Eclogae on Exodus through Judges 805–943

in a noble and good heart, that is, soul. And the manna is white; for the word is light and bright, and in this respect white to one who understands it and is nourished by it. And it is like frost; for it is compact, nowhere moist or running apart, but firm, since it is the word of heaven and announces heavenly things to us. [Deut 8:7] “For the Lord your God brings you into a good and broad land.” Christ promised to give us not these things but the kingdom of heaven, and a good and eternal land, whose torrent is Christ, watering it with the streams of wisdom. The torrents go out through the plains, the humble and fruitful people, and through the high mountains, those who stretch up to heaven by the height of their contemplation. There is the bread that strengthens man's heart, and barley that feeds the lesser. There is the true vine, Christ. There is the oil that anoints the heads of the holy. Likewise pomegranates, bearing sweetness within, but clothed outwardly with the austerity of their way of life. There is the fig tree, not the barren one luxuriant with leaves, but the one rich in the sweetness of the Spirit. There is the desirable sweetness of the Saviour's throat, and the lips of the bride in the Song dripping honeycomb, and the holy stones which, rolled upon the earth, do not yield to temptations and imitate the nature of iron. There are the mines of bronze, from which they made the intelligible full armour. And the sum of these is to bless God unceasingly. [Of the same.] It is not, he says, toiling and suffering with clay and brick-making, but having stones, and those very hard and not easily dissolved, so as to suffice for buildings and to last a long time. He says this because he wishes their mind to turn away from Egypt. By saying “good” he showed its fertility; by “broad” its size and breadth. “Where there are torrents of waters” (this is not in Egypt) “and springs of the deeps,” which is special to the land of promise. He added also “through the mountains,” which does not belong to Egypt; nor is Egypt luxuriant with vines, nor does it have abundance of oil; but the land of promise has all things richly. [Deut 8:11] “Take heed to yourself, lest you forget the Lord your God.” After the promise of good things he rouses them to sobriety: to remember their benefactor, not to grow insolent from satiety nor to despise the one who gave these things, and to remember that he brought them from slavery in Egypt to freedom. [Deut 12:31] “You shall not do so to the Lord your God.” He condemns the sacrificing of their own children by men to the gods of the nations, as cruel and inhuman, as abominable. And those who say, “Sacrifice to the gods of the nations,” one must not only turn away from, but must not even lend an ear to their words.

[Deut 12:32] “You shall not add to it, nor take away from it.” People who sin, generally speaking, sin in two ways: either by exceeding the commandments or by falling short of them. For when we do not live by knowledge, nor know the measures of righteousness, we go wrong; and sometimes, exceeding the rule in the fancy of doing something better, we fall away from what is set before us. [Of the same.] Those, then, who do not do everything, or who do something more, are transgressors. [Deut 14:6] “Every animal that divides the hoof and chews the cud.” Dividing the hoof shows the course by which we come to all good pursuits whatever; chewing the cud is to turn over and over the words of the God-breathed Scripture and, as it were, to chew them again, and to grind fine by inquiry the hidden contemplations. [Deut 14:9] “All that have fins and scales you shall eat.” Of the winged creatures, I think, he wishes those to be clean which have shanks below the knees, above the feet; those that do not, unclean. [Deut 16:13] “You shall keep the feast of tabernacles for yourself seven days.” We find in the Scriptures the name of feast and that of festival assembly, as in the prophet who says, “What will you do on the day of assembly and on the day of the feast of the Lord?” We must seek the difference between feast and assembly. Every joyful day, so to speak, on which certain special things are commanded to be done, as on a holy day, beyond the rest, is called a feast. Not every one is an assembly, but, as the name says, when the Hebrews from everywhere gather together; so that in this sense the assembly is a feast, but a feast is not necessarily an assembly. For example, sabbaths and new moons are feasts; but unleavened bread, the days of weeks, and tabernacles are not only feasts but also assemblies, when every male is commanded to appear before the Lord your God in the place he chooses. [Deut 19:14] “You shall not move your neighbour's boundaries.” In many places every human being is called a neighbour. [Of the same.] For one must neither take advantage of those near nor disturb the boundaries of the fathers, which were well fixed. For this would be the cause of all confusion, the neighbours being wronged and those who fixed the boundaries despised. Some say that “neighbour” means every human being. [Deut 19:16] “And if an unjust witness rises against a man.” These things the law said to the weak Israelites; but the Lord who legislated them says to his own disciples: “You have heard that it was said, An eye for an eye,” and so on; “but I say to you, do not resist the evil one.” [Of the same.] These things concern what is perceptible and the affairs of the world; but with regard to our sins God needs no one, for he himself is the overseer and judge of all.

[Deut 20:8] “What man is fearful?” The one who is devoted to earthly things, building a house and planting vineyards, overcome by the pleasures of the flesh, will certainly be cowardly and weak. [Deut 21:18] “If anyone has a disobedient son.” He does not simply wish those who embitter their parents to be killed, but only when both parents agree against the child. For since, if the father is angry and rushes to kill the son, the mother restrains him, and if she is provoked, the father does not allow it, and it will be rare for the parents to agree against their own child, God commands that when both agree against the child, then he is to be stoned, not by those who begot him, but by the rest. [Deut 22:9] “You shall not sow your vineyard with a different seed.” So that the land may not become weaker, yielding neither the seed in full nor the fruit of the vine, but each by itself. [Deut 22:10] “You shall not plough with a calf and a donkey together.” Do not yoke the proud and toil-loving part of the soul with the pleasure-loving and passionate. [Of the same.] Isaiah again writes: “Blessed are those who sow by every water.” What water is it, beside which one must sow the good seed? It would be baptism of salvation, the washing of regeneration. Sow upon the mystery of the washing, and you become blessed. Where ox and donkey tread: the ox, the clean animal, is the Israelite, and the donkey, unclean by race, is the one from the Gentiles; so that both animals are a symbol of the word preached to the Gentiles. Ox and donkey, then, it says, tread this water where we wish to sow. [Deut 22:23] “If there is a virgin girl betrothed to a man.” He means the woman already betrothed; and so it was said also in the case of Joseph and the Mother of God. [Deut 23:3] “And even forever.” Since these too are born of sexual immorality, from Lot's daughters, they are excluded from the congregation of Israel not only until the tenth generation but forever. So he wishes their enmity to be eternal; according to the sense and the true reason of divine Scripture, because they hired Balaam to curse the Hebrews, and also set before the people their wives and daughters, as many as were fair to look upon and beautiful in form, so as to give them to the Israelites for immorality, and so to procure for the Hebrews the most grievous immorality: this was to depart from God and be initiated to Baal-peor, which indeed happened. [Deut 24:6] “You shall not take a mill nor an upper millstone in pledge.” Because it is impossible, he says, to grind grain with a single stone; for a mill is made double, male and female. Since, then, the Jews have one covenant, and likewise every heresy that thinks it has this new one only, they do not grind in this mill, so as to taste the heavenly bread. For if

the grain, he says, is not crushed and ground, they remain without food. Starting from this, then, I myself too explain the present law, “You shall not take a mill in pledge”: that is, you shall not profane the old covenant nor thrust it out of your house; “nor the upper millstone,” in place of “the new”; “for this man takes a soul in pledge,” that is, by these the soul is nourished, enjoying intelligible foods. [Deut 25:3] “With forty stripes they shall beat him.” We have always observed that the number forty is one of affliction. Hence Moses the great fasted forty days, and after him Elijah; and our Saviour too, when he was tempted by the devil, did not eat for forty days and forty nights; and the great flood also came upon the earth when God rained forty days and forty nights. [Deut 27:5] “You shall not lift iron upon them.” We must ask why he does not allow iron to touch the stones used for building the altar. Afterwards too, for building the temple, he commands unhewn stones to be gathered and built. For if it is absurd for iron to touch stone suitable for building, how were the pillars made, how the boards and their capitals? Or how was everything made of bronze or gold or silver produced without iron? And how could it be? From this it is clear that he does not forbid iron to touch stones absolutely. What, then, is the reason? We say it without insisting. He forbids putting hard against hard and striking them together; for great evils tend to arise from the mixing and clashing of hard things. Or he casts murder as far as possible from the hearts of men; and very justly. For if it is not right that a stone being built into the construction of the altar or of the temple … [Deut 27:12] “These shall stand to bless the people.” It should be observed that those appointed to bless were born of Jacob's free wives, his kinswomen, while those set apart to curse from Mount Ebal were from the maidservants, except Reuben and Zebulun. Reuben is ranked with those who curse because he was cursed by his father. Jacob cursed Levi too, but Levi was redeemed by the priestly dignity; for it belongs above all to a priest to bless the people. And Simeon, since he dwelt in the midst of the tribe of Judah and became as it were part of it, is therefore counted where Judah is. [Deut 33:1] “And this is the blessing with which Moses blessed.” The predictions of Jacob were neither all blessings nor all curses; but those of Moses are all blessings. [Deut 33:2] “And he hastened from Mount Paran.” That is,

by no longer giving oracles to Israel but to those from the Gentiles, and he established the law. For “he hastened from Mount Paran,” or “he rested,” which another reading has, stands for: he will earnestly leave the shadow and reveal the truth to us. “With myriads of Kadesh.” Here Kadesh does not mean the place but the saints; for “Kadesh” means “holy” in the Hebrew tongue. [Deut 33:3] “And he spared his people.” That is, when he came he saved those who were once not peoples but are now God's peoples, those once not shown mercy but now shown mercy. “For in this,” says the apostle Peter, “the love of God was manifested in us.” And holy John says in the catholic letter that “God has sent his only-begotten Son into the world, that we might live through him.” And the blessed Paul says, “He who did not spare his own Son, but gave him up for us all.” He spared, then, the … “And all the sanctified are under your hands.” For he rules all things, as king of heaven and earth. Standing before him as king, serving him as God, worshipping him as maker, they are also under him; “for he has put all things under his feet.” [Deut 33:5] “Rulers of peoples gathered together.” These are the divine disciples, in whose person David too says, “He subjected peoples to us, and nations under our feet”; and again, “Rulers of peoples gathered together with the God of Abraham.” It shows, then, the calling of the Gentiles, since God was to rule both Israel and the Gentiles together. And the Son is called “the beloved”: “This,” it says, “is my beloved Son.” And for this reason the Father rules and reigns over us.

[Josh 1:2] “You, and all this people.” He promised to give what he had foretold to those who keep the law, not to Joshua son of Nun; for the Israelites did not keep it and did not receive it, as what follows shows. [Josh 1:3] “Every place on which you tread.” The people of Ai resisted because of Achar's transgression. And in another way: because, when God had delivered the nations into their hands, they did not destroy them utterly, and these became a thorn to them. [Josh 2:1] “And they went into the house of a harlot, whose name was Rahab.” The spies entrust their safety to a harlot, and very fittingly; for it is shown from what the harlot says that she alone was faithful and feared God; therefore her kindred too is saved through her. [Of the same.] Rahab is interpreted “broadening,” being a symbol of the church from the Gentiles, which says, “The place is narrow for me; make room for me that I may dwell.” [Of the same.] She is saved not by her hospitality alone, but first of all by her faith and her disposition toward God. [Josh 2:6] “And she hid them in the flax stalks.” She hid them among the stalks of flax which she had on the roof, preparing to work the fine linen for them, as being worthy of high-priestly clothing; for flax produces the fine linen from which the priestly garment is made. [Josh 2:15] “And she let them down through the window.” One must know that her house was in the wall. The new things are sisters of the old; for what happened to Paul is similar, when they let him down in a basket through the wall. [Of the same.] The Apostle was saved a second time from his enemies in the same way, as he says in his second letter to the Corinthians: “And through a window in a basket I was let down through the wall and escaped.” Again in the Acts: “They were watching the gates day and night in order to kill him; but his disciples took him by night and let him down through the wall, lowering him in a basket.” [Josh 2:22] “And they stayed there three days.” Not that the road was three days long, for the Jordan is very near

Jericho; but because of the careful search for the spies: “For the pursuers,” it says, “searched all the roads and did not find them.” [Josh 4:13] “Forty thousand light-armed.” It should be noted that the number four, whether of units, of hundreds, or of some greater number, stands for affliction. [Josh 5:2] “Make for yourself knives of stone from sharp rock.” We must ask why those born in the desert were not circumcised; or why, under Moses, someone who gathered wood on the Sabbath was stoned by God's command, while so great a multitude that remained uncircumcised in the desert was not even blamed, although God had declared that the soul not circumcised on the eighth day should be destroyed, and had made no such decree about those who transgressed the Sabbath. From this, then, it is already quite clear that circumcision and the Sabbath are not good in themselves, but because they were useful for a time. One must know that he wished them to be known by circumcision as by a sign, and not to appear to have departed from the faith; just as irrational sheep marked by the branding iron, even if one strays, are easily found again; so he wished the Jews, when they mixed with the Gentiles, to be recognizable by circumcision. A proof of this is that in Egypt they were circumcised, but in the desert, since they were alone and separated from the Egyptians and from the other nations of Palestine, they remained uncircumcised. When, having crossed the Jordan, they were about to be in the midst of the nations, they were again commanded to be circumcised. Therefore he said “a second time,” since they were circumcised not at eight days old but as grown men, and some as they were nearing old age. The stone knife shows us the Lord, who gave us the intelligible circumcision, that of mind and heart. For this reason the Apostle too spoke to us of the circumcision of Christ, in the putting off of the body of our flesh. [Josh 5:14] “I, the chief captain of the power of the Lord, have now come.” One must remember that when they made the calf, God said to Moses: “Lead this people up, for I will not go up with you, because the people is stiff-necked. And behold, I will send my angel before your face. Take heed to yourself, then, and do not disobey.” And Moses said to him, “If you do not go up with us, do not lead me up from here.” By saying this he persuaded him, and God was with the people until the death of Moses. After his death he appears and speaks to Joshua son of Nun. After the leadership of the people passed to Moses' disciple, then, he hands the people over to the chief captain Michael. This angel was ruler of the people, as appears in Daniel, where another angel says so. [Josh 6:20] “Blowing the trumpets.” The trumpets are a symbol of the things of the last day: “For the Lord himself,” it says, “will descend from heaven with a command, with the voice of an archangel, and with the trumpet of God,” from

… having become able to look rather on more divine things and having become purer, showing … that knowledge is not … ; since some look at the letter of the words and at the names, as at the body of Moses, while others discern the meanings and the things signified by the names, inquiring into the Moses who is with the angels.

[From the works of Origen on Joshua son of Nun. From the twentieth homily on Joshua son of Nun.] The highest benefit from such readings comes to one who is able to understand the true distribution of lots made by Jesus to the sons of Israel, and to one who has become able to go up to the holy land, the true land, the land that is truly good, and to fit what is said about the places, from the names of the places mentioned, to the differences among those who inherit … such readings. [And soon after:] We wish to encourage the hearers

what is said. But since it is hard to find one who is so benefited, we wish to encourage the hearers not to lose heart at the readings. What, then, is the encouragement, so that the hearer of such readings may not lose heart? It must be said. Just as incantations have a certain natural power, and the one who is being enchanted, without understanding, receives something from the incantation according to the nature of its sounds, whether for harm or for the healing of his body or soul, so consider with me that the significance of the names in the divine Scriptures is more powerful than any incantation. For there are certain powers in us, of which the better are nourished by these as it were incantations, being akin to them; and even when we do not understand, those powers, which understand what is said, become stronger in us to help our life. That there are invisible things in us, and many of them, the psalm will show which says, “Bless the Lord, O my soul, and all that is within me, his holy name.” There is, then, a multitude of powers in us to which our souls and bodies have been allotted; and these, if they are holy, are benefited when Scripture is read and become stronger, even if our mind is unfruitful, as is written about one who speaks in a tongue: “For my spirit prays, but my mind is unfruitful.” Consider, then, that sometimes, when the mind in us is unfruitful, the powers that work together with the soul, the mind, and the whole of us are nourished by the rational food from the holy writings and these names, and being nourished become more powerful to help us. And just as the better powers are, as it were, enchanted and benefited and become stronger through such writings and names, so the powers in us that are opposed to them are, as it were, drawn down and overcome by God's incantations, and being overcome are put to sleep. And if any of us has ever seen an asp, or some other venomous creature, put to sleep by incantations, let him take that as an example for Scripture, when it is read and not understood and the hearer sometimes grows weary and loses heart; and let him believe that the asps and vipers within him become weaker through the charms of the charmers, such as wise Moses, wise Joshua, and the wise holy prophets. Let us not lose heart, then, when we hear Scriptures that we do not understand; but let it be done to us according to our faith, by which we also believe that “every Scripture, being God-breathed, is useful.” For you must accept one of two things about these Scriptures: either that they are not God-breathed, since they are not useful, as the unbeliever might suppose; or, as a believer, that since they are useful, they are God-breathed. One must know, however, that the benefit often comes to us without our perceiving it; for instance, we are often prescribed to eat some food

that sharpens the sight, and while eating we do not at all perceive that we are benefiting the eye; but when a second and a third day have passed, the distribution of the food that benefits the eye makes us believe by experience that the eye is being benefited. One can see this also with other foods that benefit certain members of the body. So, then, believe also concerning the divine Scripture that your soul is benefited, even if the mind does not receive the fruit of the benefit from the writings, from the bare reading alone. For the things within us are enchanted: the better are nourished, and the worse are abolished.

[Judg 11:30] “And Jephthah vowed a vow to the Lord.” If the Spirit of the Lord was upon him, how does he vow what is not fitting? For even a dog could have met Jephthah on his return. Did the Spirit, then, err? Not at all; the Spirit came to help, not to suggest the absurd vow; he himself erred, by promising thoughtlessly. [Judg 12:6] “And they said to him: Say ‘stachys.’” They said “stachys”: it signifies shibboleth, that is, “ear of grain.” “And they said ‘sebēlō’ and could not say it distinctly.” For even if they were Hebrews, they differed slightly in the pronunciation of their speech. The password, then, was “sebēla,” and those who, when questioned, said “sebēlō” were exposed as not belonging to Jephthah's people but to those who had risen against him. [Judg 13:2] “And his wife was barren and had not borne.” He calls her barren for the present not by nature but because of the divine dispensation. [Judg 16:17] “Iron has not come upon my head, for I am a Nazirite of God.” Throughout the whole story of Samson his hair appears to secure all his strength. [Of the same.] In the Syrian tongue he calls “Nazirite” what is guarded. God commands Samson not to follow the practice of the Israelites, who at that time shaved the head, so that he might be recognizable to all. [Judg 17:5] “And he made an ephod and teraphim.” The ephod was a priestly woven garment; when the priest wore it, the grace of the Holy Spirit came upon him. The teraphim was something of the same kind, yet not divine but idolatrous, as is shown in the Kingdoms. [Judg 20:21] “And the sons of Benjamin came out.” Why are those who attacked justly defeated? Clearly because of an earlier cause. And the psalm says, “When I take the appointed time, I will judge uprightly.” Then, after they had been defeated once and a second time, wrath came upon the wrongdoers, and they win a just victory.