Scenes from the Old and New Testaments (Dittochaeon)

Contents

1. 1Adam and Eve: Eve, stained by the serpent’s deceit, corrupts Adam, and the naked pair cover themselves with fig leaves.
2. 2Cain and Abel: God accepts Abel’s living offering and rejects Cain’s earthly one; the farmer kills the shepherd.
3. 3Noah’s dove returns with an olive branch, while the raven stays among the carcasses.
4. 4At the oak of Mamre the Lord is Abraham’s guest, and Sarah laughs at the promise of a son.
5. 5Abraham buys the cave of Machpelah to bury Sarah, for the righteous are strangers on earth.
6. 6Joseph, with Christ as interpreter, explains Pharaoh’s dream of seven good and seven lean years.
7. 7Joseph, once sold by his brothers, has his cup hidden in Benjamin’s sack; they recognize him and are ashamed at his forgiveness.
8. 8God speaks to Moses from the burning bush; his rod becomes a serpent, he removes his sandals, and goes to Pharaoh.
9. 9The Red Sea opens for Israel and drowns Pharaoh.
10. 10Moses receives the ten commandments on smoking Sinai, while the people worship the golden calf.
11. 11The manna in the desert, kept in a golden jar, and the quails given to the people who craved meat.
12. 12Moses lifts up the bronze serpent, here on a cross, to heal those bitten in the desert.
13. 13At Marah Moses throws wood into the bitter water and makes it sweet.
14. 14At Elim twelve springs and seventy palms prefigure the twelve apostles and the seventy disciples.
15. 15The Jordan turns back for Israel, and twelve stones set up in it prefigure the twelve disciples.
16. 16When Jericho falls, Rahab’s house alone is spared, marked by the scarlet cord, a sign of Christ’s blood.
17. 17Samson kills the lion, from which honey later flows, and a spring comes from the jawbone with which he fought.
18. 18Samson’s foxes with burning tails, which set the Philistines’ fields alight, are a figure of heresy spreading vice.
19. 19David, the youngest shepherd and harpist, comes to Saul’s court and kills Goliath with his sling.
20. 20David’s royal insignia, scepter, oil, horn, crown, purple and altar, all apply to Christ.
21. 21Solomon builds the temple and the Queen of Sheba brings gold; Christ will build a temple in human hearts, honored by all nations.
22. 22Elisha makes the lost axe head float by throwing a stick into the Jordan.
23. 23The exiles weep by the rivers of Babylon and hang their harps on the willows.
24. 24Hezekiah’s life is extended fifteen years, confirmed by the shadow going back on the steps.
25. 25Gabriel announces to Mary that by the Holy Spirit she will bear Christ.
26. 26Bethlehem bore Christ as man, who was God before the sun and stars.
27. 27The Magi bring gold, incense and myrrh, and Mary marvels that she has borne God and King.
28. 28The angels’ light appears to the shepherds, who find the Christ child in the manger and adore him.
29. 29Herod slaughters the infants while seeking Christ.
30. 30John the Baptist, clothed in camel’s hair and fed on locusts, baptizes Christ, and the Spirit declares him the one who forgives sins.
31. 31A pinnacle of the ruined temple remains, and the rejected stone has become the head of the corner, joining two peoples.
32. 32At the wedding at Cana Christ turns water into wine.
33. 33Christ heals the blind man by sending him to wash in the pool of Siloam.
34. 34Herodias’s daughter asks for the head of John the Baptist on a platter.
35. 35Christ walks on the sea and holds up Peter when he begins to sink.
36. 36Christ frees the Gerasene demoniac and sends the demons into the swine, which drown.
37. 37Christ feeds five thousand with five loaves and two fish, with twelve baskets left over.
38. 38Christ raises Lazarus from the tomb at Bethany.
39. 39The field of blood bought with Judas’s silver becomes a burial ground, and Judas hangs himself.
40. 40The ruined house of Caiaphas, where Christ was struck, is a sign of sinners’ end.
41. 41The column where Christ was scourged still stands, teaching freedom from all scourges.
42. 42From Christ’s pierced side flow blood, his victory, and water, baptism; of the two thieves one denies him, the other is crowned.
43. 43Christ rises, conquering death; the saints rise with him, and he shows himself to many.
44. 44Christ ascends from the Mount of Olives, leaving footprints of peace; its olive oil signifies the gift of the anointing.
45. 45Stephen, the first martyr, prays for those who stone him.
46. 46At the Beautiful Gate Peter, in Christ’s name, makes the lame man walk.
47. 47Peter’s vision of the sheet of animals leads him to call the Gentiles to the faith.
48. 48Saul the persecutor, blinded, becomes Paul the apostle and teacher of the nations.
49. 49The twenty-four elders with harps, bowls and crowns praise the slain Lamb who alone can open the sealed book.