλῶσσαν μὲν Φοίνισσαν ἀπὸ στομάτων ἀφιέντες, ᾤκουν δʼ ἐν Σολύμοις ὄρεσι, πλατέῃ παρὰ λίμνῃ, αὐχμαλέοι κεφαλὰς, τροχοκουράδες· αὐτὰρ ὕπερθεν ἵππων δαρτὰ πρόσωπʼ ἐφόρουν ἐσκληκότα καπνῷ.
“ Tou de Ioudaiōn ethnous kai Choirilos archaios genomenos poiētēs memnētai, kai hōs synestrateusan tǭ basilei Xerxę̄ epi tēn Hellada. legei de houtōs tōn dʼ opithen diebaine genos thaumaston idesthai, glōssan men Phoinissan apo stomatōn aphientes, ǭkoun dʼ en Solymois oresi, plateę̄ para limnę̄, auchmaleoi kephalas, trochokourades; autar hyperthen hippōn darta prosōpʼ ephoroun esklēkota kapnǭ.
"The ancient poet Choerilus too mentions the Jewish nation, and how they served with King Xerxes against Greece. He speaks thus: 'Behind them passed a people wonderful to behold, uttering from their mouths the Phoenician tongue; they lived in the Solymian mountains by a broad lake, squalid-headed, with round-cropped hair; and above they wore the flayed scalps of horses, hardened in smoke.'
Notes and citation
Summary: Josephus cites Choerilus's verses on a people from the Solymian hills in Xerxes' army.
- Josephus, Against Apion 1.172–173, quoting Choerilus of Samos.
Notes on the original text
- Digital text corrected (missing breathing and accent in the digital text): ῳκουν → ᾤκουν.
Extrabiblical texts: Josephus, C. Ap. 1 (Josephus (works); quotation); Choerilus (Choerilus of Samos; quotation)
Cite (SBL): Eusebius, Praep. ev. 9.9.1 (Dindorf 1:477–478; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/eusebius-praeparatio/8-14-66/#p-9-9-1). (abbreviation not yet checked)
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Translation: Translated by Claude from the Greek of Dindorf's Teubner text (1867; digital text First1KGreek, CC BY-SA 4.0), then compared section by section with the public-domain English of E. H. Gifford (1903); differences checked against the Greek.
9.9.2Dindorf 1:478
δῆλον δʼ ἐστὶν ὅτι περὶ Ἰουδαίων αὐτῷ ταῦτʼ εἴρητο ἐκ τοῦ καὶ τὰ Ἱεροσόλυμα ἐν τοῖς παρʼ Ἕλλησι Σολύμοις ὀνομαζομένοις ὄρεσι κεῖσθαι, πλησίον δὲ εἶναι τὴν Ἀσφαλτῖτιν λίμνην, πλατυτάτην οὖσαν κατὰ τὸν ποιητὴν καὶ μείζονα πασῶν τῶν ἐν τῇ Συρίᾳ λιμνῶν.” Ταῦτα μὲν οὖν καὶ οὗτος.
dēlon dʼ estin hoti peri Ioudaiōn autǭ tautʼ eirēto ek tou kai ta Hierosolyma en tois parʼ Hellēsi Solymois onomazomenois oresi keisthai, plēsion de einai tēn Asphaltitin limnēn, platytatēn ousan kata ton poiētēn kai meizona pasōn tōn en tę̄ Syrią limnōn.” Tauta men oun kai houtos.
It is clear that he said this about the Jews, from the fact that Jerusalem lies in what the Greeks call the Solymian mountains, and that the Asphalt Lake is near, which is very broad, as the poet says, and larger than all the lakes in Syria." So he too.
Notes and citation
Summary: Josephus identifies the Solymian hills with Jerusalem and the lake with the Dead Sea.
- Josephus, Against Apion 1.174.
Extrabiblical texts: Josephus, C. Ap. 1 (Josephus (works); quotation)
Cite (SBL): Eusebius, Praep. ev. 9.9.2 (Dindorf 1:478; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/eusebius-praeparatio/8-14-66/#p-9-9-2). (abbreviation not yet checked)
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Translation: Translated by Claude from the Greek of Dindorf's Teubner text (1867; digital text First1KGreek, CC BY-SA 4.0), then compared section by section with the public-domain English of E. H. Gifford (1903); differences checked against the Greek.
Preparation 9, chapter 10
9.10.1Dindorf 1:478
Ὁ δὲ Πορφύριος ἐν τῷ πρώτῳ τῆς Ἐκ λογίων φιλοσοφίας αὐτὸν εἰσάγει τὸν ἑαυτοῦ θεὸν τῷ Ἑβραίων γένει μετὰ τῶν ἄλλων τῶν ἐπὶ συνέσει βοωμένων ἐθνῶν σοφίαν ἐπιμαρτυροῦντα.
Ho de Porphyrios en tǭ prōtǭ tēs Ek logiōn philosophias auton eisagei ton heautou theon tǭ Hebraiōn genei meta tōn allōn tōn epi synesei boōmenōn ethnōn sophian epimartyrounta.
And Porphyry, in the first book of his Philosophy from Oracles, brings in his own god himself, bearing witness to the wisdom of the race of the Hebrews along with the other nations famed for understanding.
Notes and citation
Summary: Eusebius introduces Porphyry's oracle praising the Hebrews.
Cite (SBL): Eusebius, Praep. ev. 9.10.1 (Dindorf 1:478; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/eusebius-praeparatio/8-14-66/#p-9-10-1). (abbreviation not yet checked)
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Translation: Translated by Claude from the Greek of Dindorf's Teubner text (1867; digital text First1KGreek, CC BY-SA 4.0), then compared section by section with the public-domain English of E. H. Gifford (1903); differences checked against the Greek.
9.10.2Dindorf 1:478
λέγει δὲ ὁ παρʼ αὐτῷ Ἀπόλλων διʼ οὗ ἐκτίθεται χρησμοῦ τάδε. ἐκκειμένων δὲ ἔτι περὶ τῶν θυσιῶν ἐπάγει, οἷς προσέχειν δεῖ, ἅτε μεστοῖς οὖσι πάσης θεοσοφίας αἰπεινὴ μὲν ὁδὸς μακάρων, τρηχεῖά τε πολλὸν, χαλκοδέτοις τὰ πρῶτα διοιγομένη πυλεῶσιν· ἀτραπιτοὶ δὲ ἔασιν ἀθέσφατοι ἐγγεγαυῖαι, ἃς πρῶτοι μερόπων ἐπʼ ἀπείρονα πρῆξιν ἔφηναν οἱ τὸ καλὸν πίνοντες ὕδωρ Νειλώτιδος αἴης· πολλὰς καὶ Φοίνικες ὁδοὺς μακάρων ἐδάησαν, Ἀσσύριοι Λυδοί τε καὶ Ἑβραίων γένος ἀνδρῶν, καὶ τὰ τούτοις ἀκόλουθα. οἷς ὁ συγγραφεὺς ἐπιλέγει
legei de ho parʼ autǭ Apollōn diʼ hou ektithetai chrēsmou tade. ekkeimenōn de eti peri tōn thysiōn epagei, hois prosechein dei, hate mestois ousi pasēs theosophias aipeinē men hodos makarōn, trēcheia te pollon, chalkodetois ta prōta dioigomenē pyleōsin; atrapitoi de easin athesphatoi engegauiai, has prōtoi meropōn epʼ apeirona prēxin ephēnan hoi to kalon pinontes hydōr Neilōtidos aiēs; pollas kai Phoinikes hodous makarōn edaēsan, Assyrioi Lydoi te kai Hebraiōn genos andrōn, kai ta toutois akoloutha. hois ho syngrapheus epilegei
The Apollo in his work says this in the oracle he sets out. After what is set out about sacrifices, he adds the people to whom one must attend, as full of all divine wisdom: 'Steep is the road of the blessed, and very rough, opened first by gates bound with bronze; and there are unspeakable paths within it, which those who drink the fair water of the land of the Nile first revealed to mortals for boundless action. Many roads of the blessed the Phoenicians too learned, the Assyrians and Lydians, and the race of Hebrew men,' and what follows. To these the writer adds:
Notes and citation
Summary: Porphyry's Apollo names the Hebrews among peoples who found the way to the gods.
- Porphyry, Philosophy from Oracles.
Extrabiblical texts: Porphyry, Porphyry, Phil. orac. (Porphyry, Philosophy from Oracles (fragments); quotation)
Cite (SBL): Eusebius, Praep. ev. 9.10.2 (Dindorf 1:478; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/eusebius-praeparatio/8-14-66/#p-9-10-2). (abbreviation not yet checked)
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Translation: Translated by Claude from the Greek of Dindorf's Teubner text (1867; digital text First1KGreek, CC BY-SA 4.0), then compared section by section with the public-domain English of E. H. Gifford (1903); differences checked against the Greek.
9.10.3Dindorf 1:478–479
“Χαλκόδετος γὰρ ἡ πρὸς θεοὺς ὁδὸς, αἰπεινή τε καὶ τραχεῖα, ἧς πολλὰς ἀτραποὺς βάρβαροι μὲν ἐξεῦρον, Ἕλληνες δὲ ἐπλανήθησαν, οἱ δὲ κρατοῦντες ἤδη καὶ διέφθειραν. τὴν δὲ εὕρεσιν Αἰγυπτίοις ὁ θεὸς ἐμαρτύρησε Φοίνιξί τε καὶ Χαλδαίοις, Ἀσσύριοι γὰρ οὗτοι Λυδοῖς τε καὶ Ἑβραίοις.
“Chalkodetos gar hē pros theous hodos, aipeinē te kai tracheia, hēs pollas atrapous barbaroi men exeuron, Hellēnes de eplanēthēsan, hoi de kratountes ēdē kai diephtheiran. tēn de heuresin Aigyptiois ho theos emartyrēse Phoinixi te kai Chaldaiois, Assyrioi gar houtoi Lydois te kai Hebraiois.
"For the road to the gods is bound with bronze, steep and rough, and barbarians discovered many paths of it, while Greeks went astray, and those in power have even ruined it. The god testified to the discovery for the Egyptians, the Phoenicians, and the Chaldeans (for these are Assyrians), the Lydians, and the Hebrews.
Notes and citation
Summary: Porphyry: barbarians, including Hebrews, found the way to the gods; Greeks strayed.
- Porphyry, Philosophy from Oracles.
Notes on the original text
- Digital text corrected (line-end hyphen left in the digital text; stray mark in the digital text): οὗτοι) → οὗτοι; ἐμαρ- τύρησε → ἐμαρτύρησε.
Extrabiblical texts: Porphyry, Porphyry, Phil. orac. (Porphyry, Philosophy from Oracles (fragments); quotation)
Cite (SBL): Eusebius, Praep. ev. 9.10.3 (Dindorf 1:478–479; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/eusebius-praeparatio/8-14-66/#p-9-10-3). (abbreviation not yet checked)
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Translation: Translated by Claude from the Greek of Dindorf's Teubner text (1867; digital text First1KGreek, CC BY-SA 4.0), then compared section by section with the public-domain English of E. H. Gifford (1903); differences checked against the Greek.
9.10.4Dindorf 1:479
ἔτι πρὸς τούτοις καὶ ἐν ἑτέρῳ χρησμῷ φησιν ὁ Ἀπόλλων, μοῦνοι Χαλδαῖοι σοφίαν λάχον, ἠδʼ ἄρ Ἑβραῖοι, αὐτογένεθλον ἄνακτα σεβαζόμενοι θεὸν ἁγνῶς.
eti pros toutois kai en heterǭ chrēsmǭ phēsin ho Apollōn, mounoi Chaldaioi sophian lachon, ēdʼ ar Hebraioi, autogenethlon anakta sebazomenoi theon hagnōs.
Besides this, in another oracle Apollo says: 'Only the Chaldeans obtained wisdom, and the Hebrews, who worship in purity the self-begotten king, God.'
Notes and citation
Summary: Apollo: only Chaldeans and Hebrews have wisdom, worshiping the self-begotten God.
- Porphyry, Philosophy from Oracles.
Extrabiblical texts: Porphyry, Porphyry, Phil. orac. (Porphyry, Philosophy from Oracles (fragments); quotation)
Cite (SBL): Eusebius, Praep. ev. 9.10.4 (Dindorf 1:479; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/eusebius-praeparatio/8-14-66/#p-9-10-4). (abbreviation not yet checked)
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Translation: Translated by Claude from the Greek of Dindorf's Teubner text (1867; digital text First1KGreek, CC BY-SA 4.0), then compared section by section with the public-domain English of E. H. Gifford (1903); differences checked against the Greek.
9.10.5Dindorf 1:479
καὶ πάλιν ἐρωτηθεὶς, τίνι λόγῳ πολλοὺς λέγουσιν οὐρανοὺς, ἔχρησε τάδε εἷς ἐν παντὶ πέλει κόσμου κύκλος, ἀλλὰ σὺν ἑπτὰ ζώναισιν πεφόρηται εἰς ἀστερόεντα κέλευθα, ἃς δὴ Χαλδαῖοι καὶ ἀριζήλωτοι Ἑβραῖοι οὐρανίας ὀνόμηναν, ἐς ἑβδόματον δρόμον ἕρπειν.
kai palin erōtētheis, tini logǭ pollous legousin ouranous, echrēse tade heis en panti pelei kosmou kyklos, alla syn hepta zōnaisin pephorētai eis asteroenta keleutha, has dē Chaldaioi kai arizēlōtoi Hebraioi ouranias onomēnan, es hebdomaton dromon herpein.
And again, asked for what reason they speak of many heavens, he gave this oracle: 'There is one circle of the world in all, but with seven zones it is borne along starry paths, which the Chaldeans and the much-envied Hebrews named heavens, to move in the seventh course.'
Notes and citation
Summary: Apollo explains the seven heavens known to Chaldeans and Hebrews.
- Porphyry, Philosophy from Oracles.
Notes on the original text
- Digital text corrected (dropped letter in the digital text; wrong breathing and accent in the digital text): εἰς ἐν παντὶ → εἷς ἐν παντὶ; ἀριζήλωτοι βραῖοι → ἀριζήλωτοι Ἑβραῖοι.
Extrabiblical texts: Porphyry, Porphyry, Phil. orac. (Porphyry, Philosophy from Oracles (fragments); quotation)
Cite (SBL): Eusebius, Praep. ev. 9.10.5 (Dindorf 1:479; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/eusebius-praeparatio/8-14-66/#p-9-10-5). (abbreviation not yet checked)
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Translation: Translated by Claude from the Greek of Dindorf's Teubner text (1867; digital text First1KGreek, CC BY-SA 4.0), then compared section by section with the public-domain English of E. H. Gifford (1903); differences checked against the Greek.
9.10.6Dindorf 1:479
Περὶ μὲν οὖν τῆς Ἰουδαίων τε καὶ Ἑβραίων προσηγορίας τῆς τε παρʼ αὐτοῖς πάλαι διαπρεπούσης εὐσεβείας τε καὶ φιλοσοφίας ἐκκείσθω ταῦτα, περὶ δὲ τῆς πατρίου αὐτῶν ἱστορίας θέα ὁπόσοι συνεφώνησαν·
Peri men oun tēs Ioudaiōn te kai Hebraiōn prosēgorias tēs te parʼ autois palai diaprepousēs eusebeias te kai philosophias ekkeisthō tauta, peri de tēs patriou autōn historias thea hoposoi synephōnēsan;
Let these be set out, then, about the names of Jews and Hebrews and the piety and philosophy distinguished among them of old; and as for their ancestral history, see how many agreed with it.
Notes and citation
Summary: Eusebius turns to outside witnesses to Hebrew history.
Cite (SBL): Eusebius, Praep. ev. 9.10.6 (Dindorf 1:479; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/eusebius-praeparatio/8-14-66/#p-9-10-6). (abbreviation not yet checked)
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Translation: Translated by Claude from the Greek of Dindorf's Teubner text (1867; digital text First1KGreek, CC BY-SA 4.0), then compared section by section with the public-domain English of E. H. Gifford (1903); differences checked against the Greek.
9.10.7Dindorf 1:479
Μώσεως ἐν ταῖς περὶ τοῦ παντὸς ἀρχαιολογίαις κατακλυσμὸν ἱστορήσαντος, καὶ ὡς ὁ παρʼ Ἑβραίοις ὀνομαζόμενος Νῶε ἐν λάρνακι ξύλου πεποιημένῃ μετὰ τῶν οἰκείων διασέσωσται, Βηρωσσὸς ὁ Χαλδαῖος, καὶ Ἱερώνυμος ὁ Αἰγύπτιος, Νικόλαος τε ὁ Δαμασκηνὸς ἱστορικοὶ συγγραφεῖς, ὅπως τῶν αὐτῶν ἐμνημόνευσαν, Ἰώσηπος ἐν τῇ πρώτῃ τῆς Ἀρχαιολογίας τοῦτον παρατίθεται τὸν τρόπον
Mōseōs en tais peri tou pantos archaiologiais kataklysmon historēsantos, kai hōs ho parʼ Hebraiois onomazomenos Nōe en larnaki xylou pepoiēmenę̄ meta tōn oikeiōn diasesōstai, Bērōssos ho Chaldaios, kai Hierōnymos ho Aigyptios, Nikolaos te ho Damaskēnos historikoi syngrapheis, hopōs tōn autōn emnēmoneusan, Iōsēpos en tę̄ prōtę̄ tēs Archaiologias touton paratithetai ton tropon
Since Moses, in his ancient history of the universe, recorded a flood, and how the man called among the Hebrews Noah was saved with his household in an ark made of wood, Josephus, in the first book of his Antiquities, sets out in this way how the historians Berossus the Chaldean, Hieronymus the Egyptian, and Nicolaus of Damascus mentioned the same things:
Gen 6:14 (allusion, medium confidence)
Notes and citation
Summary: Eusebius introduces Josephus on pagan accounts of the flood.
Notes on the original text
- Digital text corrected (line-end hyphen left in the digital text; misread letter and repeated syllables in the digital text; missing breathing in the digital text): άσχαιολογίαις λογίαις → ἀρχαιολογίαις; τῆς Αρχαιολογίας → τῆς Ἀρχαιολογίας; πε- ποιημένῃ → πεποιημένῃ.
Cite (SBL): Eusebius, Praep. ev. 9.10.7 (Dindorf 1:479; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/eusebius-praeparatio/8-14-66/#p-9-10-7). (abbreviation not yet checked)
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Translation: Translated by Claude from the Greek of Dindorf's Teubner text (1867; digital text First1KGreek, CC BY-SA 4.0), then compared section by section with the public-domain English of E. H. Gifford (1903); differences checked against the Greek.
Preparation 9, chapter 11
9.11.1Dindorf 1:479
“ Τοῦ δὲ κατακλυσμοῦ τούτου καὶ τῆς λάρνακος μέμνηνται πάντες οἱ τὰς βαρβαρικὰς ἱστορίας ἀναγεγραφότες, ὧν ἐστι καὶ Βηρωσσὸς ὁ Χαλδαῖος. διηγούμενος γὰρ τὰ περὶ τὸν κατακλυσμὸν οὕτω που διέξεισι·
“ Tou de kataklysmou toutou kai tēs larnakos memnēntai pantes hoi tas barbarikas historias anagegraphotes, hōn esti kai Bērōssos ho Chaldaios. diēgoumenos gar ta peri ton kataklysmon houtō pou diexeisi;
"This flood and the ark are mentioned by all who have written barbarian histories, among whom is Berossus the Chaldean. For in describing the flood he goes through it somehow thus:
Notes and citation
Summary: Josephus: barbarian historians, including Berossus, mention the flood.
- Josephus, Antiquities 1.93, citing Berossus.
Notes on the original text
- Digital text corrected (repeated syllables in the digital text): λάρνακος νάκος → λάρνακος.
Extrabiblical texts: Josephus, Ant. 1.93 (Josephus (works); quotation); Berossus (Berossus, Babyloniaca; quotation)
Cite (SBL): Eusebius, Praep. ev. 9.11.1 (Dindorf 1:479; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/eusebius-praeparatio/8-14-66/#p-9-11-1). (abbreviation not yet checked)
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Translation: Translated by Claude from the Greek of Dindorf's Teubner text (1867; digital text First1KGreek, CC BY-SA 4.0), then compared section by section with the public-domain English of E. H. Gifford (1903); differences checked against the Greek.
9.11.2Dindorf 1:479–480
λέγεται δὲ καὶ τοῦ πλοίου ἐν τῇ Ἀρμενίᾳ πρὸς τῷ ὄρει τῶν Κορδυαίων ἔτι μέρος τι εἶναι, καὶ κομίζειν τινὰς τῆς ἀσφάλτου ἀφαιροῦντας. χρῶνται δὲ μάλιστα οἱ ἄνθρωποι τῷ κομιζομένῳ πρὸς τοὺς ἀποτροπιασμούς.
legetai de kai tou ploiou en tę̄ Armenią pros tǭ orei tōn Kordyaiōn eti meros ti einai, kai komizein tinas tēs asphaltou aphairountas. chrōntai de malista hoi anthrōpoi tǭ komizomenǭ pros tous apotropiasmous.
'It is said that part of the vessel still remains in Armenia, at the mountain of the Cordyaeans, and that some carry off pitch, scraping it off; and people use what they carry off chiefly for averting evil.'
Gen 8:4 (allusion, medium confidence)
Notes and citation
Summary: Berossus: remains of the ark survive in Armenia.
- Josephus, Antiquities 1.93, quoting Berossus.
Notes on the original text
- Digital text corrected (misread letter and accent in the digital text; wrong breathing in the digital text): τόν Κορδυαίων → τῶν Κορδυαίων; χρῶνται δὲ μάλιστα οἶ ἄνθρωποι → χρῶνται δὲ μάλιστα οἱ ἄνθρωποι.
Extrabiblical texts: Josephus, Ant. 1.93 (Josephus (works); quotation); Berossus (Berossus, Babyloniaca; quotation)
Cite (SBL): Eusebius, Praep. ev. 9.11.2 (Dindorf 1:479–480; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/eusebius-praeparatio/8-14-66/#p-9-11-2). (abbreviation not yet checked)
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Translation: Translated by Claude from the Greek of Dindorf's Teubner text (1867; digital text First1KGreek, CC BY-SA 4.0), then compared section by section with the public-domain English of E. H. Gifford (1903); differences checked against the Greek.
9.11.3Dindorf 1:480
μέμνηται δὲ τούτων καὶ Ἱερώνυμος ὁ Αἰγύπτιος, ὁ τὴν ἀρχαιολογίαν τὴν Φοινικικὴν συγγραψάμενος, καὶ Μνασέας δὲ καὶ ἄλλοι πλείους. καὶ Νικόλαος δὲ ὁ Δαμασκηνὸς ἐν ἐνενηκοστῇ καὶ ἕκτῃ βίβλῳ ἱστορεῖ περὶ αὐτῶν, λέγων οὕτως·
memnētai de toutōn kai Hierōnymos ho Aigyptios, ho tēn archaiologian tēn Phoinikikēn syngrapsamenos, kai Mnaseas de kai alloi pleious. kai Nikolaos de ho Damaskēnos en enenēkostę̄ kai hektę̄ biblǭ historei peri autōn, legōn houtōs;
Hieronymus the Egyptian, who wrote the Phoenician Antiquities, also mentions these things, as do Mnaseas and many others. And Nicolaus of Damascus in his ninety-sixth book tells about them, saying thus:
Notes and citation
Summary: Hieronymus, Mnaseas, and Nicolaus also mention the flood.
- Josephus, Antiquities 1.94.
Notes on the original text
- Digital text corrected (repeated syllable in the digital text; repeated word in the digital text): ἄλλοι λοὶ → ἄλλοι; ἐν ἐν ἐνενηκοστῇ → ἐν ἐνενηκοστῇ; λέγων γῶν οὕτως → λέγων οὕτως.
Extrabiblical texts: Josephus, Ant. 1.94 (Josephus (works); quotation)
Cite (SBL): Eusebius, Praep. ev. 9.11.3 (Dindorf 1:480; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/eusebius-praeparatio/8-14-66/#p-9-11-3). (abbreviation not yet checked)
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Translation: Translated by Claude from the Greek of Dindorf's Teubner text (1867; digital text First1KGreek, CC BY-SA 4.0), then compared section by section with the public-domain English of E. H. Gifford (1903); differences checked against the Greek.
9.11.4Dindorf 1:480
ἔστιν ὑπὲρ τὴν Μινυάδα μέγα ὄρος κατὰ τὴν Ἀρμενίαν, Βάρις λεγόμενον, εἰς ὃ πολλοὺς συμφυγόντας ἐπὶ τοῦ κατακλυσμοῦ λόγος ἔχει περισωθῆναι, καί τινα ἐπὶ λάρνακος ὀχούμενον ἐπὶ τὴν ἀκρώρειαν ὀκεῖλαι, καὶ τὰ λείψανα τῶν ξύλων ἐπὶ πολὺ σωθῆναι. γένοιτο δʼ ἂν οὗτος ὅντινα καὶ Μώσης ἀνέγραψεν ὁ Ἰουδαίων νομοθέτης.’’ Ταῦτα μὲν ὁ Ἰώσηπος.
estin hyper tēn Minyada mega oros kata tēn Armenian, Baris legomenon, eis ho pollous symphygontas epi tou kataklysmou logos echei perisōthēnai, kai tina epi larnakos ochoumenon epi tēn akrōreian okeilai, kai ta leipsana tōn xylōn epi poly sōthēnai. genoito dʼ an houtos hontina kai Mōsēs anegrapsen ho Ioudaiōn nomothetēs.’’ Tauta men ho Iōsēpos.
'There is above Minyas, in Armenia, a great mountain called Baris, on which, the story goes, many who fled for refuge at the time of the flood were saved, and one, carried in an ark, came aground on the summit, and the remains of the timbers were preserved for a long time. This would be the man whom Moses too, the lawgiver of the Jews, recorded.'" So Josephus.
Notes and citation
Summary: Nicolaus tells of an ark landing on Mount Baris in Armenia.
- Josephus, Antiquities 1.95, quoting Nicolaus of Damascus.
Notes on the original text
- Digital text corrected (wrong accent in the digital text): γένοιτο δʼ ἃν → γένοιτο δʼ ἂν; νομοθἐτης → νομοθέτης.
Extrabiblical texts: Josephus, Ant. 1.95 (Josephus (works); quotation)
Cite (SBL): Eusebius, Praep. ev. 9.11.4 (Dindorf 1:480; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/eusebius-praeparatio/8-14-66/#p-9-11-4). (abbreviation not yet checked)
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Translation: Translated by Claude from the Greek of Dindorf's Teubner text (1867; digital text First1KGreek, CC BY-SA 4.0), then compared section by section with the public-domain English of E. H. Gifford (1903); differences checked against the Greek.
Preparation 9, chapter 12
9.12.1Dindorf 1:480
Ἐγὼ δέ σοι τὰ Μηδικὰ καὶ Ἀσσύρια διελθὼν ἐκ τῆς Ἀβυδηνοῦ γραφῆς περὶ τῆς αὐτῆς ἱστορίας τάσδε τοῦ ἀνδρὸς παραθήσομαι τὰς λέξεις
Egō de soi ta Mēdika kai Assyria dielthōn ek tēs Abydēnou graphēs peri tēs autēs historias tasde tou andros parathēsomai tas lexeis
But I, having gone through the Median and Assyrian histories, shall set out for you these words of the man from the writing of Abydenus on the same story:
Notes and citation
Summary: Eusebius introduces Abydenus on the flood.
- Abydenus.
Notes on the original text
- Digital text corrected (misread letters in the digital text; repeated syllable in the digital text): διελθών θῶν → διελθὼν; ἱδτοσίας → ἱστορίας.
Extrabiblical texts: Abydenus (Abydenus, On the Assyrians; quotation)
Cite (SBL): Eusebius, Praep. ev. 9.12.1 (Dindorf 1:480; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/eusebius-praeparatio/8-14-66/#p-9-12-1). (abbreviation not yet checked)
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Translation: Translated by Claude from the Greek of Dindorf's Teubner text (1867; digital text First1KGreek, CC BY-SA 4.0), then compared section by section with the public-domain English of E. H. Gifford (1903); differences checked against the Greek.
9.12.2Dindorf 1:480
“ Μεθʼ ὃν ἄλλοι τε ἦρξαν καὶ Σείσιθρος, ᾧ δὴ Κρόνος προσημαίνει μὲν ἔσεσθαι πλῆθος ὄμβρων Δεσίου πέμπτῃ ἐπὶ δέκα, κελεύει δὲ πᾶν ὅ τι γραμμάτων ἦν ἐχόμενον ἐν Ἡλίου πόλει τῇ ἐν Σιππάροισιν ἀποκρύψαι.
“ Methʼ hon alloi te ērxan kai Seisithros, hǭ dē Kronos prosēmainei men esesthai plēthos ombrōn Desiou pemptę̄ epi deka, keleuei de pan ho ti grammatōn ēn echomenon en Hēliou polei tę̄ en Sipparoisin apokrypsai.
"After him others ruled, and Seisithrus, to whom Cronus foretold that there would be a great quantity of rains on the fifteenth of Desius, and bade him hide everything that had to do with writings in Heliopolis in Sippara.
Notes and citation
Summary: Abydenus: Cronus warns Seisithrus of the flood.
- Abydenus.
Extrabiblical texts: Abydenus (Abydenus, On the Assyrians; quotation)
Cite (SBL): Eusebius, Praep. ev. 9.12.2 (Dindorf 1:480; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/eusebius-praeparatio/8-14-66/#p-9-12-2). (abbreviation not yet checked)
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Translation: Translated by Claude from the Greek of Dindorf's Teubner text (1867; digital text First1KGreek, CC BY-SA 4.0), then compared section by section with the public-domain English of E. H. Gifford (1903); differences checked against the Greek.
9.12.3Dindorf 1:480
Σείσιθρος δὲ ταῦτα ἐπιτελέα ποιήσας εὐθέως ἐπʼ Ἀρμενίης ἀνέπλωε, καὶ παραυτίκα μιν κατελάμβανε τὰ ἐκ θεοῦ. τρίτῃ δὲ ἡμέρῃ ἐπεί τε ὕων ἐκόπασε, μετῄει τῶν ὀρνίθων πείρην ποιεύμενος, εἴ κου γῆν ἴδοιεν τοῦ ὕδατος ἐκδῦσαν.
Seisithros de tauta epitelea poiēsas eutheōs epʼ Armeniēs aneplōe, kai parautika min katelambane ta ek theou. tritę̄ de hēmerę̄ epei te hyōn ekopase, metę̄ei tōn ornithōn peirēn poieumenos, ei kou gēn idoien tou hydatos ekdysan.
Seisithrus, having done these things, at once sailed toward Armenia, and immediately what came from the god overtook him. On the third day, when the rain had ceased, he let birds go, making trial whether they might see land risen out of the water.
Gen 8:7 (echo, medium confidence)
Notes and citation
Summary: Seisithrus sails toward Armenia and sends out birds.
- Abydenus.
Extrabiblical texts: Abydenus (Abydenus, On the Assyrians; quotation)
Cite (SBL): Eusebius, Praep. ev. 9.12.3 (Dindorf 1:480; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/eusebius-praeparatio/8-14-66/#p-9-12-3). (abbreviation not yet checked)
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Translation: Translated by Claude from the Greek of Dindorf's Teubner text (1867; digital text First1KGreek, CC BY-SA 4.0), then compared section by section with the public-domain English of E. H. Gifford (1903); differences checked against the Greek.
9.12.4Dindorf 1:480
αἱ δὲ ἐκδεχομένου σφέας πελάγεος ἀχανέος ἀπορέουσαι ὅκη κατορμίσονται παρὰ τὸν Σείσιθρον ὀπίσω κομίζονται, καὶ ἐπʼ αὐτῇσιν ἕτεραι.
hai de ekdechomenou spheas pelageos achaneos aporeousai hokē katormisontai para ton Seisithron opisō komizontai, kai epʼ autę̄sin heterai.
But they, since a vast sea received them and they did not know where to settle, came back to Seisithrus, and others after them.
Notes and citation
Summary: The birds return, finding no land.
- Abydenus.
Notes on the original text
- Digital text corrected (wrong breathing in the digital text): αἶ δὲ ἐκδεχομένου → αἱ δὲ ἐκδεχομένου.
Extrabiblical texts: Abydenus (Abydenus, On the Assyrians; quotation)
Cite (SBL): Eusebius, Praep. ev. 9.12.4 (Dindorf 1:480; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/eusebius-praeparatio/8-14-66/#p-9-12-4). (abbreviation not yet checked)
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Translation: Translated by Claude from the Greek of Dindorf's Teubner text (1867; digital text First1KGreek, CC BY-SA 4.0), then compared section by section with the public-domain English of E. H. Gifford (1903); differences checked against the Greek.
9.12.5Dindorf 1:480–481
ὡς δὲ τῇσι τρίτῃσιν εὐτύχεεν, ἀπίκατο γὰρ δὴ πηλοῦ κατάπλεοι τοὺς ταρσοὺς, θεοί μιν ἐξ ἀνθρώπων ἀφανίζουσιν· τὸ δὲ πλοῖον ἐν Ἀρμενίῃ περίαπτα ξύλων ἀλεξιφάρμακα τοῖσιν ἐπιχωρίοισι παρείχετο.’’ Ταῦτα μὲν οὖν οὗτος.
hōs de tę̄si tritę̄sin eutycheen, apikato gar dē pēlou katapleoi tous tarsous, theoi min ex anthrōpōn aphanizousin; to de ploion en Armenię̄ periapta xylōn alexipharmaka toisin epichōrioisi pareicheto.’’ Tauta men oun houtos.
When he succeeded with the third ones (for they had come back with their feet full of mud), the gods removed him from among men; and the vessel in Armenia provided the inhabitants with amulets of its wood as protective charms." So he.
Notes and citation
Summary: The third birds return muddy; Seisithrus is taken away, and the ark's wood is used as amulets.
- Abydenus.
Notes on the original text
- Digital text corrected (line-end hyphen left in the digital text; misread letters in the digital text): τῇσι τρίτῃόιν → τῇσι τρίτῃσιν; ἀφα- νίζουσιν → ἀφανίζουσιν.
Extrabiblical texts: Abydenus (Abydenus, On the Assyrians; quotation)
Cite (SBL): Eusebius, Praep. ev. 9.12.5 (Dindorf 1:480–481; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/eusebius-praeparatio/8-14-66/#p-9-12-5). (abbreviation not yet checked)
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Translation: Translated by Claude from the Greek of Dindorf's Teubner text (1867; digital text First1KGreek, CC BY-SA 4.0), then compared section by section with the public-domain English of E. H. Gifford (1903); differences checked against the Greek.
Preparation 9, chapter 13
9.13.1Dindorf 1:481
Πάλιν δὲ Μώσεως τοὺς πρώτους φύντας ἀνθρώπων μακροβίους γεγονέναι φήσαντος, μάρτυρας καὶ τούτου παρατίθεται τοῦ λόγου τοὺς Ἑλλήνων συγγραφεῖς ὧδε λέγων ὁ Ἰώσηπος
Palin de Mōseōs tous prōtous phyntas anthrōpōn makrobious gegonenai phēsantos, martyras kai toutou paratithetai tou logou tous Hellēnōn syngrapheis hōde legōn ho Iōsēpos
Again, since Moses said that the first humans were long-lived, Josephus sets out the Greek writers as witnesses to this account too, saying this:
Gen 5:5 (allusion, medium confidence)
Notes and citation
Summary: Eusebius introduces Josephus on the longevity of the first humans.
Notes on the original text
- Digital text corrected (Latin letter and stray mark in the digital text; wrong accent in the digital text): Πἀλιν → Πάλιν; τοὺς ‘Eλλήνων → τοὺς Ἑλλήνων.
Cite (SBL): Eusebius, Praep. ev. 9.13.1 (Dindorf 1:481; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/eusebius-praeparatio/8-14-66/#p-9-13-1). (abbreviation not yet checked)
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Translation: Translated by Claude from the Greek of Dindorf's Teubner text (1867; digital text First1KGreek, CC BY-SA 4.0), then compared section by section with the public-domain English of E. H. Gifford (1903); differences checked against the Greek.
9.13.2Dindorf 1:481
“ Μηδεὶς δὲ πρὸς τὸν νῦν βίον καὶ τὴν βραχύτητα τῶν ἐτῶν ἃ ζῶμεν συμβαλὼν τὸν τῶν παλαιῶν ψευδῆ νομιζέτω τὰ περὶ ἐκείνων λεγόμενα, τῷ μηδὲ νῦν τοσοῦτον ἐν τῷ βίῳ παρατείνειν χρόνον τεκμαιρόμενος μηδʼ ἐκείνους εἰς ἐκεῖνο τὸ μῆκος τῆς ζωῆς ἀφῖχθαι.
“ Mēdeis de pros ton nyn bion kai tēn brachytēta tōn etōn ha zōmen symbalōn ton tōn palaiōn pseudē nomizetō ta peri ekeinōn legomena, tǭ mēde nyn tosouton en tǭ biǭ parateinein chronon tekmairomenos mēdʼ ekeinous eis ekeino to mēkos tēs zōēs aphichthai.
"Let no one, comparing the present life and the shortness of the years we live with that of the ancients, think false what is said of them, inferring that because no one now extends life to such a length, neither did they reach that length of life.
Notes and citation
Summary: Josephus: do not doubt the ancients' long lives because ours are short.
- Josephus, Antiquities 1.105.
Extrabiblical texts: Josephus, Ant. 1.105 (Josephus (works); quotation)
Cite (SBL): Eusebius, Praep. ev. 9.13.2 (Dindorf 1:481; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/eusebius-praeparatio/8-14-66/#p-9-13-2). (abbreviation not yet checked)
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Translation: Translated by Claude from the Greek of Dindorf's Teubner text (1867; digital text First1KGreek, CC BY-SA 4.0), then compared section by section with the public-domain English of E. H. Gifford (1903); differences checked against the Greek.
9.13.3Dindorf 1:481
οἱ μὲν γὰρ θεοφιλεῖς ὄντες, καὶ ὑπʼ αὐτοῦ τοῦ θεοῦ γενόμενοι, καὶ διὰ τὸ τὰς τροφὰς ἐπιτηδειοτέρας πρὸς πλείονα χρόνον οὔσας, εἰκότως ἔζων πλῆθος τοσούτων ἐτῶν.
hoi men gar theophileis ontes, kai hypʼ autou tou theou genomenoi, kai dia to tas trophas epitēdeioteras pros pleiona chronon ousas, eikotōs ezōn plēthos tosoutōn etōn.
For they, being dear to God and made by God himself, and because their foods were more suited to a longer time, reasonably lived so great a number of years.
Notes and citation
Summary: God's favor and better food explain their longevity.
- Josephus, Antiquities 1.106.
Notes on the original text
- Digital text corrected (misread letter in the digital text): ἐπιτηδειοτέὸας → ἐπιτηδειοτέρας; εἰχότως → εἰκότως.
Extrabiblical texts: Josephus, Ant. 1.106 (Josephus (works); quotation)
Cite (SBL): Eusebius, Praep. ev. 9.13.3 (Dindorf 1:481; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/eusebius-praeparatio/8-14-66/#p-9-13-3). (abbreviation not yet checked)
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Translation: Translated by Claude from the Greek of Dindorf's Teubner text (1867; digital text First1KGreek, CC BY-SA 4.0), then compared section by section with the public-domain English of E. H. Gifford (1903); differences checked against the Greek.
9.13.4Dindorf 1:481
ἔπειτα καὶ διʼ ἀρετὴν καὶ διʼ εὐχρηστίαν ὧν ἐπενόουν, ἀστρολογίας καὶ γεωμετρίας, εἰς πλείονα ζῆν τὸν θεὸν αὐτοῖς παρασχεῖν, ἅπερ οὐκ ἦν ἀσφαλῶς αὐτοῖς προειπεῖν μὴ ζήσασιν ἑξακοσίους ἐνιαυτούς· διὰ γὰρ τούτων ὁ μέγας ἐνιαυτὸς πληροῦται.
epeita kai diʼ aretēn kai diʼ euchrēstian hōn epenooun, astrologias kai geōmetrias, eis pleiona zēn ton theon autois paraschein, haper ouk ēn asphalōs autois proeipein mē zēsasin hexakosious eniautous; dia gar toutōn ho megas eniautos plēroutai.
Then too, because of their virtue and the usefulness of what they discovered, astronomy and geometry, God granted them to live longer, things they could not have foretold safely unless they had lived six hundred years; for in that time the great year is completed.
Notes and citation
Summary: God lengthened their lives to complete astronomical discoveries.
- Josephus, Antiquities 1.106.
Extrabiblical texts: Josephus, Ant. 1.106 (Josephus (works); quotation)
Cite (SBL): Eusebius, Praep. ev. 9.13.4 (Dindorf 1:481; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/eusebius-praeparatio/8-14-66/#p-9-13-4). (abbreviation not yet checked)
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Translation: Translated by Claude from the Greek of Dindorf's Teubner text (1867; digital text First1KGreek, CC BY-SA 4.0), then compared section by section with the public-domain English of E. H. Gifford (1903); differences checked against the Greek.
9.13.5Dindorf 1:481–482
μαρτυροῦσι δέ μου τῷ λόγῳ πάντες οἱ παρʼ Ἕλλησι καὶ βαρβάροις συγγραψάμενοι τὰς ἀρχαιολογίας. καὶ γὰρ καὶ Μάνεθως ὁ τὴν τῶν Αἰγυπτιακῶν ποιησάμενος ἀναγραφὴν καὶ Βηρωσσὸς ὁ τὰ Χαλδαικὰ συναγαγὼν καὶ Μόλος καὶ Ἑστιαῖος, καὶ πρὸς αὐτοῖς ὁ Αἰγύπτιος Ἱερώνυμος, οἵ τε τὰ Φοινικικὰ συνταξάμενοι, συμφωνοῦσι τοῖς ὑπʼ ἐμοῦ λεγομένοις· Ἡσίοδός τε καὶ Ἑκαταῖος καὶ Ἑλλάνικος καὶ Ἀκουσίλαος, καὶ πρὸς τούτοις Ἔφορος καὶ Νικόλαος ἱστοροῦσι τοὺς ἀρχαίους ζήσαντας ἔτη χίλια. περὶ μὲν οὖν τούτων, ὡς ἂν ἑκάστοις ᾖ φίλον, οὕτω σκοπείτωσαν.”
martyrousi de mou tǭ logǭ pantes hoi parʼ Hellēsi kai barbarois syngrapsamenoi tas archaiologias. kai gar kai Manethōs ho tēn tōn Aigyptiakōn poiēsamenos anagraphēn kai Bērōssos ho ta Chaldaika synagagōn kai Molos kai Hestiaios, kai pros autois ho Aigyptios Hierōnymos, hoi te ta Phoinikika syntaxamenoi, symphōnousi tois hypʼ emou legomenois; Hēsiodos te kai Hekataios kai Hellanikos kai Akousilaos, kai pros toutois Ephoros kai Nikolaos historousi tous archaious zēsantas etē chilia. peri men oun toutōn, hōs an hekastois ę̄ philon, houtō skopeitōsan.”
All who wrote ancient histories among Greeks and barbarians bear witness to my account. For Manetho, who made the record of Egyptian history, Berossus, who compiled the Chaldean, Molus and Hestiaeus, and besides them Hieronymus the Egyptian, and those who composed the Phoenician histories, agree with what I say; and Hesiod, Hecataeus, Hellanicus, Acusilaus, and besides these Ephorus and Nicolaus relate that the ancients lived a thousand years. About these things, then, let each consider as he pleases."
Notes and citation
Summary: Josephus lists pagan historians who agree on the ancients' longevity.
- Josephus, Antiquities 1.107–108. "Molus" is the name as printed; the text of Josephus has Mochus.
Notes on the original text
- Digital text corrected (missing space, Latin letter and stray mark in the digital text; missing spaces in the digital text; stray mark for breathing in the digital text; wrong accent in the digital text): καὶ‘Eστιαῖος → καὶ Ἑστιαῖος; ὁΑἰγύπτιοςἹερώνυμος → ὁ Αἰγύπτιος Ἱερώνυμος; ‘Εκαταῖος → Ἑκαταῖος; ῇ φίλον → ᾖ φίλον.
Extrabiblical texts: Josephus, Ant. 1.107–108 (Josephus (works); quotation)
Cite (SBL): Eusebius, Praep. ev. 9.13.5 (Dindorf 1:481–482; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/eusebius-praeparatio/8-14-66/#p-9-13-5). (abbreviation not yet checked)
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Translation: Translated by Claude from the Greek of Dindorf's Teubner text (1867; digital text First1KGreek, CC BY-SA 4.0), then compared section by section with the public-domain English of E. H. Gifford (1903); differences checked against the Greek.
Preparation 9, chapter 14
9.14.1Dindorf 1:482
Πάλιν Μωσέως περὶ τῆς τοῦ πύργου κατασκευῆς καὶ ὡς ἀπὸ μιᾶς γλώττης εἰς πολλὰς συνεχύθησαν διαλέκτους ἱστορήσαντος, ἐν τῇ λεχθείσῃ Περὶ τῶν Ἀσσυρίων γραφῇ ὁ μικρῷ πρόσθεν δηλωθεὶς συγγραφεὺς τὰ ὅμοια μαρτυρεῖ λέγων ὧδε
Palin Mōseōs peri tēs tou pyrgou kataskeuēs kai hōs apo mias glōttēs eis pollas synechythēsan dialektous historēsantos, en tę̄ lechtheisę̄ Peri tōn Assyriōn graphę̄ ho mikrǭ prosthen dēlōtheis syngrapheus ta homoia martyrei legōn hōde
Again, since Moses recounted the building of the tower, and how from one tongue they were confused into many languages, the writer mentioned a little earlier gives similar testimony in the work called On the Assyrians, saying thus:
Gen 11:1 (allusion, high confidence) · Gen 11:9 (allusion, high confidence)
Notes and citation
Summary: Eusebius introduces Abydenus on the tower of Babel.
Notes on the original text
- Digital text corrected (repeated syllables in the digital text): συνεχύθησαν θησαν → συνεχύθησαν.
Cite (SBL): Eusebius, Praep. ev. 9.14.1 (Dindorf 1:482; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/eusebius-praeparatio/8-14-66/#p-9-14-1). (abbreviation not yet checked)
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Translation: Translated by Claude from the Greek of Dindorf's Teubner text (1867; digital text First1KGreek, CC BY-SA 4.0), then compared section by section with the public-domain English of E. H. Gifford (1903); differences checked against the Greek.
9.14.2Dindorf 1:482
“Ἐντὶ δʼ οἳ λέγουσι τοὺς πρώτους ἐκ γῆς ἀνασχόντας, ῥώμῃ τε καὶ μεγέθει χαυνωθέντας καὶ δὴ θεῶν καταφρονήσαντας ἀμείνονας εἶναι, τύρσιν ἠλίβατον ἀείρειν, ἵνα νῦν Βαβυλών ἐστιν· ἤδη τε ἆσσον εἶναι τοῦ οὐρανοῦ, καὶ τοὺς ἀνέμους θεοῖσι βωθέοντας ἀνατρέψαι περὶ αὐτοῖσι τὸ μηχάνημα· τοῦ δὴ τὰ ἐρείπια λέγεσθαι Βαβυλῶνα. τέως δὲ ὄντας ὁμογλώσσους ἐκ θεῶν πολύθροον φωνὴν ἐνείκασθαι, μετὰ δὲ Κρόνῳ τε καὶ Τιτῆνι συστῆναι πόλεμον.
“Enti dʼ hoi legousi tous prōtous ek gēs anaschontas, rhōmę̄ te kai megethei chaunōthentas kai dē theōn kataphronēsantas ameinonas einai, tyrsin ēlibaton aeirein, hina nyn Babylōn estin; ēdē te asson einai tou ouranou, kai tous anemous theoisi bōtheontas anatrepsai peri autoisi to mēchanēma; tou dē ta ereipia legesthai Babylōna. teōs de ontas homoglōssous ek theōn polythroon phōnēn eneikasthai, meta de Kronǭ te kai Titēni systēnai polemon.
"There are those who say that the first men who rose up out of the earth, puffed up with strength and size, and despising the gods as being better than they, raised a lofty tower where Babylon now is; and when it was already near heaven, the winds, coming to the help of the gods, overturned the structure upon them; and its ruins are called Babylon. Until then they had been of one tongue, but from the gods they received a speech of many sounds; and afterward war arose between Cronus and Titan."
Gen 11:4 (allusion, high confidence) · Gen 11:7 (allusion, high confidence)
Notes and citation
Summary: Abydenus: giants built a tower at Babylon, overthrown by winds; languages were confused.
- Abydenus, On the Assyrians.
Notes on the original text
- Digital text corrected (line-end hyphen left in the digital text): ἐνεί- κασθαι → ἐνείκασθαι.
Extrabiblical texts: Abydenus (Abydenus, On the Assyrians; quotation)
Cite (SBL): Eusebius, Praep. ev. 9.14.2 (Dindorf 1:482; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/eusebius-praeparatio/8-14-66/#p-9-14-2). (abbreviation not yet checked)
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Translation: Translated by Claude from the Greek of Dindorf's Teubner text (1867; digital text First1KGreek, CC BY-SA 4.0), then compared section by section with the public-domain English of E. H. Gifford (1903); differences checked against the Greek.
9.14.3Dindorf 1:482
“Ὁ δὲ τόπος ἐν ᾧ τὸν πύργον ᾠκοδόμησαν νῦν Βαβυλὼν καλεῖται, διὰ τὴν σύγχυσιν τοῦ περὶ τὴν διάλεκτον πρῶτον ἐναργοῦς. Ἑβραῖοι γὰρ τὴν σύγχυσιν Βαβὲλ καλοῦσι.”
“Ho de topos en hǭ ton pyrgon ǭkodomēsan nyn Babylōn kaleitai, dia tēn synchysin tou peri tēn dialekton prōton enargous. Hebraioi gar tēn synchysin Babel kalousi.”
"The place in which they built the tower is now called Babylon, because of the confusion of what had at first been clear in their language; for the Hebrews call confusion Babel."
Gen 11:9 (allusion, high confidence)
Notes and citation
Summary: Josephus: Babylon is named from 'Babel,' confusion.
- Josephus, Antiquities 1.117.
Extrabiblical texts: Josephus, Ant. 1.117 (Josephus (works); quotation)
Cite (SBL): Eusebius, Praep. ev. 9.14.3 (Dindorf 1:482; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/eusebius-praeparatio/8-14-66/#p-9-14-3). (abbreviation not yet checked)
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Translation: Translated by Claude from the Greek of Dindorf's Teubner text (1867; digital text First1KGreek, CC BY-SA 4.0), then compared section by section with the public-domain English of E. H. Gifford (1903); differences checked against the Greek.
Preparation 9, chapter 15
9.15.1Dindorf 1:482–483
“Περὶ δὲ τοῦ πύργου τούτου καὶ τῆς ἀλλοφωνίας τῶν ἀνθρώπων μέμνηται καὶ Σίβυλλα, λέγουσα οὕτως ῾πάντων ὁμοφώνων ὄντων τῶν ἀνθρώπων πύργον ᾠκοδόμησάν τινες ὑψηλότατον, ὡς ἐπὶ τὸν οὐρανὸν ἀναβησόμενοι διʼ αὐτοῦ. οἱ δὲ θεοὶ ἀνέμους ἐπιπέμψαντες ἀνέτρεψαν τὸν πύργον, καὶ ἰδίαν ἑκάστῳ φωνὴν ἔδωκαν, καὶ διὰ τοῦτο Βαβυλῶνα συνέβη κληθῆναι τὴν πόλιν.᾿ περὶ δὲ τοῦ πεδίου τοῦ λεγομένου Σενναὰρ ἐν τῇ Βαβυλωνίᾳ χώρᾳ μνημονεύει Ἑστιαῖος, λέγων οὕτως “τῶν ἱερέων τοὺς διασωθέντας, τὰ τοῦ Ἐνυαλίου Δῖός ἱερώματα λαβόντας, εἰς Σενναὰρ τῆς Βαβυλωνίας ἐλθεῖν· σκίδνανται δὴ τὸ λοιπὸν ἐντεῦθεν ὑπὸ τῆς ὁμογλωσσίας, τὰς συνοικίας ποιησάμενοι πανταχοῦ, καὶ γῆν ἕκαστοι κατελάμβανον τὴν ἐντυχοῦσαν.’’
“Peri de tou pyrgou toutou kai tēs allophōnias tōn anthrōpōn memnētai kai Sibylla, legousa houtōs ῾pantōn homophōnōn ontōn tōn anthrōpōn pyrgon ǭkodomēsan tines hypsēlotaton, hōs epi ton ouranon anabēsomenoi diʼ autou. hoi de theoi anemous epipempsantes anetrepsan ton pyrgon, kai idian hekastǭ phōnēn edōkan, kai dia touto Babylōna synebē klēthēnai tēn polin.᾿ peri de tou pediou tou legomenou Sennaar en tę̄ Babylōnią chōrą mnēmoneuei Hestiaios, legōn houtōs “tōn hiereōn tous diasōthentas, ta tou Enyaliou Dios hierōmata labontas, eis Sennaar tēs Babylōnias elthein; skidnantai dē to loipon enteuthen hypo tēs homoglōssias, tas synoikias poiēsamenoi pantachou, kai gēn hekastoi katelambanon tēn entychousan.’’
"The Sibyl too mentions this tower and the diversity of human speech, saying thus: 'When all men were of one speech, some built a very high tower, so as to go up to heaven by it. But the gods sent winds and overturned the tower, and gave each his own speech; and for this reason the city came to be called Babylon.' And Hestiaeus mentions the plain called Shinar in the Babylonian country, saying thus: 'Those of the priests who were saved took the sacred vessels of Zeus Enyalius and came to Shinar in Babylonia. From there they were then scattered, forming their settlements everywhere according to their common languages, and each occupied whatever land he came upon.'"
Gen 11:2 (allusion, medium confidence) · Gen 11:8 (allusion, medium confidence)
Notes and citation
Summary: Josephus cites the Sibyl and Hestiaeus on the tower and the dispersion.
- Josephus, Antiquities 1.118–119, citing the Sibyl (compare Sibylline Oracles 3.97–104) and Hestiaeus.
Notes on the original text
- Digital text corrected (misread ending in the digital text; misread letter in the digital text): τῶν ἀνθρώρων → τῶν ἀνθρώπων; τοῦ πεδίου τοῦ λεγόμενον → τοῦ πεδίου τοῦ λεγομένου.
Extrabiblical texts: Josephus, Ant. 1.118–119 (Josephus (works); quotation); Sib. Or. 3.97–104 (Sibylline Oracles; quotation)
Cite (SBL): Eusebius, Praep. ev. 9.15.1 (Dindorf 1:482–483; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/eusebius-praeparatio/8-14-66/#p-9-15-1). (abbreviation not yet checked)
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Translation: Translated by Claude from the Greek of Dindorf's Teubner text (1867; digital text First1KGreek, CC BY-SA 4.0), then compared section by section with the public-domain English of E. H. Gifford (1903); differences checked against the Greek.