On Prayer 3.3
Summary: Origen traces where the word for prayer occurs in the story of the plagues of Egypt.
Greek text · Koetschau 2:305
παρετηρήσαμεν δὲ ὅτι ἐπὶ ταῖς σκνιψὶ. τῇ τρίτῃ μάστιγι, οὔτε Φαραὼ εὐχὴν γενέσθαι ἀξιοῖ οὔτε Μωϋσῆς εὔχεται. καὶ ἐπὶ τῇ κυνομυίᾳ δὲ, οὔσῃ τετάρτῃ, λέγει· „εὔξασθε οὖν περὶ ἐμοῦ πρὸς κύριον, “ ὅτε καὶ εἶπε Μωϋσῆς ὅτι „ἐγὼ ἐξελεύσομαι ἀπὸ σοῦ καὶ εὔξομαι πρὸς τὸν θεὸν, καὶ ἀπελεύσεται ἡ κυνόμυια ἀπὸ Φαραὼ καὶ τῶν θεραπόντων αὐτοῦ καὶ τοῦ λαοῦ αὐτοῦ αὔριον“· καὶ μετʼ ὀλίγα· „ἐξῆλθε δὲ Μωϋσῆς ἀπὸ Φαραὼ καὶ ηὔξατο πρὸς τὸν θεόν.“ πάλιν δὲ ἐπὶ τῆς πέμπτης καὶ ἕκτης μάστιγος οὔτε Φαραὼ ἀξιώσαντος εὐχὴν γενέσθαι οὔτε Μωϋσέως εὐξαμένου, ἐπὶ τῆς ἑβδόμης „ἀποστείλας Φαραὼ ἐκάλεσε Μωϋσέα καὶ Ἀαρὼν καὶ εἶπεν αὐτοῖς· ἡμάρτηκα τὸ νῦν· ὁ κύριος δίκαιος, ἐγὼ δὲ καὶ ὁ λαός μου ἀσεβής. εὔξασθε οὖν πρὸς κύριον, καὶ παυσάσθω τοῦ γενηθῆναι φωνὰς θεοῦ καὶ χάλαζαν καὶ πῦρ“· καὶ μετʼ ὀλίγα· „ἐξῆλθε Μωϋσῆς ἀπὸ Φαραὼ ἐκτὸς τῆς πόλεως καὶ ἐξεπέτασε τὰς χεῖρας πρὸς κύριον, καὶ αἱ φωναὶ ἐπαύσαντο.“ διὰ τί δὲ οὐκ εἴρηται „καὶ ηὔξατο“ ὡς ἐπὶ τῶν προτέρων ἀλλʼ „ἐξεπέτασε τὰς χεῖρας πρὸς κύριον, “ εὐκαιρότερον ἐν ἄλλοις ἐξεταστέον. καὶ ἐπὶ τῆς ὀγδόης δὲ μάστιγός φησιν ὁ Φαραώ· „καὶ προσεύξασθε πρὸς κύριον τὸν θεὸν ὑμῶν, καὶ περιελέτω ἀπʼ ἐμοῦ τὸν θάνατον τοῦτον. ἐξῆλθε δὲ Μωϋσῆς ἀπὸ Φαραὼ καὶ ηὔξατο πρὸς τὸν θεόν.“
English · Claude translation
We have observed that at the gnats, the third plague, neither does Pharaoh ask that prayer be made nor does Moses pray. And at the dog-fly, the fourth, he says, “Pray then for me to the Lord,” when Moses also said, “I will go out from you and pray to God, and the dog-fly will depart from Pharaoh and his servants and his people tomorrow”; and a little after, “And Moses went out from Pharaoh and prayed to God.” Again, at the fifth and sixth plagues, neither did Pharaoh ask that prayer be made nor did Moses pray; but at the seventh, “Pharaoh sent and called Moses and Aaron and said to them: I have sinned this time; the Lord is righteous, and I and my people are ungodly. Pray then to the Lord, and let him cause the voices of God and the hail and the fire to cease”; and a little after, “Moses went out from Pharaoh outside the city and spread out his hands to the Lord, and the voices ceased.” Why it is not said “and he prayed,” as in the former cases, but “he spread out his hands to the Lord,” must be examined more fittingly elsewhere. And at the eighth plague Pharaoh says: “And pray to the Lord your God, and let him take away this death from me. And Moses went out from Pharaoh and prayed to God.”
About this passage
Notes
Translation notes
- The quotations are Exod 8:28–30 (8:24–26 in the Greek and Hebrew numbering), Exod 9:27–28, 9:33, and Exod 10:17–18. The “dog-fly” (κυνόμυια) is the LXX name of the fourth plague.
Notes on the original text
- Digital text corrected (missing accent in the digital text): πρὸς τὸν θεον.“ → πρὸς τὸν θεόν.“.
Cite this passage
Origen, Or. 3.3 (trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/origen-oratione/3/3/).
Plain text
Origen, Or. 3.3 (trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/origen-oratione/3/3/).
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