Questions on Kings and Chronicles 1.31–1.58 (Questions on Kings and Chronicles)

Theodoret of Cyrus

Questions on Kings and Chronicles 1.31–1.58

Theodoret of Cyrus · Questions on Kings and Chronicles · ca. 453 · Cyrrhus · 28 passages

Greek text: PG 80.English: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), public domain (CC0).

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Chapter 1

1.31PG 80 80:557

Εἰ ἀνοήτως ἀνεθεμάτισε, τί δήποτε ὁ Θεὸς τὸν ἀναθεματισμὸν ἐβεβαίωσεν; Ἐρομένῳ γὰρ, εἰ πολεμητέον, οὐκ ἀπεκρίνατο. Πρῶτον αὐτὸν διελέγχει παραλόγως ἐπαρασάμενον. Ἔπειτα διδάσκει μηδὲ τῶν τοιούτων ἀναθεμάτων καταφρονεῖν. Ἐνταῦθα δὲ ὁ μὲν σκοπὸς εὐσεβὴς ἦν εἰς Θεοῦ γὰρ ὠρίσθη τιμήν. Αλλ' ἔδει σκοπῆσαι τῶν πολεμούντων τὸν πόνον, καὶ ὡς εἰκὸς ἦν τινας τῷ πόνῳ τρυχομένους πιεσθῆναι δίψει, καὶ βιασθῆναι παραβῆναι τὸν ὄρον. Τοῦτο γὰρ πέπονθε καὶ Ιωνάθαν ὁ θαυμάσιος· ἀλλ᾽ ἀγνοῶν παρέβη τὸν τοῦ ἀναθέματος ὅρον. Μετὰ γὰρ δὴ τὴν τοῦ μέλιτος γεῦσιν, ἤκουσε τοῦ πατρὸς τὴν ἀρὰν, ἑτέρων ἀπαγγειλάντων. ᾿Αλλ' ὅμως καὶ τὴν τῆς ἀγνοίας ἔχων άπολογίαν, ἄχρις αὐτῆς ἐκινδύνευσε τῆς ζωῆς. Ἀπηλλάγη δὲ τῆς σφαγῆς διὰ τὴν τοῦ λαοῦ δικαίαν συνηγορίαν καὶ ἱκετείαν σπουδαίαν.

Ei anoētōs anethematise, ti dēpote ho Theos ton anathematismon ebebaiōsen? Eromenǭ gar, ei polemēteon, ouk apekrinato. Prōton auton dielenchei paralogōs eparasamenon. Epeita didaskei mēde tōn toioutōn anathematōn kataphronein. Entautha de ho men skopos eusebēs ēn eis Theou gar ōristhē timēn. All' edei skopēsai tōn polemountōn ton ponon, kai hōs eikos ēn tinas tǭ ponǭ trychomenous piesthēnai dipsei, kai biasthēnai parabēnai ton oron. Touto gar peponthe kai Iōnathan ho thaumasios; all᾽ agnoōn parebē ton tou anathematos horon. Meta gar dē tēn tou melitos geusin, ēkouse tou patros tēn aran, heterōn apangeilantōn. ᾿All' homōs kai tēn tēs agnoias echōn apologian, achris autēs ekindyneuse tēs zōēs. Apēllagē de tēs sphagēs dia tēn tou laou dikaian synēgorian kai hiketeian spoudaian.

If he laid the curse foolishly, why did God confirm the curse? For when Saul asked whether he should go to war, God did not answer. First, God convicts him of cursing without reason. Then he teaches that even such curses must not be despised. In this case the purpose was pious, for the oath was fixed in honor of God. But he ought to have considered the toil of the fighting men, and that some, worn out by the toil, would probably be pressed by thirst and forced to break the ban. This is what happened to the admirable Jonathan; but he broke the terms of the curse in ignorance. For it was after tasting the honey that he heard of his father's curse, when others told him. Yet even though he had the excuse of ignorance, he was in danger of his very life. He was rescued from death by the just advocacy and earnest pleading of the people.

1 Sam 14:37 (allusion, high confidence) · 1 Sam 14:27 (allusion, high confidence) · 1 Sam 14:45 (allusion, high confidence)

Notes and citation

Summary: God's silence confirmed Saul's rash curse to teach that oaths must be respected; Jonathan, who broke it unknowingly, was saved by the people.

1 Sam 14:27–45; God's silence, 14:37.

Notes on the original text

Digital text corrected (stray letter): τῶν Ε πολεμούντων → τῶν πολεμούντων.

Cite (SBL): Theodoret, Quaest. Reg. 1.31 (PG 80 80:557; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/theodoret-quaestiones-regnorum/1-31). (abbreviation not yet checked)

Permanent link: https://sophiascriptura.com/p/theodoret-quaestiones-regnorum/1-31

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Translation: Translated by Claude (Opus) from the Greek as printed in Migne PG 80 (Bavarian State Library OCR); no public-domain or FOTC English exists, so each batch was re-read against the Greek.

1.32PG 80 80:557

Πῶς νοητέον τὸ, Μεταμεμέλημαι ὅτι ἔχρισα τὸν Σαούλ εἰς βασιλέα; Πολλάκις εἰρήκαμεν, ὅτι μεταμέλεια Θεοῦ ἡ τῆς οἰκονομίας μεταβολή. Οἷον χειροτονηθῆναι προσέταξε τὸν Σαούλ διὰ τὸ τοῦ σώματος ἀξιοθέατον· οὐκ ἐπειδὴ μεγίστοις αὐτὸς ἐπιτέρπεται σώμασιν· αὐτὸς γάρ ἐστι καὶ τῶν μεγάλων, καὶ τῶν μικρῶν δημιουργός - ἀλλὰ τῷ λαῷ χαριζόμενος, τοῖς αἰσθητοῖς μόνοις ὀφθαλμοῖς κεχρημένῳ. Ὅτι γὰρ προτιμᾷ πολλάκις καὶ μικρὰ σώματα μεγάλων, καὶ νέους γεγηρακότων, μάρτυς ὁ Ζακχαῖος μικρὸς ὢν, καὶ τὸν Δεσπότην ὑποδεξάμενος. Μάρτυς ὁ Σαμουήλ νέος ὢν, καὶ τῆς θείας ἐπιφανείας ἀξιωθείς. Μάρτυς ὁ Δαβὶδ τῶν μειζόνων καὶ πρεσβυτέρων προτιμηθεὶς ἀδελφῶν. Τοῦτον ἐθελήσας βασιλέα χειροτονῆσαι, καὶ τῷ σπέρματι αὐτοῦ φυλάξαι τὴν βασιλείαν, διὰ τὸν ἐξ αὐτοῦ· τεχθησόμενον κατὰ σάρκα βασιλέα τῆς κτίσεως, ἀνθρωπίνοις ἐχρήσατο ῥήμασιν ἀνθρώποις διαλεγόμενος, καὶ εἶπε· Μεταμεμέλημαι ὅτι ἔχρισα τὸν Σαούλ εἰς βασιλέα, ὁ ἀντὶ τοῦ, Ἑτέρῳ βούλομαι δοῦναι τῆς βασιλείας τὴν ἐξουσίαν, τοῦτον δὲ παῦσαι τῆς δυναστείας.

Pōs noēteon to, Metamemelēmai hoti echrisa ton Saoul eis basilea? Pollakis eirēkamen, hoti metameleia Theou hē tēs oikonomias metabolē. Hoion cheirotonēthēnai prosetaxe ton Saoul dia to tou sōmatos axiotheaton; ouk epeidē megistois autos epiterpetai sōmasin; autos gar esti kai tōn megalōn, kai tōn mikrōn dēmiourgos - alla tǭ laǭ charizomenos, tois aisthētois monois ophthalmois kechrēmenǭ. Hoti gar protimą pollakis kai mikra sōmata megalōn, kai neous gegērakotōn, martys ho Zakchaios mikros ōn, kai ton Despotēn hypodexamenos. Martys ho Samouēl neos ōn, kai tēs theias epiphaneias axiōtheis. Martys ho Dabid tōn meizonōn kai presbyterōn protimētheis adelphōn. Touton ethelēsas basilea cheirotonēsai, kai tǭ spermati autou phylaxai tēn basileian, dia ton ex autou; techthēsomenon kata sarka basilea tēs ktiseōs, anthrōpinois echrēsato rhēmasin anthrōpois dialegomenos, kai eipe; Metamemelēmai hoti echrisa ton Saoul eis basilea, ho anti tou, Heterǭ boulomai dounai tēs basileias tēn exousian, touton de pausai tēs dynasteias.

How should “I regret that I anointed Saul king” be understood? We have often said that God's regret is a change in his dispensation. For example, he commanded Saul to be appointed because of his striking appearance, not because he himself delights in very large bodies (for he is the creator of both great and small), but as a favor to the people, who used only the eyes of sense. That he often prefers even small bodies to large ones, and the young to the old, Zacchaeus is a witness, who was small and received the Master; Samuel is a witness, who was young and was granted the divine appearance; David is a witness, who was preferred to his older and bigger brothers. Wishing to appoint him king and to preserve the kingdom for his seed, for the sake of the King of creation who would be born from him according to the flesh, he used human words in speaking with human beings and said, “I regret that I anointed Saul king,” meaning, “I wish to give the authority of the kingdom to another and to end this man's rule.”

1 Sam 15:11 (quotation, high confidence) · Luke 19:3 (allusion, high confidence) · 1 Sam 16:11 (allusion, high confidence)

Notes and citation

Summary: God's “regret” over Saul means a change of plan: he would give the kingdom to David, from whom Christ would be born.

1 Sam 15:11, 35 (LXX “I regret”). Zacchaeus, Luke 19:3–6; Samuel, 1 Sam 3; David, 1 Sam 16:6–13. Marginal abbreviations printed in the first answer sentence are removed by a logged correction.

Notes on the original text

Digital text corrected (marginal abbreviations (from 1.31) and a Latin look-alike letter printed in the text; stray letters): ἡ τῆς τ. π. τ. ἀρὰν, ἑτ. ἀπαγγειλ. oἰκονομίας → ἡ τῆς οἰκονομίας; Ὅτι γὰρει προτιμᾷ → Ὅτι γὰρ προτιμᾷ.

Topics: Christology

Cite (SBL): Theodoret, Quaest. Reg. 1.32 (PG 80 80:557; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/theodoret-quaestiones-regnorum/1-32). (abbreviation not yet checked)

Permanent link: https://sophiascriptura.com/p/theodoret-quaestiones-regnorum/1-32

BibTeX · RIS · CSL-JSON (whole work; this passage's key: sophiascriptura-theodoret-quaestiones-regnorum-1-32) · Report an error

Translation: Translated by Claude (Opus) from the Greek as printed in Migne PG 80 (Bavarian State Library OCR); no public-domain or FOTC English exists, so each batch was re-read against the Greek.

1.33PG 80 80:559

Καὶ τὶ δήποτε διὰ φιλανθρωπίαν αὐτὸν τῆς βασιλείας ἐγύμνωσεν ; Προῄδει μὲν αὐτοῦ καὶ τὰς ἐσομένας παρανομίας, τὰς κατὰ τῶν εὐεργετούντων ἐπιβουλὰς, τὰς τῶν ἱερέων σφαγὰς, τῶν ὅρκων τὰς παραβάσεις, τὸν πρὸς τὴν ἐγγαστρίμυθον δρόμον. Ἀπόχρη δὲ καὶ μόνη τῆς περὶ τοῦ ᾿Αμαλήκ ἐντολῆς ἡ παράβασις ἐσχάτην αὐτῷ τιμωρίαν ἐπενεγκεῖν. Ἔδει γὰρ συνιδεῖν τὸν ἠλίθιον, ὡς μία σταγὼν τῆς θείας φιλανθρωπίας πᾶσαν τὴν ἀγαθότητα τῶν ἀνθρώπων νικᾷ. ᾿Αλλ' ὁ δείλαιος τοῦ Θεοῦ κολάσαι κελεύσαντος ᾤκτειρε, καὶ τοῦ Θεοῦ καταψηφισαμένου θάνατον, αὐτὸς ἀπένειμεν, ὡς ἐνόμιζε, τὴν ζωήν· καὶ τοῦ Θεοῦ κελεύσαντος μηδὲν ἐκ τῆς λείας κερδᾶναι, αὐτὸς τὰ πίονα τῶν ποιμνίων, καὶ τῶν βουκολίων, καὶ τῶν ἄλλων ἁπάντων τὰ κάλλιστα κομισάμενος ἐπανῆκε. Καὶ αὐτὸς μὲν ἀναθεματίσας μηδένα τροφῆς μεταβαλεῖν, ἢ ποτοῦ, τὸν ἐξ ἀγνοίας παραβάντα τὸν ὅρον ἀνελεῖν ἠβουλήθη - τοῦ δὲ τῶν ὅλων Θεοῦ τὸν Ἀμαλὴκ ἀναθεματίσαντος, οὐ διὰ τὴν εἰς αὐτὸν ἀσέβειαν, ἀλλὰ διὰ τὴν περὶ τὸν λαὸν δυσμένειαν, οὐ σμικρά τινα, ἀλλὰ τὰ πλεῖστα τοῦ ἀναθήματος ἔλαβε. Καὶ οὐδὲ τοῦ ῎Αχαρ αὐτὸν ἐσωφρόνισε τὸ ὑπόδειγμα. Οὐ τοίνυν σμικρὸν, ἀλλὰ μέγιστον τὸ ἁμάρτημα. Ανέμνησε δὲ αὐτὸν ὁ προφήτης τῶν πρὸ τῆς βασιλείας λόγων, οὕτως εἰπών· Οὐχὶ σμικρὸς σὺ ἐνώπιον αὐτοῦ εἰς ἡγούμενον ἐκ σκήπτρου Βενιαμὶν, τῆς ἐλαχιστοτέρας φυλῆς τοῦ Ἰσραήλ Οὐ ταῦτα, φησὶν, ἔλεγες, ὅτι ᾿Ανὴρ Ἰεμιναῖος ἐγώ εἰμι, τῆς σμικροτέρας φυλῆς παρὰ πάσας τὰς φυλὰς τοῦ Ἰσραήλ;» Αλλ' ὅμως ἔχρισέ σε Κύριος εἰς βασιλέα ἐπὶ πάντα Ἰσραήλ· καὶ ἀπἐστειλέ σε Κύριος ἐν ὁδῷ. Εἶτα λέγει, ὅσας μὲν αὐτῷ δέδωκεν ἐντολὰς, ὅπως δὲ ταύτας παρέβη ὁρμήσας ἐπὶ τὰ σκῦλα. Οὐ τοσοῦτον γὰρ αὐτὸν ὁ παράνομος κατέκρινεν ἔλεος, ὅσον ἡ ἀπληστία, καὶ ἡ πλεονεξία, καὶ τῆς φιλοχρηματίας τὸ πάθος, ᾧ δουλεύσας παρέβη τὴν ἐντολήν. ᾿Αλλ᾿ ὁ Σαούλ τοῖς τοῦ ᾿Αδάμ ἐχρήσατο ῥήμασιν. Ἔφη γάρ· Διὰ τὸ ἀκοῦσαί με τῆς φωνῆς τοῦ λαοῦ. Οὕτω γὰρ κἀκεῖνος εἶπεν· Ἡ γυνὴ, ἣν ἔδωκας μετ᾿ ἐμοῦ, αὕτη μοι ἔδωκεν ἀπὸ τοῦ ξύλου, καὶ ἔφαγον. Καὶ ἐπειδὴ εἶπεν εἰς θυσίαν ἐνηνοχέναι τὰ βουκόλια καὶ τὰ ποίμνια, ἤκουσε παρὰ τοῦ προφήτου Ἰδοὺ οὐ θέλει Κύριος ὁλοκαυτώσεις καὶ θυσίας, ὡς τὸ ἀκοῦσαι τῆς φωνῆς αὐτοῦ. Ἰδοὺ γὰρ ἀκοὴ ἀγαθὴ ὑπὲρ θυσίαν, καὶ ἀκρόασις ὑπὲρ στέαρ κριῶν ὅτι οἰώνισμα ἁμαρτιά ἐστι, παραπικρασμὸς ἀδικία· καὶ θεραφίμ ἀδύνην καὶ πόνους ἐπάγουσιν. Ανθ' ὧν ἐξουδένωσας τὸ ῥῆμα Κυρίου, ἐξουδένωσέ σε Κύριος, τοῦ μὴ βασιλεύειν ἐπὶ Ἰσραήλ. Τὸ δὲ θεραφὶμ ὁ ᾿Ακύλας θεραπείαν καὶ ἀνθυφαίρεσιν ἡρμήνευσεν Τὸ δὲ οἰώνισμα αἰνίττεται, ὡς οἶμαι, τὴν ἐνίων ἄνοιαν. Εἰκὸς γάρ τινας οἰωνὸν ὑποπτεῦσαι κακὸν, τὸ νενικηκότα μὴ κερδᾶναι τὴν λείαν. Καὶ τὸ θεραφίμ δὲ ἀντὶ τῆς ἐπιτηρήσεως τέθεικεν. "Ωσπερ γὰρ τὸ ἐφοὐδ ἀνέκειτο τῷ Θεῷ, καὶ δι᾿ αὐτοῦ τοῖς ἐρωτῶσιν ἐσημαίνετο τὸ πρακτέον· οὕτω διὰ τοῦ θεραφὶμ αἱ τῶν εἰδώλων ἐδηλοῦντο προῤῥήσεις. Κατά γὰρ μίμησιν ἐκείνου τοῦτο τούτοις ἀνέκειτο. Καὶ τοῦτο σαφέστερον ἐν τῇ τῶν Κριτῶν ἐδηλώσαμεν βίβλῳ. Κατὰ δὲ τὴν τοῦ ᾿Ακύλα ἔκδοσιν, ἔστι καὶ ἑτέρως νοῆσαι. Θεραπεύει γάρ, φησὶ, τὸν Θεὸν τὸ τὰ προστεταγμένα πληροῦν, οὐ τὸ δῶρα προσφέρειν ῎Αδεκτος γὰρ ἡ παρὰ τὴν αὐτοῦ βουλὴν γενομένη θεραπεία, καὶ πρόξενος συμφορῶν. Διδάσκων δὲ ἄλυτον τοῦ Θεοῦ τὴν ἀπόφασιν ὁ προφήτης ἐπήγαγεν Οὐκ ἐπιστρέψει, οὐδὲ μετανοήσει ὁ ἅγιος τοῦ Ἰσραὴλ, ὅτι οὐχ ὡς ἄνθρωπός ἐστι τοῦ μετανοῆσαι. Ἐντεῦθεν καὶ τὸ Μεταμεμέλημαι νοητέον.

Kai ti dēpote dia philanthrōpian auton tēs basileias egymnōsen ? Proę̄dei men autou kai tas esomenas paranomias, tas kata tōn euergetountōn epiboulas, tas tōn hiereōn sphagas, tōn horkōn tas parabaseis, ton pros tēn engastrimython dromon. Apochrē de kai monē tēs peri tou ᾿Amalēk entolēs hē parabasis eschatēn autǭ timōrian epenenkein. Edei gar synidein ton ēlithion, hōs mia stagōn tēs theias philanthrōpias pasan tēn agathotēta tōn anthrōpōn niką. ᾿All' ho deilaios tou Theou kolasai keleusantos ǭkteire, kai tou Theou katapsēphisamenou thanaton, autos apeneimen, hōs enomize, tēn zōēn; kai tou Theou keleusantos mēden ek tēs leias kerdanai, autos ta piona tōn poimniōn, kai tōn boukoliōn, kai tōn allōn hapantōn ta kallista komisamenos epanēke. Kai autos men anathematisas mēdena trophēs metabalein, ē potou, ton ex agnoias parabanta ton horon anelein ēboulēthē - tou de tōn holōn Theou ton Amalēk anathematisantos, ou dia tēn eis auton asebeian, alla dia tēn peri ton laon dysmeneian, ou smikra tina, alla ta pleista tou anathēmatos elabe. Kai oude tou ᾿Achar auton esōphronise to hypodeigma. Ou toinyn smikron, alla megiston to hamartēma. Anemnēse de auton ho prophētēs tōn pro tēs basileias logōn, houtōs eipōn; Ouchi smikros sy enōpion autou eis hēgoumenon ek skēptrou Beniamin, tēs elachistoteras phylēs tou Israēl Ou tauta, phēsin, eleges, hoti ᾿Anēr Ieminaios egō eimi, tēs smikroteras phylēs para pasas tas phylas tou Israēl?» All' homōs echrise se Kyrios eis basilea epi panta Israēl; kai apesteile se Kyrios en hodǭ. Eita legei, hosas men autǭ dedōken entolas, hopōs de tautas parebē hormēsas epi ta skyla. Ou tosouton gar auton ho paranomos katekrinen eleos, hoson hē aplēstia, kai hē pleonexia, kai tēs philochrēmatias to pathos, hǭ douleusas parebē tēn entolēn. ᾿All᾿ ho Saoul tois tou ᾿Adam echrēsato rhēmasin. Ephē gar; Dia to akousai me tēs phōnēs tou laou. Houtō gar kakeinos eipen; Hē gynē, hēn edōkas met᾿ emou, hautē moi edōken apo tou xylou, kai ephagon. Kai epeidē eipen eis thysian enēnochenai ta boukolia kai ta poimnia, ēkouse para tou prophētou Idou ou thelei Kyrios holokautōseis kai thysias, hōs to akousai tēs phōnēs autou. Idou gar akoē agathē hyper thysian, kai akroasis hyper stear kriōn hoti oiōnisma hamartia esti, parapikrasmos adikia; kai theraphim adynēn kai ponous epagousin. Anth' hōn exoudenōsas to rhēma Kyriou, exoudenōse se Kyrios, tou mē basileuein epi Israēl. To de theraphim ho ᾿Akylas therapeian kai anthyphairesin hērmēneusen To de oiōnisma ainittetai, hōs oimai, tēn eniōn anoian. Eikos gar tinas oiōnon hypopteusai kakon, to nenikēkota mē kerdanai tēn leian. Kai to theraphim de anti tēs epitērēseōs tetheiken. "Ōsper gar to ephoud anekeito tǭ Theǭ, kai di᾿ autou tois erōtōsin esēmaineto to prakteon; houtō dia tou theraphim hai tōn eidōlōn edēlounto prorrhēseis. Kata gar mimēsin ekeinou touto toutois anekeito. Kai touto saphesteron en tę̄ tōn Kritōn edēlōsamen biblǭ. Kata de tēn tou ᾿Akyla ekdosin, esti kai heterōs noēsai. Therapeuei gar, phēsi, ton Theon to ta prostetagmena plēroun, ou to dōra prospherein ᾿Adektos gar hē para tēn autou boulēn genomenē therapeia, kai proxenos symphorōn. Didaskōn de alyton tou Theou tēn apophasin ho prophētēs epēgagen Ouk epistrepsei, oude metanoēsei ho hagios tou Israēl, hoti ouch hōs anthrōpos esti tou metanoēsai. Enteuthen kai to Metamemelēmai noēteon.

And why did he strip him of the kingdom for an act of kindness? He foreknew his future lawless deeds as well: the plots against his benefactors, the slaughter of the priests, the breaking of oaths, the running to the woman with a familiar spirit. But the transgression of the command about Amalek alone was enough to bring the extreme penalty on him. For the fool ought to have seen that one drop of God's love for humankind surpasses all human goodness. But the wretch pitied when God commanded him to punish; and when God had condemned to death, he himself, as he thought, granted life; and when God commanded him to take no gain from the spoil, he came back bringing the fat of the flocks and herds and the best of everything else. Having himself laid a curse that no one should take food or drink, he wanted to kill the one who had broken the ban in ignorance; but when the God of the universe had put Amalek under the ban, not for impiety toward himself but for hostility toward the people, he took not a little but most of what was under the ban. Not even the example of Achar brought him to his senses. So the sin was not small but very great. The prophet reminded him of his words before he became king, saying, “Were you not small in his eyes, to be leader of the tribe of Benjamin, the least tribe of Israel?” “Did you not say this,” he means, “‘I am a Benjaminite, of the smallest tribe among all the tribes of Israel’? But nevertheless the Lord anointed you king over all Israel, and the Lord sent you on a journey.” Then he states what commands he had given him, and how he broke them by rushing upon the spoils. It was not so much his unlawful mercy that condemned him as his insatiability, greed, and the passion of love of money, to which he was a slave when he broke the command. But Saul used Adam's words. He said, “Because I listened to the voice of the people.” For Adam too said, “The woman whom you gave to be with me, she gave me from the tree, and I ate.” And since he said he had brought the herds and flocks for sacrifice, he heard from the prophet, “Behold, the Lord does not desire whole burnt offerings and sacrifices so much as obedience to his voice. For behold, good obedience is better than sacrifice, and hearkening than the fat of rams; for divination is sin, and teraphim bring grief and pains. Because you have despised the word of the Lord, the Lord has despised you, so that you shall not be king over Israel.” Aquila rendered teraphim as “service” and “substitution.” Divination, I think, hints at the folly of some. Some probably suspected an evil omen in a victor not profiting from the spoil. And he put teraphim for “observation.” For as the ephod was dedicated to God, and through it what was to be done was signified to those who inquired, so through the teraphim the predictions of the idols were made known; for this was dedicated among them in imitation of the ephod. We have explained this more clearly in the book of Judges. According to Aquila's version it can also be understood differently: to fulfill what is commanded serves God, he says, not to bring gifts; for service rendered contrary to his will is unacceptable and brings calamities. Teaching that God's sentence could not be undone, the prophet added, “The Holy One of Israel will not turn back or repent, for he is not like a human being, that he should repent.” From this the “I regret” must also be understood.

1 Sam 15:3 (allusion, high confidence) · 1 Sam 15:9 (allusion, high confidence) · 1 Sam 22:18 (allusion, medium confidence) · 1 Sam 28:7 (allusion, medium confidence) · Josh 7:1 (allusion, high confidence) · 1 Sam 15:17 (quotation, high confidence) · 1 Sam 9:21 (quotation, high confidence) · 1 Sam 15:18 (quotation, high confidence) · 1 Sam 15:24 (quotation, high confidence) · Gen 3:12 (quotation, high confidence) · 1 Sam 15:22 (quotation, high confidence) · 1 Sam 15:23 (quotation, high confidence) · 1 Sam 15:29 (quotation, high confidence) · 1 Sam 15:11 (allusion, medium confidence)

Notes and citation

Summary: Saul lost the kingdom for disobeying God's ban on Amalek out of greed; obedience is better than sacrifice, and God's sentence was irrevocable.

1 Sam 15 (quotations: 15:17; 9:21; 15:17–18; 15:24; Gen 3:12; 15:22–23; 15:29, LXX). Saul's later sins: the priests of Nob, 1 Sam 22; the medium of Endor, 1 Sam 28. Achar (Achan), Josh 7. Theodoret's judgment of Saul is translated as written. A displaced passage (a second copy of the end of 1.32) had been printed inside the quotation of 15:17, and marginal fragments at the end; both are removed by logged corrections.

Notes on the original text

Digital text corrected (displaced duplicate of the end of 1.32 printed inside the quotation; OCR letter error; marginal fragments printed inside the word μετανοῆσαι; OCR letter errors; stray digits and word split by the OCR): 88 ἐντολῆς ἡ παράβασις ἐσχά την → ἐντολῆς ἡ παράβασις ἐσχάτην; εἰς ἡγούμενον ἐκ καὶ πρεσβυτέρων ὁ Θεὸς προκρίνας ἀδελφῶν, καὶ θελήσας βασιλέα χειροτονῆσαι, καὶ τῷ σπέρματι αὐτοῦ φυλάξαι τὴν βασιλείαν, διὰ τὸν ἐξ αὐτοῦ τεχθησόμενον κατὰ σάρκα βασιλέα τῆς κτίσεως, ἀνθρωπίνοις ἐχρήσατο ῥήμασιν ἀνθρώποις διαλεγόμενος· καὶ εἶπε, Μεταμεμέλημαι ὅτι ἔχρισα τὸν Σαούλ εἰς βασιλέα, ἀντὶ τοῦ, Ἑτέρῳ βούλομαι δοῦναι τῆς βασιλείας τὴν ἐξουσίαν, τοῦτο δὲ παῦσαι τῆς δυναστείας διὰ πολλὴν φιλανθρωτοῦ Σαμουήλ. τὸν εἰς τὸν λαόν. σκήπυρου Βενιαμὶν → εἰς ἡγούμενον ἐκ σκήπτρου Βενιαμὶν; τοῦ μεταστροφὴν, ἐπᾶγει. σκήπτρου φυλῆς Ἰσραήλ. θὴ ὑπὲρ θυσίαν. νοῆσαι. Ἑντεῦθεν καὶ τὸ Μετακεμέλημαι → τοῦ μετανοῆσαι. Ἐντεῦθεν καὶ τὸ Μεταμεμέλημαι.

Cite (SBL): Theodoret, Quaest. Reg. 1.33 (PG 80 80:559; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/theodoret-quaestiones-regnorum/1-33). (abbreviation not yet checked)

Permanent link: https://sophiascriptura.com/p/theodoret-quaestiones-regnorum/1-33

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Translation: Translated by Claude (Opus) from the Greek as printed in Migne PG 80 (Bavarian State Library OCR); no public-domain or FOTC English exists, so each batch was re-read against the Greek.

1.34PG 80 80:563

Διατί τὸν ᾿Αγὰγ ἔσφαξεν ὁ προφήτης; Ὡς ὁ Φινεὲς τὸν Ζαμβρί. Πᾶν γὰρ τὸ παρὰ τοῦ Θεοῦ κελευόμενον εὐσεβές.

Diati ton ᾿Agag esphaxen ho prophētēs? Hōs ho Phinees ton Zambri. Pan gar to para tou Theou keleuomenon eusebes.

Why did the prophet slay Agag? As Phinehas slew Zambri. For everything God commands is pious.

1 Sam 15:33 (allusion, high confidence) · Num 25:8 (allusion, high confidence)

Notes and citation

Summary: Samuel killed Agag at God's command, as Phinehas killed Zimri.

1 Sam 15:33; Num 25:7–8 (Zambri = Zimri).

Cite (SBL): Theodoret, Quaest. Reg. 1.34 (PG 80 80:563; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/theodoret-quaestiones-regnorum/1-34). (abbreviation not yet checked)

Permanent link: https://sophiascriptura.com/p/theodoret-quaestiones-regnorum/1-34

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Translation: Translated by Claude (Opus) from the Greek as printed in Migne PG 80 (Bavarian State Library OCR); no public-domain or FOTC English exists, so each batch was re-read against the Greek.

1.35PG 80 80:563

Διατί ἔδεισεν ὁ προφήτης, χρῖσαι τὸν Δαβὶδ κελευσθείς; Ἐπειδὴ οὐ μόνον προφήτης, ἀλλὰ καὶ ἄνθρωπος ἦν. Εἰ γὰρ ὁ τοῦ προφήτου Δεσπότης, ὁ Κύριος ἡμῶν Ἰησοῦς Χριστὸς, τὸ σωτήριον καταδεξάμενος πάθος, τῇ δειλίᾳ τὴν ἀνθρωπείαν ἔδειξε φύσιν, τίς οὕτω παθῶν ἐλεύθερος, ὡς τῷ προφήτῃ δείσαντι νεμεσῆσαι;

Diati edeisen ho prophētēs, chrisai ton Dabid keleustheis? Epeidē ou monon prophētēs, alla kai anthrōpos ēn. Ei gar ho tou prophētou Despotēs, ho Kyrios hēmōn Iēsous Christos, to sōtērion katadexamenos pathos, tę̄ deilią tēn anthrōpeian edeixe physin, tis houtō pathōn eleutheros, hōs tǭ prophētę̄ deisanti nemesēsai?

Why was the prophet afraid when he was ordered to anoint David? Because he was not only a prophet but also a human being. For if the prophet's Master, our Lord Jesus Christ, when he accepted the saving passion, showed his human nature by fear, who is so free from passions as to blame the prophet for being afraid?

1 Sam 16:2 (allusion, high confidence) · Matt 26:38 (allusion, medium confidence)

Notes and citation

Summary: Samuel's fear was natural to a human being, as Christ himself showed human fear before his passion.

1 Sam 16:2; Christ's fear, Matt 26:37–39.

Notes on the original text

Digital text corrected (stray mark; stray quotation mark): Χριστὸς», τὸ → Χριστὸς, τὸ; νεμεσῆσαι"; → νεμεσῆσαι;.

Topics: Christology

Cite (SBL): Theodoret, Quaest. Reg. 1.35 (PG 80 80:563; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/theodoret-quaestiones-regnorum/1-35). (abbreviation not yet checked)

Permanent link: https://sophiascriptura.com/p/theodoret-quaestiones-regnorum/1-35

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Translation: Translated by Claude (Opus) from the Greek as printed in Migne PG 80 (Bavarian State Library OCR); no public-domain or FOTC English exists, so each batch was re-read against the Greek.

1.36PG 80 80:563

Τολμῶσί τινες ἐπιμέμφεσθαι τῷ Θεῷ, ὡς ψεῦδος τὸν προφήτην διδάξαντι. Λάβε γὰρ, φησὶν, εἰς τὴν χεῖρὰ σου δάμαλιν βοῶν, καὶ ἐρεῖς, Θῦσαι τῷ Κυρίῳ ἥκω. Ἀλλὰ τοῦτο οὐ ψεῦδος. ᾿Αληθῶς γὰρ ἐπετέλεσε τὴν θυσίαν. Ἐῤῥέθη τοίνυν αὐτῷ, κρύψαι μὲν τὸ ἔργον, εἰπεῖν δὲ τὸ πάρεργον.

Tolmōsi tines epimemphesthai tǭ Theǭ, hōs pseudos ton prophētēn didaxanti. Labe gar, phēsin, eis tēn cheira sou damalin boōn, kai ereis, Thysai tǭ Kyriǭ hēkō. Alla touto ou pseudos. ᾿Alēthōs gar epetelese tēn thysian. Errhethē toinyn autǭ, krypsai men to ergon, eipein de to parergon.

Some dare to find fault with God for teaching the prophet a falsehood. For he says, “Take a heifer of the herd in your hand, and say, I have come to sacrifice to the Lord.” But this is not a falsehood, for he truly performed the sacrifice. He was told, then, to conceal the main task and to mention the secondary one.

1 Sam 16:2 (quotation, high confidence) · 1 Sam 16:5 (allusion, medium confidence)

Notes and citation

Summary: God did not teach Samuel to lie: he really sacrificed, while keeping his main purpose hidden.

The question is put as an objection; the staging flags a possible lost question, but the objection functions as the question. The staging notes that the OCR read the question number as 4. Quotation: 1 Sam 16:2.

Notes on the original text

Digital text corrected (repeated word): Λάβε Λάβε γὰρ → Λάβε γὰρ.

Topics: Ethics

Cite (SBL): Theodoret, Quaest. Reg. 1.36 (PG 80 80:563; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/theodoret-quaestiones-regnorum/1-36). (abbreviation not yet checked)

Permanent link: https://sophiascriptura.com/p/theodoret-quaestiones-regnorum/1-36

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Translation: Translated by Claude (Opus) from the Greek as printed in Migne PG 80 (Bavarian State Library OCR); no public-domain or FOTC English exists, so each batch was re-read against the Greek.

1.37PG 80 80:563

Τίνος χάριν τὸν ψηφισθέντα ὁ προφήτης ἠγνόησεν; Ὅτι οὐ Θεὸς ἦν, ἀλλ᾽ ἄνθρωπος. Θεοῦ γὰρ τὸ πάντα εἰδέναι προφήτου δὲ, τὸ τὰ παρὰ τοῦ Θεοῦ δεικνύμενα. "Αλλως τε καὶ τοῦ προφήτου ἡ ἄγνοια τὴν θείαν ἀπεκάλυπτε ψῆφον. Εἰ γὰρ εὐθὺς ὥρμησεν ἐπὶ τὸν Δαβίδ, ὑποπτεύθη ἂν ἐκ προλήψεώς τινος τοῦτο πεποιηκέναι. Ἐπειδὴ δὲ ἐπὶ τὸν πρῶτον ἦλθε, καὶ τὸν δεύτερον, καὶ τὸν τρίτον, καὶ τοὺς ἑπτὰ, ἔγνωσαν ὡς ὁ Θεὸς ἦν ὁ τούτους μὲν ἀποκρίνων, ἐκεῖνον δὲ ψηφιζόμενος. Εἰ γὰρ καὶ τῆς χειροτονίας οὕτω γεγενημένης, ἐγύμνωσαν οἱ ἀδελφοὶ τὸν φθόνον, ἐν τῇ παρατάξει τὸν Δαβὶδ θεασάμενοι, τί οὐκ ἂν ἔπαθον, εἰ μὴ τοῦτον ἐγεγόνει τὸν τρόπον;

Tinos charin ton psēphisthenta ho prophētēs ēgnoēsen? Hoti ou Theos ēn, all᾽ anthrōpos. Theou gar to panta eidenai prophētou de, to ta para tou Theou deiknymena. "Allōs te kai tou prophētou hē agnoia tēn theian apekalypte psēphon. Ei gar euthys hōrmēsen epi ton Dabid, hypopteuthē an ek prolēpseōs tinos touto pepoiēkenai. Epeidē de epi ton prōton ēlthe, kai ton deuteron, kai ton triton, kai tous hepta, egnōsan hōs ho Theos ēn ho toutous men apokrinōn, ekeinon de psēphizomenos. Ei gar kai tēs cheirotonias houtō gegenēmenēs, egymnōsan hoi adelphoi ton phthonon, en tę̄ parataxei ton Dabid theasamenoi, ti ouk an epathon, ei mē touton egegonei ton tropon?

Why did the prophet not know the one who had been chosen? Because he was not God but a human being. To know all things belongs to God; to a prophet, to know what God shows. Besides, the prophet's ignorance revealed the divine choice. If he had gone straight to David, he would have been suspected of doing so from some prejudice. But since he came to the first, the second, the third and all seven, they knew that it was God who was rejecting these and choosing that one. For if, even when the appointment had been made in this way, the brothers showed their envy on seeing David at the battle line, what would they not have done had it not happened in this way?

1 Sam 16:6 (allusion, high confidence) · 1 Sam 16:10 (allusion, high confidence) · 1 Sam 17:28 (allusion, high confidence)

Notes and citation

Summary: Samuel did not know whom God had chosen, so that passing over all seven brothers made clear that the choice of David was God's.

1 Sam 16:6–13; the brothers' envy, 17:28.

Cite (SBL): Theodoret, Quaest. Reg. 1.37 (PG 80 80:563; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/theodoret-quaestiones-regnorum/1-37). (abbreviation not yet checked)

Permanent link: https://sophiascriptura.com/p/theodoret-quaestiones-regnorum/1-37

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Translation: Translated by Claude (Opus) from the Greek as printed in Migne PG 80 (Bavarian State Library OCR); no public-domain or FOTC English exists, so each batch was re-read against the Greek.

1.38PG 80 80:563

Πῶς νοητέον τὸ, Πνεῦμα πονηρὸν παρὰ Κυρίου ἔπνιγε τὸν Σαούλ; Τοῦ θείου Πνεύματος ἀποστάντος, χώραν ἔλαβε τὸ παμπόνηρον πνεῦμα. Διδασκόμεθα δὲ ἐντεῦθεν μετὰ τοῦ Δαβὶδ βοᾷν· «Τὸ Πνεῦμά σου τὸ ἅγιον μὴ ἀντανέλῃς ἀπ᾿ ἐμοῦ. Οὕτω τῆς ἀποστολικῆς χάριτος τὸν Ἰούδαν καταλιπούσης, εἰσελήλυθεν εἰς αὐτὸν ὁ διάβολος.

Pōs noēteon to, Pneuma ponēron para Kyriou epnige ton Saoul? Tou theiou Pneumatos apostantos, chōran elabe to pamponēron pneuma. Didaskometha de enteuthen meta tou Dabid boąn; «To Pneuma sou to hagion mē antanelę̄s ap᾿ emou. Houtō tēs apostolikēs charitos ton Ioudan katalipousēs, eiselēlythen eis auton ho diabolos.

How should “an evil spirit from the Lord choked Saul” be understood? When the divine Spirit departed, the utterly evil spirit took its place. From this we are taught to cry out with David, “Do not take your Holy Spirit from me.” So too, when the apostolic grace left Judas, the devil entered into him.

1 Sam 16:14 (quotation, high confidence) · Ps 51:11 (50:13 LXX) (quotation, high confidence) · John 13:27 (allusion, high confidence)

Notes and citation

Summary: When God's Spirit left Saul, an evil spirit took its place, as the devil entered Judas when grace left him.

1 Sam 16:14 (LXX “choked”); Ps 51:11 (LXX 50:13); John 13:27.

Notes on the original text

Digital text corrected (stray letter; word split by the OCR with stray letter): ἀντΗ ανέλῃς → ἀντανέλῃς; αὐτὸν τ ὁ διάβολος → αὐτὸν ὁ διάβολος.

Cite (SBL): Theodoret, Quaest. Reg. 1.38 (PG 80 80:563; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/theodoret-quaestiones-regnorum/1-38). (abbreviation not yet checked)

Permanent link: https://sophiascriptura.com/p/theodoret-quaestiones-regnorum/1-38

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Translation: Translated by Claude (Opus) from the Greek as printed in Migne PG 80 (Bavarian State Library OCR); no public-domain or FOTC English exists, so each batch was re-read against the Greek.

1.39PG 80 80:565

Πῶς τοῦ Δαβὶδ ψάλλοντος τὸ πονηρὸν ἡσύχαζε πνεῦμα; Τοῦ θείου Πνεύματος ὁ Δαβὶδ τὴν χάριν ἐδέδεκτο. Τούτου τοίνυν διὰ τοῦ Δαβὶδ ἐνεργοῦντος, τὸ πονηρὸν ἡσύχαζε πνεῦμα.

Pōs tou Dabid psallontos to ponēron hēsychaze pneuma? Tou theiou Pneumatos ho Dabid tēn charin ededekto. Toutou toinyn dia tou Dabid energountos, to ponēron hēsychaze pneuma.

How was the evil spirit quieted when David played the harp? David had received the grace of the divine Spirit. When that Spirit worked through David, the evil spirit was quieted.

1 Sam 16:23 (allusion, high confidence) · 1 Sam 16:13 (allusion, medium confidence)

Notes and citation

Summary: The evil spirit fell quiet at David's music because the divine Spirit was working through David.

1 Sam 16:23. The staging notes that the OCR read the question number as 10.

Notes on the original text

Digital text corrected (OCR letter error): τὸ πονημὸν → τὸ πονηρὸν.

Cite (SBL): Theodoret, Quaest. Reg. 1.39 (PG 80 80:565; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/theodoret-quaestiones-regnorum/1-39). (abbreviation not yet checked)

Permanent link: https://sophiascriptura.com/p/theodoret-quaestiones-regnorum/1-39

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Translation: Translated by Claude (Opus) from the Greek as printed in Migne PG 80 (Bavarian State Library OCR); no public-domain or FOTC English exists, so each batch was re-read against the Greek.

1.40PG 80 80:565

Τί ἐστι τὸ, «Ερσουβὰ αὐτῶν λήψῃ Ὁ Σύμμαχος ἡρμήνευσεν· "Όσα χρήζουσι γνώσῃ· τὸν σκοπὸν αὐτῶν μάθῃς

Ti esti to, «Ersouba autōn lēpsę̄ Ho Symmachos hērmēneusen; "Osa chrēzousi gnōsę̄; ton skopon autōn mathę̄s

What does “you shall take their errouba” mean? Symmachus translated: “You shall learn what they need”; that is, you shall learn their purpose.

1 Sam 17:18 (quotation, high confidence)

Notes and citation

Summary: Symmachus explains Jesse's instruction to David as learning what his brothers need.

1 Sam 17:18 (LXX transliterates a Hebrew word meaning “pledge” or “token”). The printed question ends without a question mark; the question is present. The answer looks short: a passage that seems to continue it (“…[conduct] is also called a way of life. That is why Jesse, sending David, said, ‘And report to me their esoub, their conduct, and how they are getting on’”) is printed in the middle of question 1.41 and is removed there; it is not moved here.

Cite (SBL): Theodoret, Quaest. Reg. 1.40 (PG 80 80:565; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/theodoret-quaestiones-regnorum/1-40). (abbreviation not yet checked)

Permanent link: https://sophiascriptura.com/p/theodoret-quaestiones-regnorum/1-40

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Translation: Translated by Claude (Opus) from the Greek as printed in Migne PG 80 (Bavarian State Library OCR); no public-domain or FOTC English exists, so each batch was re-read against the Greek.

1.41PG 80 80:565

Διατί ὁ Σαούλι, πάντων τὴν πρὸς τὸν Γολιάθ μονομαχίαν παραιτησάντων, ἀποτρέπει τὸν Δαβίδ τοῦτο προθυμούμενον· δρᾶσαι; Μειράκιον ἦν πεντεκαίδεκα ἐτῶν, ἢ ἐκκαίδεκα. Ἑβδομηκοντούτης μὲν γὰρ ἐτελεύτησε, τεσσαράκοντα δὲ ἐβασίλευσεν ἔτη. Τοιγάρτοι τριακοντούτης ἦν, ἡνίκα Σαούλ ἀνῃρέθη. Προείρηται δὲ, ὡς δύο ἔτη ὁ Σαούλ βασιλεύσας ἐννόμως, τῆς θείας χάριτος ἐγυμνώθη. Τὸν ἄλλον τοίνυν ἅπαντα χρόνον πολεμῶν τῷ Δαβὶδ διετέλεσε· πείθει δ᾽ ὅμως ὁ Δαβὶδ τὸν Σαούλ θαῤῥῆσαι τὴν νίκην. Ἠναγκάσθη γὰρ ἐξειπεῖν, ὅπως ποιμαίνων λέοντα καὶ ἄρκτον ἐπιοῦσαν ἀπέπνιξεν Καὶ ἔσται, φησὶν, ὁ ἀλλόφυλος οὗτος ὁ ἀπερίτμητος, ὡς ἓν τούτων· οὐχὶ πορεύσομαι καὶ πατάξω αὐτὸν, καὶ ἀφελῶ σήμερον ὄνειδος ἀπὸ Ἰσραήλ; Ὅτι τίς ἐστιν ὁ ἀπερίτμητος οὗτος, ὅτι ὠνείδισε παράταξιν Θεοῦ ζῶντος; Οὐδὲν, φησὶν, θηρίων διενήνοχεν ὁ δυσσεβείᾳ συζῶν, καὶ τῆς θείας ἐπικουρίας γεγυμνωμένος. Ἐγὼ δὲ ἐκείνῃ πέποιθα τῇ ῥοπῇ. Τοῦτο γὰρ ἐπήγαγε. Κύριος, ὃς ἐξεῖλετό με ἐκ στόματος λέοντος, καὶ ἐκ χειρὸς τῆς ἄρκτου, αὐτὸς ἐξελεῖταί με ἐκ χειρὸς τοῦ ἀλλοφύλου τοῦ ἀπεριτμήτου τούτου· Μετὰ ᾿ ταύτης ὁρμήσας τῆς πίστεως, οὐ διήμαρτε τῆς ἐλπίδος· ἀλλὰ γυμνὸς ὧν τὸν καθωπλισμένον ἐνίκησε· καὶ ὁ πρόβατα νέμων τὸν ἐν πολέμοις καὶ τροπαίοις γεγυμνασμένον· καὶ ὁ σμικρὸ; ὧν καὶ νέος, τὸν ἐπὶ τοσούτῳ γαυριῶντα μεγέθει. Εἶδε γὰρ αὐτὸν, φησὶ, Γολιάθ, καὶ ἐξουδένωσεν αὐτὸν, ὅτι ἦν παιδάριον καὶ αὐτὸς πυῤῥάκης μετά κάλλους ὀφθαλμῶν. Ἐμιμοῦντο γὰρ τοὺς τῆς ψυχῆς· οἱ τοῦ σώματος. Ὀξὺ γὰρ ἑώρων ἐκεῖνοι, καὶ τὸν ἀόρατον ἐθεώρουν ὅθεν ἔλεγεν· Ἐγὼ ἔρχομαι πρὸς σὲ ἐν ὀνόματι Κυρίου Σαβαώθ, Θεοῦ παρατάξεως Ἰσραὴλ, ὂν ὠνείδισας σήμερον· καὶ συγκλείσει σε Κύριος σήμερον εἰς τὰς χεῖράς μου, καὶ ἀποκτενῶ σε, καὶ ἀφελῶ τὴν κεφαλήν σου ἀπὸ σοῦ· καὶ δώσω τὰ κῶλά σου, καὶ τὰ κῶλα τῆς παρεμβολῆς τῶν ἀλλοφύλων, ἐν τῇ ἡμέρᾳ ταύτῃ τοῖς πετεινοῖς τοῦ οὐρανοῦ, καὶ τοῖς θηρίοις τῆς γῆς· καὶ γνώσεται πᾶσα ἡ ἐκκλησία αὕτη, ὅτι οὐκ ἐν δόρατι, οὐδὲ ἐν μαχαίρᾳ σώζει Κύριος· ὅτι τοῦ Κυρίου ὁ πόλεμος, καὶ παραδώσει ὑμᾶς εἰς χεῖρας ἡμῶν. Προφητεύει δὲ παρατασσόμενος, καὶ προαγορεύει τὴν τῆς οἰκουμένης θεογνωσίαν· «Γνώσεται γὰρ, φησὶ, πᾶσα ἡ γῆ, ὅτι ἐστι Θεὸς ἐν Ἰσραήλ.» Καὶ τὸ μὲν στόμα χρησμολογεῖ, ἡ δὲ χεὶρ ἀριστεύει, καὶ λίθῳ τὸν ἀλλόφυλον ἀναιρεῖ. Ἐπειδὴ τὸν ἐξ αὐτοῦ κατὰ σάρκα τμηθέντα λίθον ὑμνεῖ. Λίθον γὰρ, φησὶν, ὃν ἀπεδοκίμασαν οἱ οἰκοδομοῦντες, οὗτος ἐγενήθη εἰς κεφαλὴν γωνίας. Καὶ τῇ ῥομφαίᾳ· τοῦ ἀλλοφύλου χρησάμενος, ἀπέτεμεν αὐτοῦ τὴν κεφαλὴν, τοῦ ἐξ αὐτοῦ κατὰ σάρκα βλαστήσαντος προδιαγράφων τὴν νίκην. Σταυρῷ γὰρ ὁ διάβολος τὸν ἡμέτερον προσηλώσας Δεσπότην, διὰ σταυροῦ τῆς τυραννίδος ἐξέπεσε. Καὶ ὥσπερ τοῦ Δαβὶδ νενικηκότος, ἡ τοῦ Ἰσραὴλ στρατιὰ τὸ τῶν ἀλλοφύλων κατηκόντισε στίφος, οὕτω τοῦ ἡμετέρου Θεοῦ, καὶ Σωτῆρος τὸν διάβολον καταλύσαντος, οἱ πεπιστευκότες εἰς αὐτὸν τὴν τῶν δαιμόνων ἐτρέψαντο φάλαγγα

Diati ho Saouli, pantōn tēn pros ton Goliath monomachian paraitēsantōn, apotrepei ton Dabid touto prothymoumenon; drasai? Meirakion ēn pentekaideka etōn, ē ekkaideka. Hebdomēkontoutēs men gar eteleutēse, tessarakonta de ebasileusen etē. Toigartoi triakontoutēs ēn, hēnika Saoul anę̄rethē. Proeirētai de, hōs dyo etē ho Saoul basileusas ennomōs, tēs theias charitos egymnōthē. Ton allon toinyn hapanta chronon polemōn tǭ Dabid dietelese; peithei d᾽ homōs ho Dabid ton Saoul tharrhēsai tēn nikēn. Ēnankasthē gar exeipein, hopōs poimainōn leonta kai arkton epiousan apepnixen Kai estai, phēsin, ho allophylos houtos ho aperitmētos, hōs hen toutōn; ouchi poreusomai kai pataxō auton, kai aphelō sēmeron oneidos apo Israēl? Hoti tis estin ho aperitmētos houtos, hoti ōneidise parataxin Theou zōntos? Ouden, phēsin, thēriōn dienēnochen ho dyssebeią syzōn, kai tēs theias epikourias gegymnōmenos. Egō de ekeinę̄ pepoitha tę̄ rhopę̄. Touto gar epēgage. Kyrios, hos exeileto me ek stomatos leontos, kai ek cheiros tēs arktou, autos exeleitai me ek cheiros tou allophylou tou aperitmētou toutou; Meta ᾿ tautēs hormēsas tēs pisteōs, ou diēmarte tēs elpidos; alla gymnos hōn ton kathōplismenon enikēse; kai ho probata nemōn ton en polemois kai tropaiois gegymnasmenon; kai ho smikro? hōn kai neos, ton epi tosoutǭ gauriōnta megethei. Eide gar auton, phēsi, Goliath, kai exoudenōsen auton, hoti ēn paidarion kai autos pyrrhakēs meta kallous ophthalmōn. Emimounto gar tous tēs psychēs; hoi tou sōmatos. Oxy gar heōrōn ekeinoi, kai ton aoraton etheōroun hothen elegen; Egō erchomai pros se en onomati Kyriou Sabaōth, Theou parataxeōs Israēl, on ōneidisas sēmeron; kai synkleisei se Kyrios sēmeron eis tas cheiras mou, kai apoktenō se, kai aphelō tēn kephalēn sou apo sou; kai dōsō ta kōla sou, kai ta kōla tēs parembolēs tōn allophylōn, en tę̄ hēmerą tautę̄ tois peteinois tou ouranou, kai tois thēriois tēs gēs; kai gnōsetai pasa hē ekklēsia hautē, hoti ouk en dorati, oude en machairą sōzei Kyrios; hoti tou Kyriou ho polemos, kai paradōsei hymas eis cheiras hēmōn. Prophēteuei de paratassomenos, kai proagoreuei tēn tēs oikoumenēs theognōsian; «Gnōsetai gar, phēsi, pasa hē gē, hoti esti Theos en Israēl.» Kai to men stoma chrēsmologei, hē de cheir aristeuei, kai lithǭ ton allophylon anairei. Epeidē ton ex autou kata sarka tmēthenta lithon hymnei. Lithon gar, phēsin, hon apedokimasan hoi oikodomountes, houtos egenēthē eis kephalēn gōnias. Kai tę̄ rhomphaią; tou allophylou chrēsamenos, apetemen autou tēn kephalēn, tou ex autou kata sarka blastēsantos prodiagraphōn tēn nikēn. Staurǭ gar ho diabolos ton hēmeteron prosēlōsas Despotēn, dia staurou tēs tyrannidos exepese. Kai hōsper tou Dabid nenikēkotos, hē tou Israēl stratia to tōn allophylōn katēkontise stiphos, houtō tou hēmeterou Theou, kai Sōtēros ton diabolon katalysantos, hoi pepisteukotes eis auton tēn tōn daimonōn etrepsanto phalanga

Why, when everyone had declined single combat with Goliath, did Saul try to dissuade David, who was eager to do it? He was a youth of fifteen or sixteen. For he died at seventy and reigned forty years; so he was thirty when Saul was killed. It has been said before that Saul, after reigning lawfully two years, was stripped of divine grace; for all the rest of the time he kept on making war on David. Nevertheless David persuaded Saul to be confident of the victory. For he was compelled to tell how, while shepherding, he had strangled a lion and a bear that attacked him: “And this uncircumcised foreigner,” he says, “shall be like one of them. Shall I not go and strike him and take away reproach from Israel today? For who is this uncircumcised one, that he has reproached the army of the living God?” The man who lives in impiety and is stripped of divine help, he means, is no different from wild beasts; but I trust in that support. For he added, “The Lord who delivered me from the mouth of the lion and from the paw of the bear, he will deliver me from the hand of this uncircumcised foreigner.” Setting out with this faith, he was not disappointed in his hope: unarmed, he defeated the man in full armor; the shepherd of sheep defeated the man trained in wars and victories; the small youth defeated the one who prided himself on such great size. “For Goliath saw him,” it says, “and despised him, because he was a boy, ruddy, with beautiful eyes.” The eyes of his body matched those of his soul: for those saw sharply and beheld the Invisible One. So he said, “I come to you in the name of the Lord of hosts, the God of the army of Israel, which you have reproached today; and the Lord will shut you up into my hands today, and I will kill you and take your head from you, and I will give your limbs and the limbs of the camp of the foreigners this day to the birds of the sky and the beasts of the earth; and all this assembly shall know that the Lord does not save by spear or sword; for the battle is the Lord's, and he will give you into our hands.” As he draws up for battle he prophesies, and foretells the knowledge of God throughout the world: “For all the earth,” he says, “shall know that there is a God in Israel.” His mouth utters oracles, his hand performs heroic deeds and slays the foreigner with a stone, since he sings of the stone cut out of him according to the flesh: “The stone,” he says, “which the builders rejected has become the head of the corner.” And using the foreigner's sword, he cut off his head, sketching beforehand the victory of the One who sprang from him according to the flesh. For the devil, having nailed our Master to a cross, fell from his tyranny through the cross. And as, when David had conquered, the army of Israel cut down the mass of the foreigners, so, when our God and Savior destroyed the devil, those who have believed in him routed the phalanx of the demons.

1 Sam 17:33 (allusion, high confidence) · 2 Sam 5:4 (allusion, high confidence) · 1 Sam 17:34 (allusion, high confidence) · 1 Sam 17:36 (quotation, high confidence) · 1 Sam 17:26 (quotation, high confidence) · 1 Sam 17:37 (quotation, high confidence) · 1 Sam 17:42 (quotation, high confidence) · 1 Sam 17:45 (quotation, high confidence) · 1 Sam 17:46 (quotation, high confidence) · 1 Sam 17:47 (quotation, high confidence) · 1 Sam 17:49 (allusion, high confidence) · 1 Sam 17:51 (allusion, high confidence) · Ps 118:22 (117:22 LXX) (quotation, high confidence) · Dan 2:34 (allusion, medium confidence) · Col 2:15 (echo, low confidence)

Notes and citation

Summary: David, trusting God, defeated Goliath; his victory with a stone and with Goliath's own sword prefigures Christ's victory over the devil through the cross.

1 Sam 17 (quotations: 17:36, 26, 37, 42, 45–47). David's age at death and the length of his reign, 2 Sam 5:4. The stone: Ps 118:22 (LXX 117:22), with an allusion to the stone “cut out” of Dan 2:34. A displaced passage that seems to belong to question 1.40 had been printed inside the word “defeated” and is removed by a logged correction (see the note on 1.40).

Notes on the original text

Digital text corrected (OCR letter error and split word; displaced lines (apparently from question 1.40) printed inside the word ἐνίκησε; stray footnote mark): θαῤῥῆσαι τὴν νίκην*. → θαῤῥῆσαι τὴν νίκην.; ζῶντος *; → ζῶντος;; ἐνίστροφὴ λέγεται καὶ ἡ διαγωγή. Διὰ τούτου Ἰεσσαὶ πέμπων τὸν Δαβίδ, ἔλεγε· Καὶ τὸ Ἐσοὺβ αὐτῶν ἀναστροφὴν αὐτῶν ἀπαγγελεῖς μοι, καὶ τί διάγουσι κησε → ἐνίκησε; ἐν δύ ρατι → ἐν δόρατι.

Topics: Christology

Cite (SBL): Theodoret, Quaest. Reg. 1.41 (PG 80 80:565; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/theodoret-quaestiones-regnorum/1-41). (abbreviation not yet checked)

Permanent link: https://sophiascriptura.com/p/theodoret-quaestiones-regnorum/1-41

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Translation: Translated by Claude (Opus) from the Greek as printed in Migne PG 80 (Bavarian State Library OCR); no public-domain or FOTC English exists, so each batch was re-read against the Greek.

1.42PG 80 80:567

Μηδέπω τὴν Ἱερουσαλήμ οἰκήσας, πῶς εἰσεκόμισεν εἰς αὐτὴν τὴν τοῦ ἀλλοφύλου κεφαλήν; Οἱ Ἰεβουσαῖοι μὲν ἔτι κατῴκουν αὐτήν. Δεδίττεσθαι δὲ αὐτοὺς ἐθελήσας, ἐπέδειξεν αὐτοῖς τοῦ μεγάλου ἀριστέως τὴν κεφαλήν.

Mēdepō tēn Hierousalēm oikēsas, pōs eisekomisen eis autēn tēn tou allophylou kephalēn? Hoi Iebousaioi men eti katǭkoun autēn. Dedittesthai de autous ethelēsas, epedeixen autois tou megalou aristeōs tēn kephalēn.

Since he did not yet live in Jerusalem, how did he bring the foreigner's head into it? The Jebusites were still living there. He wanted to frighten them, and so he showed them the head of the great champion.

1 Sam 17:54 (allusion, high confidence)

Notes and citation

Summary: David brought Goliath's head to Jerusalem to frighten the Jebusites who still held it.

1 Sam 17:54.

Notes on the original text

Digital text corrected (stray letter): Δεδίττεσθαιὰ δὲ → Δεδίττεσθαι δὲ.

Cite (SBL): Theodoret, Quaest. Reg. 1.42 (PG 80 80:567; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/theodoret-quaestiones-regnorum/1-42). (abbreviation not yet checked)

Permanent link: https://sophiascriptura.com/p/theodoret-quaestiones-regnorum/1-42

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Translation: Translated by Claude (Opus) from the Greek as printed in Migne PG 80 (Bavarian State Library OCR); no public-domain or FOTC English exists, so each batch was re-read against the Greek.

1.43PG 80 80:567

Πῶς ἡγνόησεν ὁ Σαούλ τὸν Δαβίδ Δυοῖν θάτερον νοητέον· ἢ ὅτι κορυβαντιῶν οὐκ ᾐσθάνετο τῇ κινύρᾳ χρωμένου ἢ ὅτι ὁ φθόνος αὐτὸν παρεκίνησεν ἀκριβῶς μανθάνειν ὅθεν ἐστίν.

Pōs hēgnoēsen ho Saoul ton Dabid Dyoin thateron noēteon; ē hoti korybantiōn ouk ę̄sthaneto tę̄ kinyrą chrōmenou ē hoti ho phthonos auton parekinēsen akribōs manthanein hothen estin.

How could Saul not know David? One of two explanations must be understood: either that, being in a frenzy, he did not notice him when he played the lyre; or that envy moved him to learn exactly where he came from.

1 Sam 17:55 (allusion, high confidence) · 1 Sam 16:23 (allusion, medium confidence)

Notes and citation

Summary: Saul either had not noticed David during his fits of madness or, out of envy, wanted to know his origins exactly.

1 Sam 17:55–58. The printed question lacks a question mark. A displaced line belonging with 1.42 (“not that he did this afterward, when he took Jerusalem”) had been printed in the answer and is removed by a logged correction.

Notes on the original text

Digital text corrected (OCR letter error; displaced line from the preceding question): κορυβαντιῶν οὐκ ὅτι μετὰ ταῦτα τοῦτο ἐποίησεν, ὅτε ἐκράτησε τῆς Ἱερουσαλήμ. ᾐσθάνετο → κορυβαντιῶν οὐκ ᾐσθάνετο; ὁ φθόνο; αὐτὸν → ὁ φθόνος αὐτὸν.

Cite (SBL): Theodoret, Quaest. Reg. 1.43 (PG 80 80:567; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/theodoret-quaestiones-regnorum/1-43). (abbreviation not yet checked)

Permanent link: https://sophiascriptura.com/p/theodoret-quaestiones-regnorum/1-43

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Translation: Translated by Claude (Opus) from the Greek as printed in Migne PG 80 (Bavarian State Library OCR); no public-domain or FOTC English exists, so each batch was re-read against the Greek.

1.44PG 80 80:569

Τί ἐστι μανδύας; Εἶδός ἐστιν ἐφεστρίδος. Οἶμαι δὲ ἢ ἀρκαδίκιν εἶναι, ἢ τὸ παρὰ πολλῶν μαντίον ὀνομαζόμενον. Καὶ γὰρ τῶν Ἑβδομήκοντα εἰρηκότων περὶ τοῦ μεμηνυκότος τῷ Ἡλεὶ τῶν υἱῶν τὴν ἀναίρεσιν, ὅτι διεῤῥηγμένα τὰ ἱμάτια εἶχεν, ὁ ᾿Ακύλας ἔφη μανδύαν διεῤῥηγμένον Καὶ τῶν Ἀμμανιτῶν ὁ βασιλεὺς τῶν πρὸς αὐτὸν ἀποσταλέντων παρὰ τοῦ μακαρίου Δαβὶδ τοὺς πώγωνας ἐξύρισε, καὶ τῶν μανδυῶν ἀφεῖλε τὸ ἥμισυ, ἕως τῆς ἀναβολῆς τῶν ἰσχίων αὐτῶν.

Ti esti mandyas? Eidos estin ephestridos. Oimai de ē arkadikin einai, ē to para pollōn mantion onomazomenon. Kai gar tōn Hebdomēkonta eirēkotōn peri tou memēnykotos tǭ Hēlei tōn huiōn tēn anairesin, hoti dierrhēgmena ta himatia eichen, ho ᾿Akylas ephē mandyan dierrhēgmenon Kai tōn Ammanitōn ho basileus tōn pros auton apostalentōn para tou makariou Dabid tous pōgōnas exyrise, kai tōn mandyōn apheile to hēmisy, heōs tēs anabolēs tōn ischiōn autōn.

What is a mandyas? It is a kind of cloak. I think it is either an arcadicin or what many call a mantion. For when the Seventy said of the man who told Eli of the killing of his sons that he had his garments torn, Aquila said, “a torn mandyas.” And the king of the Ammonites shaved the beards of those sent to him by the blessed David and cut off half of their mandyas, as far as the fold over their hips.

1 Sam 18:4 (allusion, high confidence) · 1 Sam 4:12 (allusion, high confidence) · 2 Sam 10:4 (allusion, high confidence)

Notes and citation

Summary: The mandyas Jonathan gave David is a kind of cloak, as other passages show.

1 Sam 18:4 (LXX μανδύας); 4:12 (Aquila); 2 Sam 10:4. Arcadicin and mantion are late Greek words for cloaks; their exact form is uncertain.

Cite (SBL): Theodoret, Quaest. Reg. 1.44 (PG 80 80:569; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/theodoret-quaestiones-regnorum/1-44). (abbreviation not yet checked)

Permanent link: https://sophiascriptura.com/p/theodoret-quaestiones-regnorum/1-44

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Translation: Translated by Claude (Opus) from the Greek as printed in Migne PG 80 (Bavarian State Library OCR); no public-domain or FOTC English exists, so each batch was re-read against the Greek.

1.45PG 80 80:569

Τί ἐστιν, Ἡγάπησεν αὐτὸν ψυχὴν ἀγαπῶντος αὐτόν Ὁ ᾿Ακύλας ἔφη· Κατὰ τὴν ψυχὴν αὐτοῦ. Τοῦτο καὶ ὁ θεῖος νόμος παρεγγυᾷ· ᾿Αγαπήσεις τὸν πλησίον σου, ὡς σεαυτόν.

Ti estin, Hēgapēsen auton psychēn agapōntos auton Ho ᾿Akylas ephē; Kata tēn psychēn autou. Touto kai ho theios nomos parengyą; ᾿Agapēseis ton plēsion sou, hōs seauton.

What does “he loved him as his own soul” mean? Aquila said, “according to his soul.” The divine law also commands this: “You shall love your neighbor as yourself.”

1 Sam 18:1 (quotation, high confidence) · Lev 19:18 (quotation, high confidence)

Notes and citation

Summary: Jonathan loved David as himself, as the law commands love of neighbor.

1 Sam 18:1 (LXX); Lev 19:18. The printed question lacks a question mark; the question is present.

Topics: Ethics

Cite (SBL): Theodoret, Quaest. Reg. 1.45 (PG 80 80:569; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/theodoret-quaestiones-regnorum/1-45). (abbreviation not yet checked)

Permanent link: https://sophiascriptura.com/p/theodoret-quaestiones-regnorum/1-45

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Translation: Translated by Claude (Opus) from the Greek as printed in Migne PG 80 (Bavarian State Library OCR); no public-domain or FOTC English exists, so each batch was re-read against the Greek.

1.46PG 80 80:569

Πῶς νοητέον τὸ, Πνεῦμα πονηρὸν ἔπαισε τὸν Σαούλ, καὶ προεφήτευσεν ἐν μέσῳ τοῦ οἶκου αὐτοῦ; Οἱ ψευδοπροφῆται ὑπὸ τοῦ πονηροῦ πνεύματος ἐνεργούμενοι τοῖς Κορυβαντιῶσιν ἐοίκασι. Τοῦτο καὶ ὁ Σαούλ ὑπέμεινεν ὑπὸ τοῦ δαίμονος ἐνοχλούμενος. Τὸ δὲ προεφήτευσεν ὁμωνύμως τέθεικεν. Καὶ γὰρ τοὺς ψευδοπροφήτας προφήτας ὠνόμαζον, καὶ θεοὺς τοὺς ψευδωνύμους θεούς. ᾿Αλλ' ἐκεῖνος μὲν τῆς θείας χάριτος ἐγυμνώθη· ὁ δὲ Δαβὶδ ταύτης φιλοτίμως ἀπήλαυε· καὶ ψάλλων τὴν μὲν τοῦ δαίμονος ἐκείνου μανίαν ἐπράῦνε, τὸν δὲ τοῦ Σαοὺλ οὐκ ἔπαυε φθόνον. "Οσῳ δὲ πλέον εὐηργέτητο, τοσούτῳ πλέον κατασφάττειν ἠπείγετο. Καὶ τὴν αἰχμὴν ἀφεὶς κατ᾿ αὐτοῦ, καὶ διαμαρτὼν, ἔγνω μὲν ὅτι Κύριος ἦν μετ᾿ αὐτοῦ, διετέλει δὲ πολεμῶν. Περὶ δὲ τοῦ Δαβὶδ ἡ θεία λέγει Γραφή, ὅτι ὧν συνιὼν ἐν πάσαις ταῖς ὁδοῖς αὐτοῦ. Καὶ Κύριος παντοκράτωρ μετ' αὐτοῦ. Οὕτω δὲ τὸ πανάγιον ὠνόμασε Πνεῦμα. Ταύτης γὰρ ἦν ἠξιωμένος τῆς χάριτος.

Pōs noēteon to, Pneuma ponēron epaise ton Saoul, kai proephēteusen en mesǭ tou oikou autou? Hoi pseudoprophētai hypo tou ponērou pneumatos energoumenoi tois Korybantiōsin eoikasi. Touto kai ho Saoul hypemeinen hypo tou daimonos enochloumenos. To de proephēteusen homōnymōs tetheiken. Kai gar tous pseudoprophētas prophētas ōnomazon, kai theous tous pseudōnymous theous. ᾿All' ekeinos men tēs theias charitos egymnōthē; ho de Dabid tautēs philotimōs apēlaue; kai psallōn tēn men tou daimonos ekeinou manian epraune, ton de tou Saoul ouk epaue phthonon. "Osǭ de pleon euērgetēto, tosoutǭ pleon katasphattein ēpeigeto. Kai tēn aichmēn apheis kat᾿ autou, kai diamartōn, egnō men hoti Kyrios ēn met᾿ autou, dietelei de polemōn. Peri de tou Dabid hē theia legei Graphē, hoti hōn syniōn en pasais tais hodois autou. Kai Kyrios pantokratōr met' autou. Houtō de to panagion ōnomase Pneuma. Tautēs gar ēn ēxiōmenos tēs charitos.

How should “an evil spirit struck Saul, and he prophesied in the middle of his house” be understood? The false prophets, worked on by the evil spirit, are like the frenzied Corybants. Saul too suffered this when troubled by the demon. He used “prophesied” in an equivocal sense; for they called false prophets prophets, and the falsely named gods gods. But he had been stripped of divine grace, while David enjoyed it abundantly; and by his playing he calmed the demon's madness in Saul, but did not end Saul's envy. The more he was helped, the more eager he was to murder. He threw his spear at him and missed; he knew that the Lord was with him, yet he kept on making war. About David the divine Scripture says that he acted wisely in all his ways, “and the Lord Almighty was with him.” Thus it named the all-holy Spirit, for he had been granted this grace.

1 Sam 18:10 (quotation, high confidence) · 1 Sam 18:11 (allusion, high confidence) · 1 Sam 18:12 (allusion, high confidence) · 1 Sam 18:14 (quotation, high confidence)

Notes and citation

Summary: Saul's “prophesying” under an evil spirit was frenzy like that of false prophets, while the Spirit of God was with David.

1 Sam 18:10–14 (quotation, 18:10 and 18:14; “the Lord Almighty” as in 2 Sam 5:10). The Corybants were frenzied priests of the goddess Cybele. A stray marginal line repeating the lemma of 1.45 is removed by a logged correction.

Notes on the original text

Digital text corrected (stray footnote marks; stray marginal line): ἠπείγετο **. → ἠπείγετο.; καὶ Κύρ. ἠγάπησε ψυχὴν ἀγαπῶντος. αὐτόν. → .

Cite (SBL): Theodoret, Quaest. Reg. 1.46 (PG 80 80:569; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/theodoret-quaestiones-regnorum/1-46). (abbreviation not yet checked)

Permanent link: https://sophiascriptura.com/p/theodoret-quaestiones-regnorum/1-46

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Translation: Translated by Claude (Opus) from the Greek as printed in Migne PG 80 (Bavarian State Library OCR); no public-domain or FOTC English exists, so each batch was re-read against the Greek.

1.47PG 80 80:571

Τι δήποτε καὶ φθονῶν τῷ Δαβίδ, καὶ λίαν αὐτῷ ἐχθραίνων, τὴν θυγατέρα αὐτῷ κατηγγύησεν ; Ἐδίδαξεν ἡ ἱστορία τὸν ἐκείνου σκοπόν. Εἶπε γὰρ, φησί, Σαούλ Μὴ ἔστω ἡ χείρ μου ἐπ᾿ αὐτὸν, ἀλλ᾿ ἔστω ἐν αὐτῷ ἡ χεὶρ τῶν ἀλλοφύλων. Καὶ πάλιν Δώσω αὐτὴν αὐτῷ, καὶ ἔσται αὐτῷ εἰς σκάνδαλον, καὶ ἔσται ἐπ᾿ αὐτὸν ἡ χεὶρ τῶν ἀλλοφύλων Τοιγαροῦν ἐπιβουλῆς ἦν, οὐκ εὐεργεσίας ὁ γάμος.

Ti dēpote kai phthonōn tǭ Dabid, kai lian autǭ echthrainōn, tēn thygatera autǭ katēngyēsen ? Edidaxen hē historia ton ekeinou skopon. Eipe gar, phēsi, Saoul Mē estō hē cheir mou ep᾿ auton, all᾿ estō en autǭ hē cheir tōn allophylōn. Kai palin Dōsō autēn autǭ, kai estai autǭ eis skandalon, kai estai ep᾿ auton hē cheir tōn allophylōn Toigaroun epiboulēs ēn, ouk euergesias ho gamos.

Why, though envious of David and very hostile to him, did he betroth his daughter to him? The history taught his purpose. “For Saul said,” it says, “Let not my hand be upon him, but let the hand of the foreigners be upon him.” And again, “I will give her to him, and she will be a snare to him, and the hand of the foreigners will be upon him.” So the marriage was a plot, not a kindness.

1 Sam 18:17 (quotation, high confidence) · 1 Sam 18:21 (quotation, high confidence)

Notes and citation

Summary: Saul offered David his daughter as a trap, hoping the Philistines would kill him.

1 Sam 18:17, 21.

Cite (SBL): Theodoret, Quaest. Reg. 1.47 (PG 80 80:571; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/theodoret-quaestiones-regnorum/1-47). (abbreviation not yet checked)

Permanent link: https://sophiascriptura.com/p/theodoret-quaestiones-regnorum/1-47

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Translation: Translated by Claude (Opus) from the Greek as printed in Migne PG 80 (Bavarian State Library OCR); no public-domain or FOTC English exists, so each batch was re-read against the Greek.

1.48PG 80 80:571

Τίνος χάριν οὐ κεφαλὰς, ἀλλ' ἀκροβυστίας ήτησεν; Πονηροῖς χρησάμενος λογισμοῖς, ἐτόπασεν ὅτι τῶν ὁμοφύλων τινὰς ἀνελὼν, οἴσει τούτων τὰς κεφαλάς· τούτου χάριν ἀκροβυστίας κομισθῆναι προσέταξεν. Ἡ γὰρ ἀκροβυστία δηλοῖ τὸ ἀλλόφυλον. Πάντα δὲ πόρον ἐκίνει, τὴν τοῦ εὐεργέτου καττύων σφαγήν καὶ οὔτε τὰς εὐεργεσίας ᾐδεῖτο, οὔτε τοὺς ὄρκους ηὐλαβεῖτο. Καὶ γὰρ τῷ Ἰωνάθαν ὀμωμόκει, ὅτι δὴ αὐτὸν οὐκ ἀποκτενεῖ. Ὤμοσε γὰρ, φησὶ, Σαούλ λέγων· Ζῇ Κύριος, εἰ ἀποθανεῖται.

Tinos charin ou kephalas, all' akrobystias ētēsen? Ponērois chrēsamenos logismois, etopasen hoti tōn homophylōn tinas anelōn, oisei toutōn tas kephalas; toutou charin akrobystias komisthēnai prosetaxen. Hē gar akrobystia dēloi to allophylon. Panta de poron ekinei, tēn tou euergetou kattyōn sphagēn kai oute tas euergesias ę̄deito, oute tous orkous ēulabeito. Kai gar tǭ Iōnathan omōmokei, hoti dē auton ouk apoktenei. Ōmose gar, phēsi, Saoul legōn; Zę̄ Kyrios, ei apothaneitai.

Why did he ask not for heads but for foreskins? With evil reasoning he guessed that David would kill some of his own countrymen and bring their heads; so he ordered foreskins to be brought, for the foreskin indicates a foreigner. He tried every means, contriving the murder of his benefactor, and neither respected his kindnesses nor feared his oaths. For he had sworn to Jonathan that he would not kill him: “Saul swore,” it says, “saying, As the Lord lives, he shall not die.”

1 Sam 18:25 (allusion, high confidence) · 1 Sam 19:6 (quotation, high confidence)

Notes and citation

Summary: Saul demanded Philistine foreskins as proof and kept plotting David's death despite his oath to Jonathan.

1 Sam 18:25; 19:6.

Cite (SBL): Theodoret, Quaest. Reg. 1.48 (PG 80 80:571; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/theodoret-quaestiones-regnorum/1-48). (abbreviation not yet checked)

Permanent link: https://sophiascriptura.com/p/theodoret-quaestiones-regnorum/1-48

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Translation: Translated by Claude (Opus) from the Greek as printed in Migne PG 80 (Bavarian State Library OCR); no public-domain or FOTC English exists, so each batch was re-read against the Greek.

1.49PG 80 80:571

Πῶς νοητέον τὰ κενοτάφια, καὶ τὸ ἦπαρ τῶν αἰγῶν Ὁ Ἀκύλας τὰ κενοτάφια μορφώματα ἡρμήνευσε, καὶ τὸ ἦπαρ τῶν αἰγῶν ἱματίων πλῆθος, καὶ στρογγύλωμα τριχῶν. Επειδὴ γὰρ ὀμωμοκὼς ὁ Σαούλ παρέβη τὸν ὅρκον, καὶ τὴν αἰχμὴν τῷ Δαβὶδ ἐπαφῆκεν· ἐκκλίνας δὲ ἐκεῖνος τὴν τοῦ δόρατος ῥύμην εἰς οἰκίαν ἀνεχώρησεν· γνοῦσα δὲ τοῦ πατρὸς ἡ Μελχὼλ τὰς ἐπιβουλὰς, τούτῳ μὲν συνεβούλευσεν ἀποδράσαι· καὶ δὴ καὶ καθῆκεν αὐτὸν διὰ τῆς φωταγωγοῦ· αὐτοῦ δὲ τὴν κλίνην εἰς ἀῤῥωστοῦντος ἐσχημάτισε τύπον, ἱματίων μὲν πλῆθος ἐπιβαλοῦσα, στρογγύλωμα δὲ τριχῶν ὑποθεῖσα τοῖς ἱματίοις, ὥστε μιμεῖσθαι τὴν κεφαλήν. Τινὲς δὲ μορφώματα τοῦ Δαβὶδ νενοήκασι τὴν εἰκόνα καὶ ταύτην ἔφασαν τοῖς ἱματίοις συγκαλυφθῆναι, πλὴν ἐνίων τοῦ προσώπου μορίων· τὸ δὲ τῶν αἰγῶν ἡπαρ ὑποτεθῆναι, ἵνα κινούμενον τὸ σχῆμα πιθανὸν ἀπεργάσηται Καὶ γάρ φασε τῶν αἰγῶν τὸ ἦπαρ κινεῖσθαι μέχρι πολλοῦ. Οὕτω μέντοι διετέλει φονῶν, ὅτι καὶ ἀῤῥωστοῦντα μεμαθηκὼς ἀχθῆναι προσέταξεν αὐτὸν, ὥστε δέξασθαι τὴν σφαγήν. Ἐπειδὴ δὲ ἔγνω τὴν φυγήν, κατὰ τοὺς θηρευτὰς κύνας Ιχνηλατῶν αὐτὸν διετέλει.

Pōs noēteon ta kenotaphia, kai to ēpar tōn aigōn Ho Akylas ta kenotaphia morphōmata hērmēneuse, kai to ēpar tōn aigōn himatiōn plēthos, kai strongylōma trichōn. Epeidē gar omōmokōs ho Saoul parebē ton horkon, kai tēn aichmēn tǭ Dabid epaphēken; ekklinas de ekeinos tēn tou doratos rhymēn eis oikian anechōrēsen; gnousa de tou patros hē Melchōl tas epiboulas, toutǭ men synebouleusen apodrasai; kai dē kai kathēken auton dia tēs phōtagōgou; autou de tēn klinēn eis arrhōstountos eschēmatise typon, himatiōn men plēthos epibalousa, strongylōma de trichōn hypotheisa tois himatiois, hōste mimeisthai tēn kephalēn. Tines de morphōmata tou Dabid nenoēkasi tēn eikona kai tautēn ephasan tois himatiois synkalyphthēnai, plēn eniōn tou prosōpou moriōn; to de tōn aigōn hēpar hypotethēnai, hina kinoumenon to schēma pithanon apergasētai Kai gar phase tōn aigōn to ēpar kineisthai mechri pollou. Houtō mentoi dietelei phonōn, hoti kai arrhōstounta memathēkōs achthēnai prosetaxen auton, hōste dexasthai tēn sphagēn. Epeidē de egnō tēn phygēn, kata tous thēreutas kynas Ichnēlatōn auton dietelei.

How should the cenotaphs and the goats' liver be understood? Aquila translated the cenotaphs as “figures,” and the goats' liver as “a heap of clothes” and “a round tuft of hair.” For when Saul, having sworn, broke his oath and hurled his spear at David, and David dodged the thrust of the spear and withdrew to his house, Michal, learning of her father's plots, advised him to run away and let him down through the window; and she arranged his bed in the shape of a sick man, throwing on a heap of clothes and putting a round tuft of hair under the clothes to imitate the head. Some have understood the “figures” as an image of David, and say that it was covered with the clothes except for some parts of the face, and that the goats' liver was put underneath so that its movement would make the figure convincing; for they say that a goat's liver keeps moving for a long time. Saul, however, went on with his murderous intent, for when he learned that David was sick he ordered him to be brought so that he could slay him. And when he learned of the flight, he kept tracking him like a hunting dog.

1 Sam 19:13 (quotation, high confidence) · 1 Sam 19:10 (allusion, high confidence) · 1 Sam 19:12 (allusion, high confidence) · 1 Sam 19:14 (allusion, high confidence)

Notes and citation

Summary: Michal saved David with a dummy in his bed; Theodoret explains the obscure words for it with Aquila and other interpreters.

1 Sam 19:10–17 (LXX “cenotaphs”, “liver of goats”). The printed question lacks a question mark; the question is present. A displaced duplicate of an earlier sentence (Michal advising flight and arranging the bed) printed near the end is removed by a logged correction.

Notes on the original text

Digital text corrected (displaced duplicate lines printed in the text; stray marks; word split by the OCR): αἰχ μὴν → αἰχμὴν; εἰς οἰκίαν *᾿ ἀνεχώρησεν → εἰς οἰκίαν ἀνεχώρησεν; Ούτω εἰς τοῦ πατρὸς, τούτῳ μὲν συνεβούλευσε τὴν φυγήν· αὕτη δὲ τὴν κλίνην εἰς ἀῤῥωστοῦντος ἐσχημάτισε τύπον. μέντοι → Οὕτω μέντοι; δι ετέλει → διετέλει.

Cite (SBL): Theodoret, Quaest. Reg. 1.49 (PG 80 80:571; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/theodoret-quaestiones-regnorum/1-49). (abbreviation not yet checked)

Permanent link: https://sophiascriptura.com/p/theodoret-quaestiones-regnorum/1-49

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Translation: Translated by Claude (Opus) from the Greek as printed in Migne PG 80 (Bavarian State Library OCR); no public-domain or FOTC English exists, so each batch was re-read against the Greek.

1.50PG 80 80:573

Τι δήποτε οἱ παρ' αὐτοῦ πεμφθέντες πρὸς τὸν Δαβίδ καὶ τὸν Σαμουήλ, προεφήτευσαν· ὕστερον δὲ καὶ αὐτός; Διάφορα τοῦ Δεσπότου τὰ θήρατρα. Τοὺς μὲν γὰρ δι᾿ ἀνθρώπων ἀγρεύει, τοὺς δὲ ἀορασίᾳ θηρεύει. Τοῦτο γὰρ ἐπὶ τοῦ Ἑλισσαίου γεγένηται. Τούτους δὲ διὰ προφητικῆς ἐζώγρησε χάριτος· καὶ τὸν Δαβὶδ ἀποκτεῖναι κεκώλυκεν. ᾿Αλλ' οὐδὲ τοῦτο τὴν φονικὴν αὐτοῦ κατεπράῦνε γνώμην. Απέστειλε γὰρ καὶ δὶς ἐπ᾿ αὐτόν· καὶ πάλιν μεμαθηκὼς τὰ θεῖα δεσμὰ, προσέθετο, φησὶν, ἀποστεῖλαι καὶ ἄλλους· καὶ τούτων δὲ ὡσαύτως ἐπισχεθέντων ὑπὸ τῆς χάριτος, ὕστερον αὐτὸς ἀπελήλυθε, καὶ τετύχηκε καὶ αὐτὸς τῶν τῆς φιλανθρωπίας δεσμῶν. Ἀλλὰ προεφήτευσε μὲν, οὐχ ὁμοίως δὲ τοῖς ἄλλοις. ᾿Ανάξιος γὰρ τῆς χάριτος ἦν. Οὗ δὴ χάριν γυμνωθεὶς τῆς ἐσθῆτος πανημέριον ἔκειτο· ἐδήλου δὲ τὸ σχῆμα τὴν τῆς βασιλείας ἀφαίρεσιν.

Ti dēpote hoi par' autou pemphthentes pros ton Dabid kai ton Samouēl, proephēteusan; hysteron de kai autos? Diaphora tou Despotou ta thēratra. Tous men gar di᾿ anthrōpōn agreuei, tous de aorasią thēreuei. Touto gar epi tou Helissaiou gegenētai. Toutous de dia prophētikēs ezōgrēse charitos; kai ton Dabid apokteinai kekōlyken. ᾿All' oude touto tēn phonikēn autou katepraune gnōmēn. Apesteile gar kai dis ep᾿ auton; kai palin memathēkōs ta theia desma, prosetheto, phēsin, aposteilai kai allous; kai toutōn de hōsautōs epischethentōn hypo tēs charitos, hysteron autos apelēlythe, kai tetychēke kai autos tōn tēs philanthrōpias desmōn. Alla proephēteuse men, ouch homoiōs de tois allois. ᾿Anaxios gar tēs charitos ēn. Hou dē charin gymnōtheis tēs esthētos panēmerion ekeito; edēlou de to schēma tēn tēs basileias aphairesin.

Why did those he sent to David and Samuel prophesy, and later he himself as well? The Master's snares are various. Some he catches through men, others he traps with blindness, as happened in the case of Elisha. These he captured through prophetic grace, and prevented them from killing David. But not even this softened Saul's murderous intent. He sent a second time against him; and again, learning of the divine bonds, “he sent others too,” it says. And when these were likewise held back by grace, at last he went himself, and he too met with the bonds of God's love for humankind. He prophesied, but not like the others, for he was unworthy of the grace. That is why he lay stripped of his clothes all day; and his posture showed that the kingdom was being taken from him.

1 Sam 19:20 (allusion, high confidence) · 1 Sam 19:21 (quotation, high confidence) · 1 Sam 19:23 (allusion, high confidence) · 1 Sam 19:24 (allusion, high confidence) · 2 Kgs 6:18 (allusion, high confidence)

Notes and citation

Summary: God held back Saul's messengers, and Saul himself, by making them prophesy; Saul's lying naked signified the loss of his kingdom.

1 Sam 19:18–24; the blinded Arameans, 2 Kgs 6:18.

Notes on the original text

Digital text corrected (OCR letter error; stray syllable): αὐ πεμφθέντες → πεμφθέντες; καὶ δὲς ἐπ᾿ → καὶ δὶς ἐπ᾿.

Cite (SBL): Theodoret, Quaest. Reg. 1.50 (PG 80 80:573; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/theodoret-quaestiones-regnorum/1-50). (abbreviation not yet checked)

Permanent link: https://sophiascriptura.com/p/theodoret-quaestiones-regnorum/1-50

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Translation: Translated by Claude (Opus) from the Greek as printed in Migne PG 80 (Bavarian State Library OCR); no public-domain or FOTC English exists, so each batch was re-read against the Greek.

1.51PG 80 80:573

Τι δήποτε μηνύσαι βουλόμενος τῷ Δαβὶδ ὁ Ἰωνάθαν τὰς τοῦ πατρὸς ἐπιβουλὰς, διὰ τῶν βελῶν, ἤγουν τῶν ἀκοντίων, ἐμήνυσεν ; Τινές φασι διὰ τὸν συνόντα οἰκέτην, ἵνα μὴ τὰ μηνυόμενα γνῷ. ᾿Αλλ᾿ εὐπετὲς ἦν αὐτῷ καὶ μόνῳ παραγενέσθαι. Οὐκοῦν ἕτερον ἔχει τὸ γεγενημένον σκοπόν. Ἵνα γὰρ μὴ δῆλος γένηται τοῦ πατρὸς τὴν μιαιφόνον γνώμην καταμηνύων τῷ φίλῳ, τὴν τῆς τοξείας ὑποκρίνεται γυμνασίαν. Καὶ τοῖς μὲν πρὸς τὸν οἰκέτην λόγοις αἰνιγματωδῶς τῷ Δαβὶδ παραδηλοῖ τὴν σφαγήν. Τὸν ὁπλοφόρον δὲ μετὰ τῶν ὁπλων εἰς τὴν πόλιν προπέμψας, καὶ τὰ εἰρημένα δεδήλωκε, καὶ φυγεῖν συνεβούλευσε, καὶ τὸ τῆς βασιλείας αὐτῷ προηγόρευσε κράτος, καὶ τὰς τῆς φιλίας συνθήκας ἐκράτυνεν ὄρκοις. Τὸ δέ· Τρισσεύσεις, ἀντὶ τοῦ, Τρεῖς ἡμέρας ἀναμενεῖς. Τῇ γὰρ νουμηνίᾳ τοπάσας ὁ Σαούλ, ὡς μὴ κεκαθαρμένον, μηδὲ ἡγνισμένον τὸν Δαβὶδ παραιτήσασθαι τὸ συμπόσιον, ἐσίγησεν· Οὐκ ἐλάλησε γὰρ, φησὶ, Σαούλ οὐδὲν ἐν τῇ ἡμέρᾳ ἐκείνῃ· ὅτι εἶπε· Σύμπτωμά τι φαίνεται, μὴ καθαρὸς εἶναι, διότι οὐ κεκάθαρται. Τῇ δὲ δευτέρᾳ ἤρετο· ὅτι οὐ παρεγένετο υἱὸς Ἰεσσαὶ καὶ χθὲς, καὶ σήμερον ἐπὶ τὴν τράπεζαν;» Τῇ δὲ τρίτῃ πρὸ τοῦ ἄστεος ὁ Ἰωνάθαν τὰ εἰρημένα μεμήνυκεν. Τὸ δὲ τρισσεύσω ἀντὶ τοῦ τρεῖς ἀφήσω σχίζας. Τὰς δὲ σχίζας βέλη ὁ ᾿Ακύλας ἡρμήνευσεν. Τὴν δὲ ἀματάραν ἐν τῇ τῶν Ἑβραϊκῶν ὀνομάτων ἐρμηνείᾳ οὕτως εὗρον κειμένην, παρὰ μὲν τοῖς Ἕλλησι τὰ φρον, παρὰ δὲ Ῥωμαίοις φοσσάτον, παρὰ δὲ τῷ Σύρῳ σκοπὸν, εἰς ὃν οἱ γυμναζόμενοι τὰ βέλη πέμπειν εἰώθασι Τὸ δὲ Ἀργοῦν· ὁ Ακύλας Ἐχόμενα τοῦ νοτίου ἡρμήνευσεν. Ἐγὼ δὲ οἶμαι κοϊλόν τινα οὕτω κεκλῆσθαι τόπον. Ἔφη γὰρ ἡ ἱστορία, Καὶ Δαβὶδ ἀνέστη ἀπὸ τοῦ ᾿Αργοῦν, καὶ ἔπεσεν ἐπὶ πρόσωπον αὐτοῦ ἐπὶ τὴν γῆν.»

Ti dēpote mēnysai boulomenos tǭ Dabid ho Iōnathan tas tou patros epiboulas, dia tōn belōn, ēgoun tōn akontiōn, emēnysen ? Tines phasi dia ton synonta oiketēn, hina mē ta mēnyomena gnǭ. ᾿All᾿ eupetes ēn autǭ kai monǭ paragenesthai. Oukoun heteron echei to gegenēmenon skopon. Hina gar mē dēlos genētai tou patros tēn miaiphonon gnōmēn katamēnyōn tǭ philǭ, tēn tēs toxeias hypokrinetai gymnasian. Kai tois men pros ton oiketēn logois ainigmatōdōs tǭ Dabid paradēloi tēn sphagēn. Ton hoplophoron de meta tōn hoplōn eis tēn polin propempsas, kai ta eirēmena dedēlōke, kai phygein synebouleuse, kai to tēs basileias autǭ proēgoreuse kratos, kai tas tēs philias synthēkas ekratynen orkois. To de; Trisseuseis, anti tou, Treis hēmeras anameneis. Tę̄ gar noumēnią topasas ho Saoul, hōs mē kekatharmenon, mēde hēgnismenon ton Dabid paraitēsasthai to symposion, esigēsen; Ouk elalēse gar, phēsi, Saoul ouden en tę̄ hēmerą ekeinę̄; hoti eipe; Symptōma ti phainetai, mē katharos einai, dioti ou kekathartai. Tę̄ de deuterą ēreto; hoti ou paregeneto huios Iessai kai chthes, kai sēmeron epi tēn trapezan?» Tę̄ de tritę̄ pro tou asteos ho Iōnathan ta eirēmena memēnyken. To de trisseusō anti tou treis aphēsō schizas. Tas de schizas belē ho ᾿Akylas hērmēneusen. Tēn de amataran en tę̄ tōn Hebraïkōn onomatōn ermēneią houtōs heuron keimenēn, para men tois Hellēsi ta phron, para de Rhōmaiois phossaton, para de tǭ Syrǭ skopon, eis hon hoi gymnazomenoi ta belē pempein eiōthasi To de Argoun; ho Akylas Echomena tou notiou hērmēneusen. Egō de oimai koïlon tina houtō keklēsthai topon. Ephē gar hē historia, Kai Dabid anestē apo tou ᾿Argoun, kai epesen epi prosōpon autou epi tēn gēn.»

Why did Jonathan, wishing to warn David of his father's plots, warn him by means of arrows, that is, javelins? Some say it was because of the servant with him, so that he would not learn what was being disclosed. But it was easy for him to come alone. So what happened has another purpose. So as not to be seen to be revealing his father's murderous intent to his friend, he pretends to be practicing archery. By his words to the servant he indicates the slaughter to David in a riddle. Then, sending the armor-bearer ahead to the city with the weapons, he told him what had been said, advised him to flee, foretold his royal power, and strengthened the covenant of their friendship with oaths. “You shall do it three times” means “you shall wait three days.” For on the new moon Saul, supposing that David had declined the banquet because he was not clean or purified, kept silent: “For Saul said nothing that day,” it says, “for he said, Something has happened; he is not clean, because he has not been purified.” On the second day he asked, “Why has the son of Jesse not come to the table both yesterday and today?” On the third day, before the city, Jonathan disclosed what had been said. “I will do it three times” means “I will let fly three shafts.” Aquila translated the shafts as arrows. The amattara I found explained thus in the interpretation of Hebrew names: among the Greeks a ditch, among the Romans fossatum, and among the Syrian a target at which those in training usually shoot their arrows. Aquila rendered Argoun as “near the south.” But I think it is some hollow place that is so called. For the history said, “And David rose from the Argoun and fell on his face to the ground.”

1 Sam 20:19 (quotation, high confidence) · 1 Sam 20:20 (quotation, high confidence) · 1 Sam 20:26 (quotation, high confidence) · 1 Sam 20:27 (quotation, high confidence) · 1 Sam 20:36 (allusion, high confidence) · 1 Sam 20:41 (quotation, high confidence) · 1 Sam 20:42 (allusion, high confidence)

Notes and citation

Summary: Jonathan used a pretended archery practice to warn David secretly; Theodoret explains several obscure words of the account.

1 Sam 20 (quotations: 20:19–20, 26, 27, 41, LXX). The LXX transliterates several Hebrew words: “amattari” (target), “ergab”/“argob”. Fossatum is Latin; “the Syrian” is a Syriac interpreter. A stray marginal line printed inside the word amattara is removed by a logged correction.

Notes on the original text

Digital text corrected (OCR letter error and stray mark; marginal line printed inside the word; stray footnote marks; stray letter): ἔχει τὸ γεγενημένον σ σκοπόν → ἔχει τὸ γεγενημένον σκοπόν; τῷ Δαβὶὸ παραδηλοῖ τὴν σφαγήν *. → τῷ Δαβὶδ παραδηλοῖ τὴν σφαγήν.; ἀματάλησε -- οὐ κεκάθαρται ραν → ἀματάραν; πέμπειν** εἰώθασι → πέμπειν εἰώθασι.

Cite (SBL): Theodoret, Quaest. Reg. 1.51 (PG 80 80:573; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/theodoret-quaestiones-regnorum/1-51). (abbreviation not yet checked)

Permanent link: https://sophiascriptura.com/p/theodoret-quaestiones-regnorum/1-51

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Translation: Translated by Claude (Opus) from the Greek as printed in Migne PG 80 (Bavarian State Library OCR); no public-domain or FOTC English exists, so each batch was re-read against the Greek.

1.52PG 80 80:575

Πῶς ἡνέσχετο τῶν ἀφιερωμένων ἄρτων μεταλαβεῖν ὁ Δαβίδ; Οὔτε τότε μέμψιν ὑπέμεινεν, ἀλλὰ καὶ ὁ Κύριος ἐν τοῖς ἱεροῖς Εὐαγγελίοις ἔδειξεν αὐτὸν κατηγορίας ἐλεύθερον· εἰς γὰρ τὴν ὑπὲρ τῶν μαθητῶν ἀπολογίαν τοῦτο εἴρηκε τὸ διήγημα. Προδηλοῖ μέντοι, τῶν μόνοις τοῖς ἱερεῦσιν ἀπονενεμημένων μεταλαβών, τὴν πᾶσι προτεθεισομένην τοῖς εὐσεβέσι τράπεζαν μυστικήν. Οὐ γὰρ οἱ ἱερωμένοι μόνοι μεταλαμβάνουσι τοῦ Δεσποτικοῦ σώματός τε καὶ αἵματος, ἀλλὰ πάντες οἱ τετυχηκότες τοῦ ἁγίου βαπτίσματος.

Pōs hēnescheto tōn aphierōmenōn artōn metalabein ho Dabid? Oute tote mempsin hypemeinen, alla kai ho Kyrios en tois hierois Euangeliois edeixen auton katēgorias eleutheron; eis gar tēn hyper tōn mathētōn apologian touto eirēke to diēgēma. Prodēloi mentoi, tōn monois tois hiereusin aponenemēmenōn metalabōn, tēn pasi protetheisomenēn tois eusebesi trapezan mystikēn. Ou gar hoi hierōmenoi monoi metalambanousi tou Despotikou sōmatos te kai haimatos, alla pantes hoi tetychēkotes tou hagiou baptismatos.

How could David bring himself to eat the consecrated bread? He incurred no blame at the time, and the Lord too in the holy Gospels showed him free of accusation, for he cited this account in defending his disciples. By eating what had been assigned to the priests alone, however, he foreshadows the mystical table that would be set before all the pious. For not only the ordained partake of the Master's body and blood, but all who have received holy baptism.

1 Sam 21:6 (allusion, high confidence) · Matt 12:3 (allusion, high confidence) · Mark 2:25 (allusion, medium confidence)

Notes and citation

Summary: David was blameless in eating the holy bread, as Christ said; his act foreshadows the Eucharist open to all the baptized.

1 Sam 21:6; Matt 12:3–4 (Mark 2:25–26; Luke 6:3–4).

Topics: Eucharist, Baptism

Cite (SBL): Theodoret, Quaest. Reg. 1.52 (PG 80 80:575; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/theodoret-quaestiones-regnorum/1-52). (abbreviation not yet checked)

Permanent link: https://sophiascriptura.com/p/theodoret-quaestiones-regnorum/1-52

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Translation: Translated by Claude (Opus) from the Greek as printed in Migne PG 80 (Bavarian State Library OCR); no public-domain or FOTC English exists, so each batch was re-read against the Greek.

1.53PG 80 80:575

Τί ἐστι, Εἰ βέβηλος ἡ ὁδὸς αὕτη, σήμερον ἁγιασθήσεται διὰ τὰ σκεύη μου. Ἐρομένου τοῦ ἱερέως, εἴ γε κατ' ἐκείνην τὴν ἡμέραν ἡγνεύκει, τρεῖς ἔφη ἡμέρας ἡγνευκέναι καὶ προστέθεικεν, ὅτι διὰ τὴν προκειμένην ὁδὸν ἀναγκαίως τῆς ἱερᾶς τροφῆς μεταλήψεται, ἵν᾿ ὑπ᾿ αὐτῆς κρατυνθεὶς τὰ προκείμενα κατορθώσῃ. Τὸ δὲ βέβηλον οὐκ ἐπὶ τοῦ ἀκαθάρτου τέθεικεν, ἀλλ᾽ ἐπὶ τοῦ μὴ ἱεροῦ. ᾿Αβέβηλον γὰρ καὶ ἅγιον, τὸ τοῖς ἱερεῦσιν ἀφωρισμένον· βέβηλον δὲ, τὸ τοῖς ἄλλοις ἅπασιν ἀπονενεμημένον. Ὅθεν καὶ ὁ ᾿Ακύλας οὐ βέβηλον εἶπεν, ἀλλὰ λαϊκόν. Τουτέστιν, Εἰ καὶ ἱερεὺς οὐκ εἰμὶ, ἀλλὰ προφητικῆς τετύχηκα χάριτος. Οἶμαι γὰρ τοῦτο παραδηλοῦν τὸ· ῾Αγιασθήσεται διὰ τὰ σκεύη μου. Σκεύη γὰρ αὐτοῦ καὶ πανοπλία, ἡ πνευματικὴ δωρεά.

Ti esti, Ei bebēlos hē hodos hautē, sēmeron hagiasthēsetai dia ta skeuē mou. Eromenou tou hiereōs, ei ge kat' ekeinēn tēn hēmeran hēgneukei, treis ephē hēmeras hēgneukenai kai prostetheiken, hoti dia tēn prokeimenēn hodon anankaiōs tēs hieras trophēs metalēpsetai, hin᾿ hyp᾿ autēs kratyntheis ta prokeimena katorthōsę̄. To de bebēlon ouk epi tou akathartou tetheiken, all᾽ epi tou mē hierou. ᾿Abebēlon gar kai hagion, to tois hiereusin aphōrismenon; bebēlon de, to tois allois hapasin aponenemēmenon. Hothen kai ho ᾿Akylas ou bebēlon eipen, alla laïkon. Toutestin, Ei kai hiereus ouk eimi, alla prophētikēs tetychēka charitos. Oimai gar touto paradēloun to; ῾Agiasthēsetai dia ta skeuē mou. Skeuē gar autou kai panoplia, hē pneumatikē dōrea.

What does “If this journey is profane, today it will be sanctified because of my vessels” mean? When the priest asked whether he had kept himself pure that day, he said he had kept himself pure for three days, and added that because of the journey before him he must take the holy food, so that, strengthened by it, he might accomplish what lay ahead. He used “profane” not of what is unclean but of what is not sacred. For what is not profane and is holy is what is set apart for the priests; the profane is what is allotted to everyone else. That is why Aquila said not “profane” but “lay.” That is: even if I am not a priest, I have received prophetic grace. For I think “It will be sanctified because of my vessels” hints at this; for his vessels and armor are the spiritual gift.

1 Sam 21:5 (quotation, high confidence) · 1 Sam 21:4 (allusion, high confidence)

Notes and citation

Summary: David's “profane journey” means a non-priestly errand made holy by his prophetic gift, which entitled him to the holy bread.

1 Sam 21:4–5 (LXX). The printed question lacks a question mark; the question is present.

Notes on the original text

Digital text corrected (stray footnote marks): ἡγνεύκει **, → ἡγνεύκει,.

Cite (SBL): Theodoret, Quaest. Reg. 1.53 (PG 80 80:575; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/theodoret-quaestiones-regnorum/1-53). (abbreviation not yet checked)

Permanent link: https://sophiascriptura.com/p/theodoret-quaestiones-regnorum/1-53

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Translation: Translated by Claude (Opus) from the Greek as printed in Migne PG 80 (Bavarian State Library OCR); no public-domain or FOTC English exists, so each batch was re-read against the Greek.

1.54PG 80 80:575

Τι ἐστι, συνεχόμενος νεασάρ ἐνώπιον Κυρίου Τοῦτο τὸ ὄνομα πειρασμὸν ἀπαλὸν συνοχής ἑρμηνευόμενον εὖρον ἐν τῷ βιβλίῳ τῶν Ἑβραϊκῶν ὀνομάτων. Δῆλος τοίνυν ἐστὶν ὁ Δωὴκ ὑπό τινος ἐνοχλούμενος δαίμονος, ἢ νόσῳ κατεχόμενος, καὶ τούτου χάριν τῇ θεία προσεδρεύσας σκηνῇ. ᾿Αλλ᾿ ὁ παμπόνηρος οὐ μόνον κατεμήνυσε τῷ Σαούλ τὰ παρὰ τοῦ ᾿Αβιμέλεχ εἰρημένα καὶ δεδομένα, ἀλλὰ καὶ πάντας τοὺς ἱερεῖς κατέκτεινεν. Αὕτη τοῦ Σαούλ ἡ μιαιφονία πασῶν τῶν ἄλλων ἁμαρτάδων δυσσεβεστέρα. Τοῦ μὲν γὰρ Θεοῦ προστεταχότος ἄρδην διολέσαι τὸν Ἀμαλὴκ, οὐ μόνον τὸν ᾿Αγὰγ διέσωσεν, ἀλλὰ καὶ ποίμνια, καὶ βουκόλια, καὶ τοὺς ἀμπελῶνας, καὶ τὰ ἄλλα ὅσα ἦν ἀξιόκτητα. Τοῦ θυμοῦ δὲ μόνου κεκινηκότος, οὐ μόνον τοὺς ἱερεῖς κατέκτεινεν, ἀλλὰ καὶ τὴν πόλιν αὐτῶν διώλεσεν αὔτανδρον οὐ μειράκιον, οὐ βρέφος, οὐ γύναιον διασωθῆναι κελεύσας. ᾿Αξιέπαινοι δὲ τοῦ Σαούλ οἱ δορυφόροι οὐδὲ γὰρ τοῦ βασιλέως προστεταχότος ἠνέσχοντο τῇ κατὰ τῶν ἱερέων μιαιφονίᾳ μιᾶναι τὰς χεῖρας ὁ δὲ Δωὴκ τὸν δυσσεβῆ τοῦτον ἐτόλμησε φόνον, καὶ τοὺς πεντήκοντα καὶ τριακοσίους ἱερεῖς κατέσφαξεν. Πρόσκειται δὲ τὸ Πάντας αἴροντας ἐφοὺδ, εἰς κατηγορίαν πλείονα τοῦ τολμήματος. Οὐ γὰρ Λευῖται ἦσαν, ἀλλ᾽ ἐξ ἀρχιερατικῆς ῥίζης κατῆγον τὸ γένος.

Ti esti, synechomenos neasar enōpion Kyriou Touto to onoma peirasmon apalon synochēs hermēneuomenon euron en tǭ bibliǭ tōn Hebraïkōn onomatōn. Dēlos toinyn estin ho Dōēk hypo tinos enochloumenos daimonos, ē nosǭ katechomenos, kai toutou charin tę̄ theia prosedreusas skēnę̄. ᾿All᾿ ho pamponēros ou monon katemēnyse tǭ Saoul ta para tou ᾿Abimelech eirēmena kai dedomena, alla kai pantas tous hiereis katekteinen. Hautē tou Saoul hē miaiphonia pasōn tōn allōn hamartadōn dyssebestera. Tou men gar Theou prostetachotos ardēn diolesai ton Amalēk, ou monon ton ᾿Agag diesōsen, alla kai poimnia, kai boukolia, kai tous ampelōnas, kai ta alla hosa ēn axioktēta. Tou thymou de monou kekinēkotos, ou monon tous hiereis katekteinen, alla kai tēn polin autōn diōlesen autandron ou meirakion, ou brephos, ou gynaion diasōthēnai keleusas. ᾿Axiepainoi de tou Saoul hoi doryphoroi oude gar tou basileōs prostetachotos ēneschonto tę̄ kata tōn hiereōn miaiphonią mianai tas cheiras ho de Dōēk ton dyssebē touton etolmēse phonon, kai tous pentēkonta kai triakosious hiereis katesphaxen. Proskeitai de to Pantas airontas ephoud, eis katēgorian pleiona tou tolmēmatos. Ou gar Leuitai ēsan, all᾽ ex archieratikēs rhizēs katēgon to genos.

What does “held back, neessar, before the Lord” mean? I found this name interpreted in the book of Hebrew names as “a tender trial of constraint.” So it is clear that Doeg was troubled by some demon, or held by a disease, and for this reason was attending at the divine tabernacle. But the utterly wicked man not only reported to Saul what Abimelech had said and given, but also killed all the priests. This murder of Saul's was more impious than all his other sins. For when God had commanded him to destroy Amalek utterly, he spared not only Agag but also the flocks, the herds, the vineyards, and everything else worth having; but when only his anger was roused, he not only killed the priests but destroyed their city with all its inhabitants, ordering that no youth, no infant, no woman be spared. Saul's bodyguards, however, deserve praise: even when the king commanded, they would not stain their hands with the murder of the priests. But Doeg dared this impious murder and slaughtered the three hundred and fifty priests. “All who wore the ephod” is added to make the charge against the outrage heavier: for they were not Levites but traced their descent from the high-priestly root.

1 Sam 21:7 (quotation, high confidence) · 1 Sam 22:9 (allusion, high confidence) · 1 Sam 22:17 (allusion, high confidence) · 1 Sam 22:18 (quotation, high confidence) · 1 Sam 22:19 (allusion, high confidence) · 1 Sam 15:9 (allusion, high confidence)

Notes and citation

Summary: Doeg, detained at the sanctuary, betrayed Abimelech, and at Saul's order killed the priests of Nob, Saul's worst crime.

1 Sam 21:7 (LXX transliterates a Hebrew word; “held back” renders συνεχόμενος); 22:9–19. The meaning given from the book of Hebrew names is obscure; translated literally. The LXX of 22:18 gives 305 priests; Theodoret's figure is translated as printed. A stray gloss inside the reference to the book of Hebrew names is removed by a logged correction.

Notes on the original text

Digital text corrected (marginal gloss printed in the text; stray footnote marks): τῶν Ἑβραϊκῶν ἀλλὰ εὗρον έρμην. ὀνομάτων → τῶν Ἑβραϊκῶν ὀνομάτων; δαίμονος **, → δαίμονος,.

Cite (SBL): Theodoret, Quaest. Reg. 1.54 (PG 80 80:575; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/theodoret-quaestiones-regnorum/1-54). (abbreviation not yet checked)

Permanent link: https://sophiascriptura.com/p/theodoret-quaestiones-regnorum/1-54

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Translation: Translated by Claude (Opus) from the Greek as printed in Migne PG 80 (Bavarian State Library OCR); no public-domain or FOTC English exists, so each batch was re-read against the Greek.

1.55PG 80 80:577

Τί δήποτε τὴν ἐπίληψιν ὁ Δαβὶδ ὑπεκρίνετο; Τοῦ Σαούλ ἀποδιδράσκων κατέφυγεν εἰς τὴν Γέθ. Οὐ γὰρ ὑπέλαβε δῆλος ἔσεσθαι. Ἐπειδὴ δὲ ᾔσθετο ἐγνωκότας ἐκείνους, ὡς αὐτὸς αὐτῶν ἀνῃρηκει τὸν πρόμαχον, μανίαν ὑποκρινάμενος διέφυγε τοῦ θανάτου τὸν κίνδυνον. Δηλοῖ δὲ αὐτοῦ τὴν εὐσέβειαν ἡ θεία Γραφή. ᾿Αεὶ γὰρ τοῦ Θεοῦ πυνθανόμενος, καὶ παρετάττετο, καὶ ἡσύχαζεν. Αὐτίκα γοῦν μαθὼν, ὡς ἔπεισι Σαούλ, ἐν τῇ Κεϊλᾶ διάγειν αὐτὸν ἐγνωκὼς, ἤρετο εἰ ἐκδώσουσιν αὐτὸν οἱ δι' αὐτοῦ τῆς σωτηρίας τετυχηκότες· καὶ μαθὼν ὡς ἐκδώσουσιν, εἰς ἕτερον μετέστη χωρίον. Τὸ δὲ, Ἐπορεύοντο οὗ ἐὰν ἐπορεύοντο, τὸν πλάνον δηλοῖ· ποτὲ μὲν γὰρ ἐν τῇ Ἰουδαίᾳ, ποτὲ δὲ ἐν τῇ ἐρήμῳ διῆγον. Τὸ δὲ Ἐκάθισε Δαβὶδ ἐν τῇ ἐρήμῳ ἐν Μεσερὰμ, οἱ λοιποὶ ἑρμηνευταὶ Ἐν τοῖς σπηλαίοις τοῖς ὀχυροῖς, ἐκδεδώκασιν. Ὁ μέντοι Ιωνάθαν δῆλος ἦν θερμότερον πεοὶ τὸν Δαβὶδ διακείμενος. Καὶ γὰρ τοῦ πατρὸς κατ' αὐτοῦ φονοῦντος, καὶ θηρεῦσαι ποθοῦντος, οὐκ ἤνεγκε τοῦ πόθου τὰ κέντρα· ἀλλ' ἔνθα διῆγεν ἀφίκετο, καὶ παραθαῤῥύνας τῇ τῆς βασιλείας προῤῥήσει, τὰς γεγενημένας συνθήκας αὖθις ἐκράτυνε. Τὴν δὲ καινὴν δρυμὸν ὁ ᾿Ακύλας ἡρμήνευσεν· τὴν Γαβαάδ δὲ, βουνόν Τὸ δὲ ἐν τῇ ἐρήμῳ τῇ ἐπηκόῳ ἐν τοῖς ὀμαλοῖς. Ἔδειξε δὲ καὶ ὁ Κύριος τὴν οἰκείαν κηδεμονίαν. Μέλλοντος γὰρ θηρεύεσθαι τοῦ Δαβίδ, τῇ τῶν ἀλλοφύλων ἐφόδῳ τὸν κατὰ τοῦ Δαβὶδ ἐπέδησε δρόμον. Τοῦτο γὰρ ἐγνωκὼς ἀνέστρεψεν ὁ Σαούλ.

Ti dēpote tēn epilēpsin ho Dabid hypekrineto? Tou Saoul apodidraskōn katephygen eis tēn Geth. Ou gar hypelabe dēlos esesthai. Epeidē de ę̄stheto egnōkotas ekeinous, hōs autos autōn anę̄rēkei ton promachon, manian hypokrinamenos diephyge tou thanatou ton kindynon. Dēloi de autou tēn eusebeian hē theia Graphē. ᾿Aei gar tou Theou pynthanomenos, kai paretatteto, kai hēsychazen. Autika goun mathōn, hōs epeisi Saoul, en tę̄ Keïla diagein auton egnōkōs, ēreto ei ekdōsousin auton hoi di' autou tēs sōtērias tetychēkotes; kai mathōn hōs ekdōsousin, eis heteron metestē chōrion. To de, Eporeuonto hou ean eporeuonto, ton planon dēloi; pote men gar en tę̄ Ioudaią, pote de en tę̄ erēmǭ diēgon. To de Ekathise Dabid en tę̄ erēmǭ en Meseram, hoi loipoi hermēneutai En tois spēlaiois tois ochyrois, ekdedōkasin. Ho mentoi Iōnathan dēlos ēn thermoteron peoi ton Dabid diakeimenos. Kai gar tou patros kat' autou phonountos, kai thēreusai pothountos, ouk ēnenke tou pothou ta kentra; all' entha diēgen aphiketo, kai paratharrhynas tę̄ tēs basileias prorrhēsei, tas gegenēmenas synthēkas authis ekratyne. Tēn de kainēn drymon ho ᾿Akylas hērmēneusen; tēn Gabaad de, bounon To de en tę̄ erēmǭ tę̄ epēkoǭ en tois omalois. Edeixe de kai ho Kyrios tēn oikeian kēdemonian. Mellontos gar thēreuesthai tou Dabid, tę̄ tōn allophylōn ephodǭ ton kata tou Dabid epedēse dromon. Touto gar egnōkōs anestrepsen ho Saoul.

Why did David pretend to have epilepsy? Fleeing from Saul, he took refuge in Gath, for he did not suppose he would be recognized. But when he perceived that they knew he had killed their champion, he pretended madness and escaped the danger of death. The divine Scripture shows his piety: he always inquired of God, both before going into battle and before keeping still. At once, for example, when he learned that Saul was coming against him, knowing that he was staying in Keilah, he asked whether those who had obtained deliverance through him would hand him over; and learning that they would, he moved to another place. “They went wherever they went” shows his wandering: sometimes they lived in Judea, sometimes in the wilderness. “David stayed in the wilderness in Meserem” the other translators rendered “in the strong caves.” Jonathan clearly had a warmer affection for David. For while his father was bent on killing him and longed to hunt him down, he could not bear the goad of his love, but came to where he was staying, encouraged him with the prophecy of the kingdom, and again strengthened the covenant they had made. Aquila translated “Kaine” as “thicket,” and “Gabaad” as “hill,” and “in the wilderness that hears” as “in the plains.” The Lord too showed his care; for when David was about to be caught, he checked Saul's pursuit of David by the foreigners' raid. Learning of it, Saul turned back.

1 Sam 21:13 (allusion, high confidence) · 1 Sam 23:2 (allusion, high confidence) · 1 Sam 23:12 (allusion, high confidence) · 1 Sam 23:13 (quotation, high confidence) · 1 Sam 23:14 (quotation, high confidence) · 1 Sam 23:16 (allusion, high confidence) · 1 Sam 23:17 (allusion, high confidence) · 1 Sam 23:18 (allusion, high confidence) · 1 Sam 23:24 (quotation, medium confidence) · 1 Sam 23:27 (allusion, high confidence) · 1 Sam 23:28 (allusion, high confidence)

Notes and citation

Summary: David feigned madness at Gath; he consulted God at every step, Jonathan renewed their covenant, and God turned Saul back by a Philistine raid.

1 Sam 21:10–15; 23:1–28 (LXX: 23:13, 14, 15, 19, 24). Displaced fragments printed in the text (“of the father … killing”) and stray letters are removed by logged corrections.

Notes on the original text

Digital text corrected (marginal fragment printed in the text; stray footnote mark; stray letter; stray syllable): τὸν πρόμαχον δε, μανίαν → τὸν πρόμαχον, μανίαν; τὴν εὐσέβειαν α ἡ θεία → τὴν εὐσέβειαν ἡ θεία; ἐγνωκὼς 5*, ἤρετο → ἐγνωκὼς, ἤρετο; τῆς σωτηρίας σε τετυχηκότες → τῆς σωτηρίας τετυχηκότες; ἐν Μεσερὰμ, ι οἱ λοιποὶ → ἐν Μεσερὰμ, οἱ λοιποὶ; αὖθις τοῦ πατρ. φονῶντος. ἐκράτυνε → αὖθις ἐκράτυνε.

Cite (SBL): Theodoret, Quaest. Reg. 1.55 (PG 80 80:577; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/theodoret-quaestiones-regnorum/1-55). (abbreviation not yet checked)

Permanent link: https://sophiascriptura.com/p/theodoret-quaestiones-regnorum/1-55

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Translation: Translated by Claude (Opus) from the Greek as printed in Migne PG 80 (Bavarian State Library OCR); no public-domain or FOTC English exists, so each batch was re-read against the Greek.

1.56PG 80 80:579

Πῶς νοητέον τὸ, Εἰσῆλθε Σαούλ ἀνασκευάσασθαι εἰς τὸ σπήλαιον; Σεμνῶς ἡρμηνεύθη παρὰ τῶν Ἑβδομήκοντα. Ὁ δὲ ᾿Ακύλας αὐτὸ σαφέστερον εἴρηκεν. Εἰσῆλθε γὰρ, φησὶν, ἀποκενῶσαι. Ὁ δὲ Ἰώσηπος τὰς φυσικὰς ἐκκρίσεις ποιήσασθαι. Μέγιστον μέντοι τὸ σπήλαιον ἦν. Εἶχε γὰρ ἔνδον καὶ τὸν Δαβίδ, καὶ τοὺς σὺν αὐτῷ κεκρυμμένους. Ἐγύμνωσε δὲ κἀνταῦθα τὴν οἰκείαν φιλοσοφίαν ὁ θεῖος Δαβίδ. Τῶν γὰρ σὺν αὐτῷ ἀνελεῖν τὸν Σαούλ πειραθέντων, τὴν μὲν σφαγὴν διεκώλυσεν, εἰρηκώς Μηδαμῶς ἐμοὶ παρὰ Κυρίου, εἰ ποιήσω τὸ ῥῆμα τοῦτο τῷ κυρίῳ μου, τῷ χριστῷ Κυρίου· ἐπενεγκεῖν τὴν χεῖρά μου ἐπ' αὐτὸν, ὅτι χριστὸς Κυρίου ἐστίν. Τῆς διπλοΐδος δὲ τὸ πτερύγιον ἔτεμεν· εἰς ἔλεγχον μὲν τῆς ἐκείνου πονηρίας, ἀπόδειξιν δὲ τῆς οἰκείας φιλοσοφίας. Ἐδίδαξε δὲ ἡμᾶς ἡ ἱστορία τοῦ σώφρονος λογισμοῦ τὴν ἰσχύν. Ἐπάταξε γάρ, φησὶ, τὸν Δαβὶδ ἡ καρδία αὐτοῦ, ὅτι ἀφεῖλε τὸ πτερύγιον τῆς διπλοΐδος ἀντὶ τοῦ, Μέχρι τούτου τὴν ἐπιχείρησιν συνεχώρησε, περαιτέρω δὲ παραβῆναι κεκώλυκεν. Ἐπειράθη δὲ τοῖς ἡπίοις λόγοις τὸν φθόνον ἰάσασθαι, καὶ τὸν θυμὸν κατασβέσαι Ἵνα τί γὰρ, φησὶν, ἀκούεις τῶν λόγων τοῦ λαοῦ λεγόντων, Ἰδοὺ ὁ Δαβὶδ ζητεῖ τὴν ψυχήν σου; Καί γε ἐν τῇ ἡμέρᾳ ταύτῃ ἐωράκασιν οἱ ὀφθαλμοί σου, ὡς παρέδωκέ σε Κύριος ὁ Θεὸς εἰς τὰς χεῖράς μου· καὶ οὐκ ἠβουλήθην ἀποκτεῖναί σε, καὶ ἐφεισάμην σου, καὶ εἶπον, Οὐκ ἐποίσω τὴν χεῖρά μου ἐπὶ τὸν κύριόν μου, ὅτι χριστὸς Κυρίου ἐστὶν οὗτος, καὶ πατήρ μου Τίς οὐκ ἂν ἀγασθείη· τοῦ προφήτου τὴν ἀρετήν; Πατέρα κέκληκε τὸν ἐπίβουλον, καὶ κύριον ὁ τῆς βασιλείας τὴν χειροτονίαν δεξάμενος· καὶ χριστὸν Κυρίου τὸν ἐστερημένον τῆς χάριτος ᾐσχύνετο γὰρ καὶ λυθεῖσαν τὴν τοῦ Θεοῦ χειροτονίαν. Εἰς βεβαίωσιν δὲ τῶν λόγων ἐπέδειξε τὸ πτερύγιον· ἵνα γνοὺς τὴν φιλοσοφίαν αἰδεσθῇ τὴν εὐεργεσίαν. Τοῦτο γὰρ καὶ εἶπε Γνῶθι καὶ ἴδε σήμερον, ὅτι οὐκ ἔστιν ἐν τῇ χειρί μου κακία, οὐδὲ ἀθέτησις, οὐδὲ ἀσέβεια καὶ οὐχ ἥμαρτον εἰς σέ.

Pōs noēteon to, Eisēlthe Saoul anaskeuasasthai eis to spēlaion? Semnōs hērmēneuthē para tōn Hebdomēkonta. Ho de ᾿Akylas auto saphesteron eirēken. Eisēlthe gar, phēsin, apokenōsai. Ho de Iōsēpos tas physikas ekkriseis poiēsasthai. Megiston mentoi to spēlaion ēn. Eiche gar endon kai ton Dabid, kai tous syn autǭ kekrymmenous. Egymnōse de kantautha tēn oikeian philosophian ho theios Dabid. Tōn gar syn autǭ anelein ton Saoul peirathentōn, tēn men sphagēn diekōlysen, eirēkōs Mēdamōs emoi para Kyriou, ei poiēsō to rhēma touto tǭ kyriǭ mou, tǭ christǭ Kyriou; epenenkein tēn cheira mou ep' auton, hoti christos Kyriou estin. Tēs diploïdos de to pterygion etemen; eis elenchon men tēs ekeinou ponērias, apodeixin de tēs oikeias philosophias. Edidaxe de hēmas hē historia tou sōphronos logismou tēn ischyn. Epataxe gar, phēsi, ton Dabid hē kardia autou, hoti apheile to pterygion tēs diploïdos anti tou, Mechri toutou tēn epicheirēsin synechōrēse, peraiterō de parabēnai kekōlyken. Epeirathē de tois hēpiois logois ton phthonon iasasthai, kai ton thymon katasbesai Hina ti gar, phēsin, akoueis tōn logōn tou laou legontōn, Idou ho Dabid zētei tēn psychēn sou? Kai ge en tę̄ hēmerą tautę̄ eōrakasin hoi ophthalmoi sou, hōs paredōke se Kyrios ho Theos eis tas cheiras mou; kai ouk ēboulēthēn apokteinai se, kai epheisamēn sou, kai eipon, Ouk epoisō tēn cheira mou epi ton kyrion mou, hoti christos Kyriou estin houtos, kai patēr mou Tis ouk an agastheiē; tou prophētou tēn aretēn? Patera keklēke ton epiboulon, kai kyrion ho tēs basileias tēn cheirotonian dexamenos; kai christon Kyriou ton esterēmenon tēs charitos ę̄schyneto gar kai lytheisan tēn tou Theou cheirotonian. Eis bebaiōsin de tōn logōn epedeixe to pterygion; hina gnous tēn philosophian aidesthę̄ tēn euergesian. Touto gar kai eipe Gnōthi kai ide sēmeron, hoti ouk estin en tę̄ cheiri mou kakia, oude athetēsis, oude asebeia kai ouch hēmarton eis se.

How should “Saul went into the cave to prepare himself” be understood? The Seventy rendered it modestly. Aquila said it more plainly: “He went in to relieve himself”; Josephus, “to perform the natural evacuations.” The cave was very large, for it held inside both David and those hidden with him. Here too the divine David showed his own wisdom. When those with him tried to kill Saul, he prevented the slaughter, saying, “Far be it from me before the Lord that I should do this thing to my lord, the Lord's anointed, to put my hand on him, for he is the Lord's anointed.” But he cut off the edge of his double cloak, as proof of the other's wickedness and demonstration of his own wisdom. The history taught us the strength of a self-controlled mind: “David's heart struck him,” it says, “because he had cut off the edge of the cloak,” meaning: it allowed the attempt so far, but prevented him from going further. He tried to heal the envy and quench the anger with gentle words: “Why,” he says, “do you listen to the words of the people who say, Look, David seeks your life? See, this very day your eyes have seen how the Lord God gave you into my hands; and I would not kill you, and I spared you, and said, I will not put my hand on my lord, for he is the Lord's anointed, and my father.” Who would not admire the prophet's virtue? He called the plotter father, and the one who had received appointment to the kingdom called him lord, and the one stripped of grace he called the Lord's anointed; for he respected the appointment of God even when it had been dissolved. To confirm his words he showed the edge of the cloak, so that Saul, recognizing his wisdom, might respect his kindness. For he also said this: “Know and see today that there is no evil in my hand, nor rebellion, nor impiety, and I have not sinned against you.”

1 Sam 24:3 (quotation, high confidence) · 1 Sam 24:4 (allusion, high confidence) · 1 Sam 24:6 (quotation, high confidence) · 1 Sam 24:5 (quotation, high confidence) · 1 Sam 24:9 (quotation, high confidence) · 1 Sam 24:10 (quotation, high confidence) · 1 Sam 24:11 (quotation, high confidence)

Notes and citation

Summary: David spared Saul in the cave, cutting only his cloak, and appealed to him with gentle words, honoring the Lord's anointed.

1 Sam 24:3–11 (LXX; quotations 24:6, 5, 9–11). Josephus, Ant. 6.13.4. The staging notes that the OCR read the question number as 350. A displaced phrase (“those hidden with him. Here too he showed…”) had been printed at the start of the answer; it is put back in its place within the answer by logged corrections.

Notes on the original text

Digital text corrected (Latin letters and hyphen inside the word; displaced words moved back to their place later in the answer; stray mark; displaced words restored to their place; word split by the OCR): άνασκευάσασθαι δ' εἰς τὸ σπήλαιον; τοὺς σὺν αὐτῷ κεκρυμμένους. Ἐγύμνωσε δὲ κάνΣεμνῶς → ἀνασκευάσασθαι εἰς τὸ σπήλαιον; Σεμνῶς; καὶ τὸν Δαβίδ, καὶ ταῦθα → καὶ τὸν Δαβίδ, καὶ τοὺς σὺν αὐτῷ κεκρυμμένους. Ἐγύμνωσε δὲ κἀνταῦθα; σώφρον νος → σώφρονος; κεκώin-λυκεν → κεκώλυκεν.

Extrabiblical texts: Josephus, Ant. 6.13.4 (Josephus (works); allusion)

Topics: Ethics

Cite (SBL): Theodoret, Quaest. Reg. 1.56 (PG 80 80:579; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/theodoret-quaestiones-regnorum/1-56). (abbreviation not yet checked)

Permanent link: https://sophiascriptura.com/p/theodoret-quaestiones-regnorum/1-56

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Translation: Translated by Claude (Opus) from the Greek as printed in Migne PG 80 (Bavarian State Library OCR); no public-domain or FOTC English exists, so each batch was re-read against the Greek.

1.57PG 80 80:581

Πῶς νοητέον το, Ἐξ ἀνόμων ἐξελεύσεται πλημμέλεια, καὶ ἡ χείρ μου οὐκ ἔσται ἐπὶ σέ; Τὰ καθ᾿ ἑαυτὸν τῆς θείας ἐξήρτησε κρίσεως. Εἶπε γὰρ, Κρίναι Κύριος ἀνὰ μέσον ἐμοῦ καὶ σοῦ· ἡ δὲ χείρ μου οὐκ ἔσται ἐπὶ σέ. Εἶτα προσέθηκε τὴν παραβολήν. Δηλοῖ δὲ αὕτη, ὡς τῶν παρανόμων τὸ ἁμαρτάνειν, τῶν δὲ φιλοσοφεῖν πεπαιδευμένων τὸ φέρειν τι τὰ πλημμελούμενα. Αμέτρῳ δὲ κεχρημένος μετριότητι, τεθνηκότα κύνα", καὶ ψύλλαν ἑαυτὸν ὀνομάζει ὅπως τῇ τῆς ταπεινότητος ὑπερβολῇ τὴν ἀτεράμονα καταμαλάξῃ καρδίαν. Αὐτίκα γοῦν πληγεὶς ἐκεῖνος ὡμολόγησε τὴν εὐεργεσίαν. Εἶπε γὰρ πρὸς Δαβὶδ », Δίκαιος σὺ ὑπὲρ ἐμὲ· ὅτι σὺ μὲν ἀνταπέδωκάς μοι ἀγαθά· ἐγὼ δὲ ἀνταπέδωκά σοι κακά. Καὶ τὰ ἑξῆς δὲ τοὺς ἐπαίνους ἔχει, καὶ μετὰ τοὺς ἐπαίνους, τῆς βασιλείας αὐτῷ προσημαίνει τὸ κράτος. Γινώσκω γὰρ, ἔφη, ὅτι βασιλεύων βασιλεύσεις, καὶ στήσεται ἡ βασιλεία Ἰσραὴλ ἐν χειρί σου. Ἠξίωσε δὲ ἧς ἀπήλαυσε κηδεμονίας καὶ τὸ γένος " τυχεῖν. Όμοσον γάρ μοι, φησὶ, κατὰ τοῦ Κυρίου, ἵνα μὴ ἐξολοθρεύσῃς τὸ σπέρμα μου ὀπίσω μου· καὶ μὴ ἀφανιεῖς τὸ ὄνομά μου ἐκ τοῦ οἴκου τοῦ πατρός μου. Καὶ ὤμοσε Δαβὶδ τῷ Σαούλ. Τοσαύτη ἡ τῆς κακίας ἀσθένεια. Ὁ τοσούτων μυριάδων ἡγούμενος, καὶ φυγάδα παρεκάλει, καὶ ὁ μετὰ πλήθους στρατεύων τὸν ἀποδιδράσκοντα μεταδοῦναι φιλανθρωπίας ἱκέτευε.

Pōs noēteon to, Ex anomōn exeleusetai plēmmeleia, kai hē cheir mou ouk estai epi se? Ta kath᾿ heauton tēs theias exērtēse kriseōs. Eipe gar, Krinai Kyrios ana meson emou kai sou; hē de cheir mou ouk estai epi se. Eita prosethēke tēn parabolēn. Dēloi de hautē, hōs tōn paranomōn to hamartanein, tōn de philosophein pepaideumenōn to pherein ti ta plēmmeloumena. Ametrǭ de kechrēmenos metriotēti, tethnēkota kyna", kai psyllan heauton onomazei hopōs tę̄ tēs tapeinotētos hyperbolę̄ tēn ateramona katamalaxę̄ kardian. Autika goun plēgeis ekeinos hōmologēse tēn euergesian. Eipe gar pros Dabid », Dikaios sy hyper eme; hoti sy men antapedōkas moi agatha; egō de antapedōka soi kaka. Kai ta hexēs de tous epainous echei, kai meta tous epainous, tēs basileias autǭ prosēmainei to kratos. Ginōskō gar, ephē, hoti basileuōn basileuseis, kai stēsetai hē basileia Israēl en cheiri sou. Ēxiōse de hēs apēlause kēdemonias kai to genos " tychein. Omoson gar moi, phēsi, kata tou Kyriou, hina mē exolothreusę̄s to sperma mou opisō mou; kai mē aphanieis to onoma mou ek tou oikou tou patros mou. Kai ōmose Dabid tǭ Saoul. Tosautē hē tēs kakias astheneia. Ho tosoutōn myriadōn hēgoumenos, kai phygada parekalei, kai ho meta plēthous strateuōn ton apodidraskonta metadounai philanthrōpias hiketeue.

How should “Out of the lawless will come transgression, but my hand shall not be on you” be understood? He made his own affairs depend on the divine judgment. For he said, “May the Lord judge between me and you; but my hand shall not be on you.” Then he added the proverb. It shows that sinning belongs to the lawless, but bearing wrongs belongs to those trained in wisdom. With boundless modesty he calls himself a dead dog and a flea, so as to soften the hard heart by the excess of his humility. At once, at any rate, Saul was struck and acknowledged the kindness. For he said to David, “You are more righteous than I; for you have repaid me good, but I have repaid you evil.” What follows also contains praise, and after the praise he foretells his royal power: “For I know,” he said, “that you will surely reign, and the kingdom of Israel will be established in your hand.” And he asked that his family too might receive the care he had enjoyed: “Swear to me,” he says, “by the Lord, that you will not destroy my seed after me, and will not blot out my name from my father's house.” And David swore to Saul. Such is the weakness of wickedness: the leader of so many thousands begged a fugitive, and the man who campaigned with a multitude implored the runaway to grant him kindness.

1 Sam 24:13 (quotation, high confidence) · 1 Sam 24:12 (quotation, high confidence) · 1 Sam 24:14 (allusion, high confidence) · 1 Sam 24:17 (quotation, high confidence) · 1 Sam 24:20 (quotation, high confidence) · 1 Sam 24:21 (quotation, high confidence) · 1 Sam 24:22 (quotation, high confidence)

Notes and citation

Summary: David left judgment to God and humbled himself; Saul confessed David's righteousness, foretold his kingship and asked him to spare his descendants.

1 Sam 24:12–22 (LXX; quotations 24:13, 12, 14, 17, 20, 21–22).

Notes on the original text

Digital text corrected (stray letters; stray marks): ὀπίσω μου τ8· → ὀπίσω μου·; φυγάδαδο παρεκάλει, καὶ ὁ δι μετά πλήθους στρατεύων τὸν ἀποδιδράσκοντα μεταδοῦναι οἱ φιλανθρωπίας → φυγάδα παρεκάλει, καὶ ὁ μετὰ πλήθους στρατεύων τὸν ἀποδιδράσκοντα μεταδοῦναι φιλανθρωπίας.

Topics: Ethics

Cite (SBL): Theodoret, Quaest. Reg. 1.57 (PG 80 80:581; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/theodoret-quaestiones-regnorum/1-57). (abbreviation not yet checked)

Permanent link: https://sophiascriptura.com/p/theodoret-quaestiones-regnorum/1-57

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Translation: Translated by Claude (Opus) from the Greek as printed in Migne PG 80 (Bavarian State Library OCR); no public-domain or FOTC English exists, so each batch was re-read against the Greek.

1.58PG 80 80:581

῾Ο τοσαύτην ἐν τοῖς κατὰ τὸν Σαούλ ἐπιδείξας μακροθυμίαν, τί δήποτε τὸν Νάβαλ ἀνελεῖν ἐπειράθη; Πολλῆς καὶ ουτος εὐεργεσίας ἀπήλαυσε. Συνδιατρίβων γὰρ τοῖς τούτου ποιμέσιν ἐν τῇ ἐρήμῳ, οὐ μόνον τοὺς οἰκείους ἀφελεῖν τι τῶν ἐκείνῳ προσηκόντων ἐκώλυσεν· ἀλλὰ καὶ τὰς ἑτέρωθεν ἐπιγινομένας διεσκέδασε βλάβας. Τοῦτο γὰρ οἱ ποιμένες τὴν ᾿Αβιγαίαν ἐδίδαξαν, ὅτι ᾿Αγαθοὶ ἡμῖν οἱ ἄνδρες σφόδρα, καὶ οὐκ ἀπεκώλυσαν ἡμᾶς, οὐδὲ ἐπιτετάχασιν ἡμῖν πάσας τὰς ἡμέρας, ἃς ἦμεν παρ' αὐτοῖς καὶ ἐν τῷ εἶναι ἡμᾶς ἐν ἀγρῷ, ὡσεὶ τεῖχος ἦσαν περὶ ἡμᾶς, καὶ τὴν ἡμέραν καὶ τὴν νύκτα, πάσας τὰς ἡμέρας ὄντων ἡμῶν μετ᾿ αὐτῶν, καὶ ποιμαινόντων τὰ ποίμνια ἡμῶν. Ἡ μὲν οὖν εὐεργεσία τοσαύτη· ἡ δὲ αἴτησις μετρία, καὶ τὴν σπάνιν τῶν ἀναγκαίων μηνύουσα Εὑρέτω γὰρ, φησὶ, τὰ παιδάρια χάριν ἐν ὀφθαλμοῖς σου, ὅτι ἐφ᾿ ἡμέραν ἀγαθὴν ἡμεῖς ἥκομεν. Δὸς δὲ ὅ ἂν εὕρῃ ἡ χείρ σου τοῖς παισὶ τοῦ υἱοῦ σου Δαβίδ. Τί διαφέρει ταῦτα τὰ ῥήματα τῶν παρὰ τῶν προσαιτούντων προσφερομένων λόγων; ᾿Αλλὰ ὁ θηριώδης ἀνὴρ οὐ μόνον οὐκ ἔδωκεν, ἀλλὰ καὶ προσεπαροίνησε. Τίς γὰρ, φησὶ, Δαβίδ, καὶ τίς υἱὸς Ἰεσσαί; Σήμερον πεπληθυμένοι εἰσὶν οἱ δοῦλοι, οἱ ἀποδιδράσκοντες ἕκαστος ἀπὸ προσώπου τῶν κυρίων αὐτῶν. Τῶν εὐεργεσιῶν τοίνυν ἐκείνων ὁ Δαβὶδ μεμνημένος, καὶ τῆς παροινίας ἀκούσας ὥρμησεν ὁπλισάμενος. Ἐλογίσατο γὰρ, ὡς ὁ μὲν Σαούλ εἶχεν ἀφορμὴν τῆς ἀδικίας τὴν δυναστείαν, καὶ τὸν φθόνον τῆς βασιλείας οὗτος δὲ οὐδεμίαν πρόφασιν ἔχων ἀλαζονείας, ταῖς ἐσχάταις κατ᾿ αὐτοῦ λοιδορίαις ἐχρήσατο.

῾O tosautēn en tois kata ton Saoul epideixas makrothymian, ti dēpote ton Nabal anelein epeirathē? Pollēs kai outos euergesias apēlause. Syndiatribōn gar tois toutou poimesin en tę̄ erēmǭ, ou monon tous oikeious aphelein ti tōn ekeinǭ prosēkontōn ekōlysen; alla kai tas heterōthen epiginomenas dieskedase blabas. Touto gar hoi poimenes tēn ᾿Abigaian edidaxan, hoti ᾿Agathoi hēmin hoi andres sphodra, kai ouk apekōlysan hēmas, oude epitetachasin hēmin pasas tas hēmeras, has ēmen par' autois kai en tǭ einai hēmas en agrǭ, hōsei teichos ēsan peri hēmas, kai tēn hēmeran kai tēn nykta, pasas tas hēmeras ontōn hēmōn met᾿ autōn, kai poimainontōn ta poimnia hēmōn. Hē men oun euergesia tosautē; hē de aitēsis metria, kai tēn spanin tōn anankaiōn mēnyousa Heuretō gar, phēsi, ta paidaria charin en ophthalmois sou, hoti eph᾿ hēmeran agathēn hēmeis hēkomen. Dos de ho an heurę̄ hē cheir sou tois paisi tou huiou sou Dabid. Ti diapherei tauta ta rhēmata tōn para tōn prosaitountōn prospheromenōn logōn? ᾿Alla ho thēriōdēs anēr ou monon ouk edōken, alla kai proseparoinēse. Tis gar, phēsi, Dabid, kai tis huios Iessai? Sēmeron peplēthymenoi eisin hoi douloi, hoi apodidraskontes hekastos apo prosōpou tōn kyriōn autōn. Tōn euergesiōn toinyn ekeinōn ho Dabid memnēmenos, kai tēs paroinias akousas hōrmēsen hoplisamenos. Elogisato gar, hōs ho men Saoul eichen aphormēn tēs adikias tēn dynasteian, kai ton phthonon tēs basileias houtos de oudemian prophasin echōn alazoneias, tais eschatais kat᾿ autou loidoriais echrēsato.

Why did the man who showed such patience toward Saul try to kill Nabal? Nabal too had received great kindness. For while David was living with his shepherds in the wilderness, he not only prevented his own men from taking anything that belonged to Nabal, but also drove off harm that came from elsewhere. The shepherds told Abigail this: “The men were very good to us; they did not hinder us, nor give orders to us, all the days we were with them; and when we were in the field they were like a wall around us, both day and night, all the days we were with them tending our flocks.” Such was the kindness; and the request was modest and showed their lack of necessities: “Let the young men find favor in your eyes,” he says, “for we have come on a good day. Give whatever your hand finds to the servants of your son David.” How do these words differ from those of beggars? But the brutish man not only gave nothing but added insult: “Who is David,” he says, “and who is the son of Jesse? Today the slaves are many who run away, each from his master.” Remembering those kindnesses and hearing the insult, David set out armed. For he reasoned that Saul had his power and his envy for the kingdom as an occasion for his injustice, but this man, with no pretext for arrogance, had used the worst abuse against him.

1 Sam 25:7 (allusion, high confidence) · 1 Sam 25:15 (quotation, high confidence) · 1 Sam 25:16 (quotation, high confidence) · 1 Sam 25:8 (quotation, high confidence) · 1 Sam 25:10 (quotation, high confidence) · 1 Sam 25:13 (allusion, high confidence)

Notes and citation

Summary: David marched on Nabal because Nabal repaid his protection with insults, having no excuse such as Saul's power or envy.

1 Sam 25:2–13 (quotations 25:15–16, 8, 10).

Notes on the original text

Digital text corrected (stray footnote mark; stray footnote marks; word split by the OCR): ἐκείνῳ 8* προσηκόντων → ἐκείνῳ προσηκόντων; βλάβας **. → βλάβας.; πεπληθυ μένοι → πεπληθυμένοι.

Cite (SBL): Theodoret, Quaest. Reg. 1.58 (PG 80 80:581; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/theodoret-quaestiones-regnorum/1-58). (abbreviation not yet checked)

Permanent link: https://sophiascriptura.com/p/theodoret-quaestiones-regnorum/1-58

BibTeX · RIS · CSL-JSON (whole work; this passage's key: sophiascriptura-theodoret-quaestiones-regnorum-1-58) · Report an error

Translation: Translated by Claude (Opus) from the Greek as printed in Migne PG 80 (Bavarian State Library OCR); no public-domain or FOTC English exists, so each batch was re-read against the Greek.