To Autolycus 2.21
Summary: Genesis 3:1–19 is quoted: the serpent's temptation, the first sin, and God's judgment on the serpent, the woman, and the man.
Greek text · Otto 8:114–118
Ὁ δὲ ὄφις ἦν φρονιμώτερος πάντων τῶν θηρίων τῶν ἐπὶ τῆς γῆς, ὧν ἐποίησεν κύριος ὁ θεός. Καὶ εἶπεν ὁ ὄφις τῇ γυναικί· Τί ὅτι εἶπεν ὁ θεὸς Οὐ μὴ φάγητε ἀπὸ παντὸς ξύλου τοῦ παραδείσου; Καὶ εἶπεν ἡ γυνὴ τῷ ὄφει· Ἀπὸ παντὸς ξύλου τοῦ παραδείσου φαγόμεθα, ἀπὸ δὲ καρποῦ τοῦ ξύλου, ὅ ἐστιν ἐν μέσῳ τοῦ παραδείσου, εἶπεν ὁ θεὸς Οὐ μὴ φάγεσθε ἀπʼ αὐτοῦ οὐδὲ μὴ ἅψησθε αὐτοῦ, ἵνα μὴ ἀποθάνητε. Καὶ εἶπεν ὁ ὄφις τῇ γυναικί· Οὐ θανάτῳ ἀποθανεῖσθε· ᾔδει γὰρ ὁ θεὸς ὅτι ἐν ᾗ ἂν ἡμέρᾳ φάγητε ἀπʼ αὐτοῦ διανοιχθήσονται ὑμῶν οἱ ὀφθαλμοί, καὶ ἔσεσθε ὡς θεοί, γινώσκοντες καλὸν καὶ πονηρόν. Καὶ εἶδεν ἡ γυνὴ ὅτι καλὸν τὸ ξύλον εἰς βρῶσιν, καὶ ὅτι ἀρεστὸν τοῖς ὀφθαλμοῖς ἰδεῖν καὶ ὡραῖόν ἐστιν τοῦ κατανοῆσαι· καὶ λαβοῦσα τοῦ καρποῦ αὐτοῦ ἔφαγεν καὶ ἔδωκεν καὶ τῷ ἀνδρὶ αὐτῆς μεθʼ ἑαυτῆς, καὶ ἔφαγον. Καὶ διηνοίχθησαν οἱ ὀφθαλμοὶ τῶν δύο καὶ ἔγνωσαν ὅτι γυμνοὶ ἦσαν, καὶ ἔῤῥαψαν φύλλα συκῆς καὶ ἐποίησαν ἑαυτοῖς περιζώματα. Καὶ ἤκουσαν τῆς φωνῆς κυρίου τοῦ θεοῦ, περιπατοῦντος ἐν τῷ παραδείσῳ τὸ δειλινόν, καὶ ἐκρύβησαν ὅ τε Ἀδὰμ καὶ ἡ γυνὴ αὐτοῦ ἀπὸ προσώπου τοῦ θεοῦ ἐν μέσῳ τοῦ ξύλου τοῦ παραδείσου. Καὶ ἐκάλεσεν κύριος ὁ θεὸς τὸν Ἀδὰμ καὶ εἶπεν αὐτῷ· Ποῦ εἶ; Καὶ εἶπεν αὐτῷ· Τὴν φωνήν σου ἤκουσα ἐν τῷ παραδείσῳ, καὶ ἐφοβήθην ὅτι γυμνός εἰμι, καὶ ἐκρύβην. Καὶ εἶπεν αὐτῷ· Τίς ἀνήγγειλέ σοι ὅτι γυμνὸς εἶ, εἰ μὴ ἀπὸ τοῦ ξύλου, οὗ ἐνετειλάμην σοι τούτου μόνου μὴ φαγεῖν, ἀπʼ αὐτοῦ ἔφαγες; Καὶ εἶπεν Ἀδάμ· Ἡ γυνή, ἣν ἔδωκάς μοι, αὐτή μοι ἔδωκεν ἀπὸ τοῦ ξύλου, καὶ ἔφαγον. Καὶ εἶπεν ὁ θεὸς τῇ γυναικί· Τί τοῦτο ἐποίησας; Καὶ εἶπεν ἡ γυνή· Ὁ ὄφις ἠπάτησέν με, καὶ ἔφαγον. Καὶ εἶπεν κύριος ὁ θεὸς τῷ ὄφει· Ὅτι ἐποίησας τοῦτο, ἐπικατάρατος σὺ ἀπὸ πάντων τῶν θηρίων τῶν ἐπὶ τῆς γῆς, ἐπὶ τῷ στήθει καὶ τῇ κοιλίᾳ σου πορεύσῃ καὶ γῆν φαγῇ πάσας τὰς ἡμέρας τῆς ζωῆς σου. Καὶ ἔχθραν ποιήσω ἀνὰ μέσον σου καὶ ἀνὰ μέσον τῆς γυναικὸς καὶ ἀνὰ μέσον τοῦ σπέρματός σου καὶ τοῦ σπέρματος αὐτῆς· αὐτός σου τηρήσει τὴν κεφαλήν, καὶ σὺ αὐτοῦ τηρήσεις τὴν πτέρναν. Καὶ τῇ γυναικὶ εἶπεν· Πληθύνων πληθυνῶ τὰς λύπας σου καὶ τὸν στεναγμόν σου· ἐν λύπῃ τέξῃ τέκνα, καὶ πρὸς τὸν ἄνδρα σου ἡ ἀποστροφή σου, καὶ αὐτός σου κυριεύσει. Τῷ δὲ Ἀδὰμ εἶπεν· Ὅτι ἤκουσας τῆς φωνῆς τῆς γυναικός σου καὶ ἔφαγες ἀπὸ τοῦ ξύλου, οὗ ἐνετειλάμην σοι μόνου τούτου μὴ φαγεῖν, ἀπʼ αὐτοῦ ἔφαγες, ἐπικατάρατος ἡ γῆ ἐν τοῖς ἔργοις σου· ἐν λύπῃ φαγῇ αὐτὴν πάσας τὰς ἡμέρας τῆς ζωῆς σου, ἀκάνθας καὶ τριβόλους ἀνατελεῖ σοι, καὶ φαγῇ τὸν χόρτον τοῦ ἀγροῦ σου. Ἐν ἱδρῶτι τοῦ προσώπου σου φαγῇ τὸν ἄρτον σου ἕως τοῦ ἀποστρέψαι σε εἰς τὴν γῆν, ἐξ ἧς ἐλήφθης· ὅτι γῆ εἶ καὶ εἰς γῆν ἀπελεύσῃ. Τῆς μὲν οὖν ἱστορίας τοῦ ἀνθρώπου καὶ τοῦ παραδείσου τὰ ῥητὰ τῆς ἁγίας γραφῆς οὕτως περιέχει.
English · Claude translation
“Now the serpent was more cunning than all the wild beasts on the earth that the Lord God had made. And the serpent said to the woman: Why is it that God said, You shall not eat from any tree of the garden? And the woman said to the serpent: We may eat from every tree of the garden; but of the fruit of the tree that is in the middle of the garden God said, You shall not eat from it, nor touch it, lest you die. And the serpent said to the woman: You will not surely die; for God knew that on the day you eat from it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like gods, knowing good and evil. And the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and pleasing to the eyes to look at, and beautiful to contemplate; and she took of its fruit and ate, and gave some also to her husband with her, and they ate. And the eyes of the two were opened, and they knew that they were naked; and they sewed fig leaves together and made themselves loincloths. And they heard the voice of the Lord God walking in the garden in the evening, and Adam and his wife hid from the face of God among the trees of the garden. And the Lord God called Adam and said to him: Where are you? And he said to him: I heard your voice in the garden, and I was afraid because I am naked, and I hid. And he said to him: Who told you that you are naked, unless you have eaten from the tree, the only one I commanded you not to eat from? And Adam said: The woman whom you gave me, she gave me from the tree, and I ate. And God said to the woman: What is this you have done? And the woman said: The serpent deceived me, and I ate. And the Lord God said to the serpent: Because you have done this, cursed are you above all the wild beasts on the earth; on your breast and your belly you shall go, and you shall eat dust all the days of your life. And I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your seed and her seed; he will watch for your head, and you will watch for his heel. And to the woman he said: I will greatly multiply your pains and your groaning; in pain you shall bear children, and your turning shall be toward your husband, and he shall rule over you. And to Adam he said: Because you listened to the voice of your wife and ate from the tree, the only one I commanded you not to eat from, cursed is the ground in your labors; in pain you shall eat of it all the days of your life; thorns and thistles it shall bring forth for you, and you shall eat the plants of your field. In the sweat of your face you shall eat your bread until you return to the ground from which you were taken; for earth you are, and to earth you shall go.” Such are the words of holy Scripture about the history of the human being and of paradise.
About this passage
Notes
Translation notes
- Quoted from the Septuagint. In Gen 3:15 the Septuagint has “he will watch for (τηρήσει) your head” where the Hebrew has “strike.”
Notes on the original text
- Digital text corrected (Latin letter o in place of Greek ο in the digital text; misprint: ἡμέρως for ἡμέρας): διανοιχθήσονται ὑμῶν oἱ ὀφθαλμοί → διανοιχθήσονται ὑμῶν οἱ ὀφθαλμοί; πάσας τὰς ἡμέρως τῆς ζωῆς σου. Καὶ ἔχθραν → πάσας τὰς ἡμέρας τῆς ζωῆς σου. Καὶ ἔχθραν.
Cite this passage
Theophilus, Autol. 2.21 (trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/theophilus-autolycus/2/21/).
Plain text
Theophilus, Autol. 2.21 (trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/theophilus-autolycus/2/21/).
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