To Autolycus 2.19
Summary: Genesis 2 describes how God formed the human being from dust and breathed life into him, and placed him in a garden in the east.
Greek text · Otto 8:108–110
Οὕτως συντελέσας ὁ θεὸς τὸν οὐρανὸν καὶ τὴν γῆν καὶ τὴν θάλασσαν καὶ πάντα ὅσα ἐν αὐτοῖς ἐν τῇ ἕκτῃ ἡμέρᾳ κατέπαυσεν ἐν τῇ ἑβδόμῃ ἡμέρᾳ ἀπὸ πάντων τῶν ἔργων αὐτοῦ ὧν ἐποίησεν. Εἶθʼ οὕτως ἀνακεφαλαιοῦται λέγουσα ἡ ἁγία γραφή· Αὕτη βίβλος γενέσεως οὐρανοῦ καὶ τῆς γῆς, ὅτε ἐγένετο ἡμέρᾳ ᾗ ἐποίησεν ὁ θεὸς τὸν οὐρανὸν καὶ τὴν γῆν, καὶ πᾶν χλωρὸν ἀγροῦ πρὸ τοῦ γενέσθαι, καὶ πάντα χόρτον ἀγροῦ πρὸ τοῦ ἀνατεῖλαι· οὐ γὰρ ἔβρεξεν ὁ θεὸς ἐπὶ τὴν γῆν, καὶ ἄνθρωπος οὐκ ἦν ἐργάζεσθαι τὴν γῆν. Διὰ τούτου ἐμήνυσεν ἡμῖν ὅτι καὶ ἡ γῆ πᾶσα κατʼ ἐκεῖνο καιροῦ ἐποτίζετο ὑπὸ πηγῆς θείας, καὶ οὐκ εἶχεν χρείαν ἐργάζεσθαι αὐτὴν ἄνθρωπον, ἀλλὰ τὰ πάντα αὐτοματισμῷ ἀνέφυεν ἡ γῆ κατὰ τὴν ἐντολὴν τοῦ θεοῦ, πρὸς τὸ μὴ κοπιᾶν ἐργαζόμενον τὸν ἄνθρωπον. Ὅπως δὲ καὶ ἡ πλάσις δειχθῇ, πρὸς τὸ μὴ δοκεῖν εἶναι ζήτημα ἐν ἀνθρώποις ἀνεύρετον, ἐπειδὴ εἴρητο ὑπὸ τοῦ θεοῦ Ποιήσωμεν ἄνθρωπον καὶ οὔπω ἡ ποίησις αὐτοῦ πεφανέρωται, διδάσκει ἡμᾶς ἡ γραφὴ λέγουσα· Πηγὴ δὲ ἀνέβαινεν ἐκ τῆς γῆς καὶ ἐπότιζεν πᾶν τὸ πρόσωπον τῆς γῆς, καὶ ἔπλασεν ὁ θεὸς τὸν ἄνθρωπον χοῦν ἀπὸ τῆς γῆς, καὶ ἐνεφύσησεν εἰς τὸ πρόσωπον αὐτοῦ πνοὴν ζωῆς, καὶ ἐγένετο ὁ ἄνθρωπος εἰς ψυχὴν ζῶσαν. Ὅθεν καὶ ἀθάνατος ἡ ψυχὴ ὠνόμασται παρὰ τοῖς πλείοσι. Μετὰ δὲ τὸ πλάσαι τὸν ἄνθρωπον ὁ θεὸς ἐξελέξατο αὐτῷ χωρίον ἐν τοῖς τόποις τοῖς ἀνατολικοῖς, διάφορον φωτί, διαυγὲς ἀέρι λαμπροτέρῳ, φυτοῖς παγκάλοις, ἐν ᾧ ἔθετο τὸν ἄνθρωπον.
English · Claude translation
So God, having finished the heaven and the earth and the sea and all that is in them on the sixth day, rested on the seventh day from all his works that he had made. Then holy Scripture sums up, saying: “This is the book of the genesis of heaven and earth, when it came into being, on the day God made the heaven and the earth, and every green thing of the field before it came to be, and every plant of the field before it sprang up; for God had not sent rain upon the earth, and there was no man to work the earth.” By this it has shown us that at that time the whole earth was watered by a divine spring and had no need of a man to work it; the earth brought forth all things of itself at the command of God, so that the man would not have to toil at working it. And so that the formation of the human being might also be made known, and not seem to people a question impossible to answer, since God had said “Let us make the human being” but had not yet shown how he was made, Scripture teaches us, saying: “And a spring went up from the earth and watered the whole face of the earth; and God formed the man, dust from the earth, and breathed into his face the breath of life, and the man became a living soul.” That is why most people call the soul immortal. After forming the man, God chose for him a place in the regions of the east, excelling in light, radiant with brighter air, and with the loveliest plants, and there he put the man.
About this passage
Notes
Translation notes
- Gen 2:4–7 is quoted from the Septuagint.
- Theophilus's own view is that the human being was made neither mortal nor immortal, but capable of either (2.24, 2.27).
Notes on the original text
- Digital text corrected (misprint: κατέκαυσεν (“burned up”) for κατέπαυσεν (“rested”)): κατέκαυσεν ἐν τῇ ἑβδόμῃ → κατέπαυσεν ἐν τῇ ἑβδόμῃ.
Cite this passage
Theophilus, Autol. 2.19 (trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/theophilus-autolycus/2/19/).
Plain text
Theophilus, Autol. 2.19 (trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/theophilus-autolycus/2/19/).
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